Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: Hearing the discussion on the germiest places that can be found in a Catholic church was disgustingly entertaining, as was the payoff from yesterday's American Idol bet. But what really struck us was Lino's twisting of a Seize The Day segment from earlier that morning about flashing oncoming motorists to warn them of speed traps... what should've been a certain "low" because of its fire sale-price humor turned into a major "high" when Lino tied it in to the way that the media has taken the positions of the Catholic church out of context in recent days and weeks. Well done, Lino!
Lows: Didn't hear anything that really rubbed our fur the wrong way.
Our take: A good outing that gets pushed up into elite status with the clever "flashing" segment. Good job!
Grade: A-
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Show review for 5/23/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: It's always entertaining when Father Rob and Lino wager on something, and today was no exception with the priest taking 3.5:1 odds on Jessica Sanchez winning American Idol. That man will truly bet on anything.
Lows: Nothing particularly sucked today... at least by Lino Rulli standards.
Our take: This was a generally pleasant yet by-the-numbers installment, but it gets a bump due to Father Rob's on-air gambling exploits.
Grade: B
Highs: It's always entertaining when Father Rob and Lino wager on something, and today was no exception with the priest taking 3.5:1 odds on Jessica Sanchez winning American Idol. That man will truly bet on anything.
Lows: Nothing particularly sucked today... at least by Lino Rulli standards.
Our take: This was a generally pleasant yet by-the-numbers installment, but it gets a bump due to Father Rob's on-air gambling exploits.
Grade: B
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Show review for 5/22/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: Themes that carry over from one show to the next are usually disasters because they induce boredom very quickly... surprisingly, the "silence" theme carried over very well when Lino had to defend his assertion that there are too many moments of silence during Mass (and not enough silence in others). And what else can be said about Father Rob humming the hits of the 70's during a very special What's Father Rob Humming?
Lows: Lino's time-filling segment where he detailed how he ate an expired yogurt and lived to tell about it was not the stuff good shows are made of. But that paled in comparison to the news segment, where Lino ditched three perfectly good stories Father Rob had prepared after the latter unintentionally bungled the introduction of each. Was that really necessary?
Our take: If you stuck around for the third hour, you enjoyed some good radio. If you tuned out halfway through the second hour because Mr. Perfectionist took his ball and went home after the news segment got screwed up, we understand.
Grade: C+
Highs: Themes that carry over from one show to the next are usually disasters because they induce boredom very quickly... surprisingly, the "silence" theme carried over very well when Lino had to defend his assertion that there are too many moments of silence during Mass (and not enough silence in others). And what else can be said about Father Rob humming the hits of the 70's during a very special What's Father Rob Humming?
Lows: Lino's time-filling segment where he detailed how he ate an expired yogurt and lived to tell about it was not the stuff good shows are made of. But that paled in comparison to the news segment, where Lino ditched three perfectly good stories Father Rob had prepared after the latter unintentionally bungled the introduction of each. Was that really necessary?
Our take: If you stuck around for the third hour, you enjoyed some good radio. If you tuned out halfway through the second hour because Mr. Perfectionist took his ball and went home after the news segment got screwed up, we understand.
Grade: C+
Show review for 5/21/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: Mystery Science Homilies is usually a good segment anytime, but today's version seemed even more so, with Lino being especially critical of Father Rob's work. But that was nothing compared to the news segment, where we got to groove to a cacophony of Bee Gees hits from the '70s as Lino and Father Rob discussed the passing of Robin Gibb. Break out the disco ball!
Lows: "Silence" was the theme of the first hour, and aside from Lino trying to convince Father Rob that reading a book about the Saints was a way to listen to God, it left us a bit underwhelmed.
Our take: First hour was kind of blah; the second and third hours were notably better.
Grade: B-
Highs: Mystery Science Homilies is usually a good segment anytime, but today's version seemed even more so, with Lino being especially critical of Father Rob's work. But that was nothing compared to the news segment, where we got to groove to a cacophony of Bee Gees hits from the '70s as Lino and Father Rob discussed the passing of Robin Gibb. Break out the disco ball!
Lows: "Silence" was the theme of the first hour, and aside from Lino trying to convince Father Rob that reading a book about the Saints was a way to listen to God, it left us a bit underwhelmed.
Our take: First hour was kind of blah; the second and third hours were notably better.
Grade: B-
Show review for 5/18/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: The Eleventh Commandment was yet another brilliant illustration of Father Rob promoting a rule (in this case, attempting to pay for a meal that you know someone else will pay for) purely for the sake of politeness... and listening to him defend the indefensible was music to our ears.
Lows: The Catholic Guy Advice segment was good to bring up a 14-year-old's problem with the Mass being boring, but it didn't make for great listening because everyone (primarily the callers, who were all adults) kept giving advice from the parents' point-of-view. Who (other than Lino) was trying to advise the kid what to do?
Our take: A strictly middle-of-the-road affair that overall felt like slightly less than the sum of its parts.
Grade: C+
Highs: The Eleventh Commandment was yet another brilliant illustration of Father Rob promoting a rule (in this case, attempting to pay for a meal that you know someone else will pay for) purely for the sake of politeness... and listening to him defend the indefensible was music to our ears.
Lows: The Catholic Guy Advice segment was good to bring up a 14-year-old's problem with the Mass being boring, but it didn't make for great listening because everyone (primarily the callers, who were all adults) kept giving advice from the parents' point-of-view. Who (other than Lino) was trying to advise the kid what to do?
Our take: A strictly middle-of-the-road affair that overall felt like slightly less than the sum of its parts.
Grade: C+
Friday, May 18, 2012
Show review for 5/17/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: We were thrilled that one of our favorite segments, Catholic Password, has made a return to the show and is as good as it ever was. Also making a welcome return to the show was Anthony Buono, who with Lino and Father Rob had a rip-roaring discussion of the finer points of Lino's dating life.
Lows: Today was a classic example of not stopping while you're ahead. The dating segment with Anthony Buono was great, but then Lino kept the conversation going for a good 40 minutes beyond that... and by that time the whole discussion was in one ear and out the other. Additionally, the five minutes spent on Billy Bob Thornton's recent TV interview had us looking for something else to do.
Our take: What should've been the grand return of a beloved segment and favorite guest was tarnished by spending fully half the show on one topic. Variety is supposed to be the spice of life, but this one spent too much time sitting in the spice rack.
Grade: C+
Highs: We were thrilled that one of our favorite segments, Catholic Password, has made a return to the show and is as good as it ever was. Also making a welcome return to the show was Anthony Buono, who with Lino and Father Rob had a rip-roaring discussion of the finer points of Lino's dating life.
Lows: Today was a classic example of not stopping while you're ahead. The dating segment with Anthony Buono was great, but then Lino kept the conversation going for a good 40 minutes beyond that... and by that time the whole discussion was in one ear and out the other. Additionally, the five minutes spent on Billy Bob Thornton's recent TV interview had us looking for something else to do.
Our take: What should've been the grand return of a beloved segment and favorite guest was tarnished by spending fully half the show on one topic. Variety is supposed to be the spice of life, but this one spent too much time sitting in the spice rack.
Grade: C+
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Show review for 5/16/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: Lino's Music Makeover is usually good in its own right, but the level of argumentativeness displayed during today's installment simply had to be heard to enjoyed. Speaking of arguments, we also enjoyed Lino and Father Rob bickering over the latter's idea of starting a website where visitors to churches could rate them.
Lows: None to speak of.
Our take: The animosity factor on display between the greasy ginzo and the ordained leprechaun definitely took this one up a notch.
Grade: B+
Highs: Lino's Music Makeover is usually good in its own right, but the level of argumentativeness displayed during today's installment simply had to be heard to enjoyed. Speaking of arguments, we also enjoyed Lino and Father Rob bickering over the latter's idea of starting a website where visitors to churches could rate them.
Lows: None to speak of.
Our take: The animosity factor on display between the greasy ginzo and the ordained leprechaun definitely took this one up a notch.
Grade: B+
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Show review for 5/15/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: We're suckers for a good dose of karma, and Lino illustrating via sound clips how Chris Matthews got his after his terrible Jeopardy! performance was music to our ears. We also enjoyed Lino and Father Rob displaying their innocent naivete while talking to farmers about who they are and what they do... very good stuff there, and something we'd love to see with listeners of other occupations.
Lows: Nothing to report, sergeant.
Our take: A pleasant way to spend three hours.
Grade: B
Highs: We're suckers for a good dose of karma, and Lino illustrating via sound clips how Chris Matthews got his after his terrible Jeopardy! performance was music to our ears. We also enjoyed Lino and Father Rob displaying their innocent naivete while talking to farmers about who they are and what they do... very good stuff there, and something we'd love to see with listeners of other occupations.
Lows: Nothing to report, sergeant.
Our take: A pleasant way to spend three hours.
Grade: B
Show review for 5/14/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: The whole inane discussion about what states constitute the Midwest was surprisingly entertaining (as was Lino's absolute refusal to believe the facts when presented to him). Equally as funny was the fight over the pronunciation of the word "eclair" (as was Father Rob's absolute refusal to believe the facts when presented to him).
Lows: The whole segment about the increase in priesthood vocations was overshadowed by Lino's infatuation with pronouncing the research firm's acronym. That was worth two minutes of air time tops, and Lino somehow spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to say "CARA".
Our take: Satisfying overall, but not quite as satisfying as a Snickers bar.
Grade: B
Highs: The whole inane discussion about what states constitute the Midwest was surprisingly entertaining (as was Lino's absolute refusal to believe the facts when presented to him). Equally as funny was the fight over the pronunciation of the word "eclair" (as was Father Rob's absolute refusal to believe the facts when presented to him).
Lows: The whole segment about the increase in priesthood vocations was overshadowed by Lino's infatuation with pronouncing the research firm's acronym. That was worth two minutes of air time tops, and Lino somehow spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to say "CARA".
Our take: Satisfying overall, but not quite as satisfying as a Snickers bar.
Grade: B
Show review for 5/11/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: The whole inane discussion about what states constitute the Midwest was surprisingly entertaining (as was Lino's absolute refusal to believe the facts when presented to him). Equally as funny was the fight over the pronunciation of the word "eclair" (as was Father Rob's absolute refusal to believe the facts when presented to him).
Lows: The whole segment about the increase in priesthood vocations was overshadowed by Lino's infatuation with pronouncing the research firm's acronym. That was worth two minutes of air time tops, and Lino somehow spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to say "CARA".
Our take: Satisfying overall, but not quite as satisfying as a Snickers bar.
Grade: B
Highs: The whole inane discussion about what states constitute the Midwest was surprisingly entertaining (as was Lino's absolute refusal to believe the facts when presented to him). Equally as funny was the fight over the pronunciation of the word "eclair" (as was Father Rob's absolute refusal to believe the facts when presented to him).
Lows: The whole segment about the increase in priesthood vocations was overshadowed by Lino's infatuation with pronouncing the research firm's acronym. That was worth two minutes of air time tops, and Lino somehow spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to say "CARA".
Our take: Satisfying overall, but not quite as satisfying as a Snickers bar.
Grade: B
Show review for 5/10/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: Once again we got to enjoy Father Rob exhibiting some Righteous Anger over an accident at a bar... and we enjoyed it even more when almost nobody came to his defense. We also appreciated Lino tackling more than one listener question on Catholic Guy Advice, and we think that that approach might work very well in the future.
Lows: Are you familiar with the old "Deep Thoughts With Stuart Smalley" skit from Saturday Night Live? There was at least one segment in each hour that felt a little like that, where Lino went into deep thought on either the canonization of St. Damien, the Foo Fighters, or various elements of Jesus' humanity. While we appreciate the effort, it felt completely out of place in a show where humor is the dish du jour. (And yes, we remember Lino's segment about Jesus and the moon from last week... but that ended up being hilarious.)
Our take: If it weren't for a little too much deep thought every hour, this one would've done better.
Grade: C+
Highs: Once again we got to enjoy Father Rob exhibiting some Righteous Anger over an accident at a bar... and we enjoyed it even more when almost nobody came to his defense. We also appreciated Lino tackling more than one listener question on Catholic Guy Advice, and we think that that approach might work very well in the future.
Lows: Are you familiar with the old "Deep Thoughts With Stuart Smalley" skit from Saturday Night Live? There was at least one segment in each hour that felt a little like that, where Lino went into deep thought on either the canonization of St. Damien, the Foo Fighters, or various elements of Jesus' humanity. While we appreciate the effort, it felt completely out of place in a show where humor is the dish du jour. (And yes, we remember Lino's segment about Jesus and the moon from last week... but that ended up being hilarious.)
Our take: If it weren't for a little too much deep thought every hour, this one would've done better.
Grade: C+
Show review for 5/9/2012
NOTE: Because the 5/8 show was not a full three hours and the second hour was a lead in to the Cardinal Dolan Town Hall, we will not be providing a review of that show.
Click here for a brief summary of the 5/9 show
Highs: Lino thankfully replayed the excellent Martin Sheen/Emilio Estevez interview from yesterday, especially considering that anyone who normally listens to the 10:00pm ET rebroadcast likely missed it. And Mark Hart's presence on the show is always a winner.
Lows: Nothing particularly offended us today.
Our take: Aside from Mark Hart and the Sheen/Estevez rebroadcast, this one didn't really have anything that truly hooked us. But it still gets a decent grade.
Grade: B-
Click here for a brief summary of the 5/9 show
Highs: Lino thankfully replayed the excellent Martin Sheen/Emilio Estevez interview from yesterday, especially considering that anyone who normally listens to the 10:00pm ET rebroadcast likely missed it. And Mark Hart's presence on the show is always a winner.
Lows: Nothing particularly offended us today.
Our take: Aside from Mark Hart and the Sheen/Estevez rebroadcast, this one didn't really have anything that truly hooked us. But it still gets a decent grade.
Grade: B-
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Show review for 5/7/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: Really the entire show was one big long high, but if we had to pick a specific moment we'd choose the segment where Lino pondered about Jesus looking at the same moon that we do... and specifically when the first caller threw cold water on his thoughts by pointing out that Josef Stalin looked at the same moon as well. It took a few minutes to pick ourselves up off the floor after that one.
Lows: Seriously?
Our take: Father Jim shows are usually brilliant, and this one was especially so.
Grade: A
Highs: Really the entire show was one big long high, but if we had to pick a specific moment we'd choose the segment where Lino pondered about Jesus looking at the same moon that we do... and specifically when the first caller threw cold water on his thoughts by pointing out that Josef Stalin looked at the same moon as well. It took a few minutes to pick ourselves up off the floor after that one.
Lows: Seriously?
Our take: Father Jim shows are usually brilliant, and this one was especially so.
Grade: A
Monday, May 7, 2012
Show review for 5/4/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: Sometimes the best parts of the show are the unscripted ones... so Father Rob somehow breaking his pen, spilling ink all over his hands, and ill-fatedly attempting to clean it up was radio gold. The segment immediately preceding it where Lino contemplated getting "ordained" online to marry two friends of his was also good and not something you often hear on a Catholic radio show. And who doesn't want to hear Father Rob speaking and singing en Español with the listeners? (If you raised your hand, you're listening to the wrong radio show.)
Lows: You'd think a Catholic priest would show more respect for the dead than Father Rob did upon the passing of Adam "MCA" Yauch of The Beastie Boys. Geez, even Lino called him on this one.
Our take: Really good stuff... enough to earn a top grade. We'll drink a margarita later tonight in honor of this one.
Grade: A-
Highs: Sometimes the best parts of the show are the unscripted ones... so Father Rob somehow breaking his pen, spilling ink all over his hands, and ill-fatedly attempting to clean it up was radio gold. The segment immediately preceding it where Lino contemplated getting "ordained" online to marry two friends of his was also good and not something you often hear on a Catholic radio show. And who doesn't want to hear Father Rob speaking and singing en Español with the listeners? (If you raised your hand, you're listening to the wrong radio show.)
Lows: You'd think a Catholic priest would show more respect for the dead than Father Rob did upon the passing of Adam "MCA" Yauch of The Beastie Boys. Geez, even Lino called him on this one.
Our take: Really good stuff... enough to earn a top grade. We'll drink a margarita later tonight in honor of this one.
Grade: A-
Show review for 5/3/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: Once again, Higher/Lower was a winner/winner... whether it's been ripped off from The Price Is Right or not. And it was fun to once again ponder the mysteries of everyday life during the Mysteries segment
Lows: Nothing bad caught our ear.
Our take: Pleasant enough, but it was a bit by-the-numbers for our tastes.
Grade: B-
Highs: Once again, Higher/Lower was a winner/winner... whether it's been ripped off from The Price Is Right or not. And it was fun to once again ponder the mysteries of everyday life during the Mysteries segment
Lows: Nothing bad caught our ear.
Our take: Pleasant enough, but it was a bit by-the-numbers for our tastes.
Grade: B-
Show review for 5/2/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: A great interview with actor Andy Garcia and some pretty good Minor Confessions highlighted today's show... and just hearing the theme to The God's Honest Truth makes us want to visit our local discotheque tonight.
Lows: Can't say we found any.
Our take: Nice highs + no lows = a solid show in our book.
Grade: B+
Highs: A great interview with actor Andy Garcia and some pretty good Minor Confessions highlighted today's show... and just hearing the theme to The God's Honest Truth makes us want to visit our local discotheque tonight.
Lows: Can't say we found any.
Our take: Nice highs + no lows = a solid show in our book.
Grade: B+
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Show review for 5/1/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: Today's big highlight was Lino's very personable and well done interview with TV adventure man Bear Grylls. We also appreciated and enjoyed the discussion of Blessed John Paul II's ultimate legacy in future centuries on the first anniversary of his beatification.
Lows: It's a little nit-picky, but Father Rob's Eleventh Commandment ended up being a bit too complicated, so that by the end of the segment we still weren't quite sure how much and under what circumstances he and Lino advocated giving to the collection when attending Mass at another church. A solid topic that suffered from too many details.
Our take: Pretty solid overall, but it left us wanting occasionally.
Grade: B-
Highs: Today's big highlight was Lino's very personable and well done interview with TV adventure man Bear Grylls. We also appreciated and enjoyed the discussion of Blessed John Paul II's ultimate legacy in future centuries on the first anniversary of his beatification.
Lows: It's a little nit-picky, but Father Rob's Eleventh Commandment ended up being a bit too complicated, so that by the end of the segment we still weren't quite sure how much and under what circumstances he and Lino advocated giving to the collection when attending Mass at another church. A solid topic that suffered from too many details.
Our take: Pretty solid overall, but it left us wanting occasionally.
Grade: B-
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Show review for 4/30/2012
Click here for a brief summary of the show
Highs: Two oldies-but-goodies made a return to the show today. We've dearly missed Lino ripping apart Father Jim's homilies on Mystery Science Homily, but now it's back and better than ever with Lino going after Father Rob's words of wisdom from the weekend. And we also enjoyed the return of Do You Watch More TV Than A Parish Priest, one of our favorite play-along-at-home games that has been dormant for far too long.
Lows: We were slightly disappointed that a few of the theme songs in Do You Watch More TV Than A Parish Priest were recycled from earlier shows... c'mon, there's hundreds of theme songs out there to choose from, so no sense in repeating a few. And the segment where Lino was asking whether or not to write the forward for someone else's book didn't hold our interest very well because the conversation sometimes became convoluted and went off on tangents. But hey, sometimes stuff like that happens.
Our take: Despite the lows it was another good show... particularly with the return two beloved segments we hadn't heard in a while.
Grade: B+
Highs: Two oldies-but-goodies made a return to the show today. We've dearly missed Lino ripping apart Father Jim's homilies on Mystery Science Homily, but now it's back and better than ever with Lino going after Father Rob's words of wisdom from the weekend. And we also enjoyed the return of Do You Watch More TV Than A Parish Priest, one of our favorite play-along-at-home games that has been dormant for far too long.
Lows: We were slightly disappointed that a few of the theme songs in Do You Watch More TV Than A Parish Priest were recycled from earlier shows... c'mon, there's hundreds of theme songs out there to choose from, so no sense in repeating a few. And the segment where Lino was asking whether or not to write the forward for someone else's book didn't hold our interest very well because the conversation sometimes became convoluted and went off on tangents. But hey, sometimes stuff like that happens.
Our take: Despite the lows it was another good show... particularly with the return two beloved segments we hadn't heard in a while.
Grade: B+
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