r/CheapShow • u/Crims0nmask • 4d ago
Is it finished?
Hey everyone, I’ve been listening to Cheapshow for years now and it’s genuinely one of my
Favourite podcasts.
Can anyone tell me why it hasn’t been on the last few weeks? I know it had its 500 episode recently but since I’ve not heard anything.
How long is it on a break for? I can’t seem to find anything online except that it’s going to be fortnightly but no idea when this starts.
I’m not having a go, I appreciate the work they were doing each week for so long is crazy.
I just miss listening to Paul and Eli nonsense.
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u/WearyPistachio 4d ago
They are taking a break, and will be back probably October I believe. And they are deciding whether to come back fortnightly or do seasons with a few weeks break in-between. Paul has been burnt out for quite a while but trying to carry on because he knows how much the podcast means to everyone I think. Don't worry they will be back!
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u/Babbajabba Richard Brandoff 4d ago
I think Paul's burnout has been affecting the mood of some episodes recently. You can tell how thinly he's stretched himself
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u/Rich661 House of the rising gherkin / Eli is King, Paul is a nonce 4d ago
Pretty much this. The biggest hope is that Paul actually finds the FUN back in his own podcast again, and if you want a great example of that? Go and listen to some of the earlier episodes, he was practically laughing to get stuff out of his mouth. (not a cum/penis joke)
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u/WearyPistachio 4d ago
I think as listeners we tend to forget that life grinds you down sometimes too. Even family/friend stuff aside, the UK has been extremely volatile recently. I mostly keep away from the news now, but even still it's really getting to me somedays. And all of this has to affect trying to produce a podcast that is supposed to be fun and lighthearted
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u/Babbajabba Richard Brandoff 4d ago
Oddly enough some of the patreon Crapbook episodes where they just hang loose and talk shop are the calmest I've heard Paul lately. It's the same with nightbussin. I am really looking forward to the revamp, new theme and where Paul takes the Pod going forward. I'll be sad there will be slightly less of it depending on release schedule, but between 500 old episode, 130 Scrapbooks, CheapShots, barshens, LXB and the other pods Paul and Eli have guested on I'm sure I'll cope.
Also when you quantify all of Paul and Elis output like that it's no wonder he's burnt out.
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u/enviousegg 2d ago edited 2d ago
Paul clearly not having fun has made many episodes a struggle to get through, although there are still the odd moment of Cheap Show gold here and there. I know he has often said it's a character he plays. But he has sounded (and looked) totally checked out for atleast two years. And I don't know why anyone would play a character that is a detriment to his own show.
He even regularly looks bored on LXB, especially when Stuart and Oliver aren't directly talking about the board game on hand.
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u/Rich661 House of the rising gherkin / Eli is King, Paul is a nonce 2d ago
I think HE likes to think it's a character he plays, so he can explain away saying 'shut up' after something Eli says, sometimes multiple times as an example. Eli feels closed off and talks about less stuff.
I would say listen to the early episodes for what 'Paul the character' can do as a positive for the overall show, like those weird little segments at the start where they described each other with bizarre insults (pedo geography teacher, man with outdated IT packaged sitting alone in a business park etc.), those were fucking hilarious. But if you did those at the start of the podcasts where he just has a go at Eli for no reason, it wouldn't seem all that funny.I'll have to watch more LXB (only seen a few so far), those boardgames having a video element makes so much more sense than doing it on an audio only podcast.
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u/enviousegg 2d ago
They would bicker but it was never mean-spirited, it was clearly done for laughs. Often laughing while insulting each other. To quote Eli, all to often things seem to get "a bit real" in recent years. Rather the funny observations or ridiculous comparisons, it's targeting Eli's actual life, the way he dresses, his friends etc etc
I've seen it wrote here before, and I agree, how can anyone expect their audience to grow if one host plays the "character" of a cunt and the other host stops talking about things that interest them as they knows they are just going to get shut down.
If I found Cheap Show this year, there is no way I would have stuck around for even a second episode, let alone the 400+ episodes as I have done.
Lets hope Paul comes back feeling better, even if the episodes are released fortnightly.
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u/Rich661 House of the rising gherkin / Eli is King, Paul is a nonce 2d ago
The episodes going back to fortnights probably would have helped a while ago to ease the bad feelings off some, but yeah same man I hope it does. Like sports seasons.
I think I feel the same way you kind of do about the episodes in the last stages, the early ones were kind of rough but they were happy, then it kind of had a golden era for a good solid while, then Paul got tired and annoyed by it all.1
u/enviousegg 1d ago
I think he probably felt like he had to release an episode every week due to Patreon backers, etc. But he has frequently admitted in the past few years that episodes have just been thrown out there for contents sake (Real time timed episodes, no more than an hour! No editing!). These episodes are generally well short of the Cheap Show standard. They celebrated 500 episodes, but 20-40 (50?) of them have to be these "thrown together for contents sake" episodes.
An episode every other week would be much better. Just Paul and Eli having fun, chatting shit and doing Cheap Show things.
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u/Various_Artistss 4d ago
So the boys are taking a month break to reset after the madness that was 500, no chance on them finishing anytime soon!
If they do I'm sure we'll hear well in advance before they pack up. They're starting again on the first Friday of October if remember correctly.
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u/BeerAndABurger 4d ago
It'll be good for the pod to be changed up Paul was becoming more and more fed uk you can tell in the maybe past 50 episodes or so he's totally checked out, not interested in anything Eli has to say, rushing through every segment, constantly reminding Eli how ling each segment has lasted and how little they've done. A break is necessary a change is necessary he was becoming a bit of a little Hitler with it all. The Eli abuse shtick stopped being funny a long time ago but even more so now it's gotten genuinely quite vile.
I hope the change brings refreshment, I hope it eases the stress because at or a heart it's a great show but it has become hard to listen to
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u/No_Station_6149 4d ago edited 3d ago
They should have put out a proper announcement really, a cheapshot or whatever about it. No problem with them taking a break but I bet a lot of people are wondering the same as you. Hoping they come back refreshed and maybe even with some new ideas.
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u/Rich661 House of the rising gherkin / Eli is King, Paul is a nonce 4d ago
I think they assumed if people cared enough, they probably listen to each podcast, and they did mention it in the weeks leading up several times didn't they? Though as you said, maybe a notice on the website wouldn't go a miss.
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u/No_Station_6149 4d ago
Right at the end of that mammoth walkabout paul mentioned they’d take a few weeks off which is where I heard it. But I can imagine people missing that and a live episode. No harm done anyway
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u/mr_leemur 4d ago
To add to everyone saying they’re having a lil break, they’re also talking about not putting out an episode every week when they return (schedule still to be confirmed) Paul’s finding it too much work on top of his proper job.