Tim Goodman's TV Talk Machine

Yes, this podcast includes more chances to throw Manny (Benny Evangelista) "under the bus." It also contains faux outrage about international incidents. Question Boy (Chronicle media and politics writer Joe Garofoli) does what he's supposed to do, we guess (isn't it about time for another Question Girl?). Adjustin (Justin Beck) mans the knobs with aplomb for someone who just couldn't care less. And we fortify the podcave against the sounds of reconnaissance units, incoming explosives and rescue dogs.

Yes, this podcast includes more chances to throw Manny (Benny Evangelista) "under the bus." It also contains faux outrage about international incidents. Question Boy (Chronicle media and politics writer Joe Garofoli) does what he's supposed to do, we guess (isn't it about time for another Question Girl?). Adjustin (Justin Beck) mans the knobs with aplomb for someone who just couldn't care less. And we fortify the podcave against the sounds of reconnaissance units, incoming explosives and rescue dogs.

Oh yes we did. Hell, we've already got a new theme song (thanks, Jason!) that takes out the 2009 and adds AdJustin (Justin Beck, no longer Super Sub but a full-time member) to the titles. And then while Question Boy (Joe Garofoli, Chronicle media and political writer) and Yours Truly laugh ourselves silly over all kinds of things (Xanax, Percocet, Bill Walton, Peter Krause, "show me your two!," fear, wrong names, etc.), we finally come to the moment of sad (and bitter) truth: Benny Evangelista dumped us via e-mail! Oh yes he did! By the way, Benny had no idea we were going to pound the living crap out of him and, much to our continued laughing, he heard it while riding BART to work this morning. Anyway, we had a grand old time on this Tuesday 'cast. "Enjoy." Things get exponentially more silly and pointless on Thursday.

We didn't expect him. But we'd heard a rumor he was in the building on his first day back at the Chronicle, post heart attack. Sure enough, in the middle of our 'cast, Beloved Benny Evangelista, the Podfather, showed up, stepped in and shared some time with us. Before he arrived, well, it was hella goofy. Juan Antonio Samaranch had turned into Porno Count. That kind of thing. I had the summer shorty robe on. Harry Caray and a whole bunch of people showed up. But it was Benny who made our podcast and arrived (almost like we planned it, but obviously we could never be that prepared) right when we were about to play an MP3 from a Benny fan. Exceptional timing, Knobs. It was a fun time for your Cultural Commissar and QB (Joe Garofoli) and Benny's Super Sub Producer Adjustin' the Knobs (Justin Beck). It's wonderful to have Mista Evangelista back, but the downside is the paper may be putting him back to work, as in actual work, and he may not have the time to be our producer anymore. Tickets on sale now for the farewell tour. We're hoping Justin can do it. Hell, we're hoping that we can do it. Until we find out more, we keep making the 'casts. Because we know there's a need for an informative TV podcast in the world. It's not what we do, obviously, but we know there's a need for it. In the meantime, there's always the TVTM. "Enjoy."

After a week off (well, not off, we were actually doing our other job), the Triumphant Trifecta QB (Chronicle media and politics writer Joe Garofoli) and Super Sub Adjustin the Knobs (Justin Beck) and your Cultural Commissar. truly, are back reading tons of e-mails and a couple of calls. We missed you. Welcome back. And by the way, as we recorded the Thursday 'cast, we got a visit from a surprise guest right in the middle of it. It's pretty special. You can probably guess who. Don't miss it.

It starts out like a car careening around a mountain road driven by a cat named Toonces, and it ends, many letters and calls and impersonations later, in a ditch. Just how we like it. We have now scientifically traced the lack of oxygen in the podcave to an increased level of giggling and nonsense in the Thursday installment of the podcast. Oh, The Count. How we love you. By the way, there's a chance we'll only have one, possibly even none of these aural works of art for you enjoyment next week. Question Boy (Chronicle media and political writer Joe Garofoli) has family in town and we have no idea if super sub producer Justin Beck even cares about doing another one or two. In this installment, he really has to work the bleep button thanks in large part to Todd in the 212 who wonders over and over again why the word (bleep) gets bleeped while the word (bleep) doesn't get bleeped out? Justin, who we call Jason, explains the reason and then, well, forgets to bleep one of them. Todd, our 100th TVTM Facebook fan, cautions me about appearing on "Fighting Talk" our favorite other podcast/radio show: "If you go on there Goodman, you'll get slaughtered." By the way: Latin America is in the books! We got a call from Mexico thanks Charles!

Amber adds value to an otherwise value-free podcast

And now, Thursday's podcast a day early! That's very unlike us. But with a dearth of calls, we opted for lots of letters and when those ran out we just did a bunch of stupid voices. Now, that's very like us. Included is QB's take on The Count from "Sesame Street," who sounds suscpiciously like like Vladimir Putin. And once you get The Count, you know what follows. See, we give the people what they want, even when it's clear they don't want it. "Enjoy."

It's Tuesday's podcast a day late (and several phone calls short). But hey, our very own Tin Man, Benny Evangelista (aka Manny) checks in with an MP3 and doles out thank yous for all the support he's received. (Not from me, of course, or Question Boy aka Joe Garofoli we've mostly just made fun of him. But we're not hurt by his love for everyone else we think he's milking this heart attack thing for either sympathy from Cougars or enough free time to catalog his marching band music collection on iTunes). And hey, we get to a lot of letters. Some of them were even answered.

Most of you got this last week via iTunes or when super sub Justin put it up on the podcast page at SFGate.com. But when I was partaking in a very busy week, I pulled away from the curb and left this little guy sitting by his lonesome. Ah, cute little Thursday 'cast. Don't worry about it a little therapy goes a long way. Calls, MP3s, letters, inanities. You know the drill.