''the show with zefrank'' was a web video show by
Ze Frank
Hosea Jan "Ze" Frank (; born March 31, 1972) is an American online performance artist, composer, humorist and public speaker based in Los Angeles.
Personal life
Frank was born to German-American parents (his father is Chemistry Nobel Laureate J ...
produced each weekday from March 17, 2006 until March 17, 2007. The format of the program combined commentary on media and current events with viewer contributions and activities. It is considered one of the most influential series in the history of vlogging because of its pioneering nature and for inspiring many of the elements which now define the genre. It also inspired many of today's most popular vloggers, including the
Vlogbrothers
Vlogbrothers (sometimes stylized as VlogBrothers or vlogbrothers) is a video blog channel on YouTube. The Internet-based show is created and hosted by the Green brothers: John Green and Hank Green. The first incarnation of the brothers' online b ...
,
Philip DeFranco
Philip James DeFranco (born Philip James Franchini Jr.; born December 1, 1985), commonly known by his online nickname PhillyD, is an American YouTube personality. He is best known for ''The Philip DeFranco Show'', a news commentary show centered ...
and
Wheezy Waiter
Craig Gene Benzine (born October 5, 1980) is an American video production, video producer, musician, and video blogging, vlogger better known by his YouTube channel name of WheezyWaiter. On July 15, 2020, his channel hit 1 million subscribers a ...
. It was the subject of articles in ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'', ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', and ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
''.
Format
The show ran two to three minutes in length. Topics ranged from serious socio-political commentary to absurdist comedy and running gags. One such gag was to open episodes with outlandish skits, followed by the question "Are the new viewers gone yet?" He also performed original songs to emphasize a point or concept.
Thousands of photos, videos and music files were contributed by the audience, including over 1,000 photos in one 20-hour period. Viewer feedback from a previous show, a segment he called "S-s-s-somethin' from the comments," often served as a launching point to a new topic. One episode was scripted by thousands of viewers using a
wiki
A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pu ...
.
On the May 16, 2006 episode, Ze challenged his viewers to create an "Earth Sandwich." The goal was to place two pieces of bread on the ground at
points directly opposite each other on the globe, creating a giant sandwich between the two pieces of bread. The task was completed by brothers Duncan and Jon Rawlinson in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and Morgan in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
Ending
The show concluded on March 17, 2007, as planned. Ze's final words to his viewers were "thanks so much for an amazing year."
Ze did a five-year 'replay' podcast in 2011
"@zefrank Twitter status"
17 March, 2011 where he posted commentary while watching episodes of 'the show'. Episodes of this podcast are no longer available online.
See also
* a show with Ze Frank
References
External links
the show with zefrank
Earth Sandwich
a show with ze frank
{{DEFAULTSORT:Show with zefrank, The
2006 web series debuts
2007 web series endings
Video blogs
American non-fiction web series
American news websites
Video podcasts