# Poundstone bombing on Prarie Home Companion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122 "2010-11-28T01:00:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/1 "2010-11-28T01:00:28Z")
I have been listening to **PHC** for quite a few years. I’ve heard a lot of performers perform there over those years. I do not always care for the genre or style of these performers but they are always very good at what they do. I often think to myself “damn, I can’t stand this type of music (or whatever) but these people sure are talented.” The only person I’ve heard well and truly bomb is **Paula Poundstone**. [Tonight](http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/) was the second time. To the point that she had to beg Keillor (not in so many words) to excuse her. Something like “Ya know Garrison, we never discussed how I would know the skit was over (hint, hint)”. She sounded so nervous and eager for it to end. She can be funny on **Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me** , but she should avoid **PHC** from here on out. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/2 "2010-11-28T02:55:31Z")
I just caught part of it, and it was weird how forced she sounded. She’s so good at ad-libbing both on Wait Wait and in her comedy act, its bizarre that when given a script she was such a mess. And she’s done at least some acting, I remember her on Home Movies, and I don’t recall her being memorably bad. Maybe its some weird meta-joke? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/3 "2010-11-28T03:22:43Z")
Joaquin Phoenix wasn’t in the skit too, was he? ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/4 "2010-11-28T14:34:30Z")
I thought maybe they decided ahead of time to just let her ad lib because she’s good at that…but she choked. The weird thing to me was that this was her second appearance (that I’ve heard) on PHC and the other time was just as painful to listen to. That and the fact that as a long time listener I can’t remember anyone else crashing and burning like that. I love WWDTM, it’s filmed in front of an audience and Poundstone is one of the funnier panelists on there. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/5 "2010-11-28T14:54:30Z")
I saw her live and came away just feeling sorry for her. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/6 "2010-11-28T15:22:25Z")
I heard part of the show on the drive home. Was she in the Christmas tree skit? That was pretty painful. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/7 "2010-11-28T16:04:30Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > …I love WWDTM, it’s filmed in front of an audience and Poundstone is one of the funnier panelists on there. Of course I meant taped, not filmed. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/8 "2010-11-28T17:48:59Z")
Because of time constraints (and personality characteristics) Garrison holds the reins pretty tight on his show. Perhaps she wasn’t prepared for the structured style? She sounded off-center and intimidated to me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/9 "2010-11-29T00:01:09Z")
I love to listen to WWDTM and avoid PHC like the plague. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/10 "2010-11-29T00:32:06Z")
The whole show seemed a little off to me. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/11 "2010-11-30T02:35:31Z")
I can’t see her type of humor fitting in with the general style of APHC. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/12 "2010-11-30T03:37:17Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > I can’t see her type of humor fitting in with the general style of APHC. Good point. "If they make me go to it in a public court, how can it be anonymous? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/13 "2010-11-30T08:33:50Z")
She was on a Celebrity Jeopardy once, and spent so much time yammering they barely got through half the second board. I think I was especially…peeved…because Kelsey Grammer was one of the other celebs, and I wanted to see how he would do. Would have done, if not for Poundstone. And to the extent that I’ve noticed her since then, she’s irritated me all the other times too. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/14 "2010-11-30T12:08:17Z")
I love her on “Wait Wait” but missed this. She can go off the rails a bit on that show, but considering that Mo Rocca does it so often that he once had a special retrospective segment covering the amount of stammering and babbling he can get into before answering a question, she sure isn’t the biggest offender there. (Plus, the host can typically bring order to the usual unruly bunch.) ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/15 "2010-11-30T13:05:21Z")
Poundstone is good on PHC’s “Joke Night.” Because she can tell a joke with a punchline that _ends the joke_. She just can’t ad lib a story. Keillor should have gotten out the hook and used it. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/16 "2010-12-01T00:01:45Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > She was on a Celebrity Jeopardy once, and spent so much time yammering they barely got through half the second board. I think I was especially…peeved…because Kelsey Grammer was one of the other celebs, and I wanted to see how he would do. Would have done, if not for Poundstone. And to the extent that I’ve noticed her since then, she’s irritated me all the other times too. I remember that. He looked like he wanted to deck her and IIRC did remind her jokingly but not-jokingly that they were playing for charity. I’ve never found Paula Poundstone funny though I’ll admit I haven’t watched or listened to that much of her (mainly because I don’t find her funny). I give her some kudos for addressing the elephant in the room- her DUI arrests and child custody battle- in one of her stand-up acts I saw when that was still in the news. I haven’t listened to WWDTM so that might be her venue. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/17 "2010-12-01T00:42:07Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I’ve never found Paula Poundstone funny though I’ll admit I haven’t watched or listened to that much of her (mainly because I don’t find her funny). I think she is funny as hell. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/18 "2010-12-01T01:35:07Z")
Funnier than hell. And much funnier to me after having read her book and seen how her mind just works differently, and everything she had to go through. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/19 "2010-12-01T01:35:57Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I give her some kudos for addressing the elephant in the room- her DUI arrests and child custody battle- in one of her stand-up acts I saw when that was still in the news. I haven’t listened to WWDTM so that might be her venue. Does she ever mention the charges of lewd acts with a child under the age of 14? ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122/20 "2010-12-01T09:43:45Z")
I haven’t listened to PHC in years but the first episode I ever heard was one of the annual joke shows with her on it in the mid-90s. It was actually her voice that caught my attention since I was already familiar with her. She was a regular on the joke show at the time (is she still?). I used to be a pretty big fan of hers before the scandal kinda took her off the map for awhile. I haven’t heard this most recent show in question but I find it sad to hear she bombed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poundstone-bombing-on-prarie-home-companion/562122.md?page=2)