John Hodgman: Ragnarok Explained

Genre:Stand-up comedy
Director:Lance Bangs[1] [2]
Starring:John Hodgman
Scott Adsit
Cynthia Hopkins[3]
Country:United States
Language:English
Location:The Bell House, Brooklyn, New York
Runtime:67 minutes
Channel:Netflix

John Hodgman: Ragnarok is an American Netflix original comedy special starring John Hodgman and directed by Lance Bangs.[4] The special features music from Cynthia Hopkins.

History

In 2012, John Hodgman toured the United States promoting his book That Is All as well as performing an apocalypse-themed stand-up comedy routine revolving around his interpretation of Ragnarök, the Norse end of the world.

On midnight of December 21, 2012, Hodgman performed his last Ragnarok show to a full house at The Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn.

Netflix aired the special on June 20, 2013.[5] [6]

Promotion

In promotion of his comedy special, Hodgman has appeared on Boing Boing's Gweek,[7] CNET's The 404 Show,[8] The Huffington Posts HuffPost Live,[9] People's Chatter,[10] WBEZ's Morning Shift with Tony Sarabia,[11] WCKG's Mancow's Morning Madhouse,[12] WNBC's Talk Stoop,[13] WFMU's The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling,[14] WNYC's The Leonard Lopate Show,[15] and You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes.[16]

Hodgman has also buzz-marketed John Hodgman: Ragnarok on his podcast Judge John Hodgman.[17]

Ragnarok Survival Kit

In December 17, 2013, John Hodgman made available a special DVD package (designed by Jessica Hische) limited to 500 that contains an extended cut of John Hodgman: Ragnarok as well as:[18]

The extended cut includes scenes featuring Ira Glass, Tom Scharpling, and Andrew Sullivan; and a scene where Hodgman calls Greenfield, Massachusetts "a shit-hole."[18] On December 21, 2013, the newspaper The Recorder published his apology to the town.[19]

Reception

Tuyet Nguyen of The A.V. Club gave it a "B+" calling it "unconventional" citing "Despite this complicated setup, Ragnarok boils down to Hodgman doing what he does best: acting pompous."[22] Marah Eakin of The A.V. Club ranked John Hodgman: Ragnarok first in their list of "best comedy albums and specials of 2013."[23] Mark Frauenfelder of Boing Boing said he "enjoyed very much."[7]

Eric Limer of Gizmodo called John Hodgman: Ragnarok "no Arrested Development Season 4, but awesome little gets like this are what stand to make Netflix a real powerhouse of cool, but slightly offbeat content."[24] IGNs Joey Esposito listed John Hodgman: Ragnarok among "10 Great Netflix Original Stand-Up Comedy Specials" remarking that it is the "epitome of Hodgman’s offbeat character and a nice blend of observational humor and far more out-there laughs."[25] Chris Higgins of Mental floss called John Hodgman: Ragnarok "both smart and funny, and come on -- it's Hodgman."[26] The Oklahoman said they found John Hodgman: Ragnarok "more one-man show (with assists from friends such as Scott Adsit of 30 Rock) than traditional standup," and "fits within the Venn diagram sweet spot between This American Life, McSweeney's and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."[27] The Oklahoman also notes that having the special on a streaming video service "makes total sense" since John Hodgman "has a specialized appeal and he devotes equal time to both highbrow and lowbrow material, which might make him a hard sell in arenas where subtlety is a rare commodity."[27]

Sam Gutelle of Tubefilter said "had the apocalypse arrived that evening, we would’ve gone out laughing" stating that John Hodgman: Ragnarok "has enough content beyond simple stand-up to make it worth checking out."[28] Aaron Frank of The Village Voice ranked John Hodgman: Ragnarok "#9" in their list of "Top 10 Stand-Up Comedy Specials of 2013."[29] Frank praised that Hodgman's "elegant command of language is particularly unmatched in the comedy world" but critiqued "the theme seems to limit the scope of material presented, and having seen Hodgman a couple times since Ragnarok was taped, I can say with certainty that he has some better jokes up his sleeve for the future."[29]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: John Hodgman: RAGNAROK - Netflix. Netflix. 2013-06-19.
  2. Web site: John Hodgman. JOHN HODGMAN: RAGNAROK ON NETFLIX. Tumblr. 10 June 2013. 2013-06-19. John Hodgman.
  3. Web site: Samantha Abernethy. Interview: John Hodgman Talks About John Hodgman: Chicagoist. Chicagoist. 12 June 2013. 2013-06-19. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130615013948/http://chicagoist.com/2013/06/12/john_hodgman_interview.php. 15 June 2013.
  4. Web site: Terri Schwartz. John Hodgman on his Netflix comedy special 'Ragnarok' and what comes next. Zap2it. 11 June 2013. 2013-06-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20130618225027/http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2013/06/john-hodgman-on-his-netflix-comedy-special-ragnarok-and-what-comes-next.html. 18 June 2013. dead.
  5. Web site: John Hodgman. John Hodgman Picks His 5 Favorite TV Thingies of the Year ... From the Future. Vulture. 14 June 2013. 2013-06-19. John Hodgman.
  6. Web site: Bradford Evans. John Hodgman's Live Performance 'Ragnarok' to Debut on Netflix June 20th. Splitsider. 7 June 2013. 2013-06-20.
  7. Web site: Mark Frauenfelder. Gweek 099: John Hodgman: RAGNAROK Netflix Special - Boing Boing. Boing Boing. 20 June 2013. 2016-01-14. Mark Frauenfelder.
  8. Web site: Justin Yu. The 404 1,284: Where we're judged by John Hodgman (podcast). CNET. 7 June 2013. 2013-06-19.
  9. Web site: Camilleri, Ricky. John Hodgman LIVE - HuffPost Live. The Huffington Post. 20 June 2013. 2013-06-23.
  10. Web site: People. The World According to John Hodgman - YouTube. YouTube. 23 July 2013. 2013-08-03.
  11. Web site: Morning Shift: Hawks madness...or is it?. WBEZ. 13 June 2013. 2013-06-19.
  12. Web site: Mancow Muller. Twitter / MancowMuller: How does it get better? .... Twitter. 14 June 2013. 2013-06-19. Mancow Muller.
  13. Web site: Talk Stoop. John Hodgman on New Book "That Is All". WNBC. 2 August 2013. 2013-08-03. Talk Stoop. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402032823/http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/John-Hodgman-on-New-Book-That-Is-All/217602931. 2 April 2015. dead.
  14. Web site: The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling: Playlist from June 11, 2013. WFMU. 2013-06-19.
  15. Web site: The Leonard Lopate Show - A New Economy; "The Comedy of Errors"; John Hodgman; "Fatal Assistance" in Haiti; the History of Privacy. WNYC. 20 June 2013. 2013-06-23.
  16. Web site: You Made It Weird #163: John Hodgman « Nerdist. The Nerdist Podcast. 26 June 2013. 2013-07-03.
  17. Judge John Hodgman Episode 113: Uniform Code of Podcast Justice. maximumfun.org/judge-john-hodgman/judge-john-hodgman-episode-113-uniform-code-podcast-justice. Maximum Fun. John Hodgman. 5 June 2013. 42:42. 2013-06-27.
  18. Web site: John Hodgman. John Hodgman, RAGNAROK SURVIVAL KIT. Tumblr. 2014-01-10. John Hodgman.
  19. Web site: David Rainville. Hodgman recants. The Recorder (newspaper). 20 December 2013. 2014-01-10.
  20. Web site: Barbara Chai. What John Hodgman Did After the World Didn't End - Speakeasy - WSJ. The Wall Street Journal. 2 January 2014. 2014-01-10. 2018-09-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20180925080009/https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/01/02/what-john-hodgman-did-after-the-world-didnt-end/. dead.
  21. Web site: Marah Eakin. Deranged millionaire John Hodgman answers our 11 questions · 11 Questions · The A.V. Club. The A.V. Club. 20 October 2014. 2014-10-20.
  22. Web site: Tuyet Nguyen. John Hodgman: Ragnarok - The A.V. Club. The A.V. Club. 21 June 2013. 2013-06-23.
  23. Web site: Marah Eakin. The best comedy albums and specials of 2013 - The A.V. Club. The A.V. Club. 3 December 2013. 2014-01-10.
  24. Web site: Eric Limer. Witness Ragnarok Tonight on Netflix. Gizmodo. 20 June 2013. 2013-07-12.
  25. Web site: Joey Esposito. 10 Great Netflix Original Stand-Up Comedy Specials. IGN. 23 December 2015. 2016-01-14.
  26. Web site: Chris Higgins. John Hodgman's RAGNAROK Now on Netflix. Mental floss. 22 June 2013. 2013-07-03.
  27. Web site: George Lang. Static: Netflix takes comedy stand with John Hodgman special. The Oklahoman. 24 June 2013. 2013-06-29.
  28. Web site: Sam Gutelle. John Hodgman's 'Ragnarok' Celebrates End Of The World On Netflix. Tubefilter. 20 June 2013. 2013-08-14.
  29. Web site: Aaron Frank. Top 10 Stand-Up Comedy Specials of 2013. The Village Voice. 20 December 2013. 2014-01-10.

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