Jim Dupree: Enthusiast

Please consult this informational video for the latest Jim Dupree: Enthusiast update.

A while back, we had a Myspace profile. After the show ended, we deleted it.

Now we have a Facebook page. Now's your chance to friend us, before we delete that too.

So it's been about a year since the last post here, yet JD:E still gets mentioned periodically on the many blogs and webpages that the Internet is comprised of. Here are some of the ones that I was able to track down.

Earlier this year, our good e-friend Steve Garfield brought Jim Dupree: HDTV Enthusiast to the Pixelodeon Independent Video Festival as a part of his I Watched, I Laughed, I Vlogged showcase. It was played on a big screen, which is ridiculous. Thanks so much, Steve.

The folks at Sugartune's The Indie Rock Blog were all over the series, saying that Jim Dupree was a "hopelessly, inept boner" and that

Jim Dupree is a tortured, scattered Charlie Brown with all the charm of a bush league baseball team of doorknobs. How can you not adore this human car crash? How can you not rubberneck as he details in minute detail the many, varying topics for which he demonstrates enthusiasm? You rock, Jim. We salute you!

Thanks, Sugartune, for one of the most colourful descriptions of our podcast ever!

A JD:E thread appeared on the MetaFilter Community Weblog where user Down10 commented: "Mundane is the new extraordinary." We're glad you think so.

Valerie In Toronto decided that the podcast was "hilarious" after meeting "the other guy" at a podcasting meetup. It would also seem as if she (or somebody else with the same first name, at least) is looking to help launch Dan into CBC primetime. I'd pick Dan over Triple Sensation any day.

Jim Dupree: Gardening Enthusiast was shown some love by gardening enthusiasts Garden Rant and Garden Bliss. Unfortunately they're both linked to our old YouTube videos, which we recently removed.

And speaking of our old YouTube videos, several other blogs were proudly displaying various JD:E episodes (until we ripped them down), including Nag On The Lake, Headinout, Lemmingworks and Arc's Review. Sorry for the sudden disappearance of the videos, everybody.

Thanks so much for spreading the word, and to those of you who had posted the YouTube videos, why not update your links to point to our new Blip.tv files.

If you’ve ordered a Jim Dupree boxset, rejoice! They are finally done (most of them anyway). Dan and Tristan have spent the better part of four months “working” on them, and then a good six hours or so working harder on them this week. They feature a very simple, yet sleek, design and are aquatically themed. Most importantly, they are all handmade, for that personal touch. And we mean that literally. Some of the DVDs have the remains of our fingerprints on the back. If you didn’t order one, I bet you’re kicking yourself now.

So, we’ve been sitting on this one since January, but now it’s finally official. Jim Dupree will be airing on the (somewhat) large(r) screen, thanks to the folks at BITE TV. We’re not sure when you can watch it, but there is a schedule available on their site, which you can use. 10 episodes in total will be aired on Bite, some in all-new, exciting TV edit form!!!

The DVDs are still forthcoming. Life is busy, wouldn’t you know.

A new podcast from some of the people who brought you JD:E, as well as some people who didn’t bring you JD:E, is also forthcoming.

Be sure to keep this feed a part of your RSS aggregation for continued post mortem news. As always, you can consult Collective Productions and DanMisener.com for other forms of continued post mortem news.

If so, here is some news. Jim Dupree: HDTV Enthusiast has been featured at the first ever Portable Film Fest. What’s more, one of Tristan’s puppet shorts, called Magnus & Hilda: Try A Bite, Trilobite!, has also been included. So please feel free to register for an account, and show some love.

As you may have noticed, Jim Dupree: Enthusiast is now over. This may leave you with numerous questions, many of which are probably too boring to answer here. Regardless, here is a short FAQ that will give you the Dupree-related answers that you want, need, but most of all, deserve.

Q: Is the show really over?

A: Yes, it is really over.

Q: So, do you two guys, like, hate each other now, or something?

A: No more than when we started!… Just kidding, viewer! Dan and Tristan are not at all “at odds,” but have instead decided to take a very long break from doing something that has taken up a considerable amount of time for almost a year now. And by “a very long break,” we really mean “probably never do this again.”

Q: So, what’s Dan going to do next?

A: Dan will continue to work at the CBC, and maybe even go on strike someday. He will spend more time rocking out. He will take over full control of the underground podcast hit Canadian Heritage Vignettes, and will continue to release them via CHV’s patented “slow trickle” strategy. He also “produces” CBC’s Editor’s Choice podcast, hosted by Angela Misri, so if you want to ensure that you are subscribed to absolutely everything that Dan does (and we know that these sorts really do exist), be sure to take advantage of the many benefits of RSS aggregation today, and download all of them! As always, DanMisener.com is your source for all things Dan Misener.

Q: Will Dan be available to sign my school yearbook?

A: Hold on, I didn’t get a chance to tell you what Tristan will be doing now.

Q: What? Who’s that?

A: He’s the other guy.

Q: Oh yeah, him. So what’s he doing?

A: Well I’m glad you asked, viewer! He will continue creating content with Collective Productions, the production company he runs with his friend Patrick O’Sullivan, and they’ll be posting production updates to that site in the future.

Q: OK, but seriously! Will Dan sign my school yearbook?

A: Feel free to send your yearbook addressed to “Dan Misener, Toronto” with an enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope, if you really want to take your chances.

Q: Is Jim Dupree available for motivational lectures, parties, or office functions?

A: Great question! No.

Q: How much longer will the episodes be available for download?

A: They will be available on this website forever (or whenever we delete them, whatever comes first)! A limited edition DVD set (containing all 30 episodes, as well as some bonus features) will also be available very soon. E-mail dvd@collectiveproductions.com to find out more.

Q: I know that you want your space right now, but can I still call you sometime?

A: Sure.

Well, it’s time to stroke our ego again by posting more positive feedback about the show. We love to do this, because we’re extremely self-involved. This edition’s lineup includes some quotes from the ever popular Myspace and LiveJournal, two of Tristan’s favourite Internet destinations.

Shanna Apitz informs her Top 8 of her intentions for Mr. Dupree:

This is by far the funniest thing I have ever seen. I ABSOLUTELY love Jim Dupree. Someday I’ll marry Jim and move to Canada, just so I can use all the useless Canadian quarters I’ve saved up throughout the years.

Best of luck on both fronts, Shanna.

Carly can’t keep her excitement about JD:E under friends-only lock and key, calling it “amazing.” She expresses similar sentiments for The Podcast of My Discontent and Canadian Heritage Vignettes, both podcasts that proudly hang from the highest Dupree family tree branch.

Speaking of trees, Tanoomba certainly doesn’t beat around the bush:

What is it? Awesome, that’s what it is.

Glad you think so, Tanoomba.

Finally, as a result of our weekend at Podcasters Across Borders, we have been namedropped in the podcasts of some of the conference’s cooler attendees.

The latest episode of Digital Detroit Radio includes a very strong endorsement of the podcast. And what’s more, Matt can totally hold his own in a conversation about Dig Dug, Frostbite, and Pressure Cooker.

Episode 54 of Broca’s Area finds Dave and Isabelle professing their love of the podcast. It’s especially funny when Isabelle gets excited about Dan’s “angelic” face and “button nose.”

JamesPod mentions JD:E a couple of times in Episode 3 of their Podcasters Across Borders coverage, which also features Dave from Broca’s Area. Dan’s finely chiseled cheekbone was not a part of the discussion, sadly.

Scarborough Dude speaks briefly about meeting Dan & Tristan, and also swears a lot, which is always entertaining.

Shane & Tom also mentioned us, and said something about us being really funny, which is absolutely true.

So yes, talk about us on your blog or podcast, and we’ll link to you here. What better incentive?

We’ll be in beautiful Kingston, Ontario for the Podcasters Across Borders conference this weekend. If you’re attending, or in the Kingston area, come say hello. And buy Dan a drink. It’s his birthday.

People just can’t hold in their praise for Jim Dupree: Enthusiast!

Over at Uncabled, Noah Mittman says that

the show is fun, hilarious and just the right length — not overstaying its welcome, but not so short that the comedic weight of a character that is so wrong about a subject that he loves isn’t felt by the viewer. After all, would we have discovered on our own that a key element of playing hide-and-go-seek is to make the other player think you’re going to kill them? No! This is the wisdom that the Enthusiast can teach us.

That is very true, Noah. But don’t forget: you should always use twine as well. That’s a very important tip that your blog entry completely overlooked.

Something To Be Desired: Behind The Scenes includes the “droll” JD:E in its shortlist of ongoing original content web series.

Rick says that

I find this video podcast tremendously amusing, although Tamara does not seem to share this view.

Thanks, Rick. Sorry, Tamara.

Freddie seems to be particularly fond of Jim Dupree: Personal Computer Enthusiast, calling the series “very funny.” He also posted a link to a site where you can download Epic Pinball. Looks like you don’t need to meet up with some sketchy French-ish Canadian in an alley to get your own copy after all…

In her comprehensive and extremely positive review of the series, Meryl had the following to say about “maybe the greatest video podcast of all time”:

It’s just so great because this character is perfect, the guy who thinks he’s so smart and interesting and funny and aren’t you lucky to know him so you, too, can glean knowledge as he reveals secrets about the world of fences and Christmas and HDTV. And he’s just so enthusiastic… I’m actually totally jealous that I didn’t have an idea like this first.

She also likens parts of the series to such television hits as The Office and The Daily Show, and compares Dan’s strikingly good looks to those of Richard Ashcroft and either David Giffels or David Giffels. Either way, this is probably my favourite part of her post.

Thanks to all who have taken the time to write about JD:E. We appreciate it so much that we now Google search our names at least twice a day.