Can’t do right for doing wrong
Valley Heat review
Production Company – Maximumfun.org
Rating – 
Almost as soon as my reviews of The St. Elwick’s Neighborhood Association Newsletter Podcast and Three Bean Salad went live, I had a message recommending a podcast called Valley Heat. The reported mix of music and comedy were certainly enticing to a silly musician such as I, and I hunted it out, just waiting for a gap in my list to give it a go.
Also, seeing as this is my last review before Christmas (and the only one that’s finished), I thought it might be nice to swap the rainy, grey, miserable scenery of South Wales for the altogether sunnier climes of California, so here we go!
So what’s it about?
Valley Heat follows the trials and tribulations of insurance adjustor Doug Duguay. He hosts a podcast where he discusses the events of his neighbourhood in Burbank, California. What starts out in episode one as a suspicion that Doug’s pool cleaner guy Pete is running a drug drop from Doug’s rubbish bin, soon escalates into a feud with what seems like every single one of his family and friends. It seems Doug’s two talents are annoying people and being coerced into situations he doesn’t want to be involved in.
That’s not to say that Doug is a bad guy. He really isn’t. He does seem to get his priorities wrong, and he is very good at not thinking before speaks. This seems to be a staple of British comedy, from classic shows like Fawlty Towers, to the original version of The Office, and even Malcolm Durridge from the aforementioned St. Elwick’s podcast. I think that may be why I like this show so much. Despite being an American show, it is very British in its sensibilities.
Interspersed with this story are a number of adverts for local businesses. These are very funny little skits of their own. Particularly the motorcycle custom shop and the foosball dealer. The latter has probably been the cause of more loud laughs than any other part, well, apart from Doug’s father in-law Chuck who is outstanding. Imagine Elliott Gould playing Robert DeNiro’s role in Meet The Parents.
There are lots of musical references too. From Doug’s aversion to 1980s rock bands with spaceships on the cover to local band Cephalopods Are People. This band supply the jingles for the adverts and the sharp eared among you will spot endless references to well known artists.
Is it any good?
If you’ve been missing TSENANP (seriously, I’m not typing the whole name out every time), then you’ll love this. The humour is very similar. By that I mean it is very funny. Very funny indeed. And awkward. There are many times where something Doug says gets taken the wrong way and spins off into frantic back-pedaling and ever deeper hole digging. There are many times throughout this show where you wonder if Doug’s life would be easier if he became a hermit and took a vow of silence, although he’d still find some way to accidentally annoy someone.
A lot of podcasts will make you laugh out loud, very few will make you rewind the section more than once to hear it again. This is the latter. Much like A Scottish Podcast, I think this is one show that will stand up to multiple playthroughs, and after Christmas, I think I’ll give it a go, seeing as recent episodes have been rather scarce.
Final thoughts
It’s a shame I didn’t start this podcast until after I had written the awards, because this would definitely have been shortlisted. I have heard so many people rave about Valley Heat, and I’m glad to say that all the praise is entirely justified. It’s an absolute classic comedy, and one that deserves to be on everyone playlist.
As I said in the preamble, this is my last review before Christmas, so I hope you all make the best of it, and have a good time. There (may be) another review on the 28th, or maybe I’ll start afresh in the new year.
You can get Valley Heat here:
For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods