(this is long, sorry)

Points have been made on this subreddit about the bbboys having a paid, advertiser-driven podcast by itself, that apparently could still be financially stable for both O&A to make their 3-4 million a year and Jim to make his 500k-1m...with enough money left over to pay for a staff(hopefully our favorites), and to figure out and secure/maintain every technical detail involved in broadcasting anything, much less a podcast(hopefully with a VISUAL ELEMENT in toe). It would be an attempt for the team to get back-to-basics as it were, right from where they left off last Tuesday. HOWEVER: Is that ol' personal resentment back between O&A? Something that they even admitted during the Unmasked was virtually gone, since that "pressure" (that was related to show when they were broadcasting in two different places) is gone? Would said resentment prevent this from really coming to fruition; an idea that Opie has allegedly been working on for years during the SiriusXM tenure, to one degree or another?

We at least know one thing beyond anything else here: They only excel at broadcasting when they WORK TOGETHER. LFTC can be funny at points because of Anthony's existence, but he's a horrible broadcaster by himself, and can really only function as the comedic center, not the driver. The man isn't a leader, and even if he does step up to that role(which he will have to in the coming months as LFTC becomes a "serious" pursuit for the first time in it's existence); he won't be the same Anthony. He'll have to play it way more straight and set up(more than he ever has on show)for someone else who could step in and play the "Anthony" role during his broadcast. Reason being is that his responsibility will have changed to actually DRIVING the show, so that freedom to ruminate on ideas before commentating will be gone as he'd have to surrender that to drive LFTC through the hour-plus broadcast time he's setting up for himself. Sure the show could still be good, but not in they way we're all probably thinking.

And then you have O&J, who are at least doing the right thing in finding a "Third" to fill out the "Jimmy" seat for the next 3 1/2 months(if Jimmy moves up to being an "Anthony"). Moving a new entity into that seat would obviously be different, but even so: would it be a GOOD different? You can't really secure their comic friends because for the most part they're all very busy with their own things, and the usual freaks close to the show can only real hack it for A DAY tops, so whose left? And the reason I say this is because the 3rd seat is, in and of itself, something of a luxury that should only be allowed to truly creative minds to flourish. Almost like some younger shithead artist with rich parents and no day-to-day responsibility: your mind and energy are free to spread out as far as you want, with impunity. And for an ambitious mind, thats a HUGE boon. Jimmy is the opposite of someone irresponsible, due to his manic work ethic and obsessive want to be better at what he does and be bigger than he is. Yet in a scenario with two working parents(O&A) who're basically handling everything before him, he really flourishes, with the freedom to HAVE and EXPLOIT the energy brought on by his lousy sleep habits, by creating some of the most memorable characters and moments(Chip, Ted, Uncle Paul, Jimmy's laugh, where his mind goes when sleepy, etc). The outcome-if it's funny- gives Jimmy the aforementioned impunity, and we get to laugh and enjoy a very three-dimensional program that shifts between frank talks on current events and ideas, sex/exploitive stunts, and truly irreverent, impartial silliness. You don't get to have that freedom when you're a "parent" on the show like O&A were, and even though we KNOW Jimmy can hack it as a broadcaster(he can drive a show very well, as we've seen); is that the Jimmy we want and love on the air? Even Opie works better when he get to chime in with his usual cruelty and narcism, AND is the best captain for a show you can ask for. But that nigga ain't funny, and a whole show with just him WITHOUT THE RIGHT ANCHORS would be painful. Period.

These shows, lets face it, are only placeholders for what we all know we really want, honestly. We want them back, and we want to pay them directly for their podcast: THE OPIE AND ANTHONY SHOW podcast. That's really the only way we'll be happy out of all of this. The only factor remaining is wondering if that ship has sailed between both men (O&A) personally. Is it still possible?...