Massive Scharpling & Wurster box set coming
Scharpling & Wurster, the comedy duo whose funny phone calls punctuated the now-dead, soon-to-be-revived Best Show, just announced the release of a massive 16-CD box set that will collect some of their best material recorded over 2000-2013. Numero Group will release the box, which has clearly been created and assembled with lots of love: It will include not just 20 hours of funny phone calls—presumably “Rock, Rot & Rule,” among many others, lots previously unreleased—but also a massive hardcover book (with essays by Patton Oswalt and an interview with Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster by Jake Fogelnest), a USB drive with all the calls, and a piece of the actual phone that Wurster spoke on during “Rock, Rot & Rule.” (They’ve smashed it to bits, as pictured above, and it will include a tiny certificate of authenticity.) For those unfamiliar with the duo’s weird world-building—which generally involves Wurster playing a crazy, over-the-top character and Scharpling playing the straight man—this might not be the place to start, but check out the Gorch below to get you going. For a select group of rabid fans, this will be a telephonic holy grail—assuming they can pre-order one, since the Numero Group website appears to have been crashed by the announcement. The set will be released on March 17 of next year.