A while back, I decided to work my way forward in the Best Show Archives, all the way from the first archived show from 2000. I started listening to the show two years ago, and wanted to ground myself in all of its weird, intricate mythology and folkways.

As I started to listen to these old shows, I thought, “Maybe I should keep a running log of what happens in each show. That way, if I wanna go back and listen to something again, I’ll know where it is.”

Then I thought to myself, “If I am interested in such a thing, surely others are.” So I posted them quietly on this site and enlisted the aid of the detectives on the Friends of Tom forum to fill in some of the missing info (particularly, which comedic star filled the role of which on-air “guest”). The Friends of Tom were, as always, extremely helpful and encouraging of this obsessive behavior.

Then I thought to myself, “Well, this is fine, but it really could use some spiffing up.” So I went back and added anchors so you could link to specific shows if you wanted, and also added some relevant links to various events mentioned during the course of the show.

So now I’m finally ready to reveal it to the public at large: The Best Show Logs, the product of one man’s mania. Right now, there are logs for all of 2000 and 2001, plus the first three months or so of 2002. There’s also links for them in the sidebar to your right. Comments, corrections, and questions always welcome.

At the rate I’m going, I’ll be writing a full compendium and chipping these things into stone by the end of the year.