"The Soup" provided a window into the trash-strewn world of television on a weekly basis, guilt-free. That's one of the (many) reasons I tuned in each week. Just the morbid fascination with the awfulness being peddled by major networks on a regular basis. The only way you can watch any reality TV is with someone viciously making fun of it, and Joel McHale was the perfect host. He had just the right balance of snark and likability to make the circus funny.
And I love the running gags; Mankini, Lou the Chihuahua, Whitney Houston's "KISSMYASS!", spaghetti cat, all of them. McHale's doesn't really need pity (he'll do fine), it's the writers and interns you have to feel bad for. They came up with some damn good material, week after week (all the while making their host look good). And you've gotta love a staff that so joyously lampoons their employers.
I give this show immense credit for completely differentiating itself from "Talk Soup" (apples and oranges, really), not to mention all of the knock-offs that came afterword (Web Junk, Web Soup, Tosh.0, yadda yadda yadda). It was something special, and it will indeed be missed.
10/10
