Opie & Anthony, with Patrice O’Neal, Dr. Victoria Zdrok and T.J. Miller in studio. Lilly and East Side Dave, of The Ron & Fez Show, also appear later in the show. Click "Show More" for the full description.
Dr. Z stops by to promote her book, “Dr. Z on Scoring,” which leads to one of my favorite debates ever on O&A. This segment is great for several reasons. For one, Patrice not only gets to clearly explain a majority of the principles behind his unique philosophy, but he also gets to debate them with a “colleague.” Some of the principles and topics he discusses in this segment include cutting out the editing system within men, the nature of men and women, what we value & how we qualify our value, hoping vs. developing and applying skills, our evolutionary objectives, The Trickle Down Theory, directing your own movie, understanding the animal we are, the fishing analogy, shark analogies, not negotiating, conditioning, the 1-30 Scale, etc.
Another reason I love this segment is because of the dynamic in the room. As annoying as T.J. was, his presence throughout this debate was important and similar to the role every female co-host served on The Black Phillip Show. He was being typical. It’s good to have someone in the room who can prove your point by just being themselves. T.J. tried the typical approaches most men have and it was ineffective. Dr. Z dismissed all of his advances, and at times even ignored him and spoke over him. She had little to no respect for him or anything he had to say. Patrice’s approach, on the other hand, intrigued her. By challenging her, he was able to tap into something she wasn’t accustomed to and it kept her engaged and interested in what he had to say.
It’s also worth noting that with razor sharp quickness, Patrice was also able to read the room, which allowed him to do 2 things:
(1) He recognized and stopped T.J. from turning on Patrice and trying to “white knight” the situation, which Patrice probably could have handled, but was unnecessary and wouldn’t have been beneficial for T.J. anyway.
(2) When Patrice realized Opie was becoming too much of a distraction for this segment to develop into anything that actually had any substance, he decided to implement the WarGames tactic, and it worked.
While this may seem insignificant, it’s very useful if you find yourself in a room full of T.J.s and Opies. By calling out T.J. on what he was about to do and explaining it to everyone before he did it, it completely shut down T.J. from CBing. By using the WarGames tactic on Opie, it bought him enough time to keep beating her in the head with logic.
When T.J. realizes Patrice’s approach is working, he tries to throw a few jabs at Dr. Z, and not only is it too late, but T.J. lacks the charm and wit Patrice possesses to do it smoothly and he’s not doing it righteously so he continues to rub her the wrong way and she continues to dismiss him. When T.J. finally gives up on Dr. Z and tries to push up on Lilly, Lilly’s response further proves Patrice’s point about the things men and women value.
Overall, this may be the best representation of Patrice’s philosophy. Without giving too much away, it’s also a great listen as Patrice shows how logic trumps everything, while Dr. Z proves she’s a trooper who’s up for any challenge.