Ron & Fez were loveable. There was sincere heart behind what they did, including small stuff like promos. Ron & Fez were always in control of the subject matter on their show, and the expectation for where bits could go.
O&A on the other hand were completely clueless to where their stray bullets would land, and we loved every minute of it with reckless abandon. O&A was like Beavis and Butthead, and Ron & Fez would be a more traditionally clever show like The Simpsons.
@Suetonius
When Ron & Fez came to New York in 2000, they listened to O&A for the first time on the drive in. They both wanted to hate O&A and were warned particularly about the Opie horror stories... But within 10 minutes of listening to O&A for the first time, Ron & Fez were ALL fawking in, until the end of time. Little did they know, the night of the first Ron & Fez show on WNEW, Opie stayed late for hours just to meet Ron & Fez off the air. Because Opie traded tapes in the 80s to hear Ron & Ron featuring Fez, the formula Opie later retooled using Norton in the Fez role.
Late stage Ron & Fez was the last chapter in a long story. A lot of what you're hearing is satire of something that happened years earlier. Of course you don't get it, and even then some of it is just okay -- not great.
You're also a victim of youtube. You are actively trying to seek content on something, and are only getting offered content uploaded from between 2008-2014 which is when posting the show on youtube was very active. Only some channels took the time to post the classics.
Ron & Fez at WNEW and WJFK is where you will get to hear the true spirit of the Ron & Fez show. Ron was great for one-liners and supporting bits, but Fezzie was the host and star of the show. He would come up with shit faster and more refined than Anthony or Norton who everyone claims is "quick." It's a shame Patrice did not participate in Ron & Fez very much, but by that point Fez was changing his approach.
The vibe of Ron & Fez when both were equal partners (it's nobody's business) at the top of their game can never be surpassed by anything
other than Opie & Anthony; which Ron & Fez both stated this fact many times. Opie & Anthony was more brutal, energetic, unpredictable, and they were willing to accept negative attention. Ron & Fez was exciting, but it wasn't unpredictable: You knew you were getting a solid show from some clever fat bastards. On the other hand, most O&A fans admit they liked Ron & Fez better. This is why there was such a bond.
Fez's character going back to the 80's was meant to be a target of abuse, and until Satellite it was usually in good fun. It was strange that Fez seemed to be a target of abuse his entire life. Even callers back in the day who barely knew him would say the most weird, blunt insulting shit to Fez for no reason. It's a little unbelievable how much he was bullied and able to turn it into a bit, at a time where he had no motivation to participate.
O&A were more outwardly cruel, but somehow Ron & Fez were more demonic -- hidden beneath many layers of good-natured deception. (until Satellite, where their cover was blown.) In almost every major interaction between Ron & Fez and O&A, it feels like Ron & Fez are working O&A and just using them as their foil to do their bidding. Any other show would be pissed off that their producer's collector item pinball machine was destroyed after being given as a gift to another show. Ron & Fez were beaming with joy while Opie smashed it, almost to the point that it sounded like it was Ron & Fez's idea all along. Like they psy-opped Al Dukes and Opie into the whole deal. They handed Opie the mallet...
ME: Threw a deck of cards, spilled some chips, stomped on a cake, smashed a pinball machine, tore off a wig, broke a guitar, ripped up a few books, tossed one at the door, spilled some mustard... ahhh. Couple otha things. You know. The whole sex in a church 'ting. The Mayor 'ting. The homeless Chawlie 'ting. You know... People KNOW who we are. Believe it or not. Whatever.