I feel kinda hurt. He said that it was the last Nostalgia Critic, but now he's making more. I don't appreciate being put on an emotional roller coaster like that.
I agree with that. I had the emotional completion at the end of To Boldly Flee, and I had moved on to caring about Demo Reel. Now he brings back NC and I just...I have a hard time caring about it, I guess. I will always accept more NC, but...I dunno.
Honestly I doubt the internet celebrity reviewer thing is going to last any more than a couple more years or so. Maybe two or three of the guys on the site will escape, but I think TGWTG is going to tank soon and take most of the people there with it.
Hopefully realize that the fans they're looking to win back won't come back, because they were dicks in the first place. They'll realize they're not gonna get tons more fans because the internet video marketplace has become too saturated, and I hope they'll embrace what fans they do have left and be happy with what they're making.
Hopefully realize that the fans they're looking to win back won't come back, because they were dicks in the first place.
What exactly are you referring to? Also don't pretend like there aren't fans on the site now who aren't dicks. Because there are still quite a few left. Edit:
I'm really happy the Nostalgia Critic is coming back. It felt like Doug wanted to end it while it was still fresh, but Demo Reel just wasn't quite the replacement. I thought Doug worked fine in that, but the rest of the acting didn't compare (And what was with the European stereotypes?) Had great ideas, but really was more unreliable in terms of quality.
I do like how he worked in To Boldly Flee and Demo Reel to explain everything. It felt tight and actually emotional, mostly because Doug was taking an honest look at what he did over the past few months.
However, when I watched the whole thing play out and was really thinking about the drama that happens with TGWTG, I feel like all internet critics need to do something once their series is out. They need to establish if the person they are playing on screen is sincerely themselves or is just another character. Because Doug actually writes scenes out as himself, but when he calls Lewis and Lindsay, they are acting like caricatures. They might be for a joke, but I feel that is always the biggest issue when it comes to judging Internet actors/reviewers/entertainers.
Donnie is totally a character, as is the Nostalgia Critic (with a few of Doug's touchy subjects and berserk buttons worked in). However, with I'd say half of the critics on the website, I don't know if they are themselves or not.
Donnie is totally a character, as is the Nostalgia Critic (with a few of Doug's touchy subjects and berserk buttons worked in). However, with I'd say half of the critics on the website, I don't know if they are themselves or not.
I'm pretty sure Diamanda Hagan is playing herself.
I went to look at the site, and after clicking on a few videos, including a few Nostalgia Critic episodes, I couldn't find anything that made me think watching beyond the first 10 seconds would be worth my time. Anyone got a good guide to the best of their work?
Maybe it's just me, but pretty much any internet produced media I consume these days has some sort of audio engineering done at some point. It's pretty much standard. Hell, Starcraft commentary and livestreams have better audio.
I think the reason ThatGuyWithTheGlasses is fading a bit for me is that all the really worthwhile producers there also have their own site now. They're all still on TGWTG too, and I will still follow the NC episodes there, along with Atop the Fourth Wall on occasion. However, basically every other internet reviewer I'm interested in* is now also conveniently gathered over at Chez Apocalypse, and I think that's a good thing.
Reason why I'm more interested in this group? They have a mandate I think is more lastable than TGWTG's. First off, they're a secondary site from the get-go - all the producers on it are also either on TGWTG or they have their own personal site. This is just a convenient gathering ground for some existing series that have common themes. Ergo, the site doesn't have to worry as much about driving clicks and views as TGWTG does.
Second and more importantly, they're all more geared towards a sort of comedy academia/analysis than comedy review or straight-up comedy. Folding Ideas** and Brows Held High are especially in that vein and the rest are a fairly smart bunch as well. They're funny, but they don't constantly force their funny. They try to keep more of their focus on being informative and providing insight into their subjects. That's a much better way to stay relevant in the face of changing comedic tastes, I think. Much better than just recycling the same jokes, the same crossovers, and the same running gags until everyone gets tired of them.
That's kind of what I'm hoping for from this new round of NC episodes ideally. It sounds like Doug realizes this need to stay relevant and wants to do something to expand the scope of what he can do with the NC this time around. He'll still probably have a more broadly comedic tone than the Chez crowd, but it sounds like he isn't satisfied with just redoing the same tropes with the show into infinity anymore. The removal of cutoff dates for review subjects is a good start. The change in production schedule is another. There has to be more change than just that, though, for this new season to be successful, and I hope he's can show that he understands that.
* - who isn't Red Letter Media, Movie Bob, or Yahtzee
** - those who don't really dig the TGWTG style of humour I recommend trying out this series, which is much more informative and not so strongly humour-based
Ah, now I get it. The Nostalgia Critic is trying to be funny. And it's an act. I really wasn't sure if he was that annoying on purpose. It turns out, yup, that annoying on purpose.
Unfortunately, I've now spent about 45 minutes watching various clips, and haven't laughed once. More damning is that I'm not entirely sure what is meant to be funny or not, or what is meant to be a joke or not. It could do with a laugh track.
Luke, I agree with you. I respect ANYONE who creates, even if I don't personally enjoy their creations, but I have never really enjoyed these people's stuff.
The space for this sort of thing is definitely saturated, and extremely high production value work is coming in high quantity from semi-professionals. What flew in 2009 won't fly in 2014.
We know exactly how all of this will play out.
Youtube review/commentary videos are going through the same progression that webcomics did a decade ago
A few spring up, and are novel, bring the "genre/medium" to niche Internet fame.
Those few inspire a bunch more people to get involved, and the "genre/medium" gets suddenly extremely Internet popular. The top five or so of the creators become Internet celebrities at fan cons and have huge followings. There is a huge bubble. People start making straight-up profits, but production values are under no pressure to improve.
More and more people enter the "genre/medium," (many seeking money primarily) while simultaneously people become increasingly sophisticated in their production, slowly edging out the older, "established" properties. With saturation, views drop across the board, while the ones that continue consolidate into increasingly fewer properties. A tiny handful are profitable, the rest start to fade.
There's a period where deep interest largely disappears, while the "genre/medium" becomes just another avenue of Internet entertainment rather than a thing in and of itself. Rabid fans become the minority, while more people overall watch one "episode" or whatever now and then without much engagement with the creators as "fans." Brand awareness slackens for the vast majority of creators.
Eventually, a decade later, there are tons of active properties again, but the successful ones are extremely high quality, while the rest struggle forever in obscurity. The gulf between professional, semi-professional, and everyone else become extremely wide.
I hope that the separation comes soon. The amount of dross that mascerades as content is staggering. The numerous lets plays that are just people screaming, gaming reviews that are just someone shouting or even worse the painful "artists" who take themselves far to seriously.
I hope that the separation comes soon. The amount of dross that mascerades as content is staggering. The numerous lets plays that are just people screaming, gaming reviews that are just someone shouting or even worse the painful "artists" who take themselves far to seriously.
But they are not on the radar as much anymore. I would like it if that stuff gradually faded to the background like most terrible webcomics have done. That said there must be viewers for some of these thing otherwise they could not support themselves as they do.
But they are not on the radar as much anymore. I would like it if that stuff gradually faded to the background like most terrible webcomics have done. That said there must be viewers for some of these thing otherwise they could not support themselves as they do.
They're already in the background in my opinion. I just don't watch Let's Plays, and have never seen a good one. ;^) How does one even run into these videos? Do you search for them? Click on random suggested videos? I'm very careful about what I click on in Youtube.
They don't need that many viewers, since none of them make money anyway.
Sounds like an accurate assessment to me, and I would agree, I want the dregs of the medium/genre to sink like a cannonball over the Marianas Trench. Even though I know they never will completely, I look forward to there being not nearly so many.
EDIT: The TGWTG "Your Reviews" forum, suggested shows on Blip channels I follow, recs from people in my social media circles, and yeah, a bit of random searching on TGWTG and YouTube. By now I watch enough review shows that I don't really have to do this much anymore, but occasionally I like to see if there's any new talent out there and it is a pain to sift through stuff.
Comments
Edit: Trufax.
I do like how he worked in To Boldly Flee and Demo Reel to explain everything. It felt tight and actually emotional, mostly because Doug was taking an honest look at what he did over the past few months.
However, when I watched the whole thing play out and was really thinking about the drama that happens with TGWTG, I feel like all internet critics need to do something once their series is out. They need to establish if the person they are playing on screen is sincerely themselves or is just another character. Because Doug actually writes scenes out as himself, but when he calls Lewis and Lindsay, they are acting like caricatures. They might be for a joke, but I feel that is always the biggest issue when it comes to judging Internet actors/reviewers/entertainers.
Donnie is totally a character, as is the Nostalgia Critic (with a few of Doug's touchy subjects and berserk buttons worked in). However, with I'd say half of the critics on the website, I don't know if they are themselves or not.
Reason why I'm more interested in this group? They have a mandate I think is more lastable than TGWTG's. First off, they're a secondary site from the get-go - all the producers on it are also either on TGWTG or they have their own personal site. This is just a convenient gathering ground for some existing series that have common themes. Ergo, the site doesn't have to worry as much about driving clicks and views as TGWTG does.
Second and more importantly, they're all more geared towards a sort of comedy academia/analysis than comedy review or straight-up comedy. Folding Ideas** and Brows Held High are especially in that vein and the rest are a fairly smart bunch as well. They're funny, but they don't constantly force their funny. They try to keep more of their focus on being informative and providing insight into their subjects. That's a much better way to stay relevant in the face of changing comedic tastes, I think. Much better than just recycling the same jokes, the same crossovers, and the same running gags until everyone gets tired of them.
That's kind of what I'm hoping for from this new round of NC episodes ideally. It sounds like Doug realizes this need to stay relevant and wants to do something to expand the scope of what he can do with the NC this time around. He'll still probably have a more broadly comedic tone than the Chez crowd, but it sounds like he isn't satisfied with just redoing the same tropes with the show into infinity anymore. The removal of cutoff dates for review subjects is a good start. The change in production schedule is another. There has to be more change than just that, though, for this new season to be successful, and I hope he's can show that he understands that.
* - who isn't Red Letter Media, Movie Bob, or Yahtzee
** - those who don't really dig the TGWTG style of humour I recommend trying out this series, which is much more informative and not so strongly humour-based
Unfortunately, I've now spent about 45 minutes watching various clips, and haven't laughed once. More damning is that I'm not entirely sure what is meant to be funny or not, or what is meant to be a joke or not. It could do with a laugh track.
The space for this sort of thing is definitely saturated, and extremely high production value work is coming in high quantity from semi-professionals. What flew in 2009 won't fly in 2014.
We know exactly how all of this will play out.
Youtube review/commentary videos are going through the same progression that webcomics did a decade ago
A few spring up, and are novel, bring the "genre/medium" to niche Internet fame.
Those few inspire a bunch more people to get involved, and the "genre/medium" gets suddenly extremely Internet popular. The top five or so of the creators become Internet celebrities at fan cons and have huge followings. There is a huge bubble. People start making straight-up profits, but production values are under no pressure to improve.
More and more people enter the "genre/medium," (many seeking money primarily) while simultaneously people become increasingly sophisticated in their production, slowly edging out the older, "established" properties. With saturation, views drop across the board, while the ones that continue consolidate into increasingly fewer properties. A tiny handful are profitable, the rest start to fade.
There's a period where deep interest largely disappears, while the "genre/medium" becomes just another avenue of Internet entertainment rather than a thing in and of itself. Rabid fans become the minority, while more people overall watch one "episode" or whatever now and then without much engagement with the creators as "fans." Brand awareness slackens for the vast majority of creators.
Eventually, a decade later, there are tons of active properties again, but the successful ones are extremely high quality, while the rest struggle forever in obscurity. The gulf between professional, semi-professional, and everyone else become extremely wide.
There are a million terrible webcomics out there.
They don't need that many viewers, since none of them make money anyway.
EDIT: The TGWTG "Your Reviews" forum, suggested shows on Blip channels I follow, recs from people in my social media circles, and yeah, a bit of random searching on TGWTG and YouTube. By now I watch enough review shows that I don't really have to do this much anymore, but occasionally I like to see if there's any new talent out there and it is a pain to sift through stuff.