Can you give specific examples? A basic check from me on the NC episodes says there hasn't been any appearances from other Channel Awesome personalities since the Forest Warrior episode, which was in November.
I'm going to review him now too. I really don't like him anymore. He was so funny once, but his channel is a mess now. :(
@Tuckerscreator - Certainly, no problem. Here are three 'post-November' examples which I think are reflective of the issue I am addressing.
First, Doug's latest 'I love Christmas' song. I think this example mostly speaks for itself; I could have easily mentioned this song instead of the 'T-rex' one. It's not that I'm sitting there in anger or disgust while watching this musical number. You have to admit, it has some pretty neat effects and they worked their tails off to make it. So I totally respect that. But I simply feel that the apex of a 'classic' NC episode is Walker getting unhinged as the Critic. The intended peak of your average episode nowadays is something like those songs - 'Look what the team put together!' Impressive, but just not nearly as charming.
(Sub-example: Not only did the Christmas song warrant a 'making-of' video, but it seems like every extended sketch these days warrants some kind of 'behind-the-scenes' update. I don't want anyone to think that I sit at my computer and think 'How dare they! How dare they show how they made it!' They have the right to, and I'm not angry about it. I just think this is reflective of the bigger issue - that the site has become an enormously collaborative project a la Kickassia, when it was funnier as a solo act.
Second: Things like the Tamara storyline in the 'Christmas Story 2' review, which in my opinion was taken much, much too seriously. I don't have a huge beef with the use of 'sketches,' as some reviewers do, but this 'sketch' was basically a sub-plot - a separate limb to the entire review. Does it literally make me angry? No. But, at the risk of beating a dead horse, this is not one of your Channel Awesome anniversary specials. I don't prefer to see a story with character development for the Tamara side character. I think the quality is greater when all the humor traces back to the Critic's reactions to movies.
Thirdly, his introductory montage to the episodes. This might be the most recent example, because I believe he actually made a new montage within the last month. Watching that montage, you would definitely think 'Nostalgia Critic and Friends.' It's almost as though they only take pride in one kind of joke, namely, when guests visit the show and warrant special effects gags. Now to be fair, I think those kinds of moments ARE the best things to include in a montage. A series of clips with the Critic alone at his chair would be pretty boring, and wouldn't be much of an Introduction. The selected images are much better at showing off the show's variety of action. But again, it's simply reflective of the larger issue. I don't really believe the show NEEDS a variety of action. The introduction reflects how the show has come to RELY upon those sort of overblown, collaborative gags, when in my opinion it is better without them.
But, now that I mentioned some examples, I will say this: This 'infiltration' which I speak of is not a particularly recent phenomenon. I think Santa Christ, for example, was introduced quite a long time ago (2009?). So the movement in the meme-driven, collaborative direction has been going on for a very long time. Though every time I visit the site, I fear it's going to have moved even farther. Most often I perceive that it has.
I honestly do not mind it when people join in his reviews. After all, one of my favorite videos of his is the one with him and Jesu Otaku on Digimon.
I think the problem is mostly when... the appearing character is not funny. They aren't written well or just feel like they were shoved in. Which isn't a problem with the character (or actor) themselves, it's a problem with how they were written.
Like some of those sketches, they can be kinda funny. Like the ones in the Odd Life Of Timothy Green, those were kinda neat, even if the advertisement one was a bit on the long side. But then you look at the ones in, like, Master Of Disguise and they're not funny, they either take too long or they feel too long because of the previous issue and just take the quality down. (I don't know if it really was Rachel's birthday during that video, whether Doug wrote those scenes with her or if she insisted on something like that, and I honestly don't care, it doesn't change that those scenes were terrible)
Though for Santa Christ, maybe it's cause I didn't follow the Critic that often, but I feel like Santa Christ wasn't in videos that often. In the newer videos, yes, but for the most part he was kinda okay for me.
The "I F*cking Love Christmas" song was for me, the final nail in the coffin. It was so atrocious (in my opinion) that it made me never want to bother with an NC video again. That was his big shark-jump moment in my book.
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Great Character, Wrong Direction
I really respect Doug Walker and his team of creative minds. As a previous reviewer has stated, Doug and his crew have done more as internet celebrities than I have ever done. If I find flaws in this series, then, it is not because I feel entitled to absolute perfection; it is simply that I have been watching long enough to finally address these flaws in a public place.
Essentially, the Critic is a great character with a great creator behind it. When Walker gets his groove going, the Critic is not only somewhat funny, but REALLY funny - an absolutely stellar comedian. Walker is simply a charismatic performer with great screen presence, and when he relies on his own sense of comedic attitude and timing, the character is just lovable and entertaining beyond belief.
I would personally say that the series has gone 'downhill' as a result of the Critic being marginalized. If the title of the show reflected what the series has truly become, it might be called 'Nostalgia Critic and Friends.' This review is not intended to sound stubborn and close-minded, but Doug's team members (ie, his fellow Channel Awesome reviewers)simply lack the fresh, charismatic appeal which used to define the series. Part of this may be charted up to individual personalities, but essentially the Channel Awesome team just represents a trite internet persona: the meme-quoting, politically partisan comic book types, fresh off their argument on why pot should be legalized everywhere.
It's not that every appearance from someone who isn't Doug ruins the episode - I actually like his regular cohorts (eg Malcolm/Tamara). The problem is that jokes from the Channel Awesome coterie have begun to dominate the show. Every other episode is like a miniature version of 'Kickassia,' which is NOT what long-standing fans like myself prefer to see. Perhaps it's a song everyone can go download on i-tunes (eg the 'T-Rex' song,) or perhaps it's a character so outrageous it will just HAVE to become a meme (eg 'Santa Christ') - but whatever it is, it keeps infiltrating the show more and more and more.
I'm glad for the Channel Awesome team. I'm glad they have found a niche. I think they're all intelligent and talented people. But I feel they have also pushed away what was (and still can be) the show's greatest strength - Walker being the Critic, by himself, no-holds-barred.