Website The spark is lost
I am not going to mince words here: That Guy With The Glasses, the site, is and has been circling down the drain for a while, but it only became readily apparent to me today when I returned to the site after forgetting about it for several weeks (and that alone tells half the tale, as it used to be one of the sites I checked several times a day just a few months ago).
I don't know what really went wrong, probably not one big thing but a hundred small ones, but right now the site feels like it's falling apart. The "old guard" are either taking it easy or they are mostly gone, and while seeing new talent coming to the site would normally be a positive sign, their numbers are ballooning to the point where it feels like everyone involved are grasping for straws in order to retain their relevance. Gone are the days of the tightly knit group of close colleagues getting together for crossovers all the time and the great anniversary movies that, flawed as they might have been, still shook up the stale waters and provided something to look forwards to. Now the site is nothing more than a shadow of its former glory, and while a comeback is not impossible, I fear they will never be as great as in their heyday no matter how many creative and talented content creators they try to lure under their umbrella.
[Edit]: The site has moved, the content is the same. We'll see if it will lead to an upturn in overall quality, but I will not hold my breath. Call me a cynic.
Website Critic vs. The Chick?
I think Channel Awesome's appeal, as well as strong and fervent fan base, comes from the fact that these guys speak, act, and look like, not to be presumptuous in anyway, ourselves and our friends. In many ways, they are mediators of culture that are of the same perspective as ourselves. This can either be a good or bad thing. Though I enjoy Doug's, Lindsay's, Linkara's, Brad's, and Spoony's videos, there is an existing Fandumb- an annoying one. In other words, though the community may be close-knit, it does tend to veer on the creepy side once in a while.
But that's not really my point. I want to focus on a rift, evident between the Nostalgia Chick and Nostalgia Critic, that I think will dictate the future of the site. To begin, I will say that I enjoy the videos of both. However, Lindsay manages to go one step further than Doug, in which the issues presented by the film are given a feminist/sociological context. Not to insult Doug, but her reviews go beyond pointing out the implausibilities of the film's plot. In emphasizing the implications of the film's messages, her reviews aim for something along the same lines of what the AV Club does. The Critic, however, goes in the other direction, focusing on slapstick humor, mocking the narratives (see also Film Brain and The Cinema Snob), acting choices, etc.
Not that this type of style of critique is invalid. Going by the stars alone, the Critic's videos always receive higher ratings than the Chick. But I think the discrepancy in ratings has everything to do with how people visiting the site want to assess past popular media: mockery or discourse? (Not that one is better than the other.)
In this way I wonder how the site will continue to function. Though Lindsay and Team N Chick are popular figures, I don't see her discourse-y type of reviews spreading throughout the site. Though she is a well-known fixture of the site, in many ways she's a black sheep. With that in mind, I could easily end on a punny, sheep-related point, but instead I'll spare you and say that this rift is interesting because besides its increasing obviousness, it opens the possibility that the other reviewers can choose to expand their scope, or Lindsay can choose to leave or follow the flock. Damn.
Website the Deutscher Reviewer's Review of reviewers
Hallo, Ich bin die Deutscher Reviewer. Yeah, I'm that guy who does the videos on youtube with heinous quality...congrats if you found me already. Since my reviews on film sucked, I guess I can write one...on Doug Walker and crew. I am a huge Nostalgia Critic fan...and a Spoony One fan...and a Linkara fan...you get the idea. These guys do a nice job of their reviews and make them entertaining during the entire bout. These guys have made tons of Running Gags, and they do a fine job of pulling them off. They all are pretty spot on to my opinion of the matter, and if I dont agree, they sway me to their side after the review is over. Now, since Spoony, though he branched off, holds a spot in my favorite reviewers, he gets a paragraph. THIS GUY IS GOOD. He did some great reviews, played that disc game...Horror Trax i think it was...that i once played (finally! someone else played that thing! skip to track 12 for excitement). He played System Shock (which was the first survival horror i ever played) and I agreed with him all the way through. This guy helped me muster up my decision to do reviews. And Dr. Insano...my role model. I hear the rumors that this guy is teetering on the brink, though, so Spoony, this one's for you. Now, time to dive deep into the topic of the Nostalgia Critic himself, the figurehead of That Guy With The Glasses. Now, before I go on, I have to say, Doug Walker is a nice guy in real life. That being said, Doug does a great job of making the Critic into a world-class jerk. In many of his reviews, he rants so friggin hard that I swear Downfall Hitler is taking notes behind the camera. Even in his Signs review, in the rant he does about a PANTRY DOOOOOOOOOR(!!!!!!!!). He makes me laugh so hard my face gets as red as his. And I recommend his review of the Room...priceless. And he does sometimes have his bad reviews. Let's not mention Bert's Nightmare...but his crossover with Phelous on Child's Play was horrible. The Critic tried being funny, but Phelous dragged it down. That all said, im the Deutscher Reviewer, and you've just been Deutsched!
Website I'm GLAAD its over
I must confess I've always hated That Guy With the Glasses and Channel Awesome as entities. There was always something so utterly dishonest from the loud, obnoxious "reviewers" more interested in playing clowns than making constructive criticisms, and the hold it had on Tv Tropes was downright embarrassing. My only solace was the Encyclopedia Dramatica articles, which were the only genuine thing about TGWTG / Channel Awesome.
Everyone who left became better, more nuanced critics. Some who stayed longer like Linkara, Suede, Brad and Sage also became mature people, but they already felt so disconnected from the core Walker walkers that they for all intents and purposes were apart from it.
Now that the scandals have become mainstream there's no fucking way the pretense that these people have any legitimacy will remain, and I for one am glad.
Also, I must clarify that I'm glad with two aa's, because I'm gay. That alone is a funnier joke than anything the Walkers have said, which should illustrate the state of affairs