Online Series (AVGN, Nostalgia Critic, web comics etc)

[JaoSming]

Nerd in the latest Pop-Fiction video (which is a pretty damn good series as well)

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/episo ... ion/728332

[dei.]

Except the gametrailers video player sucks balls.

[Andrew]

It was nice to see some new Nerd content though, with the series on hiatus while James works on the movie. I also caught up on some Pop Fiction episodes while I was at it.

I've also caught up with a couple of Machinima's series as of late, namely Sonic for Hire and the new Mega Man Dies At The End. I wouldn't say they're brilliant but they are fairly well put together and usually good for a chuckle or two.

[JaoSming]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/angry ... ack/728631
Nerd's thoughts on Sonic. I agree, still nice to see the content at least.

[Andrew]

Cool, thanks for the heads up. It's refreshing to see him step out the character every once in a while; same with Doug Walker when he did his "Disneycember" feature as himself rather than the Nostalgia Critic.

Speaking of the Nostalgia Critic, I've enjoyed some of his more recent reviews a lot more since he's covered some movies I actually remember seeing as a kid. Although I do enjoy his reviews no matter what, I think it's better when he picks well known movies that weren't necessarily downright terrible, but aren't quite as good as they seemed through younger eyes and are ripe for roasting. That's not to say it's fun to see him tear apart something completely awful, but it feels closer to the original point of the character when he's cutting through the nostalgia of things that are generally remembered more fondly or were more successful.

[Andrew]

Channel Awesome's fourth anniversary is coming up, hopefully it'll be just as entertaining as Kickassia and Suburban Knights. In the meantime, a bit of crossover content is starting emerge.

[JaoSming]

Nerd Double Dragon Memories - http://www.gametrailers.com/video/angry ... ack/729777

[Andrew]

Glad to see him doing these retrospectives while they're working on the movie, so we've got some new Nerd content in the meantime. As I said before, it's refreshing to see him step out of character too.

Loved Double Dragon back in the day.

[Andrew]

James offers an update on the movie and mentions he'd like to get back to doing the usual AVGN videos:



I've also fallen behind on the latest Nostalgia Critic and Nostalgia Chick videos, so I'll probably catch up on them this week when I grab lunch. The Channel Awesome fourth year anniversary has also been filmed and is in post-production, so we're probably going to see that in the not too distant future.

[Andrew]

Spoony gone from Channel Awesome. Sounds like there was a bit of controversy there.

[dei.]

Some more Bullsh*t!

[Andrew]

Got up to date with the latest Channel Awesome stuff, having missed a few episodes here and there. I really enjoyed the NC's Top 11 Simpsons episodes, a very good list with some of my favourites on there. #1 was a bit of a surprise, it wouldn't have been my pick but it's a solid choice all the same. The fourth year anniversary teaser looks promising, too.

[Andrew]

New Nerd Memories video. This time, he's remembering Mortal Kombat:
http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/sm55 ... tal-kombat

Being a big MK fan, I definitely enjoyed that retrospective.

[dei.]

The Nerd

is

BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Andrew]

Great to see him back. Good episode.

We've got another teaser for Channel Awesome's fourth year anniversary, too.

[dei.]

Apparently the deal with Gametrailers where we could only see the Nerd episodes on Youtube after a year it's aired is gone. That's nice

[Andrew]

Yeah, I was wondering about that. Works for me.

[Andrew]

Con Bravo 2012: Doug & James

[dei.]

There is something about the Nostalgia Critic character that pisses me off. I can watch Doug review movies all day just like I can watch James review anything but the Nostalgia Critic makes me cringe.

[Andrew]

You're probably not alone on that one and I'd have to say that not every Critic review has been a winner, but I do find the character entertaining. That said, I also enjoy Doug's out of character reviews, it's refreshing to get his actual thoughts without the character and shtick.

[Andrew]

Super Nintendo vs Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive, for those of us in PAL regions), Part 1, by James.



Great to see him finally tackle that subject and to do so as himself rather than the Nerd. Not that the Nerd character wouldn't have made for a good video, but I think doing it as himself allows James to be more fair handed and informative. I was also a Nintendo fanboy growing up in the 90s, so I can definitely relate to the video he made as a kid and what he was saying about being bothered by the attacks on Nintendo in Sega's advertising.

It's certainly different looking at the whole thing again when you're a bit older and removed from that fanboyism, so again I feel the video is going to be better for featuring James as himself rather than the Nerd...though a Nerd cameo, like his Ghostbusters for Xbox 360 review, wouldn't be unwelcome.

Looking forward to Part 2.

[dei.]

I didn't grow up with both the SNES and Sega Genesis, but I did feel the fanboyism with the Playstation and Dreamcast. With the Dreamcast dying so early and Sony releasing the PS2 after. I always think that the PS2 is better than the Gamecube and the Xbox and could not bring myself to even look or play both systems.

[shadowgrin]

You know what's bullshit!? Console comparisons.
Only poor people care about that or people with no PC.

[Andrew]

I didn't grow up with both the SNES and Sega Genesis, but I did feel the fanboyism with the Playstation and Dreamcast. With the Dreamcast dying so early and Sony releasing the PS2 after. I always think that the PS2 is better than the Gamecube and the Xbox and could not bring myself to even look or play both systems.

Indeed, the rivalry and debates didn't end with the 16 bit era.

[dei.]

PART 2!

[shadowgrin]

his face at the 'a bit better' part.

[dei.]

:lol: his face at the 'a bit better' part.

Lol didn't catch that the first time around. His younger self saying "resolution" is also funny

[Andrew]

Gotta give him credit again for poking fun at his younger self and including videos that probably make him cringe a bit. It definitely added to the video, contrasting his earlier fanboyish arguments with the more mature, fair-handed comparison.

I'm not too surprised (nor disappointed) to see the Super Nintendo get the nod, but I think he argued the point well. On the subject of the boxes, even though it's a minor point, it is an interesting one. Most people I knew did actually keep the boxes and I still have most of my games in the boxes with the manuals, though a lot of the boxes aren't in great condition anymore. Sega had the right idea there.

[Andrew]

New Nerd Memories: Killer Instinct

"To Boldly Flee" has also begun over on TGWTG. I'm currently waiting for all the parts to be released so that I can watch it all the way through.

[Andrew]

All eight parts of "To Boldly Flee" have been released, so I set aside some time this evening to watch them. All I can say is...wow. Their past anniversary specials have all been entertaining but in terms of the production values and the story, this was definitely the slickest and best one to date. Lots of good jokes from everyone, too. It's lengthy with Parts 1 and 8 both topping 40 minutes - I probably should've watched them as they came out, though it was great to watch it as one long, epic movie - but it's well worth checking out.

Along with his Scooby Doo review, it also served as a fitting finale for the Nostalgia Critic character, which Doug has confirmed he's retiring in favour of a new series...at least as a weekly series and the site's flagship show. A risky move but an understandable one. While I enjoy his reviews, he's covered a lot of the stuff that he needed to. While some might say it's already happened - and I would disagree with them - it is nice that he's ending the series before it becomes stale and ridden into the ground. I'm sorry to see it happen, but what a way to go out. Some of the fan reactions have been rather disappointing to see, but that's the Internet for you.

It's also awesome that they've now got their own studio. There should be some exciting new stuff from them in the near future. In the meantime, I'm tempted to order "To Boldly Flee" on DVD.

[Oznogrd]

I haven't finished it the whole special yet because as you said, its really long lol. But yeah I agree that retiring NC despite him being one of my favorites is probably a good thing. It doesn't seem like they're making the character die completely, just using him more sparingly and allowing Doug to work on other ideas which i have no problem with. I don't understand why everyone feels each person can only review one thing/style rather than having a range and I think this may allow him more freedom and creativity.

I enjoy much of the team during specials even though I dont usually watch their shows. I started watching Paw's musical movies reviews and found that I have quite similar taste.

[Andrew]

With the discovery that Luke is indeed Colin Mochrie's son, I think I'm going to have to give his shows a look.

[dei.]

NEW ABEEGN!

[Andrew]

Good episode, nice to see a new one come out.

Also, a trailer for Doug's new show:
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videol ... el-trailer

[Andrew]

Watched the premiere of Demo Reel last week. I thought it was alright, it certainly has potential but it's definitely getting a mixed reaction so far. I think a large portion of the fanbase are determined to dislike it because it's not the Nostalgia Critic and they're upset that that's ended, which isn't exactly fair. That said, it might take a few episodes for it to really get going, longtime fans to warm up to it and new fans to discover it. I think Doug and co can make it work, though I'm guessing they must be privately a little disappointed by the somewhat lukewarm reaction.

[JaoSming]

Nerd Movie Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiz95K1ngiI

[Andrew]

Awesome.

[dei.]

[Andrew]

Good episode. Kinda cool to see cameo appearances by NBA Live (not to mention the predecessor, NBA Showdown) and NBA Jam. Some of those really primitive sports games are pretty funny to play these days, kind of fun to pull them out and see/remember how things used to be. His closing comments are pretty on target, I'd say.

[Oznogrd]

I think its interesting though there's this common perception that you cant be both a sports nerd and video game nerd. They aren't mutually exclusive anymore.

[Andrew]

I think in this case, it's just James admitting he's not really into sports.

[Andrew]

So once again, is anyone else watching Doug Walker's new show, Demo Reel? It continues to get a fair amount of hate from the Channel Awesome fanbase but I feel like it's getting better, finding its feet and developing into what it wants to be. It's not a straight up comedy and I think that's something a lot of fans are having difficulty getting over, but there's some good humour there and the story is getting fairly interesting in my view. I think it's definitely a good idea that he's still doing a review show with Rob and I'm enjoying this year's Disneycember, but Demo Reel still has potential and it's growing on me.

[benji]

[Andrew]

So that's what that was all about. People seriously need to get over that. He took part in a commercial for a project that was probably ill-advised, but no one was forced to pay any money if they didn't want to; they could've ignored it just like any other commercial that an entertainer/artist may take part in. As for the Kickstarter campaign for the movie, again no one had to contribute if they didn't want to and the movie has been made. Hardly a "scam", no matter what that fellow and a handful of YouTube ranters claim.

[Andrew]

Huge news coming out of Channel Awesome.

So, the Nostalgia Critic is coming back, on a fortnightly basis with the possibility of mini-episodes in the off-weeks. Certainly welcome news to me and a pretty entertaining way to bring him back. It remains to be seen what will happen with Demo Reel, which was starting to find its way and I was enjoying. It seems like they're canning it, but maybe they'll re-tool it or find something new for the new actors to do. In any event, I'm looking forward to February 5th.

[Andrew]

The Nostalgia Critic is officially back! Fine episode to return with, I like the intro that he's added. Funny stuff and it was nice to see the actors from Demo Reel making some appearances. Glancing at some of the comments on the video, some people aren't huges fan of that or some of the new things he's trying in the return episode but I think it's refreshing, plus there's still plenty of the old humour there. Good to have him back.

[Andrew]

Doug released his first Nostalgia Critic film editorial, a shorter episode for the off-weeks between regular review episodes. I thought it came off well, a refreshing change of pace that'll hopefully help him avoid burnout and keep everyone entertained in between the fortnightly reviews. So far so good in the comeback.

[dei.]

[Andrew]

Always good to see a new Nerd episode. That said, to be honest this wasn't one of his best; I did enjoy some of the back and forth and Kyle's riffing was pretty funny in parts, but some parts fell a bit flat. I did enjoy it all the same.

[dei.]

Always good to see a new Nerd episode. That said, to be honest this wasn't one of his best; I did enjoy some of the back and forth and Kyle's riffing was pretty funny in parts, but some parts fell a bit flat. I did enjoy it all the same.

Agree. It was an ok episode. The part where he resurrect the guitar guy is cool, but is it explain why he is dead anyway?