Television

OP-ED: Why I Think Streaming Has Made a Mistake

Max Misc , , , , , , ,

Max here with an Op-Ed, people. Shouldn’t be a long one, but hey, it’ll give you some content while waiting for the cover reveal for Starforge! More on that later (it deserves its own post). For now, today’s Op-Ed.

So, if you haven’t heard, Disney has joined the ranks of streaming services announcing price hikes. In this case, it’s Disney+’s first while for others such as Hulu or ESPN it could just be written away as “yet another price hike.” In addition, Disney unveiled that Disney+ will now have advertising! Just like everyone wanted!

Of course, no one wanted this. But one thing has become clear over the last year or two of the so-called streaming wars: For many of the companies involved, the goal is merely to return to the most profitable section of entertainment they can think of, AKA cable.

Don’t believe it? Look at how they’re rolling out advertisements. Did you know that cable television was advertisement free originally? That’s right! Originally, you were paying to not have ads like broadcast television did. But once the audience was captured, the ads rolled in, until cable television became an advertising service more than an entertainment venue. After all, why collect money from one side of the equation when you can collect it from two sides of the equation? Double-dipping! American business ingenuity at its finest!

Disney very clearly has its sights set on the old ways, with how they excitedly push “bundling” Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN in one package for a “reduced” rate. Nevermind that there are advertisements now, look how good a deal you’re getting! Similar is happening with Netflix and other streaming services as CEOs seek to return to the golden age of captive television piggy banks.

The problem as I see it, however, is that it just won’t work. Because the market that let that golden piggy bank exist no longer does.

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Why You Should Watch … Galavant

Max Misc , , , , ,

mv5bmjewndcymdk4of5bml5banbnxkftztgwndkymjm5mze40._v1_Today’s post doesn’t have much to do with reading. The title, admittedly, gives that away, but I’ve been around long enough to know that sometimes even I skim over a title in my haste to read the article (and surely, I can’t be the only one?) so … Yeah, today’s post isn’t about a book. Or a series of articles.

Today’s post is about a TV show.

Now look, I promise I won’t do this often. Mine is a site dedicated first and foremost to writing and fiction.

But … sands and storms did this show never get the credit it deserved. At all. Personally, I think it had somewhat to do with the medium. Premiering on a cable network that likely had no idea what to make of it, it seemed a hard sell on an audience that is shrinking by the year (cable TV). I suspect that had Galavant shown up on some other network, like Amazon or Netflix, right off of the bat, we might have seen three, four, or even five seasons rather than the meager two it ran on ABC.

Why? Well, personally, I’m not sure execs knew what to make of Galavant. Or the general television audience. It’s … not a normal show. It’s a show that would stand out perfectly on Netflix or Amazon as a show that’s made for an audience that’s always looking forward. But for a more traditional, status-quo seeking cable network audience? It’s kind of a hard sell.

Okay, enough beating around the bush. What is Galavant? Well … are you ready? Galavant, as I would describe, is:

*Inhales* A musical, meta, fourth-wall aware, fantasy comedy. And yes, I mean musical in the sense that everyone breaks out into song and dance with astonishing regularity. Several times per episode, actually. And they’re aware they do it (see the “meta” tag). Sometimes they’re even aware that there’s been a commercial break, or that most viewers only Tivo the show for later and aren’t watching it live (fourth-wall what?).

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The End of Gravity Falls (No Spoilers)

Max Misc , , , ,

gravity_falls_postcard_logo

Tonight, television saw the airing of the last episode of one of its greats. Gravity Falls, after two seasons (over four years, which made it feel like four seasons) has finally ended.

And did it ever go out on a high note.

Gravity Falls, if you’ve not watched it (and if not, you should rectify that) is one of those amazing shows that is made for more than just an audience. Some have said that rather than making a show for kids or a show for adults, the creator just made a show that would tell a good story that anyone could enjoy, and you know what? He succeeded. In a masterful way.

I’m not going to spoil anything, but the ending of Gravity Falls was a wonderful moment. It was sweet, poignant, and funny. Over the course of its run the show tackled a number of number of stories and topics, some funny and some serious, all wrapped up in a grand, adventurous mystery plot and a lot of jokes, but the best part about it was that the things it tackled were real, important, and could be understood by children and adults alike. This was a show where a parent could sit down with their teen and their six-year old and all of them could walk away not only satisfied, but with some appreciation of the concepts behind the show that it was bound to explore. You watched it for the fun and the adventure, but at the end of it all Gravity Falls explored some deep and important idea like the importance of family and the strength of a family’s love for one another, concepts a lot of television either handles halfheartedly or avoids entirely. Gravity Falls dove in and handled it masterfully.

Then came the ending a few hours ago.

Endings are hard. Good endings are even harder. With Gravity Falls, we got the latter. It was an ending that left you feeling good, and reminded its audience that nothing was truly over, even if the show was.

It was one of those sad, happy, poignant moments only the best shows and stories can pull off, and Gravity Falls handled it with aplomb.

Hats off to you and your whole team, Alex Hirsch. I await your next adventure.

Even if a part of me will always stay in Gravity Falls.