Curmudgeon's Corner: So, what's the deal with Critical Role?

[Umbran]

And jelly is jam in your language, right? It sounds pretty horrid to me. But yes, I have heard that Americans eat that.

We have jelly and jam, and they aren't the same thing. Jelly is clear or translucent fruit spread, made with fruit juice, thickened/jelled with pectin. Jam is a fruit preserve that also includes the flesh of the fruit in question, and is usually much more loose and spreadable than jelly.

 

[Morrus]

Hilariously, Gordon Ramsey is a total sweetheart on any of his shows for British TV. He's very pleasant and helpful, which in US TV you only ever get to see on MasterChef Junior and the occasional humanizing moment on Kitchen Nightmares, like that time he was dealing with a chef who had been verbally abused his entire childhood by his father and they worked together to find a method of encouragement that actually worked for him.

Angry jerk Gordon is very definitely a part that he plays because it helps drive US ratings. Not that that makes any of it okay

Yep. He’s paid to pretend to be angry and wind viewers up. Who lap it up in droves and make him rich.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Maestrino]

Hey, that's Critical Role! Well, except for the cake part.

Um, except that time in Campaign 1 where the players opened a bakery and named it The Slayer's Cake.

 

[Morrus]

Well, supposing some American chef blithely said that the Brits didn't know how to cook fish and chips, and that it took an American chef to do fish and chips right. Or suppose some American said all British beers were crap, and that only Americans made decent beer.

You'd probably think that person didn't know what he was talking about.

Is professional chef the only profession where people rank their nationality over a chef’s experience and qualifications? Does that happen to physicists? Or IT processionals? Or MMA fighters? I mean, he’s an actual (although deliberately controversial) chef. If an American chef told me he could do better fish and chips than me, I’d probably agree he could.

What makes it even wierder is that you’re defending the honour of a dish called “American Pie” which by your own admission doesn’t even exist!

 

[Parmandur]

And jelly is jam in your language, right? It sounds pretty horrid to me. But yes, I have heard that Americans eat that.

It's super-delicious. Jelly and jam are two different things, actually, though both go great with peanut butter. Per the Google description:

"Jelly is a clear fruit spread made from cooked fruit juice and sugar, and possibly pectin, which helps it gel and thicken. ... Jam is a thick spread made from fruit juice, chopped, crushed, or puréed fruit, and sugar. Pectin may also be added to help it gel, but jams are usually looser than jellies."

 

[Umbran]

Close, but as I understand, the fruit in jam is pulped or crushed.

You don't usually need to actively pulp or crush the fruit. For example, if you throw some berries into a pot with some sugar, and apply heat, the berries will collapse on their own.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

1. HP Sauce in the UK is the same as A1 Steak Sauce in the US.

2. My wife likes to watch the Great British Baking Show (US) or Bake-Off (UK). I'm not a particular fan, but I end up watching it anyway.

3. I don't watch recordings of RPG sessions. I do like to watch occasional speed runs of popular CRPGs (e.g. Skyrim in 10 mins).

4. I am a curmudgeon.

 

[Haffrung]

People get invested in finding out where the story goes because they like the characters and the players.

No doubt that's the heart of the appeal. And I guess that's where I have different likes. I rarely feel an intense emotional connection to fictional characters, even when they're presented by a highly skilled novelist (which is my preferred format for dramatic empathy). I see fans of these shows presenting lovingly crafted illustrations of the characters and getting emotional about their fates, and I consider that I don't feel that strongly even about my own PCs when I play. So that powerful connection is alien to me.

I have an easier time seeing the appeal of the players. I don't watch CR, but I sometimes listen to the Glass Cannon, and the banter is engaging and funny. I'd probably enjoy having a beer with Troy, Skid, and the rest of the guys. Still, there's only so much I can take - 20 minutes or so while I do the dishes is the limit. If I want to spend 3 or 4 hours enjoying banter around a table I'll just get together with my friends IRL.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Gordon Ramsay's persona contributes to the whole "jerk auteur" myth that success excuses being terrible to other people.

I'm also reminded of people that thought Puck on The Real World was cool.

Now, if we're talking condiments:

Angry jerk Gordon is very definitely a part that he plays because it helps drive US ratings. Not that that makes any of it okay

But, back to Critical Role, the fan community of Critical Role is a huge part. Their presence at any major con is massive. Cosplay is everywhere. If an event has someone at all involved with them, the attendance clearly spikes. Heck, my Instagram Explore feed, despite me not watching CR, is often filled with Critical Role stuff.

3) Fan community - the fan community that has grown around the show are supporting, sharing, and like to engage with each other. They generate cosplay, and how-to videos, have active, engagine, and creative social media circles, do real-world meetups, charity events, and so on. We, here on EN World, get to gether to... argue, mostly. They get together to do stuff.