Unpopular Geek Media Opinions

[Thourne]

We have non-Christmas songs like "Winter Wonderland" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" are strongly associated with Christmas even though neither one is a Christmas song.

Key and Peele's take is all I can think of when people say "Baby It's Cold Outside" any more

 

[Reynard]

Key and Peele's take is all I can think of when people say "Baby It's Cold Outside" any more

Oh, Lord, save us from this particular seasonal debate.

 

[Willie the Duck]

We have non-Christmas songs like "Winter Wonderland" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" are strongly associated with Christmas even though neither one is a Christmas song.

Same with "Jingle Bells," even though by lyrics the song has more connection to the car-racing songs of the 1960s, or Steppenwolf's Born to be Wild.

 

[Epic Meepo]

Speaking of streaming: I'm convinced streaming media was better when Netflix was effectively a monopoly. Once we got competing platforms, the streaming experience turned into "Cable + DVR" v. 2.0.

Unpopular opinion?

 

[Staffan]

I think that the big difference is that, for the most part, until the Sopranos era that we have entered, TV series usually did not attempt to tell a single unified story. They did not aspire to greatness, so much as to comfort.

Ahem.

 

[MGibster]

Key and Peele's take is all I can think of when people say "Baby It's Cold Outside" any more

I can't think about Vampire the Masquerade without thinking of Key & Peel's Sexy Vampire skit.

 

[Ryujin]

Ahem.

And Also...

 

[Staffan]

Speaking of streaming: I'm convinced streaming media was better when Netflix was effectively a monopoly. Once we got competing platforms, the streaming experience turned into "Cable + DVR" v. 2.0.

Unpopular opinion?

No, that's completely right. The reason Spotify mostly killed off pirating music was that you had all the music available for a nominal fee and no muss, no fuss. Originally, that was pretty much Netflix as well. But then a bunch of other companies wanted to muscle in on Netflix's territory and mess things up for everyone.

 

[Deset Gled]

The best analogy I can think of is that, in literary terms, movies are short stories, while prestige series are novels.

The traditional movie is a one-off; it tells a story, briefly. It can ba amazing. It can be thought-provoking. It can evoke a world beyond the characters. But then it is done.

The series, on the other hand, luxuriates in its length. The characters become more complex, and the plot, instead of being about a single "event" becomes more of story, unfolding over time.

(I guess this makes the miniseries the novella, but that might stretch the analogy too far!)

I think that the big difference is that, for the most part, until the Sopranos era that we have entered, TV series usually did not attempt to tell a single unified story. They did not aspire to greatness, so much as to comfort.

As a collateral issue, I often run into the same problem when picking something to watch on streaming- for whatever reason, choosing a prestige series that is "one hour" episodes is fine, even knowing that I will binge two or three of them, while choosing a two-hour movie feels like too much of a commitment.

It might be worth considering that this is actually a very modern mindset. In the early days "film" was often serial based, including newsreels, story serials (e.g. Perils of Pauline, Andy Hardy, etc), or short form stories (Three Stooges, Looney Tunes, etc). And during those days, full length movies were often much longer, with intermissions.

I'm no film historian, but the idea of a "traditional movie" as you frame it probably originates somewhere around the advent of scheduled show times. IIRC, that started around when "Psycho" was released.

So, in a lot of ways, what we're seeing with non-standard number of shows, personalized viewing schedules, different show lengths, and changing release cycles is much more of a return to form for film than it is a new idea.

 

[Thourne]

It might be worth considering that this is actually a very modern mindset. In the early days "film" was often serial based, including newsreels, story serials (e.g. Perils of Pauline, Andy Hardy, etc), or short form stories (Three Stooges, Looney Tunes, etc). And during those days, full length movies were often much longer, with intermissions.

I'm no film historian, but the idea of a "traditional movie" as you frame it probably originates somewhere around the advent of scheduled show times. IIRC, that started around when "Psycho" was released.

So, in a lot of ways, what we're seeing with non-standard number of shows, personalized viewing schedules, different show lengths, and changing release cycles is much more of a return to form for film than it is a new idea.

This is so true.
I used to love watching the old republic serials. Spysmasher anyone? ... no? I didn't think so