Ah yeah, NC was teh awesomez when Doug Walker's series first came into my view back in 2012. I was in the Army at the time and I was starved for entertainment because cable was expensive and I only had internet.
He started reviewing series from the era I grew up in - the 1980's and the early to mid 1990's. It was a fun romp.
Back then "some guy in his basement/bedroom with a camera" could make review.
The problem was that - as some have pointed out- Doug's comedic skills are limited and the whole "angry reviewer" thing is Condemned by History for a reason.
The jokes at the time were mean spirited but many cartoons and movies Doug and the TGWTG crew reviewed were only known to geeks, older properties or were just forgotten.
Over time he did review more Gen-X pop cultural milestones (e.g. Heavy Metal) but then the wheels started to come off.
I get that the man had some ambitions, but the Walker's and the management of the site wrote checks their talents couldn't cash.
The first "film" was just a big mock brawl that would have been fun as a one off but then they had to repeat it.
The second film was So Okay, It's Average - but just doesn't have a rewatch value. "To Boldy Flee" was fine when I first watched it but is cringe now.
There are some videos Doug has pulled from circulation for a good reason. I won't go into examples, but let's just say that the Franchise Original Sin was laid in some of the reviews he pulled. The reviews that stayed started to decline in quality.
Unlike SFDebris or many other Youtubers who's videos I'll watch again and again, many of the Nostalgia Critic's reviews after 2013 were "meh". The skits and the extra cast didn't add anything. After 2018, quality started to take a dive.
His reviews of many sci-fi and fantasy movies are funny and his Arnold Schwarzenegger movie reviews were NC at his best.
In short, if you want to see the The New '10s internet culture, watch NC videos from 2009-2013. I no longer view them as much as I used to but the good ones are still funny.
If you want a trainwreck or are a masochist, watch the NC reviews after 2018.
A series frozen in the 2010's
Ah yeah, NC was teh awesomez when Doug Walker's series first came into my view back in 2012. I was in the Army at the time and I was starved for entertainment because cable was expensive and I only had internet.
He started reviewing series from the era I grew up in - the 1980's and the early to mid 1990's. It was a fun romp.
Back then "some guy in his basement/bedroom with a camera" could make review.
The problem was that - as some have pointed out- Doug's comedic skills are limited and the whole "angry reviewer" thing is Condemned by History for a reason.
The jokes at the time were mean spirited but many cartoons and movies Doug and the TGWTG crew reviewed were only known to geeks, older properties or were just forgotten.
Over time he did review more Gen-X pop cultural milestones (e.g. Heavy Metal) but then the wheels started to come off.
I get that the man had some ambitions, but the Walker's and the management of the site wrote checks their talents couldn't cash.
Unlike SFDebris or many other Youtubers who's videos I'll watch again and again, many of the Nostalgia Critic's reviews after 2013 were "meh". The skits and the extra cast didn't add anything. After 2018, quality started to take a dive.
His reviews of many sci-fi and fantasy movies are funny and his Arnold Schwarzenegger movie reviews were NC at his best.
In short, if you want to see the The New '10s internet culture, watch NC videos from 2009-2013. I no longer view them as much as I used to but the good ones are still funny.
If you want a trainwreck or are a masochist, watch the NC reviews after 2018.