WebVideo Re-review: My new opinion of Buckley
If you read my original review of Canada's angriest citizen, you were aware that I praised his work greatly:
"So, why do I love ADOB so much? It's simple - he's almost always right. In his videos, he exposes the worst aspects of society and people, and does it in a way that's both humorous and truthful. Buckley is one of the best people on the Internet. When I hear his cynical voice and his punishing comments towards those who deserve it, I cannot help but smile nastily with satisfaction."
But I'm afraid that over the last few months, my opinion of Buckley has greatly decreased. I used to look up to him and regard him as one of the Internet's most logical and inspirational comedians, but just like what happened with Mr. Doug Walker, Buckley has over time lost a lot of what made him great.
So, what's wrong with Buckley nowadays? Is he not funny anymore? Is he running out of ideas? Is his perpetual misery now overly exaggerated to the point of becoming obnoxious? All three. A sizable majority of Buckley's newer videos are either troublesomely mediocre/forgettable or just downright lousy. His most recent video as of this review, his Musical Autopsy of OMI's "Cheerleader" is so disastrously unfunny that it left me gobsmacked.
Like I mentioned, the element of cynicism and misery prevalent in his videos just doesn't work anymore. Like many people on YouTube, Buckley has Flanderized himself. He started out as a grumpy and harsh but constistently comical, and managed to keep up this exact persona for most of his online career. Starting from this year, however, he's upped the grumpiness and harshness but failed to mix most of it with good, original humour. His jokes are getting predictable, his voice is grating, his complaints about things are increasingly trivial (and hypocritical) and his more frequent cursing now sounds childish, particularly his F-bombs. Even his fans, who used to be a mostly decent bunch, have over time mutated into yet another moronic and over-infatuated Internet fandom.
I might still watch Buckley's older and better videos, but I think with his newest video, he's finally arrived at the hazardous waters of that dreaded shark. I used to be excited for his weekly content, but my interest in his material is severely declining. He's far more of an asshole than he claims he is. He's now almost insufferable.
WebVideo Great fun, Without any worry of an OD.
A Dose of Buckley: THE REVIEW
A Dose of Buckley is a Video Series currently consisting of more than 200 Unique Videos on many different topics headed by Radio Host and Part-Time Internet Personality/Comedian Adam Buckley, who resides in London, Ontario.
The Series, is really defined by one word: FUN. His videos, even when they delve into opinions that differ from mine, are strikingly entertaining to watch and have LOTS of Replay Value. (I've probably gone back to almost each and every one of his videos at least three times.)
If you have similar views to Buckley, you will definitely enjoy him if you like in-your-face, raunchy and ranty videos based off of (At many times) controversial topics. However, if you like Youtubers that are much easier on the ears, (And Mind.) then sorry, but his videos are NOT for you.
If I could chalk his videos up to a common trope, it's Brutal Honesty. He is loud, over the top and at many times a COMPLETE asshole, (Which he commonly admits to himself!) but he is generally VERY Rational, and the few times I would consider him to not be, I can just move onto another video like nobody's business.
In terms of jokes, I would say he is normally very funny. Sometimes his jokes can be a bit ego-ridden, (Something which unfortunately, even with the added self-awareness, his Channel suffers from occasionally) but most of the time they are still very funny. Some fans might say his videos are a Satire, but I definitely wouldn't say that's the case. His videos are more (What seems to be) an exaggerated version of himself than anything, which luckily for us, is very entertaining to watch.
When it comes to contemporaries, I would say ADOB actually pretty unique. The only other Channel that I would say has a decent amount of similarity to A Dose Of Buckley would be The Amazing Atheist, mainly because of the "Loud Ranting with Jokes" setup. As someone who watches them both, I can easily say that they are both in their own lane, and both have their own individual benifits as well as faults.
If there is anything I would consider bad about A Dose of Buckley, it's that sometimes he can be kind of a dick without any remorse, but I can mostly look past that.
Overall, A Dose Of Buckley is a flawed, but VERY fun and entertaining to watch. I definitely recommend him if you like Rants, especially funny Rants.
WebVideo Whatever You Do, Don't Believe the Hype
For a time, I was fascinated with Buckley. His angry opinions about the world sucked me in, and I watched video after video. But something nibbled at my enjoyment, something that only became exacerbated by the obnoxious praise the man received in comments. That nibble turned into a gnawing I couldn't ignore. At the time, I felt the correct phrase for it was "straw man", and since I haven't given this histrionic agitator a moment of my time since, I'll stick with that.
This guy isn't worth watching. All he does is rage against things he doesn't like. It's a shtick that gets old fast, and is only tolerable if all you want is validation for opinions you already hold. This guy only builds up his personal boogeyman to tear them down in the most obnoxious way, all while pulling the wool over people's eyes that he's brilliantly skewering something important. Clearly, there's a market for this, and far be it from me to stop the blind leading the blind.
Avoid at all costs.
WebVideo The more "thinner" version of The amazing atheist
Before "Buckley" is the new generation of atheist (and hitler worshipper)around the Internet, The amazing atheist was made in 2006 on YouTube He's rebellious,mean,psychotic and of course, he's does not believe in anything. He was really popular ever since back then and he still making new Videos every week. That is until Buckley came along. He too is rebellious,mean(which is taken up eleven in his much later future videos) and guess what? He too does not believe in anything either! The only difference is that he care much more about politics (which is weird cause he rant of how stupid we are with world and politics). And rant about music. (Gee that's so original,*cough* Todd in the Shadows *cough*). The amazing atheist does not on the other hand, he's still continues ranting god and the republicans. Buckley rant ONCE about not believing anything and that's it. Even though I do hate the two of them, there something original about The amazing atheist that make him classic, Buckley, well......not. I still hate him, no matter what. He's racist,feminist and hates people with disabilities (hell, even pronouns "Hitler's" favourite fan) and so on.
So overall, He's a knockoff of The Amazing Atheist . 3/10
WebVideo Angry, sarcastic, mean, but fair.
A Dose of Buckley is intended to be a place for Buckley to say exactly what he feels. His videos tend to talk about subjects with Brutal Honesty. His opinions are generally fair and only go off-base whenever he is being sarcastic. Unlike many other YouTube ranters, his videos are pictures and video instead of a person in front of a camera. This gives him more leeway with his humor, with the ability for more natural visual puns and extra commentary that would sound weird said aloud. He works in radio and so occasionally reviews music, mostly with a focus on Top 40 hits. He is also known for doing top ten worst hit song videos annually, and some commercial parodies. He seems to enjoy employing dark humor. He hates stupidity and hypocrisy in all forms, and seems to want people to smarten up in general. A seeker of truth, if you will.
On one hand, it can be quite refreshing to see someone abandon all pretense and polite decorum to sum up a situation exactly the way it is. He intends to tell the truth in all cases. He attempts to see situations logically and seems to enjoy pointing out hypocrisy and double-standards. While his loathing of Top 40 music could be assumed to just be bias due to his day job, the criticisms he brings are generally fair for the song in question, and Musical Autopsy has even had good songs where he only picked at small bits or weak spots to be funny, and gave praise where it was due.
On the other hand, some of his subject matter outside of music can be dark and depressing at times. He says things like they are, but has shown and admitted that his videos cannot stop the tide of stupid. This can leave the laughs feeling somewhat hollow, and his bitter attitude can make some hate him no matter what he says. His opinion on pop music can swing into bias territory, especially in the Musical Autopsy of "Last Friday Night" by Katy Perry (I hated that song as well, but he did the review a bit of an injustice). He intends for people to see comedy in what he says, but not every video is a hit for the effort that must go into voicing and constructing a video.
Overall, I recommend giving him a look.
WebVideo Entertaining, but valueless
I used to enjoy watching these videos. When you are making fun of famous pop musicians, I thought, who cares? It's all a fit subject for humor. The problem is Buckley's entry into the much more serious world of polemics, where many traits are needed that he simply can't muster, such as maturity. Buckley's personal attacks smack of moralizing of the worst self-righteous kind. This is somewhat of a result of his attempts to be edgy - he seems to imagine himself as a heroic outsider bravely defending the world against everything he hates, which to him is evil. As such, he enjoys branding various people evil for very minor things. His attitude is acceptable in the world of online comedy reviews but is a blight on our civilization when it enters the political sphere. It is symptomatic of the ills of society he claims to fight. His rants do not depend on logic or reasoning, they depend on veiled insults to try to paint his opponents as beyond sympathy. But ultimately, his attempts to moralize fail, because he cannot muster very much morality. Buckley is not worth watching, unless watching demagoguery and sophistry is what you wish to do with your time on the internet. If this is so, I guarantee you will find in him the utmost satisfaction.