Scott Pilgrim Takes Off creator criticizes streaming dumps: "Imagine if the whole season of X-Men 97 was out "
- Thread starter Saucycarpdog
- Start date
Weekly releases still work fine for certain shows, but Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is not one that needed that schedule. I was glad to have it all drop at once and watch it over the course of a weekend.
To me personally, a four week run isn't that much different from a "streaming dump". As seasons get shorter (4-8 episodes), I don't see the value in releasing stuff piecemeal. At least bring back 10-13 episode seasons first.
I'm kinda with him on that. Weekly schedule generates more discussion more often than not, but I also want them to bring back longer episode counts for seasons. This 8-13 episodes all dumped at once, then waiting upwards of two years for more…yeah I'm over it
The only upside is the consumer gets to binge the content faster but that's also a potential downside because if the show isn't incredible they will also forget about it quicker, and if the show is incredible if you're someone who discusses stuff online you will prolly wish it was weekly.
(this was me with Fallout, Fallout would've been so nice to talk about weekly and theorize about)
(this was me with Fallout, Fallout would've been so nice to talk about weekly and theorize about)
I hate the series dump. All the fun of talking about and speculation around the series is gone. There is no appreciation for a single episode is gone.
I say Game of Thrones was mainly a hit, because people loved to talk about it and its twist and turns.
I say Game of Thrones was mainly a hit, because people loved to talk about it and its twist and turns.
It is a mystery. So there would have been some speculation between the viewers.
Regarding binge vs weekly..
•It is completely valid to prefer to watch a show all at once, or to enjoy week-to-week
•Binge watchers can wait for a show to be fully out before they watch it all
•Weekly watchers could theoretically spread their viewings out and watch 1 episode a week
However, the fact is, it's almost impossible for a community to collectively pull off the third bullet point, meaning weekly releases encourage more/better discussion of a show. So for people that like to theorize about things or get excited over certain moments with friends/fans, weekly is definitely a better format. Otherwise it's a lot more effort to try and be synced or use spoiler tags etc
(Certain shows lend themselves more to one format or another of course, as another poster pointed out)
•It is completely valid to prefer to watch a show all at once, or to enjoy week-to-week
•Binge watchers can wait for a show to be fully out before they watch it all
•Weekly watchers could theoretically spread their viewings out and watch 1 episode a week
However, the fact is, it's almost impossible for a community to collectively pull off the third bullet point, meaning weekly releases encourage more/better discussion of a show. So for people that like to theorize about things or get excited over certain moments with friends/fans, weekly is definitely a better format. Otherwise it's a lot more effort to try and be synced or use spoiler tags etc
(Certain shows lend themselves more to one format or another of course, as another poster pointed out)
It seems weird to want to hold things back intentionally but I agree with him. It's hard to even have a conversation about a binge dropped season, particularly a longer one. Like it's consume, ok there's not enough critical mass that consumed it the same as me so little discussion, move on.
Weekly is better.
Imagine the impact that episode 5 of X-Men wouldn't have had if you could just immediately start up the next episode. It hits hard and then it's gone and rolls credits and it just leaves you to think it over and over. I haven't stopped thinking about it since it aired.
Imagine the impact that episode 5 of X-Men wouldn't have had if you could just immediately start up the next episode. It hits hard and then it's gone and rolls credits and it just leaves you to think it over and over. I haven't stopped thinking about it since it aired.
I do understand that weekly releases can keep a show in the public eye for longer and keep discussion going, so I'm not against it.
But personally I'm just used to streaming show dumps by now and I have a hard time keeping interested in week-to-week releases unless I'm really into the show.
But personally I'm just used to streaming show dumps by now and I have a hard time keeping interested in week-to-week releases unless I'm really into the show.
Yeah. Your show gets totally buried regardless of quality incredibly quickly when the entire thing is dumped at once. It's been less than a week and I'm noticing less talk about Fallout. As for the shows themselves, individual moments don't get time to shine when you're watching the next episode before you can even process what happened.
Imagine if a show like Shogun was just thrown all out there to he binged, yuck
I dunno. I don't mind binging shows here and there, and I know there are exceptions in terms of what can blow up without the weekly model, but in general I'm Team Weekly for sure.
This is what I always like to point out. Neither model fully satisfies everyone, but at least those that prefer binging can just wait to watch it all if that's big a deal to them. Since some make a whole fuss about not caring about the "discourse" and talking about shows with others, they shouldn't mind waiting then. 🙂
Whereas with the binge model, I can't organically go and watch the new Fallout show with others. That option was taken away from me. I also can't look in the OT and have to be mindful of social media in general lest I have the finale spoiled for me lol
I dunno. I don't mind binging shows here and there, and I know there are exceptions in terms of what can blow up without the weekly model, but in general I'm Team Weekly for sure.
This is what I always like to point out. Neither model fully satisfies everyone, but at least those that prefer binging can just wait to watch it all if that's big a deal to them. Since some make a whole fuss about not caring about the "discourse" and talking about shows with others, they shouldn't mind waiting then. 🙂
Whereas with the binge model, I can't organically go and watch the new Fallout show with others. That option was taken away from me. I also can't look in the OT and have to be mindful of social media in general lest I have the finale spoiled for me lol
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Ehhh, I waited until all of Frieren was out before I started watching because I hate being arbitrarily forced to wait out 20+ weeks to see something in its entirety. I don't discuss shows with anyone, and I've found that when I have watched things that release weekly it can actually lessen my enjoyment of something.
I didn't vibe with Chainsaw Man at all, and all I saw online was excessive hype about how good it was which I just didn't feel. I was watching along weekly and just getting increasingly disappointed with the show and then being forced to wait a whole week to see another cliffhanger resolve in a way that didn't click.
I've obviously liked shows releasing weekly before, back when there was no other choice, but I think as I've gotten older and there's no technological barrier in the way of an entire season of a show dropping at once I don't see the reason to not do it.
If you only want to consume an episode a week and join in a specific community's per-episode discussion of it, you can still do that. The onus is now just on you to make that call.
I didn't vibe with Chainsaw Man at all, and all I saw online was excessive hype about how good it was which I just didn't feel. I was watching along weekly and just getting increasingly disappointed with the show and then being forced to wait a whole week to see another cliffhanger resolve in a way that didn't click.
I've obviously liked shows releasing weekly before, back when there was no other choice, but I think as I've gotten older and there's no technological barrier in the way of an entire season of a show dropping at once I don't see the reason to not do it.
If you only want to consume an episode a week and join in a specific community's per-episode discussion of it, you can still do that. The onus is now just on you to make that call.
I agree, there's a lot of shows where I feel like dumping everything all at once was a mistake that killed discussion and quickly ended their time in the limelight. Part 6 of JoJo is a big example of this.
X-Men '97's big moments in each episode and the anticipation of what'll happen next would not be hitting near as hard if dropped all at once.
X-Men '97's big moments in each episode and the anticipation of what'll happen next would not be hitting near as hard if dropped all at once.
Some shows I like being able to watch all at once, but then there's others that I can't imagine would work like that.
Like can you imagine if Lost came out a whole season at a time? That would have killed half of the fun of the show. The post episode theorizing was a huge part of the experience.
Like can you imagine if Lost came out a whole season at a time? That would have killed half of the fun of the show. The post episode theorizing was a huge part of the experience.
Weekly is better. Shows dropped all at once have 1 week of mainstream popularity max and everyone outside of the hardcore fanbase stops talking about it. Fallout is about to drop out of mainstream discussion while shows like Shogun have stayed for weeks.
With most shows I just wait until the whole lot are out because I don't really desire The Conversation. Got Xmen, Shogun, Invincible and Chucky waiting to be watched in the next few weeks.
There are exceptions though. Binging Twin Peaks S3 would've been a nightmare and the WTF experience of digesting that show for months was great. I just don't desire that with like 90% of shows.
There are exceptions though. Binging Twin Peaks S3 would've been a nightmare and the WTF experience of digesting that show for months was great. I just don't desire that with like 90% of shows.
I much prefer to binge, but yeah. I can wait. It's no big deal. Like when Reacher season 2 came out I immediately looked up when the last episode would air, and in mind that was the release date. Easy peasy. If it's healthier for a show to release weekly then I'm all for it.
I don't see how you don't understand this is just simply not the same thing as everyone being on the same page with having to wait every week for a new episode, letting discussion and hype or whatever naturally build up as people anticipate what comes next each week.
Whereas with your Frieren example, you still got to binge the entire thing, with it being no different from someone getting to binge a show Day 1. The only inconvenience was you having to wait admittedly quite a while, but it's still the same experience as me binging Fallout right now. But if I were try to pace myself and watch an episode of Fallout each week and joining discussion threads after the fact, it'd be really silly trying to pretend that it's the same experience where the whole season isn't already out.
I'm imagining all Xmen availability. I'm upset now it's not. I prefer to binge or watch at my pace rather than every week.
The bolded is I think the key point here. The "discourse" at a community level has no self-control or restraint. It will always be beholden in some way to the poop-sockers doing the digital equivalent of sitting outside a toy store waiting for the owner to unlock the door (assuming things don't leak early). And the poop-sockers will always be there because the internet rewards first-movers with the most engagement.
So the binge model really does nothing but take options away. Yeah, there's quite a few shows that are built more for binge than weekly (or at least those that don't take as much advantage of weekly as they should - looking at Disney here) but the weekly cadence at least allows people who want that sort of community engagement to have their space. A dump release shuts that all out, streamlines it all to the first couple days (the first week at most) before it flushes away for the next thing.
Weekly is way better. Generates discussion, community, mystery.
Binge watching is fine but as somebody who can't sit and binge a show, I'm always screwed over by season dumps because I never watch fast enough to be in the hype period or I get spoiled almost immediately…
Binge watching is fine but as somebody who can't sit and binge a show, I'm always screwed over by season dumps because I never watch fast enough to be in the hype period or I get spoiled almost immediately…
He's completely right. Like, I'm not super interested in Fallout, but I'd absolutely be willing to watch one episodes a week and follow some of the discussion/commentary that would exist surrounding it. But that show's already been out, what, a week or two? But I'm already 8 episodes behind, and as far as I can tell, their *is* no discussion around it. So there's no way I'm bothering with the series now.
Hell, i watched both seasons of that Halo show even though they were absolute dogshit just because it was fun to follow along with people dumping on it, and an hour a week was a small enough investment to put up with a bad show for the sake of the bit.
Hell, i watched both seasons of that Halo show even though they were absolute dogshit just because it was fun to follow along with people dumping on it, and an hour a week was a small enough investment to put up with a bad show for the sake of the bit.
Wait Fallout is already done airing? I haven't even started yet and it feels like the conversation has already died lol
A majority of the time I would prefer it if shows released all at once. However Takes Off totally would have been more successful if it released weekly. Each episode had plenty of shit going on to keep the conversation going.
Sure, I don't really care enough to argue the point. I'll just interact with media the way I want and you can interact the way you want.
I'd be on team weekly if episodes were more than 20 minutes long. I've sat down, got my snacks, I'm ready for the show, oh look something cool's happen - it's over. Tune in next week.
I shouldn't need to specify this obviously doesn't apply to things longer than 20 minutes, but I will.
I shouldn't need to specify this obviously doesn't apply to things longer than 20 minutes, but I will.
I do not blame anyone for preferring the binge model because it slots into their lifestyle better, but ultimately, I want good shows to have the best chance to continue being good shows, get more seasons, give creatives more opportunities, and I do not think the boom/bust model of binges helps in that regard.
This has already been a weird case, because on a customer level. The all at once approach is more consumer friendly, since you don't have to subscribe for multiple months to a service to watch one show. But on a fandom level, speculation and discussion happens more when you get multiple drops instead of just all at once.
The Last of Us was a great example of the benefit of the weekly model. It dominated Sunday/Monday discussions, and the ratings continually went up even after it debuted really hot. That obviously wouldn't have happened with a dump. It actually makes me wonder if Sony has had discussions with Netflix and Amazon about how to handle Horizon and GoW, since both of those streamers are known for full season dumps.
It did tho. Of course you can binge it and enjoy it. All shows can be binged. But this show was structured in a way that would have benefitted from a week of conversation and speculation between episodes.