Monday, September 21, 2015

Introduction

Well I guess I'll see how this goes too. If this is already coming off as a ripoff of the Girl Meets World Reviewed blog (http://girlmeetsworldreviewed.blogspot.com/) that's because it very much is. Like Christian (if you know him mostly through his blog) or Glozone (if you know him mostly through IMDb, same person) I'm starting this blog mostly because there is a serious dearth of decent reviews on Girl Meets World - or other shows on Disney Channel or Nickelodeon for that matter. Obviously Christian (as I'll be referring to him from now on as that's what he seems to prefer to be called) already has the GMW element nailed down, but there seems to be zero interest in people reviewing other Disney Channel/Nick shows and giving them a fair, balanced shake despite an apparent demand for people to read or otherwise consume those reviews.

Well, that's not entirely true. There had been a few resources here and there prior to Christian's blog. For starters there's Nick and More (nickandmore.com) which was mostly a news/scheduling site as opposed to offering reviews or commentary, but that said it was still one of the best around. There were also a number of message boards and communities dedicated to specific shows and actresses - Bella Thorn and Zendaya or Shake it Up, Olivia Holt for I Didn't Do It, Debby Ryan for Jessie. All of these resources outright disappeared, in many cases without a trace, long before Christian got his own blog running. What happened? In the case of NickAndMore, Bryan, the site's curator, just got overwhelmed with both material and let's just say active the-exact-opposite-of-help from Nickelodeon itself. But I'l quit speaking for him, Bryan himself has the entire story at Nick and More itself. As for the message boards - small communities funded by what's essentially the pocket or found couch cushion change of the domain owner don't last very long. It's just the nature of the beast.

That said, Christian's (and now also Sean's) blog has inspired me to go beyond just Girl Meets World. I'm really impressed by the thought and commentary they put into their reviews and other material, and I think other shows are deserving of the same treatment, or at least hopefully we'll have some fun along the way.

As Christian said of the state of Girl Meets World reviews when he started, most of the reviews of other shows of this genre tended to be of a single voice - but unlike GMW, where many of them had either been of cloying nostalgia that doesn't even address the actual show itself or just a perfunctory basic review never to return to the show again, that single voice tends to be overwhelmingly negative, declaring the state of children's entertainment to be a black hole of a cesspool and then vowing never to return again. I'd like to be a little bit more fair, a little bit more analytical than that.

Also like Christian and Sean I'd like to include discussion and analysis from other parties too, because review and analysis is somewhat useless without dissenting opinion or at least another perspective on it. I've given Christian and Sean a standing invitation if they'd like to delve outside of their Girl Meets World comfort zone, but if you'd like to participate in an analysis or review beyond the comments sections, I'll give it consideration. In the meantime I'll introduce who will be partnering up with me later.

Anyway, I'll be doing episode reviews of various episodes of Nickelodeon and Disney Channel shows past and present (given how presently Girl Meets World dominates so much, and as I've said people already have that covered) as well as relevant topics - the state of both networks, the state of children's entertainment at large, why do child actors and especially actresses struggle to break out, etc. At this point I've talked for way too long about this, so expect actual material coming henceforth! (or as soon as I figure out how to allow for others access to edit on this Blogspot-thingie - oh, that reminds me, people have suggested a number of Blogspot alternatives which I plan to migrate to - but in the meantime, here it is)

5 comments:

  1. My dear Unknown,

    I look forward to reading your blog. Allow me to be the first one to comment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Also tell me if you want to contribute beyond just the comments section!

      Delete
    2. Were you the one who was working on the young adult novel as your thesis? I've been thinking of expanding this blog to cover YAL as well, maybe on a weekly or bimonthly basis (it's actually the original purpose of this blog way back in '13, just never got around to it) and I'd be more than happy to let you contribute.

      Delete
  2. It's a start! Hey I would be happy to contribute, fyi I don't think my style of review is what you're going for necessarily. If you look at the two KC reviews I posted on my blog you'll see that my criticisms are insincere and I'm giving more of a parody of a review than an actual credible review. When I watch KC I think more about the federal laws they're breaking than the show's actual shortcomings. So that's my style: more about fun than scrutiny. If you want an unserious counterpart to your legit reviews though you can add me to your contributor list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think it'd be a problem, I'm trying to go for the more stream-of-conscious type of thing that GirlMeetsWorldReviewed.Blogspot.com goes for. Just basically go for what's off the top of your head. Either way, thanks!

      Delete

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