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Azure Dream · Sep 15, 2012

Like a lot of people said, this was probably a good point to call it quits. Because of fan pressure or his own standards, the Critic character became very structured, predictable, and just too abrasive at times.

I saw Doug Walker at a local anime con, Matsuricon 2012 (which now that I think about it, was after he shot and edited the movie, but before he posted all of it, so he knew this was coming up), and I'd forgotten how funny he can be. He spent hours in a late night improv panel at one point, and it was fantastic, as well as when he was sitting with a group ripping on The Wizard, not as "The Critic," but just having fun with it.

I'm aware that's still a public persona of sorts, but it was a nice reminder that he's a lot more than that character, and honestly the character was holding him back at this point. It really does seem like time to put it to rest.

AniHawk · Sep 15, 2012

i watch for todd, lindsay, and phelous.

the child's play crossover got me watching phelous. it was weird going back to his original videos when he wasn't doing the voice. the voice doesn't bug me though, and i find his brand of humor great (like the jurassic park music playing over a long clip of him getting into a car and driving away at the end of one of his reviews).

doug's stuff is pretty hit and miss, but it's probably insanely difficult to keep that stuff up for every week for years on end. sad to see it go, but i understand the decision.

GavinGT · Sep 15, 2012

Doesn't Todd only review pop songs? Yeah, not interested.

maharg · Sep 15, 2012

Incidentally I find it kind of hilarious that Todd in the Shadows acronyms to TITS.

Seraphis Cain · Sep 15, 2012

I've watched Todd since he was a lowly YouTube reviewer. Maybe that's part of why I'm such a big fan of his. Same with Blockbuster Buster. That dude tried for years to get onto TGWTG, and when he finally did it was pretty awesome.

Boss Doggie · Sep 15, 2012

It's really sad that people only see him as an AVGN knock-off.

Then again gamers are like that.

MrKaepora · Sep 15, 2012

Really loved some of his episodes while others were on WTF territory and others on meh territory. It was the only show that I regulary watched on the site and I can only wish good luck in the new project.

ZeroGravity · Sep 15, 2012

I loved the Nostalgia Critic, but he was really starting to run out of good nostalgic things to review. The last year or so has been really rough. Guess the time is right.

Darklord · Sep 15, 2012

Aww, I liked his reviews.

Htown · Sep 15, 2012

maharg said:
Honestly I'm kinda disappointed they're apparently not going to do any more specials. I think they're fun, even if they are 'bad' in a lot of ways. I'll miss them. I really liked the mix of Star Trek and Star Wars references in this one in particular.

I don't mind references, but it seemed like this time they were literally just doing those movies line for line while replacing a few words with internet critic/movie industry related words for like half of the movie's running time. It got real boring and predictable real fast.

strobogo · Sep 15, 2012

The last few AVGN episodes that were actually done by James weren't very hot, either. I think he has similarly run out of any way to keep it fresh. I have no idea how a full length movie with the character would work.

Monster Madness is clearly the best thing of all internet reviewers/critics.

TheContact · Sep 15, 2012

He was running out of nostalgic things. His true nostalgic videos are great to watch multiple times.

Reuenthal · Sep 15, 2012

I liked his videos but I had at some point started losing interest and stopped watching them about a year ago.

Jacobi · Sep 15, 2012

Am I the only one who looked forward every week to his newest review?
I guess so... I don't enjoy his other characters as much...

Alebrije · Sep 15, 2012

Who began to do reviews first ? AVGN or NC?

Seraphis Cain · Sep 15, 2012

Alebrije said:
Who began to do reviews first ? AVGN or NC?

AVGN, by a good four years or so.

Downhome · Sep 15, 2012

I have been watching the NC videos since the start, week after week, so I hate to see the character go. What are other bits on the site I should start watching now?

Heck, now that NC is pretty much done and AVGN releases videos so rarely, what should I aim for now. I love both of them and hate not having them to go to as often now.

diamount · Sep 15, 2012

Haters gonna hate. I've enjoyed mostly all his videos, except the colabs.. I just don't like the other people who work on TGWTG, they're for funny to me. The Nolstlagia Chick just grates on me.

Glad Bum Reviews is still on, maybe he can do More That Guy stuff also.

Grinchy · Sep 15, 2012

I never really liked this guy either. I saw that he had a strong following so I really tried to get into his videos, but they just felt awkward, forced, and a little lame.

lunarworks · Sep 15, 2012

strobogo said:
The last few AVGN episodes that were actually done by James weren't very hot, either. I think he has similarly run out of any way to keep it fresh. I have no idea how a full length movie with the character would work.

Monster Madness is clearly the best thing of all internet reviewers/critics.

The problem is AVGN was getting more and more conceptual with each video, which took more planning and effort. He couldn't just do a normal review anymore without letting his fanbase down.

The Librarian · Sep 15, 2012

His "Scooby Doo" review was fantastic. Perfect ending. Though it helps if you're a Star Trek fan.

Snowman Prophet of Doom · Sep 15, 2012

Spoony > other video reviewers, if you ignore that he's a petulant, self-destructive man-child personally. He was the most articulate person on the site, the most consistently funny, one of the better actors (I'd probably only put Brad Jones ahead of him), and his ability to just riff endlessly on things that he hates is pretty much unparalleled anywhere else. It's a shame that he had to have a big Charlie Sheen meltdown and quit the site, as I have to imagine that he was one of their biggest draws.

Mr_Zombie · Sep 15, 2012

Snowman Prophet of Doom said:
It's a shame that he had to have a big Charlie Sheen meltdown and quit the site, as I have to imagine that he was one of their biggest draws.

What? What happened there? Recently I haven't been following TGWTG that much so I didn't know about that.

Boss Doggie · Sep 15, 2012

To be fair instead of movie reviews he could just do analysis on old cartoon series. I really enjoyed them like his Ducktales, TMNT 80's and X-Men lookback.

Snowman Prophet of Doom · Sep 15, 2012

Mr_Zombie said:
What? What happened there? Recently I haven't been following TGWTG that much so I didn't know about that.

He made some joke on JesuOtaku's Twitter that went something like, "If you ever break up with your boyfriend, I'll chain you up in the basement and love you. My way." I took it as a BDSM joke, but during an argument with Lupa, she said that it was a rape joke, and the whole thing eventually blew up when she came out with a blog post and said that TGWTG would excuse highly inappropriate conduct from Spoony, including a number of Twitter comments like that one, due to his being one of the site's biggest draws. He was already on a four-week suspension due to his tendency to abuse his fans on Twitter, but when all this came out, he had a major meltdown, started cussing out fans, and ranting about how he's just an internet comedian and it's ridiculous to expect him to censor himself. Then it went into some dark territory, as things like his depression and his bad breakup last year started coming out, and it's clear that he just simply wasn't all there. TGWTG told him he needed to back off, but he just up and decided to quit the site, instead. He later came out and said that he'd gone to a doctor and been diagnosed with Bipolar II, but it's hard to know if that's true or just him attempting to save face. Either way, I think it became pretty tough to respect Spoony personally, at that point. He's about a thousand times funnier than Doug, but outside of being the Nostalgia Critic, Doug seems like a pretty nice and stable guy, whereas you can tell that Spoony would be alot tougher to know.

strobogo · Sep 15, 2012

lunarworks said:
The problem is AVGN was getting more and more conceptual with each video, which took more planning and effort. He couldn't just do a normal review anymore without letting his fanbase down.

The Arnold games review just seemed like he wasn't really into it.. He has so much stuff going on that isn't related the the Nerd, plus the AVGN movie. And on top of it all, there is only so many ways you can mix shit and fuck in regards to video games. I've come to enjoy his straight movie reviews more than the Nerd.

I feel like he's moved on from that character. He's taken it to such a high level that he can't go back to simple reviews. Hopefully the movie is the last hurrah for the character and he can find new things to display his talents. And keeping with straight reviews. I love Monster Madness so much. I look forward to it so much every year. It also introduced me to a lot of horror movies I otherwise never would have watched or heard of.

CoffeeJanitor · Sep 15, 2012

Hmmm...I dunno. I guess he may have run out of movies to go over.

Always loved the videos, anyways.

DrForester · Sep 15, 2012

SFDebris has become my favorite video review site.

http://sfdebris.com/

Totobeni · Sep 15, 2012

NC was the only thing that worked for Doug Walker,now they he and his team going for stuff like Key of Awesome I guess with full on acting and stuff, yeah I've seen their abilities in these sort of things,not good.

TGWTG needed new reviewers (good ones) not less,and now with losing Spoony and no more Nostalgia Critic, the site views will drop even harder than before(they were already in problems and decline).

Alebrije · Sep 15, 2012

Seraphis Cain said:
AVGN, by a good four years or so.

They where part of a game subculture that is ending , the NES-SNES gamers that now most of them do no play. Sure they make movies reviews but tons of people do that.

I guess only people from that era uncerstand their reviews I knew the anger caused by games like Battletoads for NES...the hard leves on the "motorcicle" or the jumps in Ninja Gaiden games....

Sapphire Dreams · Sep 15, 2012

I liked his older stuff, but his newer stuff is kind of meh.

krameriffic · Sep 15, 2012

Lionel Mandrake said:
He had his moments

Indeed.

Killing_Joke said:
Loved some of his early stuff. But stopped following year or so ago. It felt forced and not funny.

AVGN > everyone.

See, this thread has a lot of love for the AVGN, but I've had the same complaint about him for a long time. Right around when he did his Lester the Unlikely review (which was about 2 years ago) he really slowed down his review output and they just didn't seem real to me anymore. They lacked that tacky production value and genuine vitriolic fucking hate that made his reviews fun to watch. Every complaint felt contrived, his delivery of the "FUCK THIS GAME" lines was phoned in, and the heart and soul of a guy who lucked upon e-success gave way to manufactured-feeling reviews.

NC never went through such a transition in my eyes. It just got stale watching them every single week when he never really had much to say that we hadn't already heard. He ran short of movies people cared about, he lacks the insight offered by a Plinkett review, and the schtick just isn't enough to carry the show on weekly FOREVER. I think he should have moved to an every 2 weeks release schedule a long time ago.

Lissar · Sep 15, 2012

Kind of sad to see him go, but I guess it was inevitable. I hadn't actually watched the last four episodes leading up to Scooby Doo until just after that one came out. I guess I kind of forgot about him. I suppose that speaks to the quality of work he was doing at that point. He just didn't seem into it.

Also, if you aren't watching Paw you're doing it wrong. I got to the site through watching his stuff on Youtube. His King's Quest V LP is amazing, and if you're a KQ fan he did a great series of KQ history videos that are a must watch.

BatDan · Sep 15, 2012

Man, that's sad. Sucks to see the Critic go. But I do look forward to Doug's future projects and seeing what he has planned.

*sees people not understand the Critic and Doug aren't the same* Do you guys think James Rolfe goes around taking dumps on NES games and drinking Rolling Rock constantly? Or that Brad Jones is actually trying to find the artistic value in movies like Porno Holocaust and Pink Flamingos? Granted, this one is harder to spot since there are legitimate people like the Cinema Snob out there.

Someone I won't be sad to see go? The Irate Gamer. For those people calling NC an AVGN knock-off, you clearly haven't seen the Irate Gamer. Dumbass is still going too.

strobogo · Sep 15, 2012

krameriffic said:
Indeed.

They lacked that tacky production value and genuine vitriolic fucking hate that made his reviews fun to watch.

I think his success has made him a happier person and he doesn't have the actual hate that made the early reviews so awesome. In everything he does outside of the Nerd, he seems so happy and cool. I think it IS hard for him to put on that hate now. Which is why I'm not upset that he has done very few Nerd reviews in the past 2 years. I think James is more talented than what he can do within the confines of the Nerd character.

Doug, I don't know. I never hated the Critic. I enjoyed a number of his reviews. But I also thought everything else he was involved with was pretty bad. And if the Critic was the best he could do, I'm not sure how much farther he can go in his chosen profession. I got the impression from his out of character moments that he takes it all a bit too seriously. Like, it's a really personal thing for him that clouds his judgement a bit on what he's actually doing. Or maybe I'm just reaching. He seemed to think of the character as a human Daffy Duck. Which often came out achingly unfunny.

The Librarian · Sep 15, 2012

Probably my favorite NC moment.

Boss Doggie · Sep 15, 2012

He's pretty good at voice acting I give you that.

BatDan · Sep 15, 2012

Ookami-kun said:
He's pretty good at voice acting I give you that.

Kind of. In a lot of voices you can tell it's him talking, but he does do a good Christopher Lloyd impression. His brother Rob does an amazing Christopher Walken, Vincent Price, and Emperor Palpatine. He should have a "Palpatine-Off" with Mike of RedLetterMedia.

Still, I really enjoyed his videos.

Izick · Sep 15, 2012

The best stuff almost 9/10 is whenever these guys don't act.

I'd rather hear a million Let's Plays (which are likely semi-scripted), VLOGS, Counter Monkeys, or whatever than another review from Spoony. His real stuff is just so much more interesting.

Seriously, you all must watch these:

Let's Play: Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh

Let's Play: Ripper

Let's Play: SWAT 4

Davey Cakes · Sep 15, 2012

GavinGT said:
Doesn't Todd only review pop songs? Yeah, not interested.

He does, and for the most part he tears them apart. That's why I watch.

Darklord · Sep 15, 2012

Dax01 said:
His "Scooby Doo" review was fantastic. Perfect ending. Though it helps if you're a Star Trek fan.

Yeah, I had a feeling that was the end.

PapaJustify · Sep 15, 2012

Never watched one of his videos, nor could I say would want to, but the mere fact that I had to hear this pest of a voice all the time when my gf was watching those videos, made me to come and post here in celebration!

Earthpainting · Sep 15, 2012

I enjoyed the Nostalgia Critic videos, but I pretty much disliked it every time he tried to write in sketches of his own or had awkward guest appearances. I might give their new project a watch, but there's a good chance that this is where I stop visiting the website.

survivor · Sep 15, 2012

I started watching Todd In The Shadows thanks to this thread and he is amazing. I'm happy that I have shitload of his videos to go through now.

Forceatowulf · Sep 15, 2012

Sucks. Majorly. Nostalgia Critic was one of the few online shows I watched consistently...

I really hope their new stuff is up to par. Gonna miss the fuck out of visiting Thatguy, seeing a new vid about a movie I vaguely remember from my childhood, and then laughing my ass off at it's absurdity/stupidity.

GavinGT · Sep 15, 2012

Rash said:
He does, and for the most part he tears them apart. That's why I watch.

OK, you convinced me. He's pretty good

MarkusRJR · Sep 15, 2012

Thank god. His videos are so bad. My friend would always force me to watch them and would elbow me when I didn't laugh. I loved it when Retsuprae made fun of how bad he is and how bad that one Simpsons LP was.

Cow Mengde · Sep 15, 2012

maharg said:
I had a total WTF moment when Luke being Colin Mochrie's son came up in To Boldly Flee. I seem to recall noting the name similarity, and I knew Luke Mochrie was in Canada for some reason (reference in last year's special maybe?), but I didn't think for a second that it might actually be the case.

You guys need to check out JewWario. He does a lot of import games and stuff. He's also getting funding to do his own tokusatsu, FamiKamen Rider. It will feature people with martial arts skills for the fight scenes. The first 2 episodes show off what these guys can do.

hertog · Sep 15, 2012

Izick said:
The best stuff almost 9/10 is whenever these guys don't act.

I'd rather hear a million Let's Plays (which are likely semi-scripted), VLOGS, Counter Monkeys, or whatever than another review from Spoony. His real stuff is just so much more interesting.

Seriously, you all must watch these:

Let's Play: Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh

Let's Play: Ripper

Let's Play: SWAT 4

And his final fantasy and Ultima reviews

But SWAT 4 man, that was something else. I just really hate the long intro's on those.

BatDan · Sep 15, 2012

It's actually pretty depressing people are rejoicing over this. *sighs* I knew people hated him but... jeez.

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