u/InfluenceFlimsiest

Does anyone else think the saddest thing about the shares plot is that the club went from being fan-owned, back to being owned by rich people?

It completely undid the idea of a community being able to own their own team and instead the wealthy having complete control. One of the coolest things about S3, totally undone just to have some false drama, never-real-stakes plot device for Rebecca (did we ever REALLY think she'd lose control of the club)?

This was kind of a storyline about how extreme wealth always just ends up on top and rich people can do whatever they want and we're just supposed to celebrate it because at least the 'good' rich people were victorious in the end. The final call didn't even come down to the three guys who owned 1 share in between (which, let's be clear, would have been way cooler - if they were always the deciding vote).

(And no way she re-sells to the community - she's learned the potential consequence of doing so + made it clear how annoyed she was by the big shareholder meetings with so many voices).

Many spoilers for ‘What’s the Catch’

Thanks for tolerating my review of Earwigs a few weeks ago; here’s another completely unsolicited one but for ‘What’s the Catch.’ Same axes but still accepting suggestions of what else I should evaluate an episode on!

Where did I get it wrong???? What would you score each category?? What other axes should we be using?? Am I the only one who thought it was this funny?

Game Mechanics | How well designed/entertaining was the game itself?
Score: 4 out of 5
Simple concept; brilliantly executed. Start with something good, make it terrible; give contestants an opportunity to make it even worse. There were endless directions this episode could have gone, and anticipating what each player MIGHT have to do was as much fun as seeing the scenarios play out. That said, this would have been a relatively easy game to break if people weren’t playing generously: the contestants were selfless in keeping the fish balanced and the game had to rely on them to be that way.

Casting | How well did the participants’ comedy/performance styles fit with the game?
Score: 5 out of 5
This episode thrived off having contestants who already knew and liked one another and who together made some truly amazing, yet ridiculous choices. Even as the ‘catch’ behind their prizes dawned on them, they leaned in to give us great comedy. Jacob trying to figure out trying to have fun at the amusement park! Kurt becoming a robot menace! Kimia getting into a 4 am tasting despite trying not to! A wrong cast could easily have become resentful about initially awesome things being turned into some pretty awful experiences and instead they kept collaborating to make new ones.

Although not contestants: Josh Reuben might not show up super often, but when he does, he is PERFECTION. Jeremy as a chaotic announcer was (and I mean this as a compliment!) just the right level of annoying to the players.

Hosting | How well did Sam’s hosting strengthen / build on the show?
Score: 4.5 out of 5
At first, this seemed like a pretty typical, ‘Sam announces what’s happening,’ episode. And then…oh, that sweet revenge when the game maker becomes the gamer. Entrapped by your own shenanigans! His ongoing glee at what they were building and willingness to lean into that was classic Game Changer.

Laugh factor | How straight up funny was it?
Score: 5 out of 5
I reached a point halfway through the episode where I just became unable to stop laughing. No further commentary necessary.   

Bonus points for: That amazing improv team from Topeka, Kansas, who kept right on rolling despite Sam and Jacob’s determination to be unhappy; the chefs who had the enthusiasm to cook a multi-course tasting menu with wine at 4 am; a set that was on theme and creative without having to be a totally over-the-top-second-location.

 Overall verdict: 5 out of 5. Perfection from beginning to end. In Season 8, topped only by ‘Count the Rice.’

Obviously huge spoilers for “Earwigs.”

I have a constant running list of my head of my favorite and least favorite Game Changers episodes, mainly because I find exploring why I loved or didn’t love them fascinating. For a simple game show, there’s so much to unpack! So: here’s my unsolicited evaluation of the most recent Game Changers episode.

Where did I get it wrong???? What would you score each category?? What axes should I add to evaluate episodes??

DISCLAIMER: To anyone throwing tomatoes at me, I love this show beyond words and it is an ongoing light in my life. Critique generates conversation!  

Game Mechanics | How well designed/entertaining was the game itself?

Score: 2 out of 5

The mini games made identifying the imposter so challenging as to make guessing essentially random, and with so many people oscillating between imposter/not imposter, you couldn’t tell who was acting well and who was guessing well. I also found myself wondering: is this weighted fairly? Does everyone have an equal opportunity to score? E.g., if you’re the imposter twice as much as someone else, you have the opportunity to score twice as many points, since guessing only gets you 1 point but being the imposter gets you 3. >!(And by playing the metagame, Beca automatically had opportunities others did not.) !<The stakes never felt significant: guess just to guess.

Also too reminiscent of Secret Sober.  

Casting | How well did the participants’ comedy/performance styles fit with the game?

Score: 3 out of 5

The cast blurred together for me: no distinct styles of gameplay, and too much relying on “showing off my personality.” Some people love that, it’s just not my vibe. I think you could have swapped any cast member for any other and gotten an equally fine result. Not terrible, but not notable. Also, I’m usually stoked to see Izzy, but she was unusually quiet this episode, which is too bad, as it could have used her excellent improv skills.

Hosting | How well did Sam’s hosting strengthen / build on the show?

Score: 2 out of 5

>!Sam was quite passive: his key parts were pre-recorded and he was there mainly to enforce, ‘it’s time to vote.’ Always fun to see him, but his hosting didn’t add much to the episode.!<

Laugh factor | How straight up funny was it?

Score: 2 out of 5

I just didn’t laugh a lot. Improv is hard to do in this context: it’s a lot of one-liners and little opportunity to build on others. Too much reliance on ‘foppery.’

Bonus points for: The incredible aesthetic, the hair and makeup team, the voice over and animation used to explain scoring.

Overall verdict: 3 out of 5. A middle-of-the-road episode that was rather unremarkable but had gorgeous vibes.

Edit: To fix spoiler tags and the weird spacing.