TV: Late Show - Letterman retiring May 20; Colbert debuting Sept 8 (post: 248)

[TootooTrain]

Perhaps. In order to be popular on youtube you need to have a personality of sorts. Which will obviously not settle well with every person. If they were 'blah' people I don't think they'd be as interesting or garner as much attention.

 

[DyerMaker66*]

But it seems like they have the exact opposite problem in that they're all trying to be too "out there". The masses eat that stupidity up.

 

[Shareefruck]

They feel kind of like the modern day liberal opposite-equivalent to the obnoxious goofy/jowly-voiced conservative talk radio shock jock, but I find them even worse somehow.

Such loud, high octane, ADD, self-righteous, overly pleased with your own clever confidence attention-whoriness. I can't pinpoint the exact thing that annoys me but I can't stand it.

Shouldn't generalize (and I'll be honest, I'm probably lumping this pewdiepie guy with guys who are more guilty of it than he is), but I honestly can't think of a Youtube sensation I've seen that didn't give me that reaction. It's like there's something about that specific personality type that makes you popular on the internet but doesn't make you popular in mainstream media, it seems.

Pffftt, "interesting personality", yeah right!

 

[ArcataShark]

I love it, Colbert has really started to settle in

Yep, it's getting better every night!

 

[Pilky01]

PewDiePie actually seems like a good guy and someone who understands how absurd his popularity and success appears to the outside world, so i give him credit for that.

THAT SAID...I can barely stand to listen to him talk, nevermind actually watch a YouTube video of his. The way he described his Lets Plays seems so sad as well...."its like playing videogames with a friend"....except the friend isn't actually there, and you can't talk to them, and they don't care about your life....and they think yelling the F word is super funny.

 

[Huggy43]

So Dave has been gone nearly a year & Colbert has been hosting for a while now: what do you guys think of his show up to this point?

Things you like/dislike, things you'd change..etc?

 

[aleshemsky83]

PewDiePie actually seems like a good guy and someone who understands how absurd his popularity and success appears to the outside world, so i give him credit for that.

THAT SAID...I can barely stand to listen to him talk, nevermind actually watch a YouTube video of his. The way he described his Lets Plays seems so sad as well...."its like playing videogames with a friend"....except the friend isn't actually there, and you can't talk to them, and they don't care about your life....and they think yelling the F word is super funny.

I think that's the weirdest think about pewdiepie, markiplier, and jacksepticeye.

They clearly know that young children are their target audience from the way they interact with the viewer (either that or they're mentally ill), and they still swear every five seconds.

 

[JA]

I think that's the weirdest think about pewdiepie, markiplier, and jacksepticeye.

They clearly know that young children are their target audience from the way they interact with the viewer (either that or they're mentally ill), and they still swear every five seconds.

The target audience definitely isn't children.

It's young adult gamers, aka people who are of the age and personality that would attend PAX and other related conventions.

This is Mega64 Game Days, where Mega64 invites viewers to spend a few days with them at Disneyland.



It's the same general audience as all of the major Let's Play channels.

They are part of the same community, and close friends, with the Game Grumps as well as each other. They all collaborate frequently.

Viewer discretion is advised.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsjKEQpqb6w

This one features Jacob Anderson, aka Grey Worm from Game of Thrones.



They recently had Jackass' Steve-O and Rob Schneider on as well.

Let's Plays are not for kids.

 

[Pilky01]

Let's Plays are not for kids.

Neither is Call of Duty, but that's still their audience.

The adults are the ones who go out to the conventions but the overwhelming majority of Let's Play viewers are children. I go to conventions for nerd **** like comics, videogames or Lego, and I see lots of adults there, but that doesn't mean I am representative of the larger audience.

 

[Trap Jesus]

I'm more indifferent to his show than I thought I would be, but he's still the best out there right now after Conan (unfortunately that isn't saying much by itself). Best thing is probably how diverse his guests are.

 

[JA]

Neither is Call of Duty, but that's still their audience.

If kids are watching certain Let's Play personalities including the ones mentioned above, then their parents are at fault.

Game Grumps is notoriously filthy, and they've even said on their show that they would consider themselves an R-rated show. Many episodes have opened with a random F-bomb.

This episode was released with a trigger warning for sensitive material.

Watch from 5:50 to the end. Viewer discretion advised:



Also, another example; a worthy anecdote from 4:50 to the end of the episode:



Listen to the first couple minutes of this episode, beginning at 0:44; 11:57 of the second video:

 

[Huggy43]

I'm more indifferent to his show than I thought I would be, but he's still the best out there right now after Conan (unfortunately that isn't saying much by itself). Best thing is probably how diverse his guests are.

I watch nightly but this kind of how I feel. I don't know if it's just me but I don't think he's figured out good bits for the show. Things like Furry Hat, Hungry for Power Games & Road to the White House but the latter 2 only work in election years. Id love to see him try to encorporate old Colbert hits like "Cheating Death".

I also don't like Jon Batiste. He is not good at bantering back & forth with Colbert & comes off awkward. I think this was one of Stephen's biggest mistakes. I was giving Jon a little time as I'm sure it's such a crazy new experience but I just haven't found a reason to like him yet.

 

[Pilky01]

If kids are watching certain Let's Play personalities including the ones mentioned above, then their parents are at fault.

Game Grumps is notoriously filthy, and they've even said on their show that they would consider themselves an R-rated show. Many episodes have opened with a random F-bomb.

This episode was released with a trigger warning for sensitive material.

Watch from 5:50 to the end. Viewer discretion advised:



Also, another example; a worthy anecdote from 4:50 to the end of the episode:



Listen to the first couple minutes of this episode, beginning at 0:44; 11:57 of the second video:

Yeah, it really doesn't matter what they say, based on those images for the YouTube videos they are 100% marketing to kids. Cigarette companies made the same claim about who their audience is but they were still forced to remove cartoon characters and colourful packaging from their branding because it appeals to kids, regardless of their stated intent.

You can be an adult who enjoys kids things like Let's Plays (hell, I am an adult who enjoys kids things like videogames and Lego!) but that doesn't change the fact that they are for kids.

 

[JA]

Yeah, it really doesn't matter what they say, based on those images for the YouTube videos they are 100% marketing to kids. Cigarette companies made the same claim about who their audience is but they were still forced to remove cartoon characters and colourful packaging from their branding because it appeals to kids, regardless of their stated intent.

You can be an adult who enjoys kids things like Let's Plays (hell, I am an adult who enjoys kids things like videogames and Lego!) but that doesn't change the fact that they are for kids.

To advance this conversation in the most constructive manner, please watch all of the above videos at the time stamps given. It's not very long, but it will give you a very clear sense of where I am coming from.

Saying that this is for kids is like saying Deadpool is for kids just because it's a superhero film. Parents can bring their kids to watch -- and many did -- but it doesn't mean it's for them. The creator of the show is an animator. Just because something is animated does not mean it is aimed at children. The entire Adult Swim block on Cartoon Network is an example of animation not intended for children, but even that is PG-13.

The language used on Game Grumps is stronger than what is found in Deadpool. This is content you would not want your children to hear. In fact, most people aren't even really there for the gameplay but for the anecdotes, jokes, and commentary; it's effectively a visual podcast with comedic moments of gameplay-related ineptitude (and sometimes triumph) sprinkled in. The commentary comes before the gameplay, although the gameplay sometimes aids the commentary.



It's not for kids. That said, there's nothing visually suggestive on the show (note the thumbnail on the left is censored where appropriate), so nothing on the channel is flagged as mature content.

 

[Langdon Alger]

His band leader reminds me of the guitar player in Leno's house band with his annoying laugh. He also needs a new announcer.

I preferred the Colbert Report to this show, but it seems fine. I'm kind of losing interest in late night tv in general though. I don't think any of the talk shows are great at the moment.

 

[Shareefruck]

It's not so much that they're being marketed towards children, as it is that adults have become indistinguishable from children. Colorful cartoonish packaging is something that now works equally well on adults as it did on kids.

 

[Cloned]

It's not so much that they're being marketed towards children, as it is that adults have become indistinguishable from children. Colorful cartoonish packaging is something that now works equally well on adults as it did on kids.

*Generalization begins*

I think it's quite possible that newer generations just don't "grow up" as quickly. The prevalence of certain forms of entertainment (video games, social media, phone apps, etc.) leads people to spend more time on these things at a progressively older age.

Whereas our grandparents probably had to start real work on a farm or something similar before 18 and only had passing time for entertainment like playing sports or watching the TV.

*Generalization ends*

 

[John Price]

 

[aleshemsky83]

His band leader reminds me of the guitar player in Leno's house band with his annoying laugh. He also needs a new announcer.

goodness gracious that guy is annoying. He just repeats stuff that colbert says. He does a few things that are funny like sound effects when colbert pantomimes hanging up a phone are something but most of the time hes just colberts hype man. Its so weird and distracting.

Also, yeah, Colbert is now cartoonishly liberal. When he went away from his satirical persona I thought he would start having rational measured takes, instead hes turned into super liberal commentator lacking any self awareness.

*Generalization begins*

I think it's quite possible that newer generations just don't "grow up" as quickly. The prevalence of certain forms of entertainment (video games, social media, phone apps, etc.) leads people to spend more time on these things at a progressively older age.

Whereas our grandparents probably had to start real work on a farm or something similar before 18 and only had passing time for entertainment like playing sports or watching the TV.

*Generalization ends*

I think its as much that grown ups now want these kids things to targeted towards them too. Like if they take their kids to a movie and its not good then they aren't going to see the sequel even if their kids love it. To me this all started with the Phantom Menace. Every kid I knew loved the movie, but adults hated it and thats the legacy it left because adults kind of dictated the reception it got.

 

[Pilky01]

What qualifies one as a kid? I was 15 when The Phantom Menace came out and I ****ing hated it.