The Channel Awesome Implosion (Massive Document on Page 10)

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Sad to see him go, but Linkara's History of The Power Rangers is genuinely one of my favorite internet things ever. Hope he has nothing but good things in his future.

[BorneAgain]

If Angry Joe and Brad leave (and given the former's success on YouTube and the latter's own site they'd be the least affected), then pretty much every pillar of the old TGWTG outside Doug will be gone at that point.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Ok, now Lewis has gone, who is actually left there?

[Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast]

Interesting to see if Brad will leave as well.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Yeah, besides Doug, who's actually still left?

[BorneAgain]

That Dude in the Suede's Leaving Too

[Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast]

Mar 24, 2018 16:25:23 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Yeah, besides Doug, who's actually still left?

Notable names still contributing:

Cinema Snob
Angry Joe
Film Brain
Guru Larry
MasakoX
Chris Stuckman
Diamanda Hagan

[Crimson]

Mar 24, 2018 16:18:30 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

If Angry Joe and Brad leave (and given the former's success on YouTube and the latter's own site they'd be the least affected), then pretty much every pillar of the old TGWTG outside Doug will be gone at that point.

Mar 24, 2018 16:22:58 GMT -5 Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast said:

Interesting to see if Brad will leave as well.

Brad is buddies with the Walkers, so I don't think he's really compelled to leave.

And looking at the other "big" people who are left. Angry Joe has been completely radio silent on the topic unlike Linkara, so I don't think he's really changing anything. Chris Stuckmann wasn't associated with the site during the time all the other (former) contributors was going through that shit and he seems to get along with the Walkers as well to the point where they even contributed to his newest book.

[mattperiolat]

I’d say this is sad, but at this point, it’s probably for best.

As others have said, CA has basically been a bit of a damaged brand between the failure of Demo Reel, then all the stuff with Spoony and LordKat coming out. Blip.TV rolling belly up did not help. Now, as more creators leave and more dirty laundry comes out, it’s just clear something is systemically wrong here and it’s probably long past time to pack up and call it a day.

It’s a shame since up until about eight years ago, this was appointment watching for me. It actually helped a lot after my ex and I split just to laugh at Doug, Linkara, MusicMovies or Lupa. But I haven’t watched regularly in some time and clearly I got while the getting was good.

This is also a cautionary tale I think, especially in this day and age - the days of getting on YouTube and becoming rich are long gone, if they ever existed at all. More so, if you ever consider creating content, have a care that potential fame or success does not compromise not just your vision, but yourself. Rats will be found out and truths will be told eventually.

[BlackoutCreature]

Reading Linkara's post on his website about leaving, it sounds like he wanted to make it to the 10th Anniversary Special (if they're having one) and then leave, but all the recent news and controversies have gotten to him and he decided to go early.

He was honestly the guy that got me into Channel Awesome in the first place. I saw him posting on the old Superdickery boards and followed a link he had in his signature to his old blog that was at the time doing text reviews for bad comics. One day I decided to check it out to see if he had posted any new text reviews, and instead saw he had videos up and links to the old That Guy with the Glasses website. From there I discovered The Nostalgia Critic and several other producers which I became fans of. This was shortly after the Inaugural Brawl.

While there are still a lot of old Channel Awesome producers I still follow (Linkara, Brad, Todd, Tamara, occasionally Lupa, is SFDebris still with them?), I do it on their personal sites or youtube pages, I haven't been to the main Channel Awesome page in years. I remember about three years ago watching a Channel Awesome Christmas special video where a lot of the producers of the site would do quick one or two minute bits for the holidays. It was about 40 minutes long, but I didn't recognize a single person on it until more then midway through when Film Brain showed up. The site just isn't what it used to be.

[Zone Was Wrong]

Mar 24, 2018 17:48:39 GMT -5 BlackoutCreature said:

Reading Linkara's post on his website about leaving, it sounds like he wanted to make it to the 10th Anniversary Special (if they're having one) and then leave, but all the recent news and controversies have gotten to him and he decided to go early.

He was honestly the guy that got me into Channel Awesome in the first place. I saw him posting on the old Superdickery boards and followed a link he had in his signature to his old blog that was at the time doing text reviews for bad comics. One day I decided to check it out to see if he had posted any new text reviews, and instead saw he had videos up and links to the old That Guy with the Glasses website. From there I discovered The Nostalgia Critic and several other producers which I became fans of. This was shortly after the Inaugural Brawl.

While there are still a lot of old Channel Awesome producers I still follow (Linkara, Brad, Todd, Tamara, occasionally Lupa, is SFDebris still with them?), I do it on their personal sites or youtube pages, I haven't been to the main Channel Awesome page in years. I remember about three years ago watching a Channel Awesome Christmas special video where a lot of the producers of the site would do quick one or two minute bits for the holidays. It was about 40 minutes long, but I didn't recognize a single person on it until more then midway through when Film Brain showed up. The site just isn't what it used to be.

SFdebris just announced he left as well.

[wildojinx]

Rap Critic left a few days ago too, meaning that the only music critic they have left (AFAIK) is Rocked Reviews.

[Mozenrath]

Yeah, Linkara leaving was a while coming, though I wonder if it was sped up by Marzgurl asking him on twitter why he stayed involved when he openly was disgusted with the Walkers, and Linkara's response was that he was only involved still for business reasons. Linkara's big enough, though, that he really doesn't get much out of being involved with CA anymore, anyway. He found his audience, he doesn't really need Doug's help securing views.

Also, Brad's close friends with both Allison and Doug, so I don't see him leaving anytime soon. I don't think people involved have wanted to push him to choose, and he does work with both of them.

As for the others, Joe I don't know if he's been involved with most of this stuff, but I am curious if he has a take. Guru Larry, who the f*** knows, I didn't even know he was involved in CA at all until this all began, and the rest, dunno.

I used to watch Rap Critic sometimes. Hope he finds success outside of the umbrella.

[Zone Was Wrong]

Really feels like YouTube being the major platform and patreon being used have led to sites like Channel Awesome becoming irrelevant.

[Paul]

Mar 24, 2018 16:06:46 GMT -5 nickcave said:

Linkara's now officially left

atopthefourthwall.com/i-have-left-channel-awesome/

Good for him. He should have left 2 or 3 years ago. He has his own great site and more than enough followers who know where to find him. He hasn't needed CA in 3 or 4 years.

[Fauxnaki]

Mar 24, 2018 16:39:03 GMT -5 Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast said:

Mar 24, 2018 16:25:23 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Yeah, besides Doug, who's actually still left?

Notable names still contributing:

Cinema Snob
Angry Joe
Film Brain
Guru Larry
MasakoX
Chris Stuckman
Diamanda Hagan

Oh my god film brain can't be making money off this right?

Oh and being English guru Larry's our man. So happy his new series is getting him some views

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Mar 24, 2018 19:30:46 GMT -5 Zone Was Wrong said:

Really feels like YouTube being the major platform and patreon being used have led to sites like Channel Awesome becoming irrelevant.

I think there's mileage in the concept of a community of creators having their own space together.

Think about stuff on youtube, collaborations are usually really big, and guys with friendships help each other out. Stuff like Markipiler and Jacksepticeye where a lot of people found one through the other.

A lot of the people who left had decent followings, not huge but looking at youtube numbers, Linkara has about 100,000 subscribers, Lindsay just under 250,000 etc.

Keep all the people who've left together and happy there's a solid base for expanding the channel either as it's own site of just a collection of youtube channels.

If you are such an asshole that 95% of your talent leaves as soon as they can, you're never going to be able to grow anything.

[Deleted]

Mar 24, 2018 20:02:03 GMT -5 Fauxnaki said:

Oh my god film brain can't be making money off this right?

I really miss when Film Brain did, like... Actual work. BMB wasn't anything world-shattering but it was at least good for the occasional sit to kill a half hour. Projector is just him boringly mumbling about what movies he's seen lately and I have no clue at all what the point is.

[Long A, Short A]

"I used to watch Rap Critic sometimes. Hope he finds success outside of the umbrella." He does lots of stuff outside of CA, so I think he'll be alright.

[Ryushinku]

Mar 24, 2018 17:48:39 GMT -5 BlackoutCreature said:

Reading Linkara's post on his website about leaving, it sounds like he wanted to make it to the 10th Anniversary Special (if they're having one) and then leave, but all the recent news and controversies have gotten to him and he decided to go early.

He was honestly the guy that got me into Channel Awesome in the first place. I saw him posting on the old Superdickery boards and followed a link he had in his signature to his old blog that was at the time doing text reviews for bad comics. One day I decided to check it out to see if he had posted any new text reviews, and instead saw he had videos up and links to the old That Guy with the Glasses website. From there I discovered The Nostalgia Critic and several other producers which I became fans of. This was shortly after the Inaugural Brawl.

While there are still a lot of old Channel Awesome producers I still follow (Linkara, Brad, Todd, Tamara, occasionally Lupa, is SFDebris still with them?), I do it on their personal sites or youtube pages, I haven't been to the main Channel Awesome page in years. I remember about three years ago watching a Channel Awesome Christmas special video where a lot of the producers of the site would do quick one or two minute bits for the holidays. It was about 40 minutes long, but I didn't recognize a single person on it until more then midway through when Film Brain showed up. The site just isn't what it used to be.

Similar experience for me.

I first stumbled over Spoony around early 2008 due to this review of The Thing, and I still think for a five or six year span he was one of the funniest reviewers and content providers out there. From him, via the Adamantium Rage crossover, it introduced me to Linkara's AT4W and from there, Channel Awesome. But, outside of watching some of Brad Jones and Lindsay Ellis, I never really followed or watched anything from the site. The Nostalgia Critic style just didn't appeal to me, so mostly I simply kept on watching Spoony, Linkara and bits of those other two. Oh, as SFDebris thanks to Linkara.

The crossovers were a fun idea that did show off a lot of their creators. The Brawl was short but entertaining, and I really enjoyed Kickassia. Helps that the Street Fighter '94 movie and Julia is a guilty pleasure. In retrospect, that was kinda the high point, when they felt like a united group and this was something big happening. But then...

Surburban Knights in 2011 was an uneven mixed bag and the next year there was the big blowup with Spoony that bummed me out. Took me a while to get the enthusiam to watch To Boldly Flee knowing he was already gone, and indeed it was even more of a mixed bag and just an overlong, lacklustre feeling of things having run their course. That's when I drifted away from anything to do with the site, while still keeping up on Spoony's (increasingly sporadic, JewWario's death really seemed to knock him hard) and Linkara's content separately. I'd occasionally hear stuff third-hand about the failed attempts at the game show or Demo Reel or people leaving under a cloud, without actually watching any of it.

So I can't say I've been going to or paying much attention to the site for over five years now. I knew of some rumblings of discontent and negative comments for a while, so I was already under no illusions and felt I was better off out of it. But these recent revelations have been really next-level bad. Linkara was one of the main long-time pillars of the site...him going is a major hit, not just in terms of audience but also perception.

It's a sad way for things to be ending up.