Oh, hey internet. It’s Jordan. Remember me? The guy who talked about game shows? Yeah, that’s still a thing I do on the Patreon, don’t worry, nobody ever checks there, and I rarely plug it, because, y’know, it just still feels dirty to do so?
Recently, I talked a few of my favorite game shows from the past, shows that was requested that I never got around time for (such as Greed and Nick Arcade) and much more.
This is the part where I would come up with excuses or reasons why I left my creative output in disarray. But, let’s face it, it’s sad slumps, lack of any motivation, hell, you ever do that thing where you wake up and just go “what do i even do anymore?” it’s sort of that., but somehow i wind up playing Fall Guys and watch The Snyder Cut of Justice League in the process.
There has been some fun in my personal discord, there has also been plenty of fun going on at other places I browse. (The Clue Is In The Headlining Photo) and just trying to figure out where to go next, and what to do next.
Some days, it’s a bundle of joy and I want to write an article, but then personal things make it just a lack of time. I redownloaded the mobile app, maybe I can try and write more here? Who knows. Other days, like anybody else, it’s just an effort to get out of bed, believe it or not, barely any of this is pandemic related. I think it’s just that thing that happens every year when it’s your birthday.
Yeah, I had a birthday post planned, but it didn’t save so, whoops. Uh oh, spaghetti-os.
Don’t worry, it’s just sort of an “internet” thing, mostly.
Burnout is really a major factor for all sorts of content creation (and any twitch streamer or youtuber can tell you that), but it’s another when you’re still trying to figure out “your thing”, you know?
I started my very first blog in 2001 when I was 12 (back when kids loved talking Pokemon!), when I was in High School in 2005, I was trying to vent my frustrations in the hopes it wasn’t just adolescence. A little later, I told internet reviewers they sucked on a block, a couple years later, i got rid of it for Charlie-Brooker rambling about the web in general, years after that, created games about ranked tiers, after that, did a podcast where I dissected game shows, it always seems every few years, there is “a new chapter” in my life.
If I was good at timing, this would be the best time to announce something “BIG” and celebrate my new accomplishment or project, but anyone who knows me, knows, I suck at timing, I am always too early to ride the trend, and always when it comes to predicting what lies ahead, talentless in how to achieve it. (HINT - ultra saturated influencer market, where you get $0.0002 for every view of your 5 second “Drink Pepsi” ad that shows up on whatever is IG-Stories-Fleet-Snapchat-TikTok-Vine-Paramount Plus in the future (just a merger of all those stories)
I would have that “I’m Too Old For This Shit” moment, but media is always evolving always changing, and it always does excite me to find out how far removed are we from just making the video game Hypnospace Outlaw a reality, where we all get to wear VR headsets and just get to watch really terrible Reality-Television “Documentaries” in our sleep pattern, just to try and get enough “Social Cred” to unlock some lootdrop of a rare color of Nike Sneakers on a store.
Playstation 5, Xbox Series X, Switch? They are all video game systems and while I would love to play them, I can buy MAYBE the 4K television at the moment, and hey, after bills, I could probably afford a gaming chair as well (Hey Secret Lab, can you work a deal with WB Montreal for a Gotham Knights gaming chair? Send one over, I get roughly 20 hits here a week!)
In some ways, I am thankful to not be a “big time influencer” with handlers, and sponsors to worry about (Hey, why did Dr Disrespect get banned? Did he say mean things about Fauci?). I am pretty much free from most of the “THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS STATED IN THIS WEBSITE ARE THE VIEWS OF JORDAN HASS AND NOT HIS EMPLOYERS”. and yeah, maybe I am just terrible at all this.
Anyway, before I wrap up this rambling post, I am just going to share some of my thoughts on things that have gotten through my feed lately, and then hopefully I will go to sleep afterwards (it’s still tough these days)
Stop AAPI Hate - Obviously, this is a no-brainer, the sad part is that the hate is mostly coming from, you guessed it - racists. The “All Lives Matter” dorks are really showing their whole ass on this one, because they can’t seem to figure it out yet. Companies, are scrambling to say their message of where they stand, but, as will continue be the case - will donate millions and millions to politicians who continue to spread racial ideologies, especially in regards to COVID-19. Say what you will about people posting or tweeting against this hatred, but we know, lower taxes and regulations always means matter than the lives of anybody. Luckily, There is a Carrd to click with all the information necessary. Racism is a thing that is taught, it’s not something you’re born with, but the easiest way to find dislike is seeing just the outside appearance of somebody, and not judgment of character.
Sony w/ EVO - It’s complicated. I’m happy to see Sony get involved, because that could mean that possibly, gaming tournaments could be taken a bit more seriously? Obviously, in the short-side, it could be seen as more likely a great campaign for Sony to be “the face of e-sports” (at least in terms of console markets), but when one of the biggest events is Tekken, is it really that big of a deal? If anything, all I can see is possibly Playstation being chosen more favorably in terms of tournaments (ex. “Street Fighter V” - is it gonna be the PC release, the Xbox or Playstation?) However, I don’t see it being “doom and gloom” for say, fans of Smash Brothers, we have moved on past the “console wars”, apparently everything is a “culture war”, and that’s why social media is chock full of people having a take about the Dr. Seuss estate getting rid of books in publication that weren’t selling that well, to Lola Bunny’s character design in a movie made for children to sell Happy Meal toys and Anthony Davis Funko Pops (I assume A.D. is in it, just let me have this headcanon)
Bethesda w/ Microsoft - It’s a really smart move by Microsoft, X-Box has always tried to market itself as “PC Gaming for Consoles” (since it’s days as Direct X-Box) and considering the multi-platform nature of gaming these days, Bethesda is a juggernaut of games, can’t go anywhere without a Skyrim, Fallout still has people wanting homemade pipboys. But what I think is the major selling point - Id Software. For many kids, that company WAS PC Gaming - Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, all those heavy-hitting FPS games, the LAN Parts in Quake Arena, the “nontroversies” about DOOM. It’s all there, now Windows owns this game. If they wanted to, they could put Doom in every copy of Windows 10 like it’s Minesweeper. Xbox Owners could have Wolfenstein 3D and somebody in that culture war, would get upset about shooting robohitler. And that’s just any of the titles I have off the top of my head - think about what this means with collabs with Microsoft Game Studios! Maybe Master Chief can venture to Hell with B.J. Blazkowicz. My wonder is what’s ahead of Bethesda’s Publishing Arm - as Ghostwire Tokyo is on the way, as well as Deathloop. I’m sure anybody with game pass should be happy.
Wandavision - As a lover of television, this show hits everything out of the ballpark, production-wise. From it’s amazing theme songs that alter with each decade, to the set design changing, to something as basic as cable standards and the sitcom tropes of the time. It felt right and perfect and absolutely sat well with me. Not every episode had to have “The Big Fight Sequence” like DCTV shows (and the Netflix Marvel shows) are notorious for having. This was a show with a big build-up for the Marvel Comics fans. However, I really didn’t care much for any of the seeds being dropped for Phase 4 in the MCU. I am sure somebody with a more successful blog will be taking every easter egg to make 3,000 words this morning to make sure there is content, but, eh, I really didn’t care. They never told me what happened to Yo Yogurt Shark.
Justice League - Snyder Cut fans got what they wanted, and they should be celebrating as much as they can, this was a victory for them. Joss Whedon “Everybody needs to be snarky” is nowhere to be found in this version, however, throughout it’s 4 hour mini-origin-story-mixed-with-depression-monologues, it feels exactly like a modern DC Comic, in which none of the heroes are allowed to be happy, and everybody needs to be sad, all the time. The great thing is - this is the closest we have come in a long time to a “Comic Book Movie” (seriously, take breaks, the parts are good ways to stop, like you would reading an issue in a comic book) but the unfortunate part is - those movies are the nearly nihilistic DC Comics of the last decade. Theatrically, it is not terrible, but do not expect Marvel Movie product placement, just expect melodrama.
Falcon and Winter Soldier - I have waited for this one the most, as a fan of Bucky Barnes in the comics, Anthony Mackie as Falcon is a great casting choice, and seeing the two team-up is the best of both worlds that I wanted. One of my favorite modern Marvel Comics was Sam Wilson as Captain America, and while I do expect that to be the direction of this show, in it’s current state, it’s the most “Marvel Movie as a TV Show” as it can get. Monologue, Fight Sequence, Plot Movement, Fight Sequence, Maguffin Update, Fight Sequnce, Resolution Leading To Next Episode. It’s play by numbers in the roughest of ways, but I am happy so far. This is gonna be my Fridays for a while.
THE STATE OF GAME SHOWS - The Chase was the best version of The Chase, they should Unionize. Thus Far, Katie Couric has been my favorite guest host of Jeopardy, and I am not giving Dr. Oz one second of my time, which sucks for any of the contestants who appeared on his episodes. I think Mayim Bialik will do a great job on the show in the future. The Hustler was a great show, but I think $180,000 is a bit awkward for a top prize and the show fell flat. Celebrity Wheel of Fortune is the best WOF has been in years. Coronavirus Let’s Make a Deal continues to delight me so much that it improved the show slightly (Especially in Prime Time) but The Price is Right is still very awkward with that Six Foot Distance. Name that Tune on FOX was really good, production mistakes made it awkward in some cases, but I enjoyed it. Cherry’s Wild is a good idea of a game show, and I was rooting for it, until that disclaimer about how it’s not RNG and the pepsi product placement is REALLY tacky. Game of Talents is a secret winner of a show, but the scoring of the game is a little off, in my opinion, because it still suffers from the game show trope of “the final round can be the catch-up to win, so there’s no need to play the remaining rounds”. Tattletales is coming soon to HBO Max, and that might be a fun show, looking forward to people going “this is just newlywed game” in the future. The Celebrity Dating Game might be funny, might be camp, I am withholding judgement. Currently, as it stands, game shows are package deals with agents and celebrities, and because of covid-protocol, it’s the easiest thing to put up on the air. I get “bring in celebrities, it’s easy cash for them by their agency”, but if you look at the successful trends - it’s not “celebrities, they are just like us” and with things like Card Sharks that have a good gameplay, but a lack of hosting (or quips by Joel) faulter the show, you have things like Millionaire, which don’t feel as “a big time event” as it used to, and just feels like another sunday night. For a game show to work, it simply needs to be aspirational - “I want to do that, I can play that”. and the casting team just needs civilians to be themselves. There really isn’t a difference between celebrities and civilians, especially not in the days of social media. There are grammy winners with less followers than food bloggers. Anyway, here’s the TOP 5 GAME SHOWS LIST FROM MY EPISODE
So, as I am about to close this off, I have finished Reading Nightwing 78, and it’s a really good book. It’s a return to the Dick Grayson stories that I know and love. and also, as a subscriber to Peacock, I suddenly have WWE Programming in my account now, time to do what one normally does - FALL ASLEEP WATCHING 1990s WCW PAY PER VIEWS
Before I go to sleep, I am going to post an upcoming variant cover of Nightwing 81, in correlation with DC Pride event going on that month, here’s Nightwing balancing on a flagpole, Art made by the talented Travis Moore and written by Tom Taylor.
Thanks for reading, goodnight hamburger.
