RedLetterMedia Talks About Streaming Services

Taken from: • Obi-Wan Kenobi: Episod...

[@emperortrevornorton3119]

I will never back down from physical media being better I even started collecting bootleg vhs tapes

[@patrickthomas8890]

I think streamers realized content doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be watched…and it’s far cheaper and easier to make something bad.

[@snippids]

There is a dedicated audience that has subscriptions to every service that they never cancel and they just want a constant stream of mediocre shit to watch.

[@wroughtp1002]

Reason why Netflix canned there animation studio. Just produce cheap garbage like Big Mouth instead of quality. RIP Bone, Toil & Trouble and etc.

[@oh-him]

I don't think they deliberately make bad things, I think the execs either don't care enough to intervene when a bad thing is being made, or they actually can't differentiate between good and bad. Either way, it's not like golden age HBO, when there was a concerted effort to make everything as good as possible. Just so long as they have - urghhh - *content*.

[@Dr_Nuclear-sloth]

It shouldn't be content. It should be art. Shits just shit out

[@StarWarsAddict527]

Like the CW

[@BioYuGi]

It might have been the first season of the Arrested Development show when it came to Netflix, but I recalled that season not having episodes of consistent length. Some episodes will be longer or shorter depending on what they had, and that was really interesting because ideally meant that there was less filler, and I remember reading articles saying that this would be a game-changer. But nobody else has figured out that concept. Without commercial breaks you do not need to be structure in your show to be the same episode lengths every single time, you could just make a 12-minute episode if you wanted.

[@StarWarsAddict527]

The season 4 finale of stranger things was like 2 hours long. Last of Us which is on HBO, had a few 90 minute eps.

[@apollyon9946]

@@StarWarsAddict527 Final 2 seasons of Game of Thrones had drastically varying episode lengths as well.

[@randommodnar7141]

@@StarWarsAddict527 thats been the only approach ive really seen them willing to take, and thats not really any different from the double length episode that tv had already been doing for season finales or holiday episodes

[@stereorealist9531]

The Bear is another more recent show doing the same varying runtime thing: shortest episode thus far was 20 minutes, and the longest clocked in at 66 minutes.

[@Seantendo]

The latest season of I Think You Should Leave had 14 to 17 minute episodes. That would be a nightmare to program around.

[@Brandon12983]

"I feel bad for enjoying it." Too real.

[@JasonParmenter]

They honestly should make a clips channel for stuff like this, would make them a lot of money.

[@HOTD108_]

The fact RLM seem to go out of there way to not appeal to the KZbin algorithm is really admirable.

[@JT-cx2ev]

That's more for gamers

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

Nah, the hack frauds let us hack frauds do it instead.

[@supremeblank]

Well, guess what

[@gebs123]

I don't pay for a lot of Streaming services, and so I am also a little surprised about their tactics. I was thinking about getting getting Disney+ for Moon Knight. Then I realized it releases in the last week of one month, 4 episodes in the month after, and the last episode in the month after that. 3 months of membership ($30) for a 6 episode series.

[@hd-mk8ds]

When you can pirate it FOR FREE!!

[@wthwasthat8884]

@@posemewchint he says on a platform that doesnt charge for its use....

[@Mortified42]

​@@wthwasthat8884 you pay with your time watching ads. And as the saying goes "time is money"

[@cheekibreeki4638]

You watch ads? I havent seen an ad in years!

[@nonameanymore2080]

thats not how monthly billing works for basically any service

[@nepdisc3722]

Rich Evans trying to talk and being talked over makes me so sad, I want to hug him

[@tacticaljunk1608]

It's karma. He used to talk over everyone in the early BotW episodes. lol

[@kinghadbar]

Cut to the Oppenheimer video where Mike says streaming services aren’t that expensive with real “It’s fiiiive dollars” energy.

[@Slop_Dogg]

he’s elderly, we just let it slide. he’s had a real hard time since his streaming service of choice (Tubi) was invaded by trash

[@DraphEnjoyer]

It's also mainly just both companies and consumers trying desperately to cling onto the concept of a "tv show". As Mike said, with streaming there's no reason to have "seasons" of 30 minute episodes anymore but people still desperately want to feel like they're still watching tv from 20 years ago Also unrelated but I love Jay's little smirk/wide smile where he just stares right at the camera.

[@trashaccount5106]

True! They do have to write the episodes though, and maybe it's better to release the episodes in segments to give the writers some time and to gauge audience reactions

[@monke12354]

Yeah but its far more practical to release in seasons instead of nonstop production and releases. We are also all very accustomed to shows having story structures the length they are. 30 minute shows, hour long shows, etc. have just been a good standard of time of how long people are willing to watch media. I may binge an entire season of something, but watching it in parts is way more enjoyable than watching like an 8 hour movie without planned breaks and whatnot. Unless you're watching something like a twitch stream, but those are all very low effort and low attention needed

[@Ian99_]

traditional tv format is more familiar and convenient for most people to watch than some new streaming specific format most people arent going to watch a 10 hour long movie like they will a 10 episode series where you don't really need to watch it in one sitting

I don't think that's the case because this new "tv shows" don't resemblance anything from 20 years ago. Modern audiences don't want self conclusive episodes of 20/40 min with 10 min of ads release weakly throughout the course of a season. They want 5/10 hs movies with bathroom breaks in between. And the weakly release that some platforms do (like Disney+) is a scam tactict to have you subscribe for at least 2 or 3 months.

[@theycallmeandres.becauseit6715]

Show production is far easier when episodes are released in batches.

[@Sorrelhas]

In my opinion it doesn't feel like that big of a deal in services like Netflix, where they can just buy shit in bulk to fill up the "buffet", but in the case of Disney+, where its just Disney, they can't engage with the optimal strategy for streaming services without treating the whole thing like a conveyor belt of content, because they have to fill up their buffet by themselves

[@_Ciaran_Maher]

Except Netflix keep hiking the price and justifying it by touting their own original programming, 98% of which is hot steaming garbage.

[@PepeSylvia]

Those Netflix Marvel shows are so what Mike is describing. Unwatchable.

[@keanuxu5435]

That’s the Netflix Marvel shows’ greatest weakness, being 1-3 episodes too long

[@ge2719]

So many scenes of two people talking in a room. The first show i really noticed it was the krypton show. Literally every bloody scene in the show was two people stood in a room, three angles, a wide of them both, and two over the shoulder shots. They talk, one person leaves, cut to next scene of two different people in a different room. It was bizarre. Very rarely would the show follow a character and have the camera move around with them and have an actual plot thats show by having it play out through things happening. The plot was just people talking about whats happening. It was insufferable.

[@shawklan27]

​@@ge2719word

[@bigkmoviesandgames]

​@@ge2719I dont seem to remember the Netflix marvel shows doing the same though. But then again it's been years since I watched any of them.

[@bahshas]

what would even drive someone to watch a show called marvel from netflix? of course it is garbage, it was always going to be garbage for the worse pedestrian trash that exists. if you watched it expecting anything other than garbage you have legit mental illness or you have been born yesterday and have pedestrian taste

[@hugmynutus]

Thing with Obiwan, you can really tell they had a ~2 hour movie they padded into a season of TV

[@seankkg]

I love how pure it is to hear them talk about movies and shows when I've found myself really only playing games nowadays.

[@JasonParmenter]

interesting, I am literally quite opposite, I find myself watching more different shows nowadays than I do playing games.

[@kirillshvedov3283]

Nowadays almost all AAA games are treated like a service by the publisher so it's more or less the same.

[@Sorrelhas]

Yeah, I really only play games nowdays Maybe I'll watch some really popular movie or revisit something, but that's about it, I'm not really vibing with movies as a medium anymore

[@biohead66]

I watched all of RLM's "catch up" series and watched all the movies and series they were talking about. Some directly and some while gaming on a second TV. 100% would recommend

[@NeroSparda99]

@@kirillshvedov3283some but not all and nowhere near the problem what movies and shows are currently going through tbh

[@urbanstarship]

This is why I barely watch a tv series anymore. So much of it is obvious time wasting filler. Still can’t beat that 50 minute 5 act structure that American TV used to have, it kept scripts very disciplined. Occasionally they still do limited runs of 6 episodes on British TV, which is traditional, and still tight. So much garbage out there.

[@kraftytactics]

I clapped when I saw it!

[@TheErnieforss]

Funny this is what it feel like watching secret invasion.

[@comixproviderftw_02]

*Invasion

[@backyardevolutionwithhoxyt9657]

In that McMillions hbo series I swear they spent an hour giving us pointless backstory to everybody in the fbi office that was eventually going to investigate the mcdonalds scam. "Ted from accounting was a real straight shooter, he was the youngest of six kids and his hobbies included badminton and fishing. That bastard had a killer serve lemme tell ya! one day I told him we were gonna investigate this mcdonalds thing." "Cindy from accounts receivable? Her lifelong dream was to travel to Niagara falls with her sons Dylan and Aiden. She was a real character lemme tell ya! One day I was telling her we were gonna start investigating this mcdonalds thing."

[@DisposableSupervillainHenchman]

Perfect example. Documentaries that would be just fine as a single movie are made into series. I didn’t even bother with finishing “McMillions” for that reason. Hell, the old school HBO documentary on Scientology from nearly a decade ago was just one film and it was great. I miss those days.

[@SK438]

McMillions rubbed me the wrong way, but I couldn't put it into words. This is exactly it. It is bloated for no purpose.

[@bahshas]

thanks for this comment. i had it downloaded from sites and planned to watch it while eating mcdonalds but your comment dissuaded me from doing so. thank you

[@hellogoato]

When is Cindy from accounts receivable getting her own offshoot miniseries

[@backyardevolutionwithhoxyt9657]

@@hellogoato It's a prequel mostly about the recruiter who recommended Cindy for the job.

[@thesnowmiser6728]

Thank you Mark, very cool!

[@ApocalypseMoose]

I didn't know Naughty Dog also made TV shows.

[@luckyduckydrivingschool3615]

There is a burger element to this

[@Anomalous_Phenomenon]

Didn’t think, just consumed product and got excited for next product!

[@phiyuh]

Ayyyy! MY BOYYEEEE

[@compmanio36]

Yep, why bother making quality when there is no competition or reason to have to try to garner audiences anymore, because in order to see the show, they already paid. It's literally the same idea as pre-ordering a game. Why bother making quality when the suckers already paid you for what you're putting out? At least with ad revenue and suits at the network determining what succeeded or not, there was SOME kind of competition, leading to a desire to do well.

[@bahshas]

when people are able to do their own tv show with AI they will have a run for their money

[@willbentley8856]

Because people won’t buy your next product if the last one is bad. This video is nonsense.

[@IanMHaraldsonDecker]

i would still download torrents, but that day ended once a man by the name of don wilson started putting solar radiation on all the blurays and dvds to create some sort of magnetron

[@qweqqweq2090]

I think that there's no profit in a lot of big companion nowadays. they're just continually bailed out by the government and the federal reserve. I'm just noticing it now that I'm in my forties but it might have always been this way. basically the problem with streaming services right now is that they're creating too much content too quickly. they don't have time to polish anything before the next project is scheduled to be released. they've been correctly stimulated by the government to produce a lot of new, good products, but they just don't have the time or manpower to keep up with their new budget, which is virtually unlimited. the more money they spend the more they lose. the more they lose the more they get bailed out. it's a vicious cycle that can only lead to one result. everything is eventually crap. you can even polish a turd to make it shine if given enough time, but time is the one thing they're running out of.

[@Tillyard86]

TBF I thought the same thing when I heard about the Stranger Things episodes being that long, but then I saw it! DAM! 😁

[@Icthyologist]

This stretching technique isn't really a new thing. When I was a kid my Mom used to talk a lot about an old show she used to watch when she was a little girl called Dark Shadows. In my late twenties I moved in with an old college buddy who had a huge like seventy inch plasma screen with Amazon Prime. I saw that the show was on Prime one day while flipping through. Later when my mom was over visiting me I brought up the show on the big screen. My mothers eyes lit up and we sat down to watch the first three episodes. Do you know what I learned about the show in those first three episodes. NOTHING! There was a house with a crypt in back, and a vampire named Barnabas in the crypt and a guy tried to open it up and Barnabas killed the guy. It to an hour and thirty minutes for the star character to show up. Everything old is new again.

[@the-reclining-roleplayer]

Definitely not excusing the behavior because you're right, everything old is new, but you make a good point; Dark Shadows was a soap opera which were designed to do EXACTLY this kind of thing--stretch out pointless scenes to keep you watching (or listening when they were on radio) so the revenue continued etc. In a word, shows that shouldn't be soap operas (namely action/adventure shows) or even shows like Stranger Things are being treated like serials/soap operas from 50-60 years ago and the weaknesses from then are showing through as weaknesses now.

[@InsideOutAnus]

Lost was a great example of Stranger Things' mysterious show where nothing happens for episodes and episodes and episodes. Plenty of anime have done this as well since... forever.

[@the-reclining-roleplayer]

@@InsideOutAnus It blew my mind the first time I started watching anime and found some series were thirteen episodes or less.

[@teacherofteachers1239]

That's funny, because this conversation was making me think of watching soap operas at some point when I was young, just 'cause my sister was watching them, and even back then I was thinking how can anyone stand this pacing and constant retelling of plot points? Dark Shadows was indeed such a soap opera, and the pacing shows. However, and strange as it seems now, Barnabas was not supposed to be the star character. Barnabas was introduced after nearly a year, to save the show's ratings.

[@lisazoria2709]

Yeah, I remember seeing reruns of Dark Shadows as a kid. It came on right after another program I liked and I always thought the intro made it look so mysterious and cool. Every once in a while I'd try watching it just to see if anything interesting happened, but nothing ever did. I always thought maybe I just started on a bad episode, but reading this now, I feel like it wasn't just me. Lol

[@lizardart99]

Omg saying movies died during the pandemic feels so fucking true. I used to be really plugged into movie releases before 2020. Once the pandemic happened and movies started getting delayed, it was like I lost the flow of logic. More things quietly came out on streaming and they seemed to come out faster than usual. I think the last movie I saw in theaters that I legit enjoyed was that No Hard Feelings movie with Jennifer Lawrence. Idk maybe it's all anecdotal, but tentpole movies just aren't what they used to be

[@fudalefu1]

Yeah I don’t really hbderstad how streaming shows like Mandalorian season 2 can’t have longer episodes? There are no constraints for time. Scenes can be longer and more expository.

[@slowfuse]

You guys are thinking about this all wrong, 30/60 minute shows are that length for more than one than one reason it has nothing to do with ads. There is a narrative reason for it, they can put ad breaks into a show of any length. a 24 minute episode is enough time to tell a story with a decent ark, develop a premise, some ups and downs, a few laughs, but does not require a huge time or attention commitment from audience (like a movie does). You can sit there with a coffee or dinner and enjoy it, take a break from your horrible life as you fold laundry or do the dishes or watch your baby and come away fairly feeling good. When trash like Arrested Developement or Tim Robbins tries to do 12 minute episodes, or has inconsistent times it can feel very unsatisfying because you are getting wildly different experiences each time you sit down, or you have to watch 4 episodes to feel like you got something, which requires a bunch of clicking, waiting for credits and annoying intros. On the other hand dragging out a very sparse story for 60 minutse with filler is just a bad show.

[@slowfuse]

Bear season 2 is a great contemporary example of dragging out a show runtime with filler just to create content to force people to resubscribe. Whether it's a broadcast service or subscription service, distributors will always find ways to gamify the audience into watching shitty content in exchange for money. The only thing you can do is spend your time wisely and support what you like.

[@greyeyed123]

The Stand (the new one) is really, really bad. The episode with the "new ending" that Stephen King wrote is interesting, but it's not really a "new ending". It's more of a new epilogue. (I think it was the last episode, but it's been so long now that all I remember is the rest of it was SO TERRIBLE. If they had actually done an excellent job on it, it would have skyrocketed since they released it a year or so after the pandemic started. It may have been topical, but it was so bad that it didn't matter.

[@bahshas]

the one with gary sinise from the 90s is pretty good i recommend

[@greyeyed123]

​@@bahshas I watched it on ABC at the time, and kept the VHS recordings for years. It was ok, not great. The new one was TERRIBLE.

[@bahshas]

@@greyeyed123 i watched it when china first LOCKED down Wuhan during the virus scare and wanted to understand the events that were going to take place in the world and prepare myself mentally for them. i dont remember much of it due to vaccs poisoning but it was alright, better than most things that come out nowadays, like 99% of things. the intro was really remarkable.

[@DeltaAssaultGaming]

They also made Larry Underwood black, which is wrong.

[@samuelschwager]

Mike enjoys feeling bad...that explains a lot!

[@clarence9593]

No amount of advertising budget can get me to click on a video quite like this one. My only complaint is I had to wait for my laughing fit to end to click

[@MyEnemy]

IT not being a 10 or 12 part Netflix series is indeed the biggest missed-opportunity, ever.

[@JDoe-gf5oz]

It didn't even need two movies. Why would you want something that's 2 hours of story and 10 hours of filler?

[@jakedizzle]

Mike and Jay talking about streaming while Rich is dreaming. Dreaming about steaming. Steamed hams.

[@snuke37]

3:14 I bet Mike feels this way about "From" now that the second season has painfully concluded, given that he liked the first season. What a pile of crap that show is.

[@ge2719]

Oh my god thats the worst example so far of just wasting time for an entire season, then picking back up only in he last episode, pick up where the previous season finale ended and having something actually happen. They weren't even creative in the reasons why nothing happened the season was just episode after episode of the writers writing "i have to go now" " i cant talk about it". And to go from that to suddenly people talking to each other was so jarring it made it even more obvious how little progression there was the entire rest of the season. The writers of that show and alex kurtzman, all deserve to get kicked in the balls.

[@danpatterson8009]

I want to pay for a streaming service so I can pay to watch commercials.

[@progrocker666]

Why not go back to Basic Cable then? lol

[@willbentley8856]

This isn’t remotely true, Netflix is losing millions of subscribers because their content is so stale and the choices are increasingly bad. Streaming services are still subject to public taste, there’s just a hangover of people who subscribed when content was more interesting who haven’t unsubscribed yet.

[@Slop_Dogg]

wrong

[@kovulion7777]

Rich thinks about all that shaqmeat all he wants

[@brandonobaza8610]

"I feel bad for watching it, and I feel bad for enjoying it." "THE MUSIC'S BAD AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD!"

[@michaelmulvania6060]

Streaming content is more like wallpaper than storytelling.

[@NotsoHardcore1]

I watch free KZbin movies and old martial arts movies there is so much here.

[@chrisw6164]

Watched a decent show called Night Sky with Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons. They were the best thing about the show and it wouldn’t be worth watching without them. The other actors are average at best; basically amateur hour. The show itself ok for current year, but it has a LOT of mystery box nonsense alongside a B- script and plot. It is sad that everything seems to follow the same format, and even more sad that the show would be unwatchable without the two leads.

[@Slop_Dogg]

it got almost immediately canceled btw

[@castlecircle7612]

World War Z is perfect for a streaming service to pick up, not Brad Pitt -vs- The Zombies, the actual book World War Z. So many great actors could play so many great parts in a over arching story which really seems tailor made for it.

[@user-pt4nf6lz1i]

there are countless novels and works throughout history which would make gold in the hand of competent people but Good Shows are just so sparse. I don't think I've watched an actually good streaming service show except severance since streaming has started.

[@TeddyLeppard]

That hamburger thought bubble was perfect.

[@IIllIIllIIllIIll]

I'm literally making a hamburger right now.

[@joeeljalapeno1816]

Funy enough i call more of this conversation that anything in the obi one show

[@milestrombley1466]

Streaming should be free, and use ads to make money.

[@rhoadnaroahs]

Obi Wan was supposed to be a movie until Solo flopped.

[@spextrekid9410]

From redlettermedia's Obi Wan Review: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXesoaCIpLd0fbc and kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZmVoYhsobGKask

[@KingLich451]

i want to see the whole five hours.

[@GoldyC]

Too much content with choice to watch whenever you want means people won't subscribe to multiple streaming services. This probably was one of the issue with cable, why pay for 100s of channels when you will never watch them. When you can watch your favourite shows with new seasons, spinoffs being released along the way, media companies would move away from the previous business model where you had to pay all the legacy channels despite the fact that you would never watch most of them. Advertisers usually have long term contracts with media companies, these relations won't end. If there is no direct advertising then there would be product placements, might just as well see ads anyways. I don't understand what is wrong with KZbin, you don't like a channel, you don't subscribe to it. If you want paid content you subscribe either to your favourite ott platform or KZbin premium, whenever they decide to restart them. Ad supported paid subscription plans have been introduced by KZbin for any channel that meets the terms of service.

[@SpaceshipMansions]

Cheese'd on burger

[@skidooshlayman12]

IT part 2 was crapola

[@emilioa.2365]

Now it's server space. If they don't rack up views it's gone.

[@Adamatronamus]

That thumbnail.

[@RespectProcess]

Cheeseburger

[@lasarousi]

And to think they have come full circle and now are vilifying streaming even more because of residuals and garbage bureaucracy and now want to go back to the cinema.

[@prophetic0311]

Reached was good.

[@kayzeaza]

I agree with Obi wan. Should have been a movie. If you were gonna do a show then do and actual show and not a stretched out movie

[@chrisw6164]

I pay for KZbin premium and Amazon Prime, that’s it.

[@snazzle9764]

Out of curiosity, why do you have KZbin premium

[@chrisw6164]

@@snazzle9764 No ads and KZbin is the only thing I really watch. I have Prime for shipping benefits and only occasionally find something I want to watch there.

[@ernestomerino4030]

he wants to watch the liza koshy show

[@bahshas]

@drewedwards9049 how could it rub someone the wrong way? americans and their self-slavery to mega corporations that support war and total human slavery...

[@yahhah3027]

@@snazzle9764I use it because I’m on a phone so no ad blocker. Also I get to download videos to listen to while I drive and I also get to turn the screen off while audio plays in the background which are features that are locked behind premium.

[@legomaniacsss]

im more interested in steaming services. i need my meat steamed, professionally.

[@iseriver3982]

Apart from possibly the first 2 seasons, you could just watch the last 2 episodes of each season of game of thrones and miss nothing.

[@scooperfield]

This video is not made by you

[@reallyidrathernot.134]

the reactionary adjacent "everything old is better" got so dumb that he's saying ad breaks were good. AD BREAKS.

[@chongsdong]

I don't think the point is that ad breaks are great but that they were an important motivating factor for TV producers to have quality content back in the day so that each episode is watchable to keep eyeballs for ads. Without ads the motivation for quality in each episode simply isn't as strong as it once was.

[@anthonyrowland9072]

@@chongsdong at this point, please bring ads back. there's 3x the amount of streaming services and honestly 3x the content we can actually consume. tv feels like a job now. like, shut up and wrap it up shows...

[@JoshuaMPatton]

I cannot believe yinz think these guys are clever or insightful.

[@SpikesSpikesSpikes]

Good for you, numbnuts.

[@JDoe-gf5oz]

No not my heckin streamo shows!

[@nawtdankk]

i always smile when i see dick the birthday boy

[@slayskool1964]

Am I the only one that noticed Rich always looks baked?

[@Wisconsin_Local_139_Crane_Guy]

Give it up to RLM. Whoever you are posting this I don’t like it. RLM isn’t getting money for this. So Fisk you!!!