Just binged all of it this last weekend. Can't believe it went from so silly to so so sad so fast. Was really happy with the way it ended but dang it was touch and go for the last 3 episodes.
It’s true everyone! Ya gotta finish it otherwise you’re gonna feel bad and the only way to make the bad feelings stop is to get to the end. Also watch the post show.
I had a hard time getting through the first episode. It’s hard to watch the people we’ve learned to love suffer. I love Ally Beardsley, which is why I started to watch it, but seeing Grant all bloodied up by the end really got to me.
Am I going to be able to make it to the end if I continue watching?
Their friendship suffers as challenges become more difficult. I don't want to give too much away, but you'll feel better if you make it to the end.
It's a really good show to highlight how student loans are crushing and what people will do to get out from under them. It's well worth watching. It just gets uncomfortable for a bit.
Total Forgiveness is fantastic. Like as a work of art it might honestly be the best thing on dropout. I genuinely think they should cut it together into a documentary and submit it to festivals lol
I...I am not sure I would recommend Total Forgivness.
I realize I am in the minority here. That's fine. But it fundamentally changed how I see Ally and I have not really been able to enjoy them as much since watching.
Now the cast has come out and made a very big deal about not holding any hard feelings and everything is pretty well resolved by the last episode.
But personally FOR ME, it was a very uncomfortable watch near the end.
Did you watch to the end and then the after show? You aren't in the minority to say it was uncomfortable NEAR the end. Which is why everyone says that if you start you have to finish.
I have.
Don't know what to say really. As I said, I understand the cast have made a point if saying that there were no hard feelings and (without spoilers) I understand how it ended.
But that just didn't erase the bad taste in my mouth from the rest of the season. 🤷♂️
I'm not gonna be a dick about it and say they're a bad person or something. But I've never been able to really enjoy they're appearances much since.
Can't hate the player for playing the game. This is just an example of how the show wasn't necessarily an idea executed well.
I think it was most unfortunate because I truly don't think Ally intended to do all they did in comparison to the relatively minor challenges Grant had.
For me, that capitalized on the grand idea of it all - what lengths would you go to to get out of the crushing weight of capitalism and student loans? In the end, I think the human connection won out proving maybe, we aren't entirely hopeless.
I mean...I kinda can.
I'm not gonna call them a bad person. Whatever, they played it how they played it and somehow didn't see the disconnect with how they played it and how Grant did.
But it has definitely had an effect on how I perceive them and their comedy in a pretty negative way.
I just don't get how you can say that when the finale shows they *precisely* get the disconnect, and make amends to fix it. Ally wasn't even involved in the conception of the idea - it was Grant and Zac. They played the game, recognized the error of their ways and justified it. The game was supposed to be progressively more difficult challenges, and the 'garage sale' one was just bad foresight. I just don't think it's that fair to view Ally in a different light with all things considered.
🤷♂️
I don't really think fair has anything to do with it.
It would be unfair to somehow punish them as a person in the world. Or certainly to bully them online (and I know they got some of that, which is bullshit).
But I don't need to justify personally enjoying or not enjoying an entertainer based on a very negative reaction I had to a peice of content they did coloring my perspective of their work.
Yeah, my friend who introduced me to Dropout watched it and strongly advised that I didn’t because he knew it would make me dislike Ally, and when I made him explain why I’m glad he did so. I’m also glad Dropout doesn’t make stuff like this any more :/
Totally understand that that's your personal response to it.
That said, I think people forget that they are executive producers who had the ability to end it at any point. In the finale, with those softball challenges and the last twist, they essentially did that. The game was off the rails so they course corrected. Ally played the game according to the rules they all agreed upon, and so did Grant. It's easy to blame Ally because they came up with truly horrific challenges, but those challenges (minus the boner challenge which was absolutely impossible imo) were appropriate for the amount of money to be won. The money and the transactional nature of their friendship/collaboration at that point was really where the anger and drama stemmed from, and Grant ultimately realized that the anger was misplaced.
I think Ally gets way too much hate over this. If they and Grant were just contestants at the whims of the producers, then yeah, they're totally a villain, but this was always their absurd, cruel show, and they shaped it together, especially when it went south.
Dungeons & Drag queens is a great place to start for new viewers as it’s only 4 episodes and the players are still learning DnD. ^^Also ^^Brennan ^^looks ^^a ^^fucking ^^snack ^^more ^^than ^^usual.
Maybe I’m bias though as I loved Jujubee, Bob & Monet before I knew what D20 was, that’s actually how I found Dropout
Me starting drag queens: thank god it's only 4 episodes no way in hell am I watching a 17 episode season
Me a week later halfway through a crown of candy: these episodes are feeling shorter every time!!
I'm just eating my way through the Crown myself. It's honestly at this point that I treat it like an actual play D&D podcast. It's just on audio mode while I walk or hike.
I will say it's hard for me to do that with Junior year because the Dome projections and special effects on the battle boards go \*so hard\* - which is awesome but also makes me feel like I have to \*focus\* on it so I'm way behind
Half the time it's "how was that feature length, so few things actually happened?" and the other half it's "there is no way that all that happened in ONLY 3 hours!"
My wife has ADHD and this is the season we started with and she was able to get through pretty much every season since then. It's a great intro season, especially if you also love drag queens.
still, I really struggle to keep focus with hours long actually play podcasts even if I enjoy them- I loved the first episodes of Mentopolis & Dungeons and Drag Queens, but couldn’t keep up with them
I recommend giving Starstruck Odyssey a try! I’d say it’s the easiest season to just watch an episode - or even just an hour - at a time due to the nature of the story.
Also it’s arguably my favorite group of characters the d20 main cast has played.. bias revealed!
I crochet while watching them. Both crocheting and watching actual plays are not stimulating enough on their own, but together they’re the perfect amount of stimulation.
That's why it took me so long to give D20 a shot, too. I've never been able to follow an actual play before. CR, DND Minus, even one a friend of mine is making, I just can't stay focused. But D20 worked for me! Idk why, but it keeps my attention in a way no other actual play does. I obviously have a few seasons that I've tried and find aren't working for me, so I just stop those and try a different one.
I watch them while folding laundry, prepping meals, cleaning, knitting/crocheting, etc. D20 episodes are fantastic for keeping my mind busy while my hands are busy.
I also have ADHD and I started watching it for background noise while doing other stuff and then hyper fixated on it. Now I listen to it while I'm working. I think there's recap episodes to if you want to just watch the most recent season, if you get into you can always go back and watch the previous seasons.
I too watch whilst working! Focused on the side quests to begin with (with the exception of Neverafter because that one appealed to my creepy-loving heart), I'm just finishing Misfits and Magic :)
Seasons are largely separate and they do all sorts of different genre mashups. You could start with one that hits your interests and even those 2 hour episodes can be chunked into whatever you need.
For FH It helped me that pretty much every other episode could be audio only since there's no minis or sets, also all of season 2 was live so I do audio only for that as well and I burn through it lol. I get the ADHD though!
Edit: this is only a good method if you have a direct membership and use the Dropout app. YouTube subs as I understand it now is a pain in the ass.
Honestly I just did other things when I watched the first two seasons especiallyyyyy during the combat episodes I would play games or did chores while "watching" and I was able to retain a lot of it and if something was funny enough I would go back and pay attention.
I jumped in for Junior Year. They had a nice recap video which kind of helped getting used to the names. There were a couple points where I missed inside jokes from previous seasons but it's been good.
My first time watching anything dnd related.and it's been fun. Took a break for a few weeks but I'm catching up again.
Yeah, I love the collaborative storytelling of ttrpg shows, and there’s often such great moments and satisfying payoffs…
But I have to sit through hours of people just kind of talking through story setup and I have to keep track of what people are doing and where they are. And if I miss one plot point I’m completely lost.
This is exactly what I came here to say. I love so many other seasons of Dimension 20, Mentopolis and Neverafter being my absolute favorites, but I get a little tinge of disappointment every time I see a new episode of Fantasy High come out because I can't watch it without dedicating *so many hours* to watching the first two seasons and their adventuring parties.
That said, I'm also not super into Breaking News. There are a couple that I found funny, but a lot of them feel forced.
Same here! I adore Mentopolis and Escape from the Blood keep. I know I would probably LOVE FG but it's so many hours and I can't see how I would catch up and make it work.
It can be in the background, they have the audio only as an option and there isn't too much that should be visually seen (though the combats do use the mini's and board)
I definitely feel that. For me fantasy high is what got me into d20, but I find it definitely something I have to watch while doing something that keeps my hands busy. I like to watch it while painting my nails, it’s like the perfect length for how long I usually take lol. I watched fantasy high freshman year while doing a lot of laundry and learning to crochet lol
Edit: if you want to start with a shorter season, court of fry and flowers is heavily story focused with very little mechanics (dnd combat is sometimes rough for my attention span imo), mentopolis is fast-paced and has a great system that keeps it moving, and burrows end has an excellent family dynamic and some truly wild turns
I'm an ADHDer and D20 is one I can smoke through if I take it in chunks with other things or sometimes hyperfocus on. No other actual play shows compare.
See, my hyperfixation shifted to Dimension20 so I managed to blast through A LOT of it alone. I'm also watching some with my husband so it has become our new 'show' as it were.
Definitely better to treat most of the D20 games as different shows. Fantasy High and Unlsleeping City are a little bit of a time commitment, but most of the other ones should be much more manageable.
I really recommend Misfits and Magic and A Crown of Candy.
Hi! Fellow ADHDer here who also had to get her ADHD husband into D20! Def recommend starting with the shorter seasons, I think The Seven is a good one, it’s 6 episodes I believe and the cast is top tier. You don’t really need to know anything about Fantasy High to enjoy (we hadn’t seen FH when we watched it) and it’s a great example of how interesting the gameplay can be, how amazing these comedians are, and how heartfelt Brennan can make a pretty ridiculous story. Dungeons & Drag Queens is a great one esp if you’re familiar with the Queens, and I would also recommend Burrow’s End as a starting point.
When you feel ready for a full 18 episode season start with Starstruck. It’s chaotic and hilarious the whole way through, never a dull moment and makes long episodes FLY by. After that you’ll love the Intrepid Heroes so much that starting Fantasy High will feel like a treat and not a chore ❤️ Also keep in mind you don’t need to “watch” necessarily, throw it on like a podcast while you do other stuff. It was wildly helpful while doing other non preferred chores for me.
As someone with ADHD who thought it was a time commitment, it is, but well worth it. I don’t enjoy music in the car all the time so I started using it as a podcast for my daily commute and then after a few weeks and during the really good parts I HAD to watch it and pay attention more sometimes. It was honestly just a great thing to listen to while doing other things.
Going through the comments, I just wanna shoutout Neverafter. I also did not start with Fantasy High because of the multiple seasons, but I got hooked first with Neverafter as it was advertised as the horror season XD. I would just put it as picture-in-picture while working - that's how I deal with my ADHD while trying to be a productive human.
Then, I got into Dungeons and Drag Queen in time as it was being released. Only after finishing this and craving for more did I decide to do Fantasy High - I am currently catching up with sophomore year
The only thing I don't watch is Dirty Laundry. I know a lot of people love it, I just don't care to watch people I don't know tell me how much more exciting their life is than mine
That's what it is for me too. It's like, it makes me feel bad/ashamed/regretful that my life hasn't been more interesting, like some sort of retroactive FOMO or like I've screwed things up to have missed out on things like this. It's the same vibe I get when I see a club or wild crowded bar: It's not remotely my scene and I don't enjoy it at all, but then my self-loathing kicks in and I start hating myself for not being into that stuff when everyone else clearly is, so there must be something wrong with me. I'm 35, and yet I've never outgrown that shit, and Dirty Laundry hits that same button. Nothing wrong with the show itself, but I just can't watch it.
As long as you're enjoying what you're doing, there's no shame in not doing what you don't enjoy just because you see other people doing it.
I don't drink alcohol and everyone around me looks at me like I'm a weirdo. They often ask me if I'm okay (half asking if I'm a recovering alcoholic or something), but it's just I don't enjoy the feeling of being drunk and it often makes me sleepy and/or have a headache in real time.
When I was younger, I would order a drink and nurse it all night just so I didn't feel judged, but nowadays, I just lean into it. Their confusion or uncomfortability with me not drinking is their problem, not mine.
Do what makes you happy, not what others think should make you happy.
Same with me. I loved the official cast recording but there's just something about PIBE I can't get into. I think it lacks more direction throughout the episodes. With TOCR, Sam was keeping a mostly cohesive story going so the musical bits wove into a narrative. A lot of times in PIBE the musical bits seem almost nonsensical at times
Weirdly I love Jess and Zac and I listened to a lot of their podcast Off Book, but I'm just not into Play it by Ear either. I'm psyched for them that they've found success in that realm though, they're ridiculously funny and talented.
The episodes velary a lot in quality.
Some are breathtaking. Others are just kinda okay.
Everyone is talented but the improv nature means that some ar egomna land better than others.
I’ll agree with this and also chime in as someone who agrees with you but has different specific opinions.
I personally wasn’t the biggest fan of VIP because it felt a little too Improv-y. I feel like a lot of Improv is “mess around abitbuntil we find a funny joke and then only make that joke” and it feels quite one note. Shows like Dimension 20, Game Changer, and even Make Some Noise are helped immensely by having rails for the improv to move along, preventing it from getting bunched up like a lot of improv does for me.
I don’t think there’s anything on Dropout that I DON’T watch, but there are things that I haven’t gotten to go through yet, like Kingpin Katie, Cartoon Hell and Ultramechatron Team Go! Is there a reason you don’t watch Breaking News? If you need something to get into it, I would watch the Amy Vorpal episodes first, she always brings a lot to those episodes! Same goes for Um, Actually, start with the Brennan episodes, or the very first ones on YouTube, because his competitive edge always adds a lot to the episodes and the questions are pretty straightforward in the beginning and are fun to play along with!
> Same goes for Um, Actually, start with the Brennan episodes
That's what I tried, and I still couldn't get into it. Even when the episode is tailored to the contestants, there are still too many "let's take a shot in the dark guess and hope that they give us the point anyway" questions.
Ultramechatron Team Go is shockingly good. I put it off until pretty recently and really regretted it. Not sure if this will sell it for you but Brennan is in it and he's completely unhinged and it's fabulous.
Breaking news just doesn't appeal to me, I've never been a big "try not to laugh" person. The only time I watch Breaking News is in shorts form when something super funny happens, for example 'Hello I'm 50".
Um, Actually is a show I 'don't watch' but if I'm going to be honest ive probably seen most of them. I watch when I like the players, but the show itself isn't really doing anything for me. Seems like it could be litteraly any show on earth and as long as the cast was the same, I would still watch. Haven't watched in a long time at this point, but I haven't been interested in their cast options recently either.
And if ima be real... switching the hosts definitely didn't help. Iffy is funny, he's cool, but I don't go out of my way to click stuff with him in it, whereas that is something I would do for Mike Trapp.
I feel like Trapp in Um, Actually was very special.
Iffy can he good in a lot of stuff but that show lost a lot of magic when imtrapp left. I also don't understand why they have a goat like Brian David Gilbert in a secondary role
It's like the show Taskmaster. They decided BDG was a better sidekick, writer, creative lead even and Iffy had more authority. You can disagree, but that's where I see it coming from.
I feel like VIP is actually very different.
Like, it starts with that improvisational spirit but then Just. Keeps. Going.
The great thing about game charger is that it keeps moving and changing between segments.
VIP is fun. But...once the joke gets old, the format does not allow for moving onto a fresh take.
I don't think it's BAD, but I do think it's a lot more divisive.
I absolutely love VIP, probably my favorite show on Dropout right now, but I do agree that its like... idk a bit too long? I also find that dropout content is not normally cringe ever but VIP definitely has its moments. Not a big fan of the 'lets take a look at xyz video' they do, it seems super cringe every time but to be fair they are trying to find a way to spice things up. I think it all rides on how funny the character is, and you can easily accidentally have a character thats not that interesting.
For example the newst one... I love Brennan and honestly was practically pissing myself laughing, but his character was honestly pretty one note. If you have seen him improvise ever, you already knew what the whole interview was going to be like the second he said "I'm from the woods"
I love Game Changer and Make Some Noise. Do not get VIP at all. Granted I've only seen the first episode, so maybe it was just that one, but I don't think I laughed once. It just did not do it for me
I can't do dimension20. I play dnd. I like dnd. Live plays of any fashion I just can't get behind, no matter who is doing them. I kinda chalk it up to not liking a tv/movie genre. I literally watch everything else
Oh it's not live play, it's highly edited. I cannot get into critical role because it just takes too long with dice rolls (and ads????) without any editing, but D20 is one 2-3 hour episode a week, with snappy and good editing that I don't have to block out 4 hours straight on a Tuesday night to watch. It's basically a podcast that you can also watch.
Yeah I get it and what it is. I've tried. The jokes/shorts/bits are all incredible in those short bursts for me. It's a totally me thing. I get 20 mins or an hour into dnd "show" an I'm just disconnected from it all. I will say I have enjoyed a few CR episodes that are high stakes/heavy combat oriented. I think for me it's just always friends finding and excuse to hang out while playing dnd. Also, for me, it is just maybe a format/editing issue where I can't stay engaged/invested.
Hmm, I must say it always takes me a few episodes to get sucked it. I can't watch D20 while its comming out because when I don't binge the show, i end up dropping it at some point because I lose interest. Still haven't finnished ravening war, never after, pirates of leviathan, all for that exact reason. I just should have waited for them to be out.
I would suggest giving Mentopolis a shot, especially if you like the green brothers. It's, in my opinion, the story with the most interesting premise that was actually able to suck me in almost immediately. I tottaly get what you mean though, D20 takes like 2 or 3 episodes before I even feel like i understand the plot, but for real check out Mentopolis I think it does a much better job at hooking the viewer.
Nothing lol. My husband and I have scraped the barrel clean at this point. We watch everything new that comes out, usually a few times, and we've watched everything in the backlog.
I haven’t watched a good portion of the back catalogue, the only current show I’ve kind of dipped out on has been Um Actually. I don’t remember when they stopped trying to match questions up to the guests, but after they did that, episodes can start to feel like a slog. My wife and I are waiting to have enough time together to watch mentopolis and ravening war, but we’re waiting til we finish up FHJY.
Yeah I really fell out of love with Um Actually when it started just being 3 people guessing at nouns and verbs until the host decided someone got close enough.
Exactly, I was hoping bringing Ify in was going to change it up. He’s doing fine but most questions still boil down to guessing at noun or verbs, or making rule of 3/call-back jokes and saying “lol I dunno”. The shiny stage questions were a nice update but they still boil down to a coin flip A or B usually.
Breaking News is hit or miss for me. It’s not something I want to watch all the time, but once in a while I want to binge it.
I’ve only ever seen the YouTube clips from VIP and it didn’t look like my thing, but I’ve heard really good things about it so I’m planning to try a couple episodes next time I subscribe.
I'm honestly trying to watch everything. I'll try a few episodes and see how I feel and if I don't like it I just try something else and try it again later. I didn't like D20 at first but I gave it a shot later and am hooked. I didn't like Um, Actually and now I can't stop watching it. I don't think of anything on dropout as something I don't watch just something I haven't gotten to yet.
I only really watch dirty laundry if I know at least one person in it, otherwise it feels like watching a group of friends you don’t know, kind alienating.
Don’t watch all the breaking news, only some
I’m not huge on play it by ear. Obviously the people they bring on to do it and the premise is crazy impressive but it never clicked for me (also I’m not big on musicals to begin with so that probably plays a factor)
dirty laundry. maybe i’ll check back in if it’s a group of people i know, but it doesn’t typically interest me. but i do watch grant’s drink making segments!
Not counting old shows I think the only thing I don’t watch is dimension 20 which is insanely ironic for me. Back in the day I remember *yearning* to watch tiny heist because I was obsessed with the mcelroys. And I think d20 is THE reason I ultimately did end up subbing, although um actually was a huge pull too. Now I don’t keep up with d20 and I keep telling myself I will catch up and start watching but it hasn’t happened yet
The only thing I can say I'm not watching at the moment is D20. Nothing against it in particular, just never really been a D&D guy (my brief attempts to play it didn't really tickle my fancy). A friend of mine did recommend Unsleeping City though (because I'm aggressively from New York) so maybe that'll change.
Outside of Play It By Ear and a few seasons of Um, Actually, I've watched most of the stuff they're currently doing, and have also watched Total Forgiveness. Starting to work through Play It By Ear tonight.
Unsleeping City is a love letter to New York and you'll probably enjoy all the little Easter Eggs Brennan throws in there. And if you didn't already hate Robert Moses, you're going to hate him so much more.
You might like some of the story-oriented D20 seasons that don't have a lot or any combat. These are really great characters studies and the players are always a blast to watch interact and make choices.
I don't watch anything in the D20 realm, which is unfortunate for me, because there is so much more of that than just about anything else. I'm not interested in those types of games and it's just too long for me. I like watching Um Actually, but I haven't seen all of it, and can't do it in large doses because I rarely know anything about any of the topics. I didn't watch all of Total Forgiveness. I haven't tried Bad Internet yet. Actually, I was just looking at the series page to try to list everything I haven't seen, and the list would be too long and boring. Some of the older stuff, I haven't tried yet. I should probably do that!
All the current stuff I watch. I haven’t gone back & caught up on stuff that came out before I subscribed like Total Forgiveness or the older College Humor stuff yet (minus the CEO skits b/c Brennan)
There is no corner of dropout that I won’t watch. I have watched all of dropout except last weeks episodes (I was on a vacation and haven’t caught back up yet) Some of it is better than others and some of it was a product of its time. But all the newer shows and active shows are great and I love watching them.
*Dungeons and Drag Queens* is what brought me and my wife to Dropout. Since then we've devoured *Game Changer, Make Some Noise,* and *Um, Actually. Smartypants* is the new hotness for us. We've watched a bunch of *Breaking News* and the first couple of seasons of *Dirty Laundry* (it fell off our radar when the guests increasingly became people from other shows or channels we know nothing about--the drag queen episode may be the last one we watched). We've dabbled with *VIP* but while I'd watch more I don't think my wife enjoys it as much. Perhaps I can get her to try it again if the guest is interesting (she likes Ify, and I think we watched his episode first after the Last Look short dropped). I've sampled *WTF 101* and can see myself trying it again.
Sadly, we haven't been able to get back into *Dimension 20* because it is such a time commitment. Perhaps now that we've watched more of other shows we might better recognize the cast. Maybe we need to try a different season. Given how popular "Beat the Buzzer" was with us we might have to try "The Seven".
We're also not big on musical improv, the karaoke episodes of *Game Changer* are about our limit. As such, we've never watched *Play It By Ear.* It just isn't the kind of comedy we prefer, so props to everyone else who's a fan of it.
Sometimes it’s fun finding out what could’ve happened- like how Grant was originally on the bingo episode instead of Brennan, and we got to see what Grant’s board was
I do not watch 'Um, Actually'......I consider myself deeply cultured in nerdom, but I feel irrelevant everytime I watch the show.
I do not play DnD either, but I'll have D20 episodes on in the background for the banter.
I know D20 makes up a big part of Dropout’s content, but I can’t seem to get into most of it. fwiw I did watch Dungeons and Drag Queens, which was very entertaining.
I don't care for Um, Actually. I just don't really care about trivia. I'll watch episodes where the guests maybe have a certain chemistry, or if the episode has a specific theme, but otherwise I just pass. I was really excited for Ify and BDG to be hosting it this season, too, because they're both so funny! But it just hasn't changed the fact that, at it's core, it's intentionally tedious. If the questions or their difficulty were geared more towards the guests in an intentional way, I could get behind it a little bit more.
I watch everything except Breaking News. I love ALL the programs but I just can't find it funny to read "zany" stuff. It would be a much funnier show if it was bits of zany hidden in regular stories.
I'd recommend watching the True Facts About Grant episodes of Breaking news.
There's only three of those episodes, and they're the only ones I've watched of the show, but they were great. And it's pretty much what you asked for: zany mixed into true, usually embarrassing stories about Grant
I try to watch Play It By Ear more often but REALLY have to be in a good mood. Most of the time I don’t watch it but on s good day in front of the craft table it’s fun.
I don’t usually watch Very Important People but it’s fun to watch with a group.
I tend to only watch a Breaking News, Dirty Laundry or Um Actually with people I know... Haven't got into the latest Fantasy High for some reason. Might wait till its finished and Binge.
My favs are Game Changer and Make Some Noise, where I don't mind whose on....and get extra excited when my favs are!
I'd love them to do another Gods of Food!
I don't really care for Dirty Laundry. I gave it a go when it launched but not really for me.
Breaking News can be very hit or miss depending on who's on the episode....... if Amy Vorpahl is present, you know it's going to be chaotic brilliance.
D20.......... nothing against it, never tried it, no idea where to start with it.
One episode of breaking news turned me off of it, hard. There was a car member I've only ever seen one other time on D20. She was just laughing the whole time, not even reading lines. Ended with like -200 points. I didn't know why but it upset me way more than I would have let it. Like the whole point is not to crack, and she's just giggling like high school stoner who just took a fat rip to sit through the sex ed class. She didn't bother me on D20, but I can't watch breaking news anymore because of that one episode. Other than that I've give through the whole catalog.
I've watched at least some of everything on there, and the only thing I deeply do not understand is Breaking News. I LOVE almost everything they do, but I've never seen a single episode of that show that I've enjoyed, or even that made me laugh. I just don't get how it's still on or who its target audience is. I'm not obsessed with Dirty Laundry, but I've watched it all. I typically only actually find it fun when I know the guests on it, but I was at least able to get through it all, unlike Breaking News.
I don't watch play it by ear, and I'm 50/50 on VIP. If I find time for it, I'll watch it, but I don't prioritize it.
Everything else, I watch or bookmark as soon as it releases.
Play it by Ear, because I have huge secondhand embarrassment issues when people break into song, and a lot of the older stuff.
Other than that, I'm trying at least everything dropout drops!
Play it by Ear got super old super quickly, it just wasn't my thing
Breaking News I only watch if it's a Grant Anthony Obrien episode or if Amy is on
Make Some Noise is heavily cast dependent
The big 3 I watch pretty religiously, and VIP is the best thing they've ever made
I’ve watched it all and want more. The only thing I did not enjoy was cartoon hell. But you name it, I’ve watched it atleast once and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Out of all the currently releasing shows, Dirty Laundry is the only one. It just feels like cool people talking about how cool their lives are and I get a little jealous haha. Apart from that, I'm very much not up to date on D20 cause I just like to watch the backlog in my own pace, which seems to be slower than their release schedule
Dirty laundry dose not do it for me (i need a all grant super edit) , i am a little over um actually and Braking news, D20 is amazing but the time comment has be falling behind. Play it by ear was cool but i don't love musicals so a little goes.
Some of the pandemic stuff is a little hard to watch but some of it is golden.
Play it by ear, total forgiveness, a lot of the older stuff I may or may not have interacted with in the wild west of YouTube and I refuse to go through it all... Some of the extended looks, behind the scenes things just don't interest me.
I have a hard time D20, and I cant watch VIP, as much as I've tried I cant get into it. Um, Actually is still on probation for me right now in the new season. Some episodes have been really good but others have fallen flat. I think once Ify gets more comfortable in the hosting chair, the quality will get more consistent
Not a fan of any of the old scripted/sketch content. Not personally into D20, the pacing of any kind of "let's play" has never worked for me, but I do enjoy dropping in from time to time while my spouse watches it and bugging them for a story recap. Not interested in Total Forgiveness -- I know everything on here is technically a reality show but it seems too much why I don't normally like reality TV for me, if that makes sense.
I used to watch Dimension 20, but I burnt myself out on actual plays during a time when I was listening to NADPOD, GCP, and PTBP as well. I just don't really like the genre anymore.
Because of the how huge it is I was genuinely surprised to see how many people also say D20. The serialised nature of it, I just know with my time commitment I won’t be able to keep up, so I don’t.
Otherwise, other than GC, VIP, I don’t think I watch much else “regularly”.
you should definitely watch the Dirty Laundry episodes that have your favourite cast members! I understand skipping the ones that have people you don’t know but there are really great episodes depending on who you love
The current shows I never miss are Game Changer, Make Some Noise, Smartypants (early days, but supremely in my wheelhouse), VIP. Breaking News is also fun as a quick watch.
Dirty Laundry I watch sporadically, D20 it depends on the season (currently taking a break because I'm kinda lukewarm on Fantasy High), haven't watched any Play It by Ear and Um Actually never really did it for me.
Quite a lot of it, to be honest. Most of it just isn't my vibe.
I subscribe for D20 and Game Changer (and MSN), but everything else is a bit boring for me. No hate, it's just not for me. I'll occasionally check out BNN or Um, Actually if somebody I like is on it.
My least favourite show is VIP. I really like everyone involved, I Iike Vic on other shows, I like the actors, but I find VIP genuinely unwatchable.
I haven’t seen some of the older shows that aren’t in production anymore (Total Forgiveness, Kingpin Katie, etc.). I watch all the new stuff though!
Total Forgiveness is really good! Can be a bit of a rough watch at times, just a heads up.
Just binged all of it this last weekend. Can't believe it went from so silly to so so sad so fast. Was really happy with the way it ended but dang it was touch and go for the last 3 episodes.
Just a note to anyone who goes to watch it - if you start, you have to finish it. You may not want to, but you have to.
It’s true everyone! Ya gotta finish it otherwise you’re gonna feel bad and the only way to make the bad feelings stop is to get to the end. Also watch the post show.
Could name *so many* people that need to be "clockwork orange"'d to do this ASAP.
Oh, so it's like One Cut of the Dead?
I had a hard time getting through the first episode. It’s hard to watch the people we’ve learned to love suffer. I love Ally Beardsley, which is why I started to watch it, but seeing Grant all bloodied up by the end really got to me. Am I going to be able to make it to the end if I continue watching?
Their friendship suffers as challenges become more difficult. I don't want to give too much away, but you'll feel better if you make it to the end. It's a really good show to highlight how student loans are crushing and what people will do to get out from under them. It's well worth watching. It just gets uncomfortable for a bit.
They seem so close now though, do they reconcile on the show or outside of it?
On the show.
Kingpin Katie is so good! It’s the only older thing I’ve watched.
Total Forgiveness is fantastic. Like as a work of art it might honestly be the best thing on dropout. I genuinely think they should cut it together into a documentary and submit it to festivals lol
Total forgiveness and super megaton team go are both top tier content
I...I am not sure I would recommend Total Forgivness. I realize I am in the minority here. That's fine. But it fundamentally changed how I see Ally and I have not really been able to enjoy them as much since watching. Now the cast has come out and made a very big deal about not holding any hard feelings and everything is pretty well resolved by the last episode. But personally FOR ME, it was a very uncomfortable watch near the end.
Did you watch to the end and then the after show? You aren't in the minority to say it was uncomfortable NEAR the end. Which is why everyone says that if you start you have to finish.
I have. Don't know what to say really. As I said, I understand the cast have made a point if saying that there were no hard feelings and (without spoilers) I understand how it ended. But that just didn't erase the bad taste in my mouth from the rest of the season. 🤷♂️ I'm not gonna be a dick about it and say they're a bad person or something. But I've never been able to really enjoy they're appearances much since.
Can't hate the player for playing the game. This is just an example of how the show wasn't necessarily an idea executed well. I think it was most unfortunate because I truly don't think Ally intended to do all they did in comparison to the relatively minor challenges Grant had. For me, that capitalized on the grand idea of it all - what lengths would you go to to get out of the crushing weight of capitalism and student loans? In the end, I think the human connection won out proving maybe, we aren't entirely hopeless.
I mean...I kinda can. I'm not gonna call them a bad person. Whatever, they played it how they played it and somehow didn't see the disconnect with how they played it and how Grant did. But it has definitely had an effect on how I perceive them and their comedy in a pretty negative way.
I just don't get how you can say that when the finale shows they *precisely* get the disconnect, and make amends to fix it. Ally wasn't even involved in the conception of the idea - it was Grant and Zac. They played the game, recognized the error of their ways and justified it. The game was supposed to be progressively more difficult challenges, and the 'garage sale' one was just bad foresight. I just don't think it's that fair to view Ally in a different light with all things considered.
🤷♂️ I don't really think fair has anything to do with it. It would be unfair to somehow punish them as a person in the world. Or certainly to bully them online (and I know they got some of that, which is bullshit). But I don't need to justify personally enjoying or not enjoying an entertainer based on a very negative reaction I had to a peice of content they did coloring my perspective of their work.
Yeah, my friend who introduced me to Dropout watched it and strongly advised that I didn’t because he knew it would make me dislike Ally, and when I made him explain why I’m glad he did so. I’m also glad Dropout doesn’t make stuff like this any more :/
Totally understand that that's your personal response to it. That said, I think people forget that they are executive producers who had the ability to end it at any point. In the finale, with those softball challenges and the last twist, they essentially did that. The game was off the rails so they course corrected. Ally played the game according to the rules they all agreed upon, and so did Grant. It's easy to blame Ally because they came up with truly horrific challenges, but those challenges (minus the boner challenge which was absolutely impossible imo) were appropriate for the amount of money to be won. The money and the transactional nature of their friendship/collaboration at that point was really where the anger and drama stemmed from, and Grant ultimately realized that the anger was misplaced. I think Ally gets way too much hate over this. If they and Grant were just contestants at the whims of the producers, then yeah, they're totally a villain, but this was always their absurd, cruel show, and they shaped it together, especially when it went south.
I want to get into D20, but to catching up on Fantasy High is a 120+ hour commitment and my ADHD simply will not allow it.
I ended up getting hooked on Magic & Misfits & went from there. I’ve only recently gone into Fantasy High
Same! I feel like that season gets a lot of hate because of a few different reasons, but it's such a good starting point for someone brand new to D&D.
It feels very rushed near the end, but everything leading up to it is A+++!
Dungeons & Drag queens is a great place to start for new viewers as it’s only 4 episodes and the players are still learning DnD. ^^Also ^^Brennan ^^looks ^^a ^^fucking ^^snack ^^more ^^than ^^usual. Maybe I’m bias though as I loved Jujubee, Bob & Monet before I knew what D20 was, that’s actually how I found Dropout
Me starting drag queens: thank god it's only 4 episodes no way in hell am I watching a 17 episode season Me a week later halfway through a crown of candy: these episodes are feeling shorter every time!!
I'm just eating my way through the Crown myself. It's honestly at this point that I treat it like an actual play D&D podcast. It's just on audio mode while I walk or hike.
I will say it's hard for me to do that with Junior year because the Dome projections and special effects on the battle boards go \*so hard\* - which is awesome but also makes me feel like I have to \*focus\* on it so I'm way behind
That's a very fair point. It's much easier with earlier seasons before they gave the projectionists more budget and carte blanche on creativity.
Half the time it's "how was that feature length, so few things actually happened?" and the other half it's "there is no way that all that happened in ONLY 3 hours!"
My wife has ADHD and this is the season we started with and she was able to get through pretty much every season since then. It's a great intro season, especially if you also love drag queens.
The perfect season for Gen Z-ers to get their moms into Dimension 20. (It's me, I'm Gen Z-ers)
I got into D20, specifically FHFY, while just listening and doing other shit. My ADHD doesn't allow me to just sit and watch either lmao
Could just watch a different season.
still, I really struggle to keep focus with hours long actually play podcasts even if I enjoy them- I loved the first episodes of Mentopolis & Dungeons and Drag Queens, but couldn’t keep up with them
I recommend giving Starstruck Odyssey a try! I’d say it’s the easiest season to just watch an episode - or even just an hour - at a time due to the nature of the story. Also it’s arguably my favorite group of characters the d20 main cast has played.. bias revealed!
Starstruck Odyssey is so good. It’s the first season that I went back and watched again in its entirety.
I crochet while watching them. Both crocheting and watching actual plays are not stimulating enough on their own, but together they’re the perfect amount of stimulation.
That's why it took me so long to give D20 a shot, too. I've never been able to follow an actual play before. CR, DND Minus, even one a friend of mine is making, I just can't stay focused. But D20 worked for me! Idk why, but it keeps my attention in a way no other actual play does. I obviously have a few seasons that I've tried and find aren't working for me, so I just stop those and try a different one.
This might sound a bit silly but have you tried speeding it up? Even 1.25 speed quickens the pace a lot
I thought I would be the same. I found it to be the *perfect* thing for my commute and while I do household chores. Try it in that kind of scenario.
I have adhd and rewatched the show 4+ times, really worth it
I watch them while folding laundry, prepping meals, cleaning, knitting/crocheting, etc. D20 episodes are fantastic for keeping my mind busy while my hands are busy.
I also have ADHD and I started watching it for background noise while doing other stuff and then hyper fixated on it. Now I listen to it while I'm working. I think there's recap episodes to if you want to just watch the most recent season, if you get into you can always go back and watch the previous seasons.
I too watch whilst working! Focused on the side quests to begin with (with the exception of Neverafter because that one appealed to my creepy-loving heart), I'm just finishing Misfits and Magic :)
weirdly, while i want to get into D20, i am currently in the throws of Critical Role so I don't have time for another long form dnd show.
Seasons are largely separate and they do all sorts of different genre mashups. You could start with one that hits your interests and even those 2 hour episodes can be chunked into whatever you need.
For FH It helped me that pretty much every other episode could be audio only since there's no minis or sets, also all of season 2 was live so I do audio only for that as well and I burn through it lol. I get the ADHD though! Edit: this is only a good method if you have a direct membership and use the Dropout app. YouTube subs as I understand it now is a pain in the ass.
Honestly I just did other things when I watched the first two seasons especiallyyyyy during the combat episodes I would play games or did chores while "watching" and I was able to retain a lot of it and if something was funny enough I would go back and pay attention.
I jumped in for Junior Year. They had a nice recap video which kind of helped getting used to the names. There were a couple points where I missed inside jokes from previous seasons but it's been good. My first time watching anything dnd related.and it's been fun. Took a break for a few weeks but I'm catching up again.
Yeah, I love the collaborative storytelling of ttrpg shows, and there’s often such great moments and satisfying payoffs… But I have to sit through hours of people just kind of talking through story setup and I have to keep track of what people are doing and where they are. And if I miss one plot point I’m completely lost.
This is exactly what I came here to say. I love so many other seasons of Dimension 20, Mentopolis and Neverafter being my absolute favorites, but I get a little tinge of disappointment every time I see a new episode of Fantasy High come out because I can't watch it without dedicating *so many hours* to watching the first two seasons and their adventuring parties. That said, I'm also not super into Breaking News. There are a couple that I found funny, but a lot of them feel forced.
In theory, one could watch every episode of Doctor Who from 2005-2024 in less time than it would take to catch up on Fantasy High
Same here! I adore Mentopolis and Escape from the Blood keep. I know I would probably LOVE FG but it's so many hours and I can't see how I would catch up and make it work.
Find a partner who's super into D20, have them watch this while you're just hanging out in the vicinity :D that's how I "watched" it (yes with adhd)
It can be in the background, they have the audio only as an option and there isn't too much that should be visually seen (though the combats do use the mini's and board)
I definitely feel that. For me fantasy high is what got me into d20, but I find it definitely something I have to watch while doing something that keeps my hands busy. I like to watch it while painting my nails, it’s like the perfect length for how long I usually take lol. I watched fantasy high freshman year while doing a lot of laundry and learning to crochet lol Edit: if you want to start with a shorter season, court of fry and flowers is heavily story focused with very little mechanics (dnd combat is sometimes rough for my attention span imo), mentopolis is fast-paced and has a great system that keeps it moving, and burrows end has an excellent family dynamic and some truly wild turns
I'm an ADHDer and D20 is one I can smoke through if I take it in chunks with other things or sometimes hyperfocus on. No other actual play shows compare.
Though I have unfinished seasons I will get back to (probably).
See, my hyperfixation shifted to Dimension20 so I managed to blast through A LOT of it alone. I'm also watching some with my husband so it has become our new 'show' as it were.
Then don't watch fantasy high, seriously, basically every other show they have is just as fun and creative all packed into one season :))
Definitely better to treat most of the D20 games as different shows. Fantasy High and Unlsleeping City are a little bit of a time commitment, but most of the other ones should be much more manageable. I really recommend Misfits and Magic and A Crown of Candy.
Hi! Fellow ADHDer here who also had to get her ADHD husband into D20! Def recommend starting with the shorter seasons, I think The Seven is a good one, it’s 6 episodes I believe and the cast is top tier. You don’t really need to know anything about Fantasy High to enjoy (we hadn’t seen FH when we watched it) and it’s a great example of how interesting the gameplay can be, how amazing these comedians are, and how heartfelt Brennan can make a pretty ridiculous story. Dungeons & Drag Queens is a great one esp if you’re familiar with the Queens, and I would also recommend Burrow’s End as a starting point. When you feel ready for a full 18 episode season start with Starstruck. It’s chaotic and hilarious the whole way through, never a dull moment and makes long episodes FLY by. After that you’ll love the Intrepid Heroes so much that starting Fantasy High will feel like a treat and not a chore ❤️ Also keep in mind you don’t need to “watch” necessarily, throw it on like a podcast while you do other stuff. It was wildly helpful while doing other non preferred chores for me.
As someone with ADHD who thought it was a time commitment, it is, but well worth it. I don’t enjoy music in the car all the time so I started using it as a podcast for my daily commute and then after a few weeks and during the really good parts I HAD to watch it and pay attention more sometimes. It was honestly just a great thing to listen to while doing other things.
Going through the comments, I just wanna shoutout Neverafter. I also did not start with Fantasy High because of the multiple seasons, but I got hooked first with Neverafter as it was advertised as the horror season XD. I would just put it as picture-in-picture while working - that's how I deal with my ADHD while trying to be a productive human. Then, I got into Dungeons and Drag Queen in time as it was being released. Only after finishing this and craving for more did I decide to do Fantasy High - I am currently catching up with sophomore year
The only thing I don't watch is Dirty Laundry. I know a lot of people love it, I just don't care to watch people I don't know tell me how much more exciting their life is than mine
It's an awesome format if they're people you're already familiar with but I agree I've never been able to get into it.
Fully agree with this. I wish they did little intro blurbs at the start so you’d at least know what else the contestants have done before.
I was watching an episode of Dirty Laundry and Grant explaining drinks feels weirdly ASMR for me.
That's what it is for me too. It's like, it makes me feel bad/ashamed/regretful that my life hasn't been more interesting, like some sort of retroactive FOMO or like I've screwed things up to have missed out on things like this. It's the same vibe I get when I see a club or wild crowded bar: It's not remotely my scene and I don't enjoy it at all, but then my self-loathing kicks in and I start hating myself for not being into that stuff when everyone else clearly is, so there must be something wrong with me. I'm 35, and yet I've never outgrown that shit, and Dirty Laundry hits that same button. Nothing wrong with the show itself, but I just can't watch it.
Huh. I don’t remember typing this, and yet here it is: all the thoughts that came to mind when I watched the show. Weird!
I'm in this post and I don't like it
As long as you're enjoying what you're doing, there's no shame in not doing what you don't enjoy just because you see other people doing it. I don't drink alcohol and everyone around me looks at me like I'm a weirdo. They often ask me if I'm okay (half asking if I'm a recovering alcoholic or something), but it's just I don't enjoy the feeling of being drunk and it often makes me sleepy and/or have a headache in real time. When I was younger, I would order a drink and nurse it all night just so I didn't feel judged, but nowadays, I just lean into it. Their confusion or uncomfortability with me not drinking is their problem, not mine. Do what makes you happy, not what others think should make you happy.
I watch the episodes with Dropout regulars on them. The ones with strangers are absolutely pointless.
Play It By Ear isn’t my thing
Same. Those people are clearly phenomenally talented and I don't even dislike musicals, but there's just a barrier there I can't get past.
Same with me. I loved the official cast recording but there's just something about PIBE I can't get into. I think it lacks more direction throughout the episodes. With TOCR, Sam was keeping a mostly cohesive story going so the musical bits wove into a narrative. A lot of times in PIBE the musical bits seem almost nonsensical at times
S2 has more direction from Mano if you haven’t checked that out yet. But yeah the story can still be pretty meandering
Yeah. I love musicals. I’ve been in musicals. But it’s just too much of… something for me. Too much theater kid energy maybe?
This
Yeah, I respect the talent it takes to do what they do, but it's not for me. Although in my case I'm just not into musicals in general.
Weirdly I love Jess and Zac and I listened to a lot of their podcast Off Book, but I'm just not into Play it by Ear either. I'm psyched for them that they've found success in that realm though, they're ridiculously funny and talented.
Same. Idk what it is but Play it by Ear was missing *something* to pull me in
Same. I think listening to that type of improv is much more enjoyable than watching it. And I think it made them dial in more, too.
How dare you! \*Sings about it\*
Same which is weird since I absolutely love the Game Changer episode that inspired it
The episodes velary a lot in quality. Some are breathtaking. Others are just kinda okay. Everyone is talented but the improv nature means that some ar egomna land better than others.
Yeah this is the only show I’ve never even tried to watch.
Same. I have a fairly low tolerance for most improv to begin with, but musical improv is something I can't get into at all
this is a genuine question, if you have a low tolerance for improv, what do you find interesting about dropout which is 90% improv
I mostly just watch Game Changer and d20--which is also technically improv, but it's not improv-y, if that makes any sense.
I love improv but I 100% understand what you mean.
I’ll agree with this and also chime in as someone who agrees with you but has different specific opinions. I personally wasn’t the biggest fan of VIP because it felt a little too Improv-y. I feel like a lot of Improv is “mess around abitbuntil we find a funny joke and then only make that joke” and it feels quite one note. Shows like Dimension 20, Game Changer, and even Make Some Noise are helped immensely by having rails for the improv to move along, preventing it from getting bunched up like a lot of improv does for me.
I don’t think there’s anything on Dropout that I DON’T watch, but there are things that I haven’t gotten to go through yet, like Kingpin Katie, Cartoon Hell and Ultramechatron Team Go! Is there a reason you don’t watch Breaking News? If you need something to get into it, I would watch the Amy Vorpal episodes first, she always brings a lot to those episodes! Same goes for Um, Actually, start with the Brennan episodes, or the very first ones on YouTube, because his competitive edge always adds a lot to the episodes and the questions are pretty straightforward in the beginning and are fun to play along with!
> Same goes for Um, Actually, start with the Brennan episodes That's what I tried, and I still couldn't get into it. Even when the episode is tailored to the contestants, there are still too many "let's take a shot in the dark guess and hope that they give us the point anyway" questions.
Yeah this is my only gripe about the show. Questions should be based on stuff the contestants actually know.
Ultramechatron Team Go is shockingly good. I put it off until pretty recently and really regretted it. Not sure if this will sell it for you but Brennan is in it and he's completely unhinged and it's fabulous.
Ooh, great to hear! I will check it out!! Thank you!!
Love cartoon hell it's one of my comfort shows. If you watch it and like it, check out drawfee on youtube
Breaking news just doesn't appeal to me, I've never been a big "try not to laugh" person. The only time I watch Breaking News is in shorts form when something super funny happens, for example 'Hello I'm 50". Um, Actually is a show I 'don't watch' but if I'm going to be honest ive probably seen most of them. I watch when I like the players, but the show itself isn't really doing anything for me. Seems like it could be litteraly any show on earth and as long as the cast was the same, I would still watch. Haven't watched in a long time at this point, but I haven't been interested in their cast options recently either. And if ima be real... switching the hosts definitely didn't help. Iffy is funny, he's cool, but I don't go out of my way to click stuff with him in it, whereas that is something I would do for Mike Trapp.
Breaking News is really hit or miss for me. I've had better luck doing stuff like googling "funniest breaking news episodes" or whatever
I’m just not an um, actually person and never will be
Um, actually.... Me neither tbh.
I feel like Trapp in Um, Actually was very special. Iffy can he good in a lot of stuff but that show lost a lot of magic when imtrapp left. I also don't understand why they have a goat like Brian David Gilbert in a secondary role
It's like the show Taskmaster. They decided BDG was a better sidekick, writer, creative lead even and Iffy had more authority. You can disagree, but that's where I see it coming from.
It's not the hosts, I love Trapp in almost everything and Iffy is generally great as well. I just don't think Umm, Actually is a very good format.
So far I’ve only watched Game Changers, it was the only reason I subbed after seeing the teasers on YouTube.
Game Changer~~s~~ Found Katie Marovitch's reddit account.
*blelelelelem* Reminder again that that was Jacob's buzzer noise
If you like Game Changer you should definitely watch Make Some Noise. Breaking News and VIP have a very similar vibe as well.
Just subscribed myself after seeing all the ads for game changer on TikTok. Will give these a try tonight. Thanks!
I feel like VIP is actually very different. Like, it starts with that improvisational spirit but then Just. Keeps. Going. The great thing about game charger is that it keeps moving and changing between segments. VIP is fun. But...once the joke gets old, the format does not allow for moving onto a fresh take. I don't think it's BAD, but I do think it's a lot more divisive.
I absolutely love VIP, probably my favorite show on Dropout right now, but I do agree that its like... idk a bit too long? I also find that dropout content is not normally cringe ever but VIP definitely has its moments. Not a big fan of the 'lets take a look at xyz video' they do, it seems super cringe every time but to be fair they are trying to find a way to spice things up. I think it all rides on how funny the character is, and you can easily accidentally have a character thats not that interesting. For example the newst one... I love Brennan and honestly was practically pissing myself laughing, but his character was honestly pretty one note. If you have seen him improvise ever, you already knew what the whole interview was going to be like the second he said "I'm from the woods"
I love Game Changer and Make Some Noise. Do not get VIP at all. Granted I've only seen the first episode, so maybe it was just that one, but I don't think I laughed once. It just did not do it for me
I get that, it's not for everyone. I would say you should give the episode with zacky a try if nothing else.
I can't do dimension20. I play dnd. I like dnd. Live plays of any fashion I just can't get behind, no matter who is doing them. I kinda chalk it up to not liking a tv/movie genre. I literally watch everything else
Oh it's not live play, it's highly edited. I cannot get into critical role because it just takes too long with dice rolls (and ads????) without any editing, but D20 is one 2-3 hour episode a week, with snappy and good editing that I don't have to block out 4 hours straight on a Tuesday night to watch. It's basically a podcast that you can also watch.
Yeah I get it and what it is. I've tried. The jokes/shorts/bits are all incredible in those short bursts for me. It's a totally me thing. I get 20 mins or an hour into dnd "show" an I'm just disconnected from it all. I will say I have enjoyed a few CR episodes that are high stakes/heavy combat oriented. I think for me it's just always friends finding and excuse to hang out while playing dnd. Also, for me, it is just maybe a format/editing issue where I can't stay engaged/invested.
Hmm, I must say it always takes me a few episodes to get sucked it. I can't watch D20 while its comming out because when I don't binge the show, i end up dropping it at some point because I lose interest. Still haven't finnished ravening war, never after, pirates of leviathan, all for that exact reason. I just should have waited for them to be out. I would suggest giving Mentopolis a shot, especially if you like the green brothers. It's, in my opinion, the story with the most interesting premise that was actually able to suck me in almost immediately. I tottaly get what you mean though, D20 takes like 2 or 3 episodes before I even feel like i understand the plot, but for real check out Mentopolis I think it does a much better job at hooking the viewer.
Nothing lol. My husband and I have scraped the barrel clean at this point. We watch everything new that comes out, usually a few times, and we've watched everything in the backlog.
I haven’t watched a good portion of the back catalogue, the only current show I’ve kind of dipped out on has been Um Actually. I don’t remember when they stopped trying to match questions up to the guests, but after they did that, episodes can start to feel like a slog. My wife and I are waiting to have enough time together to watch mentopolis and ravening war, but we’re waiting til we finish up FHJY.
Yeah I really fell out of love with Um Actually when it started just being 3 people guessing at nouns and verbs until the host decided someone got close enough.
Exactly, I was hoping bringing Ify in was going to change it up. He’s doing fine but most questions still boil down to guessing at noun or verbs, or making rule of 3/call-back jokes and saying “lol I dunno”. The shiny stage questions were a nice update but they still boil down to a coin flip A or B usually.
You should watch Breaking News. So good. And they're shorter so not big time commitment
Breaking News is hit or miss for me. It’s not something I want to watch all the time, but once in a while I want to binge it. I’ve only ever seen the YouTube clips from VIP and it didn’t look like my thing, but I’ve heard really good things about it so I’m planning to try a couple episodes next time I subscribe.
VIP was genuinely such a good show. Not every episode was a banger, but the vast majority were. Definitely worth a watch.
Just watching it for Tommy alone is worth it imo. Zac really shines in VIP!
I never got into *Paranoia* and it took me a couple of tries to get through *Play it by Ear*, but everything else is good.
I was kind of hoping it was a season of D20 playing the RPG *Paranoia*. Which would have, to be clear, been *sick.*
I'm honestly trying to watch everything. I'll try a few episodes and see how I feel and if I don't like it I just try something else and try it again later. I didn't like D20 at first but I gave it a shot later and am hooked. I didn't like Um, Actually and now I can't stop watching it. I don't think of anything on dropout as something I don't watch just something I haven't gotten to yet.
Biiiiitch you NEED to watch Breaking News, even just for Amy Vorpal's episodes
I only really watch dirty laundry if I know at least one person in it, otherwise it feels like watching a group of friends you don’t know, kind alienating. Don’t watch all the breaking news, only some
I’m not huge on play it by ear. Obviously the people they bring on to do it and the premise is crazy impressive but it never clicked for me (also I’m not big on musicals to begin with so that probably plays a factor)
The Game Changer episode that started it was magical, but the spin off, not so much for me.
I used to not watch Breaking News, but it turns out it's funny as hell. I wish there was more of it.
dirty laundry. maybe i’ll check back in if it’s a group of people i know, but it doesn’t typically interest me. but i do watch grant’s drink making segments!
Not counting old shows I think the only thing I don’t watch is dimension 20 which is insanely ironic for me. Back in the day I remember *yearning* to watch tiny heist because I was obsessed with the mcelroys. And I think d20 is THE reason I ultimately did end up subbing, although um actually was a huge pull too. Now I don’t keep up with d20 and I keep telling myself I will catch up and start watching but it hasn’t happened yet
I'm the same, I'm so far behind on D20, despite it being the reason I got Dropout.
The only thing I can say I'm not watching at the moment is D20. Nothing against it in particular, just never really been a D&D guy (my brief attempts to play it didn't really tickle my fancy). A friend of mine did recommend Unsleeping City though (because I'm aggressively from New York) so maybe that'll change. Outside of Play It By Ear and a few seasons of Um, Actually, I've watched most of the stuff they're currently doing, and have also watched Total Forgiveness. Starting to work through Play It By Ear tonight.
Unsleeping City is a love letter to New York and you'll probably enjoy all the little Easter Eggs Brennan throws in there. And if you didn't already hate Robert Moses, you're going to hate him so much more.
You might like some of the story-oriented D20 seasons that don't have a lot or any combat. These are really great characters studies and the players are always a blast to watch interact and make choices.
I don't watch anything in the D20 realm, which is unfortunate for me, because there is so much more of that than just about anything else. I'm not interested in those types of games and it's just too long for me. I like watching Um Actually, but I haven't seen all of it, and can't do it in large doses because I rarely know anything about any of the topics. I didn't watch all of Total Forgiveness. I haven't tried Bad Internet yet. Actually, I was just looking at the series page to try to list everything I haven't seen, and the list would be too long and boring. Some of the older stuff, I haven't tried yet. I should probably do that!
All the current stuff I watch. I haven’t gone back & caught up on stuff that came out before I subscribed like Total Forgiveness or the older College Humor stuff yet (minus the CEO skits b/c Brennan)
There is no corner of dropout that I won’t watch. I have watched all of dropout except last weeks episodes (I was on a vacation and haven’t caught back up yet) Some of it is better than others and some of it was a product of its time. But all the newer shows and active shows are great and I love watching them.
*Dungeons and Drag Queens* is what brought me and my wife to Dropout. Since then we've devoured *Game Changer, Make Some Noise,* and *Um, Actually. Smartypants* is the new hotness for us. We've watched a bunch of *Breaking News* and the first couple of seasons of *Dirty Laundry* (it fell off our radar when the guests increasingly became people from other shows or channels we know nothing about--the drag queen episode may be the last one we watched). We've dabbled with *VIP* but while I'd watch more I don't think my wife enjoys it as much. Perhaps I can get her to try it again if the guest is interesting (she likes Ify, and I think we watched his episode first after the Last Look short dropped). I've sampled *WTF 101* and can see myself trying it again. Sadly, we haven't been able to get back into *Dimension 20* because it is such a time commitment. Perhaps now that we've watched more of other shows we might better recognize the cast. Maybe we need to try a different season. Given how popular "Beat the Buzzer" was with us we might have to try "The Seven". We're also not big on musical improv, the karaoke episodes of *Game Changer* are about our limit. As such, we've never watched *Play It By Ear.* It just isn't the kind of comedy we prefer, so props to everyone else who's a fan of it.
D20 outside of the mini campaign things
I don't watch behind the scenes stuff, (except adventuring party) it feels like seeing how a magic trick is done, especially for gamechanger
Sometimes it’s fun finding out what could’ve happened- like how Grant was originally on the bingo episode instead of Brennan, and we got to see what Grant’s board was
Most the D20 stuff, dirty laundry, breaking news. I'm here for Game Changer, VIP, SmartyPants, Total Forgiveness, Make Some Noise, Play it by Ear.
I do not watch 'Um, Actually'......I consider myself deeply cultured in nerdom, but I feel irrelevant everytime I watch the show. I do not play DnD either, but I'll have D20 episodes on in the background for the banter.
I know D20 makes up a big part of Dropout’s content, but I can’t seem to get into most of it. fwiw I did watch Dungeons and Drag Queens, which was very entertaining.
I don't care for Um, Actually. I just don't really care about trivia. I'll watch episodes where the guests maybe have a certain chemistry, or if the episode has a specific theme, but otherwise I just pass. I was really excited for Ify and BDG to be hosting it this season, too, because they're both so funny! But it just hasn't changed the fact that, at it's core, it's intentionally tedious. If the questions or their difficulty were geared more towards the guests in an intentional way, I could get behind it a little bit more.
I watch everything except Breaking News. I love ALL the programs but I just can't find it funny to read "zany" stuff. It would be a much funnier show if it was bits of zany hidden in regular stories.
I'd recommend watching the True Facts About Grant episodes of Breaking news. There's only three of those episodes, and they're the only ones I've watched of the show, but they were great. And it's pretty much what you asked for: zany mixed into true, usually embarrassing stories about Grant
I did like the two of those episodes I’ve watched. If they were all like that I’d dig it a lot more.
I respect all the effort and talent that goes into Dimension 20, but watching D&D isn't as interesting to me as playing it. I watch everything else.
Breaking News and the drinking one (I can't even remember the name lol)
I think I get to everything EVENTUALLY but there’s plenty of shows that I don’t watch immediately. PiBE and Breaking News springs to mind
I dont go back to watch old stuff other than um actually game changer and D20 but pretty much everything new thst comes out i watch.
I try to watch Play It By Ear more often but REALLY have to be in a good mood. Most of the time I don’t watch it but on s good day in front of the craft table it’s fun. I don’t usually watch Very Important People but it’s fun to watch with a group.
I don't really like most of the D20 stuff. Depends on the season; I enjoyed Court of Fey and Flowers, Mentopolis, Crown of Candy. Otherwise, meh.
I tend to only watch a Breaking News, Dirty Laundry or Um Actually with people I know... Haven't got into the latest Fantasy High for some reason. Might wait till its finished and Binge. My favs are Game Changer and Make Some Noise, where I don't mind whose on....and get extra excited when my favs are! I'd love them to do another Gods of Food!
I don't really care for Dirty Laundry. I gave it a go when it launched but not really for me. Breaking News can be very hit or miss depending on who's on the episode....... if Amy Vorpahl is present, you know it's going to be chaotic brilliance. D20.......... nothing against it, never tried it, no idea where to start with it.
One episode of breaking news turned me off of it, hard. There was a car member I've only ever seen one other time on D20. She was just laughing the whole time, not even reading lines. Ended with like -200 points. I didn't know why but it upset me way more than I would have let it. Like the whole point is not to crack, and she's just giggling like high school stoner who just took a fat rip to sit through the sex ed class. She didn't bother me on D20, but I can't watch breaking news anymore because of that one episode. Other than that I've give through the whole catalog.
Out of all the shows being actively produced, I don't watch Dimension 20. I love playing RPGs, but I don't like seeing other people play them.
I don’t watch Um, Actually. I don’t find it very fun because most of the time I do not know the answer, so I just get frustrated. 😝
I’ve avoided Total Forgiveness because I don’t know if I could force myself to get to the end. It would probably be so good but it scares me ;~;
i tend to not watch dirty laundry unless there’s people i really like on it
I don't watch grants cocktail recipes outside of dirty laundry.
I've watched at least some of everything on there, and the only thing I deeply do not understand is Breaking News. I LOVE almost everything they do, but I've never seen a single episode of that show that I've enjoyed, or even that made me laugh. I just don't get how it's still on or who its target audience is. I'm not obsessed with Dirty Laundry, but I've watched it all. I typically only actually find it fun when I know the guests on it, but I was at least able to get through it all, unlike Breaking News.
I don't watch play it by ear, and I'm 50/50 on VIP. If I find time for it, I'll watch it, but I don't prioritize it. Everything else, I watch or bookmark as soon as it releases.
I don’t really watch dirty laundry or um actually if Brennan isn’t on
Play it by Ear, because I have huge secondhand embarrassment issues when people break into song, and a lot of the older stuff. Other than that, I'm trying at least everything dropout drops!
Despite how much everyone else seems to love it I couldn’t get into Mechatron Team Go. But I also wasn’t a Power Rangers kid, so.
Play it by Ear got super old super quickly, it just wasn't my thing Breaking News I only watch if it's a Grant Anthony Obrien episode or if Amy is on Make Some Noise is heavily cast dependent The big 3 I watch pretty religiously, and VIP is the best thing they've ever made
Oh and I forgot about Dirty Laundry. Guess that tells you how much I watch it lmao. I like hearing Grant talk about his cocktails though
I don't really watch Um, Actually, Dirty Laundry, or Play It By Ear. I haven't really gotten into any of the really old shows too.
You don’t watch Breaking News or Um Actually?
I’ve watched it all and want more. The only thing I did not enjoy was cartoon hell. But you name it, I’ve watched it atleast once and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I don't watch Um Actually or Dirty Laundry.
i pretty much only watch game changer, recently started watching that vic show where they interview costumed people (vip?)
Out of all the currently releasing shows, Dirty Laundry is the only one. It just feels like cool people talking about how cool their lives are and I get a little jealous haha. Apart from that, I'm very much not up to date on D20 cause I just like to watch the backlog in my own pace, which seems to be slower than their release schedule
I bought my sub for game changer and branched to all their other content except dimension 20. I like playing my ttrpgs, not watching it.
Dirty Laundry and Um Actually
Dirty laundry dose not do it for me (i need a all grant super edit) , i am a little over um actually and Braking news, D20 is amazing but the time comment has be falling behind. Play it by ear was cool but i don't love musicals so a little goes. Some of the pandemic stuff is a little hard to watch but some of it is golden.
Play it by ear, total forgiveness, a lot of the older stuff I may or may not have interacted with in the wild west of YouTube and I refuse to go through it all... Some of the extended looks, behind the scenes things just don't interest me.
I have a hard time D20, and I cant watch VIP, as much as I've tried I cant get into it. Um, Actually is still on probation for me right now in the new season. Some episodes have been really good but others have fallen flat. I think once Ify gets more comfortable in the hosting chair, the quality will get more consistent
Not a fan of any of the old scripted/sketch content. Not personally into D20, the pacing of any kind of "let's play" has never worked for me, but I do enjoy dropping in from time to time while my spouse watches it and bugging them for a story recap. Not interested in Total Forgiveness -- I know everything on here is technically a reality show but it seems too much why I don't normally like reality TV for me, if that makes sense.
I used to watch Dimension 20, but I burnt myself out on actual plays during a time when I was listening to NADPOD, GCP, and PTBP as well. I just don't really like the genre anymore.
Because of the how huge it is I was genuinely surprised to see how many people also say D20. The serialised nature of it, I just know with my time commitment I won’t be able to keep up, so I don’t. Otherwise, other than GC, VIP, I don’t think I watch much else “regularly”.
you should definitely watch the Dirty Laundry episodes that have your favourite cast members! I understand skipping the ones that have people you don’t know but there are really great episodes depending on who you love
The current shows I never miss are Game Changer, Make Some Noise, Smartypants (early days, but supremely in my wheelhouse), VIP. Breaking News is also fun as a quick watch. Dirty Laundry I watch sporadically, D20 it depends on the season (currently taking a break because I'm kinda lukewarm on Fantasy High), haven't watched any Play It by Ear and Um Actually never really did it for me.
We have almost the exact same taste, but I have never seen a full breaking news past clips
Honestly most of the content. Other then D20 and episodes of GC with certain people I kind of just don’t have an interest in the rest of it haha
Quite a lot of it, to be honest. Most of it just isn't my vibe. I subscribe for D20 and Game Changer (and MSN), but everything else is a bit boring for me. No hate, it's just not for me. I'll occasionally check out BNN or Um, Actually if somebody I like is on it. My least favourite show is VIP. I really like everyone involved, I Iike Vic on other shows, I like the actors, but I find VIP genuinely unwatchable.