Game Changer is a game show on dropout.tv where (close to) every episode has a different premise, and the contestants don't know what sort of game they'll be playing in advance. Tonight saw a round where the contestants threw a ball at a target, analogous to a dunk tank, and were covered with half a gallon or so of thick, sticky blue slime (and decorated with feathers) for doing so, which they happily wore for the rest of the show. Of the three contestants, one passed on the opportunity, but happily got reasonably slimy from hugs from the other two. Another round featured a brief bubble gum blowing contest in passing.
I think Game Changer is outstanding at what it does for the depth of variety and ambition it shows, and this episode happened to feature some of my favourite things, and i ended up feeling far more... conflicted about this episode than anything else. The context was right for the show, but not for the combination of all the things that it contained, for me. It felt to me like I wanted to enjoy it for different reasons than the way it wanted to be enjoyed, and that led to cognitive dissonance. When one of the contestants decided to use their feet rather than their fingers for finger-painting in another round still, but then emphasised that they wanted their feet blurred out, probably more as a joke than out of any other reason, it kind of set the tone.
I dunno, maybe the mood was just a bit off, or maybe it was just a bit off for me alone. Feels like a me problem!
If you have Dropout, it's absolutely worth checking out; if not, clips will very probably be all over YouTube and social media before long.
I've thought about this some more and here's my latest thinking on it. Brennan Lee Mulligan has been a top tier contestant since the very start, but for whatever reason, he wasn't into it that day. He demonstrated this right from the very start of it at the start of the first round, and set the mood that it was OK not to be into the challenges on offer, and that was a mood that was expressed later across the board. Some of them were overtly to be endured rather than enjoyed, e.g. the "standing on lego" challenge is right out of the [i]Fake Reaction[/i] playbook - others could have gone either way with people being more into them than they were. This isn't really like most episodes of the show.
Maybe be was just very tired (some fans think he was doing a lot at the time and may have been a new father), maybe he wasn't feeling well that day (some fans think his voice was off), maybe he didn't like the setting (he may have felt there was pressure upon him to produce epic monologues in the style he has done in the past, he did describe the day with words to the effect of being one long panic attack), maybe it was something else. But it wasn't the try-hard, do-anything-for-five-points Brennan we've seen in the past, on that particular day, and the episode suffered as a result, which (almost?) never happens.
Next week's behind-the-scenes may be able to cast more light on it... not least whether the slime was touched up between rounds. If it wasn't, it retained its vibrancy and reflection remarkably well, to the point where I'm very curious what they used, and whether I can get into a bathtub of it.
Maybe be was just very tired (some fans think he was doing a lot at the time and may have been a new father), maybe he wasn't feeling well that day (some fans think his voice was off), maybe he didn't like the setting (he may have felt there was pressure upon him to produce epic monologues in the style he has done in the past, he did describe the day with words to the effect of being one long panic attack), maybe it was something else. But it wasn't the try-hard, do-anything-for-five-points Brennan we've seen in the past, on that particular day, and the episode suffered as a result, which (almost?) never happens.
I think it's precisely this. His work ethic is incredible and he can't last at this rate. He's on tour with Endless Dungeon (I saw it, it was a great time!), he does the Dropout stuff (Dimension 20 is already a full time job in itself + the other Dropout appearances are just gravy), he does the Patreon stuff, he is the Critical Role DM for an enormous cast, he does podcasts, and he has two new children (and of course his wife Izzy has her own career to manage). He's now enjoying tremendous success and the pressure that comes with it...
...and then the first thing he did on set was walk accidentally into the Game Changer sign, which I kind of felt set the tone. But he was still very funny and conniving even in his slightly annoyed mode. Like you, I look forward to seeing the behind the scenes stuff next week.
Also, yes, it's clear that Vic likes getting slimed and messy and I love them for it. And also they're an S-tier comedian.
I'm not going to try to guess at anyone's inclinations, but I'm just curious why it's being said Vic Michaelis is CLEARLY into getting messy?
I'm only aware of 2 instances where they've ever gotten messy on camera at all. This instance here, and once during another scene from "Very Important People".
Love you, too
