| ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com | |
|---|---|
The Nostalgia Critic, Doug Walker |
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| Genre | Reviews, satire, physical comedy |
| Created by | Michael Michaud Doug Walker Michael Ellis |
| Starring | Doug Walker Rob Walker |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 188 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Chicago, Illinois |
| Running time | Various, usually 15–25 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | YouTube (former) Revver (former) blip.tv |
| Original airing | April 4, 2008 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
That Guy with the Glasses is a website that mostly showcases satirical reviews of movies and video games. It primarily stars Chicago native Douglas Darien "Doug" Walker (born November 17, 1981)[1] as "That Guy with the Glasses". The founder and administrator of the site is Michael Michaud, CEO of the parent company Channel Awesome. The site was launched in April 2008 after the original videos were removed from YouTube following complaints of copyright infringement.
The website is home to several episodic series, starring Douglas Walker and others. The main Walker series are 5 Second Movies (hyper-edited feature films), The Nostalgia Critic (reviews of 1980-90s films and television), Ask That Guy with the Glasses (comedy question and answer show) and Bum Reviews (plot summaries of current feature films). Other videos and written articles are hosted on the site, including some minor series and sketches starring Walker. Videos are now hosted by blip.tv after problems with earlier provider Revver.[2]
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Doug Walker's first appearance on the web was on the video website YouTube, in which he created satirical video reviews of films and other media entertainment of the past and present. The series drew complaints from major studios like 20th Century Fox and Lionsgate over alleged copyright infringement.[3] This led to his video content being taken off the website. Walker attempted to re-upload his content by assigning each video a new, separate channel so that if one were deleted, the others would be left intact. However, due to continuing issues with YouTube, Walker decided to leave the website altogether and create the website That Guy with the Glasses with Internet webmaster Mike Michaud. Michaud had created the sites' parent company, Channel Awesome, after he and two others were laid off from Circuit City in 2007. Michaud has stated, "If we didn't lose our jobs, [the business] wouldn't have happened anytime soon."[4][5][6]
The site was re-launched in April 2008, and all of Walker's future videos would only be posted there. The site later exploded featuring content from various other contributors. In December 2008, Walker appeared in a commercial for the PBS documentary Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America, performing a series of brief imitations of famous comedians, from Charlie Chaplin to Stephen Colbert.[7] In 2009, Doug and Rob Walker and Brian Heinz produced an iRiff of The Lion King for RiffTrax. In March 2009, the iRiff was chosen as the winner of the website's RiffTrax Presents contest. The performers received $1,000 and, with instruction from Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett, recorded a commentary for the film Batman Forever.[8]
The Nostalgia Critic shows average 100,000 to 300,000 viewers per week, and the site as a whole receives 1 million page views per month.[4][5][9] This is expected to increase following content-provider Blip.tv's deal with YouTube in July 2009.[10] As of July 2009, the site earns more than $10,000 per month in advertising revenue and has received more than $11,000 in online donations, with the company expecting to earn $150,000 by the end of the year. In the third quarter of the 2009 Fiscal year, Walker's shows earned $53,000, including $32,000 from the Nostalgia Critic alone. This revenue was generated by run of network from Puma and Starburst.[4][5][6][10] The success of his shows has allowed Walker to make a living performing and to quit his previous job as an illustrator, as well as pay the salary of co-founder/COO Mike Ellis.[4]
Channel Awesome has plans to build on the success of That Guy with the Glasses with a network of new websites including Bar Fiesta (covering Chicago entertainment and nightlife), Blistered Thumbs (a spin off incorporating the current site's video game content) and InkedReality (anime, manga, and comic books). Michaud told the Chicago Sun-Times that he has 300 new show ideas in the works, intends to discover more performers like Walker, and has plans to increase revenue through sponsorships and merchandising.[4][6][11]
On May 10, 2009, The Nostalgia Critic and the Angry Video Game Nerd starred in "TGWTG Team Brawl", which was filmed in Chicago, IL, and celebrated That Guy With the Glasses' one-year anniversary. Various personalities from both the Critic and Nerd's sites participated in a battle between the "Reviewers", led by the Critic, and "Gamers", led by the Nerd. "The Final Brawl" was created not only as a major cross-over video, but as a meet up for the contributors. One notable crossover video was a joint review with the Nostalgia Critic and Angry Video Game Nerd who reviewed a documentary about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' "Coming Out of their Shells" concert.
On December 5, 2009, Doug and Rob Walker, Noah Antwiler, Joe Vargas, Ed Glaser, Brian Heinz, Bhargav Dronamraju, Bennett White, and Victoria Turner hosted a live charity drive to raise money for the Ronald McDonald house charity. The drive was hosted on UStream, accepting donations through PayPal and offering incentives on the site such as premium memberships on the site, along with a phone call from Doug and company for any donations over $300. The drive started at 7:00 CST, and had raised over $20,000 by midnight. The drive ran for over 7 hours and ended with a grand total of $26,400. The second donation drive was held on December 5, 2010, ending with a grand total of $50,025.[12]
A special marking the second anniversary of the site was filmed in the Republic of Molossia, Nevada on April 9 through April 11, 2010. In addition to the site contributors, the video also features Molossia's President Kevin Baugh and his family playing parodies of themselves. The plot involves the site members invading Molossia, under the leadership of the Nostalgia Critic, renaming the micronation Kickassia, before infighting caused by the previous ruler leads to the collapse of the new state and restoration of the previous government.[13] A DVD of the special was released in October 2010.[14]
The third year anniversary special of the site, entitled Suburban Knights, aired in seven parts from June 27 to July 2 in 2011. The plot involves the reviewers going after "Malachite's Hand",[15] a magic gauntlet hidden in suburban Illinois while dressed as famous characters from fantasy films and video games, including The Nostalgia Critic dressed as Link from The Legend of Zelda, Spoony as Gandalf, Linkara as King Arthur, Todd in the Shadows as the Dread Pirate Roberts, and the Cinema Snob as Indiana Jones (when told that Indiana Jones was not a fantasy film he retorted that "if surviving a nuclear blast in a fridge isn't fantasy, I don't know what is"). While they are on their quest, they are opposed by a force of guardians who protect the gauntlet from the unworthy, and are pursued by Malachite, an ancient sorcerer who seeks the gauntlet to restore his powers and destroy the world of technology forever. Part 5 of the special marked the return of former TGWTG member That Dude in the Suede.[16][17] Malachite overpowers the reviewers with his magic, and briefly reclaims the gauntlet (which had been refashioned into a Nintendo Power Glove) but is defeated by Ma-Ti through the power of heart. Ma-Ti is destroyed along with Malachite and the reviewers hold a funeral for Ma-Ti that is nearly identical to that of Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.
Walker is a figure in the "hyperediting" trend.[18] Currently, 5 Second Movies has had a total of 131 episodes. After the 101st episode, Walker said he will only make them if he thinks of a very funny idea, because he has almost run out of ideas and he does not want to run the series into the ground and grow stale.[19] The link on the front page was removed during the site's January 2010 renovation. After his videos were taken down from YouTube, Walker made a video that parodied Chris Crocker's "Leave Britney Alone!" video, entitled "Leave 5 Second Movies Alone!" Today, 5 Second Movies is something of an internet phenomenon with several fan-made videos on YouTube. On TGWTG, Doug finished the series and several other contributors have made their versions and have made spin offs such as Comics in 5 Panels and 5 Second Video Games.
The Nostalgia Critic is the most popular video series created by Walker, in which he plays the titular reviewer. The show is written by Doug and Rob Walker (born May 6, 1979).[20] The series was initially launched on YouTube before moving to this site. It is the flagship show for Channel Awesome, which has since built on it with additional content, additional websites and the spin-off show The Nostalgia Chick.
The show involves the Nostalgia Critic, often referred to as simply the Critic, reviewing nostalgic media, being mostly negative. This mostly concerns movies and television series from the 1980s to 1990s, but he has made exceptions for movies that came out after 2000. These include The Room, Titanic: The Legend Goes On, Battlefield Earth, Dungeons & Dragons, TMNT, Cloverfield and Alone In The Dark. Not all reviews are negative, such as those of Double Dare, Sonic the Hedgehog (The Sat AM version), X-Men, DuckTales, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Commando, Hook, Gargoyles, Superman, Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird and Animaniacs.
The series and character gained increased fame from a fictional feud between the Critic and fellow web revewier-comedian The Angry Video Game Nerd (played by James Rolfe). This began with the Critic launching a satirical attack in an early episode. The feud took place over many episodes in 2008-09.
Walker featured a "Let's Play" video, with him narrating his playing of Bart's Nightmare, which was a significant change in style of his usual reviews. The video has become infamous among fans, which the Nostalgia Critic acknowledged on his subsequent review as being the most unfunny review he has ever done. Other fans defended Walker for the video, but Walker explained that he also didn't like the way it turned out, so the apology made in the following video was just as much him making fun of himself.
The series Ask That Guy with the Glasses involves Walker, wearing a blue robe, red ascot and carrying a pipe and drink, answering questions. The narrator reads each question and Walker responds with a comedic answer, sometimes commenting on the person who asked it, although he has a strong dislike of being asked "Can I borrow a cup of sugar?". "That Guy" is portrayed as an upper-class, perverted and disturbed person.
This series, hosted by Lewis Lovhaug (born August 19, 1987)[21] as "Linkara", involves him reviewing bad comic books.
The series Bum Reviews with Chester A. Bum features Walker reviewing films in the character of 'the Bum'. The character was created by Walker to review current and new film releases. The character is portrayed as a hyperactive, drug-addicted tramp and cinemagoer who appears with an orange and black woolly hat over a long, dark wig. He was created after the Nostalgia Critic's review of Cloverfield. Walker loved his impersonation of Hud from the film so much, that he gave Chester it,[22] though the origins of the character came from Doug's review of Transformers. His first review was released in early May 2008 on the movie Speed Racer. Walker's actual opinion of the film is presented in the end credits for most of the episodes. However, starting with Thor, Walker now makes separate videos next to his Bum reviews and gives his opinion on the film he reviews.
The idea of a "Nostalgia Chick" to complement the existing "Nostalgia Critic" (Douglas Walker) was announced on the That Guy with the Glasses website in "The Search for the Nostalgia Chick" (August 10, 2008). The idea was for a female host to review female-targeted nostalgic films and television.[23] A contest generated the winner Lindsay Ellis (born 1984).[24]
The costume of the Nostalgia Chick initially included a pair of glasses and a bow tie worn as a choker. Ellis wore the glasses to disguise the tired appearance of her eyes in her submission. They were never real and their appearances diminished due to losing them. The glasses were eventually stolen from Ellis' car in Brooklyn and no longer appear in the show.[23] The bow tie was left over from Ellis' appearance in a production of Cabaret while studying at New York University (she played the accordion).[23] Early episodes include the closing catchphrase "I remember it because the dudes don't" (based on the Nostalgia Critic's "I remember it so you don't have to"). Ellis eventually dropped this as it seemed anti-feminist; it gave the impression that the subject was being reviewed by a woman because it was not important enough to be reviewed by a man. After requesting submissions for a new catchphrase, Ellis decided against using any catchphrase in her work.[23] Early reviews initially mirrored Walker's linear playthrough, noting memorable or infamous scenes with humorous commentary, but beginning with a video entitled "The Smurfette Principle" noting her status as the Critic's female counterpart, she started a more broad analytical style of review, discussing the movies more as a whole than from beginning to end.[25]
Some later episodes have been delayed by Ellis' enrollment in a master's degree program at the University of Southern California and her subsequent traveling between New York and Los Angeles.[26] At the time of the competition for a Nostalgia Chick, Ellis was unemployed and had not received confirmation of a place at USC. She has stated that, due to the work load, she would not have entered the competition if she had known she would be going to USC.[23]
Ellis comes from Tennessee and moved to New York when she was 18. She now lives in Los Angeles (during term time) and New York.[23] Despite the subject and tone of the series, Ellis has stated that she likes some of the films, such as Labyrinth, although she honestly does not like Disney's Pocahontas, the subject of her initial submission.[23]
The Spoony Experiment (TSE) is series starring by Noah Antwiler (born December 27, 1980)[27] as "The Spoony One" or "Spoony". The series is hosted on both its own site of the same name, and That Guy with the Glasses. The primary format of the series is humorous reviews of video games and movies. From 2010, it has also incorporated some games journalism at trade shows such as the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The mascot of the series is "Burton the Robot", a robot puppet made by Antwiler.
"The Cinema Snob" is a series starring Brad Jones (born December 20, 1981).[28] Jones plays a pretentious art critic who watches and comments on 1970-1980's exploitation films and pornography. The show is hosted on both "That Guy with the Glasses" and "thecinemasnob.com". Like many other shows on "That Guy with the Glasses", Jones started his show on YouTube until he was confronted with a copyright claim from the filmmakers of Nailgun Massacre.[29] On October 4, 2011 Jones announced a feature length movie adaptation of his Snob character. He claims that filming of the movie will begin in early 2012.[30]
On January 6, 2011, Doug was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in Las Vegas at the 4th Annual Mashable Awards, Mashable Awards 2010.[31]
After contracting with Live Universe, Revver's earnings from July 2008 onwards were still "pending", meaning that Revver had delayed payments to unspecified date. On December 9, 2008, Revver sent a message to all its users saying that earnings from June were transferred, and the other earnings would be transferred as soon as possible. However, many people still have yet to receive these payments.
Several of their most popular content providers, including ScrewAttack and That Guy with the Glasses, have also publicly posted complaints of Revver owing them vast amounts of money on their websites and began moving their content over to blip.tv.[32]
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