Game Changer

Just started binging this, and there are some genuinely really funny episodes. Not generally a huge fan of improv comedy but it's sort of constrained enough that it all sort of fits and is funny.

My biggest issue is that most (or all) of the contestants and the host are ex-collegehumour employees who all clearly know each other fairly well. That's not an issue in and of itself, but when entire episodes are heavily reliant on in-jokes and knowing about the lives of these people ahead of time, they just aren't engaging or funny.

I've legitimately never heard of any contestant so far, and I'm paused on the first episode of season 3. The 'game' of season 3? Guess who the mystery person is. Not a celebrity, not a well known person that the viewer has a chance of knowing. Just some random person who made youtube skits for 10 year olds a while ago.

Who is that for? It's a bunch of in-jokes and details about people who nobody knows. It's like listening to a podcast by a bunch of random strangers talking about what they did in their week, why would anyone care?

So there are some seriously great episodes, but there are definitely some that can either be skipped with literally no loss or can be turned off halfway when it becomes "guess which food that one guy we know likes!"

Created and hosted by Sam Reich, Game Changer is the game show that changes every* time you play! Joined by new talent from the College Humor cast to compete for points and try to figure out what the game is that they will be playing. With formats like "make the noise like", "say the raunchiest thing", or even "perform an entire impromptu broadway show", after 6 seasons the show has matured phenomenally to something in that sweet spot between a Who's Line is it Anyway and @Midnight. Reich is always a great host, and the wit and frankly genius of the writing staff keeps pulling me in for more, the games are often so clever. You'll need the dedicated streaming service Dropout to watch, and now with my second time subscribing I can say this show alone is certainly worth at least a month, and there's plenty more from the CH crew on there, not to mention the multiple spin-offs of this show from formats that were overwhelmingly successful. S4E5 "The Official Cast Recording" is probably the one of the most entertaining, impressive, and fun 30 minutes of TV I watched and that's saying something (and makes sense got it owns spin-off). If you haven't seen I would highly recommend, always looking forward to more, great show.

Now that's what I call, "Damn good television!"

This show's concept is absolutely brilliant: simultaneously it's own animal and a laboratory with near perfect conditions to workshop other gameshow ideas. But that would mean nothing if the host and contestants didn't provide engaging follow through with charm, cheek, and wit. Luckily, everyone has that, not only in spades, but all the other suits as well. They act like they're not playing with a full deck, but they know exactly what they're doing, and by that, I mean they lean into not knowing what they're doing. It's incredibly refreshing.

Sam Reich (native to Cambridge, Massachusetts) is a genius. He's this whimsical wizard that is a hybrid between a well-dressed teddy bear (probably a descendant of much more posh Winnie the Pooh) and a mad scientist close to perfecting chewing gum that explodes in the mouths of unsuspecting children.

The Dropout writers/usual suspects are also a hoot to watch swing on the pendulum of winning generous gifts from their glorious benefactor and perform Diet Fear Factor tasks, with a twist of lemon.

The show is inconceivably preposterous: warm and well meaning with its gifts, diabolical and fiendish with its punishments, but always tempestuous and hysterical.

Turn on your TV and tune into Dropout, you won't regret it.

I've been watching Game Changer for a few years now and am so frustrated that a show this great isn't being watched by more people.

It's everything you could want in a game show. We've got incredible production design, hilarious contestants and hijinks, clever plot twists, in-jokes and callbacks, and a really genuine heart to it all.

Watching Dropout shows in general feels a bit like watching Buzzfeed or the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen in their primes; here are a group of interesting and funny people doing what they love well and interacting with each other in different combinations to do it.

Not every episode is a 10/10, but there are no bad episodes. And when they're good oh you better believe they're insanely good. Once you can convince someone to try an episode, they're hooked. And somehow each season they manage to outdo themselves and what they pulled off last season. It's criminal these folks haven't won some Emmys yet.

I'm so excited to see what comes next and hoping more and more people can find and appreciate the magic going on here.

Edit: since half stars are not allowed i am officially updating my review to 8.5 after watching the first season. VERY hesitant to give 9 stars because it is evident that there are just combinations of guests that DO NOT WORK while certain guests can carry a whole show. Not that there's been a BAD episode so far (season 1), i fully believe that the premise of the show is entertaining enough even if the gags/bits aren't always dingers. Reich (production team) deserves credit tho for the work they put into the show. So that is enough to push closer to the 9th star.

Alright here's a brand new show (within recent times) that is catching wind on youtube/clip sites

i am only vaguely familiar with, PERHAPS, 2 of the guest stars/contestants: the creator (reich from college humor), and brennan, from other board game related things.

Its a VERY "european/british" show, a comparison that should make sense if you've seen 9/10 cats or any other game show hosted by jimmy carr. The jokes are waaaaay out there, the set design is gamey and campy, there's no real "goal" to the game other than the viewer's (and participants') entertainment. Nobody's becoming millionaires, nobody is getting voted off islands, nobody wins anything; it's a gameshow in a nutshell.

That being said, from the clips i've seen (some funny, some meh, some huh?), i did a little digging: MOST if not ALL the "contestants" are personalities in the streaming/gaming community (brennan GM's some D+D campaigns and if you look up some of HIS work then you'll start to recognize other players in the show) and it's very clear they have a rapport and know how to play off each other. In that sense, it's a very well produced show.

In another sense, the set is clearly just a few cardboard/particle board cutouts on a dark soundstage with no audience so it probably costs pennies to make. What's important though are the bits and jokes that get created on the spot, despite seeming so well planned. As with most improv, i do believe the contestants get a "brief" (>30 min) window to prepare or are at least aware of the topics/theme before hand, and that they film segments one at a time (speculation) to give them time to warm up; despite appearances, if you come in expecting the "traditional" gameshow format, Game Changer may be hard to watch.

This is a preemptive 8 from me based on clips taking into consideration a) ingenuity of answers/responses from contestants, b) the idea of the show itself (as a gameshow within a gameshow), and c) the pedigree of both creator and guests (college humor, et al).

Might change to a 9 after watching full episodes. I do not anticipate lowering my score at all.