"Critical Role wants to host even more live shows, especially outside of the US"

[kane_magus]

*weary sigh*

I mean, they're going to do what they're going to do, and I'm sure it will probably work out just great for them and all, but... I don't like the live shows. I think I watched like maybe an hour into the next episode after that last live show I watched there, if even that much, and then just shut it down, because the "taste" of the live show was still too strong at the time. And then... I just never went back to it after. So, yeah, I guess you could say that the live shows are literally the thing that finally drove me away from Critical Role.

Comments

[owsf2000]

For me, I just didn't have the time to invest in catching up in the series (having not even heard of it until it was either finishing up season 2 or starting in on season 3) to really give it a shot so I don't know if I'd care for the live shows or not.

[kane_magus]

I watched all of season 1 and, I guess, a bit over halfway into season 2 (up to like ep 74 or 75 out of 140-something... all I remember about the last episode I watched was that Mica Burton was there as a guest player).

For me, by far the worst thing about the live shows was all the vexatious crowd shit, like how randos in the audience would be yelling stupid "jokes," or calling out "suggestions" for what someone should do on their turn (sensible or otherwise), or the whole incredibly dumbshit "NEIN!!!!!" shriek every time someone rolled a nine which became a regular thing later on after season 2 started, or just the general overall crowd buzz that seemed to be constantly going on in the background while the cast was playing.

But even ignoring that (or, perhaps, tying into that), the live shows were always just... a bit much. As if the cast felt like they had to go over the top and do crazier shit than normal[1] during the live shows, like being way jokier than they normally are (which is saying something, because they were always cracking jokes even during the normal episodes, it just seemed like the jokey shit they did at the lives shows was more artificially performative) or taking more brazen and outrageous actions during their turns than they probably would have during a normal session, just to try to induce the loud, annoying crowd reactions. Maybe it would be different if I were actually there, watching it live, I don't know. I doubt it, because A) it would probably annoy me even more so if I were there in person, and B) I'd almost assuredly never go to something like that in the first place, explicitly because of A). But even just watching that shit on Youtube was just... ugh and meh.

[1] - And I'm not even talking about stuff like Sam Riegel dressing up in ludicrous outfits or whatever. Hell, he sometimes did that even during the (non-Halloween) regular episodes. And that kind of stuff usually stopped mattering once they actually sat down and started playing (outside of the occasional comment someone at the table might make about how distracting it was).