The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

Monday, November 19, 2012 - 7A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, November19, 2012 - 7A

NBC, are you OK?

The signs were all there.
The unceremonious
expulsion of Ann Curry
from "The Today Show," the
fault-ridden coverage of the
2012 London
Summer
Olympics, the
downright
disrespect-
ful handling
of Conan
O'Brien's
ousting, the KAYLA
renewal of UPADHYAYA
"Whitney."
Yes, NBC
has set itself on a course of self-
destruction. The peacock has lost
its damn mind.
It's not easy for me to admit
this. After all, NBC has played a
formative role in my collegiate
life. Freshman year, my room-
mate and I welcomed our new
friends into our cluttered dorm
room on Thursday nights for
NBC's beloved comedy lineup
and again on most Saturdays
for "Saturday Night Live." The
people who came to these gather-
ings, who plopped on our beds
with their Oreos and popcorn,
who laughed with us at every Liz
Lemon "blergh" and Ron Swan-
son glare, are the same people
I now live with. I'm not saying
NBC is the reason I have friends
... but yes, that's exactly what I'm
saying.
The disjointed handling of
"Community" is particularly
bizarre. Outcry from frustrated
fans on Twitter has been heart-
felt, but hardly informative,
so here's the rundown: NBC
announced this summer that the
show would move from its Thurs-
day position to Friday night - or,
as it's otherwise known, Where
TV Goes To Die - and would
receive only a half-season order.
The network also fired the brain
of the series, Dan Harmon, and
replaced him with the talented-
but-safer David Guarascio and
Moses Port. At the last minute,
NBC decided to delay the fall
premiere date to Feb. 7. The only
good news that comes of this wait
time is "Community" will at least
reside where it belongs: in prime
realty on Thursday nights.
The folks at NBC seem to
have no idea what they're doing
this year, but the current "Com-
munity" saga is actually history
repeating itself Let's take it all
the way back to 1966, when a
brand new, obscure sci-fi series
entered NBC programming: "Star

Trek."
cancel
but ov
fans -
ter ma
the thi
NBC t
son, un
it woul
simply;
In this
ing Gen
sacked
the schi
showr
tion of]
the sea
inevita
"Con
similar
appear
its "Sta
berry t
and bu
nizable
Could:
empire
munity
don't se

Stc
pe
th

The show was almost precedent ("Happy Days" made
ed after its second season, the switch between seasons),
erwhelming reaction from and how exactly is this supposed
and this was before Twit- to save the show? According to
de it easy to rally behind NBC entertainment chairman
ngs we love - convinced Bob Greenblatt, the reasoning is
o renew it for a third sea- "to infuse the show with more
ider the stipulation that energy." But live audiences and
[d move to Friday nights, laugh tracks do just the opposite,
away of prolonging death. providing a faux sense of energy
case, the show's enterpris- even when the jokes don't land.
ne Roddenberry wasn't There's a reason single-cam dom-
, but rather quit to protest inates the sitcom landscape these
edule change. The new days. With the exception of "How
unner lacked the innova- I Met Your Mother," multi-cam
Roddenberry's voice and just doesn't cut it anymore. It's a
son straggled before its dying industry and is more likely
ble cancellation. to be "Up All Night"'s downfall
mmunity"'s future looks than i'ts savior.
ly unpromising, and it Unfortunately, most of these
s NBC learned nothing of decisions have been made at
r Trek" mistakes. Rodden- many different levels in the NBC
ook his vision to rival CBS Universal empire, so while it
ilt one of the most recog- would be nice to be able to pin the
sci-fi franchises there is. blame on Greenblatt, it'd be both
Harmon builda comedy ineffective and at least partially
elsewhere when "Com- unfair. And as we learned this
y" gets the boot? I certainly summer, NBC doesn't take too
ee why not. kindlyto constructive criticism
- execs are still tryingto defend
their decision to not show the,
portion of the Olympic Opening
p letting the Ceremony remembering the Lon-
acockmakedon terrorist attacks.
aCOC make doThe only real power we have
ie decisions. over NBC is to, well, watch their
competition. After all, these
days, ABC is outperforming NBC
on several fronts. The network
e of television's darkest isn't without its ownbad deci-
its come from decisions sions (ahem, its lack of faith in
n the back rooms of the GE "Cougar Town"), but ABC put
ig. Everytelevision critic forth my favorite new drama last
ments the fall of "Freaks fall ("Revenge") and my favorite
eks," but the true crime is new drama this fall ("Nashville"),
y that the show was can- while "Parenthood" is literally
but that NBC didn't even the only drama NBC has had
mplete its first season. going for it in the past few years.
's not even talk about them And ABC's excellent comedy
ng "Friday Night Lights" menu - which is spread across
the worst offense came two days instead of lumped into
when network heads one power bloc - is incredibly
pressure on the writers to underrated. Maybe it is time to
hings up, resulting in the admit there is a new comedy king
worst arc and only real in network television.
h (Landry, in the parking What's going on, NBC? I never
h the lead pipe). thought I'd be one to hold ABC
the poor decisions keep - home to "Body ofProof" for
g in. Few are more non- Christ's sake - above you. Sure,
1 than NBC's most recent you're no CBS, but do we really
egarding programming want to set the bar that lowaPer-
s: Last month, the net- haps an all-out regime change is
rdered five additional the only way we're goingto see
es of its ratings-suffering any progress.
"Up All Night," announc- The time has never been more
t the show will also be right for an Occupy 30 Rockefell-
ing from a single-cam for- er movement.

SIt
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Buildin
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And let
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Yet,
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change
work o:
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sitcom'
ing tha
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and liv

Th
of the
roman
light
Break
Dawn
2" be
where
ended
Bella
Stewa
White
Hunts
havin
compl
transf
from
to
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tion o
Bella,
Lautn
Jacob
and E
mde (
The H
confli
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epilog
the st
first h
luxuri
Thi
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ly da

SUMMIT
Fans get what they.
want in last 'Dawn'

ory adequately Greene, "Skateland") sees a vision
of the Volturi, the vampire roy-
told in epic alty, attacking the Cullen home.
The Cullens discover that there
Twilight' finale has been a miscommunication:
The Volturi believe that Renes-
By NOAH COHEN mde is a full vampire child - an
DailyArts Writer enormous liability for vampire
kind - incurring an incontestable
e final installment of one death sentence upon its creators
most popular young-adult and defenders. The Cullens must
nces of all time, "The Twi- find a way to make the Volturi
Saga: listen and relent, or else enter a
ing *k ;_ battle they can't hope to win. Fear
- Part for our perfectly coupled-outfam-
gins right The Twilight ily of lovers is renewed and redou-
"Part 1" a bled by the kingpin conflict of the
- - with S series: how to avert war with the
(Kristin Breaking invincible Volturi.
irt, "Snow Dawn - The majority of the movie is
and the then concerned with the gather-
sman") Patt2 ing of witnesses, friends of the
g just At Quality16 Cullen family from all around the
feted her and Rave world, to compel the Volturi to
ormation pause their judgment and permit
human Summit the Cullens an appeal.
vampire. The Cullens assemblea diverse
y, she and Edward (Robert cast of 27 vampires. The fresh
son, "Harry Potter and the acting talent injects a breath of
t of Fire") can get it on as life into what had been an inert
s - and do so, almost imme- tableau of high-handed courtship
Y. and wooden apprehension. Lee
th the peaceful dissolu- Pace, who plays the gruff witness
if the love triangle among Garrett, and the creepy Roma-
Edward and Jacob (Taylor nian witnesses, played by Guri
er, "Abduction") thanks to Weinberg and Noel Fisher, pres-
having imprinted on Bella ent fresh angles on the mysterious
Edward's daughter Renes- vampire persona we had come to
Mackenzie Foy, "R.L. Stine's associate with the more subdued
taunting Hour"), all ongoing and emotively ungenerous Stew-
cts are resolved and the sto, art. The fresh blood on set shows,
transitions into a place only the audience there are better ways
ance drama would dare go - to play a vampire.
ue-level complacency with The "Twilight" movies have
atus quo for a chunk of the turned Stewart, Pattinson and
alf of the film to allow for a Lautner into nearly household
iously digressive love-fest. names, but much like with "The
s uniform contentment Hunger Games" or "Harry Pot-
Cullen family is instant- ter," this was a case of the fran-
shed when Alice (Ashley chise lifting the actors, not the

actors lifting the franchise. Each
was acceptable in his or her part,
the lines were inevitably cheesy
and adequately delivered. The
manner in which Renesmee is
treated is believable and adorable
(No one could keep a scene star-
ring Foy from being adorable).
And all the relationship dynamics
are sorted satisfactorily.
The sex scenes were as good as
PG-13 can get - which isn't saying
much - but it's nice to see a film
aimed at young adults portray a
married couple as having a pas-
sionate sex life (albeit a married
vampire couple, but it's stilla step
up). Meanwhile,the gooey expres-
sions of love between Stewart and
Pattinson made par, but only just.
The real treats of this movie are
the unexpected ones - much of
this film was directed by expec-
tation, and expectation does not
make an exciting director.
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking
Dawn - Part 2" fulfills its prom-
ises. If you have no love for the
characters, this retelling will not
force attachment on you, but the
film is sweet in all facets. It revels
in lovely, winter-oriented cinema-
tography, and there are no out-
standing flaws for the legions of
fans and haters to pounce on.
"Breaking Dawn," in full com-
mitment to its teen-romance roots,
retains the appealing quality of
making the audience feel as though
they are spectating fromthe inside
of a small, intimate world - ,'as
though the whole of Bella's and
Edward's romance were an inside
joke, and the audience is in on it.
That feeling of intimacy, however
plastic, however commercialized,
is still there for the people who
want it to be, and that seals the
deal for this franchise. Job well
done - hatersgonnahate.

multi-cam... laugh track
e studio audience included.

Upadhyaya is saving

MuW A SWM to multi-cam in 'Community.'0 nepe-ma::
the middle of a season has no real kaylau@umich.edu.


TV/NEW MEDjA.NTEOK
The fate of web series
like 'Cybergeddon'

'Ragnarok' offers mythic
thrills for devoted players

By KELLY ETZ
Daily TV/New Media Editor
Less than two months ago,
"Cybergeddon," a cybercrime-
centered web series created by,
Anthony Zuiker of "CSI" fame,
debuted on Yahoo!'s online Screen
channel.
No one noticed.
That same week, at least five
"Gangnam Style" remix videos
went viral.
More than four million views
each.
"Cybergeddon" cost six mil-
lion to produce, making it the
most expensive web series ever
created. Those "Gangnam Style"
remix videos? Probably less than
five dollars total.
What's going wrong here? It's
obvious people like to watch vid-
eos online; it's how YouTube and
Hulu make all that dough. I can't
even remember the last time I sat
down and watched a TV show on
an actual television - probably
around the last time I popped a
CD into my Walkman. OK, that
might have been a slight exagger-
ation. But, seriously, it has been a
longtime.
The production quality ofthese
web series is no joke, and it isn't
as if they can't pull the big names.
Toni Hanks produced a web
series for Yahoo!, and Ben Stiller
has starred in one. It just begs one
question: Why doesn't anyone
care?
Hulu and YouTube have invest-
ed heavily in original content,
without a lot of gain. There was
Hulu's "Battleground," a half-

hour d
torial
wasn't
Then1
chann
aimed
"Blue"
again,
least H
ing, bu
of catc
The
"Cyber
advert
watchi
the e
ruptiol
afford
But no
web s
advert]

rama-comedy about a sena- the problem of "going viral" that
campaign, which actually these types of web series face. If
bad. It also wasn't popular. they don't go viral, they don't get
there's WIGS, a YouTube the views. And if they don't get
el creating original content the views, they just wasted a lot
at women, with series like of money.
(starring Julia Stiles) that, There's just no rhyme or rea-
no one has ever heard of. At son as to why certain videos sake
ulu and YouTube are try- it big and others never make it
t there has to be some kind at all. Why do we like watch-
h here. ing hours and hours of "Nyan
obvious problem with Cat," but couldn't care less about
rgeddon" is the lack of "Cybergeddon?"
isements. It sounds great, It could be that "Cyberged-
ng a video online without don" and other web series aren't
very-three-minutes inter- in it forthe bignumbers, but more
ns advertising cars we can't faithful viewership in the long-
or a Swiffer we'd never buy. term. Maybe web series are like
t at the cost of the entire the cable of the Internet world.
eries becoming one giant Cable TV shows don't try as hard
jsement. for big ratings like the broad-
cast stations have to do. Cable is
more concerned with niche-type
easy to get audience that will tune in consis-
t ently every week. And that could
t on the web. be a viable optson for series like
"Cybergeddon," but with only
nine parts running 10 minutes
each, the series doesn't seem to
bergeddon" was funded be sticking around for the long

IV
lto
los

By JULIAN AIDAN
Daily Arts Writer
If the "Kingdom Hearts" and
"Monster Hunter" franchises
had a child, "Ragnarok Odyssey"
would be it. Set
in a land heav-
ily inspired
by uncontest- Ragnarok
ably awesome
Norse mythol-
ogy, "Ragnarok PSVita
Odyssey" pro-
vides a surpris- Gungho
ing amount of
gameplay depth for a handheld
console - including intimidating.
fights and an original equipment
setup - but fails to create a moti-
vating gaming experience with
rewards always just out of reach.
Immediately upon loadingthe
game, the player is thrust into
character creation. As one of six
classes, ranging from your run-
of-the-mill mage to the fearsome
"Hammer Drill"-wielding Ham-
mersmiths, the player-character
is hired by a group of merce-
naries and begins undertaking
quests. Starting out slow, the
character works up from taking
care of an ant infestation and
gathering ore for the local black-
smith to being responsible for
the fate of the world. The combat
starts out simple, but allows for
intricate combos, crowd-control
tactics and special attacks as
flashy as they are powerful.
The universe is the same as the

MMO
and tr
will f
game
graph
and
make
make
cenari
and C
a fun
itemi
a cert
applie
has a
anyth
dama
which
es, al
becom

)RPG "Ragnarok Online," major antagonist, as they tend
hose familiar with the series to feel that being twenty feet tall
eel right at home with the gives them the right to do what-
's cute, albeit slightly dated ever they want. Of course, as the
ics. The main town is small main character, it'll be your job
convenient: A blacksmith to teach them (and other larger-
s weapons, a bubbly girl than-life foes) their place.
S headgear and in the mer- Unfortunately, "Ragnarok
ies' hall, you can buy potions Odyssey" does fall short in some
Cards. The Card system is aspects. The game isn't at all
i twist on talent trees and rewarding in the short-term, and
zation. As you obtain gear, constantly running between an
ain amount of Cards can be outside area to complete a quest
d to each piece. Each Card and being automatically tele-
unique effect, which can be ported back to the town when
ing from increasing base you're down offers little-to-no
ge to increasing the rate at actual opportunities for explo-
iyour "Tension" bar increas- ration. Players must undertake a
flowing your character to questto leave the village, and dif-
e a more fearsome fighter. ferent quests grant access to dif-
ferent areas, meaning that there
is little actual agency given to
Best Card the player in determining where
they feel like going next - unless
systemnsince it is within the constraints of the
quest system.
Rain M an' Upgrading and making gear
requires materials that have to
be acquired via repeatedly kill-
ing certain enemies. With a heavy
e Card system creates an time investment, player-charac-
lievable amount of depth in ters become disproportionately
same. With most monsters powerful and capable of just about
o drop unique Cards, play- anything.
ill find themselves repeat- But the grind reminiscent of
area over and over looking "Monster Hunter" isn't appealing
at special edge to help them to all players. Episodic gameplay
own a pesky boss. paired with a lack of short-term
eaking of bosses, "Ragn- rewards will cause more casual
Odyssey" has some enemies gainers to shy away from this gem,
would make Odin himself but Valhalla's call will keep the
a manly tear. Giants are a hardcore coming back for more.

'

"Cyt

by the computer security giant
Symantec; if you didn't know who
theywere before,youwillnow. It's
almost as if Symantec is its own
character, and not an evil one.
You'd think Yahoo! would recog-
nize its audience (or lack thereof)
is smart enough not to overlook
the obvious product placement
everywhere. Maybe that's why no
one's watching.
But the problem seems to stem
not from too few viewers stay-
ing tuned, but that viewers didn't
know about it in the first place. It's

run.
So if it's not getting the viewers
Onow, it probably won't later after
sinking even farther into obscu-
rity. It could be that there isn't
a market for web series just yet,
and creators like Zuiker are way
ahead of the curve.
The kick is, there isn't a crystal
ball to tell creators what's going to
be popular and what isn't. Sure,
now it looks like "Cybergeddon"
and otherweb series aren't exactly
big hits, but who predicted "Nyan
Cat" would be so addicting?

Th
unbel
the g
able t
ers w
ing an
for th
take d
Spe
arok C
that
shed

"N'

,

A*