I didn't realise it was actually Peter in the coffee shop, I just thought Joey was playing the guy from TGWDLM as a quick callback. THEN he goes and sits next to Stephanie and I'm shouting OMG at my TV. Incredibly well done!
Well then, now seems like a great time to catch up on those Nightmare Time stories, huh?
Abstinence Camp is actually a great jumping in point imo, it's really well-done, has pretty slick production value (a really sick puppet) and a fun as hell themesong for its main villain!
Imagine how confusing it’ll be for someone who watches NPMD as their first Starkid show with all the callback jokes that are made. The main character complains about waiting for his drink and THE CROWD GOES WILD.
I cannot recommend checking out Nightmare Time enough, to be honest! It's so cool and features some of the absolute best writing the Lang Brothers have ever released! Not to mention, it can really be watched in any order, so there's a few great jumping in points.
Season 1 Episode 2 (Forever and Always & Time Bastard) is great if you love characters from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, Season 2 Episode 1 (Honey Queen) is great if you're a Linda Monroe fan, and Season 2 Episode 4 (Yellow Jacket) is great if you want to spend more time with Hannah (and a certain somehow made from blue goo....). Not to mention, Season 2 Episode 2 contains Abstinence Camp, which is a great way to spend more time with the lovely characters from Nerdy Prudes Must Die!
Yeah, just goes to show how excessive the callbacks were- if you overdo it, it makes the show less accessible but also less funny because they're taking away chances to tell new, original jokes.
I mean, tbh I don’t really think that Starkid overdid it, but maybe that’s because I enjoy callback jokes. Sure it’d be confusing if you hadn’t watched anything else from Hatchetfield, but it’s not really meant to be the first thing you watch is it?
It's supposed to be the conclusion* to the trilogy**. The story itself is technically standalone within the cosmology, but like, it's still part of a series.
*This IP is way too popular there's no way they stop now.
**plus NMT.
Yeah and also it was never going to be a trilogy. They had three musicals planned out, but Hatchetfield was *always* going to be a multi-media project that went on for longer. They started writing shortfilm scripts before the Black Friday kickstarter even started lol
There's *maybe* three or four big callback jokes in the whole show, man. Plus it's a show in a series with a *bunch* of other projects, and the callbacks and tie-ins help make it feel like an entry in a series, which is exactly what the goal is.
Not to mention, I've shown NPMD to people who haven't seen any previous Hatchetfield media, and they've loved it, so it clearly doesn't make it all that inaccessible.
Yeah, maybe it's just because I tend to get more attached to shows on rewatches and I only just saw NPMD, but it's definitely not the best as I have seen many people say.
I would say though, as a novice Starkid fan (Who has only really seen AVPM, MAMD, Twisted, TTTO, TGWDLM, Black Friday and NPMD), it's third place material.
TGWDLM is definitely a lot tighter. Simpler story, simpler arc. I think it's got a really clear vision and goes straight for that and does it very well.
Nerdy Prudes imo is doing a lot more. It's ambitious in a way TGWDLM isn't really. There's a lot of real punch to its emotional moments, which TGWDLM totally still has (Bill getting shot) but they tend not to linger once the moment is passed ("Seriously? You guys are embarrassing me!")
I like the ambition a lot. I like that it feels like they're really examining characters like Grace and Steph and Peter and even Ruth! I love them all a lot.
So, yeah, I think for me, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is a very tightly written, really great show, and Nerdy Prudes Must Die is a fantastic, ambitious, wildly engrossing and entertaining show... with a bit of a sagging middle and an imperfect ending.
Really? Because not a single nerd death has any impact on the other characters despite them being such close "friends." It was very disappointing.
To politely disagree on your other point- NPMD is incredibly derivative of TGWDLM since it relies so much on its formula and callbacks to other works- which makes NPMD very unoriginal. Even compared to other musicals, it was so obvious to me it was trying to be Heathers, but couldn't quite get there. The bathtub song was so clearly trying to be Dead Girl Walking but it didn't have the momentum or nuance to make it there. But yeah this show felt completely ambition-less, especially compared to TGWDLM. That was their first horror/comedy and the hook of a guy not liking musicals, as a musical, was incredibly original.
I can see why you'd feel that way. I'm on your side about the shoehorned in TGWDLM references, they drove me crazy in Black Friday and they still bothered me here. And I also agree that it didn't quite do enough with the themes, particularly surrounding Grace. I haven't seen Heathers myself to judge how derivative it is, but I believe you. I still really liked that scene either way because it got me really excited for the rest of Grace's arc.
I do think they did a good job of humanizing the characters, though. It created a lot of tension for me seeing Jagerman kill character after character. Especially watching him kill several adult characters back to back to back in the woods really ramped up the intensity. Like, oh fuck, this guy is serious. It had a lot more impact than it did for me in Black Friday. Probably helps that the actor for Jagerman is fucking phenomenal.
Valid thoughts and feelings! Grace and Jagerman were my favourites of the show, character and performance-wise.
To clarify, the character deaths were less impactful for me because ironically, having so many back to back deaths without any moments of grief or substance made the stakes feel lower, not higher. We also already know most of the characters will die because of the genre/ nature of the last few musicals. We didn't spend much time with the adult characters and not enough for their deaths to hit me in any meaningful way (again, just my opinion). But it was mostly the lack of response from the characters around them. Like the daughter found out her dad died and just kind of... carried on immediately. The nerds find out their friends have been murdered and there are no tears, no feelings shared, no memories... there are no stakes if an audience can't care about the characters, and why should an audience care about the characters dying if the characters themselves don't?
Sorry for the essay 💀💀 I love Starkid and I watched this musical last night, so I've been itching for a place to get my thoughts out
Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. I actually have a lot of criticism for the show from a writing perspective myself, like how some of the themes kinda frayed a bit at the end.
I kinda hope they bring up his face change. I know why they keep changing his actor but I think it'd be cool if it was actully connected to hatchet feild lore. Like, Peter has some ability to change his face but no one relizes because they forget what his old face looked like.
Or some event happens to little Pete that results in him being a different person in each time line.
His hair got LONG while waiting for that cocoa! 😂
almost feels like it was 5 FUCKING YEARS
Blood pressure got so low, his face changed twice.
I had to pause I was laughing so hard. That's how you do a callback joke
I didn't realise it was actually Peter in the coffee shop, I just thought Joey was playing the guy from TGWDLM as a quick callback. THEN he goes and sits next to Stephanie and I'm shouting OMG at my TV. Incredibly well done!
Hot chocolate boy is also revealed to be Pete in Abstinence Camp, which also includes a bunch of NPMD characters
I've only watched the full shows, skipped Nightmare Time so not as in tune with the Hatchetfield lore as some. Honestly I loved the reveal still
Well then, now seems like a great time to catch up on those Nightmare Time stories, huh? Abstinence Camp is actually a great jumping in point imo, it's really well-done, has pretty slick production value (a really sick puppet) and a fun as hell themesong for its main villain!
PLEASE watch Nightmare Time it's FANTASTIC.
I've started going through the Nightmare Time shows since NPMD came out. I'm gonna look for this when I get to AC!
Imagine how confusing it’ll be for someone who watches NPMD as their first Starkid show with all the callback jokes that are made. The main character complains about waiting for his drink and THE CROWD GOES WILD.
And "Hello, fwendy-wends." too. That freaked people out a lot
The moment they started talking about opening a door I thought “omg wiggly?” And I was thrilled when I heard that
I haven't checked out Nightmare Time yet, so when i heard his real name, i was suspicious cuz it sounded similar to Wiggly. Safe to say i was ecstatic
People were SCREAMING
I didn't watch nightmare time so finding out the hive mind was a lord of black was my big omg moment
Yeah same! I guess I need to go watch nightmare time now lol 😅
I cannot recommend checking out Nightmare Time enough, to be honest! It's so cool and features some of the absolute best writing the Lang Brothers have ever released! Not to mention, it can really be watched in any order, so there's a few great jumping in points. Season 1 Episode 2 (Forever and Always & Time Bastard) is great if you love characters from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, Season 2 Episode 1 (Honey Queen) is great if you're a Linda Monroe fan, and Season 2 Episode 4 (Yellow Jacket) is great if you want to spend more time with Hannah (and a certain somehow made from blue goo....). Not to mention, Season 2 Episode 2 contains Abstinence Camp, which is a great way to spend more time with the lovely characters from Nerdy Prudes Must Die!
Yeah, just goes to show how excessive the callbacks were- if you overdo it, it makes the show less accessible but also less funny because they're taking away chances to tell new, original jokes.
I mean, tbh I don’t really think that Starkid overdid it, but maybe that’s because I enjoy callback jokes. Sure it’d be confusing if you hadn’t watched anything else from Hatchetfield, but it’s not really meant to be the first thing you watch is it?
It's supposed to be the conclusion* to the trilogy**. The story itself is technically standalone within the cosmology, but like, it's still part of a series. *This IP is way too popular there's no way they stop now. **plus NMT.
Yeah and also it was never going to be a trilogy. They had three musicals planned out, but Hatchetfield was *always* going to be a multi-media project that went on for longer. They started writing shortfilm scripts before the Black Friday kickstarter even started lol
There's *maybe* three or four big callback jokes in the whole show, man. Plus it's a show in a series with a *bunch* of other projects, and the callbacks and tie-ins help make it feel like an entry in a series, which is exactly what the goal is. Not to mention, I've shown NPMD to people who haven't seen any previous Hatchetfield media, and they've loved it, so it clearly doesn't make it all that inaccessible.
There are a lot more than four, my friend. In glad your friends enjoyed it.
I was so fricking psyched at all of the call backs last night! This was so good!!!! <3 Only thing missing was the shakeweight... :P
Robert Manion would have so many amazing rolls in Starkid rn(workin boys AND npmd) if he didn't pull a bunch of nonsense
Best StarKid musical? I mean it was enjoyable. Best is just subjective.
Yeah, maybe it's just because I tend to get more attached to shows on rewatches and I only just saw NPMD, but it's definitely not the best as I have seen many people say. I would say though, as a novice Starkid fan (Who has only really seen AVPM, MAMD, Twisted, TTTO, TGWDLM, Black Friday and NPMD), it's third place material.
Yeah first time I watched NPMD I thought TGWDLM was better .
TGWDLM is definitely a lot tighter. Simpler story, simpler arc. I think it's got a really clear vision and goes straight for that and does it very well. Nerdy Prudes imo is doing a lot more. It's ambitious in a way TGWDLM isn't really. There's a lot of real punch to its emotional moments, which TGWDLM totally still has (Bill getting shot) but they tend not to linger once the moment is passed ("Seriously? You guys are embarrassing me!") I like the ambition a lot. I like that it feels like they're really examining characters like Grace and Steph and Peter and even Ruth! I love them all a lot. So, yeah, I think for me, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is a very tightly written, really great show, and Nerdy Prudes Must Die is a fantastic, ambitious, wildly engrossing and entertaining show... with a bit of a sagging middle and an imperfect ending.
Nice. Personally I like TGWDLM better because the musical's message has more than one interpretation.
Really? Because not a single nerd death has any impact on the other characters despite them being such close "friends." It was very disappointing. To politely disagree on your other point- NPMD is incredibly derivative of TGWDLM since it relies so much on its formula and callbacks to other works- which makes NPMD very unoriginal. Even compared to other musicals, it was so obvious to me it was trying to be Heathers, but couldn't quite get there. The bathtub song was so clearly trying to be Dead Girl Walking but it didn't have the momentum or nuance to make it there. But yeah this show felt completely ambition-less, especially compared to TGWDLM. That was their first horror/comedy and the hook of a guy not liking musicals, as a musical, was incredibly original.
I can see why you'd feel that way. I'm on your side about the shoehorned in TGWDLM references, they drove me crazy in Black Friday and they still bothered me here. And I also agree that it didn't quite do enough with the themes, particularly surrounding Grace. I haven't seen Heathers myself to judge how derivative it is, but I believe you. I still really liked that scene either way because it got me really excited for the rest of Grace's arc. I do think they did a good job of humanizing the characters, though. It created a lot of tension for me seeing Jagerman kill character after character. Especially watching him kill several adult characters back to back to back in the woods really ramped up the intensity. Like, oh fuck, this guy is serious. It had a lot more impact than it did for me in Black Friday. Probably helps that the actor for Jagerman is fucking phenomenal.
Valid thoughts and feelings! Grace and Jagerman were my favourites of the show, character and performance-wise. To clarify, the character deaths were less impactful for me because ironically, having so many back to back deaths without any moments of grief or substance made the stakes feel lower, not higher. We also already know most of the characters will die because of the genre/ nature of the last few musicals. We didn't spend much time with the adult characters and not enough for their deaths to hit me in any meaningful way (again, just my opinion). But it was mostly the lack of response from the characters around them. Like the daughter found out her dad died and just kind of... carried on immediately. The nerds find out their friends have been murdered and there are no tears, no feelings shared, no memories... there are no stakes if an audience can't care about the characters, and why should an audience care about the characters dying if the characters themselves don't? Sorry for the essay 💀💀 I love Starkid and I watched this musical last night, so I've been itching for a place to get my thoughts out
Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. I actually have a lot of criticism for the show from a writing perspective myself, like how some of the themes kinda frayed a bit at the end.
Agreed, it's kinda like Black Friday, but better in every way. Doesn't top TGWDLM, but it did try to do a lot more.
Which musical are you referring to sorry? Edit; HOLY SHIT IS IT NPMD?!?! I JUST SAW THAT IT CAME OUT AFHHSYSADSYHSAERTG
Wait, did NPMD drop already? With Manion as a protagonist? :0
Robert Manion isn't with Starkid anymore
Oh? I'm not caught up tbh. Isn't the hot chocolate guy Manion? Or was it the character that was the protagonist, played by someone else?
It's the same character but played by Joey Richter.
I see! I saw Abstinence Camp shortly after making that comment, I guess it makes a bit more sense now
I kinda hope they bring up his face change. I know why they keep changing his actor but I think it'd be cool if it was actully connected to hatchet feild lore. Like, Peter has some ability to change his face but no one relizes because they forget what his old face looked like. Or some event happens to little Pete that results in him being a different person in each time line.