I just finished The Quest a few minutes ago, and as one of those small but passionate fans of the first season, I too was thrown off by how different the first couple episodes of this season felt (at least after the initial shot of sheer joy at actually watching a new season of The Quest wore off). But by the last few episodes, I found I had gotten more on the show's aesthetic wavelength and was able to appreciate it in an entirely unexpected way. I didn't find myself thinking of it in typical terms of a reality show but thinking of it in terms of a narrative. I wasn't looking at it through the lens of "this contestant needs to do well to win prize money", but rather "all the contestants need to do well to advance the story".
It struck me that the Paladins were doing something more akin to playing a Telletale video game, or a game like Gloomhaven than participating in a game show, even moreso than S1 of The Quest did. The additional focus on the narrative that provided context for the challenges beyond the desire for individual success, which made both the challenges and the more cinematic parts of the narrative feel like an integrated part of a whole. All of those unusual choices, from the lack of eliminations to the semi-improvised conversations with the characters instead of talking heads, felt like they were adding up to a specific and unique viewing experience. In context of all that, I think that the use of teenagers as Paladins ended up working well, as their focus on teamwork ended up being the glue that tied all those choices together into something that helped those choices make sense in concert.
And while I do have questions from a behind the scenes/production point of view (were all of the challenges guaranteed wins for the Paladins? Was the narrative at all malleable based on their choices? Did those who won more challenges get more prize money or was there a prize pool based on collective success?), getting answers to those or Probst-ian introductions explaining all the rules would have taken away from the overall effect. The biggest complement I can pay was that I didn't find myself thinking about any that while I was watching, and after years of being conditioned on how to watch a reality competition show, I ended up appreciating The Quest's bizarre yet refreshing take on the genre.
I've only recently (during the pandemic) found myself engaging with Reality TV - stuff like Drag Race and even Love Island (US). I realized there was probably a thriving academic and tv critics discourse about it (beyond snarky recaps), so it's fun to read this kind of a post about a kind of show I have extremely limited knowledge about in terms of tropes and editing etc etc.
Anyway, in other news entirely, I am just starting For All Mankind S2 - and yeah, it's excellent, and it starts being excellent in episode 3. Thanks for being the push I needed to catch up before S3. Any recommended reading / best coverage or engagement / reviews of the show in its first two years?
I just finished The Quest a few minutes ago, and as one of those small but passionate fans of the first season, I too was thrown off by how different the first couple episodes of this season felt (at least after the initial shot of sheer joy at actually watching a new season of The Quest wore off). But by the last few episodes, I found I had gotten more on the show's aesthetic wavelength and was able to appreciate it in an entirely unexpected way. I didn't find myself thinking of it in typical terms of a reality show but thinking of it in terms of a narrative. I wasn't looking at it through the lens of "this contestant needs to do well to win prize money", but rather "all the contestants need to do well to advance the story".
It struck me that the Paladins were doing something more akin to playing a Telletale video game, or a game like Gloomhaven than participating in a game show, even moreso than S1 of The Quest did. The additional focus on the narrative that provided context for the challenges beyond the desire for individual success, which made both the challenges and the more cinematic parts of the narrative feel like an integrated part of a whole. All of those unusual choices, from the lack of eliminations to the semi-improvised conversations with the characters instead of talking heads, felt like they were adding up to a specific and unique viewing experience. In context of all that, I think that the use of teenagers as Paladins ended up working well, as their focus on teamwork ended up being the glue that tied all those choices together into something that helped those choices make sense in concert.
And while I do have questions from a behind the scenes/production point of view (were all of the challenges guaranteed wins for the Paladins? Was the narrative at all malleable based on their choices? Did those who won more challenges get more prize money or was there a prize pool based on collective success?), getting answers to those or Probst-ian introductions explaining all the rules would have taken away from the overall effect. The biggest complement I can pay was that I didn't find myself thinking about any that while I was watching, and after years of being conditioned on how to watch a reality competition show, I ended up appreciating The Quest's bizarre yet refreshing take on the genre.
I've only recently (during the pandemic) found myself engaging with Reality TV - stuff like Drag Race and even Love Island (US). I realized there was probably a thriving academic and tv critics discourse about it (beyond snarky recaps), so it's fun to read this kind of a post about a kind of show I have extremely limited knowledge about in terms of tropes and editing etc etc.
Anyway, in other news entirely, I am just starting For All Mankind S2 - and yeah, it's excellent, and it starts being excellent in episode 3. Thanks for being the push I needed to catch up before S3. Any recommended reading / best coverage or engagement / reviews of the show in its first two years?