What an exciting programming calendar. Truly more than I bargained for when I signed up excited to have someone discussing Severance (which seemed like an undercovered gem at the time) and Survivor. With so many more shows added, is it possible that you can allow for more granular Notifications options? Another Substack I subscribe to (JoeBlogs) has different categories and you can check or uncheck notifications for each category. That feels like it would be useful here where I could "unsubscribe" from a show I'm not going to watch (or might watch in a binge when I decide to do a Paramount+ subscription for a month to catch up on stuff).
When I heard about what you were doing via Twitter, specifically bringing in Donna Bowman and Zack Handlen, I had to check it out. Prior to this, I didn't even really know what Substack was, to be honest. But it was reading this article -- and specifically the part about making it 2012 again through science or magic -- that convinced me to become a paying subscriber. And I don't even watch Better Call Saul or Star Trek!
I don't consider myself to be a very nostalgic person, but the heyday of the AV Club holds a special place in my heart. Watching TV hasn't been as fun since (and also since the Firewall & Iceberg podcast was canceled, but I digress). The number of different shows I watch at least a few episodes of each year has fallen by 50% (and yes I'm nerdy enough to have a spreadsheet to prove it). Obviously I don't expect you to literally resurrect that community here on Substack, but it would be nice to have a place to go to talk about TV again, and if it helps you to do so it's certainly worth $5 to me.
As for the summer slate, I will watch Ms. Marvel, For All Mankind (one of my favorite shows of the last 5 years), and Only Murders in the Building for sure. I wasn't planning to watch Lord of the Rings or the Game of Thrones spinoff thing, but maybe I will try them for the sake of being able to read about them here and share my thoughts.
This is great news all around! I am actually vacationing abroad during some of these recaps, but I will watch along with you for Only Murders in the Building. Is it a problem if I leave a comment on an older post? I just plan on watching several of these shows but will be coming late to them. Or is it best just to consider them read only after a period of time?
Re Substack, yes, with everything going on with Twitter, I have been thinking about these ethical questions as well. I quit using Facebook a few years ago, but there are many companies I view as morally dubious that I continue to do business with. The conclusion I came to is my personal experience. I just wasn’t enjoying Facebook. Their business practices pushed me over the edge. I think Substack has troubled ethics BUT the way it’s structured I never have to see the bad stuff because each Substack is a silo. It’s possible I might pull back from Twitter if the user experience falls off a cliff, but if I am still enjoying it, then I will stay there, too. So I agree with your assessment on Substack. Not necessarily a good company but the upsides to hosting here outweigh the bad things.
Good news all around. I'd love to see this become TV Club 2.0. Nice to see Zack coming on board. Lots of shows on that slate that I plan on watching.
I feel like this is already becoming the TV Club that I've been missing! Very excited to see how this grows.
Substack is not my favorite, so if you find a better venue I'll come along.
What an exciting programming calendar. Truly more than I bargained for when I signed up excited to have someone discussing Severance (which seemed like an undercovered gem at the time) and Survivor. With so many more shows added, is it possible that you can allow for more granular Notifications options? Another Substack I subscribe to (JoeBlogs) has different categories and you can check or uncheck notifications for each category. That feels like it would be useful here where I could "unsubscribe" from a show I'm not going to watch (or might watch in a binge when I decide to do a Paramount+ subscription for a month to catch up on stuff).
When I heard about what you were doing via Twitter, specifically bringing in Donna Bowman and Zack Handlen, I had to check it out. Prior to this, I didn't even really know what Substack was, to be honest. But it was reading this article -- and specifically the part about making it 2012 again through science or magic -- that convinced me to become a paying subscriber. And I don't even watch Better Call Saul or Star Trek!
I don't consider myself to be a very nostalgic person, but the heyday of the AV Club holds a special place in my heart. Watching TV hasn't been as fun since (and also since the Firewall & Iceberg podcast was canceled, but I digress). The number of different shows I watch at least a few episodes of each year has fallen by 50% (and yes I'm nerdy enough to have a spreadsheet to prove it). Obviously I don't expect you to literally resurrect that community here on Substack, but it would be nice to have a place to go to talk about TV again, and if it helps you to do so it's certainly worth $5 to me.
As for the summer slate, I will watch Ms. Marvel, For All Mankind (one of my favorite shows of the last 5 years), and Only Murders in the Building for sure. I wasn't planning to watch Lord of the Rings or the Game of Thrones spinoff thing, but maybe I will try them for the sake of being able to read about them here and share my thoughts.
This is great news all around! I am actually vacationing abroad during some of these recaps, but I will watch along with you for Only Murders in the Building. Is it a problem if I leave a comment on an older post? I just plan on watching several of these shows but will be coming late to them. Or is it best just to consider them read only after a period of time?
Re Substack, yes, with everything going on with Twitter, I have been thinking about these ethical questions as well. I quit using Facebook a few years ago, but there are many companies I view as morally dubious that I continue to do business with. The conclusion I came to is my personal experience. I just wasn’t enjoying Facebook. Their business practices pushed me over the edge. I think Substack has troubled ethics BUT the way it’s structured I never have to see the bad stuff because each Substack is a silo. It’s possible I might pull back from Twitter if the user experience falls off a cliff, but if I am still enjoying it, then I will stay there, too. So I agree with your assessment on Substack. Not necessarily a good company but the upsides to hosting here outweigh the bad things.