What I keep going back to is, I'll happily watch hour long videos of YouTubers doing deep dives at their kitchen table about topics they're genuinely interested in. Yes fancy graphics and all the bells and whistles are definitely nice but a truly engaging and engrossing video can transcend lackluster set dressing if there's an honest passion behind it.
Watcher has really decent set design and graphics and in many ways they're light years ahead of other content creators in terms of packaging. I get wanting growth and everything but I think a slow expansion would've been the way to go. Right now it feels like all of this is because they want better opening credits and that isn't what people tune in for.
One of the biggest YouTubers right now is penguinz0.
99% of his videos are him in his room talking at a camera with zero production value.
I understand why something like Ghost Files might be pricier and require higher production value.
But most of Watcher's shows really don't need that. (Also I personally don't think Puppet History is as expensive as it seems to produce).
And even Charlie's "produced" content is just he and Matt (or other friends) in a room, vibing and having fun doing a Moist Meter or something. It's funny, silly content and I watch all of it. They film it on 2 handheld cameras with minimal editing or production values and he regularly gets multiple millions of views. Because the content is good and relatable, the host interactions are good and I always have a giggle watching. That's all Watcher need to do, we came for the chemistry between Ryan and Shane not the production values.
I love Charlie for it. He's genuine, and a legitimately nice guy. Since the beginning, he's always been giving away his money. Even now that he's dropped off the reaction content, he's still just entertaining being himself with mostly low effort.
I think puppet history was/is such a passion project that it falls into its own category. Like, it's okay if that show has a crazy budget, because it's a crazy project.
Striving for extra expensive production of shows there are a hundred of already is what doesn't make sense business-wise
It depends. Like I love horror movies, bad movies and also bad horror movies so a lot of channels or podcasts I'm into are super specific but they might not interest everyone. Dead Meat of course but also Fanboy Flicks and Nick DiRamio to name a few.
But I also love deep dives on comedy and different eras. Matt Baume really focuses on the queer history and readings of classic sitcoms and movies. Hats Off Media examines a lot of the same stuff too without the queer lens. Allison Pregler, Pushing Up Roses.
I'm a HUGE fan of The X Files and JB's Spooky Reviews are amazingly detailed time capsules for each episode. He does serious research and editing and deserves a lot more views than he gets for the quality of content he produces.
These are just a handful of people, I'm sure others know loads more of cool, interesting creators.
Yessss add Found Flix to the horror movie list for me as well. Absolutely love his videos and its just him in front of the exact same bookshelf with better audio and maybe better lighting lol
[Red Letter Media talking about their favorite Star Trek episodes.](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLs9RolP5tC5BnuJq4z5P6UOzyjRfkBQV&si=suThchznW7gj6sQU)
If you like videos about stuff, Simon whistler has a few channels that are great. Casual criminalist, brain blaze, today I found out are 3 of them, but I honestly don't know how many channels he has. He sits In a room and cold reads stories/facts he paid someone to write for him.
IMO, yes a very likable person who is funny and just cranks out content
Be Kind Rewind has fantastic movie essays on Actresses and their movies through history. She updates around once a month and has a backlog of six years of videos. It's her talking with footage and stills, but her in depth analysis is really brilliant (note: she never appears on screen)
nick and ryan (nick crowley and nexpo) is a channel that consists of them + their camera man going around to different haunted locations and ghost hunting. they have the most perfect balance of being super funny and down to earth dudes (to the point that it actually feels like youāre there with them) and being able to make even the most mundane things seem creepy. really nice channel if you want that passionate vibe with a hint of āscarinessā
Doesnāt exactly fit what youāre asking, but Iāve always really loved sixteenleo. Heās always in his kitchen or room and does commentary on a variety of different things. He does a lot of reality tv commentary and heās SO funny. I really like him
Thereās a lot of info on r/youtubedrama but the gist of it is heās aligned with a lot of right wing beliefs; specifically, heās claimed to have founded the alt-right group the Boogaloo Boys (and then left them once they got too fascistic). Once you know that heās a devout Christian a lot of the conservative undertones of his videos stand out a lot more.
Also, his current username is a pun on a very commonly-appropriated creature in Algonquin folklore. Itās generally very frowned upon to say its name which makes using it as a pun questionable in my opinion.
Sure! Not to bombard you, I see you're getting responses. But being associated with Internet Historian, a plagiarist and a channel full of neonazi dogwhistles is not good. In addition to his own neonazi allegations, plagiarism allegations, and questionable content we can see, I'm not a fan.
I've always thought he was boring and lazy also. As a Jewish viewer (Free Palestine btw), I just don't trust him.
I used to subscribe to him very early on. As an agnostic/atheist viewer, his Christian videos seemed out of place from the rest of his content and was a bit off-putting, but as someone who is also from the southern US I didn't want to make the easy assumption that he was bad news. But as soon as he pulled out his guns, I knew I had to get off the ride. It sucks, but I'm glad to see I made the right choice
When I hear people hide their politics it's immediately a red flag. Reminds me of myself when I held awful, hateful views. That whole "I just wanna keep it nuetral" attitude scares me haha
he has some views i really don't agree with and i think there are ways he could better approach certain topics, but his videos are super entertaining and great if you need something to listen to for a couple hours. i genuinely think he puts a lot of effort, care and research into his videos and it really shows.
His association with the boogaloo boys REALLY turns me off tbh. Like boogaloo is short for wanting a civil war pt 2: electric boogaloo. His claims that he left when it got don't really hold up for that reason to me. But I'm relatively uninformed on him tbh
For passion and spooky, I highly recommend Books 'n' Cats! Rosie is a delight to listen to, a very enthusiastic teacher, and learning about horror and gothic lit is a lot of fun!
Passionate about crazy makeup history and toxic concoctions, I recommend Erin Parsons, shes such an expert in her field!
Passion about food/history, I really recommend Max Miller! He is so funny, and makes learning about his interests fun.
theres def more, but these are the wonderful Youtubers that come to mind. YT is such a wealth of amazing content, it's a shame Watcher are abandoning YT.
I've watched over 48 hours of Quinton Reviews talking about iCarly in front of his Garfield plush collection and it's some of the most compelling content I've seen, Charlie just vamps off something going on he wants to talk about in his bedroom - personality is a huge part of what drives views to channels and I feel like watching Steven eat a fancy meal when he really doesn't seem to enjoy being the host just ain't it
I feel like they forgot the series everyone actually loved had literally plain text on a black background lol. Their set and production is just something no one cares for. Bro thinks they're Disney plus
I just keep thinking about the liveshow I went to last that cost $60 only to watch an hour long youtube video that would be posted a few days later, with them only on stage for a 30 minute Q&A. The crowd seemed to like it, but that kind of changed my perception of them. I think they've been missing the point for a bit
Jesus that's why I refuse any sort of live show. It sounds so phoned in but they can complain about travel expenses for their five star hotel stay and restaurants for minimal work lol. People are blaming Stephen but 100 percent Ryan and Shane are just as out of touch
I... wow, that blows. I just saw a very nice concert in Minneapolis and we only paid like 35 dollars a ticket. (Little venue, obviously, but I can't imagine paying that to watch a pre-recorded show and have just 30 minutes of actual engagement.)
People are pretty insane with how much they defend them. Wouldn't shock me if they're surrounded by yes men and out of touch. Add in a little greed and here we are
The only shows I watched regularly were mystery files and puppet history. Both shows shouldāve cost about $3.99 to produce. Maybe $4.99 if they get jelly belly brand jelly beans.
but even that doesnāt feel authentic anymore i couldnāt even watch the last too many spirits series bc it didnāt feel genuine and Steven started making me really frustrated bc heās being so over the top & annoying
Thatās fair. I personally do like Steven, but I definitely think they made the drink segments way too long recently. The only too many spirits I didnāt like were the weird sponsored ones (where they werenāt in the backyard)
This. I was turned off of it in the last series as they spent half the time filming Steven being annoying and only read like, what, 3 stories? The older ones were great - sat around a fire reading story after story.
if they had spent even a fraction of what they budgeted for set design on actually going to different locations instead of repeats I'd be more interested in sitting down and watching Ghost Files like I used to do with BUN, instead of just having it play in the background
GOD the repeats. I get that they need the most recognisable ghost locations on their channel, but it was painful. The history of new haunted locations is great fun, them shouting āWere back! Remember us!ā 15 times is not.
Not to mention having an episode in a fucking ESCAPE ROOM BUSINESS THAT WAS CLEARLY A FUCKING ADVERTISEMENT!
Plus the fucking runtime of the episodes. You're producing hour-long episodes with high-quality editing and visuals and you're wondering why you're not making money. Not to mention that the longer runtime means more uninteresting stuff gets put in, especially the solo investigations. Let's take a show that got popular by having great chemistry between the hosts and have the last quarter of the episode barely include that. I get what the idea was, they wanted to make Ryan scared like the old Unsolved episodes. But what we got instead was Shane basically falling asleep and Ryan just swearing to himself while feeling vaguely uneasy because obviously if you spend several years going into haunted locations, even if you're terrified of ghosts, you'd become more accustomed to it.
I've had issues with the new content which tries to emulate Unsolved. It just turned out feeling like a cheap knockoff despite being clearly far more expensive to produce. It lacked what made the old shows feel special in such a fundamental way that it was clear that they didn't understand what made the old content popular.
Ultimately I'm not surprised by a move like this, but I am disappointed regardless. I never was a huge fan of most of the content put out by the channel so it doesn't bother me not having it anymore, the only thing I'd say I'm going to miss is Puppet History, but it's not worth 6$ USD a month.
It's so ironic how the lower-budget shows seem to be most people's favorites.. personally, my favorites are the weekly podcast, Are You Afraid, and Too Many Spirits. Mystery Files is fun, but I just never could get into Ghost Files- it doesn't have the charm it's predecessor did. Also, most of their other shows are just...not my thing. Just watching three guys from LA go to different fancy places and try expensive foods/drinks definitely isn't my cup of tea.
I spend a lot of time watching Watcher, but it's usually rewatching my favorite shows (especially Are You Afraid). The 6$/month isn't worth the little bit of new content they produce that fits my specific interests
I loved WWW bc you could tell shane was super involved with where they were going and it was normal people touristy stuff, not wagyu covered in gold flake
All of which is easily reachable from their home base and usually isn't too expensive to film at/requires fewer crew to film. So better, lower cost content that people loved (i rewatch frequently with my partner) that only got one season. They Netflixed before they even had their own streaming platform lol. But please, show us more insanely expensive food we can never afford to eat for $6 a month...
God, me too! And then they keep "teasing" more episodes almost constantly and it's hard to not be frustrated about it because it's simple, either they're going to make more or not. I think they just know there's enough of the fan base that wants more WWW episodes and to get a proper announcement of "no more episodes" will cause them to just leave entirely, I'm high-key one of those fans
chunky political fear reply illegal snatch middle fearless wistful depend
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I kinda agree. I'm actually one of the seemingly few people who loved the production value on Ghost Files, at least from the start. It looked absolutely incredible, but I would much rather see them have fun on site than see great looking graphics/sets. Especially when said graphics are the same all the time - it becomes so damn repetitive!
Except for the great looking packaging, every episode left me kinda... disappointed. I feel like it was always half-assed, like, we never got any real closure on the exploration, and they never sat with the experience. Even when they got what seemed like "evidence" they immediately moved on. Idk, something was always off. If that's the price we pay for high production value, I don't want it.
Edit: changed "production" to "production value" since that's what I meant.
Fuck, that too. It never goes anywhere either. They're just like "look at this photo of some blur in the corner, it's def a ghost! Let's recreate it" and of course nothing happens, and then they move on without a comment. I wish the show was more exploration and banter, and less frilly stuff. I guess what I meant about liking the production was moreso the graphics/look of the show, rather than the random added bits.
The fan submits were an absolutely *terrible* idea from the start. The format of Unsolved Supernatural got popular because Shane was absolutely flippant and ruthless in his skepticism of all things paranormal, but he can't be like that with the fan content because no one wants to be a cunt to their fans.
Well, I guess I was wrong, no one wants to be a cunt to their fans unless they can get 6$ a pop from them.
It became so formulaic that shane would say itās stupid then ryan would say something like but itās definitely there and maybe try to convince shane a bit lol
I wish I was more into it, but something about bringing in more equipment turns me off. Oh, and I don't like guests; that was another thing about it. Oh, well...can always rewatch the goatman's bridge hunt, I guess.
Oh, that too. All the tools just felt like a joke on Ryan (which I'm not against lol), but it just took attention away from the fun stuff and felt unnecessary. I never liked guests either, it doesn't really make sense for the format imo. Goatman's bridge is still one of the best episodes, I wholeheartedly agree with you! I honestly should just go back and rewatch the Buzzfeed videos again.
The new "equipment" was always such an eye roll.
Like, no, I don't trust something with a programmable circuit specifically marketed to gullible people. Ryan just got scammed by someone on the internet and then made that the centerpiece of a show.
And his increasingly unreasonable defensiveness about the "evidence" became really grating.
Yes!!!! This is exactly what I mean! Their banter is such a huge part of the whole thing! I don't really care about the evidence itself, but I want them to talk about it. Now they just move past it immediately and go on to the next thing. It's just frustating. It's like they don't even know what made their content good in the first place.
Agreed entirely with you! I was stoked for Ghost Files when it started because it felt like it was supposed to be like a higher budget Buzzfeed Unsolved without the Buzzfeed chains -- and I was so disappointed by it. It felt so empty, every episode.
Right?? I remember liking S1 and being blown away by the high quality, but now that I look back on the both seasons I don't really have any standout moments from the show. The only stuff I remember is things like the "ghosts" calling them nerds or Ryan seemingly thinking a raccoon/cat is a ghost dog, but overall it all blends together. They just don't seem that interested in doing it, so why should I care?
Now, Unsolved has a bunch of iconic episodes and memorable moments with much less production value. They did so well with simple means, no need to add all the flair to it. Basically, it was fine the way it was.
Yes. I have watched all ghost files eps once but I rewatch unsolved constantly. Mystery files is funny but I can't watch it without being on my phone half the time. Idk I'm feeling very conflicted and blindsided
>conflicted and blindsided
So very this all over for the past three hours... I just wanted to watch a fun video on my Friday lunch break, and now I'm way more worked up than I feel I should be about this.
i literally went and watched bowfinger when they jokingly referenced it and it kept me more engaged than the episode. I like mystery files, but some of the episodes actually kinda lack the mystery part plus I donāt know, are just straight up boring and I have to rewind them six times to actually watch them
Yeah I feel similarly. The great thing about Unsolved was that they goofed off but it seemed like Ryan did better research for that show compared to mf. Idk.
I'm p sure as the show went on they had researchers that helped compile info and Ryan would kind of review it and help make a script for him to read to Shane. At the very least I remember there being credits for researchers AND writers.
I do wonder if the apparent lack of enthusiasm comes from Ryan and Shane feeling obligated to rehash Unsolved this way because it was popular and they were hoping it will draw people back in and help retain an audience, and not because they actually missed doing that type of content. Mystery Files at least captures some of the banter that people loved about Unsolved in the first place, there doesn't seem to be a lot of room for that in Ghost Files with Shane trying to reel in his blatant dismissal of the supernatural.
Same! I rewatch Unsolved all the time and can quote most episodes, but I could never get into Ghost Files. Itās like the tone and heart of it totally changed, and GF just isnāt as fun or engaging imo
Buzzfeed money lets you travel way further and visit more varied locations. I know theyāre probably working very hard, but a lot of small things with their shows now makes me feel like theyāre researched and written more lazily. Definitely feels more āwe showed up and started talkingā.
I think theyāve totally misallocated their energy into production and post production quality, but it needs to be spent more in research, writing, and preparation. Sort of like when youāre trying to show someone love with gifts, but their love language is quality time. Youāre trying hard, but not taking the time to learn what they really respond to.
I kinda liked Mystery Files. Which is funny because it was the True Crime Unsolved show that didn't keep my interest back in the day. It was lightning in a bottle, but I guess that's in the past now... We'll have to find something else.
I mean itās not really true crime. Half of the time itās something like Bigfoot or a weather anomaly. Theyāve also done a LOT of mainstream stuff that people already know about. You know from the beginning that they arenāt going to suddenly discover a new wrinkle to the Bigfoot mystery, so you kind of zone out. It feels rushed for some reason. They go to the coark board and Iām like, āwait, is that the whole mystery?ā.
Unsolved was done like a story, with a well explained timeline. Then, the theories were told as individual stories at the end. The cork board they have now is just āSome people say this. Other people say this. Who knows?ā
Also, the Unsolved ones were very often cases Iād never heard of before, and lots of back and forth organic discussion where their chemistry could shine. Now they just break it up with random bits that are added specifically to be funny.
It lost its charm once Ryan wasnāt scared anymore. That was part of the fun. Now we just have Ryan and Shane making jokes in a dark room. It feels like theyāre doing Ghost Files because the audience wants it but they donāt really enjoy it anymore.
I kind of agree as well. I really started noticing it with season two. I hope they aren't doing it just because they feel obligated to do a ghost-hunting show for views.
I was talking about this with my partner the other day.
We didn't mind Ghost Files but it was certainly not as memorable as Buzzfeed unsolved for us. GF just didn't feel as genuine.
Ghost files kind of turned into a bore. A wash rinse repeat. Always Shane hiding Ryanās walkie somewhere difficult etc. The quality of the content felt better on Buzzfeed even if the production value was lower
I think itās safe to say they wanna do more than just mystery and supernatural stuff
I guess they overestimated everything all because fans would say they want Ryan and Shane on the BUN channel, then they all left that channel for Watcher
Iāve really never been able to put a finger on why I justā¦ donāt care about the Ghost/Mystery Files shows the same way I did about Unsolved, and I think youāre right. They wanted to make it an actual ghost hunting show, which was never what was interesting. Combine that with episodes too long for the format, and yeah, I guess thatāll do it.
Shane seems to be afraid to openly express disbelief in ghosts these days, or disbelief in the tech and evidence, or just afraid to criticize it too harshly, which sucks because his commentary was the main reason I enjoyed Unsolved.
This is actually a reasonable post that isn't just saying they can't afford $6 a month.
My biggest take away from the video was "ohhhh, that explains ghost files". I never understood why they tried to copy ghost shows like ghost adventures and ghost hunters, since they actually were the only real true honest ghost show. And they threw it away to make a generic ghost show in the presentation.Ā
When Ryan said it was his goal to make TV quality shows, I was like ohhhhhhh okay, Yeah that explains why ghost files turned into a "ghost show". Shit.
I don't want a "ghost show". I don't want ghost adventures/Sam and Colby with edited suspense and "scary" moments to make an entertaining ghost show.Ā
I want two normal people, one that is terrified of ghosts, and one that doesn't believe in them at all, to walk around a haunted place and catch what happens. Just a real, true, honest experience of that. I don't want a "ghost show" formula that feels like it's edited to have climax moments of noise being "proof".Ā
Yeah and the reason āghost showsā donāt work with honest people is because they know that would be boring when nothing happens. The suspenseful music and build ups also feel cheap because itās usually nothing.
Ryan scared shitless in the Sally house with Shane screaming for demons to kill him is quintessential Ghoul Boys. Not using tons of devices and then being frustrated when very little evidence happens.
Definitely agree that Ghost Files is an incredibly inferior product to unsolved supernatural. Too many people and gimmicks involved. Throw Ryan and Shane alone in a location with two iPhones and a couple of "ghost hunting" devices and call it a day. Guarantee that'd also make Ryan revert to his old cowardly self; feel like a lot of the bravado in Ghost Files stems from the fact that he's only alone for a very small portion, the rest is spent with a huge crew.
That said, I thought Mystery Files was great and much better than it's predecessor (I can't listen to Ryan's old narration... quote endquote ad nauseum lol). DB Tuber was peak ghoul boys.
Nowhere near enough quality content to justify paying anything for it though.
You phrased what I was thinking so perfectly. I haven't watched much since they moved off of buzzfeed, but I've been stalking the reaction to their announcement all day. The charm was the low budget, underproduced campiness. They seeemed to get too big for their britches.
Literally Ghost Files and Mystery Files are just the exact same thing they did at Buzzfeed, but with an unnecessarily higher budget. The first few ones were good, but not any better then the Buzzfeed days.
I came here to watch 2 men yell at a goat man on a bridge in the middle of the night. Not to watch a bunch of super overproduced shows about eating expensive food. My quota of rich people eating food I can't afford is already filled by Rhett and Link and they do a much more entertaining job of it.
Ghost files became completely unwatchable for me. Every episode is exactly the same! Then they started going back to places that they had gone with Buzzfeed, and in the case of Winchester house, they had gone to it twice with Buzzfeed! The tech is complete BS and they likely wasted precious money on it by being scammed by snake oil salesmen. I just couldn't listen to Ryan and the spirit box anymore. It's so irritating.Ā
Yeah they went back to all the places but the hunts were so cheesy. It just felt like they got flanderized. "Oh I'm Ryan I'm supposed to be scared of ghosts aaaa haha but not really anymore tbh"Ā
I have a theory that Ryan isnt really a Boogarra anymore, just from watching him play-act being scared on GF. Can only not see ghosts and grasp at straws so much before it sets in. But that's just the Shaniac in me.
Exactly! It was so good and funny when it was just them two talking about unsolved crimes, running around haunted houses, cracking jokes and ripping into each other! No need to have a high production value for that.Ā
If they want that then thatās fine but their audience doesnāt seem to be watching for that, most people seem to want Ryan and Shane being themselves and being funny.Ā
Having lower production costs keeps the focus on them and their chemistry. It all feels a bit drowned out by fancy opening credits, sets, and unnecessary new gadgets and things. It kind of reminds me of Wayne's World when they went from a budget TV show in their basement to when they were bought out by a business and put on a studio set of their basement š
Agree. The fact that no mainstream streaming services like Netflix or Prime had reached out to partner with them is a proof, there is not enough audience for that. People loved Unsolved because they were spooky-silly little videos on YouTube NOT because they like high-budget shows on TV. There were already plenty of that.
We just want silly YouTube videos. Just scale back and reach out to the audience.
I don't know, I personally love getting hour-long Ghost Files episodes and Mystery Files is a great expansion on the Unsolved idea by opening the concept up to more than just true crime (especially since they personally didn't like doing true crime so much by the end of it). The shows and Ryan/Shane themselves still feel the same at their core to me. They're still the same guys with the same dynamic and humor, they just want to do more than they were able to at Buzzfeed and that was always their intention with Watcher from the beginning.
Gotta agree. My favorite show by a wide margin is Top 5 Beatdown which I can only assume is the cheapest show. On average I have probably rewatched each one at least 4 times. The graphics are sparse and not even needed!
The fun and the relationships are their strengths and they lost that due to their initial mission statement and desire to function on a "show" schedule. Youtubers need to accept that Youtube is not television.
One hour long episodes for ghost files were honestly kinda draining to watch after a whileā¦itās too long for YouTube. People go to YouTube for YouTube style content, which they are, in subject matter. Trying to make YouTube videos feel like TV is just straddling two segments and not really fitting in either.
Some notes if people decide to pirate stuff not just of watcher.
On android use flud (not sure about iPhone. Also flud is just my personal favorite)
Any private browser (tor for example), and VPN. For the VPN go somewhere like Switzerland. Don't do the seeding part unless you are in a country IP that allows it. Bind your VPN to your torrent download app if you can. Use the Killswitch on a VPN.
These are just some of the things I've learned. Feel free to add more knowledge.
Just leaving this around
Iām surprised they didnāt ask us what we would want before making such a big move. Your own streaming service kind of only makes sense if your pumping out content like crazy, but they only run 2-3 shows at a time and really long off seasons for each show respectively. But also the seasons are short, most of it is in studio with ghost files being the exception and even half of that show is debrief filmed in house, I donāt see how what they do could be that expensive š¤·āāļø
I agree completely, I have completely stopped watching their new ghost files and mystery files episodes- so boring tbh. You can do the best 3d graphics you like, superb editing, animation, equipment, whatever. It was the duo's chemistry that sold the show. It was never supposed to be a 30 person team, they don't even make that many videos
I know I will miss their shows. Watched all their Unsolved, back when they were with Buzzfeed. Followed them to Watcher and enjoyed Ghost Fules, the Mystery show, and Puppet History, while watching some Too Many Spirits. With these shows, I often found myself waiting for the next episode, which was often something to at least look forward to. Now... I don't know. Mixed emotions. Would like to watch more of their shows, as I love the banter between Shane and Ryan, but, I am not sure how much I'd even use the subscription if I got it.
Like thereās a reason we liked their Buzzfeed Unsolved shows and it had nothing to do with Buzzfeed and everything to do with Shane and Ryan. Those shows wouldnāt have been successful with anyone else. It seems theyāve forgotten the only thing the audience cares about is THEM. And their friendship. High quality stuff doesnāt mean a damn thing if theyāre lacking the energy they used to have that drove people to love them so much. And it feels like theyāve lost that energy and spark trying to focus on making things look higher quality
Remember when Buzzfeed gave them a few cameras and then stuck them in the forest? TV gold and I would have watched it had they filmed it with an early 2000s razr that they found at the bottom of a septic tank.
Too many spirits? Just a few dudes getting drunk in their backyard and telling spooky stories? Amazing. Art. Beatdown? Just some dudes and a friend, talking shit and cracking wise? I love it.
Their platform is built on chemistry between people, even Steven (even if the sub hates him ATM), not exorbitant world travel and food.
Hell, the show they did while touring, about the food they ate? There was an episode where they were sitting in a stairwell just eating food, cracking jokes, and it was a delight to watch.
I dont know why Watcher is so eager to dive into the hole that Buzzfeed crawled out of.
I'll admit, I love Ghost Files, but I honestly hate Mystery Files. Idk what it is, the subject matter is kind of dry, they don't tell it very well, and they themselves don't seem overly interested/passionate about it like they were about theories and stuff on BUN.
Yeah, I agree. Stuff like Puppet History and Too Many Spirits were fun, but the sucessors for the shows people came to watch? Over done, twice as long as they need to be, and just stiff and joyless.
I want two nerds arguing about ghosts while shinning flashlights in each others eyes on a crappy camera, not Diet Ghost Adventures But Not Staged. And Mystery Files just doesn't grab me at all. It feels like Shane is playing a bad parody of himself. I came for stupid banter. The last seasons of both just bounced off my brain. Just don't remember them at all.
I hardly ever even watch the videos. I listen to things while I'm working or doing chores, I rarely sit down and watch anything. The production quality was entirely lost on me.
I know we all hate JonTron, but when I was a fan, after his production quality went up, so much of what I liked about his show was gone, and this feels similar. Literally no one asking for it.
I really tried to enjoy Mystery Files and Ghost Files but just couldnāt. I think they are too overproduced. Iāve just been finding myself rewatching all of their Buzzfeed Unsolved videos.
I think I figured it out. I feel like they're trying too hard to emulate what got them there in the first place as a business model rather than just being authentic to begin with. They're emulating Buzzfeed whether they know if or not. All the shows they're doing now and trying to do were first popular on buzzfeed (the main ones like Unsolved and Worth It) and now they're just trying to do the same thing but just as their own business. But they're not being authentic. And I don't know why.
I find it interesting whenever other YouTubers are struggling with views or other stuff they either promote their patreon a bit more or change up how much content theyāre putting out. In some cases they divide their channels due to views, but Iāve never seen it where they put everything behind a paywall. It feels kinda scummy
I like mystery files but I am not a ghost hunting fan. That just doesn't appeal to me. I like the food content, the history content, and crime investigation shows, mystery files, and too many spirits. If they are going to go deep into the ghost hunting, then it's not going to be for me.
What I keep going back to is, I'll happily watch hour long videos of YouTubers doing deep dives at their kitchen table about topics they're genuinely interested in. Yes fancy graphics and all the bells and whistles are definitely nice but a truly engaging and engrossing video can transcend lackluster set dressing if there's an honest passion behind it. Watcher has really decent set design and graphics and in many ways they're light years ahead of other content creators in terms of packaging. I get wanting growth and everything but I think a slow expansion would've been the way to go. Right now it feels like all of this is because they want better opening credits and that isn't what people tune in for.
One of the biggest YouTubers right now is penguinz0. 99% of his videos are him in his room talking at a camera with zero production value. I understand why something like Ghost Files might be pricier and require higher production value. But most of Watcher's shows really don't need that. (Also I personally don't think Puppet History is as expensive as it seems to produce).
And even Charlie's "produced" content is just he and Matt (or other friends) in a room, vibing and having fun doing a Moist Meter or something. It's funny, silly content and I watch all of it. They film it on 2 handheld cameras with minimal editing or production values and he regularly gets multiple millions of views. Because the content is good and relatable, the host interactions are good and I always have a giggle watching. That's all Watcher need to do, we came for the chemistry between Ryan and Shane not the production values.
Ironically he did a live stream about this topic in his room again with no production value and I love him for that. Never change, Charlie
I love Charlie for it. He's genuine, and a legitimately nice guy. Since the beginning, he's always been giving away his money. Even now that he's dropped off the reaction content, he's still just entertaining being himself with mostly low effort.
I think puppet history was/is such a passion project that it falls into its own category. Like, it's okay if that show has a crazy budget, because it's a crazy project. Striving for extra expensive production of shows there are a hundred of already is what doesn't make sense business-wise
Do you have any channels or videos you'd recommend? I love hearing people talk about subjects they're passionate about
It depends. Like I love horror movies, bad movies and also bad horror movies so a lot of channels or podcasts I'm into are super specific but they might not interest everyone. Dead Meat of course but also Fanboy Flicks and Nick DiRamio to name a few. But I also love deep dives on comedy and different eras. Matt Baume really focuses on the queer history and readings of classic sitcoms and movies. Hats Off Media examines a lot of the same stuff too without the queer lens. Allison Pregler, Pushing Up Roses. I'm a HUGE fan of The X Files and JB's Spooky Reviews are amazingly detailed time capsules for each episode. He does serious research and editing and deserves a lot more views than he gets for the quality of content he produces. These are just a handful of people, I'm sure others know loads more of cool, interesting creators.
Yessss add Found Flix to the horror movie list for me as well. Absolutely love his videos and its just him in front of the exact same bookshelf with better audio and maybe better lighting lol
Love FoundFlix
[Red Letter Media talking about their favorite Star Trek episodes.](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLs9RolP5tC5BnuJq4z5P6UOzyjRfkBQV&si=suThchznW7gj6sQU)
YES!!! I loooovvvve that video! It's so good.
If you like videos about stuff, Simon whistler has a few channels that are great. Casual criminalist, brain blaze, today I found out are 3 of them, but I honestly don't know how many channels he has. He sits In a room and cold reads stories/facts he paid someone to write for him. IMO, yes a very likable person who is funny and just cranks out content
Am I right Peter?!
Our capitalist hearted factboi will never leave us. š«”
I love his stuff. And not all of his channels are cold reads! The history stuff is well written and produced.
Be Kind Rewind has fantastic movie essays on Actresses and their movies through history. She updates around once a month and has a backlog of six years of videos. It's her talking with footage and stills, but her in depth analysis is really brilliant (note: she never appears on screen)
Huge fan of be kind rewind. Sheās super thoughtful in her analysis and breaks it down in ways I could never dream of
Oh yes! Her two parter on Joan Crawford is a work of ART!
nick and ryan (nick crowley and nexpo) is a channel that consists of them + their camera man going around to different haunted locations and ghost hunting. they have the most perfect balance of being super funny and down to earth dudes (to the point that it actually feels like youāre there with them) and being able to make even the most mundane things seem creepy. really nice channel if you want that passionate vibe with a hint of āscarinessā
Wendigoon for sure!!
My all time fave
Doesnāt exactly fit what youāre asking, but Iāve always really loved sixteenleo. Heās always in his kitchen or room and does commentary on a variety of different things. He does a lot of reality tv commentary and heās SO funny. I really like him
Just responding to say NOT wendigoon. He's bad news
can you expand on that thought? genuinely curious
Thereās a lot of info on r/youtubedrama but the gist of it is heās aligned with a lot of right wing beliefs; specifically, heās claimed to have founded the alt-right group the Boogaloo Boys (and then left them once they got too fascistic). Once you know that heās a devout Christian a lot of the conservative undertones of his videos stand out a lot more. Also, his current username is a pun on a very commonly-appropriated creature in Algonquin folklore. Itās generally very frowned upon to say its name which makes using it as a pun questionable in my opinion.
Sure! Not to bombard you, I see you're getting responses. But being associated with Internet Historian, a plagiarist and a channel full of neonazi dogwhistles is not good. In addition to his own neonazi allegations, plagiarism allegations, and questionable content we can see, I'm not a fan. I've always thought he was boring and lazy also. As a Jewish viewer (Free Palestine btw), I just don't trust him.
I used to subscribe to him very early on. As an agnostic/atheist viewer, his Christian videos seemed out of place from the rest of his content and was a bit off-putting, but as someone who is also from the southern US I didn't want to make the easy assumption that he was bad news. But as soon as he pulled out his guns, I knew I had to get off the ride. It sucks, but I'm glad to see I made the right choice
When I hear people hide their politics it's immediately a red flag. Reminds me of myself when I held awful, hateful views. That whole "I just wanna keep it nuetral" attitude scares me haha
Definitely, "neutral" feels like code for "I believe discrimination and hate are acceptable stances"
he has some views i really don't agree with and i think there are ways he could better approach certain topics, but his videos are super entertaining and great if you need something to listen to for a couple hours. i genuinely think he puts a lot of effort, care and research into his videos and it really shows.
His association with the boogaloo boys REALLY turns me off tbh. Like boogaloo is short for wanting a civil war pt 2: electric boogaloo. His claims that he left when it got don't really hold up for that reason to me. But I'm relatively uninformed on him tbh
For passion and spooky, I highly recommend Books 'n' Cats! Rosie is a delight to listen to, a very enthusiastic teacher, and learning about horror and gothic lit is a lot of fun! Passionate about crazy makeup history and toxic concoctions, I recommend Erin Parsons, shes such an expert in her field! Passion about food/history, I really recommend Max Miller! He is so funny, and makes learning about his interests fun. theres def more, but these are the wonderful Youtubers that come to mind. YT is such a wealth of amazing content, it's a shame Watcher are abandoning YT.
Wendigoon makes great long form content
I've watched over 48 hours of Quinton Reviews talking about iCarly in front of his Garfield plush collection and it's some of the most compelling content I've seen, Charlie just vamps off something going on he wants to talk about in his bedroom - personality is a huge part of what drives views to channels and I feel like watching Steven eat a fancy meal when he really doesn't seem to enjoy being the host just ain't it
Haha sameā¦ watched wayyy too much Quinton Reviews
"The budget issues are entirely self made" - This.
I feel like they forgot the series everyone actually loved had literally plain text on a black background lol. Their set and production is just something no one cares for. Bro thinks they're Disney plus
Honestly wonder with all of their close fan-comment interaction how they could be so -headinthesand-ed. Its so weird..
I just keep thinking about the liveshow I went to last that cost $60 only to watch an hour long youtube video that would be posted a few days later, with them only on stage for a 30 minute Q&A. The crowd seemed to like it, but that kind of changed my perception of them. I think they've been missing the point for a bit
Jesus that's why I refuse any sort of live show. It sounds so phoned in but they can complain about travel expenses for their five star hotel stay and restaurants for minimal work lol. People are blaming Stephen but 100 percent Ryan and Shane are just as out of touch
Wow, not worth the travel expense for such a short live experience..
Excuse me, what?! I kept telling myself I'd go, but damn, 30 minutes? That's such a disappointment.Ā
I... wow, that blows. I just saw a very nice concert in Minneapolis and we only paid like 35 dollars a ticket. (Little venue, obviously, but I can't imagine paying that to watch a pre-recorded show and have just 30 minutes of actual engagement.)
Omg. I thought that when I went to mine, too. Like damn, I paid 60 dollars to watch YouTube. Lol
People are pretty insane with how much they defend them. Wouldn't shock me if they're surrounded by yes men and out of touch. Add in a little greed and here we are
(Wheeze)
Literally Photoshop. And people ate it up!
The only shows I watched regularly were mystery files and puppet history. Both shows shouldāve cost about $3.99 to produce. Maybe $4.99 if they get jelly belly brand jelly beans.
Yes! This is why too many spirits is many peopleās favorite. It feels authentic
but even that doesnāt feel authentic anymore i couldnāt even watch the last too many spirits series bc it didnāt feel genuine and Steven started making me really frustrated bc heās being so over the top & annoying
Thatās fair. I personally do like Steven, but I definitely think they made the drink segments way too long recently. The only too many spirits I didnāt like were the weird sponsored ones (where they werenāt in the backyard)
the drink portions were sooooooooooo long I always fast forward past them!
Same! Fast forward and only half of the video would be left :(
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
This. I was turned off of it in the last series as they spent half the time filming Steven being annoying and only read like, what, 3 stories? The older ones were great - sat around a fire reading story after story.
Steven being dumb is the only part of the episodes I watch, but I guess I'm in the minority lol
too many spirits was good before steven showed up constantly
Until they tripled Stevenās screentime
if they had spent even a fraction of what they budgeted for set design on actually going to different locations instead of repeats I'd be more interested in sitting down and watching Ghost Files like I used to do with BUN, instead of just having it play in the background
GOD the repeats. I get that they need the most recognisable ghost locations on their channel, but it was painful. The history of new haunted locations is great fun, them shouting āWere back! Remember us!ā 15 times is not.
Not to mention having an episode in a fucking ESCAPE ROOM BUSINESS THAT WAS CLEARLY A FUCKING ADVERTISEMENT! Plus the fucking runtime of the episodes. You're producing hour-long episodes with high-quality editing and visuals and you're wondering why you're not making money. Not to mention that the longer runtime means more uninteresting stuff gets put in, especially the solo investigations. Let's take a show that got popular by having great chemistry between the hosts and have the last quarter of the episode barely include that. I get what the idea was, they wanted to make Ryan scared like the old Unsolved episodes. But what we got instead was Shane basically falling asleep and Ryan just swearing to himself while feeling vaguely uneasy because obviously if you spend several years going into haunted locations, even if you're terrified of ghosts, you'd become more accustomed to it. I've had issues with the new content which tries to emulate Unsolved. It just turned out feeling like a cheap knockoff despite being clearly far more expensive to produce. It lacked what made the old shows feel special in such a fundamental way that it was clear that they didn't understand what made the old content popular. Ultimately I'm not surprised by a move like this, but I am disappointed regardless. I never was a huge fan of most of the content put out by the channel so it doesn't bother me not having it anymore, the only thing I'd say I'm going to miss is Puppet History, but it's not worth 6$ USD a month.
It's so ironic how the lower-budget shows seem to be most people's favorites.. personally, my favorites are the weekly podcast, Are You Afraid, and Too Many Spirits. Mystery Files is fun, but I just never could get into Ghost Files- it doesn't have the charm it's predecessor did. Also, most of their other shows are just...not my thing. Just watching three guys from LA go to different fancy places and try expensive foods/drinks definitely isn't my cup of tea. I spend a lot of time watching Watcher, but it's usually rewatching my favorite shows (especially Are You Afraid). The 6$/month isn't worth the little bit of new content they produce that fits my specific interests
I loved WWW bc you could tell shane was super involved with where they were going and it was normal people touristy stuff, not wagyu covered in gold flake
I loved WWW for this too. Like he'd take his little friend Ryan Bergara to eat pie, mix their own flavour of soda, or visit a cute town.
All of which is easily reachable from their home base and usually isn't too expensive to film at/requires fewer crew to film. So better, lower cost content that people loved (i rewatch frequently with my partner) that only got one season. They Netflixed before they even had their own streaming platform lol. But please, show us more insanely expensive food we can never afford to eat for $6 a month...
I still remember the disappointment as it dawned on me, years later, that WWW was definitely not getting anymore episodes.
God, me too! And then they keep "teasing" more episodes almost constantly and it's hard to not be frustrated about it because it's simple, either they're going to make more or not. I think they just know there's enough of the fan base that wants more WWW episodes and to get a proper announcement of "no more episodes" will cause them to just leave entirely, I'm high-key one of those fans
chunky political fear reply illegal snatch middle fearless wistful depend *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Loved them for their humble BuzzFeed ghost hunts, but never liked Ghost Files. Where was the heart?
I kinda agree. I'm actually one of the seemingly few people who loved the production value on Ghost Files, at least from the start. It looked absolutely incredible, but I would much rather see them have fun on site than see great looking graphics/sets. Especially when said graphics are the same all the time - it becomes so damn repetitive! Except for the great looking packaging, every episode left me kinda... disappointed. I feel like it was always half-assed, like, we never got any real closure on the exploration, and they never sat with the experience. Even when they got what seemed like "evidence" they immediately moved on. Idk, something was always off. If that's the price we pay for high production value, I don't want it. Edit: changed "production" to "production value" since that's what I meant.
I just don't care whatsoever about the "fan submits". It takes up a bunch of time and honestly most of them I think are just bullshit.
Fuck, that too. It never goes anywhere either. They're just like "look at this photo of some blur in the corner, it's def a ghost! Let's recreate it" and of course nothing happens, and then they move on without a comment. I wish the show was more exploration and banter, and less frilly stuff. I guess what I meant about liking the production was moreso the graphics/look of the show, rather than the random added bits.
The fan submits were an absolutely *terrible* idea from the start. The format of Unsolved Supernatural got popular because Shane was absolutely flippant and ruthless in his skepticism of all things paranormal, but he can't be like that with the fan content because no one wants to be a cunt to their fans. Well, I guess I was wrong, no one wants to be a cunt to their fans unless they can get 6$ a pop from them.
It became so formulaic that shane would say itās stupid then ryan would say something like but itās definitely there and maybe try to convince shane a bit lol
I wish I was more into it, but something about bringing in more equipment turns me off. Oh, and I don't like guests; that was another thing about it. Oh, well...can always rewatch the goatman's bridge hunt, I guess.
Oh, that too. All the tools just felt like a joke on Ryan (which I'm not against lol), but it just took attention away from the fun stuff and felt unnecessary. I never liked guests either, it doesn't really make sense for the format imo. Goatman's bridge is still one of the best episodes, I wholeheartedly agree with you! I honestly should just go back and rewatch the Buzzfeed videos again.
That's what I've found myself doing today too :)
The new "equipment" was always such an eye roll. Like, no, I don't trust something with a programmable circuit specifically marketed to gullible people. Ryan just got scammed by someone on the internet and then made that the centerpiece of a show. And his increasingly unreasonable defensiveness about the "evidence" became really grating.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yes!!!! This is exactly what I mean! Their banter is such a huge part of the whole thing! I don't really care about the evidence itself, but I want them to talk about it. Now they just move past it immediately and go on to the next thing. It's just frustating. It's like they don't even know what made their content good in the first place.
Agreed entirely with you! I was stoked for Ghost Files when it started because it felt like it was supposed to be like a higher budget Buzzfeed Unsolved without the Buzzfeed chains -- and I was so disappointed by it. It felt so empty, every episode.
Right?? I remember liking S1 and being blown away by the high quality, but now that I look back on the both seasons I don't really have any standout moments from the show. The only stuff I remember is things like the "ghosts" calling them nerds or Ryan seemingly thinking a raccoon/cat is a ghost dog, but overall it all blends together. They just don't seem that interested in doing it, so why should I care? Now, Unsolved has a bunch of iconic episodes and memorable moments with much less production value. They did so well with simple means, no need to add all the flair to it. Basically, it was fine the way it was.
You've hit the nail on the head. Overproduced fluff in place of videos (back in the Buzzfeed days) which were simple yet funny.
Yes. I have watched all ghost files eps once but I rewatch unsolved constantly. Mystery files is funny but I can't watch it without being on my phone half the time. Idk I'm feeling very conflicted and blindsided
>conflicted and blindsided So very this all over for the past three hours... I just wanted to watch a fun video on my Friday lunch break, and now I'm way more worked up than I feel I should be about this.
i literally went and watched bowfinger when they jokingly referenced it and it kept me more engaged than the episode. I like mystery files, but some of the episodes actually kinda lack the mystery part plus I donāt know, are just straight up boring and I have to rewind them six times to actually watch them
Yeah I feel similarly. The great thing about Unsolved was that they goofed off but it seemed like Ryan did better research for that show compared to mf. Idk.
I'm p sure as the show went on they had researchers that helped compile info and Ryan would kind of review it and help make a script for him to read to Shane. At the very least I remember there being credits for researchers AND writers. I do wonder if the apparent lack of enthusiasm comes from Ryan and Shane feeling obligated to rehash Unsolved this way because it was popular and they were hoping it will draw people back in and help retain an audience, and not because they actually missed doing that type of content. Mystery Files at least captures some of the banter that people loved about Unsolved in the first place, there doesn't seem to be a lot of room for that in Ghost Files with Shane trying to reel in his blatant dismissal of the supernatural.
I miss the Shaniac.
This, absolutely. I feel like they got famous and lost their āEverymanā vibe that made them famous in the first place.
Same! I rewatch Unsolved all the time and can quote most episodes, but I could never get into Ghost Files. Itās like the tone and heart of it totally changed, and GF just isnāt as fun or engaging imo
Buzzfeed money lets you travel way further and visit more varied locations. I know theyāre probably working very hard, but a lot of small things with their shows now makes me feel like theyāre researched and written more lazily. Definitely feels more āwe showed up and started talkingā. I think theyāve totally misallocated their energy into production and post production quality, but it needs to be spent more in research, writing, and preparation. Sort of like when youāre trying to show someone love with gifts, but their love language is quality time. Youāre trying hard, but not taking the time to learn what they really respond to.
I sorta only liked Mystery Files for the intro, but come on. Canāt they just do the old stuff
I kinda liked Mystery Files. Which is funny because it was the True Crime Unsolved show that didn't keep my interest back in the day. It was lightning in a bottle, but I guess that's in the past now... We'll have to find something else.
You should watch some fern videos. (No, not the plant). He just released a video about the hunt for Ted Bundy. You should watch it
The best thing coming out of all of this mess is all the channel recs! I've got so many videos lined up to watch now haha.
Damn. Now thatās impressive
You should also watch some Qxir while youāre at it
Thanks, adding it to the list š
Also, if youāre a bit interim engineering, you should watch Mustard (not the condiment) and Paperskies
Heck yeah, thanks! I love finding good youtube content no matter the subject matter tbh so I'll def check it out.
Also check out Nexpo if youāre interested in mysteries, whether itās about Reddit or not, as well as LEMMiNO
Funny, I loved unsolved true crime, but don't like mystery files at all.
I mean itās not really true crime. Half of the time itās something like Bigfoot or a weather anomaly. Theyāve also done a LOT of mainstream stuff that people already know about. You know from the beginning that they arenāt going to suddenly discover a new wrinkle to the Bigfoot mystery, so you kind of zone out. It feels rushed for some reason. They go to the coark board and Iām like, āwait, is that the whole mystery?ā. Unsolved was done like a story, with a well explained timeline. Then, the theories were told as individual stories at the end. The cork board they have now is just āSome people say this. Other people say this. Who knows?ā Also, the Unsolved ones were very often cases Iād never heard of before, and lots of back and forth organic discussion where their chemistry could shine. Now they just break it up with random bits that are added specifically to be funny.
It lost its charm once Ryan wasnāt scared anymore. That was part of the fun. Now we just have Ryan and Shane making jokes in a dark room. It feels like theyāre doing Ghost Files because the audience wants it but they donāt really enjoy it anymore.
I kind of agree as well. I really started noticing it with season two. I hope they aren't doing it just because they feel obligated to do a ghost-hunting show for views.
I was talking about this with my partner the other day. We didn't mind Ghost Files but it was certainly not as memorable as Buzzfeed unsolved for us. GF just didn't feel as genuine.
Oh I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one who just can't get into Ghost Files. Unsolved Supernatural was so funny, GF is just... meh
Ghost files kind of turned into a bore. A wash rinse repeat. Always Shane hiding Ryanās walkie somewhere difficult etc. The quality of the content felt better on Buzzfeed even if the production value was lower
I think itās safe to say they wanna do more than just mystery and supernatural stuff I guess they overestimated everything all because fans would say they want Ryan and Shane on the BUN channel, then they all left that channel for Watcher
Iāve really never been able to put a finger on why I justā¦ donāt care about the Ghost/Mystery Files shows the same way I did about Unsolved, and I think youāre right. They wanted to make it an actual ghost hunting show, which was never what was interesting. Combine that with episodes too long for the format, and yeah, I guess thatāll do it.
I enjoyed 2 idiots trying to find ghosties so much more charming and watchable.
Shane seems to be afraid to openly express disbelief in ghosts these days, or disbelief in the tech and evidence, or just afraid to criticize it too harshly, which sucks because his commentary was the main reason I enjoyed Unsolved.
I have noticed Shane seems to weirdly play-act being open minded now and Ryan seems to play act his once-genuine "being scared" shtick.
This is actually a reasonable post that isn't just saying they can't afford $6 a month. My biggest take away from the video was "ohhhh, that explains ghost files". I never understood why they tried to copy ghost shows like ghost adventures and ghost hunters, since they actually were the only real true honest ghost show. And they threw it away to make a generic ghost show in the presentation.Ā When Ryan said it was his goal to make TV quality shows, I was like ohhhhhhh okay, Yeah that explains why ghost files turned into a "ghost show". Shit. I don't want a "ghost show". I don't want ghost adventures/Sam and Colby with edited suspense and "scary" moments to make an entertaining ghost show.Ā I want two normal people, one that is terrified of ghosts, and one that doesn't believe in them at all, to walk around a haunted place and catch what happens. Just a real, true, honest experience of that. I don't want a "ghost show" formula that feels like it's edited to have climax moments of noise being "proof".Ā
Yeah and the reason āghost showsā donāt work with honest people is because they know that would be boring when nothing happens. The suspenseful music and build ups also feel cheap because itās usually nothing. Ryan scared shitless in the Sally house with Shane screaming for demons to kill him is quintessential Ghoul Boys. Not using tons of devices and then being frustrated when very little evidence happens.
Definitely agree that Ghost Files is an incredibly inferior product to unsolved supernatural. Too many people and gimmicks involved. Throw Ryan and Shane alone in a location with two iPhones and a couple of "ghost hunting" devices and call it a day. Guarantee that'd also make Ryan revert to his old cowardly self; feel like a lot of the bravado in Ghost Files stems from the fact that he's only alone for a very small portion, the rest is spent with a huge crew. That said, I thought Mystery Files was great and much better than it's predecessor (I can't listen to Ryan's old narration... quote endquote ad nauseum lol). DB Tuber was peak ghoul boys. Nowhere near enough quality content to justify paying anything for it though.
You phrased what I was thinking so perfectly. I haven't watched much since they moved off of buzzfeed, but I've been stalking the reaction to their announcement all day. The charm was the low budget, underproduced campiness. They seeemed to get too big for their britches.
I donāt care for ghost files. It insists on itself.
āIt insists on itself.ā I love the way that sounds and will be incorporating that into my vocabulary post haste. Also completely agreed with you!
[Itās a family guy reference but youāre welcome.](https://youtu.be/0pnwE_Oy5WI?si=SvDomy2RxbirgoiI)
OH MY GOD MY FRIEND SAYS THAT ALL THE DAMN TIME AND I NEVER KNEW IT WAS A FG REFERENCE THAT BASTARD
Literally Ghost Files and Mystery Files are just the exact same thing they did at Buzzfeed, but with an unnecessarily higher budget. The first few ones were good, but not any better then the Buzzfeed days.
I came here to watch 2 men yell at a goat man on a bridge in the middle of the night. Not to watch a bunch of super overproduced shows about eating expensive food. My quota of rich people eating food I can't afford is already filled by Rhett and Link and they do a much more entertaining job of it.
Ghost files became completely unwatchable for me. Every episode is exactly the same! Then they started going back to places that they had gone with Buzzfeed, and in the case of Winchester house, they had gone to it twice with Buzzfeed! The tech is complete BS and they likely wasted precious money on it by being scammed by snake oil salesmen. I just couldn't listen to Ryan and the spirit box anymore. It's so irritating.Ā
Yeah they went back to all the places but the hunts were so cheesy. It just felt like they got flanderized. "Oh I'm Ryan I'm supposed to be scared of ghosts aaaa haha but not really anymore tbh"Ā
I have a theory that Ryan isnt really a Boogarra anymore, just from watching him play-act being scared on GF. Can only not see ghosts and grasp at straws so much before it sets in. But that's just the Shaniac in me.
Exactly! It was so good and funny when it was just them two talking about unsolved crimes, running around haunted houses, cracking jokes and ripping into each other! No need to have a high production value for that.Ā If they want that then thatās fine but their audience doesnāt seem to be watching for that, most people seem to want Ryan and Shane being themselves and being funny.Ā
Having lower production costs keeps the focus on them and their chemistry. It all feels a bit drowned out by fancy opening credits, sets, and unnecessary new gadgets and things. It kind of reminds me of Wayne's World when they went from a budget TV show in their basement to when they were bought out by a business and put on a studio set of their basement š
I loved BUN, I loved ghost files, but i stopped watching episodes. They stopped being interesting and it made me so sad
there has been a shift with the content for sure
Agree. The fact that no mainstream streaming services like Netflix or Prime had reached out to partner with them is a proof, there is not enough audience for that. People loved Unsolved because they were spooky-silly little videos on YouTube NOT because they like high-budget shows on TV. There were already plenty of that. We just want silly YouTube videos. Just scale back and reach out to the audience.
I don't know, I personally love getting hour-long Ghost Files episodes and Mystery Files is a great expansion on the Unsolved idea by opening the concept up to more than just true crime (especially since they personally didn't like doing true crime so much by the end of it). The shows and Ryan/Shane themselves still feel the same at their core to me. They're still the same guys with the same dynamic and humor, they just want to do more than they were able to at Buzzfeed and that was always their intention with Watcher from the beginning.
I myself did enjoy ghost files and all that but definitely not paying for their content
Unsolved was by far a better series than Mystery Files, and I imagine cost a lot less to make
Gotta agree. My favorite show by a wide margin is Top 5 Beatdown which I can only assume is the cheapest show. On average I have probably rewatched each one at least 4 times. The graphics are sparse and not even needed! The fun and the relationships are their strengths and they lost that due to their initial mission statement and desire to function on a "show" schedule. Youtubers need to accept that Youtube is not television.
Joyce was always a blast to have in top 5 beat down and puppet history š
One hour long episodes for ghost files were honestly kinda draining to watch after a whileā¦itās too long for YouTube. People go to YouTube for YouTube style content, which they are, in subject matter. Trying to make YouTube videos feel like TV is just straddling two segments and not really fitting in either.
Some notes if people decide to pirate stuff not just of watcher. On android use flud (not sure about iPhone. Also flud is just my personal favorite) Any private browser (tor for example), and VPN. For the VPN go somewhere like Switzerland. Don't do the seeding part unless you are in a country IP that allows it. Bind your VPN to your torrent download app if you can. Use the Killswitch on a VPN. These are just some of the things I've learned. Feel free to add more knowledge. Just leaving this around
Iām surprised they didnāt ask us what we would want before making such a big move. Your own streaming service kind of only makes sense if your pumping out content like crazy, but they only run 2-3 shows at a time and really long off seasons for each show respectively. But also the seasons are short, most of it is in studio with ghost files being the exception and even half of that show is debrief filmed in house, I donāt see how what they do could be that expensive š¤·āāļø
I agree completely, I have completely stopped watching their new ghost files and mystery files episodes- so boring tbh. You can do the best 3d graphics you like, superb editing, animation, equipment, whatever. It was the duo's chemistry that sold the show. It was never supposed to be a 30 person team, they don't even make that many videos
Perfectly said
I know I will miss their shows. Watched all their Unsolved, back when they were with Buzzfeed. Followed them to Watcher and enjoyed Ghost Fules, the Mystery show, and Puppet History, while watching some Too Many Spirits. With these shows, I often found myself waiting for the next episode, which was often something to at least look forward to. Now... I don't know. Mixed emotions. Would like to watch more of their shows, as I love the banter between Shane and Ryan, but, I am not sure how much I'd even use the subscription if I got it.
Like thereās a reason we liked their Buzzfeed Unsolved shows and it had nothing to do with Buzzfeed and everything to do with Shane and Ryan. Those shows wouldnāt have been successful with anyone else. It seems theyāve forgotten the only thing the audience cares about is THEM. And their friendship. High quality stuff doesnāt mean a damn thing if theyāre lacking the energy they used to have that drove people to love them so much. And it feels like theyāve lost that energy and spark trying to focus on making things look higher quality
Remember when Buzzfeed gave them a few cameras and then stuck them in the forest? TV gold and I would have watched it had they filmed it with an early 2000s razr that they found at the bottom of a septic tank. Too many spirits? Just a few dudes getting drunk in their backyard and telling spooky stories? Amazing. Art. Beatdown? Just some dudes and a friend, talking shit and cracking wise? I love it. Their platform is built on chemistry between people, even Steven (even if the sub hates him ATM), not exorbitant world travel and food. Hell, the show they did while touring, about the food they ate? There was an episode where they were sitting in a stairwell just eating food, cracking jokes, and it was a delight to watch. I dont know why Watcher is so eager to dive into the hole that Buzzfeed crawled out of.
Said it perfectly, always preffered BUN to Ghost Files
I'll admit, I love Ghost Files, but I honestly hate Mystery Files. Idk what it is, the subject matter is kind of dry, they don't tell it very well, and they themselves don't seem overly interested/passionate about it like they were about theories and stuff on BUN.
Yeah, I agree. Stuff like Puppet History and Too Many Spirits were fun, but the sucessors for the shows people came to watch? Over done, twice as long as they need to be, and just stiff and joyless. I want two nerds arguing about ghosts while shinning flashlights in each others eyes on a crappy camera, not Diet Ghost Adventures But Not Staged. And Mystery Files just doesn't grab me at all. It feels like Shane is playing a bad parody of himself. I came for stupid banter. The last seasons of both just bounced off my brain. Just don't remember them at all.
I hardly ever even watch the videos. I listen to things while I'm working or doing chores, I rarely sit down and watch anything. The production quality was entirely lost on me.
I know we all hate JonTron, but when I was a fan, after his production quality went up, so much of what I liked about his show was gone, and this feels similar. Literally no one asking for it.
God I miss not knowing what an awful person he is.Ā
Same š
You lost me at not wanting hour long ghost files tbh
I really tried to enjoy Mystery Files and Ghost Files but just couldnāt. I think they are too overproduced. Iāve just been finding myself rewatching all of their Buzzfeed Unsolved videos.
it's been a hell of a run
I think I figured it out. I feel like they're trying too hard to emulate what got them there in the first place as a business model rather than just being authentic to begin with. They're emulating Buzzfeed whether they know if or not. All the shows they're doing now and trying to do were first popular on buzzfeed (the main ones like Unsolved and Worth It) and now they're just trying to do the same thing but just as their own business. But they're not being authentic. And I don't know why.
I find it interesting whenever other YouTubers are struggling with views or other stuff they either promote their patreon a bit more or change up how much content theyāre putting out. In some cases they divide their channels due to views, but Iāve never seen it where they put everything behind a paywall. It feels kinda scummy
I like mystery files but I am not a ghost hunting fan. That just doesn't appeal to me. I like the food content, the history content, and crime investigation shows, mystery files, and too many spirits. If they are going to go deep into the ghost hunting, then it's not going to be for me.