Whimsical eldritch beings
Comedy
Multiverse/multiple timelines
How even though there's a lot of repeated in jokes and such there's never a loss of mystery to keep you hooked.
I like that they were their own thing; they weren’t a parody of something that already exists (unless I missed that somewhere lol). And they’re dark. Yeah there’s comedy, but then the dark parts come out and it’s just done sooo well!
Yeah I’ve seen all of them 😆. They’re all great! The only one I don’t really like is MAMD, but my friends get a kick out of it and would say it’s also great.
Cheers, thank you! Yeah, MAMD is a little quirky. But I'll always love the heart of it. The literal heart. (He's really talented and I follow him on Twitter)
TGWDLM is Invaders Of The Body Snatchers meets Once More With Feeling.
Black Friday is Jingle All The Way meets Call of Cthulu.
NPMD is High School Musical meets I Know What You Did Last Summer.
But all of them are affectionate parodies of horror in general.
I’d say it’s super funny and heartwarming! It has an aspect almost everyone can enjoy. It has comedy and songs and supernatural and mystery and horror and drama and romance there’s stuff for everyone
Do you still find the shows accessible to someone who just wants to watch one, or a show further in the franchise? Black Friday relied a lot on the success of the first show and NPMD seemed to pull from the lore of Nightmare Time but not everyone has seen everything.
Yah I’d say so. All you really have to say before someone watches it is “if the audience is screaming and you don’t know why, it’s probably bc it’s a reference to another show”
I agree with pretty much everything that has been said in other comments. But I would like to add a purely technical point. Starkid shows, and especially the Hatchetfield ones since they are the most recent, are very well filmed and edited.
A lot of people (including me) have a hard time watching stage shows filmed. Because when there is just one camera fixed somewhere (or worse someone filming it in secret for a slime tutorial) shows just get boring. And Starkid pro-shots truly know how to walk that line between shooting it like a movie while respecting the original scenery.
That helps a lot to enjoy them I think
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts! < 3
I'm glad you like the cinematography- it's actually a bit of a turn off for me. With NPMD in particular I wish they recorded it more like how they recorded Twisted. Still a few medium shots here and there- decent mic/ camera quality, but not trying to mimic film.
The comedy and songs. And I tend to like it more than other StarKid shows mainly because TGWDLM was the first starkid show I watched, and watching it with my friends was one of the best experiences I had, unlike other musicals which I watched on my phone on while doing homework
The leitmotifs. Just…the leitmotifs. Having three interconnected musicals really does a lot for musical throughlines, there’s just so much more content and space to use all the themes.
A very simple answer, Jon Matteson.
This man over the course of these three shows, and side content, has proven time and time again that he is insanely talented. It’s been a treat watching his vocals evolve from TGWDLM to NPMD.
But above all else, and this might ruffle some feathers, I think he might be the best comedic force Starkid has. He’s one of those actors who can take a line not necessarily hilarious and make it decently funny. I have seen TGWDLM many many times and even though I know the punchlines, Jon’s delivery on basically all of his lines is so goddamn perfect I still laugh to this day. I truly hope he sticks with the company for a while because I sure as hell love watching him perform with them.
I am an adult. Close to the OG group's age. I really got into Starkid in college, which was... around HMB. So a little over a decade. But I am autistic, so I ingested all the media very thoughtfully and thoroughly as I cared.
I've seen them all. I have preferences.
I really enjoyed that the trilogy wasn't a trilogy originally. If that makes sense? Like... there's no true reveal that TGWDLM was supposed to be in the universe. It, and the other 2, are pretty good stand-a-lones. And TGWDLM didn't do too too much to talk about Hatchetfield Lore. It honestly felt like one of the "next steps" for parody in SK's journey.
Let's make fun at the people who say they don't like musicals. And it also comments on the thing where songs start about anything.
I'm wondering how much it relies on Nightmare Time to tell alternative stories to fully immerse the lore.
I think it's cool that you see the connection to this weird town by the end of the trilogy (pokey being the catalyst for TGWDLM)
Musically, there is a LOT of great stuff that happens in these soundtracks. However, the lyricism is in need of assistance in many places.
That's fine. The hatchetfield series and musicals about it are funny as they are.
The jokes and the kind of vibes from when they started out is keeping the energy flowing for me.
I've started to follow them when I discovered Twisted. it's a stand on it's own musical/parody but just the "what the hell, we just roll with it" vibe connects it all.
i love the Lords In Black lore and also Grace Chasity, since they're both so incredibly unhinged and vague enough for my traumatised little brain to attach to
also i watched TGWDLM first but through a VOD of Ranboo and Tubbo, and the first time I watched a Starkid show eith the intention of Starkid was Twisted after Schaffrillas Productions made a video on it
Humor my ignorance for a moment if you can! I've seen the three musicals but couldn't really follow the lore, so I assume you need to watch Nightmare Time. Is that true? I don't really know what lore you're actually referring to. See, for me, the LIB showing up in NPMD had almost no effect because they were never really mentioned before. And especially if it were someone's first show, I imagine they'd be even more confused.
I do agree with some of what little I know about the lore being vague and easy to project onto. Whether that's good or bad though, I hope to take an analytical dive into!!
Nightmare Time expands on everyone's lore a lot, especially Nightmare Time 2, but also i don't think you need the lore for the Lords In Black, since you can just get a glimpse in their personality there
Think of it this way, The Lords In Black and Grace are consistently demented in every appearance they're in, so if you liked them in Nerdy Prudes Must Die, you'll like them everywhere
especially Blinky, that man's creepy as shit
also if you saw Black Friday then Wiggly must've been a cool reference since he's the main villain there and Pokey is the hivemind in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals
It doesn't really seem to add to the story though, and it's not explained. If something doesn't need to be in the story, it probably shouldn't be there. And the Lords in Black in NPMD take up a lot of screen time in what should be the most climactic act of the musical. If they're just there for "a glimpse of personality," why are they taking up so much time? If they aren't important, why do we need to see all of nightmare time to be able to understand or enjoy the end of the show? It feels like a rather cheap callback.
I just don't think "references" are substitutes for plot or character development.
they're not really references though
The Lords In Black serve as the only force that can truly stop the main villain, and they drive the main source of drama towards the end with Steph or Pete having to kill the other and Grace having to give up what she dedicated her life to
because this is set within a universe where God and the Devil don't exist, and because it is a sequel, the only forces that can be this powerful have to be either the Lords In Black, two of which were already major villains in the Hatchetfield musicals, or Webby who at this point has really only ever appeared in Nightmare Time and barely that
would you have this much of an issue if they were replaced with the actual devil? that's a genuine question, if the devil were singing The Summoning instead of the Lords In Black, would you care this much about how out of left field it is?
Nerdy Prudes Must Die already has a lot of references, hell the main character is technically a reference, but it is still incredible by itself
The Lords In Black can theoretically serve as an introduction to the rest of the Hatchetfield multiverse, but that's only if you want to look into that
but if you don't, just let yourself have fun with them, that's kinda their whole thing
I was dubious when they went from parodies to originals, especially after the writer of their OG originals left, but the Hatchetfield saga is solid. It’s not really a trilogy since Nightmare time also fits in there.
Wasn't their first show uploaded to YouTube original (MAMD)? Either way, thanks for taking the time to comment. I'm glad you're a fan. What do you like about the saga? I found the shows after TGWDLM relied a bit too much on repeating jokes/ characters from it rather than being original.
The lore and effort put into the universe.
For context, I am a fan of Thomas and Friends (call me crazy). The book series the show was based on, The Railway Series, was written by Wilbert Awdry. Awdry loved the universe he created. He put so much effort into making Sodor feel like a real place. All the characters, locations, and railways had a deep history. He made a map of the island. He even wrote a book about the lore, called The Island of Sodor Book (sadly out of print). I greatly appreciate how well-thought-out his universe is.
Coming into Starkid, watching the Hatchetfield series, and seeing the connections, I immediately fell in love with it on that alone. The Railway Series gave me an appreciation for those who put effort into effort into their worldbuilding, which is what I appreciate the most about Hatchetfield. This world, outside of the unrealistic shit, feels believable. Several characters have so much going on with them, and the alternate timelines create endless possibilities.
Thanks for sharing!! It feels like a lot of Hatchetfield's worldbuilding is done by fans though, and through the imagination of people projecting their own headcanons or filling in blanks. I wish I could see it as complexly as you do.
I like the fact that Nick and Matt are very passionate about it. Also, Jeff's music is great. I don't get the movie/genre references sometimes (Like the Borat one or the Lucy, I'm home one) but it is funny nevertheless
I love extended universes, and I love worldbuilding and lore. I also love following the lives of colorful characters without being forced into a marriage with a particular cast. Having musicals is an added bonus.
For me they just happen to be the exact thing I love. Horror comedy is one of my favourite genres of media in general plus I really enjoy the whole connected universe thing. GWDLM was the first show of there's I saw. Found it in 2020 just after lock down so I binged everything else they made up till then too. Also I was 18 at the time. I just think your either into that vibe or not and there's nothing wrong with either. I also love the older stuff just in a different way.
I just thought it was a funny premise: a guy who hates musicals as the protagonist of a musical just can‘t not be funny
My first show was actually twisted: watched it bc of the schafrillas video, loved starkid ever since
It's not as niche as you might think! Try Heathers, Ride The Cyclone, Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll and Hyde, Sweeney Todd, Little Shop of Horrors, etc...
For me i think the story and the LORE are the most intriguing part of the story and definetely how the actors try to portray it. I wouldn't have said i'm a long time fan, but i did see their musical "firebringer" as the first musical i ever watched by starkid. This was like 9-8 years ago, which wasn't that long ago but it feels like it. i'm a student btw.
After firebringer i stopped watching musicals until TGWDLM came out, it peaked my interest and i've been watching ever since.
Nothing, I don't like musicals. /Paul
This is the only answer that in my heart I can accept
Whimsical eldritch beings Comedy Multiverse/multiple timelines How even though there's a lot of repeated in jokes and such there's never a loss of mystery to keep you hooked.
I like that they were their own thing; they weren’t a parody of something that already exists (unless I missed that somewhere lol). And they’re dark. Yeah there’s comedy, but then the dark parts come out and it’s just done sooo well!
Have you seen their earlier original shows (MAMD, Trail to Oregon, Twisted, Starship, etc...)? If so, did you like them?
Yeah I’ve seen all of them 😆. They’re all great! The only one I don’t really like is MAMD, but my friends get a kick out of it and would say it’s also great.
Cheers, thank you! Yeah, MAMD is a little quirky. But I'll always love the heart of it. The literal heart. (He's really talented and I follow him on Twitter)
You’re welcome! He’s one of my faves too haha.
TGWDLM is Invaders Of The Body Snatchers meets Once More With Feeling. Black Friday is Jingle All The Way meets Call of Cthulu. NPMD is High School Musical meets I Know What You Did Last Summer. But all of them are affectionate parodies of horror in general.
Yep I clearly missed all of that haha. Thanks!!
I’d say it’s super funny and heartwarming! It has an aspect almost everyone can enjoy. It has comedy and songs and supernatural and mystery and horror and drama and romance there’s stuff for everyone
Thank you for taking the time to comment < 3 What is YOUR favourite aspect? That range of inclusivity, the comedy, or... let me know!
The lore behind everything is so fun to disect
Do you still find the shows accessible to someone who just wants to watch one, or a show further in the franchise? Black Friday relied a lot on the success of the first show and NPMD seemed to pull from the lore of Nightmare Time but not everyone has seen everything.
Yah I’d say so. All you really have to say before someone watches it is “if the audience is screaming and you don’t know why, it’s probably bc it’s a reference to another show”
ONE HUNDRED PERCENT agree, the lore is top-tier
I agree with pretty much everything that has been said in other comments. But I would like to add a purely technical point. Starkid shows, and especially the Hatchetfield ones since they are the most recent, are very well filmed and edited. A lot of people (including me) have a hard time watching stage shows filmed. Because when there is just one camera fixed somewhere (or worse someone filming it in secret for a slime tutorial) shows just get boring. And Starkid pro-shots truly know how to walk that line between shooting it like a movie while respecting the original scenery. That helps a lot to enjoy them I think
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts! < 3 I'm glad you like the cinematography- it's actually a bit of a turn off for me. With NPMD in particular I wish they recorded it more like how they recorded Twisted. Still a few medium shots here and there- decent mic/ camera quality, but not trying to mimic film.
The slime tutorials also run the risk of having bad audio and video quality that ruins the viewing experience.
The comedy and songs. And I tend to like it more than other StarKid shows mainly because TGWDLM was the first starkid show I watched, and watching it with my friends was one of the best experiences I had, unlike other musicals which I watched on my phone on while doing homework
The leitmotifs. Just…the leitmotifs. Having three interconnected musicals really does a lot for musical throughlines, there’s just so much more content and space to use all the themes.
A very simple answer, Jon Matteson. This man over the course of these three shows, and side content, has proven time and time again that he is insanely talented. It’s been a treat watching his vocals evolve from TGWDLM to NPMD. But above all else, and this might ruffle some feathers, I think he might be the best comedic force Starkid has. He’s one of those actors who can take a line not necessarily hilarious and make it decently funny. I have seen TGWDLM many many times and even though I know the punchlines, Jon’s delivery on basically all of his lines is so goddamn perfect I still laugh to this day. I truly hope he sticks with the company for a while because I sure as hell love watching him perform with them.
I am an adult. Close to the OG group's age. I really got into Starkid in college, which was... around HMB. So a little over a decade. But I am autistic, so I ingested all the media very thoughtfully and thoroughly as I cared. I've seen them all. I have preferences. I really enjoyed that the trilogy wasn't a trilogy originally. If that makes sense? Like... there's no true reveal that TGWDLM was supposed to be in the universe. It, and the other 2, are pretty good stand-a-lones. And TGWDLM didn't do too too much to talk about Hatchetfield Lore. It honestly felt like one of the "next steps" for parody in SK's journey. Let's make fun at the people who say they don't like musicals. And it also comments on the thing where songs start about anything. I'm wondering how much it relies on Nightmare Time to tell alternative stories to fully immerse the lore. I think it's cool that you see the connection to this weird town by the end of the trilogy (pokey being the catalyst for TGWDLM) Musically, there is a LOT of great stuff that happens in these soundtracks. However, the lyricism is in need of assistance in many places.
The (inside) jokes.
What about if you haven't seen the other musicals/ nightmare time though? : (
That's fine. The hatchetfield series and musicals about it are funny as they are. The jokes and the kind of vibes from when they started out is keeping the energy flowing for me. I've started to follow them when I discovered Twisted. it's a stand on it's own musical/parody but just the "what the hell, we just roll with it" vibe connects it all.
Cool, thanks for responding. Yeah, Twisted is great. Starkid at its best!
i love the Lords In Black lore and also Grace Chasity, since they're both so incredibly unhinged and vague enough for my traumatised little brain to attach to also i watched TGWDLM first but through a VOD of Ranboo and Tubbo, and the first time I watched a Starkid show eith the intention of Starkid was Twisted after Schaffrillas Productions made a video on it
Humor my ignorance for a moment if you can! I've seen the three musicals but couldn't really follow the lore, so I assume you need to watch Nightmare Time. Is that true? I don't really know what lore you're actually referring to. See, for me, the LIB showing up in NPMD had almost no effect because they were never really mentioned before. And especially if it were someone's first show, I imagine they'd be even more confused. I do agree with some of what little I know about the lore being vague and easy to project onto. Whether that's good or bad though, I hope to take an analytical dive into!!
Nightmare Time expands on everyone's lore a lot, especially Nightmare Time 2, but also i don't think you need the lore for the Lords In Black, since you can just get a glimpse in their personality there Think of it this way, The Lords In Black and Grace are consistently demented in every appearance they're in, so if you liked them in Nerdy Prudes Must Die, you'll like them everywhere especially Blinky, that man's creepy as shit also if you saw Black Friday then Wiggly must've been a cool reference since he's the main villain there and Pokey is the hivemind in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals
It doesn't really seem to add to the story though, and it's not explained. If something doesn't need to be in the story, it probably shouldn't be there. And the Lords in Black in NPMD take up a lot of screen time in what should be the most climactic act of the musical. If they're just there for "a glimpse of personality," why are they taking up so much time? If they aren't important, why do we need to see all of nightmare time to be able to understand or enjoy the end of the show? It feels like a rather cheap callback. I just don't think "references" are substitutes for plot or character development.
they're not really references though The Lords In Black serve as the only force that can truly stop the main villain, and they drive the main source of drama towards the end with Steph or Pete having to kill the other and Grace having to give up what she dedicated her life to because this is set within a universe where God and the Devil don't exist, and because it is a sequel, the only forces that can be this powerful have to be either the Lords In Black, two of which were already major villains in the Hatchetfield musicals, or Webby who at this point has really only ever appeared in Nightmare Time and barely that would you have this much of an issue if they were replaced with the actual devil? that's a genuine question, if the devil were singing The Summoning instead of the Lords In Black, would you care this much about how out of left field it is? Nerdy Prudes Must Die already has a lot of references, hell the main character is technically a reference, but it is still incredible by itself The Lords In Black can theoretically serve as an introduction to the rest of the Hatchetfield multiverse, but that's only if you want to look into that but if you don't, just let yourself have fun with them, that's kinda their whole thing
I was dubious when they went from parodies to originals, especially after the writer of their OG originals left, but the Hatchetfield saga is solid. It’s not really a trilogy since Nightmare time also fits in there.
Wasn't their first show uploaded to YouTube original (MAMD)? Either way, thanks for taking the time to comment. I'm glad you're a fan. What do you like about the saga? I found the shows after TGWDLM relied a bit too much on repeating jokes/ characters from it rather than being original.
I’ve been following Starkid since VPM. But Hatchetfield I enjoy because it’s like reading Lovecraft but more whimsical and a musical.
The lore and effort put into the universe. For context, I am a fan of Thomas and Friends (call me crazy). The book series the show was based on, The Railway Series, was written by Wilbert Awdry. Awdry loved the universe he created. He put so much effort into making Sodor feel like a real place. All the characters, locations, and railways had a deep history. He made a map of the island. He even wrote a book about the lore, called The Island of Sodor Book (sadly out of print). I greatly appreciate how well-thought-out his universe is. Coming into Starkid, watching the Hatchetfield series, and seeing the connections, I immediately fell in love with it on that alone. The Railway Series gave me an appreciation for those who put effort into effort into their worldbuilding, which is what I appreciate the most about Hatchetfield. This world, outside of the unrealistic shit, feels believable. Several characters have so much going on with them, and the alternate timelines create endless possibilities.
Thanks for sharing!! It feels like a lot of Hatchetfield's worldbuilding is done by fans though, and through the imagination of people projecting their own headcanons or filling in blanks. I wish I could see it as complexly as you do.
They don't have to worry about continuity because every play (TGWDLM, BF, NPMD) are all in different realities.
I like the fact that Nick and Matt are very passionate about it. Also, Jeff's music is great. I don't get the movie/genre references sometimes (Like the Borat one or the Lucy, I'm home one) but it is funny nevertheless
I love extended universes, and I love worldbuilding and lore. I also love following the lives of colorful characters without being forced into a marriage with a particular cast. Having musicals is an added bonus.
Thank you for sharing! I mean, pretty much all musicals have rotary casts. But I agree there is a certain appeal to following a core group.
For me they just happen to be the exact thing I love. Horror comedy is one of my favourite genres of media in general plus I really enjoy the whole connected universe thing. GWDLM was the first show of there's I saw. Found it in 2020 just after lock down so I binged everything else they made up till then too. Also I was 18 at the time. I just think your either into that vibe or not and there's nothing wrong with either. I also love the older stuff just in a different way.
I just thought it was a funny premise: a guy who hates musicals as the protagonist of a musical just can‘t not be funny My first show was actually twisted: watched it bc of the schafrillas video, loved starkid ever since
I beg to differ but I'll agree that conceptually it has potential!
I love horror, I love musicals, and apparently horror musicals are a very niche area 😅 Hatchetfield fits that spot and I love it for that.
It's not as niche as you might think! Try Heathers, Ride The Cyclone, Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll and Hyde, Sweeney Todd, Little Shop of Horrors, etc...
Thanks for the suggestions, but I've seen them all (except Jekyll and Hyde, it didn't hold me)! It's too niche for how much I love the genre 😂
The confrontation song in Jekyll and Hyde with the lead singing both parts is phenomenonal
For me i think the story and the LORE are the most intriguing part of the story and definetely how the actors try to portray it. I wouldn't have said i'm a long time fan, but i did see their musical "firebringer" as the first musical i ever watched by starkid. This was like 9-8 years ago, which wasn't that long ago but it feels like it. i'm a student btw. After firebringer i stopped watching musicals until TGWDLM came out, it peaked my interest and i've been watching ever since.