Category:Video Review Show: Difference between revisions

"Now technically speaking, this is all opinion-based. But I have an online show which automatically means that my opinion is better than yours. Na-na-na-na-na." —The Nostalgia Critic

Today, in the era of Internet, basically everyone can write and publish a review. So what do you do if you want to distinguish yourself? Why, make a Video Review Show, of course.

This concept is similar to Review Blog in that the author only reviews works that fall into one media type. There are, however, several main differences: That these reviews are made in video format, that they mainly focus on bashing the worst works ever, and that the "Show" part is integral to the idea.

The reviewers rarely get in front of the camera as themselves, instead they act as the show's main character (though some amount of Alter Ego Acting is usually evident). When James Rolfe picks up the controller and gets ready to break his record in most swears in one minute, he's not James Rolfe, he's The Angry Video Game Nerd. When Doug Walker sits behind his desk, suicide gun at standby, he's not Doug Walker, he's The Nostalgia Critic. Because of this, it is common for these people to assume multiple personas for multiple different shows. But the show goes beyond that. They often have their own theme songs, and aside from simple reviewing, the hosts also act out sketches of their own, always related to the work in question, and generally act in a manner usual reviewers don't.

An important aspect of this trope is the Review-to-Show Ratio, which can be projected onto a Sliding Scale of Review versus Show. It expresses how much time any given show spends actually talking about the product being reviewed. Shows on the Review end of the scale (e.g. Confused Matthew) tend to be little more than a written review read aloud. On the other hand, shows on the Show end (Awesome Video Games) only use the reviewed item as a framing device to tell a story. However, most shows lie in the scale's center, maybe with a Mid-Review Sketch Show, usually a little off to the Review side.