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» Apple TV+ Review

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

pple has historically made products

that—with their intuitive designs—
encourage creativity. Two weeks ago, they
launched their new streaming service,
Apple TV+— beginning the streaming
services wars. There was a lot of hype
for the streaming service after an Apple
announcement last summer. It was
revealed that the service will be $5.99 per
month in Canada, making them cheaper
than Netflix.

Surprisingly, I found out that if you
have an Apple Music student subscription,
Apple TV+ is included with it. While
they said that it will be available on all
platforms, it is currently only available
through a few ways—the Apple TV app and
through their website on PC.

Only original Apple shows are
available on the platform and that’s a big
downside. That might be the reason why
the website looks simple. It has a great
design, but they put all the shows on one
page—and if you like a specific show,
you have to scroll down all the way down

to it. Also, there is no list section on the
website—though there may be a more full
interface available on the mobile version
through the Apple TV app.

At launch, they released a few shows
intended to be ongoing, including Oprah’s
Book Club and the Sesame Street spinoff,
Helpsters. The unusual thing about their
shows is that the number of episodes in a
season is very small. For example, | thought
that The Morning Show would have 10
episodes at launch, but it only had three
episodes at that point. This was in line with
their statement that some of their shows
will follow the Netflix approach of releasing
the entire season, and some will do their
new approach—they will initially release
three episodes, and then once a week
afterwards.

I watched three of the shows: The
Morning Show, Dickinson, and Snoopy
in Space. The Morning Show involves a
morning show working on damage control
due to one of the hosts of the show, Mitch
Kessler (Steve Carell), being removed from
the show because of sexual misconduct
claims. His co-host, Alex Levy (Jennifer
Aniston), tries to maintain the show’s
reputation. When a reporter named

Tune in and Dropout:
scraps the rulebook with hilarious,
unhinged gameshow

>» ‘Game Changer’ television review

Jacey Gibb
Distribution Manager

 

wee K KY

The jokesters over at CollegeHumor
launched their own comedy streaming
platform Dropout TV. I'm here to tell
you if their exclusive content is worth the
subscription fee.

Sn CollegeHumor’s infancy in the
early 2000s, Sam Reich has been an
overarching presence. He’s the Nick Fury
of the CH Cinematic Universe, popping
up in sketches or even replying to
comments on their YouTube channel.
And while he’s often relegated to
playing the “boss” character, Reich’s
day of reckoning has finally arrived a
la the new Dropout gameshow Game
Changer.

Hosted by Reich, Game Changer
is a wonderfully twisted take on
televised gameshows. Each episode
features an entirely different game,
complete with different rules, stakes,
and prizes. The only common thread
throughout are Reich, and a revolving
door of CollegeHumor cast members
to stand at the contestant podiums.

To raise the stakes even higher,
all of game’s rules and stakes are kept

hidden from the players. “The only way to
learn is by playing, the only way to win is
by learning, and the only way to begin is by
beginning,” Reich announces at the start of
each episode, which sums up the confusing
nature of Game Changer.

Part of the fun is guessing the rules
alongside contestants, though even when
the game’s nature is established, it’s still
a blast. For example, in episode two, the
contestants quickly catch on that their
task is to make the sound of whichever
animal appears onscreen; however, the
game becomes increasingly unhinged
throughout, where they must impersonate

CHANGER

 

Have an idea for a story?
M arts@theotherpress.ca

 

Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) goes
viral and is interviewed on the show, a
game changing moment happens.

The end of the first episode sets the
stage clearly for what will happen in the
rest of the season, and also shows that only
decent person in the show is Bradley.

Dickinson tells the untold story of
famous poet Emily Dickinson, with a focus
on the revelation that she liked women.

It looks like a teen drama in a historical
period, and Hailee Steinfeld is great at
portraying Emily Dickinson. If yourd like to
see a funnier depiction of Emily Dickinson,
watch the Molly Shannon film Wild Nights

Sam Reich

sounds like “stirring creamy mac ‘’ cheese”
or “a recording of a political speech so old,
it’s unintelligible.” Even when a status quo
is established, remember the name of the
show—Reich loves mixing things up as
soon as contestants get comfortable.

Given its constantly-changing format,
the quality of Game Changer can vary from
episode to episode, though they're more
often hit-than-miss. The aforementioned
“Make some noise” episode is a sound
battle royale between three very talented
comedians, and the pilot episode “Lie
Detector” is wildly entertaining, with a
particular twist about 1/3 way through that

 

¢ Watching Wall-E for the first time
¢ Death of the movie theatre
e ‘Jojo Rabbit’ Review

..and more

Promotional image for 'Snoopy in Space' via Apple

with Emily.

Snoopy in Space is very fun and
educational. Because it has four episodes
with each episode is eight minutes long, it
is a special I watched in its entirety. In it,
Snoopy tries to pursue his dream of going
to space with the help of the Peanuts gang.
It is very informative about space, has the
classic humour that you would expect from
Peanuts.

Apple TV+ has legitimately enjoyable
shows that could be the rival of channels,
and they have more big shows to offer to
come

truly does change the game.

Sometimes the show falls into a
rhythm after the game’s rules have been
established, such as the case with the
“Whodunnit” murder mystery episode,
but the cast and premise are usually
entertaining enough to carry through to
the credits.

Of course, the glue holding everything
together is first-time gameshow host Reich.
Consistently funny and charming, Reich
delivers the hell out his newfound role,
and he perfectly toes the line between
all-knowing host and giddy participant.
Thankfully, it was recently announced that
a second season of Game Changer is
in production, so he can continue to
perfect the stoic, shifty eyed role he
was born to play.

Game Changer is a goddamn
delight. It’s absurd, it’s hilarious, and
it gives us more Sam Reich, which
I will take any day of the week. If
you enjoy gameshows, comedy, or
watching three men in their 30s make
weird sound effects for half an hour,
then Game Changer is the show for
you.

You can watch clips of Game
Changer on CollegeHumor’s YouTube
page, but season one’s five episodes are
only on Dropout.

Still of 'The Game Show Where Nobody Knows

the Rules' by College Humor on YouTube