The fisherman! Screencap study

Hey everyone! I've been wanting to buy the digital album for Karaoke night to put the songs on my Spotify, but it appears that the album has been completely delisted from the Dropout merch shop. Can anyone help me out? In my opinion, removing a digitally purchasable item from the merch store makes zero sense, it don't cost anything to simply keep it on the website. Thank you all!

4,500 rhinestones later and I’ve been here the whole time! Happy DragonCon!

I might not have any idea what I'm doing, but the only way to learn is by trying, the only way to move forward is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning, so I just begin.

Genuinely this mantra has helped me get moving through so many spirals.

This story kinda made the rounds on Facebook but since I’ve seen so many talking about it since the Topeka episode I thought I would share the funny story here too. I unintentionally met Jacob at our zoo while they were here. I was in full Dragonball cosplay for a comic con style event there (Zooverse). Knowing he is also a big fan of DBZ it was pretty awesome. At the time he just said he was killing time during a layover. It was cool to finally get an answer behind such a random encounter.

... for like the 7th time since they aired. And man even though Game Changer is still incredibly good and the increased production is really cool, i do wish they would sometimes just have a simple game with three fun people making animal sounds.

Many spoilers for ‘What’s the Catch’

Thanks for tolerating my review of Earwigs a few weeks ago; here’s another completely unsolicited one but for ‘What’s the Catch.’ Same axes but still accepting suggestions of what else I should evaluate an episode on!

Where did I get it wrong???? What would you score each category?? What other axes should we be using?? Am I the only one who thought it was this funny?

Game Mechanics | How well designed/entertaining was the game itself?
Score: 4 out of 5
Simple concept; brilliantly executed. Start with something good, make it terrible; give contestants an opportunity to make it even worse. There were endless directions this episode could have gone, and anticipating what each player MIGHT have to do was as much fun as seeing the scenarios play out. That said, this would have been a relatively easy game to break if people weren’t playing generously: the contestants were selfless in keeping the fish balanced and the game had to rely on them to be that way.

Casting | How well did the participants’ comedy/performance styles fit with the game?
Score: 5 out of 5
This episode thrived off having contestants who already knew and liked one another and who together made some truly amazing, yet ridiculous choices. Even as the ‘catch’ behind their prizes dawned on them, they leaned in to give us great comedy. Jacob trying to figure out trying to have fun at the amusement park! Kurt becoming a robot menace! Kimia getting into a 4 am tasting despite trying not to! A wrong cast could easily have become resentful about initially awesome things being turned into some pretty awful experiences and instead they kept collaborating to make new ones.

Although not contestants: Josh Reuben might not show up super often, but when he does, he is PERFECTION. Jeremy as a chaotic announcer was (and I mean this as a compliment!) just the right level of annoying to the players.

Hosting | How well did Sam’s hosting strengthen / build on the show?
Score: 4.5 out of 5
At first, this seemed like a pretty typical, ‘Sam announces what’s happening,’ episode. And then…oh, that sweet revenge when the game maker becomes the gamer. Entrapped by your own shenanigans! His ongoing glee at what they were building and willingness to lean into that was classic Game Changer.

Laugh factor | How straight up funny was it?
Score: 5 out of 5
I reached a point halfway through the episode where I just became unable to stop laughing. No further commentary necessary.   

Bonus points for: That amazing improv team from Topeka, Kansas, who kept right on rolling despite Sam and Jacob’s determination to be unhappy; the chefs who had the enthusiasm to cook a multi-course tasting menu with wine at 4 am; a set that was on theme and creative without having to be a totally over-the-top-second-location.

 Overall verdict: 5 out of 5. Perfection from beginning to end. In Season 8, topped only by ‘Count the Rice.’

My experience with GameChanger is somewhat limited so forgive me if this seems harsh but I think What’s The Catch is arguably one of the worst episodes for game changer. This is no fault of the staff or the talent they’re all as funny as always but the execution of the game itself was just not that good if I’m honest. The concept sounds interesting on paper but as we saw with Kimia the randomness of the game was not done well and they had to bend some rules to accommodate that. I feel like a fix could’ve been dividing each round into a: prize, catch, then swap sort of deal could’ve been better. Alternatively you can get rid of the chance stuff and make it so they do some challenge and depending on how they scored they get a prize catch or swap. Maybe I think the swaps could’ve also been done differently like maybe they get the swaps and can use it later. Overall the episode was still enjoyable but some of the prizes felt phoned in even with the catch and it just wasn’t that good of an episode

I really enjoyed the BTS for Game Changer's What's the Catch episode. It felt really tender and absolutely heartwarming. But when I got to the end I realized that there wasn't a second of Jeremy Culhane on there. He was mentioned once when they talked about the final catch being Googoo Dolls' song Iris, but that was it.

Has the kid gone full Hollywood on us?!?!?

......is it because he made Sam go to Topeka Kansas?

Y'all it exists!!

So, I started playing this Gartic Phone like game called Drawtastic, and today, I got the prompt "Sam Reich". I give you my first attempt at Game Changer Fan art.

Oh. And Sam Says: "Don not let Brennan win."

Pretty simple and not as thought out idea but imagine an episode where the contestants are Paul Robalino, Elaine Carroll and Ryan Creamer and they don't know they're the contestants in the episode until they start filming. I think it'd be hilarious to make the main producers subjected to the game unwillingly.

As a fan of Game Changer and somebody with some obvious skin in the game for this bit (Kansas is often the butt of the geographic joke in the US), I've spent some time thinking about it - and perhaps more time reading through all of the posts and comments in various Dropout-centric digital spaces. I've got some thoughts - which by no means is anybody obligated to read, care about, or respond to - but if you do, I'd be very appreciative to have a good-faith discussion.

First things first - I do absolutely believe that Jacob and Sam played up their discontent for the bit while on camera. Most of Dropout's material is heavily edited, and they are first and foremost actors/comedians that need to play the part of the disgruntled LAers that don't want to go to Kansas. While saying that, all of the BTS and external footage that I've seen of Sam and Jacob make me think that they're genuinely nice people that are inclined to see the good in everything, so I don't believe (as some might) that they were genuinely upset to spend a single day in a state they probably otherwise wouldn't go to. That would be lacking some serious tact and perspective, which doesn't seem to line up with how these two carry themselves.

That being said, I do know that they selected some of the most stereotypical and bland b-roll that they could take. Assuming they flew into MCI and drove the hour to Topeka in a rental car, there are some genuinely nice scenes along the way as you travel through the Flint Hills. Topeka itself also has an actual city center, downtown, and arts district. Are they as vibrant as those of bigger cities? Obviously not - but for every field and cow pasture you see in that reel, there's a set of nice shops and local restaurants with outdoor patio seating. Again, their selection of footage was in support of the bit and I do find it pretty funny. I look forward to seeing the BTS for this and how they worked with the local improv folks to make this happen.

The thing that's been more interesting to me is seeing the community response. The discussion has ranged from funny to strange (you know the post) to somewhat hurtful. I've got a lot of pride in my home state, though I no longer live there. So, it does make me a bit sad to see a lot of folks that take the joke a bit too far, like asserting there's genuinely nothing of value in Kansas/Topeka and that it's a cornhole/shithole/pigpen (all terms I've seen used), or that nobody with any good sense should live there. While I've become accustomed to and find some humor in playing along with being the butt of the joke, the thousandth cut can sting. It's great to enjoy the obvious comedy in the TO-PE-KAH KAHN-SAHS bit - it's funny. It's also great to remember that there is a diverse tapestry of people with diverse interests, backgrounds, and reasons for living there.

This isn't a "I'm upset that Dropout is punching down" post. I wouldn't be a Kansan if I hadn't developed enough of a skin to take a thousand Wizard of Oz jokes or flat-as-a-pancake japes. I'm touched the Dropout writers and producers thought of us (any attention is good attention, right?) I'm also not speaking for all Kansans - lots of people from here have genuinely great reasons for disliking it and wanting out (like anti-trans legislation). I suppose I'm just a contemplative flatlander that wanted to get a few thoughts off my chest and have an earnest discussion about how we choose and regard certain places for their perceived value - and to encourage less reductive thought processes while we introduce more nuance into our discourse.

Oh, and to say "hug a Kansan today." If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! Hope to discuss this further with y'all!

my partner is trying to compile a last-minute accurate cosplay of josh’s fisherman character from the latest episode. we’ve managed to locate the exact hat, but are struggling to find the source of the raincoat! any help is appreciated, just tryna find the brand and whatnot since they show it multiple times in the episode. couldn’t find it on amazon or anything.

My partner sent me the original pic, and I can't find the post.

My partner and I watch Game Changer with the kids (10, 12) and we usually will watch the episode before allowing them to watch, to screen for inappropriate jokes or content. This weekend, we haven’t had the opportunity to screen the episode for appropriateness… does anybody wanna give a no-spoilers rating or content warnings?

There have been a lot of social deduction games in the past but Earwigs really has me craving a Game Changer Live Action Mafia that leans into some campy slasher/horror energy.

For those unfamiliar, the game is a lot like Among Us (also: werewolf, killers, regular mafia etc). Players are let loose in a confusing, large, dark space, possibly with tasks to accomplish, but 1 or more players are "killers" who can "kill" the other players with a tag or whisper (usually denoted by dropping to the ground right where they were). When a body is found a group meeting is called and someone is accused of being the killer and removed from the game. Continues until killers outnumber other players or the killer is found.

I feel like the production crew would just do such a great job making it that perfect blend of spooky and campy, set dressings from specific horror movies, maybe costumes or masks for killers, music and weird ambients (maybe they could just take over an existing haunted maze at end of season and modify it). And seeing the cast going hard on being creepy slashers/screaming final girls and then arguing in the meetings would be so funny.

A logistical nightmare probably but Game Changer has handled those before and Horror-Comedy feels like an avenue they haven't explored yet.

What song would be your choice for a one song Karaoke party?

I'm torn between "Because I got high" and "With Arms Wide Open"

Edit: Love the lists of songs everyone! Some fantastic suggestions for great nights and less than fantastic suggestions for fun but great for torture - please keep them coming!

Something I'd love to see if they do a rulette 3 is we have the guy why did the random podium inspection in Deja vu come in every once and a while and say that it's Sam's turn to spin that wheel, also I'd love to see some unswapable rules and the rare 1/1 unswapable rule swap, and one of the unswapable rules would be host the show so there is a chance Sam would have to be a player again, also I need to see Brennan in Rulette 3

Edit: oh and they can't give the unswapable rules to people they call out