MikeRapp

I thought it went as well as one could hope, but I do hope we hear more music and playing as the series continues. Bet moment is when th BD guard reminisces about her sister. Well done, Dwayne.

Really? Where?

That's my point. But let's be honest, George is a mercurial personality and he has never been shy around the camera. This was one very tumultuous season for Cadets. How much tumult do they show? Does anyone know if anyone in DCI has seen the show yet? When I worked on Undercover Boss, the first time we saw the show (or for that matter any of the footage) was when it aired on TV.

Not being facetious, but by far the biggest unknown is how they cover George Hopkins—with mid-tour staff dismissals, mid-week rewrites ad nauseum, et al. I think we all agree, that could go one way that might get a lot of eyeballs...and not be flattering to DCI. Personally, I am interested to see if/how they reference other corps, and especially Bluecoats, given how unconventional and successful their 2016 tour was.

This is interesting...but what about within the same season? How many, if any, corps jumped five spots during the season? And how many did that within the top 10?

I would also guess that the sheer number of people on staff at any of the World Class corps dwarfs the staffs of 20 years ago.

I would argue that 1987 was a completely different landscape than DCI today. The shows are infinitely more demanding, far more moving pieces, and to be honest the level of competitiveness in the 6-15 range is incomparable. Today, it is remarkable to accomplish what Academy did—which was to make finals after competing in the low teens for the early part of the season.

Yes, that's the line I was referring to.

Far more common in movies. Less so in music. But it does happen.More likely in this scenario would be another network sees the potential in the concept and approaches Bluecoats, Crown, Crossmen and Cavaliers. But again I don't know what rights of first refusal, if any, Fuse may have in future works.

It is common for a network to have right of first refusal on future seasons and episodes. Often, what happens is that the producer/artist pays off the contract with advance money from the new distributor.It is very common in Hollywood for contracts to get bought and sold between distribution companies. Maybe fuse would want to hold onto it if it was a success...I just don't know the contractual arrangement and who actually signed. Did DCI sign, or did BD and Cadets sign? For what term did they sign for? I'd be shocked if it was for more than this season.

We're basically saying the same thing. I reluctantly agree. The only way to "fix" that is to have twice as many corps, with twice as many qualified MMs.

Moving up can happen, though, if Fuse would accept compensation by the new network. That does happen in the entertainment business everywhere. The previous label/film company/distribution system accepts a development fee—or gets a percentage of the future take. They could make more money by simply being a silent partner. The most likely scenario would be that Johnson sees the inherent limitation of picking two corps based on past history and believes three or four would be much more compelling. Fuse might not have the money to fund that, given their small audience size, but would gladly step aside for, say, Bravo or Fox buying Season 2 if they got a payout for essentially signing a transfer agreement.

As I've said before, former two time National College Basketball Coach of the Year Eddie Fogler is often asked if officials are biased. He answers: Every official knows which team is supposed to win the game. If you think that doesn't factor largely into how judges perceive relative "good-ness" of corps, you're just not being honest. I will say this, though: With shows increasing in demand and variety every year, it's becoming less and less arguable about who is best. You may not like a certain show, but it ain't just playing loud and marching fast anymore. Shows are so complex on so many levels now, that you can have a medalist quality show in six categories and suck in one —and it's just obvious to everyone.

I'd agree with this, quite reluctantly. I'd like to believe Crossmen could start 10th and finish first, but that's not practically possible given the crazy parameters of a DCI season. That's why I continue to believe that the single most important advantage BD continues to have is the age and experience of its A corps members. They're starting halfway to the finish line on Day 1, and they know you're not catching them with high schoolers marching their first tour.

I think we would all agree that, no matter what the level of improvement a corps might make, it is practically impossible for any corps to jump up more than a certain number of positions during the tour—from beginning to end. This is because DCI scores primarily on relative terms, rather than by a book. Think of it this way. You have a 3-point shooting contest between 10 basketball players, with 50 competitions. Whomever makes the most 3-pointers in each of the 50 contests wins the title for that night. If you make 0 of 30 on your first competition you finish last; If you make all 50 on the final competition, you finish first. Does not matter that you went 0-fer on the first night, or even on the next to last night, you made all 50 on the last night so you won it all. I'm not saying it is possible to judge DCI this way or even that it should be possible. In fact I personally like the subjective nature of drum corps judging. But I also recognize that once you are grouped in a box, you simply aren't like to improve more than one box for the entire season no matter how well you perform your show. I would love to know what the biggest jump has been in modern DCI history from the opening show to Finals. I bet it isn't more than five positions in the history of DCI.

There is a chance the season could be cancelled at any time, but it would be highly unlikely given that near 100% of the costs to produce the show have already been incurred. Not sure what their Fuse contact calls for but usually the network gets the right of first refusal on future seasons. As far as Johnson's Facebook page, the numbers are quickly skewing to online viewing anyway. I don't really know how Fuse works, but most networks now openly promote online viewing options. And the younger the audience (and obviously this will be a relatively young audience) the more likely they are to watch on YouTube or another portal. Any network today knows that you cannot just look at pure broadcast numbers.

Sorry, what do you mean?

I watched the series premiere of HBO's Westworld last night, and what do you know, the big quote that Blue Devils used to open "What Dreams are Made On" from The Tempest was the focal point of the show's plot theme! Pretty cool, watching it, and remembering how BD used the quote for exactly the same purpose. http://www.thewrap.com/westworld-episode-1-shakespeare-quotes-explained/

Well, Bluecoats wasn't under the radar, they were completely off it. Cadets, on the other hand, showed their hand from Day 1, as they always do, and we all know how that turned out. To me it really isn't about staying under or on the radar. It's having a nearly complete show design, with a cohesive show concept, from Day 1—literally. The idea that we'll just keep redesigning the show all season until we finally hit something is over. Thankfully.

The thing is, even if you somehow put a mid-80s-point show on the field in early June, you will not score mid-80s. DCI now knows that you have to have "enough room" at the end of the season to differentiate between the scores when you get in the high 80s and 90s. That is where I don't agree with how the scoring is done because it does lend credence to the self-fulfilling prophecy theorists (aka Slotting). I've seen enough shows to be able to separate the good from the great. And I realize that the relative scoring system is the best of several imperfect options. But wow, the pressure really is on for corps to "bring it" from Day 1. The old "we clean better than anyone else" stuff literally only goes so far in DCI now. It appears you can't clean your way from sixth to third anymore.

I'd like to know this as well, and I would assume the answers will come out soon. I will say, having attended probably the largest TOC show of 2016, there was absolutely nothing said about the show in Nashville. Nothing handed out to guests. No "booth" for Fuse that I saw. Really huge lost opportunity IMHO.

There is no doubt that the judges will be watching what BAC puts on the field from Day 1, and will be ready to consider upward mobility in a different light. This is certainly pretty unique in the DCI world, perhaps going all the way back to Star.

I sort of disagree with this. Because DCI's scoring methodology is fundamentally comparative—and not "by the book"—where a corps is in relation to the corps directly ahead and behind it is the most important scoring data. Were that not the case, a score of 90 in Tulsa would be the same as a score of 90 in Dallas on the same night. In other words, if a corps starts the season in eighth, it is for all intents and purposes physically impossible for it to win the gold. The season just isn't long enough, with enough judges, to make quick enough headway.

Yes. She aged out. Twice.

I could see Blue Knights doing a show simply titled Whiteacre. They would do it justice. So would SCV.