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"Clash of the Corps" Episode Discussion


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Interesting, I was just thinking that it was made for insiders, not outsiders. Insiders (band kids) are the real target audience and they'll likely have a clear "band-camp" idea of what's going on.

I got the same impression. I am not sure an outsider would be clueless about what is going on, but they may be somewhat in the fog from what has been presented so far, and may lose interest. I still think a bit more context would have been helpful for those on the outside. Perhaps it will come later.

Edited by Jurassic Lancer
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Is it too early to get a sense what the overnight ratings were for the first episode?

Overnights are released at 4PM ET to Nielsen subscribers (e.g. The network and ad agencies). There is a website called TV By the Numbers that releases cable ratings, but they only get the top rated shows. You can look to see if it made the list.

I watched the "hourlong" version and i took more away from it than seeing just the one segment and was able to connect a little bit more to it.

(Full disclosure: I did watch the Facebook thing on my iPhone and the screen was covered with floating hearts)

As others said, the relative disarray of the Cadets show development is communicated pretty well.

I am wondering if the producers and network even want to do this show for another season. If they did, they'd have to start filming in November and probably would have to be reaching out to corps now to lay the groundwork.

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I think what people are lamenting about the lack of depth or specifics is simply the byproduct of the format, and it is doubtful that it will change for the rest of the season. From what I can tell, they merely sent out a camera crew to grab whatever footage they could get, including letting a designated group of members talk to the camera [no doubt with occasional prompts]. Then an editor sifts through the footage to make a show out of it. But there appears to have been no advanced planning or overarching direction by someone with knowledge of the product laying out what exposition, details, story-arc, etc. would be needed to actually show the activity as a whole, and move beyond the superficial default of: "rehearsal visual in the background with voice overlay from the cast members telling you how hard or important it all is; repeat".

Do I wish it were more/deeper/better? Sure. But I still like it for what it is. and I enjoy seeing my son in the background on the field. And if they had devoted the resources to the planning and direction we would have liked, the increase in production costs might have made the whole endeavor unworkable.

Yeah, the only thing I guess I get is the whole "two teams competing against each other." No mention or even reference to the 15 other "teams" also competing. It gives the outsider a pretty inaccurate look at what's going on. Neither BD nor Cadets are creating their shows to compete against each other. The show gives a totally inaccurate look at what the drum corps CIRCUIT is all about.

I have to guess this is intentional. They don't want to make the show about drum corps outside of the "competition" between BD and Cadets. Not the way I would do it, but its their money.

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i think they're making a show about people, using the activity as the medium. i don't think its meant to be a drum corps documentary, but instead reality tv, showing memberships struggles with adversity in a format similar to Friday Night tykes or Dance Moms, or even Deadliest Catch. relationships and struggles. the activity is superfluous. I don't think we are going to see much music or performances.

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i think they're making a show about people, using the activity as the medium. i don't think its meant to be a drum corps documentary, but instead reality tv, showing memberships struggles with adversity in a format similar to Friday Night tykes or Dance Moms, or even Deadliest Catch. relationships and struggles. the activity is superfluous. I don't think we are going to see much music or performances.

I hope you are wrong. Otherwise this is going to get old really fast for the insiders, and irrelevant to the outsiders. They have gone way out of their way to position drum corps as something amazingly difficult, and if they don't explain why that is, all the conflict is irrelevant.

I've never fished the arctic, but I get a ###### good idea of what the context is for the conflict watching Deadliest Catch. The environment is the main character in that show.

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I got the same impression. I am not sure an outsider would be clueless about what is going on, but they may be somewhat in the fog from what has been presented so far, and may lose interest. I still think a bit more context would have been helpful for those on the outside. Perhaps it will come later.

I am what would be called an insider, and even I want more context than what they've presented.

I have no clue what a show director does watching this. Therefore, when Hopkins is fretting over the mess, I don't really know what he sees or what his options are. When someone yells to one of the MMs about being on his mark, I don't even know what that mark is—therefore, I am left to assume either he gets it or he doesn't get it...

My guess is, the guys filming this were clueless about what actually was going on and didn't know what to shoot. It seems totally random.

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I hope you are wrong. Otherwise this is going to get old really fast for the insiders, and irrelevant to the outsiders. They have gone way out of their way to position drum corps as something amazingly difficult, and if they don't explain why that is, all the conflict is irrelevant.

I've never fished the arctic, but I get a ###### good idea of what the context is for the conflict watching Deadliest Catch. The environment is the main character in that show.

I would like to know what limitations were placed on them filming actually marching and playing. I am beginning to wonder if maybe the sync rights didn't cover this show, and as a result we're never going to actually see the corps perform anything. If so, that's a shame. These kids are killing themselves to do what exactly? Hopefully the show producers are committed to some sort of musical payoff for those who actually care about the performances. There's only so much I am going to care about individuals. I want to see why the pressure is so high. You can only say "it's darned near impossible to do this" so many times without show and tell.

Edited by MikeRapp
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I hope you are wrong. Otherwise this is going to get old really fast for the insiders, and irrelevant to the outsiders. They have gone way out of their way to position drum corps as something amazingly difficult, and if they don't explain why that is, all the conflict is irrelevant.

I've never fished the arctic, but I get a ###### good idea of what the context is for the conflict watching Deadliest Catch. The environment is the main character in that show.

I think the environment was the main character in the first season. Much like the bikes and designs were the first season of Orange County choppers. But here there's not nearly as many changes day to day. I think, again, just an opinion, that we are going to get bits and pieces of the activity, but its going to focus on individuals and their stories. How they handle adversity, how the staff handle adversity, and they're going to look for the drama that happens there. As opposed to hot day after hot day, being told instructions over and over, repping over and over, and eat pack load over and over and over.

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It was very interesting about the CG member (captain!?!) who left and then reappeared shortly before tour. That episode surely was a harbinger for The Cadets' season.

I was intrigued that The Cadets' MMs struggled to explain the concept of the show. In that regard, they were like the rest of us who saw the early season version. Clearly George Hopkins was struggling with staging versus old school drill, and the comment that the show was a visual mess (repeated a couple of times) proved to be both prophetic and accurate. I did get a feeling of extreme apprehension from The Cadets' camp.

On the other hand, BD's camp seemed to be more organized and purposeful, but loose and relaxed at the same time, and the show concept was easily explained and understood. Scott Chandler, in particular, seemed so easy going and in control.

The fact that a CG captain could walk out and come back a week later...that's pretty shocking to me.

Fortunately or unfortunately, we've already seen the different style of leadership between Cadets and BD. BD has a plan, led by planners. Cadets has George "making it up as we go," which is almost exactly what he said in the second show. I found that to be absolutely nuts. I know that probably isn't accurate in reality, but the fact that George saw a show this large and this complex as, fundamentally, a work in process says why George should not be the show director. You can already see how unfair that is to the kids, who already look a little like lambs thrown to the wolves.

Hate to say it, but to me, I can already see why BD has won so many titles in a row, and Cadets has been in such disarray. Based on what you've seen already, who would you rather work for, Scott or George?

Edited by MikeRapp
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if they DON'T get around to discussing the rest of the field, isn't it going to be a surprise when 'by the way, these corps we've discussing as the Main Players in the Field didn't win!' though the first hour is too soon to introduce the 'competitive rival,' I suppose. When did Coats pass the Devils in scoring the first time this year? E4 may be a good place for 'hey we lost, we're so used to winning this is awful!'

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