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"Clash of the Corps" Episode Discussion


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Looking at the ratings the show got, I really doubt this will get another season. They did rerun episodes a lot--sometimes as many as 20 times in a week--so if you add up all the repeats, it could accumulate to around 400 thousand viewers. But, after the first week, no individual airing ranked #1 on the network. It will take a few weeks to add up all the delayed viewers to the most recent airings at 11PM on Wednesday to see how they did.

The 11PM airing on 10/26 got 100 thousand viewers within 7 days. That was good enough for #3 on Fuse. Two old reruns of "Everybody Hates Chris" beat it.

It will be a shame if I'm right and the producers don't get another shot at this. With some experience behind them, they might have made some improvements in a second season.

The series has received mixed reviews, but some of the most interesting parts of the discussion have been your analysis and input on how the series has been produced and received.

Thanks for your analysis!

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Has anyone heard info about whether there will be more seasons? Since the Cadets BD thing didn't work out so well (neither corps won). Maybe cover the Scouts, a corps that's a perennial finalist trying to battle back in and the Bluecoats fresh off of their first ever DCI gold?

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Has anyone heard info about whether there will be more seasons? Since the Cadets BD thing didn't work out so well (neither corps won). Maybe cover the Scouts, a corps that's a perennial finalist trying to battle back in and the Bluecoats fresh off of their first ever DCI gold?

This is the obvious down side to positioning the show as a battle between two "teams." Unless you air the episodes the week of recording, which I believe would get HUGE ratings (and no corps director would agree to be a part of it) I don't see how this angle works.

No doubt the producers have learned a lot during the season that would change how they approach production. But in an activity so uniquely focused on live performance, I don't see how you produce a successful series if you can't show performance.

I will say that my initial feelings about the series were confirmed at the end. They really should have focused more on the set up for the season, including the show design concepts. Everyone was worried there would be too much watching the sausage being made and in the end, there was so little I almost didn't care about the result. I never really felt any of the pressure that the kids kept saying they felt, because I knew nothing about the behind the scenes. Sorry but showing 30 Seconds of performance in each episode of the show, often overdubbed over generic marching footage, just felt so fake. It was like, Uh, ok, what was so hard about that?!

Edited by MikeRapp
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New channel, multiple episode series that really hasn't been done before with the activity and a promoter who seemed to genuinely appreciate what he saw.

The potential expanded market is still there.

Many other shows started out quite slow but with a bit of tweeking did much better when they continued.

I think this one is a contender to continue.

Edited by Fish
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I thought the final episode was pretty well done. Yeah, they altered timelines a bit, but I really felt some honest emotions from the members in response to the results and the end of the season. Even the Blue Devils, who seemed relatively unphase-able, showed some emotion in the end.

I also think it helped a lot to show more of the competition. Drum corps is NOT just two corps and pretending it is just doesn't work if the two corps aren't really head-to-head. The show would have had a totally different vibe if it had been Blue Devils and Bluecoats.

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While I appreciate the idea, the execution was lacking from both drum corps and video production perspectives.

These are my overall thoughts, mostly production related as I was a videographer/editor for Bands of America for 2 years as well as an Emmy winning video editor while working at ESPN.

  • There were some good moments, mostly learning about some of the members stories/lives.
  • I would have liked to have seen more about each section from the corps, as we saw nothing about The Cadets drumline or BD low brass.
  • The mixed footage from through out the season when the focus was on specific contest was very frustrating. I don't understand how they couldn't get enough footage. Many other "timeline" issues throughout the the episodes as well. Maybe the production company didn't know any better?
  • Slow Motion: On average, cool effect. Works well with CG and marching. When showing drumline footage, don't do it. Most times it doesn't add anything.
  • If this series is to continue they really, really need to get more rights to use music. They were barely able to use any of The Cadets and what seemed to be the same phrases over and over again from BD. I hope they can get a consultant to help with these issues.
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Maybe the producers needed to figure out who their audience for the clash was. That should have been first & foremost. Figure out your audience then program the production toward them. For me personally, I would have liked to see background on the shows as they were initially developed. Follow that with the in-season evolution that was the impetus for frustration, for success or lack of success and the additional changes needed; and so on in all aspects of a corps performance.

IMO more clarity showing the development of the program could have been primary point of the show and still keep a majority of the focus on the members throughout the season. And I agree with the idea that other sections could have been shown so a viewer, who is not specifically a DC person, could get the sense of how the whole corps (all MM's) is impacted by the program throughout the season. Then again that would require knowing your audience. Just my opinion.

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