Delayed Input 104 - Post-Show Assessment

This was a weird episode. Here's the kind of juicy post-show assessment scuttlebutt I otherwise could have kept a secret: up until around 8pm Wednesday night, the whole script was about Mass Effect.
Before I started this Partreon I wrote down enough ideas for 8 episodes so I could feel confident that I'd always have something to talk about for at least the first season. This week was naturally Mass Effect week. While I had written a lot and some of it was kind of good, I was having a real problem in my gut with the overall purpose of the critique. Basically I didn't have any positivity about the future of the series coming off a flat 2020 reveal trailer and Andromeda, which I never played. Do I make fun of things I don't know about all the time? Yes, but I guess in this case it felt bad making fun of something that doesn't exist yet. Worst of all the takes were pretty soft, and the internet is already full of soft Mass Effect takes.
Earlier that day I had sent that photo of a Target refusing to sell Pokemon cards to my friend who also loves Pokemon cards, we briefly commiserated, and that was that. But as it was getting well past time to put the sweater on and shoot the show, I thought, "Why don't I just tap out some thoughts about Pokemon cards and see what happens." Pretty quickly I realized I had some good stuff there, and honestly it felt pretty good to delete all of the Mass Effect script. Actually I deleted everything but the cold open.
Considering I started on the script super late and got my 2nd vaccine on upload day, I'm pretty satisfied with how the episode came out. It doesn't have as many visual gags or anything, even the over-the-shoulder boxes are super simple, and somehow nobody seemed to mind (this time). It's also why I'm wearing glasses--I didn't start shooting until it was too late for my dry eyes to wear contacts. In the end I think it was the right call, that the stripped-back Pokemon Card episode is probably better than the cynical fluffy Mass Effect episode. That said, while it's nice to know I can be nimble if necessary, I definitely don't want every week to play out like this one.

Not a lot of questions this week, so here's a few bonus production issues:
- I used the Pokemon Trading Card Online game to demonstrate the contents of a pack of Pokemon cards. I wanted to show what it's like to peel off a normal boring rare card, but for some reason the online game has much better odds than the real-life game. I was sitting there cracking packs only getting some sort of special holographic card for 10 straight packs. I could just not get unlucky, and each time I'm like "Okay one more, I can't possibly get another good card" and then I'd get another good card and I'm happy but I'm mad. And after 10, I finally felt crazy enough to give up and just show off an Escadrill from my collection.
- Opening a real booster pack was something I wanted to do in the middle of the episode, but then I thought "People will think this video is an excuse to chase a popular trend" so I stuck it in the end, where it fits well enough anyway. I also shouted a bit more about the Galarian Slowbro in real life, but I edited that out as to not appear like someone who wants to appear like someone who has great reactions. Honestly I'm in my head a lot.
- I didn't realize until I was editing, but I was doing different takes of the conclusion for ten minutes before I landed on something I liked. The Emperor's New Clothes angle was not in the script and just popped up in that last take. Kaitlin's second interjection wasn't scripted either, sometimes nice bits just sort of connect and work themselves out.

Last week I said my goal was to make a weird episode and I think that threw me off a bit. You can't choose to make a weird episode first and fill in the context from there. Concept comes first, baby. This week my goal is more of a scheduling thing--I want to wrap everything up early. It's a dream. Also I want to try writing one good joke.