James Rolfe / James D. Rolfe / Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) / Rex Viper and Cinemassacre / Screenwave - Now with not much grieving about a 41-year old man still making videos on YouTube. We're the balls on the dick.

[cypocryphy]

I'm still fascinated by this guy having no time to do what he does for a living. It's almost paradox-like.

 

[thegooddoctor]

Honestly call me a white or whatever but I really didn’t find episode 200 that bad, granted it was far far from a great episode but it was watchable and it makes sense that an LJN themed episode would have to take centre stage as a big special considering they are his arch- nemesis after all, but it was way too focused on the clip show stuff and reminiscing on past better AVGN moments that just reminded us what the show used to be like, people complain about the jokes being cringe or bad acting, but i feel these criticisms are real nitpicky, this is a character who got famous for swearing as loud as possible, smashing shit, and talking about Buffalo shit in his ears and every other bodily function you can think of. It’s hardly high fucking art.

But the biggest issue that’s been plaguing the past 2 years is definitely the lack of passion behind it, the whole episode as does most Modern AVGN at this point has a real tired and soulless feel to it, you can just tell with The lacklustre direction and James overall feeling burnout and tired from being forced almost to make episode after episode long past the series peak.

It’s real sad seeing Screenwave and the crew slowly start to shit up and ruin the series with pointless sketches and endless cameos there inclusion just shows how little they understand what the original point of what AVGN was. At its core it was just some Angry Nerdy game Critic, talking about the worst games ever and getting angry, filled with poop jokes, endless raging and every swear word you could ever imagine, but also genuinely intriguing commentary about the history of games and a real commentary on how Nostalgia often blinds us to the quality of much of the entertainment we enjoyed throughout the 80s and 90s and early 21st century. It didn’t need to be anymore than that and in the past few years James and the crew have really lost site of that.

Honestly I really hope this is a sign that this is a time to stop, James himself somewhat implied that with the credits and while not a great series ending, I think he’d be happy to put His AVGN series to bed now, or at least put it on hiatus for a bit so he can get his shit together and send the Nerd off with a real proper finale worthy of the série legacy. It’s doubtful with the kind of crew he has now, but if he had more control I think he could be just as good as his 2010 self again.

Lol, that's me. I didn't know who Lloyd Kaufman was at the time, so I hated that episode. He came off really childish and obnoxious (even within the AVGN context), and it felt like James was so head-over-heels that he'd actually suck him off if he asked. Way later on, I found out who Lloyd Kaufman was and that he's actually a very accomplished filmmaker, and not just some schlocky hack that worked on a single thing like 40 years ago, and... well, kinda felt bad. In retrospect, I'd say the onus sort of fell on James for never really giving this guy a proper introduction to those of us out of the loop. I'm sure James figured Kaufman needed no introduction, but this is a show focused on video games, and I'm well rooted in the part of the venn diagram of people who like video games, but don't know what Troma is. Lloyd Kaufman seems like a very nice, incredibly creative person. Someone I'd love to sit down and talk to for hours. But, James did a stellar job of making him come off like an obnoxious asshole. Great work, dumbass.

apparently today's also Lloyd Kaufman's birthday so happy birthday to him

Sorry for double posting, but I really did like that Toxic Crusaders episode, It was certainly rushed but it was just silly, stupid fun, also fans who have interacted with Lloyd Irl have said he’s just actually like as hyper and rambling as he's portrayed in that episode, I don’t think it’s fair to blame James for may be not the best introduction as he was busy with work on the AVGN movie at the time and just assumed that people were already aware of his accomplishments. It’s not really discrediting the guy, than just a simple miscommunication, He still gave a good impression of him through how much fun they’re both having in the episode so I don’t think James is too in the wrong here.

 

[Jan Ciągwa]

Sorry for double posting, but I really did like that Toxic Crusaders episode, It was certainly rushed but it was just silly, stupid fun, also fans who have interacted with Lloyd Irl have said he’s just actually like as hyper and rambling as he's portrayed in that episode, I don’t think it’s fair to blame James for may be not the best introduction as he was busy with work on the AVGN movie at the time and just assumed that people were already aware of his accomplishments. It’s not really discrediting the guy, than just a simple miscommunication, He still gave a good impression of him through how much fun they’re both having in the episode so I don’t think James is too in the wrong here.

I'd link the "he blew me" Kaufman explanation how Rolfe got him on the episode, but Youtube is treating me like a kid who can't handle such content.

 

[Exbein]

while the onus is ultimately still on james, Justin ain't helping as much as you'd think. His non charismatic ass should not be in videos in any capacity, same with Kierran. And they should either hire better writers, or become better writers because their tenure as writers is ass...or hire some actual real help, to prevent the stuff you named from happening.

If they really wanted to help James, they should let james suffer and actually fail...maybe that'll light a fire under his ass. If his lazy ass sees the money stop, he'll finally realize he needs to do something about it, instead of being coddled.

if Screenwave let James fail, they basically killed their cash cow.
Cinemassacre/AVGN is still the most viewed channel under their umbrella

 

[Bob Loblaw Law Blog]

Honestly call me a white or whatever but I really didn’t find episode 200 that bad, granted it was far far from a great episode but it was watchable and it makes sense that an LJN themed episode would have to take centre stage as a big special considering they are his arch- nemesis after all, but it was way too focused on the clip show stuff and reminiscing on past better AVGN moments that just reminded us what the show used to be like, people complain about the jokes being cringe or bad acting, but i feel these criticisms are real nitpicky, this is a character who got famous for swearing as loud as possible, smashing shit, and talking about Buffalo shit in his ears and every other bodily function you can think of. It’s hardly high fucking art.

But the biggest issue that’s been plaguing the past 2 years is definitely the lack of passion behind it, the whole episode as does most Modern AVGN at this point has a real tired and soulless feel to it, you can just tell with The lacklustre direction and James overall feeling burnout and tired from being forced almost to make episode after episode long past the series peak.

It’s real sad seeing Screenwave and the crew slowly start to shit up and ruin the series with pointless sketches and endless cameos there inclusion just shows how little they understand what the original point of what AVGN was. At its core it was just some Angry Nerdy game Critic, talking about the worst games ever and getting angry, filled with poop jokes, endless raging and every swear word you could ever imagine, but also genuinely intriguing commentary about the history of games and a real commentary on how Nostalgia often blinds us to the quality of much of the entertainment we enjoyed throughout the 80s and 90s and early 21st century. It didn’t need to be anymore than that and in the past few years James and the crew have really lost site of that.

Honestly I really hope this is a sign that this is a time to stop, James himself somewhat implied that with the credits and while not a great series ending, I think he’d be happy to put His AVGN series to bed now, or at least put it on hiatus for a bit so he can get his shit together and send the Nerd off with a real proper finale worthy of the série legacy. It’s doubtful with the kind of crew he has now, but if he had more control I think he could be just as good as his 2010 self again.

the idea of the 200 ep wasn't bad at all, just the execution reeks of laziness. He really didn't have to make it 3 eps, with half the footage being clips of past eps. Or if he was inclined to use those clips, should have made it like a primer for the ep, since they like making those list/clip show vids anyway. Make the main episode concentrate on the remaining games. Remove the useless skit/story of inheriting LJN and trying to remake BttF. Do a straight up history/commentary of LJN, then review the remaining games.

if Screenwave let James fail, they basically killed their cash cow.
Cinemassacre/AVGN is still the most viewed channel under their umbrella

yeah, i know. just wistful thinking.

 

[Picnic_Boy]

Honestly, I still don't consider James a cow, but his show is pretty awful now and the Screenwave guys are basically autopilot. He's just a creative burn out with what appears to be a demanding wife. The best thing for his enthusiasm would be to go back working at a gas station for a few years, then he'd appreciate what a great creative outlet he's been blessed with.

 

[Grog]

I'd link the "he blew me" Kaufman explanation how Rolfe got him on the episode, but Youtube is treating me like a kid who can't handle such content.

Is YouTube asking for your personal information so the glowniggers can have it easier to tie your identity to your online activity? Use this

GitHub - zerodytrash/Simple-YouTube-Age-Restriction-Bypass: A simple browser extension to bypass YouTube's age verification and watch age restricted videos without having to sign in.

A simple browser extension to bypass YouTube's age verification and watch age restricted videos without having to sign in. - GitHub - zerodytrash/Simple-YouTube-Age-Restriction-Bypass: A simple...

github.com

 

[Jan Ciągwa]

Is YouTube asking for your personal information so the glowniggers can have it easier to tie your identity to your online activity? Use this

GitHub - zerodytrash/Simple-YouTube-Age-Restriction-Bypass: A simple browser extension to bypass YouTube's age verification and watch age restricted videos without having to sign in.

A simple browser extension to bypass YouTube's age verification and watch age restricted videos without having to sign in. - GitHub - zerodytrash/Simple-YouTube-Age-Restriction-Bypass: A simple...

github.com

Thanks, but I already have something like that in tampermonkey. I was complaining about not being able to find it; it was either deleted or "lloyd kaufmann avgn blew me" makes Youtube search faint.

 

[KIllz]

Sorry for double posting, but I really did like that Toxic Crusaders episode, It was certainly rushed but it was just silly, stupid fun, also fans who have interacted with Lloyd Irl have said he’s just actually like as hyper and rambling as he's portrayed in that episode, I don’t think it’s fair to blame James for may be not the best introduction as he was busy with work on the AVGN movie at the time and just assumed that people were already aware of his accomplishments. It’s not really discrediting the guy, than just a simple miscommunication, He still gave a good impression of him through how much fun they’re both having in the episode so I don’t think James is too in the wrong here.

Can concur on the Lloyd being just an awesome all around dude. Quite nice in person and lots of film industry wisdom to give.

 

[Sexyphobe]

I wouldn't call James a bad person or anything (incompetent and overly passive), and the Screenwave guys certainly suck, but to pin so much blame on them would suggest that AVGN was great before they came along. Instead of 2 eras, I'd define AVGN with 3:

Golden age: Episode 1 to the movie. Great with more hits than misses.

Post-movie. From Schwarzenegger Games to around Sonic 06. Not terrible and some good episodes here and there, but after the movie you can clearly see him starting to get bored with the character and the quality is downward. Also the introduction of those ugly black-rim glasses.

Screenwave: Sonic 06 Part 2 onwards. It sucks. Would probably suck less without Screenwave but James is the one who signed the contract, so he gets some blame with how crap the videos are.

 

[Wraith]

I'll save your time and just list the Top 20 in this video. I'm not even gonna bother listing the honorable mentions:

• 20.: Him reacting to the final boss in Corpse Killer for the 3DO.
• 19.: The cringe Mr. Rigs segment in Carmageddon 64.
• 18.: The cringe football rant in the Every LJN Game 3-part episode. The one where he's trying to emulate the one in the Atari Sports episode where how the name of the game was just "Football" but way more forced.
• 17. Rocket-Beer segment in The Rocketeer episode.
• 16. The part where he was mumbling about how video games were like gambling in the Vegas Stakes episode. (Seriously? This is considered as a great moment? Granted the special effects were fine but other than that, nothing else great to write about)
• 15. AVGN talked about an obviously fake story about how his friend died when touching a clown at a birthday party, making fun about how clowns could kill you in the Darkman episode.
• 14. The unfunny segment where AVGN chants "fuck" in the Baseball part in the Every LJN Game 3-part episode.
• 13. Seriously? They included the unfunny segment where AVGN wore a wig making fun of the host in the Sega Game Gear VHS episode?
• 12. Him playing Bop 'N Rumble on the Commodore 64 episode (which later got ported into Bad Street Brawler for the NES). This one is actually alright.
• 11. The Surfin' Nerd segment in the Every LJN Game 3-part episode. Oh fuck off.
• 10. The ending to the Shrek episode. The one where he got burnt to death.
• 9. The ending to the Freddy & Jason C64 episode. The one where he dealt with Freddy & Jason action figures.
• 8. The domino middle finger segment in the Every LJN Game 3-part episode. This one gets a pass.
• 7. The cringe segment about the Revolution X soundtrack in the Every LJN Game 3-part episode.
• 6. AVGN throwing the Greendog SEGA Genesis game onto molten lava.
• 5. The ending to the Darkman episode. The Pink Elephant one.
• 4. The Old MacDonald parody in the Freddy & Jason C64 episode making fun of the Friday the 13th Commodore 64 game even had that song to begin with.
• 3. The cringe Grass vs. Turf rant in the Every LJN Game 3-part episode. Okay, what is James smoking?
• 2. The part in the Vegas Stakes episode where AVGN reflected on the retro age. Don't worry if you didn't even remember this part, because I sure didn't either. Yeah, I'm really curious what was James even smoking to come up with this list.
• 1. The ending to the Every LJN Game 3-part episode. End of story.

So yeah, we got a clip show which most of it was based around a clip show episode.

That sounds so terrible it looks like the facebook boomer version of a clip show. Hell, man. Get it together, james.

 

[BrunoMattei]

I'd link the "he blew me" Kaufman explanation how Rolfe got him on the episode, but Youtube is treating me like a kid who can't handle such content.

That's not true. Obviously. Lloyd will appear in anything so long as you pay for his hotel and plane tickets. Just look at his IMDB, he has hundreds of credits in low budget/zero budget films (and the films of James Gunn but I digress).

Post-movie. From Schwarzenegger Games to around Sonic 06. Not terrible and some good episodes here and there, but after the movie you can clearly see him starting to get bored with the character and the quality is downward. Also the introduction of those ugly black-rim glasses.

I think the post-movie era was still very good. The worst episode ever pre-screenwave is still Nintendo World Championships but still a lot of good ass episodes.

 

[AsianChris]

I wouldn't call James a bad person or anything (incompetent and overly passive), and the Screenwave guys certainly suck, but to pin so much blame on them would suggest that AVGN was great before they came along. Instead of 2 eras, I'd define AVGN with 3:

Golden age: Episode 1 to the movie. Great with more hits than misses.

Post-movie. From Schwarzenegger Games to around Sonic 06. Not terrible and some good episodes here and there, but after the movie you can clearly see him starting to get bored with the character and the quality is downward. Also the introduction of those ugly black-rim glasses.

Screenwave: Sonic 06 Part 2 onwards. It sucks. Would probably suck less without Screenwave but James is the one who signed the contract, so he gets some blame with how crap the videos are.

The period between the production of the movie to its end is a little dark era on its own.

 

[BrunoMattei]

The period between the production of the movie to its end is a little dark era on its own.

I feel for the guy. He obviously got in way over his head, had to spend a chunk of his savings, and he just wanted to live the dream but perhaps it was hubris or perhaps the people he surrounded himself with didn't give him the absolutely critical honesty he needed? It's gotta' suck to go out there and fail so epically. He not only lost his money but he took his fans' money as well and his failure exists forever.

It's just another example of when you make something it's better to learn how to crawl before learning how to run. There's numerous examples of auteur filmmakers making smaller and more contained lower budget films before helming epics.

 

[Gru]

I feel for the guy. He obviously got in way over his head, had to spend a chunk of his savings, and he just wanted to live the dream but perhaps it was hubris or perhaps the people he surrounded himself with didn't give him the absolutely critical honesty he needed? It's gotta' suck to go out there and fail so epically. He not only lost his money but he took his fans' money as well and his failure exists forever.

It's just another example of when you make something it's better to learn how to crawl before learning how to run. There's numerous examples of auteur filmmakers making smaller and more contained lower budget films before helming epics.

The fact he decided he just HAD to film in LA didn't help matters that much either, must've been much more of a strain on the budget than literally anywhere else.

 

[Tism the Return]

That sounds so terrible it looks like the facebook boomer version of a clip show. Hell, man. Get it together, james.

Looking at that top 20 selection really drives home the point of how horrible the quality has been when that is what makes it there.

 

[Sexyphobe]

The period between the production of the movie to its end is a little dark era on its own.

Like Mike dressing up in pajamas in James' living room while he's away filming, badly making fun of a movie for toddlers. Minecrap was so dumb it's funny, but everything about that Elmo video was just weird.

 

[Pringles Can]

Like Mike dressing up in pajamas in James' living room while he's away filming, badly making fun of a movie for toddlers. Minecrap was so dumb it's funny, but everything about that Elmo video was just weird.

Sadly, that was peak mike. Those 2 videos really showed how big of a sperg he really is, since he didn't have James or bootsy keeping him somewhat normal. Back then I found them hillarious because of that, and even now I still do.

 

[BrunoMattei]

Sadly, that was peak mike. Those 2 videos really showed how big of a sperg he really is, since he didn't have James or bootsy keeping him somewhat normal. Back then I found them hillarious because of that, and even now I still do.

There's a metaphor there with 2 spergs needing to work together in order to appear normal and competent.

 

[Raging Capybara]

Fuck you. Elmo review is a timeless masterpiece.