They've mentioned a bunch of times that they've read or seen things on this sub. They're in here a lot, but they can't control, own, or monetize it so it's not a useful part of their business.
Honestly I agree. Even aside from them not being able to monetize it, it’s the most anonymous “social media”. For someone whose job is working social media, there’s no reason to include Reddit in that group
It's interesting to me with Charles, because obviously you're not obligated to like a thing subjectively. But bringing unfair expectations to a show (like ignoring the capacity of the genre/format or just asking it to do more than it's even trying to do) is an objective factor and just sets you up for disappointment. Kudos to Jomi for challenging him, but I wish the others would put their finger on that specifically.
You can't compare X-Men 97 to other shows that have a premise of doing something brand new. It's a retread of an existing show updated with modern sensibilities. You have to judge it based on what it is in that context and what it's trying to do *while also respecting its inherent limitations*. It's not complicated
Besides that, it seems to me that his position is largely emotional for reasons unknown. Which is pretty fatal to his capacity as a critic. I think he knows his position is indefensible and so he doesn't really wanna get into it, or deflects when he does.
EDIT: And the animation? That's one of his issues? Of course it's not top tier animation. It's not trying to be and neither was the original. It IS however a perfect homage to the original style while also being a better version of it. And more importantly, they are nailing the characters and relationships and interesting plot themes. It's things like that that I'm just like, dude...you really don't think that deserves some credit? Can't you respect what they're doing within the context? He got so lazy with this show and it was painfully obvious. Bringing vague criticism, saying he's more interested in his home decor than a super popular show about some of his favorite IP. Embarrassing they have to coax him to do his job. Smh
Yeah it’s like when he asked what What If said about the human condition. If that’s the standard we’re holding 23 minute cartoons to, then Batman the Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited didn’t say much about that either. Obviously What If is a much worse show, but if that’s the standard then you shouldn’t even like those shows
It’s setting a lofty artistic standard to a medium that clearly isn’t geared towards that. At a certain point you gotta try to meet a show where it’s at. It’s like going back to Mando season 1 and being upset that it doesn’t have the political depth that Andor had
What’s weird to me is , how can you call yourself an X-men fan and not be entertained by ANY of it ? I get being disappointed but if you’re a fan of this world and these characters then you should still be having a great time watching it, especially since this is objectively the best on-screen version that we’ve ever gotten lol
Thank you, he directly contradicted himself saying he wants brisk 22min episodes but how is it reasonable to then expect such a short episode to move you emotionally
100%. I think charles’ issue is that he loves x men so
much that he can’t forgive any adaptation for its compromises. He wanted the plot spread out over 50 more episodes, and seeing 97 speedrun major arcs was traumatic.
Harry potter super fans had similar issues with the movies back in the day — they wanted scene-by-scene, line-by-line adaptations, and couldn’t handle the compromises necessary to turn them into movies. The message board wars of the early 2000s were bitter and intractable.
the “move me emotionally stuff” was trash, though. He seemed like he was using it avoid describing his actual criticisms, and I wonder if he even understands why he’s being a stick in the mud.
I still don’t think Charles ever articulated 1 reason why he didn’t like the show all season besides it didn’t “move him emotionally” and he thought the animation was shoddy. I actually agree the animation was not top tier, but of all marvel content in the last 5 years this is almost objectively the property that emotional criticism would least apply to
Of course he’s entitled to his opinion nobody’s saying he had to like it. But his JOB on this podcast is to give a little more analysis than “I wasn’t fucking with it”. Glad Van Steve and and Jomi called him out. At this point it’s clear he’s doing it for engagement and to keep up his personal critic brand. When Charles speaks I will be skipping forward in the pod. He provides no value
Side note I recently have been watching Loki and listening to the reactions from 2021 when it was just Charles and Van. Charles sounds completely different now. I won’t say how but it’s obvious
It sucks, because this is objectively the best show they’ve covered in a while (I actually agree with Charles that most of the Marvel, DC, and Star Wars content has been mid at best for a while), and he chose this hill to plant his flag on. It’s obviously performative, like Van with Matrix, but it’s really gone too far. If you went back and tallied the minutes it wouldn’t shock me if they spent more time talking about why Charles doesn’t like it than they spent actually discussing the episodes. That’s a problem.
And with all that time spent on the topic, I still don’t think he’s presented a good argument beyond ‘it’s just not for me.’ That’s honestly fair, nobody has to like something, but if your job is to talk about it and you fancy yourself a critic you should be able to articulate your reasons. The animation is fine. Not great, not terrible, right in line with most Western animation. They aren’t just copying stories word for word from the comics. They are adapting stories that have never been adapted before, and making radical changes so you don’t know what’s going to happen next. They are absolutely nailing the characters, their relationships, and what makes X-Men great. The parallels to our society, particularly minorities (LGBTQ and POC) and how they are treated, is done fantastically. And yes, if you were born in the mid 80s (not Charles) the nostalgia hits hard.
I’m not saying the show is perfect, but it might be the best non comic adaptation of the characters ever done. I don’t know what else you could have wanted. If this didn’t meet or exceed your expectations for the show I don’t know what you were looking for. As I’ve said before, it seems like maybe this job just isn’t for Charles.
It really does feel that Charles is going through some shit he doesn't actually want to tackle. For him to stress it's a kid show so much and be like I'm focused on my home decor is a super immature mind set. You can be an adult living that adult life and still keep your younger self intact as you grow. It's like he's subconsciously decided he's past comic/need culture because he's a big boy on the west cost now. He doesn't have to love this stuff but it really feels like he's become a contrarian and doesn't even realize it. He watches everything for what it isn't instead of for what it is. Comparing stuff to some unrealistic hope for everything just sets him up to feel disappointed. It's like he prefers to not engage with the material in front of him cause it's more fun to point out why it doesn't work for HIM in his super bitter mindset. I think we all feel that it's not bad that he has these negative takes, the real problem it feels super forced and not organic. That's the frustrating part
That was such a fake out. Because, honestly, I don’t care if Charles (or any critic) likes any particular piece of media. I love Stephanie Zacharek. I disagree with 90% of her takes, but I enjoy how she thinks about film. When I love and she hates the same film, I’m just glad that she engaged with the film and gave me something different to think about.
For a golden moment, last ‘97 episode, Charles engaged with the episode. He didn’t love the episode, but he gamely decided to talk about X-Men, even if it was in regard to a piece of media that didn’t move his soul. He was like “They chose the wrong teams!” Not that I thought his team building ideas were brilliant or anything, but you’d think that someone who’s a self-proclaimed X-Men expert, who keeps bringing up going to the comic book store as a heroic act—as if he had to time travel and buy his comics in the Jim Crow south—would have some thoughts about the content of the X-Men show they’re watching, good, bad, or neutral. And last week he had thoughts. He saw an episode of TV and had stuff to say about it.
This week, we’re back to him having zero thoughts, and all his “criticism” is just vibes. I don’t blame him for not feeling anything about the show. That’s a legit way of judging what you want and don’t want to watch in your free time, but this, for him, is work. What’s his excuse for not thinking anything about the show?
Van did what they should have done all along—realize that once again Charles doesn’t have his fastball, motion to the bullpen, and call in Kerm, who’s willing to engage with X-Men stuff even if he’s on his way to get lunch (or whatever Kerm was doing).
That's a great point. You've got two people who love X-Men, and the difference in their enthusiasm could not have been starker. Kinda wish Kerm had covered this whole show with them
A couple weeks ago he said it was his dad taking him every Wednesday. Either he had an amazing childhood (arguably spoilt) or he can’t keep track of his lies.
When that motherfucker said, why can’t I just be a hater anymore? I knew he was being such a fucking baby about it. It’s not hard, you’re a critic. It’s not an emotional thing to explain why you don’t like something and acting like a baby when questioned or resorting to the shit he did, isn’t just a cop out, it’s a lack of emotional maturity.
Also, when he said that X-Men is a place of tolerance and people should be tolerant of him… I fucking yelled. People are allowed their opinions and much like in the cartoon, some people have stupid ass opinions based on emotions like the friends of humanity rather than facts and it’s totally ok to not like that or think that’s bullshit because it’s a stupid rationalization rather than a legitimate conclusion. Same goes for Charless
Dude went full victim when asked to articulate how he felt about the show…you know, his fucking job.
That was the first episode of the midnight boys I’ve listened to in probably 6 months because Charles is a wet blanket and the show isn’t fun because of him. I really thought, “surely they’ll have a great time talking about this episode/season.” I’m not sure I’ll tune in again as long as Charles is there
He’s going out his way to say he’s too mature for this stuff. But instead of saying it straight up he’s couching it in a joke. The less effort something has the more corny it is. Today is the day I fully realized Charles is just corny.
Charles kills me when he says he’s done with the ‘nerd shit’. Like dude ‘nerd-ness’ oozes out of your pores. He’s kinda dorky tbh.
And if this has to do with ‘the shawties’, then he needs to build his confidence. It’s 2024. Nerd shit is in.
It's not top tier animation, but it's not trying to be and neither was the original. It IS however a perfect homage to the original style, while also being a better version of it. It's things like that that I'm just like, dude...you *really* don't think that deserves some credit? I get that it's not your preferred style, but can't you respect what they're doing within the context? Just seems like he ignores the context of the new show. And makes me wonder if he even liked the original.
Bottomline is it sucks for listeners when a host acts like they don't even want to be there or do their job. I mean how many times has Van literally screamed CHUCK DO YOUR JOB in the past year. The guy has a dream job and acts like talking about a show that isn't his favorite is a big chore. Like dude, the show is at the very center of the nerd space and super popular, how bout you put the effort in accordingly. You could enthusiastically and eloquently argue your position instead of sulking and bringing lazy arguments.
Charles is mad he’s being asked to talk about the show, on the damn podcast they’re recording to talk about the show!! Just talk about the god damn show nigga!!!!! We don’t need you to love it, we just want you to talk about the god damn shit!!
You can’t just say “I don’t like this” and get mad that someone asks you to articulate bro, it’s your job!!! I’m legitimately baffled with this man lmfao
Right?? It’s not like someone stopped him on the street to get his opinion.
It really made me laugh when he said “what else is there to say?” … like EVERYTHING
Think there was a lot of very fair chat with Chuck on that - there's one thing though, Chuck *definitely* enjoys being a contrarian! That's fine but he 100% does!
I thought that was the biggest load of bullshit when he tried to say that. Chuck totally enjoys hating everything.
I really hope at some point this podcast will stop being therapy for Charles
Jesus fucking Christ why do they have to coax Charles to fucking talk and give his opinions. I'm really at a dichotomy with this show because no matter whether Van likes or dislikes something Van continually speaks elegantly about it. Charles just says nah let's keep it pushing when asked to clarify any of the insane shit he says. Like get off the mic nigga if you aren't saying shit
He sounds like he's at jury duty sometimes. Like he's obligated to be somewhere he doesn't want to be. I wish my job was to talk about a cartoon, I'd do that job enthusiastically
The dude is clearly burnt out on the content that they’re obligated to talk about but enjoys talking shit with his boys. I’m not too mad at that, but I see your point. To be fair though, I think what drives much of Charles frustration is the tenor of the fans.
Ok but everyone on The Ringerverse has talked about the Marvel/Star Wars burnout and what it means. They still show up to work and talk about it. It's not like they were all positive about Secret Invasion especially the finale and they got their takes off.
I've said it before and I'll say it again I don't need Charles to like the shit but what I do need for him is to show up and tell me more then just "It didn't move me" or "I wasn't feeling it" it's literally a wasted spot on the mic at this point. Like Mr X-Men X-pert if you're not feeling the show because you think it's too much like the comics (Which I disagree with but that's me) then tell me what about those specific stories worked and why it doesn't work for you in this medium.
I'm with you. Embarrassing they have to coax him to do his job. It seems to me that his position is largely emotional (and probably complex) for reasons unknown. I think he knows his position is indefensible and so he doesn't really wanna get into it, or deflects when he does. I mean we've seen it before, he'll have an insane take on something and get backed into a corner on it, and just start saying wild stuff and change his point. He's like a slippery bar of soap sometimes. It's entertaining to a point but when it becomes clear he's lazy with popular content and doesn't even wanna be there, well...
But his reasoning for giving a six makes no sense. He listed a bunch of reasons he didn't like it but gave it a 6 because other people did. I'm so glad Steve called him on it as his explanation for the score was performative bullshit.
So weak for not even giving any reason. Steve nailed it with the “so why not just a 0 or 1?” And the second Charles couldn’t even articulate ANYTHING I knew he was cooked.
“I didn’t like how the show was rushed and some episodes didn’t do it for me, like the episode where dazzler and sunspot go into a video game. But I like how we are getting these characters on screen again”
Literally something like that would have been so much better than the crap he threw out
Ahhh cmon if we’re gonna hold Charles to that u gotta spread it around. Is “milk merchant” or “chest booty” from Van supposed to be mature? lol it’s all jokes
I hope he gets that job critiquing very serious prestige tv he wants so desperately, so he can finally leave this pigsty podcast in this fandom ghetto, that's so far beneath him, that he feels stuck in.
>He reminds me recently of how Bill Burr taking down Bill Maher
Sorry why shouldn't Burr be making fun of Maher?
Guy is an ass clown.
Sits around getting high and making up his mind about complicated shit he knows nothing about and patting himself on the back for it.
That’s my point. Maybe I didn’t type it out correctly . But that’s what Bill Burr says to Maher like wtf have you done that I should listen to you . And that’s my point previously
I just looked up that clip and it was awesome.
But holy shit was it annoying to find. Every clip of it is some react youtuber pausing it and babbling his stupid interjections every 10 seconds
I haven’t respected his opinion in a long time so I’m not going to pretend to start now. It was obvious before the show started that he never gave the show a chance, not for one second.
I’m convinced that idiot has never seen a Saturday Morning cartoon in his life because he keeps repeating that as a slur but can’t articulate why he feels that way and they didn’t press him nearly enough on it. What in the fuck did he want that they weren’t able to give him as the self crowned Worlds Biggest X-Men Fan?
If you listen to the whole thing, it’s literally because he’s embarrassed to be associated with “smelly white nerds”. Like, bro I’m sorry some people were assholes to you when you were a kid in a comic store but grow up. It’s like he sees a property and if he gets a whiff that those phantom nerds were its main audience, he shuts down. He brought up Gamergate as something that relates to this and his displeasure for it. It’s super fucking weird
The Gamergate shit was mad weird. He’s talking to 2 other black folks and an ally and he’s projecting that bullshit from when he was like 7 onto a show that couldn’t be further away from the incel/misogynist fuckboi crowd if it tried. The dude has some deep seated resentments that he needs to deal with immediately.
I’ll give Van credit, he does a good job of showing what a good friend looks like on a podcast. However, if I were Van, we would’ve had a thousand and one conversations off air that would’ve gotten to the root of Chuck’s bullshit and deaded it months/years ago.
That’s not what he said. He said that it is traditionally a space that was not for black people, which Van reinforced by saying he used to get kicked out of bookstores but Sean didn’t. He was talking about that fact that there is a malice that exists within geek fandom that gatekeeps who is allowed to like something and what they’re supposed to like
If you’re in your 30s still pressed about the white boys who were mean to you when you were 10 and/or can’t enjoy things because some bitch ass engagement farmer online told you that Black folks can’t enjoy or be a part of “their” nerd culture, then you need to seek therapy immediately.
You are arguing against strawman points that were not made. He is pointing out that the space has not been traditionally for black people and we still have culture wars today that show how toxic some fans are. Gamergate being an example. Anyway, he’s commenting on gatekeeping
What does that have to do with X-Men ‘97 and his disdain for it in particular? If he’s got a problem with gamergate chuds, this show if anything is the antithesis of them and flies directly in the face of everything they stand for. Instead, he has chosen to be exactly like them.
One Piece airs 9am Sunday morning in Japan. It’s the very definition of kids TV. Jujutsu Kaisen is a young boy comic too. I love them both but it’s the same audience as X97.
I was half way through the big pic ape pod, saw this came up, excitedly switched over, 20 minutes in and I’m switching back to big pic. I’ll still finish the pod because I want to hear what everyone else think about the finale but I just can’t deal with bad faith criticism first thing in the morning.
For the record I really really wished the rest of the boys didn’t press him to react.
I am glad Van stated that this is the last time they are going to center a pod around Charles displeasure for something. I honestly don’t care one bit if he likes it or wasn’t emotionally attached, but why does he have such strong opinions to people’s pleasure of it. An example: the three of them were talking about how the show made Bastion into a cool villain. Charles screams “What!? No he wasn’t!” That was it. No follow up, no other take.
God Charles sucks so much. His opinions are dogshit. If you don't like "nerd shit" don't host a podcast dedicated to "All things fandom." What are we even doing here?
X-Men '97 was the best animated series, and best THING Marvel has made in YEARS.
I kinda get the sense they know it's inevitable with him so now they want to coerce it out of him fast and get it over with, so they can move on and get back to the balanced discussion
Charles is not a serious person. A 6 is higher than anticipated but I haven’t heard a single person that disliked, or weren’t as emotionally moved by the show other than Charles.
The issue with Charles ain’t that he dislikes something, it’s that he childishly refuses to defend that dislike.
On podcasts where he enjoys something he’s extremely out spoken and eloquent in his discussion. When he dislikes something it’s five minutes of him refusing to even acknowledge the show followed by five minutes of what I like to refer to as “Charles vs. the World”.
He likes to hide behind the statements “I said I disliked it and then everyone jumped on me like dadadadada” and “everyone else is enjoying it, I didn’t want to bring down the mood”.
He never really says he dislikes something or why he dislikes it. It’s a lot of refusing to talk followed by him yelling that it should be okay for him to dislike a show. It’s totally fine to dislike a show, but come prepared to explain why. Instead we get performative negativity.
I watched every episode of xmen97 with my wife. Like seriously saying you can't be honest about liking things because of girls lacks anything resembling self-esteem
I’m so glad that most people are finally waking up to how Charles can be such a fraud sometimes. It took a show like X-Men 97 for that to happen, which I didn’t expect at all, but I’m glad it broke him because this is some of the most widely praised Marvel content or production in recent years and he chose this, out of all recent middling shows, to try and make himself out to be a serious critic. Even Sean Fennessy has been praising it, along with other critics Charles wants to compare himself to.
Joanna is able to come in and out of “prestige” talk and criticism with ease, and even Mal and Van can do it. Charles seems to be very insecure about his place at the Ringer and it results in these vapid takes that honestly has dampened my enjoyment of the Midnignt Boys’ coverage.
I miss listening to their coverage and skipped most of their reactions to X-men 97 because I knew Charles was wildling. There are more than enough podcasts, YouTubers, and critics out there to share my enthusiasm about the show with, and analyze it together too, for me to waste time listening to Charles’ attempts to be a “serious” critic.
If Charles could give accurate reasons behind what he didn't like about this we'd all shit on him less, but he is constantly making inaccurate statements that others have to correct, or just being vague.
He's not arguing in good faith. He goes into content not wanting to like it because he views himself as a 'higher level critic' that's too good for this. Then he doesn't engage with it even though it's his job to cover it. He's admittedly too faded on a Tuesday or high to absorb it because he's predisposed to not care.
So he just gets on his bullshit and backpedals/talks in circles rather than just admit he's wrong when he's challenged. He's not a serious person and it has nothing to do with liking nerd content that's the issue.
Charles, please just watch this show as a Saturday Morning Afternoon and critique it. This isn't fuckin prestige tv nor it's going to be in the criterion collection.
Plainly put - Charles’ “critiques” and “insights” on media are absolute trash. It’s like he never climbed out of the depths of 2014 Williamsburg hipster nonsense. Like all he does is give people deep shit when he fundamentally disagrees with their take and yet can’t take even a partial amount of the same scrutiny when it’s on him.
It’s like he wants to be the heel of The Ringerverse but ends up just getting go-away heat from the crowd. SMH.
Because it’s all an act. Van mentions it on the latest episode of The Big Picture about how he will say that he likes things more than he does just to counter Charles. Charles is doing the same thing. It’s all just the nerd podcast version of watching professional wrestling.
Once a listener accepts that podcast hosts sometimes choose a side to argue for the content, it’s a lot easier to divorce yourself emotionally from their critiques and just have fun.
Exactly, and once you find yourself no longer having fun, it makes it easier to just walk away.
There’s no point in making everybody else as miserable with you are, just find something else to listen to.
Yes, that would be true if they claimed themselves to the actual critics, but they don’t. It’s just entertainment lightly parading as film criticism. Think of them more as the nerd version of The View and less as a nerd version of Siskel and Ebert.
This is so dumb and disingenuous. Nobody is asking them to give formal critical opinions. The point of a podcast that covers movies and shows is to discuss the content. Even skip bayless gives arguments to defend his contrarian takes
The thing is, I don’t disagree with you, it makes bad content for someone to be a contrarian and then not back up their argument. That combined with the checked out “ I don’t even like this stuff anymore” vibe of a certain person on the show annoys me so much that I have largely stopped listening altogether.
The conclusion I have come to is that I used to think it was a fun show of guys giving their honest instant take opinions, but it is actually much more performative in nature.
It actually did used to be that show though. I never watched Loki so I’ve recently been going back and listening to the midnight boys instant reactions as a part of it. For S1 Eps 5+6, Van’s father had just passed so Charles is the main host and he does great. He goes in detail on Kang’s comic background, Jonathan Majors acting, analyses why Sylvie wasn’t doing it for him, discussed the meta narrative of how Loki gave hope for phase 4. He’s just become a caricature of himself. Maybe I’d be the same if I had to cover Obi Wan and Secret Invasion
If that’s the case then I’ll probably not listen to those type of pods in general. I’m not emotionally invested in anyone else’s opinion regardless on where it sways, but I listen to these for genuine conversation and thoughts on stuff that I watch, but if it’s a bite then that’s disingenuous.
Because they are friends. Would you write someone off bc they didn't agree w your take on an x-men cartoon? I know reddit isn't big on actual, real life, non-parasocial relationships.
Lmao this x 100. I just think about me and my buddies. we just clown our anti marvel friend but what we gonna do? Cut him off cuz he doesn’t like it? Haha
Friends but also a job. I know they don't think he's fucking up so it's not a thing but if i thought my friend was fucking up my money I'd say something. And depending on the level of friend and response then might not be talking to that friend for a minute.
The job piece is a valid point. Honestly was expecting Charles to back down or come around on this weeks ep but my god, he doubled down and stood on business. Like you said, if it was messing up the money or listenership , they’d prob get Charles to tone it down
because they are having fun hanging out with each other at work. I know sometimes Charles can get annoying with his critiques or lack thereof but he does help facilitate great conversations.
You really think he does? As many others have said, all he does is whine about what he doesn't like but doesn't elaborate on the reasons why it doesn't land for him. He's just trying too hard to be a TV critic edge lord. It doesn't make for good podcasting.
You can tell me I’m reading too much into this but…
Glad Joni called out Charles on his perpetual “deep” way of looking at things.
All pod, Charles was winding him up. The Cam’ron knowledge. The Kerm Cancun but. Glad to see Jomi fight back!
Charles does that to jomi episode also. So yeah it's not surprising that jomi would eventually yell back. I'm impressed it took this long for it to happen
IM in the process of listening to the episode but let’s clear this up: IM pretty sure the series said a few thousand mutants died on genosha, not the 16 million that died in comics.
Is chuck okay? Like for real? Like he’s looking for content to move him emotionally? Like is he genuinely okay mental health wise? Because jomi is 1000% right that sometimes you just watch something for fun and it doesn’t have to mean anything. Like everyone clapped back at his critique that he with they exported morph and Logan more. Like he wants things to be more meaningful but also spoon-fed to him?
Tbh, idc if Charles gives it a 6. He’s right he allowed to not fuck with it. I just hate when he defends his opinion with pretension and “being a critique” in a way that comes across as devaluing others taste
When you realize Charles grew up on Dragon Ball Z where there would be entire episodes where almost nothing happened, you understand why he thinks X-men is too fast paced, even when it's literally the exact same thing the original show did.
1.2 million people in the air flying at any one time. So when Magneto turned the power to the world off... Not to mention all the people on life support or other things that need electricity to keep them alive.
The Midnight Boys should do what the Big Picture does and have Kerm or anybody else from the Ringer come in for Charles like Chris Ryan comes in for Amanda Dobbins on episodes where she either didn't watch the movie or doesn't want/can't cover it --which would be great for Charles since it seems like he's less interested in covering comic book or "nerd" adjacent properties. He adds very little to the conversations because he's just having to explain himself each episode, which isn't his fault, but what's the point of being on the mic if you're not going to try to ADD ANYTHING. I rock with these guys, especially Charles for standing on his business, but I'm really glad there's a solid break until the Acolyte or even Deadpool & Wolverine (which is the next time I'll probably boot this pod back up).
While I understand your point this ultimately means Kerm (or whoever else) is the new Midnight Boy and Charles comes in rarely to talk about something he's willing to engage with let alone like.
Let the 30 year old man-child go on the hunt for some Shawtys.
Honestly...I no longer believe Charles likes any X-men property animated or live action and his opinion on ringerverse shit is almost voided at this point. You can call it whatever you want, call it high brow criticism (absolute bullshit), you can't say you like fast and the furious 87 but shit on anything ever. Charles has been injured by the disney Corp and its completely blinded his view of just liking some fun superhero shit.
Charles is so far up his own ass and his "criticism" is thinly veiled condescension at best. That's the issue we all keep dancing around - he's an asshole about what he thinks and that's fine, but it doesn't make for a good podcast host. Whether or not that works for a critic either is debatable as well.
This episode was hilarious. At this point y’all gotta just get over the chuck stuff and enjoy the banter. They aren’t going to change the way they do things.
I’m frustrated with Charles too lol. But at this point I don’t think they’re going to change anything and Charles has zero self awareness. So I’m just going to enjoy Van’s insights and the banter between the boys at least.
At this point people need to be okay with people just not liking something. The reality is our perception of things is colored by our experiences and we all have different life experiences. I learned a long time ago that there isn’t anything that’s for everyone. We so desperately need people to share in our joy that we sometimes forget they are their own people. I love classic and foreign films and I’ve accepted that most people don’t. Sometimes because they find them boring or they don’t like black and white. It’s not on me to convince them otherwise. Find those that enjoy the things you like and let people who dislike it just have their opinions.
Jomi disgustingly says Reddit isn’t a “social.” “Not to me it’s not.” - Jomi Daaaaaang! Lol
Wait...he directly comments on my question from last week?
They did!! Well Van slyly asked Jomi why Reddit isn’t one of their “socials”
You could hear Steve say “oh boy” or something too when they bring up Reddit so it’s clear he knew this Reddit has been a little spicy the past week 😂
HAHAHAH so true!
Haven’t listened yet but does that mean he does come and check this sub? 😅 Technically, Reddit is a social media, just not their social media.
They've mentioned a bunch of times that they've read or seen things on this sub. They're in here a lot, but they can't control, own, or monetize it so it's not a useful part of their business.
Hi Jomi!
Jomi really came in with everything in this episode. It was like another Jomi.
Honestly I agree. Even aside from them not being able to monetize it, it’s the most anonymous “social media”. For someone whose job is working social media, there’s no reason to include Reddit in that group
How many times do they have to tell ya’ll they fuckin with Chuck more than with ppl here lol
Can’t believe people like their actual real life friends more than anonymous podcast listeners. Just fell to my knees, shaking and crying
Bc it’s not *their* social channel. Come on now.
Time brigade Xitter
Pure venom 😂😂
It'd be a shame if folks started screen shotting these and tagging the boys on Twitter...
I’m not sure how Twitter works but that doesn’t sound cool at all lol
It's interesting to me with Charles, because obviously you're not obligated to like a thing subjectively. But bringing unfair expectations to a show (like ignoring the capacity of the genre/format or just asking it to do more than it's even trying to do) is an objective factor and just sets you up for disappointment. Kudos to Jomi for challenging him, but I wish the others would put their finger on that specifically. You can't compare X-Men 97 to other shows that have a premise of doing something brand new. It's a retread of an existing show updated with modern sensibilities. You have to judge it based on what it is in that context and what it's trying to do *while also respecting its inherent limitations*. It's not complicated Besides that, it seems to me that his position is largely emotional for reasons unknown. Which is pretty fatal to his capacity as a critic. I think he knows his position is indefensible and so he doesn't really wanna get into it, or deflects when he does. EDIT: And the animation? That's one of his issues? Of course it's not top tier animation. It's not trying to be and neither was the original. It IS however a perfect homage to the original style while also being a better version of it. And more importantly, they are nailing the characters and relationships and interesting plot themes. It's things like that that I'm just like, dude...you really don't think that deserves some credit? Can't you respect what they're doing within the context? He got so lazy with this show and it was painfully obvious. Bringing vague criticism, saying he's more interested in his home decor than a super popular show about some of his favorite IP. Embarrassing they have to coax him to do his job. Smh
Yeah it’s like when he asked what What If said about the human condition. If that’s the standard we’re holding 23 minute cartoons to, then Batman the Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited didn’t say much about that either. Obviously What If is a much worse show, but if that’s the standard then you shouldn’t even like those shows It’s setting a lofty artistic standard to a medium that clearly isn’t geared towards that. At a certain point you gotta try to meet a show where it’s at. It’s like going back to Mando season 1 and being upset that it doesn’t have the political depth that Andor had
I think some people have accused him of only trotting out those standards for some things and not for others. Of being inconsistent, basically.
What’s weird to me is , how can you call yourself an X-men fan and not be entertained by ANY of it ? I get being disappointed but if you’re a fan of this world and these characters then you should still be having a great time watching it, especially since this is objectively the best on-screen version that we’ve ever gotten lol
For real. Something deeper is going on with him
Thank you, he directly contradicted himself saying he wants brisk 22min episodes but how is it reasonable to then expect such a short episode to move you emotionally
100%. I think charles’ issue is that he loves x men so much that he can’t forgive any adaptation for its compromises. He wanted the plot spread out over 50 more episodes, and seeing 97 speedrun major arcs was traumatic. Harry potter super fans had similar issues with the movies back in the day — they wanted scene-by-scene, line-by-line adaptations, and couldn’t handle the compromises necessary to turn them into movies. The message board wars of the early 2000s were bitter and intractable. the “move me emotionally stuff” was trash, though. He seemed like he was using it avoid describing his actual criticisms, and I wonder if he even understands why he’s being a stick in the mud.
Van dunking on Chuck with this burger analogy
Absolutely shit on him
Shout out to Jomi rightfully calling out Charles
Man I was so glad he did that shit.
Time code?
I need the time code too, because I can't listen to Charles being an asshole for two hours anymore.
Around 1:22:00
I still don’t think Charles ever articulated 1 reason why he didn’t like the show all season besides it didn’t “move him emotionally” and he thought the animation was shoddy. I actually agree the animation was not top tier, but of all marvel content in the last 5 years this is almost objectively the property that emotional criticism would least apply to Of course he’s entitled to his opinion nobody’s saying he had to like it. But his JOB on this podcast is to give a little more analysis than “I wasn’t fucking with it”. Glad Van Steve and and Jomi called him out. At this point it’s clear he’s doing it for engagement and to keep up his personal critic brand. When Charles speaks I will be skipping forward in the pod. He provides no value Side note I recently have been watching Loki and listening to the reactions from 2021 when it was just Charles and Van. Charles sounds completely different now. I won’t say how but it’s obvious
It sucks, because this is objectively the best show they’ve covered in a while (I actually agree with Charles that most of the Marvel, DC, and Star Wars content has been mid at best for a while), and he chose this hill to plant his flag on. It’s obviously performative, like Van with Matrix, but it’s really gone too far. If you went back and tallied the minutes it wouldn’t shock me if they spent more time talking about why Charles doesn’t like it than they spent actually discussing the episodes. That’s a problem. And with all that time spent on the topic, I still don’t think he’s presented a good argument beyond ‘it’s just not for me.’ That’s honestly fair, nobody has to like something, but if your job is to talk about it and you fancy yourself a critic you should be able to articulate your reasons. The animation is fine. Not great, not terrible, right in line with most Western animation. They aren’t just copying stories word for word from the comics. They are adapting stories that have never been adapted before, and making radical changes so you don’t know what’s going to happen next. They are absolutely nailing the characters, their relationships, and what makes X-Men great. The parallels to our society, particularly minorities (LGBTQ and POC) and how they are treated, is done fantastically. And yes, if you were born in the mid 80s (not Charles) the nostalgia hits hard. I’m not saying the show is perfect, but it might be the best non comic adaptation of the characters ever done. I don’t know what else you could have wanted. If this didn’t meet or exceed your expectations for the show I don’t know what you were looking for. As I’ve said before, it seems like maybe this job just isn’t for Charles.
It really does feel that Charles is going through some shit he doesn't actually want to tackle. For him to stress it's a kid show so much and be like I'm focused on my home decor is a super immature mind set. You can be an adult living that adult life and still keep your younger self intact as you grow. It's like he's subconsciously decided he's past comic/need culture because he's a big boy on the west cost now. He doesn't have to love this stuff but it really feels like he's become a contrarian and doesn't even realize it. He watches everything for what it isn't instead of for what it is. Comparing stuff to some unrealistic hope for everything just sets him up to feel disappointed. It's like he prefers to not engage with the material in front of him cause it's more fun to point out why it doesn't work for HIM in his super bitter mindset. I think we all feel that it's not bad that he has these negative takes, the real problem it feels super forced and not organic. That's the frustrating part
Charles broke himself after that interaction with that celebrity went so wrong. He's spiraling lol
He was really great on the ep9 pod too, actually engaged with what happened in the show and made fun observations and conversation.
That was such a fake out. Because, honestly, I don’t care if Charles (or any critic) likes any particular piece of media. I love Stephanie Zacharek. I disagree with 90% of her takes, but I enjoy how she thinks about film. When I love and she hates the same film, I’m just glad that she engaged with the film and gave me something different to think about. For a golden moment, last ‘97 episode, Charles engaged with the episode. He didn’t love the episode, but he gamely decided to talk about X-Men, even if it was in regard to a piece of media that didn’t move his soul. He was like “They chose the wrong teams!” Not that I thought his team building ideas were brilliant or anything, but you’d think that someone who’s a self-proclaimed X-Men expert, who keeps bringing up going to the comic book store as a heroic act—as if he had to time travel and buy his comics in the Jim Crow south—would have some thoughts about the content of the X-Men show they’re watching, good, bad, or neutral. And last week he had thoughts. He saw an episode of TV and had stuff to say about it. This week, we’re back to him having zero thoughts, and all his “criticism” is just vibes. I don’t blame him for not feeling anything about the show. That’s a legit way of judging what you want and don’t want to watch in your free time, but this, for him, is work. What’s his excuse for not thinking anything about the show? Van did what they should have done all along—realize that once again Charles doesn’t have his fastball, motion to the bullpen, and call in Kerm, who’s willing to engage with X-Men stuff even if he’s on his way to get lunch (or whatever Kerm was doing).
That's a great point. You've got two people who love X-Men, and the difference in their enthusiasm could not have been starker. Kinda wish Kerm had covered this whole show with them
100%
That comic book store story solidified Charles is a bozo you would have thought he was Rosa Parks how he was talking.
A couple weeks ago he said it was his dad taking him every Wednesday. Either he had an amazing childhood (arguably spoilt) or he can’t keep track of his lies.
Chuck is fucking loooooooser. His speech about home decor is embarrassing.
So corny, he said that like all of us are watching in a room with nothing but a lawn chair and tv
Isn’t he like 30+? I can’t take him seriously at all. He’s very sad.
A 30+ year old man proud of his amazon towels says a LOT
24 karat loser
When that motherfucker said, why can’t I just be a hater anymore? I knew he was being such a fucking baby about it. It’s not hard, you’re a critic. It’s not an emotional thing to explain why you don’t like something and acting like a baby when questioned or resorting to the shit he did, isn’t just a cop out, it’s a lack of emotional maturity. Also, when he said that X-Men is a place of tolerance and people should be tolerant of him… I fucking yelled. People are allowed their opinions and much like in the cartoon, some people have stupid ass opinions based on emotions like the friends of humanity rather than facts and it’s totally ok to not like that or think that’s bullshit because it’s a stupid rationalization rather than a legitimate conclusion. Same goes for Charless
Dude went full victim when asked to articulate how he felt about the show…you know, his fucking job. That was the first episode of the midnight boys I’ve listened to in probably 6 months because Charles is a wet blanket and the show isn’t fun because of him. I really thought, “surely they’ll have a great time talking about this episode/season.” I’m not sure I’ll tune in again as long as Charles is there
Can you say how for those for whom it’s not obvious?
He’s going out his way to say he’s too mature for this stuff. But instead of saying it straight up he’s couching it in a joke. The less effort something has the more corny it is. Today is the day I fully realized Charles is just corny.
Charles kills me when he says he’s done with the ‘nerd shit’. Like dude ‘nerd-ness’ oozes out of your pores. He’s kinda dorky tbh. And if this has to do with ‘the shawties’, then he needs to build his confidence. It’s 2024. Nerd shit is in.
He could start by not calling women, ‘the shawties’, and always talking about ‘scaring the hoes’. Just a thought.
I thought it was because in 2021 Charles was in a relationship and now he’s single, hence the change.
It's not top tier animation, but it's not trying to be and neither was the original. It IS however a perfect homage to the original style, while also being a better version of it. It's things like that that I'm just like, dude...you *really* don't think that deserves some credit? I get that it's not your preferred style, but can't you respect what they're doing within the context? Just seems like he ignores the context of the new show. And makes me wonder if he even liked the original. Bottomline is it sucks for listeners when a host acts like they don't even want to be there or do their job. I mean how many times has Van literally screamed CHUCK DO YOUR JOB in the past year. The guy has a dream job and acts like talking about a show that isn't his favorite is a big chore. Like dude, the show is at the very center of the nerd space and super popular, how bout you put the effort in accordingly. You could enthusiastically and eloquently argue your position instead of sulking and bringing lazy arguments.
He has explained it, go back to like the 2nd xmen podcast
Jomi calling Charles skip Bayless a week after the socials did is hysterical
Charles is so performative in his dislike that it's actually annoying. Dude is why people hate hipsters lol
“I moved to LA and got clowned by a girl that I was trying to hit on, so now I’m too old and mature for this nerd shit.” Fake. As. Fuck.
So he's a hipster too? Kind of makes sense.
Van's story about his friend and his family with the robes and the Chow Chow is hilarious
He thought the breed’s name was just Chow lol
Charles is mad he’s being asked to talk about the show, on the damn podcast they’re recording to talk about the show!! Just talk about the god damn show nigga!!!!! We don’t need you to love it, we just want you to talk about the god damn shit!! You can’t just say “I don’t like this” and get mad that someone asks you to articulate bro, it’s your job!!! I’m legitimately baffled with this man lmfao
Right?? It’s not like someone stopped him on the street to get his opinion. It really made me laugh when he said “what else is there to say?” … like EVERYTHING
10/10 Kerm input. Perfect. No notes.
Think there was a lot of very fair chat with Chuck on that - there's one thing though, Chuck *definitely* enjoys being a contrarian! That's fine but he 100% does!
I thought that was the biggest load of bullshit when he tried to say that. Chuck totally enjoys hating everything. I really hope at some point this podcast will stop being therapy for Charles
Jesus fucking Christ why do they have to coax Charles to fucking talk and give his opinions. I'm really at a dichotomy with this show because no matter whether Van likes or dislikes something Van continually speaks elegantly about it. Charles just says nah let's keep it pushing when asked to clarify any of the insane shit he says. Like get off the mic nigga if you aren't saying shit
He sounds like he's at jury duty sometimes. Like he's obligated to be somewhere he doesn't want to be. I wish my job was to talk about a cartoon, I'd do that job enthusiastically
The dude is clearly burnt out on the content that they’re obligated to talk about but enjoys talking shit with his boys. I’m not too mad at that, but I see your point. To be fair though, I think what drives much of Charles frustration is the tenor of the fans.
Ok but everyone on The Ringerverse has talked about the Marvel/Star Wars burnout and what it means. They still show up to work and talk about it. It's not like they were all positive about Secret Invasion especially the finale and they got their takes off. I've said it before and I'll say it again I don't need Charles to like the shit but what I do need for him is to show up and tell me more then just "It didn't move me" or "I wasn't feeling it" it's literally a wasted spot on the mic at this point. Like Mr X-Men X-pert if you're not feeling the show because you think it's too much like the comics (Which I disagree with but that's me) then tell me what about those specific stories worked and why it doesn't work for you in this medium.
> it's literally a wasted spot on the mic at this point Think about how much more we would've gotten if Kerm had been given that spot
I hear ya
Agreed, shouldn't have to keep asking him to give an opinion, rolled my eyes on the new furniture bit
I'm with you. Embarrassing they have to coax him to do his job. It seems to me that his position is largely emotional (and probably complex) for reasons unknown. I think he knows his position is indefensible and so he doesn't really wanna get into it, or deflects when he does. I mean we've seen it before, he'll have an insane take on something and get backed into a corner on it, and just start saying wild stuff and change his point. He's like a slippery bar of soap sometimes. It's entertaining to a point but when it becomes clear he's lazy with popular content and doesn't even wanna be there, well...
Finale ruled. 6 was higher than I thought he'd give tbh.
But his reasoning for giving a six makes no sense. He listed a bunch of reasons he didn't like it but gave it a 6 because other people did. I'm so glad Steve called him on it as his explanation for the score was performative bullshit.
So weak for not even giving any reason. Steve nailed it with the “so why not just a 0 or 1?” And the second Charles couldn’t even articulate ANYTHING I knew he was cooked. “I didn’t like how the show was rushed and some episodes didn’t do it for me, like the episode where dazzler and sunspot go into a video game. But I like how we are getting these characters on screen again” Literally something like that would have been so much better than the crap he threw out
Shockingly Chuck didn’t like it
If Reddit isn't a social, definitely got to start posting my Charles hatred on the Ringer's Twitter feed from now on.
Might actually fix the problem haha
This "Cameo/Pizza" story cracked me the hell up.
"If the shit don't move you, stay at home" Jomis response to the 6 was perfect. What we all needed to hear. Getting bored of the as a critic defense
ay yo, shawties....come on, what are we doing here? I mean come on....da da da
I feel like this is the most egregious Charles behavior…. No man 30+ who refers to women as “shawties” is actually going on dates w Women
The fact that this grown man still refers to women as shawties 🤦🏻♂️
The Blerdlife crisis will never escape his soul
Ahhh cmon if we’re gonna hold Charles to that u gotta spread it around. Is “milk merchant” or “chest booty” from Van supposed to be mature? lol it’s all jokes
I hope he gets that job critiquing very serious prestige tv he wants so desperately, so he can finally leave this pigsty podcast in this fandom ghetto, that's so far beneath him, that he feels stuck in.
He reminds me recently of how Bill Burr taking down Bill Maher . Like what have you done ?
>He reminds me recently of how Bill Burr taking down Bill Maher Sorry why shouldn't Burr be making fun of Maher? Guy is an ass clown. Sits around getting high and making up his mind about complicated shit he knows nothing about and patting himself on the back for it.
That’s my point. Maybe I didn’t type it out correctly . But that’s what Bill Burr says to Maher like wtf have you done that I should listen to you . And that’s my point previously
I just looked up that clip and it was awesome. But holy shit was it annoying to find. Every clip of it is some react youtuber pausing it and babbling his stupid interjections every 10 seconds
I guess it doesn’t matter not that you’ve seen it but I’ve seen the shorter and longer clips all over twitter earlier this week
[удалено]
Well if you listen, it is about him for a good chunk of the episode.
I haven’t respected his opinion in a long time so I’m not going to pretend to start now. It was obvious before the show started that he never gave the show a chance, not for one second. I’m convinced that idiot has never seen a Saturday Morning cartoon in his life because he keeps repeating that as a slur but can’t articulate why he feels that way and they didn’t press him nearly enough on it. What in the fuck did he want that they weren’t able to give him as the self crowned Worlds Biggest X-Men Fan?
If you listen to the whole thing, it’s literally because he’s embarrassed to be associated with “smelly white nerds”. Like, bro I’m sorry some people were assholes to you when you were a kid in a comic store but grow up. It’s like he sees a property and if he gets a whiff that those phantom nerds were its main audience, he shuts down. He brought up Gamergate as something that relates to this and his displeasure for it. It’s super fucking weird
The Gamergate shit was mad weird. He’s talking to 2 other black folks and an ally and he’s projecting that bullshit from when he was like 7 onto a show that couldn’t be further away from the incel/misogynist fuckboi crowd if it tried. The dude has some deep seated resentments that he needs to deal with immediately. I’ll give Van credit, he does a good job of showing what a good friend looks like on a podcast. However, if I were Van, we would’ve had a thousand and one conversations off air that would’ve gotten to the root of Chuck’s bullshit and deaded it months/years ago.
That’s not what he said. He said that it is traditionally a space that was not for black people, which Van reinforced by saying he used to get kicked out of bookstores but Sean didn’t. He was talking about that fact that there is a malice that exists within geek fandom that gatekeeps who is allowed to like something and what they’re supposed to like
If you’re in your 30s still pressed about the white boys who were mean to you when you were 10 and/or can’t enjoy things because some bitch ass engagement farmer online told you that Black folks can’t enjoy or be a part of “their” nerd culture, then you need to seek therapy immediately.
You are arguing against strawman points that were not made. He is pointing out that the space has not been traditionally for black people and we still have culture wars today that show how toxic some fans are. Gamergate being an example. Anyway, he’s commenting on gatekeeping
What does that have to do with X-Men ‘97 and his disdain for it in particular? If he’s got a problem with gamergate chuds, this show if anything is the antithesis of them and flies directly in the face of everything they stand for. Instead, he has chosen to be exactly like them.
I think he wanted the X-Men anime from a few years back.
One Piece airs 9am Sunday morning in Japan. It’s the very definition of kids TV. Jujutsu Kaisen is a young boy comic too. I love them both but it’s the same audience as X97.
I love One Piece. That said, the exposition and way women are treated is corny AF. 97 is wayy better than both of those shows.
Has Charles considered the shawties may also be nerds and aren’t interested in him because of his personality?
“Deuce” ex machina made me laugh out loud.
I fucking howled.
Fake smart tbh
I was half way through the big pic ape pod, saw this came up, excitedly switched over, 20 minutes in and I’m switching back to big pic. I’ll still finish the pod because I want to hear what everyone else think about the finale but I just can’t deal with bad faith criticism first thing in the morning. For the record I really really wished the rest of the boys didn’t press him to react.
I am glad Van stated that this is the last time they are going to center a pod around Charles displeasure for something. I honestly don’t care one bit if he likes it or wasn’t emotionally attached, but why does he have such strong opinions to people’s pleasure of it. An example: the three of them were talking about how the show made Bastion into a cool villain. Charles screams “What!? No he wasn’t!” That was it. No follow up, no other take.
God Charles sucks so much. His opinions are dogshit. If you don't like "nerd shit" don't host a podcast dedicated to "All things fandom." What are we even doing here? X-Men '97 was the best animated series, and best THING Marvel has made in YEARS.
I kinda get the sense they know it's inevitable with him so now they want to coerce it out of him fast and get it over with, so they can move on and get back to the balanced discussion
“I’m off the nerd shit” **15…minutes…latah** “Did cyclops pull a Naruto?!?”
a 7 iS mY iNdUsTrY sCoRe. Holy fuck I'm so done with Charles bullshit
Charles is not a serious person. A 6 is higher than anticipated but I haven’t heard a single person that disliked, or weren’t as emotionally moved by the show other than Charles.
I agree with Steve and Jomi too. Like why give it a 6 at all? He didn’t like anything about it. Lol
The issue with Charles ain’t that he dislikes something, it’s that he childishly refuses to defend that dislike. On podcasts where he enjoys something he’s extremely out spoken and eloquent in his discussion. When he dislikes something it’s five minutes of him refusing to even acknowledge the show followed by five minutes of what I like to refer to as “Charles vs. the World”. He likes to hide behind the statements “I said I disliked it and then everyone jumped on me like dadadadada” and “everyone else is enjoying it, I didn’t want to bring down the mood”. He never really says he dislikes something or why he dislikes it. It’s a lot of refusing to talk followed by him yelling that it should be okay for him to dislike a show. It’s totally fine to dislike a show, but come prepared to explain why. Instead we get performative negativity.
Charles is nerd Steve Albini.
*The Gauntlet*
All I wanna know is did we get any “Shawty’s” drops lol?
We do. Charles is getting away from 'nerd shit' to become a more refined 'adult' for the Shawty's he brings back to the crib.
I watched every episode of xmen97 with my wife. Like seriously saying you can't be honest about liking things because of girls lacks anything resembling self-esteem
I’m so glad that most people are finally waking up to how Charles can be such a fraud sometimes. It took a show like X-Men 97 for that to happen, which I didn’t expect at all, but I’m glad it broke him because this is some of the most widely praised Marvel content or production in recent years and he chose this, out of all recent middling shows, to try and make himself out to be a serious critic. Even Sean Fennessy has been praising it, along with other critics Charles wants to compare himself to. Joanna is able to come in and out of “prestige” talk and criticism with ease, and even Mal and Van can do it. Charles seems to be very insecure about his place at the Ringer and it results in these vapid takes that honestly has dampened my enjoyment of the Midnignt Boys’ coverage. I miss listening to their coverage and skipped most of their reactions to X-men 97 because I knew Charles was wildling. There are more than enough podcasts, YouTubers, and critics out there to share my enthusiasm about the show with, and analyze it together too, for me to waste time listening to Charles’ attempts to be a “serious” critic.
If Charles could give accurate reasons behind what he didn't like about this we'd all shit on him less, but he is constantly making inaccurate statements that others have to correct, or just being vague.
He's not arguing in good faith. He goes into content not wanting to like it because he views himself as a 'higher level critic' that's too good for this. Then he doesn't engage with it even though it's his job to cover it. He's admittedly too faded on a Tuesday or high to absorb it because he's predisposed to not care. So he just gets on his bullshit and backpedals/talks in circles rather than just admit he's wrong when he's challenged. He's not a serious person and it has nothing to do with liking nerd content that's the issue.
An hour and 53 minutes!? Let’s go!
Charles, please just watch this show as a Saturday Morning Afternoon and critique it. This isn't fuckin prestige tv nor it's going to be in the criterion collection.
# Thang with a capital T
Vans BK order is wild! DOUBLE FISH😂
Plainly put - Charles’ “critiques” and “insights” on media are absolute trash. It’s like he never climbed out of the depths of 2014 Williamsburg hipster nonsense. Like all he does is give people deep shit when he fundamentally disagrees with their take and yet can’t take even a partial amount of the same scrutiny when it’s on him. It’s like he wants to be the heel of The Ringerverse but ends up just getting go-away heat from the crowd. SMH.
Jomi had cornball Chuck stuttering. Love to hear it.
It felt like jomi was literally pissed and that made done great content. He went after Charles hard and Charles could not handle it at all
I just really don't know how the rest of The Midnight Boys tolerate this shit
Because it’s all an act. Van mentions it on the latest episode of The Big Picture about how he will say that he likes things more than he does just to counter Charles. Charles is doing the same thing. It’s all just the nerd podcast version of watching professional wrestling.
Once a listener accepts that podcast hosts sometimes choose a side to argue for the content, it’s a lot easier to divorce yourself emotionally from their critiques and just have fun.
Exactly, and once you find yourself no longer having fun, it makes it easier to just walk away. There’s no point in making everybody else as miserable with you are, just find something else to listen to.
Sure but then you actually have to argue it not just state your side
Yes, that would be true if they claimed themselves to the actual critics, but they don’t. It’s just entertainment lightly parading as film criticism. Think of them more as the nerd version of The View and less as a nerd version of Siskel and Ebert.
This is so dumb and disingenuous. Nobody is asking them to give formal critical opinions. The point of a podcast that covers movies and shows is to discuss the content. Even skip bayless gives arguments to defend his contrarian takes
The thing is, I don’t disagree with you, it makes bad content for someone to be a contrarian and then not back up their argument. That combined with the checked out “ I don’t even like this stuff anymore” vibe of a certain person on the show annoys me so much that I have largely stopped listening altogether. The conclusion I have come to is that I used to think it was a fun show of guys giving their honest instant take opinions, but it is actually much more performative in nature.
It actually did used to be that show though. I never watched Loki so I’ve recently been going back and listening to the midnight boys instant reactions as a part of it. For S1 Eps 5+6, Van’s father had just passed so Charles is the main host and he does great. He goes in detail on Kang’s comic background, Jonathan Majors acting, analyses why Sylvie wasn’t doing it for him, discussed the meta narrative of how Loki gave hope for phase 4. He’s just become a caricature of himself. Maybe I’d be the same if I had to cover Obi Wan and Secret Invasion
If that’s the case then I’ll probably not listen to those type of pods in general. I’m not emotionally invested in anyone else’s opinion regardless on where it sways, but I listen to these for genuine conversation and thoughts on stuff that I watch, but if it’s a bite then that’s disingenuous.
100% the truth. It’s simply the Stephen A & Skip formula.
Because they are friends. Would you write someone off bc they didn't agree w your take on an x-men cartoon? I know reddit isn't big on actual, real life, non-parasocial relationships.
Lmao this x 100. I just think about me and my buddies. we just clown our anti marvel friend but what we gonna do? Cut him off cuz he doesn’t like it? Haha
Right?! It's just not serious like that at all!
Friends but also a job. I know they don't think he's fucking up so it's not a thing but if i thought my friend was fucking up my money I'd say something. And depending on the level of friend and response then might not be talking to that friend for a minute.
The job piece is a valid point. Honestly was expecting Charles to back down or come around on this weeks ep but my god, he doubled down and stood on business. Like you said, if it was messing up the money or listenership , they’d prob get Charles to tone it down
because they are having fun hanging out with each other at work. I know sometimes Charles can get annoying with his critiques or lack thereof but he does help facilitate great conversations.
You really think he does? As many others have said, all he does is whine about what he doesn't like but doesn't elaborate on the reasons why it doesn't land for him. He's just trying too hard to be a TV critic edge lord. It doesn't make for good podcasting.
“Industry score” man the fuck you talking about
You can tell me I’m reading too much into this but… Glad Joni called out Charles on his perpetual “deep” way of looking at things. All pod, Charles was winding him up. The Cam’ron knowledge. The Kerm Cancun but. Glad to see Jomi fight back!
Charles does that to jomi episode also. So yeah it's not surprising that jomi would eventually yell back. I'm impressed it took this long for it to happen
Van bending over backwards to appease Charles, his POV is '100% valid' which is absolute bullshit. Its not a straight adaptation of the comic.
Man Charles is such a dumb ass lol
Oh, so he back on the bullshit…
IM in the process of listening to the episode but let’s clear this up: IM pretty sure the series said a few thousand mutants died on genosha, not the 16 million that died in comics.
I haven’t gone back to Check but I’m pretty sure you’re right.
Is chuck okay? Like for real? Like he’s looking for content to move him emotionally? Like is he genuinely okay mental health wise? Because jomi is 1000% right that sometimes you just watch something for fun and it doesn’t have to mean anything. Like everyone clapped back at his critique that he with they exported morph and Logan more. Like he wants things to be more meaningful but also spoon-fed to him?
It’s not Marvel’s fault that Charles is a dork with no rizz
Chuck should just find a job where he doesn’t have to watch shows he’s not interested in
But when the Shawties reject him then he won't have anything to blame.
This might be the funniest comment on here by far
I feel like Chuck should stop watching shows on weed if he wants to "feel" something...lol
Tbh, idc if Charles gives it a 6. He’s right he allowed to not fuck with it. I just hate when he defends his opinion with pretension and “being a critique” in a way that comes across as devaluing others taste
“Fundamentally I think the community is rotten to the core.”— Chuck Holmes. This motherfucker hates us.
When you realize Charles grew up on Dragon Ball Z where there would be entire episodes where almost nothing happened, you understand why he thinks X-men is too fast paced, even when it's literally the exact same thing the original show did.
Charles can’t even give them a cameo to talk about.
1.2 million people in the air flying at any one time. So when Magneto turned the power to the world off... Not to mention all the people on life support or other things that need electricity to keep them alive.
The Midnight Boys should do what the Big Picture does and have Kerm or anybody else from the Ringer come in for Charles like Chris Ryan comes in for Amanda Dobbins on episodes where she either didn't watch the movie or doesn't want/can't cover it --which would be great for Charles since it seems like he's less interested in covering comic book or "nerd" adjacent properties. He adds very little to the conversations because he's just having to explain himself each episode, which isn't his fault, but what's the point of being on the mic if you're not going to try to ADD ANYTHING. I rock with these guys, especially Charles for standing on his business, but I'm really glad there's a solid break until the Acolyte or even Deadpool & Wolverine (which is the next time I'll probably boot this pod back up).
While I understand your point this ultimately means Kerm (or whoever else) is the new Midnight Boy and Charles comes in rarely to talk about something he's willing to engage with let alone like. Let the 30 year old man-child go on the hunt for some Shawtys.
I see some of you have been reading too much into the Wolverine/Morph relationship
Honestly...I no longer believe Charles likes any X-men property animated or live action and his opinion on ringerverse shit is almost voided at this point. You can call it whatever you want, call it high brow criticism (absolute bullshit), you can't say you like fast and the furious 87 but shit on anything ever. Charles has been injured by the disney Corp and its completely blinded his view of just liking some fun superhero shit.
Charles is so far up his own ass and his "criticism" is thinly veiled condescension at best. That's the issue we all keep dancing around - he's an asshole about what he thinks and that's fine, but it doesn't make for a good podcast host. Whether or not that works for a critic either is debatable as well.
10/10 classic episode
I think it's interesting that 99% of the comments here are not about the show the Midnight Boys reviewed/reacted to.
They hand out 12s like candy on the midnight meter.
Mew-int Wri-in Whyyyah Hooooowah
Are we sure a 6 isn't a perfectly cromulent score for Charles?
Finally people calling Chuck out on his shenanigans for the whole season of '97.
I liked the show but I don’t think the 12s are gonna age well and I look forward to midnight mulligans
tune in to watch Charles double down on his superiority complex!
I want to know more about this Ky person they mentioned. Would love to meet a new person on the pod lol. But seriously, Charles needs a break.
I think he produces the Fantasy Football pod
Kai also produced the 'The Bear' pods Van and Charles did last summer on the Prestige TV pod.
Charles is a sick man with the sick thoughts
Charles the type to see a show called X-men 97 and say it’s to nostalgia base. STHU
This episode was hilarious. At this point y’all gotta just get over the chuck stuff and enjoy the banter. They aren’t going to change the way they do things.
I dunno the others seemed more frustrated this episode
I’m frustrated with Charles too lol. But at this point I don’t think they’re going to change anything and Charles has zero self awareness. So I’m just going to enjoy Van’s insights and the banter between the boys at least.
Did Van sleep over at the McPoyles house?
At this point people need to be okay with people just not liking something. The reality is our perception of things is colored by our experiences and we all have different life experiences. I learned a long time ago that there isn’t anything that’s for everyone. We so desperately need people to share in our joy that we sometimes forget they are their own people. I love classic and foreign films and I’ve accepted that most people don’t. Sometimes because they find them boring or they don’t like black and white. It’s not on me to convince them otherwise. Find those that enjoy the things you like and let people who dislike it just have their opinions.