Last Time, Clip Shows, and Previews in Gundam?

[lubczyk]

How you guys generally geel about Clip Shows, Previews, and "Last time on X?" in TV shows and specifically in Gundam.

I personally hate to be told "Last time on 24 or whatever." I can remember what happened last week!! I don't need reminding. I find that technique in American sitcoms annoying. I don't see it used much in British shows and Japanese anime and I can remember the plot just fine.

I hate overviews or "Clip Shows." in all its forms. They're supposed to tell you what's happened up to that point and I can see the usefulness of them, but since I'm usually entralled by a series by the time a Clip Show shows up, I really don't need an overview of the show. If I make it to episode 10 I probably have enough interest in the show to remember the last 9 episodes.

I like Previews that are abstact and don't give away events in the next episode. You know like a preview with a black background, a few poetic phrases here and there and an episode title - Like Kiddy Grade and the sort.

Gundam previews tend to do a really bad job with this. They ususally show clips of important plot points in the next episode and give unnecessaryly long spoilers like "The Gundam Pilot struggles for his life fighting the Tiger in the Desert."

"Thanks a lot for telling me exactly what's going to happen in the next episode, sheesh!!!"

For that reason I don't watch the previews in Gundam 00 and I don't look up episode titles either, they may be revealing."

I just wait patiently for the next episode to come out (like Gundam 00 03) and that's pretty much it. I don't like spoiling the show for myself.

How about you guys?

[Obi-Wan]

Not everyone is a Super Nerd and remembers every second of every episode, most of the people that watch American TV shows watch them to unwind after a long day or work or school. Personally, I'm watching about six American TV shows right now and damned if I remember every single detail from the previous week. The recaps are about a minute or two long and just refresh you on the important scenes from the previous week. We get that you're a Super Nerd and don't need to see them. That's fine. Just turn the TV on at 7:02PM instead of 7:00PM if they piss you off so bad.

Clip shows are bound to be a part of every Gundam show from now on. That's just how it works. You may as well have posted that you want crime and taxes to go away forever.

Previews are okay, I don't mind them. Damned if 30 seconds of narration and a few scenes are going to spoil an entire 24 minute episode for me the next week.

[lubczyk]

This was not supposed to be a flame thread. I'm sorry if it or I came off that way.

I'm not a really big Gundam fan by any means. I also don't watch shows religiously. I watch a show once and that's pretty much it. I don't like rewatching shows or movies I've already seen. I've seen 08th MS Team once and just once. I have no wish to watch it again even though I really like it.

I also don't have a stellar memory by any means. I guess it's because I'm still in my studies which requires a lot of reading and memorization. That probably helps my long-term memory.

I just don't like a show or series to hold my hand while I watch it. I can get most of the symbolism et cetera, et cetera.

I was just curious about how others feel about it.

Again, not a flame post.

[Storm-and-Fire]

Originally Posted by lubczyk

How you guys generally geel about Clip Shows, Previews, and "Last time on X?" in TV shows and specifically in Gundam.

I personally hate to be told "Last time on 24 or whatever." I can remember what happened last week!! I don't need reminding. I find that technique in American sitcoms annoying. I don't see it used much in British shows and Japanese anime and I can remember the plot just fine.

I hate overviews or "Clip Shows." in all its forms. They're supposed to tell you what's happened up to that point and I can see the usefulness of them, but since I'm usually entralled by a series by the time a Clip Show shows up, I really don't need an overview of the show. If I make it to episode 10 I probably have enough interest in the show to remember the last 9 episodes.

I like Previews that are abstact and don't give away events in the next episode. You know like a preview with a black background, a few poetic phrases here and there and an episode title - Like Kiddy Grade and the sort.

Gundam previews tend to do a really bad job with this. They ususally show clips of important plot points in the next episode and give unnecessaryly long spoilers like "The Gundam Pilot struggles for his life fighting the Tiger in the Desert."

"Thanks a lot for telling me exactly what's going to happen in the next episode, sheesh!!!"

For that reason I don't watch the previews in Gundam 00 and I don't look up episode titles either, they may be revealing."

I just wait patiently for the next episode to come out (like Gundam 00 03) and that's pretty much it. I don't like spoiling the show for myself.

How about you guys?

Well, it makes perfect sense. Say you've just tuned in your TV and come across this show which you find very interesting, but which has already been on for some time and you've got no clue about it. That's why these "Previously on [insert show here]" are useful and I don't mind them at all. In addition, not every TV series has an episodic nature with events reaching their conclusion in one or two episodes. This is very prominent in anime, whose storytelling is more likely to be based on arcs. Of course, you could say "Go buy the DVDs". I don't disagree, but where I live for example, no native TV series is released on DVD.

I see that you can remember what happened last week in most series you're following, but most people have too many things on their heads to actually remember what happened on the previous episode that they watched. For example, I watched an episode of my favourite TV series last week and I only remember what happened in the last thirty seconds, because by the time the following episode will be aired (tonight that is) I have done a lot of studying in and out of school, and I've watched about 10 more series. So yeah...

I think Gundam 00 is a show that would need to retell the story in the first few minutes.

Spoiler for Gundam 00 episode 3 (kinda):

Let's say someone tuned in next week for the first time and saw Graham and Setsuna fighting. They'd be like "WTF?".

That's what I had to say about it.

[LightningZERO]

I like the last episode recaps, as long as they don't take too much time.

And I absolutely love episode previews. It give us something to be excited!

[wingdarkness]

Originally Posted by lubczyk

This was not supposed to be a flame thread. I'm sorry if it or I came off that way.

I'm not a really big Gundam fan by any means. I also don't watch shows religiously. I watch a show once and that's pretty much it. I don't like rewatching shows or movies I've already seen. I've seen 08th MS Team once and just once. I have no wish to watch it again even though I really like it.

I also don't have a stellar memory by any means. I guess it's because I'm still in my studies which requires a lot of reading and memorization. That probably helps my long-term memory.

I just don't like a show or series to hold my hand while I watch it. I can get most of the symbolism et cetera, et cetera.

I was just curious about how others feel about it.

Again, not a flame post.

Don't take it personally Obi-Wan probably would have flamed you even if your post box was blank, but to add on to this discussion clip shows aren't just germain to Gundam, but it is a staple of anime in general...You'll be hard-pressed to find many popular titles without one...Also some clip-shows are done very creatively as opposed to just straight rehashes...

As for "Last week on 24", (and stuff like that) I love to see the previous weeks events because they refresh me and get me hyped for what's to come, I don't think that's hand holding...Especially when they are gonna re-introduce a plot point from long ago and want you to have a certain attention for that plotline...Do I desperatley need it? Prollly not, but it doesn't hurt either...

[Eidolon Sniper]

I think recaps are fine...just don't make them an entire season filled with recaps....>.<;; also, if people weren't able to tune in last week to their favorite show, the recaps would help them remember important things that have already happened.

[kiramuro]

Previews - Good
Recap - Shite
Clip Shows - Deserve eternal damnation.