Disney+: WandaVision

[keg in kc]

I didn't think I wanted to watch this. Then the trailer premiered last night.

[Deberg_1990]

So when does this drop Dane? 12am pacific?

[Deberg_1990]

Well that was interesting and bizzarre. They do a great job of recreating the feel of a classic sitcom.

Spoiler!

How do Wanda and Vision have sex?

[vailpass]

WandaVision can be weird because Marvel has already won

Marvel doesn’t need to chase new audiences because it’s already the biggest game in town

By Chaim Gartenberg@cgartenberg Jan 14, 2021, 4:19pm EST

WandaVision is the Marvel universe’s most comic book show yet, if not in content at least in concept. It’s a dense-looking storyline that will be released on an episodic basis, with characters and a setting that are virtually impenetrable to new viewers — so much so that Marvel Studios even went so far as to produce a clip show recapping the critical moments of the 23-odd films that precede it.

It may seem like WandaVision would be barreling toward the same issue that has hounded traditional comics for years — a high barrier to entry with complex storylines, character dynamics, and lore that span decades and serve to confuse and drive away new readers — but WandaVision arguably doesn’t have that same problem.

Pick up a random issue of Spider-Man or Iron Man, and you’ll likely be confused by the contents, unless you’ve found a particularly accessible entry ramp like a creative reboot (for example, Jonathan Hickman’s recent run of the X-Men books) or a self-contained crossover. Comic sales are doing just fine, but the industry itself is a drop in the bucket compared to the massive pop culture impact of the Marvel blockbusters. Even the bestselling books of all time can’t come close in popularity.

The fact that WandaVision isn’t particularly accessible to new viewers isn’t a mark against it: it’s a spinoff of what’s arguably the single most popular film franchise ever made and a direct follow-up to Avengers: Endgame, the biggest movie in history. Comic book movies and shows are no longer tiny underdogs trying to lure in new viewers who aren’t the traditional comic audience — they are popular culture now.

WandaVision doesn’t have to cater to a new audience; it’s free to get as weird as it wants for the unprecedentedly large audience it already has, an audience that Disney is hoping will sign up for monthly Disney Plus subscriptions to watch it. (The same goes for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki and Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel and all of the other Marvel shows heading to the service.) After all, why sell customers a $15 movie ticket to a giant blockbuster only once when you can get them to subscribe to your streaming service for $8 per month forever?

In fact, Disney Plus’ very existence incentivizes Disney to make WandaVision more obtuse to new viewers. After all, all of the Marvel movies that you’d need to understand WandaVision are already on the streaming service. If someone opens up WandaVision on Friday and decides to shelve it while they work their way through the rest of the MCU on Disney Plus, then Disney wins just as much as it would have had they watched WandaVision itself. Even Marvel Legends — the recap show — requires a Disney Plus subscription to view, and it ends each episode with a list of movies (also streaming on Disney Plus) people should watch to better understand WandaVision.

It’s a strategy that we’ve already seen Disney use to great effect with Star Wars. The Mandalorian’s second season tied in heavily to past Star Wars shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels. For fans who were up to speed on the older shows, The Mandalorian was delivering payoffs that were years in the making. For fans who weren’t, they suddenly had a great reason to keep those subscriptions going after the season finale to catch up.

WandaVision is by all accounts one of the strangest Marvel entries yet. It’s not the show the studio was hoping to use to kick off its TV efforts. (That title goes to the delayed — and more mainstream — The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which will follow in March.) It doesn’t need to cater to new fans because of the sheer momentum of the Marvel machine, even though the first few episodes also demonstrate that it’s weird enough — and detached enough — from the main films that people can still come to it as its own thing.

But Marvel’s entertainment juggernaut is so big and consistent that it doesn’t really matter which show kicks off Disney Plus. The company has already won over viewers. All WandaVision needs to do is give them a reason to subscribe.

https://www.theverge.com/22231578/wa...s-mcu-audience

[Bowser]

Well, that was.....something. I was trying very hard to watch the peripheral in the shots to try to pick up clues for basically anything. There was some here and there, the biggest I saw

Spoiler!

was the toy helicopter with the SWORD emblem on it. Going to lead in to Nick Fury somehow?

And another random thought - I went through this with the TV show Legion, but I got a heavy Mojo vibe here with the shows and the control room. Mojo is a dimension hopping bad guy that kidnaps people to act in his shows for entertainment. Could this be the way they introduce mutants and eventually the X-Men? Possibly?

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Well that was interesting and bizarre. They do a great job of recreating the feel of a classic sitcom.

Spoiler!

How do Wanda and Vision have sex?

Spoiler!

I assume Vision is like Data - fully functional and programmed with many various forms and techniques, lol. As for her getting preggers, she is powered by an infinity stone, and Vision called the stone he had on his dome an "entity", so maybe the power within her is sentient and giving her want she wants with Vision? Hell, who knows after those two episodes, really. Ha

[Deberg_1990]

They truly did a great job recreating the feel of those old
sitcoms.

The laugh tracks, dialogue, silly jokes, the camera angles, the boxy aspect ratio. It was all note perfect.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

They truly did a great job recreating the feel of those old
sitcoms.

The laugh tracks, dialogue, silly jokes, the camera angles, the boxy aspect ratio. It was all note perfect.

Agreed. Strong sense of nostalgia in a few places, taking me back to the early days of sitcom reruns.

And Elizabeth Olsen.....hnnnng. I'm going to have to rock/paper/scissor with Buehler over her.

[keg in kc]

Weird ****ing show.

Originally Posted by Bowser

I'm going to have to scissor with Buehler

I don't even-

[Bowser]

[Bowser]

Spoiler!

And what was the significance of the bee keeper coming out of the gutter with the bees all around him, and why did it freak her out like she knew she was about to wake from a dream?

[Bowser]

Quick on the draw, Vail.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Bowser

Quick on the draw, Vail.

I’m apparently retarted.

[BigBeauford]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

They truly did a great job recreating the feel of those old
sitcoms.

The laugh tracks, dialogue, silly jokes, the camera angles, the boxy aspect ratio. It was all note perfect.

I've heard they actually did film in front of a studio audience. Those aren't laugh tracks.

[Valiant]

Meh. I am sure it will get better.

[WhawhaWhat]

I loved the second episode.

[listopencil]

Man. I was able watch the first episode up until...

Spoiler!

...the reveal that the special day was dinner with the boss and the boss's wife...

...and I just couldn't take any more of this bland garbage. It's like watching paint dry. Back when stuff like this was on TV it was popular because it hadn't already been done to death for 75 years. I suppose if I actually liked Olsen as an actress, the Scarlet Witch and Vision as characters, and was willing to watch it just because of that...then I might be entertained. As it is no thanks.