Programming Note: Saturday Night Showcase’s temp return

When I first started BW Media Spotlight I wanted to do something different for the Saturday posting. The plan I went with was reviewing episodes of the classic Battlestar Galactica in the hopes of demonstrating why we old fans had so much trouble with the new series (which at the time was still airing on Sci-Fi, before it was renamed SyFy). At the time WordPress.com (the hosting arm of WordPress) wasn’t able to post Hulu videos (this has recently changed), I hadn’t heard of Vodpod (now merged with Lockerz and personally I find it’s not as good for video) and screencaping was kind of a pain because you couldn’t pause without the big play arrow on it. This would have been find except “Saturday Night Galactica” wasn’t getting any views. At all. Sure, the site was new, but other articles had at least some viewers.

So I dropped the project, but I still wanted something for Saturday night. What I ended up with was Saturday Night Theater, later renamed Saturday Night Showcase as I expanded content. It was a good place to show off other works on the internet beyond the occasional “Internet Spotlight” feature. Then work became an issue, as my hours went all crazy. Finding content became hard to find time for, and eventually I dropped it.

Well, since I’m currently unemployed I have a bit more free time, and since I want to boost readership and maybe get some ads to make this a paying gig (there are things I need to arrange first), I thought, at least for now, Saturday Night Showcase could make a comeback. With a few modifications.

I never had official rules for what made a Saturday Night Showcase. I pretty much made it up as I went along. But since I want to at least pretend to be professional (except when I can’t be myself, or what’s the point of boosting my own blog) some ground rules are good, because YOU can also suggest SNS content (on the rare occasion that someone wants to take part in audience participation stuff for a change). So what’s the criteria?

• TV shows: Now that I can post from Hulu without a third party I can post more old but good shows (which may be blocked in some regions, granted). There’s also an unofficial shortcode that may work from some sites. I want to stick with official postings where they exist, but if I can’t embed them I can still link to them. (This won’t work as well with Hulu Plus exclusives since I’m not a member, but we’ll see what happens with that.)
• Radio/Audio dramas: This will be a bit easier, thanks to the Internet Archive and WordPress being a bit more easy-going with audio posting. As for new audio dramas on the web, if one of them get my interest I’ll use one of them if I can.
• Webcomics: If we’re talking an ongoing series I’ll save these for an potential Internet Spotlight topic. However, if these are self-contained or completed comics I may consider it for SNS. No promises.
• Web Shows: From original stories to my reviewing colleagues (which will a separate group) the internet is becoming a place for average people to make good fan films and original idea shows and movies on a cheap budget. Advances in home video editors, backyard FX, and more allow amateur filmmakers to make something close to what would have been big budget decades ago. I wouldn’t mind promoting some of these, if they fit in my wheelhouse and I’m not too uncomfortable with.
• Reviewers: As part of the reviewing community, I should take the opportunity to promote some of my fellows. The problem is they’re more willing to drop the swear words and show the gory bits than I am and even if I enjoy their stuff personally it doesn’t always match the PG content I try to stick with. I’ve pushed my personal envelope before with a warning so I’m a little more lenient with this one but it will depend on the review topic and how close it matches my own opinion. This is still BW Media Spotlight, and my interests are dominant. Still, it’s Nash’s “Reviewer Spotlight” (no relation) feature on his live Monday night webcast that convinced me to add this to the mix.

However, since I want to start making more of my own video content (like catching up with this year’s convention footage as well as reviews and some other ideas), SNS may be preempted for my own video content. Those days where I don’t have anything, however, it’s the usual Saturday Night Showcase stuff, and this is where you (if you’re still reading) come in.

Do you have an original web series or know of a good one you thing I might like? Do you make reviews and want to try and gain an audience by getting a sample in SNS or alternately Internet Spotlight? Is there a legally posted TV show or movie that would work here? Use the contact form below or on the contact page with “Saturday Night Showcase” or “SNS” as part of the subject header, and we’ll see if it will work. If you want an idea of what fits, check out previous Saturday Night Showcase offerings. (The ones still online anyway. Sometimes they go down, which is one of the reasons I started doing video reviews.)

Now I don’t know how long SNS will be returned here to the Spotlight, but I’ve been wanting to do that again, to promote good shows and the occasional online comic, so it will be nice to return this, even temporarily, to the site. See you next Saturday for our first new Saturday Night Showcase entry.