The Nostalgia Critic

I despised this guy before I loved him.

Before knowing who exactly he was, I saw GIFs of him float around the internet.
Then I bothered to look him up, and the first review I saw of him was "Pokémon: The First Movie", which wasn't really the best choice, because when you don't agree with someone, that's not a good first introduction. After all, I like that movie.
Afterwards I wanted to give him another shot, and I actually ended up watching a video where he badly parodied the Angry Video Game Nerd, for comedic purposes, but I clicked it away before he could finish his act.

When thinking back to all this, I wonder why I came back to watch more of his videos. There wasn't much reason for me to, so it seemed. But I probably saw another movie in the list I would actually agree on was terrible, watched it, and felt entertained.
But well, this was all years ago, so I don't know for sure what I was thinking, but till this day I regret nothing.

Over the years I saw many great videos, and actually saw the guy grow in quality. Even though I can't say he was bad to begin with. The Nostalgia Critic is the type of guy who always stayed the same, and wants to stay familiar.

But even when having that said, I should mention the failed project the poor guy tried to launch.

At one point Doug wanted to leave his act "the Nostalgia Critic" behind and start a whole new series, using hired actors. I believe it was called "Demo Reel".
I actually bothered to watch these videos, and I can say that I was far from interested, though, the series was still new, so I was willing to let it grow. The rest of the world did not.
Doug and his new employees recieved alot of hate on their roofs, just because they tried to do something new. The thought that Doug had replaced the famous Nostalgia Critic for a terribly acted movie-parody show was just intolerable for these people.

I felt incredibly bad for the man. He did not owe anyone anything, and the fact his own fans didn't allow him to experiment, didn't allow him to do something HE really wanted to do, was hard to swallow.
And really, that's not the first time fans showed their true colours; the Video Game Nerd and his friend, Mike, are being scolded by their fans as we speak. James for not making any Video Game Nerd videos and Mike simply for existing. As James is occupied with other things, he hasn't made a new video for a while, and instead posts simple gameplay videos of his friend, or the both of them playing together, and people are really giving Mike alot of undeserved hate.
What the fuck, people, let them do what they want. They were not put on this Earth to entertain you. Mike is a good guy, and actually funnier than James. James enjoys his friend's company, and so should you. Do people on the internet ever feel something else besides disgust and hatred?

Anyway, after a few episodes of Demo Reel, Doug released a video showing his homesickness for the Nostalgia Critic, which was quite a piece of art itself, and Doug revealed the return of the Nostalgia Critic and the death of Demo Reel. Should've satisfied people, right?
Not as much, as Doug just couldn't say goodbye to the Demo Reel people he had already made a promise to; and he decided to make them part of the new Nostalgia Critic series. Fans saw them as the Nostalgia Critic's "Mike", and were still not satisfied.
At this point I was just sickened by the fandom and their lack of support. The Demo Reel crew proved themselves to be very funny and talented people, and actually fitted in. Doug always made sure he was still in the center of attention as the Nostalgia Critic.
I never understood the problem, anyway, he's done crossovers before, why would including these people be that much of a disaster? Doug had already sacrificed so much, and the fact he came back means he cared enough. But I'm happy he still knew his boundaries and didn't get rid of the Demo Reel crew, just because of the huge negativity.

And this is exactly who Doug is. A funny and clever guy who gives a shit.
Keep your Jack Nicholson-face on, boy.