If this is another golden age of television, it’s also a golden age of social criticism. Social media means networks can market new shows and pump up the crowd in the hope that everyone will live-tweet it and draw more advertising eyeballs. But it also means that when something flops, it flops hard.
Let’s all pour one out for everyone over at VH1 this morning. “Drumline 2: A New Beat,” a spinoff of the super successful 2002 film “Drumline,” premiered last night. Yesterday, when #DrumlineANewBeat was circling around social media, fans could hardly contain themselves waiting for showtime. And then the movie started. It wasn’t just that stars Nick Cannon and Alexandra Ship weren’t living up to the beloved movie’s status. Fans were eager to give advice and complain about the technical stuff:
#Drumline2 would have came off better as a series instead of a movie. It was good, but tried to fit everybody’s story and it was too much
— Cameron Jones (@_CamJamBam) October 28, 2014
The original #Drumline was WAY better than #Drumline2; started & ended w/horrible acting story lines could’ve been OMITED @VH1 #wanted2❤️IT
— SlowFire13 (@ya_hersey) October 28, 2014
Actually, the idea of a “Drumline” series sounds like a much better idea than a big event-style, made for tv sequel. #Drumlin2 is still trending this morning, and the social response is not getting any nicer though:
Caught up with the cast of #Drumline2 for a group pic. #DrumlineANewBeat pic.twitter.com/oAlrjLhwgM
— RealTalk (@mzjuiceyfilled) October 28, 2014
Ouch. While the miniseries and TV movies are having their moment, it’s worth noting when the trend hits a saturation point. Some things might be better left alone.