Author Topic: VIDEO WATCHDOG - the little magazine that could and did, now available free!  (Read 6206 times)

Sgarre1

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I would be remiss if I didn't let horror/fantasy/Sci-fi *movie* fans know about this.

Back at the end of 1989 I was invited to subscribe to a newly launched magazine edited by Tim Lucas.  VIDEO WATCHDOG, that magazine, has been a constant source  of joy, information and critical insight throughout its long history.  I know that for some print is a dead medium but I must say that Tim and his wife have always produced a beautiful product and the content of VW is top notch - what started as a way of recording and contrasting of the various differences to be found between versions made available in home video formats of varied fantastic, science fiction, horror, noir, eurotica and other genres of film quickly blossomed into one of the best forums around for critical examination and insight on those films. VW eschewed spotlighting trendy current releases to really dig into examining the films I loved and - more importantly - grew to love (or at least become interested in or respect) through their high standards of genre journalism and exceedingly welcome open-arms policy toward fantastic film.  My greatest education from VW was not so much in the films I loved but a more important, ongoing and rigorous lesson in keeping an open critical approach to creative works while also honing and maintaining/defining critical standards.  The reviews and features are also written by informed fans with a wide range of tastes, and so also taught me valuable lessons in placing works in their correct historical and pop-cultural contexts, as well as looking for resonances between works outside the prescribed and expected.  These are not internet drive-by snarks, nor are they endlessly positive glad-handing - they are articles and reviews by people who love and respect their areas of interest - and that love and respect rubs off onto the reader in enriching and sometimes startling ways.  The magazine is loved and respected worldwide - Quentin Tarantino called them “the most reliable film magazine in the world” and they got call outs on MST3K back in the day!

VW recently announced that it was going to make its current magazine output available in a digital form, opening its possible influence to a much wider and probably younger crowd of genre fans (how they might handle the TL:DR articles and reviews will remain to be seen - although I do not mean to give the impression that every article is a monster - the magazine always features pithy but intensive reviews).  Even better, each new issue will be available for FREE in digital form until the next issue comes out.  You can read about that here at their main page (just click the "Free" entry on the left hand sidebar)

http://www.videowatchdog.com/home/home.html

But even better, if more ambitious and work intensive, is VW's plan to make their entire back catalog available in digital forms - that's 175 issues of quality genre writing!  Obviously, this will take more work than just adjusting their current output for format so they have started a Kickstarter.  All I would ask is that if you sample the free magazine and like what you see, could you please consider donating something to them - as they say, even a few dollars will help immeasurably.  The link is here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1416663393/video-watchdog-digital-archive-for-ipad-android-an

Here's a GEEKS OF DOOM spotlight on the effort:

http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2013/12/07/kickstarter-spotlight-video-watchdog-launches-campaign-digitize-massive-print-archive


I urge any genre film fan worth their salt to investigate this fine magazine.  You no longer have the excuse of print unavailability.  Tim & Donna Lucas and *all* the magazine's staff of writers (which currently includes Kim Newman and Ramsey Campbell!) put their love of this material into their writings with every issue!  You will be a better fan, creator and possibly even a more rounded person for it!

I thank you for your time.

YE OLDE EDITOR
« Last Edit: December 08, 2013, 12:02:05 AM by Sgarre1 »



Alasdair5000

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Oh HELL YES.

Shawn, do you want a patch to maybe drop onto an episode to help promote these guys?



Sgarre1

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Al, I'll reply in email.