Videogum
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Videogum'' was a daily Internet publication devoted to coverage of popular culture with a focus on movies and television. ''
Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...
'' founder Scott Lapatine founded Videogum as a sister site to ''Stereogum'' in 2008, and enlisted editors Gabe Delahaye and Lindsay Robertson, who quickly gained a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
for their humorous commentary on pop culture and the Internet. Videogum spawned an online community known as the "Monsters" who perpetuated a variety of internet memes through the site's commentary system, chat, their communal blog, and via
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
. The site garnered several nominations and accolades, including a win at the 2010 ECNY Awards for "Best Website".


History

In 2009, Lindsay Robertson left the site, leaving Gabe Delahaye as its sole voice. ''Videogum'' was mentioned in several prominent publications including ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', and inspired segments on TV shows including ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,
''. In 2011, Kelly Conaboy was hired as junior editor. Delahaye frequently made fun of her dislike of the movie '' You Can Count on Me''. In 2012, Mary Miller was hired as a second associate editor. ''Videogum'' was named one of the Best Blogs of 2011 by ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''. In 2013, Gabe Delahaye quit ''Videogum''. February 7, 2014 was the last day of normal operations for Videogum, at which time editor Scott Lapatine was "assessing options for keeping Videogum online in some form".


Former recurring features

* Why Don't You Caption It: Feature in which the site's commenters were encouraged to create their own caption for an absurd or funny photo selected by the editor. The comment with the most upvotes got special placement in that week's Monsters' Ball. * Teen Korner: A satirical commentary on teenage trends and interests written in slang. * Monsters' Ball: The Week's Best Comments: This weekly feature compiled the 5 highest-rated comments (rated by the Monsters themselves), the lowest-rated comment, the Why Don't You Caption It winner, and an Editor's Choice comment. * Taking One for the Team: Author and comedian
Joe Mande Joseph Mande (born March 16, 1983) is an American comedian and script writer. Early life Mande was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Louis Mande, a lawyer, and Deborah Mande, a judge. He moved to St. Paul, Minnesota at the age of ten and gradu ...
participated in activities or attending events that would generally be mocked on ''Videogum''. This feature saw Joe performing many tasks, such as reading
Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
's '' The Overton Window'' and attending a live taping of '' The Marriage Ref''. * Best New Party Game: A semi-regular feature in which Gabe established a contest generally themed around cinematic wordplay or parodies of popular film quotes. The site's commenters voted for their favorites, and the winner was mentioned in the Monsters' Ball. * Videogum Movie Club: On weeks which saw the major theatrical release of a movie relevant to the site's interests, Gabe posted a short review and open discussion of the film was encouraged in the comments section. * ''Duh Aficionado'' Magazine: Not an official site feature but a very common recurring theme. The title was usually given to posts which featured news that served to reaffirm the generally held belief about the subject. * Videogum Promise: ''Videogum'' promised to diligently follow a select listing of celebrities and post any interesting interviews or news relating to them. The promise was made regarding the following celebrities:
Tracy Morgan Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2003, and played Tracy Jordan in the NBC sitcom ''30 Ro ...
, Louis C.K.,
Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (; born October 1, 1969) is an American actor, comedian and writer. The accolades he has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Critics' Choice Movie Award. Galifianakis ...
. * Videogum Archives: Included, "The TWSS Archives" and "The Porno Switcheroo Archives." "The TWSS Archives" highlighted typical That's What She Said moments in which someone made an unintended
sexual innuendo An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...
, while "The Porno Switcheroo Archives" highlighted instances where actual pornography was unintentionally shown in public. * ''Top Chef'' Recaps: A weekly column where Gabe recaped that week’s episode of ''
Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...
''. * ''Mad Men'' Recaps: A weekly column recapping that week’s episode of ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
''. This column was usually written by Benji Meyer, a 10-year-old who lived with his parents in Ohio. However, when Benji wasn't forced to watch ''Mad Men'' and was allowed to go to bed early, Gabe wrote the recap. *The Petting Zoo: The Week's Top 10 Animal Videos: A weekly round-up of Kelly's favorite viral pet videos. *''Friendly Chat'': Wednesday end-of-day chat conversation between Gabe and Kelly. They generally discussed a news point of the day. Kelly was usually fired by the end of the chat. *How Was Everyone's Day Today: Thursday end-of-day feature that utilized the comments section as a forum for Monsters to talk about the latest events in their lives. * You Can Make It Up: A weekly piece of celebrity fan fiction. Unlike most fan fiction, Delahaye's pieces parodied the celebrity, incorporating some current embarrassing action or statement from that celebrity. For example, after former model and talk show host
Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American model, television personality, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15 and was the first Black A ...
pretended to have rabies on an episode of her show, Delahaye wrote a piece called "Tyra Banks Has Rabies in the Forest," which cast her as a blood-thirsty animal. * The Hunt for the Worst Movie of All Time: Videogum's longest running feature, in which Gabe attempted to watch as many reader-nominated films as he could in an attempt to find the worst. Often referred to simply as "The Hunt," the inspiration for this feature came from Gabe's feelings after watching the film ''
Death Sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
'' starring
Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Bacon made his featu ...
. There were many rules governing what films may be nominated including availability on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
, whether or not it is "intended" to be horrible, and inclusion of "A- or B-list" actors, among others. * Double Dog: The predecessor to "Taking One for the Team," these posts featured either Gabe or Lindsay completing challenges presented to them by the other. Some examples include Gabe attending a taping of ''Today'' and Lindsay taking a TV Bus Tour of New York City while alone and wearing a " Just Jack" T-shirt. * Friday Fights: A feature during Lindsay's tenure in which she and Gabe engaged in a debate formatted as an IM conversation. This feature was briefly revisited with Gabe and RichFourFour debating the merits of ''
Inception ''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action heist film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced it with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by inf ...
'' for the Videogum Movie Club. * ''Lost'' Recaps: Gabe recapped episodes of the popular ABC show '' Lost'' until its final episode in May, 2010. * ''The Event'' Recaps: Gabe recapped episodes of the ABC show ''
The Event ''The Event'' (stylized as THE EVƎNT) is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, Action fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. It was created by Nick Wauters and aired on NBC from September 20, 2010, to ...
'' until Gabe realized ''The Event'' stinks and was not the new ''Lost''. * ''True Blood'' Recaps: A weekly column where Gabe reviews that week’s episode of ''
True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels ...
'' which he lovingly refers to as "The Worst Show On Television". * What's Up With Topher Grace?: Perhaps ''Videogum''s most well-known feature where the site periodically checked in to see what is up with actor
Topher Grace Christopher John Grace ( ; born July 12, 1978), known professionally as Topher Grace, is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Eric Forman in the teen sitcom ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2005) and Eddie Brock / Venom in Sam Raimi's s ...
and his current career happenings
On September 22, 2010
Gabe stated that he was ending the feature, on the day of its one-year anniversary. Gabe explained his decision with "I think we’re done here. If even I am losing enthusiasm for this, then I believe I have made my point." He concluded the final column with "Best of luck to Topher Grace and all of the human beings trying to make it in this world." * ''Glee'' Recaps: A weekly column where guest author Gabe Liedman (informally ''Soft Gabe'') recapped the week’s episode of ''Glee''. * Movies For Dudes: A weekly feature in which Gabe Liedman took on the genre of Dude Flicks, where guns, pecs, car crashes, and glib one-liners delivered in front of a burning building with only half a T-shirt on and nothing left to lose reign supreme. Gabe Liedman loves those movies for so many reasons, all of which are that they turn him ON.


Monsters

''Videogum''s commenter community was embraced by the administrators. Senior editor, Gabe Delahaye attributed this to his participation as a regular commenter on pop culture sites. Famous "monsters" or commenters have included: *
Ken Jennings Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show host, former contestant, and author. He is best known for his work on the syndicated quiz show ''Jeopardy!'' as a contestant and later its host. Jennings was born in Edm ...
*
Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo (born September 11, 1970) is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Earl ...
* Jake Fogelnest ''Videogum'' was also associated with the "Goof Troop" Internet group.


References

{{Reflist


External links


Videogum website

Interview with Site Editor Gabe Delahaye


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100729135120/http://werttrew.tumblr.com/ Tumblr Site for Videogum's Official/Unofficial Monster Archivist, Werttrew
Videogum's Origins

Monsters on Last.FM
American entertainment websites Defunct American websites Internet properties disestablished in 2014