Friday 24 June 2016

Video of the Week: Day 5 - Episode 1: Waking Nightmare (by Rooster Teeth)

WARNING: Contains coarse language, sexual dialogue, violence, and nudity. Viewer's discretion is advised.


On April 1st, 2003, Burnie Burns released the first ever episode of what would quickly become an internet sensation, Red Vs Blue. People flooded the internet to download it and watch it, and it only ever grew more and more popular. Back then, it was just a bunch of people gathered together in their home, having a bit of fun. No one knows what the future holds, and when their show picked up massively, they moved up and haven’t stopped moving up.

In 2013, they celebrated their 10th anniversary of Rooster Teeth. A lot has happened in ten years. Rooster Teeth had expanded beyond anyone’s prediction. Employing new people, starting new projects, but continuing to keep their core program alive throughout. When I was first introduced to Rooster Teeth some years ago, I was actually introduced to the sub-division known as Achievement Hunter, which had one of the co-founders of the company in charge, Geoff Ramsey. Achievement Hunter focused purely on games. They had only just started their Minecraft series at the time, which is now well into the 200s. I didn’t start branching out into other aspects of the company until much later down the line, but when I did, I never looked back and regretted it. The whole company as a whole stole my concentration without asking it, but I didn’t care. They can have it. With what they are doing today, they can even try and sell it back to me for an extortionate price, if they want… I’m not going to pay them, but they can try nevertheless. Ironically, I have become a Sponsor, but I don’t think that’s the same thing…

In 10 years, they had moved on to creating a lot more life-action series. The Rooster Teeth Shorts to name to most popular. They began the podcast which is still going strong at – as of writing this article – 381. They were making a huge impact on the Internet, and still are. In 2013, they released a new animated show, RWBY. That made a gigantic impact the very moment it was uploaded, and for four years, that impact is only getting bigger. As we are sitting in the anticipation of series 4 of RWBY, the company continues to grow. New animated shows, Camp Camp, RWBY Chibi has been welcomed by the community, and many more. I can’t talk about Rooster Teeth’s success without mentioning their feature-length film, Lazer Team. Crowdfunded by the community, breaking all-sorts of records; they have certainly broken through into a new chapter of their company.

That new chapter couldn’t have started off stronger with the highly anticipated release of their new live-action series, Day 5.

Day 5 takes place after a sudden apocalyptic nightmare occurred overnight. If you go to sleep, you will die. Your body needs sleep, and the longer you withhold that, the more it craves it, and the more it craves it, the more you will start suffering. Hallucinations, lack of concentration, and disgusting-looking eyes are only three of the many side-effects from lack of sleep. The only way to stay awake is to take an incredible amount of stimulating drugs, such as powerful adrenaline.

When I first heard about the new show a couple of years back, the premise did sound intriguing, but as it was a couple of years ago, I gradually forgot about it. Things started happening here and there, new shows were being released, new adventures were to be had, and then suddenly the first episode was released.

I’m not going to give an opinion on the entire series after only seeing the first episode, but upon seeing it, it can only get better. Whenever anyone who was involved with the production of the show would be asked to say something about it, they would often be heard saying that it was “different from anything Rooster Teeth has ever done”. Upon seeing the first episode, I have to agree for all the right reasons. It is a fully produced, live-action drama/thriller/horror, that explores an original concept and has made me scared to go to sleep.

The four characters, Jake, Sam, Ally, and Ellis, must find the source of the apocalypse before they fall asleep. I can sense that it’s going to be tense throughout, but there’s one thing that Rooster Teeth is known for and that’s for the comedy. The main writers, Chris Demarais and Josh Flanagan, blended the seriousness of the concept with the company’s comedic roots perfectly whilst branching out into other unfamiliar areas.

As I said earlier in this article, this is the beginning of a new chapter in the company’s life. If this is a success, and it pretty much already is even after less than a week of release, then the sky’s the limit. The amount of possibilities that have been and will be opened in the future will enable them to create even more great entertainment. I will be watching the rest of this series, and any others that they put forward because now that I’ve seen what they are capable of, they deserve that first chance, and as their company continues to grow and mold into something different but keeping their roots exactly the same, that first impression will only get better and better. Day 5 has certainly proved that.

Thanks for reading
Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

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