sammyfreak said:
To be honest popularity doesn't always reflect quality as the wonder of modern media has tought us.
Agreed.
I can appreciate that the majority of these comments are clearly running against these videos. That's cool. Everyone is welcome to their opinions.
I will say that most Channel 101 videos posted to YouTube seem to garner extremely small viewership. The one exception is the satirical Kicked in the Nuts. Which is clearly a parody of the mass appeal of nut busters. However, I don't think most people who watch Kicked in the Nuts appreciate the irony. They just like to see a good nad thrashing (and honestly now, who doesn't?). I guess more people are going to find America's Funniest Home Videos amusing than say... Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Although, Larry David's Seinfeld received massive popular acclaim, in the same way that Zero Punctuation is hailed by a larger community of fans. So sometimes (though rarely, in my opinion) popularity across a broad spectrum does reflect on quality.
It could be argued also, that Scott's work IS hailed in broader acclaim than even ZP. I don't know Scott's affiliation with Crank Yankers, for example, but perhaps the sheer number of eyeballs watching that show (a show which never appealed to me) is on par with the number viewing ZP. I don't know.
And then there is also the consideration that this thread is not truly reflective of the broadest reaction to these videos. How many unique people have panned this? Six? And are people who are generally displeased more likely to comment?
Think of a busker in the subway.
Maybe of 100 people who pass, 80 are neutral, 10 are interested, 8 are entertained, and 2 are offended and stop to loudly express their displeasure. If only the 2 stop, the impression the artist may come away with is that they suck. While, in fact, 98% were largely ambivalent or even outright entertained.
All I know is I find both ZP and VGT frickin' hilarious and my opinion cannot be voted into irrelevancy. To each his own, I suppose.