Amongst all the strange things that happened yesterday, one has stuck strangely in my mind even after sleeping and waking up strangely. A question. Could Stilgherrian Live return?
It’s almost two years since the last episode of my curious little live video webcast when, curiously enough given this week’s curious news about News, James Murdoch was voted “Cnut of the Week”. No, that’s not a typo, that’s what the segment was called.
Yesterday, within an hour of the moment of Full Moon, several different people suggested or even called for the program’s return — including two completely unrelated people who recently discovered the program archives, one who used to watch it every week back in 2008 and 2009, and one who thought… um, suggested… um, no… I can’t say any more. Bloody television.
So what do you think? Should the program remain a thing of its time, with the shows that were made sitting in the archive? Should Stilgherrian Live return? If it did return, which components should be continued? And when should it be produced?
My own thoughts are quite jumbled on this which is why I am asking you, Dear Reader…
If it came back, you would have to have the live chat component in my view. It was the chat stream (and your interaction with it) that was Stil Live’s secret sauce.
There’s already enough one-way opinionated ranting available 😉
@Shane: I agree 100%. I’ve recently re-watched three episodes — a slightly unsettling experience — to select some scenes for, um, something and it’s clear that comments in the chat triggered so much of the improvisation. The chat component is a must.
As another thought, I don’t think it would work as a hashtag in the Twitter stream either. Leaving aside the hashtag pollution it causes (you only need to see #qanda or #masterchef for painful reminders of that), there’s something to be said for the dynamics of a small and contained group. The Ustream chat was very good for that, although I am sure there are other off-the-shelf options.
I think it would be great if it returned. I agree with @Shane about about the need for interaction. It would be nice if it could be weekly, but better if it was whatever is manageable for you.
Sod it, hit go and then think of something. If it could go head to head with Q and A it would be all kinds of amazing.
Full moon does strange things, indeed. I don’t see why not. You’ve got the mojo and long tail audiences to go with you. To consider, what would you do differently from two years ago.
I’d love to be involved as part of the live audience of Stilgherrian Live again, it’s obviously a much bigger task for you but if you’re up for it once again and can enable the chat throughout the show I believe many more will find their way back to be involved.
@’Pong: I think I’d add a guest each week, so it’s not just my voice. Also, the program was done from my desk, but I don’t have a desk at the moment. Perhaps it’ll have to wait until I have an actual home again.
@Alison: Thank you. Just to put it into perspective, each episode of Stilgherrian Live took perhaps six hours all up. Reading news stories and making notes about what I might say. The blog post about “Cnut of the Week”. Preparing images that I’d reference. Shooting the Stilgherrian’s Street View segment. Selecting the videos that were played after the program proper finished. Shooting the opening video. Loading it all into the video switching software. The hour of the program itself. Unwinding afterwards. And then the follow-up blog post and administrivia like making sure people go their prizes.
This is remarkably little time for a one-hour TV program. But we’re still talking about a day, basically. If the program returns, the key issue for me is working it into my pattern of work and leisure.
I suspect the answer to that question is one that only you can give 😉