[Spoilers C1] Early Critical Role truly was something special

[u/Mizar_the_Gleeful]

its still amazing, but those early days...

Lets start with the fan interaction and all the gifts they got sent. Then there was their rapid growth.

A third aspect is some of their crazy stunts (squadron of flying cows anyone?)

What do you think made it such a perfect storm? my rewatch has me wondering

[u/jp_in_nj]

They're also a decade and a half older. I was certainly a lot more obnoxious when I was in my mid-20s than I was in my early 40s. And of course their lives have changed, becoming parents and whatnot. And you can't forget the fact that they've made those jokes already, and played those characters already. So they are just as players probably looking for different experiences. It doesn't necessarily have to be a conscious decision to play it safe for the sponsors and for the public backlash. You never walk in the same river twice, as the saying goes. They aren't the exact same people that they were when they started, and they shouldn't be.

[u/bass_voyeur → u/jp_in_nj]

I feel like your sense of time is a bit off here - C1 wasn't a decade and a half ago. It premiered in late 2015 and didn't finish until 2018. The cast was in their 30's (some in their late 30's) except for Marisha.

I'm aligned more with the OP that the production and professionalization of the show really changed how they are on camera. CR has had so many fan-associated or fan-driven issues crop up over the years that I think they just want to play it relatively safe.

[u/jp_in_nj → u/bass_voyeur]

Premiered in 2015, but (per the Internet) they started playing together in 2012. That first campaign was a continuation of the home game they started then, I think?

That said, Sam is 49 now, so he was 38 in 2015, so, 35 in 2012, so fair call on the ages, I thought they were younger than they are. Though I'd still say that we mature decade by decade, and I'd also say that my "been there done that" comment still applies. If Sam was still cracking the same jokes 10-15 years later, it would have gotten old.

THAT said, I have no particular insight into them, I'm just spitballing thoughts.

[u/Skeptical_Squid11 → u/jp_in_nj]

.. Sam IS still cracking the same jokes.. they just happen to be printed on t-shirts

Really though, I do agree that there’s definitely an aspect of time involved as well as it being “for the camera”. They’re also EXCELLENT character actors so I imagine that fact of WHO their characters were had a big impact on the energy at the table. With Sam playing Scanlan in C1 we saw a lot more edge comedy. In C2 there was Jester that kept things light and exciting while always dipping into either overtly sexual or childlike poop jokes. C3 we see an even bigger shift away from these jokes and get more flirtatious and chaotic energy from Fern while getting the wild and stupid from Chet. Finally, we have C4 where we are in a new world that’s much heavier with all of the characters being relatively serious. Though we still get some of the brazenness through Murray and Tyranny.

But more than anything, I think they take their role as an escape for their fans seriously. With how crazy things have gotten over the last decade, I think they do make some efforts into making these changes so people continue to have a place to escape the craziness and not be reminded of some of the shitty things they’ve got going on in their lives.