In The Absence of Television - Part 1
TV licences are expensive! They currently cost £145.50 a year, and there's no student discount. Understandably, not many students have TV in their room, including me. This is difficult for a self confessed TV addict like me. Of course, there are many places to catch up on your favourite TV programmes, and I'll be covering those in part 2, but today I want to talk about StarKid!
I first got introduced to StarKid about a year ago, when I stumbled across A Very Potter Musical. If I had to sum A Very Potter Musical up in two words, they would be Totally Awesome. I've since been on to get the soundtrack, and it currently wakes me up in the morning. It follows the story of young wizard Harry Potter as he returns to Hogwarts, takes part in the Triwizard tournament and defeats the evil lord Voldemort... yes this does sound a little familiar. The plot is based on the latter half of the Harry Potter series, albeit with a little artistic licence. The story has been set to a wonderful soundtrack by Darren Criss, who plays Harry (he's been in Glee don'tcha know?), and the script is both hilarious and moving, often at the same time. It's some going to get through the whole lot, but it breaks up quite well into 10 minute segments. I watched it over the course of a few days, whenever I had a spare few minutes, and it works well in that way. The whole thing is available on YouTube, although the sound quality is quite sketchy, and the best thing is, it's completely free and legal! Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmwM_AKeMCk
At the end of watching A Very Potter Musical, I missed it. I watched it again of course, but it's just not quite the same. Fortunately for you, there's a sequel! A Very Potter Sequel is in fact a Prequel (Timey Wimey), and follows some of the events of Harry's first years at Hogwarts... with a few changes. In the beginning the remaining death eaters, lost without Voldemort, use a time turner to go back in time with the plan to kill Harry before he destroys Voldemort. The potter kids are all a bit younger and more naive, none more so than the fabulous Loren Lopez as Draco Malfoy, but nonetheless hilarious as ever. If you've seen A Very Potter Musical, this is the obvious next step, with more emotion, laughter and music... and better sound quality. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OepW-AG-Ris
The next StarKid musical takes a massive leap away from the family friendly realms of Harry Potter parody. The awkwardly named Me and my Dick follows main character Joey and his Dick through their various romantic misadventures. It's definitely one for an older audience, but maintains high quality humour and songs. Only trouble is when it comes to asking other people if they've seen it... Again, it's all on YouTube, free and legal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmpnUf_TiG4
After this, desperate for more StarKid content, I came across Little White Lie. To be honest, I wish I hadn't. It's a change from the usual StarKid format. It's shot in several locations, rather than on stage. It's not so much of a musical, as a soap with some music in it, and it doesn't look like it'll ever be finished. Though Darren, Brian and Loren do brilliant jobs on their character, the rest of the cast is lacking, particularly the lead, who’s constant moodiness could almost outshine Twilights notorious Bella. If you must try it, you can catch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWhi__zmDSY
Doesn't look like you'll have to wait too long for a bit more StarKid, their new musical Starship shows in Chicago from February 11th to the 23rd, and I'm sure we'll see it on YouTube not long after. For more info, check the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFn_fpYn68k&feature=sub
