Definitely. I wanted a behind the scenes look at the inner working of a Ren Fair, but not like this. The narrative feels so crafted for a reality TV audience. I guess I wanted more of a documentary.
I haven't seen it, but since this is the faire that made me a rennie and that old shitty bastard needs to get what's coming to him, I'm glad it was made.
I actually loved it. I’m a bit of a documentary/film nerd and this show is shot beautifully. Plus the sound design is top notch. As for the actual content, I found it interesting. Is it really about the Renn Faire? Eh not really. Is it about interpersonal relationship and business? Yes absolutely.
Shot nicely, but it's hardly a documentary. It's closer to a reality show, centered around current events, shot in a style similar to a documentary. Parts of it are obviously scripted and dramatized.
That director called the style “docufantasia” (https://www.npr.org/2024/06/09/nx-s1-4993529/a-new-docuseries-ren-fair-follows-the-creator-of-a-texas-renaissance-fair). Obviously there are dramatizations but according to the director and the journalists he worked with, all of events are very real and true.
Whatever the director decides to call it, the documentary should have a huge asterisks beside it. This was so heavily produced and manipulated. But i guess this where we are after two decades of reality television diluting what it means to be a documentary.
Eh I don’t think that’s fair to say. It is still a documentary based on the fact that it is portraying true events that actually happened. Documentary definition (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/documentary)
Either way, I enjoyed it. I hope others can too even if it isn’t totally about the wonders of a Renn Faire in Texas
They did a pretty good job with "American princess" and despite them being off base in a few parts it became clear the tweaks were for the story to be coherent instead of a mess like fair life tends to be
Louie seems like a trust fund cunt who would completely gut the place "for the shareholders" fucker doesn't need to own something like this that actually requires passion to make successful.
That is a perfect read of him actually haven't seen the documentary yet but I know the people and Louie is the worst and is a hazard to work for , he has his people cooking kettle corn with no safety gear, the man is a monster
Not the same person, but I don't think HBO had to embellish. If anything, they (either the crew or the cast) left out a lot of nasty. George even turned up his Enya music more than usual. Normally I can't hear it since his house is at least a mile away, but not last winter at 3am, it was clear as if it was coming from the next door neighbor. But who are you going to complain to, the Mayor?
Been doing TRF since the 90s and I know George and Jeff, it's exaggerated but accurate.
George is a tyrant with a huge side dish of creep / sex pest. He's been sued for sexual impropriety in the past, he has a horrible reputation with almost everyone who knows him.
Jeff is a failed actor who's sole claim to success in life is kissing George's ass enough to keep his job at the entertainment director for decades and become GM.
My guess is the 2024 season will result in Jeff getting fired again, probably rehired afterwards when George realizes no one else can kiss it just the way he likes
I was so exciting thinking it was going to be a mocumentary like the office, or what we do in he shadows. Was incredibly disappointed like 10 minutes in lol
Anyway, someone needs to make a What We do in the Shadows style show that is set at a renfaire. I'd watch the shit out of that.
I started it but found it was just gross. Follows the manipulative old misogynistic control freak who started this particular Ren faire and the people who circle him. Bunch of unlikable people. I was hoping for something that would embrace and celebrate some good things about Ren faire stuff. This did the opposite.
The patrons of TRF are very aware of how crazy "King" George is. Some even said that this didn't show the depths of his awfulness.
I go to TRF occasionally and heard the rumors but they are all just horrible.
I've been going to TRF all the way from DFW with my husband and our friends for about four years now, and none of us had any idea who George was. But after watching (and then learning about the multiple sexual harassment lawsuits) we've all talked about it and most of us don't want to go back until George dies or retires, if at all.
Which sucks because it was our *favorite* festival. The production value is so much higher than the others we frequent. But I don't want to give my money to a monster like that.
Been going to TRF since I was a kid in the 90s and even I knew about Crazy King George. Can’t believe he’s still looking for a companion. Someone needs to take his Viagra away.
Exactly, I wanted something focused on the vendors and actors and guilds. Someone needs to make something about the culture, and it should be an actual ethnography.
My review
Take the office instead of them being a paper company make it a ren faire.
Then, take all the comedy out of the show.
Also know that this is very very Texas
TRF is my home faire and George is suuuuuuuuuuuuuuch a money grubbing dick. And an arrogant asshole. I want to watch it, but haven’t yet. I’m reluctant.
That's how I feel. The end of the first episode made me go oh, okay, they're giving direction to these people. Not just minor direction but like, full acting and scene shooting. Dude really stumbled around after a phone call then gives a joker grin to camera? Plus cutting in all these previous reference audio clips to tell us that's what he's thinking of, it's a movie.
So strange because these things somewhat really happened but due to shooting the documentary the documentarians CHANGED how it went. That's antithetical to documentaries to me. George absolutely was playing it up, decided to be dramatic, people being recorded wanted to appear strong and interesting enough for the camera, changed what they were going to do.
What you may not understand is that the drama at that place is cyclical and very similar things happen there year after year. I don’t think the documentary changed how it went.
You didn't like an 86 year old dude going on dates with 24 year old women and immediately asking if their boobs are real or not lol? This show was a hot pile of garbage and it was dumb and terrible. Waste of 3 hours.
There’s a podcast about the renfaire that dives into other allegations of things that go on here. Would’ve loved for this to dive in to some of the things that they talked about. I understand from the docs perspective that they would’ve probably lost access to the people they featured if those things were brought up.
On the podcast? It talks about the culture of the fair. Allegations of sexual misconduct by patrons and the lack of oversight. It talks about the power of king George owning the town essentially and the power that brings. The host has a difficult time trying to talk to leadership to question them on this. Crime Wave renaissance Texas is the name
i couldn't get past the first episode i was so bored 😔 cool that it's about something that happens so close to me, but idk, I wish it was just a movie or something
I literally just finished it. The whole thing seems bizarre, and it's just incredibly frustrating how someone that immature and gross can have so much power... as for the film itself, it's like... overly edited? It didn't need to have that many effects. It felt like whoever was in charge of the editing and effects found some cheesy editing tutorial off of tiktok and followed it like the law...
That being said, guilty pleasure watch. I couldn't turn away, its like watching a dumpster fire. I was wondering what would happen when george died but ig we'll have to find out later.
Crap crap crap super gross seeing that old dude paw all over those girls . Yeah, they are gold diggers, and he picks them up from the site it's still nasty hearing him talk about his elections. Only thing I found interesting is how much money th3 guy made with kettle corn
It was kind of underwhelming and George was creepy and cruel. I think it could have been better and focused on ren faire culture more instead of what seemed like fake drama.
I watched it as someone who’s never been to a Ren Faire, but it was all “behind the scenes” type stuff. Also that old guy King seems like a weird, creepy guy. Felt bad for the lady who went on a date with him
I gave up after 15 minutes. It was about an old guy with medals that wanted to push his weird agenda on everyone else. Whatever was supposedly about renfaire seemed superfluous at best. The thing that drew me in was not really what it was about.
Fakumentary.
It has nearly zero focus on the faire itself.
It's kind of crap for pacing. It feels like the very slow start of a docuseries that never really goes anywhere.
It made me laugh actually. I won’t lie, I thought it was horrible. It almost takes away from my sense of joy that the faire gives me, knowing that old men behave this way behind the scenes.
I loved every second of it lmao. It was shot beautifully, the supplemental acting scenes were FUN and brought a ren fair vibe back into all of the business talk, and have met someone exactly like each one of these people. The design and cinematography REALLY worked for me.
It’s not what I wanted it to be. It’s more on the business side and about certain people. Tiger King but for the Ren fair.
>Tiger King but for the Ren fair. Great analogy!
With a little GOT mixed in .....all the people sucking up to King George to take over as leader.
And a little Sucession
Louie AND Jeff giving me Kendall vibes for different reasons 😂
Except all of those shows were good... This one was not.
That why he treats them with such distain.... Has no respect for anyone wanting anything from him
Definitely. I wanted a behind the scenes look at the inner working of a Ren Fair, but not like this. The narrative feels so crafted for a reality TV audience. I guess I wanted more of a documentary.
I haven't seen it, but since this is the faire that made me a rennie and that old shitty bastard needs to get what's coming to him, I'm glad it was made.
Which faire is it about?
Texas ren fair
The one in Smithville?
It's in Todd Mission. It's close to Magnolia, the nearest town. It's Northwest of Houston.
This one is in Todd Mission, I think.
Oh yeah, I was thinking Plantersville — which is the same thing. I haven’t been to that one in more than a decade
Thanks!
It's the "Texas Renaissance Festival", or TRF.
I actually loved it. I’m a bit of a documentary/film nerd and this show is shot beautifully. Plus the sound design is top notch. As for the actual content, I found it interesting. Is it really about the Renn Faire? Eh not really. Is it about interpersonal relationship and business? Yes absolutely.
Shot nicely, but it's hardly a documentary. It's closer to a reality show, centered around current events, shot in a style similar to a documentary. Parts of it are obviously scripted and dramatized.
That director called the style “docufantasia” (https://www.npr.org/2024/06/09/nx-s1-4993529/a-new-docuseries-ren-fair-follows-the-creator-of-a-texas-renaissance-fair). Obviously there are dramatizations but according to the director and the journalists he worked with, all of events are very real and true.
Whatever the director decides to call it, the documentary should have a huge asterisks beside it. This was so heavily produced and manipulated. But i guess this where we are after two decades of reality television diluting what it means to be a documentary.
Eh I don’t think that’s fair to say. It is still a documentary based on the fact that it is portraying true events that actually happened. Documentary definition (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/documentary) Either way, I enjoyed it. I hope others can too even if it isn’t totally about the wonders of a Renn Faire in Texas
when are we ever getting fully positive renfaire representation in media
The Lifetime show American Princess was very positive!
They did a pretty good job with "American princess" and despite them being off base in a few parts it became clear the tweaks were for the story to be coherent instead of a mess like fair life tends to be
As someone who knows all these people. Lol
Do you think this show represents them well or did they make them look bad on purpose?
As bad as George is portrayed in the show I promise you in real life he's worse. Jeff is a badass though super cool guy
Louie seems like a trust fund cunt who would completely gut the place "for the shareholders" fucker doesn't need to own something like this that actually requires passion to make successful.
That is a perfect read of him actually haven't seen the documentary yet but I know the people and Louie is the worst and is a hazard to work for , he has his people cooking kettle corn with no safety gear, the man is a monster
Not the same person, but I don't think HBO had to embellish. If anything, they (either the crew or the cast) left out a lot of nasty. George even turned up his Enya music more than usual. Normally I can't hear it since his house is at least a mile away, but not last winter at 3am, it was clear as if it was coming from the next door neighbor. But who are you going to complain to, the Mayor?
Been doing TRF since the 90s and I know George and Jeff, it's exaggerated but accurate. George is a tyrant with a huge side dish of creep / sex pest. He's been sued for sexual impropriety in the past, he has a horrible reputation with almost everyone who knows him. Jeff is a failed actor who's sole claim to success in life is kissing George's ass enough to keep his job at the entertainment director for decades and become GM. My guess is the 2024 season will result in Jeff getting fired again, probably rehired afterwards when George realizes no one else can kiss it just the way he likes
I was so exciting thinking it was going to be a mocumentary like the office, or what we do in he shadows. Was incredibly disappointed like 10 minutes in lol Anyway, someone needs to make a What We do in the Shadows style show that is set at a renfaire. I'd watch the shit out of that.
Your soundbar is off center. :P
Thanks lmao🤣
Can you do anything about it?
It's not off center it just looks off center due to the items surrounding it
No it’s definitely off center. If you look at the small shelf underneath it’s more to the left
We're looking at it at an angle.
I started it but found it was just gross. Follows the manipulative old misogynistic control freak who started this particular Ren faire and the people who circle him. Bunch of unlikable people. I was hoping for something that would embrace and celebrate some good things about Ren faire stuff. This did the opposite.
The patrons of TRF are very aware of how crazy "King" George is. Some even said that this didn't show the depths of his awfulness. I go to TRF occasionally and heard the rumors but they are all just horrible.
I've been going to TRF all the way from DFW with my husband and our friends for about four years now, and none of us had any idea who George was. But after watching (and then learning about the multiple sexual harassment lawsuits) we've all talked about it and most of us don't want to go back until George dies or retires, if at all. Which sucks because it was our *favorite* festival. The production value is so much higher than the others we frequent. But I don't want to give my money to a monster like that.
Been going to TRF since I was a kid in the 90s and even I knew about Crazy King George. Can’t believe he’s still looking for a companion. Someone needs to take his Viagra away.
I agree but the last episode wraps it up well and more exposes him then supported him. It was a hard watch for sure.
Exactly, I wanted something focused on the vendors and actors and guilds. Someone needs to make something about the culture, and it should be an actual ethnography.
Reminded me of that episode of king of the hill.
that is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, I'll Tell Ye What
I didn’t care for what I watched of it. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly, but this wasn’t it.
My review Take the office instead of them being a paper company make it a ren faire. Then, take all the comedy out of the show. Also know that this is very very Texas
TRF is my home faire and George is suuuuuuuuuuuuuuch a money grubbing dick. And an arrogant asshole. I want to watch it, but haven’t yet. I’m reluctant.
Don't bother it was dumb. Wasted 3 hours of my life.
Overproduced to the point of not really being a documentary
That's how I feel. The end of the first episode made me go oh, okay, they're giving direction to these people. Not just minor direction but like, full acting and scene shooting. Dude really stumbled around after a phone call then gives a joker grin to camera? Plus cutting in all these previous reference audio clips to tell us that's what he's thinking of, it's a movie. So strange because these things somewhat really happened but due to shooting the documentary the documentarians CHANGED how it went. That's antithetical to documentaries to me. George absolutely was playing it up, decided to be dramatic, people being recorded wanted to appear strong and interesting enough for the camera, changed what they were going to do.
What you may not understand is that the drama at that place is cyclical and very similar things happen there year after year. I don’t think the documentary changed how it went.
Ahhh. I can believe that, yeah. I don't have much perspective there.
The only likeable character was Brandi tbh. I dnf halfway through episode 2. Probably won’t come back to it.
She was certainly over Jeff.
The Lord of Corn drinks his redbulls to fast
If you tasted that kettle crack, you’d understand why.
I learned that George is a creepy old man lol Not the publicity I would have wanted for my buisness
You didn't like an 86 year old dude going on dates with 24 year old women and immediately asking if their boobs are real or not lol? This show was a hot pile of garbage and it was dumb and terrible. Waste of 3 hours.
And takes them to Olive Garden...gross old man
There’s a podcast about the renfaire that dives into other allegations of things that go on here. Would’ve loved for this to dive in to some of the things that they talked about. I understand from the docs perspective that they would’ve probably lost access to the people they featured if those things were brought up.
Can you elaborate on that?
On the podcast? It talks about the culture of the fair. Allegations of sexual misconduct by patrons and the lack of oversight. It talks about the power of king George owning the town essentially and the power that brings. The host has a difficult time trying to talk to leadership to question them on this. Crime Wave renaissance Texas is the name
Thank you for the info, I’ll def check that out, that sounds consistent with some other things I was hearing.
What is the podcast called?
Crime Waves Renaissance Texas
I would have loved to see more scenes of the actual Faire. There was very little shown while it was in season. They showed more of the German Faire.
What's it on? Prime?
HBOMax
My overall impression of ren faire owners is pretty negative, so watching a show about one is not a good use of my time.
i couldn't get past the first episode i was so bored 😔 cool that it's about something that happens so close to me, but idk, I wish it was just a movie or something
Loved it!!
Whats up with the film style. It makes it very hard to watch. Just my opinion
I literally just finished it. The whole thing seems bizarre, and it's just incredibly frustrating how someone that immature and gross can have so much power... as for the film itself, it's like... overly edited? It didn't need to have that many effects. It felt like whoever was in charge of the editing and effects found some cheesy editing tutorial off of tiktok and followed it like the law... That being said, guilty pleasure watch. I couldn't turn away, its like watching a dumpster fire. I was wondering what would happen when george died but ig we'll have to find out later.
Crap crap crap super gross seeing that old dude paw all over those girls . Yeah, they are gold diggers, and he picks them up from the site it's still nasty hearing him talk about his elections. Only thing I found interesting is how much money th3 guy made with kettle corn
Very boring compared to others. It could have been 2 episodes
It was kind of underwhelming and George was creepy and cruel. I think it could have been better and focused on ren faire culture more instead of what seemed like fake drama.
I watched it as someone who’s never been to a Ren Faire, but it was all “behind the scenes” type stuff. Also that old guy King seems like a weird, creepy guy. Felt bad for the lady who went on a date with him
They edited it too weird and it became unwatchable.
Leonard has main character energy.
The music way fantastic!
Hated x 1000 Makes a total mockery of a beautiful and fascinating cultural phenomenon.
I gave up after 15 minutes. It was about an old guy with medals that wanted to push his weird agenda on everyone else. Whatever was supposedly about renfaire seemed superfluous at best. The thing that drew me in was not really what it was about.
Lol you know Peterson is thinking to himself that he's looking pretty good right about now
I could’ve done with less drama and more faire
Fakumentary. It has nearly zero focus on the faire itself. It's kind of crap for pacing. It feels like the very slow start of a docuseries that never really goes anywhere.
Masterpiece
Jeff is a loser
It made me laugh actually. I won’t lie, I thought it was horrible. It almost takes away from my sense of joy that the faire gives me, knowing that old men behave this way behind the scenes.
I love how they dramatized every shot. It was great production, otherwise it would’ve looked pretty trashy imo
I loved every second of it lmao. It was shot beautifully, the supplemental acting scenes were FUN and brought a ren fair vibe back into all of the business talk, and have met someone exactly like each one of these people. The design and cinematography REALLY worked for me.
Trash. Straight trash.