Quibi: What’s the Rush?
By Sophia Fineza
Hey there! If you keep up with streaming services and new releases, you might’ve heard of this little app called Quibi.
So, Quibi’s whole deal is that it’s an all mobile platform with 7-10 minute episodes. Now, I gave Quibi a little test run, and personally, it’s just not worth it…at least not yet. The idea of the thing is quite appealing, but those ‘quick bite’ episodes are really a normal 30-60 minute episode chopped up into tiny little chunks. The way that they’re spliced is just kind of awkward. Instead of ending on something like a cliff-hanger, a scene will end, and then there’s an immediate cut to the credits. The first episode of When the Streetlights Go On I watched, I was genuinely confused on the ending of the episode. It’s quite disorienting and basically ruins the flow of the show.
If I’m being completely honest, the editing of the episodes isn’t the only thing that ruins Quibi. It would be one thing if there was actually good stuff to be ruined, but the fact of the matter is that the shows on Quibi just aren’t very good. They’ve got all these great A-list actors like Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones, X-Men: Dark Phoenix) and Chosen Jacobs (IT, IT Chapter 2), and they do a great job in their roles, but the actual stories that they’re telling just don’t stand out. The premise of the series will sound interesting, but the execution isn’t good, and the shows don’t capture my interest in the way a network, Netflix, or Hulu original show would.
I mean, the app’s gotta have at LEAST one redeeming quality…..right? The layout is kinda cool? And there’s that one show that’s actually okay? (thanks, Will Arnett!) Even those are a stretch. Another thing that’s kinda weird about the streaming service is that it was supposed to be purely for mobile devices, but they’ve announced that they will be making the transition to a TV app soon, therefore making Quibi even less of an original idea. Maybe it’s just me, but Quibi just isn’t worth $5 a month ($7 if you don’t want ads). The shows aren’t worth having a conversation about, and the editing is choppy. If you’re willing to give it a shot, go for it, but I think we should be sticking to the streaming services we’ve been relying on for a while. I mean, it’s got a 90(!!!!!) day free trial, so use that up, but just remember that Netflix isn’t going anywhere.