Dispatch reminded me of the strengths of episodic storytelling
Dispatch's regular releases were a great way to tell its superhero story
This is a post about Dispatch, but it’s not really about Dispatch, because the truth is I think you should close your browser window and go play Dispatch right now, if you have the ability to do so. If not, that’s okay — the entire game is out now, and I’ve played through it and verified it’s good, so you’re in for a treat. But Dispatch didn’t come out all in one go; instead, we saw a regular schedule of episodes, each of which revealed a little bit more of the story.
It was great; I was taken back to an earlier age, back before the dominance of streaming, when every big show came out on a weekly schedule. Now, it’s hit or miss – shows like Pluribus are periodical, while other shows come out in multi-part blocks or all in one go. It’s easy to get nostalgic for watercooler discussion around the big show of the season, but I also remember tons of shows that ended up being a huge disappointment, due to production problems, terrible decisions from the writers’ room, or a confluence of factors.