Watch Party Curious? Get your feet wet and join me April 29th for The Twilight Zone Watch Party

The party is virtual but the fun is real!

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Hello, Sci-fi Friends. I’m writing to you mid-week to let you know about a fun upcoming event I’m hosting: The Twilight Zone Watch Party. More on this in a moment. First, let me talk watch parties.

Many people are turning to watch parties for social interaction and entertainment. Particularly now, as we all socially isolate at home. A watch party is what it sounds like – people getting together to watch a favorite show, movie, or event.

We’ve all been to in-person watch parties for The Oscars or to see a big game like the Super Bowl. But these days when someone says “watch party” they mean virtual. It's safe to assume a party is online unless someone sends you a home address.

If you’ve never participated in a virtual watch party, have no fear. It’s easy. Simply follow these three steps, and you’ll be joining in on all the fun.

First, get your show

You’ll need to have the featured show/movie/whatever and a way to play it. It doesn’t matter how you watch so long as you are watching the same thing as everyone else.

Watch parties are BYOC - bring your own copy. If it’s a broadcast show or special, tune in and watch when it’s on. But for anything else, you’ll need the media and a way to play it. Many watch parties involve digital media that is available to stream. You can watch these on Amazon, Apple, Hulu, Netflix or other services. If it’s a movie or show that you already have on disk or tape, that works too. Make sure your media player is working, and you’re all set.

Next, get synced with everyone else

If it’s broadcast, easy: tune in when it’s on. For your own media, that’s super easy too - press play at the specified time. That’s it. Pro Tip: If you are late to the party, don’t fear. We all know that finding your old VHS copy of Slumber Party Massacre II takes time. So if you don’t get the tape loaded until 8:21, but the party started at 8, simply fast forward to 21 minutes into the movie. Genius, right?

Finally, socialize. It’s a party, after all.

How you socialize virtually depends on the party. If it’s a small group, the host might specify video conferencing like FaceTime or Zoom and send you a link. Live video conferencing works well with two or three people and even small groups. Others host events on their YouTube channels. There are even watch party-specific apps now. Netfix and others are getting in on the action with watch party-specific features. If invited to a party using one of these apps, don't hesitate to learn how.

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One of the easiest ways to socialize during a watch party is hashtagging on Twitter

Hashtags (“#FollowedByWords") are links that unite comments on Twitter into a single conversation. They allow users to follow along with all the talk, much like you would in person. Someone writes something, and others chime in. Unless, of course, someone says something awkward. Then it's silence - again, like in person. 

In the search field on Twitter, type in the hashtag for your watch party to see what everyone else is saying. Make sure you are looking at “latest” and refresh your screen every so often. And when you comment, don’t forget to add the hashtag, so it becomes part of the conversation too.

A note to the tech-averse out there

I know – some of my GenX friends and many of my Boomer followers just hit the brakes. I can hear it already – “I don’t tweeter.” Look, you don’t have to be a serious Twitter user to have an account for watch parties. Using it for only one purpose is quite common. Many people use Twitter only to engage with a specific group, kind of like a fan club.

My parents are even on Twitter and follow me (and you should follow them @JohnJennyClark1, they’d love it). It’s easy to set up an account. You don’t have to use your real name like they did. I'm @SciFiCreate. Once set up, you can see as little or as much of Twitter as you want. And no, you don't have to see tweets from @KimKardashian or @realDonaldTrump unless you want to. However, I would recommend following @SirPatStew (Patrick Stewart, a.k.a. Captain Picard). Lately, he's been reading Shakespeare sonnets each day, and his voice is so soothing. Yes, he has a hashtag for it. Pro Tip: Click on this hashtag - #ASonnetADay - and you can see what a live Twitter feed looks like without even signing up.

Have I convinced you to go on Twitter? If so, then you are ready to party – virtually! The day of the event, have Twitter ready and follow along with the hashtag as described above. It's a low-cost commitment, and you’ll learn Twitter is not that scary after all. Well, Twitter is that scary. Much of what people say and do there is frankly terrifying. Don’t look at that stuff. Follow your watch party hashtag, and then get out.

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Now, for The Twilight Zone Watch Party – join me!

Full details are on my website here.

The Twilight Zone Watch Party is a three-week event, happening on Wednesday evenings April 29th, May 6th, and May 13th, all beginning at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT. Why then? We will be watching episodes 29, 30, and 31 exactly 60 years from the date and time they first aired. Cool, right? To flesh it out and make it an event, we will also be watching a “best of” episode as well.

For the first party, we’re watching Episode 29 “Nightmare as a Child” (original air date April 29th, 1960 - 60 YEARS AGO TO THE DAY) and Episode 64 “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” (original air date May 26th, 1961).

The Twilight Zone is available in several formats. Streaming: CBS All Access (recommended; all episodes available with subscription); Amazon and Hulu (all episodes available to rent or buy). Check your preferred provider for more options. Physical media: Several Blue Ray, DVD, and VHS sets are out there.

For all dates, our party begins at 10:00 PM Eastern for the first episode and 11:00 PM Eastern for the second. Between there will be an intermission with other entertainment, TBD.

#TwilightZoneWatchParty

That’s it. But not quite. I’ve enlisted some help with the party from my friends over at Monster Movie happy Hour (MMHH). These monster mixologists have fun talking scary movies and making videos about drinks. They post these shenanigans on their website and YouTube. Check them out. They are pulling together a special mid-century cocktail recipe specifically for this party. It’ll be debuting on YouTube on April 29th - more details to follow.

Okay, I hope this post has encouraged you to join in on a watch party or two over the coming weeks. And I hope you’ll join me this next Wednesday for the first Twilight Zone Watch Party. Our dimension is kind of lonely right now, so why not travel to another dimension together? Next stop – The Twilight Zone!

Until next time. Science. Fiction. Create.

JRC