BUZZ: The Post’s recapper Nicole Homewood has written about “The Bachelorette,” “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” and “Mad Men.” (ABC via Getty Images)
“Sarah Palin’s Alaska” (Gilles Mingasson)
“Mad Men” (AP)
BUZZ: The Post’s recapper Nicole Homewood has written about “The Bachelorette,” “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” and “Mad Men.” (
)
Dying to know what happened on “Two and a Half Men” last night? Someone’s got your back.
Not me, though, because why are you watching “Two and a Half Men”?
I’ve recapped “Mad Men,” “American Idol,” local installations of the “Real Housewives” franchise, “The Bachelor” and its ilk, “Kourtney & Kim Take New York,” “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” “Jersey Shore,” “Project Runway,” “The City,” “The Hills” and “Gossip Girl” for nypost.com, and I can tell you that recappin’ ain’t easy.
First and foremost, you have to choose a show that you like to watch. (Note: This does not necessarily equate to a “good” show.)
Each of the above shows had something that made me want to watch and write about it, even if the “something” was the possibility of a train wreck.
If you want people to actually read your recaps, you figure out quickly that you need to pick a show that other people watch, too.
You might regularly watch “Through the Wormhole” on the Science Channel, just waiting for Morgan Freeman to say “Andy Dufresne,” but no one wants to read recaps of a show about physics.
The best recaps go through an episode in a distinct and thoughtful way that adds to your viewing experience.
Some superb recaps provide deep analysis about character development and the historical period in which the show is set. Others just set out the plot points with no embellishment, like the way you talk about your life with your mom after you get past discussion of the weather.
Still others (like mine) tend to be snarky throughout.
Here’s how it’s done:
I typically write a stream-of-consciousness recap. It lets me give my visceral reaction to what’s going on as I’m watching. The details have to sort themselves out later.
I’ll tell you what happened on an admittedly superficial level, as though we’re having a conversation about the crazy/amazing/terrible show I watched last night.
Writing as you watch helps you get it done quickly, because no one wants to read a stale recap three days later.
Ideally, you’ll have it filed and posted the next morning, by the time readers sit down to lunch at their desks, drip some chipotle mayo onto their keyboards, and catch up on what happened.
My favorite shows to recap are reality shows where the “stars” take themselves way too seriously, so I get a lot of joy out of poking fun at them.
I have learned this, though: You can’t write a funny recap of a show that’s already intentionally funny. The writers of those shows get paid a lot of money to be funny. Recappers get paid in potato salad.
Recap readers are an incredibly observant bunch. They take their television seriously, and they expect you to pick up on everything they saw and then some. They are quick to ding you if you get a detail or a quote wrong.
Many times they’re not reading your recap because they missed the show — they just want to get your take.
Did you spot the same nuances? Did you leave with the same impressions? Do you also think Brad Womack from “The Bachelor” looks like a Doberman pinscher?
The recap market may have reached saturation point (why do recaps of “The Office” exist?). But when you find a show that hits a nerve with people, and a way to talk about it that is somehow both familiar and unique, you’ve added another layer to the viewing experience.
There may be other places to find out what happened on their favorite show, but if the recap is done really well, they’ll want to read what you have to say whether they watched or not.