Scott the Woz

Scott the Woz (stylized in start case) is a gaming comedy review web series created by American YouTuber Scott Daniel Wozniak. The series, starring Wozniak, covers video games and gaming history. Episodes are written and directed by Wozniak, with recurring characters played by his friends. Compilations of episodes were syndicated on the 2021–2022 revival of the TV network G4.

Premise
Scott the Woz is a video game review web series, with a focus on discussion and retrospective of video games topics such as consoles, accessories, history and subculture.

The series has an emphasis on skit-based humor with a set of recurring characters, and episodes occasionally deviate from the series' focus on video games.

Background
Wozniak had made videos on YouTube as a child based on his own creations such as short stories, comics and drawings. Initially ceasing to make videos in 2012 due to low viewership, Wozniak returned to content creation in his senior year of high school to make a comedic video titled "The Internet and You" with his friends.

Production
After experimenting with other skit ideas, Wozniak worked on the first episode of Scott the Woz in December 2016. Focused on his opinions of the Nintendo Switch, the video fused his interest in video games with his skit-based comedy. The first episode of the web series was uploaded on YouTube in January 2017. The series maintained a consistent schedule of weekly videos until May 2022, when Wozniak announced that the series would run without schedule. Wozniak maintains a secondary channel, Scott's Stash, for behind-the-scenes and extra content, as well as a third channel, Scott's Snippets, for snippets and clips of episodes of the series.

Scott the Woz was broadcast on the 2021 revival of TV network G4. Ten episodes, consisting of one-hour compilations of YouTube episodes, premiered from December 7, 2021, to February 8, 2022.

Television episodes
Contents adapted from TV Guide.

Fundraising
Wozniak frequently offers limited-edition merchandise based on the show during "Merchandise for Charity Bonanza" events, with all proceeds going to charities Critical Care Comics and the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. As of 2023, the fundraisers have collectively raised over $1,000,000 for the two charities. The events feature items such as T-shirts and posters, as well as unique products every year, including products such as VHS releases of The Internet and You and a behind-the-scenes art book.

On November 26, 2021, Wozniak announced Monopoly: Scott the Woz Edition, an officially licensed version of the Monopoly board game based on the Scott the Woz series. The product, produced in limited quantities, was sold via the Pixel Empire website as part of a charity fundraiser. In December 2022, he announced Clue: Scott the Woz Edition, a version of Clue based on the show.

Reception
Scott the Woz has received a generally positive reception from critics and writers. A 2020 listicle from Innovation & Tech Today Anthony Elio named Scott the Woz as one of the five best YouTube channels for gamers, and Florian Thibodeau of Jeux.ca called Wozniak his favorite YouTuber.

The series has been praised for its humor and writing, described by Screen Rant Pio Nepomuceno as "zany, off-kilter, and outlandish" in a ranking of the series' best episodes. Reviewing Scott the Woz for PC Games, Lukas Schmid hailed the series' comedic script as "perfect", writing that no cuts feel pointless and that running gags are established without overuse. Schmid, however, noted repetitive lines – commenting that statements are sometimes repeated word for word only three sentences later – but admitted that this might make the videos easier to follow. Kennedy Unthank from Plugged In called it a "fun" and "entertaining" show, but voiced a disliking towards the script's unsuitablity for children. He criticized crude jokes, such as the referral of condoms as "a college essential", and disapproved of the use of swearing; whilst words such as fuck and shit are censored, he noticed that others (such as dick and bitch) are not. The series' characters and universe have also received positive reception, having been called absurd or surreal. Schmid called the cast of Wozniak and his friends fast-paced and funny, and particularly praised Wozniak's fictional portrayal of himself as an exaggerated character that still remains authentic.

Unthank positively noted Wozniak's research and detail on covered topics, opining that even episodes surpassing an hour in length still maintain a genuine and fair review. Nepomuceno wrote that the best episodes of Scott the Woz are those that combine his reviews, retrospectives, and skits. Comparing the series' 2017 review of Super Mario 3D World to its 2023 re-review, Nepomuceno said that the 2023 review does well in incorporating jokes to the more "serious" 2017 analysis – which was similar to a "formal game review." Wozniak received criticism for a segment in the episode "Nintendo Switch: Five Years In", in which he criticized Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania use of the Unity game engine.

The Scott the Woz YouTube channel has amassed over 1.87 million subscribers as of November 30, 2023, and its popularity has been noted by writers. John Connor Coulston, writing for PopCulture.com, described the fanbase as a "huge online following," and attributed the series' popularity to its "comedic-yet-earnest" style produced in a unique homemade manner. Schmid described the show's style as "simple", though with much effort put into "tiny side gags," and praised the series' lack of sponsorships.