Dan & Phil Part 60: Lady Door Tour

[daichii]

Just to add a bit, I feel like part of their declining views is the amount of vids and lack of series. It's more random content for casual viewers which might not get people engaged to keep coming back to their channel the way a well done series does. Their content also relies a lot on inside jokes with the fans/each other so to a casual viewer it might be daunting to watch 200+ vids to get to know them if the vid they find them with isn't as compelling as maybe pinof or something like that.

Also they've been putting out more content which in my case makes me rewatch their other vids less as there is usually always something new to watch. I assume this might be the same for other viewers too. I don't think that their popularity is declining at all tho, I remember a couple of months ago I checked catrific (I think it was to view the puppies vid with deps) and that's a pretty much dead channel, I'll worry once they reach that point.

[dancy]

Re: the gaming channel, here's an interesting thread that Jacksepticeye coincidentally just tweeted! (I don't know how to insert more than one tweet, sorry )

He's got one of the most subscribed gaming channels but his views have also gone down a bit. I remember back in 2016 (when I watched his videos regularly) basically all his videos got at least 1 million views in a day or so.

[Ablissa]

Thanks for your insight, everyone! I was immediately worried that it's just Deppy dropping in views, but you're so right - it's not. Which is sad, because honestly, I don't feel like the Phandom is less active now than it was two years ago, but it could just be me. It feels like D&P still have a ton of very dedicated fans and are probably doing well for themselves, but the state of youtube makes me worry for their future (which is stupid, because they're two rich men in the UK and I'm a poor girl in Poland so I should worry about myself instead)

They are branching out, like dizzy said, and I guess that most of their revenue comes from things other than yt now. However, seeing the direction youtube seems to be going in, I wonder what they will be doing in say, a year or two, when their tour is over. Will they go back to the BBC? Try something new? I know they're in a good place now, but with yt so messed up I wonder how much longer people are going to consider just youtube a job that they can live off.

daichii mentioning Catrific also made me check her channel and WOW. It's SO dead. She gets 3-9k views per video... I hope it never gets that bad for Deppy. I don't think it will - Cat's videos were never that engaging to begin with...

[alch]

It's good that this is happening to all gamers and not just deppy (wait, good? I don't know how to phrase this. It's not good, just it's nice that deppy aren't failing.)

daichii mentioning Catrific also made me check her channel and WOW. It's SO dead. She gets 3-9k views per video... I hope it never gets that bad for Deppy. I don't think it will - Cat's videos were never that engaging to begin with...

Is that why Cat's going back to university? Because oh lord, that's really bad. I don't think deppy will every go that low though, Cat's never had a really large or powerful fanbase.

[SquishPhan]

[alien]

Dan's mom just can't win haha

[mariace]

That sounds terrifying I'm with Dan on this one

[MyCartoonHeart]

Dan's mom just can't win haha

Lol she can't.

Seriously though, anyone who's known Dan more than 5 minutes would know not to suggest something like that. The poor lady must really be out of ideas. I imagine it's hard for to buy Christmas presents for someone that's a millionaire and owns everything they need/can buy what they need when they want to. My family is in no way rich, and for me Christmas is all about getting things we need that we can't afford usually.

If Dan's mom does end up getting that for him, I'd love to have him film the experience. I feel that it would be top quality cringy and embarrassing footage!

[mariace]

Lol she can't.

Seriously though, anyone who's known Dan more than 5 minutes would know not to suggest something like that. The poor lady must really be out of ideas. I imagine it's hard for to buy Christmas presents for someone that's a millionaire and owns everything they need/can buy what they need when they want to. My family is in no way rich, and for me Christmas is all about getting things we need that we can't afford usually.

If Dan's mom does end up getting that for him, I'd love to have him film the experience. I feel that it would be top quality cringy and embarrassing footage!

that would be hilarious. I also think that Dan loves random ass gifts (judging by some of the gifts phil has given him throughout the years). If I were in Dan's mom's position I would ask his friends (Phil) and get some help.

[lefthandedism]

Dan's mom just can't win haha

Lol she can't.

Seriously though, anyone who's known Dan more than 5 minutes would know not to suggest something like that. The poor lady must really be out of ideas. I imagine it's hard for to buy Christmas presents for someone that's a millionaire and owns everything they need/can buy what they need when they want to. My family is in no way rich, and for me Christmas is all about getting things we need that we can't afford usually.

If Dan's mom does end up getting that for him, I'd love to have him film the experience. I feel that it would be top quality cringy and embarrassing footage!

I'm pretty sure Dan's mum is teasing him, and I'm pretty sure he's teasing back. In fact, this seems part of a series of her suggesting gifts she knows he doesn't want (recall the recent llama suggestion).

And I'm also pretty sure she's ok with him ribbing her publicly on this--as a mum, she knows perfectly well that kids (even grown ones!) like to roll their eyes at their mums, and it's just par for the course.

I know Dan's been known for throwing shade on his parents/family at times, but I see only good-humored affection all round here.

[alittledizzy]

I definitely think (based on Dan's mother's comments in TABINOF about his birth) that Dan and his mum share a similar dry sense of humor, and I also definitely think she'd be okay with Dan joking about it online.

I'm still just fascinated by how forthcoming he is talking about his mother lately and how his father is just... never mentioned now. I'll be interested to see if that continues through the holiday.

[auri]

I definitely think (based on Dan's mother's comments in TABINOF about his birth) that Dan and his mum share a similar dry sense of humor, and I also definitely think she'd be okay with Dan joking about it online.

I'm still just fascinated by how forthcoming he is talking about his mother lately and how his father is just... never mentioned now. I'll be interested to see if that continues through the holiday.

This is something I've noticed too. I think the last time he has even acknowledged that he has a dad was in the depression video and that was just really black humor with "i think it's your dad". But yea, sometimed (cough) peoole just have better relationship with their mum and i kind of find that pretty normal.

[rizzo]

I'm fascinated by the more frequent mum mentions as well, but not just in comparison to how often he talks about his dad.

In general, it just confirms to me that 2017 is the year Dan decided to be more open about himself and his life. I mean, he let his hair be natural, he spoke about his depression (and he knew he was going to since at least March), he's more natural around Phil, and - as evidenced by this tweet and the llama one and the time he told us about going to lunch with her - he's more open about his mother. (And maybe that's him being more open about his family where he's willing to be).

What I see from this tweet and this whole year has been the fulfillment of a "be yourself" New Year's resolution.

But also, disregarding this over-the-top analysis, I just really loved that tweet. It's made me chuckle 3 separate times.

[flarequake]

It’s possible he’s mentioning only his mum cos she’s okay with being joked about a bit or mentioned online, maybe Dan knows his dad would rather not

On a lighter note, I had a chuckle imagining Dan in camouflage gear attempting an assault course. He suits the colour brilliantly, I loved the Gatorland tshirt on him.

[flurry]

I don't want to spoil the tour excitement, but Dan's line "give the people what they want" kind of left a sour taste for me? It made me feel less excited and even have second thoughts about it. The reason I guess is because, everytime he's said those words it has been in quite a defensive context that points to him doing fanservice/being excessively aware of the audience's demands rather than doing or saying what he actually wants to. So the fact that these words appeared in a very short trailer gives the impression (whether rightly or wrongly) that the tour is also what people want and provides fanservice of some kind.

From what I remember, he said those words during the monster baking which was probably the least aggressive instance of the phrase - the other times were in liveshows - I think there was one when he said he was grateful for Phil then did a mock gag and asked if it's what people wanted - if I didn't remember wrongly.

This is just my opinion of course and I'm surprised it didn't get a bigger reaction because it stuck out to me when I saw the trailer, which by the way, also explains nothing about the actual show. Just want to hear what others think about it!

[Secretstanner]

I don't want to spoil the tour excitement, but Dan's line "give the people what they want" kind of left a sour taste for me? It made me feel less excited and even have second thoughts about it. The reason I guess is because, everytime he's said those words it has been in quite a defensive context that points to him doing fanservice/being excessively aware of the audience's demands rather than doing or saying what he actually wants to. So the fact that these words appeared in a very short trailer gives the impression (whether rightly or wrongly) that the tour is also what people want and provides fanservice of some kind

See this is really the only time i havnt been annoyed by him saying “give the people what they want” because I didn’t take it as they Will be playing into fanservice like them feeding each other, I took it as more that people are more interested in them just interacting with each other rather than performing like the last tour.
Because they said that this show Will include rants, bants, stories I thought it would be a bit like when they did dapgos tour where they were on stage talking, but with more stuff including the audience.

I would really hope that it’s not just a whole fan service show! I really don’t like it when dan says it because I take it as taking the piss at us like we’re all stupid for being interested in the nature of their relationship When not everyone is. I find it hard to watching back videos they have done where dans in the stupid “ this is what you want” mood.

I think if the tour does have a underlining of them doing things they wouldnt normally do to “ give the people what they want” I would think about refunding my ticket. Just because I personally would feel uncomfortable.

[Ablissa]

I don't want to spoil the tour excitement, but Dan's line "give the people what they want" kind of left a sour taste for me? It made me feel less excited and even have second thoughts about it. The reason I guess is because, everytime he's said those words it has been in quite a defensive context that points to him doing fanservice/being excessively aware of the audience's demands rather than doing or saying what he actually wants to. So the fact that these words appeared in a very short trailer gives the impression (whether rightly or wrongly) that the tour is also what people want and provides fanservice of some kind.

From what I remember, he said those words during the monster baking which was probably the least aggressive instance of the phrase - the other times were in liveshows - I think there was one when he said he was grateful for Phil then did a mock gag and asked if it's what people wanted - if I didn't remember wrongly.

This is just my opinion of course and I'm surprised it didn't get a bigger reaction because it stuck out to me when I saw the trailer, which by the way, also explains nothing about the actual show. Just want to hear what others think about it!

I understand the "give the people what they want" in a completely different way, so I'll chime in.
First of all, it's clearly a joke. They know what we want and they give us some of it, and Dan jokes about it a lot of the times when something new happens. Why?
I feel like he is downplaying it a little. I don't find these "fanservice" actions forced at all. Most commonly, like the baking video, it's just them being a little extra with each other, but does that mean it's forced? No, actually, in that video I found them to be so natural around one another. I feel like "give the people what they want" is a way to downplay acting more like they want to act, so as not to make the entire phandom freak out over things that they want to slowly introduce to us.

Of course they engage in fanservice, like the fanfic bit during TATINOF, but I feel like most of the fanservice-y things they've done lately are just them doing what they want, which coincidentally is also what we want. Dan's jokes strike me as a little insecure and sarcastic, which I take as him getting to used to the new situation of them being more open with us.

This is just my opinion and I may be forgetting something, but the "give the people what they want" line never bothered me that way. I don't think they are fake about this, I think it's genuinely them opening up and trying not to make a big deal out of it.

[tacitus]

I don't want to spoil the tour excitement, but Dan's line "give the people what they want" kind of left a sour taste for me? It made me feel less excited and even have second thoughts about it. The reason I guess is because, everytime he's said those words it has been in quite a defensive context that points to him doing fanservice/being excessively aware of the audience's demands rather than doing or saying what he actually wants to. So the fact that these words appeared in a very short trailer gives the impression (whether rightly or wrongly) that the tour is also what people want and provides fanservice of some kind.

I get what you're saying, but I don't interpret the line in the same way you did. When he says those words, I don't hear a defensive tone... it sounds like more of a jokey, 'acting' voice to me - like he knows how cliche the phrase is. My theory is that it has to do with the 'interactive' part of Interactive Introverts: the audience gives them suggestions and they do them. Kind of like the fanfiction, weird kid and crafty corner parts of TATINOF.

Also, while he's definitely aware of the audience's demands, that doesn't mean he has to give in to them if he doesn't want to. To assume that he does or says things he doesn't want to ignores the fact that ultimately Dan and Phil are in complete control of the situation while they're on stage. Like TATINOF, everything brought up there will likely be filtered beforehand. Don't worry, knowing them they've planned this out really well And they seem very excited for the show, too!

This is just my opinion of course and I'm surprised it didn't get a bigger reaction because it stuck out to me when I saw the trailer, which by the way, also explains nothing about the actual show. Just want to hear what others think about it!

Agree with the bolded part. Would've been nice to know exactly what I'm spending my $100+ on, but I trust them and they've never disappointed me before. (And I would probably fork out my life savings for them but shhhh )

[captainspacecoat]

I feel like "give the people what they want" is a way to downplay acting more like they want to act, so as not to make the entire phandom freak out over things that they want to slowly introduce to us.

Of course they engage in fanservice, like the fanfic bit during TATINOF, but I feel like most of the fanservice-y things they've done lately are just them doing what they want, which coincidentally is also what we want. Dan's jokes strike me as a little insecure and sarcastic, which I take as him getting to used to the new situation of them being more open with us.

I feel exactly the same way. I have in the past had that knee-jerk reaction of being a bit irritated when Dan says/does something and follows it up with "is that what you wanted?" or something of the sort, but I actually now interpret it differently. To me, it comes across as Dan feeling conscious (or self-conscious, even) of the inevitable over-the-top reaction to certain things he does (namely, anything that can be interpreted through phan-goggles), and attempting to justify it to us.

I think "insecure" is a really apt word here, and I think it's a result of wanting to be more open about certain things (or at least, wanting to be able to talk about certain situations or act in a particular way) but simultaneously not wanting those things to be blown out of proportion or made a huge deal out of. As such, he deflects by downplaying whatever the given situation is, and justifying it as something that the phandom wanted him to do/say.

Basically, ablissa your whole post sums up how I feel but you worded it way better!

[casualIDBstalker]

This is long, I apologize.....

A little late with this thought but if their flat was 2 "duplexes" converted into one huge multi-level home, that would explain 2 kitchens.

Kitchens are one of the most expensive rooms to remodel so instead of tearing it out, the owner maybe thought to leave it intact & that way the space would appeal to a multitude of people. University kids with several splitting up the space & rent. It could be treated as an in-law suite. It could be the convience of having 2 kitchens in the 2 main living spaces for larger families. There are numerous reasons why but these are just my thoughts & opinions

As for the tweet about his mom - I feel that on more than one occasion throughout the years, Dan has shown to the world exactly how much his mother doesn't know him or understand exactly who her son is & that thought makes me so sad. It also makes me angry because the Dan that we get to see or hear about from his friends & fellow YTs is one that is respected, smart, funny, creative, kind, sweet, beautiful & down to earth but also self deprecating, socially awkward, relatable(sometimes), depressed, introverted & well, just Dan. If we can learn that from years of watching him & getting to know a small slice of who he is, how could his own mother not know her own amazing son?? Yes, I get that he has the money & means to get what he wants but even so, joke or not, to ask him if he wants to go to an army assault course experience is kind of mocking in a way. First of all, NO! He's not leaving his house to do that, I can't see him doing anything that deals with shooting in a "real life" incidence, he's not interested in team building exercises, I can't see him particularly enjoying crawling around in mud, climbing walls or going through obstacles -
imagine tall, lanky, awkward Dan doing obstacles.

Like I said, even if this is their sense of humor with each other(I feel like it's not but Dan plays it off as so), as a mother to even joke with your son who is admittedly somewhat agoraphobic & awkward & obviously 12 feet tall, it's just not very funny in my eyes. Maybe that's my momma bear instincts kicking in.

I also believe he only goes home for Christmas just to see Colin!

Again, these are just my thoughts & opinions so don't go gettin all crazy

[blackdenim]

As for the tweet about his mom - I feel that on more than one occasion throughout the years, Dan has shown to the world exactly how much his mother doesn't know him or understand exactly who her son is & that thought makes me so sad. It also makes me angry because the Dan that we get to see or hear about from his friends & fellow YTs is one that is respected, smart, funny, creative, kind, sweet, beautiful & down to earth but also self deprecating, socially awkward, relatable(sometimes), depressed, introverted & well, just Dan. If we can learn that from years of watching him & getting to know a small slice of who he is, how could his own mother not know her own amazing son?? Yes, I get that he has the money & means to get what he wants but even so, joke or not, to ask him if he wants to go to an army assault course experience is kind of mocking in a way. First of all, NO! He's not leaving his house to do that, I can't see him doing anything that deals with shooting in a "real life" incidence, he's not interested in team building exercises, I can't see him particularly enjoying crawling around in mud, climbing walls or going through obstacles -
imagine tall, lanky, awkward Dan doing obstacles.

Like I said, even if this is their sense of humor with each other(I feel like it's not but Dan plays it off as so), as a mother to even joke with your son who is admittedly somewhat agoraphobic & awkward & obviously 12 feet tall, it's just not very funny in my eyes. Maybe that's my momma bear instincts kicking in.

I can see where you're coming from but I think when Dan talks about his mum it's usually with a lot of affection and it seems like they have a pretty good relationship - any angsty/angry mentions were a good few years ago now, when he was still in the late teen/early 20's 'nobody understands me' phase of his life.

I also don't think he would have shared the exchange with us if it was something humiliating or upsetting for him. It's a fairly standard joke for a family member/loved one to suggest something you would absolutely hate for your birthday/Christmas isn't it? My brothers have just started making their annual joke that they're going to club together and send me on a silent meditation retreat for Christmas (because I never shut up )

(Also not that this makes any difference really but an army assault course doesn't involve any shooting! That would be horrific. It's basically just a really intense exercise class with a lot of shouting. I've done them and enjoyed it but obviously I am very different to Dan as a person! It could also be a joke from his mum based on the fact - by Dan's own admission - Dan has been working out more recently)

[captainspacecoat]

I think that while there may very well be some truth to the speculations about Dan not being particularly close to his family, we ultimately just do not know enough information to draw conclusions, and it's literally impossible for us to say with any credibility how well Dan's mum really knows Dan. I imagine though that given the fact she has known him for 26 years, she definitely knows him better than any of us do.

I interpreted that text as a joke - Dan's mum knowing exactly how little interest Dan would have in an 'army assault course experience' and lovingly teasing him for it. It's the sort of joke my own parents would make about me, as I also have no interest in that sort of thing, but I can definitely see them joking about getting it for me. Like an inside joke of sorts, if that makes sense?

I don't know, I just think we should be careful of drawing any conclusions one way or the other about Dan's relationship to his family, and we need to be wary of how our own different contexts/biases are going to influence our interpretations of Dan's family mentions.

[alittledizzy]

It’s possible he’s mentioning only his mum cos she’s okay with being joked about a bit or mentioned online, maybe Dan knows his dad would rather not

On a lighter note, I had a chuckle imagining Dan in camouflage gear attempting an assault course. He suits the colour brilliantly, I loved the Gatorland tshirt on him.

He used to tell stories about his dad on the radio show, though - his dad's never been exempt from mentions like that.

I also wonder if her mind went to Dan liking the experience because he goes to the gym regularly now? That makes it make sense as a joke. Like - haha, you're all fit now, does that mean you'd want to do this? Just like with the llama. You don't often just ask someone what they want for Christmas in a manner of just texting suggestions when you're serious about it, and we know Dan kind of loved the gifts they got him last year... the Book of Mormon production book and the Colin mug.

I feel like "give the people what they want" is a way to downplay acting more like they want to act, so as not to make the entire phandom freak out over things that they want to slowly introduce to us.

Of course they engage in fanservice, like the fanfic bit during TATINOF, but I feel like most of the fanservice-y things they've done lately are just them doing what they want, which coincidentally is also what we want. Dan's jokes strike me as a little insecure and sarcastic, which I take as him getting to used to the new situation of them being more open with us.

I feel exactly the same way. I have in the past had that knee-jerk reaction of being a bit irritated when Dan says/does something and follows it up with "is that what you wanted?" or something of the sort, but I actually now interpret it differently. To me, it comes across as Dan feeling conscious (or self-conscious, even) of the inevitable over-the-top reaction to certain things he does (namely, anything that can be interpreted through phan-goggles), and attempting to justify it to us.

I think "insecure" is a really apt word here, and I think it's a result of wanting to be more open about certain things (or at least, wanting to be able to talk about certain situations or act in a particular way) but simultaneously not wanting those things to be blown out of proportion or made a huge deal out of. As such, he deflects by downplaying whatever the given situation is, and justifying it as something that the phandom wanted him to do/say.

Basically, ablissa your whole post sums up how I feel but you worded it way better!

Agree with both of these. I think 'give the people what they want/is that what you wanted' has always been has always been about Dan's insecurity and protecting himself from feeling exposed. It's 'I'll laugh at myself before you can laugh at me' syndrome just with a different emotional inflection.

In regard to the tour, I think it's also because people have literally been asking for it, though. They've been asked to come to cities and countries they've never been to, people were angry when the EU tour was only three cities last time, that there were no Asia dates at all. People in the UK were mad they did nothing there last year. This is the one time in which Dan is saying that about something fans have literally, repeatedly expressed that they wanted.

[goingbackto505]

I don't want to spoil the tour excitement, but Dan's line "give the people what they want" kind of left a sour taste for me? It made me feel less excited and even have second thoughts about it. The reason I guess is because, everytime he's said those words it has been in quite a defensive context that points to him doing fanservice/being excessively aware of the audience's demands rather than doing or saying what he actually wants to. So the fact that these words appeared in a very short trailer gives the impression (whether rightly or wrongly) that the tour is also what people want and provides fanservice of some kind.

From what I remember, he said those words during the monster baking which was probably the least aggressive instance of the phrase - the other times were in liveshows - I think there was one when he said he was grateful for Phil then did a mock gag and asked if it's what people wanted - if I didn't remember wrongly.

This is just my opinion of course and I'm surprised it didn't get a bigger reaction because it stuck out to me when I saw the trailer, which by the way, also explains nothing about the actual show. Just want to hear what others think about it!

I feel pretty much the same way :/ I really didn't like that he said that and it left me feeling uneasy about going to the show I don't even know what I want from them during the tour tbh lol, but what I certainly do not want is for them to feel uncomfortable, to force themselves to do things they wouldn't want to do in front of an audience. that would just make me feel uncomfortable (the struggle of having a major case of second-hand embarrassment is real). I always felt like obviously Dan wouldn't want to feed Phil on camera in front of a bunch of nosy shippers, obviously he plays up some "phan moments" for that kind of audience. he's very self-aware and is very aware of exactly why many people watch them. so I hope the "giving the people what they want" in the trailer was said for marketing purposes, not because they're actually going to go out of their way to "serve" the shippers and act unnaturally with each other like many people would want them to (cue all the "omg they're gonna kiss on stage!! " comments under the trailer ). I recently rewatched this video and felt like Dan was remarkably passive-aggressive there, like he was annoyed/overwhelmed by the phandom and couldn't really hide it. and whenever Dan uses the "let's give them what they want, Phil!" phrase I always get the same vibe.

tbh I don't think two very private people who are either a closeted couple or a couple of best friends whom people obsessively ship together would want to draw even more attention to that elephant in the room in front of a completely unknown audience. doubt whatever it is they're planning is going to be more cringey than the "phanfiction irl" section of TATINOF I guess my biggest wish is for them to be as real and as comfortable as they want to be, not forced and pandering. the trailer didn't give away much of anything but I'll still be hoping that the shows will be good. I believe they'll really try to make it good, if anything, which is something I've always appreciated about them, as content creators and people.

[000dia000]

I always thought that Dan beginning to mention his family more was due to him being self-aware of how much his the phandom speculates about him and his family maybe it's simply that he was tired of the negativity and speculation. I never thought that he was ever distant or had a bad relationship, but simply that he's always been a negative nancy who doesn't really look on his relationships or past through rose tinted glasses like Phil does. He's been relating his mother on a more open and "human" level than he has ever done, while before he never openly said to communicate with her or anyone else, that regularly. I think that Dan is very conscious of everything he does, and what he wants people to think of him. I think he's finally made the realization of how he was associating his family with negativity online and has subtlety tried to change that.

Also, the apartment: I've given up on trying to figure it out. I instead imagine it like the House of Leaves, ever growing and expanding, has a mind of its own, will swallow you up and destroy you.