Rewind Time

This week, we're chatting about FilmCow, the animation-focused channel run by Jason Steele and made famous by Charlie the Unicorn. We touch on how Charlie the Unicorn is one of the enduring viral videos, FilmCow’s vast and varied body of work, and how changes to YouTube’s algorithm affected animators.

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:30 Our history with FilmCow

00:03:23 FilmCow’s origins

00:07:43 Charlie the Unicorn

00:15:10 Charlie the Unicorn 2

00:24:43 Charlie the Unicorn 3

00:28:46 YouTube Live, Hot Topic promos

00:36:33 Charlie teh Unicron parody series

00:45:28: Charlie the Unicorn: The Grand Finale

00:53:44 Abysmal monetisation on animated content

00:59:46 Ferrets

01:01:46 Chris Brown - American Super Hero

01:05:59 It’s Cake Boss

01:10:24 FilmCow’s videos featuring political figures

01:12:46 RIP Henry Kissinger

01:14:57 Llamas with Hats series

01:25:53 Justice and first person essay style

01:29:08 FilmCow channel in 2025

01:31:31 FilmCow’s legacy

01:36:38 Lucy’s subscription: Guzman y Gomez mini grilled chicken burrito

01:37:48 Max’s subscription: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

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We chat OG YouTuber Tay Zonday, best known for his viral song “Chocolate Rain”. Tay would follow up his biggest hit with commercial spins on it, new original music, and covers of everything from Christmas classics to Carly Rae Jepsen.

What we’re subscribing to

Max - The Pitt, HBO Max.

Lucy - Reformer Pilates, Joseph Pilates.

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:21 Our history with Tay Zonday

00:06:58 Tay’s pre-virality videos

00:11:20 Chocolate Rain

00:28:52 Chocolate Rain spon-con

00:41:03 Musical videos following Chocolate Rain

00:46:45 Mama Economy The Economy Explained

00:54:37 Later direction of Tay’s channel

01:08:28 1 million subscribers

01:15:30 Tay Zonday’s Cameo

01:20:42 Legacy of Tay Zonday

01:24:45 What we’re subscribing to

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You can watch more of Lucy at https://www.youtube.com/@LucyLivinYT

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We yap about VenetianPrincess, the late 2000s parody music queen. 

Neither of us was familiar with VP before this episode, so listen to us track her content journey from the early Disclosure series, to her breakthrough with a Hillary Clinton friendship song, to her highly popular parodies of pop songs. 

VP would become ‘The most subscribed female on YouTube’, and her videos featured cameos from some of YouTube’s top creators. But it was not to last, and an algorithm change led to declining view counts and eventually, VP stepped away from YouTube.

----more----

00:00:00 Introduction

00:03:04 Our history with Venetian Princess  

00:06:14 Disclosed and The Princess Chronicles series

00:16:20 Cirque de Mystère

00:20:28 Hillary Be My Best Friend

00:26:34 ‘The most subscribed female on YouTube’

00:28:30 7 Things parody and Miley Cyrus content

00:42:00 Channel focus on parody songs

00:44:58 100,000k sub acknowledgment 

00:49:06 Continued parodies + videos

00:55:23 Transformers 2 parody w/ Shane Dawson

59:55 You Belong With Me parody w/ Ryan Higa

01:02:31 Sponsored content 

01:08:49 More original and parody music 

01:14:54 Videos missing the sub box 

01:17:59 We Found Love parody + kardashian boycott

01:21:57 Sleep naked campaign 

01:27:45 VP’s Draw my life

01:32:20 Late videos

01:41:30 VenetianPrincess’s sudden retirement

01:45:15 Venetian Princess’s legacy

01:51:45 What we’re subscribing to

----more----

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This week we chat Fred, the high-pitched, hyperactive, and arguably highly annoying character created by Lucas Cruikshank.

We touch on how the channel became incredibly popular on early YouTube, how Lucas used his online popularity to launch a mainstream acting career on Nickelodeon, and the eventual spoiler peaceful retirement of the Fred character.

This week we are subscribing to:

Lucy: Mochi

Max: Hot water with lemon

If you have been enjoying the podcast, would love a rating on your podcast platform of choice :)

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:02: Our history with Fred 

00:09:53 Early Fred videos

00:23:41  Fred’s popularity

00:27:19: The Nickelodeon era 

00:38:41 New Fred content

00:45:32 Lucas comes out

00:49:08 The controversial ‘New Fred’ series

00:57:07 The final era of the Fred channel 

01:03:35 Lucas’ current content

01:07:43 Fred’s legacy

01:15:04 What we’re subscribing to

Business / enquiries: [email protected]

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This week’s topic is the iconic 2000s musical comedy trio The Lonely Island, consisting of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer. 

Are The Lonely Island YouTubers? Should we cover them on this podcast? These are valid questions, but instead, we spent this episode compiling our respective Top 10 The Lonely Island Music Videos lists. 

The music videos mentioned are available in a YouTube playlist.

What we’re subscribing to:

Lucy - Sydney White (Film, 2007)

Max - Boutique gym membership

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Content warnings: This episode touches on some heavier topics as part of discussing the channel’s coverage of news - discussion of sexual assault between 23:15 and 29:10, during the Late 2000s Philip DeFranco Show chapter. Discussion of child abuse between 41:00 to 55:00, during the chapter The Daddy of Five exposé chapter.

We review the YouTube career of Philip DeFranco, most well-known for hosting the news and current events program The Philip DeFranco Show since 2007.

We discuss why Phil scrubbed his old videos from the internet, how his presentation has changed through the years, and the approach he took to covering three of YouTube’s biggest dramas while his channel was at its peak popularity.

Sup you beautiful bastards.

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Max - Invincible (TV Show) - Amazon Prime

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In this episode, we look back over the career of Michelle Phan, one of YouTube's original beauty gurus. Starting in 2005, Michelle transitioned from makeup blogs and short video tutorials to becoming a YouTube sensation. 

We discuss her rise to fame, notable collaborations, including her early partnership with Lancome, and her ventures into launching her own makeup line, EM Cosmetics. 

We examine Michelle's hiatus from YouTube and her eventual return, as well as her public advocacy for cryptocurrency and alternative medicine.

Business / enquiries: [email protected]

You can watch more of Lucy at https://www.youtube.com/@LucyLivinYT

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This week we talk Neil Cicierega, the artist and musician behind the iconic Potter Puppet Pals. Uploaded during 2000s Harry Potter mania, the series became one of YouTube’s earliest viral hits.

We explore Neil's early work on Newgrounds, pioneering Animutation, his other eclectic comedic and musical projects, and where he is at in 2025.

We are subscribing to:

Lucy - Younger

Max - MAFS Australia YouTube recaps.

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This week we discuss YouTuber Justine Ezarik aka iJustine. Her content ranges across Apple fandom, tech commentary, music parodies and public dance videos. We discuss her continued success, mainstream media opportunities and collaborations with other creators and celebrities. We also highlight her professionalism and the challenges of being a female creator in a male-dominated space.

What we’re subscribing to:

Lucy: nice dinners paid for you by other people

Max: Summer House on Bravo

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This week we are discussing the former most subscribed YouTuber and unfortunately named nigahiga.

The channel’s founders, classmates Ryan Higa and Sean Fujiyoshi, started out posting short comedy videos filmed around their Hawaiian homes. Ryan took control of the channel and became one of OG YouTube’s biggest stars, posting comedy content including music videos, sketches, commentary, and parodies. His popularity would lead to starring roles in two films, a reality tv show and global tours.

We are back in the living room - much to Max’s embarrassment.

Rewind Time is an unofficial YouTube history podcast covering the platform’s most iconic creators. Hosted by social media expert Lucy and YouTube-illiterate Max.

We are subscribing to:

Lucy – cinenerdle 2

Max – Below Deck: Down Under Season 3

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