Reactions to Skyscraper Live – Netflix’s live event following Alex Honnold’s ascent of Taipei 101 – weren’t all that positive, with many viewers laying blame on the commentary. One of the hosts, Elle Duncan, has now responded to the criticism, saying “I totally get it”, and hearing her explanation, I can’t see anyone in her shoes doing a better job, so maybe Netflix shouldn’t try this again.
She explained on the Awful Announcing podcast that her delivery came out poorly because “I was anxious, and when I get anxious I talk faster and I’m trying to talk through the anxiety.”
This wasn’t Duncan’s first-time hosting gig; however, she’s a professional who has appeared on many live sports broadcasts before, but the big difference here was the stakes of Honnold’s climb.
“I’ve never been part of a broadcast where it wasn’t just an afterthought that someone could be severely hurt, or die,” she admitted.
Honnold of Free Solo fame is a climber whose specialty is, well, free soloing – widely regarded as the most dangerous form of the sport. Climbers can rely on chalk and climbing shoes, but they don’t use ropes, protective equipment, or assistance from another climber.
They’re also climbing at heights from which falling would be fatal. This includes Honnold’s climb of Taipei 101 – a 508m /1,667ft tall building.
As Duncan explained during the podcast interview, “There’s something to be said when, 5 minutes before you go on air, someone slides you a card of what you’re going to say if a person falls off a building and dies.”
She adds that Netflix and the team had full confidence in Alex Honnold’s climbing ability and trusted he wouldn’t agree to do something he didn’t believe he could do, but there were still so many unknown factors.
How would he react to the crowd, which included people staring at him through the windows he was climbing over? What if there were an earthquake during the climb? Duncan noted there had been three while she and the crew were in Taiwan.
Even in the post-broadcast chat, knowing Honnold had completed the climb safely, you can hear some anxiety creep back into her voice when Duncan is asked about what the plan would have been had Honnold fallen. The broadcast was delayed so the fall wouldn’t be televised, and the card provided a script for her to read that announced he had fallen, that it would be taken off the air, and that an update on Honnold’s condition would be provided as soon as possible.
Let’s not do this again
Over the course of the interview, Elle Duncan adds a few more details about why the broadcast turned out the way it did. This included the energy of the crowd feeding into the commentary team, which created a disconnect with viewers at home; Netflix is still new to live events, so there isn’t a playbook to follow like with other networks; and not knowing how much Alex wanted to talk.
They had assumed he’d be fairly focused and quiet, for example, and didn’t know when he would speak, which was what led to the cross-talk.
These factors could easily be solved in future Netflix broadcasts, but they can’t get over the reality of the danger of free soloing – and I’d recommend that Netflix not host another live event for the sport.
I can understand why they would run Skyscraper Live in the first place.
Free Solo (which streamed on the platform) was a massive hit with Netflix viewers, so doing a project with Honnold makes a lot of sense for reaching viewers. I can also understand that Alex Honnold likely gives off an infectious (and well-deserved) confidence, which would help to get people on board for a free solo live event, including the hosts in the commentary box.
But then, getting handed a card of what to say if Honnold falls, reality kicks back in – there’s a very real chance you’ll be broadcasting the final moments of the climber’s life.
You’d also, as a host, potentially have to grapple with your complicity in being involved in the event, and frankly, I don’t think any commentator could or should stay completely calm when faced with this.
So while Netflix should absolutely keep taking cracks at the live sporting experience, the lesson it should probably take from Skyscraper Live is: let’s not do this specifically again.
Unfortunately, given the rabid interest in the show, I doubt this is the last such danger-fuelled live event we see – I just hope this trend doesn’t end the way I fear it will.
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hamish.hector@futurenet.com (Hamish Hector)
