Thursday, January 29, 2009

Review Gradings

I'm thinking of rating things, such as trade paperback (TPB) collections and TV shows, based on the old comic book grading scheme. Thus, for example, a TPB I review might get a rating of "Very Fine", which generally means it's excellent and well worth reading but isn't absolutely wonderful (that would be left to "Mint" and "Near Mint" TPBs). Please note that these are gradings/ratings are only rough estimations of what I think and there's no scientific thought going into them. It's just a bit of fun.

Also, this is not the grade of the physical quality of my TPB. When I say that something is "Very Fine" I'm not saying my copy has a small tear and some barely noticeable corner folds. What I mean is that the writing and art within the TPB is very good and that the book was generally enjoyable. It's just a fun way of saying 8 out of 10.

Below are some brief notes regarding the various 'grades'. The number out of ten is a rough guide.

Mint

Pretty much perfect, a must. Sort of equivalent to 10 out of 10.

Near Mint

Almost perfect but with a few minor flaws, highly recommended. A score of 9 out of 10.

Very Fine

Excellent and certainly recommended. A few, minor areas could be improved. 8 out of 10.

Fine

Enjoyable and entertaining, worth watching/reading/getting. 7 out of 10.

Very Good

Not bad but not brilliant either, recommended if this is your sort of thing. 5 or 6 out of 10.

Good

Okay, but nothing wonderful. Kinda average. 4 out of 10.

Fair

Significant faults, miss this unless there's nothing else. 2 or 3 out of 10.

Poor

Not worth the bother, pretty rubbish. 1 out of 10.

Obviously, with the things I'm reviewing I will have already done some vetting of them. If something doesn't interest me, or I know it's rubbish, I probably won't read/watch it in the first place. So scores of Poor and Fair will be rare. Thus, expect the average rating to be around Fine. Also, as with comic books, expect Mint ratings to be rare as well.

Blimey, this went on longer than I expected.

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