Saturday, December 29, 2018

My Favorite TV Episodes of 2018

It's almost 2019, and it's been, in my opinion, a pretty darn good year for television. Unfortunately, there were a lot of shows I would've loved to talk about more that sadly never got written about on my part, either because I was too busy, or because my ability to write about them was far outside of my normal range of "shows at steady moderation of intensity." However, I thought I would just make a short list of the episodes of television, and their respective shows, that really stood out to me. There are, of course, plenty of shows that I missed that would've probably made it on here if I had more time, and this list is far from definitive (especially since it only really consists of comedies by some definition of the term), but I just want to pin them down here as recommendations.

The shows will be listed chronologically in regards to their air date instead of ranked by some hierarchy of my enjoyment, because that would make all of this far too difficult (aside from a very clear #1 and #2). Further, I'm only writing about one episode per show, even if there are multiple episodes of one that are far better than those of another. Without further ado, here are the episodes that made my year.

"The Vegging" - The Amazing World of Gumball 
Air Date: January 15th, 2018 - Cartoon Network

Look, it was inevitable that Gumball would come up at some point, and anyone who follows my reviews would probably be able to very easily figure out which episode would be my favorite of the year. This past season has been an interesting one, starting out stronger than ever but quickly falling into a midseason slump which, while conceptually daring, often struggled to truly elevate the premises making up each episode, and while there was plenty of charm, it often felt like the writing was on autopilot. "The Vegging," though, is an episode that takes a simple premise, and proves that Gumball—when its heart is in the right place—can make anything magical.

In this case, the entire episode is pretty much about Gumball and Darwin's struggle to do absolutely nothing, and a day that refuses to let them. Every minute of the episode is comedy gold, including perhaps one of the funniest gags that the show has ever produced, with Gumball and Darwin repeatedly tuning their brains out for so long that the post-apocalypse happens around them, then they save the universe, then Gumball gets married to an alien... all in the span of less than a minute. "The Vegging," as a whole, is relentlessly rapid-fire.

All of this culminates in Gumball and Darwin having to get out of their house and rescue their family, who is dangling near-death off the edge of a bridge in the family car. Even then, though, our protagonist's vegetation knows no bounds, and they do everything they can to ensure that their lethargy remain uncompromised, all the way down to mailing themselves to their family in swivel chairs. Even at the point when the car is about to go off the edge, Gumball prioritizes his veg, and his ability to ultimately save the day just goes to show that his apathy knows no bounds.

Other highlights: "The Faith," "The Founder," "The Spinoffs."

"Tips" - Apple & Onion
Air Date: March 2nd, 2018 - Cartoon Network
It's somewhat hard to describe what makes Apple & Onion so appealing. It's the sort of show that elicits reactions ranging from "surprisingly charming" to "excruciatingly unemotive," but I think the easiest way to describe the show is just that it's different, in a very simple and sweet way. Never overly-saccharine, it's a show that rides on an incredibly deadpan sort of optimism, with each episode monitoring the day-to-day life of two dudes who live in an apartment together, Apple (show creator George Gendi) and Onion (Richard Ayoade), in a city inhabited by talking food. Nothing is overly complex nor narratively-charged, instead serving as a thoughtful, slice-of-life sort of show with visual panache and musical sensibilities. It's basically an animated Flight of the Conchords, to those familiar.

"Tips" is a perfect example of the show's tone and overall vibe, involving Apple and Onion trying to get money to go on a hot air balloon ride, eventually getting a job at their friend's pizza restaurant and chasing after tips. The pair go through an expected level of trial and error due to their eclecticism and varied idiosyncrasies (one attempt to get tips has them hanging over and whispering into customers' ears repeatedly to ensure they're dutifully taken care of), but the show finds its identity in its witty visual presentation and songs. The episode's main musical number is all about tips, and that's where my ability to describe it begins and ends. Elsewhere, "Tips" finds fun ways of making every shot enjoyable, featuring a number of silly sequences, establishing shots, and montages. If Apple & Onion isn't overly-funny, it's a show with a voice that lets it find an admirable little niche.

Other highlights: "Block Party," "Bottle Catch," "Hot Dog's Movie Premiere."

Thursday, December 13, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Silence

"You know how we can't keep up a conversa..."

"The Silence" is an interesting episode. Seeing the show get meta with its storylines shouldn't come as a complete shock to anyone at this point, but what makes this episode so different is how it funnels that into an episode with so much sincerity. It's a route that Gumball routinely bypasses in favor of wringing laughs out of its generally nihilistic and cynical perspective, and being able to see the show just doing a cute and sweet character study of Gumball and Darwin was legitimately surprising, and that's not a knock against the episode. If anything, it makes "The Silence" feel almost special, like an episode that, if not trying to become the next "The Choices," wants to break up the pace of the show and distribute some warm, fuzzy feelings.

Unfortunately, as a critic, while I felt that "The Silence" wrapped itself up perfectly, it was an episode which, in my opinion, meandered its way to the finish line as a whole. There's a point that it wants to make with its central concept–Gumball and Darwin seem to have run out of things to say to each other and feel that their friendship (brothership?) is quickly expiring–but everything about the episode leading up to its turning point feels indifferent.

Monday, November 12, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Buddy

"An English dictionary! This can only mean one thing! This book must belong to either someone who speaks English or someone who doesn't, and wants to learn!" 

One of the show's more underdeveloped but enduring story arcs is Anais' long quest to try to make friends. While that arc's progress, for the most part, has slowed down, with the last installment ("The Guy") pretty much just suggesting that she'll never be able to find a healthy friendship, "The Buddy," taking a cue from Season 6's other, generally winning efforts, decides to finally answer her long-awaited call for help in a pretty unexpected place.

I'm talking about Jamie. While other similar episodes have generally gotten by through introducing new, one-off characters (like Jodie in "The Parasite," or Josh in the aforementioned "The Guy"), "The Buddy" indulges in that surprising alliance with a buttload of, despite the odds, chemistry and charisma. Jamie hasn't been explored at all since "The Girlfriend," where she found an identity based entirely in abuse and incomprehension, but that just makes her use here even more interesting, especially because it never really undermines how she's already been established. She's still unaware of how the world works by all means, but she takes it with stride, and in the crime-fighting partnership that flourishes as the episode progresses, she's the brawn to Anais' brains.

Sunday, November 11, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Drama

"Oh, it's funny 'cuz we're dead." "Darn it, he's right, it is funny for that reason."

Isn't it weird to think that, across the last 52 episodes, Gumball has barely done anything to address the fact that Darwin and Carrie are in a romantic relationship? No, like, seriously. The only times it's really been acknowledged are in brief moments where the joke can be made (like "The Deal" and "The Best"), but not in any meaningful way beyond light implication.

Because of that, there's a lot of pressure on "The Drama." More than just being an enjoyable episode, it has to face those near-insurmountable expectations, or else risk being completely ineffective and difficult to believe in its sincerity. Ultimately, it falls somewhere in between, a fun albeit long overdue episode that wants to reaffirm Darwin and Carrie's relationship more than further illustrate it.

There's nothing wrong with simply showing that their relationship is on the show's mind somewhat, but instead of trying to find any particularly incisive angles, "The Drama" examines the perception of their relationship and Gumball's increasing doubt in their well-being (which is, to be fair, incredibly true to the show considering how little anyone has seen of it). That pretty much enables Darwin and Carrie to be at the center of the episode, but they never motivate it in their antics; rather, they present material for Gumball to riff concernedly off of. Because of that, the episode doesn't really go anywhere until Gumball decides he's had enough, even though the events of "The Drama" can barely count as evidence in support of his worldview, cynicism aside.

Saturday, November 10, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Slip

"Can't you just give it to me?" "Yeah, sure, I'll just give it to you! If rules and regulations mean nothing to you." "So I can have it?"

Despite the past few episodes creating a sort of midseason slump for Season 6, "The Slip," and the two episodes that followed it, are a step in the right direction, each delivering fantastic stories with a refreshing sense of confidence and direction. "The Slip," for my money, was the most successful of the three, taking a silly but pedestrian premise that you might find in any show and taking it to the sorts of extremes that only Gumball is really capable of.

The central premise at play here is that Richard needs to get his package delivered, but he accidentally misses its initial delivery, spiraling into a relentless quest to pry his package from a belligerent delivery man with ruffled feathers (pun unintended). While it could've easily been another forgettable Richard vehicle that made jokes at the character's expense, or otherwise give him some stipulation that causes his identity to misalign (see: "The Diet" or as early as "The Laziest"), "The Slip" was so successful because it was true to who Richard is as a character, and instead of modifying him, it plays out entirely indebted to his strengths and flaws, all without interrupting the pacing of the episode and making him the episode's greatest asset, culminating in a heroic speech dedicated to the lazy (even if they sort of choke in terms of reciprocating enthusiasm).

Saturday, October 13, 2018

What It Was Like Seeing Saturday Night Live, Live

Sooo… this isn't something that I usually write about, but I saw Saturday Night Live last Saturday. Seeing the show has always been a dream of mine since I started watching at the age of 12, and it's something that's been incredibly influential in my perception of how comedy works and my future aspirations of becoming a comedy writer.


The first episode of the show I watched was Christina Applegate's 2012 stint as host, and one sketch in particular always stood out to me: "Tech Talk." Taking the form of a show discussing technology, it found several phone critics complaining about the latest Apple product before the host (played by Applegate) brings out three Chinese employees to effectively shame the privileged reviewers for the audacity of their complaints. It's a hilarious and fairly sharp sketch, but it underlined Saturday Night Live's diversity problem rather frustratingly; this is a show that has never had an East Asian castmember, and here were three people effectively performing some variant of yellowface for the sake of the joke.

As an Asian-American person myself (I'm half-Chinese), I've found SNL's struggles with diversity to be particularly frustrating, but when Awkwafina was announced as host— hot off of a fantastic summer in two blockbusters (one being the first movie with an all-Asian cast in 25 years), I knew I had to get out there. This was someone like me (let alone the first host of East Asian descent in 18 years) hosting the show that fostered my love of comedy; I didn't have to look at Aziz Ansari or Kumail Nanjiani as a sort of proxy hero, and that felt good.

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Ghouls

"Dude, it's so sad! We need to help them get their scare back." "He's right, we'll do anything. Is there a page we can like or a wristband we can wear or something?"

Sorry this post is a bit late, but I've had a busy and exciting weekend which I will be sure to write about! And also college. So if you're not cool about this coming out late, then... sucks to be you, man, I guess you have to find someone else to read. Good luck with that!

Watching "The Ghouls" helped me realize that modern Gumball episodes are at their most successful when they succeed in two regards: one, they have an interesting structure bound around a strong concept, and two, that they're just downright fun (see: "The Founder," "The Vegging," "The Candidate"). Unfortunately, the past season has been filled with a frustratingly disproportionate amount of episodes that only really succeed in one of those regards (usually the former). "The Ghouls," then, is an episode that is fun... but it's difficult to properly evaluate on the level of how it's put together considering the weakness of a lot of every aspect of it otherwise.

Saturday, September 8, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Awareness

"We should just nip it in the bud." "Uh, no, let's not. That phrase is actually incredibly offensive to plants."

Continuing off of Gumball's grand tradition of releasing episodes early in different countries without a US airdate in sight, "The Awareness" found its way inconspicuously on British airwaves yesterday, and through the power of shady Internet wizardry, I'm here to review it.

I think I'll start things off by saying this much: even if I don't think a lot of episodes are great, I can generally see how people could get to those conclusions. Maybe you like "The Intelligence" and the extent of its commitment to the medieval motif, or you enjoyed the macabre hijinks of "The Ad." But "The Awareness" is an episode that eludes me on that front; it's not that it's bad, it's just uniform in every way. It takes a fun premise and just goes along with it as much as necessary without ever breaking into more exciting territory, making for a respectable but unmemorable outing.

First of all, it's worth noting that the episode tackles a very interesting satirical target in the form of Gumball attempting to demonstrate an understanding of plant culture to a skeptical and condescending Leslie, with the two creating an echo chamber of cultural appropriation in an attempt to maintain the upper hand. Theoretically, the premise brings out some of the strongest cynicism that Gumball has to offer, at times bordering on Season 2 levels of deviousness, but none of the episode really gets channeled into a satisfying end, and in my opinion, there's a lot of reasons for that.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Ad

"Well, I guess we all learned a lesson today. It's okay to commit a crime if it means you get away with a different crime." "Nicole, that's a terrible lesson."

"The Money," in my opinion, is the greatest single episode that Gumball has ever created. Its examination of the Wattersons' financial situation, how it manages to strongly demonstrate the role that each Watterson plays in the family dynamic, and how it shatters the fourth wall so dramatically makes it, no matter what angle you look at it from, a complete blast. With that being said, though, I don't think it really warranted a sequel, but alas, that's sort of what "The Ad" is.

I'm not saying that "The Ad" traces the plot of "The Money" very much, though in all honesty, it's not a bad episode to take notes from. Rather, it follows the same basic plot of Richard wasting money on something particularly lavish—in this case, a horse named Wunderklopp—causing the family to take every measure possible to scrape up the money to survive for a month until a potential horse buyer can pay the money back. While "The Money" devotes itself to exploring their depravity and falling dignity, though, "The Ad" simply finds them involved in a scheme, using their house as a bed and breakfast to earn money, all while secretly living in the house. Theoretically, the premise offers up promising absurdity, but the route the show takes somehow winds up crafting one of the most boring, uneventful episodes since Season 5's "The Deal."

Monday, July 16, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Understanding

"Catch the catch?"

So... I hate having to be prickly from time to time, but this episode was a mess. Every once in a while, even the best television shows will leave you with an episode that just utterly baffles you in terms of how it got into fruition, and I'll be damned if "The Understanding" isn't Gumball's. Sure, the show's had worst episodes, but there's never been one this ridiculously perplexing in its existence. It's just an episode that tries too much. While I usually admire the show going balls to the wall with some fantastically insane premise, here, it pays off very little, or at the very least far from the desired effect. Let's break down why.

The largest issue with "The Understanding" is that it wants to take advantage of shock humor. I can see the logic there and why the writers thought it would be a fun idea: the episode is framed around Peter Pepperoni, who Gumball and Darwin are completely unable to decode in how strangely he speaks, so they decide to just nod in agreement with everything. This, however, backfires when it turns out he was talking about him and his parents' abhorrence for the government and inviting them on a heist of town hall records.

Sunday, July 15, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Transformation

"I am not oppressing you! I'm just exercising my authority to force you to do something you don't want to do!"

Ever since "The Shell," Penny has proven to be one of the most difficult characters for the show to work with. If anything, she exemplifies the show's greatest issue: its sense of overachieving, ushering forth extravagant episodes without paying attention to how that affects the show further down the line. Penny is perhaps the patron saint of having-the-short-end-of-the-stick, virtually disappearing after arguably one of the show's greatest episodes, occasionally resurfacing but never really enough to justify how the show played its cards. In that sense, "The Transformation" feels a bit like damage control.

At the same time, though... it's been so long. And instead of making me frustrated by, say, the episode's lack of timeliness and how much it epitomizes her under-utilization, I was just relieved to see it work out as well as it did. Sure, there's some issues here and there, but "The Transformation" is a worthy successor to "The Shell," finally offering us something new from Penny after years of relative neglect.

Saturday, July 14, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Spinoffs

"Diction, diction, action!"

Vignette episodes have always proven to be a somewhat difficult thing for the show to pull off. For every episode like "The Singing" that oozes with creativity, there's another episode like "The Compilation" that struggles by virtue of the threat of variance in quality and loose structure that the format allows. "The Spinoffs," though, managed to avoid the usual pitfalls that such episodes have to endure, and as a result, it rises to the top as, I'd argue, one of the most successful episodes of its kind, and a shining example of the show's unbridled creativity.

I just want to take a moment, though, to express why I really think it works better than a lot of other entries, because that's a fairly bold claim to make. One of the most concurrent issues of vignette episodes is that they try to follow a plot; this both limits the scope of their skits across every scene and, at worst, creates an incredibly weak center. "The Spinoffs" has the perfect solution: present the scenario as Rob (with the "assistance" of the Internet) hijacking the show's usual programming with video demos of alternative shows led by other characters across the series.

Friday, July 13, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Potion

"Sorry, it's my turn to be depressed? Thanks."

Welcome back! That's all I really have an idea of in terms of an introduction, because there's so many of these pesky episode bombs that trying to think of something new every time is a waste of mental exertion. So let's just get into it: "The Potion." It was... alright. That's about as good of a one-word summary as I can get.

Hector has always been interesting for the show to work with. His character is defined by his height, with his other only major role, in "The Colossus," turning into an awesome, adrenaline-packed Shadow of the Colossus tribute, and his more recently memorable stint in "The Night" exploring how his life would be different if he were smaller. Both of those episodes, though, more importantly, examined how his height influenced his personality, with both signifying its dangers, but the latter especially hammering in his yearnings to be just like everybody else. "The Potion" just comes across as an elaboration on that, and while it tries to become more of a close examination, it feels more like a general rehash.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Intelligence

"Good morrow, sweet imp!"

Somehow, this onslaught of episodes teemed with diversity, and I'm not talking about subject matter: they all had very different strengths, and sometimes, very different weaknesses. Of the episodes that tried to take satirical angles, though—the others being "The Founder" and "The Schooling"—"The Intelligence" found itself struggling with, surprisingly, finding a way not to package its message, but to tell it. It's a peculiar case of the show emphasizing style over substance, and while the end result is no doubt enjoyable, its message is as straightforward as ever.

This certainly isn't the first time that Gumball has toyed with our fascination with technology and how it distorts our reality ("The Stars" is a particularly infamous example), but there's just not much that "The Intelligence" is actually trying to say. A lot of people are calling it surface-level, but it's not even that, in my opinion; it's flat-out the sense that we need technology and would take it over anything else, regardless of if that alternate reality is better or worse. It barely registers to the point where the meaning comes across almost as lukewarm intention in its lack of sophistication. Naturally, it's a bit unfair to criticize a show for going with a generic idea, but for Gumball, a show that takes joy in its merciless incisiveness, "The Intelligence" just falls short.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Schooling

"Are you trying to deny my consumer right to make bogus complaints to get free stuff?"

Writing episodes centered around trying to teach lessons through commentary is always a risky thing for TV shows to do, and despite being surprisingly adept at it, Gumball doesn't have the cleanest track record either. "The Schooling," thus, was an episode I was initially skeptical of, but it turned out to be, if not a revelation, a pleasant surprise playing to the show's strengths.

Where commentary episodes so often fail is in being ham-fisted; they tend to put whatever message they're trying to get across at the forefront, and then try to align the show's sensibilities in tandem with that message, and the outcome, when done poorly, risks condescension and preachiness, as if exercising an obligation. "The Schooling," though, demonstrates how commentary can be done at its finest: while there's a message underneath—that we undervalue and take for granted a proper education and otherwise neglect the difficulties of the service industry—TAWOG's distinct charm is always at the forefront, and it never relinquishes a part of its identity to get the job done.

Sunday, June 17, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Founder

"I either need some food or some therapy... eh. Chips are cheaper."

Here's an interesting episode. Whereas "The Parents" struggled with its use of humor and "The Brain" struggled with its lack of realization, "The Founder," in its relative simplicity, is nothing but unbridled fun. And that's precisely why it works. It takes a simple premise that could've been attempted at any point in the show's run and imbues it with so much charm and ingenuity that it just left me feeling happy. And that's not usually something all of those other hard-edged critics (assuming the criteria is loose enough to include me) even like to acknowledge.

And strangely enough, the success of the episode, while certainly enhanced by Nicole's active role throughout, is almost entirely surrounding Richard. He's a character who, time and time again, has proven difficult to put in the spotlight; his moronic shtick, more often than not, tends to be a crutch at best or a detriment at worst. Yet what allowed him to work in "The Founder" was that even though he demonstrates that same stupidity, it comes across as utterly endearing. He's just a character trying to do his best in a preposterous situation significantly out of control, spiraling to the degree that the co-workers who crowned him as their long-awaited founder convinced him he was the actual founder.

Saturday, June 16, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Parents

"I don't want to hear your excuses. I just want you guys back."

Here's a fun fact for everybody out there: in my entire time writing for the show, I haven't covered a single episode that I would describe as "monumental." In fact, the first episode I wrote about was "The Code," coming directly after "The Choices" very intentionally. At the time I was ill-equipped to try to discuss the episode and decided the best option would be to dodge it altogether, but now, a little over a season later, I have to write about a heavy episode. And it won't be the most fun thing ever.

There's a lot of issues with "The Parents." And sure, while it ultimately remains likeable, something entirely by design for what it is, it's marred by its own unique set of issues that prevent it from being what it should theoretically be. I mean... this is Nicole reuniting with her parents. That's a big deal! But marred with emotional contrivances and a self-congratulatory amount of self-awareness, "The Parents" finds itself significantly damaged.

Friday, June 15, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Brain

"Now is probably the time to drain ourselves." "What do you mean?" "Well, I feel like a giant udder of stupidity, bloated and bursting, waiting for someone, anyone, to milk me." "I agree with Gumball... on the content rather than the form."

We did it, guys: we survived yet another two month long hiatus, and for now, we have five new episodes, followed by another month-long hiatus! I'll be running down each episode over the next five days, so be sure to come back every day as much as possible because I'm desperate for attention. Anyway:

I want to say upfront that, perhaps due to the complete absence of episodes, I appreciated "The Brain" far more than I probably should have; for what it is, it does a good job. That's not to say, though, that it's without its own set of flaws, and it struggles with a lot of issues concurrent with Season 6's more breezy episodes, namely a lack of focus.

First of all, though, it's worth noting that "The Brain," for the most part, plays out precisely as you would expect, for better or for worse. It's another premise bent around the Wattersons attempting to fix up their general stupidity, so we know what we're gonna get: a mish-mash of sight gags and character moments that undermine their effort to wane off of it. It's certainly fun to watch, but throughout the first few minutes, "The Brain" doesn't take many interesting angles.

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Final Space: Chapter Ten Review

"We're going to have a lot of fun."

So... what now? Well, it's hard to say. And I've spent the past five days milling over how to go about addressing Chapter Ten, and it's not any easier than it was before. There's a lot to discuss here, so let's take a quick moment to get those feels worked out. Take your time. Deep breaths. Ready? Good. Let's go.

First of all, and before we tackle the meat of anything else, Chapter Ten is a spectacle of animation. Final Space has consistently proven itself to lovingly understand the craft, but the cinematography on display here is unparalleled and a perfect demonstration of how strong of an effect it can have on the atmosphere of the show: there's tension, there's drama, there's anguish. Everything about Final Space goes hand-in-hand with no component more important than the other.

And just as the animation is a culmination of the show, so too is the narrative. Final Space understands, perhaps ironically, finality; it's something the show has taken advantage of time and time again, and Chapter 10 is the most ruthless episode yet. (At least until the ending, which we'll get to.) On paper, it's an episode that slowly goes through our heroes, but in practice, it's an intense study of character relations, of increasingly helplessness, and of loss, both glorified (Quinn) and unglorified (Little Cato, who Gary accidentally knocks into space after ramming him with the Galaxy 1 on-course for the Lord Commander's ship).

Saturday, April 28, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Stink

"Look at me! I have so little impact that when I'm gone, it'll be like I never even existed! Doesn't that sound fulfilling?"

"The Stink" is sort of fascinating to me. Whereas I can chalk my more impartial reaction to episodes like, say, "The Pact" to their more derivative material, "The Stink" is its own beast with an interesting satirical target—my brain in the middle of exam-prep mode (compounding onto my already-existent propensity to over-explain) wants to label it "hypocritical environmentalism" which isn't quite right—but something about it never really worked. It simply didn't add anything new, especially in regards to Mr. Small, feeling weirdly stale despite otherwise going all-in.

That's not to say that Gumball balked at the chance to play with its commentary, because it found a great equilibrium in deploying its satire without any heavy-handedness as to ensure its failure. Writing an episode about environmental issues is a task that almost always results in a stilted PSA, but the show knows better, concentrating on the moralistic dilemmas of them as opposed to the good-old "We suck at taking care of the Earth" shtick. And true to fashion, we don't really end up with anything more by the end of the episode; "The Stink," in other words, is the show's latest deep-dive into cynicism, and it's particularly raw.

Monday, April 23, 2018

Final Space: Chapter Nine Review

"I don't know who you are. But I like how you keep shooting people even after they're dead."

It's hard or me to describe Chapter Nine. Coming off of a string of intensely emotional episodes, it ends up feeling like a quick moment to return to relative simplicity. And that's a strange stance to defend considering how hectic the episode is regardless—I mean, we do bear witness to Earth's destruction in the hands of the breach—but Chapter Nine feels like a quick and much-deserved victory lap before doubling down on whatever nightmares await as the penultimate episode of the season.

That's not to say Chapter Nine is any less intense, because there's no shortage of strong moments scattered about. And I'd hardly describe it as perfectly feel-good, but as far as Final Space goes, casually throwing Gary and co through waking nightmares, it kind of is. Everything's about to go insane; let's just enjoy a moment in the sunlight before getting thrust back into a nighttime of major feels.

Saturday, April 21, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Shippening

"Ship on sweet electronic creatures."

So "The Shippening" is a bit difficult to evaluate. It's an episode designed to be pandering, stemming from Ben asking fans to come up with odd pairings to incorporate into the show, and to the show's credit, the pandering gets pulled off pretty effortlessly. It never felt like an episode made out of the writers' obligation, and if anything, in terms of sheer entertainment value, it's one of the most fun and charismatic episodes in quite a while.

But they don't call me Mr. Wet Blanket for nothing. Or they used to, so now I have to conform to the label a bit. And that's not to say it's bad, because it's certainly not, but with Gumball being the only show that would come anywhere close to executing the idea with legitimate dedication, there's some ways that it comes up a bit short.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Final Space: Chapter Eight Review

"Didn't know we were members of the same club."

As that old Maya Angelou adage goes, "We are more alike than we are unalike." I could just stop right there and quit while I'm ahead, because my stuff more than less just sort of devolves into incomprehensible thoughts, so I will... Wait, I don't have enough of a reputation to get away with that? Crap.

Well, the adage rings true for Chapter Eight. And it does so not by focusing on all of the characters and exploring their interplay, but by stripping Gary bare before them (I mean that happened last episode, but... bad joke, sorry) to examine the imperfections that riddle his mind.

This is a particularly daunting predicament. Gary, for all intents and purposes, is the show's head honcho in the comic relief department, a character who no doubt knows tragedy but is always bouncing back and messing around. But straight from the start of the episode, where he alternates between a charged pep talk and freaking out over the hollowness of his speech in his room, it's clear that the guy's got some serious baggage to unpack. And what better thing to make him confront his anxieties than putting him face-to-face with his father?

Sunday, April 15, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Neighbor

"People say you're supposed to mourn a relationship for half the amount of time you were together... I'm done."

Alright. So.

Today I learned that Gumball's creator, Ben Bocquelet, as well as the crew behind the show, reads my work. He even advertised it on Twitter (which, as far as my second shout-out goes, is a pretty massive step up)! To think that the people who work on my favorite shows have gone out of their way and shown an appreciation for my work is such a foreign concept to me that I don't even know what to think, so I'm just gonna stop thinking. But it's really humbling.

However, I won't take that to mean that I'm gonna treat the show any more lightly than before, because that's not why they like my stuff. That probably won't show too much today, though, because "The Neighbor" was a heck of a lot of fun.

While Season 6 has shown itself to be particularly daring and largely successful in trotting out the supporting cast for some delightful hatchet-buriers (i.e. episodes designed to finish off a character arc), "The Neighbor" brought along something even more interesting, giving the Wattersons' relatively unknown neighbor and mailman a shot in the spotlight. Sure, it's not a knock-out success by any means, but it succeeds most in its simplicity, going for a more writerly execution than one designed to stand out.

SNL Sketch Analysis: John Mulaney: "Sitcom Reboot"

"For the first time ever, we're please to announce a crossover episode." "With who?" "Dateline."

It's been a long time since I've talked about Saturday Night Live, but John Mulaney just makes things happen, alright?

Not many people probably remember, but way back when, I used to do full-fledged reviews of SNL, but I quit for two reasons. One, it was exhausting. SNL is a beast to watch and an even more difficult one to evaluate, and while there's always highlights and lowlights that are particularly fun to discuss, there's always plenty in the middle that don't really warrant a need to be discussed in large. Two, the amount of work those took definitely didn't match up with the outcome, and they've since faded off without anybody really caring.

Hence, I devised this, where I'll choose one sketch from every episode of SNL—be it spectacular or absolutely terrible—and break down how it works or doesn't work, all while providing a general evaluation of the night. It's also just a good way to flex some good old-fashioned sketch analysis.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Pact

"Well if I go down, I'm taking you with me." "Yeah? Well, if you do take me with you, I'm gonna sit in the back and complain the whole way and keep asking you if we're there yet."

Well, those plot synopses are a bit annoying, aren't they?

Before we discuss anything else, I think it's something incredibly important to address how misleading they are, because all they've done is cause mismatched expectations to emerge, and in this instance, they've helped sink this episode's reception to some extent. And I understand why: it advertises Penny playing a larger role on the front box, but her character is only utilized as much as necessary (that is to say for roughly five seconds of screentime). Even if it's difficult, I don't think we can hold this episode's disregard for the character against it: that was never the direction the show was trying to take.

There's a lot to be said about how Penny just isn't on the writers' minds, and that's a problem in and of itself for sure. But we can't chalk this as a failure merely because some idiot watched two minutes of the episode, assumed it was going to do something else, and haphazardly wrote a rough description. Simply put, you can't evaluate an episode on the basis of that which it wasn't trying to do.

With that being said, though, "The Pact" certainly wasn't anything special, and though it was far from an abject failure, it came across as a rather scattershot effort. Let's chalk it under that "pleasant but forgettable" category.

Monday, April 9, 2018

Final Space: Chapter Seven Review

"I never thought I'd be creating a murder squad with a small boy, but here we are."

Following the events of Chapter Six, one thing became incredibly clear: more than ever, our heroes have to see eye-to-eye. However much chemistry they've established, as I said in the last review, they're a group but not truly a team. With the shake-up that is last episode's ending (I'll just phrase it like that up here so nobody spoils themselves by accident), though, there's no better time to snap the gang into place, and it's an interesting challenge that Chapter Seven nimbly and almost effortlessly rises to.

Even if this a reconstruction period for everyone, Final Space doesn't relish the moment too much, and I say that in the best way possible. Don't get me wrong: the events of last episode are crucial to how things unfold here, with Chapter Seven exploring the effects of the tragedy on its characters, but there's very much a mentality of "one step back, two steps forward." That's not even a thing. Final Space is making that a thing.

So yes, we do see Gary sulking and feeling purposeless, and we see Little Cato's distress mounting as he keeps to himself, but there's also interesting advancements, too. Most significantly, Gary's sentence as prisoner aboard the Galaxy One is over, and Nightfall makes her presence known as she tries to rewrite the future. Beyond just adding a newfound dimension to the episode, though, they're the lens through which these feelings from before become properly realized.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Final Space: Chapter Six Review

"HUE won't let me have a guitar. Do you really think I'm going to HANG MYSELF BY GUITAR STRINGS?!" "Yes, dude." "Yeah, well, you're probably right." 

They should've just gone and fixed the breach.

No, I told myself, I'm not letting this show catch me off-guard. And, to some degree, I succeeded. But then that ending comes in and punches, nay, stabs you square in the gut. But before we get to that, let's go over everything else this episode does right. Even without its ending, it would be as tight a narrative as ever.

Chapter Six is the first episode (and last, but we'll get to that) to put everything in order by unifying our leading cast, allowing us to push onwards on the long-delayed quest to save Lil Cato. In other words, there's a lot on this episode's plate: it's legitimately monumental, signifying a shift in the overall narrative even beyond the obvious (Just wait on it), and we're finally moving from the preliminary rounds of setting the narrative up to the meat of the narrative itself.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Final Space: Chapter Five Review

"Like it or not, we're a team. And you can't spell team without M and E. And you know what that spells? Us."

Chapter Five is an interesting sort of buffer episode. Compared to previous chapters, there's very little to what it sets out to do, with the main focus being the building of trust between Quinn and Gary's ragtag group of unconventional galactic heroes, and it does a stellar (space pun? Maybe) job at that.

Whether or not that ultimately benefits us in the long run, though, is up to contention. For the record, I don't think there's anything wrong with episodes like this, and to its credit, it did get things done. But with a focus leaning on the characters and how affected they are by their surroundings, "Chapter Five" feels like a change in pace that, while not detrimental by any means, stands out a little.

That's certainly an odd, and I'm sure picky, argument, but Final Space, by its nature, is a gripping space opera; it plays out with all of its episodes bearing equal weight, with the constantly-evolving status quo being the propeller. "Chapter Five" is a good episode, by all means, but it doesn't quite fit as snugly into the overarching story the show is trying to tell; more than anything else, it fills in blanks instead of introducing us to anything new. And again, it does a knockout job at that, but not better than any of the other episodes. It feels like Final Space Lite.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Final Space: Chapter Four Review

"Commencing rescue. Commencing destiny."

First of all, I'd just like to offer a highly profound thank you to Olan Rogers, who was such a gentleman that he actually gave me access to all of the episodes through to Chapter Six for reviewing purposes! That's such an utterly humbling thing for him to do, and in a strange way, it makes me feel more committed to my self-imposed job than ever. It almost makes it feel like what I do is... credible. Which is an odd sensation that I really dig.

Of course, with that, there's also the consequence of simply becoming a parrot who talks about how amazing Final Space is for the sake of stroking Olan's ego, but that ruins the point of why I'm here in the first place, and that's not what he wants to see. With that being said, though, the argument is a little difficult to defend considering how genuinely solid this episode was regardless.

That's not to say that it didn't yield a few issues, however. Chief among them is that, since this marks the reunion of Gary and Quinn, we get to see more of the side of Gary from the first chapter that didn't work so well, finding him as a klutzy and haphazard womanizer without a lick of poise. Sure, watching Gary's melodramatic notions is fun, especially as he Footloose-dances his way across the ship filled to the brim with woeful angst, but the struggle persists between how much it does for the narrative and how much it detracts from it.

Saturday, March 10, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Anybody

"Tell me again what he looked like?" "He's about yea tall with a hat, a green shirt, and an orange tie." "Okay buddy, I'm gonna give you a ten-second head start."

If there's any character I would've chalked down as "Most Unlikely to Make a Successful Comeback," Clayton would probably be near the top of the list. He's always been a very one-note character by design with one defined quirk: the compulsive need to consistently be lying in an attempt to make his boring life more interesting. As far as hooks go, he's got one of the weakest that the show's got to offer, so going into "The Anybody," I was fairly skeptical.

Then again, Season 6 truly is all about fun surprises, and against all odds, the episode was quite a treat. I suppose it makes sense; even though Clayton's kept a low profile for a while, the show's coming back with one final idea for him, and even if it doesn't have that same sense of closure as a lot of the other character-based episodes this season, it's closer in spirit with a concept to squeeze everything we can out of Clayton once and for all. And squeeze out they most certainly did.

I think what's interesting about "The Anybody" is that it acknowledges the limits of Clayton as a character; the full extent of who he is has already been explored in "The Move," where we, more than less, piece together why he's a pathological liar and bear witness to his internal struggles when that status is challenged, and this episode doesn't try to do anything new so much as hone in on what the show has.

Monday, March 5, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Candidate (A Second Opinion)

“They say lions throw their cubs off ravines and only raise the ones strong enough to climb back up. Well firstly, that’s not true and it’s also completely irrelevant to the story, but it makes for a cool opening!”

Hey! I'm doing this whole thing a bit late. I was super tired yesterday from the past week, and then my WiFi got torn to shreds by high winds through all of Saturday, so that was a lot of fun. There's not much to this post, though I will inform you that the meat of all of my thoughts is right here:

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Final Space: Chapter Three Review

"Dude, are you crying?" "No... no, I'm not crying, it's... space pollen."

In discussing the first two chapters, I wisely opted to skip around the idea of talking about the show's narrative, something that I've deemed my Achille's heel. With that being said, though, this is Final Space, and the plot is just as important as the characters, if not even more so. They aren't mutually-exclusive; they go hand-in-hand, and "Chapter Three" manages to find an exciting equilibrium. Don't get me wrong: this is a particularly loaded episode, but the interconnectivity of every arc occurring on the screen catapults it to success, all while allowing for a visually-diverse episode that keeps you engaged.

Consider the fact that there are three distinct plots going on in this episode (Gary and Avocato try to provide sanctuary for Mooncake; Mooncake gets forced to fight in the Deathcropolis; Quinn ventures out to the gravitational disturbance), and even more bubbling just below the surface. Again, that could so easily set the show up for failure, but they exist to let these things settle in, basically laying their claim for later episodes to explore. What Final Space does is put its most immediate plot at the forefront to take up the meat of each chapter, though with plenty of space to allow all of the other story elements to simmer and slyly loop back around; that's how Olan gets you hooked.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Final Space: Chapters One and Two Review

"I am going to MURDER your face off!" "I will murder your face... on?!" "That doesn't make any sense!"

There's not a single content creator I will ever have more enthusiasm for than Olan Rogers. He's everything the universe needs right now; charismatic, engaging, and hysterical, and his penchant for story-telling and manic comedic instincts are unrivaled. Sufficed to say, I'm proud to see someone like him, who works his butt off to make people laugh, finally got his due in something that he's always wanted to do: create television. And, for the most part, it works.

Now, as a self-important idiot standing on my humble soapbox, I have specific issues that I want to tackle, but as a disclaimer: I do think Final Space is good, and I do believe in its potential. Early episodes, after all, will always struggle a bit when you put into consideration how much they have to do–establishing the characters, setting the tone, and creating the universe of the show is a pretty tall order.

The first two episodes weren't rough, but they did have rough patches. However, I want to make the distinction that I think Final Space is reparable, so bear with me for a little while.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Faith

"See? He's physically incapable of saying anything remotely positive about me!"

Unsurprisingly, to just jump straight to the meat of this review, "The Faith" was incredible. While it may not have been the most uproariously hilarious episode the show's ever done, that's not what it's going for; "The Faith" uses a more understated approach to comedy to address relative tragedy with a clever, optimistic spin. 

What I find so great about "The Faith" especially, and what I think sets it so far apart from other outings, is how it's written: more than anything else, it plays out like a sort of short story more than just another episode. There's a fascinating sense of ingenuity to how everything unfolds. First, the episode starts on an ominous foot as the world turns to black and white; we don't really know what's happening, and the episode uses this relative, brooding ambiguity to set the tone of the episode. It also uses that opportunity to play around with striking visuals and delightful concepts as far as the comedy is concerned. There's something delightfully surreal, for instance, about Gumball and Darwin stumbling across a graffiti-covered building to a point of being disoriented, and it uses that strand of visual cleverness to make some great jokes (in the form of Hobo and his useless directions).

Friday, February 2, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Cringe

"We have to air out the awkwardness. Let it all hang out. Free and loose, flopping in the wind like a panting dog's tongue!" "That sounds awkward enough already." "And then we'll roll in our awkwardness, slather ourselves in it like a couple of oiled-up prize hogs, until the bitter shame finally tastes sweet!" "I feel like I need a shower." "Funny you should say that."

One of the fun aspects of Season 6 being the final season is that it means the show's closing up shop, and this is the last call to get as much out of its supporting cast and their story arcs as possible. Last week, for instance, we saw Richard and Frankie make amends, and the week before, we saw Tobias finally discover what friendship actually is; in a few weeks, too, we have what's looking to be the last great huzzah for Alan's story arc.

"The Cringe," unsurprisingly, decides to finish off the trilogy of Hot Dog Guy episodes by tackling the duo's awkwardness head-on. First, the episode asks the expected question of how can they get it to stop, but more interestingly, when all else fails, "The Cringe" posits a question to stifle the whole story arc: why are they so awkward? At once, the episode tackles both concepts with an exciting bit of daring and gameness, yet they never fully pay off.