"Code Monkeys" review
I watched the premier of Code Monkeys on G4 yesterday. This was probably mostly because I recognized the theme song from this video, as flimsy a reason as any, but whatever. It deserved a shot.
Now, the thing that sticks out most in my mind is that of the two episodes shown last night, both include visible phalluses* as joke points.** This says something about the target audience: namely, they need to enjoy shock-humor. Given that the G4 audience is skewed toward those who might understand the E.T. game debacle reference, I figure that a large part of the target audience bought "Conker"* for the Sega Saturn***.
On the other hand, the visual style was a genius decision. Not only was it thematically relevant, it allowed some unique ways to emphasize certain jokes. A health meter at the top of the screen was occasionally replaced by other meters for anger, insincerity, insanity, what have you. Along the bottom of the screen, the title was often replaced with a small reaction to a joke, a la "The Wørd" from The Colbert Report (although less as an extra punchline than to just repeat the punchline incredulously). The scene transitions were fun and useful, and while the first pause screen for commercial break added no real suspense (as it might have under different circumstances), the debut of that mechanic was placed perfectly.
Of course, there's something creator Adam de la Peña said just a few minutes before the debut (during G4's E3 '07 spectacular) that worried me a little. He said he made this show so that his life wouldn't be a waste. While this was almost certainly tongue-in-cheek, the similarity of Code Monkeys to South Park puts me in a position to make some awkward comments. Then again, he already has a sizable IMDb entry, even without this show (yet), so my secondary fear seems completely unfounded.
*Look it up.
**I thought one of them was a fig leaf, if that tells you anything.
***It was the last game Sega made for its own console, probably because the game was targeted toward a near-nonexistent maturing segment of Sega buyers.
Now, the thing that sticks out most in my mind is that of the two episodes shown last night, both include visible phalluses* as joke points.** This says something about the target audience: namely, they need to enjoy shock-humor. Given that the G4 audience is skewed toward those who might understand the E.T. game debacle reference, I figure that a large part of the target audience bought "Conker"* for the Sega Saturn***.
On the other hand, the visual style was a genius decision. Not only was it thematically relevant, it allowed some unique ways to emphasize certain jokes. A health meter at the top of the screen was occasionally replaced by other meters for anger, insincerity, insanity, what have you. Along the bottom of the screen, the title was often replaced with a small reaction to a joke, a la "The Wørd" from The Colbert Report (although less as an extra punchline than to just repeat the punchline incredulously). The scene transitions were fun and useful, and while the first pause screen for commercial break added no real suspense (as it might have under different circumstances), the debut of that mechanic was placed perfectly.
Of course, there's something creator Adam de la Peña said just a few minutes before the debut (during G4's E3 '07 spectacular) that worried me a little. He said he made this show so that his life wouldn't be a waste. While this was almost certainly tongue-in-cheek, the similarity of Code Monkeys to South Park puts me in a position to make some awkward comments. Then again, he already has a sizable IMDb entry, even without this show (yet), so my secondary fear seems completely unfounded.
*Look it up.
**I thought one of them was a fig leaf, if that tells you anything.
***It was the last game Sega made for its own console, probably because the game was targeted toward a near-nonexistent maturing segment of Sega buyers.