Super Cartoon Review! (Spoilers)
The Simpsons: "The Mook, Chef, the Wife and Her Homer"
This was a decent episode especially considering the last few season premieres have been passable at best. I think I can think of a way to fix the Simpsons. They need to do more episodes like this which focus on characters who really haven't had major spotlights before. Fat Tony was a good choice. That way they can explore stuff on the show that they haven't before. I think I'm getting a little sick of seeing Apu's family drama or Moe's latest business venture. And Marge and Homer getting into a fight every other week really upsets me.
Quite a few good mob jokes, especially the one at the end of Kearney closing the doors. I liked the revelation at the end that Micheal was in on the murders and when he told Lisa to never ask him about his business. Funny stuff.
Fat Tony as a soccer dad was really funny especially when his "sleeping with the fishes" comment was referring to a Finding Nemo blanket.
I liked the episode but I'm not getting my hopes up. Every single time the first or second episode of the season starts out strong the season winds up going downhill anyways. I'm not going to fall for that again. ****.
American Dad "Camp Refoogee"
How wild is it that the best cartoon I saw yesterday was American Dad? Who'da thunk it?
Ever since South Park's Cartoon Wars I haven't been able to watch Family Guy and enjoy it as much as I used to. I was afraid the same thing would happen with American Dad. Unlike Family Guy however American Dad never uses random cutaways and it's jokes are always relevant to the plot and characters. I have a sneaking suspicion Cartman may approve.
I really love it when Roger is paired up with a different member of the Smith family because alone he's kind of a one note character. But seeing him mix it up with Francine was great and they really played well off of each other. Best joke of the night was Roger cleaning his glasses and then telling Francine to tell their new friends how she killed their baby. Classic.
The refugee plot was pretty funny too. I'm surprised that Stan is actually kind of likable now (I loved the soapbox bit) but not THAT surprised since Peter was a total jerk in the early FG episodes too.
Best cartoon I saw yesterday. ****1/2.
Family Guy "Stewie Loves Lois"
To anyone who thinks Family Guy is better than the Simpsons... Just shut up. You're embarrasing yourself. I am REALLY upset at South Park right now because I CAN'T enjoy this show at all. Only the character stuff on this show is watchable and considering how dependant the show is on cutaways and how little the characters mean that isn't saying much. Yes, Stewie telling Brian to stop hitting on Lois was funny. But the lame Robin and gay Sulu jokes just weren't and those kind of gags seemed more prevelant. I don't know if I'll be able to watch this show this year. **1/2.
Fantastic Four "Doomed"
Better than last week, but that isn't saying much. Maybe it's just me but the Buffyverse has ruined ANY body switching episode that doesn't have it's characters acting smart or believable for me in the future. I have absolutely NO clue why Dr. Doom was acting so suspiciously in Reed's body. You'd think the dude would watch Reed beforehand and pick up his mannerisms and ACT like him if his goal was to infiltrate Fantastic Four headquarters. The reason Faith and Angelus were able to do so much in Who Are You? and Calvary respectively is because they were smart enough to ACT like Buffy and Angel when they needed to. They still had a great deal of fun at their friends' expense but they actually TRIED to keep up the charade for as long as possible. For a "genius" Dr. Doom sure acts like an idiot by complementing himself and downplaying Reed's accomplishments.
But in his defense the Fantastic Four are stupid enough to almost fall for it. Even when Reed in Doom's body spells it out for them it's still a conundrum to these geniuses. Not that Reed actually explained what was going on in ANY clear terms whatsoever.
I have seen a LOT of stupid superhero shows but I haven't seen one with characters acting this brainless since the toy driven cartoons from the eighties (Yes, INCLUDING The Batman). EVERYTHING about this episode was a cliche and moronic. There is absolutely no justification for that kind of shabby writing after The DCAU, Gargoyles, and all of the other great superhero cartoons that have raised the stakes for children's television writing since BTAS debut. This show is bad and imbecilic. **.
A Note about the "Mountain of Madness" commentary on The Simpsons Season Eight DVD:
This is without a doubt the most uncomfortable commentary for ANYTHING I've ever heard. I felt like I was watching an episode of The Office. The contest winner being on the commentary was worth his weight in making the producers sound impatient (with them telling him where to sit and igmoring him demanding to know why John Swartzwelder never showed up for commentaries) especially at the end where he noted the Fox Security gaurds showed up to show him to his car after the producers apologized for Fox not even bothering to spring for airfare and a hotel. The absolute best part though and the thing that was so cringe-worthy was Josh Weinstein explaining how the boring mountain ranger was based on Al Gore by sayig "some of you in the audience may not know this but Al Gore was the Vice-President from 1993 to--". Matt Groeing cut him off with the most withering and dismissive voice possible (and considering this is Matt Groening it was an acheivement to be proud of) and said "God, you're so condescending." He then proceeded to tell Mr. Weinstien how great Al Gore was and that he was SO cool he had done Futurama TWICE. I seriously don't think Weinstien meant anything by it but I think the habits Al Jean and David Mirkin have had on the previous seasons' commentaries explaining every single dang joke had finally reached their logical conclusions.
God, I love Matt Groening. He always tells it like it is and is not afraid to be disdainful of anything and everybody including himself. This was both the best Simpsons commentary and the worst Simpsons commentary I have ever heard.
This was a decent episode especially considering the last few season premieres have been passable at best. I think I can think of a way to fix the Simpsons. They need to do more episodes like this which focus on characters who really haven't had major spotlights before. Fat Tony was a good choice. That way they can explore stuff on the show that they haven't before. I think I'm getting a little sick of seeing Apu's family drama or Moe's latest business venture. And Marge and Homer getting into a fight every other week really upsets me.
Quite a few good mob jokes, especially the one at the end of Kearney closing the doors. I liked the revelation at the end that Micheal was in on the murders and when he told Lisa to never ask him about his business. Funny stuff.
Fat Tony as a soccer dad was really funny especially when his "sleeping with the fishes" comment was referring to a Finding Nemo blanket.
I liked the episode but I'm not getting my hopes up. Every single time the first or second episode of the season starts out strong the season winds up going downhill anyways. I'm not going to fall for that again. ****.
American Dad "Camp Refoogee"
How wild is it that the best cartoon I saw yesterday was American Dad? Who'da thunk it?
Ever since South Park's Cartoon Wars I haven't been able to watch Family Guy and enjoy it as much as I used to. I was afraid the same thing would happen with American Dad. Unlike Family Guy however American Dad never uses random cutaways and it's jokes are always relevant to the plot and characters. I have a sneaking suspicion Cartman may approve.
I really love it when Roger is paired up with a different member of the Smith family because alone he's kind of a one note character. But seeing him mix it up with Francine was great and they really played well off of each other. Best joke of the night was Roger cleaning his glasses and then telling Francine to tell their new friends how she killed their baby. Classic.
The refugee plot was pretty funny too. I'm surprised that Stan is actually kind of likable now (I loved the soapbox bit) but not THAT surprised since Peter was a total jerk in the early FG episodes too.
Best cartoon I saw yesterday. ****1/2.
Family Guy "Stewie Loves Lois"
To anyone who thinks Family Guy is better than the Simpsons... Just shut up. You're embarrasing yourself. I am REALLY upset at South Park right now because I CAN'T enjoy this show at all. Only the character stuff on this show is watchable and considering how dependant the show is on cutaways and how little the characters mean that isn't saying much. Yes, Stewie telling Brian to stop hitting on Lois was funny. But the lame Robin and gay Sulu jokes just weren't and those kind of gags seemed more prevelant. I don't know if I'll be able to watch this show this year. **1/2.
Fantastic Four "Doomed"
Better than last week, but that isn't saying much. Maybe it's just me but the Buffyverse has ruined ANY body switching episode that doesn't have it's characters acting smart or believable for me in the future. I have absolutely NO clue why Dr. Doom was acting so suspiciously in Reed's body. You'd think the dude would watch Reed beforehand and pick up his mannerisms and ACT like him if his goal was to infiltrate Fantastic Four headquarters. The reason Faith and Angelus were able to do so much in Who Are You? and Calvary respectively is because they were smart enough to ACT like Buffy and Angel when they needed to. They still had a great deal of fun at their friends' expense but they actually TRIED to keep up the charade for as long as possible. For a "genius" Dr. Doom sure acts like an idiot by complementing himself and downplaying Reed's accomplishments.
But in his defense the Fantastic Four are stupid enough to almost fall for it. Even when Reed in Doom's body spells it out for them it's still a conundrum to these geniuses. Not that Reed actually explained what was going on in ANY clear terms whatsoever.
I have seen a LOT of stupid superhero shows but I haven't seen one with characters acting this brainless since the toy driven cartoons from the eighties (Yes, INCLUDING The Batman). EVERYTHING about this episode was a cliche and moronic. There is absolutely no justification for that kind of shabby writing after The DCAU, Gargoyles, and all of the other great superhero cartoons that have raised the stakes for children's television writing since BTAS debut. This show is bad and imbecilic. **.
A Note about the "Mountain of Madness" commentary on The Simpsons Season Eight DVD:
This is without a doubt the most uncomfortable commentary for ANYTHING I've ever heard. I felt like I was watching an episode of The Office. The contest winner being on the commentary was worth his weight in making the producers sound impatient (with them telling him where to sit and igmoring him demanding to know why John Swartzwelder never showed up for commentaries) especially at the end where he noted the Fox Security gaurds showed up to show him to his car after the producers apologized for Fox not even bothering to spring for airfare and a hotel. The absolute best part though and the thing that was so cringe-worthy was Josh Weinstein explaining how the boring mountain ranger was based on Al Gore by sayig "some of you in the audience may not know this but Al Gore was the Vice-President from 1993 to--". Matt Groeing cut him off with the most withering and dismissive voice possible (and considering this is Matt Groening it was an acheivement to be proud of) and said "God, you're so condescending." He then proceeded to tell Mr. Weinstien how great Al Gore was and that he was SO cool he had done Futurama TWICE. I seriously don't think Weinstien meant anything by it but I think the habits Al Jean and David Mirkin have had on the previous seasons' commentaries explaining every single dang joke had finally reached their logical conclusions.
God, I love Matt Groening. He always tells it like it is and is not afraid to be disdainful of anything and everybody including himself. This was both the best Simpsons commentary and the worst Simpsons commentary I have ever heard.