Super Cartoon Review! (Spoilers)
Reviews for the latest episodes of The Batman, Legion of Super Heroes, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad, Battlestar Galactica (yeah, okay, NOT a cartoon) and Jeff Smith's Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil.
By the way, The Simpsons movie looks AWESOME! I'm gonna see it the weekend ot comes out.
The Simpsons "Springfield Up"
I love how they FINALLY managed to find a different format for the show which they haven't actually managed to do since "Behind the Laughter". I enjoyed the episode a LOT. This was actually the fastest paced episode I can remember and I was pleasantly surprised with each plot twist (like Homer being revealed to be "rich" or Eleanor turning out to be the Crazy Cat Lady.) I also really liked all of the character stuff and nuances and thought these were some of the slyest jokes since the Ricky Gervais episode. I think it was probably intentional to debut The Simpsons Movie trailer during a rare GOOD episode. Only beef was that the ending seemed too pat but to be fair there really wasn't any other way they could have ended it. ****1/2.
King of the Hill "Blood and Sauce"
I found Bill's Cajun dandy cousin hilarious is the New Orleans episode but here he was really grating. To be honest, Hank was really grating this episode too. I can understand some of his reluctance in some of Bobby's ridiculous sponge-ish fads but cooking is REALLY something that makes him look like an ass for discouraging. Bill came off really well this episode though and I loved how he found he could pass the recipe on to Bobby. Good episode, but not great. ***1/2.
Family Guy "The Tan Aquatic With Steve Dissou"
Stewie's tanning subplot was hilarious in my book. I loved that "Tab" moment. The Muppet gags were funny too. I DO love the new Muppets but dang it, they DO sound wrong. Stewie's cancer scare was funny. I wasn't really into Peter's bully subplot although him beating up that little kid was hysterical. I also loved the golf course stuff at the beginning. Like King of the Hill, a good episode, but not a great one. ****
American Dad "Black Mystery Month"
I think one of the coolest things about American Dad is how it messes with history and always manages to make decent conspiracy plots. This one was obviously a parody of The Da Vinci Code but it was only decent. I really liked Haley and Roger's Jenga subplot though especially how Roger called Hasbro and they said it was technically okay to have a practice Jenga and that though it didn't violate the rules of the game it violated it's spirit. I also loved Roger yelling at Haley to move at the end. I liked the ep but I didn't love it. ***1/2.
Legion of Super Heroes "The Substitutes"
What a fun episode! REALLY Teen Titans in it's wackiness but none of the wackiness was too far out there or out of the rules of the show. I really liked the new "heroes" and their powers that weren't quite THAT great. I also really liked Bouncing Boy, in a moment of candor telling them that HIS powers weren't that cool either. Really funny villain too. Enjoyable ep. ****.
The Batman "Riddler's Revenge"
I liked the episode, especially the ending. I don't think this was the strongest episode this season but it's about dang time The Batman made its villains sympathetic. GREAT insight into the Riddler and I love how they tied in his childhood with how he was feeling throughout the ep (ESPECIALLY the "Play ball, Champ" line.) If I had ANY real complaints about the episode it's that the music on this show has never been that good and it ruins some of the dramatic tension. Teen Titans and the rest of the DCAU had great music so it's kind of too bad that The Batman, while having it's strongest season yet still has trouble with coming up with a good score.
I loved the Riddler's tear at the end and how EVERYTHING that screwed him up seemed to come from the one person he trusted. Touching and sad ending. ****.
Battlestar Galactica "A Day in the Life"
Really good episode for Roslin and Adama shippers. I liked Adama's struggles with his feelings for Lee's mother and when Lee told him about the abuse it was REALLY sad. I also love how much Tyrell and Kat love each other and how their marriage appears to be a strong one. I was REALLY glad we didn't actually have to see them when they were exposed to space. That would have probably been too much for me to bear. No Baltar this week, but I like that Lee is gonna be his lawyer. Good episode in my book. ****.
Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil: Chapter One by Jeff Smith
Man, I don't usually read DC Comics but this interpretation of Captain Marvel by the creator of Bone was top-notch. REALLY cartoony and fun. Although it takes place in the regular DCU I'm gonna pretend it's DCAU canon. It's that good. I never really knew about the origin of Captain Marvel and I thought this was a good and easy way to show it. I loved the artwork too and thought it was beautiful. There were also a number of great "Bone-ish" gags like Captain Marvel and the hot dogs. I can't wait for the next issue. This may only be a four issue mini-series but I'm going to enjoy it for as long as I can. *****.
By the way, The Simpsons movie looks AWESOME! I'm gonna see it the weekend ot comes out.
The Simpsons "Springfield Up"
I love how they FINALLY managed to find a different format for the show which they haven't actually managed to do since "Behind the Laughter". I enjoyed the episode a LOT. This was actually the fastest paced episode I can remember and I was pleasantly surprised with each plot twist (like Homer being revealed to be "rich" or Eleanor turning out to be the Crazy Cat Lady.) I also really liked all of the character stuff and nuances and thought these were some of the slyest jokes since the Ricky Gervais episode. I think it was probably intentional to debut The Simpsons Movie trailer during a rare GOOD episode. Only beef was that the ending seemed too pat but to be fair there really wasn't any other way they could have ended it. ****1/2.
King of the Hill "Blood and Sauce"
I found Bill's Cajun dandy cousin hilarious is the New Orleans episode but here he was really grating. To be honest, Hank was really grating this episode too. I can understand some of his reluctance in some of Bobby's ridiculous sponge-ish fads but cooking is REALLY something that makes him look like an ass for discouraging. Bill came off really well this episode though and I loved how he found he could pass the recipe on to Bobby. Good episode, but not great. ***1/2.
Family Guy "The Tan Aquatic With Steve Dissou"
Stewie's tanning subplot was hilarious in my book. I loved that "Tab" moment. The Muppet gags were funny too. I DO love the new Muppets but dang it, they DO sound wrong. Stewie's cancer scare was funny. I wasn't really into Peter's bully subplot although him beating up that little kid was hysterical. I also loved the golf course stuff at the beginning. Like King of the Hill, a good episode, but not a great one. ****
American Dad "Black Mystery Month"
I think one of the coolest things about American Dad is how it messes with history and always manages to make decent conspiracy plots. This one was obviously a parody of The Da Vinci Code but it was only decent. I really liked Haley and Roger's Jenga subplot though especially how Roger called Hasbro and they said it was technically okay to have a practice Jenga and that though it didn't violate the rules of the game it violated it's spirit. I also loved Roger yelling at Haley to move at the end. I liked the ep but I didn't love it. ***1/2.
Legion of Super Heroes "The Substitutes"
What a fun episode! REALLY Teen Titans in it's wackiness but none of the wackiness was too far out there or out of the rules of the show. I really liked the new "heroes" and their powers that weren't quite THAT great. I also really liked Bouncing Boy, in a moment of candor telling them that HIS powers weren't that cool either. Really funny villain too. Enjoyable ep. ****.
The Batman "Riddler's Revenge"
I liked the episode, especially the ending. I don't think this was the strongest episode this season but it's about dang time The Batman made its villains sympathetic. GREAT insight into the Riddler and I love how they tied in his childhood with how he was feeling throughout the ep (ESPECIALLY the "Play ball, Champ" line.) If I had ANY real complaints about the episode it's that the music on this show has never been that good and it ruins some of the dramatic tension. Teen Titans and the rest of the DCAU had great music so it's kind of too bad that The Batman, while having it's strongest season yet still has trouble with coming up with a good score.
I loved the Riddler's tear at the end and how EVERYTHING that screwed him up seemed to come from the one person he trusted. Touching and sad ending. ****.
Battlestar Galactica "A Day in the Life"
Really good episode for Roslin and Adama shippers. I liked Adama's struggles with his feelings for Lee's mother and when Lee told him about the abuse it was REALLY sad. I also love how much Tyrell and Kat love each other and how their marriage appears to be a strong one. I was REALLY glad we didn't actually have to see them when they were exposed to space. That would have probably been too much for me to bear. No Baltar this week, but I like that Lee is gonna be his lawyer. Good episode in my book. ****.
Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil: Chapter One by Jeff Smith
Man, I don't usually read DC Comics but this interpretation of Captain Marvel by the creator of Bone was top-notch. REALLY cartoony and fun. Although it takes place in the regular DCU I'm gonna pretend it's DCAU canon. It's that good. I never really knew about the origin of Captain Marvel and I thought this was a good and easy way to show it. I loved the artwork too and thought it was beautiful. There were also a number of great "Bone-ish" gags like Captain Marvel and the hot dogs. I can't wait for the next issue. This may only be a four issue mini-series but I'm going to enjoy it for as long as I can. *****.