Craig Marinaro
12-04-2001, 06:13 PM
Just as a random note (to bring up some rather-off-topic animation discussion, and give me a reason to say something), I was intensely pleased with last week's episodes of The Simpsons and Justice League.
The former ranks up there as one of the most entertaining in recent years. The plot was well-structured for a Scully ep (Homer's fortune cookie-writing is what, ultimately, gets him tangled up in the whole thing). As with "Trilogy of Error," the jokes are still distinctly Scully's style (i.e., subtle as a half-dozen brick walls), but they're mostly actually funny. Burns is his usual "silly" post-eighth-season self, but he has some wonderful bits (counting out the *exact* change for the delivery boy, the "nude firehouse," thinking being likened to a brother means he's doing well, etc.). Smithers jokes are way too obvious, but he's thankfully not that involved once the plot gets moving. Homer is the good-natured idiot we all know and love. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is one of the dying breed of guest stars who actually play a character. Nothing exceptional, but she has her moments.
Things weaken a bit once Snake comes onto the scene, but Kent Brockman has some great shtick ("Two Springfield citizens have been reported missing for the last twenty minutes!"). The ending is (naturally) weak. But all in all, it's a very entertaining endeavor. One of those rare modern-day eps that I may actually try to tape when it reruns.
As for JL, "In Blackest Night" is a marked improvement over "Secret Origins," as I'd hoped. Like I figured, it's not easy writing a pilot, so we'll cut them some slack. With the first "real" episode, things get into full-swing. John, who I complained was the archetypical "business-first" superhero in "Secret Origins," is much more fleshed-out here. We see some of his background in his hometown in Part One, and Part Two reveals how highly he holds the ideals of the GL core--he's willing to sacrifice himself when he *thinks* he's betrayed them. And when he learns he's innocent at the end, it's hardly a pleasant affair for him--he now realizes what fairweather friends the other GLs are. LaMarr's icy delivery on, "Yes. You should have [known better]" tells us all we need to know about how he's feeling.
Flash is a lot less obnoxious and a lot more amusing, too. Loved the Launchpad McQuack "Any landing you can walk away from" homage, and his nobly standing up for Flash shows he isn't as much of a heel as he'd have us think. The writers seem to be building a bond between the highly unlikely pair of Flash & GL. The writing is also much snappier here--the "lawyer problem" dialogue is funnier than most comedy shows.
I've yet to catch this week's episode. I'll see it when it shows later this week. But I'm definitely on the bandwagon.
And with DG's Bruce Timm interview having whet my appetite even more for that show, Jean taking over The Simpsons in a few weeks and having said he consciously plans to change things some, and Futurama coming along next week...I'll have a reason to watch TV yet!
-C
The former ranks up there as one of the most entertaining in recent years. The plot was well-structured for a Scully ep (Homer's fortune cookie-writing is what, ultimately, gets him tangled up in the whole thing). As with "Trilogy of Error," the jokes are still distinctly Scully's style (i.e., subtle as a half-dozen brick walls), but they're mostly actually funny. Burns is his usual "silly" post-eighth-season self, but he has some wonderful bits (counting out the *exact* change for the delivery boy, the "nude firehouse," thinking being likened to a brother means he's doing well, etc.). Smithers jokes are way too obvious, but he's thankfully not that involved once the plot gets moving. Homer is the good-natured idiot we all know and love. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is one of the dying breed of guest stars who actually play a character. Nothing exceptional, but she has her moments.
Things weaken a bit once Snake comes onto the scene, but Kent Brockman has some great shtick ("Two Springfield citizens have been reported missing for the last twenty minutes!"). The ending is (naturally) weak. But all in all, it's a very entertaining endeavor. One of those rare modern-day eps that I may actually try to tape when it reruns.
As for JL, "In Blackest Night" is a marked improvement over "Secret Origins," as I'd hoped. Like I figured, it's not easy writing a pilot, so we'll cut them some slack. With the first "real" episode, things get into full-swing. John, who I complained was the archetypical "business-first" superhero in "Secret Origins," is much more fleshed-out here. We see some of his background in his hometown in Part One, and Part Two reveals how highly he holds the ideals of the GL core--he's willing to sacrifice himself when he *thinks* he's betrayed them. And when he learns he's innocent at the end, it's hardly a pleasant affair for him--he now realizes what fairweather friends the other GLs are. LaMarr's icy delivery on, "Yes. You should have [known better]" tells us all we need to know about how he's feeling.
Flash is a lot less obnoxious and a lot more amusing, too. Loved the Launchpad McQuack "Any landing you can walk away from" homage, and his nobly standing up for Flash shows he isn't as much of a heel as he'd have us think. The writers seem to be building a bond between the highly unlikely pair of Flash & GL. The writing is also much snappier here--the "lawyer problem" dialogue is funnier than most comedy shows.
I've yet to catch this week's episode. I'll see it when it shows later this week. But I'm definitely on the bandwagon.
And with DG's Bruce Timm interview having whet my appetite even more for that show, Jean taking over The Simpsons in a few weeks and having said he consciously plans to change things some, and Futurama coming along next week...I'll have a reason to watch TV yet!
-C