Post your reviews: Adult Swim Comedy - 2/17/02

[Killtacular]

I'm only making two sticky review threads a week now. A thread for Adult Swim Comedy and a thread for Adult Swim Action. It'll keep the board a little less cluttered, I think.

I am also introducing a NEW PHP-BASED REVIEW SYSTEM.

Click here to review "Dad"! (http://adultswim.toonzone.net/episodes/episodes-hm19.php)

Click here to review "Bitterman Hillbillies"! (http://adultswim.toonzone.net/episodes/episodes-bb2.php)

Click here to review "Bus of the Undead"! (http://adultswim.toonzone.net/episodes/episodes-athf3.php)

Click here to review "Speck"! (http://adultswim.toonzone.net/episodes/episodes-sg40.php)

Click here to review "Untitled"! (http://adultswim.toonzone.net/episodes/episodes-sg49.php)

Click here to review "Brain Scratch"! (http://adultswim.toonzone.net/episodes/episodes-cb23.php)(not working at the moment)

Click here to review "Hard Luck Woman"! (http://adultswim.toonzone.net/episodes/episodes-cb24.php)

I will be setting up PHP for all new episodes tonight, as well as for ASA shows and then later episodes from the past.

Feel free to review episodes here, although if you want them to appear on the Adult Swim page, you'll want to head to that specific episode page to post it.

Enjoy. Took me forever to set up the PHP, so.. yay.

[Gojin]

EDDY(or Eddie)!, LMAO!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA *dies laughing*

[randomguy]

My God. That sucked. It was TERRIBLE; I am not kidding. Here we thought "Identifying a Body" was bad. Sorry if my opinion is so blunt, but any other HM episode can spit on this one. I was really looking forward to this episode, which was more or less the conclusion to "Brendan's Choice", and I was dissapointed in every way. Just about everything that could go wrong did. These were the biggest problems:
-Eddy, the sick kid. This was a desperate attempt at laughs, which, much like the Freckles dog, seemed straight out of a teen gross out comedy. What's more, the potrayal of this gag, trying to make us laugh at the idea of a sick kid vomiting blood, was offensive. Speaking as someone who's best friend is in much the same condition, the insensitivity here was disgusting. I was mortified.
-Characters out of character. Be it Paula going on about how long its been since she was intimate with a man, or Melissa slapping her a**, pure and simple, every character here was out of character.
-McGuirk's big brother subplot. Tacked on and boring.
-The general treatment of the character of Brendan's dad. He was beyond all shadow of a doubt the dullest character the series has yet tackled. He wasn't funny, he wasn't likeable, etc. After the superb "Brendan's Choice", the entire focus of this episode, Brendan and his father, worked out miserably.
-Crappy way to lay out an episode. Heck, just the editing was bad. Subplots were mixed together in a confusing way. The episode started in a weird spot that should have been the middle. The ending was even more problematic. Just really disjointed and unproffessional.
-Bad beginning and end, as I mentioned. There was no build up to Brendan seeing his dad, you just sort of picked up there. The ending wasn't funny, dragged on, and didn't work as an ending.
-Just plain not funny. In the end, it's humor that makes Home Movies. And I didn't laugh once.

I LOVE this show, pure and simple. That's why this episode was such a dissapointment. Heck, the ONLY good thing was Brendan, the only character who wasn't annoying here and didnt' break character (his interactions with his dad's fiance were the best part of the episode) Sorry for being so curt, but this was, no doubt, the worst episode of this series. It was uncharacteristicly bad, a real stain which is probably gonna stick with the show for awhile.

[Detra]

While this episode was a huge improvement to last weeks, it doesnt even compare to "The Party".

The main plot, with Brendon's dad, was decent. I liked how Brendon interacted with his dad, but the characters of the dad and the girlfriend were kinda bland.

I didn't like Mr. Freckles, and I didn't like Eddy. But McGuirk and Melissa's interactions were great. Jason talking about being naked made me spit out my iced tea I was laughing so much.

Not a bad episode, I just wanted a bit more.

[Chibi Kageboshi]

I liked both Home Movies and Baby Blues

[IkeTheMachine]

Baby Blues was hilarious! Especially with the obvious penis envy references in the kitchen.

HAHA GREAT STUFF!

[spectre316]

Randomguy... wow! How unexpected! ...your review, I mean! Didn't expect that, really... and onto my review:

Wow... this was a very good episode. Supposedely, this is the continued story of "Brendon's Choice." This episode works because of how the story content is presented -- in nearly the same manner of "Brendon's Choice," actually -- where we get both very original humor and content of a somewhat serious nature (at least for this series). We all know Brendon's father shouldn't marry that rather annoying woman, and (I think) even Brendon's father knows this.

The humor nearly completely works as well; the whole Eddy sequence was discomfortingly hilarious. Any scene where a person kicks a soccer ball to a disabled person only to have the disabled person fall down and... well, also get their teeth knocked out, is, in a way, "sadly" funny.

Melissa also gets some rather good minor time in. Jason, while having virtually no time in at all, does pop up in on unexpected moments.

What about Brendon's dad? Well, his character is actually better than I expected -- he seems to be rather confused, but also seems to be able to communicate to Brendon (sometimes) well. His humor is nearly the same as Brendon's, and what can I say -- so is his hair.

We also get some uncomfortable, but hilarious-like moments of truth; Brendon, in many cases, has trouble talking to his father. It's happened to me so many times. And the way Brendon talks behind his future step-mom's back is... great. I felt the same way as he did.

I thought the episode was really great, actually. I'm also the one who thought "Business & Pleasure" was great too, so perhaps I'm just like that. Grade: A

[JTurner954]

Yes, this was not a good episode of Home Movies. A bad way to start off Adult Swim. McGurk is funny as usual, just not as much as usual. The ending left me with a big question mark; I felt cheated. D+ HOWEVER, this was an intro to an ongoing story so I think next week's episode will be better.


Now onto Baby Blues: This episode was terrible. I laughed maybe three times during the whole episode.

They started the joke about the neighbors buying expensive things, then it just went out of control with boredom. It was not funny. I wanted to gag from watching this show drag on and on and on.

I found nothing funny about a family suffering while that little kid Rodney is insulting their financial decline. Grade: A big fat F. I never want to see this episode again. Now I see why WB got rid of this show.

[spectre316]

Hey Matt, should we review "The Party" at the link you provided in your first post? I'm a little confused on that one..

[JTurner954]

That episode of Baby Blues actually made me sick. I have a bad stomach ache.

I have two things to say about ATHF: What the heck is going on? I don't see how this can be a very funny show.

[Killtacular]

I'm going to put up some of the reviews from "The Party" that people posted already, but if you want to post something yourself, feel free. That was the first PHP page I got up, which is why I used it as an example.

[Chibi Kageboshi]

You complain to much JTurner

[spectre316]

Yes, I noticed that too... are you sure you like AS at all, JTurner?

[spectre316]

Okay Matt. Was a bit confused there...

[JTurner954]

How am I complaining too much?

Every week I give both positive and negative things (in fact, I've been praising Sealab 2021 for about a month now and I praised last week's Brak Show) and give an overall grade. I liked the party episode in Home Movies. Meanwhile,last week's and this week's Home Movies haven't been as good.

Please explain to me how voicing my opinion shows that I don't like Adult Swim ( I really like watching Adult Swim) .

[spectre316]

Sorry about that. It's just that you were rather negative this week. That's all...

[JTurner954]

I think the cancellation of Family Guy has depressed me a little.


I just didn't find Baby Blues all that funny. The guy's being outshined by his neighbor, pressured at work, the couple loses their babysitter to the neighbors and has to find another way to babysit their child, the babysitter is being mistreated (by Rodney anyway), and even the Bob Costas character is making fun of the woman because she isn't wealthy like the neighbor. I just don't see how that's funny. I felt so bad for this family.

Sealab 2021 picked me up though. The whole dodge ball joke was funny, but the Gladiator spoof at the end put a big smile on my face. Grade: B+

And with Space Ghost, I liked the second episode more than the first. The whole Moltar interivew with Estrada was very good. First episode: C+ Second episode: B+

[randomguy]

Yes spectre, being the fan of the show I am, I was kinda surprised myself. I wouldn't be blown away if I ended up enjoying it more the second time, but something about this episode....just irked me. Hell, I loved "Identifying a Body", so I don't THINK I'm being too hard on the show. Ah well, whatever. As Calhoun said, different strokes for different folks.

[DR. BELCH]

HOME MOVIES: "Dad"
Brendan's dad's fiancee reminded me a little too much of my third ex--she's impatient, selfish, doesn't really seem to love him--yet she's strangely compelling. We'll see more of her next week .I'm waiting for him to dump the tramp, to be honest.
Paula resents that her ex has found someone else before her, and she hasn't been with a man in two years. Brendan resents her for stealing away his dad and illustrates that with little pranks, like using her toothbrush.
The funniest bit was seeing Brendan expertly use actual comments made by the fiancee in one of his movies. It would have been funnier if she could've herad "herself", though--maybe entered at an inopportune moment, unnoticed.
I agree that Eddy just seemed to be dead weight in the script. Why McGirk would bring an obviously half-dead kid onto the field, unless there were some legal thing forcing him to (even if it's obvious he can't play, some antidefamation group can still sue the school) is beyond me.
DYN the sign on the cage saying "Do not spank the monkeys"? LOL. And where can I get one of those cool chimpanzee-shaped cups?
This one ended much too soon for me.

BABY BLUES: "The Bitterman Hillbillies"
The moral is, things have a way of regulating themselves. Carl's wholly undeserved good fortune comes to naught when his corner-cutting becomes obvious during a major ball game...and Daryl ends up winning the office pool, crappy spot irregardless. God was punishing the big fella for his hubris (coincidentally, King of the Hill, earlier today, dealt with the same subject).
I thought it was cars that are equated with the John Thomas, not TV screens.
Para Zoe!

[Chris Sanders MSX]

You guys need to let each episode stand on it's own instead of comparing it to other episodes.

I liked the episode, I mean it was funny but it was just a "little" off. ANd not the bad off, but the British Comedy kind of off. I mean Brenden's dad's fiance made a lot pof moments weird and his Dad seemed like he was holding back on stuff, and Brenden himself was just hillarious. My only beef with the show was how it ended, I kind of wanted a resolution but maybe that'll be handled next week.

[atf487]

HM: overall, pretty good. I think this wasn't a standalone episode like "the party", so It will take a few episodes to develop the characters. I liked the monkey sign, brendan's comments about linda, and eddy was funny, but it made me feel bad when McGuirk kicked all his gear+teeth off. Best line:

Jason: I once walked into my parents bedroom and they saw me naked.
Melissa: why'd they see you naked?
Jason: I love it.

grade: B

[JTurner954]

Besides the Do Not Spank The Monkey Sign, did you notice that when the guy was flipping through the book of sick children, they showed a picture of Jason??

Also, I'm not exactly sure, but in the beginning where the driver cuts off Brendon's dad, I think the driver was McGurk (might have to put it in slow motion to make sure).

[Killtacular]

Yeah, it was McGuirk, in his Reckless-mobile

[Rabbot]

Originally posted by JTurner954
Besides the Do Not Spank The Monkey Sign, did you notice that when the guy was flipping through the book of sick children, they showed a picture of Jason??


I loved that! Poor Jason... He's like the AS Milhouse... The whole McGuirk/Eddy thing was in kinda poor taste, but I couldn't help but chuckle. Who woulda thought that the sausage guy was gonna become a recurring character?!

--Z

[Rabbot]

Originally posted by JTurner954
Besides the Do Not Spank The Monkey Sign, did you notice that when the guy was flipping through the book of sick children, they showed a picture of Jason??


I also liked the "Do Not Shock the Monkey" sign... I'm a sucker for a Peter Gabriel reference! :)

--Z

[Shnay]

I'm really conflicted about this one. It seems like for everything they did right there was something else they did that really detracted from the overall show.

I'll begin with the positive.

In the early scenes between Brendan and his dad, they did a really good job of creating an awkward and uncomfortable feel. There were long pauses and the two characters often had to really struggle to find something to say. When dialogue was spoken, it was very forced and almost tense, with lines like "So, you look...taller." "Yeah, I'm...uh...longer than the last time you saw me." (those lines are obviously paraphrased). Later, as the relationship developed (although it developed too quickly, in my opinion) they created a very interesting and believeable dynamic between Brendan, his dad, and his dad's girlfriend (was Dana her name?) I also thought the dad's girlfriend was developed pretty well as a character in a short time. Sure, she's a stereotype, but she still seems to have some personality character that are her own (I'm not really sure how to describe it better than that). I especially liked her volunteering to either feel good about herself, or to have something to talk about inside her social circle, I'm not entirely sure why.

Now the negative.

As Randomguy said, the beginning was out of place. We're seeing what is supposed to be a life changing moment for Brendan and Paula just pushes him out the door? This scene may have been done so abruptly because there are still many unanswered questions and contradictions about his father and his past that they don't want to answer. It's been discussed before, but basically, the contradiction comes when some scenes from the first season act as though Brendan has never seen his father, and some make it seem like he and Josie (who is roughly a year old) have the same father, making the first impossible.
Anyway, the development of Brendan's relationship with his dad seemed rushed and unrealistic. Paula was out of character and could have contirbuted a lot to this episode, but was only used for bad jokes about sexual frustration and younger women.
And Eddie...I suppose he must have seemed like a good idea at some point. I love dark/tragic humor, but the joke here was all visual. Basically, it was "Hey, that kid's funny lookin'!" Not only isn't this that funny in general, but it's been done by numerous idiotic teen comedies, and HM didn't add anything to the "joke."
[Although, I must admit, I did laugh when Coach McGuirk said "Go over there while I tell them what's wrong with you]

So...in the end, the episode failed to deliver to many people's high expectations because (I feel) they tried to do too amny things (many of which weren't the best ideas to begin with) in one show, and the result was...well, "different."

[I'm sorry for the long post, I tend to ramble. :) ]

[Killtacular]

I think Josie was an accident. With Erik!

Paula says that the last time she was with a man was 2 years ago.

And Paula mentions in Get Away From My Mom that she and Erik had first met at the PTA meeting two years ago, although they don't say anything other than that.

But that's the conclusion I draw.

[JL Man]

Originally posted by Matt Wilson
I think Josie was an accident. With Erik!

Paula says that the last time she was with a man was 2 years ago.

And Paula mentions in Get Away From My Mom that she and Erik had first met at the PTA meeting two years ago, although they don't say anything other than that.

But that's the conclusion I draw.

Unless it said when they "Dad" left, I think it's highly possible that he could have left when she was pregnant and didn't know she was pregnant yet.

[randomguy]

I dunno. I don't think soup2nuts is going with continuity here. I mean, Josie couldn't possibly be 2 could she? She'd be walking and talking by then. So my guess.... she's adopted. I do like the Erik theory though. I can totally see those two shacking up. In fact, Erik seems to be a lot more like Brendan's dad than Brendan's dad, y'know, now that I think about it....

[.Automatisch]

No she wouldnt be 2 years old because it takes 9 months to have a baby, so shed be like 1 1/4 years old.

[randomguy]

True. I didn't think about that.

[DR. BELCH]

--be walking and talking at about 15 months. I know my neice is, very accomplishedly, and she's only 13 mos. So maybe there's something to this "Josie was fathered after the divorce" theory after all...and both Erik and the baby have an olive complexion...which would make it doubly strange if Brendan and Melissa fell in love, if the girls are half-sisters...pardon me while I boil my eyeballs. :rolleyes:

[Shnay]

But, as a few people have noted, Josie is showing up a LOT less in the second season (she's only showed up once by my count, but I'm probably forgetting a few appearances). Anyway, they may be trying to slowly wean her (no pun intended) off of the show. Maybe soon they'll just pretend she never existed, like that older brother on 'Happy Days.'

[atf487]

charlienash is spamming! Somebody stop this madness.