What made Billy and Mandy so Great this season?

[Tech]

I thought the pilot was very lame, and I thought that the first and second seasons whad mediocer-average stories, but there was a few good stories, nothing to special though.

But this current season, is excellent! Everything has improved, and almost every episode is better than the best of season 2. Whos responsable for these changes, because its great!

Just wondering if anyone know anything about this, thats all

[Kury Wagner]

Actually, I thought the last season sucked. I laughed maybe once per ep. Depressing, seeing as I loved GAoB&M's first & second seasons.

[Fan of Sponge]

They made Billy dumber that Ed. Not only that but Mandy continued to have those quotes that made her flat serious and mean and made Grim look like he could get pushed around by the kids. Welcome to the real world, Grim.

[Behonkiss]

Nothing.

[Tak Mazé]

Maybe cuz of no Con Carne to divert the attenion from the main show. But I haven't seen any recent ones myself, since we don't have them yet. But I think the show is getting funnier. Grim has "adapted" to the new way of life which is what makes it funny.

[Gokou Ruri]

There's only one reason... because if we didn't like it... they would....

Destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all!

Spoiler:

I'll have the chicken

Destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all! x 320

[Ultra Mike]

I agree that Billy and Mandy has improved in the 2004 Season. There are a few reasons for this:

1. The Pacing: When B&M were three 6 minute segments they seemed very rushed some of the time. However, now that they are two 11 minute segments, the pacing dosen't feel as rushed, as there is more time to properly time jokes for the story and not have the plot move so fast.

2. The Art Direction: It's defintley improved in 2004. The directors make the action very clean and smooth and each scene flows into the other very well. It's defintley a very big step up from the first season

3. It's just natural for a series to work through all of it's "winks" from the first few episodes and become better over time if given the chance (and the crew wanting to work on fixing the changes). This is what leads to reason one and two.

[CookieS]

What episode did everyone enjoy the most this season?

[Ultra Mike]

What episode did everyone enjoy the most this season?

Well, my favorite segments of the 2004 season were "Skarred for Life" and "Here There Be Dwarves". However, "Lil Porkchop" and "Bully Boogie" (the other segments attacked to these episodes) weren't really that good. Probably in terms of overall quality, I'd have to go with "Bearded Billy"/"The Nerve". "Bearded Billy" was the better of the two, but "The Nerve" had Mandy as a frightened little girl, which was something I wanted to see at least once in the series.

[Leviathan]

It's the best CNS show on TV right now. The haters can just go watch the most unamusing show in the world, Hey Arnold 2-- I mean, Foster's Home. Both will get season renewals so everyone's happy. EVERYONE!!

Foster's has almost nothing in Common with Hey Arnold (A Boy and His Imaginary Friend at a home for Imaginary Friends, as opposed to a bunch of kids living in the city. They're Worlds apart). Since the only thing that they have in common is the fact that they're both cartoons, Calling Foster's "Hey Arnold 2" would be like calling Beavis and Butt-Head "Ren and Stimpy 2" or Family Guy "The Simpsons 2"

[Queen of Hearts]

This season was pretty funny. I want to see the clown episode again. I like all the Billy & Mandy seasons. My only complaint about the new season is that it seemed to focus very heavily on Billy most of the time (not really much of a problem though). I loved the "Bearded Billy" episode. I loved the part when Billy rolled around in the living room with that funny music playing:anime: , and the parts with Hoss Delgado trying to act like and Aussie using fake slang words. Brilliant!

[Leviathan]

Compare their friggin dialogue, it's almost exactly alike.

I have seen both shows, and I don't see how the dialogue of the two are similar, much less "amost exactly alike". In Fact, the Dialogue of Foster's more closely resembles the Powerpuff Girls than Hey Arnold (Makes sense, becuase Craig McCracken created both PPG and Foster's, and some of the people behind Foster's worked at PPG)

And just like Hey Arnold, Fosters focuses more on the large, bizarre and wacky supporting cast than the protagonist, and the protagonist is only brought in to provide advice or caution or sometimes not at all.

That is the case for quite a few cartoons, and it usually doesn't detract from the overall quality of the show (And it's usually a good idea to have the supporting characters of a show be more "interesting" (as in wacky, bizarre, etc.) than the protagonist)

So when I see it in Fosters do it every week it agitates me. Why can't Mac have any situations of his own?

Well, since Foster's is barely in it's Second season, i would imagine that Mac will get more situations as the show progresses (In fact, the overall quality of the show will probably increase gradually over the show's run, as was the case for Teen Titans, Ed, Edd, and Eddy and even Bill and Mandy)

But right after the pilot, Mac is shoved out of the spotlight and then his life becomes meaningless in the overall story of the show.

Again, that may change as the show progresses (And if Foster's ever gets a movie like The Powerpuff Girls, that would probably be the best place to have Mac in the spotlight

Of course, there are other things that agitate me like the music. And the writing. And the direction. But the point is, it's Hey Arnold 2.

The Foster's Theme song is one of the greatest songs for a CN original, and the incidental/background music has a certain ambience to it, but that's just what i think.

Yes, the writing and direction were a bit Slow the First Season , But it looks like Craig and his team are beginning to pick up the tempo (judging from Last week's episode) . In fact, i'd wager that by the 3rd season of this show, Foster's will be on par with the finest Ed, Edd, and Eddy or Billy and Mandy episode.

[Ultra Mike]

It's the best CNS show on TV right now. The haters can just go watch and pretend to laugh at the most unamusing show in the world, Hey Arnold 2-- I mean, Foster's Home-- while I enjoy something that's actually clever and spry. Both will get season renewals so everyone's happy. EVERYONE!!

You know, something dosen't add up with what you said....

Originally posted by Matt Wilson On ER Review Site
Best Children’s Series (Of 2004)

ED EDD N EDDY.

So far, EEE and B&M have only had one new episode this year. Was that enough to make B&M better then EEE to you Matt? I'm just a bit confused.

[Butho]

Eh. Matt must have something there, because I see it too. I love Foster's visuals and the fact that it doesn't heavily rely on outsourcing, but I watch it maybe once a month at the most because the "stories" and two main characters really turn me off.

Billy & Mandy's been great lately, it's like one of the few CN shows I still watch. They're giving Mandy more roles, and Billy's stupidly amusing as ever. They're overshadowing Grim a bit more than usual, but it doesn't really bug me yet.

[Ultra Mike]

EEE is produced by aka Cartoon in Vancouver, not Cartoon Network Studios. B&M is the best show of 2004 by Cartoon Network Studios, that's what I'm trying to say. And I can't wait for April.

Oh, thanks for the clarification Matt. Sorry about the confusion. Still new here and all I guess.

On Topic...

The only episode I was not really fond of this season was Toys Will Be Toys. Did not really have any joke in it at all. It was ughhhh. Like an older B&M episode.

I didn't like that episode much either, but it did have a funny line in it:

BILLY: Grim, why do the good have to die young?
GRIM: Well that's because sometimes I get confused.

[Tak Mazé]

At the end of these GAOB&M episodes, I always say to myself, "Where do they come up with this stuff???" Which I don't say very often. I'm very impressed with the show and how they make these original and bizarre stories!
And as for Matts view on Fosters, I think it's a little harsh. But yeah, all the friends except Bloo seem really flat (lol. Like the animation )
But Fosters is one of my faves at the moment!

[Kury Wagner]

I don't see why so many people liked this last season of Billy & Mandy. The jokes were flat and the plots were mediocre compared to the ones from previous seasons. I thought the recent eps were of poor quality. That one episode that mocks LotR ("Har Thar Be Dwarfs" I think it was titled) was slightly humorous thanks to my geekiness, but others like the Chocolate Sailor ep and "Mandy Bites Dog" were just too mind-numbingly lame.

As for Foster's, I think the bright so-called peppiness is just fresh for CN and so everybody and their grandma adores it. But I see (and agree with) what Mr. Wilson is saying. I'm not head-over-heels with the show either.

[Tak Mazé]

I don't see how you can say the jokes are poor quality <.< I've found they strive hard to deliver gags which appeal to all ages! There's the slapstick, the witty remarks, the randomness and irony and then they even have several jokes leaning over the edge of the Kids/Adult border. And how they string it all together is just marvellous. Then again, I haven't seen the most recent series yet, but in my opinion I strongly feel they're getting funnier as they go and have definately gotten better in every aspect since the pilot and the first series. (I actually though the pilot was better than any episode from series 1)

[Tak Mazé]

[QUOTE=Matt Wilson]Hey, I like the animation and design of Fosters a lot, I just don't like the show. I can watch it with the sound off and enjoy it. It's well constructed. I'm just NOT A FAN of it. I don't know how that makes what I say harsh... is it because there's not much of an objection to the show so when I object it seems more radical than it really is? I dunno.QUOTE]

Oh no not like that! I meant, you were going into a sort of mini-review of it in an irrelevent board ^^; But only highlighting the bad points and just skimming across the good. Anyway, carry on.

[I.R Joey]

It's the best CNS show on TV right now. The haters can just go watch the most unamusing show in the world, Hey Arnold 2-- I mean, Foster's Home. Both will get season renewals so everyone's happy. EVERYONE!!
.

Don't think that's a valid comparison. Going on a point you made later. In a general sense most cartoons about kids and their friends can be compared to each other in a general sense. Doug had episodes that had more to do with his dog or his friends than him, Pepper Ann often focused on her friends problems, and even Recess had episodes where it seemed more about the teachers than the kids. As for Mac's moralistic approach to the way he handles situations, quite frankly the whole show would fall apart without him being the anchor there.

-Blue is a trouble maker.
-Wilt will let people walk all over him.
-Eduardo is a coward.
-Frankie often flies off the handle.
-Harryman=To strict.

Without Mac being in the middle there, and having a conscience the place would just go crazy.

Quite frankly I think that Foster's works best in the way that the creators have been making it.

As for Billy and Mandy, this show has really taken me by suprise this year. I'd never really been a big watcher of it, but quite frankly I find myself looking at it more and more. And laughing at some of the incredibly funny things that are said on it. It's warped in a very delightful way.