I guess it's a bit ironic, considering I'm a Brickfilmer, but I'm not very much into animation/cartoons and perhaps am a bit biased against "kids' cartoons". After hearing about this show and finding a bunch of episodes on YouTube I kinda stumbled into watching it. I've just finished watching the first season. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect...
Wow, I love this show.
It has a great balance of mystery, humour, and well-written characters; my favourites thus far would be Grunkle Stan and Bill Cipher. I love how Stan is portrayed as being a dishonest scammer/con-man--it's not something I would have expected in a children's show. The episodes are for the most part excellently written and make great use of foreshadowing. There's a a surprising amount of detail and subtlety. (I particularly like how Mabel's sweaters tend to reflect the theme of that episode.) And, of course, a bunch of random lolwut humour which makes everything better. There are also a surprising amount of references that I wouldn't expect the target audience (i.e. kids) would get, e.g. "Icelandic pop sensation BABBA", the "Sibling Brothers" book
Spoiler (click to read)
not to mention what I'm pretty sure is a reference to The Exorcist in "The Inconveniencing"... [to be fair I haven't seen the film so I wouldn't know for sure, so it could just be one of those things so ingrained in pop culture that even those who are unfamiliar with the source material would get it].
My favourite episodes thus far would probably be "Dreamscaperers", "Tourist Trapped", "The Deep End", and "Summerween", but I would have to say that most all of the episodes are good. However, I felt that "Irrational Treasure" and "Boyz Crazy" are pretty weak. I find the events in those episodes feel a bit too over-the-top and outlandish even by the standards of the show, and that they seem to have no lasting consequences or impact, even though such events should really have had drastic consequences. It's especially jarring since the other episodes interconnect well and the continuity and story arc is excellent. (That said, I loved the flashback to Stan's youth in "Boyz Crazy"...)Still, these are minor complaints, and does little to detract.
Also, that season ending with Stan. Oh man.
I love this show, can't wait to see more. Now I should probably go and actually decode all of the secret messages and stuff...
Last edited by Mr Vertigo (November 24, 2014 (07:07pm))
Retribution (3rd place in BRAWL 2015)&Smeagol make the most of being surrounded by single, educated women your own age on a regular basis in college
AquaMorph I dunno women are expensive