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matt_zimmerHaven't done these for a while. Also reviews for Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney's Comics and Stories.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Am I the only person not so crazy about the Special Editions? I hardly think they are better than the originals and the special effects kind of stand out more than they should. And I liked Jabba the Hutt better when he was a shadowy figure who people always spoke of in hushed tones rather than a CGI guy palling around with Han.
All that said I DO like how beautiful the remastered editions look. The original movies may be better but they actually cleaned up the film here so it looks awesome. I'm glad they did that. I liked the movie but not as much as the original. ****.
Futurama Volume Two
Futurama was one of those shows that despite starting off pretty strong managed to get even better as it went along. So it went from REALLY good to outstanding and each progressive season was better than the last. Some my favorite episodes are in this volume. I REALLY loved "A Head in the Polls" because you can't have too many jokes at Richards Nixon's expense. "The Problem With Popplers" is the hilarious return of Lur, leader of the planet Omicrom Persei Eight. And "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" has a truly catchy musical number at the end. Fine set of episodes. ****.
I Second That Emotion: Not my favorite of the episodes on the set because I found Bender quite annoying here. I think the show's attempt to make Bender it's break-out character largely failed because they kept pushing that idea on the audience. Meanwhile the character who I love and sympathize most with turned out to be Fry. You can't create a break-out character to be a break-out character. It has to happen by itself. ***1/2.
Brannigan, Begin Again: I love Zapp Brannigan because he is so pathetic. HUGELY funny parody of William Shatner and this is one of his best episodes (along with the first appearance of the Chicken Lawyer). I felt SO bad for Kif throughout and thought him whining to Leela about Zapp (much to her annoyance) was funny. ****1/2.
A Head in the Polls: Nixon's back! I LOVE this episode and I love the fact that this show's concept allows it to do old Nixon jokes in a new way. My favorite bits from this episode were Nixon sweating under the Truthiscope ("I certainly wouldn't harm the child...") and the Head smack-down between him and Bender at the end. *****.
XMas Story: Maybe it's because A Tale of Two Santas is SO superior but this XMas episode (which features the introduction of Robot Santa) just isn't that great. Also not helping things is the fact that they weren't allowed to actually used the melody to Santa Claus is Comin' to Town so the song parody at the end just seemed off-key and lame. ***.
Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?: Funny episode and it's around this point that Zoidberg comes into his own as a character. I loved Zoidberg placing a large bet on himself winning the fight to the death when Fry confirms to him that yes, disembowling is fatal to humans. I also loved Fry's Cyrano routine to Zoidberg because those lame ideas actually worked. Funny. ****.
Put Your Head On My Shoulder: The episode doesn't work because Fry is such a butthole throughout. I had zero sympathy for him which is rare. **1/2.
Lesser of Two Evils: Flexo is hilarious and I loved Bob Barker hosting the Miss Universe Pangeant. But is it REALLY a surprise that Bender is the evil Bender? ***1/2.
Raging Bender: Amusing take on boxing and pro-wrestling. ***1/2.
A Bicyclops Built For Two: If they HAD managed to actually get Ed O'Neill for this episode it would have been perfect. As it stands it's a really funny and at times touching Married... With Children parody. The ending was perfect. I also loved Fry kicking butt at the video game. ****.
How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back: I love this episode and it's Hermes song at the end that puts it in the "excellent" file. Funny Fry stuff with him getting himself in deep with that fastidious but psychotic beaurocrat. Dirty boy! Dirty, dirty Boy! *****.
A Clone of My Own: Later Cubert episodes are better because they juxtipose Cubert as being a kid whereas this one makes him smarter and more annoying than usual. I did like him telling Fry that the Professor takes after him and then realizing with horror that he does too. ***.
The Deep South: Funny, FUNNY episode. The concept of the lost city of Atlanta is so cool and nifty and it all leads up to the joke of Fry and Umbrielle being VERY confused in bed. I also love the Professor and his sepositories. ****.
Bender Gets Made: I liked the episode, I guess, but Bender episodes are never my favorites. I think my favorite part was Bender realizing he'd have to rob the Planet Express ship why making sure Fry and Leela didn't get hurt. ***.
The Problem With Popplers: Lur is one of my favorite recurring characters ("Dude! My hands are HUGE!") and Zapp Brannigan has some of his funniest moments of the series here like dressing an ape up like Leela and eating the Popplers at the negotiating table with Lur. And I loved the dirty, smelly hippie. *****.
Mother's Day: I love how profane and absolutely unpleasant Mom is and this was a good spotlight. But, eeeewwww, old people sex! ****.
Anthology of Interest I: Not as good as the second one but I REALLY loved the story at the end with Al Gore and his nerd commandos. Priceless. ****.
The Honking: Cool episode and a really great riff on Stephen King's Christine. ***1/2.
War is the H-Word: Not my favorite episode but Bender's top ten list of his favorite words to say was classic. I also like Nixon pointing out what a skilled negotiator Kissinger's Head is. ***1/2.
The Cryonic Woman: Man, Sarah Silverman REALLY knows how to grate as Fry's ex Michelle. I loved how annoying she was and I think the fact that they pointed out that Fry has a great life in the 31st century is really cool. And don't shoot the messenger but Pauly Shore's role here was actually (Gasp!) FUNNY. ****.
Uncle Scrooge #366
Uncle Scrooge in "Body Swap" by Lars Jensen: Haven't Uncle Scrooge and Magica switched bodies before? And if so why all of the hype for this thoroughly pedestrian story? ***.
Uncle Scrooge in "Guilty as Charged," by Paul Halas: This story was confusing and stupid. **.
Donald Duck in "Write Thinking," by Michael T. Gilbert: Typical Donald and Gyro story. Nothing special. **1/2.
Uncle Scrooge in "Tricky Experiment." by Carl Barks: Easily the highlight of the issue. I love the Beagle Boys being quite outmatched by the tricky Money Bin and Uncle Scrooge's non-chalance throughout the entire story. Only beef is that the ending feels QUITE rushed. ****.
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #681
Goofy in “Green Ice Cream and a Trampoline,” by Byron Erickson and Cesar Ferioli: Goofy's sweet but this story was predictable. Clarabelle Cow sure knows how to get on my nerves. ***.
Goofy in ”Enter... Dippy Dog” by Floyd Gottfredson: Cute two page Gag which is pretty much the first real comc book appearance of Dippy/ Goofy. ***1/2.
Goofy in ”The Great Gawrsh-Durn Champion” by Romano Scarpa: I prefer Romano Scarpa's mouse mysteries to stories like this but it was STILL pretty good. I think the villain of the piece had a BOGUS motivation but I like how the story STILL followed Scarpa's rules for his mystery stories even if it wasn't actually a mystery. ****.
Donald Duck in "Taming the Rapids" by Carl Barks: The coolest thing about Donald Duck/ Nephew stories is that Donald doesn't always win and neither do the nephews all the time so they can be unpredictable. Even though (as happened in the early Barks ten pagers) Donald is unlikable here I like the fact that even though he was rash and incompetant throughout the story he STILL got the credit for the rescue. Life really IS unfair. ***1/2.
Donald Duck in ”Snob's Your Uncle,” by Vicar: Obnoxious story. Speech impediments are fun to listen to in cartoons but in comic books they are totally annoying. That kid got on my last nerve. *.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Am I the only person not so crazy about the Special Editions? I hardly think they are better than the originals and the special effects kind of stand out more than they should. And I liked Jabba the Hutt better when he was a shadowy figure who people always spoke of in hushed tones rather than a CGI guy palling around with Han.
All that said I DO like how beautiful the remastered editions look. The original movies may be better but they actually cleaned up the film here so it looks awesome. I'm glad they did that. I liked the movie but not as much as the original. ****.
Futurama Volume Two
Futurama was one of those shows that despite starting off pretty strong managed to get even better as it went along. So it went from REALLY good to outstanding and each progressive season was better than the last. Some my favorite episodes are in this volume. I REALLY loved "A Head in the Polls" because you can't have too many jokes at Richards Nixon's expense. "The Problem With Popplers" is the hilarious return of Lur, leader of the planet Omicrom Persei Eight. And "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" has a truly catchy musical number at the end. Fine set of episodes. ****.
I Second That Emotion: Not my favorite of the episodes on the set because I found Bender quite annoying here. I think the show's attempt to make Bender it's break-out character largely failed because they kept pushing that idea on the audience. Meanwhile the character who I love and sympathize most with turned out to be Fry. You can't create a break-out character to be a break-out character. It has to happen by itself. ***1/2.
Brannigan, Begin Again: I love Zapp Brannigan because he is so pathetic. HUGELY funny parody of William Shatner and this is one of his best episodes (along with the first appearance of the Chicken Lawyer). I felt SO bad for Kif throughout and thought him whining to Leela about Zapp (much to her annoyance) was funny. ****1/2.
A Head in the Polls: Nixon's back! I LOVE this episode and I love the fact that this show's concept allows it to do old Nixon jokes in a new way. My favorite bits from this episode were Nixon sweating under the Truthiscope ("I certainly wouldn't harm the child...") and the Head smack-down between him and Bender at the end. *****.
XMas Story: Maybe it's because A Tale of Two Santas is SO superior but this XMas episode (which features the introduction of Robot Santa) just isn't that great. Also not helping things is the fact that they weren't allowed to actually used the melody to Santa Claus is Comin' to Town so the song parody at the end just seemed off-key and lame. ***.
Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?: Funny episode and it's around this point that Zoidberg comes into his own as a character. I loved Zoidberg placing a large bet on himself winning the fight to the death when Fry confirms to him that yes, disembowling is fatal to humans. I also loved Fry's Cyrano routine to Zoidberg because those lame ideas actually worked. Funny. ****.
Put Your Head On My Shoulder: The episode doesn't work because Fry is such a butthole throughout. I had zero sympathy for him which is rare. **1/2.
Lesser of Two Evils: Flexo is hilarious and I loved Bob Barker hosting the Miss Universe Pangeant. But is it REALLY a surprise that Bender is the evil Bender? ***1/2.
Raging Bender: Amusing take on boxing and pro-wrestling. ***1/2.
A Bicyclops Built For Two: If they HAD managed to actually get Ed O'Neill for this episode it would have been perfect. As it stands it's a really funny and at times touching Married... With Children parody. The ending was perfect. I also loved Fry kicking butt at the video game. ****.
How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back: I love this episode and it's Hermes song at the end that puts it in the "excellent" file. Funny Fry stuff with him getting himself in deep with that fastidious but psychotic beaurocrat. Dirty boy! Dirty, dirty Boy! *****.
A Clone of My Own: Later Cubert episodes are better because they juxtipose Cubert as being a kid whereas this one makes him smarter and more annoying than usual. I did like him telling Fry that the Professor takes after him and then realizing with horror that he does too. ***.
The Deep South: Funny, FUNNY episode. The concept of the lost city of Atlanta is so cool and nifty and it all leads up to the joke of Fry and Umbrielle being VERY confused in bed. I also love the Professor and his sepositories. ****.
Bender Gets Made: I liked the episode, I guess, but Bender episodes are never my favorites. I think my favorite part was Bender realizing he'd have to rob the Planet Express ship why making sure Fry and Leela didn't get hurt. ***.
The Problem With Popplers: Lur is one of my favorite recurring characters ("Dude! My hands are HUGE!") and Zapp Brannigan has some of his funniest moments of the series here like dressing an ape up like Leela and eating the Popplers at the negotiating table with Lur. And I loved the dirty, smelly hippie. *****.
Mother's Day: I love how profane and absolutely unpleasant Mom is and this was a good spotlight. But, eeeewwww, old people sex! ****.
Anthology of Interest I: Not as good as the second one but I REALLY loved the story at the end with Al Gore and his nerd commandos. Priceless. ****.
The Honking: Cool episode and a really great riff on Stephen King's Christine. ***1/2.
War is the H-Word: Not my favorite episode but Bender's top ten list of his favorite words to say was classic. I also like Nixon pointing out what a skilled negotiator Kissinger's Head is. ***1/2.
The Cryonic Woman: Man, Sarah Silverman REALLY knows how to grate as Fry's ex Michelle. I loved how annoying she was and I think the fact that they pointed out that Fry has a great life in the 31st century is really cool. And don't shoot the messenger but Pauly Shore's role here was actually (Gasp!) FUNNY. ****.
Uncle Scrooge #366
Uncle Scrooge in "Body Swap" by Lars Jensen: Haven't Uncle Scrooge and Magica switched bodies before? And if so why all of the hype for this thoroughly pedestrian story? ***.
Uncle Scrooge in "Guilty as Charged," by Paul Halas: This story was confusing and stupid. **.
Donald Duck in "Write Thinking," by Michael T. Gilbert: Typical Donald and Gyro story. Nothing special. **1/2.
Uncle Scrooge in "Tricky Experiment." by Carl Barks: Easily the highlight of the issue. I love the Beagle Boys being quite outmatched by the tricky Money Bin and Uncle Scrooge's non-chalance throughout the entire story. Only beef is that the ending feels QUITE rushed. ****.
Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #681
Goofy in “Green Ice Cream and a Trampoline,” by Byron Erickson and Cesar Ferioli: Goofy's sweet but this story was predictable. Clarabelle Cow sure knows how to get on my nerves. ***.
Goofy in ”Enter... Dippy Dog” by Floyd Gottfredson: Cute two page Gag which is pretty much the first real comc book appearance of Dippy/ Goofy. ***1/2.
Goofy in ”The Great Gawrsh-Durn Champion” by Romano Scarpa: I prefer Romano Scarpa's mouse mysteries to stories like this but it was STILL pretty good. I think the villain of the piece had a BOGUS motivation but I like how the story STILL followed Scarpa's rules for his mystery stories even if it wasn't actually a mystery. ****.
Donald Duck in "Taming the Rapids" by Carl Barks: The coolest thing about Donald Duck/ Nephew stories is that Donald doesn't always win and neither do the nephews all the time so they can be unpredictable. Even though (as happened in the early Barks ten pagers) Donald is unlikable here I like the fact that even though he was rash and incompetant throughout the story he STILL got the credit for the rescue. Life really IS unfair. ***1/2.
Donald Duck in ”Snob's Your Uncle,” by Vicar: Obnoxious story. Speech impediments are fun to listen to in cartoons but in comic books they are totally annoying. That kid got on my last nerve. *.
