Titans "Ghosts" Review (Spoilers)
Sep. 23rd, 2019 01:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of DC Super Hero Girls Super Shorts and Preacher, more episodes of New Looney Tunes, the Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse animated short Peter Porker The Spectacular Spider-Ham In Caught In A Ham, the latest episodes of Marvel's Spider-Man. Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Transformers: Cyberverse, Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy, and LEGO Jurassic World, and the season premiere of Black Jesus.
Titans "Ghosts"
That was quite good. Shocker. Whoever is in charge of this season is a Godsend. The show is in much better hands now.
I love that Dick takes out Jason with one move. It is so Batman needing only one punch to shut up Guy Gardner.
I also like that Gar doesn't want to help Jason at the end. Because Gar isn't stupid. He knows that exact outcome is inevitable, and only agrees because Jason lies about his intentions and browbeats him into it. Gar is just as complicit in my mind because he actually knew better all along.
I love that Rachel's connection to Kori moves her stay. Her solution to lock her friend in her ship was genius. That way he's safe too. Smart.
This show could use more nude scenes for Minka Kelly. She is SO gorgeous.
Dr. Light saying the wrong things in front of Slade was great. Slade's reactions tell me that Light is disposable. Once he no longer has a need for him, he'll probably kill him because he finds him offensive. I would say the only person worse to act crass in front of for Dr. Light would be Hannibal Lecter. But he is doomed and doesn't know it yet. For the crime of being rude.
I unambiguously liked that. Far from loving the show, but the past two episodes have been a good start to getting me there. ****.
DC Super Hero Girls Super Short "Vegecide"
Poison Ivy thinks vegetables are murder and only eats steaks? Seriously? She IS aware that cattle feed is mostly corn, right? There is literally not a single current food source on Earth that doesn't have corn or some other vegetable in it.
Kind of a dumb premise. **1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls "The Bee Stands Alone"
Dodgeball is like the lowest stakes for superheroes ever. ***.
Preacher "Overture"
Good for Tulip for getting the Cassidy thing out there. And good for Jesse for realizing that after what he went through, and what the stakes now are, his previous jealousies were stupid and didn't actually matter. The second turn of events surprised me more than the first.
God is SO freaking evil. He kills the poor hairstylist and he dismisses Jesus as if he's nothing. In fairness, on this show Jesus IS a nothing, but he's also his freaking son. What a monster.
Herr Starr is no better. When he's going on about the degenerates not being spared the suffering, my first reaction was: "You better hope not, you absolute freak. Or your nipple pierced body will be the first in the lake of fire." This show has made some very easy characters to hate. It's clear for the scene of God tempting Cassidy that he is the actual devil on this show.
Do you know what? Seeing somebody walk up to that morning TV host and shoot him in the head was genuinely upsetting. A better show would have allowed it to be. Instead the show makes a quip. The show, whatever it's ending will be next week, would have been a far stronger series over the past four seasons if it took horrible things even a LITTLE bit seriously. It's ironic that the only time this show is any good is when they do. You'd figure the producers would instantly realize that and do it more.
The "Father" at the prison shows that all people who directly serve God in this Universe are outright corrupt monsters and terrible people. I can't believe Eugene went out like that at the end either.
Herr Starr just grabbing Featherstone's boob was appalling. What was truly appalling is that the show made the crazy choice to have her be into it. There will be people who see this show who call it utterly immoral because of the premise. But it's actually utterly immoral for far different reasons.
I love that she is fully dressed in bed. That says something even more than the chastity belt.
Season 2 of The Love Boat? Okay, Cassidy can officially stop calling The Big Lebowski a terrible movie. He's got no credibility left after that.
I love Tulip telling Jesse she just wanted to know if he knew was perpetuity meant. They don't tell us anything else about the mysterious letter besides that one word, but that one word tells you everything you actually need to know about what it says anyways.
God was right about something: The catch. It being Tulip screwing it up. And to be honest, I think she's stupid and weak for it. Yeah, God saying he couldn't remember was cold, but it's hardly the worst thing we've seen him do. You'd figure she'd be able to keep a lid on it for 60 seconds for the sake of humanity. But she's screws everything up.
"I appreciate your support, Hitler." It says something about how bad your cast of characters is when that line is said by Jesus Christ, and it's actually in-character. I do not understand why Lucifer and Black Jesus got the level of hatred thrown at them they did. They follow the word and spirit of God pretty faithfully. THIS show is actually blasphemous, but fundies don't even seem to be aware it exists. Don't worry, all ye faithful. I'm sure the Million Moms will save us from another PG-rated Muppet show. Because that's about how useful they are.
That ending is so dire, I don't see how the heroes can possibly win. In fact, I don't think they will. I hope I'm wrong. But usually in a proper penultimate episode, the tide starts to turn a little in the heroes' favor. This took the opposite tack, which tells me evil is going to triumph next week. Please be wrong, me.
This show is the opposite of Black Jesus. I love God more and more every time I watch that show. I hate God more and more every time I watch this one. Probably a good thing next week is the last episode of this one and Black Jesus's season is just starting. ***.
New Looney Tunes "Pigmallian / Bugs The Gladiator"
Pigmallian:
I felt like this entire short felt disconnected. It could never decide what it wanted to be about. Maybe that's a weird complaint to have about a Looney Tunes cartoon, but I had it.
For the record, Horace is super annoying.
The good thing is that it is clear this season is more ambitious than the first. I liked that the first season was centered about Bugs and the new characters like Squeaks and Bigfoot, but this is probably more of what people were hoping the show would wind up being. ***.
Bugs The Gladiator:
Well, Daffy makes a fine Caligula / Nero at any rate. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ****.
New Looney Tunes "A Duck In The Penthouse / Tour De Bugs"
A Duck In The Penthouse:
This Daffy is nuts.
You know, everything was leading up to him turning out to be the tenant, but I think what some people might think of as the predictable ending is more what I'd consider the right ending. ****.
Tour De Bugs:
I like that Squeaks beat Bugs and Cecil both. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
New Looney Tunes "Knight And Duck / The Color Of Bunny"
Knight And Duck:
Daffy is a great jester. The joke about the Knight describing his relationship with his horse on social media as "It's complicated" was hilarious. ****.
The Color Of Bunny:
Great title.
Check notes. Are you seriously telling me that this is the very first time in Looney Tunes history Bugs has been portrayed as a pool hustler? Because in hindsight, it's kind of obvious. Still, I don't think this topic has come up with Bugs before.
I loved it (to put it mildly). *****.
Episode Overall: ****1/2.
New Looney Tunes "Sam And The Bullet Train / Swine Dining"
Sam And The Bullet Train:
Does Yosemite Sam have a new voice? It doesn't sound like Maurice La Marche
I like that the bullet train goes "Meep! Meep!"
Good one. ***.
Swine Dining:
Do you know what I notice about this show? Daffy always wins! That tickles me.
I love him pretending to be the bathroom attendant and trying to shame him for not knowing his name. John Hamm was a great gag too.
For the record, Daffy's disguises are a riot. "There a fly in my soup! I wanted crickets! And I didn't even order soup!" was like the most insane version of that joke I've ever heard. I also love Daffy stepping on Porky's famous line at the end.
A gem of a cartoon. *****.
Episode Overall: ****.
New Looney Tunes "Love Is In The Hare / Valentine's Dayffy"
Love Is In The Hare:
Sam's cuticles are not cute at all. Good line.
Bugs as the hairdresser was good stuff in general. ****.
Valentine's Dayffy:
Elmer as Cupid always makes me laugh.
I loved the fisherman kissing the trout.
Daffy is a lucky duck at the end.
Funny. ****.
Episode Overall: ****.
New Looney Tunes "Bigs Bunny / Wahder, Wahder, Everywhere"
Bigs Bunny:
Bugs is adamant that Michael Jordan is better than LeBron James. Is it just me or did Bugs just make Space Jam 2 awkward? ****.
Wahder, Wahder, Everywhere:
For the record, Nestle? This is how evil you are. Where is OUR real-world Daffy Duck? ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
New Looney Tunes "Porky The Disorderly / Game, Set, Wabbit"
Porky The Disorderly:
The paddles gag made me laugh.
I also loved Porky and Daffy's reactions are visiting the morgue. It really makes you stop and think. ****.
Game, Set, Wabbit:
Totally forgettable cartoon. I don't even know what Bugs is trying to gain here. *.
Episode Overall: **1/2.
New Looney Tunes "Lucky Duck / Free Range Foghorn"
Lucky Duck:
Anyone who thinks Daffy is a good luck charm needs their heads examined and deserves everything that comes to them.
I was disappointed in the lack of an overt cereal reference.
Decent, but the show has done better. ***.
Free Range Foghorn:
Has there ever been a cartoon before where Foghorn outright lost? He didn't actually lose here, but he didn't win either. As far as I'm concerned he battled Daffy to a push. And maybe he DID lose after all considering Daffy ends the episode alarmingly contented with the new status quo, and Foghorn is still pretty much exasperated.
Here's a secret. I can't stand Foghorn Leghorn. If Pepe Le Pew didn't exist I'd call him the worst major Looney Tunes character. I find his demeanor obnoxious and offensive. Granted that describes Bugs Bunny to an extent as well, but Bugs' personality was mischievous enough to make me love him for it. Foghorn is just a loud-mouthed bully. So I find it gratifying that this show isn't automatically making him the smartest guy on the farm for once. He has actual faults and is portrayed as dumb.
I especially like the show slyly tying Daffy's inability to lay as egg to failed sexual potency, even going so far as to use the term "perform". I think Daffy's best argument for not being able to lay an egg isn't, "I'm actually a duck!" like he says. It's more, "I'm actually a dude, bozo!"
I liked this cartoon better than the first. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: ****.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse "Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham: Caught In A Ham"
That was surprisingly short. As a Spider-Ham fan, I'm sad that I don't recognize any of the characters or situations (they could have listed Ductor Doom or Doctor Octopussycat in the list of rogues if not for rights issues). As a Looney Tunes fan, I'm happy to recognize many of the cliches and tropes.
I love the idea that all of the rooms are the same because they ran out of money. Very meta.
Decent. But super short. ****.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Critical Update"
Things are getting complicated. Which means things are getting good.
Figures Jonah would like SpOck better. Because he sucks.
I love the idea that Doc rejects the notion of the Multiverse. Not merely because he's right that too many scientists accept that unproven idea (which is frankly science fiction) in OUR Universe, and build entire theories around it, which is irresponsible, but also because this being the fictional Universe it is, we as an audience know that Ock is wrong about this part of it at least. In our world his disgust with the teacher would be righteous. In his, it's actually misguided. Which is something I love.
I would accept a scientist's belief in the Multiverse if they also believed in God. Because those two things have an equal level of proof attached to their existences.
I love that Peter is appalled that the password is "I hate Spider-Man". And it's not simply because he's insulted. It because it's totally lame. And you know what? It is. It's the password of a seven-year-old, not a scientific genius. And I think that's partly why Spidey is annoyed. He doesn't want his name associated with something that dumb.
Why is a scholarship off-limits for Peter again? Ock is supposedly acting the jerk? No. He's actually right. Considering the revenue Peter brings the school, Max is a utter cheapskate and a bad person that he's making Peter pay through the nose to make him rich. I strongly despise Max Modell. I firmly believe he is taking financial advantage of Peter. If he weren't super rich, and just a harried college dean, I'd think different. But I think him refusing to bank Peter's education makes him a truly despicable man. What makes me furious is that the show itself doesn't treat his actions like that. Ock blowing up is the correct response, and the show is using it to show how out of control Peter has gotten. If Peter were truly in control he would have given Max Modell the finger long before now.
In any other show Ock failing so badly to impersonate Parker, or act like a human being, would be bad writing. But that's this version of Ock's entire problem. He DOESN'T know how to act like a person so fooling the people in Peter's life is much harder than it would be for a villain with a more normal temperament. It feels like the show is making Ock stupider than he should be. Until you realize he should and needs to be EXACTLY this stupid.
Interesting episode. Loving this arc so far. ****1/2.
Power Rangers Beast Morphers "Thrills And Drills"
I laughed at the joke of the guy with the drill in silhouette at the dentist's office turning out to be installing shelves.
I also thought the joke at the end where Steel says they were there for Ravi to make sure he didn't run off again was funny too.
Not bad. ***1/2.
Transformers: Cyberverse "The Visitor"
I don't even know WHY I'm disappointed. I mean, the first two episodes of the season were pretty epic and huge, and I was kidding myself that that was going to be the new status quo from now on. It's still an eleven minute show. It is going to have its share of disposable episodes. Probably a lot of them. This definitely qualified. ***.
Transformers Rescue Bots Academy "Hack Attack"
I found that pretty boring. And yet, I didn't find it offensive to my intelligence. I'll call that a win.
Passing grade. ***.
Transformers Rescue Bots Academy "Life Of The Party"
That was totally lame, but I'm still amused that Medix is taking advice on how to have fun from Chase. It's not as bad as Data going to Joe Piscapo for comedy tips on Star Trek. But it's close. **1/2.
Transformers Rescue Bots Academy "Balloon Up A Tree"
On the surface that was a bad episode. Even still, I always like it when we hear a little more about the rules for when the Bots can rescue people openly, and when they have to do it in disguise. As bad as the episode was qualitywise, it was nice to get some clarification here. **.
Transformers Rescue Bots Academy "The Mystery Of Dragon Mountain"
That was bad. The characters on this show are all so stupid. 0.
LEGO Jurassic World: The Legend Of Isla Nublar "Stampede!'
I realized something after watching that episode. This show is stupid. This show is badly written. This show makes both Jurassic World AND LEGO look bad. It's not as bad a Unikitty. But that should not be the freaking bar. *.
Black Jesus "The Compton Carter"
Finally! The return of the only decent original series on Adult Swim! The schedule is basically cluttered with reruns of Fox Toons and utter cr*p (although Final Space is pretty spiffy) and this show is a breath of fresh air.
It's been awhile since I've reviewed this, so let me briefly go over why this show is so great.
On the surface, it's offensive to Christians. Jesus is profane, He's often a criminal, and He smokes weed. But if you look past those specific things, the character of Jesus is every bit as wonderful and accurate to the Bible as He should be. He's loving, He's friendly, He's forgiving, and He's an occasional total bad@$$, which are all traits from the Bible. And the show has Jesus preach morals that are relevant to today such as how bad the senseless incarceration of black men has gotten. In fact, the judge is so moved by His pleas that she drops all charges against him. At least until He curses and is given six months in prison for contempt. If the real Jesus turned out to be exactly like this, I don't think there would be any wars. I could totally see an entire religion being founded upon this specific lovable guy, but I'd find the idea of wars in His name absolutely ludicrous. The main irony of show to me is aptly demonstrated in the teaser where Jesus is running from the cops because He's black. If Jesus came back preaching the things He did in the Bible He'd be strung up by the people who currently claim to love Him. And if He were black? It's like the show delivers the perfect version of Jesus and conservatives lose their cr*p for surface reasons. And that's part of the subversion of the show. Aaron McGruder is proving once and for all that the same people who claim to love Jesus's message would reject it if it didn't conform to what their ideas of propriety entailed. If you are religious you can learn something from this show. If you aren't religious, you can learn something too. It's amazing on every level.
Do you know what amuses me about the complaint that Jesus smokes weed? The so-called fundamentalists seem to believe Jesus operates under man's laws. Aren't we supposed to be a nation under God according to them? If Jesus smokes weed on this show, it means smoking weed is okay, at least on this show. It doesn't mean people who don't like weed get to act like they know better than Jesus if he came back and decided to partake. It is SO weird the things that upset fundamentalists. They claim to love Jesus, but they sure seem to believe they know better than him.
I adore the idea that Vic is in Heaven. Because although he rejected Jesus, he never rejected the idea of God. What a great tribute to Charlie Murphy at end for Vic who was one of the few characters on the show you were supposed to outright dislike. But Jesus never did, and it's wonderful He's happy Vic is in Heaven.
"Jesus Christ! Just give me the effing weed!" "My love for you is infinite, but eff you, man." How can anyone hate that? It's beautiful.
What I especially love about the show is that there are people on the show who correctly lecture Jesus when He is failing the people, or not living up to God's standards. Jesus is 2000 years old and doesn't have a job? Why doesn't He lead the criminals He hangs out with by example instead of just chilling with them? Jesus does not make judgments on people, which is nice. But He could set a better example if He wanted to. Jesus on this show is human, and I relate to Him and believe in Him more because of it. My Christianity has sort of lapsed for real-world political reasons. For a half-hour a week, it comes back as I watch this show and then review it. Jesus on this show is everything He should be, and everything we should want Him to be. McGruder is very clever to make such a wonderful person be so objectionable to conservatives in the audience. He's getting people to reject the very thing they claim they value, and showing the hypocrisy. And that will make people uncomfortable. You know what? Back in the day, JESUS made people uncomfortable. And He made the correct people uncomfortable. It's only fitting a fictionalized version of Him is doing the exact same thing 2000 years later.
This show is amazing and I'm glad it's back. I think The Boondocks cartoon wound up a disappointment, even before McGruder left, but Black Jesus is the real deal. It is the only worthwhile thing on Adult Swim. And it's not even a cartoon! *****.
Titans "Ghosts"
That was quite good. Shocker. Whoever is in charge of this season is a Godsend. The show is in much better hands now.
I love that Dick takes out Jason with one move. It is so Batman needing only one punch to shut up Guy Gardner.
I also like that Gar doesn't want to help Jason at the end. Because Gar isn't stupid. He knows that exact outcome is inevitable, and only agrees because Jason lies about his intentions and browbeats him into it. Gar is just as complicit in my mind because he actually knew better all along.
I love that Rachel's connection to Kori moves her stay. Her solution to lock her friend in her ship was genius. That way he's safe too. Smart.
This show could use more nude scenes for Minka Kelly. She is SO gorgeous.
Dr. Light saying the wrong things in front of Slade was great. Slade's reactions tell me that Light is disposable. Once he no longer has a need for him, he'll probably kill him because he finds him offensive. I would say the only person worse to act crass in front of for Dr. Light would be Hannibal Lecter. But he is doomed and doesn't know it yet. For the crime of being rude.
I unambiguously liked that. Far from loving the show, but the past two episodes have been a good start to getting me there. ****.
DC Super Hero Girls Super Short "Vegecide"
Poison Ivy thinks vegetables are murder and only eats steaks? Seriously? She IS aware that cattle feed is mostly corn, right? There is literally not a single current food source on Earth that doesn't have corn or some other vegetable in it.
Kind of a dumb premise. **1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls "The Bee Stands Alone"
Dodgeball is like the lowest stakes for superheroes ever. ***.
Preacher "Overture"
Good for Tulip for getting the Cassidy thing out there. And good for Jesse for realizing that after what he went through, and what the stakes now are, his previous jealousies were stupid and didn't actually matter. The second turn of events surprised me more than the first.
God is SO freaking evil. He kills the poor hairstylist and he dismisses Jesus as if he's nothing. In fairness, on this show Jesus IS a nothing, but he's also his freaking son. What a monster.
Herr Starr is no better. When he's going on about the degenerates not being spared the suffering, my first reaction was: "You better hope not, you absolute freak. Or your nipple pierced body will be the first in the lake of fire." This show has made some very easy characters to hate. It's clear for the scene of God tempting Cassidy that he is the actual devil on this show.
Do you know what? Seeing somebody walk up to that morning TV host and shoot him in the head was genuinely upsetting. A better show would have allowed it to be. Instead the show makes a quip. The show, whatever it's ending will be next week, would have been a far stronger series over the past four seasons if it took horrible things even a LITTLE bit seriously. It's ironic that the only time this show is any good is when they do. You'd figure the producers would instantly realize that and do it more.
The "Father" at the prison shows that all people who directly serve God in this Universe are outright corrupt monsters and terrible people. I can't believe Eugene went out like that at the end either.
Herr Starr just grabbing Featherstone's boob was appalling. What was truly appalling is that the show made the crazy choice to have her be into it. There will be people who see this show who call it utterly immoral because of the premise. But it's actually utterly immoral for far different reasons.
I love that she is fully dressed in bed. That says something even more than the chastity belt.
Season 2 of The Love Boat? Okay, Cassidy can officially stop calling The Big Lebowski a terrible movie. He's got no credibility left after that.
I love Tulip telling Jesse she just wanted to know if he knew was perpetuity meant. They don't tell us anything else about the mysterious letter besides that one word, but that one word tells you everything you actually need to know about what it says anyways.
God was right about something: The catch. It being Tulip screwing it up. And to be honest, I think she's stupid and weak for it. Yeah, God saying he couldn't remember was cold, but it's hardly the worst thing we've seen him do. You'd figure she'd be able to keep a lid on it for 60 seconds for the sake of humanity. But she's screws everything up.
"I appreciate your support, Hitler." It says something about how bad your cast of characters is when that line is said by Jesus Christ, and it's actually in-character. I do not understand why Lucifer and Black Jesus got the level of hatred thrown at them they did. They follow the word and spirit of God pretty faithfully. THIS show is actually blasphemous, but fundies don't even seem to be aware it exists. Don't worry, all ye faithful. I'm sure the Million Moms will save us from another PG-rated Muppet show. Because that's about how useful they are.
That ending is so dire, I don't see how the heroes can possibly win. In fact, I don't think they will. I hope I'm wrong. But usually in a proper penultimate episode, the tide starts to turn a little in the heroes' favor. This took the opposite tack, which tells me evil is going to triumph next week. Please be wrong, me.
This show is the opposite of Black Jesus. I love God more and more every time I watch that show. I hate God more and more every time I watch this one. Probably a good thing next week is the last episode of this one and Black Jesus's season is just starting. ***.
New Looney Tunes "Pigmallian / Bugs The Gladiator"
Pigmallian:
I felt like this entire short felt disconnected. It could never decide what it wanted to be about. Maybe that's a weird complaint to have about a Looney Tunes cartoon, but I had it.
For the record, Horace is super annoying.
The good thing is that it is clear this season is more ambitious than the first. I liked that the first season was centered about Bugs and the new characters like Squeaks and Bigfoot, but this is probably more of what people were hoping the show would wind up being. ***.
Bugs The Gladiator:
Well, Daffy makes a fine Caligula / Nero at any rate. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ****.
New Looney Tunes "A Duck In The Penthouse / Tour De Bugs"
A Duck In The Penthouse:
This Daffy is nuts.
You know, everything was leading up to him turning out to be the tenant, but I think what some people might think of as the predictable ending is more what I'd consider the right ending. ****.
Tour De Bugs:
I like that Squeaks beat Bugs and Cecil both. ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
New Looney Tunes "Knight And Duck / The Color Of Bunny"
Knight And Duck:
Daffy is a great jester. The joke about the Knight describing his relationship with his horse on social media as "It's complicated" was hilarious. ****.
The Color Of Bunny:
Great title.
Check notes. Are you seriously telling me that this is the very first time in Looney Tunes history Bugs has been portrayed as a pool hustler? Because in hindsight, it's kind of obvious. Still, I don't think this topic has come up with Bugs before.
I loved it (to put it mildly). *****.
Episode Overall: ****1/2.
New Looney Tunes "Sam And The Bullet Train / Swine Dining"
Sam And The Bullet Train:
Does Yosemite Sam have a new voice? It doesn't sound like Maurice La Marche
I like that the bullet train goes "Meep! Meep!"
Good one. ***.
Swine Dining:
Do you know what I notice about this show? Daffy always wins! That tickles me.
I love him pretending to be the bathroom attendant and trying to shame him for not knowing his name. John Hamm was a great gag too.
For the record, Daffy's disguises are a riot. "There a fly in my soup! I wanted crickets! And I didn't even order soup!" was like the most insane version of that joke I've ever heard. I also love Daffy stepping on Porky's famous line at the end.
A gem of a cartoon. *****.
Episode Overall: ****.
New Looney Tunes "Love Is In The Hare / Valentine's Dayffy"
Love Is In The Hare:
Sam's cuticles are not cute at all. Good line.
Bugs as the hairdresser was good stuff in general. ****.
Valentine's Dayffy:
Elmer as Cupid always makes me laugh.
I loved the fisherman kissing the trout.
Daffy is a lucky duck at the end.
Funny. ****.
Episode Overall: ****.
New Looney Tunes "Bigs Bunny / Wahder, Wahder, Everywhere"
Bigs Bunny:
Bugs is adamant that Michael Jordan is better than LeBron James. Is it just me or did Bugs just make Space Jam 2 awkward? ****.
Wahder, Wahder, Everywhere:
For the record, Nestle? This is how evil you are. Where is OUR real-world Daffy Duck? ***1/2.
Episode Overall: ***1/2.
New Looney Tunes "Porky The Disorderly / Game, Set, Wabbit"
Porky The Disorderly:
The paddles gag made me laugh.
I also loved Porky and Daffy's reactions are visiting the morgue. It really makes you stop and think. ****.
Game, Set, Wabbit:
Totally forgettable cartoon. I don't even know what Bugs is trying to gain here. *.
Episode Overall: **1/2.
New Looney Tunes "Lucky Duck / Free Range Foghorn"
Lucky Duck:
Anyone who thinks Daffy is a good luck charm needs their heads examined and deserves everything that comes to them.
I was disappointed in the lack of an overt cereal reference.
Decent, but the show has done better. ***.
Free Range Foghorn:
Has there ever been a cartoon before where Foghorn outright lost? He didn't actually lose here, but he didn't win either. As far as I'm concerned he battled Daffy to a push. And maybe he DID lose after all considering Daffy ends the episode alarmingly contented with the new status quo, and Foghorn is still pretty much exasperated.
Here's a secret. I can't stand Foghorn Leghorn. If Pepe Le Pew didn't exist I'd call him the worst major Looney Tunes character. I find his demeanor obnoxious and offensive. Granted that describes Bugs Bunny to an extent as well, but Bugs' personality was mischievous enough to make me love him for it. Foghorn is just a loud-mouthed bully. So I find it gratifying that this show isn't automatically making him the smartest guy on the farm for once. He has actual faults and is portrayed as dumb.
I especially like the show slyly tying Daffy's inability to lay as egg to failed sexual potency, even going so far as to use the term "perform". I think Daffy's best argument for not being able to lay an egg isn't, "I'm actually a duck!" like he says. It's more, "I'm actually a dude, bozo!"
I liked this cartoon better than the first. ****1/2.
Episode Overall: ****.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse "Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham: Caught In A Ham"
That was surprisingly short. As a Spider-Ham fan, I'm sad that I don't recognize any of the characters or situations (they could have listed Ductor Doom or Doctor Octopussycat in the list of rogues if not for rights issues). As a Looney Tunes fan, I'm happy to recognize many of the cliches and tropes.
I love the idea that all of the rooms are the same because they ran out of money. Very meta.
Decent. But super short. ****.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Critical Update"
Things are getting complicated. Which means things are getting good.
Figures Jonah would like SpOck better. Because he sucks.
I love the idea that Doc rejects the notion of the Multiverse. Not merely because he's right that too many scientists accept that unproven idea (which is frankly science fiction) in OUR Universe, and build entire theories around it, which is irresponsible, but also because this being the fictional Universe it is, we as an audience know that Ock is wrong about this part of it at least. In our world his disgust with the teacher would be righteous. In his, it's actually misguided. Which is something I love.
I would accept a scientist's belief in the Multiverse if they also believed in God. Because those two things have an equal level of proof attached to their existences.
I love that Peter is appalled that the password is "I hate Spider-Man". And it's not simply because he's insulted. It because it's totally lame. And you know what? It is. It's the password of a seven-year-old, not a scientific genius. And I think that's partly why Spidey is annoyed. He doesn't want his name associated with something that dumb.
Why is a scholarship off-limits for Peter again? Ock is supposedly acting the jerk? No. He's actually right. Considering the revenue Peter brings the school, Max is a utter cheapskate and a bad person that he's making Peter pay through the nose to make him rich. I strongly despise Max Modell. I firmly believe he is taking financial advantage of Peter. If he weren't super rich, and just a harried college dean, I'd think different. But I think him refusing to bank Peter's education makes him a truly despicable man. What makes me furious is that the show itself doesn't treat his actions like that. Ock blowing up is the correct response, and the show is using it to show how out of control Peter has gotten. If Peter were truly in control he would have given Max Modell the finger long before now.
In any other show Ock failing so badly to impersonate Parker, or act like a human being, would be bad writing. But that's this version of Ock's entire problem. He DOESN'T know how to act like a person so fooling the people in Peter's life is much harder than it would be for a villain with a more normal temperament. It feels like the show is making Ock stupider than he should be. Until you realize he should and needs to be EXACTLY this stupid.
Interesting episode. Loving this arc so far. ****1/2.
Power Rangers Beast Morphers "Thrills And Drills"
I laughed at the joke of the guy with the drill in silhouette at the dentist's office turning out to be installing shelves.
I also thought the joke at the end where Steel says they were there for Ravi to make sure he didn't run off again was funny too.
Not bad. ***1/2.
Transformers: Cyberverse "The Visitor"
I don't even know WHY I'm disappointed. I mean, the first two episodes of the season were pretty epic and huge, and I was kidding myself that that was going to be the new status quo from now on. It's still an eleven minute show. It is going to have its share of disposable episodes. Probably a lot of them. This definitely qualified. ***.
Transformers Rescue Bots Academy "Hack Attack"
I found that pretty boring. And yet, I didn't find it offensive to my intelligence. I'll call that a win.
Passing grade. ***.
Transformers Rescue Bots Academy "Life Of The Party"
That was totally lame, but I'm still amused that Medix is taking advice on how to have fun from Chase. It's not as bad as Data going to Joe Piscapo for comedy tips on Star Trek. But it's close. **1/2.
Transformers Rescue Bots Academy "Balloon Up A Tree"
On the surface that was a bad episode. Even still, I always like it when we hear a little more about the rules for when the Bots can rescue people openly, and when they have to do it in disguise. As bad as the episode was qualitywise, it was nice to get some clarification here. **.
Transformers Rescue Bots Academy "The Mystery Of Dragon Mountain"
That was bad. The characters on this show are all so stupid. 0.
LEGO Jurassic World: The Legend Of Isla Nublar "Stampede!'
I realized something after watching that episode. This show is stupid. This show is badly written. This show makes both Jurassic World AND LEGO look bad. It's not as bad a Unikitty. But that should not be the freaking bar. *.
Black Jesus "The Compton Carter"
Finally! The return of the only decent original series on Adult Swim! The schedule is basically cluttered with reruns of Fox Toons and utter cr*p (although Final Space is pretty spiffy) and this show is a breath of fresh air.
It's been awhile since I've reviewed this, so let me briefly go over why this show is so great.
On the surface, it's offensive to Christians. Jesus is profane, He's often a criminal, and He smokes weed. But if you look past those specific things, the character of Jesus is every bit as wonderful and accurate to the Bible as He should be. He's loving, He's friendly, He's forgiving, and He's an occasional total bad@$$, which are all traits from the Bible. And the show has Jesus preach morals that are relevant to today such as how bad the senseless incarceration of black men has gotten. In fact, the judge is so moved by His pleas that she drops all charges against him. At least until He curses and is given six months in prison for contempt. If the real Jesus turned out to be exactly like this, I don't think there would be any wars. I could totally see an entire religion being founded upon this specific lovable guy, but I'd find the idea of wars in His name absolutely ludicrous. The main irony of show to me is aptly demonstrated in the teaser where Jesus is running from the cops because He's black. If Jesus came back preaching the things He did in the Bible He'd be strung up by the people who currently claim to love Him. And if He were black? It's like the show delivers the perfect version of Jesus and conservatives lose their cr*p for surface reasons. And that's part of the subversion of the show. Aaron McGruder is proving once and for all that the same people who claim to love Jesus's message would reject it if it didn't conform to what their ideas of propriety entailed. If you are religious you can learn something from this show. If you aren't religious, you can learn something too. It's amazing on every level.
Do you know what amuses me about the complaint that Jesus smokes weed? The so-called fundamentalists seem to believe Jesus operates under man's laws. Aren't we supposed to be a nation under God according to them? If Jesus smokes weed on this show, it means smoking weed is okay, at least on this show. It doesn't mean people who don't like weed get to act like they know better than Jesus if he came back and decided to partake. It is SO weird the things that upset fundamentalists. They claim to love Jesus, but they sure seem to believe they know better than him.
I adore the idea that Vic is in Heaven. Because although he rejected Jesus, he never rejected the idea of God. What a great tribute to Charlie Murphy at end for Vic who was one of the few characters on the show you were supposed to outright dislike. But Jesus never did, and it's wonderful He's happy Vic is in Heaven.
"Jesus Christ! Just give me the effing weed!" "My love for you is infinite, but eff you, man." How can anyone hate that? It's beautiful.
What I especially love about the show is that there are people on the show who correctly lecture Jesus when He is failing the people, or not living up to God's standards. Jesus is 2000 years old and doesn't have a job? Why doesn't He lead the criminals He hangs out with by example instead of just chilling with them? Jesus does not make judgments on people, which is nice. But He could set a better example if He wanted to. Jesus on this show is human, and I relate to Him and believe in Him more because of it. My Christianity has sort of lapsed for real-world political reasons. For a half-hour a week, it comes back as I watch this show and then review it. Jesus on this show is everything He should be, and everything we should want Him to be. McGruder is very clever to make such a wonderful person be so objectionable to conservatives in the audience. He's getting people to reject the very thing they claim they value, and showing the hypocrisy. And that will make people uncomfortable. You know what? Back in the day, JESUS made people uncomfortable. And He made the correct people uncomfortable. It's only fitting a fictionalized version of Him is doing the exact same thing 2000 years later.
This show is amazing and I'm glad it's back. I think The Boondocks cartoon wound up a disappointment, even before McGruder left, but Black Jesus is the real deal. It is the only worthwhile thing on Adult Swim. And it's not even a cartoon! *****.
