[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman stumbled upon one of his least favorite shows he's covered so far. Will today's show continue that trend? Seems rather unlikely...

 

 

#28: Ben 10 (2005) "And Then There Were 10"

[December 27, 2005]

 

Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at the inaugural series of Ben 10. I remember watching this one a lot as a kid, even if there isn't much I particularly remember from it nowadays. I mostly remember it for what it would become later: a CN property that simply refused to die. That being said, my memories with this series in particular are still fond ones. I mean I did use to own an Omnitrix toy, so there must have been something I liked about this show, yes? Let's see if I can rediscover what it was...

The episode starts with two ships fighting in outer space. An alien on one of the ships is searching for the Omnitrix, remarking "there is not a being in the galaxy that dares stand in [his] way". We then cut to Ben messing around in school. Hmm...I wonder if he's gonna get in the alien's way? Anyways, summer break has just begun and Ben starts his by trying to stand up to some bullies, but this backfires and he ends up hung by his underwear from a tree. Ben's grandpa Max then shows up to take him on their camping trip, but surprise! Ben's cousin Gwen is also along for the ride; a situation that neither him nor her are particularly happy with. As the two deal with an unappetizing dinner that Max cooked up at the camping spot, we cut back to outer space. The ship containing the Omnitrix is badly damaged, so it ejects itself into outer space and away from the battle. Back at the campsite, Ben quickly gets bored and decides to talk a walk out in the woods. He sees what he thinks is a shooting star before it strikes Earth right in front of him. That's right, it's the Omnitrix escape pod from earlier. Ben, thinking it's a watch, reaches out for it, when it suddenly attaches itself to his arm causing Ben to freak out. He calms down quickly however, and after messing around with the device he manages to turn himself into an alien. Now he really freaks out.

Ben (as Heatblast) realizes that despite being on fire, he isn't feeling any pain. He then tries out his new abilities and accidentally starts a forest fire. Noticing this, Max and Gwen run in to help put it out. They come across the alien, and both eventually realize that it's Ben. In the aftermath of the fire, Ben automatically turns back into his human self and Max tells him he should try not to mess with the Omnitrix anymore. Unfortunately, this is the moment an alien/robot drops from the sky in search of the Omnitrix. Ben isn't aware of this yet, but he of course still ignores Max's orders and turns into another alien. This time it's Wildmutt, an orange dog-like alien with a noticable lack of eyes. He runs out into the forest, destroying one of the drones the robot sent in the process, but after turning back to normal Ben comes face to face with another drone. Thankfully, Gwen intervenes (with a shovel) and the whole group meet back up at Max's RV. They overhear a news report about a robot attacking several people, which is when Ben decides to take action. He turns into Diamondhead, whose name is a good description for what it looks like. Ben fights off the robot while Max and Gwen evacuate the area. Ultimately Ben is able to destroy the robot with its own attack, and he runs from the crowd before he changes back to human. The next day the family packs their things back into the RV (especially quickly thanks to Ben as XLR8 (getit?)), and when Gwen questions where he was off to, Ben says that he had some things to take care of. Cut to the bullies from earlier hung by their underwear on the same tree. The end.

This is indeed still a good one; pretty handily the best of all the Ben 10s I've covered so far. So what makes this one stand out? In my opinion, this one has a much more lighthearted charm to it. The later shows would get more and more serious as they went on (ignoring a certain one), and this one's plenty serious too, but here the humor does a very good job at balancing it out. Most of the jokes here come from watching Ben and Gwen's insults play off of each other, something that would also appear less over time. I also like the early nod that Max might know more than he's letting on with the "He's not a monster, he's an alien. (pause) I mean, look at him! What else could he be?" line. And of course, the ending that wraps the whole episode in a bundle is a nice touch. Great stuff here, I may not have the time for Ben's entire saga but I might need to watch a few more episodes of this specific show for old times' sake.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: A nice return to simpler times for what would eventually become one of CN's most prolific properties, it's hard to go wrong with the original.

RATING: 8 (leaning on 8.5)/10 (pretty good)

 

For no reason, I feel excited to see what the Wheel is going to spin this time! Go for it!!

 

Spoiler

Remember when I asked the Wheel to land on a green slice?

I'm glad I did.

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

 

Original post:

Spoiler

https://www.sbmania.net/forums/threads/dman-attempts-to-talk-about-every-single-cn-original-in-existence.60413/post-1278958

Quote

"The original Ben 10 is one of those shows I remember being on air, but never was really into. Also, it's more of an action and story-based show than all of the previous, so this review may be a bit different. Or it may not. Who knows. Let's discuss the episode anyway!

The episode starts in outer space, with an alien creature demanding something called the "Omnitrix" (sorry if I spelled that wrong), and then we see our main character, Ben, finishing up his last day of school before summer. But before he can, he gets wedgie-hung on a tree after trying to stop some bullies. Eventually, his grandpa shows up for their camping vacation with Ben's cousin, Gwen, who... Ben doesn't like that much. They become bored easily, and Ben decides to take a walk in the woods. At the same moment, a pod containing the Omnitrix itself crashes into the Earth. Ben witnesses the crash firsthand, approaches the device (thinking it's a watch), and it places itself on his wrist and becomes apparently irremovable. He becomes fidgety with the extraterrestrial device, and accidentally turns himself into an alien in the process. That's when the REAL plot begins.

...I think.

Anyways, now Ben is this fire thing (who we later learn is called "Heatblast") and he ends up causing a forest fire. Yeaaaaaah. Gwen and Ben's grandpa notice the fire from a distance, and attempt to put it out. Gwen approaches the creature, terrified at first, but eventually figures out it's Ben. He puts out the fire with more fire, and he gets his relatives caught up on the story shortly before the Omnitrix deactivates and he becomes normal again. Meanwhile, the outer space creature from earlier sends a robot (probably) to find the Omnitrix. As Ben experiments more, he figures out that that the device has power for turning him into multiple different aliens. He picks another one and ends up destroying one of the seeking robots because of it.

The rest of the episode follows a similar plot of events, until Ben and his relatives head out the next day. The episode ends with the school bullies from earlier wedgie-hung to a tree, thanks to one of Ben's many new aliens.

So, one thing to mention off the bat is that this is the first 22-minute episode I've reviewed so far. And boy, does it show. This felt a lot longer than any other episode, but that's not a bad thing, as this episode managed to keep my focus for all that time. Despite there being less comedy than most of the cartoons so far, it is definitely showing hope from its first episode.


THE BOTTOM LINE: Ben 10 2005 is far superior to its 2016 counterpart. I'd strongly reccommend giving it a watch, then checking out more episodes if interested.
Final Rating: 8.5/10"

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about a show that was really two shows and they were both shows he had already talked about before. Did you get all that? Anyway, today's show is certainly something else...

 

 

#29: Squirrel Boy "A Line in the Sandwich"

[May 29, 2006]

 

Despite being very familiar with a majority of the CN shows airing around this time, I don't have a lot of memories with this one. Per usual there are some bits in my head; I'm pretty sure there was one episode that involved one of those talking fish that you mount on your wall, and I definitely remember parts of "The Rod Squad", but that's it. It also doesn't help that this show lasted only about a year and it wasn't re-ran that much. I would say that's a bad sign, but Class of 3000 had a similar treatment and that's been one of my favorite shows I've covered so far. So, let's set my expectations to neutral and see what exactly the squirrel and boy have to offer.

The episode starts with Rodney (the squirrel) and Andy (the boy) watching a commercial for a new toy, the Fobject®. They want to buy one, but it's rather expensive and neither of them has the funds to pay for it. However, Rodney gets an idea after taking a bite of Andy's sandwich. Noticing how delicious it is (thank's to Andy's secret sauce), the pair go out to sell sandwiches and make some moolah. With Andy's sanwich-crafting skills and Rodney's snazzy suit and hat, they attract a ton of business...maybe a bit too much, as they both end up completely worn out. Either way, they now have enough money to buy a Fobject®. Rodney proposes the idea of putting the money back into their business so they can buy two Fobjects®, but starts an argument with Andy at the notion that his hat is what's really attracting the crowds, rather than Andy's secret sauce. This continues into the next day, and it culminates in Andy leaving with his sauce, forcing Rodney to deal with the customers himself. This does not go well. Back at the house, Rodney and Andy decide they don't want to be friends anymore, before Andy immediately regrets this choice and wants to be friends again. Uh...sure. Anyway, when Rodney has a vision after passing out in the street, he goes back to Andy's house and they agree to go for one more day in the sandwich business. Unbeknownst to each other, they've both taken away their vital selling points so that the business will fail and they can go back to being friends. Rodney has no hat and Andy is using lard instead of sauce, causing them to lose all their customers. This leaves them both happy and they go off to play baseball. The end.

The whole time I was watching this I couldn't shake the feeling of being home sick on a school day, just having the TV play whatever was on and not caring enough to switch channels to something else. That's not a compliment, if you were wondering. I know it's not in CN's interest to judge the quality of their shows, but I'd say it's better that this one lasted for as short as it did, because this episode was pretty bad. Rodney is irritating throughout this whole thing, and while Andy is somewhat better, he has his moments of annoyance too, not helped by his voice (which actually had to make me lower the volume). Maybe I could look past these flaws if the comedy were any good, but unfortunately that's my least favorite thing about this. Nothing in here is funny. The closest I came to thinking so was when Andy's dad mentioned how a can of soda tasted like his toothbrush, both of which Rodney used. It was subtle enough to cause the slightest of exhales, but every other joke here is forced or in your face. At one point Rodney literally explains the joke in his line, and if my head wasn't already in my hands from said line it certainly was now. Yeah, sorry, this one really wasn't for me. I have no idea how Everett Peck went from Duckman to this, but I guess sometimes an underrated classic needs a total dud to balance it out. R.I.P. to him, by the way.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: If you're hungering for a comedy show without any good comedy, Squirrel Boy might have just the sandwich you're looking for! 

RATING: 3/10 (straight bad)

 

Alas, they can't all be winners! Maybe spin something better, Wheel? Though it would be pretty hard to go further down from here...

 

Spoiler

Welcome back! I wonder if the Wheel will ever land on a green slice...

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an episode of a show that he was torn on, but more importantly the Wheel pulled off the 1 in 33 chance to do a funny thing. Today, we visit the origin of two previously covered shows...

 

 

#15: Grim & Evil "Meet the Reaper" / "Evil Con Carne"

[August 24, 2001]

 

Well, this didn't take long at all. A few posts ago I talked about Billy & Mandy, just last post I talked about Evil Con Carne, and now we're at the starting point for both. I don't have much to add about either of these shows that I didn't already mention in their respective introductions, so let's just go ahead and jump into today's 2-for-1 special!

"Meet the Reaper" begins with Billy & Mandy getting ready to celebrate the 10th birthday of their hamster, Mr. Snuggles. At that moment, the Grim Reaper suddenly appears to take Mr. Snuggles away. Billy (being his idiotic self) mistakes Grim for Santa Claus, and Mandy refuses to give up their hamster to Grim unless he beats her and Billy in a game. Since he never loses, Grim agrees to the bet and also states that if he loses he'll be their best friend...forever. Everyone is promptly teleported to limbo to play a game of- what else- limbo. It eventually reaches a point where the bar is too low for Billy to go under, but Grim knows he can fit his way through. Before he can make it all the way under the bar however, Mandy gets Mr. Snuggles to attack Grim, causing him to knock over the bar and lose. As a result, Grim is now being to treated to a sleepover at Billy & Mandy's house as their friend...forever! The end.

"Evil Con Carne" begins with Hector Con Carne addressing the League of Nations (or at least trying to), telling them to turn control of the world over to him or face his doomsday device. The problem is Boskov can't keep the camera pointed at Hector, much to his annoyance. General Skarr then informs the group of an oncoming fleet, so Hector commands Boskov to activate the doomsday device, but he ignores Hector and runs for a beehive instead. In the meantime, the crack commandos show up and wreck Bunny Island, doomsday device included. This results in Hector firing Boskov, and Hector demands that Major Dr. Ghastly build him a new body. She reluctantly obliges, giving Hector a new, powerful, metal body. When the commandos return from their lunch break, Hector is able to disarm them with ease. However, he goes too far and uses rockets that cause the majority of Bunny Island to be destroyed. Hanging on to a suspended wire, Hector is unable to pull himself up due to the weight of his new body. Right before he falls, Boskov makes his way out to the wire to save Hector as the rest of the body falls into an abyss. Hector then promises not to be a bad person towards his friends again, right before Boskov accidentally slams him against an overhang and Hector starts yelling again. The end.

I don't have much to add here that I didn't already say in the previous talk-abouts, but I will note a few things. I picked up on some slight differences in the art style from these earlier episodes; for example Billy & Mandy are not yet fully in the blocky style that 2000s cartoons have become known for (although there are hints of it), they're a lot rounder-looking here. Hector's brain is also very noticably spherical rather than...well, brain-shaped. In my opinion, both shows looked marginally better as they progressed. I'll also say I enjoyed the Evil Con Carne segment here more than the previous one I discussed, though it still hovers around a 7 for me. Oh, well. Let's get the obligatory joke shout-outs over with: I liked the visual gag of Grim trying to drink tea only for it to pass through his chin and spill on his cloak, and Ghastly suggesting that Hector listens to his gut, only for it to reply that it's hungry. So yes, nice stuff all around from some shows we're familiar with at this point.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: If you want an early look at what would become one of CN's most iconic series along with its B-show, you can't go wrong with this one.

RATING: I considered omitting this section for this one, but for the sake of completeness I'm including it. Since the Billy & Mandy segment was on the same level of quality as the first one I covered and the Con Carne segment was a slight improvement, I'll let this one off with a 7 (leaning on 7.5)/10.

 

And that's all of Maxwell Atoms' shows on CN done! Wouldn't it be hilarious if the Wheel gave me all three remaining Ben 10s now? Come on, I know you want to!

 

Spoiler

Damn, looks like I couldn't will it into existence this time. And given this result, I'm really wishing I had.

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an episode of a show that set a new bar for how good CN shows can be in this thread. Is it possible today's show can push it even further?

 

 

#19: Evil Con Carne "Gutless!"

[July 11, 2003]

 

Thankfully, I won't have to deal with the awkward scenario of having to cover Grim & Evil inbetween Billy & Mandy and this one. Granted it would've been nicer in retrospect to have gotten to the former first, but whatever, I'll take what I can get. Back to today's topic, this show. I don't remember this one at all. It was already done airing by the time I started forming permanent memories, and I've never had the desire to watch it on my own time. But that changes today! If Billy & Mandy was a pleasant surprise, there's nothing stopping this one from doing the same. What kind of evil could be in store?

The episode begins with...Hector? Boskov? waking up. Okay, this one needs some explanation and I'm going to let the theme song do it: "Once upon a time, there was a jillionaire playboy who was blown up in a tremendous explosion. His brain survived (stomach too!), and was attached to the body of a stupid circus bear. I am that brain...my name is Hector Con Carne, and I will one day rule the world! MUAHAHAHAHA!" So Hector is the brain, Boskov is the bear, and they're basically one in the same. Got it? I hope so. Anyways, the episode begins with them waking up, but Hector's stomach isn't feeling well. At that moment, Major Dr. Ghastly runs in to warn them about an outbreak, but she puts two and two together and demands that they stay in bed, despite Hector's objections. Ghastly puts on some TV for them to watch, where they learn that the outbreak originated in the U.K., though strangely enough no one there appears to be infected. Hector decides to take vengeance on the British, with the caveat that his stomach stay behind by request of Ghastly. Hector travels across the sea with General Skarr to get to England. In the air they're able to make it to Buckingham Palace, but Hector cannot give Skarr the order to fire as...he hasn't the stomach for it. Upon their return, Hector's stomach is looking even worse off. While Hector pleads and commands for his stomach to get better, Boskov picks it up and starts patting it, allowing it to release some trapped gas. And by some, I mean a lot...maybe a bit too much. Ghastly then returns with a cure for the virus, but it has to heat up first, so she strikes a match...and the abundance of released gas causes Bunny Island to explode. The end.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of the qualities in Atoms's other big work are also present here, though I will admit this one didn't work quite as well for me. For one, there's the characters. I enjoy Hector, Ghastly, and Skarr well enough, but compared to how well Grim, Billy, and Mandy play off of each other it feels like something is lost here. One other thing, and this is more a problem with the episode itself, the gas joke goes on for waaaaay too long. It may have been funny if it lasted for a tiny moment, but more than 20 seconds of this is just Boskov patting Hector's stomach while bodily noises play. I don't recall anything like this in the Billy & Mandy episode; in fact the comedy in that one was all-around better. That isn't to discredit this episode though, there are still some funny moments here (see the stomach pun I mentioned above) but they're pretty far between. It's fine for one viewing, but I can't really say this is one I'll be coming back to. Guess that clears up the mystery of why it was killed off much earlier than its Grim counterpart.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: It's a fine enough time while it's on, but I'd much rather be watching its sister show anyday.

RATING: 6 (leaning on 6.5)/10 (debatable)

 

The Wheel has the opportunity to be funny by giving me Grim & Evil next. What does it say?

 

Spoiler

WAIT

WHAT

I swear to god that this wasn't planned.

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an episode of a show that he considered a nostalgic favorite. Today he looks another show he has nostalgia for, but not in the same way...

 

 

#14: Samurai Jack "The Premiere Movie Part I: The Beginning"

[August 10, 2001]

 

This is one of those shows I always wanted to watch but never got around to it. I barely remember it showing on television at all; I saw bits and pieces of some episodes and the only time I caught one in full was when the Blind Archers episode aired very late one night. Even though I was never able to catch the show again, that particular episode always stuck with me. Although it isn't the episode I'll be covering today, I highly recommend giving it a watch if you haven't already. Several moments of it have always stuck with me, helped by the fact that I consistently give it rewatches. So, it's about time I try expanding outside that one episode, huh? Like with Foster's, I'll only be covering the first part of the three-part premiere. Both Wikipedia and the mp4 files I have split the episodes that way, so there's no problem here. Or is there?...

The episode begins with the view of an eclipse, suddenly freeing the evil demon known as Aku and allowing him to wreck havoc on the world once more. We fade to a scene of young Jack listening to his father (the Emperor)'s retelling of how he trapped Aku beneath the Earth years ago, and we get a glimpse of their rebuilt kingdom in the time since. Unfortunately, the peace does not last as Aku arrives to cause mass destruction. As Aku captures the Emperor, he commands his wife to take their son and flee from the wreckage. Once Jack is safe, inspiration strikes and he begins training to be a samurai. Cue a montage where he grows up traveling around the world and honing his skills. Despite the entire sequence being wordless, it does an amazing job at keeping my attention. Upon returning home, he receives a magical sword from his mother, the same sword his father used to defeat Aku. After some more training, Jack is ready to do the same.

The kingdom is now fully under Aku's control, with all of its residents being enslaved by Aku and his minions. With the help of the new sword Jack is able to defeat the minions with ease, temporarily freeing his people, including his father. Jack vows to defeat Aku, but his father urges him against it, knowing firsthand how dangerous the task will be. Undaunted, Jack persists with his mission. When he finds Aku, the demon immediately recognizes Jack's sword as the same one his father used to imprison him. Aku responds by shapeshifting into various forms to stop his imprisonment from happening again. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that was something he could do this whole time. Jack and Aku engage in a duel, climaxing with Jack preparing to deliver a finishing blow against Aku. However, before this can happen Aku creates a hole in time, sending Jack through it and into the future that is Aku's...which ends part one.

...goddamn. There's nothing in the comedy department this time around, but this show excels at practically everything else. It's surprisingly mature for a CN show, which would come to be a theme of Tartakovsky's later works (wink wink). Throughout this episode, not once did I feel like I was being spoonfed details in an obvious way. Everything that happens has purpose, and the pacing of it is virtually perfect. The art style is also gorgeous, very unique among the other shows on the channel at the time. And since I can't give funny points here, I'll mention my favorite line/moment instead. After Jack's father finishes his story, he remarks how "the presence of evil is sometimes right behind you", leading to Jack innocently swinging his play sword...and Aku appearing behind him seconds later. God, I got chills at that part. Believe me though, the rest of the episode is just as good. If the premiere and the Blind Archers episodes are any indication, I need to get to binging this one ASAP. But for now, this is the best show I've covered so far in this thread. What an absolute treat for both the eyes and the mind.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: Revered for good reason, a show like this proves that some CN shows can go beyond being a cartoon and become pure art.

RATING: 9 (leaning on 9.5)/10 (a clear standout)

 

Maybe one day that score will go up to a 10, but only time will tell. In the meantime, let's see what the Wheel thinks...

 

Spoiler

Thanks, Wheel. You avoided screwing me over with this one. 

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about a show that...huh? Apparently it doesn't exist anymore...strange. Will today's show exist unlike that one? The answer- yes!

 

 

#05: Johnny Bravo "Super Duped"

[July 14, 1997]

 

After the last talk-about, the RNG gods have thankfully decided to throw me a bone. Despite not watching it when it was airing, I still have many good memories of watching reruns of this show while doing band practice at home. Thanks, Boomerang! It may share some elements with other CN shows of the time, but I felt there was always something special about this show in particular that kept me coming back, but it's been years since I've touched this show and I can't remember what that was. Refresh my mind, will ya Johnny?

The episode starts with Johnny on his way to the market to pick up some groceries for his mother. He gets interrupted by Susie, a schoolgirl who wants to bring him in for show and tell. Johnny has no interest in this until he sees her teacher and changes his mind...as he usually does. In class, Susie introduces Johnny as the superhero "Bravo-Man", impressing the classmates and the teacher. At that exact moment, the bank across the street is being robbed, and you can probably tell where this is going. Everyone counts on Johnny to stop the robber, including the police. It turns out the robber in question is Sweet Cheeks, a candy-themed supervillain. Johnny gets into many hijinks with the villain, including getting pummeled to the ground, wrapped up in a licorice whip, getting kicked into a sewer, and so on. It culminates in Sweet Cheeks taking Susie hostage, which Johnny is currently paying no mind to since his favorite shirt got dirtied in the scuffle. Finally, he manages to turn on a fire hose, sending him flying across town and spraying down Sweet Cheeks, which melts him like the Wicked Witch of the West. I guess he was made of sugar, too. The kids celebrate, and Johnny offers to take the teacher out. However, she already has a boyfriend who's a real superhero, and they fly off into the sky. The end.

Now I remember what was so good about the show; its cartooniness. I mean, it's a show about a jacked Elvis impersonator chasing down women but also getting into wacky shenanigans while doing so. What's not to love? Watching this brought back memories of episodes like the Schoolhouse Rock parody, the Scooby-Doo crossover, and the episode that was formatted like Run Lola Run. All of which I had to rewatch after this, and all of them still held up. Mostly because Johnny Bravo, as a character and as a show, is hilarious. I'll be remissed if I don't mention my favorite jokes then: the police leaving for donuts after Johnny shows up, Susie's "with a caramel center" line, and Johnny questioning which kid to use his "heat vision" on first to end the episode. Yep, this one was a fun time indeed. Also, once again I can't confirm or deny it, but one of the schoolkids sounds like our lord and savior Tom Kenny. So there.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: When a show is as goofy and off the wall while staying comedic as this one, it's much better than "yeah, whatever".

RATING: 8/10 (pretty good)

 

O Wheel, what do ye have for me now?

 

Spoiler

Another banger, it seems.

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

 

Original post:

Spoiler

https://www.sbmania.net/forums/threads/dman-attempts-to-talk-about-every-single-cn-original-in-existence.60413/post-1278065

Quote

"Well, it's time to talk about one of the 11 CN originals: Johnny Bravo. I vaguely remember this show as a child, if at all. The only time I've ever remembered watching episodes on TV was on Boomerang from 2013 to 2014. Nevertheless, let's get to talking about the episode.

The episode begins with Johnny B. on the way to the store to get some stuff for his mother he still lives with, until he is interrupted by Susie, a schoolgirl who wants to bring him in for show-and-tell. Johnny isn't interested at first, but he IS "interested" in the girl's teacher (that's pretty much a major character trait BTW). So when Susie goes too far and tells the entire class that he's a superhero named "Bravo-Man" and the local bank immediately gets robbed by a candy-powered supervillain (named Sweet Cheeks), Johnny must stop the crime to impress (and woo) the teacher.

He goes through a lot of trouble to get the job done, but many times result in failure, ranging from getting stuck in a sewer, to plunging into the Earth at high speed. Eventually he uses a fire hose to melt the villain Wicked Witch style, and gains the respect of the teacher.

...except she already has a boyfriend that's also a superhero and they fly away. The end.

This episode had some pretty good stuff in it. While the jokes weren't as good as TAWoG's in my opinion, they were still really good, i. e. Johnny confusing the shopping list items, the ending with Pretty Boy, and the "with a caramel center" joke.


THE BOTTOM LINE: This show is really clever and pretty much deserves all the praise it gets.
Final Rating: 8/10"

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about a show that's better than the one he's covering today. There are quite a few shows that are better than the one he's covering today. In fact, most shows are better than the one he's covering today. You know what, screw it, EVERY show he's covered or will cover in this thread is better than the one he's covering today. You think I'm joking? I'm not joking. Why would I joke about this? I'm the damn narrator! I'm not supposed to have an opinion at all, yet here I am! And I will tell you all like it is: this show is-AAPGONVPOBSNBPOANNBPONWPOGNTPOBNPAONVPO NVPOVPAOFDVPOMNBGFDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

 

#42: The Problem Solverz "Time Twister"

[April 4, 2011]

 

....um............uh......................................hmm.

The episode begins with the titular trio ordering some pizza while Alfe (the whatever-the-fuck-species-he-is) is being unbearable and begging for pizza nonstop. During this, Horace (who I guess is the most normal-looking of the three) is helping Roba (the robot) to see if there are any problems that need solving. They can't find any, and since Alfe already ate all the pizza, they go out to get some more. When they arrive at the store, the line is taken up by a bunch of old people. It turns out they were an elementary class, but they rode a certain roller coaster and came off several years older. We know this because their teacher says so. The teacher points out the specific roller coaster, the Time Twister. Horace hypothesizes that if the old people ride the coaster in the reverse they'll be young again. Roba is ready to go home and run some tests on this, but Alfe gets impatient and sends the class on the reversed coaster. It turns out Horace was right, as they all come back young kids again. They board up the coaster, and the mayor thanks the Problem Solverz for saving the day. The end.

...I wish. Back at their house, Alfe can't stop thinking about pizza again. He wakes up Roba and Horace in the middle of the night to complain, and they are understandably fed up with Alfe. Out of options, he hatches an idea to use the Time Twister to go back in time and get more pizza from when they were eating it earlier. It works, but in the process he accidentally brings back a dinosaur and also ages himself backwards. Later, Roba notices a suspicious amount of time travel activity coming off Alfe's pizza, but he eats the evidence. Lather, rinse, repeat. Alfe goes back in time, gets pizza, brings back various prehistoric creatures, gets younger. The city is now in pandemonium, and the mayor scorns the Problem Solverz for their actions. To fix the problem, the three go to Tux Dog for some help. He tells them that if they want to fix time, they must destroy the Time Twister at its source, the end of time. Once they get there, they come face to face with Eternitron, who shoos them away with lasers. Alfe gets the idea to grab multiple clones of himself through time, using them all to fight Eternitron and destroying the Time Twister for good. The...end.

Well, folks. This is it. We've arrived at the bottom of the barrel. Let me start by saying that I barely even watched this show as a kid. I saw its series premiere (this episode), but that was it. After that, I never touched this show again, because holy HELL this is an incomprehensible level of awful. Reminder: at the time, I was TEN. I watched a lot of crap on television back then, and yet, I never wanted to watch this one again. Why? For many, many reasons. First, the show isn't funny. The best "joke" that I can recall here is the mayor giving them a huge check for saving the city...and it's only $15. It's...vaguely funny I guess?? But it sounds like something I could've written myself back then and that's not a compliment. Second, I have no interest in any of the characters, especially not in the main trio. Not like the background characters are any better, but I still don't want to spend time with these guys. Horace is just bland, Roba has a very annoying voice, and, no exaggeration, Alfe is the most unlikeable character I've covered in this thread so far. He is a straight-up insufferable asshole throughout this whole episode. I would hope there aren't many episodes like this that are centered around him, but judging by the "Ask Alfe" segment that takes place during the credits, I'd guess these episodes probably take up like 75% of the series. Just by these points alone, this show would be lucky to get a 3/10. But now, let's finally get to the elephant in the room: the visuals. Good fucking GOD. Who in their right mind decides to make a show that looks like THIS and put it on television? Basically every frame is an eyesore, but I have to give special mention to the amusement park. It looks like hell. Multicolored, seizure-inducing, hell. The fact something could look like this and last five months on TV is a crime against humanity in itself. I could go on listing issues with this show, but this point, more than anything, sums it up. It only takes a few seconds of viewing before my eyes want to kill themselves. I know it's a clichéd phrase, but I actually can't watch this. If I'm lucky, I'll never think about this show again and I'll watch better CN shows until the end of time.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: Go back in time and delete this show from existence. Problem Solved!

RATING: 1/10 (do not even watch)

 

Well, the good news is no matter what the Wheel spins we can only go up from here...

 

Spoiler

thank god

Also, here's a screenshot of the Time Twister itself that I was originally going to use in this post's header. In spoilers for obvious reasons; even if it's a still image it can still strain your eyes.

Spoiler

MAKE IT STOP

And here's one more image so that abomination doesn't show up in future embeds:

Spoiler

 

If you clicked on the spoiler and you aren't wishing you were always blind, stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an old nostalgic favorite from his past. Meanwhile, the show of discussion today had no chance to gather nostalgia, as it was banned in his household...!!!

 

 

So...this one is an interesting case. As some of you know, this series really started airing back in 2001 as one of two segments included in Grim & Evil, before they both split off into their own shows in 2003. As such, I won't be covering the "true" first episode of the show here, and it'll be the same deal for the Evil Con Carne talk-about. Instead, I'll save the first segment of each show as a 2-for-1 package when the time comes for me to talk about Grim & Evil. Exciting, no? Anyways, the first episode to come out after the show split is...

#18: The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy "Toadblatt's School of Sorcery"

[June 13, 2003]

 

Yes, this is the second show I've mentioned so far that was banned from my eyes as a child. There's only one more after this, and I doubt anyone will be able to guess it. Go ahead and try! Anyways, I unsurprisingly don't have much to say about this one. I didn't watch it at all growing up, and I didn't even watch it that much when it was airing on Boomerang, unlike Courage. I guess it just didn't capture my attention at the time? Who knows. But hey, Courage surprised me with how awesome it was, so there's no stopping this show from doing the same! I just hope I don't lose my head in the process...

The episode begins with Billy (the idiot) and Mandy (the cynic) dreading their incoming summer, seeing as both of them are being sent away to camps that they will no doubt end up hating (Billy is going to a math camp, and Mandy is going to a happiness camp). Grim decides to help them out by magically changing their pamphlets to the eponymous "Toadblatt's Summer School of Sorcery". They board the bus to the school, and once the woman at the front desk (I can't confirm but I'm 95% sure this is Tom Kenny) says the new students have arrived, they are introduced to Dean Toadblatt himself. He gets right to business, putting the "squid hat" on the new students' heads to determine which houses they will stay in. The first three all get the same one, Gunderstank. The squid notices how empty Billy's headspace is, determining it's best to put him in Weaselthorpe, and after some threatening remarks from Mandy, he is too terrified to sit on her head and settles on putting her in Weaselthorpe as well. Finally, Toadblatt notices Grim and makes him the prefect of Gunderstank as he is appreciative of his work. Meanwhile, Billy and Mandy are inducted into Weaselthorpe by its members, mainly de facto leader and "genius" Nigel. Upon his mentioning of the house championship that Gunderstank always wins, Mandy is quick to suggest the idea of sabotage. They ruin a potions class by switching ingredients, use "Gunderstank Dragon in a Can" to wreck Toadblatt's castle, and flip around some signs during an outdoor activity, causing Toadblatt to be dragged into a cave and experience pure misery. This results in Nigel proudly announcing to his housemates that they have won the house championship thanks to his idea, giving Mandy none of the credit. However, upon seeing Toadblatt walk in, she tricks Nigel into revealing to her how he sabotaged Gunderstank. This enrages Toadblatt, and he subjects Nigel to the giant one-eyed-dwarf. The rest of the school watches in delight, and Billy proclaims this as the best summer ever.

There's not as much to break apart this time since the episodes in this show typically run for about 7 minutes, but hey, it made good use of its time. If it wasn't obvious, the whole episode is supposed to be a Harry Potter parody, all the way down the the L-shaped scar on Nigel's forehead. (WELL, THE YEARS START COMIN' AND THEY-) And even with that short length there were plenty of comedic moments throughout; the whole sorting squid bit in general was great, and Mandy's constant deadpan delivery led to a lot of highlights ("take credit where credit is due."). It definitely has the feeling of starting in the middle of the series (what do I expect?), but we'll get to the beginning point one day. Even then, I enjoyed this one. Not as much as Courage (to make that comparison once more), but still worthy of my time. And because I couldn't find a smooth way to mention it earlier, I'm pretty sure one of the Gunderstank students is also voiced by Tom, so there.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: It's fun when things are dark and demented, and this show delivers that in spades. There's a good reason it stuck around for as long as it did.

RATING: 8 (leaning on 7.5)/10 (pretty good)

 

Now's your chance, Wheel! Wanna keep going sequentially and give me Con Carne next?

 

Spoiler

Remember when I complained about the wheel only landing on red and blue slices?

I take it back.

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about Ben again. Today, he is not talking about Ben again. But it is another show about children trying to protect their world!

 

 

#17: Codename: Kids Next Door "Operation: I.-S.C.R.E.A.M."

[December 6, 2002]

 

Back when I was young, this show was the SHIT. When you have a story about a society of rebellious children fighting back against the rest of the populous, what kind of kid wouldn't find that cool? Well, again, at least I did. That one episode with the pizza box and the various animation styles still sticks out in my mind, and that's only scratching the tip of the iceberg with this show's creativity. That being said, I haven't watched this one in years and now I, myself, am an adult. How tragic. So is this one going to hold up like it did so long ago? Only time will tell...

The episode begins with some kids waiting for the ice cream truck, but to their disappointment it speeds past them. Further down the road, a different group of kids jump on and hijack said truck. Two of the kids, Nigel (Numbuh 1) and Abby (Numbuh 5), confront the ice cream driver, demanding answers as to why they constantly drive by ice cream-desiring kids. At that moment Wally (Numbuh 4), who is currently driving the truck, notices they're being tailed by multiple ice cream trucks. They get into a scuffle involving various ice cream-themed weaponry, and eventually the kids manage to evade their pursuers, but at the loss of the ice cream machine Kuki (Numbuh 3) was holding on to. Numbuhs 1 & 5 get back to business, getting the ice cream man to blab the password that'll allow the kids to access the ice cream they're hoarding at the factory. Suddenly, the remaining ice cream men form a roadblock in their path, and the kids go driving off a cliff. Thankfully, Hoagie (Numbuh 2) is able to save them with the help of the flying vehicle known as M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.T.O.H. As they escape, it's revealed that the ice cream men are in cahoots with the Delightful Children From Down the Lane, one of the major villains of the rest of the kids. It's also revealed that the password given to the kids might not be as helpful as they thought. Uh oh...

While the kids are on their way to the factory, they have to dodge the attack from some ice cream catapults. Numbuh 1 enters in the password, disabling the factory's defense. Numbuh 2 stays behind in the M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.T.O.H. while the other four kids breach into the factory. While they look for the tank containing the soft-serve ice cream, Numbuh 3, unhappy with the factory's cold temperature, heads off to look for a thermostat. Once they find the right tank, Numbuh 2 use's the vehicle's mosquito-like protrusion to suck up the ice cream. Unfortunately, this is where they are ambushed by the DCFDtL, and a giant ice cream monster lands on the M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.T.O.H., causing it and Numbuh 2 to crash into the factory. The kids run, but they can't hide. Numbuh 1 gets pinned to the wall with ice cream cones, Numbuh 5 is entrapped by a vanilla glob (complete with cherry), and Numbuh 4 is covered in magic shell fudge. All seems hopeless, but right at that moment Numbuh 3 finds a thermostat, turning it up to eleventy billion something degrees. This causes fire to shoot out of the A/C system, melting the ice cream monster and sending a tsunami of ice cream outside. The children waiting outside at the start of the episode also get caught up in the huge wave, and instead of complaining, everyone cheers as the wave carries them off into the sunset. End transmission.

Well, it may not have been as hype as it was when I was a kid, but this was still pretty dang fun. A lot of it is so over-the-top for such a simple concept that it's hard not to get caught up in how silly it is, but that being said, this show is still cool in a way that no other CN show quite matches. Also I completely forgot about how there are a million acronymized terms in this show, even down to the episode titles. I'm a fan of good ol' mnemonic devices! It's also neat how diverse the cast is; every one of the main five has a different nationality, something I never noticed way back when. And of course, the humor is great too. My favorite bit has to be when Numbuh 3 enters the password wrong multiple times, but only because she isn't listening to Numbuh 1 and typing "i love parties" over and over ("You doo too?"). True child behavior, no? I've also got to mention "Who puts a heater in an ice cream factory?". Anyways yeah, this was nice. I'll never get to experience the past in the same way again, but this was a welcoming flashback.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: Whether you're a kid or an adult, this one is a B.L.A.S.T. (Big Laughs, Action, Sure Thing).

RATING: 8/10 (pretty good)

 

Alright Wheel, show me what you've got!

 

Spoiler

Sequential order, yay!

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[The Juice Is Loose]

 

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an episode of a show that finally brought us back to 9/10 territory! How long will this period of quality last?

 

 

Happy Easter and weed day! What do you say we check up on an old familiar friend?

#37: Ben 10: Ultimate Alien "Fame"

[April 23, 2010]

 

Back on the Ben 10 talk, it seems. I mentioned in the Omniverse post that I had stopped watching the show by that point, but that's not the case with this one. That being said, I wasn't watching this one too much either. I may have seen one or two episodes on television, but never really got too into it because, well, it was 2010. Adventure Time had just premiered, sending CN into a renaissance and defining much of what 2010s cartoons would become. Shows like it took up all of my attention at the time, leaving straightfoward action toons like Ben 10 by the wayside. Of course that doesn't mean that this will be bad; I didn't have high hopes for Omniverse but it still surprised me. So let's go ahead and see what Ben has in store for me this time.

The episode begins with a news report about alien life on Earth. Apparently someone connected the dots and found out all these aliens are really Ben, deciding to reveal it for the world to see. Ben, Gwen, and Kevin are watching this broadcast, thus making them aware that everyone else is aware too. Ben walks outside, immediately greeted by paparazzi blocking his path. Gwen and Kevin suggest that he lay low at Julie (his girlfriend)'s house for a while, but Ben has a different plan for getting outdoors. He turns into Humungosaur, scaring off the crowd and allowing him to get to Julie's. When there, they watch another news station featuring a reporter who is...not particularly fond of Ben, thinking that the notion of him being a "hero" is ridiculous. Taking a break, the two go out for a drive, eventually running back into Gwen and Kevin. Kevin tells them that he found out who exactly pieced together Ben's identity, and he, Ben, and Gwen decide to go pay them a visit. Certainly nothing bad is about to happen!...well, especially not after it's revealed their "mastermind" is just a young superfan, Jimmy. He shows the trio several pictures he's collected of Ben's various alien forms, and tells them how he naively thought the world would be better knowing they all came from one man- er, boy. However, they notice one alien that is not connected to Ben. Jimmy says all sightings of it are in Orlando, and after showing them a video, the three set out on Kevin's newest jet to get there. Gwen pinpoints the location of the video to be at a secret NASA facility, but before they can get there they fly into restricted airspace. After Kevin destroys a jet and the pilot's parachute catches fire, Ben ejects and turns into Jetray to save him. After landing, the guards get a hold of Ben and he is jailed.

He's freed after Gwen and Kevin show the guards their badges, and one of the officers tells Ben they have a problem of their own that he might be able to help settle. You see, the high-tech ship they're building keeps having pieces stolen by an unknown creature, so the trio decide to help put a stop to it. Unfortunately, Ben's Ultimatrix begins failing on him, and Gwen and Kevin have a struggle fighting the alien. Thankfully, all it takes is Ben scanning this new alien's DNA to make the Ultimatrix useable, so he turns into Chromastone. Even Ben is not powerful enough to defeat this alien however, and he makes it out with another piece of the ship. Worse, this piece just so happens to be the engine which doubles as a nuclear bomb. They manage to locate it underwater, and after using Gwen's powers to get there, they discover that the alien is using the stolen pieces to repair his own ship. The alien has no qualms launching said ship, even if its engine will destroy a large section of Florida (do it lol!). After incapacitating Gwen and Kevin with a live wire, Ben turns into (Ultimate) Spidermonkey to fight the alien, and this time succeeds in defeating him. Kevin stops the ship's launch, and the alien finally reveals his identity as Bivalvan from the Andromeda galaxy. He, along with four others, were kidnapped by another alien, Aggregor, but they managed to temporarily escape and end up on Earth. The trio vow to get him and his associates back to their home planet, even if they aren't fully trusting of him yet. The next day, Ben goes to school to face his classmates for the first time after the news about him broke out, and to his surprise, they give him a round of applause for all the good work he's done. We then cut back to Bivalvan, who unfortunately has been found by Aggregor, and the episode ends with the former screaming for help. Damn...

Yep, this is definitely more Ben 10. You can basically copy/paste the same things I said about Omniverse here; my thoughts are not that radically different. It's an enjoyable experience while it's on, but it's not the kind of thing I'm going to binge anytime soon and it feels a little lacking in comparison to the original. I guess I'll give a quick mention of my favorite joke: during the scene when Ben and Julie are watching the news, the reporter starts a poll: "Ben Tennyson: Threat or Menace?". We later find out that only 26% chose menace, which relaxes Ben a bit, before Julie reminds him that means 74% chose threat. But yeah, that's all I've got for this one. It's more Ben 10, what do you expect?

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: Ben.

RATING: 7/10 (decent)

 

Here's something interesting to note; with this talk-about I've now covered every series of Ben 10 across both the SBM and SBC threads. Of course, that still leaves the three reduxes for this thread, but we'll cross those bridges when we get to them. Maybe sooner than I think...whattya say, Wheel of Names?

 

Spoiler

Have y'all noticed that the wheel keeps landing on the red and blue slices? Just me? Okay...

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[A Pal for Gary II: The Hunt for Puffy Fluffy]

The bus arrives in Rock Bottom. Everyone steps out, ready to put the hunt for Puffy Fluffy to rest.

Squidward: What's that map of yours say, Sandy?

Sandy: It's lookin' like he should be...AAH! Right in front of us!

Everyone screams. However, all that appears in front of them is an average Rock Bottomite.

Bottomite: Can I *pbfft* help you?

Squidward: Sir, we're trying to find a large, monstrous, green creature, and for all we know he's right here. Have you seen anything like that?

Bottomite: Hmm *pbfft*, large and *pbfft* monstrous? I haven't *pbfft* seen anything *pbfft* of the sort *pbfft*. The only thing that *pbfft* fits is *pbfft* the green part, but *pbfft* that's referring to *pbfft* my new pet.

He steps aside to reveal Puffy Fluffy, back in his harmless form. The GPS starts beeping rapidly.

GPS: COMPLETE DNA MATCH.

Scooter: Wait, man. That's the thing we've been hunting down? Ahahahaha! Ahahahahahaha! He couldn't hurt a fly! Ahahahahahaha!

Gary crawls off Squidward's back.

Gary: Meow. (We meet again.)

Upon seeing Gary, Puffy Fluffy immediately turns back into its monster form and roars. In the process it squashes a nearby fly.

Scooter: Guess I spoke too soon. Ahahahahahaha, hahahaha! Let's slay this thing.

Gary puts on a cowboy hat and tries to lasso Puffy Fluffy's tongue-mouths. He dodges, sending one of his tongues after Gary, who jumps over it. Tom, whose patience is wearing thin, throws his torch directly into one of Puffy Fluffy's eyes. He shrieks and starts running away. The yelling mob follows him.

Bottomite: ...huh. Well *pbfft*, I guess a-*pbfft*-nother new pet is in *pbfft* order. Nice knowing you *pbfft*, Douglas!

During the chase, Larry assists Gary by throwing him in Puffy Fluffy's direction. Gary swings his lasso again, and this time actually manages to tie up Puffy Fluffy's tongues. He plants himself on the ground, struggling to keep the monster in place. The whole of Bikini Bottom grabs onto Gary like they're playing a record breaking game of tug-of-war. When it becomes clear that Puffy Fluffy isn't going anywhere, a chant rings out as Squidward runs up.

Everyone: Stab the green thing! Stab the green thing!

Squidward: Let's get this over with so I can go home and play my cla- uh, I mean, get a good night's sleep!

He thrusts his pitchfork down, stabbing it in Puffy Fluffy's other eye. He schreeches a final time and slumps over. Everyone cheers, throwing their weapons aside in celebration.

Krabs: Well Squidward, I'd say this makes up for you missing work yesterday.

Squidward: Oh, right. That.

Krabs: Eh, it wasn't a busy day anyway. You'd be surprised how many people don't want a patty when a snail is cooking them. Besides, I get to keep more of me money! Ararararararar!

While he laughs, unbeknownst to everyone Puffy Fluffy is getting back up. He growls, catching everyone off guard. The mob freezes in fear, but before Puffy Fluffy can attack them, he is suddenly stabbed through the heart with a stray pitchfork, dying for real. Standing on his back is Patrick.

Patrick: I win!

Squidward: PATRICK? Why are you even down here?

Patrick: This is where they're holding the Sock Condom convention. It's my favorite show! But I heard this guy trashing on it so, well, he's gotta die!

Before anyone can process this, an out of breath Plankton comes running up.

Plankton: (panting) Oh, you imbeciles! Why did you waste your time doing this? Killing that thing didn't accomplish anything!

Squidward: But it kept me up all night!

Krabs: And it tried to-

Plankton: I don't care what it did!! One, it would've been fine down here as it isn't hostile towards Bottomite life, two, this means all your problems would've had easy solutions, and three, he isn't the enemy here, SpongeBob is! He ignored the storekeeper's warning, stole this nudibranch, and allowed it into his house to act on its instincts!

Squidward: What? Why didn't you tell us earlier?!

Plankton: I tried to, but that despicable crustacean flicked me away!

Krabs: Heh, sorry. Force of habit. ...wait. Plankton, how do you know SpongeBob stole this creature?

Plankton: I was getting to that. I'll admit to you, in an attempt to gather as much information I could about the Krabby Patty secret formula, I've been...y'know........spying on SpongeBob for the past few days.

Everyone gasps.

Plankton: But do you know what I've learned about it? Zilch! In fact, the only knoweldge I seem to have gained from this is that SpongeBob is an insufferable moron! Karen, would you please?

She rolls up and a video from inside SpongeBob's house plays on her screen.

Karen: (SpongeBob: Gary! You put Fluffy down right now! Bad boy, Gary! Bad!)

The whole scene plays out. Everyone is speechless.

Karen: (SpongeBob: Well Gary, what do you have to say for yourself?)

The video cuts.

Puff: Dear King Neptune...

Sandy: And I thought Patrick was dumb.

Patrick: And I thought Gary was dumb.

Gary: Meow! (Why you-)

Squidward: Well, I think it's clear we've all had enough of SpongeBob's nonsense for the next few lifespans. But we can't just kill him; how are we supposed to deal with this?

Plankton: Don't worry, I've got the perfect idea.

The next day...

And that's how the nudibranch storekeeper went out of business...I mean, how National No SpongeBob Day began. Huh? What do you mean "this episode aired in the season before"? SpongeBob SquarePants has never had continuity, get over yourself!

THE END

[A Pal for Gary II: The Hunt for Puffy Fluffy]

It is now dusk. Almost all of Bikini Bottom has banded together to kill Puffy Fluffy, torches and pitchforks in tentacles, claws, fins, paws, etc. Squidward, leading the mob, stops suddenly.

Squidward: Wait. How are we going to find this thing?

Sandy: I've got just what we need!

She pulls out a device, scans Gary, then a GPS activates.

Sandy: That scrape under Gary's shell means the creature left some biological residue.

Bubble Bass: Sounds unsanitary.

Sandy: Oh, for cryin' out loud, I'm talking about DNA! Deoxyribonucleic acid! It's unique to every living thing on this planet, and now it'll tell us exactly where the monster is...Rock Bottom!

Everyone: Rock Bottom?!?!?!

Krabs: They put all the freaks down there!

Larry: Well, at least he's among his own kind looks-wise.

Everyone stares disapprovingly.

Krabs & Larry: What?

Squidward: (marching again) Whatever, folks. We have a destination in mind. To Rock Bottom!

Another triumphant yell. Suddenly, a rock swings up...

Patrick: Did somebody say Pock Dottom?

Squidward: No, I said Rock Bottom.

Patrick: Tock Sodom?

Squidward: No!

Patrick: Cock Gottem?

Squidward: NO! I said ROCK BOTTOM! Like the bottom of the rock your fat buttocks are glued to!

Patrick: Aww, I thought you were talking about my favorite shows!

The rock slams shut.

Squidward: Idiot.

A few minutes later, the mob is waiting for a bus. Eventually one pulls up.

Squidward: Does this bus go to Rock Bottom?

Driver: Yes, but I won't be able to fit you all in. And you might cause a scene with all those torches. What are you even going to Rock Bottom for?

Squidward: We're going to kill the creature that kept me awake!

Krabs: And tried to eat me money!

Sandy: And caused my treedome to crack!

Puff: And ruined all my students' essays!

Everyone is venting their frustrations about Puffy Fluffy all at once.

Driver: Wait, wait, hold on a moment! Doesn't this all seem barbaric to you people?

Squidward: (pause) ...you're right. What's the point in killing that thing anyway? It's down in Rock Bottom now, there's no way it's getting back here. We might as well let it be in peace. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to apologize to SpongeBob for trying to-

Driver: Did you say...SpongeBob?

Squidward: Well, yeah, he was th-

Driver: (grabs a pitchfork under his seat) Count. Me. In.

 

Part IV coming soon...

[A Pal for Gary II: The Hunt for Puffy Fluffy]

The next day at the Krusty Krab. Squidward is manning the register. He notices that SpongeBob is absent from the kitchen while Gary is flipping patties.

Squidward: (whispering) Psst, Gary.

Gary: Meow?

Squidward: I need some backup, wanna go hunt down that monstrous foe of yours?

Gary: Meow.

Squidward: Yes, I know we don't have the best history, but this is a win-win! You don't have to worry about that thing returning to eat you, and I get my sleep schedule back!

Gary: Meow...

Squidward: Fine, I'll buy you 10 boxes of Snail Bites.

Gary: Meow!

Gary drops his spatula and crawls onto Squidward's back.

Squidward: ...I'm already regretting this.

He starts to walk out, when suddenly a door in the back bursts open.

Krabs: SQUIDWAAAAARD! What do ye think you be doing leaving work this early, with SpongeBoy's pet no less?

Squidward: (nervously) Uhh, you see...while SpongeBob was on break I was uh, going to take his snail to.........get a haircut.

pause

Krabs: Is that really the best you've got?

Squidward: Okay Mr. Krabs, I'll level with you. SpongeBob brought this other pet to his home yesterday, and it kept me up all night and almost killed Gary, so I'm going to hunt it down alongside him.

Krabs: Hmm. It's a noble cause, Squidward, but I can't allow you to do it during your shift. It's a waste of me precious money! Now get back to work, will ya?

Squidward: *sigh* Alright, Mr. Krabs. But if you see a green thing, let me know.

Krabs: Green thing? Was it huge? With spiky teeth? And four extra mouths inside?

Squidward: Yes?

Krabs: Grrrr...that creature tried to eat all the money under me mattress last night! Forget what I said Squidward, you can count me in on your escapade!

Sandy: Wait, green thing? That's the no good feller that slammed into my treedome and started a massive leak! Count me in too!

Puff: Green thing? Its teeth shredded through my students' freshly graded written reports! Count me in!

Bubble Bass: Green thing? His roaring rudely interrupted the recording of my revered review show the previous evening! Count me in!

Larry: Green thing? I saved him from drowning in Goo Lagoon this morning and he didn't even have the courtesy to thank me! Count me in!

Fred: Green thing? It broke MY LEG! when I was walking today. I'd say count me in, but I'm partly immobile at the moment so I think I'll stay here.

Old Man Jenkins: Green thing? You mean the stuff that's growing on my chest?

Krabs: (gets a closer look) No, that's just Plankton.

He picks him off.

Plankton: Wait, don't-

He screams as Krabs flicks him out of the restaurant.

Tom: Green thing? He poisoned our water supply, burned our crops, and delivered a plague unto our houses!

Everyone: He did?

Tom: No, but count me in anyway! I've got some pent-up anger that needs releasing.

The crowd yells in triumph as they exit the Krusty Krab.

Squidward: Count your days, green thing, if you even have more after today!

 

Part III coming soon...

[A Pal for Gary II: The Hunt for Puffy Fluffy]

Location, Bikini Bottom. Date, 3 January 2010. Time, somewhere around 8:42am MHT.

Squidward is waking up for the day...or he would be if he got any sleep.

Squidward: Ughhh...I can't believe SpongeBob kept me up with that noise all night...I don't care what Krabs thinks, I'm staying home today. Let's make up for those wasted hours.

He attempts to fall asleep, but a loud noise outside interrupts him.

Squidward: WHAT THE?- (he sees Puffy Fluffy running away outside) oh, never mind.

He falls asleep for the next nine hours, waking up refreshed.

Squidward: Ahh, just what I needed. Now hopefully tonight I won't have to deal with...

He hears singing outside.

Squidward: ...SpongeBob. Wait, he's got his repulsive pet with him. I thought Mr. Krabs didn't allow animals at work. (yelling) SpongeBob, what are you thinking going to the Krusty Krab with that slimy mollusk?

SpongeBob: Oh hi, Squidward! Didn't see you at work today.

Squidward: That's because you kept me up all night with your racket! I couldn't sleep!

SpongeBob: Oh, that wasn't me. See, I got a friend for Gare Bear here, and he hated him so much that they got into a fight and destroyed my house!

Squidward: Facsinating.

SpongeBob: Worse still, Gary chased Fluffy away and I have no idea where my new pet is! Clearly I can't leave this troublemaker alone in the house anymore.

Squidward: ...huh?

SpongeBob: So I took him to work to help me with my job. He even ran the register for you!

Squidward: EW, gross! I'm bringing disinfectant the next time I clock in.

SpongeBob: Anyways, if you find Fluffy let me know! (walking inside) D'aww, he's the cutest thing...

Squidward: Not to my eyes he isn't. Heh. *sigh* Clearly SpongeBalls is too nitwitted to see his tiny snail can't leave that massive of a hole in his front door, but I see the truth! It was this other vile creature that halted my slumber! I'll find him alright, and after that...nobody will ever find him again.

 

Part II coming soon...

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an episode of a show that he had never seen on television before...and this time he really enjoyed it! Today's show breaks the pattern of ones he hasn't seen, albeit barely...

 

 

#30: Class of 3000 "Home"

[November 3, 2006]

 

Remember that time when André 3000 had his own cartoon? Pepperidge F- I remember...somewhat. There are bits and pieces of episodes in my head, but by far what stands out the most is this particular song. I saw it just once on television, but the catchiness accompanied by the characters dancing across the real-life visuals was enough for it to remain in my head for years. Even now, it's the first thing my brain jumps to when thinking of this show and it still gives me good doses of nostalgia. I mean considering André wrote all the songs for this, it's not surprising it ended up so sticky. So the music is good, but how good is everything else here? We're about to find out; school is now in session.

I should also mention- this is a double episode. I was considering just covering the first part like I did with Foster's, but since Wikipedia labels it as episode "1-2" and the mp4 I have is also all 40 minutes, I'm going to cover the whole thing. Slight spoiler, but this show deserves it.

The episode begins at a concert for famous musician Sunny Bridges (voiced by André himself) alongside his backing band, but most importantly in the band is his idol, Lil' D. He's living his dream, and those words couldn't be truer because he wakes up from said dream to go to school. He gets on the bus, talking with the driver for a moment about their dreams before the bus becomes even more cramped. We cut to Sunny, in a similarly cramped situation due to his excessive staff, though he's on the way to a concert in Tokyo instead. Back to Lil' D, he meets up with classmate and flower girl Madison before heading to his performing arts school, and we see it has quite the diverse student body. His rich friend Eddie (glad to have you back, Tom Kenny) calls him into their classroom as he is setting up a live feed for the concert. At said concert, Sunny becomes more and more uncomfortable with his omnipresent, overbearing staff, along with how hot of a commodity he is becoming. Back at school, the twins Kim and Kam and the inventive Philly Phil appear, and the latter shows off his device that allows the students to be projected onto the concert stage. The aggressive Tamika then shows up, meaning everyone in class is accounted for. Ready for the concert to begin, everyone is shocked when Sunny walks off the stage without having even played a note.

The rest of the world is just as shocked as the kids are, and during the commotion they notice their teacher hasn't shown up yet. The principal informs them that their teacher, Mr. Gone, is gone. Madison wonders if he's gone to expand his music career as he always wanted to "break into rock", and it turns out she's right...in the worst way possible (their teacher is in prison; getit?). Since the school's budget is stretched thin as is, the principal selects himself to be their replacement music teacher, but he doesn't exactly inspire awe in the students. As he goes to deal with other problems, the kids break out into a song about life without music. I suppose the song itself is fine; it certainly supports the downtrodden mood, but the real star here is the varied animation. I'd also be remissed to not mention the line against downloading songs. Ah, 2006 was a different time. The kids decide the best way to raise money for a new teacher is to hold their own benefit concert, but no one's willing to support their cause. After everyone leaves him and it starts raining, a dejected Lil' D heads into a pawn shop, where he unexpectedly meets Sunny Bridges and promptly faints.

Recovering quickly, Lil' D heads back to his classmates to tell them that Sunny will help them raise the funds for their cause. It seems too good to be true...and once again it is; it's another dream sequence. Lil' D is filled with questions for Sunny, and he answers as to why he walked off the stage: he wanted some time back home to recharge. The answer initially confuses Lil' D, as he wants nothing more than to get away from his home. This results in Sunny showing Lil' D around the neighborhood to get him to try and see all its features and characters in a new light. Once Lil' D asks him to join their benefit concert, Sunny refuses, restating that he's taking a break from music, and he leaves in his Jaguar. Lil' D, for real this time, tells his classmates that he met Sunny, but Tamika doesn't believe it and wants him to prove it. And so, using the advice he heard earlier, Lil' D "follows the music" to try and find Sunny's house with his friends...out in the woods. Just as night is about to fall and the gang feels like giving up, they stumble across a house and begin exploring its many rooms, especially the music room. As soon as the jam session begins, it is interrupted by a displeased Sunny. Lil' D invites him to join them, and he responds by kicking them out of his house.

Back at the school, the kids are as unmotivated as ever with the principal as their music teacher. Out of options, they go outside to hold their benefit concert despite not having sold a single ticket. This gets the attention of Sunny, currently in the pawn shop giving away his instruments, as he recognizes the sound of his drum machine that Lil' D accidently kept hold of after being kicked out. He admires the kids' passion for music, but also acknowledges that they have a lot to learn, leading into the next musical number. And THIS one is a bop; it probably would've gotten stuck in my head too if I actually saw it on television. Either way, through this song Sunny provides the extra spice the kids need for their music. Remembering that Sunny wants to keep a low profile, Lil' D offers him to be their music teacher, but Sunny is immediately scooped away into a limo by his staff, disappointing the kids. The next day, they are surprised to find that the principal has hired Sunny as their music teacher. He explains how he sees his past self in the kids, and not wanting to do any further touring, he is willing to be their teacher as long as he also gets to be home. The students are ecstatic, and to cap things off we get a short reprise of the last musical number. The end.

According to Wikipedia, this show never re-aired after its run was over. I don't know the specific reason why (Google says high production costs vs. low ratings), which explains why I barely remember any of it. However, watching this episode makes me wish it had more of a chance, because this was fantastic. The animation style is unique and vivid (the high production cost makes sense at least), the story was fun to follow along with, but by far my favorite aspect was the comedy. I had to leave out SO many jokes in that summary, but here are some of my favorites:

• The "Sunny sat here" sign both on the bus and in the classroom.
• "Ka-Bong!"
• The newswoman interviewing three people from different parts of the world, later revealed to all be in the same multicultural theme park.
• "My life ain't got no meaning now."
  "That's okay, your life had no meaning before!"
• Everyone ditching Lil' D by saying their "mom" is calling, and each one becoming increasingly more phony than the last.
• Lil' D being asked if he confused Sunny with a bear:
  "Not unless it was a bear driving a Jaguar."
  A bear drives by.
  "That, was a Lamborghini."

And that's just a few of them. So yes, Class of 3000 is very cool. It's nice to finally have things that I enjoy watching again! How long this will last? Hopefully long enough for me to not want to stay away from this thread like Sunny is with concerts...but for now, this is the second hit in a row. Also shoutouts to the show taking place in Atlanta; the home of CN itself, the place of OutKast's origin, and the nearest big city to me and a place I have visited many a time.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: Good music, great animation, hilarious comedy, this one impressed me in ways I never would have expected out of it. Gone far too soon.

RATING: 9 (leaning on 8.5)/10 (a clear standout)

 

And with that talk-about, this is now the most consecutive posts I've made in this thread without having to take a months (or years)-long break inbetween! I am officially Back in the Game. I'm so hyped for this next show; Wheel of Names, show me what you've got!

 

Spoiler

*sigh* Back on the Ben 10 grind...

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an episode of a show that he had never seen on television before...again. And today, he's talking about yet another show he didn't see on television! Will it ever end?

 

 

#41: Robotomy "Frenemy"

[October 25, 2010]

 

At least this is a more interesting case of a show I haven't seen. I can make reasonable excuses for the other shows I didn't catch, be it I was too young, or too old. For this show...well, it premiered during my peak years of watching CN. I was 9 years old when this started airing, definitely old enough to remember it. Especially considering I have fond memories of a similarly short-lived show that aired around this same time, but we'll get there. In the case for this show, somehow I never saw it once. Not even an advertisement. I guess it makes sense considering this was CN's shortest running show (besides Sunday Pants, of course), but still. After discovering its existence, it always remained in my head as a curiosity, though I never took time out of my life to give it a watch. Until today! All I can do is cross my fingers that it wasn't short-lived for a good reason...

The episode begins in a high school populated by, you guessed it, robots. The main characters, Thrasher and Blastus, are having lunch before local nerd Weenus engages in conversation with them. He tells them about the trendy social media website known as "Frenemy" and how using it makes him feel more popular, though the main robots are skeptical about using it themselves. However, it doesn't take much convincing for them to give all their information to Frenemy and make their own accounts. Things start off great as they immediately get a friend request!...from Weenus. After that, they don't get any more requests. Not even in 2000 years' time. So they warp back to the present and write an angry message on the website, and to their surprise the site itself offers to be their friend. He warps himself into their house, and the trio goes out to party like the friends they are. The fun even continues well into the next school day, making it impossible for Thrasher and Blastus to pay any attention. We then find out that Frenemy might be getting a bit too clingy, as he wakes Thrasher up to tell him to reply to a post only he and Blastus would care about, and apparently starts blocking other friend requests from the two's reach. Another robot warns them about this side of Frenemy and urges them to use Squeeker, a different social media site, instead. But before they can sign up, Frenemy murders Squeeker and reveals Thrasher and Blastus's embarrassing secrets to the whole school. Fed up, the two set off to disable their Frenemy accounts. After scaling Mount Frenemy and attempting to state their intentions, Fremeny is just about ready to murder them too. This doesn't happen however, as Thrasher and Blastus get everyone online to spam Frenemy's feed, causing him to self-destruct. Ultimately they decide to give up social media and try dating sites instead, but cut to two days later and they end up destroying a website for the second time. The end.

First of all, this is without a doubt a CN show from the early 2010s. Everything from the humor to the animation to even the shortened theme song is dripping with that time's trends. Secondly, and unsurprisingly, I am all for it. The show's urban yet apocalyptic style is a treat for the eyes, the jokes consistently hit (shoutout to Squeeker being an obvious stand-in for Twitter and the convenience of the mountain's shuttle bus), and the whole thing feels like something that would fit on Adult Swim, even nowadays. Maybe that's part of why the show didn't last long? No idea, but I've gone from 9 years to 24 years in the time since this aired and I say it's quality. Yeah I had fun with this; I'm putting it on the list of ones that I'll be coming back to in the future.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Often insane, but always funny, it isn't one to miss despite its short run...wait, is the title supposed to be a play on "lobotomy"?

RATING: 8/10 (pretty good)

 

Finally another 8 under my belt, and in the most unexpected of places. Work your magic again, Wheel!

 

Spoiler

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an episode of a show that he had never seen on television before. Today's show is a similar case...

 

 

#24: The Life and Times of Juniper Lee "It's Your Party and I'll Whine if I Want To"

[May 30, 2005]

 

It's about time I'm talking about a show in this thread that I already covered in the SBM topic! Originally I wasn't going to bring this up at all, but a lot changes in a few years. As a result, I'll be linking posts to that thread so you can look at my old talk-abouts and see how much has (or hasn't) changed, but I'll be writing new material here. Apologies if I repeat myself with anything I said in that topic. Either way, not much has changed since then. I still find it weird how I never saw this show airing, despite having vivid memories of catching other shows from the same year multiple times (Sunday Pants excluded because, well duh). The only thing I have to add is that I've seen people compare this one to Disney's American Dragon: Jake Long, almost to the point of calling it a knockoff, but considering I never really watched either show it shouldn't be a problem for me. Let's see what Juniper's life has to offer.

The episodes starts by outlining the premise of the show: magic exists in our world in the form of monstrous creatures, although it's invisible to everyone but a select few. One person of that few is Juniper (aka June), who alone has the duty of keeping the "evil" monsters from disrupting the balance between them and humans. After she scares one of these creatures off, her brother Ray Ray comes out of nowhere to annoy her even further. Cue the theme song. I like this intro, it's a ton of fun! That doesn't have to do with the episode, but I thought I would bring it up anyway.

After that, we see June and Ray Ray preparing for a party for June's best friend, Jody. Their dog Monroe, who inexplicably has a Scottish accent, is keeping them company. June gets a call from her goth friend Ophelia, who tells her that missing Jody's party will likely break her internally, especially with June's tendency to say she will appear at events then not show up. The two decide to take Monroe with them to the party since they know everyone loves him, and they make their way off. Or at least they would, until a jar drops out of June's backpack and a genie (momentarily) escapes. This will become important later. At the party we see Roger, another one of June's friends, acting weird as usual. Some party hijinks ensue, until June is interrupted by a hippy-like leprechaun, Jeff. I love that name! After she yells at him, resulting in everyone thinking she's insane (keep in mind they can't see Jeff), he informs her that a creature known as the Racatan has escaped from their clutches. So, June tells Ray Ray and Monroe to stay at the party in her place while she takes care of business. She asks her grandma (aka Ah-Mah) to help her out so she doesn't miss the party, but she tells June that being the Te Xuan Ze (oh, so that's what it's called) is her burden to carry alone. Worryingly, upon the mention of the name "Racatan", her Ah-Mah sends her out of the house, telling her to take care of it as soon as she can. June finds the creature out in the forest, instantly angering it. They engage in a duel for a bit, and in the process June realizes that she accidently switched backpacks back at the party. Thankfully, Ray Ray and Monroe arrive right on time, releasing the genie from earlier. Turns out he exclusively attacks evil beings, so it easily takes care of the Racatan. Afterwards, June heads back to Jody's to apologize for missing her party, and to give her her present. All is forgiven as everyone heads inside for cake, while Jeff appears again to bother June for some cake and she ditches him. The end.

Yeah, it's about the same quality as I remember from however many years ago I first covered it. The animation is still very 2000s-coded, the expressions do get crazy at times, and the comedy itself is still pretty chuckle-worthy (I completely missed how funny the clown character was the first time around). The show doesn't go the extra mile in any department, though. It seems like the kind of thing that'd be nice to have on in the background as a kid. Kind of like Jake Long... huh. Maybe I did watch this show after all, and I just didn't remember it. Who knows...as for now, it's good enough for me.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: While not earth-shattering, this show is wild and fun enough to deserve some watchtime. Let's not have this one go completely invisible.

RATING: 7/10 (decent)

 

What's next on the docket, Wheel of Names?

 

Spoiler

Hmm...this should be interesting, to say the least.

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

 

Original post:

Spoiler

https://www.sbmania.net/forums/threads/dman-attempts-to-talk-about-every-single-cn-original-in-existence.60413/post-1280335

Quote

"This is the first of a few shows that I don't ever remember catching on television. I don't know exactly why that is, but it definitely is odd. I remember a good amount of the shows from 2005 such as Camp Lazlo, Ben 10, etc. being on the air (I even remember watching the former's premiere), but not this one... Anyway, let's get to the episode in question.

The episode starts with a brief introduction on the driving plot of the show: magic is all around (and in the form of monstrous creatures, both neutral and harmful) but said magic is invisible to almost everyone except for some, including Juniper, the obvious protagonist. Not only can she see these creatures, she's meant to stop them from disrupting the human-magic balance. And it is her only, because it's just one of those things that passed down from generation to generation, and her grandma (Ah-Mah in the show) recently passed it down to her. While fending of some creatures in the park, her brother "Ray Ray" shows up, being the most annoying thing ever. And with that, we've covered most of the main characters' roles and the intro plays.

After the intro finishes up, we see the two preparing for a party held by a friend of Juniper's (her name's Jody). Also, their talking dog Monroe is coming with them as well, because all the people apparently love him. Soon Ophelia, one of Juniper's friends who is also a goth, talks to her about the party and that Jody will likely be disappointed if she doesn't show up. On the way, Juniper explains that she doesn't want anything weird to happen during the party, so she tells Ray Ray and Monroe to act normal. And at that exact moment, she drops a jar with a genie that briefly escapes. Why is that important? You'll see. When they get there, several things happen. One, we meet another one of Juniper's friends, Roger, who is absolutely weird. Not Clarence weird, but still. Two, everyone terrorizes Monroe's well-being because despite his opposition, he's a dog and normal people can't hear him talk. And three, a hippie leprechaun thing shows up to tell Juniper that a creature called the "Racatan" has gone loose from them. And because she yells at what is seemingly thin air to everyone else, people think she's crazy. So she tells Ray Ray and Monroe to keep normal while she's gone.

Back home Juniper asks Ah-Mah if she can help her this one time, but she tells Juniper that it's her mission to take care of the burden alone. Also, at the mention of the name "Racatan" she becomes nervous and tells Juniper to hurry and take care of business as quickly as possible. When she finds the creature, she pokes it and it instantaneously becomes enraged. After an extensive duo, Ray Ray and Monroe pop out of nowhere and Juniper uses the genie from earlier to fend off the Racatan. Problem solved. Juniper goes back to Jody's house, apologizes for missing the bulk of the party, and hands her present to her. They go inside for cake, and the leprechaun creature from earlier requests some cake from Juniper and she ignores him for the time being. The end.

Let me get this out of the way: the animation in this show SCREAMS 2000s. It simply could not have existed at any other time. Also, the show isn't afraid to be outright deranged with its animation. Secondly, the comedy wasn't that bad. (Shout out goes to the leprechaun in its entirety and everyone misunderstanding the dog.) Honestly, I was reeeeeeeaaally not looking forward to covering this show, but surprise! It actually turned out to be decent. Nothing notable, but still pretty good.


THE BOTTOM LINE: This show is just as average as any other. It won't be brought up again any time soon, but it's OK and possibly a little bit too forgotten.
Final Rating: 7.5/10"

 

 

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an episode of a show that he expected to not care for, but surprisingly found it to be a decent time. And once again, today's show is as much a mystery as the last...

 

 

#56: Craig of the Creek "Itch to Explore"

[March 30, 2018]

 

Okay, we're now at a late enough point in CN's history where I can say that I haven't seen some of these shows on television at all. With shows like OK K.O. or Apple & Onion, I may not have watched them regularly but I remember seeing bits and pieces of them airing. Craig of the Creek is a show that I don't remember seeing air once, although that's less out of a lack of airtime and more that I was growing out of CN by this point. So yet again, we have a show that I'm going in blind on. Joy. I've heard some positive things about this one though, but I've also heard it takes some time to get going. I really have no clue what's in store for me with this one, so I'm just going to start watching and see what happens. Let's go exploring, shall we?

The episode begins with Craig planning to draw the most comprehensive map of the creek that he can. Just one problem- there's no place in his house for him to do it. His brother kicks him out of the dining room so he can work on a report with his classmate, his sister annoys him out of the TV room, and his father in the (I assume) basement is working out too intensely for Craig to get any work done. As a result, he moves his materials outside to the creek. There, he meets up with his friends Kelsey and J.P., and they observe his progress so far. J.P. notes an unmapped spot on Craig's map, but it's in the dead center of Poison Ivy Grove...yikes. So the group acquires some supplies (trash bags and tape as armor, lotion just in case) for protection against the ivy, and after using some fishing line to mark where they entered the grove, they set off. Right away J.P. gets distracted and ends up tangled in some branches, but his friends free him and no damage is done...for now. This is far from the end of their troubles; once they are a good distance into the grove the fishing line mysteriously snaps, leaving only the map to help them find their way back. Worse, the group begins to hear strange sounds before a log comes swinging toward them. After a narrow dodge Craig and Kelsey come out unscathed, but the trash bag covering J.P.'s chest now has a sizeable tear. The two rush him out to the creek to apply some lotion to his quickly forming rash, only to discover that it is missing. Upon seeing footprints in the dirt leading back to the ivy, they assume that someone- or something- has stolen it. Suddenly, an unseen creature begins chasing them through the ivy. The group climbs into the trees to run, causing a lot of damage to their armor and effectively trapping them. In an act of self-sacrifice, Craig decides to jump down to get help, while exposing himself to the ivy. However, he bounces right back up to the tree, revealing there to be a trampoline in the center of Poison Ivy Grove. They have fun for a bit, before the creature chasing them is shown to be a young boy who, somehow, is immune to poison ivy. He explains to the group how this is the only place he has to himself, hence why he tries so hard to protect it from outsiders. Craig relates to him on this, and just as the boy reluctantly allows them to show the public his secret place, Craig decides to leave the spot on the map unmarked, much to the boy's delight. Since the group can't leave the grove by walking, the boy decides to help them get home via some high bounces on the trampoline. The group then lands back in the neighborhood, completing their mission and giving them minor injuries from their fall. The end. 

It's not that high a bar, but so far this is my favorite of the shows I've covered since the revival of this thread. The sense of adventure and danger throughout the episode was pretty captivating, and the chemistry that our three main characters have was a success I'd say. There looks to be a lot to find in this world, and I'm all for discovering more. There are a few drawbacks for me, though. Firstly, there wasn't that much comedy-wise here. Some of the line delivery bordered on that, but nothing pushed me over the edge. And secondly, the show feels just a bit too milquetoast. It reminds me of some episodes of Clarence in particular, except that show had a special brand of weirdness to it that made it fun to watch. Craig of the Creek feels like the average slice-of-life show, at least from this first episode. That's not a terrible thing, it's just that a cartoon like this is gonna have to provide me with something else to keep me invested long-term. Maybe that'll happen in the later episodes? I wouldn't be against finding out. Also shoutout to the concept of this episode being about mapmaking; anyone who's seen me on SpongeCraft knows that I have a lot of fun with that.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: If you want an adventure that's fun (albeit nothing new); check this one out. I'll be sure to return to it after my bones heal.

RATING: 7 (leaning toward a 7.5)/10 (decent)

 

Once again it's your time to shine, Wheel of Names! Maybe consider giving me a less recent show this time around?

 

Spoiler

...sure, that works.

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an episode of a show that he was mixed on before ultimately finding it passable. Will today's show be an improvement?

 

 

#45: Ben 10: Omniverse "The More Things Change, Part 1"

[August 1, 2012]

 

Whoa. That's the same airdate as the last show I covered, but five years before. What a coincidence! Anways, Ben 10. I remember watching the original from 2005 a lot as a kid, before tuning out a little more with each new series. By the time we got to this one I already had stopped giving it my attention, but the new art style they went with felt too off for me to even give it a watch (which will be funny in hindsight once we get to 2016). Since this is a very plot-driven show, I had to seek out the help of Wikipedia for parts of this one. Let's see what this omniverse has to offer.

The episode begins with an 11-year old Ben (as Four Arms) fighting off Malware (not like on a computer, that's the name of the...whatever, you get it). Eventually, Malware manages to disable the Omnitrix, turning Ben back to his human form. However, it's only temporary, so Ben is quickly able to turn into another alien (Feeback). This allows him to overpower Malware, before we flash foward to five years in the future. Ben, cousin Gwen, and friend Kevin are chasing down Zombozo (the name leads me to assume they're a zombie-clown hybrid), a villain stealing brains from a brain bank (okay, definitely a zombie at least). He looks like he's about to escape until Ben (as Lodestar) and Kevin work together to defeat him. A little later in the day, it's revealed that Gwen is splitting off the team to further her education, and Kevin is also moving to the area she will be near, leaving Ben to go solo. He is confident that he can hold his own, though Zombozo tries to plant doubts in his head. Afterwards, Ben heads into a secret base to meet up with Max, his grandfather. He tries to share something important with Ben, but they are interrupted by an alarm, warning them of something happening on the surface. Against Grandpa Max's judgement, Ben decides to investigate the problem alone. He discovers a destroyed building, and unbeknownst to him a bounty hunter, Khyber, is watching from inside the wreckage. We see him attaching a device to Zed, his dog-like pet. The device in question is the Nemetrix (basically a bootleg Omnitrix, but it gives the bearer similar transformation power). We see this in full effect as Zed becomes a different alien (Crabdozer), gaining Ben's attention. Ben responds by attempting to turn into Humungousaur, but the Omnitrix fails and he becomes Spidermonkey instead. Not the best choice for this fight...

Zed is easily able to overpower Ben, but right as it looks like the fight will end Khyber calls Zed back, having seen what he needs to see. After returning to human form Ben then meets Pakmar, an alien hiding in a toilet among the wreckage. He believes his toilet emporium was destroyed by criminal aliens who force shopkeepers to pay them for "protection" (and if not...watch out). Intrigued, Ben goes to Mr. Baumann's shop to question him about this, and he offers to blend in so he can observe/stop the criminal aliens. Initially Mr. Baumann wants nothing to do with this (as Ben always ends up wrecking his shop), but he reluctantly agrees. Unfortunately, Ben transforms into the bulky Cannonbolt and immediately damages the shop in various ways. The criminals arrive shortly after and plant a bomb in the shop, which is when Ben decides to interfere. They fight for a while, and one of the criminals sets the bomb to go off. Ben tries to stop it, but he reverts back to human right before he crashes into it. Out of nowhere, an alien who was hiding amonst the shopgoers comes out of the shadows to fight the criminals. He reveals himself to be Rook Blanko, a new partner that Max sent for Ben. Ben still believes he can work alone, so he turns into a new alien (Bloxx (he's made of legos AHAHAHAHA)) to stop the criminals...but at the same time asks Rook to disable the forcefield protecting the bomb. Unfortunately, the shield's code is too complex to break in time, so they resort to hurling the bomb away from the populous. The explosion's crater reveals an underground city, which the criminals run into leaving human Ben and Rook to chase after them. On the surface, Khyber and Zed appear again and Zed follows the group into the crater, leaving us on a cliffhanger for part 2.

It's been a while since I watched any action shows, but this helped scratch that itch. That being said, compared to the original episodes I don't think this has the same charm to it, and that's likely going to be a theme that holds with most of Ben 10's continuation series. On the other hand, the action here was as captivating as ever and fun to watch. And that's not to say that the action was the only redeeming quality, some of the comedy here works too (shoutout to Rook's responses to "don't mention it" and "call me Ben, dude"). I might even watch the next part of this to see how it ties the first part up, but I don't know if I'm going to touch the rest of the series at this point in time. To reiterate, I'd be much more willing to go back to the older episodes, but that's not to take away this series's strengths. Maybe I was too quick as a kid to dismiss this one, I enjoyed it.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: It may be the fourth series in a pretty drawn out franchise, but it still manages to do well at what it has historically done best.

RATING: 7/10 (decent)

 

What do you think, Wheel of Names? Wanna give me another Ben 10 like Wheel Decide did back on SBM?

 

Spoiler

You really like bunching shows that are near to each other, huh?

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN'S official top 10 Jackbox games]

Thanks for the request, @King Zaid!

Anyways I'm surprised the idea of making a list like this hasn't popped in my head sooner. As the person who first brought Jackbox to SBC, I find my duty to compile a list of my favorite games in the series only fitting. There's a lot of great games to choose from, but somehow I was able to narrow it down to 10. Let's steer clear of Pack 10 and Naughty Pack to check out the best of the best!

 

DMAN'S top 10 Jackbox games (predict Lie Swatter's placement!)

Spoiler

10. Survive the Internet
Partyboy7 takes us on a wild ride through the best and worst of the internet in this game. I love the concept of taking responses to other questions out of context, it makes this one fun and unique. I only wish it would show the original responses after the twists so that it hits more, but whatever. This one's still great.

Spoiler

9. Joke Boat
A lot of people are mixed on this one, but I find it hilarious. Oftentimes it's not really a game to put effort into; the stupider the jokes are, the more I'll laugh at them and the more I'll be likely to vote them. The catchphrase screens are just the icing on the cake. 

Spoiler

8. Tee K.O.
I suck at drawing, but thankfully you don't need to be good at art to win this game. All you really need is a good combination of drawing and slogan. It sucks when you don't even get that, but it's made up for when you see everyone else's shirts. Lots of potential for laughs here.

Spoiler

7. Blather 'Round
The best Jackbox game to shitpost in. Whenever I can't figure out the prompt I can still find enjoyment in typing whatever comes to mind and hearing the TTS voices try to pronounce it. It's stupid, it's pointless, it's a ton of fun. Airport. Zaddy. 7? 7? 7?

Spoiler

6. Roomerang
This is the kind of game I was waiting for out of Jackbox; REALITY TV! The eliminations (while not permanent) make this one super fun, giving every contestant one last chance to flip off the other players if they so desire. I wish we got to play this one more often.

Spoiler

5. Split the Room
Mayonnaise. Need I say more? I guess so. Coming up with ridiculous scenarios is such a good time. Sometimes I don't even care if mine don't split the room, because just putting the scenario in front of everyone to see is fun enough as is. Also, Mayonnaise.

Spoiler

4. You Don't Know Jack
Trivia is fun! Especially when it's trivia centered around pop culture where you have to put some work in to make sense of what the questions actually want out of you. Looking at you, gibberish questions. Also I am part of the Cookie gang. Cookie is way better than Schmitty will ever be. 

Spoiler

3. Job Job
Out of the way Mayonnaise, M. Bubs is the best Jackbox host. Oh yeah, and the game's amazing too. You can make just about whatever sentences you want here. Type a long, rambling, incoherent passage, or just type one word! The potential is nearly endless! I crave a Job Job!

Spoiler

2. Quiplash
Despite the presence of Schmitty, this is consistently one of the most fun games to play. The prompts are fun to work with, every sequel brings something new to the table, and it manages to work every time. There's a reason why this is one of the most lauded games in the series, it's always hilarious.

I was going to put some honorable mentions in the next tab, but only Fibbage and Drawful came close. You know what, throw Dodo Re Mi in there as well; that's one thing I'll admit Pack 10 did well. 

Spoiler

1. Trivia Murder Party
Maybe [redacted] is the best Jackbox host, IDK. Depends on if we ever get to see him. Anyways, I love everything in this one. Thanks to the awesome minigames you don't even need to be great at trivia to get to the end, though it certainly does help in the final round. Trivia Murder Party 3 when?

Spoiler

0. Word Spud
No Lie Swatter for you. Only Word Spud.

Spoiler

-1. Monkey Game
Monkey, monkey monkey? Monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey. Monkey. Monkey? Monkey, monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey. Monkey monkey, monkey monkey monkey! 

Spoiler

-2. I FUCKING HATE YOU
FUCK THE WHEEL THE WHEEL DESERVES DEATH EVERY SINGLE WHEEL I'VE EVER MET IS A FUCKER THE WHEEL

Spoiler

-3. Lie Swatter
Just kidding, here it is.

 

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Wait, we're doing this for real? Alright, dope! Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", this thread was given a new life when dman talked about the episode "A New Life" from that show about sentient food (no, not the orange one, it doesn't exist), and he found it pretty alright. And today's series is just as much a toss-up as that one...

 

 

#54: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes "Let's Be Heroes"

[August 1, 2017]

 

I remember back when the "Lakewood Plaza Turbo" pilot was new, and pretty much everyone I saw who talked about animation online expressed a desire to see it be made into a series. As for me, I never watched that pilot. But I won't deny that it looked pretty intriguing, especially with the artstyle they chose. Then lo and behold, four years later it was greenlit as a television series, and I barely watched any of it. All I remember is my brother and me getting partway through an episode before ultimately deciding the show wasn't for us. But it's been almost eight years since then, maybe my outlook on this one will have changed. OK K.O., let's give your show another shot.

The episode begins with K.O. and his mother Carol driving to her workplace, as K.O.'s babysitter is fighting the flu (literally). As they drive there, K.O. is looking through a binder of trading cards, or "hero cards", that contain the likenesses of the residents in their town, and we get a glimpse of the fantastical world the show takes place in. There's a lot to see!...really. K.O. dreams of becoming a hero himself one day, although he still has some ways to go before reaching that point. Right on cue we are introduced to Mr. Gar, a high-level hero and the manager of the plaza's bodega. It's implied that he and Carol have history together, but for now it isn't touched on and instead she and her son head to her fitness class. K.O. turns out to be a distraction to Carol's class, so she gives him some errands to run, leading him to Gar's Bodega.

On his way there, he recognizes several heroes from his card collection walking about. This hypes him up upon entering the bodega, where he messes around with various hero gear, making a mess in the process. This leads to K.O. meeting Radicles (aka Rad), an alien who works at the bodega and has quite a high opinion of himself. As K.O. goes in line to checkout, he also meets Enid, the bodega's unenthused cashier. That being said, K.O.'s polar opposite attitude brightens her up, if only a little.

As K.O. walks outside with his new gear, a robot, Darrell, drops from the sky and begins wrecking havoc across the plaza. We learn that "Boxman" sent this robot, and that sending robots to destroy the plaza is a common occurence for them. Against Rad and Enid's judgement, K.O. is confident enough to take on Darrell by himself. Surprisingly he almost manages to win, before unsurprisingly he is woken up by a bystander. K.O. is told that he was immediately KO'd (couldn't resist), meaning most of the fight he had was a dream. As Rad and Enid hold Darrell off, Gar drops from the sky and finally defeats him. Awestruck and humbled, K.O. vows to learn how to become a hero by working at Gar's Bodega. The end.

Welp, so far this is the most torn I've been over a show I've talked about in this thread. There are elements I liked here; the line delivery of "DO YOU HAVE ANY GUM?" was funny, I can relate to working in customer service, and there are other good jokes scattered throughout. That said, my big issue is that this show moves at such a breakneck pace that I barely get to appreciate any of it. Every time one thing ends, it immediately leads to another. There's practically no place to rest throughout the entire episode and it ends up feeling much longer than 11 minutes for me. Maybe since this is the start of the series it'll settle itself out in the next few episodes, I don't know. I might find out for myself, but as for this episode, I'll have to keep my opinion from years ago that it's not really my thing. Honestly, my favorite part didn't even have to do with the episode itself: as a logo nerd I found it cool how the variant of the CN Studios logo for this show is an homage to the Hanna-Barbera logo from the mid-90s. Very nice.

[Sidenote: I watched the second episode after this just to be sure of my opinion, since I realized this was a two-part premiere. I did like it more than the first episode, but not enough to impact my rating or thoughts.]

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: There are things to appreciate here, but in my experience it was more overstimulating than enjoyable. It's...OK.

RATING: 6 (leaning toward a 6.5)/10 (debatable)

 

Alright Wheel of Names, what's in store for me next time?

 

Spoiler

cue the wheel giving me a bunch of Ben 10's in a row like on SBM

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

[DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence]

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an episode of a show that was...sunday...kenny...drowning...tom...or something along those lines. Will today's show be any better, or will it send him into another six-year-long period of inactivity on this thread (that lazy mofo)?  

 

 

Damn, the opening narration really didn't have to do me like that...

So...yeah. After all this time, I'm finally gonna try finishing this thing again. I apologize that it's taken me so long to make another update in this thread, but as of now I have too much time on my hands and my mind drifted to this old project, so I figured "why not?". Let's talk about some toons. I still won't be covering anything after 2018, because by then we'd be getting to shows that I haven't even watched once and know little to nothing about. Of course, that's also not saying that I've extensively watched every show I put on the original list. For example...

#55: Apple & Onion "A New Life"

[February 23, 2018]

 

If I remember correctly, this was the first new show to air after I made my thread for talking about CN originals on SBM. This was also around the time where I stopped keeping up with the channel in general. I know I saw one episode of this show on TV at least, but I think that's it. I don't know what else to say here, so let's go ahead and dive on into Apple and Onion's world. Welcome.

The episode begins with the titular characters leaving their homes for new lives. Both of them have their own mantras in the form of a song, Apple's being about taking things one step at a time, and Onion's being about making new friends. Eventually they both make it to the city, which is filled with a wide variety of food residents. Apple attempts to reach the address given to him by his parents, but unfortunately he's easily distracted. On his way he stops by an ice cream truck and buys $65 worth of ice cream, not noticing he left his backpack (address with it) on the truck's side mirror. He realizes this too late as the truck drives off, but before he can chase it down he uses his ice cream to cool off a visibly exhausted woman on the sidewalk. Meanwhile, Onion arrives at his new job with some ice cream he bought from the same truck, the intention being to give it to his new boss and make a good first impression. Unfortunately, it melts inside the office and he gets the mess all over his boss's suit, who demands that he get it dry cleaned if he wants to keep his job. It seems like his goal to make friends isn't panning out so far, huh? Anyway, we cut back to Apple. While reminding himself to take things one step at a time, he is once again distracted. He thinks he hears the ice cream truck, but it turns out to be a phone ringing, belonging to a nearby scam artist. He uses the rest of his money to pay for a self-portrait from the artist (who insists that Apple pays before he can see it), but much to his surprise Apple ends up really liking it. In the meantime, Onion arrives at the laundromat to get his boss's suit cleaned up. He notices an athlete struggling with his washing machine, so Onion offers to let the athlete share his own machine. He sets the temperature to hot, which certainly won't be a mistake. Getting back to Apple, he helps some kids by dislodging a basketball that was caught in a hoop. However, he throws both of his shoes to do so and now has only socks to walk in. And back to Onion, he gives the suit back to his boss only to discover that it has shrunken and is now red like the athlete's jerseys. He is fired and left homeless as a result, and to add insult to injury he loses his shoes to some wet cement on the way out. Gee, sounds familiar.

Finally, Apple and Onion cross paths at a shoe store. After singing their mantras to themselves, they notice each other and quickly become friends. Apple offers Onion to come live with him, though first the duo must retrieve the address from Apple's backpack, still hanging from the ice cream truck. Their new shoes invigorate them and they run outside, where their good deeds throughout the day begin to pay off. The woman Apple helped cool down gives them the gift of speed, the athlete Onion shared his washer with gives them the gift of flight, the artist Apple gave appraisal to gives them the gift of inspiration (okay), and most helpful of all, the kids that Apple helped in the basketball situation gives them the call of the children, which gains the attention of the ice cream truck driver. Apple finally retrieves his backpack, and the athlete offers to drive him and Onion to the address. In the end, Apple and Onion move in to their new apartment, write positive letters to their parents, and tell each other their names for the first time (although it wouldn't have been too hard to figure out by looks alone). The end.

I wasn't sure what to think of this going in, but you know what, it wasn't too bad. In fact, as far as this episode went, I kind of liked it. The singing had me worried at first, but thankfully they're either very short moments or are interrupted a la the "Welcome Home Sandy" song; that part with the train conductor made me crack a smile. There's also a certain feel of social awkwardness throughout this show that I can relate to, even if at points it gets weird even for me. My other favorite moment was during the laundromat scene where Onion jokes with the athlete, who proceeds to give him an overly detailed death stare, before it changes to a smile upon Onion offering to share his washer. So yeah, I thought this was neat. There's nothing here that wowed me or was new, but I enjoyed myself during the time I had watching it. I may watch a few more episodes to get a more solid opinion on this one, but for now this first episode left a good impression on me. Unlike certain other people in this episode.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE: Though it doesn't include anything I haven't seen before out of a slice-of-life show, Apple & Onion is still pleasant enough to sink your teeth into. Goodbye.

RATING: 7/10 (decent)

 

Big news: I've decided to finally give Wheel Decide a rest from these threads. Forever may you be at peace, sweet angel. Instead, say hello to Wheel of Names! Alright new wheel, don't mess this up for me...

 

Spoiler

Wow, another one I barely watched when it was on.

 

Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about...even if it takes another six years.

[WhoBob's Top 10 Best The Simpsons Episodes]

The one thing I miss the most about old Simpsons is the heart; you really don't see any endings like that of And Maggie Makes Three or Mother Simpson anymore. A good portion of the episodes you've chosen reflect that point even further. Fantastic list!

[Arcade Anarchy IV]

Hi! Call me Monkey!