dmandagiraffe

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about the first show on the list to make it big. Will today's show be able to compare? (In terms of how much it influenced dman's own life, absolutely not. This one wipes the floor.) It's November! Halloween is over and Thanksgiving season has begun, so let's take a look at a show I'm very thankful for... #31: Chowder "Burple Nurples" [November 2, 2007] Huh, I could've sworn that "The Froggy Apple Crumple Thumpkin" was the first episode. Oh well, whatever Wikipedia says is what I'm going with. I'm not going to delay my thoughts on this one: this is not only my favorite cartoon in all of CN's history, but my favorite cartoon of all time. I have been waiting to cover this one since the SBM thread began, and now the day has finally come. My brother and I watched this one religiously when it was airing, and we'd quote and make unwarranted references to it constantly. Hell, even my parents were fans of this one, and they wouldn't let us watch SpongeBob back then! Even today I still think about this show, and just recently I binged through the whole thing again. Given that intro I'm pretty sure you all know what score this show will be getting, so let's stop dawdling and see what I've been missing when I wasn't in the kitchen! The episode starts with Chowder passing by his (not) girlfriend Panini outside. Just like Chowder she is also an apprentice chef, and her cooking master Endive has allowed her to "spread her wings" and make a dish of her own to sell. This makes Chowder also want to try making his own dish, but when he gets back to Mung Daal's catering company, he doesn't think his own apprentice is ready. After Chowder does a lot of convincing (and specifically mentions his rival Endive), Mung relents and allows Chowder to cook a dish. Mung initially suggests "pickle in a cup", but Chowder wants to try a slightly harder recipe, "burple nurples". Unfortunately, he misinterprets basically every instruction in the cookbook. Worse, instead of adding snoreiander to the recipe, he puts in poison. As Chowder goes outside to sell the nurples, Mung must do whatever he can to make sure none of them are sold to any innocent customers. Mung disguises himself and buys all of Chowder's nurples on display for a hefty price, only for Chowder to bring out another five dozen of them. While Mung begs his wife Truffles for more money, Chowder's "friend" Gorgonzola shows up at his stand to try a nurple. To stop Gorgonzola from eating the nurple, Mung has to wear another disguise and haggle all his money away. However, yet again Chowder brings out another batch of nurples to sell. Since his employee Shnitzel has no extra money to give, Mung has to resort to the nuclear option: wearing another disguise and stealing Chowder's nurple supply. While Chowder chases him across the town of Marzipan, Mung struggles to find a viable way to dispose of the nurples. He tries to dispose of them in a toilet, but the toilet is sentient and a fan of burple nurples. He tries to throw them off the edge of the city, but the giant man holding up all of Marzipan is also a fan of burple nurples. Finally, Mung is successful when he arrives at Mt. Fondoom and dumps the nurples into the active volcano. All in all, Mung may be penniless for the next month, but he reassures himself with the fact that everything he believed about Chowder was right. The end. This is one show where the description I wrote does not do the episode justice: you need to watch it for yourself to get the full picture. Not saying my descriptions would do that for any show I've talked about, because it doesn't. But for this show in particular, there is so much I glossed over. First of all, Shnitzel is the greatest character in all of media. His grumpy nature and speech consisting of basically nothing but "radda" is an epic combination. That being said, Mung Daal isn't too far behind him. But then there's the most important thing I need to mention about this show: it is the funniest thing I have ever seen. There is no way I would be able to fit all of my favorite jokes in just a few sentences, so I'll pull a Class of 3000 and list a few of them: Chowder getting stuck saying "PLEEEEEEEEEEASE" to Mung. The first recipe Chowder picks is a barely readable, overly complicated dish written in amusingly fancy handwriting. Both Truffles and Shnitzel ask Mung if the reason why he needs all their money is due to a "Chowder-related" incident. Chowder: "Listen, I've got a lot of customers waiting." The city is completely void of people. While Mung is haggling with Gorgonzola: Mung: "75." Gorgonzola: "350." Mung: "80." Gorgonzola: "360." Mung: "85!" Chowder: "800 thousand!" Mung: "Stay out of this!" The fact that Mung isn't fazed by a sentient toilet, but Chowder is absolutely terrified. If I had to pick my favorite joke, it'd be this one: Mung: "Care to give a free sample to a pretty lady?" Chowder: "Sure! You know one?" Mung: (pause) "Care to give a free sample to an ugly lady?" Chowder: "...no, ugly ladies have to pay." And all that's not even to mention the copious fourth wall breaks throughout this show. Surprisingly there weren't any in this episode, but just know that they are in the series and they're all GLORIOUS. And THAT'S not to mention the great variety of animation styles, the puppets always appearing in the credits, the fact that Gazpacho might be the actual best character in all of fiction, etc etc. Look, I can't give high enough praises for this show. It's stuck with me all these years for a reason, and I don't see why I shouldn't indulge myself by giving it the score below. THE BOTTOM LINE: It's charming, it's varied, it's hilarious, I love everything here. Except for the poisoned burple nurples, of course. RATING: 10/10 (one of my favorite things ever) Okay, dead serious this time, whatever comes next has no chance of beating this. We've officially peaked in my book. But go ahead and spin again, Wheel! Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about. 6 shows remain...

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about one of the biggest landmark shows in the network's entire history (with a fitting episode for the Halloween season). Funilly enough, today's show could also be considered a landmark! #04: Dexter's Laboratory "DeeDeemensional" [April 27, 1996] I've talked about almost all of the Cartoon Cartoons in this thread, and yet after all this time I still haven't covered the first one. Well, that ends today! As mentioned by 4EverGreen above, this is what many consider to be Cartoon Network's first "big" show. If you ask any joe schmoe on the street, chances are they won't be familiar with Moxy, Space Ghost, or the What a Cartoon! Show. But they'll probably at least have heard of Dexter and his lab. Additionally, not only was this Genndy Tartakovsky's first show on the network, but his first show period! Before the maturity seen in shows like Samurai Jack, Clone Wars, and Sym-Bionic Titan, he just made a simple comedy show. What will I think of it? I mean, I remember liking it when it was airing on Boomerang at least. Let's see what Dexter's cooking up in his lab today! The episode starts in the titular Dexter's Laboratory, where the clock strikes 4 and he and his sister Dee Dee are fighting a losing battle against a gelatinous monster. We don't have any knowledge of the events that led to this situation, but we're going to find out soon as Dexter sees no other solution than handing Dee Dee a note, sending her into the past, and telling her to hand the note to his past self to warn him. Unfortunately, Dee Dee isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so Dexter assumes he is doomed. Dee Dee however does make it to the past, one hour back to be exact. The problem is that when she tries to relay Dexter's future message to past Dexter, he doesn't believe her in the slightest. I mean, the last person he would send to the past to deliver an important message from the future would be Dee Dee, right? So, he tells her to buzz off, causing her to run outside in tears. Now, imagine Dexter's shock when he hears Dee Dee venting to her past self about how mean her brother is. He runs outside demanding to see the future message, but now neither Dee Dee wants to give it to him due to how rude he was. After Dexter begs his sister(s) by telling them he'll do anything to get the message, the girls get an idea. Cut to 15 minutes before the disaster unfolds, and the three siblings are doing a live ballet performance, leaving Dexter displeased. He grows so impatient that he doesn't care about the message anymore, and instead he directs both Dee Dees to test his newest experiment: an interdimensional doorway. Before he can get either one to step in however, a gelatinous monster appears through the gate and the clock once again strikes 4. While future Dee Dee experiences deja vu, Dexter tries to give the Dee Dees another message to send to his past self, reminding Dee Dee she still has the message from future Dexter, so she hands it to past Dexter. Both Dee Dees once again head to the past and Dexter assumes he is doomed, starting everything all over again. The end. It may not reach the highs of some of Tartakovsky's later works, but this show is still as good a time as I remembered. Dexter's introversion and Dee Dee's extraversion play off of each other really well, and the show is also pretty funny. Usual shoutouts go to Dexter's delivery of "This better be important, woman." and the irony of Dee Dee giving Dexter his note far too late. But honestly, I find it funniest of all how Dexter's destruction is completely of his own doing. It seems to be a theme of many episodes in the show. So yes, I like this one. I don't hold it as highly as Jack or Titan, but it has an easier barrier to entry than Clone Wars so I'll be giving it the edge over that one. Oh yeah, and because I couldn't think of anywhere else to mention it, I once filled out an English homework assignment around an episode of this show. Granted it was a season 4 episode...but still. Also, Rude Removal is a masterpiece. I couldn't think of anywhere to mention that either. THE BOTTOM LINE: It ain't the perfect formula, but it's still reliable. Now leave me alone, I have some important calculations to do... RATING: 8/10 (pretty good) Just like Dexter, I can feel myself nearing the end...of the show list, that is! Let's get one step closer, Wheel! Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about. 7 shows remain...

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about an action show and actually had some fun with it for once! How well will today's show do in keeping the fun train moving? #36: Adventure Time "Slumber Party Panic" [April 5, 2010] I'm really glad the Wheel chose to go in sequential order with this one, because this next history portion takes place inbetween Secret Saturdays and the show I'll be discussing today. As many of you know, CN was in a very bad place in 2009. It was one thing that there wasn't a single new cartoon that year, but that year also brought us the much maligned CN Real block. A bunch of live-action shows airing on Cartoon Network?? It was already a recipe for disaster, made even worse by how low effort these shows were. Considering how low a point of CN's history this was, it is a god damn miracle that Adventure Time came along the following year. It successfully gave new energy to the network, and it cannot be understated just how influential this show was to animation in the 2010s. I've mentioned that Regular Show and Gumball were also highly influential, but both pale in comparison to this one. And as a kid, I loved this one just as much! Granted, I stopped following it in its later years, but today we're talking about an early episode, so it'll be right in my wheelhouse. IT'S TALK-ABOUT TIME! The episode starts with Finn (the human) and Princess Bubblegum doing scientific experiments in a graveyard. More specifically, Bubblegum is testing her decorpse-inator serum so she can bring candy people back to life. It appears to work on the first subject, but when said subject causes the rest of the serum to explode over the whole graveyard, Bubblegum realizes too late that her serum is incomplete and the corpses have been zombified rather than brought back to life. Since the zombies feed on sugar, this is bad news for the Candy Kingdom. Finn and Bubblegum rush back to the castle and gather all the kingdom's citizens inside. Bubblegum announces that they are going to hold a slumber party in her castle, initially confusing Finn. In private, Bubblegum tells him that if the candy people learn about the zombies, it would scare them so much that they would explode. She convinces Finn to make a royal promise not to tell anyone about the undead while she goes off to finish her serum. Finn gets ready to distract the partygoers until he is interrupted by his brother Jake (the dog), who is curious to know what he and Bubblegum were talking about. Noticing Finn is trying to hide something from him, he gets suspicious. Finn starts a game of truth or dare to get away from the subject, but it backfires when Jake eventually DARES Finn to tell him the TRUTH about what he and Bubblegum were discussing in private. Finn then sees the approaching fleet of zombies outside, and his panicked response only makes Jake more suspicous, but again he distracts by shoving Jake and his girlfriend (Lady Rainicorn) in a closet for 7 minutes of heaven. In the meantime Finn turns up the music, gets the candy citizens to board up the doors and windows, and gives them all blindfolds for the "pinata" game they're about to play. The plan works perfectly as the candy people destroy all the zombies, until Jake exits the closet and a relieved Finn tells him about the zombies, accidentally breaking his royal promise. Time freezes and Finn and Bubblegum are scooped up by the Gumball Guardians, ready to put Finn through trial by fire. Thankfully, there is an alternative penalty: answering math questions. Finn is able to give the correct answer for 2+2, causing the Guardians to fully reset. Thanks to this incident, Bubblegum realizes "4" is the last figure she needs to complete the serum. They bring all of the corpses fully back to life, Finn learns a lesson about keeping his promises, and old man Starchy admits he loves the taste of flesh, zombie or not. The end. Even with all the years that have passed, it's easy to see why this show took the world by storm when it was airing. It's charming, it's imaginative, and it's of course funny. It feels like every character here (even those in the background) get their laughable moments, but my favorites go to Finn's line towards Tree Trunks and the entirety of the scene with the Guardians; their line delivery is god-tier. It's a very good first episode. So what about the show overall? I'll be straightfoward and say that out of the three titans of 2010s CN that I keep bringing up, this is my personal least favorite of the three. I still enjoy it, but it never stuck around with me long term like Regular Show or Gumball did. Chalk it up to my own personal taste, I guess. I binged this one in full not too long ago, and even with that knowledge I'm still giving it the rating below. This show both started and ended well and was a tiny bit rough in the middle, but that wild ending makes it all worth it. If you've been living under a rock for the last 15 years, give it a watch! THE BOTTOM LINE: Even if I don't love it as much as everyone else, this one's still an all-timer. RATING: 8 (leaning on 8.5)/10 (pretty good) There's still a few standouts left on this list, but I don't think we're beating this one on overall influence for the rest of this thread. Wheel, go on and do your thing! Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about. 8 shows remain...

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about some high-quality history edutainment television. Today's show isn't history or edutainment focused, but will it be high-quality? #35: The Secret Saturdays "The Kur Stone (part 1)" [October 3, 2008] You might be wondering what that "important milestone" that I mentioned last time is. Well, this is the last show I'll be covering with an episode that goes over 11 minutes! After today's post is complete, it'll be nothing but bite-sized watches from here. While I'm on this topic, this show is another case of technically having a multi-part premiere, but like Omniverse and unlike Class of 3000, the website I use splits its two parts into separate video files, so I'll just be covering the first one. Anyways, I just realized I haven't mentioned my experience with this show yet; that's because there's barely any. The ending to the theme song always stuck in my head for whatever reason, but that's as far as my memory with this one goes. It was yet another action show in the period of time when they just weren't my thing (it doesn't help that this show got a crossover episode with my greatest adversary in this thread, Ben 10). Once again I'm going in blind, ready to discover what secrets this show has in store. The episode begins with the Saturdays (father Doc, mother Drew, specifically son Zak) chasing a frog through the rainforest, accompanied by the cat/gorilla-like creature named Fiskerton and the occasionally invisible Komodo dragon named Komodo. Zak gives us some narration explaining what his family does; they're cryptozoologists who are part of the Secret Scientists, an organization dedicated to studying and protecting cryptids from greater human knowledge. Right after he finishes his spiel, explosions occur at three major Secret Scientist bases, prompting the intro to play. The bases are then breached by various evildoers; most notably one in Arizona is breached by TV show host V. V. Argost, who claims that the Scientists stole a stone from his house and demands that they return it. Back on the Saturdays' side of things, Doc and Drew let Zak test his abilities to influence cryptids on the frog from earlier. It works for a moment, but before Doc can finish studying the frog, it multiplies itself and sends the team running away. Once they make it back to the ship, they receive a warning of the break-in at the Scientist bases. At the Saturdays HQ, Argost ally Van Rook and his apprentice are also searching for the previously mentioned stone. While Zak, Fiskerton, and Komodo stay on the ship, Doc and Drew enter the headquarters to fight the villains off. Unfortunately, they both end up subdued, and Van Rook's apprentice activates a device on his arm. Before he can attack, Drew frees herself and Doc with her sword and pins the apprentice against a wall. Defeated, Van Rook and his apprentice retreat via teleportation. At that moment, Zak tries running into the headquarters to join the fight, much to his parents' disapproval. Zak argues that he's mature enough to handle more dangerous situations now (despite being 11), but the conversation is interrupted by an incoming message from Dr. Miranda, a scientist at the Antarctica base. Bad news, the piece of the stone being harbored in their base was stolen and she can't get in contact with Dr. Henry, the scientist seen earlier in the Arizona base. The Saturdays go to visit him in person, where he reveals that his piece of the stone has also been stolen. Zak, confused as to what is going on, asks his parents for the full story. They give it to him: the stone pieces are of the Kur Stone, an artifact that gives information to find the all-powerful cryptid known as Kur. Doc and Drew originally discovered the stone, but before their team could even find out what it was, their settlement was ambushed and the stone was stolen by Argost. A group of many Secret Scientists formed to retrieve the stone from the Argost mansion, and although they were successful, only seven came out alive, including Doc, Drew, Miranda, and Henry. This is when they decided to keep the stone secret by separating it into three pieces and keeping them in secret locations. Drew reveals that their piece wasn't even in their headquarters, but somewhere in the Amazon River Basin. Henry suggests they all go to relocate the stone piece, but Komodo then attacks a neural parasite on his neck, revealing that Argost has been listening in on their conversation. Argost then takes brief control of Henry, and he unleashes a storm of explosive beetles on the family. Henry gets ready to sacrifice himself so the Saturdays can escape the ball of beetles and protect the stone, yet despite a giant explosion, he makes it out alive. Dr. Odele confirms Henry is stable, and offers to look after Zak while his parents retrieve their stone piece. Surprisingly, Doc declines the offer as he believes Zak's cryptid-influencing abilities will be important in this mission. To be continued... To my surprise, I quite enjoyed this one. It has all the same elements that a Ben 10 cartoon of this time would, yet I found myself slightly more entertained by this. The plot of the show is both unique and cool, the action scenes (especially the fight at the Saturdays HQ) kept me captivated, and there were even amounts of humor I liked (Doc throwing a television to Drew's confusion, Zak having recorded multiple episodes of Argost's show, Fiskerton's barely understandable gibberish, etc.). It makes me actually want to check out the second part of this episode, which isn't something I could say for most of the Ben 10 sequel series. I'd even go as far to say it beats all of them (except for the original, of course)! So yeah, this is one I'll have to come back to at some point. It may not be amazing, but there's only 36 episodes, so it'd definitely be more easy to binge than the alternative. THE BOTTOM LINE: Maybe this show is a bit too secret; I had a good bit of fun with it. RATING: 7 (leaning on 7.5)/10 (decent) And that wraps that! Hopefully with these much shorter episodes I'll be able to finish these posts with more speed now. Let's see what the Wheel says! Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about. 9 shows remain...

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about the show at the very end of the list. Unfortunately, it didn't leave much of an impact on him. Will today's show succeed in being more memorable? #13: Time Squad "Eli Whitney's Flesh-Eating Mistake" [June 8, 2001] It's finally time to complete the trio of forgotten early 2000s CN shows that I have a certain fondness for. Sheep was covered near the start of this thread, Robot Jones was just a few months back, and now we'll be taking a look at Time Squad. I remeber liking this one a lot, but after Robot Jones massively grew on me, I also remember it ending up as my least favorite of the three. That said, it's been years since I've seen this one. Who knows? It might surprise me and end up being my favorite of the three. Only one way to find out: let's go back in time to watch its first episode. The episode begins at Sister Thornly's School for Wayward Tots, where 97% of the kids are total thugs. The odd one out is Otto, an orphaned boy who loves reading books. Unfortunately for him, Thornly has a strict policy against reading, so she gives him a day's worth of chores as punishment when she catches him reading in a closet. By the end of the day he collapses in his bed, but is interrupted by the arrival of far-future time cop Buck Tuddrussel and his robot partner Larry 3000. The two believe Otto to be Eli Whitney, but he reveals they're both in the wrong time AND place. After a close encounter with Thornly, Tuddrussel explains his job: since his future is a utopian society, he fixes the instabilities that crop up in past historical events to make sure the future stays the future. Unfortunately, neither him nor Larry are very good with their history knowledge, so Otto offers to come with them and Tuddrussel accepts his offer, despite Larry's disapproval. Tuddrussel briefly shows Otto around their base in outer space, while Larry explains how he ended up with this job: he was originally created to help satisfy diplomatic negotations, but ever since the world became a utopia his services became unneeded, and so he was relocated with Tudrussel. Eventually, Larry reconfigures the time machine to the correct coordinates, and the trio travels back to 1783 to see what Whitney is up to. They arrive to find the city of Savannah, Georgia on fire, and Larry suddenly gets beat up by a group of townspeople. We immediately see what has gone wrong in time when one of the townspeople thinks Larry is one of the flesh-eating robots that Whitney built. Escaping from the situtation, the time squad moves further into town to try and find Whitney (it doesn't take them long). After Tudrussel tases Whitney, he explains that he created the robots because he wanted to "do something to help mankind", although he didn't think too far ahead on how flesh-eating robots would accomplish that. The squad heads outside to stop the robots, only to come face to face with them. Otto is too small and Larry isn't made of flesh so the robots target Tudrussel, but after a lengthy scuffle he manages to blow up all of the robots. However, the townspeople rush over to Otto to congratulate him instead, and upon feeling his T-shirt they realize just how uncomfortable their shirts are. Otto explains his shirt is made of cotton, which gives Whitney a new idea for helping mankind. He is now on track to invent the cotton gin, so the work of the time squad is done and they head home, although they are a little worse for wear. The end. Before I get to the rest of my thoughts, I have to mention that the theme song for this show kicks ass. Anyways, the rest of this show is good too! I'm not that big of a history buff, but I love the concept here. It also doesn't hurt that the main trio have a great character dynamic and the show is funny too. Special mentions go to Tuddrussel giving Otto his taser to deal with Thornly, and Larry begrudgingly serving a drink to Tuddrussel. That said, the way the whole "cotton gin" thing is resolved is a bit contrived, but even then it just adds to the wackiness of this show, so I can forgive it. So, do I still think this show is weaker than the other two I mentioned at the start of this post? Well...yeah, but it's just by a hair. I love Sheep's humor and Robot Jones' art style so much that even a solid show just barely pales in comparison. Whatever, I still enjoy this one and will have to watch more episodes after this. I will also give mention to this quote on the show's Wikipedia page: Beauregard "Buck" Tuddrussel (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is described as "a square-jawed cop too dumb to know he's dumb. Think Buzz Lightyear with a few extra male chromosomes." Holy shit, that made me laugh more than it should've, sorry. Wanna hear another dark joke? THE BOTTOM LINE: Thankfully, this show's premiere was far from the worst thing to happen in 2001! RATING: 8 (leaning on 7.5)/10 (pretty good) Alright, we're down to our last 10 shows and I'm feeling more pumped than ever! Spin me a good one, Wheel! Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman got entirely burned out on the action genre as a whole. The good news is today's show cannot be remotely labelled as such... #57: Summer Camp Island "The First Day" [July 7, 2018] So here we are. This isn't quite the last show I'll be covering in this thread, but it is the last one on that huge list at the start. After this point in CN history, I have basically no experience with any of the shows that premiered after this one (well, except Infinity Train. I won't be covering that one, but if I were to score it it'd probably get an 8/10). Okay, back to this show. I don't remember seeing it on TV once, although I also wasn't going out of my way to try and watch it. One of the only memories I have regarding this one is an SBM thread announcing it was greenlit, and how everyone thought it looked like shit. Thankfully, I don't have to mimic the opinions of SBM's main userbase in 2016. Let's give this camp a visit so I can formulate an opinion for myself. The episode begins with best friends Oscar (the elephant) and Hedgehog (take a guess) riding a boat to the titular Summer Camp Island. We immediately see their differing views about going to camp; Oscar is excited to try out organized activities while Hedgehog would prefer anything that isn't organized. Upon arriving, Oscar and his mother briefly meet Susie (the head counselor of the camp), and Oscar's mother gives mention to his transitional anxiety. Susie vows to keep a close eye on Oscar, and then all the parents leave on the boat. As soon as the boat is out of sight, Susie and the other counselors reveal themselves to be witches, and various magical things begin happening. Most notably, several inanimate objects come to life. The campers then head to their cabins, and when Oscar tries taking a few moments to relax, he keeps getting interrupted by more strangeness. For example, a peeping monster from outside wants to hang out with him, and his pajamas suddenly come to life. He decides to head to Hedgehog's cabin instead, and she promises to do something "normal" with him- in this case, they're throwing a pajama party. Unfortunately, a bunch of partygoers show up unannounced and Oscar doesn't do well in large groups. He eventually reaches a point where he's so overstimulated that he has to go outside...only to be greeted by a talking shark in the pool. The shark believes Oscar just needs some time to get accustomed to all these new things, but still gives him a choice: he can go home via a secret passage under the pool, but if he chooses to do so...HE CAN NEVER RETURN! Oscar initially chooses to go home, but after hearing his parents' conversation through the front door at the end of the passageway, he realizes he didn't give the camp a proper chance. Just before he is trapped, he races back outside the passageway and resurfaces from the pool. Hedgehog tells Oscar how glad she is that he returned, and the peeping monster from earlier takes a picture so the two can always remember their first day at Summer Camp Island. The end. ...well, damn. This show just stole OK K.O.'s crown in being the show I have the most mixed opinions on. First of all, there's one thing I really like here. Being a serious introvert, I can relate to Oscar a lot as a character. If I had the same experience that he did, I'd probably want to go home too. There's also a lot of laidback aspects to this show that usually are my cup of tea...however, said laidback nature is constantly contrasted by how goofy everything on this island is. There's not much breathing room here, in the universe of the show or out. But even with all the overstimulation, I can't help but feel this was a rather dull experience. I can't even pick out a joke I liked, but then again I don't think the show is going for a comedic vibe. If anything, the purpose of this show seems to be establishing a fantastical world that you'd want to get lost in, but as I've already stated this is not a place I'd want to be. To make a comparison, this feels like slightly better version of Mike, Lu and Og, in that this feels more mature...y'know, despite having talking inanimate objects. Man, I just feel bad. I really wanted to like this one more than I did. I tried my hardest to see if this one would do it for me, but it just never happened. It's unfortunate how the mixed bags can end up being the biggest disappointments of all. THE BOTTOM LINE: Others may find quality here, but one visit to the island is enough for me. What a shame. RATING: 5 (leaning on 5.5)/10 (meh) You know what, I don't care how long it takes for the next posts to come out anymore. They'll happen when they happen. After all, we're down to our last 11 shows! Isn't that exciting enough? I bet the Wheel thinks so! Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

We all know that The Room (2003) is one of the most revered and beloved films in cinematic history. From the dramatic script, to the impeccable acting, and the multiple photographs of spoons, every single aspect of it has been praised to the high heavens. And I completely agree...outside of one issue. This has always been more of a personal thing, but I never really enjoyed how this movie ends (SPOILERS: JOHNNY KILLS HIMSELF). It's a total downer and always puts me out of the hysterical mood I had before. But what if I told you with just one simple change in The Room's universe, this huge problem could ultimately be prevented, along with many others? Allow me to propose this entire idea to you with an image, and suddenly all will be clear... ...okay, maybe I should elaborate a bit more. Episode 33: What If...Gary the Snail Was in The Room? So, let's assume that pretty much everything that happens in the opening stretch of the movie is the same. Denny engages in a harmless pillow fight, Lisa orders a pizza, we get a nice shot of Johnny's ass; these scenes are all untouched. However, let's take a look at the flower shop scene to see our first major change. Clerk: It'll be $18. Johnny: Here you go, keep the change. Hi... Gary: Meow. Johnny: Is the kitty real? Clerk: I'm not sure what it is. Someone came up and told me to give him away to my favorite customer. Would you like him? Johnny: Oh sure, Lisa will love him. *checks name tag* Hi, Gary! Gary: Meow! "Aww, that's sweet! I'm sure Gary will improve the lives of everyone in this San Fran apartment!" If that's what you're saying right now, then you better prepare yourself, because there's still a good bit of drama to be had. Johnny returns to the apartment. Johnny: Hi, babe! Lisa: Hey, who's that there? Johnny: This is our new son Gary. Lisa: Can we keep him? Johnny: Sure, he's ours. Gary: Meow! Lisa: Johnny, he's perfect. I love him. Johnny: Anything for my princess! We hear a knock on the door. Johnny answers. Johnny: Oh hi, Denny! Denny: We need to talk for a bit. They walk outside. We hear muffled speech. Denny: Johnny, what the hell is this? You said you wanted me to be your only adoptive son and now there's this Gary guy? It's supposed to be just me! You're supposed to adopt me! You're my fucking father! Realizing this is going to take a while, Lisa dials a number. Mark: Hello? Lisa: This isn't working out. We need to stop seeing each other. Mark: Oh thank god, I can't keep going behind Johnny's back like this. See ya. After the call ends, Lisa looks at Gary and unbuttons her blouse. Lisa: It's hot in here, huh? Gary: Meow? Upon review, jjs has requested that I do not speak of what happens in the next scene. You know what? I couldn't agree more. I know this looks really bad, but trust me when I say this still leads to a happy ending. The things I do for Johnny... The apartment is now filled with several pictures of Gary. Gary: Meow meow meow, meow meow? Meow meow meow! Lisa: Didn't you enjoy it? Gary: MEOW! He speeds out of the apartment, getting Johnny and Denny's attention. Denny: Oh. Well, that solves my problem. I better get going. Johnny: No Gary, come back! Denny, would you please help me? Denny: I have homework to do. Bye! Johnny: Fuck you, Denny! While running, Johnny runs into Mark. Johnny: Oh hi, Mark! Mark: What's up, Johnny? Johnny: I'm looking for my new son. I asked Denny to help me find him but he was too much of a chicken. Cheep cheep cheep cheeeeeeep! Mark: Wait, you mean like the snail that just went past me? Johnny: Is that what he is? Mark: I think he's gone, Johnny. He was headed straight for the bay. Johnny: He can't be gone! No! We need to go home and see if Lisa knows about this. They both go back to the apartment. Johnny: Lisa, what happened with Gary? Lisa: I don't want him anymore. Johnny: Why Lisa, why? Why would you do this to me? He was our son! Lisa: Women change their minds ALL the time. Mark: He would have been so good for you! Lisa: I don't think so. I don't think any of you are. I'm leaving you, Johnny. Lisa exits the apartment. Johnny: Get out! Get out! GET OUT OF MY LIFE! *sigh* Well, at least I have you, my best friend, Mark. Mark: It's hot in here, huh? Yep, love wins! Unfortunately, I cannot describe this final scene either. But I think we can all agree that this is a much better ending than the one we got. Johnny doesn't die after all! And it's all thanks to our favorite snail, Gary. It's such a shame he died in season 14. Though Gary may be gone, his contributions to television and film (both animated and live-action) will never be forgotten. Rest in peace. Also, in case you were wondering, Johnny and Mark adopt Denny, Johnny finally gets his promotion, Claudette recovers from her breast cancer, Denny doesn't have a near-death experience, half the cast become pro football players, and Lisa never tears Johnny apart. What an improvement, Mark!

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about the last show from the Ben 10 people on the list. Today's talk-about concerns another action show, but from a very different source... #32: Transformers: Animated "Transform and Roll Out (part 1)" [December 26, 2007] Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Transformers start out as an animated show? That makes this title seem pretty redundant. Then again, this show came out not long after the big movie that year...whatever, I'm being pedantic. Back on topic; this show is yet another case of "I remember it being on, but I never really watched it". Back in 2007 a certain other CN show was getting all my attention, but we'll get to that point eventually (hopefully soon). I don't have much else to say about this one, so let's watch yet another cartoon about huge robots fighting off evil! Of course, I also need to mention that this episode is just the first part of a three-part movie premiere, and I'm only going to be covering the first of those three like I did with Foster's and Samurai Jack. The Wikipedia article may list this as episode "1-3" but I can't be arsed to watch this whole thing and it'd be treating the two shows I mentioned above poorly. Slight spoiler, but this premiere doesn't earn a full talk-about like Class of 3000 does. Not that it's necessarily bad eithe- okay, I should shut up now. Commencing talk-about... The episode starts with some footage from the 80s cartoon with narration explaining the history of the Cybertronian War, being watched by Optimus Prime. He is quickly interrupted by Ratchet, a veteran of said war. Though Ratchet tells Optimus that the war ended several years ago and he's wasting his time watching old films, Optimus still believes they are meant for something more. In the meantime, the two join fellow Autobots Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Prowl to clear sets of meteors that are blocking a space bridge. After a slight mishap, the crew comes across a glowing artifact in the meteor's rubble. Ratchet recognizes the artifact, demanding that they immediately haul it back onto their ship, and his fears are further realized when Optimus reports that a Decepticon ship is heading in their direction. Back on board, Ratchet reveals the artifact to be the Allspark, a source of energy that gave all Cybertronians life and a pivotal factor in helping them to win the war. As the Autobots escape from the Decepticons, Optimus contacts the top of Cyberton command, who tells them to stay put while they send out forces to deal with the Decepticon threat. Ignoring this order, Optimus tries to direct the ship to the nearest space bridge, but they are blocked by a massive Decepticon ship. We then get our first look inside the Decepticon ship, where among a few others, Megatron gives Starscream (hi Tom Kenny) the order to severely damage the Autobot ship, but not destroy it. While the Autobots again attempt to escape, Megatron goes out to retrieve the Allspark himself, but unbeknownst to him Starscream plants a certain device on his back. Megatron begins to burn a hole in the Autobot ship, but suddenly the device on his back explodes, sending the ship spiraling out of control. As the Allspark brightens and sends the ship through a space bridge that explodes right after, Starscream attempts to appoint himself as the new leader of the Decepticons, however the rest of the crew abandons him shortly before their ship crashes into a star. Back on the Autobot ship, Megatron demands the Allspark. After a brief fight, the ship is sent into a crash course with Earth and Megatron manages to trap Optimus Prime. Megatron spots the Allspark not long after, but before he can get his hands on it Optimus Prime ejects him via the ship's dock, separating their crash sites a good distance. Megatron ends up crashing in a rural area where his severed head is discovered by a boy, and the Autobot ship crashes into Lake Erie which forces the crew to go into emergency stasis. We then flash-forward to 50 years later, where the nearby city of Detroit has achieved symbiosis with robotic life. Meanwhile, Professor Issac Sumdac (the same boy who stumbled upon Megatron's head) is giving a group of kids a tour of his factory, showing them all the nanotechnology he has implemented throughout the city. We are also briefly introduced to his daughter Sari, who seems like a total oddball. Without warning, one of Sumdac's experiments goes wrong, and we end on the shot of a mutated cockroach preparing to attack. To be continued... ...except for in this thread, where that summary is all you'll get. Anyways, this show's just decent. Remember all the way back at the start of this thread when I talked about Star Wars: Clone Wars? It's a very similar experience to what I had when watching this one. It was good while it was on, but I'm not invested enough in the source material to really care about what comes afterwards. This show does still have its redeeming qualities though; the banter between the robots is occasionally amusing, and the animation definitely screams "mid-2000s". But other than that, I don't see much of a reason to come back to it. Maybe others will get more worth out of it; it's just not my thing personally. THE BOTTOM LINE: "More than meets the eye", huh? I'd say it was just about on par with my expectations. RATING: 7 (leaning on 6.5)/10 (decent) OK, I'll level with you all. If you can't tell by the time it's taken for the last few posts to appear in this thread, I am just done with talking about 22-minute long episodes of action shows that I have no experience with. I am in desperate need for something light and comedic. It could be one of the worst things I've seen in this thread so far and I wouldn't even care. Just please, PLEASE do me a favor and don't spin the one action show that is left, Wheel. Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about a show that was a bastardization of a classic. Will today's show fare any better (it will)? #38: Generator Rex "The Day That Everything Changed" [April 23, 2010] I'll be straightfoward with you all: I have almost nothing to say about this one background-wise. I remember when it was airing, but I don't think I ever actually watched it a single time. I don't even have any interesting reason as to why that is; action shows like this were just not my thing when this was on. It doesn't help matters that this show was created by Man of Action, who were also responsible for every Ben 10 series. Not a bad thing in itself, but you may have noticed that I get completely drained by anything Ben-related at this point in the thread. But who knows? Maybe this show could be entirely different. Only one way to find out... The episode begins with some narration by the titular Rex as he explains the events that led to the current state the world is in. An inexplicable accident occured that caused every living thing to be filled with tiny machines called Nanites, and on occasion they turn things into monsters called EVOs (an abbreviation for Exponentially Variegated Organisms). This results in the formation of Providence, an organization dedicated to subduing the EVOs. Rex, who is under Providence's constant watch, is a rare example of someone who is able to control his Nanites, so this power comes in handy whenever an EVO needs to be stopped. As the narration ends, Rex dives in to deal with the current EVO threat. Eventually, Rex manages to cure the EVO that was wrecking havoc across the city, despite his Nanites stalling at one point. Also, some suspicious figures take note of Rex as the Providence ship flies away. Back at Providence headquarters, Rex gets tired of how the staff treats him like nothing more than a machine, especially Agent Six. Dr. Holiday suggests that if their treatment of Rex doesn't change he may not be capable of taking down EVOs in the future, but before they can get to that point, Rex escapes the headquarters (along with his friend Bobo, a chimpanzee and fellow EVO). Rex meets up with some teenagers, who are impressed by his EVO abilities. Unfortunately, as soon as Rex stops using his powers for their benefit, they ditch him. The only one remaining is Noah, and him and Rex become fast friends. After a suprise apperance by Agent Six, the group of suspicious figures from earlier storm the scene. While dueling with the Providence soliders, one of the figures claims that they are on Rex's side. Suddenly, a portal opens and Rex, Noah, and Bobo are all sent through, leaving Agent Six behind. The portal transports them to Abysus, a supposed haven for EVOs, and they meet Van Kleiss, an EVO who can control nature. As everyone but Rex separates from the group, Van Kleiss tells Rex about how the Nanite invasion began in Abysus, before out of nowhere he restrains Rex and starts "experimenting" on him. It turns out Van Kleiss' Nanites leave him unstable, unlike Rex's, so he begins feeding on Rex's fresh Nanites. Meanwhile, Noah and Bobo engage in a fight with the other EVOs, and they walk in on Rex and Van Kleiss' ordeal. They manage to free Rex, and the three begin to make their escape. Midway through, Van Kleiss reminds Rex of Providence's questionable treatment towards him, and Rex's Nanites stall again. Before they can be attacked by the EVOs, Agent Six appears and puts a stop to them, aiding the trio in their escape. Van Kleiss tries to convince Rex to stay with him, but Rex ends up slicing him with a sword and he disintegrates. Van Kleiss promptly regenerates from the Earth, with Rex and everyone else completely unaware of it. Back at Providence HQ, Six and Holiday start treating Rex better by giving him bigger living space, and it's implied that Noah is working as a spy to try and get closer to Rex. The end. Yeah, this one's alright. Unsurprisingly I have similar thoughts as I do to all the Ben 10 shows from this period, so I'm not even going to restate myself. Just read my quick thoughts at the end of the Alien Force and Ultimate Alien talk-abouts and you'll have what I think about this one. It's good, I enjoyed it, I'm probably never going to binge it, blah blah blah, you get the idea. THE BOTTOM LINE: The more things change, the more things stay the same. RATING: 7/10 (decent) Man, this one took an unusually long amount of time to come out. Sorry y'all, I'm just getting so tired of the same old action show formulas at this point. Thankfully, that's the last Man of Action show on this list so now I'm completely free of said formulas! Wanna celebrate by giving me something more lighthearted, Wheel? Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about a good show that came just a little before his time. Today's show is of his time, but I wouldn't get your hopes up about him finding it good... #51: The Powerpuff Girls (2016) "Escape from Monster Island" [April 4, 2016] I think the most fitting way to start this one is with a story. There's a chance I may have told it to some of you before, but I'll put it here for those who haven't heard it. In 2016, despite all signs pointing to the PPG reboot not being very good, my brother and I sat down to watch an episode. In short, we were not enjoying ourselves. I asked my brother why we were even watching this, and he said something along the lines of "sometimes you have to watch the bad to appreciate the good". Seconds later the twerking scene came on, prompting him to say "that's enough" and turn the television off. Yeaaaaah. It's a loaded intro, but I don't think any of you are expecting a controversial take from me regarding this show (I hope). Let's just get the summary over with. The episode begins with the titular girls listening to their favorite band "Sensitive Thugz", but more importantly waiting to call in for the chance to win tickets to see them live. When the radio DJ asks a question about the band, Bubbles calls in with the correct answer and wins two tickets for the show. You see the problem. There's three Powerpuff girls, and only two tickets. But before Blossom or Buttercup can pressure her into taking one of them with, they get a call from the mayor (Tom Kenny reprises his role (he shouldn't have)) right before his plane crash lands on Monster Island. The girls rush to the island, discover the mayor's crashed plane, and Bubbles befriends a tiny dog/rhino-like monster and names it Frederick. Frederick quickly sniffs out the mayor's tracks while Blossom and Buttercup argue more about who deserves to go to the concert with Bubbles. While Bubbles tries to calm the girls down (somewhat), the ground suddenly gives way beneath them and they end up in a volcano. Also, Buttercup manages to jinx Blossom, rendering her speechless. The girls then encounter a lava monster...who Buttercup immediately defeats with her laser vision. Wow, how action-packed! Blossom then notices that the volcano is about to erupt, but can't communicate the warning to her sisters due to the rules of jinx. However, it isn't long until Bubbles says her name, allowing her to warn them...after she shits on Buttercup again, of course. The eruption sends everyone into the air, and a monstrous bird snatches Frederick out of the sky, but once again it's dealt with easily. god i hate this show so much just end me already Anyways, while Blossom and Buttercup try to settle their argument with a fucking RAP BATTLE, the girls get tangled up with all of the monsters on the island at once. Then, the mayor comes completely out of nowhere and saves the girls. Y'know, despite them having superpowers and all that, whatever. It turns out the monsters on the island really love the mayor's pickles, so he shoots one into the distance and they all make their escape. Ultimately, Bubbles takes Frederick to the concert and Blossom and Buttercup sit quietly in their lonesome. The end. Well, congratulations Ben 10 reboot. You managed to not fuck up as badly as this one did. I'm really in utter disbelief right now. I remembered this being bad, but not to this degree. They somehow managed to take the original show and get everything wrong. The girls are not engaging characters anymore (they're basically assholes the entire time), the animation is so typical of the time that it makes me snore, the action scenes are horrendous, and it's so unfunny it hurts. The scene with the mayor wishing to go to the concert was almost there, but that's it. And that's just this episode. I'm sure everyone remembers the twerking scenes, the disappearance of Ms. Bellum, the Jared Shapiro incident (among other pedophilic implications), the unicorn episode, the constant meme references, and so on and so forth. Remember how in the We Bare Bears talk-about I mentioned how it was the last show I consistently watched on CN? Well, this was the first new show to premiere after it. And now that I have the hindsight, I can say that this show singlehandedly killed Cartoon Network's reputation for me. There's still some small doses of quality after this point (Craig of the Creek and especially Apple & Onion were lucky to get scores as high as they did), but really, watching the channel would never be the same. Though if there's one thing I can thank this show for, it's that it inspired me to seek out other channels, ending up with me discovering GSN (which I still am addicted to today). So, yeah. I hate this thing. It still beats out Problem Solverz, but that's only because I can stare at it for more than 10 seconds without actually dying. In the end, I merely want to die when watching this. THE BOTTOM LINE: I'm just going to let the 2016 me do the talking for this one. RATING: 2/10 (piece of shit) Thankfully, I think that's the last time in this thread I'll have to talk about a show that's below a 3. Let's see what the Wheel has in store for me next... Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about one of the shorter-lived shows in CN history. Today's show ran even shorter, but is arguably remembered much more fondly... #21: Megas XLR "Test Drive" [May 1, 2004] If I had a nickel for every time I've covered a show about futuristic gigantic alien robots defending Earth in the present day that were off the air before anyone could blink, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice (especially in the span of one month). Naturally, the difference is I watched Sym-Bionic Titan when it was airing. Given I was only three years old when this show was on, I don't remember a lick of it. That said, everyone I've heard from who was around to watch it remembers this one in a very positive light...and yet, I haven't touched it once in my life so far. Well, that changes today. Let's see if this show has been a hidden gem waiting for me to discover. The episode begins 1000 years or so in the future, where the entirety of Earth is fighting against attacks from an alien race called the Glorft. One earthling, Kiva, is piloting a robot to defend the planet from multiple alien mechs. We learn that Earth is harboring a stolen Glorft prototype battle machine called "Megas", and the aliens have just gotten word of its location. In a last ditch effort, Kiva opens a time portal to send Megas back in time to a pivotal battle that the humans lost, hoping that Megas' presence will change the outcome. Before she can transfer to Megas however, Gorrath, the leader of the Glorft, destroys the link and inadvertently sends Megas, Kiva, and themselves to an unknown time period. Cue the title screen. We then arrive at present day (around 2004 in this case) in the state of New Jersey. There, mechanic Harold (aka Coop) is showing off to his friend Jamie his newest project: a fiery-painted hot rod car modified to pilot a robot that looks awfully similar to Megas. How did he obtain this? Simple, he found it in a giant pile in the junkyard and paid $2 for it. So, Coop and Jamie test out some of the robot's functions and fantasize about what they could do with it (Jamie seems to desire power, all Coop wants is food). Before they can get anywhere though, the car's alarm starts going off. Right on cue, Kiva and some other members of the Earth Coalition arrive through the time portal to shut the alarm off and demand that Megas be returned. Coop stands his ground, refusing to give up the robot he found himself. After a brief fight, Kiva tries being rational and explains the reason why they need Megas, but unfortunately Coop isn't the brightest bulb in the pack. After another brief fight (which Coop manages to win), Kiva tries stealing Megas back while Coop is distracted, but due to Coop's modifications she is no longer properly suited to pilot it. Even worse, the time flux unit has been destroyed, trapping Kiva in the past. Seeing no other choice, she decides to train Coop on Megas' functions, albeit grudgingly. Despite Coop thinking he doesn't need training, he accidentally turns off Megas' tachyon beacon, meaning the Glorft now knows their exact location...and just like that, they appear through the time portal. In an attempt to attack the Glorft, Coop accidentally fires a missile at a satellite, sending it out of orbit. This will be important soon. Surprisingly, Coop is able to defeat a large portion of the Glorft fleet- all that is left is Gorrath. He summons the UMD, a robot which is larger than all other Glorft mechs and even Megas. It's almost an easy victory for Gorrath, but suddenly the satellite from earlier crashes into the UMD, disabling its functions. Gorrath retreats, but vows revenge on Earth and its humans. While the UMD is sent away for repairs, Coop and Jamie celebrate with burgers and Kiva regrets ever coming to the past. The end. Turns out that last time I was right, this was fun! I'll admit, I wasn't too crazy over the first segment of this. It has a lot of nice action, but I was worried the show was going to take itself rather seriously the whole time. Not a problem in itself, I love a more serious show every now and then (see my Samurai Jack talk-about), but this one didn't offer anything else alongside that to capture my interest. Thankfully, when we get to Earth, meet Coop and Jamie, and see how Kiva plays off of them, this show becomes great. There are still nice action scenes here, but the humor is turned all the way up. This episode is hilarious. I can't even pick one moment to mention, it's a tie between Coop/Jamie's aforementioned fantasy sequences, the running gag of the cheering children, and Coop's repeated "Huh?" line. And that's just a sampling of how funny this one is. So, do I think it's as good as Sym-Bionic Titan? Well...no, but there's a lot of nostalgia bias there. That said, I still loved this and it's definitely one I oughta check out more of someday. Now I want a burger too... THE BOTTOM LINE: What else can I say, I dig giant robots. RATING: 8 (leaning on 8.5)/10 (pretty good) More fun could be on the way...but it's the Wheel's choice, not mine. Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

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Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about one of his most watched shows when he was growing up. And just like that, we're back in the well of short-runners... #16: Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? "P.U. to P.E." [July 19, 2002] Time to talk about another show lost to the sands of CN time, and if you ask me, this is quite the interesting one. If there's one thing this show is known for, it's that it was one of the very last cartoons (if not the last) to use cel animation. Take another look at that screenshot above and you'll see what I mean. Anyways, back when I was interested in all shows short-lived, the outdated animation present in this one was somewhat of a turn-off for me. Sheep and Time Squad got a lot of my attention, with Robot typically ending up by the wayside. But one day (thanks to a certain SBC bot), I gave this show another chance, and out of nowhere I pulled a complete 180 and fell in love with its retro style. Now the animation is one of my favorite things about this, but how does everything else hold up? There's only one way to find out; let's boot this episode up! The episode begins at the Jones household, where Robot (yes, that's his name) is getting ready for school. Before he can leave, his mother (fittingly named Mom Unit) gives him his daily programming which allows him to study various aspects of middle school life. Today's task is to participate in the physical education class, and so Mom Unit sends Robot off with a jockstrap. Later at Polyneux Middle School, the P.E. teacher (Mr. Workout) is impressed by Robot's physical capabilities, but once he says to "hit the showers" Robot is left confused. This is when Robot discovers that the act of showering involves water, much to his horror since...y'know, robots are made of metal and water makes metal rust. The students laugh as Robot runs out of the locker room, and later that night he reports to Mom Unit that studying physical education is too difficult a task to complete. Unfortunately, she is not satisfied with this answer and states that Robot must try again tomorrow. The next day, Mr. Workout believes Robot is only embarrassed to take off his "clothes" and refuses to hear what Robot has to say. Robot ends up being saved by the bell, and Mr. Workout vows to get him in the showers somehow. Cue a montage of Workout setting up multiple traps in the locker room, only for Robot to thwart each one of them day after day. Mr. Workout eventually gets so fed up that he declares tomorrow Robot will take his shower at the beginning of class, so the bell can't save him any longer. After having a terrifying nightmare involving sentient shower heads, Robot is dreading going to school the next morning. Before Mr. Workout and the gym students can get Robot into the showers, Robot sets off the fire alarm and makes his escape into the halls, though now the threat of water appears everywhere. Ultimately, he just ends up back in the locker room and admits defeat. However, by some miracle, when Robot takes a shower he doesn't rust. So he concludes that there is no harm in a robot taking a shower...which is when we see everyone in his vicinity being electrocuted. The end. Well, to answer my question at the start, it turns out everything else here is good too! And by everything else, I mean the jokes of course. My favorite bit is still Mr. Workout and his many questionable lines, especially "I am gonna get you wet Jones, one way or another". Also, Robot wearing the jockstrap over his face reminded me of the backwards scene from SpongeBob. You know the one. But yes, the big charm of the show is still the animation. It reminds me a lot of Schoolhouse Rock, and that's only a good thing in my eyes. I guess that could turn it into a make-it-or-break-it deal on whether people would like the show or not, but for me the show's other qualities are good enough that even with standard animation, I'd still enjoy it. It's just a shame he's no longer with us... THE BOTTOM LINE: We may never truly know whatever happened to Robot Jones, but I enjoyed his time while he was here. RATING: 8/10 (pretty good) I really need something fun to lift my spirits...wanna help me out, Wheel? Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about. Original post:

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman laughed, cried, and reminisced over one of the most mistreated shows in the whole list. Thankfully, today's show managed to get all the proper treatment it deserved... #39: Regular Show "The Power" [September 6, 2010] On the subject of titans, it's now time to talk about another one of the three era-defining shows from early 2010s CN. I remember how insane this one felt when it first began airing. Some shows were down to earth, some were completely off the wall, yet somehow this show managed to be both. Just like Gumball, it perfectly set the tone for what TV animation would be like in the coming decade. And out of those three huge shows I keep bringing up, this was definitely the one I stuck around with for the longest. Let's see if this one's just as "regular" as I remember it being so long ago... The episode starts with park groundskeepers Mordecai (a blue jay) and Rigby (a raccoon) watching TV and pretend wrestling a doll in their room. However, things escalate quickly and it ends with Rigby crashing into their wall and creating a massive hole. They momentarily panic, but Mordecai quickly comes up with the genius idea of asking their boss to give them a raise so they can repair the wall. But in what way will they ask? Rigby proposes the idea of hamboning, which Mordecai quickly shoots down. Rigby then suggests using a magical keyboard (which he stole from a wizard) to convince their boss, and eventually Mordecai agrees to go along with it. They test their plan out on fellow worker Pops (man? lollipop? both?), and it appears to work, although he only pays them with lollipops. After this success, they approach their boss Benson (a gumball machine), repeat their plan, and manage to get actual money out of him. Realizing they can now do anything they want, Mordecai and Rigby spend all day going around the park and fulfilling their desires. That is, they spend as much time as they can until they bump into Skips (a yeti), who knows they hold power they shouldn't have and is onto them. Rigby, mishearing Mordecai trying to send Skips to his room, accidentally sends Skips to the moon and he disappears. Immediately after, Benson and Pops ask the two if they know where Skips is. They initially don't believe Mordecai and Rigby when they say he's on the moon, but they are able to prove it by sending everyone there on the park's golf cart. On the moon, we find that Rigby spent some of his time sending various things there, including a monster that is currently approaching Skips. Rigby attempts to save Skips with the keyboard, but at the very worst moment, the batteries die. He instead resorts to hamboning, which distracts the monster long enough for Skips to free himself, punch open their cart to give the keyboard power, and get the entire crew back on Earth. As punishment, Benson forces the two to give Skips their keyboard (who intentionally breaks it in half), give him his money back, and give their room a cleaning or THEY'RE FIRED!!! Sorry, I got carried away there. Anyways, despite all of the wall plaster falling off in their room, the two notice the inital hole is still there. But now it's an easy fix as Mordecai simply solves the problem by putting a poster over the hole! The end. What a wild first episode, huh? You probably already know this, but that's just scratching the surface of what this show has in store. As for this episode, it's funny as all hell, and there's a certain charm to the early, not quite solidified animation style. Also, I completely forgot about the mild swears that were in these earlier episodes. Nice! I also had too much trouble picking out a favorite moment here, every time Mordecai and Rigby banter about something it ends up being entertaining. Also, while the show keeps upping the ante on craziness, it manages to have a lot of continuity! Mordecai and Rigby can bring back gadgets from older episodes, some enemies of the park make their occasional returns, and the entire last season is spent out in space. It seems like a lot, but by that point of the show it's completely normal. God, what a fun time revisiting this one was. I'd binge it all again if I hadn't already done that a few years ago. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THE BOTTOM LINE: The words from the earliest commercials sum it up best: "it's anything but". In a good way. RATING: 9/10 (a clear standout) Ok, now there's no possible way the Wheel can top that. Right? Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about one of his earliest memories from the network overall. Today's show is also a memory, but in a more bittersweet sense... #40: Sym-Bionic Titan "Escape to Sherman High" [September 17, 2010] When I talked about Robotomy a while back, I mentioned that there was another short-lived show from around the same time that I had fond memories of. Well, today is the day I cover that show. Both me and my brother were crazy about this show when it was airing. We'd record episodes and watch them over and over, and even play them late at night during sleepovers. And then, within the next year...it was gone. And I mean gone. Not only did the show get cancelled, it stopped airing altogether. We were sad about the news, moved on with our lives, and I didn't get the chance to watch the show again for more than 10 years. Then, I found myself bored one day when the pandemic was in full swing, and I wondered if this show was as good as I thought it was back then. I watch an episode, and before I know it I've seen the whole series again. I think that should tell you where my opinion is going, but I'll save that for the ending paragraph. After all, it's been another few years since I've seen the show, so let's refresh my memory... The episode starts with a space pod suddenly crashing into Earth. Three beings come out of the pod: the robot Octus, and two humanoids, the soldier Lance and the princess Ilana. We learn they are from the planet "Galaluna" which is currently under attack, and thus they have been sent to our far off planet where they (most importantly the princess) will be in less danger. Before they can even get an idea of where they are, they are ambushed the military. Octus flees with Ilana, and Lance activates his battle armor to fend off the attackers. Ilana joins with her own armor soon after, when she discovers the inhabitants of Earth (and the military itself) are humanoid. Upon this revelation, the three aliens flee the scene. After the military general arrives at the crash site, the head of the Galactic Guardian Group (Solomon) gains control of the situation by taking the alien ship away for research. Hiding in a cave, the three aliens begin their plan of assimilating into human society by attending the high school in the nearby city of Sherman. Back on Galaluna, the king is confronted by General Modula and his accompanying Mutraddi creatures. We learn some about their history, until Modula uses his power to pin down the location of the princess, and sends his creatures to Earth to kill the last remaining heir to the Galalunan throne. Meanwhile, the three aliens prepare for their first day at Sherman High. Octus (as Newton, his human disguise) explains the social hierarchy of the school and informs Lance and Ilana that he has enrolled them into the school system as siblings, something they aren't very psyched about. As they experience the hardships of fitting in, we cut back to Solomon and the Galactic Guardian Group, as they discover another alien ship soon to make contact with Earth. During lunch, the aliens witness the crash, now aware that an enemy has arrived. A giant fire monster begins attacking the city, and Ilana risks her safety to fight back. Lance and Newton aren't on board with this decision, but they fight alongside her anyway. After taking a considerable blow, Octus initiates a process that causes all three aliens to merge together and telepathically link as one. They form the eponymous Sym-Bionic Titan, a being of roughly equal size to the fire creature. The monster engulfs them, and with no other options the Titan submerges itself in a lake to douse the flames. With the GGG having now arrived, it doesn't take much more effort for the Titan to take down the now molten Mutraddi. The GGG retreats, and the Titan flees once the military attempts to fire at it. With one day behind them, the alien trio are more ready than ever to deal with anything that might come their way, whether it be abominable monsters, high school struggles, or otherwise. The end. No surprise, this show kicks ass. Everything positive I remembered about it from both 4 years and 14 years ago is still here. The characters are convincing, the action is gripping, the animation still looks stellar today, and it even has a healthy dose of comedic moments (the scene with Lance being introduced to the students is my shout-out pick). My nostalgia definitely didn't steer me wrong with this one! So as much as I love this show, does it beat out Tartakovsky's other big CN epic in Samurai Jack? Well...I'm not sure, but for now my preference leans toward the latter. This show for sure is amazing, but there's something almost transcendent about the way Samurai Jack feels that Sym-Bionic Titan doesn't quite hit. That said, this show is a lot more fun and more easily bingeable thanks to my memories of it. In fact, I'm going to get to that binging right now. See y'all in another week (it'll probably be even faster than that)! THE BOTTOM LINE: The biggest hidden gem in all of CN's extensive programming. Hopefully I live to see it air again one day. RATING: 9/10 (a clear standout) Well, Wheel, I doubt you're gonna be beating that with the next show. But spin again anyway! Stay tuned for MY MOM dman's next talk-about.

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about the last remaining Ben 10 on the list, much to his happiness. Will today's show inspire further positive emotion? #25: Camp Lazlo "Gone Fishin' (sort of)" [July 8, 2005] This show is another personal milestone for me. As far as I'm aware, this is the first show I remember airing on CN when it was "new". I don't remember them clearly, but bits and pieces of the pre-premiere advertising still remain in my head. Also, the date above shows that this show recently turned 20; goddamn. As for the show itself, I remember liking it back in the day and still liking it when I gave some episodes a rewatch a few years ago. That means my expectations are decently set for this one. After all, it's by Joe Murray, the same guy who made Rocko's Modern Life! We'll be in good hands visiting this camp! The episode starts with a group of Bean Scouts trying to catch fish off the Camp Kidney dock, but their line only brings in snow globes. Upon seeing this, Scoutmaster Lumpus (hi Tom) laments to his assistant Slinkman (hi again) that in all of Camp Kidney's history, no one has ever caught a fish. He vows to do it himself, when suddenly the group is interrupted by the local Jelly Bean cabin residents: Raj, Clam, and of course Lazlo. One of the scouts suggests that there might not even be any fish in Leaky Lake to be caught, but they are once again interrupted, only this time it's by the rival camp of Acorn Flats who are having no trouble catching loads of fish. Annoyed, Lumpus demands that his new high-tech boat be ready by tomorrow. The Jelly Bean scouts plan to join him, but none of the other scouts are willing to join due to rumors surrounding the lake, especially that of it being home to a giant serpent monster who eats scouts. Undeterred, Lazlo still wants to help with Camp Kidney's first catch, and after some persuasion Raj and Clam decide to join him. Slinkman gets the boat ready that night, but after he leaves, the Jelly Beans happen across the boat and accidentally start it themselves. As Lumpus and Slinkman head out to the lake, the boat goes flying over their heads, angering Lumpus as he sails out to the middle of the lake on his own. However, he arrives at his boat as the lake gets very foggy, making the Jelly Beans think he is the lake monster. After Lumpus gets roughed up a bit, the fog clears and we see Raj has a giant plug in his hands. Remembering a rumor from earlier about a plug at the bottom of Leaky Lake, he tries to toss it back in, only to realize the plug is for their boat which promptly sinks. Lumpus exclaims that the only way the Jelly Beans can help him is by not helping him at all, so the scouts keep their distance and agree not to help him anymore. Unfortunately, this is when the lake monster appears and begins attacking Lumpus. After Lazlo and Raj debate on whether they should break their agreement and help Lumpus, they ultimately decide to not help by not helping, but help by actually helping...or something like that. As Lazlo tries to free Lumpus from the jaws of the serpent monster, Lumpus reveals that he managed to catch a fish, which Lazlo shows to everyone while unaware that Lumpus is still trapped by the monster. The end. I'll be straight with this one: it's not as good as I remember, but I still like this quite a bit. I love the vibe here, it manages to be comfy while still being absurd. How many shows are there out there that can accomplish that? And it's hard to go wrong with Murray's art style visually. That all said, I remember this show being a lot funnier. There are still multiple gags I enjoyed in this episode (especially near the end with Lazlo unintentionally shutting the monster's jaws back on Lumpus), but I was hoping I'd be chuckling the whole time. Even with this flaw, I'd still say I enjoyed my time with this. The other qualities are redeeming enough that I can look past this episode being "slightly funny" instead of "very funny". Shoot, if I wanted that I should just watch the episode with the telescope again... THE BOTTOM LINE: It won't be for everyone, but I wouldn't mind spending time in a camp as strange yet laidback as this one. RATING: 7 (leaning on 7.5)/10 (decent) And with that, we're two-thirds of the way through talking about every CN show in the list! What do you have for me next, Wheel? Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about a somewhat lackluster episode that didn't display the better qualities of the show overall. Will today's episode be a similar case? Well, dman is sick of the next show's franchise at this point so he probably won't watch enough episodes to find out... #33: Ben 10: Alien Force "Ben 10 Returns, Part 1" [April 18, 2008] Is there really anything else I can say about Ben 10 at this point? Thankfully, this is the last time I'll have to discuss one of his shows in this thread. This one was fine from what I remember of it on TV, so I'm going in assuming I'll have similar thoughts to it as Ultimate Alien. Alright, let's finally kill Ben! The episode begins with two aliens communicating, with one telling the other that Grandpa Max is responsible for certain information that has been leaked. The other commands the alien to "destroy him", segueing into the intro. Afterwards we see Ben, now 5 years older, playing a game of soccer and living a relatively normal life. He briefly meets Julie (as we already know, his future love interest) before heading to the RV, and he notices Grandpa Max isn't there. Suddenly, the alien from earlier begins attacking Ben, and since Ben isn't wearing the Omnitrix he has to fight in more creative ways. After fending off the alien, Ben accesses a message from Grandpa Max, where he tells Ben that he's investigating recent alien activity on Earth and that the Omnitrix is safely in his hands. Ben immediately goes home and is confused to find the Omnitrix is still in his possesion, leading him to believe Max is trying to tell him something. We cut to Gwen at her karate class, while Ben spectates and gets ready to ask her for advice. Later that night, they both watch Max's message and discuss whether or not Ben should put the Omnitrix back on, but suddenly are interrupted when a shadowy figure demands they give up the Omnitrix. After Gwen uses her magic to incapacitate the fish-like alien (Magister Labrid), he reveals he is a member of the Plumbers and was trying to find Max, who has gone missing. Labrid quickly realizes Ben is Max's grandson, and offers to join them in finding him. In response, Ben decides to put the Omnitrix back on. The three stake out at where the criminal group known as the Forever Knights are expected to receive an illegal shipment of alien technology, only to find that Kevin is their supplier. Labrid confronts them, and the other suppliers reveal themselves to be the same species as the aliens from the beginning of the episode. The Forever Knights also reveal themselves, leaving the trio surrounded. Even worse, when Ben tries to use the Omnitrix it fails, as it needs to reboot. While Gwen and Labrid fend for themselves, the Omnitrix eventually manages to reboot, changing completely in the process and giving Ben access to aliens he's never seen before. He turns into Swampfire (I didn't have to look up the name because he says it out loud!), which scares away the supplier aliens, but the Forever Knights use their new weapons to fire at him. Kevin then gets inbetween the fight, wanting to stop Ben himself as an act of vengeance for trapping him in the null void and ruining his deal. As this happens, the Forever Knights make their escape. Ben manages to defeat Kevin, and he is trapped using energy cuffs. Labrid informs Kevin that the Forever Knights now have technology that is far beyond the level Earth is supposed to have, and forces him to help settle the issue. Surprisingly Kevin is all for helping, but only because he never got his money. Kevin drives them to a castle that supposedly holds the Forever Knights, and Gwen uses her magic to allow them to enter. As they look for signs of the Knights, Ben accidentally knocks over a knight on display and wakes up a dragon-like creature, and we cut to a "TO BE CONTINUED..." card. Well, I was right. My opinions on this one are basically the same as those I expressed on Ultimate Alien. It's fine, I enjoyed it while it was on, I'm probably never going to binge it, and all around the first series was better. It does still have its moments though; the more mature feel of this one leads to some impactful action scenes, and Ben bringing back his "peek-a-boo!" line during the Kevin fight made me crack a smile. Though if I'm being honest, I am so relieved to be done talking about these shows. They're not bad, it's just I can only watch the same thing so many times before I run out of things to say. THE BOTTOM LINE: HOHOHO RATING: 7/10 (decent) 5 Bens down, 0 to go! I'd end the thread right here, but we've still got 20 shows left and I'm excited to talk about some in particular. What do you say, Wheel? Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about. Original post:

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about yet another one of his childhood favorites. Will today's show be able to stack up? (unintentional pun [well i guess it's intentional now]) #50: We Bare Bears "Our Stuff" [July 27, 2015] So, this one has some personal significance. If you take that list of shows from the first post in this thread and go down the whole thing one by one, this would be the last show on said list that I consistently watched back in the day. Everything afterwards is either stuff I watched on TV once and wasn't a fan of, or stuff I didn't watch at all. That said, there is one show from after that list's time period that I have experience with, but I'll touch on that at a later date. Anyways, the bear show. I remember it being a very comfy show, even if occasionally eyeroll-inducing at points. Let's see if this viewing can help me remember exactly what I mean by that... The episode starts with the bear brothers (Grizz, Panda, Ice Bear) getting ready to play basketball at a local court. They pack their belongings into a bookbag and leave it on a bench while they play. After enough time passes, they are finally able to make one successful shot and begin celebrating outside the court. It takes the bears a good moment before they realize they left their bag back at the court, and they return to find it gone, which sends them into a panic (Panda especially, as his phone was in the bag). The bears try to get a policewoman to help, but they're so loud and awkward that she just rolls away without a word. They also try to persuade a cab driver to take them to all the suspicious places across the city, but this fails for the same reason as before. The trio sit down in a diner, where Grizz speculates how the bag could've been stolen and Panda draws mugshots on the tablemats, much the the server's disapproval. Grizz then remembers a flock of pigeons next to their bag at the court, so the group leave the diner to ask the potential eyewitnesses what they saw. After spreading out Panda's drawings, a pigeon comes forward and picks one drawing out of many, giving the bears a prime suspect. The pigeon promptly takes off and the bears follow it, causing havoc on the streets in the process. Ultimately they end up at the library, where the bears use the public internet to try tracking Panda's phone. Once they narrow it down to an apartment, they find the room of their culprit and make their way in through the outdoor window to get their bag back. The man fights back for a moment, but once the bears get back outside and the police put a spotlight on them, it's revealed they have the wrong bag. Conceding defeat, the bears get ready to jump down and receive their punishment. However (despite the policeman's warning), they jump down all at once, trampolining them into the room of a different building and revealing the true crime scene: the flock of pigeons from earlier in possession of multiple stolen items. The policeman from earlier thanks the bears for catching the Pigeon Cartel in the act, and he also lets them go free while warning them to stay out of trouble, which doesn't look like it'll take long to happen again. The end. You'll see that I mentioned in the SBM thread how I felt this was a clunky first episode, and yeah, that still sorta rings true. The bears' awkwardness is a staple character trait throughout the series, but it's played to an uncomfortable degree here; and most of the human characters aren't that pleasant of individuals either. Thankfully, this show is a case where I know from experience that it is much better than its first episode would imply. When you get to know some of the other characters that are friends with the bears (Chole, Charlie, Tabes, etc.), it becomes a lot more enjoyable to watch. That said, this episode is still decently funny, especially when Ice Bear is involved. No surprise, his monotone delivery and raw skill makes him the best character in the whole show. That's about all I've got here; this episode didn't wow me but I still recommend seeing what else the show has to offer. (Also as for the "eyeroll-inducing" parts I referred to in the opening, this show references a lot of things adjacent to millennial culture and it can get a little embarrassing at times. But whatever, it's tolerable.) THE BOTTOM LINE: It's a show about bears trying to fit in to human society. I'm there. RATING: The episode itself would be lower, but the show gets an 8 (leaning on 7.5)/10 (pretty good). [monotonous] dman wants to see what the Wheel will spin next. Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about. Original post:

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about a show that he really didn't enjoy. Will today's show warrant a similar reaction? #43: The Amazing World of Gumball "The DVD" [May 3, 2011] We've been through a lot in this thread so far. I've talked about multiple staples of CN history; most good, a few bad. I've looked at every show that achieved the TV-PG rating, every show that was explicitly banned in my home, four different Ben 10s, and even a show that's widely considered lost media. And somehow, through all this, I've yet to cover a single one of the three gigantic shows from CN in the early 2010s, all of which went on to become cornerstones of the network and also define that decade in animation. Today, that is no longer the case; we're looking at Gumball. I really liked this show when it first started airing, and I only loved it more in its later seasons (before dipping off a little at the end). It's a loaded intro, but yes, my hopes are high for this one. Let's see if Gumball's world is still as amazing as the name implies. The episode starts with Gumball's mother (Nicole) reminding him to return a DVD that's about to be past due...unless he wants to face the consequences. Gumball starts looking for it, only to find his brother/pet Darwin absent-mindedly using the DVD as a pizza cutter. This prompts Gumball to start cleaning the DVD with a sponge, not noticing he's using the abrasive side. Darwin points this out, causing Gumball to panic and accidentally throw the DVD into the sink's waste disposal. Instead of facing the consequences, the pair try to return a cardboard fake of the DVD. This does not work. The video store sends them multiple letters demanding they pay $25 for the DVD, but thankfully Gumball has a backup plan. Cut to Gumball and Darwin begging for money outside a convenience store. They make some money but a hobo ends up taking it, spending it on a winning lottery ticket, and sneaking away with his winnings. Back at the house, the two find a new way to make money: by getting jobs in the cosmetic industry as test subjects. It goes pretty well for Darwin, but Gumball has a severe allergic reaction to the makeup and they only get $5 for their troubles. The boys then get a call at the house from Nicole, who deduces that something is wrong and decides to head home immediately. Out of options, Gumball wants to resort to piracy, but Darwin scolds him for this idea and says he has a better idea anyway. Not long after, Nicole returns home to a fresh pile of urgent letters and begins chasing the boys across the neighborhood as they try to get to the video store. They outrun her for the time being and arrive at the video store, but when Larry the employee checks to make sure the DVD is real, it's revealed to be a shoddy home video Gumball and Darwin made themselves in an attempt to recreate the movie. The boys then confess to everything that happened, unaware that Nicole is right behind them. She ends up forgiving them and and pays the fine to replace the DVD, until she learns the lateness fee has accumulated to $700, which causes the family to run from the store. The end. Even in an earlier episode like this one, I still love this show. You can see the bits and pieces of what it would become, yet at the same time it still delivers on everything I want. My god, this show is a visual delight. Putting 2D and 3D animated characters over realistic backgrounds sounds like a strange idea, and it is, but it works wonders here. I know the art style slightly changed later on (for the better in my opinion), but this early style still has a juvenile charm to it. And of course, the episode is mercilessly funny. My favorite bits include Darwin speaking fluent Chinese only for it to amount to "No", Larry's various phone messages, and the cupcake woman's perfectly cut scream, and that's still leaving out more than 75% of the gags I could mention here. This show got very creative later, but even early on it's a great time and I highly recommend giving it a watch if you somehow haven't already. With the new show about to come out, now would be the perfect time! THE BOTTOM LINE: On top of being hilarious, this show's world is a treat for the eyes. "Amazing" doesn't begin to describe it. RATING: 9 (leaning on 8.5)/10 (a clear standout) You did a good job picking that one, Wheel. Wanna go again? Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about. Original post:

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about a show from the mid-2010s that he not only watched then, but also still enjoys today. Will today's show fit any of those criteria? (well, one at least...) #53: Ben 10 (2016) "The Filth" [October 1, 2016] I should start by saying that this show didn't air until the US until 2017, and the list of programs broadcast by CN page on Wikipedia even lists it as such. However, the page for the show itself lists the Australian airdate in 2016 as its premiere so that's what I'm going with. It doesn't matter too much either way; whether you pick the 2016 or 2017 airdate this show is still 53rd in order. Anways, this show. I went out of my way to avoid it when it was airing. One look at the new art style told me pretty much all I needed to know back then, and the show itself was also heavily criticized by all the people who I've heard actually decided to watch it. And today, I will be joining them (actually not today since this was the first show I covered in the SBM thread but shut up). Let's bite the bullet and see what Ben's latest installment is like... The episode begins with a roach-man and man-roach stealing toxic waste to power up some device, realizing they need a little more waste to reach full power. This is when they take notice of the Tennyson RV, which has high waste potential because Ben's room is a total dump. As a result, Grandpa Max restricts Ben's WiFi access and doesn't allow him to join him and Gwen on that day's "fun" outdoor excursion, and instead leaves him at the RV to do his chores. Before Ben can get started however, the evil duo jacks the RV and drives off in the distance. Cue a montage where Ben uses his many alien forms to try and stop the RV with various Wile E. Coyote-esque methods, and failing each time. Once the Omnitrix stops responding, Ben is forced to walk the RV's tracks, which leads to an abandoned nuclear site filled with barrels of waste. He's initially excited to see that the RV has been freshly cleaned, only to find the roachmen are using its waste to power up their machine, the "Maggonet". Ben responds by turning into Four Arms and confronting Maurice (finally we get a name for the roach-man), which is when he shows off the power of the Maggonet by attracting a bunch of maggots, and they assemble themselves in the shape of a gigantic monster. Maurice's plan is to get the monster to eat Las Vegas (minus all the money), but Ben puts a stop to this by crushing the remote control. Unfortunately, this means that no one can control the monster now, so Maurice flees from the scene. Having nothing else around to throw, Ben disables the Maggonet by throwing the RV at it, but at the cost of messying up the RV once again. Ben finishes tidying up the van upon Grandpa Max and Gwen's return later that night, only for Grandpa to reveal that Ben has only completed one chore of many. The end. It looks like I only had slight dislike of this show when I talked about it in the SBM thread, but now I have no problems labelling it as one of the worst things I've seen thus far. It doesn't even merit the Teen Titans Go comparison anymore; this show sucks in a way that that one can only dream of. First of all, yes, this show visually looks terrible. I'm honestly shocked the same studio that did all the other Ben 10s is somehow also responsible for this one. Omniverse took some getting used to, but I don't think my eyes could ever adjust to this. Next, the action that was present in all the other series is mostly absent here. The fight at the end is over with almost immediately, and side note, why did Ben throw the RV at the monster??? There were dozens of barrels back there he could've easily used! Maybe because they were toxic or something, but come on. They were out in the middle of the desert and Las Vegas clearly was not that close by. Whatever, I'm losing focus here. The action has mostly been replaced with comedy in this show, and surprise surprise, it's not good comedy. I don't even have any notes on what made me crack the slightest of smiles; nothing here was entertaining. So, is this the worst thing I've covered in this thread? No, Problem Solverz still has this one beat (and I think we have some even worse shows to cover later on), but wow that's not saying much. This episode is filled with garbage and that pretty aptly describes the show as a whole. THE BOTTOM LINE: No. RATING: 2 (leaning on 2.5)/10 (piece of shit) Okay Wheel, wanna cut me a break here? Maybe give me a show that I know and love? Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about. Original post:

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about a strange show that just so happened to also be entertaining. Will today's show get any stranger? (yes) #49: Clarence "Fun Dungeon Face Off" [April 14, 2014] Looks like it's time to cover another show I was very familiar with growing up. Like O.K. KO, I also remember people online talking about this show's pilot and wanting to see it greenlit, albeit in much smaller amounts. The difference between the two shows for me is, of course, that I actually watched this show consistently when it was first airing. I remember it being VERY weird, yet there was always this calm, slice-of-life feel underneath it. Are my thoughts going to be similar today? Let's find out...Aberdale is on the horizon. The episode begins with Sumo (hey, Tom's back!) watching a promotional video inside the fast food restaurant Rough Riders Chicken. Currently with him in the ordering line are his friends Clarence and Jeff, with Clarence's mother along to accompany them. It should be noted that Jeff has a much more levelheaded demeanor than Clarence and Sumo; for example he's a lot more specific with his order, and he isn't a fan of the unsanitary playplace. This becomes even more apparent when Clarence and Sumo begin messily mixing each other's food, leaving Jeff appalled. Jeff, who only ordered french fries, isn't willing to share them with his friends. In fact, he makes a scene in front of the whole restaurant by yelling when Clarence reaches for one of his fries. After making Clarence promise that he won't touch his fries, Jeff heads for the bathroom, but of course Clarence takes the fries so that Jeff will be forced to play with him and Sumo in the playplace. Upon Jeff's return, he notices his missing fries and is quickly enraged when he comes to the conclusion that Clarence ate them. He rushes into the playplace, does away with Sumo, and begins chasing Clarence through the network of tubes, ballpits, and bridges. While Sumo messes around with Jeff's previously discarded "girly" cow toy, Clarence and Jeff engage in a foam-padding swordfight on top of the tubes. The fight culminates with Jeff preparing to kick Clarence down a bottomless tube slide. Clarence then reveals he had Jeff's fries the whole time, completely uneaten, but they fall down the slide as he tries to toss them. Jeff, now calm, explains to Clarence that he has complex reasons for the way he behaves, even if he may not fully understand the reasons himself. He grabs on to Clarence's leg for one last moment before they "die", only to be greeted by Sumo eating the fries at the bottom. Jeff agrees to stay friends stay friends with Clarence as they leave the restaurant, and Sumo then realizes he left his cow toy at the restaurant, prompting him to internally sing an intentionally cringe-inducing love song, although Tom's voice makes it pretty funny. The end. Well, I agree with my past self that this show is definitely weird, but I still enjoy it today. I mentioned above how I remember there being more calm elements to the show, and while those may not have been on display in this episode you could still feel them underneath. I'd say it's the most accurate depiction of what childhood is like in a CN show thus far; sometimes fun, sometimes terrifying, sometimes sweet, oftentimes outright odd. I have to give the writers props for that. It doesn't hurt that the show is also pretty funny; my favorite moments are "all the kids love Clarence" transitioning into Jeff's "I'M GONNA KILL YOU, CLARENCE!", and the obvious parody of Yello's "Oh Yeah" playing near the end (how did I never pick up on that as a kid?). Before I finish this post, there's one more thing I want to bring up. I remember years ago seeing some online rando mention how they thought Jeff was the worst character on the show, and that left me feeling down because I felt like I shared a lot of character traits with Jeff. His intelligence, his desire to feel important, even his love for game shows, it all resonated with me. And as someone on the spectrum, I can absolutely relate to having strange personality quirks without much reason to them. I don't think it was ever explicitly said that Jeff wasn't neurotypical, but that's my headcanon now. Sue me. THE BOTTOM LINE: It's not often that you find an off-the-wall show with a comfy vibe at the same time. It is, for sure, worth it. RATING: 8 (leaning on 7.5)/10 (pretty good) Another nice trip down memory lane...how about giving me the next one sooner than later, Wheel? Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about. Original post:

Last time on "DMAN re-attempts to talk about every single CN original in existence", dman talked about what might be the most obscure show in the entire list. Today's show is nowhere close to obscure (especially with how long it ran), but it was still banned in his household...!!! #09: Ed, Edd n Eddy "The Ed-touchables" [January 4, 1999] Today's show completes the trifecta of CN shows I wasn't allowed to watch as a kid, although I never really understood the case for this one. Banning Courage and Billy & Mandy made sense to child me; they had a lot of horror elements to them and thus had potential to be traumatizing. What was the deal with this one? My best guess is because it was...not the nicest of shows, we'll say. It might've sent messages my parents didn't want me learning, yadda yadda, that kind of thing. Like the other two shows I mentioned however, the older me watched this one a lot when it was airing on Boomerang, and despite its nature I had quite a bit of fun with it. So let's see if I can still get a kick out of the Eds after all these years. The episode starts with Edd (Double D) labeling all the objects in his room before being rudely interrupted by Eddy. After some decontaminating, the two enter Double D's room and Eddy immediately begins messing things up. Double D then notices that his magnifying glass is missing, which causes him to panic. After Eddy calms him down (by slamming him with his bed), the two head off to Ed's house. Right as the three begin to horse around, an angry Sarah bursts into Ed's room. Now, if there's one thing I know about this show, it's that literally anyone who has ever watched it hates Sarah's guts. Anyways, her doll has gone missing as well and she blames Ed, which sends the group into a scuffle. Eventually, Eddy sees a connection and makes the claim that someone is taking- or touching- all of their possessions. Eddy announces this to the rest of the cul-de-sac, also saying he plans to put a stop to the "serial toucher", though the rest of the kids aren't too convinced. After setting up a trap, the Eds find Jonny (specifically his plank [named Plank]) touching Ed and they chase him down. The Eds hook both of them up to a lie detector/toaster, and Jonny's results come out as inconclusive. After Eddy subjects Plank to Chinese water torture, Jonny fesses up to taking the cul-de-sac kids' stuff and begs to use the bathroom. As punishment, Jonny is crammed into a tire and sent rolling down the road. The Eds go out to celebrate by buying jawbreakers, but before they can do so, Sarah interrupts them stating she found her doll under her bed, which prompts Double D to reveal he found his magnifying glass after further inspection. Undeterred, the Eds go out for jawbreakers anyway, but lose them after Jonny crashes into the trio, leaving them to chase their sweets down. The end. My parents my have had a point; if I had kids I probably wouldn't want them watching this show either. It's wild, it's stupid, it's mean...but it's a ton of fun. The plots escalate in absurdity like it's nobody's business, the background music and sound effects fit the show perfectly, any character who's hard to sit through always gets some form of comeuppance, and the show is funny as hell. My favorite moments include the rapidfire high-pitched doorbell of Double D's house near the start, the aforementioned "serial toucher" line by Eddy, and Plank's lie detector results (somehow) coming out as false. I had a great time rewatching this one, and I hope I'll have plenty more time to do so in the future, especially so I can get to the fads and breaking reality episodes. Just be glad this episode didn't involve the Kanker sisters (they're in the segment right after this one, oops). Also, because I'm a logo nerd I'm legally obligated to give mention to the a.k.a. Cartoon logo. What the fuck. THE BOTTOM LINE: I don't hold it against my parents for banning this one. Screw them though, this is good shit. RATING: 8 (leaning on 8.5)/10 (pretty good) Spin like you've never spun before, Wheel! Stay tuned for dman's next talk-about.

A lot can happen in a year. For instance, a certain SBC literature series could quickly grow to become one of the site's biggest hits in a long time. But as we see this show entering its fourth season, we have to ask the inevitable question. After all, this forum was made for fans of a series that famously began declining in its own fourth season. So if a lot of growth can happen in just one year, then...what does the opposite side of the coin look like? What could be looming for SBC What If's in its second year? What If...? Episode 25: What If...What If's Went Downhill? Like most media properties that made their slow marches into mediocrity, the downfall of SBC What If's didn't happen all at once. In fact, we can spot an early warning sign coming from just before the season 3 premiere. In late January 2025, one of the members of the initial writing crew suddenly received the pink slip. Rumor has it that he was let go after it was revealed that he puts the milk in before the cereal, and to make matters worse, it's largely believed he moved to North Korea not long after, so it's very unlikely he will ever be heard from again. Nevertheless, the rest of the writers pushed onward and delivered a few more seasons' worth of well-regarded episodes, even with one man down. That said, seasons 4 & 5 suffered from some recycled premises, especially noticeable when three episodes focusing on SBC being acquired by larger social media platforms all premiered in the same season. However, it wasn't until season 6 that things really went south for a variety of reasons, but most of them stem from Spongybobgod returning to the forums and threatening to steal all of the crew's doubloons unless they add him as a writer. Some of the problems with season 6 include but are not limited to: episodes becoming more deranged as opposed to comedic, multiple unwarranted references to Thomas the Tank Engine, and constant "jjs torture porn" episodes. Most infamously of all, the season ended on an episode where The Lurker overdoses on psilocybin and dies, causing a massive backlash on SBC that led to the show's cancellation. Sounds like a harsh fate for SBC What If's, huh? Well, you'll be glad to hear that this story actually has a happy ending. A long time passes after the show's cancellation, but eventually the series is rediscovered by none other than Clappy Jr. Inspired by his father's creation, he starts his own thread called "The New SBC What If's" starting with the episode "What If...What If's Were Revived After 14 Years?". History ends up repeating itself as it becomes one of the most successful lits in the site's history, and several newer users join to write more acclaimed episodes. And so, the cycle of What If's continues. No matter how many people say it's "not as good as it used to be" or make videos discussing the moment What If's died, it will be here to stay...forever. ♫ terminoob, Sandy dies, Sonymount stalls our lives, jjs steams some hams, Stories burn, evil plans, Prez the prez, Lurker lurks, Squidward's sad, Enter's worse, WhoBob's pet, MrBeast, PieGuyWrites, forums seized, Last Airbender takes control, Fights during the Super Bowl, Hillenburg, DS Guy, Giraffes, questions, xat's alive, Wiki episodes not faked, SpongeBob's ghost, 4EG's mate, "What If's Died in Season 4", I can't take it anymore! We'll always ponder "What If...?" Have no fears, we've got queries for years, like: "What If...Zaid was AI?" Maybe Cha makes Count Bleck real, Meep could own some anchovies, or How 'bout some meta nonsense? Where something happens, and doo-doo-doo-doo-doo... Sorry for the spoilers! Have no fears, we've got queries for years... ♫