Sammy review

 The best things in life are found by accident and in the least likely of places. Did you know old reels of episodes of a vintage British cartoon were found in a pigshed? It goes to show how even the most obscure of things can find their way back into the public conscious, well, beyond the ensuing search and discussion.

There exists a cartoon so unknown, so paradoxical, people are amazed it's so hard to find. It's name was Sammy. It had come and gone within a week, vanishing without a trace in plain sight for over twenty years, then by some miracle it was found by the same guy who found The Electric Piper. Thanks Matt.

Context

Sammy was a late entry by NBC to cash in on the trend of adult animation. It started as early as the early-mid 90s when CBS and ABC threw their hats into the ring to compete with the then popular The Simpsons, NBC was a no-show since Jackie Bison was too much for them. If you never heard of their efforts, you're not missing much, but don't listen to Saberspark, Family Dog was the worst of them, a disaster and irrevocable stain on the resume of writers from Animaniacs and Batman: TAS.

ABC would try again with The Critic, which years from now would turn out to be shit, NBC brought over Stressed Eric, which already had a low density of episodes by then and CBS was so traumatized by Family Dog they just never bothered to do animation again (Lower Decks and whatever else don't count since it was on a streaming service that otherwise has a programing schedule different than the main network, especially now since it's currently Paramount+)

It wasn't until 2000 where the prospect was revisited. As The Simpsons started to wain in popularity, networks saw the opportunity to curbstomp, I mean it makes sense if they did. ABC tried with Clerks: The Animated Series but then changed their mind quite quickly when Who Wants to be a Millionaire hit the scene.

NBC seemed to be more in it in 2000, airing God, The Devil & Bob in March. However as history shows, religious groups took offense to the show (though ironically it's creator was an ordained minister and the show proved to be incredibly humane (even surprising me when I caught it on Adult Swim years later)). That, along with low ratings gave NBC cold feet, and led them to holding over another animated show in the pipeline, Sammy being it.

Due to contractual obligation, NBC had to air a certain number of episodes, two being it, so they burned it off within a week with no promotion. The show was known, even being discussed in Variety, but when it came to footage, everyone was SOL. Until (May 24th, 2021)

The Show

Sammy was a pet project by David Spade, all things considered. He starred in, produced and created the show alongside NewsRadio and Zoolander writer Drake Sather. He liked the idea of voicing characters so much he did it twice here. Since 1997 it was common for comedians to star in their own sitcoms, well, the lessers in the gene pool, Pauly Shore got one, Jenny McCarthy got one, you get the picture.

The show was co-produced by Brad Grey, who helped produce another Spade project for the same network Just Shoot Me!, then ongoing. It was animated through Adelaide Productions, as Grey was heavily associated with Sony as far back as The Larry Sanders Show. The art direction was handled by Everett Peck. If you draw comparisons to Klasky Csupo shows when you see the art, he worked there prior. They even produced his first creative effort, Duckman.

You could say a celebrity project would've spelled this show's fate, but thirteen episodes were promised, maybe they saw something we didn't. But then again the ratings would just so happen to go down at some point. Unfortunately I doubt people would welcome this that warmly, that comes with the territory.

Alright now really the show

Sammy doesn't necessarily center on Sammy. Rather, it centers on actor James Blake, in a mirror representation of David Spade's early days in Hollywood, mixed with some personal life stuff. It goes deeper when you realize Spade brought his father in as a consultant. Oh by the way, Spade voices the both of them.

It's a rather blase take on the lavish Hollywood lifestyle. Think Daria but on the west coast, and James isn't at odds with himself or the world. James' estranged father Sammy wants to get back into James' life, probably because he's famous as that was the first time he has seen him since. Sammy is, for all intents and purposes, a womanizing creep who sees his kids as an unfortunate addition at worst, and a means to an end at best. It wasn't as common in most adult cartoons at the time, so perhaps Sammy was ahead of its time in that regard.

The rest of James' family is at least mostly aware of Sammy's shitheadery, that being his brother Gary who is more unwilling to let Sammy back into their lives, and Todd, who seems to only be a few braincells ahead of Ajax Duckman. For better or worse, James is more lenient toward Sammy and isn't as willing to lay down the law, at least as hard.

Deep down James missed Sammy and wanted a father figure in his life, so he's taking whatever opportunity he has. Based on the plotlines of other episodes, it seems Sammy would take the wheel as a hero or someone who wants to try and make up for his past. The other episodes are on the way, so for now, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. For now it seems people react appropriately to Sammy's smarmy behavior.

Other characters on the Hollywood end are Spade's agent Mark Jacobs who is surprisingly cooperative for a Hollywood agent, even with a slight ego. I got no word on the female associate, the first episode didn't give me that much to work off of. Mark walks the line between generic tone deaf agent and one who's compassionate enough to help.

The first episode didn't give me a whole lot to go off of, which is sad since this is one of two episodes to have made it to air. Though I'm not deterred from wanting to see more of it, 

In a way, the fact that James and Sammy are voiced by Spade represents different sides to a celebrity feature, one is blase about the experience while the other wants to give it most of his all, or maybe it just represents both sides to Spade, his typical one and his comedic one.

Overall

I have my doubts this show will be that warmly received, though I feel terrible this had been lost for so many years. Sammy isn't the greatest show ever, it can feel a bit slow and Sammy can weigh on your patience, but I guess it's refreshing to see a cartoon where Hollywood isn't portrayed as some malevolent boogeyman with imps as agents.

I do love how Sammy's actions aren't necessarily rewarded, and when James gets the short end because of Sammy it's usually for something James had no interest in to begin with (that one time actually got fixed later on.) I have a feeling the deeper side of things is left up to interpretation, but hey that's something. However people feel about the show, that's their right, but at the very least Spade can go on knowing something that clearly meant a good deal to him is seeing the light of day yet again.

Now, here's something people are gonna wonder. Is Sammy a worse dad than the one from Allen Gregory? Well, at the very least those who he left behind have the will to stand up to him and don't want him back in their lives, he's just obnoxious in general but didn't work to destroy someone's marriage to give the a hollow life and his kids won't carry on with his worst traits.

I dunno.

LTA: Loud Family Dynamic

 I hate the Loud House so much I talked about it twice apparently. This'll just be me expanding on one single point from my last entry, but ah, that's only partly true. While I will call back to that point, I wanna focus on the overall dynamic between Lincoln and his sisters, and why it feels so hollow in the longrun.

I'm no hater, I ducked out of Cartoonshi's Loud House video when he said he hated Lynn, sorry, but that prospect was ruined when it turned out 99% of that hatedom consist of pedophiles with an albinism fetish, and with how mainstream loudcest is, plus the fact some men can envision themselves as Lincoln getting all the love from the girls, it'll take a hell of a lot to convince me otherwise.

The show seemed to have a 90s appeal, but when you think about it, it feels like it's close to nothing when compared to other 90s Nicktoons.

Planks for Nothing

A show about a family of eleven siblings is an interesting idea on paper. But the execution is a different story. With so many characters, it'd be hard to give them all both a unique personality and additional dimensions, and a glut of main characters would just make things complicated. Those who don't make the cut are literally cut out, just ask Judy Winslow.

It can be done, but only for a set number. They really got it down in the sitcoms of the 70s, The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch. With The Partridge Family it's easy to identify everyone as they are of different ages and interest, not to mention the fact that they're all a band would justify all of them being together.

With The Brady Bunch, they really play off the aspects typical of their age groups, the teenaged elders, the middle children and the youngest, not to mention their ability to play off of one another.

Granted any show could have characters play off one another, even The Loud House, but at times it only feels like it happens when it's convenient to the plot. Other times it's either expected or indicative of other shows. We know Lincoln won't get along with Lori so they play up the teen bitch aspect a bulk of the time. We know Lola is stuck up and spoiled at times but can swallow her pride. It only took five seconds for us to get Luan's schtick, and it takes up 95% of her character.

As mentioned in my previous entry, because of a stark glut of character or just bad writing, every character abides to their own archetype. They have other traits, but a stark bulk of their character is their archetype, it's the first thing that comes to mind with their characters, well except for Lincoln who has no real character. Fight me.

For many of these family tales, there isn't any nuance to the characters to make the story stand out from others like it, it really feels like it's down to basic components, mixed with stereotypes. Not to mention for a show so late into the game, even episodes that do things differently feel expected. Even times where the siblings try to help Lincoln feels predictable, and how often does it carry out to future episodes?

The characters are hardly likable enough for me to give them a deeper look, their arcs are par the course at worst, average at best. Archetypes are hardly characters in and of themselves, and these characters are only about 20% more than that.

But what the hell does that mean?

The characters are about as hollow as their relationship. For many of the interactions, once more, it's accepted at this point, and once you find a pattern that's all you could see. I have yet to see any meaningful interactions that aren't what you could potentially see in other cartoons. Hell, at times when things end saccharine or bitter, it hardly feels unique. I say unique given the success this show had, and with it overrated by many, you gotta call these things out.

When it comes to shows like that, I gotta question if the creators even had siblings. Now sure, Chris Savino had a family like that, but he's also a very crappy writer. It would've been better if it was boiled down to a few siblings, with them taking three traits from the others to get a more fleshed out character. The point to animation is to embellish reality, not every aspect of real life can translate well. No character has a second unique trait, though whatever second trait there is, it's expected or for convienence.

No one sister loves Lincoln more than the other, that's hardly fleshed out. They seem to have a hive mentality most of the time and however they treat Lincoln depends on the conflict of the day, it's hardly based on going off of personality (unless it's minimal) and more of plot convenience. I hardly feel the chemistry, it all feels manufactured most of the time; this is a boy who's in an all girl's family, his life is sad most of the time.

It really feels as though Lincoln does more for his sister than they do for him. He puts aside his selfish desires for his own sisters... at times selfish desires, with very little payoff. We're supposed to feel satisfied Lincoln made a sacrifice, but if all he gets is respect from his sisters and a bad ending, it feels like a hollow victory, like he's just making their lives better and getting little to show for it.

Even when I liked the show, the sibling interactions did not rank highly for me. No wonder we had a glut of saccharine, over-dramatic fanfics. Even the fans see what I see, though I can't describe it.

Sibling interactions work better when it's just two siblings, at least from what I've seen. Angry Beavers and CatDog got it down to a science.

With Angry Beavers, it's fair game to which brother is the most annoying, sometimes Dag can drive Norb nuts, but the shoe can easily go on the other foot. They argue and bicker a lot, but at the end of the day, they do care for one another, they just don't feel like admitting to it.

Ironically, CatDog has the most wholesome brotherly relationship of the two. The two play off each other very well and have a good balance. Cat is the smart one but doesn't think things through, Dog is the dumb one but at times is the most logical. It's more obvious they truly care for one another, but can't help but give into their habits. CatDog aren't archetypes, they're characters who have those archetypes.

I guess it isn't fair to compare, as Dag and Norb and CatDog don't have the privileged upbringing the Louds do, but chemistry is more clear and apparent for the two. Odds are clearly against them and they try to get by, while putting up with their differences, and none are bound to the exact same dynamic so things could be kept interesting.

The kinder moments don't feel as unique, had it not been for the personalities I'd say they're borderline interchangeable, anyone could be in that situation, with only the interests varying. We don't get the character with a personality expanding on their relationship with their sibling, we just get a personality that affects another character.

I have yet to see a believable interaction that wasn't just ragging and dysfunction.

To reiterate

The chemistry the Louds have feels disingenuous, hollow and rather basic, all things considered. The fact the sisters are all primarily singular personalities really hones in on how easy it is to produce and manage The Loud House, there really is no soul to it.

So why am I telling you this again? The sibling dynamic is one of the biggest points people use in favor of the show, I had to throw my piece in on that.

If you wanna see for yourself, check out an episode of The Loud House, then pop in an episode of Angry Beavers and CatDog and tell me which one emanates the best sibling relationship.

Episodes with Jarringly Different Art Styles

 When it comes to any cartoon show, you become adjusted to the style it has. You can understand a shift between seasons because the budget either got higher or lower, I'd say outsourcing has something to do with it but only half the time.

But what if for one episode, we're given something that looks borderline unfamiliar, not necessarily bad, but certainly different. I'm gonna go over a collection of episodes that have noticeably different animation styles that only happened in the one episode.

Note, I won't include pilot episodes that were otherwise unedited or were shown first, this is more about whiplash than anything else.

Rocko's Modern Life: Trash o' Madness

Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way. I'm well aware this is a repurposing of the show's pilot, but imagine if you have watched the entirety of Rocko up to this point and you catch this episode, you'd be thinking something is off. It seems the staff were feeling a little lazy at this point, as rather than redo the episode from scratch, they just decided to mix it with some new footage, and edit the pilot stuff to get Rocko to his definitive color scheme.

Let's be honest, it's incredibly obvious parts of these are different from the other. Aside from that it keeps with the spirit the show became established on, nothing more to say about it, but I kinda wanted to see what it would've been like if they redid the entire episode from scratch.

Not to mention funnily enough even by production order this wouldn't be the first episode, that honor goes to Carnival Knowledge, just thought I'd let you know.

Evil Con Carne: Ultimate Evil

Until this point, each season of Evil Con Carne had some level of consistency, both building off of the visual aesthetics of the style Maxwell Atoms created before giving this a shinier look, something The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy would do later on.

This episode was considered part of the first season, but technically was the second to last episode ever produced. It can be considered a transition between the visual styles both seasons have, we got the first season designs, but Dr. Ghastly has a look that seems to be a cross between what was normal for her in that season and what would be in the next, I dunno she looks weird when you pay enough attention.

Other than that this episode is nothing special. Only thing I can point out is that General Skarr had a surprisingly consistent visual appearance, even going as far back as the pilot, with Ghastly coming in second and Boskov in third as he technically had the most drastic.

Ren and Stimpy: It's a Dog's Life

I talked about this episode beforehand, but it bears re-discussion for the sake of this little list. This was one of two episodes to have been outsourced to Wang Film Productions. Other episodes were done in Canada, namely Lacewood Productions and Carbunkle Cartoons. Funnily enough, while Lair of the Lummox looks close to what was normal for the show at the time, when you really take a deeper look at the episode you can see some big differences.

These can mostly be seen on Ren, who does a bunch of cutesy looks otherwise not common in other episodes, notably in the first limo scene and his encounter with the late Ezekiel. It's funny how people consider this a bad episode, when it looks different enough to be something that can be called well out of its scope.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Hooky/Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II

I get they hired a different overseas team for this one episode, but think about it. This is the only episode in the first season to be animated like this, and at least one episode happened to be the worst episode in the entire season, no matter what many simps will make you believe. It's an example of an episode that goes too far on teaching someone a lesson, and a big reason why I could care less about comeuppance.

Unless some people get a sick thrill out of humiliation.

The b-segment was good though.

Freddy's Nightmares review

 Nobody loves A Nightmare on Elm Street more than New Line Cinema. They love the movie so much, they want to keep it alive as long as humanly possible, a bit like Friday the 13th. While the latter got fucked over for the sake of making an artifact hunting show seem interesting (though to be fair it might've been good), Freddy Krueger didn't get horribly burned, at best just lightly burned.

How could you drag down a slasher movie to a very dim sum of its parts? Three words, television horror anthology. Now don't get me wrong, it's easy to make an anthology work whether it be on television or film, even the second revival of The Twilight Zone has fans. But those that work are either standalone deals or were in a similar vein beforehand.

We'll get into the downfall in a bit, right now we need to give some context.

Welcome to syndie-time bitch!

History

We have a lot to unpack here, so hang tight.

Freddy's Nightmares came out just a few months after the A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, which to be fair wasn't entirely shit, most I can say about the fifth is that it made for an interesting false memory I had as a child, spoiler, it's about the distributor logo.

Anyhow, either to follow the ongoing relevance the property had or to keep it up for the then in-production fifth installment, a television series was produced for syndication. To add to how far they were pushing the franchise, it's also known as A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series, though it has only has half to do with what the series is based on, once more hang on till we get there.

First run syndication is a gamble, on one hand you can get away with a bit more than you normally would because they're not competing with prime-time networks and don't need to abide to stricter standards. On the other hand, syndicated shows are typically produced cheaper than network programs, and it shows with many of them.

Horror anthologies are commonly found through syndication, well, horror anthologies that aren't already based on more popular programs from the 50s or 60s. Perhaps to avoid taking a hit but potentially gain new viewers to their then ongoing franchise, New Line wanted to make sure only enough money was put toward the show.

If you want a crash course on the kinds of anthology programs I'm talking about, look at Chiller's programing list from the mid to late-2000s, they even took on a show from Kids WB of all places (I'll give you a hint, it was the only one not animated, and basically another Goosebumps. It was good though.)

One interesting thing is that it basically predicted New Line Cinema getting absorbed by Warner Bros. later down the road. The show was initially distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures (who had also distributed Tales from the Darkside at one point), until Warner Bros. gobbled it up and handled distribution in the show's final year.

The only other production company involved was Stone Television. It's owner was already involved with Lorimar-Telepictures as vice president which is how they became involved with this show. But funny thing is, even before then, Stone were mainly involved with game shows, before then producing Fun House. More seasoned viewers may recognize them from Shop Till You Drop (namely the PAX run), more likely Legends of the Hidden Temple or The Men Show.

The company is still around, though the last thing they ever did that I cared about was BrainSurge, which I watched a lot of for some reason. Maybe it was good, it was hosted by Jeff Sutphen, who early to mid-2000s Nickelodeon watchers may recognize as Pick Boy from U-Pick Live.

Now for something more obvious. This show was actually where many notable actors got their start. Since the show was produced for syndication, they obviously don't want to spend that much money on big name actors, so they went for whoever wanted to get their feet wet. Notable actors I can name off the top of my head are Morris Chestnut and Brad Pitt. Jeffrey Combs was also in this, and this was back during his Herbert West era where he resembled a creepy Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy sucks, but Seth is far from a creep)

Side note, syndication is usually an indication for when actors are no longer considered valuable. Ask Jeff Conoway, I'll lend you my ouija board.

It's about damn time

How can an anthology program centered on Freddy Krueger be bad? Simple, reduce his presence to that of wraparounds. Now granted, there are episodes centered on him, even the first which was directed by Tobe Hooper (I'd say of all people, but he was starting to kick back by then, not that I'd care because it seems the classics turn out to be shit in hindsight.)

I haven't seen them in full, but they at least make do with the lower standards, and given how many encounters with Freddy play out I imagine they'd get old before long, so with the splits between when we see them they can be a nice little treat for your patience. However, what we get a greater bulk of the time are scary stories centered on teenagers.

Teenagers typically are the reason most shows from an era get dated. We work to try and incorporate elements that fits kids of the era, and with ever changing fashion sensibilities it's a death sentence for older shows. These episodes tend to range from legitimately disturbing to silly by Elm Street standards, even struggling to keep up with the topic it goes by as it sells on the idea something is wrong.

But on that later bit, while these can be used to spell out it's a dream, they already spelled that out by showing our protagonists going to sleep. And without Freddy popping in at all we know it's a matter of them just waking up fine and dandy until something probably happens. That could've been a way to get Freddy in proper, have them go the motions of their day and have things gradually go wrong until they get to a twisted degree. These wrongs could center on something they did or think wrong, and Freddy would slay them if they aren't repentant or let them live if they do.

That itself sounds like an interesting twist on the dream slayer mechanic.

Now look, I get it, in the movies Freddy mainly attacks teenagers in their dreams, so I guess they were doomed outside of the horror crowd.

Most of the episodes I've seen, I wonder if this was aimed for a more conservative crowd. This was set in Ohio for the record. One episode has two happy endings, where one kid works to apply himself after slacking (even having an asshole dad who doesn't get shit any point after), and one kid after sleeping during the SATs winds up landing a record deal after submitting demos.

Stay in school, and rock music is for the devil. Frankly that one story from the show b-movie meat puppet Eric Roberts hosted made it more interesting, they even had Corey Feldman. I mean then again Freddy's main targets were teenagers so for all I know this was the work of a boomer who hated generation x. I could be wrong, but who gives a fuck what I think?

The structure behind the show is two stories per episode, but it's unique in that they're sorta connected. By that, I mean the protagonists are either friends or in a relationship. I'll admit, I've never seen that been done before.

There was one segment I kinda liked, where a kid is forced to spend his summer working for his uncle. One, I can relate, when working with your relatives there's a clear separation between home and work. Two, the protagonist is pretty cool, he's able to stand up for himself and make due with his situation. Even in the face of his uncle killing people for ingredients, he's able to lay the kill, at least in his dream. For real though, his uncle is done in by an oven explosion. Long story short, the kid got the business.

Most of the episodes do take some surprising turns, but the fact we know they're asleep means something would be up by default. The Freddy episodes are the highpoints to it, and if the show was built entirely around him it could've held over fans of Nightmare on Elm Street long enough for New Line to spend more time on soon to come films.

Overall

Freddy's Nightmares frankly left much to be desired. It felt more like an edgy version of Saved by the Bell in terms of fashion and sensibilities at the time. But wait a sec, this was the best route to take in terms of a quick cash-in to promote your show. They could've easily done a miniseries centered on Freddy Krueger before he got burned, or have episodes where he plays god and slaughters those who deserve it, on the matter of destroying him it'd be unceremonious if it was done on a TV show.

If you were willing to show us graphic scenes then I think you could've gotten away with a hell of a lot more here. I'd say Freddy killed the creator in his sleep, but aside from Wes Craven who's credited as the character creator, the only other creator on this, Jeff Freilich is still kicking, both professionally and literally. Otherwise I'd question why Freddy would kill his creator and how he could create a brain tumor.

Ranking Every Adult Party Cartoon Episode

 Since my review of Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon, I have seen every single episode. Don't worry, I didn't miss much beyond an episode that was basically nothing. I mean it was easy since there were only six episodes, so to commerate that little nothing, I'm gonna rank all six episodes from the worst to the best, by my crazy standards.

It may seem fruitless given how done to death this show is, but just know one certain episode won't be at the bottom, it's already something new to the table by default in that regard.

Naked Beach Frenzy

This episode is either a testimony to the theory the network wanted the show to be as raunchy as humanly possible, or a look into a perverted mind, I wouldn't be saying that had it not been for what happened to John Kricfalusi.

I'm not getting on this episode because of the concept, but because of how the episode is built on one small thing alone. Ren and Stimpy dink around a beach full of busty chicks, that's not just a summary, that's just the entire episode summed up. This episode is like a case of blue balls, you put some work into it, but it turned out to be so repetitive that you couldn't bring yourself to ejaculate.

Granted, there were episodes in the original show that basically consisted of ongoing non-sequiturs, but either the jokes were good enough to justify watching it to the end or there was a greater point to it. The only point here is to drive the raunch factor, but they forgot to give it any meaning.

Either that or John Kricfalusi is the only man capable of making attractive women look ugly. You've seen the faces in Ctrl-Alt-Del, basically every woman, once you knock the hair and skin, are basically the same, objects if you will, for the sake of trying to get men hard. I'd say I'm happy this is one of three episodes that never made it to air, probably because men would call the network to complain the episode somehow made masturbation boring.

If you want to get hard to big busty action, Stripperella is right up your alley, now there's a show a sensible man can enjoy.

Overall, this episode is basically Adult Party Cartoon boiled down to its worst aspects.

Stimpy's Pregnant

I mean it's still better than Rabbit Test, it's more focused on its plot at the very least. I fault this episode just for making an interesting premise bare basic. Granted they play off the stereotypes associated with pregnancy, but that's where the episode falters. It's very predictable.

If this was an episode about Ren hiding his repressed homosexuality by framing Stimpy as a girl now that would sell me for sure. If you deny that then you deny the struggles the LGBT faces on a daily basis.

But there is a twist at the end, I won't say what it is because I wanna see how many of you can figure it out. Tell me in the comments what turn you'd think they'd make. No hints.

Fire Dogs 2

I haven't seen Fire Dogs 1, but this just goes off of the ending of that episode. I guess if they had to do a sequel in relation to a more adult direction this was the way to go. I'm picking up on a hidden thriller narrative here, a tale on how rampant masculinity can damage one's psyche and harm those close to them.

I mean the episode give me nothing more to think about, not to mention there's no real pay-off here, it just abruptly ends. If Ralph Bakshi exploded while shitting on the toilet that would be a better ending, one that'd fit the style the show was going for.

It's not like uncomfortable interactions weren't common in Ren and Stimpy, I've seen them in both the Spumco and Games runs of the show, even one that made up a grand bulk of one episode. Even if I haven't seen the original, I probably wouldn't be offended by this if I had.

In a better world, this episode would be an ideal place where Ren and Stimpy would show signs of self-restraint and a desire to preserve some sense of dignity. Maybe we'd get that in Fire Dogs 3 if that ever happens.

I will say this, I'm fine with the fact this is one of three episodes that made it to air.

Altruists

One thing that helped get this higher on the list is a copy I found that contained a clip of John Kricfalusi giving context. This episode is basically a parody of The Three Stooges in terms of how they beat up each other, only to drop everything to help someone in need.

I kinda see that here, mixed with the sensibilities the show had at this point, along with whatever spirit remained of the original show. Was it unpleasent? Yes, but not in unreasonable paramaters, other episodes showed me far worse. Dare I say this episode is one of the closer ones to the original show in terms of feel, like if John Kricfalusi had no restrictions during his time on Nick we probably would've got this episode at some point.

Just know at the very least things end happily in this episode, with the only thing keeping it down being a cardinal sin the show has, dragging most jokes for far too long.

Ren Seeks Help

Yes, this episode is higher up. Yes, I don't consider this to be the worst episode of any show of all time. Yes, you're free to quit me and call me a dissident.

I've seen this episode twice, both times after I learned of the infamy it had and both times well apart from each other. Why do I not hate this episode?

Well let me put it like this. Every episode of Ren and Stimpy are basically separate from one another. Nothing in one episode ever happens again in another, hence known characters taking different roles, Ren and Stimpy living in different houses, them being alive after getting stuffed, etc.

So why would I take offense to an episode that has no impact on any other? People either take things too personally or they just had an attachment to the original show.

To reiterate, I've seen the original show first, I know what was once established, but I made it clear both this and that are basically separate, or should be. I always knew Ren was at least a touch demented, that was made clear even years before, anyone who tells you otherwise likely only watched a little bit of the original.

Not to mention when Ren kills Mr. Horse, A. it was partly self-defense, B. if he did die, why else would he be in Stimpy's Pregnant? It's almost as if no episode has set continuity and all are just individual stories. Hint hint.

Though it's higher up here mainly because of the impact it made, regardless of whether it's good or bad. It got people talking, it had no little girls in skimpy outfits as if it was talking about the dangers of exploitation while not making it blatantly obvious and leaving material for the creeps' wrath.

Not to mention it wasn't bad enough to get the show cancelled on Spike evidentially, this was the second of three episodes to air after all.

Onwards and Upwards

This was the first episode I've seen of the show proper. I have seen it multiple times, and a scene of it through a commercial means this was my very first encounter with Ren and Stimpy at all, so it holds a special place.

Though it's not that great, drawing out one gag in various different ways and basically negating a statement in regards to upper class living, or maybe they didn't, and basically shows snobs and slobs are cuts from the same cloth. That accounts for a bulk of the episode, though maybe far too much of it.

Perhaps ironically, this is one of the more tolerable episodes of the show, I'm sure, it should be. Like Altruists there's a little of the original show in terms of spirit, mixed with what Adult Party Cartoon was going for.

I have little to say about this episode, but given how each episode falls into the same issue of dragging jokes for too long and over-emphasizing the adult aspect it's going for, it's higher up because it's more tolerable compared to the other episodes, like free of major infamy. It's worth a top spot for that alone, and I'm happy this is where it began.

Final Thoughts

Having seen the entire show, there're only two episodes I'd never fuck with again, and out of six that's not too bad. I'd see at least more than half of Adult Party Cartoon again if I wanted to.

If there was one thing I can thank Cans Without Labels for is that it gave me a reason to appreciate Adult Party Cartoon more. I didn't get the trouble with it, even after I saw one episode for the first time, and I wasn't deterred from checking out the rest of the show afterwards, though I took my sweet ass time.

If you ever go into this show, treat it as if the show is its own entity, independent from its child-aimed brother, and judge it from there. It's not high art or anything, and if you have the stomach for some mindless entertainment, at least go by my rankings.

Honestly Adult Party Cartoon is far from the worst cartoon I've ever seen, Drawn Together was far more depraved and desperate, plus Tara Strong was in that, and yeah, even Family Guy is worse than Adult Party Cartoon because APC was more honest in regards to its raunch factor.

Adult Party Cartoon review

Is it too late to cover Adult Party Cartoon? Yeah, if you're gonna say what everyone else has said about it countless times before. Does this mean I'm gonna do a positive review? Well depends on your point of view on that. Plot thickens true believers. Also if the Ren and Stimpy reboot holds water, this is meant to coincide with the property becoming relevant again.

Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon is a pseudo continuation of the 90s staple The Ren and Stimpy Show, but this one is special, as it promised to not hold back on the humor the show was proud to have slipped by the censors. But that was not to be. It's the worst show ever, it killed the integrity of the characters who brought the original show to life, it led to John Kricfalusi to leaving the television industry cold turket, and it created a black hole that swallowed all of humanity to the point no other life could continue on.

Actually at least one of those was bullshit.

The show was a failure, that's undeniable. John wanted the show to demonstrate what he can do unrestrained, but the network wanted to push the envelope on a more extreme take to promote their upcoming animation block. In a way, this wound up looking bad on John's part because a lack of restraint wound up leading to a lack of merit. It seems a stark percentage of the show's critics happened to be fans of the original show, but what about outsiders?

Background

John Kricfalusi was kicked off of the Ren and Stimpy Show after that show's second season, owed in part to missing deadlines and him pushing for far too much for the network. His departure led to a black hole that swallowed- I mean episodes that apparently sucked. But it didn't, I think people just want to diss the Games era episodes to sound smart.

John kept by through independent content and commercial work, but would try his hand at television again with the Ripping Friends in 2001, before that bit it too. But then the winds of luck blew his way. After a country station began a shift to more mainstream content (and by that I mean stuff for the b-movie and edgelord crowd), they would gradually turn into Spike TV.

As it and Nickelodeon were owned by the same company, John got an opportunity to revive the show in his own way, freed from the restraints of censorship due to the demographic Spike was heavily aiming for, and no one wanted this more than the network. Though in some way, their ideas seemed more like suggestions that John went for, either that or he was pressured to drive the point home how networks feel about adults.

The failure of the show can be attributed to a lack of faith in the intelligence of the grown ass men who they cater to, and questions to whether or not John is more than the sum of his squishy parts. Six episodes were ordered, but thanks to, you guessed it, delays, and low ratings, it died off after three episodes, meaning even the network came to their senses so to speak, and John did ultimately hate what came out of it. Billy West notably refused to take part in the show feeling it'll kill his career, the guy's a regular Nostradamus.

But what really brought John K. to the curb was a lawsuit by a subcontractor that killed his production company. What really killed his career wouldn't happen for some time after, and for the sake of not being biased, I won't bring it up.

Adult Party Cartoon was, ironically, my first introduction to Ren and Stimpy, I caught it through commercials when I watched Spike TV with my family during the late nights as a kid. I had also watched The Simpsons and The Sopranos, which probably explains my warped perspective on media and life. Just for the record, my first exposure to Ren and Stimpy proper was Lair of the Lummox, which I caught when I pulled my first all nighter when watching Nicktoons Network.

So About The Show

As blasphemous as it is for me to say, the show still has the spirit of the original, but it also has a lot more swearing and gross-out. Now sure, the latter had appeared in the original as well, dare I say to a similar result in either era, but both at large are just desperate attempts at appealing to older audiences, though really they alienate them because they believe the show is taking them for drooling Eeediots.

And that can really account for the show as a whole, it's just the original with some unfortunate inclusions, and a case for why there's such a thing as executive meddling. Express yourself, but limit yourself from going too far, otherwise the prospect will be tainted.

What made the original show work was subtlety when it came to more adult jokes. Writers would try their hardest to let whatever they could slip by standards and practices, which would pay off when older viewers would look back and pick up on what they were going for. Without any restraint, you're basically left with whether or not you wanna sit through half an hour of frankly repetitive depravity.

Ren and Stimpy have also faced some degradation, being stripped down to basic traits just to push the tone the network wanted. You know those kinds of shows that feature two best friends who live with and do everything together? This show is basically pushing the gay undertones implied, like, to a very obvious extent. I'm all for same sex relationships, but if their reason for being is to drive an edge factor, it comes off as hollow in the long run.

But let's get to the elephant in the room, that one episode spoken in incredibly loud whispers, review fodder for the easily offended, Ren Seeks Help. I have seen the episode twice, it wasn't my first introduction to this show, it was the first episode, and sure I get where it went horribly wrong, but I wasn't really offended, even if I knew what the show used to be.

The way I see Ren and Stimpy is that every episode is in a bubble. It has no set continuity, anything can happen and none would be the wiser. I can buy one bubble that has Ren as a sociopathic... whatever for one episode, and technically when he killed Mr. Horse it was part self-defense and part insanity.

In regards to the spirit, I can compare Ren and Stimpy's time with Ralph Bakshi in Fire Dogs 2 to their interaction with Wilbur Cobb in terms of the lingering sense of discomfort, though Fire Dogs 2 pales in comparison due to how long it dragged on. 

I haven't seen the second half of the episodes, the ones that didn't air, though I imagine Naked Beach Frenzy to be blunt with what it has to offer. I at the very least saw the episodes people initially did, the ones that made it to air.

I will say this about the show, I kinda enjoyed Eric Bauza's take on Stimpy. You could never get the same results with a different guy, but Bauza came close. In spite of John returning to voice Ren, having previously done so in the first two seasons of the original show, it doesn't sound the same. This is a plus because it can help mark a means of separation between the two shows.

Animation/Style

The show has the same level of animation as the original one, at least in spirit. The characters are more expressive here than they have any right to be, though it does amplify what the writers were going for here. If anything, the animation is the closest you could get to an objective plus. Though it seems they put more time on the characters than the backgrounds and other stuff most of the time. I noticed a background glitch in at least one episode. Priorities.

Overall

Yes, Adult Party Cartoon is a bad show and born out of a lack of foresight, fed by a network that were basically clueless to what adults were into and neutered of the subtlety and implicative nature that made the original show so groundbreaking. I mean come on, the original Ren and Stimpy could've been aired on Spike and none would be the wiser, the last few new episodes aired on MTV of all places.

Oh yeah, along with Adult Party Cartoon, Spike aired episodes of the original Ren and Stimpy as well, but then again without any reason the episodes would've lacked a reason for being there. To put it into perspective, this was part of a dedicated animation block which at large only had two other shows. I imagine it would've been dull if Ren and Stimpy made up a stark glut of the block.

I get why people hate the show, but I was able to get past that because I saw this and the original as entirely separate from one another. Take everything you know about Ren and Stimpy and forget it, and you're just left with an edgy show that can either overstay its welcome or provide some half hours of discomfort.

When you take into account the more twisted nature of most Ren and Stimpy episodes, Adult Party Cartoon only amps it up a little higher, at least in terms of the shock, the gross out is otherwise more of the same, if not overkill.

Since only six episodes were ever made, it could make for a fun little binge to see how far you could make it. The first half for beginners, the second half for the intermediate.

At large, Adult Party Cartoon is a case for moderate restraint, and proof that the creator can't always make the best choices for their own creation. But Cans Without Labels is proof that there are worse things in this world.

At the very least Adult Party Cartoon wasn't on Kickstarter and we didn't pay money to see it.

Episode Review: It's a Dog's Life (Ren and Stimpy)

 In late-1992, after having all they could take with John Kricfalusi, Nickelodeon kicked him off The Ren and Stimpy Show and took it into their own hands, well they put it in Bob Camp's hands. It was the worst later seasons ever, it caused the end of civilization as we knew it.

Actually I'm bullshitting, though with grade A elitism still alive and well it felt like it, for all I know millions of fans prefer the younger crowd. The reasons people hate the Games era of Ren and Stimpy are as substantial as those for Magical Girl Friendship Squad, as in maybe one but that's really about it.

Aside from some minor differences, the spirit was kept in the switch, and the only people otherwise are those who try to look cynical but would go on to suck Owen Dennis' likely shriveled Walls and simp for an albino kid. The Games era is where I was introduced to the show proper, only thing earlier was when I caught commercials for Adult Party Cartoon when I used to watch Spike TV with my folks. Around that time I also watched The Sopranos...

As of yet, and now that John K. was put out to pasture, it seems the Games era of the show is now like the second revival of The Twilight Zone, Mr. Meaty and Magical Girl Friendship Squad, either you like it or you don't.

Today's episode is typically considered to be the worst episode in the show, or just this era. I have seen this episode plenty of times before and all I can says is... people are stupid.

The episode was directed by Ken Bruce, a name I mainly recognize from Fairly Odd Parents. But that's not all that weird, did you know the creator of Hey Arnold! actually helped on some later era episodes of Ren and Stimpy?

The Episode

The things people seem to hate about the episodes are disturbing. People don't seem to realize that the show had plenty of disturbing moments in other episodes, at least of some equivalence, if you single anything out here, you probably only saw a handful of episodes before then.

The episode deals with Ren and Stimpy getting adopted by an old woman from the pound, this is basically a spiritual remake of the pilot Big House Blues in that regard, if that episode was like a lost episode. The style basically gives that idea.

One thing you may notice is that the characters and a bit of the art direction look slightly different here. That's because this was one of two episodes to be outsourced to one specific studio, Wang Film Productions (the other was Lair of the Lummox.) Some familiarity does shine through however, but the opposite is just as well.

The conflict is that Ren and Stimpy are treated like actual pets and run the risk of getting stuffed some time down the road. It kinda reminds me of Foe Paws in terms of that, but any sensible person would pick this over that, and since this was when John K. left the show I'm not going to go over one certain coincidence.

Some jokes land, like the revelation regarding a stuffed dog, others don't, but that's just par the course for the show as a whole, how can you fault this episode on that?

We mainly get gags regarding pet tropisms and Ren and Stimpy escaping after finding themselves in a cemetery, and it all ends with the old woman getting killed by her butler and the two getting stuffed per the conditions of a will.

So What Went Wrong?

The only thing I've seen brought up on the episode was the dark moments. Are you telling me every cartoon nut is a squeamish coward? They'd probably get a heart attack if they ever saw Hard Times for Haggis, bringing up that two-part buzzword they had used many a times before. Or maybe they have and I just don't know.

I'd like to consider every episode of Ren and Stimpy to be in a bubble, no episode has any continuity, anything can happen and be back to normal by the next episode. Both have died before, even under more twisted circumstances, and I find it commendable the writers took this route, really goes to show they have faith in what a kid can handle.

But let's be real, the dark moments range from tame to just about the same when you take into account the other episodes, Anthony's Dad for instance in terms of the constant suspense, Hermit Ren basically being about insanity, possibly more that I haven't looked back into yet.

I dunno, I guess I didn't find that much wrong with this episode.

Self-Promotion

Stay tuned as I check out every episode of Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon.

LTA: Cosmodore

 I've been in the loop when it came to the Cosmodore situation, though others can tell the story better than I could. I'm merely throwing in my two cents.

To get you up to speed, Cosmodore was a prominent figure in the animation community, a community I'm well outside of this days, given who I vouch for. For a time, he was basically a nobody outside of the generally homogenized community or what it would become, but perhaps as a crisis of conscience, he decided to empty his closet, and basically admitted he groomed a girl.

Now, when it comes to things like sexual harassment, someone spouts an allegation and it's up to the accused to either dispel or confirm it. Cosmo actually admitted it out of the blue, probably assuming that if he did so it'd cushion the blow if it ever came out, but this is the internet, and if it's confirmed, you're fucked.

It would've been the end had he decided to go dark after this, but soon he actually tried to downplay the situation, likely to save his own ass or the ass of his channel, unless he took the advice of his counselor in a different context.

Grooming is just as bad as more direct action, it's psychological abuse, something that sticks with people if it goes far enough, you can never walk away from it, and that's why people won't forgive Cosmo, hell I won't, and this is coming from someone who can validate the motives of one member of the Westboro Baptist Church and those two Manson family broads.

Reason I'm bringing Cosmo up now is because he admitted to another instance of it, and is basically trying to piss people off if his Twitter was anything to go by, until it got removed that is.

As someone who has never seen a single Cosmodore video, I have no prior connection to the guy, I can see him for the deed, and since he did it twice, sympathy is not in the cards.

And people like him are a reason why I went on a long rant about one certain reviewer who I've named far too many times. We've had bigger degenerates in the community doing far worse things than saying stupid shit, we have influencers who can literally build a wall around them and suffocate dissenters.

Cosmodore was practically an influencer himself, even being part of Momocon and had association with RebelTaxi. I feel like I see things people don't. If anything Cosmodore may only be the tip of the iceburg.

We can all be grateful if he just blanked off the face of the earth.

Why I Don't Like The Loud House/Casagrandes

 Well, I don't know what any of you were expecting, but here we go. One thing I need to point out in regards to me going at a kids show, cartoons are an art form, they can be used as a means to an end, so to turn a blind eye on clear issues just because "oh lol, a grown ass man is complaining about a cartoon"... okay there are examples that fit that bill, maybe I just hate homogeny.

Once upon a time, I was a fan of The Loud House, at least enough to have a positive opinion on the show and some fan art in my favorites. I was able to forgive most of the pervy side because for all I know sexual misconduct laws are much different in South America (what helps is the bigger figures on that side happen to come from that area.), there were some episodes I'd skip, but that goes for a lot of shows I like. I stayed on board even after Chris Savino got outed then somewhere down the line, I jumped ship.

The Loud House has had incredible luck it seems, earning high ratings and avoiding Nickelodeon's passive touch of death, earning a glut of seasons with no signs of slowing down, though call it a feeling, it's less about having faith in the product, but how cheap it is to make and manage, but it'll be one of many reasons to be covered right now.

It has no face

The show was created and ran by Chris Savino until he was kicked off due to sexual harassment charges. I'm not defending the guy, but once he left, it seems the show fell more into the hands of the network and whatever writers were willing to stay.

Ordinarily a show would get the ax if a creator sticks to their gun and gives the network no leeway to do what they want to keep ratings afloat, but now that the network had a cheap show in their deck, they could handle it however they want.

Let's be real, with how the show was earlier on it would've been a miracle if it made it past two seasons, the writing just wasn't that good and its journeys are just as painful as its destinations. The writing became more stable from then on, but it's still not that remarkable, though I will say they did one of the better LGBT-themed episodes we get these days.

Archetypes

Now yes, I am aware many of the characters of the show have had moments that pulled them out of their stereotypes, but they are still at least 55% of their archetypes, that's how we recognize them, and we focus on the worst because that's the most significant aspect of their character anyone could single out. It's why people never let go of No Such Luck evidentially.

Anything that could be said about a character is often preceded or followed by a trait they're assigned to. For example, Luna is a music fanatic who's in a same sex relationship with a girl who's also a music fanatic.

Point is, archetypes are often used for a lack of better ideas or to make up for a glut of characters. When you have to come up with personalities for eleven characters you gotta cut corners. You can say there's more to many of the characters, and fine, I won't deny it, but most of the time it's either convenient to the plot or doesn't make up the core of their character, especially if the worst shows the most often.

Frankly, this would've went over better if it came out in the mid-90s, it has that feel to it, which is why I liked it at first, and would've had a bigger impact especially when it comes to Luna's saga. Though in my eyes some kid-related drama would've really made an impact.

Basic Art Direction

The show has a Schoolhouse Rock-type art direction, at least that's what I thought, but perhaps due to over exposure the visual novelty wore off and it started to feel bland. It kinda fits with the idea of it being a brand with the use of simplistic art direction and backgrounds, something anyone could draw, and since humans reign supreme here, it'd be a cinch appealing to the younger demographic.

Breaking Down Over the Movie

Flash television cartoons have gotten a bad rep, especially back then, mostly by hand-drawn purists who'd shake carpel-tunneled hands without knowing what led to it. You don't need great animation to tell a good story, much like how you don't need a good art department to make a good cartoon apparently.

I didn't think much of it at first, but ever since a teaser for The Loud House Movie was released, my fears came true. For perspective, I said the movie looks like a collection of episodes of equal relevance that were put together for a movie, and someone basically said something similar to me. Hell, we have people making bets on whether or not the movie would follow a predictable twist. I'd express how I'd feel it should go on, but I won't, because at this rate I'd be looking for complexity in something well out of my league.

Though to be fair maybe if this goes well I'd list my ideas in a new entry.

The only distinction that could be made between the movie and the cartoon is the backgrounds for the most part. I'm making a big deal about it because it really goes to show how cheap the brand is. Now let me explain, when it comes to Nickelodeon movies, name 'em, SpongeBob SquarePants, Rugrats, they know the arena they've entered.

Oh but this is a Netflix movie, that lack of quality is acceptable right? Not really. Invader Zim Enter the Florpus took the extra effort with more fluid animation and actually working to incorporate elements from the concurrent Invader Zim comics. Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling basically had better animation in terms of cosmetics, as well as a coming out story that was well executed.

Had this movie been released on television I wouldn't say anything as it'd seem like Nick would let the show remain in their domain. This is one of their most popular shows so they could work out a spot in the schedule. Just the fact they're making it a Netflix movie and we have others to compare it to really shows how Nickelodeon feels about the property, an easily exploited prop.

But What About Casagrandes?

Somebody once compared The Casagrandes to The Cleveland Show, and yeah, I can see the resemblance. I can't say this is on the same level of quality as the Cleveland Show, but they're very much alike in principal. Both spin-offs came out as the popularity of their respective shows continued strong. Both spin offs only carry just enough differences to stand independently, but still make callbacks to their old shows.

I'm going by inception here, I had no interest in the Casagrandes so I won't make any statements on the quality of the show as a whole.

It kinda feels hollow as it came out during the peak of representation, Nickelodeon only saw a market they could get into, at least that's what it felt like. Beyond the focus and setting, it's not much different than The Loud House, which goes by my cheap and easily exploited theory, at least going by the one episode I saw of the show for free. Other episodes may play out differently, but both shows have a similar spirit to them.

And to the fans

I won't act like everyone drove me away from the show, the only user that truly made me heave was 05jstone, but from me to them, you deserve better, all of you. This show is like climbing up a mountain, you start off with heavy anticipation, but when you rest for the night and resume, you find yourself closer to the end and the wonder slowly dies off.

I'm glad a stark bulk of you were in favor of aging up the characters to prevent the monotony from building any further, but at some point the show will wear thin, especially given the stigma against shows running for longer than they should.

I can't recommend a better show, frankly all of them are starting to get soiled, but don't be afraid to question things or point out something wrong, in spite of what many dolts may tell you to believe, you'd show your commitment to the field by knowing what's right and wrong.

Short answers

The show is no longer identified by a creator so we have no coordinator, it has an easily doable art direction and characters, archetypes that keep to their stereotypes more than half the time and is basically so cheap the network can milk it for all its worth.

At the very least, this can be a bit of a refreshing change from the glut of Loud House content, I mean I guess.