Good Vibes review

 People say MTV died the day music stopped being the center of it. I mean what does it even stand for, Music Television? Like what does that even mean amirite? Personally, MTV's decline was slow but blatant, but there was one aspect that kept me and most others tuned in, the cartoons.

Even in its prime, MTV were all about animation, kicking it off with the beloved animation showcase Liquid Television, which gave life to the cultural phenomenon Beavis and Butthead and the equally kick-ass Æon Flux. MTV was where most creators got their start, Mark Hentemann, before Bordertown, created 3-South in 2002. Chris Prynoski before Megas XLR created Downtown in 1999. Danny Antonucci, before Ed, Edd n' Eddy, created The Brothers Grunt in 1995, which industry professionals like himself and Gabor Csupo of Rugrats fame stuck up for, so maybe the viewers are wrong.

Beyond that, we had many a good show, Daria, Clone High, Undergrads, a SpiderMan cartoon even and I think it was called Spy Groove the other. If you're not just in it for music, you had your fix on animation until a little into the mid-2000s. Beyond some forgettable toons that aired on MTV2, one of which being an adaptation of Friday, at the very least MTV's cartoons ended on a high note.

So for a good few years, MTV became Sketch Comedy and Reality Shows and sometimes Music Television, but perhaps to help get back some viewers, especially with social media's continuous rise, they decided to revive Beavis and Butthead. Before the advent of diversity for the hell of it, this revival managed to stay true to the spirit of the original show. That, along with Daria still receiving daytime reruns helped MTV to greenlight another show that wound up in their pipeline.

History

Good Vibes was initially pitched to Fox in 2009, but ultimately passed on. I have an idea for two reasons why that happened, but I'm sure most of you could guess. The show was created by David Gordon Green, who had also directed films like Pineapple Express and the 2018 reboot of Halloween, which turned out to be pretty good. I know, shocking.

This was one of many solo efforts by Tom Werner, formerly part of The Carsey Werner Company. Given his pedigree, Carsey was the better half, all of his productions bit it after a season or so, he helped The Conners (unless it was because of ancestry, I'd say they were desperate to get Roseanne off), and some third thing.

The show was co-developed by Tom Brady, oh excuse me, not the quarterback as the vanity logo at the end would have you believe. He seems to be more interesting credit wise, having produced two Rob Schneider movies, being a consulting producer on some episodes of Home Improvement, executive producing a TV stint starring two of Louis C.K.'s most prominent accusers and Adam Sandler sorta proteges Dana Goodman and Julia Wolov. Unfortunately he also produced some episodes of The Critic...

This show had always followed Beavis and Butthead in initial broadcasts, which is a smart idea. People are usually in for the after, never the before. Ratings would ultimately kill the show, but it seems the writers followed an underrated principle, treat every season finale like it's your series finale.

The Show

When it comes to MTV's shows, the draw isn't original ideas, a lot of their shows typically appeal to teenagers and twenty-somethings, hence why so many of them are set at college, high school or the city. MTV would get by through how well the characters are written and this show... does. It does, it has decent characters, so engagement is there.

Characters

This is more of a character driven show, just them going about their days in a possibly fake California town, and thankfully the characters are sober behind the wheel.

It's important, especially since this show follows a lovable loser (itself a common but not overbearing cliche), the fat, not to be forgotten, Jersey-transplant Mondo Brando. But perhaps as an advantage, since he is one of the mains the writers took the most time to flesh him out. Others are able to stand on their own and work well with one another.

Only detail that kinda bugs me a bit is that two characters have siblings either younger or older, and they all have the same class. This refers to supporting protagonist Woody against his eldest sister Milan, as well as supporting recurring character Gina and her psychotic brother Wadska.

Woody is one of those outsider new-age types, but one thing I gotta give this show for is that it helps to justify his views. His parents have no redeeming qualities, and they make it clear you don't have to root for them. Unlike most shows where they accidentally give the antagonists a leg up, this is more cut and dry, and a statement on how wealth and materialism can corrupt families. They mention this point blank by the way.

So how bad is his sister? Well, she is a play on the archetypical bitch ever present in many MTV reality shows, but she is surprisingly likable. Best way to explain her is that she is one who has her priorities straight. She is mostly wrapped up in her lavish lifestyle, but shreds of her past self still linger.

On the priorities, one time she had Mondo co star on an episode of her reality show, not because she wanted to use him, but because of an off-the-cuff joke he got voted into it. She made it clear she didn't want him around, it's better to be your bitchy self then to use someone as a means to an end.

Another plus to her, she enjoys a friendly rivalry with Gina, spurred by her getting with the resident bully. He dated Milan but broke up with her on a big scale, and perhaps not seeing how he could get with someone as unpopular as Gina, held it against her since. Even then, both are on good speaking terms at the very least in spite of contrasting attitudes. Hell, during one time they were forced to camp on an island, she didn't complain about the lack of utilities, ire was just focused on the small feud between her and Gina, and she sacked up to help her when she needed it, something carried to the end of her plot.

Plus she invited Gina to her birthday and is honest about having breast implants. She is the most likable mean bitch I've ever encountered. It can be done.

Speaking of Gina, she is the typical love interest of the hapless loser type. She is mostly bland, but where she rises above helps keep her likable. She held a steady relationship with that aforementioned bully in spite of various ups and downs, you'd wonder how someone as nice as her would put up with the exact opposite, but was also willing to give Mondo a chance and by the end of it, they get together. Based on instant results on a dA search, it seems she is a top 3 kind of character, the ones who consider those kinds of girls hot.

I'd think she'd be beaten out by Babs, the obligatory milf who looks the part for sure, but manages to incorporate elements of a caring mom as well. I won't spoil the surprise, everything else is out the window.

Ms. Teets is basically Daria who had grown to regret her cynical teen years, eaten her way to obesity, desires that sweet cock and teaches sex-ed. Her schtick is a bit more basic compared to the others, but she is bearable enough to not overstay her welcome. Think Quagmire but never foresaking her character to validate a collective of viewers' hatred for one other character.

The aforementioned bully, Turk, can be considered a dealbreaker, whether you like him or not depends on whether or not you find his dialog funny. I mean I guess he has a good reason to frequently target Mondo given a very bad first impression, Mondo manages to come out mostly on top in those situations. However, there is another plus, he is played by Jake Busey, a good go-to for an expressively deep voice.

Wadska is another dealbreaker. On one hand the hyperactive conspiracy theorist is already quite predictable and cut and dry, but the writing manages to work to his benefit. You can never tell what he'd do for the day. One thing I noticed is some interesting progression between him and the two leads. Overtime, they become more comfortable bringing Wadska along, if not guiding them to their next adventure.

Not to mention, they even made a background character interesting. One character, Dee Dee Spears, take a wild guess who they're referencing, is an easily identifiable character, due to the fact that she's pregnant. The fact she played a major role in an episode caught me by surprise, and she is a decent character, handling the troubles of teen pregnancy realistically before finally giving birth, and as a cherry on the proverbial cake, the father of her child becomes committed to being a father.

Overall, this shows how great a show can be with well written characters and their respective dimensions.

The Show

While the characters are fun and likable, the humor is more or less hit and miss. The show pokes fun at pop culture... from the time. Beavis and Butthead did this too during their revival, I can't say either is better than the other at it, it's really only bad if it defines the entire show. If I had to say anything nice about it, they don't always call attention to most of these, Milan did a Lady Gaga reference with a meat dress but never addressed it for example.

They did direct parodies of Mama Mia! and The Hangover, but were different enough to stand on their own for outsiders, and once more drove the point on how good the characters are. Somehow I was able to understand nearly every reference the show threw at me, I mean same for Neighbors from Hell, god I have a lot of weird shows I'd consider nostalgic.

I mean, okay, surfing is also a fairly big element to this as well, not foregone, but not as commonly exploited, maybe two or so episodes.

At the very least, this was different enough to stand on its own on MTV.

There is one problem though, they aired the episodes out of production order, which is a big deal given that there is a slight arc and an obvious conclusion. If you wanna enjoy the show proper, watch the episodes in this order: 1, 4, 6, 2, 10, 7, 5, 3, 12, 11, 9 and finally 8. You're welcome in advance.

Animation

The animation was produced at Six Point Harness. Prior to this they produced some MTV2 cartoon. The show is basically a hybrid between The Simpsons and Family Guy, most of its design for the former and most of the edge factor from the latter, and just enough to stand out on its own.

The overall animation, best way to explain, it's kinda like Bob's Burgers or Brickleberry, it's not traditional but sure moves like it is.

Overall

MTV may still have some cartoons, probably, but until I'm told otherwise, this is one of the last great MTV cartoons out there. It has a vibe that takes you back to at least as far as the late-90s. It's a fun enjoyable show that at least stands on its own in terms of structure and characterization. I don't know what compelled me to watch MTV at that point, maybe my sister, but I'm glad I at least dropped off before things got worse.