Real Ghostathon: Russian About (season 6)

 This was the very last episode of The Real Ghostbusters to be written by J. Michael Straczynski, around the time the show was starting to reach critical mass. It was also at this season the show would be outsourced to Korea when previously it was sent to Japan. For the former, that's reserved for much cheaper shows and by then the producers' allowance had dwindled due to the show no longer being popular enough for higher maintenance. It's almost as if Q5 destroyed the show by alienating its initial audience.

I'd make a crack about the riots, but even an apology wouldn't do anything.

This was one of two episodes written by Straczynski during this season, the previous being Janine, You've Changed which addressed Janine's excessive redesigns but proved to make no impact for episodes after as it went by his vision, while another vision carried for every episode after. Russian About was treated as a footnote, so for curiosity sake, I'd like to see what Straczynski did here.

Colluding

We start with Aurora Borealis, at this time of year, at this time of day, in that part of the company, localized entirely in this scene. And I'm saying this because I'm already seeing it, while Ray, Winston and Slimer try to. We also get clued in to shortcuts the animators took with the shortened budget.

Peter here is more immature, at least at this point, and since this is a Straczynski, I have to call him on slipping to bad habits. Also apparently he doesn't know the right name for Rock, Paper Scissors. Maybe here they'd throw in a squirrel neck.

One thing I noticed here is the odd mix of English and phonetic Russian terms, I know because the Russian alphabet has specific characters, but then again I don't know much of Russia.

Back on the supposed idiocy of Peter Venkman, I feel the need to bring it up here because 1., this was a Straczynski episode and 2. Okay so it's more apparent in the much later seasons, and the network cracked down hard. Also, Peter was more or less on the up and up in The Halloween Door, so I imagine the dialog would be the least the network had to worry about.

I'm noticing some rapid cuts between scenes, the copy I have was sourced from a Fox Family airing, but I doubt anything in the show at this point was sus enough to be edited out.

We then meet who I assume would be our antagonists here or a big thorn in their sides. At best Straczynski had good writing in his sleeve, but even he can dip when it comes to obvious set-ups with Russians. Either he's a die-hard patriot or he just likes stereotyping here.

But nevertheless, when a good joke is made, it hits well, especially when it comes to irritating the level-headed Egon. But when a bad joke is made, it hits just as well too.

We go from Egon losing his shit over a Russian guy badmouthing Albert Einstein to said Russian guy claiming the Titanic was sank by Elvis Presley. Like, what's the joke here? Russians are stupid? If we spent three whole years stressing over supposed collusion they must be smart enough to press our buttons.

Egon comes up to demonstrate the proton beams, this was for a science conference, and it goes poorly because Winston throws a trap without a petal. Scratch that, Winston demonstrates one of many hiccups the animation has due to the lower budget. You get the feeling Straczynski wanted to go the rest of the episode with Slimer kept in the trap, but either the network pushed back or he felt it was too obvious.

While not ever discussed, this episode was alluded to by Phelous when it came to network interference, for those who saw that video and want to know which episode it is, this is the episode alluding to the Necronomicon.

The book in question is never mentioned by name because the network was adamant that the book actually exists. Guess they have a point, they were the network evil enough to give us Jay Sherman, they're bound to have the Necronomicon in their library.

Straczynski at the very least humored them and gave a reason for why it can't be called by name.

But for the sake of plot convenience, we get a lead for someone who believes in the properties the book holds. I'm hoping for a twist here, spoilers, he's the guilty one.

Also, cult-like imagery is perfectly fine, but a name is a no-no apparently.

Nothing happens with the Ghostbusters beyond road trouble and sudden convenience, but they're just in time as a cultish ceremony starts. We then get an implication on what creature the cult's trying to awaken, and some Slimer shenanigans which may or may not go anywhere. Blame the network on the latter?

They kill a sense of suspense when they capture guardian demons who can easily break out of traps. You know, a scare never killed anybody.

But then we get the reason behind the cult's being. Vladimir (the guy) wants to rule the world. That's it, no layer of absurdity or complexity. Is this meant to be a stab at Cold War politics? This was a year or so before the USSR collapsed. What're you going for Michael?

Oh, and I wonder if his little sidekick is gonna make Vlad eat his words for icing him out point blank.

Also some more animation hiccups, where the position of the characters change but the background doesn't.

And more for how Peter isn't as bad as people made him out to be, he is willing to risk his life to throw an experimental weapon into the pit for which the beast awakens. At this point he goes from smooth sarcastic dope, to lovable doofus. Or maybe I was just incredibly lucky with my episode picks in those that make Peter look good?

Things end lukewarm, they thwart the villain and the cult is arrested. I'm not expecting a bang, but this left much to be desired.

Final Thoughts

In hindsight, this wasn't a good episode for Michael to leave off on, but then again he was probably too hurt for how much the series has been effed with to give more effort. By then anything he does would not hold, so it seems he couldn't care enough to try.

Compared to what he's capable of, this feels ordinary, though I have a feeling the network pushed back hard against his ideas, so there's a possible reason.

Ordinarily it seems like the show would end here, but somehow, some way, one last season exists, and with that, we're almost at the end.

Real Ghostathon: It's About Time (season 5)

 It's no secret that Peter Venkman received the worst degradation in The Real Ghostbusters. I blame no one but the networks. But I have a theory, Peter and Winston were borderline interchangeable when it came to making quips, though one was more aloof, the other was more down to earth. They already got heat for reducing Winston to basic grunt work, so I imagine they didn't want any further heat for making him the defacto idiot, so for the sake of keeping up with a simplistic writing atmosphere, someone needed a lobotomy.

Except, not really. At best Peter no longer had good lines and was helmed by writers who were basically starved for good ideas. Lorenzo Music is the superior Peter, but I feel like setting the record straight.

This was written by Len Janson and Chuck Menville, who became the show's script supervisors at this point, and as history shows it wasn't for the best. I haven't seen what they're capable of, but as we learned later on they didn't like what they would ultimately create.

Trap Does What?

Here's a funny thing I noticed, our introduction to the Ghostbusters proper in this and another Janson/Menville episode, Big Trouble with Little Slimer is that it begins with a Ghostbuster singing, though to be fair Egon's less tone-deaf.

Through a crap 50s surfer tune, Ray begins to wax nostalgic over an era he was never part of, the 50s. Oh gee, I wonder if this is going to foreshadow where the plot would go? I- would read the title and have to assume. I find it funny that anyone would want to return to the 50s in this day and age. Now sure, the 60s was where shit hit the fan, but in the 50s, everything was more... authoritarian, people were blind to social issues, it'd breed asshole fathers the world over.

Come to think of it, Q5's alterations to the show harken back to the restraining nature of the 50s. You wanted to drive the point home here?

We see Janine is a sobbing wreck, you wanted to drive the point home how well she has fallen too? I will say this, of all her constant design changes, I'd rate Janine's 89 depiction as the second best Janine.

Anyhow, the drive here is... one of those tearing down old properties for an expressway deals. Now granted, I hate traffic as much as the next guy, I'm in the state notorious for them, but this kind of plot is always forced. Sorta like how the rest of the plot would be.

The Ghostbusters syphon off the energy from their traps, then a disgruntled Peter pulls the plug too early. Now, at times I feel Phelous' points on the Coulier take on Peter is exaggerated, but Peter is one of three Ghostbusters who happen to be a scientist, you'd think he'd know better. I'll give it this, he does apologize.

So with that blunder, Peter loses his soul. No? Well then the Ghostbusters get sucked into a realm where ghosts are cont- no, they all get put in the Containment Unit. They're... in purgatory or something close to it?

Apparently, the trap would send the ghosts back in time? Okay, there had better be a reason for this all, otherwise... I dunno, I'll complain about it?

So, no explanation yet, and Ray has the eagerness of a closeted homophobe who found an outlet to voice his hatred of the fs in Topeka. Points for those who figure out who I'm referring to.

As you'd expect, Ray has an obsession with this era almost as much as anyone's obsession with Infinity Train.

Winston takes the badge of stupidity briefly when he finds the base for the Ecto-1, a hearse, and Peter's the one who knocks him down to size, though Winston still assumes otherwise.

Apparently, 1959 was when ghosts truly began to surface in New York, so there could be an interesting plot here where the Ghostbusters find the originator of these hauntings and destroy it, but come to a moral quandary where in doing so, they'd lose any reason to remain together. I'm reaching here.

But apparently, this was caused by the Ghostbusters coming to the 50s. Now sure, by not being in the era this could've prevented them from taking on the ghosts, but how could ghosts be their fault if... Sputter-cough-dead.

Okay, so apparently their premise is the cause of all this. Still confused, and they do a horrible job on making it make sense.

It seems Coulier Peter is smarter than Phelous would give him credit for. If not for coming up with an idea to disguise the Ghostbusters as firefighters as that was what the firehouse used to be in 1959, he actually finds a way to recharge the trap the Ghostbusters have and sways them to carry on in fixing the situation.

He still has crappy lines though.

So right to the source of the ghosts, they use a high pressure water hose to hold them back... no comment, either I'd be nitpicking or I'd be ignorant to how it works in the show, while Egon charges up the trap, and since we're close to the end, success.

Oh, and it turns out the expressway plan was a bust, but... they actually explain this better than their presence being the source of a ghost invasion. Because the Ghostbusters aided the firemen in holding back the ghosts from the portal, they are credited to stopping the crisis and the firehouse they're affiliated with is hence considered a historical landmark.

Also if you want to further levy how dumb Peter supposedly became, he manages to spout the right year to Janine who couldn't figure it out.

Final Thoughts

I went into this with low expectations, and my views based solely on what I learned from Phelous, and I gotta say, I was proven wrong. It was kinda hokey, how could a trap send anyone back in time and how could one's presence bring catastrophe. As mentioned early on, Ray was born the year the Ghostbusters were sent back to.

However, in terms of my expectations for a potentially devolved Peter, I was proven wrong here too. Turns out what would've been his biggest bout of idiocy proved to be beneficial in the long run. Or maybe I just got lucky with my episode pick here.

In terms of time travel episodes, I prefer this to Teen Titans' take on the formula, I had no major expectations for how the plot would go here.

Next up, I go for my final J. Michael Straczynski episode, and I can hardly consider myself drained.

Real Ghostathon: Poultrygeiest (season 4)

 And now, I start to venture into more foreign territory. I get to see what the network themselves were able to do without the right guidance.

I picked this episode because... I like transformations I guess. Namely the camp factor.

One of the two writers, Duane Capizzi, would go on to write and co-develop various shows for Adelaide Productions.

I'm expecting a b-movie tier plot, that's always fun.

Ba-cock

Wanting to cut to the chase, we immediately get introduced to a were-chicken, well a chicken beast anyhow. Cubby might've been onto something, we were fools.

Then it cuts rapidly to a nature show? I mean with how lackluster it is it might as well be, though it turns out to be a werewolf movie, at least the transformation is better than Deathmoon's.

You know, it's easy to build up suspense, now that you've shown us the beast it's a matter of whether or not we give a shit. Cut the first few seconds out and it can make a good difference. Or hell, just have it through the beast's perspective the entire time, at the very least we can have some surprise.

And then... shenanigans, where the Ghostbusters become clumsy dolts for a few seconds too long. Also at this point, Winston is voiced by Buster Jones. Just thought I'd let you know.

It seems the biggest problem with this episode is that it's a stupid premise taken seriously, and played straight forward. There's no merit in that.

So they find a giant egg, and what do you think happens? Sensibility and subversion isn't our friend here. I imagine it either hatches and a creature emerges to affect Egon, or the other werechicken affects Egon in trying to get it back.

Speaking of, lack of major suspense, most of which drowned in dialog, the werechicken arrives and.... they managed to catch it? Ordinarily in stuff like this, killing the head afflicter would lift those afflicted, there'd be no point to abandoning that here, but... screw it, I guess they're all solitary beings.

At this point, more seasoned Phelous viewers are bound to claim Peter's the one that lets the chicken loose, but no. It's Slimer. Egon's examining the egg retrieved, this is made obvious, and Slimer suddenly comes in and tries to make an omelette out of it. He's the soul reason the plot's going on. I'd like to say Peter's slack-mindedness comes from Slimer being able to steal braincells when sliming someone in the face.

So, Egon's bit, and the transformation is instant, but slow.

I feel there's some inconsistency with the fix, beforehand the werechicken was a demon possessing a body, now there's a remedy for it? I'm stumped.

Well, with an incomplete remedy, only part of it works, comedy is bound to suffice in theory. Also werechickens can become giants apparently. On that comedy theory, apparently Egon is needed for a public presentation, because we all need that desperate attempt at covering what one is now quota to be fulfilled. But wait, with the panic going on with the already giant chicken wouldn't the presentation be cancelled?

So with their traps full, a practical solution is in order, and what better way to go than with a weather balloon? Okay I'm a stranger to the mechanics of a weather balloon, so I won't question it.

Peter does ruin Egon's chance at being inconspicuous, but the next episode is where I feel I can really get into this.

Anyway with no further opposition, they prevail and we get a Slimer joke that's incredibly obvious and hoakey the end.

I was certain the episode was cut short with the copy I got, but this episode really started to stumble toward the end.

Final Thoughts

At its core, this was just a generic werewolf premise, mixed with the surface flaws the show had at this point, further hammered in by the incorporation of chicken's bane, get it? If the most you can do to switch up a premise is just a minor change, why even bother?

I'd throw the same complaints at Regular Show when they did the Wereskunk, only difference is that it was a lot more ugly and obnoxious.

With that said, I'm happy to say I'm now at the halfway mark. Just to let you know, I said I'd review the first three segments of the Slimer! subseries, but with the site I get the episodes from, they are individual segments, so it's safe to say I'm entering the shorter half of this marathon.

Real Ghostathon: The Grundel (season 3)

 Being a cartoon on ABC was a terrible place to be in 1987. Having placed third in Saturday Morning ratings, they needed to do what they could to get ahead of the competition. For this, they contacted consultant firm Q5 and produced content based on their suggestions. If you want an idea on what that was like, check out MrEnter's review on Little Clowns of Happy Town, because he was the only one to do a review of it as far as I know.

But that wasn't enough, as every show airing on ABC at that point also got eviscerated (and given what we got, that's the best term to refer to it). Pound Puppies and The Real Ghostbusters had got it the worst at this point, the latter being a good example of just how bad network interference could be. If you want full disclosure on that, check out Phelous' discussion on the show, I'd get no reward for copying his points verbatim.

Well, nothing beyond pointing out J. Michael Straczynski actually left because of how bad things got with the show and only came back because the network were borderline desperate as what they could come up with just wasn't up to par.

I picked The Grundel, just to see how well Michael could write an episode on a season that was already folding to the whim of a network with a misguided consultant, and because apparently this is considered one of the more disturbing episodes of the show. It was mentioned briefly by Phelous, so it's slim pickings at this point.

So start

I won't go into detail on Dave Coulier yet, I picked an episode in another season which would help reinforce how far the character would fall.

We start off with a tone appropriate for this episode's legacy, then spoiled with a chase sequence, and you know who with you know what who's now able to talk full sentences. Also Winston's a poet for a good minute or so.

I feel the network reared its head or Michael made a mistake, as Slimer is within a close radius of the trap when it is thrown.

Our story comes into play when a boy, somehow, manages to swipe a bulk of the Ecto-1. What seems like a typical delinquent may hold a grander kernel.

Apparently, this episode is notable for its creepy villain, and... I'd say it's creepy for the time,  take that with a grain of salt, I've been desensitized to horror, but I'd still respect it. The Grundel manipulates edgy youths into furthering their angst and causing more trouble. I'd make an analogy related to fandoms, but I'd be out of my league.

For the lack of anything else to say at the moment, I at least like how Michael tried to make Peter work with the lesser delivery, this was back when it was a matter of keeping with the spirit the character had, and I'm aware of where it would go down.

Anyhow, a sudden rally at the school a cursed boy, Alec, puts the Ghostbusters in like with The Grundel. The Grundel uses Alec to make a fool of the Ghostbusters, and to do that, Alec messes with the proton packs. On getting them into the plot, it feels just a little forced, like a rally is a little too obvious.

I can see Michael trying to preserve the charm the show once had, the effort is shown with Peter Venkman who tries to keep the sarcastic charm he previously had, we even have a little Laura Summer charm with Janine played by Kath Soucie at this point.

I love how nonchalant Alec's brother is over the former jumping out a two story window, as well as how nonchalant he is about Alec now taking on a look similar to The Grundel.

Toward the climax, I just wanna say, for a Coulier-era Venkman, this is one of his high-points. He manages to sway Alec away from The Grundel, and once you know how dumbed down he'd become later on, this hits a different way.

Things end happily, though I have an idea for a more tragic one to really drive the impact home, I'll leave it as is.

Overall

I made the right choice for my introduction to this season. With only two prior episodes under my belt I didn't feel quite ready to go into foreign territory just yet, but next time, I will.

Real Ghostathon: Chicken, He Clucked (syndication)

 Back in the 80s, syndication was at its peak. For any successful show, one would try and get as much out of it as they could, and for syndication, standards are much looser there, and are guaranteed for more episodes.

For perspective, a network season order would ordinarily consist of 13 episodes, whereas the standard for syndication is 65. No one would've been happier to go through with this than J. Michael Straczynski.

The syndication package came around the same time as the initial network run, and by the second season, ABC reared their heads in as part of a desperate attempt at fixing their ratings. Not wanting to put up with their changes because let's face it, they were idiotic, Michael focused more on the syndication package and only came back occasionally to write for the network season.

In a way, this is the last hurrah for the show's true heyday.

I picked Chicken, He Clucked because based on Phelous' description, I'm interested to see how it plays out. This episode was notable for being considered crazy at the time, unless 80s cartoons truly were that conservative. So, the key to this is to determine just how batshit the script was viewed to be.

Bock

The plot centers on a man who is driven mad with the ever presence of chicken, not helping that he lives by a chicken shop. Based on his appearance, I imagine childhood trauma and mockery is a fuel behind this, but for now I can at least see him as sympathetic.

I like how they provide context to the chicken man being in the line of sight of the Ghostbusters, it's all at the library, and a book on conjuring is a clue on how the man wants to go about getting rid of the chicken problem.

Knowing this is the last season we hear Lorenzo Music and have Peter's initial personality, I feel that it incorporating some childish elements to him isn't such a bad idea. Here, he's reading a pop-up book nonchalantly, which goes to show that even the most juvenile of interests can have some universal enjoyment.

Our demon, Morganon, is introduced and we get the implication that, given the man looks like a chicken, he'll become one by the end of this or serve as a demon forever, we'll find out soon enough.

Owing to the writing, we get a great exchange, where Morganon is heavily perplexed over chicken man's silly desire and tries to sway him to a bigger prize. So chicken man is granted the ability to bring whatever he wishes to another dimension.

One issue I have with episodes like these is that, in order to avoid line-by-line summaries, I have to skip around a lot. Not that it takes away the enjoyment, it's the best of 80s cartoon comedy.

In a descent to a jagged grave, after ruling out ways to cushion the impact they're saved by Morganon who's as determined as the Ghostbusters to end this chaos. Not to mention, the fact that I can actually see why Phelous is adamant in his dismissal of Dave Coulier really goes to show its objectivity, there was a Peter line at this point and the delivery made it work.

Here, I love how they try to give sympathy to a demon, and we get to see a shred in humanity in their doing. Some like to strike willy nilly, some have a rep to protect. It's nice to see grey rather than black and white and goes to show what you can do with good writing.

At this point, everything seems sensible, I'll explain when we get to the final thoughts.

After returning to their domain, the Ghostbusters create fake chickens to trick the chicken man, and as the chickens are, well, fake. I'm a little confused, I would think he'd go crazy since the condition of his powers would only work for literal chickens, but they all just return after the spell is a bust.

So beyond all expectations, perhaps the end would be the point behind a phone-call Michael received on his well-being after submitting the script, well, there is irony to the end...

He's sent to an asylum and served chicken for dinner. I give props for subversion and the build-up, it would've been too obvious if he was turned into a chicken or forced to serve the demon world, I mean the point to it was to break the deal so that wouldn't have made sense and ruined the grey aspect to a demon's motives.

Final Thoughts

Apparently this episode was so twisted, J.Michael Straczynski was phoned asking if he was mentally sound, but honestly... this wasn't as twisted as I thought. I guess they were so dumbfounded over how such a crazy premise could've been made to work so well they themselves went crazy. I'm willing to assume the 80s had much more twisted cartoon episodes from then.

I really have nothing more to say about this, it's yet another point in the golden era of The Real Ghostbusters.

Next time, I'm going into the lesser seasons, but I wanna stick with Straczynski's episodes just to see how well he can work with a suffocating network like ABC. Also apparently positive content is a necessity apparently.

Ghostathon: The Boogeyman Cometh (season 1)

 I never grew up with The Real GhostBusters, but I will say it's one of the few nostalgic properties where I can fully agree with people who'd levy complaints. It was based on a movie and the show had a strong level of respect for the property, at first. Any complaints toward new installments were deserved, so as an outsider, I have a great level of respect for what the show was.

I decided to review one episode from every season. I will be focusing mostly on episodes written by J. Michael Straczynski, mainly to see how he'd handle episodes in the worser seasons. I don't know for sure if I'd wind up liking the dire season episodes, but you never know until you try.

Episode

Since this was from the first season, I won't focus on a Straczynski episode. This episode was written by Michael Reeves and was the sixth episode overall. This was two episodes after the first episode Straczynski wrote, Slimer Come Home, and earlier on story editing was handled by Len Janson and Chuck Menville.

I would've picked one of the episodes written by the two, as singled out by Phelous, but... I dunno, The Boogeyman is more interesting? That and I wanna single out the more scary in principle episodes as that's where things really unwind.

We start with Winston as the driver, back before he would always be the driver. And yes I got this from Phelous. We're in the era of peak representation, when you notice these things you gotta bring it up.

Speaking of eras, this was before people became entirely aware of cliches. In this, Peter wants rest and with how he brings it up quite a bit toward bedtime we know something would be up. On the upside, this was also back when Slimer was used properly, as in sparingly, so we got a decent interaction out of it, and by decent, I mean not overkill.

One thing I like about this is that it was also when Peter wasn't devolved (and yes, I'm not saying this because I love Phelous' videos on the show, but because even I can pick up on stuff like this)

Let me put it like this. Peter takes out what seems to be an experimental bomb used to destroy Slimer. In the later seasons he would actually use a bomb to destroy Slimer (he was at that level of stupid), but then again he'd just forgive it as he was at that point to. In this, it was just a clever ploy to teach Slimer a thing or two.

This is also a reason why I didn't go for episodes Phelous already covered, I'd be saying what he said verbatim.

Our introduction to the Boogeyman comes from two kids, i.e., his current haunts, Kenny and Megan Carter. Given the creature's association with scaring kids, it's well-founded, though I will say it conflates with upping a kid's sense of wonder if The Halloween Door is anything to go by, or I'm just an idiot.

It turns out Egon shares, a link if you will, with the Boogeyman, which you'd never expect out of the more intelligent, but then again Winston is the more down to earth of the two, and with the creatures they encounter... go figure. With Egon it provides more layers to his character, as he held on to childhood fears.

Indicative of the time, these episodes don't hold back on the creepy atmosphere. I haven't watched the show when it was new, but already I know I'm gonna miss hearing Lorenzo Music.

They do some big spell-outs, they need a childlike person to be a stand-in for luring the Boogeyman, who is the happy one? Here's a hint, he oozes over a stuffed toy- Ray. Now look, I maintain that I respect the first season a great deal, but I'm the same person who nitpicks Teen Titans.

Should go without saying, but Peter would've been the stand-in if this came in a later season. There it would've probably been not funny, but they got it down here, because you know.

Though not much else occurs worth talking about, I was able to maintain interest. We get to the final confrontation, and the point Kenny and Megan seek to face the Boogeyman with bravery, which is more or less a distraction as they overheat their proton packs in order to destroy the link between the Boogeyman's realm and the real world.

And what better way to leave off than with a Slimer joke? He hasn't been around that much in the episode so it's welcome here.

Overall

This is standards 80s cartoon fare, but of the more enjoyable crop. They had a strong sense of creepiness and a point to facing your fears, not to mention as there was actual passion put into the writing of it, leading to a fun experience, and a taste for what was the peak of the series.

I fear the worst as we go on, but I have one more surefire good episode before then.

Teen Titans Review: The One Where Cyborg Goes Back In Time

 I remember this episode, I just don't have that much to say about it. I get the idea behind the episode, but I'm still disappointed. I did briefly discuss this in my editorial on the show as a whole, so for a lack of better ideas... writers block beware, I have waffles.

The few things I remember about this episode are bits and pieces of how the plot's carried out, the plot at hand, and a joke I feel like mindlessly nitpicking. I'll put these to different sections for the sake of flow.

A Forced Meme

This episode is notable for spawning a certain quote, if this was the only takeaway people had of this episode it'd make things even more sad. Fans of the show would know what I'm talking about, but if you don't know...

"Evil beware, we have waffles."

You're probably gonna get at me for whining about a silly line, well how can I not? It plays out like a forced meme, a good meme is short, simple and to the point, this feels just a bit too long. Not to mention where else would it fit in any other context? Here it was just because something Cyborg made happened to have a waffle-maker.

I feel this sums up the humor of the show at its core. Teen Titans Go isn't just a stupid comedy, it's just more of Teen Titans' initial humor. 

The line did blow up a bit for some time, which is why I'm singling it out. If you wanna get at me for this, Bring on the Belgian.

A so-so episode

After a machine malfunction, Cyborg is transported many centuries back in time, or is it some fantasy world. I dunno, what time period do witches and humanoid insect slime creatures fit in to? I mean, a fantasy setting is basically the simplest premise to use, whether you make your own rules or base it off of an existing interpretation.

Most I could bring to the table at this point is Cyborg going back in time and meeting his ancestors, but even then that's as generic as I imply this story to be.

It's the kind of story I can easily sum up in a few sentences or less, focusing on familiar story elements.

Cyborg meets a skilled fighter who turns out to be female, both strike a match and stir the ire of a jock-type ally who pines for the female, the jock turns out to be the one responsible for the attacks his people face as he bargained with a witch to create them to fight in order to pass himself as a hero, but pays the price where when he seeks stronger aid, he is reconverted into one of the witch's grunts, this time of a stronger variety and we lead to what would be a major fight scene.

The only thing that helped this stray from it being entirely cliche, Cyborg is brought back to the present during the middle of the fight, with a phoned in resolution showing the woman to be alive and having won the fight.

What I said accounts for a stark bulk of the episode, minus any jokes or significant dialog. Literally the most major thing that stood out was the aforementioned forced meme.

Where could it be better?

I feel that if they actually thought about it, this could've been a good episode and a lead-in to an interesting arc and new character.

To get the simple thing out of the way, what if the woman warrior was an ancestor to one of the heroes in the show? Imagine if the woman warrior was an ancestor to Jinx, the latter being evil being owed to her bloodline, the woman warrior would always feel second rate to that jock and wound up killing him out of spite, or to stop him from carrying out a plan that'd prove damaging to her people.

She would ironically go to that witch and get abilities to help her take down her oppressors and maintain a long life. With Cyborg going back in time to help, the woman would maintain a moral compass and reinvent Jinx as a hero, undoing her prior history.

Next is one that would've made for a good arc. What if the woman turned out to be a twist villain? That her trying to be the best was just to gain power over her people and gradually militarize them. That's my worst.

But what if, hear me out, what if the woman didn't win at the end? What if she wound up either dying or becoming evil? This could lead to a rift between Cyborg and Raven as she brought him back. On the evil aspect, she could've been the ancestor to a major villain or become one herself through a bargain of her own and Cyborg has to face the consequences of helping her live to that point.

When you're young you don't pick up on anything but what you see, but when you get older and see much more, you can basically tell what direction these episodes could've gone.

Final Thoughts

Waffles was the only major takeaway from this episode. You'd think that Teen Titans Go episode was rubbing in the fact that waffles are more memorable that a bare basic time travel adventure.

This is another in a crop of disappointments. Let's face it, fans like these have ruined the show for a lot of people, spiking up hype that wound up building high expectations that couldn't be met, and I feel like I'm the only sensible person left, the lessers are working on suffocating contrarians.

I'd make a closing line relating to waffles, but I'm not a fan of the obvious.