We're all familiar with shows based on toys (also vice versa) and we live in the era where internet crazes could also get a piece of that televised pie. But, what about shows based on commercials? Well, all you need to know is that these drop like flies and there's no way around the inevitable cash-in theory.
There've been two commercial based shows to my knowledge. The first was Cavemen from 2007, based on those Geico ads. Now, while Geico is synonymous with comedy gold, when left in the hands of a major network, not even the best writers could salvage it. Of a single 13-episode season, eight aired overall, and only six aired in the US.
Then there's today's topic. Baby Bob. The character appeared in a series of plugs for the now defunct FreeInternet.com. Going into this, I accidentally confused the actual Baby Bob with the babies in those E-Trade commercials, and it sorta warped my perception on what this show would've been like.
Going by one of the FreeInternet videos, and through the one episode I've seen, it's relatively close to one another, though the latter has a devastating disease doctors classify as SSSS, Stereotypical Sitcom Setting Syndrome, a disease that plagues many sitcoms that exist solely as midseason replacements, where effort is hardly required until the show they replace is ready with a new batch of episodes. This isn't listed on Wikipedia's notable midseason replacement list, so I have no idea what show this took the place of.
The show was spearheaded by Michael Saltzman, a producer who had involvement in various sitcoms, notable examples being Wings, Murphy Brown, Arrested Development and most recently Sneaky Pete, as well as serving as a writer for the 2006 film The Pink Panther. Baby Bob is interestingly listed as his top for notables on IMDb, so this could've been one of his only projects where he's slated as a creator.
Saltzman had little interest in the show, only changing his mind under the impression that the show would succeed within a six-episode slate and he had every intention of going against a stigma present in shows like these (though this was all for nothing as either executives got to him or he had ass execution. Maybe that's why Saltzman's vanity card had him in stocks getting pelted by rotten produce.) But the ironic thing is, it kinda was a success. It wasn't a critical success by any stretch, it even landed on TV Guide's Worst Shows of All Time list at number 14, but ratings speak louder than critics. Every episode of the first season aired at least once and a second season was greenlit.
But, the second season barely happened, not because the network buckled under the pressure of reviewers, but because CBS wanted to focus on a TV adaptation of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The season would air in 2003, but only three episodes surfaced and for a time, the series was actually considered lost. It wasn't until more than recently that someone posted home recordings of every episode that hit the airwaves, and as for the remainder of the season, it's unlikely these episodes were ever produced.
And now we get to our stars. We get Adam Arkin and Joely Fisher as Bob's parents Walter and Lizzy Spencer. Only other noteworthy actor I can pick off the top of my head is Elliot Gould, who you may recognize as the voice of Rabbi Goldberg in Hey Arnold!, giving his award winning performance that suggests he doesn't want to be anywhere near television. Bob is voiced by Ken Hudson Campbell, who had various odds and ends roles in sitcoms and movies, most recently appearing in Wonder Park, and would keep on voicing Bob when the character appeared in ads for Quiznos. But interestingly, the baby they use for Bob is a girl. Okay, I wouldn't have guessed from a single viewing, got me there.
The Episode I Saw
My philosophy is that I only need to watch the first episode to get an idea on what a show's like. That's where I began.
Now stop me if you heard this one before, a husband and wife live in Santa Monica and get snubbed by their parents over what direction they took in life. Never heard that one before. I will say this, Arki and Gould do look like they could be related, but they also look close to the same age. Going into this I expected Bob to talk right out of the gate, but that doesn't happen until the second act, and almost out of nowhere.
When Bob spoke, I expected some incredibly corny adult jokes, but luckily I was wrong. What I wasn't wrong about was how the parents would take it. Then again, people would complain about the parents likely taking the news too well, and by people, I mean "critics" who think screaming at the camera over minor things equates to comedy.
Now, I'm not necessarily knocking the actors, or Bob for that matter in spite of the mouth movements that would rub anyone the wrong way, it's the way they go about it. It's kinda predictable if you've seen enough shows of a similar structure. I expected them to lie to Bob about why he can't talk in public, ma claims a law prevents him from talking in the supermarket. I expected them to keep their mouths shut, they want Bob to keep it a secret, as to them.
I expected at the end where Bob's left with a babysitter to talk and scare her or at the very least give an assuring wink when she tells him a secret... It turns out she knew his secret first and for a few weeks now. Okay they got me there, usually the teenaged/early-20s babysitters get the worst on these deals, but if the one paragraph summary on Wikipedia is anything to go by she does play an occasional role in these episodes.
The issue with this show is that it does little to stand out from other shows. Bob is the only thing keeping this from blending in with the sitcom fodder of the early-2000s, I mean sure they made use of a gimmick but it needs good execution to go along with it. Well yeah, Bob's the best thing about it, I like how he perceives things, but it's all else that prevents me from going any further. The adults do little to differentiate from others in other CBS shows. The same network that gave us Everybody Loves Raymond, Yes Dear, groundwork for a b-plot in a Family Guy episode where Stewie goes through a Weekend at Bernies type experience, and just to point it out, a lack of animated series, but I think one tainted that potential beyond the point of no repair.
Would any good execution save this show? If it was some obscure TV movie from the mid-90s it would've made more sense, but as is, the critics were on the nose with this one. I'll at least say this doesn't deserve to be lost, I'm more afraid of what I'd find in Come to Papa if anyone ever finds episodes of that anywhere.
There is one good reason to watch the show, at least on YouTube. The video I saw was ripped from the actual broadcast, so if you want to relive some early-2000s nostalgia, the commercials were kept in. Did you know? When Peter Griffin used TiVo to skip a pesky show to get to the commercials... that came out after this show, I apologize.
That 70s Show requires no introduction, but that never stopped me. It's one of many staples from the almighty Carsey Werner Comapny (Or Werner Entertainment, firing Roseanne really took a number on the biggest name in the sitcom game.) That 70s Show is known for, aside from being one of the few Fox shows to not get the ax a few episodes in, making use of otherwise okay actors and proving that a period piece would still be second to an interesting coming of age premise.
Personally, I consider it to be the most interesting Fox show in that it tried to expand it through other shows. Not even The Simpsons did that. It's a bit pointless to talk about these now, everyone has done this countless times, it's a recurring joke come the topic, it's another one of those Glen Howerton gags where we bring up how his old roles connect to Dennis Reynolds. You know, Days Like These, the UK version of the show and That 80s Show.
Both shows are loathed, but there's one question that's never really been brought up. What's the best of the two? Well I don't expect to be the ultimate decider since I'm too nice with most of my reviews tackling what's considered to be the worst television has to offer. I'm what I'd like to call, a coffee table critic, I'm around to encourage discussion on television, film, what have you and giving onlookers key details to come to their own conclusion.
For this, I intend to discuss the first episode of each, try to figure out why people hate it, compare it to one another and determine which one didn't make me want to heave as much. I'm gonna start with Days Like These since this came out first, almost a year after That 70s Show premiered. Also background, lots and lots of background.
Days Like These
When any show lasts on Fox for longer than a few months, it translates to a success on par with what lasts long on any other network. That was the mindset had by the people who greenlit this show. Days Like These aired on ITV in 1999, less than a year after That 70s Show premiered.
The creation of it is owed to the creators of the original show, Bonnie and Terry Turner and Mark Brazill, but they also had help from Linda Wallem, who served as a producer on some episodes and is best known for voicing Dr. Paula Hutchinson from Rocko's Modern Life and marrying Melissa Etheridge. Caryn Mandabach rounds out the five creators, and what has she done? Well she has been with Carsey Werner since the late-80s as a supervising executive producer. She would later become a partner in the company before breaking off. Ironically, she's now based in the United Kingdom.
While the series almost followed the scripts of the American series, you'd expect changes and lo and behold they occurred. Aside from changing the names of things to account for American/British differences, the names of the characters were changed almost wholesale. Apparently the UK wasn't too big on Italian names, hence changing the names of Donna and her folks. But at least they didn't cast a white guy as Fez. (they did, text doesn't let me do sarcasm good.)
One last thing, they changed up the location, obviously. It's not that they changed the country, but what kind of town it is. That 70s Show used a made up town in Wisconsin for their setting, Days Like These was set in Luton, a very real town. I'm actually kinda happy they didn't just wuss out and set in a generic London suburb.
Right out the gate, this has a very cheap feel. Unlike the original show, which was filmed, this was very likely shot on video. It has a freehand cam look to it and if you listen closely, you could hear how little was likely spent. Probably why they had to use episodes from the original as a basis for scripts. The iconic scene transitions are used in this show, but I would be bold enough to claim that they were taken right from the original, and they'd be in their full right to do so as this show shares the same producers.
As for the characters themselves, seems like Eric, Hyde (or Dylan Jones as he's known in this show) (Torbjorn Rasmussen, and I wish I could say this was a joke) took after Kelso (or excuse me, Michael McGuire, Michael is perfectly fine but I don't want no Kelso in my British remake), and almost every boy has long hair. Jackie Burkhart (or pardon my American, Jackie Burget) is sorta close to Mila Kunis in the original show, but lacking in the wit department, and Donna Pinciotti (oh I'm sorry, Palmer, Palmer), actually comes close to looking and sounding like Laura Prepon. Heck, the stand-in for Bob looks very close to Don Stark, but doesn't act as close. Red Foreman (oops, I mean Ron, Ron Foreman) looks more like David Ogden Stiers than Kurtwood Smith and doesn't act as well (actually, he acts as well as Smith did in Squirrel Boy), and I won't even say anything about Kitty. Debra Jo Rupp is one of a kind, it's unfair to hold any stand-in to such a high standard. It was hard for me to figure out who the Hyde and Kelso stand-ins were in this right away, but I figured it out. Kelso wears a necklace of sorts and the standard was kept for both shows, and toward the middle, the Hyde stand-in got those familiar shades.
And now... Fez, aka Torbjorn Rasmussen. At first I thought he was converted to a borderline Kelso lookalike, until I saw him later into the episode. He's white, but is portrayed as foreign and it's not specified where he came from. It's said he's Scandinavian, but who knows? It begs the question. What's more racist? Casting a white man as a foreign man and keeping the foreign man's mannerisms, or dressing in black face to make a comedy drama poking fun at discrimination in the work place? Eh I don't know.
As you might expect, the stand-ins for the main gang don't do the characters justice. Each just essentially phone it in (okay maybe that's a bit harsh. I imagine the director didn't see much of the show, or maybe it's the actors that didn't, so they didn't know they had to channel the characters core personalities or simply didn't have it in them to do it.) I'd make remarks on the jokes, but the first episode was based on the pilot, so for any jokes that might've been interesting in this show, they've been done in the original so it'd be pointless to commend the show on that. Oh, they even do the circle bit, with an emphasis on the bud they puffed.
The entire thing feels like it's well below the standards of a normal TV show. Some have called it an SNL skit, some have called it a porn parody, some have theorized that they shot this on 70s-era cameras to make a more authentic portrayal of the decade. Personally, I'd call it a fan project that'd be released on the internet. Just a bunch of British stoners who found That 70s Show one way or another and decided to pay tribute to it in their own way.
Days Like These is a bit like the pilot for Full House, if either had their way, their shows wouldn't make it past one season. Lo and behold, Days Like These only lasted for ten episodes before getting the ax. It never aired on television outside of the United Kingdom, and since it never hampered the original show and since it came out while the show was still in its first year, it never did any harm.
It's a bad show, that's for sure, but not the kind of show that would yield major consequences. It caters to my love of awkward humor, and hell, one of my favorite shows is notorious for its cheesy atmosphere. At least it wasn't 24 minutes of "We're British! Big ben, fish n' chips, electricity is devil worship."
This is the first episode.
That 80s Show
Ah yes, the most infamous of them all as far as I know. One thing I have to commend this show for is that in spite of its low quality, its lone season actually managed to air in its entirety on the main network, although the last two episodes were swapped in airing order. Another interesting fact is that not only did it not get cancelled midway through or right out of the gate, it even aired outside of the US, in Canada on CTV.
Both this and Days Like These were made solely to cash in on the success of That 70s Show, okay maybe it's a stretch since it's by the same creators (I'm getting incest vibes here.), but while Days Like These isn't as known and came out, again, during That 70s Show's first year, That 80s Show came out in 2002, as the original got even more popular. At this point, we get a greater idea on who wanted to milk this show. Brazill, Wallem and Terry Turner are the main creators of this. Mandabach didn't create it as she was too busy producing it as this was made when she became a partner in Carsey-Werner, and I think at this point, they wanted her out.
There's literally only one actor I recognize on this. Remember that crack I made about Glen Howerton? This is where he got his start, at least the first year of his acting career. He previously had bit parts in Monday Night Madness, a TV movie and The Job, a short lived sitcom. One aired on ABC, the other on TNT though that TV movie's based on something that aired on ABC (Monday Night Football.) That 80s Show was Howerton's first major role, and right after a brief stint on ER, he would become the lovable sociopath we know and love(?) today. Dennis Reynolds. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Apparently another actress would land a better role in Grey's Anatomy, I don't know, I really don't know.
Right out the gate, this didn't have the same charm as That 70s Show. You know how That 70s Show used the 70s as a backdrop for a coming of age story and focused more on the comings and goings of the characters? Apparently the 80s was all about the visual oddities because everything is a reference to the 80s, complete with one of the characters having spiked up hair and a gag with the brick cell phone. If That 70s Show was anything like this, we wouldn't even be here right now. That 80s Show shares no continuity with That 70s Show, aside from one fleeting reference on par with that guy from Resident Evil Survivor.
The theme song screams out what kind of aesthetic it follows. That 70s Show is about hanging out with friends before technology walled everyone in. That 80s Show is about the 80s. Fuck everyone it's the decade that matters, because there's little meat to the characters. Just by the cold open, it feels like a very awkward It's Always Sunny scene, well, awkward but not in a charming way, and I can see why people only see Dennis Reynolds when they see Glen Howerton. While Days Like These made me heave with the awkward jokes, these just fly right by me and don't even have any ironic charm.
I can see some instances of the show trying to replicate the original. The first I saw of the Ron Foreman (oh my bad, Red Foreman, we're out of British territory now) stand in, I saw an attempt at wit. I hardly laugh much on my own volition, but if I did, I'd probably laugh at the first joke made. It's not the best but, it's not an 80s reference. For the 80s references, I'll give it this, at least this meant they were willing to bite the bullet and license some songs. We get Talking Heads, The Smiths, you name it. Had this show been successful, I imagine it wouldn't have made it to DVD over potential clearance issues. But, there's a caveat. The 80s is one of the more pop culture oriented decades, it has its own definitive style and it clashes heavily with what's considered normal these days. The only way anyone could get away with doing a show like this is if it's meant to mock it. This is meant to be in a similar vein to That 70s Show.
The sad thing about this show is that we don't even have much, if at all, stand ins for the original show characters. So, I'll go by the stereotypes for this one. Corey's the Eric Foreman stand in, we have Tuesday, the rude punk with the comically spiky hair, the deadpan record store owner, the blonde moron, the stress for success asian. since Corey's played by Glen Howerton I like him by default. I think a good reason why people associate him with his Dennis character, aside from the success of the show he appears on, he does little to alternate from his other roles, something that has also confounded Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, and the former appeared on Law & Order and Lost of all shows.
Oh, I'm sorry, got off track a bit. But it's not like this show warrants any more focus. The rest is subpar jokes, band references and a scene dedicated to drinking a shot every time a woman gets slapped in Dynasty. It's all about pop culture in this show, hence, it's not worth any more of my time.
What was the best of all two?
I think a problem with both of these shows is that each came out too soon. Days Like These came out when That 70s Show was still well in its first year and That 80s Show came out before 80s nostalgia truly peaked.
Days Like These didn't rely on pop culture to get by and at best looks like a cheap parody of the actual show. That 80s Show, 80s cramming aside, looks like a typical forgettable Fox sitcom.
That 80s Show, technically has better acting, but I don't know if the acting in Days Like These is standard for that country's sitcoms.
Days Like These had awkward jokes that made the show unintentionally hilarious and my level of humor. That 80s Show had jokes that I would laugh at, but the best humor comes by accident. Both didn't make me want to quit right away.
I'm calling it a draw. At their core they're forgettable adaptations with too many quirks to overlook, all part of a grander show that never needed spin-offs to begin with. Both were meant to capitalize on the success of That 70s Show, by people who're involved.
This is my, what, my fourth Fairly Odd Parents related post? Believe me, I wanted it to die after the last one, but its a-segment's stuck on the brain. Someone needs to talk about it, and I just want to get my head cleared of FOP so I can go back into reviewing obscurities.
Last time I talked about a FOP episode that was actually sorta banned for a while. When that episode was taken down, its a-segment was taken along with it. Due to that, it wasn't as easy to find the episode on the air, it didn't get as much exposure as the rest of the show. If it did, someone would've covered either episode. Someone could've covered either episode. Someone should've covered either episode. I talked about Twistory, it's time I talk about Hail to the Chief.
In my Twistory review, I brought up how this and Hail to the Chief would've made my worst FOP episode list. I had made that before I saw these episodes again, and honestly I should've seen them first to make a more even list. If you want an idea on where those would've landed, Twistory would've been at number four, and Hail to the Chief would've probably made it to number one.
Keeping with a certain theme, this episode is centered on politics, and going the way of any Nick show that touches upon this topic, stop me if you've heard this one before. A boy on the lower end of the social hierarchy (the main protagonist for example) tires of getting the short end of the stick when it comes to getting certain luxuries had by the class president (the most popular student in school). So runs for class president. Hijinks ensue.
Okay, for context, Timmy gets mad that he doesn't get cake during a contrived lunch special due to the class presidents, the popular boys, Tad and Chad, having perks that allow them direct access. And Timmy decides to run for class president, getting into office due to an incident preventing everyone else from getting to class before the voting process. Since this was due to the popular kids giving out free cake and everyone got sick from it, I imagine this would lead to a sense of mistrust and would lead to a conflict where Timmy would veer down the same path and see how difficult it is to oversee the world at-
Nah, Timmy wins through one vote he made himself. Ed, Edd n' Eddy did this much better and I hate that episode. Come to think of it, I hate that show more than I hate FOP. But there is some conflict that's holding Timmy back from honoring his position. Aside from one idiotic secret service joke where Chester and AJ go into the same bathroom stall as Timmy, the one thing keeping Timmy from honoring his role... he's unable to talk to Trixie Tang.
To those coming in, that's it. That's the central conflict. This is where the three writers threw their hands up. A petty, petty, oh so petty conflict. Timmy's willing to give up his presidency and stand up to the popular kids just so he could talk to Trixie. But maybe I'm just overreacting. Didn't you know? Watergate happened because Richard Nixon wanted to talk to a girl but his agents wouldn't let him, quite a clever reference from the same show who couldn't do justice to I Love Lucy, Seinfeld, Oprah or even the weather channel.
Now you may be thinking, "Oh, you see though there's no chance they could've come up with something better." Akshully... They could have some conflict between Timmy and his friends. He could fire them due to their intrusive nature and it could lead to a massive falling out, or perhaps the seeds for a revenge plan with them aiding Tad and Chad in taking Timmy down. Or if you wanna play it safe, go the obvious power to the head route. It would've been predictable but it would've worked on a moral teaching basis. I don't trust this show to do allusions to political scandals, I imagine they would've made Nixon Hitler incarnate or Andrew Jackson a Hannibal Lecter-type whack-job.
The payoff isn't any better either. Timmy loses his position due to him siding with an uncool school club, he doesn't even get to have that talk with Trixie (and I don't mean a talk, I mean that talk. The kind of talk I'd sell my family out to. Why else would he drop everything for that?), and then it ends with Timmy getting an affectionate dogpile from Elmer and the phlegm brigade, and naturally, since it's close to the end of the episode, Cosmo and Wanda don't give a shit and laugh it off. Come to think of it, that has happened quite a bit in the previous seasons.
This episode, in political terms, was a big nothing burger. It had nothing to say about politics in general and it had no good conflict (petty conflict doesn't count unless it leads to something more interesting.) It reeks of the kind of episode that's made to pad out the two-segment requirement. I'm the kind of person who gets more angry over predictable crap and middle-of-the-road tripe than what other critics get angry over, and this is up there.
I'd rather watch one of each episode of Days Like These and That 80s Show, talk about both and determine which show was better. Don't count on this coming to fruition, even I'm doubtful.
Unlike the creator of the show when it comes to his YouTube videos, this isn't clickbait. This will focus on an episode of Fairly Odd Parents that was considered offensive enough to be taken off the air for a while.
The episode is Twistory, and yes, this is another Fairly Odd Parents post, I hate the show but I love it at the same time.
Going into it, I had no idea why it was ignored by the network for so long, and I did see it when it was new. This was well before I was made aware of the ins and outs of censorship and offensive material. Best to give some history behind the episode.
Twistory aired during the second season of Fairly Odd Parents back in 2002. It was paired with Hail to the Chief and after a year or so, airings of this episode became more and more rare. In my head, I assumed this was a themed episode, reserved for airings around President's Day, which is where I recall catching reruns, but overtime, I learned it wasn't the case.
So for those coming in now, this episode must've pulled all the stops right? Move over Ren & Stimpy, back off Rocko's Modern Life, Fairly Odd Parents are about to join your ranks. Or outrank you somehow.
Twistory was taken off the air for a while due to its use of stereotypes, I mean I guess. At large FOP fans don't hate the episode much (because apparently they can't separate reality from fiction hence their obsession with It's a Wishful Life.) What's my stance on stereotypes? I don't react harshly to stuff like that, but I agree it isn't funny. It's been beaten into the ground and it's less offensive and more annoying.
To the existence of this episode, we have to thank Jack Thomas (who to be fair wrote some of my favorite episodes of the show), along with Steve Marmel (who is a few bulbs short of a functional Hollywood vanity mirror) and Butch Hartman, who also directed the episode. If you take offense to this episode and hate Butch Hartman, call this a freebie.
So what's this episode about and what led to the stereotyping? Timmy forgot to do his history report and decides to bring over the signers of the Declaration of Independence to interview them in a talkshow like setting. The stereotypes start coming in at this point. George Washington, a man who's obsessed with cutting wood in a node to the Cherry Tree story. Benjamin Franklin, all about electricity and it's implied that he's the sole force behind its existence; "Akshully, the foundation of electricity can be traced to various people from different periods, Benjamin Franklin wasn't the true creator of electricity he was just one of the bigger figures behind it." Thomas Jefferson, at best, is just awkward.
But it all comes to a head soon enough. Due to the founding fathers being out of their time for so long, and apparently because they couldn't be reached before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, well, it never wound up happening, and because of that Dimmsdale is thrown into the dark ages. And in this, we get the impression that the United Kingdom is as evolved as a third-world country, complete with people with bad teeth, a hollow tax joke and the typical British landmarks. All they needed was something with fish and chips and they would've gone full circle.
They go back to the signing, and gee, I wonder who's gonna be the obligatory villain in this episode? I- Benedict Arnold. I mean, okay, compared to what Butch is comfortable with cramming into this episode, if he had used a stereotypical British king as the villain then this episode would've been far worse in my book. But for what they chose, Benedict Arnold, really? I mean sure I couldn't think of a better villain, but come on? Cartoonish evil? This is Season 0 level bullshit.
So Arnold disguises himself as Washington and tries to get them to sign a document that serves as a white flag. Or as this show likes to call it, the Declaration of Surrenderpendence. I need some air. How does this get resolved? By exploiting a Washington stereotype that may or may not be rooted in fact, and Timmy even gets to sign the Declaration of Independence due to him breaking John Hancock's hand.
Only thing I could mention about this episode at this point is that they put Timmy's face on the dollar, and you know how we have critics who hone in on obvious jokes just for cheap brownie points? Well now it's my turn. What led to this? This extends well beyond basic gratitude, Hancock was the only one who didn't sign and he never appeared on any currency. Worst part is this exists for a retread of an existing joke. At least for that joke about the Cubs in It's a Wishful Life it's meant to poke fun at an extensive losing streak and possibly something from Back to the Future, I don't know.
Basically, this episode isn't as racist as you think it is, but it comes close. It is one of the few episodes where one aspect overpowers the rest of the episode, and if you've seen stereotype humor before this episode does nothing new with it. It's like a Family Guy joke, and then you realize that Butch Harman and Seth McFarlane worked together in the past.
Would this have made my top 3 worst FOP episodes? Well... I probably would've put this and its a-segment on it, since Hail to the Chief felt like a wasted episode. Maybe it was for the best that I hardly saw this episode on TV.
I don't like Fairly Odd Parents flat out, but they do have a fair share of episodes I like, which is the most I could say about many shows I hate. Funny thing is, there are more episodes I like than hate, to the point that for once I had to narrow it down to five.
As an aside, I was going to include the specials and movies on this list, but I haven't seen them all, and it may be better as a standalone list. Speaking of:
5. A tie between A Wish Too Far and The Big Scoop
Yeah, I'm putting the two together, they're both essentially the same episode, but at the same time different enough to be, well, different.
The first season was more moral driven then later seasons, and even the second and third had more of an emphasis on comedy for the sake of comedy. As a consequence, I'd consider the first season to be my least favorite season, hell, I didn't even like the first two segments. While we're at it, the pilot shorts left an equally rotten taste in my mouth, beyond the Superhero segment, and maybe the one centering on Tootie's birthday party (only for the fact that Vicky came out on top to break the level of predictability on part with any episode of Ed, Edd n' Eddy involving the Kankers in a major role.)
Anyway, A Wish Too Far. Speaking as someone who often roots for the popular students (and rare occasions the bullies as long as they don't have too cliched of a backstory), this wasn't too bad of an episode. For once, we have an episode that doesn't outright demonize the popular archetype. Okay, it's insulting to think a lot of you don't know who Trixie Tang is, but just to get you up to speed, she, for the most part, challenged the stereotype associated with popular student archetypes. She's also not as obnoxious as other characters in the fold. This episode is set back a bit as Timmy's personality hadn't been truly realized at this point, so we have to rely on the story and what little jokes there are. I'd go back to this before others though, that's the most I could say about this.
The Big Scoop. I was brought in by the novelty of it being a near remake of A Wish Too Far. It's rare to see older episodes revisited beyond a pilot remake. Basically, it's a stretch of A Wish Too Far, going by a full length B-plot centered on Chester and A.J., who seek an exciting story for the school newspaper, and wind up going after Timmy over his sudden spike in popularity. Some setbacks, the b-plot's existence wasn't apparent in the original episode and as a result it seems like a desperate attempt to pad out the run time, also, for most jokes that're redone from the original episode, they don't translate to the show's more refined style from this season on. On the upside, the jokes stick better and the plot's more interesting, plus the fact that we get to focus on someone other than Timmy.
Obviously, The Big Scoop is my favorite of the two from a humor standpoint.
4. Apartnership
What's this? Another season one episode? I hate where it started, but I don't consider it a bad season as a whole, the rest of the episodes are just meh to me. To me, this episode challenges the stereotype that only one (usually the man) can cause couple-hood to sour and it also practically mocks the stereotype associated with over-protective parents.
The episode centers on Wanda supposedly forgetting her and Cosmo's anniversary (already a relief since it's usually the man who forgets their anniversary.) so he decides to return to Fairy World to live with his mother. Oh wait, apparently there's a debate on what kind of anniversary it was, but what saves this from playing it safe is that both are portrayed as wrong, we root for a make up, not for one to bite the big one.
By and large, it's a cute episode and there's little forced conflict to keep the plot going. Why is this ahead of the previous one if I have so little to say about it? Because. Just, because.
3. Action Packed
This made the list mostly due to the novelty behind it. From an outsider's perspective you'd think it'd just be a collection of neutered action scenes and cliches, and you'd be half right. The genesis behind Timmy's wish for a more action-packed life was born through a generic action film, so you can go in with low expectations.
But the ironic thing is, it's actually fairly dark, at least by the standards set in the show overall. Cosmo and Wanda actually die in this (at least that's how we see it, they turn into dust and remain that way until the resolve.) Quite ballsy if I do say so myself. Another interesting aspect is the villain choice, rather than go with the usual suspects, we get Jorgen Von Strangle, and he's hardly out of character here. He's always been going on about his body and we get this here.
Not to mention, it's the best episode on a visual basis, this is one of the few episodes of the show to incorporate CGI, and it holds up as well as Terminator 2 (as in quite well.)
2. The Grass is Greener
Before the more infamous seasons surfaced, Timmy's parents were easy to define. They were comically neglectful, but still gave a damn about their son. The Grass is Greener proved this, and proved it hard. It has a simple premise, Timmy overhears his parents claiming that they can afford better things had they not had Timmy, hence wasting their extra cash on him, but even before the conflict began, they made it clear that their desires hold no ground. Cosmo and Wanda send Timmy to a carnival to fulfill his desire to run away and it seems like it's done to encourage him to go back home, but instead, he decides to become a carny in order to make it without his folks.
An admirable thing about this is how the episode doesn't portray Timmy as selfish, he did want to check in on his folks to see if they missed him at one point. The fairies leave Timmy, though thankfully not out of nowhere as he had become well adjusted to his new line of work, but fell into the bad graces of the carnies in doing so. But going by the colorful means of escape during the obligatory chase sequence, along with some odd moments of the carnies not taking full advantage of getting Timmy, we learn this was just a way to get him to go back home, where we see his parents do in fact miss him.
On the surface, it seems blatantly obvious Cosmo and Wanda wouldn't leave Timmy high and dry, but if you pay attention enough, you'd figure it out, so I can't be too angry about that. I'm aware that other episodes show his parents care about him, but I prefer the simplicity of this episode.
1. Chin Up (and many Crimson Chin episodes)
For every Crimson Chin episode I've seen, I wouldn't consider any of them to be bad. I owe this to Jay Leno's portrayal of the protruding jawed hero. Hartman didn't have much skill directing many FOP episodes, but he clearly had comic work cut out for him. They nail the style to a "T" and somehow the humor's sharper, with meta jokes that don't grow old (I mean, come on, letters to the editor, showing the writer.) I couldn't decide what Crimson Chin episode I wanted to put here, and that fact alone is why this is number one.
So, out of random, I picked the first one. Starting with the first season and ending with the first season. I love it for how ridiculous it was (Chin's origin story as well as his confrontation with the reality that he's just a book character.) along with its dialogue.
Yeah, once more this is number one because the Chin carried many of these episodes and propelled it higher than others for me.
I don't like Fairly Odd Parents, at least not anymore. I watched the show when it was new, saw a bulk of the Poof episodes, dropped out before Sparky and Chloe hit the scene and beyond nostalgia, I have no reason to go back to the show. I bring this up because a lot of the episodes on this list come before the more infamous years of the show, some even from the first, good way to bring some variety to an otherwise predictable list collection.
I'd give a trigger warning, but then again I spout endlessly at more popular shows. By the way, I will be counting my favorite Fairly Odd Parents episodes, and unlike a 3D plumber from many years ago, it will happen in some form, don't know when, but it will.
So list, list start now, I am doing list now.
The Big Problem
Wait, I'm telling you that I don't like where this series began? Well I don't like this episode, but I don't think it's as bad as the next ones on the list. To get this out of the way, going into the show, for me it was just meh. I tuned into the show, but it didn't stick with me as well as others did. I checked out a handful of Fairly Odd Parents episodes on YouTube to determine my current consensus and compared to the few I've seen from the first season, this held up poorly for me.
I think a reason for that is that it details adult life and since I'm an adult, it's no longer appealing to me, plus the execution and the fact that there's little meat to the overall plot. Timmy wishes he was an adult, it turns out to suck, and yes, that's basically it. But the way they go about it isn't the best. You know that moral about appreciating your younger years? Well this episode essentially tells you that you'd be better off dead instead of an adult, at least that's how they imply it (plus making Timmy's adult form ugly.
Come to think of it, lots of classic Nickelodeon shows go about morals the same way (even copying most jokes wholesale, but for another time.)
Timmy's 2-D House of Horrors
Just to get this out of the way. It's a Wishful Life won't be on this list. It just didn't piss me off for some reason (maybe it's because of my cynicism, maybe I've seen worse, maybe it's the fact that it got overblown because it was covered in Mr. Enter's earlier days.) It's only bad if you treat cartoon characters like real people (plus, everyone's an asshole in real life, some just go about it differently.)
The episode before this pissed me off more, and frankly it was a lot more mean-spirited in my opinion. If it hadn't been for this episode being paired with It's a Wishful Life, this probably would've been covered in some capacity.
How is this worse by my standards? It's somehow a lot more mean spirited and ends on a somehow fouler note. The episode centers on Timmy accidentally destroying Vicky's house, now the family has to live with the Turners. They waste no time in fucking with Timmy, if the parents' ignorance of Vicky's evil was annoying for you... well take a guess what I'm gonna say next, because that's it. That's the episode, aside from a running joke that is hammered into the ground (it mocks 3D effects in older films, but the way they go about it is all wrong. Fairly Odd Parents made fun of pop culture, but they could never compete with other shows that did it better.
If there's an excuse for this episode that everything that happened is fine because Timmy deserved it, I pray you never reproduce.
Power Mad
Oh yeah, I didn't like the first two episodes, while The Big Problem wasn't that good, it at least had enough material to justify its length. This episode feels rushed, and that seems to be the case with many episodes of shows themed around video games (at least the ones I've seen, well one, Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase.) Timmy wishes he could be part of a video game that offers a grander challenge than what he normally encounters and the only caveat is that if he and his friends who get trapped in there lose all three of their lives they'll die for real, and the only thing keeping them from winning (aside from not giving a shit) is running a lot of power.
Nice premise, right? Well don't expect good execution to go along with it. That video game concept? Glanced over most of the time. The power aspect? Vicky's running a lot of power, but wait, Cosmo and Wanda could easily run a motion generator, that power conflict was useless (and its introduction was forced as all hell too.), and for Vicky's fate... well I'm not a fan of Butch Hartman's black and white perspective on villains, I'm not a fan of Butch Hartman, and I'm not an angry atheist. Vicky gets thrown into the game, and seemingly for no reason aside from that forced conflict. She didn't throw Timmy or his friends into the game, and again, that generator bit. It wasn't even used as a joke, just as something present within another joke.
But why did that power conflict have to happen? Why for the all important TV reference jokes of course. I'd give props to kids shows for cracking jokes that'd get me in my adult years, but obviously these didn't get that result. These references are below Family Guy levels of funny (and Family Guy can still do these well.) I'm going to list off the shows they try to parody, how they do it and why I think they failed at it.
I Love Lucy: They got the Ricky deadringer wrong, but they fucked it up by having Wanda, well, be Wanda. Lucy isn't necessarily the most iconic TV star out there, but she's still well recognized. We don't need a men are stupid women are Jesus type message (by that I mean one that stereotypes men as idiots and woman as, well, the opposite (like they did in that one Valentines special, you know the one.)
Weather channel: Cosmo confuses weather with feather. They try to throw in a bit with a laugh track that doesn't come, but it just doesn't work.
Oprah (or talk shows in general.): Cosmo marries his car and somehow it reproduces. It seems like a statement against men from the south.
Those CD commercials: Cosmo sings nursery songs.
Seinfeld: It's a show about nothing, and the joke is made with that amount of nothing.
Are these jokes meant to poke fun at Cosmo and Wanda's ignorance of pop culture and television? Who knows?
I have no honorable mentions, well, aside from the pilot shorts, and a key reason I hate them is because they push the black and white perspective and don't amp up the characters to justify it. I only like one short out of all of them, can't be bothered to remember the name though.
Check out the intro entry before you begin to get an idea on how I plan to cover these shows.
R.L. Stine is a name many readers should be familiar with. You've all read or at the very least heard of Goosebumps. I had some books in my possession years ago (though I never read any of it.), and I'm sure at least most of you heard of the TV series from the 90s. I weirdly remember the first episode I ever saw from that show (Hairiest Adventure), I didn't get the context of it and the sad thing is that it's revealed at the end. If you remember The Hub, this was reran there and I caught more episodes there.
Anyway, Goosebumps was Stine's foray into 90s television while The Haunting Hour was a foray into the early-2010s. Must've been a slow day back in the early-2000s, or was it?
The Nightmare Room
The Nightmare Room is a bit of an anomaly, not because it's terrible, more on that later, but because of where it came from, who was involved (for the most part) and where it wound up. The Nightmare Room aired on Kids' WB in 2001 through 2002. How's that an anomaly? This was the only live action show to air on a block dedicated to cartoons. Guess anything really was possible back then when it came to television. The last place this show ever aired was Chiller (of all places) back in the late-2000s, and since I'm only now getting into cheap horror anthology shows, I missed out and hard.
When you get into the show, you'd be surprised to find who was involved, but not so much who they got. The series was created by R.L. Stine and based off a companion series of books published by . The show was produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions, a name you should all recognize, Smallville, many classic Nickelodeon shows, the fact that Robbins is now the president of Nickelodeon, along with his so-so resume of films, I'd say more, but I'd like most hoses to remain dead.
I bring Tollin/Robbins up because I think it's through their connections they got many of the stars included on here. The series was hosted by James Avery, masquerading as R.L. Stine. Guess they thought Stine wasn't scary enough to helm the show. Do I even need to talk about who Avery is? Narrator aside, who did they get into the show? Well, child stars from the period, though to be fair many of them still get by in some way.
They got Amanda Bynes and Drake Bell, regulars on The Amanda Show so that's expected. They got Shia LaBeouf, fresh from Even Stevens and... damn... been ages since I heard his name. Good. But it doesn't stop there, they got Brenda Song (London from Suite Life of Zack and Cody and the star of some shit Neftlix movie.), Junior from My Wife and Kids, Gracie from The Nanny, one of the guys from that Nick show Brothers Garcia, Reese from Malcolm in the Middle, Kaley Cuoco from The Big Bang Theory in an early role, even Robert Englund, arguably in a better place than a certain other series.
I've seen six episodes out of a thirteen episode season. What stood out to me the most? What was the weakest?
What I liked.
Tangled Web. This is the one that had Reese in it. The story centers on a pathological liar named Josh who after lying about missing homework, is told by a substitute that he is believed. The kicker is that now every lie Josh tells comes true. He's so slow on the uptake he doesn't take advantage of this and suffers almost instantly. But by the end, after we expect him to die for his sins, it turns out this was just a story to another student, told by Josh as a teacher, and all he got out of it was a scar from a hot door knob.
Aside from the novelty of seeing Reese outside of Malcom in the Middle, the episode was a bit light. It felt like they were mostly struggling to keep it going, some scenes going quicker than expected, others going on for too long. But there is a bright side to this, everything checks out, nothing was left untouched and I guess Josh wasn't rotten enough to deserve death, so that was a nice twist at the end.
My Name is Evil. Deals with a boy who is told by a fortune teller that he is evil. A series of events plague him and he believes it's coming true. I expected a Carrie-like twist, but as it turns out, it was all a set up (and another popular antagonist type thing.) who had powers which she intended to use to frame the boy in order to... I dunno, make him lonely for the rest of the school year? This may sound like a major strike against it, but I still like the episode. What helps is that it has good characters, I can buy the awkward bromance between the boy and his friends, it's satisfying to see the antagonist get it at the end, and in a weird twist, the boy had evil powers all along. It did have some cool practical effects, highlights being the second trip to the fortune teller's tent as well as the track scene where someone sinks into the sand. My Name is Evil works for its set ups, characterization and effects.
What I Didn't Like
Scareful What You Wish For. The one with Shia Le Merde. Essentially, Shia is stalked by a doll that was magically brought to life. The doll goes after his friends (non fatal of course.), all culminating in the doll turning him into one. This episode reeks of missed opportunity. They could've easily made it into a psychological thriller. Shia is looking forward to growing up, but deep down he doesn't and he uses the doll as an excuse for sociopathic behavior. The episode felt empty as a result.
Not for nothing, but while an episode in another show didn't follow this principal, it does a better twist.
Don't Forget Me. Lazy title aside. This stars Amanda Bynes. My issue with this? Bynes can't do horror. I'm sorry, but she's not cut out for anything beyond teen drama or comedy. She's about as wooden as those actors in that god awful Sharon Tate movie (be grateful I'm not giving you the title), or maybe just very awkward. The story seems interesting, but it once again ditches a good opportunity by getting resolved and rushing to the end. The basement has a rift that causes kids to be forgotten, and if this were good, it would be gradual and end on a grim note, or a repeat of the start. But no, all ends happily and then they repeat the start.
Summary
Best Episode: My Name is Evil
Worst Episode: Don't Forget Me
Best aspects: Making good use of unexpected actors, surprisingly held up better than most shows of the 2000s, decent practical effects, good twists in most episodes.
Worst aspects: Missed opportunities for many episodes that would've made them far more interesting, bad acting is hard to ignore for most of the characters.
Overall
From a writing standpoint, some episodes leave much to be desired, but hey, I guess they have enough to keep your interest. For all these episodes, I managed to watch them in full. I can't say the scariest thing about this show is that it aired on a block dedicated to cartoons.
