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LeVar Presents: The Very 1st TV Walrus REVEAL
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07-02-2021 4:45pm#1Back in late December, 14 brave souls submitted some of their favourite TV Shows to be either highly praised or brutally torn apart by me, Also Starring LeVar Burton
104 shows and 312 episode later (there were a few duplicate submissions if anyone is thinking those numbers don't add up), the time has come for The Reveal
Gonna kick things off tomorrow evening and then hopefully do a round a day until we're done (may do a double bill one of the days)
Reveal times will vary depending on what else is happening that evening, so will confirm each afternoon what time that day's reveal will be at
There will also be two special bouts of bonus points awarded on Finale Night, although for reasons of suspense and mystery, I'll be keeping exactly how those bonus points were calculated (there is a mathematical system in place throughout the tournament) under my hat until the time comes...
A reminder of all the categories...
1. Back In The '90s I Was Into a Very Famous TV Show ; everyone loved TV in the '90s right? I certainly did anyway, so to kick things off, hit me with a '90s classic that you loved, which was aired either entirely or mostly in the '90s.
2. Adapted for Television ; exactly what it says on the tin for this one… Give me something that was adapted from another medium, be it books, comics, video games, films, etc.
3. Stick To That Tried & Tested Formula ; for this one I want a show that typically does the same old sh*t week in and week out, your Police Procedurals or Monster of the Week type thing, you know what I mean, nothing with a big ongoing arc, something you could theoretically tune into any episode anywhere in the run (I'll still be reacting to only the first 3) and still know exactly what is happening, and any genre is fair game.
4. Born Too Late to Appreciate The Classics ; I was born back in 1987, so for this one, quite simply I want a show that had finished its run and closed up shop before I was born on March 15th '87
5. Bam! Right In The Childhood! ; send me one of your childhood favourites, whether it be live action or animation, whatever it was that grabbed your attention as a youngster
6. Underrated & Unappreciated ; give me something that you absolutely loved but not enough people seem to have seen or it never got the attention that you thought it deserved.
7. 21st Century Comedy ; another one that should be fairly obvious, just send me a Comedy Series that began airing from 2000 onwards. I'm not gonna be a stickler for definitions of what is or isn't a Comedy, comedy-dramas or whatever are fine its up to yourselves, just be aware I'm looking for something that leans more on the funny side of the spectrum.
8. Must See TV ; this is your chance to make a massive impression on me, give me something that'll have me on the edge of my seat, a water-cooler type show, where I can't wait to watch the next episode.
This is probably as good a time as any to announce that I won't be holding back in my reviews, please remember that it's just my opinion, and please don't take any of the harsh commentary of the TV Shows I wasn't as fond about to heart... don't be offended by some randomer on the interwebs. If you do get offended after I've said not to, then that's on you my friend for putting forward a f**king terrible TV Show anyway
So be here tomorrow Monday the 8th of February @ 7pm for the TV Walrus Premiere9
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Join Date:Posts: 52835
Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »
This is probably as good a time as any to announce that I won't be holding back in my reviews, please remember that it's just my opinion, and please don't take any of the harsh commentary of the TV Shows I wasn't as fond about to heart... don't be offended by some randomer on the interwebs. If you do get offended after I've said not to, then that's on you my friend for putting forward a f**king terrible TV Show anyway
Seeing as I finished last in the Movie Walrus I probably should see myself out...
Moderator: Current Affairs/IMHO, Soccer, Pro Wrestling
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I haven't done scoreboards or anything yet (and still need to match up the shows with the people who submitted them before tomorrow), so have no idea who's leading or losing myself even, but I don't think anybody did terribly, and the overall quality was very high.
I rated each of the first three episodes of each show individually (out of 10) and then used those ratings to give every series an aggregated percentage that determined their places in the rankings. I also did a write-up for each episode and some final thoughts after watching all three. There won't be any spoilers or major details in any of the reviews, all the notes are more my general reaction and overall feeling towards each episode, so everything will be safe to read.
Some of my notes on certain shows are almost essays (especially in the first few rounds, I then consciously tried to keep them shorter) and as usual I couldn't be bothered editing, so expect my reviews to be long and full of errors.
And stealing this disclaimer from Kolido...
Disclaimer
The reviews here are my personal opinions and may not reflect popular opinion.0 -
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SineadSpears wrote: »I'll admit, I em kinda not so accidentally overlooked the part about the first 3 episodes lol. I just nominationed shows I liked. The first 3 episodes may not even be that strong in my noms
I don't think you were the only one... 0 -
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Electric Nitwit wrote: »About time too, can't believe it took you over a month to watch... checks notes... 312 episodes
...and that was me taking it easy... 0 -
I was just telling my wife about this and told her what I'd picked
Those are some weird choices
Yeah, but they wanted new shows so I had to go obscure
Did they? Is that what they said?
Yeah, look, I'll check...Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »Oh, and don't worry about any of your nominations being too obvious, it'll be fun to revisit things and critique them from a fresh perspective
Oh...
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Electric Nitwit wrote: »I was just telling my wife about this and told her what I'd picked
Those are some weird choices
Yeah, but they wanted new shows so I had to go obscure
Did they? Is that what they said?
Yeah, look, I'll check...
Oh...
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I regret nothingAlso Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »
(and I genuinely love every show I submitted)
Also, my wife says "silly goose" all the time. I just had to check with her she wasn't running this without me realising 0 -
Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »This is probably as good a time as any to announce that I won't be holding back in my reviews, please remember that it's just my opinion, and please don't take any of the harsh commentary of the TV Shows I wasn't as fond about to heart... don't be offended by some randomer on the interwebs. If you do get offended after I've said not to, then that's on you my friend for putting forward a f**king terrible TV Show anyway
If I only watched shows that other people liked, I think I'd only watch two shows, ever. I could score dead-last in every category and still be satisfied with my choices 0 -
aaronjennings wrote: »If I only watched shows that other people liked, I think I'd only watch two shows, ever. I could score dead-last in every category and still be satisfied with my choices
That's the type of positive attitude I like to hear.0 -
The clarity of knowing everyone else is wrong when you're in a tiny minority is one of the things I cling to in lifeaaronjennings wrote: »If I only watched shows that other people liked, I think I'd only watch two shows, ever. I could score dead-last in every category and still be satisfied with my choices 0 -
I'll be kicking off the Back In The '90s I Was Into a Very Famous TV Show (aka. Round 1) Reveal at 7pm this evening
If you're desperate for a TV fix in the meantime, here's something I personally might have chosen myself if someone else was hosting this Walrus...
NewsRadio
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112095/IMDB wrote:The workplace sitcom "NewsRadio" explores the office politics and interpersonal relationships among the staff of WNYX NewsRadio, New York's #2 news radio station.
This is one that often slips people's minds when it comes to talking about the Greatest '90s US Sitcoms, with the likes of Seinfeld and Frasier often dominating those conversations, but NewsRadio is probably the finest and funniest of them all, it just sadly never got the same mainstream attention it deserved0 -
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Never heard of this before. Was it shown over here?Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »I'll be kicking off the Back In The '90s I Was Into a Very Famous TV Show (aka. Round 1) Reveal at 7pm this evening
If you're desperate for a TV fix in the meantime, here's something I personally might have chosen myself if someone else was hosting this Walrus...
NewsRadio
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112095/
This is one that often slips people's minds when it comes to talking about the Greatest '90s US Sitcoms, with the likes of Seinfeld and Frasier often dominating those conversations, but NewsRadio is probably the finest and funniest of them all, it just sadly never got the same mainstream attention it deserved
Some familiar faces there Phil Hartman, the guy from Kids In The Hall, the guy who voiced the slob in King of The Hill and the loser in Office Space and Dodgeball. The lady on top is very farmiliar looking, what rlse was she in?0 -
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Join Date:Posts: 52835
Did we start yet? I'm here to take my medicine Moderator: Current Affairs/IMHO, Soccer, Pro Wrestling
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Right, well I'm ready to get started, so let's kick this thing off...
I'll be doing the standard Walrus reveal, starting from the middle-of-the-pack and working my way outwards towards the tops and the bottoms, pausing briefly before revealing the Top 3 and Bottom 3 for reasons of suspense and the like...
Probably be about 4-ish minutes between each placing, unless I get distracted by something shiny, which has been known to happen, but I'll try my best to remain focused.
There was one duplicate in this round so despite there being 14 players, there will only be 13 placings - 1st place still gets 14 points, last place gets 1 point (unless the duplicate is in last place, then they'll get 2 points, as scores are based on the amount of players ranked above you), yadda, yadda, yadda, blah, blah, blah, enough of the explanations, let's just do this!
Starting off with 7th place, coming up in a couple of minutes...
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In 7th with 8 points isaaronjennings
Keeping Up Appearances
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098837/IMDB wrote:A snobbish housewife is determined to climb the social ladder, in spite of her family's working class connections and the constant chagrin of her long suffering husband.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 7.2
Episode 2 Rating: 9.5
Episode 3 Rating: 8.6
Aggregated Approval Rating: 84.3%
Episode 1: "Daddy's Accident"
I was today years old, when I realised that the sisters, Hyacinth, Daisy, Rose, and Violet are all named after flowers, and it makes the Bucket (it's pronounced Bouquet) all the more hilarious. That went over my head when I was younger, I always just thought it was funny how precocious (I definitely didn't know the meaning of that word back then) Hyacinth always was, and I still though, which is good seeing as that's the entire premise of the show. I got a few laughs out of just how absurd Hyacinth is, and I definitely enjoyed it, however there wasn't really much of a plot ; some things happened, but there was no story with a beginning, a middle, and an end, things just happen and are left unresolved, which I found a bit perplexing, and it was all just a bit too disjointed. Hopefully the other two episodes have a bit more substance to them in terms of a story that ties everything together.
Episode 2: "The New Vicar"
Now that was much more like it, the flow was much much better, the story was great, and all the plot strands tied together nicely in the end. I found it a good bit funnier than the first episode as well. Kept me smiling and thoroughly entertained throughout, which is all you can ask for from a sitcom. As great as Hyacinth's eccentricities are, I personally think Richard is the real hero of the show with his reactions to her nonsense ; colourful characters like Hyacinth are only as good as the straight characters they have to play off of, and Clive Swift at playing the worn down husband. Elizabeth and Onslow are also great at playing against the absurdity, although they're not quite as weathered as Richard is, and have their own quirkiness to them. Daisy and Rose on the other hand are almost just as mad as Hyacinth is, but she's on such a different level that at times you'd almost think they're both somewhat down to Earth.
Episode 3: "Stately Home"
Not as strong as the second episode, but still good craic. The episode was set away from the house, aside from a brief scene at the beginnig, so it had a slightly different energy without all of Hyacinth's usual phone shennanigans, or a call from Sheridan. The dynamic between Richard and Onslow is quite good, with Onslow wanting to rescue Richard from Hyacinth long enough to get him out for a few pints.
Final Thoughts:
I have very fond memories of Keeping Up Appearances growing up, it was something everyone would sit around and watch in my Granny and Granda's house, and was enjoyed by all regardless of age. All the characters are extreme caricatures of course, but we all still know people who are similar to Hyacinth or Richard or Onslow, so there's a great appeal in that sense as well. Definitely plan to throw on an episode every now and again whenever I need a good old fashioned laugh.0 -
A duo in 8th place with 7 points each areDeleted UserandJohnGreenFan
Animaniacs
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105941/IMDB wrote:The zany adventures of a trio of 1930s animated characters in the modern world.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 9.2
Episode 2 Rating: 7.3
Episode 3 Rating: 7.4
Aggregated Approval Rating: 79.6%
Episode 1: "De-Zanitized/The Monkey Song/Nighty-Nite Toon"
Hellooooooooo Nurse!!!
A delight from start to finish. The animation is fantastic, and the attention to detail is great ; there were many cartoons I remember watching as a kid that felt a bit careless when it came to making sure all the frames and colouring were correct, but that's not the case here, every little thing has been done with the upmost of care. Top class voice acting as well of course ; Rob Paulsen who voices Yakko, Dr. Scratchansniff, and Pinky is one of my all-time favourite voice actors, but everyone of the Animaniacs cast bring their A-game. As an introductory episode, this hit the ground running, and there were some great laugh out loud gags, as Animaniacs made sure to cater to the adult audience as well as the kids, which is why it is so fondly remembered by those who watched it, and even twenty-seven years later, it still feels fresh and holds up very well.
Episode 2: "Yakko's World/Cookies For Einstein/Win Big"
More of a mixed bag here. The first segment, Yakko's Nations of the World song, is arguably the most famous Animaniacs sketch and its superb. The final sketch is the introduction of the Wheel of Morality, which is fantastic and incorporates the sharp Warner humour that I really loved from the first episode, so the bookends of the show were fantastic, but they were also the shortest segments. Yakko's song is about 2 minutes long, and Wheel of Morality is really only a stinger and less than a minute in length. Of the other two segments, Win Big was the first proper Pinky & The Brain sketch which was pretty enjoyable overall, but not quite as strong as Yakko's Song or Wheel of Morality. Cookies For Einstein, which is the main Warner sketch of the episode where the Warners annoy Einstein and accidentally help him stumble upon the theory of relativity, and I just found it a good bit weaker than everything else I've seen so far in the first two episodes and it dragged the episode down a lot for me.
Episode 3: "H.M.S. Yakko/Slappy Goes Walnuts/Yakko's Universe Song"
Much like in the second episode, the main Warner sketch wasn't great, although the ending of that sketch in which they parodied I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major-General from The Pirates of Penzance was very very good, it just took about eight minutes of pure meh to build up to that point. The first sketch proper from Slappy and Skippy Squirrel featured in this episode was fantastic and it was the stand-out of the episode, definitely on the same level as the Warner stuff in the first episode and better than Pinky and the Brain's first sketch in episode two, with lots of great fourth wall breaking asides from Slappy. Another great song from Yakko rounds off the episode, so it finishes strong once again.
Final Thoughts:
The sketches are obviously a bit hit and miss, but when they get it right, it's top notch. While I probably won't go and watch every episode, I definitely want to have a look at some individual sketches, especially for the characters and segments didn't get their chance to shine here. Would have loved to have seen some Good Idea, Bad Idea or Chicken Boo sketches here in the first few episodes but I don't think they were introduced until a good bit later, and I definitely want to check out some Goodfeathers sketches, because I think they're probably the ones that I couldn't appreciate as a kid, that I would really enjoy a lot today.0 -
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In 6th with 9 points isSawduck
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098800/IMDB wrote:A streetwise, poor young man from Philadelphia is sent by his mother to live with his aunt, uncle and cousins in their Bel-Air mansion.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 9.5
Episode 2 Rating: 7.6
Episode 3 Rating: 8.6
Aggregated Approval Rating: 85.6%
Episode 1: "The Fresh Prince Project"
It's hard not to rate this pilot very very highly, because it's exactly what you want from an opening episode to a new TV show. The premise is established from the get go, in arguably one of the most famous theme songs there is. All the characters are introduced one by one as Will arrives at the house and is introduced/re-introduced to Uncle Phil, Aunt Viv, Hilary, Carlton, Ashley, and Geoffrey, all of whom have their moment to shine in this episode with some great lines and gags. The jokes are pretty much constant and the whole episode is just a lot of fun from beginning to end, and they even manage to throw in a poignant moment between Will and Uncle Phil towards the end, that clearly establishes that even though these two are going to be butting heads a lot, underneath it all there's a genuine warmth there. Can't fault this at all, even when the walls of the set very clearly shake as Will animatedly staples a poster of Malcolm X to his bedroom wall, it honestly just adds to the fun of it all.
Episode 2: "Bang The Drum, Ashley"
Nowhere as strong an outing as the first episode, but still quite enjoyable and we get the first appearance of Jazz which saves the episode a bit. To be fair, the pilot episode is a tough act to follow and this just wasn't able to live up to those expectations. The previous episode had quite a few scenes of Will and Ashley bonding, so maybe this episode would've worked better a couple of episodes down the line, because it felt a bit too samey while not managing to maintain the prior magic. An episode focused on Will and Carlton, or Will and Hillary might have worked better here as Will's interactions with them so far haven't been as rich as those with the other characters, and it probably would've felt a bit fresher (pun intended) to see those characters and relationships developed more.
Episode 3: "Clubba Hubba"
I wanted more Will and Carlton and I got more Will and Carlton. This was much in line with what I wanted from this episode, with Ashley more on the periphery after getting plenty of screentime in the first two episode, Carlton gets a lot to do here, and Phil, Vivian, Geoffry, and Hillary all get some great moments too. It doesn't quite hit the heights of the first episode, but is definitely a step up from the second episode. The main guest characters in this episode, Mimi Mumford and Dr. Mumford, I really enjoyed as well.
Final Thoughts:
I've seen The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air quite a few times and one that was a staple of my childhood, so always happy to give it a watch. There are definitely some standout episodes in its run and the very first episode, The Fresh Prince Project, is certainly one of them for me. Clubba Hubba is actually a lot better than I remember it being from previous viewings as well, it's not one that stood out much in my memory, but then again I haven't had to look at it from a critical standpoint before either.0 -
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This one might contain some controversial opinions... :pac:
In 10th place with 5 points isSineadSpears
Father Ted
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111958/IMDB wrote:Three misfit priests and their housekeeper live on Craggy Island, not the peaceful and quiet part of Ireland that it seems to be.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 7
Episode 2 Rating: 8.3
Episode 3 Rating: 7.7
Aggregated Approval Rating: 76.6%
Episode 1: "Good Luck, Father Ted"
Perhaps having seen hundreds of repeats or having it constantly quoted for the past twenty-five years, but some of the shine of Father Ted has worn off for me. This is still a decent-ish episode and there's some strong jokes throughout, but "enjoyable enough" is probably the highest praise I could give it overall. Dermot Morgan holds everything together well, but it doesn't feel like the rest of the cast have quite settled into their characters yet and probably need another few hours in the oven before they're done. The story for this episode is a bit on the thin side, so everything feels a bit disjointed, as if they didn't have enough story to fill 24 minutes, so they threw a dozen or so extra gags and a musical interlude into the mix. I'm sure there's a few people looking at this and thinking giving Father Ted anything other than full marks is pure sacrilege, and I imagine there was a time that I might've agreed with that sentiment, but as a stand-alone episode of television, Good Luck Father Ted, is decent, but nothing special.
Episode 2: "Entertaining Father Stone"
A much better episode, had a much stronger plot to it, and Michael Redmond is comedy gold as Father Stone. Redmond and Morgan carry this episode, as do some of the other guest characters. I think 10 year-old me was a big fan of Dougal and probably thought he was by far the funniest character on television, but I'm struggling to find much joy in him in either of the first two episodes, I think I just prefer comedy characters who have a bit of wit and smarts to them or at least some sort of self awareness, rather than the low hanging fruits Dougal brings to the table ; it's the overall goofiness of his expressions that I struggle with, if I'm going to enjoy a ridiculously stupid character I'm more likely to warm to someone completely deadpan like Trigger in Only Fools & Horses. Not saying that some of Dougal's lines and antics don't work, Ted's reactions to him can often make it work, but Dougal himself just wears thin on me quickly. Mrs. Doyle and Jack I also struggle with, but for the most part they're used sparingly, and don't feature much in this episode which probably helps. It's not a huge thing, it just stops me rating the episodes as highly as other people might. Dougal issues aside, there's enough happening here with Ted and Stone to overlook a lot of that, and from memory probably one of the stronger Father Ted episodes.
Episode 3: "The Passion of Saint Tibulus"
Jaysus the VCR Player Father Hernandez gifts Dougal with "only a 3-week pre-record" gag has aged terribly, given the joke was he was apoligising for giving him primitive technology, but at the time that was state of the art. I thought the episode was reasonably good, once again a guest star elevated the episode for me, this time Jim Norton in his first appearance as Bishop Len Brennan, all the stuff with him was great, although he wasn't as prominent in the episode as Michael Redmond was in the last one, so didn’t enjoy it quite as much.
Final Thoughts:
Perhaps as a nation we have a rose tinted view of Father Ted given back when it first aired it was one of the few TV endeavours we could point to with any sort of national pride, but we've come a long way since those days and have produced some far superior things on this island ; Love/Hate, Paths To Freedom, Bachelor's Walk, The Fall, Derry Girls, and pretty much anything TG4 have ever churned out just to give a few examples. Father Ted will always have a special place in the hearts of the Irish, and no doubt will continue to be quoted for decades to come, and it'll be enjoyable enough to revisit it again in fifteen to twenty years time, its by no means a bad show, but not as funny as half the population make it out to be, so lets knock it on the head for a bit and stop pretending it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.0 -
Join Date:Posts: 52835
LeVar, you're wrong, Father Ted is amazing :P
LeVar:
:pac: Ah in fairness all your points are fairly valid re: Ted. I think Dermot Morgan's untimely death also probably places it high up in the feels for a lot of people.Moderator: Current Affairs/IMHO, Soccer, Pro Wrestling
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In 5th with 10 points isAlfred Borden
Batman: The Animated Series
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103359/IMDB wrote:The Dark Knight battles crime in Gotham City with occasional help from Robin and Batgirl.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 8
Episode 2 Rating: 9.2
Episode 3 Rating: 9.4
Aggregated Approval Rating: 88.6%
Episode 1: "The Cat & The Claw"
Ah yes, Kevin Conroy will always be my Batman, and this is certainly one of the finest animated shows ever made. There's a lot to love about it and I really enjoyed this forty minutes of bat-action, especially the duality and contrast of the Batman and Catwoman dynamic, and Bruce and Selina's relationship, all of that which was great, and is essentially the bones of the episode, and if that had been the sole focus of the episode I'd probably be giving this top marks. Red Claw though was not so great - her accent constantly changed going from Eastern European to Jamaican to Scottish, it was all over the place. I also found myself not being able to concentrate on Red Claw's motivations because they accent was distracting me so much, so I did get a little lost in the details. I don't think destroying the virus/plague by burning it makes any sense either, but I guess a kid wouldn't question that, and an explosion looks cooler as a resolution to the action than a team of scientists in hazmat suits coming in to take over from Batman, so I can forgive that to an extent.
Episode 2: "On Leather Wings"
On Leather Wings is a great showcase for the animation in this series. The use of shadows and shading is superb, and I know this was the first cartoon where they drew on black paper rather than white paper which was a huge gamble at the time, but a huge draw to the show is down to its dark colour palette, as well as the care taken by the animators, makes it appear ahead of its time. Man-Bat may not be the most compelling of Batman's rogues gallery from a psychological standpoint, but physically he allows for an epic showdown with Batman which again highlights the animation. We get to see a good bit of Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock here establishing their relatioship with each other and an insight into how both of them view Batman, Harvey Dent makes a brief cameo, and Alfred gets some great one-liners, as Batman uses his detective skills to crack the case, so they manage to pack a lot in to twenty minutes.
Episode 3: "Heart of Ice"
Victor Fries has possibly the most tragic backstories of Batman's enemies and one of the villains we can be most empathetic towards. That back-story for Victor and Nora was written specifically for this episode, it wasn't something that had appeared in the comics prior to this point, although has later been written in and is now considered canonically to be Mr. Freeze's official origin story. It's also a pretty bleak origin to explore in a kids show, but Paul Dini (who also created the character of Harley Quinn, and went on to write my favourite graphic novel, the auto-biographical "Dark Night: A True Batman Story") went for it anyway, and I think it's a risk that paid off, because this is an episode that works really really well.
Final Thoughts:
Batman: The Animated Series is one of those childhood shows that holds up even better than you remember when watching it as an adult, and is something I've dipped in and out of over the years, watching the odd episode here and there. I do think this is as a good as time as any to do a full re-watch, because there's some absolute gems in there, like On Leather Wings and Heart of Ice.0 -
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I believe this is the longest review in the entire Walrus, and I'm not even sure why this show inspired me to write such lengthy write-ups...
In 11th with 4 points isKolido
Beverly Hills, 90210
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098749/IMDB wrote:A group of friends living in Beverly Hills, California make their way through life from their school days into adulthood.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 4.4
Episode 2 Rating: 8.2
Episode 3 Rating: 8
Aggregated Approval Rating: 68.6%
Episode 1: "Class of Beverly Hills"
It's amazing this series managed to last nearly 300 episodes, after such a dull pilot episode. There were a lot of problems here, but the biggest one, is that its dragged out for 90 minutes when there's barely enough story to cover a 45 minute runtime. It also kind of just plods along from scenario to scenario with no real sense of structure. By the end of the episode I don't really feel like I know any of the main characters… It's hard to tell if Brandon is supposed to be a really cool and suave all American hero, or a bit of a dork, because it pretty much changes from scene to scene. All I really know about Brenda is she pronounces lawyer weirdly, and that Brandon and Brenda seem to have a really uncomfortable twincest vibe going on, but its not meant to be intentional, just a combination of dodgy dialogue (the dialogue is clunky and cringey throughout the episode) and the way Jason Priestly and Shannen Doherty are playing the parts. As for the other main teen cast they're basically caricatures in this pilot ; Steve's an asshole, Kelly's super popular, Andrea is an opinionated know-all, David and Scott are nerdy freshmen, and Donna's there… literally she's just there, she has one irrelevant line in the whole episode and the rest of the time serve's as Kelly's shadow, and I double checked that Tori Spelling is actually listed as starring in the opening credits, because she's really just an extra here. Jim & Cindy are stereotypical teen drama TV parents who spend the whole time banging on about homework and curfews, which didn't add much to anything aside from a lot of eye-rolling from me. The acting is a bit dodgy overall, apart from one flower delivery guy who is on-screen for about a minute and he steals the limelight of the whole episode, and I want a watch a show about that guy. There's a scene with Brandon and Andrea towards the end of the episode that I thought was actually really great, and there's a good dynamic between those two, which only highlighted that it would've been nice if the pilot spent more time establishing these relationships between Brandon, Brenda, and their classmates who are actual regulars on the show, instead of shoehorning in romantic interests for the Walsh twins with characters we'll presumably never see or hear about ever again. It's not terrible, but it's also just not very good, and just I hope that they work out a lot of these problems before episode two.
Episode 2: "The Green Room"
Between the pilot and this second episode, Luke Perry joined the cast, so here we get the first appearance of Dylan McKay, and the show is all the better for it, because Dylan McKay is one of the coolest '90s TV Characters. Brandon and Dylan take center stage here, so everyone else take a bit of a backseat, apart from maybe Brenda and Cindy who still get a bit to do. This actually works to in favour of the episode, because aside from Andrea, I don't yet give much of a sh*t about any of the other characters outside of Dylan and the Walsh family, so was happen enough to see them used sparingly, although they all still have a presence ; Donna still draws the short straw though, and gets only two lines, which I still find kind of odd considering Tori Spelling is one of the first people I associate with Beverly Hills, 90210. The show still has some issues, it's a bit cringey at times, and Brandon and Brenda are still giving off weird twincest vibes, but I almost don't care because Dylan is here and I enjoyed this bromantic origin story for him and Brandon.
Episode 3: "Every Dream Has Its Price (Tag)"
This was cheesy as hell, the Walshes are single-handedly making Beverly Hills a better place and have zero flaws of their own ; Brenda befriends a kleptomaniac who is helped see the error of her ways and convinced to seek help after two heartfelt conversations with both Brenda and Cindy, Brandon gets a job at a restaurant and when he realises that the migrant employees are being (shocker to no one) exploited he quits on the spot and promises to expose the owner in the West Beverly High newspaper as a lot of parents read that paper and will be interested to hear of this exploitation, and when Jim "accidentally" hires a housekeeper Cindy doesn't want to be like all the other Beverly Hills poshos and insists on cleaning alongside Anna and becoming friends with her because due to a language barrier she can't just let her go. By the end of the episode everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow and we the viewers have learned some valuable lessons, and its all very heartwarming and feel-good, but despite the cheesiness I enjoyed it almost as much as the previous episode. For those interested in "Donna Watch", Donna wasn't even in this one, but in fairness anyone who didn't have the Walsh surname did very little in this one and most of them only appeared in a scene or two.
Final Thoughts:
I was a big fan of Beverly Hills back in the day despite the fact I was probably too young to be watching it. I've re-watched a bit of it over the years, so know it evolves into a much more grown up soapy show as the series progresses, as opposed to the issue-of-the-week family drama it is in the early days, but I still enjoy the first season for what it is anyway. The pilot really drags it down here a lot, and is without a doubt the worst episode in the show's entire run, which is unfortunate. I most likely will go on and do a full re-watch of this, but there's definitely some other shows in this Walrus that'll get my attention first, before I go down the 90210 rabbit hole.0 -
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In 4th with 11 points isJP Liz V1
Picket Fences
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103512/IMDB wrote:An aging Sheriff tries to keep the peace in Rome, Wisconsin, a small town plagued by bizarre and violent crimes.
Have I Seen It Before: No
Episode 1 Rating: 9.4
Episode 2 Rating: 9.9
Episode 3 Rating: 7.6
Aggregated Approval Rating: 89.6%
Episode 1: "Pilot"
Not sure why, but I had wrongly assumed that this was going to be a cheesy lovey-dovey family drama, so it took me by surprise when it actually turned out to be more like a Twin Peaks meets Family Ties meets Gilmore Girls hybrid, with crimes to be solved in a quirky little town, as the Sheriff and his family take center stage. Like all three of those shows, this is very well written and all of the characters bring something to the table. Holly Marie Combs who plays the daughter in this was at Dublin Comic Con last year and while most of her Q&A unsurprisingly ended up being centered on Charmed, there was a couple of questions about her time on Picket Fences, although at that point I had never heard of the show, so it meant nothing to me, but it was on my radar as a result and I'm glad I finally got the kick in the arse to go watch it, because I really loved this, and can't wait to see what comes next, presumably it'll be a crime of the week situation, with any arcs being based around the personal lives of the family or the sheriff's deputies, but I'm excited to watch the next one and hope it's as good as this first episode was.
Episode 2: "The Green Bay Chopper"
This show is hilarious ; I had to pause for a couple of minutes at one point because I was laughing so hard that they had someone come down to the morgue to see if she could identify a severed hand (it's literally just a severed hand, no body has been found or anything) as her husband's, she says its his and then when asked if she was sure, says "it's my husband! Of course I'm sure", as if the whole thing wasn't completely ridiculous. There were some fantastic deadpan moments throughout the episode, but that one was just the cherry on top. Hilarity aside, the show also does a really good job at hitting emotional dramatic beats and I'm a big fan of shows that can strike that balance well. I was worried that episode two wouldn't manage to live up to the pilot, but this was just superbly written and the cast are all so damn likeable, its hard not to love it.
Episode 3: "Mr. Dreeb Comes To Town"
Compared to the first two episodes this didn't manage to hit the same highs for me. There was still a lot to like about it, but just nowhere near as good as what came before it. It still had those quirky elements that I really enjoyed, and from the fun and weird side of things it still worked mostly, but there were also some elements with guest characters that were meant to be emotionally charged that didn't feel at all earned. Maybe if those characters had been about for a handful of episodes and had more interactions and time for their relationships with the main characters to mean something, it would've had the desired impact, there just wasn't enough reason for me to care enough about these people.
Final Thoughts:
Third episode mis-step aside, the first two episodes garnered enough good will with me to keep watching more Picket Fences going forward. It's weird and the characters are likeable enough to draw my interest, so I'm on board through the highs and the lows, and this series was a great discovery.0 -
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Join Date:Posts: 52835
Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »Which leaves 6 people eagerly awaiting the determination of their fates...
As always, let's make the Top 3 and Bottom 3 sweat it out for a few minutes before diving into the Final 6...
In alphabetical order those 6 are:
cee_jay
Electric Nitwit
Irish Aris
Necro
ShaneU
the purple tin
Moderator: Current Affairs/IMHO, Soccer, Pro Wrestling
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In 12th with 3 points isIrish Aris
The Nanny
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106080/IMDB wrote:After being fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend, a cosmetics saleswoman becomes the nanny to the three children of a rich English widower. As time passes, the two fall for each other.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 8.4
Episode 2 Rating: 5.1
Episode 3 Rating: 6.9
Aggregated Approval Rating: 68%
Episode 1: "The Nanny"
And the most annoying theme tune award goes to… I mean, that intro sounds like someone bought it dirt cheap because it fell off the back of truck. Lets just say it’s a good thing, I'm not here to judge theme tunes. Anyway, terrible theme song aside, this was a lot better than I expected it would be. I can only vaguely remember watching The Nanny when I was a kid, but can't remember whether the show was any good or not, nor anything else about the show except for the fact that I have always had Fran Drescher's nasally voice imprinted in my brain for most of my life. The fact that it seemed so unmemorable to me, had me worried before I sat down to watch it. The show lives and dies on how you feel about Drescher, she's a bit like marmite in the sense that you'll either love her or hate her. I've never tried marmite, but I really like Drescher here and in anything else I've seen her in ; I find the whole persona very likeable and endearing, and her comic timing is great. Found most of the cast endearing and the episode had some good laughs. The only thing that dragged it down a bit for me was Charles Shaugnessy who plays Maxwell ; as the leading man his performance felt very wooden and lifeless, and he's supposed to be stiff-upper-lipped Brit in a charming Hugh Grant sort of way, but he'd give Pat "The Plank" Kenny a run for his money as one of the most boring individuals ever to grace the telly box. Hopefully, he loosens up by the next episode, because if not for him I would've given this episode a near perfect rating.
Episode 2: "Smoke Gets In Your Lies"
Had high hopes for this following the pilot, but everything just started falling apart for me here. The first episode felt like it had a bit of an edge to it, that in between episodes had been smoothed out and rounded off, which left me feeling pretty indifferent overall. It really feels like one of the notes they were given after the pilot was for Drescher to dial it back a bit, and while she's still the best thing about the show, doesn't have the same energy she brought to the first episode. The biggest problem I had with the pilot was Charles Shaughnessy and he hasn't gotten any better, but was even more grating here due to the fact that this episode really zones in only on Fran, Maxwell, and Brighton, while every other character falls into the background, so he was much more central than he was last time. Brighton, played by Benjamin Sailsbury, was great in the first episode, but again it seems as if someone decided he needed to be toned down a bit in between episodes, and wasn't anywhere near as charming here. It's a very by the numbers sitcom episode as well, and although that usually wouldn't bother me, this was poorly executed. A couple of jokes and references landed very well for me though, and saved the episode from being a complete write off altogether, I just hope that this was a misstep and the third episode is a return to form, but I fear the series may have peaked in the pilot and that its all downhill from here.
Episode 3: "My Fair Nanny"
Bounced back a bit here and was closer in tone to the first episode than the second. Shaughnessy seems to have relaxed into his role more and I didn't mind him as much here ; still not great, but I'm warming to him a bit. The My Fair Lady trope has been done to death in sitcoms over the years, and I don't mind as long as its executed well and it was decent enough here, but nothing amazing. There were a few decent laughs again, and Drescher is still very watchable, it would just be nice if she had a few equally funny people to bounce off of, but it was still more enjoyable than a lot of crap you'd find on TV.
Final Thoughts:
It was interesting to revisit a show I presumed I would never watch again, and although the second and third episodes didn't hit home as well as the first one did, I'd be interested in having a gander at one or two of the highest rated episodes, especially beyond the first season, just out of curiosity, but probably won't be sitting down to re-watch the entire series or anything.0 -
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In 3rd with 12 points isthe purple tin
Twin Peaks
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098936/IMDB wrote:An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 9.2
Episode 2 Rating: 8.4
Episode 3 Rating: 9.8
Aggregated Approval Rating: 91.3%
Episode 1: "Pilot"
There's so much to love about the pilot episode, it kicks off with the discovery of a dead body, so there's mystery and intrigue from the very start, dozens of characters are introduced and all of them seem to have some sort of secret, there's also a lot of secret relationships and affairs going on, which is very soapy and I love it. Its shot beautifully, especially all of the exterior shots of Twin Peaks and the area is almost utilised as a character in itself. The score is amazing and adds so much to the atmosphere, sets the mood, and heightens the melodrama throughout. With the amount of characters introduced, we really only get a handful of scenes with each of them despite the 90 minute runtime, and the first billed star of the show, Kyle MacLachlan, doesn't even appear until about 35 minutes in, but even only getting snippets of most of the characters they all make an impression and its clear that they're all well fleshed out characters that we'll learn more about as the show progresses. There's a good bit of quirkiness throughout, especially once Special Agent Dale Cooper (MacLachlan) shows up, and some great "what the f**k is that about" moments such as the Log Lady, and the random kid in the background doing the Zoidberg Dance across the hallway from his locker. Solid opening episode, and there's enough going on and plenty of intrigue to bring my back for the next episode.
Episode 2: "Traces To Nowhere"
They definitely started to lean into the weirdness slightly more in this episode, with Cooper just being Cooper, more of the Log Lady, the fish in the coffee percilator, and Nadine banging on about her drapes, not to mention Dr. Jacobi's general oddness and how he fits into the whole mystery of Who Killed Laura Palmer... There's more intrigue introduced as well with Sarah seeing the man at the end of the bed, and the appearance of the one armed man. Not quite as strong as the Pilot, still very much laying the groundwork of who all the characters are, but still very enjoyable.
Episode 3: "Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer"
Everything really clicked into place for me in this episode, and they just leaned completely into the absurd, as if someone at the network had been holding them back for the first episode and telling them to dial the weirdness down a few notches, and then here its as if the network execs just left David Lynch and Mark Frost to their own devices, figuring the show would either live or die on its quirkiness, so there was no point fighting it anymore. The actors are clearly also all getting comfortable with their characters by this stage as well and they're all just a joy to watch… well except for maybe James… James is a bore. The episode in general is a step up from the previous two, but the thing that really sets its apart is the introduction of "The Red Room" in Cooper's Dream, and then of course the hook at the end of Cooper revealing he knows who killed Laura Palmer, which naturally makes you want to dive right in to episode four.
Final Thoughts:
So, I've seen Twin Peaks in its entirety before, as well as the more recent Twin Peaks: The Revival, and even though it has its share of problems at times, I am a big fan. I had actually only re-watched the original run, prior to The Revival, and wasn't planning to give it another run through anytime soon, but after that third episode I'm ready to get stuck back in once again. I'll have to wait until I finish this Walrus, but definitely gonna be diving in once again after that.0 -
Speaking of Anamaniacs I saw this recently on YT and it cracked me up
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In 13th with 2 points isNecro
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103352/IMDB wrote:A group of kids get together in the woods, and tell ghost stories.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 2.9
Episode 2 Rating: 5.2
Episode 3 Rating: 4.9
Aggregated Approval Rating: 43.3%
Episode 1: "The Tale of the Phantom Cab"
This first episode was rough, and completely let down by two woeful "acting" performances. While the kids in The Midnight Society telling the stories all seem like talented actors, the two kids in the story itself, were so terrible it was hard to enjoy this tale, and I just kept hoping these two kids would die so I wouldn't have to watch them any longer. The tale itself was decent enough, and the premise of The Midnight Society is great, so it had all the right ingredients to be good, it just fell flat because of those two damn kids attempting to act, so hopefully the next episode will have a few more capable people playing the characters in the story.
Episode 2: "The Tale of Laughing in the Dark"
This was much much better than the previous episode, had no problem with acting, so could just focus more on the story, which was actually pretty intense, and I'm not afraid of clowns, but I do find them creepy. Overall it's an enjoyable twenty minutes or so, but it's not quite grabbing me in the way I had hoped it would, and it has nothing to do with it being a kid's show, because there are loads of kids shows I think are top class, and even shows that are in a similar vein to this, like Round The Twist for example, prove that the shows can be made to a really high calibre that I just don't think this has managed to hit yet. It's good, just not at the same level as some of its peers.
Episode 3: "The Tale of the Lonely Ghost"
The strongest story of the three episodes, decent enough fare overall, but again its just not drawing me in the way I wanted it to. Again, I spent a lot of time wondering if I was being too critical of it because it's a kids show and not meant to be held to the same standard, but then I think of all the other kids shows that are of an extremely high standard and this just isn't in the same league.
Final Thoughts:
I did watch this when I was a kid, because I watched as much TV as I possibly could, but it was never a favourite of mine or one I looked back on with a huge amount of fondness, and when I think of kids shows that receive critical acclaim its because a lot of love and care went in from the creators and writers, where this felt a bit more like it fell into the "any old sh*t will do, it's only a kids show" side of things.0 -
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