Steven Universe Scoring System - The Trial Period

Well, Happy New Year, everybody! Hope you had a winter break, and that if you did, it went very smoothly. Mine went pretty well - decompression after what was honestly a rather rough semester. But, I'm back, and hoping to make 2016 a bit more active than 2015.

That shouldn't be too hard - while one show is closing, another one is getting back in gear, and I'm reviewing another show I love. In fact, that last show is the point of this post.

Re-reading my Steven Universe reviews, I feel like using my 1-10 score system for that show has some flaws. As far as I know, under the current system, even the worst Steven Universe episode won't get any lower than a 6 score (and here's hoping that holds.) Now, you could make an argument that it shows just how good Steven Universe is.

Still, I feel like, to accurately measure Steven Universe, I should score it against the standards it has set itself. Therefore, I have come up with a new score system, and I am going to test it out over the next few reviews, see how I like it.


Let me first reiterate that this is a trial period, and I might discontinue it after only a few uses. Also, as of now, this is only going to be used for Steven Universe reviews, although I might expand it to other shows.

With that said, here it is.

• Platinum:
• These are given to genuinely iconic episodes - those that prove that Steven Universe is a damn good contender for the most well-written show on TV. There are pretty high standards for an episode to get a platinum, but really, the big threshold is that it has to be an episode that genuinely moved me, and one that will truly stand out amongst the other episodes.
• Gold:
• While not as iconic, these episodes are still a "must-watch" for Steventhusiasts. Great character development, great plotting, etc. Most of the episodes will likely either fall here or...
• Silver:
• By the high standards I have set for Steven Universe, these are merely "good" episodes, by which I mean, they are really, really good... they're just not outstanding in the realm of the show. Very solid outings.
• Bronze:
• Solid episodes, yet not spectacular. Nothing that will stand out in "greatest episode" lists, but nothing that has glaring flaws. 
• Fire Salt:
• Very few shows are perfect, and Steven Universe is no exception. While still better than most of TV, these are comparatively weak episodes, ones that won't get frequent re-watches. Expect (or at least hope) not to see too many of these.

I figure I should clarify before I go any further; bronze is not bad. Repeat - bronze is not bad. It's just not outstanding. In fact, I don't think I hate a single SU episode. (Dislike, maybe, but not hate.) Again, Steven Universe is being graded against it's high standards. For example, compared to a modern Simpsons episode, "Cheeseburger Backpack" is gold, but compared to "Jailbreak", it's "left behind" at bronze.

Also note that over the next couple of days, older reviews will also get one of the aforementioned awards, yet will have the numeric scores right next to them. New reviews will just have the award scores.

Here's to a happy 2016!