It's Back, Baby!

...even if it never really left.

Figured I'd let you know that, as of this writing, I've gotten more into my blog dedicated to reviewing Futurama. 

I sorta ran dry on updates after the first two months, only posting a review a month for most of last year. Honestly, by the end of December, between some stress at school and the relative mediocrity of the episodes, I seriously contemplated putting the blog on hiatus.

However, I've gotten a burst lately, and I've decided to keep going. I'm three episodes away from Season 3, and I think that's going to be a really cool season to review. Quite excited.

On another note, later this week (or early next week), I should have my review of "Lars and the Cool Kids" out.

Steven Universe Review: "So Many Birthdays" (Season 1A, Episode 13)

Worth noting - not as much hilarity ensues in this episode as this screenshot would imply.

Airdate: March 3rd, 2014

Synopsis: Steven finds out that the Gems are many millennia old. Much to his dismay, he also finds out that they don't really celebrate birthdays. Steven attempts to make up for lost time by celebrating the trio's "birthdays". However, they don't necessarily enjoy the festivities, dismissing them as childish. Stunned, he begins questioning his own maturity, and begins aging. Really aging.

Review: So, you're an executive at a network dedicated to cartoons. You pick up this show about a pre-teen boy living with space aliens. Lighthearted, right? Costs you a mint, but the person sending it in has a good track record. (Just make up the dough by selling ad time on a cheap-o flash cartoon.)* The thirteenth script your network censor gets has the pre-teen boy aging rapidly and coming close to death, his own morality put into focus compared to the rest of the cast, and his parental substitutes breaking down as he inches to the abyss.

Lighthearted, right?

Yeah, this is probably the first episode to suggest that Steven Universe might be less 3rd Rock From The Sun and more Babylon 5. It's an episode with a rather jarring tonal shift, although even the lighter moments have something of a sober atmosphere, what with our pre-teen protagonist struggling with his humanity and age.

Gravity Falls: A Requiem

"Ah, summer break. A time for leisure, relaxation, and taking 'er easy... unless you're me."

It was the evening of July 13th, 2012 - Friday the 13th, as luck would have it. The time was approaching 9:30. Being the most boring man in existence, I was turning in for bed. (Yes, even during the summer, I go to bed relatively early. You know the quote from Ben Franklin.) However, my brother wanted to watch this new episode of this show on Disney Channel. I was convinced it would be moronic, but I let him have the benefit of the doubt.

At 9:30, "The Inconveniencing", the fifth episode of Gravity Falls, aired. Little did I know that my world had forever been changed.

...OK, maybe that's a bit hyperbolic, but the point still stands.

Not Another Top X List – Top 40 Gravity Falls Episodes (AKA – My Personal Ranking)

(I’ll explain that title in a second.)

Hello, and welcome to another edition of…

NOT ANOTHER TOP X LIST!

Gravity Falls, over the past three-and-a-half years, made its mark as one of the most beloved cartoons on TV. It’s mystical plot, it’s combination of highbrow and lowbrow comedy, it’s mixture of scathing comedy with deep drama, all of it combined to make one of the biggest cult hits on TV.

Now, it’s over, and it will be missed.

(Yes, I am aware that it’s been over for a flipping month. Schoolwork happened. Sorry about that.) 

I do intend to write one final requiem for the show before leaving it for (at least) a while, one where I lay out why I loved Gravity Falls so much. Before I do so, I have decided to do a personal ranking of every… single… episode. I did it for Season 1, and I did it for the first half of Season 2. 

Now, begins my largest-ever list. Note that this ranking represents my current thoughts on the episode – my reviews from before might be outdated. (Also, the name is to keep it within the “Top X” title.)

(Some of these images were from other posts, others, from the Gravity Falls Wiki.)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

THE TOP 40 GRAVITY FALLS EPISODES!

March 2016: Minor Hiatus

Haven't dropped off the face of the Earth, guys.

I mentioned this at the start of February, but I think I should confirm it - because of upcoming deadlines in terms of schoolwork, I don't think I'll be posting anything until at the end of next week, the earliest.

Sorry for any inconvenience.