That's About Average for Second Class Post! (Red Dwarf Reviews: Series XI Preview)

"Well, gentlemen, congratulations. Scrambling in a red alert situation, a new record time - one hour, seventeen minutes, thirty-nine seconds!"

After a wait of a month and a half since it's premiere in Britain, Red Dwarf XI has made it's debut on America's iTunes.

I'm assuming they saved the iTunes release until today in order to keep the DVD sales at least somewhat respectable. Then again, given that the show debut a week before it's TV release on UKTVPlay, one has to wonder what Dave was thinking.

Nonetheless, I'm glad the show is out stateside, and that I can review it without dealing with viruses from a Torrent. (Yes, I'm a dork.) It's the first Red Dwarf since 2012. In that time frame, there have been an entire series of Olympics, four Super Bowls, a change in the British Premiership and it's relationship with Europe, and America is torn between the two least liked presidential candidates since the 19th century.

Yeah, this show will provide a bit of an escape.

My plan is this - I have a review of "Future Vision" in the offing. Meanwhile, I will be writing my review of "Twentica". I intend to have both out by Thanksgiving, the very latest. After whatever comes out last, it's all Red Dwarf until Christmas, maybe even the new year.

And, as is customary with my reviews of Red Dwarf, here is a preview of the episodes I have to review, based off of the iTunes descriptions.

• Twentica: The crew wind up in an alternate version of America, where electronic machines are banned.
• Samsara: The Dwarfers have to confront their nightmares as they encounter a crashed ship at the bottom of a planet's ocean.
• Give and Take: Lister's kidneys are hijacked after a conflict with a droid. The only person that has similar kidneys is the Cat. (Personally speaking, I'm getting a bad "Kidney Trouble" vibe from this.)
• Officer Rimmer: Well, the title is pretty self-explanatory. Rimmer becomes promoted after saving a "bio-officer", and his ego soars to new heights.
• Krysis: Kryten goes through a mid-life krysis (damn it, crisis), and the Dwarfers have to get him to realize that he's wanted aboard the small rouge one.
• Can of Worms: The Cat actually falls in love. It's not with a clone of himself, though - he falls in love with a lady cat.

Well, Red Dwarf is back. Step up to blue alert.

"Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does require changing the bulb."

Red Dwarf XI: First Preview

Image taken from the Red Dwarf website.

"Kryten, set a course for Red Dwarf. The slime's coming home!" - Rimmer, at the end of "The Beginning".

Finally!

This September, Red Dwarf returns for a new batch of episodes. Red Dwarf XI will mark the first series in four years, after Red Dwarf X's run on Dave led to rather high ratings and overall good reviews. General consensus of Series X was that, while not as sublime as the earlier series, it was a return to form compared to the controversial previous three series.

Steven Universe: A Show About Space Rocks

Imagine if there was a show about rocks - gems, to be exact. Expect to see it on Discovery, or the Science Channel, right? (I kid, I kid - it would air on ESPN.)

Now, imagine if these rocks were war veterans of various strategies and personalities, part of a quasi-militaristic race of aliens, and trying to interact with humans - even living with/raising a half-human who is about 11/12 years old, because the team's sorta-leader married a guitarist.

Welcome to Steven Universe.

OK, if you want the real description, the show - created by Adventure Time alumnus Rebecca Sugar - revolves around this kid, Steven Universe (voiced by Zach Callison). He's half human, and half-Gem. Gems are alien warriors who can harness superpowers, and project humanoid forms from magical gemstones in their bodies. Steven happens to live with three of these warriors, called the Crystal Gems:

• Garnet: the stoic, slightly enigmatic, Picard-esque "leader" of the Crystal Gems, voiced by singer Estelle;
• Amethyst: the snarky, lazy bum who lives on impulse and is quick to action (or, in other words, Dave Lister), voiced by Michaela Dietz and;
• Pearl: the strategist with many neuroses, and no knowledge of humanity. None. Basically, Rimmer... except not a coward; voiced by Deedee Magno-Hall.

There used to be a fourth member, Rose - the former commander of the Crystal Gems - but Gem science being what it is, when she gave birth to Steven, she "gave up her physical form". Thus, Steven all but lives with the Crystal Gems - in effect, their guardians. He does occasionally hang out with (and get advice/stories from) his somewhat bumbling father, Greg Universe.

The dilemmas they face range from an odd job gone awry in the town of Beach City, Delmarva to saving the entire Earth. It's a strange show.

Of course, as we see later on, this show is more complex at a closer glance. It touches on topics such as love, family, risk, diplomacy, insecurity, rebellion, psychosis, and war crimes. It's one of the most well-developed shows on TV... and every episode only lasts 11 minutes!

So... wanna watch?

Same rules apply with watching - we start from episode 1. (Not the actual pilot - I want to get seasoned into reviewing this show first.)

Now, because these are 11 minute episodes, giving a "Favorite Scene" and a "Least Favorite Scene" will be pretty pointless. Instead, while the "Favorite Scene" will remain, I have decided to replace the "Least Favorite Scene" with two features: a "Best Character", which is what it says on the tin, and a "Memorable Quote", also self-explanatory (the latter started in my Futurama blog). This only counts to this show, so the "Least Favorite Scene" will remain for my other reviews. Hell, I might spin off the "Best Character" and "Memorable Quote" to other shows.

Also, if these are successful enough, I might spin these off into a separate blog, with more expanded commentary on SU on that blog.

Well... time to believe in Steven.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 10 Preview

(DVD cover taken from the behemoth called Wikipedia)

Oh, boy. Season 10. The second of four (and change) we're going to be covering... at a snails pace. I guess.

Because of the wide swath of episodes this season, I will not be listing them like I did with my reviews of Red Dwarf. I will, however, mention a few of the casting changes and guest stars that will be seen this season. Some of this info I got from Wikipedia, others I got from the Dead Homer Society. I'm not really a professional.

Red Dwarf X Preview

No matter what the critical response to Red Dwarf: Back to Earth was, the ratings were deemed to be extraordinary. Gaining the highest ever ratings for the Dave network, speculation was rampant and immediate concerning a tenth series. First word came out in June 2010, when the actors stated that more Red Dwarf would be made. However, nothing was confirmed then. It wasn't until April 2011 when UKTV finally confirmed that Red Dwarf would be back for a full series.

The reaction was cautiously optimistic. TV series have been revived before due to strong interest. Doctor Who was brought back in March 2005, Family Guy was brought back two months later, Futurama was revived twice, etc. However, the quality of these revivals has been debated time and time again. While Doctor Who came back to rave reviews for it's more character-focused plots, Family Guy and (to a lesser extent) Futurama got a more lukewarm reaction, accused of lacking the magic the original seasons had, or going in a more crass direction. On top of that, the past three installments of Red Dwarf have been blasted as being far weaker compared to the original six series. (You saw me getting more frustrated with the show as we ended the eighth series!)

So, would Red Dwarf get the same critique as other shows? Or would it be a return to form?

Well, before we dive in, let's just see how the production went. This will be quick, because the fact of the matter is that it all depended on the budget... which was, yet again, barely there. Doug Naylor had to fight just to get a studio audience. Once the sets were dismantled, any extra scene had to be shot in front of a green screen- any episode containing these were aired to a studio audience, not taped like the other episodes.

However, this series did go "back to basics". The Red Dwarf models were brought back (thank smeg), the sets gained vibrant colours again, Howard Goodall was brought back to do the music, Howard Burden was back to do the costumes... it really felt like the show was being returned to the "tried and true". Granted, budget limitations constrained the episodes. Ambitious projects such as "Back to Reality", "Gunmen of the Apocalypse", and "Dimension Jump"? Not done this time around. This was more like Series II- back to basics.

So, what was the end result? Was the show back to form? Or was it proof that Red Dwarf should've ended with Rimmer blowing the Time Drive out of the sky?

Well, here's the episodes!

• Trojan: Rimmer gets an SOS call from a ship... where his brother is the ship's hologram. He realises that he needs to beat his brother at his own game, and pass the astro-nav exam... the one that he failed several times.
• Fathers and Suns: Lister decides to help himself on Fathers Day, by trying to be a better father to himself. Makes sense. Oh, and Rimmer installs a new computer, Pree.
• Lemons: After a time-travel incident involving flat-pack furniture, the gang are sent back to 23AD England. They have to travel to India to get some potatoes to get a battery to go back to Red Dwarf.
• Entangled: A game of poker goes deadly when Lister loses Rimmer. He is given 24 hours to turn over Rimmer, or have a bomb that's attached to his pelvis blown up. Oh, and Kryten and Cat become quantum entangled.
• Dear Dave: Lister gets in a love triangle with an old girlfriend and two snack dispensers. 
• The Beginning: Simulants finally begin playing war games with the Dwarfers. This seems like the end for the gang... even Rimmer, who never accomplished any of his goals.

Red Dwarf: "Back to Earth" Preview

"Remember: only the good die young."
"That's... never happened before."

With those two sentences (and "The End"/"The Smeg It Is" slides), on 5 April, 1999, Red Dwarf VIII faded away into Britcom history. Initially hailed as a return to form by many a fan, it's reputation slipped quite a bit over ten years. By 2009, those that hated Series VIII loathed it. I consider "Krytie TV" and "Pete Part II" to be the worst episodes in British sci-fi history, and British comedy history. Yes. Worse than "The Twin Dilemma". Worse than The Wright Way. The only worthwhile episode in that entire piece of schlock is "Cassandra", and even that's held back by off pacing and awkward character moments.

Yet, at the time, it was popular enough to bring up a question: will there be a movie?

Wait, There Was a Red Dwarf Movie Planned?

Movie spin-offs of TV shows are relatively commonplace. Yet, it would be a testament to the power of Red Dwarf if there was an actual theatrical spin-off. Theatrical movies directly spun off from sitcoms are something of an unusual breed (correct me if I'm wrong), and almost unheard of when it pertains to Britcoms.

Ultimately, the film never really went through.

Actually, if Doug Naylor is to be believed, a script was written, and they had plans for production. However, setback after setback, false funding after contract failure, damned the project. The BBC didn't feel the script was up to par for a theatre. Maybe they learned their lesson from Series VIII. Or, maybe they were too busy concentrating on what appeared to be their new cash cow in the making, some little show called Doctor Who.

So, the project was going nowhere. However, between February and August of 2008, BBC Worldwide appeared to strike a deal with Naylor: produce a mini-series consisting of three episodes, at least two of which could easily be strung into something resembling movie.

Thus, Back to Earth was born.

So, How the Hell Was This Thing Produced?

Intended to be two episodes and Red Dwarf Unplugged, the movie was expanded to three episodes.

A big problem facing production? The thing barely had a budget. With the script's plans, the writers decided to (yet again) kibosh the studio audience to save money they barely even had. By kibosh, I mean it was decided not to even bring an audience in to record their reaction as the episodes aired. Thus, for the first time in history, Red Dwarf was literally laughless.

Sets were done on the cheap: half of the sets were built out of things they found in the closet. Camerawork was done to try and make it seem the thing had a bigger budget than it actually did. The crew was brought in to be extras. Yes, they didn't have money for extras.

Speaking of which, the casting was, well, troublesome. Norman Lovett was told to clear his schedule for filming dates. Ultimately, it was decided that he wasn't needed. Thing was, he was never informed that he wasn't needed until it was too late. Infuriated, Naylor went on record to declare that, as far as his acting career went, the franchise was dead. (He appears to have since reconciled with Naylor.)

Chloe Annett was also asked to join up. It would appear that her experience with the movie went far more smoothly. Why? Well... they used a picture of her at the beginning, for one. The producers and her agent must've gotten along well.

This episode also seemed to eschew the "traditional" camera yet again, going back to a filmised-style seen in Series VII. This time, the red-camera system was used. Effects seemed to reach a happier medium, with a cross between CGI and models used. Red Dwarf, for example, had it's model rebuilt (thank god).

So, what was the end result? Guess it's time to watch.

It's back to Red Dwarf.

It's Back to Earth.

Gravity Falls Review: Season 2 Preview and Hopes

Yes, folks! I've said it before, and I'll say it again! Gravity Falls is indeed coming back. Mark your calendars! Those in the US, "Scaryoke" premieres August 1st in the US on the Disney Channel. Those in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia... I've got nothing right now. BUT IT IS COMING!

I've made it clear that Gravity Falls is one of my favourite TV shows currently in production, and one of my all time favourite shows, period. Season 1, at it's best, didn't really break the mould as much as it created an entirely new mould. Even at it's worst, it wasn't really bad; it just didn't excite me as much as the best episodes did. It's characters, plots, symbolism, and art... all of it ranged from "pretty damn good" to "sublime". Even characters that seemed like they didn't get development actually have so much potential to develop, that I'm willing to excuse their lack of focus.

So far, here's what we know:

• "Scaryoke", as mentioned above will launch the season on the Disney Channel. It will ape some plot elements from "Double Dipper", with a "Mystery Shack is Back" party... this time, it's overrun by "unwelcome guests".
• "Into the Bunker" will be the first new episode premiered on Disney XD, on August 4th. It will focus on the Mystery Shack employees diving deep into an underground bunker to see the true writer of the books.
• There will be episodes dedicated to fleshing out characters that previously had bit or supporting parts. These include Wendy and Pacifica, two characters that, in my personal opinion, could've had so much more development (see below).
• One of the writers for this season will be Josh Weinstein... the same Josh Weinstein that (along with Bill Oakley) ran Seasons 7 and 8 for The Simpsons. Seasons 7 and 8 were more well known for their focus on character while also being more down to earth compared to Season 5. Weinstein's scripts during seasons 5 and (to a lesser extent) 6 were also more "domestic" and less surreal than the rest of the episodes during those two seasons. Oh, he also created Mission Hill, a tragically underrated TV show.

Barring any changes in my schedule, I will be able to catch episode 1 when it airs.

Now, what do I want in this series? Let's run it down, lads!

• As mentioned above, two of the show's most underused characters are Wendy and Pacifica. I saw the untapped potential these two had. They were tragically reduced to relatively one-dimensional roles: Dipper fell in love with the Dave Lister wannabe who was going out with Robbie, and Pacifica acted like a snob. Maybe we could get some depth into their characters. What did they know about the incidents in Gravity Falls? What power does Pacifica hold? Maybe the Dipper/Wendy relationship will be fleshed out to be more professional and more staunchly platonic.
• Of course, questions have to be answered. Specifically:
• What power does Stan really have? While I wasn't too surprised at the reveal at the end of the season, it did open a new wave of questions.
• "Boyz Crazy", the platinum episode of the season (and thus far, the series), revealed Robbie to have hypnotised Wendy via music. Where did he get the music? What connections does he have? What was his intent? Is he a perverted jackass, or is there another motive?
• Hopefully, the plots should take a more dramatic turn. I would implement something of a season-long arc, maybe a self-contained episode or two sprinkled in.
• While a part of me wants new, creative antagonists, I believe that the show's best source of conflict will be between it's established characters.

It's a bit of a short list, but I think that's more of a testament to the quality of Gravity Falls than anything else. Really, the big concern I have is that the show should keep up to the standards of the first season. It'll be tough, but I think the writers will do well.

Red Dwarf Review: Series VIII Preview

Well, we're here. Series VIII. The last of the 51 episodes commissioned by BBC Two. To steal a line from Russell Wilson, it's been a long road, getting from "The End" to here.

Now, Series VII had received a lukewarm reception amongst fans, many of whom (including yours truly) deriding it for shaking up the formula in a manner that replaced an interesting character with a bland, static character; replacing the beautiful models with low-quality CGI; mishandled almost every character; and, maybe most damning of all, syphoned the depth out of the show in favour of stock sci-fi plots and sitcom humour.

So, how was Doug Naylor to appease fans after such a radical change? ANOTHER RADICAL CHANGE!

First off, a combination of the love of his work on Series VII and sudden emptiness in his schedule (The Brittas Empire had been cancelled) convinced Chris Barrie to reprise his role as Rimmer full-time. A hole in the cast dynamic had been filled... seemingly, at least.

Doug Naylor seemed to have tired of the "Starbug putzes around in space" storyline of the past two series, and desired to bring the "small rouge one" back. Yet, he also had been watching Series I-III for the remaster (side note: stick to the originals). For some reason, he wanted to elaborate on the conflict between Rimmer, Lister, and Captain Hollister. So, it was decided to make it so that the core four (plus Kochanski) were no longer alone.

To facilitate this, Red Dwarf was essentially turned into a prison comedy, allowing Rimmer and Lister to interact with the Captain and others.

Yet, the actors that played Petersen, Selby, and Chen were not available on a regular basis. All of them had become successful and couldn't fit the show into their schedule. Ultimately, new characters had to be created, such as Kill Crazy (played by Jake Wood) and Warden Ackerman (played by Gavin McTavish).

Strangely enough, a combination of an eight-episode series plus a low budget meant that two stories had to be stretched out. "Back in the Red", originally an hour-long two parter, was transformed into a 90-minute three-parter. "Pete" (originally titled "Captain's Office") was also transformed into a two-parter, changing from an episode dominated by Lister and Rimmer's troubles with Captain Hollister into one where the crew have to fight... a dinosaur.

The end of the series was actually devised to be used in case the series wasn't renewed. The crew would've wound up back at Earth, wrecked up the place, and traded insurance details with the few remaining people to restore damage. It was going to be epic... until Doug Naylor took a look at the budget.

Thus, another finale had to be devised, which had four, count em, four endings planned. The one they went with was actually whipped up at the last minute.

Ultimately, this series proved to be controversial, much like VI and VII were. It's worth noting that, over the course of the series, half of the viewing audience left. "Back in the Red" premiered with 8.05 million viewers. By "Only the Good", only 4.24 million were still tuned in.

Initial reception was relatively positive, claiming that the show had "returned to form" with the return to more comic strips and Red Dwarf. Now? Well, fan site Ganymede and Titan did a survey in 2013 to commemerate the 25th anniversary of the first ever Red Dwarf episode. The bottom 5 episodes? All from Series VIII.

Overall, Series VIII took a beating in the poll, ranking as the worst series overall. Unlike VI, which shook it's initial controversial reception to become relatively beloved, and VII, which always seemed to be derided, VIII has gone from being a relatively beloved series to one that is considered the death kneel for Red Dwarf.

So, what else is there left to lose? May as well dive in.

Oh, one thing: this series has two multi-parters. I have decided that it would be best if I reviewed every storyline, rather than every episode. I'll still give the episodes separate grades and note the difference between the parts, but it will allow for the reviews to have more of a "flow". Also, it might be a while between reviews.

Anyway, like always, EPISODE RUNDOWN!

• Back in the Red: Yup, the crew are back in Red Dwarf... and risk jail for stealing a spacecraft and transporting stowaways on board ship. Lister has to get through to a resurrected Rimmer to help the crew escape. However, the resurrected Rimmer has none of the knowledge and development of the previous Rimmer; he's still pompous and egotistical. One thing leads to another, and the whole of the crew are trapped in a series of unfortunate events that land them in jail... but for reasons not related to the shuttle crash.
• Cassandra: The crew, now jailed, are signed up to join the "Canaries", who go into dangerous situations, as they are expendable. While on a "canary" mission, the crew meet Cassandra, who can predict the future... and the deaths of the crew.
• Krytie TV: Kryten, upset that his physical construction has placed him in the female quarters, is knocked out by several unsavoury prisoners and reprogrammed to start his own TV service, just so the unsavoury prisoners can get video of the women's quarters. With his new programming, Kryten becomes a ruthless media mogul.
• Pete: Lister and Rimmer have driven Hollister spare one too many times. After an incident involving medicines, spuds, and hair loss, the two are placed with a psycho with a bird. Meanwhile, the Canaries come across a device that can transform people. The two combine... and create a dinosaur.
• Only the Good: A ship-eating microbe is brought onboard. As you could guess, the microbe begins to eat the ship. A shortage of escape pods means that the prisoners are left for dead. Rimmer, however, realises that he could try and find the cure for the microbe.

...I have a bad feeling about this. Eh, may as well dive in.

Red Dwarf Review: Series VII Preview

Ah, Red Dwarf VII. Plans for the series began in 1993. Taping began three whopping years later. So, the question of the day is.... what happened?

Shortly after VI went to air, Rob Grant departed the show. Apparently, their relationship was disintergrated during the production of The Ten Percenters, a sitcom on ITV that was produced by some Red Dwarf alumni and future writing staff. This left Doug Naylor with an option; either leave the show for dead, or press on with other writers. No prizes for guessing the right answer. Again, he brought along some of his friends to write for episodes, such as Paul Alexander, James Hendrie, and Kim "SpiceWorld" Fuller. (Oh boy. The writer of Spice World is doing Red Dwarf. This season is going to rock).

Filming was also pushed back in 1994. In July, Craig Charles was accused of rape, apparently by one of his ex-girlfriends, and was denied bail. He was only granted bail after he was attacked by a fellow prisoner in jail in October. He was cleared of the charges March 1995.

Then, another dilemma. After two seasons of production troubles and troubled shootings, the lure of the small rouge one had been broken for Chris Barrie, and he demanded to have his screentime effectively halved. The writers responded by writing out Rimmer in one of the first episodes of the series, and bringing him back for flashbacks/dream sequences/whatnot.

So, who could possibly replace a character that many regarded as the heart of the show? Who could possibly stand up to the plate to try and keep the audience interested?

Well, they had a plan in mind. Rumours persist that to get funding for a Red Dwarf film, they needed to add a female to the cast. So, why not bring back a supporting character from the first two series?

Introducing Kochanski...

...as portrayed by Chloe Annett.

You see, Claire Grogan was deep into her role as a talk-show host at this point. Therefore, she couldn't make filming. Instead, Doug brought on Annett, knowing her from an audition of The Ten Percenters. In comparison to Grogan's spunky take on the character, Annett portrayed her in a more posh manner (not even bothering to imitate Grogan's Scottish accent).

Production began in 1996. Filming was radically different compared to other series. Red Dwarf VII eschewed the live studio audience in favour of showing the series to test audiences. This did allow for the sets to have four walls, allowing for more camera angles.

Another radical change came in terms of special effects. The first six series used models 99% of the time for special effects. CGI became cheaper and easier to use between VI and VII. This became the first series to use CGI, which became standard in VIII.

The series also brought back a familiar face at the end of the series. Who is it? You probably know, but hey, a little suspense never killed anybody.

Lastly, the scriptwriting also changed. While Series V dealt with character comedy, and Series VI was more of a sci-fi sitcom, Series VII edged closer to a comedy-drama, with more drama and intense plots, as well as the continuation of the "Find the Small Rouge One" arc of Series VI.

Red Dwarf VII premiered in January 1997. The ratings were high, peaking at 8,000,000 viewers. However, current reception has not been too kind to the series. Reaction since it's premiere was that it was the worst series. Only recently has it been removed from that position, partially due to re-evaluation, and partially because Series VIII was worse according to fans.

Of course, we have to take a look at the "menu" for the next few days/weeks/months. This time, we have eight- count them, eight- episodes to dissect.

• Tikka to Ride: Lister wants to use the time drive again. Why? To get some curry. He and the rest of the crew indavertadly save JFK... and cause the demise of the USA.
• Smoke Me A Clipper: Shot in the chest by a Weirmacht soldier (long story), Ace Rimmer (what a guy) has mere hours to find a replacement. He manages to come across the smeghead we know and love, to try and get him to finally change for the better.
• Ouroboros: A temporal disturbance connects to an alternate universe where Lister was a hologram and Kochanski got six months in stasis. The rift is attacked by a GELF warship, causing an incident that traps Kochanski on the side she was not from.
• Duct Soup: Trapped on the other Starbug, Kochanski and her relationship with the rest of the crew is not immediately helped by having to go into the ducts to fix an error on the shuttle.
• Blue: Lister becomes nostalgic about Rimmer... even to the point where he begins thinking he might be in love.
• Beyond a Joke: Kryten's poor anniversary of being rescued by the crew is not helped by the presence of his evil twin.
• Epideme: An incident on an old derelict causes Lister to contact a virus... one that has intelligence. This virus might lead to Lister having to make the ultimate sacrifice... maybe... sort of.
• Nanarchy: OK, Lister doesn't die. But, he does need some parts of his body reconstructed. The crew decide to use nanobots to reconstruct the arm. Thus, they have to go all the way back to the ocean planet that they were on before they lost Red Dwarf.

So... better hope that this series doesn't live up to it's bad rep... right?

Red Dwarf Review: Series VI Preview

Series VI. Let that sink in for a second. Red Dwarf, the show that few had faith in when Grant/Naylor shipped it off to various BBC offices, has made it through 6 series... more than many brit-coms.

So, it's late 1993/early 1994. Rob Grant and Doug Naylor were obviously trying to land new ideas for their next series. Rumours were that they would go to more of a Series III-type format: there would be more Holly and more Red Dwarf focused stories.

Garant/Naylor bent to fan opinion... which is to say, they kicked Holly out of the show and got rid of the "small rouge one".

What a twist!

Yes, Grant/Naylor decided to make another radical change in the show's format, the first real shift since the Series III relaunch. The show formally lept into Sci-Fi dramedy, a style that Series V had flirted with.

For the first time, episodes were connected with a long-run plotline; the theft of Red Dwarf by simulants. This style would dominate the show for the next three series; Series VII would continue with this idea of getting back Red Dwarf, while Series VIII started a new plotline... one that involves prison comedy.

If you thought production on Series V was stressful with Julie May joining and leaving within 4 episodes, hold on! This series was effectively written on the set. Yes. Entire scenes were cued up and rewritten on the set. This was because of the proposed Spring airdate for Red Dwarf set by the BBC... one that never happened; the show was pushed back to October.

Well, the response?

Very mixed.

I'm serious; fandom is split down the middle, even though this series has aged decently according to the Ganymede and Titan Silver Survey. Half of the fandom loves it for it's sci-fi plot, it's radical change of the formula, and the darker and edgier episodes (in an already dark show). The other half hates this season for what they declare are the following reasons; the reset of character, the basic formula for most episodes this season (done to relax the pressure on production), the running gags, and various controversial plotlines (such as Emohawk: Polymorph II).

Episode Rundown? Here goes!

• Psirens: With Red Dwarf stolen by Simulants, the crew are out to chase it after a 200 year deep sleep on Starbug. Their attempts are interrupted by a group of GELFs that telepathically manipulate individuals with their deepest desires.
• Legion: Food and supplies are down, and Red Dwarf slips further and further away. What better way to catch up than to be captured by a strange being?
• Gunmen of the Apocalypse: Starbug is taken over by a virus... just as Simulants board Starbug. The rest of the crew are forced to go into Kryten's mind... and forced to go westward ho!
• Emohawk: Polymorph II: Starbug wrecks on a GELF planet. To get supplies needed to breathe in Starbug, Lister is forced to wed the daughter of the chief of the Kinitawowi tribe. When Lister bails on the union, the chief attacks with a domesticated Polymorph. Remember those guys?
• Rimmerworld: Rimmer takes an escape pod out from a Simulant ship to escape certain death at the hands of a Simulant. He lands on an uninhabited planet, and the makeup of the planet allows him to make copies of himself... right down to the treachery.
• Out of Time: The crew find themselves right next to, well, themselves... from 15 years in the future. Stunned to meet them, they find out about what possession of a Time Drive has done to the crew.

Well, this is the last of the "bubble seasons"; the last season before a shocking change in staff for the show. Let's go!

Oh, and by the way, I'm considering a small "tidbit" section for all future reviews. This might be small production notes, or stuff I found interesting/disgusting. This is largely inspired by Mike Amato of Me Blog Write Good (link on the side), a blog where he reviewed the first 20 seasons of The Simpsons (guy has a lot of stamina: I'm only reviewing the 4 Scully-era seasons.) 

Red Dwarf Review: Series 5 Preview.

Well, after watching the embarrassment to comedy called Season 23 of The Simpsons, I must say, I am SO glad to go back to the boys from the Dwarf.

Series V of Red Dwarf was pivotal in terms of production. Why?

First off, producer and director Ed Bye packed his bags and quit, going to work on The Full Wax (starring Bye's wife, Ruby Wax. Side note: Wax played Blaze Falconburger in "Timeslides" from Series III. Juliet May was brought on board as Director. Her previous experience included Top of the Pops (Americans, think American Bandstand, Solid Gold, and Soul Train rolled into a British package) and Heil Honey, I'm Home (a dom-com... about Adolf Hitler. Yes, that happened.) However, she couldn't work with the sci-fi confines of the show, and left four episodes in. Hillary Jones also became producer, and stayed on during series V.

At the same time, Grant/Naylor decided to focus more on story compared to humour. However, the troubles with May caused two episodes, "Quarantine" and "Back to Reality", to be produced in a hurry.

The budget was stretched to the limit. Remember, we're dealing with a show on the BBC during the John Major era. Major (and his predecessor, Margaret Thatcher) took something of a meat cleaver to the BBC budget. Red Dwarf did not have a whole lot of wiggle room. Also, the original model for the Red Dwarf broke, so a new model had to be constructed.

Lastly, Grant/Naylor went to NBC in America to produce Red Dwarf USA... which never went past it's two pilots.

Overall, production was a mess. And to top it all off...

... not only did Series V top the viewership on BBC Two, but Series V is now considered to be the best series. One episode in particular is considered to be one of the best sci-fi episodes ever.

So, let's go down the episode list!

• Holoship: The crew of the Dwarf encounter a hologramatic ship, the Enlightment. Rimmer manages to get into the running to become a new face on the ship.
• The Inquisitor: The eponymous character of the episode declares himself judge, jury, and executioner of the universe... and is taking aim at the boys from the Dwarf.
• Terrorform: Rimmer is kidnapped, and winds up on a psy-moon, where his inner demons attack him.
• Quarantine: Rimmer contacts a holo-virus, and is placed in Quarantine. (Duh). He goes insane, sending the crew to WOO. (Let me tell you, WOO ain't fun).
• Demons and Angels: The Dwarf is split in two, alongside the cast and crew. One side is a peaceful Mary-Suetopia where love is practised. The other side represents some of the most sickening humanity ever descended.
• Back to Reality: The crew hit the despair squid, die, and realise that... it's too awesome to reveal right now. Just remember the name "Duane Dibbley".

Ye gods, we are in for a fantastic series!

New Scoring System for the Simpsons

...And so, with Treehouse of Horror VIII, we have entered the Scully Era.

While this era was loathed for many a reason, there are two focal points that caused the most ire. Those two will now be indicated in their own "meters", so to speak.

The first is the zaniness factor.

Yes, I know that this is not from the Scully Era. This is a parody of Twin Peaks... which managed to be less insane than Scully-Era Simpsons. Yes. I said that.

Starting in season 9, episodes would often take over the top twists, play it up for as much drama as possible, and make few aversions or twists to the ensuing clichés. Sometimes, they might joke around with how zany the episodes are, but in the end, episodes would go from, among other things:

• Homer joins the navy and launches a second cold war.
• Homer and Snake have a high-speed car chase.
• Homer and Marge have to run around town after being caught in scandal.
• Homer's idiocy causes the town to overflow with garbage, causing them to move.
• Homer moves to his old farm and grows "tomacco".
• A biker fights Homer in a sword-style fight... with bikes.
• Homer gets into a car chase with Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin.
• Homer winds up in the middle of a movie controversy including Mel Gibson.
• Homer (notice a theme here) and Bart have to run away from murderous Jockey Elves.
• I am not making this last point up.

Therefore, the episodes will be scored in wackiness in the following factor.

1. Your run of the mill Simpsons Episode, grounded in reality, maybe a hint of silliness.
2. More silly than the run-of the mill episode, but would not seem too out of place in an earlier era.
3. Quite silly and zany, with slapstick the act of the hour. A bit far from reality.
4. Over the top and beyond any normal sense of reality.
5. I'm sorry, I must've thrown on Twin Peaks, or Ren and Stimpy- oh, wait, this is the Simpsons?

The second point that fans complain about is Jerkass Homer.

This was a throwaway gag from season 4. It was funny then, because it was slightly too mean for that era of Homer.

Homer, in this new incarnation, often got into the aforementioned zany situations, most of whom involved him getting a second job. That's not too bad, right?

Well, Homer was also transformed into somebody who was overtly self-confident in his own antics. Again, not too bad, right. Well, in this era, Homer...

• Refuses to get rid of his gun, to Marge's chagrin.
• Sells out Kim Bassinger and Alec Baldwin
• Leaves his father to die from kidney failure twice
• Sells out the trucking industry
• Beats up the Japanese Emperor
• Gets Ned in trouble in Vegas
• Gives his daughter ulcers
• Callously uses techniques he learned in bodyguard school on his family
• Trashes Mr. Burns's Mansion
• Deflects criticism about his role in Maude's death
• Attempts to blow up town hall and kill many a citizen over area codes.
• Again, not kidding about that one. To many, that scene symbolises how far the character fell.
• Don't get me started on "Kill the Alligator and Run".

That's just the short list. Let's make a list of all the times Homer learned a lesson or got punished at an appropriate level for his actions.

• He got deposed as sanitation commissioner....

And that's about it. Might I also add that Homer wound up meeting every celebrity on the face of the planet, just so they could praise each other (Homer as the "common man" with "common ideas", and the celebrities for the good they did.) 

This new Homer was a borderline indestructible demigod, a Mary Sue for Mike Scully's insane fantasies. (Dude, you're living in Hollywood). And yes. I just said that Homer was a Mary Sue. Writers, if you are reading this, Homer is on the same level as a fanfiction original character. Pat yourselves on the back!

He was like Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation... except Wesley was evolved into a somewhat likeable character. Homer went the other way. 

So, we must line up our scale.

1. What you would see in the classic era. The everyman who just wanted food and TV. Just an average joe who did not care about celebrities.
2. Some jerkass qualities, but nothing to make the character grating. Maybe got involved with a celebrity, but that's it.
3. The average for the Scully era. He's quite insane, and goes on adventures with celebrities. This is the area where you start to tell him to cram it.
4. Very much Jerkass-y. He's cruel, abusive, would be placed in an asylum in the real world, and gets praised to the dickens by celebrities.
5. Congratulations, writers. You have made the Sixth Doctor sane in comparison. 

One more note. Dead Homer Society, a blog dedicated to all things The Simpsons (with a twist of criticising modern episodes, pulling few punches) cites seasons 7-12 as the general transition from The Simpsons (what it calls the classic era) to Zombie Simpsons (what it calls the modern era). While I do agree that there was a gradual transition, for me, I like to point to a threshold- a point of no return. 

To me, once both scales have reached 5 at least once, that is the moment when, going by the names set by Dead Homers, The Simpsons officially ends and Zombie Simpsons begins. Keep in mind, both have to had hit 5 at least once. For example, the zaniness scale can reach 5 about seventeen times and the show can still be part of the classic era. Once the Jerkass scale hits 5, the classic era is officially dead, and the show is a soul-less, corporate cash cow.

Get ready! Or be afraid. Whatever floats your boat.

Scullyfied Simpsons: The Fall of a TV Giant.

There is no denying it; The Simpsons has shaped American culture. It broke rules on what can be in a cartoon, it mocked everybody, it managed to merge both cynicism and sweetness within mere moments of each other (if not simultaneously), it had likeable characters, intelligent humour, and a wonderful setting. It was the very first prime-time programme I EVER watched, and I still quote various episodes to this very day.

Now, the show gets ready to enter an historic season 25. With this, we must take some time out to reflect on a show that is still shaking up norms, slashing-and-burning, making us think, and overall, bringing us strong belly laughs and warming our hearts.

I only wish that the second sentence in the previous paragraph was true.

Indeed, there is no doubt about it; at some point, The Simpsons slipped in quality. How badly it has fallen and when it slipped is up to every viewer. It is the opinion of this blogger that the show began slipping in season 9, entered freefall in season 10, and finally burned out completely in the middle of season 20.

There are various factors in the crash: running out of plausible plots, mischaracterisation, trying too hard to say relevant, etc... There are also many people to blame for this crash in quality: the less talented writers, Matt Groening, FOX, the cast, etc. etc. However, most of the hatred from the fandom is laid on the feet of one man.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the distinct honour to introduce you to Mike Scully.

Scully took over the show in season 9. Coincidentally, that is also when the show started to slip in quality. Now, it's hard to list every problem in minute detail, but let's go over the problems in quick succession.

• The tight control on the storylines got loosened. Suddenly, plots were seemingly made up on the spot.
• The nerd-humour was cut down significantly.
• A Decline in touching moments. We went from endings such as "You Are Lisa Simpson" and "Do It For Her" to "Jockey Elves trapped in Garbage Bags" (Not kidding about the elves) and "Pirates Rob a Yacht".
• Mischaracterisation. Often, characters would change from episode to episode. The most infamous example? Homer went from "selfish and moronic, yet lovable and somewhat down to earth", all the way to "Captain Wacky callous egomaniac". Others were changed, but Homer is the one most remembered.
• Adding on to the Homer example, he also became the centre of the universe, and met all these celebrities, had zillions of jobs, etc. You know, your average joe!
• Speaking of celebrities, the purpose of guest stars changed from having them voice characters created by the writers, to having them voice idealised versions of themselves.
• Storylines that were not shifting rapidly from second to second were repeated from earlier episodes.
• Stuff that would have been played for laughs in earlier episodes was played seriously, and vice-versa.
• Not a single care toward the audience, if not outright insulting them.

Now, I know what you are thinking: Mike Scully is not the one man responsible for the decline of a once brilliant TV show! And you are right. In Scully's defence, many factors involving the staff caused a slip in quality. Also, Mike Scully wrote some of the best scripts in the history of the show (Lisa's Rival, Lisa on Ice, Two Dozen and One Greyhounds, Lisa's Date with Destiny).

However, Scully was the man at the top of the food chain (Matt Groening had backed off the show and was developing some office comedy that was not well liked by FOX.)

Mike could have kept a tight control on the staff and their writing/animation. He did not. And that's why Mike Scully gets so much blame. He had so much responsibility, and he did not utilise it well. That's why he gets a chunk of the blame for the show's slip in quality.

Now, here's the deal with the episodes that I will be watching. We are going to span from the first episode of season 9 all the way to Mike Scully's last episode as executive producer in season 13. This will mean that we will cover a couple of episodes directed by Bill Oakley and Joel Weinstein (who are responsible for season's 7 and 8, but also had a few holdovers). One of those episodes from season 9 under Oakley/Weinstein is considered the beginning of the show's collapse.

Will we cover any more episodes? Maybe. We might go back to season 1 to analyse the beginning of the show, season 7 to try and rebut a claim by the popular "Kill the Simpsons and Do It 15 Years Ago" blog "Dead Homer Society" that the episode "Marge Be Not Proud" marked the very first signs of decline. We might even take a look at season 25, just to see how stupid and boring it is.

But the point is, we are going to analyse the collapse of what was once the de facto king of comedy.

Red Dwarf Review: Series IV Preview

There's not a whole lot to talk about, so this will be relatively brief.

Ah, Series IV. Sweet, sweet series IV. At the same time, poor, poor series IV.

Why poor? Well, it is sandwiched between the game-changing series III and the near-universally beloved Series V, so it often gets overlooked.

Why sweet? Well, this is a great series. The characters are developed in such a wonderful fashion that they become more like your best friends. Kryten gets more screen time in this series, getting two episodes focused around him. The episode takes three opportunities to delve into the character and psyche of Arnold Rimmer. This series also took more risks then series III, such as robots turning into humans, alternate timelines, and kooky episodes.

Admittedly, this episode does hold some retcons. Instead of Lister sharing a mere 173 words with Kochanski, Lister now had a brief relationship with her. The number of crew originally on the ship (before the accident) was increased by 1000. And the first 2/3rds of the pilot episode now belongs to the 23rd century (again, before the accident). I'm a bit of a continuity freak, but these retcons can be excused, as it does not hurt the show at all.

Production-wise, this series was also the first series not predominantly filmed in Manchester, as production shifted to London.

The epic "Dimension Jump" was originally scheduled to air to kick off the series with a bang!

And then Iraq invaded Kuwait, and America and Britain got involved. Fearing for sensitivity, "Dimension Jump" and the anti-war "Meltdown" were pushed back to close out the series.

In fact, there was good timing, since "Camille" would wind up going out on Valentine's Day.

Like always, let's take a quick look at what we have in store.

Camille: Kryten, who is trying to master the art of lying from Lister, winds up finding a female mechanoid on a crashed ship, and Kryten falls in love with her. However, when Rimmer sees her, he sees her as a female hologram. When LISTER sees her, he sees her as the last female alive. Why is that? Long story.

DNA: While analysing a drifting spaceship, the crew find a DNA modifier. While fiddling around with it, Kryten becomes a human. Hilarity ensues.

Justice: The crew visit a high-tech prison called Justice World. In it, Rimmer is analysed, and charged with the death all but one of the crew of the Dwarf. Not helping for Rimmer is his defence council.

White Hole: Holly's computer senility is reversed. However, thanks to a miscalculation, she has to shut herself off to preserve the crew's life. Not helping is the crew having to deal with a reverse black hole- the titular White Hole.

Dimension Jump: In a parallel universe, Arnold "Ace" Rimmer is alive, a test pilot in the Space Corps, handsome, and respected. Ace is given the chance to test a dimension-hopper, and happens to come across an Arnold Rimmer that is NONE of those things. I.E., OUR Rimmer.

Meltdown: While testing a device that can send the crew to a planet with a breathable atmosphere, they wind up meeting Wax-Droids. The Wax-Droids happen to be in a battle of good versus evil.

Red Dwarf Review: Series III Preview

Small warning: this might be a bit long.

Part I: A Change Will Do You Good
TV shows often go through creative changes from season to season. From the differing ideals between Simpsons show runners (compare the Oakley/Weinstein Era to the Scully Era), to the difference between Enterprise Seasons 2 and 3, shows often get retooled slightly to fix problems and attract viewers.

What happened between Red Dwarf II and III was less of a retool and more of a total smegging rebuild. Grant Naylor basically took the characters, the title, the setting, and the basic plot, and that is it. In all essence, Series III is a FAR different animal compared to series II, and would be the series all future ones are based off of (except for the Back to Earth mini-series).

Physical Changes

For the least radical change, we have to analyse the costumes and sets. The colour of the sets of the first two series were primarily grey, and the end result was dull. From this series on, the colour of the sets gets varied. Mel Bibby (Alien) was the driving force behind the set upgrades. Thanks to Howard Burden, the costumes were also changed:

Rimmer's costume gained more colour and class;

Well, as classy as a smeghead of his calibre can be.

Lister now sports a laddish leather jacket;

This jacket was supposed to contain Wilma Flinstone stitched on the back, but it would have been a legal nightmare. "Backwards" would feature Lister and the Cat discussing if Wilma is attractive.

the Cat gets a much more wild fashion sense;

This is just ONE of the Cat's Costumes. He wore 15 over the course of the series.

And Kryten (explained below on why he is listed here)  went from a butler's costume to a more android-esque look.

Getting a bit more wild, the setting of the episodes got even more varied. "Backwards" takes place almost exclusively on an Earth (albeit one in reverse), "Bodyswap" and "Polymorph" contained scenes that took place in the science wing, "Polymorph" contains an exploration of the cargo bay, ect.

In terms of physical changes, however, the cast was arguably the biggest change of them all. Kryten had proven to be such a popular character that he was brought back as a regular character. However, Dave Ross was not available, so they instead brought in Robert Llewellyn. Llewellyn made the character his own, improvising a Canadian accent to differentiate his portrayal from Ross's Kryten.

Likewise, Norman Lovett (Holly) had purchased a new home in Edinburgh. Travelling between his home in Edinburgh, London (BBC Offices), and Manchester (primary filming location), proved to be a bit too much for him, and he walked out. The character was recast by Hattie Hayridge, who played Hilly in "Parallel Universe."

Hattie Hayridge as Holly

Writing

The writing of this show also got knocked up a notch. 

The first two series were very leisurely in terms of pace, with a more sitcom-esque feel. Series III picked up the pace quite a bit. The writing was MUCH tighter, with very little filler material in between. Also, the show's style shifted from a sitcom IN SPACE, to a science-fiction show that also happened to be a comedy.

The series also introduced alien-esque life forms called "Genetically Engineered Life Forms", or GELFs. Unlike aliens (which Grant Naylor considered cliche), these creatures were man made. Oh, humanity, you!

The main trio seemed to change slightly from Series II. Lister is virtually the same, although "Marooned" indicates that he might not be the nice guy we all thought he was. Likewise, Rimmer became slightly less of a Jerkass with this series, and even gains moments of altruism. However, when Rimmer acts like a jerk, he is a HUGE one. "Bodyswap", in my opinion, contains among the lowest Rimmer moments (I might assemble a list in the future consisting of the lowest Rimmer moments available). The Cat becomes more of a comic relief as time goes on, but in this series, he gets some slight character development in terms of piloting stuff.

Kryten's character is virtually reset from the end of his series II appearance. He is back to his old "meek robot" persona. However, he is treated much more like an equal by Rimmer, and slowly gets to develop into a mother type character by the end of the series. Kryten also began taking over as the provider of exposition.

On the opposite end, Holly seemed to have a reduced role. With Kryten taking over as the exposition provider, Holly's character was reduced to more of a comic relief... which was already provided by the Cat. This was not a good situation for the character that, just two episodes prior, was kicking bottom.

Part II: Episode Previews:

Backwards: During Kryten's test flight in Starbug, Kryten and Rimmer fly through a time hole, and wind up in an Earth where everything goes backwards. They wind up forming an act, The Sensational Reverse Brothers!

Marooned: Rimmer and Lister are forced to abandon Red Dwarf, and a series of events leads to the two stranded on an ice planet, relying on each other for survival.

Polymorph: A shape-shifting GELF winds up on Red Dwarf, sucking out certain negative emotions from the crew members.

Bodyswap: Lister wants to get in shape, so he swaps minds with Rimmer, who promises to get him in shape. However, Rimmer does not follow up on his end of the deal, and it leads to holding a body hostage.

Timeslides: Picture development fluid (remember that) manages to bring pictures to life, and create a time machine. Lister uses it to try and change it so that he does not wind up on Red Dwarf, and leads a successful life... much to the chagrin of Rimmer.

The Last Day: Kryten gets a message that states he has 24 hours to deactivation. Lister wants Kryten to party on his last night. This goes against Kryten's beliefs... as he believes in Silicon Heaven.

Red Dwarf Review: Series II Preview

Sorry for the hiatus. As I get ready to take a look at series II, let's take a quick look at the episodes for this season.

Kryten: The trio find a broken down starship with only a robot living. The robot is programmed to serve absolutely. Lister tries to break the robots programming and make him rebellious, but Rimmer wants him as a slave.

Better Than Life: Rimmer gets some depressing news in the post. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew go into a total immersion videogame that grants their fantasies. Rimmer joins along to try and live out the desires of his father. Hilarity ensues.

Thanks for the Memory: Shortly after a party celebrating Rimmer's death, Lister, Rimmer, and the Cat wake up with no memory of the previous few nights. Rimmer also wakes up remembering a love that he once had. Lister gets down to the bottom of Rimmer's memory.

Stasis Leak: Thanks to a leak in stasis, Lister, Rimmer, and the Cat can go back to a short time before the accident. Rimmer wants to bring himself back via a stasis tube, while Lister wants to bring Kochanski back via the stasis tube.

Queeg: With Holly becoming more incompetent by the hour, a new computer arrives, relieving Holly of duty. While the crew are at first relieved, they eventually learn the age-old lesson "meet the new boss, more insane than the old boss".

Parallel Universe: During Rimmer and Lister's debate (this time about the formers chauvinism), Holly announces that he has invented a device that can transport objects through space. Instead, it takes them to a parallel universe, where genders and gender roles are reversed, right down to biology.

This season showed the writing get tighter, the humour become quicker, and tons of character development between the characters. Rimmer and Lister become closer, Holly gets his finest hour, and plots from previous episodes are developed upon.

What also occurs is that the first series was set entirely on Red Dwarf, with little interaction outside the ship. Here, the crew actually does some exploring, such as in "Kryten".

And from now on, I will not be distinguishing between the Good and Bad openly. I will merge the two sections into a general "Review" section right below the synopsis section.

Gravity Falls Review: The Basics

Time to take a brief break from Red Dwarf and go from three million years in deep space to the year 2012 in the state of Oregon, for one of the greatest shows to come out in the past year.

I am proud to say that I love Gravity Falls dearly. It really is one of the first shows in a decent while (since The Simpsons) that I will watch if it is on, and will watch a new episode as much as possible. It is on Disney Channel and on iTunes, so if you want to take a quick look, go crazy. The show contains so many elements of comedy, drama, science fiction, mystery, fantasy, action, every genre is mocked and yet embraced. Alex Hirsch has really created a masterpiece.

The show currently has 15 episodes knocked down. As of this writing, we have just seen episode 16, "Carpet Diem", which was a good episode. A second season is currently in the offing.

The show is set in the mountain town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, where twins Dipper and Mabel Pines are sent by their parents to hang out over the summer with their shop-owning Great-Uncle Stan. They wind up trapped in a series of conspiracies that affect their lives.

Much like I did with Red Dwarf, we may as well take a look at these characters.

Our main protagonist is Dipper Pines, played by Jason Ritter (the son of the late "Three's Company" star, John Ritter). Imagine Arnold Rimmer from Red Dwarf is he was less of an obsessive, self-centred jerk. He thinks that his summer is not going to go well, until he finds a book in the middle of the forest, containing all of the secrets of the area, including Gnomes, Zombies, ghosts, and all of that jazz. The viewer gets to see him as he takes on these mystical creatures, and note how his character develops, and how he comes of age. He gets his first romance, gets to meet an historical figure that never was, makes clones of himself, ect. ect. He is not perfect: he tends to over-analyze and can be quite cynical and has moments of selfishness. He also is a bit more feminine than he would like to let on (He sings DISCO in the shower). However, this makes the character more relatable to the audience.

It is in this spirit where the character Mabel Pines can be compared to. Played by Daily Show correspondent Kirsten Schall, Mabel is the Id to Dipper's Superego: the bright, cheery, happy foil to Dipper's more analytical, cynical persona. She is a character that runs purely on emotional desire. While this is nothing new, Mabel comes more into her own, being quirky, yet still having a small sense of responsibility, and being quite selfless. She also is a wonderful example of how a female character can be tough and more action-oriented, yet still not be extraordinarily tomboyish. (Her desire over the summer is to have an "epic summer romance", and she has a large sweater collection, yet she is able to beat up a bunch of gnomes. More on that later)

He wears a fez. Fezzes are cool.

The two have to live over the summer with Grunkle Stan, played by creator Alex Hirsch himself. Imagine Mr. Krabs if he was human. And ran a tourist trap instead of a restaurant. And if he was a semi-decent boss. (Emphasis on the semi). Either way, he's still a colossal scam artist. It is revealed at the end of the 1st episode that he may be hiding something. But, what could it be? Who knows?

Well, let's move on to two other characters in the show that, while not getting the development of the prior three, also play a decent role in the show. We have Soos (also played by Hirsch), who is the total kiss-up to Stan. Imagine if TV's Frank from Mystery Science Theatre 3000 was more of a man-child. And had a big old question mark on his shirt.

Wendy (played by Freaks and Geeks alumnus Linda Cardellini) herself seems to take on the role of the "typical teenager" that many shows have tried, and failed (I'm looking at you, Family Guy) to capture. To be more specific, I like to compare her somewhat to Dave Lister from Red Dwarf. Unlike Dipper, who is shown in many episodes to be more feminine and awkward, Wendy has more tomboyish traits to her persona, such as hanging out with predominantly male friends, lazing around, throwing pine cones at objects, etc, and she also seems much more comfortable with who she is. Dipper falls head over heels with her, in a subplot that, for some insane reason, reminds me of a certain song.

Fun Fact: British DJ John Peel gave this record 27 stars. Out of 5.

Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. Uh, I will begin reviewing new Gravity Falls episodes soon. Whatever.