Steven Universe Review: "Onion Trade" (Season 1A, Episode 15)

"You clearly don't know who you are shooting GUYS at, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Steven - I am the danger! A guy opens his door and gets Hynes Ketchup flung in his face - you think that of me? No... I am the one who knocks!"

Airdate: March 15th, 2014

Synopsis: Steven loses his Ranger GUY, a part of his Guys Under Your Supervision collection. While his attempts to acquire one via the vending machine fail, he notices that Onion has it. Thing is, Onion, who is a rather... eccentric kid, is not willing to barter for Steven's low-rung Dave Guys. Amethyst points to a matter replicator to try and multiply the Dave Guys even further. Onion instead takes the replicator. Hilarity ensues.

Review: "Onion Trade" is often cited by fans as among the weakest episodes of Steven Universe, if not the weakest episode of the show. The reasons why vary, from a lack of emotional impact, to a lack of comedy, to the character of Onion himself. Thus, I am faced with the question - is it as bad as everybody else says? Or is it a good episode, unfairly maligned by the SU fandom? Or, does it fall somewhere in the mushy, unremarkable middle - which, given some of the later episodes, will likely fall to the fringe?

Steven Universe Review: "Lars and the Cool Kids" (Season 1A, Episode 14)

There's probably some form of symbolism in this image... or maybe I'm just seeing things.

Airdate: March 10th, 2014

Synopsis: Steven's quest for lunch lands him against Lars's continued attempts to come off as cool, and thus, get involved with the "Cool Kids" - Sour Cream, Buck Dewey, and Jenny. Hilariously enough, Steven manages to talk to them, and convince them to bring along the kid and Lars. They take a trip up to "Dead Man's Mouth", a lake that contains a lot of moss... moss that was grown and treated by Rose. It's also moss that will overtake whatever it touches in a matter of seconds.

Review (SPOILERS): Before we begin, I should mention that "Lars and the Cool Kids", if my memory serves me correctly, was among the first episodes of Steven Universe I recall watching. (I think I may have seen "Gem Glow" and "Laser Light Cannon" before, though.) I don't recall watching the episodes first run until StevenBomb 3 ("Cry for Help", to be more specific), and I don't remember when I saw this episode, but, hey, this was an interesting intro to the show.

One of the first characters introduced in the Steven Universe canon (if the pilot is discounted), Lars set the stage as a direct contrast to Steven. Cynical, insensitive, snarky, and brash, Lars is the closest thing the show had to a reoccurring antagonist in Season 1A - the "sitcom" days, when Steven rolled around in a bubble with the new kid in town, when he became a pro-wrestler, when his attempts to be a birthday clown almost killed him.

Where was I? Oh, yes - Lars. The show's shift to more dramatic themes put him out of the picture, to an extent. However, he does get to shine in "Lars and the Cool Kids", an episode that shows him and some cool kids interact with the fantastical world of the Crystal Gems.

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.

Gravity Falls Review: Season 2 Wrap Up

(Note - ranking of every episode will be out next post, but given that I did a wrap-up for Season 1, I may as well do one for Season 2. This is going to be brief, since I'm going to touch on more posts in a full requiem of Gravity Falls.)

Screenshot of this image, found on the Gravity Falls wiki.

Thirty long years, and it's led up to this! My greatest achievement... probably should have worn pants. - Grunkle Stan, in his boxers, "Scary-oke".

The first line of "Scary-oke" set the tone for Season 2 of Disney's Gravity Falls - it was going to be more ambitious, more plot-driven, than the act of brilliance that was Season 1. The question is, did it meet my expectations?

Well, how can I put this?

YEAH!

Gravity Falls Review: "Weirdmageddon III - Take Back The Falls" (Season 2, Episode 20)

Massive Inter-dimensional pyramid with bowtie used mega fist pound! It's not very effective.

Airdate: February 15th, 2016

Synopsis: After going through the sugar-coated hell that was Mabeland, Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy team up with a group of refugees taking shelter in the Mystery Shack alongside Stan. There, they devise a plan to rescue Ford and bring down Bill. Thing is, Stan is remiss over rescuing somebody he feels screwed up purely on impulse. He begrudgingly goes along, but his feud with Ford almost brings the Pines family - and, on a larger scale, the entire town of Gravity Falls, Oregon - to the brink of death.

Review: First off, a personal note. I can't believe that this is the last one of these new-episode reviews that I'll do for this show. Sure, I'll re-review the show in the not-too distant future, maybe set up a "tribute" site, but it won't really feel the same. The waiting for every Gravity Falls episode will never be experienced again.

With that said...

"Ah, summer break. A time for leisure, recreation, and taking her easy... unless you're me. My name is Dipper - the girl about to puke is my sister, Mabel. You may be wondering what we're doing in a golf cart, fleeing from a creature of unimaginable horror.

Rest assured - there's a perfectly logical explanation..."

On June 15th, 2012, with those words, we were introduced to the world of Gravity Falls, thanks to the Disney Channel. Initially coming off as merely a quirky Disney cartoon, within 22 minutes, the show unveiled itself as something more complex and brilliant. What was Grunkle Stan doing at the end of that last episode? Who did write that journal? As it turns out, we were about to go on a beautiful journey.

Forty-four months later (to the day, no less), the long, long, long summer ended. So, how did this last episode close it all out?

Warning before we go further... spoilers are legion. Watch the episode before you go any further. I am dead. Serious.

"Remember, Only The Good Die Young..." - The Gravity Falls Pre-Finale Post

Well, this is it.

Today marks the Series Finale of Gravity Falls. It airs at 7PM ET on DisneyXD. I anticipate that it will be an incredible end. Speculation is already running rampant that one of the characters will die, and chances are... that will happen. Not going to go further, but I could see Gravity Falls going out with a bit of a tragic aura.

Fun thing is, Hirsch has not ruled out the possibility of future specials or comics to continue the canon. However, I doubt we'll see anything for quite a while - Hirsch has already signed a deal with FOX to create a new animated show. I suspect it will be taking up his time for the next couple of years, at least.

And, hey, if this is the end, consider this quote, said by Rimmer at the end of the Red Dwarf episode "Only The Good".

"Remember, only the good die young."

Oh, speaking of which...