#need to make a list of bobs burgers episodes that work well together at some point bcuz there are a few

[br1ghtestlight]

mother daughter laser razor, thelma and louise (except thelma is linda) and amelia would probably be great episodes to watch together if you wanted to cry

[shirtlesssammy]

5x12: Swap Meat

At a bar, a woman sits alone, enjoying her margarita, when one Sam Fucking Winchester wanders over and asks the barkeep ---NOT at all awkwardly--for a banana daiquiri. He’s either deep undercover or something is seriously hinky. There’s a lot of sugar in banana daiquiris, Sam. Crystal introduces herself and Sam introduces himself as Gary! She then propositions him, much to his cluelessness. 

The poor dumb boy puts it together and “would love to have the sex with [her].” We then pan over to see Sam REALLY isn’t Sam at all.

Housatonic, Massachusetts

36 Hours Earlier

Sam and Dean visit Donna, an old babysitter --well, she was a maid at a motel they’d stay at while John went hunting. She looked out for them. It seems that her family house has a poltergeist problem. Bumps and broken items have led to the thing attacking their daughter, Katie. 

Katie lifts her shirt to reveal “Murderd Chylde” carved into her abdomen. I'd get some serious vaseline on those wounds if you don’t want scarring, Katie. Yeesh. Sam and Dean tell the family to skedaddle while they take care of things. 

They stop at a diner for food next. Dean picks up their order from the counter from Banana Daiquiri Gary! He’s not impressed with Sam’s salad shake, and neither is Dean (but when is he ever?) 

They talk about Donna and how she’s got a good thing going. Dean asks Sam if he’d want to settle down at all and have a family, and Sam answers, “no.” Dean looks contemplative about it. 

Sam finds lore on the house. A Samuel Pickett owned the house in the 1700s and hung a woman, Maggie Briggs, there for witchcraft. As the brothers talk, we watch Gary hyperfixate on Sam. 

Sam goes to check out the town’s archives for where Maggie Briggs was buried. As he’s walking back to the motel, he hears a noise and then gets shot in the neck with a dart. Lights out, Sammy. 

He comes to later, wearing Gary’s work uniform. He starts walking but the cops pick him up claiming his family is worried about him. “My brother called you?” Sam asks, incredulous. 

No. The cops take him to a suburban house where a worried couple pops out and hugs Sam in relief. He asks who they are and in return they want to know if he’s drunk. 

They keep calling him Gary. It’s then that Sam looks in the window of the cop car --and sees his reflection. He looks like Gary!

Meanwhile, Gary is checking out his hot new bod. Dean shows up and wonders where he’s been. Gary placates him with food. He also tells Dean that the maid saw all their weapons and they better get out of there. While Dean uses the restroom, Gary gets rid of all Dean’s phones. 

THEN he has the NERVE to ask to drive. He doesn’t get far. And quite frankly, Dean’s spidey sense should be spiking through the ceiling at this point. 

Sam keeps trying to reach his brother, with no luck. He calls the motel to learn that the two dudes in room 102 left in the middle of the night. So, Sam starts digging through Gary’s stuff and discovers items of witchcraft. Before he can dig too much further though, he’s called to the family breakfast. 

His “dad” starts grilling him about getting drunk the night before. Sam’s got better things to worry about than placating some dude he doesn’t know. He also needs to learn more about Gary, so he starts interviewing the family about what they've noticed in him lately. 

The dad wants to know if Sam’s “smoking drugs”. Sam then asks if they’ve ever seen him with a black book recently. His sister, Sydney, reacts to that question. The mom reacts to him eating toast --his allergy to wheat gluten!! 

Sydney later reveals to Sam that there IS a book.

Gary and Dean are still working the case. Dean informs Gary that they have to search graves for Maggie’s body. Nerd of Nerd’s Gary knows exactly where Maggie Briggs is buried: Isiah Pickett’s basement. He also reveals that he murdered her and her unborn child before burying them in the basement. Dean connects the ‘murderd chylde’ clue. 

Once in the car, Bob Seger starts blasting, and Gary tells Dean to turn it up. 

Sam continues to leave messages for Dean. He ALSO has to navigate the tortures of high school again. Sam meets two of Gary’s friends and asks where his locker is (he’s still drunk, after all). 

For This is a Look TM Science:

(And let’s pause for a moment to enjoy Sam’s striped hoodie. Definitely one of the top 5 wardrobe choices on this show.) 

He finds the book in the back of Gary’s locker. 

Gary and Dean find the grave in the basement of the Pickett house. Dean gets to digging while Gary aims his gun at Dean. Before he can shoot, the ghost comes out to play. It starts beating up the both of them but Gary’s able to burn the bones.

Gary’s extremely nosy friends follow Sam out of the school. While it looks like we’re gearing up for some good ol’ Ferris Bueller shenanigans, Trevor shoots Sam in the throat (GAH) with a sedative dart. 

Meanwhile, at a bar, Dean orders a burger with extra bacon and a fried egg on top. Excuse me...I need to go eat an entire branchbouquet of kale in retaliation. Mysteriously, Sam orders the same thing. “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Dean asks. But it’s just a lighthearted comment and they raise a toast to a successful hunt.

Gary’s over the moon overabout the day he just had. His joy makes Dean suspicious the way nothing else has. Oh, you sweet sad sunflowers. Gary lays out Sam Winchester’s happiness list: 1) gun 2) getting drunk 3) looks like Sam Winchester.

“You ever feel like your whole future is being decided for you?” Gary asks. OH YES, Dean tells him. I forget for a minute that I’m watching a season 5 episode as the Dean-Winchester-feels-trapped-in-the-narrative-sorrow threatens to overwhelm me. But there areis no time for FEELINGS when the narrative must go on! Cut to later in the night, when Gary gets picked up by the woman in the bar from the cold open. Dean puts his thinking face on while Gary ecstatically leaves the bar. 

Back at Kid Kidnapperz clubhouse, Sam’s tied up. Trevor calls Gary and asks him if he’s killed Dean yet. “I’m working up to it,” Gary replies while sitting shirtless under a leopard print bedspread in the cougar’s lair. (Just...no on SO MANY LEVELS.) Sam listens to this with great alarm.

Sam demands to know how these rando teenagers know Dean. “Everybody knows Dean. He’s Hell’s most wanted,” Trevor retorts. Sam puts two and two together and comes up with a coupla dumb kids who took a deep dive into witchcraft and started talking to demons. 

“You’re just kids,” Sam laments. Trevor and Nora fill in more blanks. They were messing around with a Moste Dark Booke of Witchcraftery, as one does, and suddenly Gary went into a trance and drew a fairly decent picture of Dean. Gary also heard a voice - it was setting a bounty on Dean’s head, and apparently broadcast through the witch trance network.

Gary heard a voice in his head - it was setting a bounty on Dean’s head, and apparently broadcast through the witch trance network. Nora now has second thoughts, so Trevor ups his stupidity game and starts to summon a demon. 

That night, Gary creeps into the motel room and grabs Dean’s gun up from a nearby chair. He cocks the pistol. . He aims it at the shape under the covers...and Dean grabs him from behind and demands to know who he really is. (Silly Gary, Dean stopped sleeping under covers after he got back from Hell.)

Back in Trevor’s basement, he finishes the demon summoning. Nora looks up with black eyes.

She’s very interested to learn that they’ve got Dean Winchester in their sights. Trevor tells her where Dean is immediately. She absorbs this and swings her attention to Sam. She realizes it’s Sam “Boy King of Hell” Winchester sitting there and is suddenly VERY interested. Trevor asks her where his reward is, and when he pushes for it she first taunts, then kills him. (All the while Sam is in the background GRINDING HIS TEETH.)

Gary weeps, tied up in the motel room while Dean listens to voicemail after voicemail from Sam. Gary babbles about Sam’s whereabouts but it’s too late. Demon!Nora saunters in and lobs Dean across the room. Wherps. She offers Gary a powerful future but first he’s got to meet “the boss.” All he has to do is say “Yes” and they can have a nice chat together! Very sneaky! Dean attacks her while she’s cooking up her big plan and then Gary and Dean tag team an exorcism, freeing Nora of the demon. Later, Gary performs the incantation to swap bodies with Sam again. (I shake my head yet again that THIS is the ONLY body swap episode we got in the whole fifteen season run. What a goddamn waste of comedy potential.

With Sam restored to normal (or as normal as a Winchester can get), Dean confronts Gary. He tells him that if he were just a little older, he’d be dead right now. With those comforting parting words, they bring Gary and Nora back to their lives. Sam tells Gary to quit his whining about his life. It’s possible to rebel in a “healthy, non-satanic way.” Furthermore, he tells Gary that he wishes he had his life. Once the kids are out of earshot, Dean comments on Sam’s kind words. “Totally lied. Kid’s life sucked ass.” The apple-pie family crap is stressful, Sam decides. 

Maybe they just don’t know what they’re missing, Dean rejoins, and I calmly tie an anvil around my ankle and drop it off a cliff into a dramatically large canyon. 

They head out into the rainy night...to fight another day!

Doppelquöter:

You ever think that you'd want something like that? Wife, rugrats, the whole nine?

No matter how much you fight it, you can't stop the plan. The stupid, stupid plan

Um, I wouldn't exactly call praying to our dark overlord “goofing around”

 Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Best of 2020

I don’t need to say much about how this year sucked. What matters is that if you’re reading this, congrats because you made it through and you’ll know that animation in 2020 has certainly made its marks as much this year as it did the last. Effort was still made to provide some of the best entertainment imaginable, and I’m here to provide the TOP TEN BEST entertainment I’ve experienced and loved this year. With that said, let’s get to it…

10. Sonic Rebuilt

I’ll admit, I don’t like the Sonic Movie. It was not a good film to me & while I’m holding out for the sequel, I genuinely never want to see it again. But like Biden to Trump, the people behind Shrek Retold gave us a reanimated telling of the Sonic 1996 OVA. Like Shrek Retold, it offers a compelling new light to the OVA and while the original is much cleaner, and it’s not the most hype thing to come from Sonic overall, the imaginative cauldron of artists that put into this makes it far more rewatchable. 

9. Central Park

I knew after watching Bob’s Burgers that creator Loren Bouchard would eventually make a musical cartoon and I’m glad I was right. Central Park is a first for me where it’s an animated musical that isn’t a film or only occasional like Steven Universe or Adventure Time and while it isn’t the best plotwise, the numbers themselves were heartfelt and sometimes catchy. There’s a struggle in being episodic and serialized, and it’s a slow burn to connect with the characters, but this was admirable in its experimentation and I’m interested in the direction season two will go.

8. Interspecies Reviewers

The first horny anime I can safely say was never an off-putting or one-note gag fest; that’s gotta count for something. The momentum of this series never truly dies and even when there were a couple times where I just wasn’t feeling it, they pull me back with something ten-fold entertaining. Fresh variety is what I can describe this series at its best, it knew how to keep things going and growing even when it’s otherwise formulaic. All the while, this series never felt tasteless; it really felt structured and gallantly clear-minded in what it wants to show. Plus, it has Crimveal who next to Steven Universe is the best boy of 2020. Of course this show ain’t for everyone but my god, it does so much right for me upon most ecchi stuff.

7. Primal

I wanna believe this was what Genndy Tartakovsky always wanted to make after Samurai Jack ended (well, the 2nd time). This show really exhibits his many techniques in direction, like you can tell this is his work if you’ve seen his other shows. Primal always feels like the culmination of all that’s he towards as a man of animation. Even with the roars and the harsh sounds of violence, this is the only cartoon that never says anything but conveys everything so vibrantly. This admittedly isn’t my favorite piece from Genndy, but it definitely made it’s way to the top three.

6. Team Fabulous 2 Reanimated/Suponjibobu Anime

We got a tie here because these I especially felt brought people together. Suponjibobu brought people together to celebrate Spongebob Squarepants like never before, making it as legendary this year as Mr. Krabs Overdoses on Ketamine. A beginning to a series long in the making and can hopefully go for more as animation on Youtube has certainly delivered. 

The Team Fabulous 2 Collab was where a community came together to honor the creator to one of the most recognized fanworks for a game that has stood the test of time. Like Sonic Rebuilt, it’ll never replace the original but god damn it’s like the stars aligned, especially after we were dealt with another loss this year, where we could appreciate TF2 for the culturally powerful game that it is.

5. Crash Bandicoot, It’s About Time

I’ll say again but this game feels like a dream. A good, fresh looking, fun to play Crash Bandicoot game that feels like the gamiest game this year after all the discourse surrounding Last of Us 2 and plenty other shit surrounding the game industry, Nintendo included. Like, I just gotta appreciate this. It’s by no means the greatest Crash game, the completion journey is horrifying, but my god it was a great game to jump into again and again. It feels like a testament to what Crash can be in the modern era and I certainly want more of it. Bugsnax is objectively game of the year if not Hades, but Crash 4 is my personal GOTY. 

4. Glitch Techs

It’s the gamer equivalent to Men in Black, that’s enough of a seller. From the people behind Fanboy & Chum Chum, it’s genius well-animated, realized, and not immediately dated. It’s a mind-boggling crime Nickelodeon isn’t treating this show better because it deserves recognition as an innovative idea. It does a lot right and it’s a worthwhile action series up there with Rise of the TMNT that’s worth the risk to give it more of an audience as opposed to just thinking it’ll be the next Spongebob. If it’s future is anything, I enjoyed this series and there’s nothing like it.

3. Wolfwalkers

This was an animated film with the most personality to me in a long while, with the most memorable look to it, compelling leads, and animation that really made its mark in the moments that mattered. I’ll agree with other reviewers that, outside Mebh who is the greatest and besterest girl of 2020, it's a simple story but it’s effectively simple. Beside the 3rd act which was noticeably long, the moments flow one after another fluently and you really get the struggle between two immediate friends that are shackled with responsibilities their parents didn’t want to put on them. Like Netflix’s Klaus, it all comes together like a beautifully seasonal tapestry. Worth watching and supporting is the best I can tell you for this film.

2. Elinor Wonders Why

This is my most personal of personal choice for the list; like True and the Rainbow Kingdom, it’s the one that helped pick me up after being in a slump for most of this year. I’ve always had an interest in understanding the fundamentals of nature, and this show encourages thinking about the wonders of science, where something as simple as a feather can make you wonder of its many shapes, abilities, and functionality. It appealed to me in the best way that it does more than represents your existence but deep down represents why you are the way you are with your interests and the flexibility of your outlook. I wish it was number one but it did enough to make the top of this list.

1. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken

I mean what else could be number one? This is the most ‘anime’ anime I have ever seen. The story, characters, and world building are at their most realized. I can’t imagine anyone other than Science Saru, with the based Yuasa, animating this with the style it has. Every episode is an engaging puzzle to every 4th episode where it all culminates with the in-universe final product of our Eizouken trio. It’s so compellingly meta it hurts as I could gush about every single detail that went into this series both in universe and the real behind the scenes. But what makes this the greatest is how nothing feels contrived, everything in this anime exists for something and the obstacles our characters face are things you’d definitely face in you were in there shoes. It’s energy is what really carried me through this year and I can safely say this is one of my all time favorites. And it really says don’t give up believing and working for better things to come, because if art like this can be made nearly flawlessly, it’s always worth carrying on to see something just as great if not greater. That’s why this is a masterpiece to me...

Then again...

[morbidmotive]

I've had the beginnings of an Animaniacs/Bob's Burgers crossover fic sitting in my docs for a LONG time, but I'm not sure if I should pursue it, so I'm posting the first two chapters under the cut so that I can if it's something anyone would read or not. (Keep in mind these are still only rough drafts)

Chapter 1

Inside the Warner Bros. water tower, Wakko and Dot were literally bouncing off the walls with excitement. Dr. Scratchansniff was going to New Jersey for a big counselling conference, ‘Council Con’, and he’d agreed to let the Warners come along if -and only if- they behaved themselves. The three siblings promised to be on their best behavior and so far - with the exception of typical excited child-like behavior - they had held up their end of the bargain.

“And we’ll be able to see above the clouds!”

“And we’ll get those little packets of pretzels!”

“And they’ll have those little trays that fold into the chair in front of you!”

“And our ears will get plugged from the air pressure and then they’ll pop when we land!”

“And we’ll get to stay in a hotel!”

Yakko sighed as he listened to his siblings excitedly jabber on about their plane ride the next morning. He couldn’t blame them for being excited, he was excited too - this was their first vacation, but he had gotten his excitement out in the weeks prior, and now he was focused on making sure the three of them were ready for the next day as his younger siblings rattled on and on and on about all of the things they'd get to experience during their first vacation. After an hour, their list hadn't made it past the plane ride, let alone the rest of the trip.

“Are you two all packed?” he interrupted, putting the last few items into his suitcase.

“Yes!” his siblings confirmed before going back to their excited chatter. Satisfied, Yakko zipped up his suitcase and wheeled it over next to Wakko’s and Dot’s luggage.

With a satisfactory nod at everything being prepared, he walked over to his siblings. “Okay, sibs, we should probably go to bed.”

"What?" Wakko whined in disappointment. He then ran to the tower door and threw it open. “But it's still light out!"

“Besides, we aren’t even tired yet! We’re way too excited to go to sleep now!” Dot agreed. “Please can we stay up?” Dot asked, clasping her hands together and giving her oldest brother her best puppy eyes. Wakko joined in too; between the two of them, Yakko was sure to give in! “Pleeeeeeaaaaaaase!?” they begged in unison as they slid onto their knees.

Yakko smirked. “Nice try you two, but it isn’t going to work. With as early as we need to get up tomorrow, I’m not going to want to try and drag you both out of bed and get you dressed in the morning.” As expected, he was met with two exasperated groans. “Think of it this way, sibs; would you rather spend the first day of our first vacation too tired to do anything, or, ahhhh, do you want to spend it having some fun?” Wakko and Dot were silent for a moment, but then begrudgingly agreed that Yakko was right. “Of course I am, that's why I'm the oldest," Yakko said with a triumphant smile. He took his sibling’s hands and pulled them to their feet before ushering them to the bedroom. “I know we’re all excited now, but we’ll be even more excited when we get there tomorrow.”

When they entered the bedroom the three siblings got changed for bed. Dot crawled into her bed as Yakko finished buttoning his pajama shirt. He then turned to Wakko, who was buttoning his pajama shirt very slowly.

Yakko sighed. "Wakko, hurry up."

The younger Warner brother groaned dramatically but did as he was told. Once he was done and had crawled into his hammock, Yakko turned off the light and collapsed into his ball-pit, seeking sleep.

They had a long day ahead of them.

Chapter 2

“And… GO!” Gene yelled, and he lifted the plank of wood that kept the crabs they were racing behind the starting line. The crabs began to scuttle down the racetrack they had drawn in the sand as the siblings cheered for them. Gene’s crab was taking the lead with Tina’s close behind, and Louise’s crab was trailing behind in last place.

“Come on, come on, I have a race to win!” Louise yelled, and her siblings followed in cheering for their crabs as well.

For a moment it looked as though Gene’s crab was going to win, but it then stopped and turned around before heading back to the starting line.

“No, Crabatha Christie, you’re going the wrong way!”

“Come on, Jennifer Crabniston, you’ve got this!”

“Pick up the pace, Pablo Escrabar, you’re so close!”

The three continued to cheer on their crabs as they scuttled in different directions, and in the end, Tina’s crab was the winner.

“Yes!” Tina exclaimed, “I win! I believe you two losers owe me five bucks.”

With groans of disappointment, Louise and Gene handed over the money.

“How dare you betray me like this, Crabatha Christie!” Gene said, looking over at his crab. “Aw, who am I kidding, I still love ya, girl.”

“Well I don’t.” Louise said, glaring at her own crab, “This is why you got caught, Pablo, THIS IS WHY YOU GOT CAUGHT!”

They watched as the crabs began to walk back to the ocean. “Well, there they go, back to their home," Tina said. "Speaking of which, we should probably head home too, it’s almost time for the dinner rush.”

“Oh yeah, Tina, it's such a rush.” Louise said sarcastically.

“I mean, you never know, stranger things have happened.” 

"For four seasons," Gene said.

Louise just groaned. "Fine, let’s go pretend to help mom and dad give Teddy his burger for the night."

…….

The Belcher kids walked into the restaurant and were surprised to see there were several customers inside, almost at full capacity. Their mom smiled over at them.

“Hey, you three!” She greeted excitedly. “So, who won the big race?”

“As a matter of fact, it was me.” Tina said with a proud smile.

“Aw, my little winner!” Linda said happily. Louise grumbled something about her crab losing on purpose to spite her.

Bob peaked through the serving window. “Hey kids, get washed up, it's time for the dinner rush and this time it actually is a rush.”

The kids walked to the back and washed their hands, and Tina grabbed her apron.

“What are all these people doing here, dad?” Tina asked.

“Isn't it great?” Bob asked excitedly, “Some people got food poisoning at Jimmy Pesto’s, so everyone came here instead. I mean, it's bad that someone got sick, but good that we get his customers.”

“That's the spirit, dad.” Louise said, heading out to the dining area.

“And don’t forget, we’re catering that psychiatry conference thing this weekend, you’ll need to be on your best behaviour. All three of you.” He then looked at his youngest child. “Especially you, Louise.”

“So does that mean that if we don’t behave we don’t have to go?”

“No, you’re definitely going.” Bob said, and went back to grilling the burgers.

Louise groaned. “Fine.”

“Who knows, Louise, it could be fun.” Tina said, trying to cheer up her younger sister. Louise scoffed.

“Yeah, Tina, I'm sure it’ll be sooo much fun.”

“It could be.” Gene said, walking out of the employee bathroom in his burger costume. “Maybe we’ll meet someone interesting and learn something; like how I just learned that I look even better in this burger suit with my pants off!”

“Gene put your pants back on!” Bob scolded.��

“No!”

“Besides, all those psychiatrists under one roof? Oh, I bet it’ll be like an episode of Frasier!”

“I love that show.” said a customer who was sitting in the booth next to Linda, and the two of them got into a deep conversation about the show while the kids were forced to go back to work.

[raeynbowboi]

Bob’s Burgers 10th Anniversary Retrospective

After ten years, Bob, Linda, and the Kids are just as delightfully wacky and endearing as they ever were, and show no signs of slowing down. So I wanted to put together an ultra mega review of the series. I’ll give an opinion on main and recurring characters, as with a cast this big, there’s been a lot of endearing characters to grace the show over the years. However, I will only be counting characters that have appeared more than once. After ten years, there’s been some real gems, and some real misfires. So, I’ll be counting down my top 10 best episodes, and the bottom 10 worst episodes. I’ll also go through as a Highlight Reel, by picking a best and worst episode of each season, as well as crowning the Best Season with the most good episodes.

Bob Belcher

Honestly, Bob was a very easy character to mess up. He’s the straight man to his wacky family’s antics. But the show does a really great job making Bob simple and lowkey without making him boring or a stick in the mud. He may be resistant to weird things, but he puts up with it anyway to make his family happy.  While he’s the serious straight man, they don’t fail to give Bob his own eccentricities and quirks that make him relatable and funny in his own way. Whether he’s making things talk, getting weirdly excited about Thanksgiving, or his awkward way of speaking, Bob is genuinely a good and relatable character. It’s also nice to see that Bob is a great husband and a loving father. He and Linda argue from time to time, but they’re not trapped in a loveless marriage for the kid’s sake like most shows. And even shows where that’s not a selling point like American Dad, Bob shows more remorse for things like forgetting their anniversary than Stan does for Francine. Bob is supportive, loving, and forgiving. Which is just amazing to watch. The times when his kids really need him, he’s there for them, and he helps them through their problems. While Bob might fight with and get mad with or annoyed by his family, Bob never treats them like people he’s stuck with. Frankly, Bob blows most animated TV dads out of the water. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Stan or Francine give quiet supportive talks to Steve or Hayley ever in American Dad. Peter used to at least try to be a decent father, but now is a negligent toddler. Likewise, Homer used to be a great father who cared about his kids, but later seasons have really stepped away from the family angle the Simpsons used to have. In a sea of adult animated families that are toxic and destructive, Bob’s genuine love for his family came as a breath of fresh air.

Linda Belcher

Linda is by far the best Adult Animation TV mom there is. For one thing, she’s funnier than Francine, Lois, and Marge combined. But more importantly, she’s not the butt of the joke when it happens. I can only really remember laughing at Francine when they make dumb blonde jokes with her, but Linda’s jokes come from her character. She could have easily been the gender inverted Homer or Peter, but the writers are careful to make her gullible, trusting, and goofy without making her a moron. When the kids do something wrong, Linda busts out the tough mom act and you genuinely believe that the kids are in trouble. She’s not faking it. She’s not off in her own little world. She’s a bit of a goofy dreamer, but she’s able to be the tough disciplinarian when she needs to be. Her relationship with Bob is also better than most adult animation wives. She’s more independent than the other housewives, and even though her job is working with her husband, it never feels like it robs Linda of her own power, autonomy, and freedom. But the best thing about Linda is that I think most people can agree, she has an extremely strong and charming personality that endears us to her.

Tina Belcher

I really wish I could say I liked Tina more. She’s a creative romantic, just like me. I should love her. But her monotone deliveries and awkwardness isn’t as endearing as Bob’s. I like her better in episodes like Teen-A Witch and Broadcast Wagstaff School News where she has a bit stronger of a personality. But unfortunately, Tina is my least favorite member of the Belcher family, which isn’t to say that I hate her, she just doesn’t shine as bright as the rest of her family. She’s just not very funny or interesting on her own. But on the plus side, at least I don’t find Tina to be annoying or terrible except in the rare bad episode.

Gene Belcher

Gene is the only member of the family that can regularly get my dad to laugh, and with good reason. If he wasn’t such a well of nonsequitor punchlines, Gene would probably be the worst member of the family, but boy howdy do those random jokes pick up the slack. Gene is genuinely hilarious, even if I’d only rank him above Tina in terms of favoritism. However, I find that most Gene-centric episodes to be lackluster or below average. I think Gene’s best episode is probably Y Tu Ga-Ga Tambien, but of the best episodes, none really come to mind that specifically star Gene. Gene is really better suited for a supporting role, and his times as the star showcase why comic reliefs aren’t the main character. They’re support characters for a reason. That’s not to say Gene-centric episodes are terrible. They just tend to range from about average to bad. Though Y Tu Ga-Ga Tambien is a pretty good one.

Louise Belcher

Bob and Linda saved the best for last because Louise is the breakout star of the show. Funny, interesting, and the focus of many of the better episodes, Louise stands proudly on the first place podium with Linda in 2nd and Bob taking 3rd place. I think Louise’s strengths are especially due to her standoffish and naughty personality, which has lent itself to a lot of good character growth episodes. Season 10 Louise seems a lot more mature than Season 1 Louise. I think Louise works because while she does often have clever or sneaky solutions to problems, they don’t forget that she’s 9, so unlike Stewie, her age does present hurdles and barriers to her schemes and plans.

The Best and Worst of Bob’s Burgers

#10 WORST: Pro-Tiki/Con-Tiki (S6e15)

Why couldn’t Warren Fitzgerald just put that $100,000 into advertisements or to help Bob buy better equipment for his restaurant? My biggest issue with this episode isn’t the episode itself, it’s that the ending makes no sense. Warren wants to help Bob because he has a form of riches Warren lacks, and Bob doesn’t want a corporate sponsor to make changes to his brand. But why can’t Warren just give Bob the money to make choices he wants to make? They could stay as business partners, but Bob doesn’t have to sacrifice his personal vision for the restaurant. It’s just really frustrating when they’re both being too stupid and stubborn to see the obvious solution in front of their faces.

#10 BEST: Teen-a Witch (S7e03)

One of Tina’s best episodes, as someone who had a goth phase myself and dabbled a tiny amount in ‘witchcraft’, this episode brings back memories of high school and the desire to make the world what I wanted it to be. But on top of that, Tina with a backbone is when she really shines as a character, mostly because it means her humor isn’t being derived from her being awkward.

#9 WORST: Live and Let Fly (S9e05)

Mr. Frond embarrasses the kids, and they team up with Up-Skirt Kurt to get revenge against his sister and Mr. Frond. I’m not a fan of Kurt, so I already don’t care much about his feud with his sister, but I also just find the episode kind of boring. I don’t care about Kurt, I don’t care about his feud, and the kids call off their revenge, so that ends up not mattering either. Even Bob and Linda’s side plot is only middle-of-the-road quality for Bob’s Burgers.

#9 BEST: Wharf Horse/World Wharf II (S4e21-22)

The very first two-part episode Bob’s Burgers ever had, the season 4 finale is a great watching experience. It has some fun songs, funny character exchanges, suspenseful drama, and some heartfelt moments. It feels like a short movie, and that’s a good thing for a two-part episode to do. Even Fanny and Felix are interesting villains. But even after everything Felix did, I don’t find myself loathing him in later episodes, and that’s a hard thing to accomplish.

#8 WORST: Tina-Rannosaurus Wrecks (S3e07)

This is the only bad Tina episode where the problem isn’t Tina herself. My biggest issue with this episode is more just the subject matter. Bob lies for insurance reasons about who was driving his car, and the entire episode is just Bob and Tina digging a deeper and deeper hole for themselves. The solution to the issue is clever enough to redeem the episode somewhat, but the majority of the watching experience is just kind of an awkward dance of watching these two getting tangled up in a web of lies.

#8 BEST: The Taking of Funtime One Two Three (S9e02)

Bar none, this is the single best ‘Heist’ episode of Bob’s Burgers, and it’s kind of crazy that Bob’s Burgers has actually built a repertoire to where I can make a list of ‘heist’ episodes as an archetype. This one feels the most like an actual heist movie, and the ending is legitimately clever and unexpected. But even more than that, if you’re paying attention, you can see the twist before the characters even reveal it. That is the kind of tight writing that makes the list for best episodes.

#7 WORST: A Fish Called Tina (S10e12)

Tina spends an episode trying way too hard to make someone like her, to the point that she almost humiliates a 4th grader in public just so she can live out some fantasy. It’s really uncomfortable and sickening to watch Tina do this. This will be a recurring issue with Tina’s low-point episodes. There’s nothing fun about watching a character make a complete idiot out of themselves by coming on too strong. It even makes me groan when Kaylie shows up in another Season 10 episode because I don’t want to have to think about this awful episode.

#7 BEST: Stand By Gene (S6e12)

Something about this episode really just brings back memories of my childhood. Memories of walking through the outdoors, just exploring and wanting to find things. The characters are funny, and Bob and Linda’s relationship is put to the test. Plus, I loved that for the entire episode, you don’t know how it’ll end. It really makes this a personal favorite and one of the episodes I knew had to make it on my list.

#6 WORST: The Grand Mama-Pest Hotel (S7e13)

Linda ruins things for Tina by being an overbearing annoyance. Are you noticing a trend with Bob’s Burgers’ worst episodes? I don’t like it when good characters make complete jackasses out of themselves in the name of ‘humor’. It’s not funny. It’s annoying and makes me dislike them. Thankfully, the worst of it is only in the latter half of the 2nd act and the entire third act, but Linda’s behavior just makes me cringe and ask why they had to do Linda dirty like this? It just puts me even more squarely on the side that Tina is entirely in the right and I don’t want to deal with Lind either.

#6 BEST: Broadcast Wagstaff School News (S3e12)

From Tina at her lowest point to Tina at her best, Broadcast Wagstaff School News is my favorite episode of the first 5 seasons. Tina’s funny and engaging, Gene is absolutely shining as Little Bob, and while Louise and Linda play supporting roles in this episode, they’re still funny as well. Plus, the mystery is a good one, and this episode is even referenced in later seasons.

#5 WORST: Mazel-Tina (S4e13)

Tina ruins Tammy’s birthday and steals her party. This is Tina at rock bottom. Tina is so despicable, cruel, and selfish in this episode that it reminds me that behind that creative awkward girl is a selfish brat who doesn’t care if she hurts other people if she can live out her fantasies. If other episodes didn’t rescue Tina from being so unlikable, I probably would hate Tina as a character entirely for her behavior in this episode.

#5 BEST: The Silence of the Louise (S8e02)

Movie parodies are some of the best, and The Silence of the Louise is the queen of all the movie parodies. When Mr. Frond’s therapy dolls are mutilated, and the school staff calls off the waterpark trip until the culprit is caught, Louise teams up with psycho Millie to figure out whodunnit. This is also one of the first time Millie wasn’t strictly an antagonist, and she genuinely felt like someone who could be Louise’s friend someday.

#4 WORST: Boywatch (S8e16)

Tina ruins things for other people by coming on too strong. The only reason this is ranked higher than Mozel-Tina is because in that episode, she just wanted to be at the party, and just kind of ended up as the star of the party and let it go to her head, whereas here, she is actively ruining things for other people in pursuit of her own delusions and fantasies. Tina has no desire to be a junior lifeguard, but cute boys causes her to behave like a troublemaker. She’s entirely out of character, and her teammates’ hate for her behavior is something I agree with. I don’t want to hate the main characters, so why does this show keep pushing to make Tina a nuisance who ruins experiences for other people?

#4 BEST: The Quirkducers (S7e06)

If the Silence of the Louise is the queen of film parodies, then The Quirkducers is the king. Not only is it a clever parody of The Producers, but it also has some damn good musical numbers, especially the edited end credit version. But it’s Tina’s song at the end that stands as one of my favorites of all Bob’s Burgers’ songs.

#3 WORST: Bed & Breakfast (S1e07)

If a Fish Called Tina is bad, then Bed & Breakfast is flaming garbage. Linda turns their apartment into a Bed and Breakfast, and Linda goes berserk when the guests don’t play into her expectations. This episode verges from below average to detestable as Linda goes insane and locks people in their rooms, and Louise drives a grown man to attack workers by preying on his fear. 

#3 BEST: The Hauntening (S6e03)

This is hands-down the best Halloween episode that Bob’s Burgers ever made. This show turns out some amazing holiday episodes, and this is one of the best the Belchers have to offer. I won’t dare give away anything about this episode. If you’ve seen it, you know why it’s top of the heap, and if you haven’t, then all I can say is what are you waiting for? Delayed gratification has to pay off eventually.

#2 WORST: Every Which Way But Goose (S9e14)

Tina falls in love with a goose. Who smoked crack before writing this episode, and who huffed enough paint thinner to approve this episode for production? This is the absolute dumbest concept for an episode I have ever come across. Who thought this was a good idea? I can’t even pinpoint the flaws because this entire episode is just so flawed. At least Mazel-Tina and Boywatch enrage me. This just baffles me.

#2 BEST: A Few Gurt Men (S7e11)

When Mr. Ambrose accuses Mr. Frond of stealing his yogurt from the faculty lounge, the case is brought before student court, and Louise is tasked with acting as Defense Council for Mr. Frond. One thing Bob’s Burgers does well is mysteries, and this is a good one as Louise has to figure out a way to prove Frond’s innocence. This is just an absolute personal favorite. Every character is just on point, and I get excited when the episode starts to que up.

#1 WORST: Moody Foodie (S2e07)

Did you ever want to watch the Belchers commit a felony? Then boy howdy do I have an episode for you! A picky food critic responsible for shutting down restaurants comes to Bob’s Burgers. Bob messes up the order, and a visit to the critic’s house to get him to try his burger again leads to a hostage situation with the critic tied to a chair and gagged in his own home. Words cannot describe the depth to which I hate this episode. The entire episode feels dirty and vile. I feel the need to scrub my skin raw after sitting through this episode. The instant I realize that it’s come on, I skip the the next one. I have literally only sat through this episode once. This episode disgusts me. This episode has the main character, abduct somebody in their own home. Then they take a second hostage when a mailman delivers the guy’s package. Luckily, Bob’s Burgers has a lot of good episodes to make up for this one bad egg, but this episode enrages me to the point that if the family wasn’t so charming and endearing most of the time, I might have stopped watching based just on this one episode.

#1 BEST: The Bleakening: Part 1 & 2 (S8e06-07)

The first time I saw these episodes, they played back to back without any credits in between them, and I thought it was one episode, and I didn’t even realize it was the length of two episodes. Between the amazing songs, the brain bending twists, the creative creature, the dark elements that contrast the bright lights of the holidays, and the uplifting ending, this pair of episodes stands paramount as the single greatest viewing experience that Bob’s Burgers has to offer.

Favorite Friend of the Kids: Regular-Sized Rudy

First appearing in Carpe Museum, Rudy came back in The Kids Rob a Train, where he has remained a friend of the kids since. Rudy was the first to join the kids if you don’t count Andy and Ollie who seem to dip in and back out as to whether they’re included in the friend group. Rudy was thus the first to be made a main member of the kids’ friend group.

Favorite Schoolyard Seven: Jocelyn

The Schoolyard Seven is the friend group of the three Belchers, Jimmy Jr., Zeke, Tammy, and Jocelyn. Not counting the Belchers, it was a close call between Zeke and Jocelyn. Tammy and Jimmy Jr. tend to be typecast as serving one niche thing, but Zeke and Jocelyn are often the comedic gold. However, while Zeke is more interesting of the two, I just enjoy Jocelyn too much to not give her the win. Even if Jocelyn’s humor is just a walking dumb blonde trope, like Gene, Jocelyn has a knack for funny one-liners. If the groups has another name, I’m not privy to it.

Favorite Friend of the Family: Micky

Though he’s less connected to the family now, Micky has been a friend to the Belchers since Bob Day Afternoon, and returning in Bob Fires the Kids. Since his introduction, Micky has gotten a job at Wonder Wharf, where he has remained since.

Favorite Recurring Villain: Logan Bush

First appearing in Ears-y Rider, Logan has been a fun and interesting frenemy for Louise to match wits with. In a show where most other villains are the same age as the main characters (Millie, Tammy, Chloe, Jimmy Pesto, Hugo) Logan stands out as a legitimate bully. Yet, even he was willing to work with Louise in Mother-Daughter Laser Razor, showing that there is wiggle room for the two of them to even join forces and spread havoc together.

Favorite Tina Love Interest: Duncan

Earnest if not a little awkward, Duncan seems like a sweet boy for Tina to possibly end up with. Sasha Whiteman is another character I could easily see being a good boyfriend to Tina because his quick wit and social graces make him a great foil to Tina, and he excels where Tina falls short. Zeke has a good chance to be a good boyfriend, but Tina still spits his name when she greets him, so I doubt she’d take interest in him unless something happens to change their dynamic. I liked Josh, but now that he’s said he doesn’t like her anymore and she agreed that she feels the same, I doubt we’re going to see them date further in the future.

Favorite Side Character: Nat Kinkle the Limo Driver

First appearing in Season 8 episode 8 V for Valentine-detta, I must not be the only fan of Nat’s because she made two appearances in the 10th season, in episode 1 The Ring (But Not Scary) and episode 17 Just the Trip. Currently with only 3 appearances, she’s still only a side character, but I get the feeling that like with Rudy, Courtney, Darrel and Alex before her, Nat will keep becoming a more frequent character. She just has a great vibe, and her charisma is intoxicating. She meshes great with the family, making her an absolute delight to watch.

Favorite Bit Character: Marshmallow

Although she’s appeared in multiple episodes since her introduction in Sheesh, Cab Bob, Marshmallow has never gotten much more than a couple lines, with her biggest role being in The Bleakening where she had more to say. She was also the first major LGBT+ recurring character on the show, which also made her a joy to see, whenever she returned to Bob’s Burgers.

Favorite Headcanon: Gene is Genderfluid

Gene’s jokes have been centered on his gender or sexuality since the first season finale. A joke once in a while is one thing, but ten years of the same sorts of jokes tells the sharp viewer that there’s more to it than just a running gag. With how many jokes have Gene talk about having boobs, synching his cycle, or calling himself Tina and Louise’s sister or Bob and Linda’s daughter, it’s my opinion that Gene is genderfluid, or possibly even transgender. The only reason I say genderfluid over a transgirl is because he still also addresses himself as a boy or a man as much as he does girl jokes.

Best Song: Twinkly Lights (Ms. XXX-Mas)

Not only does Toddrick Hall absolutely kill this performance, but I also love the meaning of the song about POC inclusivity and pride in the LGBT+ community. As the final song in The Bleakening, it’s one hell of a closing number, and I can’t help but dance in my seat whenever it plays. I’ve even listened to it independent from watching the show, and honor I don’t bestow on every song.

Best Episode Archetypes:

The Best Heist: The Taking of Funtime One Two Three

The Belcher kids have stolen a number of things. Chocolate, a bounce house, but the absolute creme de la creme of their heists is the procuring of the Dunebuggy from Family Funtime. When Family Funtime unplugs the macchines whenver the kids get too many tickets from them, the kids decide to pull off the heist of a century to make off with the biggest prize of the arcade: the dune buggy.

The Kids Tell An Anthology: Moms, Lies, and Videotapes

From the Gayle Tales to The Handyman Can, the kids have told a number of anthology stories, but the most impressive of the bunch is their stories of the mother’s day plays into three interesting stories. Though true to form, Gene’s is the weakest of the three, as his usually are. I don’t recall any time when his anthology was the best of the kids’, but then, Gene is not the most creative of the three children. His best story is probably in The Frond Files where his story’s world is colorful and fun to observe.

Best Musical Episode: The Bleakening

Not only do these episodes have a lot of musical numbers, but there is not a single one that doesn’t hit a home run. But more importantly, the entire episode is a musical, with each number helping to tie and bridge together the narrative, which is the entire purpose of musical numbers in a proper musical, which makes this the single best musical episode mainly because it’s the only episode that’s a true blue musical.

Best Holiday Episode: The Hauntening

With The Bleakening already taking the top spot for musical episodes, that leaves the Miss Congeniality of the holiday episodes to take the crown. I didn’t spoil anything about this episode above, and I won’t say a thing about it now. This episode is solid gold.

Best Film Parody: The Quirkducers

Not only is this episode clever in the way it uses its source material, but the family all have moments to shine despite the stars being Louise and Gene. The show also makes good use of the Schoolhouse Seven (the main group of the Belcher Kids, Jimmy and Zeke, and Tammy and Jocelyn), and each of them brings something great to the episode. It undoubtedly earned its place in the top 10, and will likely hold its place for years to come.

[popculturebuffet]

Top 12 Christmas Episodes!

Merry Christmas Eve Everybody! We’ve reached the end of my christmas reivews and what not on this blog. 

But as a wise barrel chested canadian man once said, I fucking love christmas, So if i’m finishing up the holiday on my blog I want to go big and stay home. So in honor of the holiday, my memories of it and just how GREAT it makes me feel i’m counting down my top 12 christmas specials! After last year’s worst of list I really wanted to do the oppsiite.. but it was naturally a lot harder. Shows usually put a LOT of effort into their christmas outings, even the ones who do so once a year, so the good FAR FAR OUTWEIGHS THE BAD. To show the contrast I could only find like.. 8 I was comfortable with putting on the worst list and even some of them aren’t that bad just not good. With the best of list? I had over 60 considered and even once I started narrowing down.. it was still around 30 or 40 REALLY GOOD specials I had to work down into this list. It took a lot of work and up to the last one it was really HARD to cut it down this far. But this is the best of the best of the best of the best of the.. you get the bit. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover and this review was already supposed to come out on christmas eve, so, since I won’t be able to use this for another year...

Er. Top 12 Christmas Specials.

12. Merry Christmas Johnny Rose (Schitt’s Creek) So I finally watched all of Schitt’s Creek this year.. and i’m kicking myself for not powering through it’s terrible starting decent ending first season earlier because the show is easly one of the best comedies of the last decade and rightly earned it’s emmy sweep this year. Heartfelt, hilarious, and starring some of the best names old and new in comedy, the show is really great and I recommend checking it out.. just again be aware the first few episodes are not very good and if it wasn’t vital to the rest of the show story wise, i’d just recommend skippping season 1. While the characters minus patriach Johnny are insuferable at first... it’s their growing from self absorbed assholes to still self abosrbed but really good and decent people that is the beating heart of the show. And no where more is this heart on the show’s sleve than at christmas time as this episode is baked in just how far our cast have come.

The episode centers on Johnny Rose, played by Eugene Freaking Levy who co created the show with his equally talented son Dan who desrves the lion’s share of the credit for the show’s upturn in quality. Since the Roses used to have big lavish christmas parties once a year, Johnny decides to throw the equilvent of what they can do on a budget at the Motel they all live in. But his family all has other plans with daughter Alexis, now happily with Ted again, meeting his friends for the first time, son David, played by Dan Levy, busy at his store with his partner, in both senses, patrick and his wife Moira having a performance with her acapella group. At first it just comes off as something typical of johnny: Something well meaning and what not but ultimatley just not something his family is into or that he planend well for.

It’s only when Johnny finds himself alone at the local diner with Moira coming to see him we find out why he’s REALLY doing this: the old lavish parties, which we see one of at the start.. ultimately ended up with him alone, sad and everyone off to their own corners. WIth the family having actually come together over the past 4 seasons, Johny simply wanted to celebrate that and says such in one of the best moments in the entire show and with one hell of a line.

"I just thought, in spite of all the hardship, we found ourselves coming together, the kids, you and me, as a family. And it just seemed like the perfect day to celebrate that. The perfect day for a Rose Family Christmas Party." But Moira has already taken care of it and thus takes JOhnny home to find all their friends and the rest of the family gathered, wtih the Jazzagals serandading eveyrone with a beautiful rendition of silent night. It’s just a warm, well done character piece that really fits the holiday while also really cementing what the show had become: a show not afraid to make dirty jokes or humilatie it’s cast but one that has a true sweetness to it. It’s only that the first half’s jokes don’t quite pop all that well and feel a bit at johnny’s expense that holds it back. Otherwise this is one i’ll be coming back to every year.

11. Father of the Bob (Bob’s Burgers) Bob’s Burgers is a damn great show i’m season’s behind on. Warm, charming, weird and with an expansive side cast played by a whos who of whose in comedy today. It’s a damn fine show and i’m happy it seems to have manatained it’s quality long after the simpsons and family guy lost theirs. And the show really loves christmas.. and halloween.. and valentine’s day.. and thanksgiving. Oh god does it love thanksgiving. Point is, the shows good at holiday episodes and loves doin em and has produced some stellar ones and I had a lot to pick from here.. but I ended up going with my gut and my personal faviorite. It’s not the most christmasy despite the trappings, but the character work is just too good to leave it out in the cold.  It’s Christmas Eve and the Belcher’s are visiting Bob’s Dad. As you can tell by the fact the most we’ve seen of him is a picture of his restraunt, big bob’s diner in the belcher’s living room and a flashback where he told bob to work instead of play as a kid that set off an episode’s plot, they don’t have the best relationship. Bob has a firm rule about not spending more than 15 minutes with his dad, as that’s the point they run out of things to talk about and his dad starts getting overcrytical and making jabs at bob’s life and restraunt. Linda, being Linda, decides to meddle and when she finds out Big Bob’s short order cook is missing, has our Bob fill in.  But as we see in flash backs it’s not THAT easy to repair things, as there’s a long, bitter history between the two: When a youngbob made his first unique burger and served it to a customer, his dad threw it out without even letting anyone taste it. He then offered bob a partnership when bob was a young man but Bob snapped at Big Bob in front of his friends and left to make burgers his own way, leading to where we are now. And honestly i’ts the perfect origin story for Bob and adds a lot of shades to his character. He’s obessed with the restraunt not just because he genuinely loves cooking but because it’s HIS. His place, to create creative burgers, his family and his regulars. It’s his corner of the sky. It makes the restraunt’s existance and surivvial that much more heartwarming to know the meaning behind it.

Naturally things end up blowing up with Bob pointedly serving the burger to make a point and Big bob walking out angrily and sadly. It takes bob’s gift from the kids, who had their own neat subplot of making gifts for bob in the basement, a snowglobe wrapped in newspaper.. to find out hsi dad kept the newspaper with the review of his first restraunt and kept ALL reviews of Bob’s Burgers. Despite being a stone faced critical ass on the outside, Big BOb STILl cared.. and bob relizes he needs to make amends and actually make an effort instead of just avoiding his dad or gettin gback at him. And through the power of gay club next door line dancing, and nick offerman whose a wonderful guest star here, the two reconcile with Bob admitting he shouldn’t of humilatied his dad even if he had to go his own way, and Big Bob admitting he’s hard to work with, the loss of his wife hit him hard, and he was a bit too much. The two hug, and it’s genuinely just a good, well done story of father and son that somehow gives even more dimension to Bob, an already pretty damn fleshed out character. Just a really great episode whose holiday timing makes it better.. though not being AS much a holiday episode as a really good bob’s burgers that’s enhanced by it is why this one’s so low. Next!

10. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (MST3K) I”m honestly surpised i’ts taken me THIS long to get to something MST3K related. I’ve loved the show since high school, first exposed to it thanks to a dvd from the library and continuing from there to present day. I love the show’s combination of riff’s on perfectly cheesy movie and fun skits with really good puppets especially for the budget. It’s just good comfort food in show form and no where is comfort food more welcome than christmas, and each era of MST3K, so far hopefully the show will come back again eventually, has had i’ts own damn good christmas special, with this being my faviorite out of the three. 

The other two are good: ironically I have a poster for the santa claus over my computer, or rather crow and tom as santa and pitch aka satan respectively. Yes really, that’s the premise. IT is as awesome and batshit insane as it sounds. Point is I like that one and year without a santa claus, this one just has more personal warmth to me. I jus tlove the holiday feeling of joel and the bots readying for christmas in the host segments. It just feels like christmas and it’s wonderful to see the bots act like kids.  That being said.. it’s still also fucking hilaroius, with the mad’s hilariously petty wish squisher, a device that turns good gifts into socks and other unwanted presents, the best Crow T Robot quote of all time as he gives joel his santa wish

And of course, one of the best and most patently insane christmas songs ever: Have Yourself a Patrick Swayze christmas, which has become oddly sweet after his death and got me to watch road house for the first time last year... and it’s as awesome and wonderfully rediclous as this song inspiried by it and even better once you get the refrences

But while the host segments are what push this film into the list, the movie is still a delightful bit of 60′s cheese as, to restore their children to being children, a couple of martians kidnap santa to bring christmas to mars. Fights iwth robots, an asshole martian and an obnoxious sidekick named droppo, yes really, insue. IT’s just some fun cheese for the holiday and a staple of my holidays. 

9. The Three Wise Men (Letterkenny)  It’s no secret Letterkenny has quickly become one of my faviorite shows. After watching it last January, it’s become part of my being and one of my go too feel good shows, a funny as hell, uniquely weird slice of life show set in rural canada. While like it’s fellow recent legend of canadian television Schitt’s creek it’s first season CAN be a bit rough.. but it’s not as rough and getting through it is worht it as the show immiedatly picked up and became one of the funniest things to ever exist. It’s also uniquely tied to christmas as every year a season of the show has dropped on that day on it’s home streamer Crave TV in canada, and on boxing day here in the us. So it’s only fitting the show also has a REALLY great christmas special. 

It’s Christmas eve and our heroes the hicks, are having a christmas party. For the uniniated the hick’s aren’t really all that “hick” ish just hardworking farmers who still accept everybody and work damn hard. Leading man, terse talker and certified badass Wayne is suprisingly really into christmas, as he spent pretty much every holiday spouting out inacuracies about it but this day? He genuienly enjoys, even insiting on awful holiday drinks only and a midnight toast, the titular three wiseman (Canadian, irish and American Whiskeys, one shot of each). “It’s tradition”.  And thanks to tradition we get the main gag of the episode: most of the episode is wayne calling in various members of the town, most of whom he dosen’t like very much and some who deeply annoy him, to give them presents. And  while i’ve admitted to being a guy who dosen’t like a plot that basically repeats itslef.. it works here.. mostly because while the setup is the same, each member provides something new and hilarious: while it starts innocently enough with Bonnie Mcmurray, local fanservice, nice lady and fangirl of wayne, getting a camera and offering to be an elf, an offer wayne is forced to take up, it soon becomes a parade of weirdness and bullshit Wayne really dosen’t want to put up with and that really makes me laugh hard: Local loveable sex maniac and bar owner Gail goes on for a good minute about her sexual antics with Wayne’s beloved departed uncle eddie after Wayne gives him a picture of the guy, Glenn, another of wayn’es unwanted admirers and local pastor, obsesses over a christmas themed digeredoo, local druggies and emos the skids intitally refuse to open their gift out of prinicpal until wayne simply asks “What if theres drugs in it” (It’s insted vitamin d), the local hockey coach sings a hilarious and gloriously cringe song about having sex with his wife when they were alive and the hockey players make wayne uncomfortable both by crying a bit. Also tanis gets an apron. 

But even if the reactions horrify or piss off our hero into needing his elf’s help, the heart is in the fact that despite hating most of these people, he still got them a gift and one that’s hearfelt and well meaning. And naturally the sweetest is saved for his family of choice with the hicks: Squirrely Dan gets a pencil case for his oft talked about women’s studies class, Dary gets some clonge since he wears his barn clothes everywhere, and Katy gets an obscure korean christmas movie since her subplot that episode had been spent trying to get a christmas movie going, only for everyone to pick it apart: from the racisim of santa and co towards rudolph to pointing out how profoundly fucked up the premise of the santa claus is (including the fact various serial killers could’ve gotten the suit), which I agree with, it’s just a sweet gesture that shows how well he knows his friend. Overall it’s just a fun hangout of an episode that feels like a real christmas party and in these troubling times we could all use that. Now let’s all have a spit.

8. The Feast of Alvis (Sealab 2021) Another Christmas staple for me.. and a gloriously strange one at that. This time we’re checking under the sea with Sealab 2021, one of the earliest adult swim shows and the blueprint for the abriged series format, it took a dry hannah barbara show about an underwater research station and remixed it into the antics of a bunch of idiots and lunatatics throughuly unequipped for the task. Except Dr. Quinn, the only sane person aboard.. most of the time. It was comedy gold courtsey of Adam Reed, creator of the later Frisky Dingo, a throughly underated show, and Archer, which is like Frisky Dingo but refined into it’s truest and most sucessful form. It was magical and just talking about it makes me want to talk about it again at some point, probably in a best of list.  So naturally this madcap energy was perfect for the holidays. Originally the crew planned to use ACTUAL religions for this, but were forced by network to change it.. which ended up being one of those cases where the network ended up actually making the right call as the creators instead created thinly veiled substute for the various religions... and centered it around Alavanism, which is christianity.. but if christ was instead born in the us at some point, and instead of being a pacifist, was a drunken beligernt gun loving redneck who shot a guy in the face, has “vengance is mine” as one of his quotes (from said face shooting) and still had pomp and circumstance as part of his holiday.  Helping this though is our Alvian for the evening is Captain Murphy, the series best character and often the center of it’s best moments, played by the wonderful and sadly late Harry Goz, a half crazed half chidlish cloud cuckoolander who often comes off like a demanding child in an old man’s body. So naturally this holiday is for him and even more naturally he’s holding a massive alvis day cermeony that’s as batshit as he and his religion are in the main deck: he’s got buffalo, a buffet that’s deeply unsanitary, and a hallogen light mimickign the alvistide star that he wants to plop a baby under.  Naturally no one else is happy about this. Well Stormy, local hilarious dumbass, is as the only other alvian on board for this, and a general sucker for dumb shenanigans but he’s so plastared he’s even less coherent than usual and can mostly muster the desire to kick something’s ass or a weak “shut up” Most of all Quinn and his girlfriend debbie, who point out religious tolerance is a part of the sealab charter and that this kind of grotesuqe celebration really isn’t in season. I’ts also a nice dig at “War on Christmas Assholes”, long before that was as big a problem with Muprhy very much being the asshole and his cleebration rapidly crumbling. He also attempts to fire Sparks for being a wiccan stand in so yeah he deserves it. It’s all capped in Muprhy getting visted by a drunken halucination of his lord. All in all easily one of the best and most insane christmas specials ever put to film. If you have HBO Max watch it today or tommorow you will NOT regret it. 

7. Arnold’s Christmas (Hey Arnold)  A classic of my childhood, Hey Arnold is one of the best animated shows period. It’s something i’m not shy about saying, I bleivie I said it in my thanksgiving list and i’ll say it quite a bit. It’s not PERFECT, it has it’s flaws.. but it’s still damn good and the golden standard for slice of life shows. 

This episode naturally is one of it’s best and, while I didn’t catch as a kid the signifigance or what this was about, touches on of all things the vietnam war and the children who were helicoptered out. In a heart destroying story, Mr. Winn, one of Arnold’s boardinghousemates, reveals he has a daughter he has no idea where she is as to give her a better life, he made sure she got on one of those helicopters as an infant. While he was able to immigrate later, he never found her. Arnold being our own personal jesus, refuses to let this stand and goes out of his way to figure it out and goes on a quest that seemingly ends in failure. It falls on Helga to save the day as Helga actually gets what she wanted from her parents, a pair of nice boots, and gets the rare moment where they actually acknoledge her.. but loving arnold and seeing the noblility in his quest.. she gives it up. Just to make someone elses’ dream come true. He may never know who did it and tha’ts okay. An utterly heartwarming and heartbreaking episode. Nuff said. 

6. Santa Claus is Comin To Town  Speaking of classics this is how you do a santa origin story. Not the first or last i’d see, and we’ll get to one of those in a moment. While i’m not a huge fan of Rankin Bass’ other big hit with Rudolph, this one really hits the spot for me and is only this low because it’s pacing is really slow at points. Otherwise this special is near flawless, looks good and holds up today.  As I said this is a good Year One for santa establishing how he became immortal, how he met the elves, he was raised by them, how he started giving out toys, how he met mrs claus you know all the stuff you’d ask about.  To me what really sells it the best though is Mickey Rooney as Santa. While I had no idea who played him till literally writing this article in my mind his earnesness, kindness and genuine nature just.. fit the old elf to me even as a young man and everything from his humble beginings to his wanting to help children just out of kindness to his teaching an old man to dance to his romance just feels.. genuine and warm like christmas should. It just makes me feel good and like others on this list.. FEELS like christmas if that makes any sense. Not a lot else to say. Burger Meister Meisterburger isn’t the best vilian, but it was the early 70′s and we weren’t quite to diamond levels of complex interesting villians just yet so fair enough. Baiscally I don’t have a TON to say about this special in short, I may review it next year, we’ll see, but  it’s really good, really fun and sometimes simple just works I guess? Speaking of stop motion..

5. Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas (Community) I love a good sitcom. I haven’t shared that love enough on here, I should try and change that at some point, but I do, as a fourth of this list should make crystal clear. So while sadly some of my faviorites like Brooklyn Nine Nine, Parks and Rec and Roseanne didn’t make the cut, Community thankfully did. Community is a show that’s really damn good and had THREE awesome Christmas episodes. All three, all winners and all in contention for some time. Regional Holiday music just barely didn’t make the cut. But ultimately I went with the best of the best, the most creative, most character driven, and most intresting. And the one that in Community’s traditional style, decided to take a spin on an old genre.  In this case Abed, the study groups resident pop culture junkie, guy who thinks in tropes and future Huey Duck, is seeing everything in stop motion and may get thrown out of school as a result. With his friends deeply worried, they turn to Greendale’s local psychologist and british areshole Professor Duncan, played by my spirtual father John Oliver. ALL HAIL THIS MAN

Duncan takes the two into Abed’s fantasy and thus into a rankin bass special where Abed slowly weeds out his friends and tries to get rid of Duncan, whose naturally only intrested in proving a case. It’s a fun, chaotic ride including christmas pterodactyls, and the cast all in bizzare forms based on what Abed thinks of htem. it’s really damn creative and beauitfully animated at that.  Naturally like most of these what clinches it is the heart and soul. We find out towards the end WHy this happened: Abed’s mom is spending christmas with her new family instead of him and it’s broken him to not be able to watch specials like they do> Thus the group rally behind their friend, beat duncan in a wonderful christmas number and watch specials with their buddy, as the weird ass family some of whom have or will make out, they are. 

4. A Charlie Brown Christmas With my love of comic strips and sentiment, it should suprise absolutely no one this is on here. I love peanuts and have only grown to love it more over hte years for it’s mealancholy, finely constructed cast and weird bits people forget about like Snoopy’s disco phase, that really damn good arc where his house burned down, his brother stealing his fiance only to have her stolen from him, the fact Lucy threw Linus out once, that peppermint patty was once held back a grade and her snores took her place at her desk, the fact there was a character named 5, Charlie Brown and Linus’ friend roy who introduced peppermint patty to the cast, the fact a character named crybaby boobie exists, the fact there are specials devoted to a pastiche of call of the wild, a friend of linus’ getting cancer, and Flashbeagle. Just flashbeagle. 

It is glorious. And I really need to add that to my review queue.. maybe for late january. Seriously, tis glorious. And I OWN this one. So yeah. What were we talking about? Oh yes the special that made all the specials, especially flashbeagle, possible: A Charlie Brown Christmas This one has always been part of my life, but even beyond it’s signifigance to me, having grown up with it and grafted it to my soul, it’s just .. good. It has some good commentary on the consumrisim of the holiday with Charlie Brown rightly a bit upset about it and ending up roped into directing a christmas play. Great gags, and charlie brown trying to stick up for a scragly tree no one enlse likes insue. Oh and scripture as this is probably the only overtly religious special on the list. Not that ther’es anything wrong with not being religious and celebrating christmas: i’m not anymore but I still do and while I respect people who celebrate the holiday int he spirit of christ I have none for people who bash anyone who dosen’t just see it religiously and whose over zealous about it. Your just as bad as war on christmas people and you should feel bad.  But yeah overal it’s just an inconic special whose clunkyness in production and audio just adds some charm to it. It shows it’s age.. but only in the animation and production values, which is just.. charming. It’s message is timeless, it’s characterization is perfect as you’d expect from peanuts in it’s prime, and i’ts ending is truly heartmelting. If you’ve never seen this one.. just go do that. I can wait. 

3. How Santa Stole Christmas! (Ducktales)  I”ll be brief on this one as, since it only aired a few weeks ago, i’ve already done a full review on it. But I will justify why such a recent special is this high up: because it’s just that good. It may of JUST been aired, but it’s as good as anything else here and age dosen’t matter. Quality does. There will likely be future specials worth this list i’m sure but for this moment in time this one earns it. It has Santa perfectly charactrized and tells an utterly heartrending story of friendship that ends up ending simply because the two are moving in opposite directions and of Scrooge learning the meaning of christmas. Not thorugh the ghosts, they already brilliantly messed with that one. It’s just really fantastic, gets the christmas spriit perfectly and uses the characters just as flawlessly. I will defintely be watching this one every year. Just a warm, creative, funny as hell special. 

2. Comfort and Joy (Justice League) Speaking of reviews I held off reviews of my final two so I could save more thoughts here. I probably still will review them eventually, especially this one, I just felt i’d be repeating myself or have to be brief like the last one. But yeah this one slaps. The Justice League cartoon is easily one of the best superhero cartoons, if not superhero properties, period. Taking the base already built in from the previous three dcau cartoons, this one builds out the world and expands it , and introduced a young me to my lifelong loves of Martian Manhunter, The Flash and especailly the green lanterns with John Stewarts badass reciting of the oath easily etched in my brain. The only reason he isn’t my faviorite lantern is because mogo exists.. aka the lantern that is a living planet. 

You can see why. But yeah Jon stuck in my mind. So it’s probably no suprise that the christmas special heavily featuring all three. It’s Christmas Time and after the league stops it’s usual disaster, they head off for their usual holiday activities. Batman and Wonder Woman are missing, but it’s fine. While I love both, especailly DCAU Batman, the episode is probably better off not trying to shove them in there just for the sake of it. One of the show’s greatest strength’s was character ballance, not forcing EVERY member of the big 7 into every episode and just using whose needed and shuffling them in and out FAR BETTER than say, Ducktales. Point is this, much like being loved by anyone, was not unusual and it makes the episode tighter. Even more so since this is the ONLY half hour episode in the first two seasons, the rest are basically hour long episodes split into two parters, though still paced for being two episodes so it’s good.. and three movie length three parters for the premire, and the season finales. Fun Fact: As a kid I missed starcrossed and thus had to find out second hand, and barely at that, why hawkgirl was gone at the start of unlimited. I still have not seen it. I will correct this eventually. It was a diffrent time. 

So yeah this episode not only has a main character cast of 6, with 3 other major supporting characters, but is handily split into three amazing plot lines. The first has Green Lantern try to teach Hawkgirl how to have christmas fun by playing on a snowy world, while Hawkgirl takes him to a bar to show how she celebrates.. i.e. getting hammered and starting a fight. Nanananana, she’s gonna start a fight. It’s a fun really sweet segment, and some nice ship tease between the two.  The other two though are what make this special.. not that the first one is bad these two are just really inspiried for the characters involved: For the Flash, who in this series is both Wally and a bit of a smug quipster.. we see beneath the ego and flirting he’s really a sweet, caring guy and spends his christmas finding a toy for the orphans in this case a rapping duck. 

Not QUITE as embarassing btu close. He runs into the Ultra Humanite whose destroying the toys because he hates the comercialism and how it dumbs things down for the kids. Have I mentioned that I love the Ultra Humanite? Because I do.. the animated version. The comics version is REALLY fucking creepy but this version? He’s fucking great, an intellectual whose a formidable threat.. and honestly sympathetic. His motive here, while misguided, is well meaning and his price for selling out the injustice gang and going back to jail quitely? one of the best gags in human history. Getting PBS to say “This program was supported by viewers like you.. and the ultra humanite” He’s just awesome and i’ts a shame he never returned for unlimited. His comic version, while not BAD is just.. not NEARLY as intresting or deep and I wish the comics would have him take after this version.  And that depth shows as once he learns what was going on, he willingly helps flash and simply reprograms the duck to recite the nutcracker. It’s a really nice gesture, that flash returns by giving his foe a christmas tree. Really good stuff.  And I saved the best for last. Heading home for the holidays, Clark takes Jonn with him since otherwise he’d be stuck at the watchtower and batman was apparnetly “Begging” for duty. Granted one wonders what his surrogate dad and adopted sons think but odds are alfred would just drag them up there anyway no mater how much Dick protested. And of course Alfred has watchtower clearance, he’s alfred: he’s the only one besides Diana looking out for bruce.. and no I don’t buy the bullshit from the batman beyond comics that never happened. And Clark too, this is true... but it takes a village to get bruce to go the fuck to sleep and most of that villiage is alfred. And if your wondering “wait won’t he be in danger”... the only thing that can kill this man is apparently bane. He’s survivied earthquakes, poisonings, turning into a supervillian via radaition induced crazies, yes really, apparently dying leading to the supervillian thing, being stabbed, being shot at, having to help raise damien... my point is the guy’s been through a lot in comics, I doubt the dcau version is any less resilent and god damn I miss this old man. Salute alfred, salute.  Where was I oh yeah, Clark insists on taking John home. And it’s stuff like this why I freaking love superman. Many dismiss him as corny, unrelaistic or boring.. all untrue. Sure he’s a boyscout, but he’s meant ot resprsent the best in mankind, what we can truly be powers or no, what we can achieve and the kind of moral, kind person we can be. He’s an inspiration for us all. And this kind of act is what shows that: his response to one of his friends having nowhere to go on christmas and not having been around the holiday? Take him to his house to share in the warmth and love.  And Clark’s parents here show WHY he’s the hero he is and why I freaking love them in all flavors.. except Zack Snyder flavor and even then tha’ts only for Pa “Letting people die is the right thing to do now i’m going to throw myself into a tornado to prove that” kent. But it’s christmas so i’m not here to bitch about zack snyder and if you want that in full, you can pay for it.  My point is they show, as they should how he became the moral paragon he is: they meet a man from mars, who they’ve never met and their son just invited.. and welcmoe him without a thought. While this isnt’ their first alien obviously, and they say so, it’s still really sweet they just warmly welcome the man in and give him their surrogate daughter/their sons’ biological cousin’s room while sh’es away. Oh Kara’s away conveniently skiing with barbra. Also she lives with them in this continuity. Also maybe that’s where dick is. I dunno, but I hope so. Dickbabs for life.. depending on the continuity. I”m still dick and star for life in the titans cartoon.  Point is we get nice of sweet, and hilaroius, holiday stuff: Jonn is suprised to see this side of clark: while he’s always warm and inviting as Clark.. he can also be relaxed, enjoy the holiday and get real spirited. For one day he dosen’t have to be superman. He can just be clark. Evne superman can take a day off.. and he’s superman, he desrves one. Let Bruce and Diana take care of it after they finish marathon sex and Diana finshes with Cheetaah and Maxwell lord.  But yeah as I was saying hilarious as we find out clark used to peak and they had to, and still do, line it with lead foil to make sure he can’t peak, and Martha gives John a sweater, saying his company is all they need for a gift and when it’s a bit big he charmingly grows into it. Jonn also walks among the humans a bit and we get a great little bit of him sneaking down a chimney after hearing the thorughts of a girl whose worried santa isn’t real. It’s just all great stuff that cumilates in Jonn joyfully singing a song in his native tounge while stroking Kara’s cat Streaky.. who sadly does not have a cape or super powers in this universe. Yet. Just a really good superhero story, a damn fine christmas story and one of the best episodes of a stellar show that thankfully is still remembered in this new age of heroes. 

1. It’s Christmas You Dorks (Harvey Beaks) Yup not probably a lot of people’s first choice but fuck it. I’ve loved this one since i saw it a few years ago shorlty after the series ended, having grown far behind and caught up just as it was ending... and regretted it as Harvey Beaks is easily one of my faviorite shows from the wall to wall hit parade that was the 2010′s. It’s charming, hilaroius, heartfelt, and creative.. and really weird if not as weird as CH Greenblaht’s previous show chowder.. but still weird enough.Thankfully Big City Greens is carying the banner for this kind of show, as is Craig of the Creek, so the kind of gentle, slice of life stuff hasn’t gone away, but this show was still it’s own thing and i’m sad it’s gone.  But while it was here it was spectacular and this is one of the best of em if not the best. And naturally for a show like this it has a neat approach: The episode is dialouge free, only having some singing in the last act and that’s diagetic, the characters singing a christmas song. We’ll get to that. This isn’t the FIRST silent christmas special i’ve seen, Courage the Cowardly dog did it’s own take on the nutcracker, but it’s still the best. And given Courage the Cowardly Dog is one of my faviorite shows, that’s high praise. Each segment is charming, unique, and well done. 

As for what each are: The wraparound is a gorgeously animated bit of stop motion or something like it where the spirit of winter goes around and turns fall to winter or helps the kid with winter fun. It’s a bunch of really adorable stuff. The first proper one is the kids having a snowball fight when a bunch of asshole adults interupt, and hte kids end up getting even by hiding in some snowmen. Again just some really fun, really well done stuff.  But the first one that really makes it follows Technobear, local wannabe ladies man in training who has a crush on Harvey’s mom and fantasies about giving her some lovely read shoes and skating with her. His hopes are dashed when instead her daughter michelle, the horrifing baby child pictured above, takes them instead. But not only is it heartwarming to see the stone faced future rule of the world crack a smile, Techno instnatly realizes whats’ improtant and takes the bby ice skating.  The next segment is just some goofy googus with the squirrels, the local crooks who are also squirreels, but it’s still pretty good. We then get Jeremy trying to be santa which is both funny but genuinely heartwarming and finally the best bit as Dade, local killjoy, gets annoyed at everyone singing a popular new christmas song instead of the old standard he likes and being a dick about it before softening a bit when Harvey genuinely offers him camradere. It’s just.. good stuff that’s hard to put into words, and given putting it into words is my thing, it really speaks to just hwo good this special is. it just, makes me feel nice, and really gets the spirit of the holiday in all it’s forms. It’s gorgeously aniamted, well paced, and never stops being entertaining and that’s why it’s both my faviorite and why every year.. i’ll be coming back to little bark. And if nothing else.. it’ll keep this warm, great show alive in my heart.  So with that I end this list. If you didn’t like it tha’ts fine, this is my opinon. But I wanted to share my faviorites with you and hope you’ll check them out this or next chirstmas. Until we meet again... Merry Christmas to all,and to all a good night. 

[aion-rsa]

Why The Great North Isn’t Just Another Bob’s Burgers

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It’s easy to take one look at FOX’s newest animated comedy, The Great North, and assume it’s exactly like the long running and beloved Bob’s Burgers. Two of The Great North’s creators wrote a good chunk of Bob’s Burgers episodes and the shows share a near-identical art style after all. At first glance some of the Bob’s Burgers character archetypes seem to be involved as well: awkward daughter, an odd sarcastic youngest child, and a loving, if somewhat offbeat, father.  So why bother with something like Bob’s Burgers when you could just watch Bob’s Burgers?

While there are a few surface similarities, by the end of the first episode of The Great North you’ll realize there’s so much more to it than just an Alaskan set version of the Belcher family. It’s got humor all its own, unique characters, and the potential to be something that isn’t merely a rival to Bob’s Burgers but a truly unique experience.

So let’s head up north to discover all the reasons why The Great North is so wonderful. As a brief primer, the show is set in Alaska and follows the Tobin family with fisherman dad Beef, artistic daughter Judy, loveably dumb son Ham, bear-suit wearing son Moon, oldest and eager to please son Wolf, his always chipper and new to Alaska fiancé Honeybee, and Judy’s best imaginary friend Alanis Morissette…played by Alanis Morssette.

The Family’s Lack of a Mom is Refreshingly Handled

A lack of a mom is a huge trope in animation at this point (look at damn near every ‘90s Disney movie) and if there is a mom, especially in a comedy, she tends to be wacky or overly loving. The Great North puts a new twist on both of these in its very first episode.

The plot of the premiere deals with Beef struggling to get over his ex-wife years after she abandoned the family. An ex-wife isn’t anything to write home about, a single dad taking care of a family is a comedy trope in of itself, but it’s what we learn about Beef’s ex that makes this element so refreshing.

Instead of the mom just not being present or having died off screen, Beef only acts like she’s dead, a fabrication everyone goes along with to keep him sane. When he isn’t around though Judy is quick to point out the rest of the family doesn’t buy this and they never liked her much anyway. She even flat out states,

“She was a really bad mom, okay? And it was actually better when she left.”

The other kids then list off horrible things she did, like name their dog Grandma solely so, “she wouldn’t be lying when she said we were with Grandma when people asked.” She runs a blog with her “new lover” about stores that wont chase you if you shoplift. Even in her goodbye letter to Ham she just wrote, “smell you later.”

I love this so much because it replaces all the easy sentimentality of a dead or simply absent mom that comedies love and instead opens up some fantastic new storytelling opportunities. In the pilot alone it gives us deep insight into Beef, that despite how awful she was he refuses to think anything but the best of her. Why is he like that? Is it his way of not thinking about all the terrible things she did? She’s left him so broken he has to concoct an elaborate fantasy to keep himself sane. It makes you instantly love the character and while he does seemingly get over this denial in the pilot I can foresee it impacting him for the rest of the series.

It’s also so refreshing because the kids aren’t all that broken up about it. Knowing their mom was terrible helps reflect a lot of what kids go through in real life. Sometimes they just have a bad parent and there’s no deep explanation of why, they just are and it’s not great. Maybe Judy and the others are hurt by this and I’d love to see the show tackle that in the future but even if it strictly keeps this part of their characters on the comedic side of things? It’s empowering. These kids aren’t broken up by their awful mom and want her back; they’re thriving BECAUSE she isn’t around. 

Nick Offerman Being Nick Offerman

Over the years Nick Offerman has perfected the deadpan and loveable character that brought him to fame in Parks and Recreation. His role as Beef isn’t a major departure from that mold but it does allow Offerman to be even warmer than his most famous character. 

As Beef he’s a capable man who gets up to see the sun rise and chop wood. He loves nature so much he steals a potted plant from a mall to take better care of it. His love for his family is on full display and he often goes to absurd lengths to keep them together. Offerman brings a great charm to the role and all of the jokes he delivers are winners. 

The Rural Location

Bob’s Burgers draws much inspiration from its city setting, while The Great North is set in rural Alaska. This may seem like a surface level change but once again opens up all kinds of new opportunities for stories and characters. Where the Belcher family was somewhat cynical to city life (you would be to with a landlord breathing down your neck) the Tobin family openly embraces the chilly north.

Judy sits out on the roof and talks with her imaginary best friend, Moon takes great pride in his ability to mimic a soon to be eaten cadaver laying out in the snow, and Beef specifically gets up every morning to stare in wild wonder at Alaska’s majesty while whispering “hot dog.” The whole family even delights in going to the mall, which is the kind of joy only someone living out in the middle of nowhere can truly appreciate.

The Different Character Dynamics

Even after eleven truly fantastic seasons Bob’s Burgers characters still manage to never feel stale and the team behind the show always finds new ways to play around with them. With such a rock solid cast of characters you’d think they could tackle any story imaginable but The Great North is already proving to be a home for stories that just wouldn’t work for Bob’s Burgers.

The most noticeable change is that most of the kids are older. Judy and Ham are both sixteen which opens up a lot of possibilities that couldn’t be done with the Belcher kids. They can get involved in more serious relationships, have jobs (as Judy gets in the first episode), and are able to be more autonomous from the family. Wolf, the oldest of all of them, is engaged! Imagine what could be done with a soon-to-be married couple? Honeybee herself also functions as a delighted fish out of water to Alaska, her thoughts on the Tobins’ life a needed commentary. Her outgoing personality also clashes well with Moon’s stoic nature.

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Judy and Ham also share a more loving sibling dynamic than any of the Belcher kids ever have. In Bob’s Burgers the kids don’t wear their hearts on their sleeves, they’re more likely to make sarcastic quips about one other. The Great North though has Judy and Ham share a special bond, the two have a secret handshake that goes for an indeterminable amount of time. It’s really sweet and it makes me excited to see what kind of comedy can be mined from this more openly affectionate family.

Ham Is Gay And I Love Him

Ham is my favorite character so far in this show. He’s a little slow on the uptake but loves everyone in his family a lot and can even make a perfect replica of a cadaver… in the form of a cake. He also happens to be gay, a fact that is wonderfully confirmed in the first episode when he blurts out, “I AM GAY!

To which Moon responds, “we know. You’ve come out to us a bunch of times.”

Beef then adds, “we love you just the way you are, damn it!”

Ham, clearly not remembering his past comings-out, yells, “WELL, THANK YOU FOR BEING AN ALLY!”

It’s a great scene and kicks any subtext out the door. Queer audiences don’t have to sit around guessing who COULD be queer in the show (as they’re so often forced to do with so little representation in media) there’s a character who said OUT LOUD he’s gay. He’s one of us!

Bob’s Burgers has had several one-time gay characters (Bob did refer to himself as “mostly straight” once but that was more of a gag) but getting a gay teen in the main cast is sublime. He’s also a different sort of gay teen then we’re used to in television, with a tiny “probably thinks it’s cooler than it actually is” mustache and his “not quite all there” personality. He’s not a stereotype, he’s got some obvious flaws, but he’s loveable! Sure enough, his family loves him and accepts him.

Having a gay character in the cast opens up so many story possibilities. Are there any other gay kids in this rural town? What if there’s only one and he’s forced to date him? Does he know what kind of guys he likes yet? Where do the gay kids hang out in this town? 

It also must be reiterated that his family loves him and accepts him. While drama over coming out and acceptance is totally valid, I’m glad that Ham will get the chance to just be gay and his family will support him all the way. We can just see him happily (if somewhat absent-mindedly) live his life and that’s needed in a world with so little queer representation. As a pansexual man myself it’s heartwarming. I wish I had a character like Ham when I was growing up. 

Alanis Morissette Is A Main Character

Yes, Alanis Morissette is in The Great North (played by the actual Alanis Morissette) but in an absolutely perfect choice she’s not the REAL Alanis Morissette, she’s Judy’s best imaginary friend who just happens to be Alanis Morissette. Judy’s artistic so it makes sense she’d look up to someone as incredible as the Canadian musical genius. As an imaginary best friend she tends to serve as a sounding board for Judy’s thoughts and gives absolutely flawless advice.

Even better though? The imaginary Alanis Morissette also only appears in the Aurora Borealis. That’s… incredible. What a way to take advantage of the show’s location!

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

 The Great North is a delight. It’s only been two episodes (the third one premieres February 14 and the first two are available on Hulu) but it’s already shown a lot of promise. Not in the “oh it’ll get good eventually” sense but in the “no it’s already great and I want to see more of it!” Don’t think of it as another Bob’s Burgers, just think of it as its own wonderful moose-filled show (it’s Alaska, what did you expect) and you’ll have a fantastic time. Truly, in these dark times we could all use a little help from imaginary best friend Alanis Morissette.

The post Why The Great North Isn’t Just Another Bob’s Burgers appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[sammysreelreviews]

My Top 10 Bob’s Burgers Episodes

So I’ve literally been sitting on this list since May 2018 cause it’s just so hard to choose my favorites! I thought since the 10th season is coming out this Sunday I would drop a list of my ten favorite episodes so far. This was so fucking hard to do so if you say anything negative you will be BLOCKED. Enjoy and don’t forget Bob’s Burgers is back September 29th at 9pm on FOX!

10. Purple Rain-Union: Season 4, Episode 6

Linda and her old band “The Ta Tas” reunite to play at their 25th high school reunion. Gayle sings one of the most memorable songs from the show and Bob’s zit is the life of the party but the best part of the episode is the encore song Linda sings with the band. Also, Fuck Bad Hair Day!

Best line:

Linda: “I still got my sexy parts. Well I got two out of five, I still got two out of five!”

9. Slumber Party: Season 4, Episode 9

Linda makes Louise have a slumber party and Louise is NOT about it. Louise tries to make the girls go home one by one but the best part of the episode is that she makes a friend in the end and that’s what I love about it.

Best line:

Louise: “If she was a spice she’d be flour. If she was a book she’d be two books.”

8. Ain’t Miss Debatin’ Season 7, Episode 15

Season 7 is full of amazing episodes including this favorite cause it’s centered around Tina and the Tina episodes are 100% the best episodes. Tina having a random boyfriend and Linda critiquing him when he comes to the house will never fail to make me laugh. I also need Sasha in every episode.

Best line(s): 

Duncan: “You know in New Zealand we don’t say turn off the light we say turn on the dark.”

Tina: “Son of a bitch.” 

7. Brunchsquatch Season 8, Episode 1

Brunchsquatch is late in the game out of all the other episodes listed but the character Dalton honestly makes this whole episode. Brunch is such a big thing and they made fun of it perfectly. Also it was so cool that they had so many different people draw their own version of the Belcher fam.

Best line(s): 

Dalton: “I’ve seen brunch skunks throw up in their booths and just keep drinking. I’ve seen a boy brunch skunk fight his way out of an ambulance to try to get back into a restaurant for more drinks. This is bad Linda this is very bad!” 

Linda: “Oh god I got to go tell Bob!” 

Dalton: “Yes you do but before you do that could you be a lil cabbage and grab us another round of Mom-osas and some more jalapeño aioli for our burgers? Love you! Mwah!”

6. Work Hard or Die Trying Girl Season 5, Episode 1

Episode 1 of season 5 set the bar extremely high but season 5 is genuinely one of their best seasons. I’ve never seen Working Girl or Die Hard (please don’t attack me) but you don’t need to see these movies to appreciate the incredible joint musical that happens.

Best line(s): 

Gene: “But your characters don't even end up together!” 

Tina: “We're all allowed to interpret the movie differently.”

Doug: “No, they definitely don't end up together.” 

Tina: “Eh, to each his own.” 

Doug: “No, they really don't.”

Tina: “Well, comme ci, comme sa.” 

Doug: “All right, well, now you're just saying words.” 

Tina: “C’est la vie.” 

5. The Kids Run Away: Season 4 Episode 19

Most people would forget this episode but for some reason this episode will always have a special place in my heart. I love how even though Louise is always a badass it shows that at the end of the day she’s still a little girl. To be honest even I don’t know why I’m obsessed with this episode sometimes. Is it because it’s all about Louise or the fact that they play Gayle force winds? Either way Louise says a line (written below) that never fails to make me cry laughing which makes the episode so much more worth it.

Best line: 

Louise: “Wagstaff was my platoon in ‘Nam. Oh man, they said there’d be people like you when I came back.”

4. Mother Daughter Laser Razor: Season 3, Episode 10

Louise is the definition of a daddy’s girl so to have an episode where her and Linda are forced to bond is magic. Even though Bob is Louise’s favorite it was awesome to see her and Linda play laser tag together.

Best line:

Linda: “Here goes the hair and there goes the hair and where is Harry Truman? He’s dead in the ground, he’s dead in the ground. He’s dead dead dead!”

3. Bad Tina: Season 2, Episode 8

I think most Bob’s Burgers fans can agree with me when I say that Bad Tina is one of the best episodes of the show. Tina being influenced by the new girl Tammy not only is one of the best Tina centric episodes but also introduces Tammy and honestly I can’t imagine the show without her anymore. We love Bad Tina and we love Erotic Friend Fiction.

Best line:

Gene: “We’re Belchers, from the womb to the tomb!”

2. Ex Mach Tina: Season 7, Episode 8

Like I said before season 7 is full of gems and this episode is the very best one from that season. Tina sprains her ankle from wearing her espadrilles and has to go to school through a remote controlled computer. Through this program Tina connects with Jimmy Jr. on a “deeper” level. This episode has so many one liners it was hard to choose just one. The whole subplot of Bob having a banjo moment is so random but it’s so funny it fucking works like when he imagines he’s good at the banjo I always choke on my water. Also just the name of the episode is fucking priceless.

Best line: 

Gene: “This is the worst episode of the O.C. ever!” 

1. Can’t Buy Me Math: Season 5, Episode 11

If you know me you know how much I fucking love this episode. This is undeniably the best Valentine’s Day episode of the entire show. From Tina and Darryl to Bob trying to seduce Linda I mean what more could you ask for?! This episode is absolute PERFECTION and that’s why it’s number one.

Best line(s):

Louise: “So the breakup, is it gonna be classy or nasty?”

Tina: “Definitely nasty. Want to know how many holds will be barred?”

Gene: “Three?”

Tina: “None.”

Gene: “Wow, that is... so few.”

[mainadjacent]

Sticking to the Script (pt.2)

Pairing: Gwilym Lee x Reader, one-sided Ben Hardy x Reader

Summary: You are the star of the hit TV show, “Winthrope Manor” and you’ve just got a new costar, Gwilym Lee who happens to bring around his friend, Ben Hardy, to set. You develop feelings for Ben, but they’re not well received. Lucky for you, your costar is there to help make things better.

Author’s Note: I just want to say how blown away I am by this response! I truly am grateful to all of you who are reading, liking and reblogging. It honestly makes writing so much easier and faster when I know people are looking forward to reading what I write! I also wanted to point out that the whole plot & name of “Winthrope Manor” is legit from the episode of “Bob’s Burgers” entitled “Zero Larp Thirty” so there’s that. Lastly, if you want to join the tag list, just add your username HERE. If you’ve already messaged me or commented about being tagged, you’re good!

PART 1

PART 2

Things don’t get automatically better between you and Gwil, nor were you expecting them to, but things have gotten easier. You find yourself spending more time with Gwilym and you are actually enjoying it. He’s funny and easy to be around and he makes the long hours on set bearable. The other members of the cast take a liking to him too which is encouraging. The two of you gain some sort of familiarity with each other and you can tell it helps with your on-screen chemistry.

The only time you feel like the two of you have regressed back to your original awkwardness is when Ben is in the picture. You figure it’s because you and Ben may be approaching romantic territory and he feels awkward being the third wheel. You try not to put too much thought into it.

What you do spend a lot of time thinking about is what’s going on between you and Ben. The day after your initial lunch, he shows up on set and jokingly tells you he’s hoping to get your number before filming wraps that day. You are more than happy to give it to him. He showed up again, the next day and wooed the cast with fancy pastries from the “X-Men” superior craft services tent, which pretty much granted him free entry for the rest of his life.  It’s been a week since you and Ben had met and the two of you have been texting pretty much nonstop. Against your initial impressions of him based on the media, Ben is a true gentleman and has been nothing but respectful and sweet. The texts are pretty flirtatious in nature and that makes you scared but excited. You don’t want to jump into something or make assumptions, but you think he might be interested in you beyond a meaningless flirtation. Next time you see him, you decide, you’re going to ask him to hang out, just the two of you.

Hey beautiful! Mind if I stop by the set this afternoon? X

Not at all! You can finally see me and your boy in action! :)

_______

Despite having been filming for almost a month, you and Gwil are just getting around to the scene where your two characters meet.

Your character, Violet, is an avid suffragette and is attending a Women’s Rights rally in the city. The police show up and Violet flees from the scene and ends up running directly into Gwil’s character, Edmund, knocking him literally off his feet. The two characters exchange a “meaningful glance that shakes both of them to their core” before Violet gets up and keeps running. It’s a classic “Winthrope” scene, all dramatic and full of tropes so obviously, you’re excited to film it. And you can’t wait for Ben to see you in action.

You arrive on set that afternoon and greet Gwil with a warm smile. He smiles back nervous.

“You doing okay?” you ask.

“Yeah totally, it’s just that, it’s the first time I’m filming and not just rehearsing. Just a bit of nerves is all.”

You reach over to pat his arm comfortingly, “You are going to do great and lucky for you, you have one of the best scene partners in the biz.”

Before Gwil can respond to you, you hear someone bellowing your name from across the set.

“Ben!” you can feel yourself light up when you see the blond.

“Hello Miss Winthrope,” Ben says, slinging his arm around your shoulder, “how’s the most beautiful textile heiress in the world doing?”

You smile brightly in response and excitedly begin showing him around the antique street set, your nervous costar forgotten.

As everybody else filters in, Ben quietly slinks to the back, trying to respectfully give you the space to do your work. You, on the other hand, are accosted by makeup artists and costumer techs putting the finishing touches on your appearance. Gwil, who is suffering from a similar fate, catches your eye and you send him an encouraging smile and thumbs up.

The two of you separate and go to your respective marks as the extras are ushered in to be suffragettes and other background characters. You film the suffragette scene first, which is a lot of fun, you’re in your element in a crowd and feeding off of others’ energy. The scene is filmed in only four takes. You’re on you’re A-game which probably has something to do with your very handsome audience member.

The crew begins to reposition for the next scene: Violet running into Edmund. One of the most frustrating things about shooting scenes like this is that you can easily lose your momentum, so you try to talk as little as possible to keep in character.

Your director signals for action and you begin to run down the recreated streets of 1919 New York. You expertly weave through a throng of extras, your skirt bunched into your arms. You spot Gwil ahead of you, and just like you rehearsed in blocking, you run full throttle, into him. You land exactly as you were supposed to and out of the corner of your eye, you catch the camera coming in for a close shot of your face, inches above Gwil’s. You look deep into his eyes and you feel your heart stir as if a shot of electricity is going through you. You jolt into yourself and jump up, into your blocking. You run away from your camera and turn into an alleyway where another camera is already set up to film you from the other angle as you catch your breath. The “police officers” run past you and the director yells “cut!”.

You come out onto the soundstage to cheers and applause.

“We got the take!” the director exclaims. “That was great!”

You are smiling so much your cheeks hurt. Getting the scene in one take is an incredible accomplishment and you’ve never managed it before. You turn to Gwil, who’s approaching behind you, just as enthused. You rush over to him and throw your arms over his shoulders.

“That was amazing!”

He chuckles as his arms find your waist, “You were a great partner.”

The two of you are quickly ushered out of your embrace and off of the sound stage while the crew repositioned for a new scene. Gwil is pulled into wardrobe to change for the upcoming scene, you meanwhile, stick around. You still have another scene to film with your onscreen siblings.

You find Ben near craft services. “Did you see our scene?” you ask excitedly. He nodded silently, his lips press together.

“Yeah, you guys were great.”

You’re thrown off by Ben’s sudden coldness.

“Is anything wrong?”

“No, not at all,” he says quickly, “It’s just, er, I just got a call. I’m needed back on set for some more reshoots apparently, so I need to go now.”

“Oh,” you try not to sound too disappointed.  You realize that if you want to ask Ben out on a proper date, this is your last chance to do it. It’s now or never.

“Listen, actually, I was wondering—”

“There you are! We’re needed on set!”

It’s Melanie Todd, the girl who plays your younger sister, Alice. On screen, Violet and Alice are close, even though Violet is sometimes frustrated by Alice’s flighty nature. Offscreen, you care for Melanie as if she was your sister. The girl is only a few years younger than you are and you strive to take her under your wing. You usually love Melanie, but right now you hate her.

You throw Ben an apologetic smile over your shoulder as Melanie pulls you away.

“He’s cute, are you two dating yet?”

_____

You resolve that you’ll just ask Ben out the next time you see him, which will most likely be tomorrow. No sweat. Maybe it’s for the best.

Thanks for coming today! I hope you had a good time, you text Ben in between takes. Just as you hit send you kick yourself; you should’ve sent a heart. Or a smiley face. A kissy face, maybe? Were you there yet?

Before you can agonize over it any further, you pulled into wardrobe to change for your next scene which is supposed to be with Gwil and Melanie inside a jazz club.

Violet accompanies Alice to a jazz club, so she can rendezvous with her new beau (Alice was always falling in love and she seemed to have a new love interest each week) then, Violet miraculously runs into Edmund, the stranger from the rally earlier who identifies her immediately. The scene is meant to lay the framework for the relationship, so you pay extra attention to getting it right. You’ve read and reread and re-reread the script, marking the margins with sloppy notes and gone over the blocking a thousand times. You’ve gone over this scene so much you had dreams about it.  

You are ushered back to another sound stage, this one a glittering and golden night club already full of dancing extras and a full jazz band. Melanie comes and grabs your arm and pulls you towards your entrance mark as the two of you quietly run through dialogue. You run the initial scene a couple of times, trying a number of different angles. Then, Melanie runs her scene with Alice’s love interest a  few times while you stand at the periphery of the set.

Your scene with Gwil is rapidly approaching and he has yet to show up. You try not to let your confusion and concern show while you’re on camera, though. Around take seven of the scene, you spot Gwil being ushered onto the stage by some costume techs and for the first time since you met him you’re struck at how handsome he is. He’s wearing a dapper three-piece suit with tails, his hair groomed back showing off his sharp, angular face and you realize you’ve never seen him in eveningwear. It occurs to you that you might have been staring too long when his eyes find yours and he smiles discreetly, making you blush and look away.

Soon, the two of you are brought together for your scene. His character, Edmund, finds Violet on the edge of the dancefloor and asks her to dance. Violet doesn’t recognize him at first but agrees. While the two are dancing, Edmund confronts Violet about being the girl that knocked him over earlier that day, having been at the rally and Violet panics.

“So, you’re the girl from the rally.”

Gwil leads you in a waltz while a camera follows your movements through a close shot.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, sir.”

“There is no need to lie, I remember you. Beauty like yours does not escape easily from one’s memory.”

“What if it was me? I don’t suppose you are interested in turning me into the police.”

“On the contrary, Miss…”

“Winthrope. Violet Winthrope.”

“Miss Winthrope. I am a supporter of women’s suffrage and I want to know more about your opinion.”

“You tease me, sir.”

“Not at all. I am an editor for the Post. We’re looking for an interesting female voice to write a column of women’s politics for our opinion’s section. You’re a high society lady who risks her position by going to rallies in the city. That seems pretty interesting to me.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything. Let me take you to luncheon tomorrow and we can discuss it further with some of my other editors. Stop by the Post’s office around 1 o’clock and just let them know you’re meeting with Edmund Nottingham. “

Gwil delicately places a card in your gloved hand and leaves you in the middle of the dancefloor.

“Cut!”

______

You run the scene with Gwil a few more times.  It’s interesting to see him transform. You know the silly, laidback Gwil that you’ve come accustomed to. On camera though, Gwil transforms completely into the mysterious and suave Edmund and you can feel both yourself and Violet being charmed.

You finish up filming for the night and by the time you are stripped of your beautiful costume, your intricate hair and your delicate makeup, it’s pretty late into the night. As you walk to your car at the edge of the lot, you check on your phone. Ben has yet to respond. Internally, you’re a little freaked out. He seemed weird this afternoon and now he was not responding to your texts. You try to placate the surge of panic by trying to convince yourself that he might still be filming, or his phone might be dead although you know how unlikely those two things are. Still.

“Hey! Wait up!”

Gwil jogs up behind you breaking you away from your panicked reverie.

“Oh, hi,” you say, slightly surprised, “I thought you would have left by now.”

It’s true, the men take much less time to get out of wardrobe at the end of the day than the female actors.

“I was waiting for you actually, I wanted to walk you to your car,” he says sheepishly.

“Oh, there’s no need.  It’s safe here, we have security patrolling.”

“Right, er,” he pauses for a second, running his hands through hair, “I also wanted to say that you were great today. Working with you was… really… You make falling in love with you easy.”

“That’s just the writing,” you shrug and smile noncommittally. “They don’t call it ‘award-winning’ for nothing.”

Your car beams at you from a distance.

“Anyway, this is me. Thank for walking me. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” You shoot Gwil one last smile before opening your car door.

“Right, see you tomorrow.”

TAGS: @xbarrjallenx @alexfayer @chlobo6 @softbenhardy @thathufflepuffbitch

[todd--chavez]

what are your other favorite shows? (have you seen community?)

I have a problem with Community and Brooklyn 99 as a series. Their episodes in and of itself are great. They make me laugh. But when I binged them, the episodes started to blend together and I felt like I was watching the same thing over and over again because it felt so formulaic. I mean yeah 5 seasons into Brooklyn 99 I still laugh and smile but it wasn’t that enjoying to binge the show. But that might just be me. I think what the producers are doing with Community is great, I just got tired of watching it after a while.

But here’s my list of shows that I always tell people to watch (in no particular order). And yeah I essentially only watch animated films. I’m basically a kid. 

1. Bojack Horseman

I don’t need to explain it to you, you follow this blog.

2. King of the Hill

Especially with it’s animation style it’s an acquired taste. But it is definitely underrated and I think people need to give it a chance. I think there’s a huge misconception that it’s simply a conservative show because it’s about rednecks. But it’s a lot more progressive than you think. The characters may be conservative, but the show is much more liberal and acknowledges their character flaws and ideals. And some episodes, the characters develop and come to realize that their ideals are wrong and change for the better. I also love the very unique story lines they think of for the episodes, like Hank being diagnosed of having too small of a butt, or Bobby Hill unknowingly cooking meth. There are episodes that touch on gender equality, racism, sex, religion, political stance, drugs, near death experiences, prostitution, and lots more. And there are 13 seasons, there has to be a reason it lasted that long.

3. The Goode Family

The exact thing as King of the Hill(I think it’s the same producer) but instead of a conservative redneck family, it’s a family of social justice warriors. The ratings were so bad that it was discontinued after 1 season but I thought it was hilarious.

4. Moral Orel

Not for the faint hearted. I found out about this show after I finished Bojack Horseman and asked the internet what to watch if I liked Bojack Horseman. This show makes you wonder what happened to the director when he was a kid to have produced such a sad show. The word is that the show got cancelled because it was too depressing. But there’s 3 seasons and you can find them on youtube, and there’s also a prequel(You have to watch it after everything else). Each episode is 11 minutes so it’s super easy to binge. The first season is mostly just making jokes off of religion and the plot doesn’t really start until the end of season 2. I highly recommend this show to anyone who is interested in religion, or is religious or was involved in a religious community. I wouldn’t say the beginning is great commentary, but later on and the story as a whole is actually really good and even though a lot of fucked up things happen, it’s commentary on religion is very tasteful. Even though it makes fun of religion, it’s not an “atheist” show.

5. Mission Hill

I don’t know why this only has one season. You can find all the episodes on youtube. It was a very well done show with really cool animation. This show was created back in the 90′s and includes a gay couple and the community treats them regularly so I think that was very progressive for that time. Also there was an episode that talked about masturbating which is also another taboo topic. There’s actually an episode of Moral Orel about masturbating but it was in one of the episodes of season 1 that was more focused on making jabs at religion than masturbation itself. Aside from these two, the only other show I know of that talks about masturbation is Big Mouth, but I watched the first two episodes and couldn’t bear it. I’m not a fan.

6. F is for Family

Imagine if Bojack didn’t get rich, and instead worked at an airport and had a family. I loved that they showed the whole gender inequality and racism that was rampant of the 1960′s(or 70’s?) and the mom’s struggle to be more than just a mom in season two made me want to cry. Humor overall is great and the characters and their development are all very well done. I can see a little bit of myself in each of the characters of the family.

7. The Boondocks

I wouldn’t say it’s the same type of humor as Bojack Horseman but I would say if people enjoy the Bojack Horseman humor they will probably enjoy the Boondocks humor. This is one of the funnier shows that made me laugh out loud. It has a lot of commentary on racism and portrays several different type of black people and their attitude and approach to racism and prejudice. It’s also a very relevant show that used real life events the way South Park does. I love the main character and his self awareness and deep quotes.

8. Daria

If any of you are in high school, I would recommend watching this show first because it would be the most relevant. Like Mission Hill, it’s a lot older and it may take a while to get used to the animation style, but basically about a cynical angsty teen girl(like Lady Bird) and she’s really smart which I love. Also lots of deep quotes and lessons to learn from this show that I think would help anyone who’s in high school. Also the season finale with applying to colleges and graduating really hit close to home and I think was really accurate with the whole college admissions and seeing where other people were going.

9. Dr, Katz Professional Therapist

I think a lot of them got taken down from youtube so I’m not sure where you would see them. Out of all the videos, this is definitely going to be the hardest to get used to the animation. “Squiggle animation” or whatever. But this is the closest thing to stand up comedy that I can enjoy. For the record if you don’t know, I absolutely hate stand up comedy. Or at least I haven’t seen any that I liked yet. But it’s by the same creator as Bob’s Burgers and the voice of Bob Belcher plays a pretty big role here. This is a dialogue based show which it really has to be given it’s animation style but that’s nice because you could listen to the show while you’re doing stuff. I actually downloaded the mp3 file of the shows and so sometimes when I’m driving or running I listen to it instead of music. The relationship between the dad and the son is hilarious and definitely has that Bob’s Burgers feel to it.

10. Home Movies

This is another show that I believe involves a producer from Bob’s Burgers and Bob Belcher’s voice. It also started out with the squiggle animation but I think they changed it 2 seasons in because they felt the squiggle animation was iconic to Dr. Katz Professional Therapist. It’s about a kid who’s in like second grade, but I love how the mom talks to him as if he’s an adult. Even though it’s pretty light hearted overall, there is the thing with his parents being divorced and Coach McGuirk(Same voice as Bob Belcher) is an alcoholic so there are some mature content. But it was a really great show and I think it really goes to show how much story matters because even though the animation is so basic, it was very entertaining.

[ifitzpatrick]

The Many Loves of Tina Belcher

Tina Belcher. The woman we all aspire to be. Throughout Bob’s Burgers, Tina has shown that she can be a grown ass woman in a lot of situations, but she’s even more grown when it comes to her love life. She wants what she wants and she doesn’t care how embarrassed she needs to get in order to obtain it. That’s the beauty of Tina Belcher, she’s taking her budding sexuality by the balls and not stopping until she lands herself a keeper.

There have been a couple of boys in Tina’s life since the start of the show, but what about the others? What about the new ones? For Valentine’s Day, I’ve ranked the Top Ten Loves in Tina’s life (so far…). This list goes from super bad to the best of the best. Let’s all hope the Tina finds the true love of her life.

10. Jonas Jonas is… a piece of work. Jonas is a delivery boy and a passing crush of Tina’s in the episode “Uncle Teddy.” (S4E14) In the episode, he basically uses his looks to take advantage of  Tina to gain access to the restaurant for him and his friends. Not cool, Jonas, not cool. Tina’s absolutely hypnotized by Jonas’ good looks instead of seeing him for who he really is. We’ve ALL been there before, for better or for worse, but thankfully, Tina wakes up and Teddy gives him and his moped a great off the cliff treatment to wake HIM up. Also, he plays a melodica, which honestly sounds like the coolest instrument in the world if Jonas wasn’t playing it. It’s wasted on an awful, awful boy! 9. Nathan In “Beefsquatch” (S2E9), Nathan was a massive fan of Get On Up with Chuck and Pam. He went to every taping, but couldn’t get close to Pam, who he had a super duper deep odd weirdo crush on. In an attempt to taste her hair, he starts dating Tina because Bob and Gene had a segment on the show, so she had backstage pass access to his crush. Nathan is another piece of work who basically used Tina for his own personal gain. He’s super terrible. That’s it. He also totally has the signs to be an abusive boyfriend? The way he speaks to Tina telling her “don’t tell me how to love you” and just in general being a terrible human specimen of a boy, really rubs you the wrong way. *blows raspberries at Nathan*

8. Joe Harrison There will be a lot of boys with J names on this list and Joe Harrison is another one that Tina will probably never get. Tina develops a small crush on Joe Harrison when she makes eye contact with him in the episode “Large Brother, Where Fart Thou?” (S7E5) She purposes puts herself in detention after messing with Mr. Frond’s display in order to make more eye contact with him and at the end of the day, he totally looks her way.

I honestly want to know more about Joe Harrison! I want to know what Joe Harrison is about! He looks like a pretty decent kid and the fact that he made eye contact with Tina has got to mean something, right? I say we bring Joe Harrison back, have him fall in love with Tina and give him more screentime! Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe!  

7. Tammy Larsen First, don’t look at me like that. Second, give me a chance to explain myself and this choice. Tina has NEVER had a crush on Tammy or vice versa, I acknowledge that, but they have all of the ingredients for the classic trope of enemies to lovers. It would be kinda cool if Bob’s Burgers gave a super twist to Tina’s next love interest, but I acknowledge that it probably won’t happen.

Just think about it for a second. Tina and Tammy are basically rivals but they started out as friends first. Tammy usually says really mean things to Tina, but Tina always comes back just as hard (if she gets a word in edgewise). Tammy is almost always a little jealous of Tina and Tina still thinks that they can be friends, but after all the mean things that Tammy and Tina say to each other, I think they have the potential to look past middle school drama bombs and develop crushes on each other. Listen, I know this is wishful thinking, let me have my dream.

6. Jeff Oh Jeff. The best ghost boyfriend who ever lived, until you know… he wasn’t. “Tina and the Real Ghost” (S5E2) introduced us to Jeff, a ghost who supposedly lived in the basement of the restaurant. After Linda, Gene, Louise and Tina talk to the ghost, they find out that he’s a 13 year old boy. This really makes Tina happy, which we all love to see. They go out on little dates like a butterfly exhibit, but after they become ghost-boyfriend and girlfriend, Jeff “switches” girlfriends and wants to date Tammy instead, breaking it off with Tina via steamed message on the bathroom mirror. Well, spoilers, it turned out that Louise was playing everyone into thinking that Jeff was real, Tammy was playing everyone into thinking Jeff switched girlfriends and Tina, in the end, gets a bit of a last laugh.

Jeff was an interesting boyfriend for Tina. I actually liked them together quite a bit. When Tina took Jeff to the butterfly exhibit, and a butterfly landed on her nose as Jeff was giving her butterfly kisses, I couldn’t help but smile. She needs that kind of attention and love from someone. Even though he wasn’t a physical boy, it was really cute to see Tina in a state of being caring and cute with a boy.

5. Darryl DARRYL. I love Darryl so much. I don’t think he’s right for Tina though, but he does know how to treat a woman after some Hitch-type coaching. In “Can’t Buy Me Math” (S5E11), he and Tina hatch a plan to date each other in order to get their actual crushes, Rose Batista and Jimmy Jr. In order to do this, they would need to win ‘Cupid’s Couple’ at the Valentine’s Day dance. Tina coaches Darryl in the meantime on how to be a boyfriend, which worked… a little too well.

They break up after the dance in front of Jimmy Jr., Rosa, and most of the school. Tina starts to get jealous of Darryl and Rosa, believing that she really does have feelings for Darryl and ends up breaking up Rosa and Darryl for a little while. Thankfully, she fixes their relationship, but Tina is still left alone. Darryl is a really great guy to be in a relationship with though. He’s one of the best guys ever. Have you heard that voice? *melts*

4. Jordan Cagan In the episode “The Land Ship” (S6E2), Tina attempts to spice up her life and hang out with Ghost Boy, who she discovers, is Jordan Cagen, a fellow Wagstaff student, underneath it all. To be all the fair, before they “did something like kissing”, this was a relationship that Tina could easily blend into and… was actually pretty cool for her. Jordan was a “bad boy” with his graffiti tag, but he introduced a polite kind of bad dude that is actually kinda cool for Tina to be with.

Tina had to make the impossible decision either to help Jordan with his master plan of painting Ghost Boy on the Land Ship OR deciding to cover it up. She decided the latter, putting her relationship with him in a downfall. Even though Jordan was one of the cool choices for Tina, I have to put him at #4 for his kissing skills. He… is a terrible kisser. Tina even said that it was hard for her to breathe when he kissed her, but — to give him some credit — Tina was his first kiss, so one day, he will hopefully learn how to not smother anyone with his mouth.

3. Jimmy Pesto Jr. Jimmy Pesto Jr. is the WORSSSSSTTTTTTTT. Tina has pinned over Jimmy since the beginning, but he hasn’t yet realized how in love with her he really is. There’s just something about Jimmy that she just can’t get over (his butt), but some of us just really wish she would. Tina has “logged over 3000 fantasy hours with him”, but the way he treats her is like she’s an afterthought. Jimmy likes the attention that he gets from Tina even though, most of the time, he seems annoyed by it. That is, until Tina is around another boy, he all of a sudden becomes jealous and needs her to be with him.

Jimmy is the boy you’ve pined over, doesn’t want you, but when you find someone better… you’re the most important girl in his life. Tina deserves better than Jimmy Pesto Jr. and his wishy washy attitude. After “The Land Ship” (S6E2), it seems like they were going on a path that might lead to more. BUT BUT BUT, that doesn’t excuse the fact that, JIMMY IS STILL THE WORSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTT. I only put him as #3 because of Tina’s logged fantasy hours with him and the fact that when he IS good to Tina… he’s actually kinda dope.

2. Zeke Hear me out. I love Tina and Zeke together for a lot of different reasons. Reason #1, his name doesn’t begin with J, so that’s an automatic plus. Reason #2, he pays attention to Tina WAY more than almost anyone else has. I think Tina and Zeke could probably be a potentially cool couple if they both gave each other a chance. A couple of episodes that really helps my theory start with “Broadcast Wagstaff School News.” (S3E12) When Tina was researching who the Mad Pooper was. It was discovered that Zeke was the one who was pooping all over the school, but he was going to stop until he noticed that the story was important to Tina, so he continues. I mean… can you think of a better way to get a girl’s attention?

“Midday Run” (S5E8) is another episode that really catches their cuteness together because they’re basically stuck together for half of the episode. Zeke even says to Tina, ““Damn Tina, now I got a story to tell on our wedding day. You think that’s not gonna happen, but I’ll getcha girl! I’m gonna getcha!” HOW CUTE IS THAT?! I think Zeke would be a perfect match for Tina at the end of the day. He pays WAY more attention to what she wants and he’s actually super sweet underneath it all. Zeke’s a great guy. I will fight someone who doesn’t think so.

1. Josh LET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT. TINA COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL WITH JOSH AND SHE BLEW IT.

*takes a deep breath*

Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system. Josh could and would have been perfect for Tina if she didn’t let her greed get in the way. Josh first met Tina in a blind date situation in the episode “Lindapendent Woman” (S3E14). It was interesting to watch them get along behind the dairy freezer. It would have been interesting to see this relationship carry on for awhile. Josh seems very sweet towards Tina and super attentive to her needs.

However, in “Two for Tina” (S3E17), Tina has to decide to go to the dance with Josh or Jimmy Jr. Josh treats her so kindly and Jimmy Jr. only wants her because another boy has her. By the time they get to the dance, the boys engage in a dance off for Tina’s attention. Tina does the one thing that will either make or break something. It’s always lovely when a character wants to make polyamory work, however, the boys were not about that type of life and they left her alone. She could have had it all! OR at least Josh! Josh is and always will be the best boy for Tina because of his absolute sweetness and his epic dancing skills. I wish Tina and Josh would work out.

*side eyes to Bob’s Burgers writers*

[skabunny]

2018 a Year in Review

Hey Adventurers! Every year on social media I devour lists of list of lists all the good, bad, sweet and terrible things that happened through the year. The more pictures, tweets and ideas the better. I don’t have a whole lot to talk about to review this year so this is gonna be a two part blog. Today we’re gonna talk about things that happened and Tuesday I’m going to post a special blog of the things that I’m hoping to do in 2019.

I think I’ve talked about it here. I don’t really hold to new years resolutions. I think the process is a bit silly and it doesn’t really talk about goals, it more talks about all of the things you hate about yourself. and I’m super not ok with that. I’ll be starting the Love Your Life in 30 Days workbook from Mike Dooley. You can find the book anywhere, I have it on my kindle and I try to do it in the first 90 days of the year to give me perspective and help me to see what I’m doing and where I want to go. Last year I didn’t get super far, but I’ll be updating progress on Instagram and thanks to integration you’ll be able to follow it on Twitter and Facebook as well. I’m usually pretty good at starting so hopefully with your help I’ll get through all 30 days no problem.

Without Further Ado…

I made goals this year to work on my health, emotional well being and saying no.

I improved my boundaries. I learned to say no more often and especially when it’s in my best interest. I’m not perfect at it, but as someone who’s recovering from saying yes ALL the time, no was a pretty big deal to begin with.

It took a while, but I finally called financial aid and was able to get help affording my health care costs. I saw doctors for help with all kinds of things including my hips, weight loss, my tonsils, and the constant nausea.

I lost 10 lbs. Which is a freaking miracle. The number isn’t a big deal to me. I’m more excited that it’s 10 lbs less on my hips and what is hopefully at least a little more time to a hip replacement.

I started journaling. First using a bullet journal adjacent to my planner and then with the Journey app I purchased for my ChromeBook. I’m a huge fan of journaling. I talk to people about it all the time and I’ve been using it a lot as a tool to really kinda pull my shit together and bring things to focus. Sure they’ll exist forever and whatever, but this is more for me as a tool to be a better me now.

I took a risk at work and it paid off

When I found myself tasked with the responsibilities of someone in a Senior role, I didn’t wait around to find out when I would be made a senior tester, I took the initiative to learn what I needed to do for that role and then make it happen.

I also had an opportunity to step into a new department and take on a whole new standard of testing. This is must more strict, but also way more fun. It’s a huge risk, but hopefully it pays off in the long run with a great experience and a fantastic learning opportunity.

I met someone.

I’m not gonna go into details, for many reasons it didn’t work out. But finding people in your life that really meet you and see you for who you are is such an incredible and life altering experience that I’m grateful for every second of that seriously unique experience. I may talk about it someday, but for now I’m gonna keep it as mine.

Meeting someone who makes you feel like you’re made of magic is such a huge thing, but it seriously opened my eyes to a lot of the things that I’d been missing around me and allowed for a huge piece of closure for me. I talked about it a bit here. I’m incredibly lucky that my ex and I worked on our friendship and I feel so wonderfully blessed that his girlfriend has become a friend. They’re wonderful people together and I’m so excited to watch them grow.

I have some amazing friends

Work friends are weird. You meet because you’re all in the same place and then somehow you’re all friends based on almost no feature, just the nature that you’re friends now. Some of those friends have become regular parts of my day, regardless of what department I’m in or what I’m doing I make a point to talk with them. Laugh with them and try new things they recommend. We share videos, details of our lives outside of work and are people in a way that you can only be people with real friends. I’m super lucky that they wanted to talk and that we all still get along even when my world is crazy.

I also had the amazing opportunity to re-connect with one of my favorite people. I’m super grateful for her and for the joy she’s brought back to my life and I’m beyond excited to see what amazing things come for her in the new year.

One of my favorite people started her next chapter by moving to Oakland this year. I’m super excited for her and all of her adventures, but I super miss her.

I started streaming

Twitch is a whole new world, but it’s been really exciting to get started and really see the community from the inside. I’ve been wanting to do a lot of creative things and streaming on Twitch was one way to really get started with some of those things.

I also relaunched skaBunny Makes! This was a big deal. I had to close down the site in February because I was out of funds and creative energy to really work on it. After helping other people really work on reaching for their dreams and watching them go for it regardless of consequences I decided to leap and start again. I’m still rusty, but I’ve been pretty empowered to keep going and I’m loving the opportunity to talk about things that are going on and stuff I think is super important.I have a lot of stories to tell and I”m hoping to do more of that here.

I edited a book of poetry. I’m really proud of the poet who took their opportunity to tell their story on their terms. I may not have always been happy with them, but I’m super proud of all the work they did to complete the book.

Intersectional Feminism came into my life this year

I’ve always been a feminist, but this year I really started critically thinking about the world around me. It’s made it hard to really love certain things that I did love, but also it’s opened my eyes to just how blind I’ve been to my own prejudice and the ideas I learned back in the day. I am a huge believer in challenging my assumptions. This year I put my money where my mouth was and started learning instead of just talking. I’m hoping to bring some of these lessons and stories to you over the next year, but we’ll see. I have a lot more to learn.

I also stepped outside of my comfort zone at some point this year and started reading new authors I hadn’t experienced before. The new perspectives were enlightening and I found that the new stories really re-ignited my passion for storytelling and for listening. I’d become very good at talking over the last few years, so this year I really tried to listen more than I spoke. It’s something I’m gonna have to keep working on. But it’s a process I’m not going to stop.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - I didn’t get to see many movies this year minus the fact that I had movie pass, but I did get to see the new Spider-Man animated movie which was a beautiful, smart, brilliant movie about a biracial Spider-Man who’s father is a police officer and his mother is a nurse. It’s a brilliant story, but beyond that there are several moments that just kinda punch you in the stomach. I was told I’d cry a lot and I did. Linda Holmes from NPR picked the conversation between Mile’s father and the locked bedroom door as her moment, and it’s a good one. Mine might have been the one a few minutes before. I can’t give up all the details, but I keep thinking about it. I highly recommend the movie.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2017 book “Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions” - I found this book while looking up stories I hadn’t read before. It’s a bright take on raising children to be feminists. Adichie a Nigerian novelist and writer of the essay “We Should All Be Feminists“ makes some incredible points about how we raise children and what is beneficial to raise socially aware, strong, intelligent children. It’s a great read and her TED Talk is fantastic if you’re looking for something like that.

Killing Eve - OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG. This show. I had to start off slowly, but the last few episodes I couldn’t stop. Sandra Oh's Eve was a brilliant balance to Jodie Comer’s Villanelle. Both dark, both completely honest about who they are, both strong amazing women. I was so blown away by the power of these incredible women. The supporting cast was brilliant, I am still kinda in shock from the end. I can’t spoil anything, you should watch it.

Timeless - Ok, so the show is basically a soap opera with time travel, but they meet some amazing people and I really loved every second of this silly show. I have the two hour ending to finish, but I’m still not ready to be done with this silly show.

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel - Brilliant show from the creators of Gilmore Girls. I love it more, I think it’s hilarious and amazing and so much fun to watch. I feel like there could definitely be more representation, but it’s still charming and I still can’t wait to finish it.

Cartoons of 2018 don’t need their own individual sections. I’m still super in love with Steven Universe, Star Vs the Forces of Evil, Gravity Falls, Bob’s Burgers, Super Monsters, Young Justice, She-Ra and Hilda. They’re all worth a watch and a lot of fun.

Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette - I can’t talk about this enough. You need to see it. You can watch it on Netflix. It’s powerful, brilliant and so very smart. It’s a story, it’s a comedy, it’s a whole lota truth. Watch it and then read this Wired piece. I can’t even tell you all the feelings and ideas and discussions that were started because of this piece. She’s amazing and I am so delighted we share a name.

The 13th Doctor - I haven’t had a chance to start watching the episodes, but knowing that the Doctor is a woman and that she’s off having adventures and kicking ass makes me so incredibly happy and the clips I’ve seen are brilliant.

DC Universe Titans - This was an unexpected addition to my life. I’ve never been a big DC comics fan. I have a lot of feelings regarding how they handle lots of things, but this show started and I was able to watch with someone who’s a huge fan and it has been a trip. Another dark and serious show, but it’s been really interesting and very good. I’m really interested to see what happens next. I’m also super excited for the launch of the new Titans comics in June with art by Gabriel Picolo .

So that’s 2018. Lot’s of things made better by experiences, some sad moments, lots of happy ones. So much more going on and so many more adventures to have. I’ll be back on Tuesday with goals and plans for 2019.

XoxO Adventurers!

Hh G

Thank you for coming to visit and for continuing to support skaBunny Makes. This is a project I work on because I love it. If you love it and want to support, please contact me at skabunny.creative@gmail.com. You should also reach out if you have a guest post you’d like me to publish or if there are topics you would like me to cover. You can find a list of projects I’m working on in the Other Projects folder and you can listen to me chatter, mostly at myself 3 days a week on Twitch - Mondays, Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:30 pm and Saturdays from 7 pm to 11:30 pm.

New blog posts will be posted on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Some of it will be new content, new series, new images, but we’re still gonna talk about real life here. That’s not going to change. We will still cover loads of things that aren’t easy, mental health, life choices, living with your body, new families, life, changes in the world and all kinds of other things. Life is an adventure, this one is mine.

[mrmichaelchadler]

The Best TV of 2018

It may perhaps merely be a product of our times that consensus gets further and further away with so many options for entertainment, but even a casual perusal of Twitter produces wildly different opinions on the state of television in 2018. Some notable critics believe we’re still in the Golden Age of TV. Others believe we’re far from it. Has the non-stop market saturation of streaming services reduced the overall quality? Or do we just have to try a little harder to find it? There does seem to be a sense that we’re all overwhelmed by the variety of options out there, and that it’s going to be increasingly difficult for shows to transcend all of the choices to become true phenomena. Would “The Sopranos” or “Breaking Bad” make the impact they did today? Probably not. By that same token, it does feel like TV has become more of a Big Box store—something for everyone—than the creator-driven medium it was five or ten years ago. But look at the quality below. We had little problem putting together lists of dozens of shows we liked this year, and we still had to cut a few that we think you should be watching. These are the ones that we feel most broke through the Target-ization of TV. Watch em all.

BRIAN TALLERICO

Runner-ups: “American Vandal,” “Big Mouth,” “Castle Rock,” “Everything Sucks!,” “GLOW,” “Legion,” “One Day at a Time,” “Ray Donovan,” “Superstore,” and “The Terror”

20. “Bodyguard”

19. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

18. “Billions”

17. “Dear White People”

16. “Westworld”

15. “Succession”

14. “Bob’s Burgers”

13. “Sharp Objects”

12. "Homecoming"

11. “The Americans”

10. “Maniac”

I’ve been saying this for so long that I’m starting to get bored with it myself: I’m stunned that the streaming revolution hasn’t led to more playfulness in terms of structure and genre. But maybe that’s changing? The reason we grew up with half-hour comedies and hour-long dramas was because of the structure of ad-supported television. So why are we still stuck with it? Why can’t we have short dramas and long comedies? Which brings us to “Maniac,” Cary Joji Fukunaga’s mesmerizing experiment in structure, genre, and length. Starring Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, and Justin Theroux, this mindfuck of a show is one of the few things I saw this year that truly felt like it was pushing the envelope of what television is capable of, paying homage to Stanley Kubrick, Joel Coen, and Terry Gilliam while also carving its own new ground. I get why some people were turned off by the tonal shifts and unique nature of the back half of this season, but that almost makes me like it more—sometimes the most interesting art provokes the most divisive responses.

9. “The Haunting of Hill House”

No single episode that I saw this year had quite the impact on me as the fifth episode of Mike Flanagan’s masterful horror drama, one that blended horror and heartbreak in equal measure. With an award-worthy performance by Victoria Pedretti, Flanagan and his ensemble paid off everything set up by the previous four incredible episodes. That the back half of the first season of this great show doesn’t live up to the first isn’t as important to me as some people. Taken as a 5-episode run, the first half is as good as any you’ll find in any series this year, and there’s enough to like in the second half that it doesn’t completely derail. I think the problem most people had was that after the towering emotional achievement of episode five and the technical one of episode six, anything was bound to disappoint. Again, and I’m going to get a little “broken record” here again if you've been reading me for the last few years, when you’ve been doing this TV thing for two decades, you increasingly embrace the new, and “Hill House” wasn’t like anything else on TV this year. It was so good, I watched it twice.

8. “Killing Eve”

One of the true honest-to-goodness buzzed-about hits this year (maybe the only one?), BBC America’s hit show did something virtually impossible and actually increased its viewership with each passing episode. It was a show that people were actually recommending to friends in a way that streaming/binge-viewing—where Netflix is dropping another show before you can actually talk about the first—has virtually eliminated. What got people buzzing? Incredibly smart writing and the magnetic performances from Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer as a cat-and-mouse duo in which neither would probably agree on which one was the feline. A shared obsession between a psychopathic killer and the woman tracking her is a great hook already, but Oh and Comer are so incredibly charming and fascinating that they instantly became a classic TV duo. More than any show this year, I can’t wait to see where this one goes next.

7. “The Good Place”

I’ll admit dear readers to being forking worried at a few points this season. This brilliant NBC comedy—so far and away the best show on network television that it’s almost unfair—completely upended its premise by delivering its protagonists back to the real world, a daring move for a show in which the setting was almost a fluid character of its own for two years. And I wasn’t sure where “The Good Place” was going for a few episodes, ones kept afloat by the stunning skill of the ensemble but missing a small degree of confidence when compared to the first two. And then they really stuck the landing. Even more importantly, this is an annual list, and the last five episodes of season two, which aired in January and February, were downright masterful. This show is funny, smart, moving, and insightful. And I never should have doubted it.

6. “A Very English Scandal”

Likely the least-seen entry in this top ten, I urge you to bookmark this page, drop what you’re doing, go to Amazon Prime and watch this, and then come back later. You won’t regret it. The best thing that Stephen Frears (“Dangerous Liaisons,” “The Queen”) has done in over a decade, this three-hour mini-series dramatizes the events around a notorious scandal in which a member of British Parliament tried to have his gay lover killed. Hugh Grant—having a career renaissance of late with “Florence Foster Jenkins,” “Paddington 2,” and this—stars as the politician and the great Ben Whishaw plays the sexual partner who wouldn’t go away to his liking. Biting, clever, and anchored by two fantastic performances, this is an entertaining reminder that truly dirty politics are not an entirely Trumpian trend. 

5. “The Tale”

Does it belong on a film or TV list? I saw it on a big screen at the world premiere at Sundance, but most people only had the opportunity to see it on HBO, so I’m qualifying it as TV (although wouldn’t argue with those who put it on their film list…it’s a line that gets blurrier every year). However you see “The Tale,” see “The Tale.” One of our best living actresses, Laura Dern, stars in this semi-autobiographical story of a woman whose life is turned upside down when her mother (Ellen Burstyn) discovers what she believes is evidence of child abuse when her daughter was a pre-teen. How we compartmentalize and make excuses for traumatic events in our life, how monsters so easily prey on the vulnerable, and the very structure and purpose of biographical filmmaking are dissected here, anchored by great performances from Dern, Jason Ritter, Elizabeth Debicki, and more. It’s a tough watch, but it’s worth it.

4. “Better Call Saul”

The best drama on TV by some stretch works on so many levels simultaneously that I’m not even sure where to start. How about the fact that the writers of this brilliant show had the nerve, just when viewers were truly expecting more tie-ins to “Breaking Bad,” to make their latest season mostly about the arc of the non-“Bad” Kim Wexler? Rhea Seehorn’s performance here is my favorite on any show this year, in any genre, and I’m flabbergasted at the trust the writers placed in her to convey what is so often missing from the fast-paced world of TV—inner monologue. They trust that fans of this show know these characters well enough that they don’t have to explain every detail and twist. So much of television is about characters telling you what they want, how they’re going to get it, and then getting it. “Better Call Saul” completely bucks this trend by presenting us with characters uncertain about their own needs and desires, taking life as it comes to them, whether they’re starting a drop-phone business or stealing a Hummel figurine. And it’s got the best ensemble on TV. By far.

3. “America to Me”

Steve James’ latest project should be essential viewing for all school administrations around the country, and most city politicians as well. In spending a year with the students and staff at Oak Park and River Forest High School, James and his crew created a portrait of life in Chicago in the late ‘10s that will stand the test of time. “America to Me” is a show about listening. It’s made by a filmmaker who listens to his subjects and allows their stories to guide his process. It’s about listening to overworked staff members who may not know the best way to handle the problems in their schools but wake up every day trying to figure it out. Most of all, it’s about listening to the kids—the kids who channel their hopes and dreams into poetry, athletics, or even just trying to graduate. We can only possibly succeed as a country if we start to listen to all of them.

2. “Barry”

I can’t remember the last time that my best-of list was topped by two comedies, but both of these shows are barely comedies. The half-hour structure makes them easily categorizable as comedies and they have more funny beats than dramatic ones, but they’re both shows that do that thing I was talking about way back in the “Maniac” entry: Push the boundaries of genre expectations. HBO’s best show starts as a seemingly predictable fish-out-of-water comedy about a hitman finding friends in an acting workshop in L.A., recalling “Get Shorty,” but becomes something much darker and deeper as the season progresses, landing in a place that’s more Vince Gilligan than Elmore Leonard. This is also the part that Bill Hader was born to play—believable in both Barry’s menace and his likability. In a very strong year for new shows, this was the best.

1. “Atlanta”

What is “Atlanta” about? I’ve watched many of its episodes twice and I’m still not really sure how to answer that question. I do know that it’s not like anything else on TV. When I start on an episode of “Atlanta,” I’m never quite sure what I’m going to get, but I have literally never been disappointed. There’s no such thing as a bad episode of “Atlanta,” through two seasons, and there are several masterpieces. So much has been written about “Teddy Perkins” that I couldn’t possibly add more to that conversation but the thing that not enough people have noted is that this season would be brilliant even without that episode. I really like “Alligator Man” and I love “Helen.” More than most shows in 2018, I feel like people are going to be writing about and dissecting “Atlanta” for many years to come. It is a groundbreaking, daring, brilliant show. And TV critics wouldn’t be so divided on the state of the industry if there were more like it. 

ALLISON SHOEMAKER

Runner-ups: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Jesus Christ Superstar Live,” “Howards End,” “Ugly Delicious,” “Doctor Who,” “Superstore,” “Salt Fat Acid Heat,” “My Brilliant Friend,” “Lodge 49,” “Harlots”

20. “A Very English Scandal"

19. “The Terror"

18. “Succession"

17. “Wanderlust"

16. “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace”

15.” America to Me”

14. “Barry”

13. “Sharp Objects”

12. “American Vandal”

11. “Vida”

10. “The Good Fight”

I was late to the party with “The Good Fight,” the smartest televised look at life after the 2016 election. The first season, which begins with “The Good Wife’s” Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) watching the inauguration of Donald Trump and promptly deciding to move to a vineyard in France (spoiler: that doesn’t work out), matches the series from which it spun (“The Good Wife”) in verve and wit. The second does something entirely new.

Creators Robert King, Michelle King, and Phil Alden Robinson didn’t plan to follow Diane under President Trump. Who among us planned on that? The break between seasons gave the show’s writers a chance to process and think about new ways to explore what it feels like to be alive—especially alive and black, female, or both—in this particular moment, and the results speak for themselves. “The Good Fight” has become not just TV’s best, most thoughtful procedural, but a cogent legal series laced through with heady surreality—visual, textual, metaphysical, political. Yet because of where we’re at, that surreality is heightened further. Is that office really full of balloons? Is there actually a pig in the white house? Is that camera still running, and did that person really just get shot? Can life possibly be like this, or am I just high?

9. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”

“Riverdale” can take a seat—”Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is The CW’s most daring series. An almost impossibly bold musical comedy about mental illness that deconstructs the tropes of romantic comedies and explores the ways in which those things intersect, Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna’s critical darling (and underseen gem) spent much of its third season in a place as tender and painful as a bruise. With the beginning of its fourth—and final— season, however, ”Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” began to dig into the complicated nature of recovery with undisguised relish. As Rebecca Bunch (Bloom) grows increasingly self-aware, her journey becomes mirrored by that of those around her, creating a throughline of meta-commentary that doubles as a collection of thoughtful, almost gentle character studies—an approach epitomized by the reintroduction of Greg, a recovering alcoholic who’s so changed that he’s now played by an entirely different person (Skyler Astin, taking over from Santino Fontana).

That’s ambitious enough, all by itself. But the musical portion of the proceedings has continued to dazzle, and it’s that element that lends “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” one of the largest visual palettes on TV. The show’s directors (to say nothing of choreographer Kathryn M. Burns and Bloom herself, who conceptualizes the “video” for every musical number on the show) jump into these segments like kids playing in a puddle, bringing us into a demented “Oklahoma” one moment and allowing a supporting character to decry his own profession via the muted colors and jaunty angles of New Jack Swing the next. It’s wild, ambitious, undeniably entertaining stuff. I’ll miss it terribly when it’s gone.

8. “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”

“Legends of Tomorrow” was once the Arrowverse’s dull-as-stale-bread stepchild, a mess of contradictory elements that added up to a whole lot of nothing. Not so anymore. Nowadays, even the memory of that first season is so remote that it’s almost as if Beebo smashed it all to bits and scattered the pieces throughout the universe. There are more visually accomplished shows out there—”Legends” doesn’t have the luxury of “Game of Thrones” money—but there’s no as willing to throw caution to the wind and simply do whatever seems the most fun. A lot of what happens is familiar territory,  but the self-awareness of the series ensures that even the mustiest tropes feel fresh. And sure, this is fluffy entertainment, but the writers’ commitment to character means that while you might call “Legends” a treat, you could never call it junk food. It’s silly, sometimes delightfully stupid, and there’s little to challenge the mind, but if I’m totally honest with you as well as myself, there’s no series I looked forward to with more eagerness than this one. You can keep “The Handmaid’s Tale.” I want the traditional timeloop fun montage.

7. “Atlanta”

I’m not even sure what’s left to say about “Teddy Perkins.” It’s a frankly astonishing episode of television, funnier than most comedies can ever boast of being, scarier than nearly any horror show could hope to be, and as layered as an onion (or an episode of “The Leftovers”). It does more in one scene than many shows could achieve in several seasons. And it’s my second favorite episode of “Atlanta” this year. Donald Glover’s remarkable series met and surpassed the high watermarks of its terrific freshman season, thanks in no small part to a series of stunning turns from Brian Tyree Henry (who’s having a pretty great year all around, not sure if you noticed.) Without “Teddy Perkins,” it would still be among the best things on television. With it? Holy shit.

6. “The Tale”

Behind the lens: Jennifer Fox, documentarian, working on her first narrative feature. Before the lens: Jennifer Fox, loosely fictional entity (Laura Dern), a documentarian unexpectedly in the position of interrogating herself. In her mind: Jenny Fox, age 13 (Isabelle Nélisse), turning her own trauma into a tale that she can bear, writing it down, word by word, until she finds herself believing it. When I first began watching Fox’s brave, shockingly intimate film, my initial response was one of disappointment about its home. A film this good deserves to be seen on the big screen, I thought. But when I’d paused it to walk away and catch my breath 20 minutes later, I reconsidered that notion. HBO’s acquisition of “The Tale” does more for the film than its proposed use as an educational tool would suggest, though that’s undeniably of great value. It allows the viewer to pause, walk away, catch their breath, let out a sob or two, and return to it when equipped to do so, like testing a wounded ankle to see when it will bear all that weight. Exquisite, unforgettable, and something I’ll never watch again.

5. “Pose”

In “Love is the Message,” the Janet Mock-directed, Mock and Ryan Murphy-written sixth episode of “Pose’s” remarkable freshman season, two people confront their own mortality, the painful future that awaits them, and the cruelty of the world in a moment of exquisite joy. They stand together, and they sing from the bottoms of their shoes. Created by Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Steven Canals, “Pose” steps into the community of New York’s ballroom scene—and more specifically, though not exclusively, the trans women found therein—at a time in which any one of them could at any moment drop dead, the direct result of the AIDS crisis largely ignored by the American government. But while the pain and injustice of that time and place are clear, that’s not what dominates the series, or that scene. “Pose” is a series of joy, and as Mock’s camera captures every flicker of fear, so to does it observe the unbearable loveliness of being alive. Blanca (Mj Rodriguez) and Pray Tell (Billy Porter) breathe in, and it’s like a prayer. Then they stand together and sing, my god, they sing.

4. “The Good Place”

Much has been written about the almost casual manner in which Michael Schur’s thoughtful philositcom burns everything down. With some regularity, the denizens of “The Good Place”—once Team Cockroach, then the Soul Squad, and now, who knows what—see everything they know torn down, only to be rebuilt. Watching Schur, his writers, and the show’s (presumably very busy) production design team relaunch the adventures of Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), Jason (Manny Jacinto), Janet (D’Arcy Carden), and Michael (Ted Danson) would be a thrill in any circumstance. But the show’s commitment to rooting all that tomfoolery in the exploration of what it means to be human and have a conscience at the same time makes it as personal and honest as it is ambitious and absolutely bonkers. That in and of itself is pretty honest—after all, you never know when you might be forced grab a lighter, yell “BORTLES,” and blow your situation up.

3. “One Day at a Time”

Rumors of the demise of the multi-cam sitcom have been greatly exaggerated, and “One Day at a Time” is living proof. The Norman Lear-produced reboot of his classic sitcom of the same name sees creators Mike Royce and Gloria Calderon-Kellett exploring the difficulties and pleasures experienced by the Latinx, immigrant, queer, and military communities with a greater sense of fun than one might think possible after reading such a list. While the contemporary feeling of its characters—played with irresistible panache by a top-flight cast, led by Justina Machado and Rita Moreno—might tempt one who hasn’t seen it to file it away from classics like “Cheers” and “All in the Family,” any viewer who has had the pleasure of witnessing its mastery of the multi-cam format will know better.

That expertise comes particularly in handy in “Not Yet.” The almost defiantly theatrical season finale, which takes place almost exclusively in the hushed hospital room of an ailing member of the family, draws viewers in one monologue at a time, achieving a sense of immediacy and intimacy that was, in this year, almost impossible to match. It’s back next month. I can’t wait. Cue the theme song.

2. “Killing Eve”

“Killing Eve” is the funniest murder show, the saddest black comedy, the most thrilling hangout series and the most casual spy story of the year, and it’s more than those things together. Sandra Oh is perfect. Jodie Comer is perfect. It does more storytelling with one piece of costuming alone than many other shows achieve in an hour, or more. It plays with tropes and plays off your expectation, defies classification while being every inch a cat-and-mouse story, and never stops being a damned good time, even as it explores love, lust, grief, trauma, fear, and the sometimes jarring reality of getting what you want.

1. “The Americans”

I’ve written about “The Americans” at length this year, both for this site and others, so let me just say this. In competitive figure-skating, each skater has a maximum score they can achieve, and that’s determined by the degree of difficulty of the routine they set out to perform. It’s possible to stumble, even to fall, and still to do well, because the essentials are perfect, or because another jump or two succeeds. “The Americans” had a bunch of crazy jumps in this season. Had creators Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg missed one or two, they’d still have medaled. But the trickiest jump of all—the series finale—could not have touched down more solidly and gracefully. The full 200 points are gratefully awarded.

from All Content http://bit.ly/2T2bkLR

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The Best TV Comedies of 2020

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Have we ever been in more need of a laugh than in 2020? Amidst a historic global pandemic, a tumultuous American political election, civil unrest, wildfires, MURDER HORNE… alright, you get the picture. 2020 has been the pits, man. Thankfully, this year from hell featured some bright spots on television, even if rays of sunshine were sorely lacking in reality.

If the shows on our list weren’t making us laugh, we would have been ugly-crying since March. While we were all locked in our homes, we got reacclimated with the Warner Brothers (and sister), said goodbye to BoJack Horseman, and met regular human bartender Jackie Daytona, making quarantine a bit more bearable, if only in 30 minute increments. From brand new series like How To with John Wilson, to swan songs for Den of Geek favorites like Schitt’s Creek, TV comedies in 2020 kept us cackling through the chaos.

To determine the best TV comedy of 2020 in a particularly stacked, diverse year, we polled 12 Den of Geek staffers and contributors. Below, you’ll find our honorable mentions and our list of the series most likely to raise your mood in the darkest year of our adventures.

Honorable Mentions

The following shows received votes but just missed out on the top 20: 

Ramy, Never Have I Ever, Feel Good, The Great, Avenue 5, The Duchess, Staged, Famalam, Inside No. 9, Ghosts, The Shivering Truth, Bob’s Burgers, Katy Keene

DEN OF GEEK TOP 20 COMEDIES OF 2020

20 – Big Mouth (Netflix)

How long can a show about puberty, a very specific time in the life cycle, remain viable? Well based on the fourth season of Netflix’s animated comedy Big Mouth, just about as long as it wants to. Big Mouth season 4 succeeds by finding new avenues to delve into the psyches of its young characters going through chaaaaanges. In the process it also finds ways to expand its storytelling capabilities, delving into issues of trans youth, code switching, and anxiety. Through it all it remains as hilarious, and disturbingly vivid, as ever. – Alec Bojalad

19 – The Eric Andre Show (Adult Swim)

It’s not like Eric Andre reinvented the wheel or anything with the fifth season of his anarchic, absurdist talk show. If you were never a fan of anti-comedy that centers heavily around duping random people on the street, gross-out gags, and the torture of unsuspecting guests, then you’re not going to start liking it now.

However, for those of us already onboard The Eric Andre Show train, it’s no small feat that, five seasons in, this is still one of the funniest shows on TV. You’d think by now Eric would’ve run out of guests who have no idea what they’re in for, but, no, there’s an all-new batch of naive celebrities whose lives are effortlessly worsened by Eric, his crew, and his new house band. You’d assume he couldn’t prank people on the streets of New York City and Newark, New Jersey anymore because he’d be recognized by now, but, no, he pisses off a lot of people and breaks a lot of other people’s brains with ever-inventive, bizarre, obnoxious pranks. 

Finally, you might think the series would suffer irrevocably from the departure of co-host Hannibal Buress only two episodes into the season, but Eric demonstrates he’s more than capable of spreading chaos all on his own (though he’s sometimes assisted, alternatingly, by a Hannibal clone named Blannibal, comedian Felipe Esparza, and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominee Lakeith Stanfield). Season five is the same The Eric Andre Show as it ever was, but that still makes me laugh harder than anything else on television right now. I’d be happy for Eric to keep making this show forever. – Joe Matar

18 – Saved by the Bell (Peacock)

A Saved by the Bell reboot shouldn’t have worked. But as Peacock’s recent series showcased, with the right creative team and angle, you really can successfully reimagine an outdated but beloved ’90s teen comedy for 2020. Working as both a soft reboot and sequel, this is meta-comedy at its best. Saved by the Bell is fully aware of what made the original special and why they don’t still make shows like it now. Juxtaposing those two competing views through the lens of the privileged and perfect Bayside kids and the new normal students makes this an accessible and seriously funny series with a biting humor rarely seen in teen comedy. – Rosie Knight 

17 – Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (Freeform)

Australian comedian Josh Thomas brings his off-kilter sensibility to a loving and sharply funny portrait of a modern family in Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. In the pilot, Thomas’s character Nicholas, a gay twentysomething from Australia, visits his father in the US and learns that his physically and emotionally distant dad is dying. Things really pick up as Nicholas steps up to care for his two teenage half-sisters, Matilda (Kayla Cromer) and Genevieve (Maeva Press), while also trying to date, and manage his melodramatic mother from the other side of the planet. 

Matilda especially comes into her own as she hopes to go to college away from home next year— something others doubt since she’s autistic. Her autism is a reality that becomes part of the fabric of the show, a setup rather than a punchline. Few shows would include a teenage threesome that manages to be funny, heartfelt, and matter-of-fact, but in Matilda’s world, sex (and exploring her sexuality) are often all three. Everything’s Gonna Be Okay is a family show that acknowledges the realities of family: death, disabilities, teenage girls with sex drives, and laughter at funerals. – Delia Harrington 

16 – Star Trek: Lower Decks (CBS All Access)

Created by one of the writer/producers of Rick and Morty, it’s no surprise that the first episode of Lower Decks involved some pretty broad humor and wildly out of control situations. The producers of the 1970s Star Trek: The Animated Series understood the creative potential of animation when they replaced Ensign Chekov with a giant cat, and Lower Decks follows suit, the pilot giving us blood, guts, gore, zombies and a giant spider, all in Rick and Morty’s madcap tone.

As the show has developed over its first ten episodes, though, it’s become something more than that. The knowing humor is a delight—the focus on things like “second contact” (the less glamorous setting up of diplomatic relations after first contact), ascensions to a higher plane of existence gone wrong, and re-visiting half-forgotten alien races like the Pakleds shows the same sort of gently teasing love of the franchise that Galaxy Quest did. But the characters have also developed into real, complex people to the point that a character death is genuinely moving, and the audience are really able to care about what happens to these essential cogs in Starfleet’s machine next. – Juliette Harrison 

15 – Solar Opposites (Hulu)

A big part of what makes Rick and Morty so great is that, in addition to all the sci-fi hijinks, there’s meaningful development of the show’s characters and world. Unfortunately, as the series has progressed, this is also what’s dragged it down. As Rick’s nihilism has increasingly alienated the people around him, a lot of the fun has been lost. The show still puts out the occasional brilliant episode (for example, the season four finale), but it almost feels like all the characters on Rick and Morty straight-up hate each other and watching it can be kind of a drag sometimes.

It’s such a treat then, to see all that fun sci-fi silliness rebirthed in the form of Solar Opposites, co-created by Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty co-creator and writer/producer, respectively). Making good use of all the storytelling lessons they learned from their other sci-fi cartoon show, the two have released a confident and consistently funny debut season. Though it feels awfully similar to Rick and Morty at first blush, it has more in common with classic sitcoms, with its focus on goofy, self-contained plots about the alien family at the show’s center. However, the series shakes the sitcom formula up a lot with a surprising dedication to callbacks and continuity, most notably exemplified by the continuing, dramatic tribulations of a community of people who have been shrunken down and forced to live in the aliens’ multilevel terrarium. The combination of madcap sci-fi alien plots contrasted with the trials of the melodramatic dystopian shrunken-people world makes Solar Opposites one of the most inventive comedies of the season, and I’m excited to find out where it’s going next. – Joe Matar

14 – Dave (FX) 

There are countless hip-hop artists whose backstories would make for compelling television. So why did FX choose to spotlight a goofball white rapper from the suburbs with a mediocre penis joke for a stage name? It takes only one episode to realize any preconceived notions about Dave, based on the life and rap career of Dave Burd, aka Lil Dickey, should be spit from your silly mouth faster than Lil Dickey spits bars on a freestyle. 

A telling sign that Dave was going to be a sleeper hit was the involvement of co-creator Jeff Schaffer, a longtime EP and writer on Curb Your Enthusiasm and the creator of FX’s The League. Together Schaffer and Burd mapped out a first season that sees Dave navigate the early stages of his music career with a level of narcissism he believes is needed to be taken seriously in the rap game. But the series also shows another side of Dave, self-deprecating in a surprisingly endearing way, rarely swayed by what others think, and frustratingly true to himself and the path he sees for his life. This is FX’s star vehicle for Burd, but the show manages to make him the center of the universe while still developing key players in his life as the season progresses, giving each character an affecting spotlight episode. The standouts include episodes about Dave’s real-life friend and hype man GaTa and his struggles with bipolar disorder, the evolving managerial relationship with his roommate (Andrew Santino), and how sudden fame begins to erode a once promising relationship with his girlfriend, Ali (Taylor Misiak). 

Already renewed for season 2 and a ratings hit with FX/Hulu reporting high streaming numbers, Dave is no longer an underdog and will carry a new set of expectations as the titular character’s career ascends. If you’re still a skeptic, you need to adhere to television’s golden rule when it comes to Dave: Don’t judge it until you binge it. – Chris Longo

13 – Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox)

At only 13 episodes, Season 7 was the shortest season yet of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but it packed a lot into those 13 half-hours. With Melissa Fumero pregnant in real life, the writers used this to cover six months in series by following Jake and Amy’s attempts to conceive a baby, helping those limited episodes to feel like they were filling out more time. The show has also struggled to work in its annual Halloween Heist episodes since moving to NBC and being put into a winter start slot, but in 2020 Rosa managed to triple her victory by engineering Heists on not just Halloween, but Valentine’s Day and Easter as well.

Season 7 aired too early to deal with the Black Lives Matter protests that dominated the summer of 2020, but the writers have already pulled all their planned scripts for Season 8 and re-written them in light of those events, so that is yet to come. 2020 had a little bit of everything that makes B99 great—a dose of Pimento, Jake and his daddy issues, Holt’s adorable corgi Cheddar, and one final appearance from his nemesis Madeline Wuntch. For once, the season didn’t end with Holt somehow being removed from his job as Captain of the 99, but there’s still plenty to look forward to in Season 8—maybe 2021 will be the year that Charles Boyle finally wins the Halloween/Valentine’s Day/Easter/Cinco de Mayo Heist? – Juliette Harrison

12 – Animaniacs (Hulu)

Rampant remakes and sequel reboots have turned into the norm, but streaming services have especially embraced this idea as a way to anchor a library of programming. These endeavors are extremely hit or miss, but Hulu’s revival of Animaniacs is one of the few exceptions that feel justified for a return. Animaniacs always functioned as a radical cocktail of perversions of pop culture and classic comedy and 2020’s Animaniacs actively thrives with decades’ worth of new material to lampoon. The series has stripped itself back to its basics and temporarily removed most of the old supporting players, except for Pinky and the Brain, but this allows Animaniacs to build itself back up and establish new recurring characters and segments.

There’s such clear joy present in Animaniacs, whether it’s from the voice actors, the creative staff, or the animation team. Segments like an unauthorized Russian version of the Animaniacs or catchy songs about Shakespeare and the different First Ladies of America prove that the classic series’ sense of humor has successfully been maintained. If anything, the cartoon is even more fearless. It’s the perfect burst of ‘90s Saturday Morning nostalgia that’s also exceptionally funny and thought provoking. – Daniel Kurland 

11 – Rick and Morty (Adult Swim)

Rick and Morty is a colossal behemoth of storytelling that’s developed a fascinating and often antagonistic relationship with its audience. 2020’s Rick and Morty content only includes five episodes from the second half of the show’s fourth season, but they’re some of the series’ wildest installments when it comes to storytelling, perpetual jokes, and the show’s ability to deconstruct itself and its fandom. The series Emmy-winning “Vat of Acid Episode” explores the emotional highs and lows of “save states” while “Never Ricking Morty,” the show’s “Story Train” episode, is perhaps the most structure-obsessed piece of television that’s ever been written.

Rick and Morty continues to expand its universe in exciting ways and allow its characters to realistically mature. These episodes provide fascinating insight on both Rick’s relationship with Morty as well as his bond with Beth. Even Jerry and Summer get their moments to shine and Rick and Morty feels more like an ensemble than ever before as it prepares to shake things up even more in season five. – Daniel Kurland

10 – Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun (Netflix)

In 2019, Netflix gave us I Think You Should Leave, the sketch comedy series from Tim Robinson that birthed memes that somehow only get more relevant (and funnier) as time goes on. In 2020, Netflix, likely mindful they needed to hold us over until Robinson finishes filming season 2, gave us a gift from down under called Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun. If you liked Robinson’s sketch series, imagine that on crack, dialed up to 100, and featuring the three silliest Australian dudes to ever walk on that continent. The series stars Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly, and Zachary Ruane, a group of friends who formed a comedy group called Aunty Donna and gained a large following on YouTube with their absurdist humor that features simple premises that often descend into frenetic madness. See: them explaining how a board game works or doing roll call at school. 

In Big Ol’ House of Fun, the series opens with a musical number that will have you wondering whether everything’s a drum. Episode 2 will change the way you think about your morning coffee. Friendly faces like Scott Aukerman and Ed Helms (or is it “Egg” Helms?) even stop by just to play ball. Through its infectious and (mostly) good-natured absurdist energy, the series lives up to its name with endlessly quotable and memable sketches. And much like I Think You Should Leave, Aunty Donna material only gets better when you rewatch it. Here’s to hoping Netflix will let us come back and visit this Big Ol’ House again for season 2. – Chris Longo

9 – Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet (Apple TV+)

Created by Rob McElhenney, David Hornsby, and Megan Ganz of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet is a new Apple TV+ comedy that easily justifies a subscription to the streaming service. Set within a video game studio for a popular MMORPG, Mythic Quest leans into certain workplace comedy tropes, but never feels derivative of the genre or that it’s just Always Sunny with a fresh coat of paint. The comedy effectively explores and skewers gaming culture, but a knowledge of the industry is not at all necessary to enjoy the program. 

Smart and creative scripts are punctuated by the show’s phenomenal cast, which features the likes of McElhenney, Hornsby, and Danny Pudi. However, Charlotte Nicdao’s work as Poppy Li, the studio’s neurotic perfectionist lead engineer, is a revelation. Mythic Quest works so well because of how it grounds its quick comedy in powerful character dynamics. The series’ “standalone” flashback episode, “A Dark Quiet Death,” received a ton of acclaim, but there are few episodes of television from 2020 that contain more heart and honesty than the series’ quarantine-centric installment. – Daniel Kurland

8- Search Party (HBO Max)

HBO Max’s first bingeable, bonafide hit was outsourced from TBS. After languishing on basic cable with critical praise but low viewership, Search Party made the move to the new Warner streaming service for Season 3 and proved that the series was the perfect “watch it all in one afternoon” comedy. What began as a comedic mystery series about a group of prototypical Brooklyn millenials on a quest to find their missing former classmate shifted in its third season to become a satire on celebrity trials and how tabloid spotlight can turn unassuming people into sociopathic narcissists.

Search Party’s strength is in its ensemble. Alia Shawkat brings an interesting vulnerability to disaffected Dory, but her other “searchers” are the real bright spots. John Reynolds is perfectly cast as the de facto worthless millennial “beta male,” and John Early and Meredith Hagner are consistently laugh out loud funny as self-obsessed, attention seeking airheads. Search Party has a twisty, interesting plot, but it’s also a scathing indictment on an entire generation obsessed with celebrity, self-analyzation, and searching for “meaning.” If you have not yet watched one of the year’s funniest shows, get caught up before Season 4 debuts in January 2021.  – Nick Harley

7- How To with John Wilson (HBO)

Life is strange. If you take a moment to actually watch and analyze many of the seemingly ordinary, day-to-day things you witness while walking down the street in a major U.S. city, you’ll be shocked at how alien it can all appear. In New York City in particular, every imaginable human behavior is on display somewhere, and documentarian John Wilson is out there capturing it all on camera. How To With John Wilson may seem like a series designed to teach you useful everyday skills like how to split a check or how to improve your memory, but in reality, it’s a love letter to New York, in all of its beautiful, ugly, life-affirming, and soul-crushing splendor.

It’s also insanely hilarious. Wilson’s deadpan, stammering narration on top of quick cut, slice of life footage is an endlessly watchable setup-punchline joke machine. Wilson also is wise to go down the rabbit hole and follow weird digressions wherever they lead him, like a Mandela Effect conference or the home of an anti-circumcision activist. Further, the series finale is the first piece of television to fully capture the reality of post-pandemic city life, putting to shame all of those half-assed Zoom created depictions of life in 2020. Few shows can effortlessly glide between cringe comedy and poignant moments like this. How To with John Wilson is unlike any other show on television, an absurdist masterpiece that makes the mundane feel surreal and vice versa. – Nick Harley

6- High Fidelity (Hulu)

In a time full of reboots and remakes, High Fidelity earned its existence and then some. To its many admirers, it warranted a second season for more eclectic music choices, guest stars, and beautiful lingering shots over the credits. Sadly, that is not meant to be. Hulu’s High Fidelity is so much more than just a gender-swapped adaptation, though Zoe Kravitz leads the endeavor in the lead role of Rob, the idiosyncratic record store owner counting off Top 5s, especially her Top 5 heartbreaks. 

Rob’s rich world is full of characters we’d love to spend more time with, like snarky Cherise, she of the eclectic taste who keeps putting off her musical dreams for “someday.” Or Simon, Rob’s ex and current best friend, who narrates an episode that completely changes how the audience views Rob. Zoe Kravitz carries this beautiful mood piece, sharing chemistry with just about everyone. While it seems relaxed and fun on arrival, High Fidelity eventually reveals itself to have plenty to say about being accountable for our actions and allowing oneself to be happy, before wrapping Rob in a warm summer night and sending her on her way. – Delia Harrington 

5- Pen15 (Hulu)

The debut season of Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle’s brilliant series in which they, two adult women, play middle-schoolers surrounded by actual kid actors playing their classmates, was, in my opinion, the funniest show last year, but, as I didn’t actually get around to watching it until this year, I didn’t know that at the time. Rectifying my past mistake, this year—despite the fact it’s only aired half a season so far due to production being halted by COVID—it’s not just my favorite comedy, it’s my favorite show, period.

Though it still has its fair share of laugh-out-loud moments, the comedy in the second season has, admittedly, been scaled back a bit, but it makes perfect sense for where Pen15 is right now. From the start, what the series has done painfully well is zero in on the utter nightmare of living through our stressful and confusing pubescent years. As the series deepens its exploration of these characters’ experiences with friendship, romance, sexuality, the internet, and the impact of divorce, the stress and confusion should and absolutely do ratchet up. This season is also doing a great job of further developing the show’s side characters, with a standout arc for Dylan Gage as Gabe, who is grappling with the discovery that he may be gay. Though it’s still a hilarious series in places, Pen15 most wins me over most for how uncomfortable and tragic it can be with its stunningly well-observed depiction of surviving junior high. The secondhand shame and embarrassment you’ll feel makes it one of the toughest, but most worthwhile, watches of the year. – Joe Matar

4 – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Jason Sudeikis’s Ted Lasso first originated as a character back in 2013, when NBC Sports commissioned a commercial for its upcoming coverage of the English Premier League. “An American Coach in London” introduced the concept of an American football coach deciding to try his hand coaching “the other football” with top flight club Tottenham Hotspur. It was a hilarious five minute clip that seemingly exploited the “fish out of water” concept to its natural conclusion.

The character seemed destined to be a one-off goof. But then Sudeikis and producer Bill Lawrence decided to try their hand at the overmatched coach one more time with a series for Apple TV+. The end result was one of the most essential new comedies of the 2020 TV season. Ted Lasso works because its’ funny, first and foremost. The show proves that this fish still had plenty of more time to spend out of water after all. More important, however, is how aggressively wholesome and optimistic it is. In a year that saw ugly Americans all over over TV screens, Ted Lasso represented the stars and bars the only way he knew how: by believing in the best of people from aging football star Roy Kent, to selfish young buck Jamie Tart, to even the woman who got him this job in the first place as an elaborate revenge plot.  – Alec Bojalad

3 – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)

If Schitt’s Creek were a fairy tale (and in all the best ways, it is), it’d be about a group of puppets brought to life by a magic spell. When the Roses lose their fortune, they’re forced to swap wealth and glamour for unfashionable small-town living. They start out wooden, obnoxious and alone. Then, over six seasons, we watch them transform into a flesh and blood family who figure out how to love each other in a community that’s as weird as they are, and that ends up loving them back. 

If that sounds schmaltzy, then I’m saying it wrong. Schitt’s Creek doesn’t do schmaltz. It does smart and absurd and naughty. It does jokes and brightness and kindness. Or it did, because now it’s gone. 2020 waved Johnny, Moira, David and Alexis off with a final season packed with treats: Patrick’s spray tan, David’s bed-wetting, the world premiere of “The Crows Have Eyes III: The Crowening”, Moira officiating a wedding dressed in a Rapunzel wig and pearlised bishop’s mitre…

However painful it was to say goodbye, the alternative – another six seasons with diminishing returns – would have been much worse. Dan and Eugene Levy’s sitcom went out on a high, with a finale that left fans in joyful tears. Not least for moments like the one in which a usually armoured-by-sarcasm David tells his sister, “For what it’s worth, I am continuously impressed by you.” The feeling’s mutual, Roses. – Louisa Mellor

2- BoJack Horseman (Netflix)

Though BoJack Horseman premiered only the back half of its final season in 2020, those eight episodes were some of the best dramatic and comedic storytelling on television this year. This final season operated as almost a microcosm of the series’ entire run. Just like the show’s beginning, season 6B begins with BoJack in a place of relative stability. He has just finished rehab and is prepared to embark on a career as an acting professor at Wesleyan. Of course, something from his past has to pop up to shatter his fragile equilibrium, just like it always does. In this case, it’s a pair of journalists working on a story of what really happened the night Sarah Lynn died back in season 3. What follows is as sadly predictable as it is tragic… also there are jokes!

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BoJack Horseman has been a frequently occurring item on many of our year-end best-of lists since the show first premiered in 2014. And each time, it’s hard not to continually expound upon what a bizarre, touching, and incisive drama Rapahel Bob-Waksberg’s animated creation is. That temptation remains for this final season, which is as devastating as they come. But this year, for the show’s final appearance on any of our best-of lists, let’s not lose sight of how funny this all is. 

Yes, this is an exploration of the human condition and how the only way to repair our damage is to acknowledge it and then put in the work to get better. It’s also the show where Mr. Peanutbutter, his fiancée Pickles Aplenty, and international pop superstar Joey Pogo open up a Lazy Susan/small plate restaurant called “Elifino.” The animation remains just as bright in this final season, the dialogue just as witty and convoluted, and the background jokes just as rewarding. BoJack Horseman season 6 shoulders a grand narrative burden of closing out the story of the world’s most miserable Horseman. That it is able to do so is remarkable. That it’s able to do so while maintaining its sharp sense of humor is even better. – Alec Bojalad 

1- What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Adapting a beloved indie comedy film to the small screen seems a near impossible task. But when Taika Waititi convinced Jemaine Clement they should do exactly that, it was a stroke of genius. With Waititi busy on his Marvel movies, Clement was left to write and produce the FX series alongside Stefani Robinson and Paul Simms. What We Do in the Shadows began with a solidly silly first season but came into its own during a stellar second season which leaned into the absurdity innate to the idea of ancient vampire roommates. The series has also given us a new action hero for the ages in Harvey Guillén’s Guillermo de la Cruz. 

What makes season two so excellent is the writing and performances that play on the fish out of water setup the show has so much fun with. In “The Curse,” Nandor checks his email and discovers a chain email from Bloody Mary. Most of the hilarious runtime focuses on the crew trying to uncurse themselves. It sounds simple but it is honestly one of the funniest episodes of TV you’ll watch all year. “The Curse” is only topped by “On the Run,” which allows Matt Berry to go full Matt Berry as Laszlo leaves the nest and becomes a bartender, Jackie Daytona, who loves girls volleyball in smalltown America. It’s a pitch perfect riff on feel good sports movies while also being hysterically funny. It’s still a complete crime that Robinson didn’t win the Emmy for this one. 

But the real power of What We Do in the Shadows is its heart. Even within the broad comedy, genre parodies, and often gross out humor, this is a show about love, family, and friendship. Guillermo’s arc feels radical and boundary-pushing. It’s so well built in from the very first season that it’s also incredibly satisfying. This is the kind of comedy we need more of: inclusive, intelligent, and most importantly just really, really, f**king funny.  – Rosie Knight

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