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Cartoon Viewing Club: Zob's Thoughts on Rescue Bots "Deep Trouble"
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Zobovor
Nov 16, 2015, 2:03:56 PM11/16/15
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Thanks to Velvet Glove for suggesting this month's episode.
"Deep Trouble" is episode 10 of the Rescue Bots series, having originally aired on May 5, 2012. It was written by Christopher J. Gentile, who literally has one other script to his name (an episode of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves inspired series called 7D).
This is the first episode of this show I've ever seen. My son was born in 2007, so by the time the series made its debut in 2011, he had already outgrown the intended target audience. (My Netflix queue tells me the first episode has been watched by somebody in the household, perhaps him, but nobody's tried to watch additional episodes, so it obviously didn't hold his interest.)
The episode begins with a couple of people on a boating trip; the husband (the Mayor, as we'll find out later) grouses to his wife that if she brings any more luggage, "we're gonna need a bigger boat," one of the more oft-quoted lines from Jaws. This is some clever foreshadowing as to the nature of the episode, which does indeed deal with underwater troublemakers. The animation designs for the people are highly cutesified, with beady little button eyes like Barney Rubble or the people from the Clifford the Big Red Dog series. The lighthouse beacon is not running so he cannot find his way. For some reason, the fact that his boat is about to crash into some rocks is suspenseful enough to serve as a cliffhanger (where are the robots?); cut to the theme song.
The opening sequence showcases the four main Rescue Bots characters and does a good job of setting up the series premise. It prominently shows the characters in what I assume is a protoform stage before they have gained their Earth modes, which is a fairly bold and daring move, considering a) this is not what the characters look like during the course of the series and b) small children are not going to recognize these forms as the characters they know and love.
Following the theme song, Blades hooks the boat and prevents it from crashing on the rocks. In the aftermath, Doc Greene explains that the lighthouse only comes on when there are boats nearby; the Mayor is less patient when it comes to scientific trial-and-error. Still waiting for the robots. There's a little toaster thing who keeps offering people toast, but I don't think it can transform into anything.
I'm going to go on record in saying that I hate Flash animation. Sometimes it strikes me as being Cel Animation for Dummies; you plug a drawing of a head and a body into a computer program and then just drag their body parts around the screen like paper dolls. The Super Martian Robot Girl segments on Yo Gabba Gabba! come to mind as a particularly egregious example of poorly-done animation. It arguably works much better on Peppa Pig, which has a minimalist art style to begin with. It's possible to make it look very good, if there's a sufficiently large library of poses and character expressions for the animators to choose from, but more often than not, it looks terribly two-dimensional to me. Every character is seen from a three-quarter view angle almost without exception and it just gets visually tiring after a while. Also, in close-up shots the outlines of the characters are ridiculously thick, while in long shots they're invisible and the characters are just blobs of color. I can certainly understand these techniques being used for amateur web animation and low-budget endeavours, but not for a full-blown televised series.
So, the Burns family is supposed to go fishing; most of them have excuses as to why they can't go along, but the youth Cody is excited about it. They also bring along the Rescue Bots, and hilarity allegedly ensues. It's the usual fare with the robots not understanding the point of it all, not understanding the term "sea legs", knowing how to use the fishing rods, etc. Shows like this that make the robot characters little more than children probably appeals to very young kids. There's also a tendency for the animated LEGO series in which the characters are voiced by adults but they all run around and act like five-year-olds. I guess this must tap into a particular facet of a child's psyche, because it remains popular and I tend to see it more and more frequently. Generally, I dislike it. When I was growing up, I liked the non-human characters who acted grown-up (like the Transformers from G1) but strongly disliked the child-like characters (Bonehead on Dinosaucers, etc.)
Also, Blades is spending the entire episode talking like a pirate. Maybe this episode should have aired on September 19th instead. I recognize that it's just a gimmick for this episode, but as this is my first viewing, I could have easily come away with the impression that the character just talks like this all the time.
When the boat approaches Doc Greene, the robots all don sunglasses and pretend to be lifeless machines. I decided that I needed to watch the first episode to find out just why this is necessary. The first episode doesn't really offer an adequate explanation. Anyway, he provides them with a special fishing pole that works by electromagnetic properties.
The boat is attacked by what seems to be a shark; Heatwave (who seems to get most of the good zingers in this episode) is knocked into the water and goes toe-to-toe with the creature. The others dive in and lend him a hand, but it escapes. It's clearly a mechanical creation, which warrants further investigation. (In the interest of complete fairness, there was one scene where Heatwave was falling through the water and he was momentarily out of focus, which I thought was a nice touch. I also liked that the robots had different walk cycles when they were underwater.)
Turns out that the shark-submarine is targeting electromagnetic sources, specifically. Armed with this knowledge, they use another electromagnetic pulse generator to lure it towards them, ostensibly so they can interrogate whoever is piloting the submarine. The trap doesn't work, however; the shark changes course and targets a passenger ferry, which also uses electromagnetic components. The Rescue Bots go into action to save the ferry.
The transformation sequences on this show seem to be deliberately hidden from the viewer at times. They did it in the pilot episode (some of whose footage is used in the theme song); I had assumed it was for dramatic reasons, but they do it again in this episode when the Rescue Bots go underwater and this huge school of fish conveniently swims right in front of them when they transform. I recognize that all on-screen transformation sequences are basically a huge cheat. In G1, you could often tell right before a character was about to transform because their robot proportions were slightly off. In this show, there's really no artificially stretching or melting of parts; it looks to me like parts are simply replaced by new model pieces during the transformation. So, maybe obscuring the transformations is meant to hide this. Considering that the transformations are arguably one of the coolest parts of the show, though, it feels like dirty pool.
The Rescue Bots use a downed boat like a ramp to launch themselves towards the shark and take it out. In the aftermath, they demand the surrender of the submarine pilot, but when they force the hatch open, the submarine is entirely unmanned. Furthermore, the shark detects that the hatch has been pried open and initiates a self-destruct sequence. Blades heroically totes the shark sub to safety seconds before it explodes. Only Cody seems to be concerned about who created the shark or why, and a mysterious symbol on the wreckage seems to be the only clue. (I'm sure this is revealed to be something important in a future episode. As it stands, since this is the only episode I've seen, or plan to ever watch, there's absolutely no payoff, no resolution. It's really anti-climactic.)
Well. This is about as far-removed from any Transformers show I've ever seen while still retaining the franchise name. The conflict (and thus what drives the story) is caused by malfunctioning inventions rather than actual bad guys. Also, the premise that some humans are "allowed" to know that the Rescue Bots are alien life forms seems needlessly arbitrary. It's okay for a little kid to be in on this secret, but not, say, a brilliant scientist like Doc Greene?
The episode was not completely without merit (the Jaws references were cute, if a bit forced, and I love Heatwave's sardonic attitude) but this is not a series that I would actively seek out and watch more episodes. Maybe I would feel differently if my little boy was a bit more little (he's pretty much outgrown the kiddie fare; he's all about Lord of the Rings right now). As it stands, there's nothing here to hold my interest as an adult fan. (I know some people in the fandom are ironically loving this show, in the same way they were frothing over the Playskool toy of Rescue Roy, but I am not one of those people.)
December may be a busy month for me, so I would propose that we shelve the Cartoon Viewing Club for next month... BUT at some point I would like to review G1's "The Rebirth," so perhaps we can schedule that for January? Is two months enough time for people to watch three half-hour episodes? (I'm going to assume the answer is yes.)
Zob
"Deep Trouble" is episode 10 of the Rescue Bots series, having originally aired on May 5, 2012. It was written by Christopher J. Gentile, who literally has one other script to his name (an episode of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves inspired series called 7D).
This is the first episode of this show I've ever seen. My son was born in 2007, so by the time the series made its debut in 2011, he had already outgrown the intended target audience. (My Netflix queue tells me the first episode has been watched by somebody in the household, perhaps him, but nobody's tried to watch additional episodes, so it obviously didn't hold his interest.)
The episode begins with a couple of people on a boating trip; the husband (the Mayor, as we'll find out later) grouses to his wife that if she brings any more luggage, "we're gonna need a bigger boat," one of the more oft-quoted lines from Jaws. This is some clever foreshadowing as to the nature of the episode, which does indeed deal with underwater troublemakers. The animation designs for the people are highly cutesified, with beady little button eyes like Barney Rubble or the people from the Clifford the Big Red Dog series. The lighthouse beacon is not running so he cannot find his way. For some reason, the fact that his boat is about to crash into some rocks is suspenseful enough to serve as a cliffhanger (where are the robots?); cut to the theme song.
The opening sequence showcases the four main Rescue Bots characters and does a good job of setting up the series premise. It prominently shows the characters in what I assume is a protoform stage before they have gained their Earth modes, which is a fairly bold and daring move, considering a) this is not what the characters look like during the course of the series and b) small children are not going to recognize these forms as the characters they know and love.
Following the theme song, Blades hooks the boat and prevents it from crashing on the rocks. In the aftermath, Doc Greene explains that the lighthouse only comes on when there are boats nearby; the Mayor is less patient when it comes to scientific trial-and-error. Still waiting for the robots. There's a little toaster thing who keeps offering people toast, but I don't think it can transform into anything.
I'm going to go on record in saying that I hate Flash animation. Sometimes it strikes me as being Cel Animation for Dummies; you plug a drawing of a head and a body into a computer program and then just drag their body parts around the screen like paper dolls. The Super Martian Robot Girl segments on Yo Gabba Gabba! come to mind as a particularly egregious example of poorly-done animation. It arguably works much better on Peppa Pig, which has a minimalist art style to begin with. It's possible to make it look very good, if there's a sufficiently large library of poses and character expressions for the animators to choose from, but more often than not, it looks terribly two-dimensional to me. Every character is seen from a three-quarter view angle almost without exception and it just gets visually tiring after a while. Also, in close-up shots the outlines of the characters are ridiculously thick, while in long shots they're invisible and the characters are just blobs of color. I can certainly understand these techniques being used for amateur web animation and low-budget endeavours, but not for a full-blown televised series.
So, the Burns family is supposed to go fishing; most of them have excuses as to why they can't go along, but the youth Cody is excited about it. They also bring along the Rescue Bots, and hilarity allegedly ensues. It's the usual fare with the robots not understanding the point of it all, not understanding the term "sea legs", knowing how to use the fishing rods, etc. Shows like this that make the robot characters little more than children probably appeals to very young kids. There's also a tendency for the animated LEGO series in which the characters are voiced by adults but they all run around and act like five-year-olds. I guess this must tap into a particular facet of a child's psyche, because it remains popular and I tend to see it more and more frequently. Generally, I dislike it. When I was growing up, I liked the non-human characters who acted grown-up (like the Transformers from G1) but strongly disliked the child-like characters (Bonehead on Dinosaucers, etc.)
Also, Blades is spending the entire episode talking like a pirate. Maybe this episode should have aired on September 19th instead. I recognize that it's just a gimmick for this episode, but as this is my first viewing, I could have easily come away with the impression that the character just talks like this all the time.
When the boat approaches Doc Greene, the robots all don sunglasses and pretend to be lifeless machines. I decided that I needed to watch the first episode to find out just why this is necessary. The first episode doesn't really offer an adequate explanation. Anyway, he provides them with a special fishing pole that works by electromagnetic properties.
The boat is attacked by what seems to be a shark; Heatwave (who seems to get most of the good zingers in this episode) is knocked into the water and goes toe-to-toe with the creature. The others dive in and lend him a hand, but it escapes. It's clearly a mechanical creation, which warrants further investigation. (In the interest of complete fairness, there was one scene where Heatwave was falling through the water and he was momentarily out of focus, which I thought was a nice touch. I also liked that the robots had different walk cycles when they were underwater.)
Turns out that the shark-submarine is targeting electromagnetic sources, specifically. Armed with this knowledge, they use another electromagnetic pulse generator to lure it towards them, ostensibly so they can interrogate whoever is piloting the submarine. The trap doesn't work, however; the shark changes course and targets a passenger ferry, which also uses electromagnetic components. The Rescue Bots go into action to save the ferry.
The transformation sequences on this show seem to be deliberately hidden from the viewer at times. They did it in the pilot episode (some of whose footage is used in the theme song); I had assumed it was for dramatic reasons, but they do it again in this episode when the Rescue Bots go underwater and this huge school of fish conveniently swims right in front of them when they transform. I recognize that all on-screen transformation sequences are basically a huge cheat. In G1, you could often tell right before a character was about to transform because their robot proportions were slightly off. In this show, there's really no artificially stretching or melting of parts; it looks to me like parts are simply replaced by new model pieces during the transformation. So, maybe obscuring the transformations is meant to hide this. Considering that the transformations are arguably one of the coolest parts of the show, though, it feels like dirty pool.
The Rescue Bots use a downed boat like a ramp to launch themselves towards the shark and take it out. In the aftermath, they demand the surrender of the submarine pilot, but when they force the hatch open, the submarine is entirely unmanned. Furthermore, the shark detects that the hatch has been pried open and initiates a self-destruct sequence. Blades heroically totes the shark sub to safety seconds before it explodes. Only Cody seems to be concerned about who created the shark or why, and a mysterious symbol on the wreckage seems to be the only clue. (I'm sure this is revealed to be something important in a future episode. As it stands, since this is the only episode I've seen, or plan to ever watch, there's absolutely no payoff, no resolution. It's really anti-climactic.)
Well. This is about as far-removed from any Transformers show I've ever seen while still retaining the franchise name. The conflict (and thus what drives the story) is caused by malfunctioning inventions rather than actual bad guys. Also, the premise that some humans are "allowed" to know that the Rescue Bots are alien life forms seems needlessly arbitrary. It's okay for a little kid to be in on this secret, but not, say, a brilliant scientist like Doc Greene?
The episode was not completely without merit (the Jaws references were cute, if a bit forced, and I love Heatwave's sardonic attitude) but this is not a series that I would actively seek out and watch more episodes. Maybe I would feel differently if my little boy was a bit more little (he's pretty much outgrown the kiddie fare; he's all about Lord of the Rings right now). As it stands, there's nothing here to hold my interest as an adult fan. (I know some people in the fandom are ironically loving this show, in the same way they were frothing over the Playskool toy of Rescue Roy, but I am not one of those people.)
December may be a busy month for me, so I would propose that we shelve the Cartoon Viewing Club for next month... BUT at some point I would like to review G1's "The Rebirth," so perhaps we can schedule that for January? Is two months enough time for people to watch three half-hour episodes? (I'm going to assume the answer is yes.)
Zob
banzait...@gmail.com
Nov 16, 2015, 8:02:13 PM11/16/15
to
> Well. This is about as far-removed from any Transformers show I've ever seen while still retaining the franchise name. The conflict (and thus what drives the story) is caused by malfunctioning inventions rather than actual bad guys.
Hmm, what about B.O.T., Autobot Spike, and maybe even Dinobot Island?
-Banzaitron
Zobovor
Nov 16, 2015, 9:43:48 PM11/16/15
to
On Monday, November 16, 2015 at 6:02:13 PM UTC-7, banzait...@gmail.com wrote:
>> The conflict (and thus what drives the story) is caused by malfunctioning
>> inventions rather than actual bad guys.
>
> Hmm, what about B.O.T., Autobot Spike, and maybe even Dinobot Island?
That's a valid point, but the G1 episodes still had villains exploiting the problems and giving the Autobots somebody to conquer. I totally get that this particular show is aimed at preschoolers, and as such, it's a non-violent take on Transformers that focuses on saving people and solving problems.
>> The conflict (and thus what drives the story) is caused by malfunctioning
>> inventions rather than actual bad guys.
>
> Hmm, what about B.O.T., Autobot Spike, and maybe even Dinobot Island?
Still, young kids' programming can have antagonists. Dora the Explorer had Swiper the Fox. Sesame Street had Oscar the Grouch (I just watched Christmas Eve on Sesame Street with my kids tonight, in fact... still amazing programming even if it's from 1978). Children can easily grasp the concept of "good guys" and "bad guys." To me, Transformers has always been "robots from Cybertron fighting a war," not "robots from Cybertron rescuing kittens from trees." Seems like that's a pretty crucial element of the formula to go missing.
Zob (it would be like Star Wars with no lightsabers)
No One In Particular
Nov 16, 2015, 10:28:53 PM11/16/15
to
On 11/16/2015 8:43 PM, Zobovor wrote:
> Still, young kids' programming can have antagonists. Dora the Explorer had
>Swiper the Fox. Sesame Street had Oscar the Grouch (I just watched Christmas
>Eve on Sesame Street with my kids tonight, in fact... still amazing programming
>even if it's from 1978). Children can easily grasp the concept of "good guys"
>and "bad guys." To me, Transformers has always been "robots from Cybertron fighting
>a war," not "robots from Cybertron rescuing kittens from trees." Seems like that's
>a pretty crucial element of the formula to go missing.
>
>
> Zob (it would be like Star Wars with no lightsabers)
I haven't watched it, but it is my understanding that a human character
> Still, young kids' programming can have antagonists. Dora the Explorer had
>Swiper the Fox. Sesame Street had Oscar the Grouch (I just watched Christmas
>Eve on Sesame Street with my kids tonight, in fact... still amazing programming
>even if it's from 1978). Children can easily grasp the concept of "good guys"
>and "bad guys." To me, Transformers has always been "robots from Cybertron fighting
>a war," not "robots from Cybertron rescuing kittens from trees." Seems like that's
>a pretty crucial element of the formula to go missing.
>
>
> Zob (it would be like Star Wars with no lightsabers)
later comes on the scene, whose motivations are unknown too me, but he
has intentions of using Cybertronian tech to enhance his own, and
questions of morality don't really seem to bother him much. But that's
all third or fourth hand. I've never seen any of the episodes in question.
And you hush about light saber-less Star Wars, before you give Disney
ideas...
Brian
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Nov 20, 2015, 3:12:18 AM11/20/15
to
The episode begins with an offensive stereotype about women, as the Mayor chastises his wife for the amount of luggage she has brought (it is filling the cabin of the boat they are in), before the Mayor breaks the fourth wall and asks the viewer "How could we have scraped bottom?" -- a compelling question that shouldn't need asking 21 seconds into the show.
It's a scene of pointless, unfunny misogyny. It's not even daring or interesting misogyny, it's like 1950s edgy. "Women, they bring along a lot of luggage, don't they?" The writers don't even use the word "baggage" to make it more meaningful -- one has emotional baggage, but no emotional luggage -- they just go for the laziest, most inept misogyny they can, as quickly as they can.
Coincidently, the boat they are in scrapes the bottom of the bay as well, because the lighthouse is out. The boat has RADAR, which means it doesn't need to rely on lighthouses, but the Mayor is clearly not a great captain.
Meanwhile the Burns family and the Greene family are having a cookout. Tom Skerritt Burns is wearing a comical apron with a woman's printed on it, because cooking is woman's work, and men dressing in women's clothing is funny. There's a reason Tom Skerritt Burns doesn't have a wife and seems unable to maintain a relationship, and it's the apron.
All of his children have different colored hair, and it seems implausible for them all to have the same parentage. Either he gets involved with women who have a kid and then dump the kid and run off, or he was previously involved with a woman who was cheating on him and passing off her lovers' children as his.
The mayor calls Tom Skerritt Burns on his weird little button thing, and demands that he turn on the beacon. Luckily Doc Greene is right nearby and can explain that the beacon is working as designed and there is nothing to worry about. Meanwhile the Mayor's boat is heading towards the rocks!
But the mayor, his boat, his wife, and her luggage are all saved by Dani and Blades.
And so in the next scene the mayor gets to yell at Doc Greene in person, while the good Doctor's robot servant keeps offering toast. Doc Greene explains that the lighthouse is part of the larger network to detect threats. The mayor is very worried about the Miss Griffon Rock competition on the beach.
At breakfast, Tom Skerritt Burns has decided that rather than go to the Miss Griffon Rock pageant, he would rather go fishing. Since he and his family are the only law enforcement and/or public safety officers on Griffon Rock, this means that the competition is entirely without any crowd control. But, screw it.
Graham, Kade, and Dani all come up with excuses, but Cody is eager to go fishing. At this point I sigh slightly. I was hoping this episode would focus on Graham, the bookish, thin young man with glasses and playfully tousled dirty-blonde hair, or Dani, the rather attractive short-haired woman.
Ok, I'll admit it, I'm a Graham-Dani shipper. Sure, they're brother and sister, but they are probably only half-siblings. It's legal on Griffon Rock, and Dani could carry around a card explaining the legal loophole involved.
I love the mascot for the cereal they are eating.
So, Tom Skerritt and Cody decide to go fishing with the robots. There are comical moments from each, with Blades having a pirate thing going on, and Heatwave being grumpy.
Fishing robots is a common trope.
Cody explains fishing, and the robots are slightly appalled. Boulder recognizes that the fish might not want to be impaled on a hook, dragged out of the water by their lips, have the hook torn backwards through their flesh, and then get tossed into the water. Chase finds the entire thing to be a waste of time.
They stop by Doc Greene's dock, where the Doc is explaining that the sensors used Electromagnets, and that they were smashed. Doc Greene, adopting the role of Magical Negro, gives them an electromagnet fishing pole -- an important talisman that will serve to advance the plot later.
The robots all pretend to be inanimate when Doc Greene is around. Only the Burns family knows that they are really alien life forms -- they pretend to have built them. I am reminded of "The Big Guy and Rusty", where the small boy robot, Rusty, is unaware the the Big Guy is actually just armor.
There's an adventure on a boat with a robotic shark submarine, etc.
On the beach, we are treated to the Mayor oggling the contestants in the Miss Griffon Rock competition, who stay off screen, while that obvious harpy of a wife of his gets jealous. Yes, a middle aged woman, bitterly jealous that her husband is gazing at much younger women in bikinis, is used as humor here.
And then, the bikini clad women are about to start the speed calculus portion of the competition, because what could be funnier than women doing math?
And some stuff happens with the robots. The shark hits the shore, Heatwave trades the talisman for an advancement of the plot, etc. Lots of Jaws references, where the Mayor didn't want to warn people and disrupt the tourist season.
At the firehouse, Dani and Graham are doing dishes, while Kade hangs out like a third wheel. They talk about all the fun they had fishing with their alleged father, and everyone laughs about how funny it was when Dani was too stupid to realize she had caught a boot rather than a fish -- but, it's ok, because she is wearing a very tight white t-shirt.
The actual plot of the episode continues along with Doc Greene and Cody coming up with a way to lure the shark to its doom. So they do that.
After the shark submarine explodes, Tom Skerritt Burns explains that it didn't have anyone driving it. That was probably a lie.
And then there's an ominous zoom towards a tell-tale sign of who was responsible.
Overall, I find the robots in Rescue Bots uninteresting. The whole Robot-As-Dim-Witted-8-Year-Old thing bores me. When Rescue Bots is good, it is bizarre and surreal. Other times it is casually misogynistic -- and that was the only thing that held my attention.
Overworked. Very tired.
It's a scene of pointless, unfunny misogyny. It's not even daring or interesting misogyny, it's like 1950s edgy. "Women, they bring along a lot of luggage, don't they?" The writers don't even use the word "baggage" to make it more meaningful -- one has emotional baggage, but no emotional luggage -- they just go for the laziest, most inept misogyny they can, as quickly as they can.
Coincidently, the boat they are in scrapes the bottom of the bay as well, because the lighthouse is out. The boat has RADAR, which means it doesn't need to rely on lighthouses, but the Mayor is clearly not a great captain.
Meanwhile the Burns family and the Greene family are having a cookout. Tom Skerritt Burns is wearing a comical apron with a woman's printed on it, because cooking is woman's work, and men dressing in women's clothing is funny. There's a reason Tom Skerritt Burns doesn't have a wife and seems unable to maintain a relationship, and it's the apron.
All of his children have different colored hair, and it seems implausible for them all to have the same parentage. Either he gets involved with women who have a kid and then dump the kid and run off, or he was previously involved with a woman who was cheating on him and passing off her lovers' children as his.
The mayor calls Tom Skerritt Burns on his weird little button thing, and demands that he turn on the beacon. Luckily Doc Greene is right nearby and can explain that the beacon is working as designed and there is nothing to worry about. Meanwhile the Mayor's boat is heading towards the rocks!
But the mayor, his boat, his wife, and her luggage are all saved by Dani and Blades.
And so in the next scene the mayor gets to yell at Doc Greene in person, while the good Doctor's robot servant keeps offering toast. Doc Greene explains that the lighthouse is part of the larger network to detect threats. The mayor is very worried about the Miss Griffon Rock competition on the beach.
At breakfast, Tom Skerritt Burns has decided that rather than go to the Miss Griffon Rock pageant, he would rather go fishing. Since he and his family are the only law enforcement and/or public safety officers on Griffon Rock, this means that the competition is entirely without any crowd control. But, screw it.
Graham, Kade, and Dani all come up with excuses, but Cody is eager to go fishing. At this point I sigh slightly. I was hoping this episode would focus on Graham, the bookish, thin young man with glasses and playfully tousled dirty-blonde hair, or Dani, the rather attractive short-haired woman.
Ok, I'll admit it, I'm a Graham-Dani shipper. Sure, they're brother and sister, but they are probably only half-siblings. It's legal on Griffon Rock, and Dani could carry around a card explaining the legal loophole involved.
I love the mascot for the cereal they are eating.
So, Tom Skerritt and Cody decide to go fishing with the robots. There are comical moments from each, with Blades having a pirate thing going on, and Heatwave being grumpy.
Fishing robots is a common trope.
Cody explains fishing, and the robots are slightly appalled. Boulder recognizes that the fish might not want to be impaled on a hook, dragged out of the water by their lips, have the hook torn backwards through their flesh, and then get tossed into the water. Chase finds the entire thing to be a waste of time.
They stop by Doc Greene's dock, where the Doc is explaining that the sensors used Electromagnets, and that they were smashed. Doc Greene, adopting the role of Magical Negro, gives them an electromagnet fishing pole -- an important talisman that will serve to advance the plot later.
The robots all pretend to be inanimate when Doc Greene is around. Only the Burns family knows that they are really alien life forms -- they pretend to have built them. I am reminded of "The Big Guy and Rusty", where the small boy robot, Rusty, is unaware the the Big Guy is actually just armor.
There's an adventure on a boat with a robotic shark submarine, etc.
On the beach, we are treated to the Mayor oggling the contestants in the Miss Griffon Rock competition, who stay off screen, while that obvious harpy of a wife of his gets jealous. Yes, a middle aged woman, bitterly jealous that her husband is gazing at much younger women in bikinis, is used as humor here.
And then, the bikini clad women are about to start the speed calculus portion of the competition, because what could be funnier than women doing math?
And some stuff happens with the robots. The shark hits the shore, Heatwave trades the talisman for an advancement of the plot, etc. Lots of Jaws references, where the Mayor didn't want to warn people and disrupt the tourist season.
At the firehouse, Dani and Graham are doing dishes, while Kade hangs out like a third wheel. They talk about all the fun they had fishing with their alleged father, and everyone laughs about how funny it was when Dani was too stupid to realize she had caught a boot rather than a fish -- but, it's ok, because she is wearing a very tight white t-shirt.
The actual plot of the episode continues along with Doc Greene and Cody coming up with a way to lure the shark to its doom. So they do that.
After the shark submarine explodes, Tom Skerritt Burns explains that it didn't have anyone driving it. That was probably a lie.
And then there's an ominous zoom towards a tell-tale sign of who was responsible.
Overall, I find the robots in Rescue Bots uninteresting. The whole Robot-As-Dim-Witted-8-Year-Old thing bores me. When Rescue Bots is good, it is bizarre and surreal. Other times it is casually misogynistic -- and that was the only thing that held my attention.
Overworked. Very tired.
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Nov 20, 2015, 3:18:49 AM11/20/15
to
On Monday, November 16, 2015 at 11:03:56 AM UTC-8, Zobovor wrote:
> I'm going to go on record in saying that I hate Flash animation. Sometimes it strikes me as being Cel Animation for Dummies; you plug a drawing of a head and a body into a computer program and then just drag their body parts around the screen like paper dolls.
I'm not a huge fan of it either. I did, however, love the Powerpuff Girls, which had similar animation, but was a lot better written. It is something that works against a show, but not something that completely ruins the show.
> I'm going to go on record in saying that I hate Flash animation. Sometimes it strikes me as being Cel Animation for Dummies; you plug a drawing of a head and a body into a computer program and then just drag their body parts around the screen like paper dolls.
> Well. This is about as far-removed from any Transformers show I've ever seen while still retaining the franchise name. The conflict (and thus what drives the story) is caused by malfunctioning inventions rather than actual bad guys. Also, the premise that some humans are "allowed" to know that the Rescue Bots are alien life forms seems needlessly arbitrary. It's okay for a little kid to be in on this secret, but not, say, a brilliant scientist like Doc Greene?
> December may be a busy month for me, so I would propose that we shelve the Cartoon Viewing Club for next month... BUT at some point I would like to review G1's "The Rebirth," so perhaps we can schedule that for January? Is two months enough time for people to watch three half-hour episodes? (I'm going to assume the answer is yes.)
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Nov 20, 2015, 3:24:42 AM11/20/15
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I have liked other episodes, (Flobsters on Parade is great, if I remember correctly... maybe I was high at the time I watched it though), but this one just dragged. And I really do like the focus more on Graham -- he's the only one of the protagonists that is depicted with any depth.
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Nov 20, 2015, 3:28:18 AM11/20/15
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On Friday, November 20, 2015 at 12:12:18 AM UTC-8, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> And so in the next scene the mayor gets to yell at Doc Greene in person, while the good Doctor's robot servant keeps offering toast. Doc Greene explains that the lighthouse is part of the larger network to detect threats. The mayor is very worried about the Miss Griffon Rock competition on the beach.
This gives us a chance to see the flag of Griffon Rock, featuring the ridiculous purple griffon from G1.
> And so in the next scene the mayor gets to yell at Doc Greene in person, while the good Doctor's robot servant keeps offering toast. Doc Greene explains that the lighthouse is part of the larger network to detect threats. The mayor is very worried about the Miss Griffon Rock competition on the beach.
Zobovor
Nov 20, 2015, 8:45:01 AM11/20/15
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On Friday, November 20, 2015 at 1:18:49 AM UTC-7, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> I'm not a huge fan of it either. I did, however, love the Powerpuff Girls,
> which had similar animation, but was a lot better written. It is something
> that works against a show, but not something that completely ruins the show.
I think Powerpuff Girls predates the Flash animation craze by a few years. I really didn't start noticing it until a few years into the new millennium, in shows like Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, My Life as a Teenage Robot, the Word Girl segments on Maya and Miguel, etc.
> I'm not a huge fan of it either. I did, however, love the Powerpuff Girls,
> which had similar animation, but was a lot better written. It is something
> that works against a show, but not something that completely ruins the show.
It generally seems to work better on a show where the character designs are extraordinarily simple, because the animation is going to be more limited anyway. They probably could have gotten away with it on Powerpuff Girls and it wouldn't have been horrible.
Zob (the new modern-day Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts are probably the best example of it being done really, really well)
Unknown
Nov 21, 2015, 7:25:43 PM11/21/15
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I know I presented my objections as a bit tongue in cheek, but I really
think that one of the main reasons I didn't like this episode was that so
much of the humor was of the "women are terrible" variety. Also, pirate
jokes.
It wasn't done with an ironic hook, and it wasn't especially good quality
humor (a tasteless joke can be forgiven if it is funny), it was just kind
of lame. Eye rolling lame. Even a predictable hook -- the Mayor's wife
ogling the young men in bathing suits -- would have been welcome. Or, had
one of the many pieces of luggage had someone hiding its it. Or if Doc
Greene was in the Miss Griffon Rock competition with a hologram.
And Dani mistaking a boot for a fish, even as a child, I have to wonder why
they made one of the few female characters the butt of the joke. Graham
probably would have worked better -- book smart, but a little inexperienced
about the real world.
It put a bad taste in my mouth and there wasn't enough of anything else in
the show to sway my opinion.
"Flobsters On Parade" is fun, because the premise is ridiculous -- flying
lobsters! -- and the character dynamics are better across the board, and
the solution depends on knowledge of lobsters. This didn't have that, and I
am really a bit puzzled as to why Velvet Glove recommended it.
think that one of the main reasons I didn't like this episode was that so
much of the humor was of the "women are terrible" variety. Also, pirate
jokes.
It wasn't done with an ironic hook, and it wasn't especially good quality
humor (a tasteless joke can be forgiven if it is funny), it was just kind
of lame. Eye rolling lame. Even a predictable hook -- the Mayor's wife
ogling the young men in bathing suits -- would have been welcome. Or, had
one of the many pieces of luggage had someone hiding its it. Or if Doc
Greene was in the Miss Griffon Rock competition with a hologram.
And Dani mistaking a boot for a fish, even as a child, I have to wonder why
they made one of the few female characters the butt of the joke. Graham
probably would have worked better -- book smart, but a little inexperienced
about the real world.
It put a bad taste in my mouth and there wasn't enough of anything else in
the show to sway my opinion.
"Flobsters On Parade" is fun, because the premise is ridiculous -- flying
lobsters! -- and the character dynamics are better across the board, and
the solution depends on knowledge of lobsters. This didn't have that, and I
am really a bit puzzled as to why Velvet Glove recommended it.
Zobovor
Nov 21, 2015, 8:30:01 PM11/21/15
to
On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 5:25:43 PM UTC-7, nor...@googlegroups.com wrote:
> I know I presented my objections as a bit tongue in cheek, but I really
> think that one of the main reasons I didn't like this episode was that so
> much of the humor was of the "women are terrible" variety. Also, pirate
> jokes.
The problem I had with Blades' pirate routine was that there was no payoff. If he'd done something piratey by episode's end and saved the day (like, say, deciding to "walk the plank" with the sharkmarine into the ocean and submerging it, thus keeping the explosion contained in the water) then it would have made sense. As it stands, it's just kind of a random mischaracterization (I say this because I assume he is not a pirate in every episode).
> I know I presented my objections as a bit tongue in cheek, but I really
> think that one of the main reasons I didn't like this episode was that so
> much of the humor was of the "women are terrible" variety. Also, pirate
> jokes.
> And Dani mistaking a boot for a fish, even as a child, I have to wonder why
> they made one of the few female characters the butt of the joke.
Granted, I don't know anything about Dani so I don't know if this is out of character for her or not. I really didn't get a feel for any of the siblings' personalities.
> "Flobsters On Parade" is fun, because the premise is ridiculous -- flying
> lobsters! -- and the character dynamics are better across the board, and
> the solution depends on knowledge of lobsters. This didn't have that, and I
> am really a bit puzzled as to why Velvet Glove recommended it.
Zob (still waiting for Velvet Glove to weigh in)
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Nov 21, 2015, 9:19:30 PM11/21/15
to
On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 5:30:01 PM UTC-8, Zobovor wrote:
> On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 5:25:43 PM UTC-7, nor...@googlegroups.com wrote:
>
> > I know I presented my objections as a bit tongue in cheek, but I really
> > think that one of the main reasons I didn't like this episode was that so
> > much of the humor was of the "women are terrible" variety. Also, pirate
> > jokes.
>
> The problem I had with Blades' pirate routine was that there was no payoff. If he'd done something piratey by episode's end and saved the day (like, say, deciding to "walk the plank" with the sharkmarine into the ocean and submerging it, thus keeping the explosion contained in the water) then it would have made sense. As it stands, it's just kind of a random mischaracterization (I say this because I assume he is not a pirate in every episode).
Pirate jokes are really overplayed. Granted, this was released a few years ago, so they might have been only a little overplayed then.
> On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 5:25:43 PM UTC-7, nor...@googlegroups.com wrote:
>
> > I know I presented my objections as a bit tongue in cheek, but I really
> > think that one of the main reasons I didn't like this episode was that so
> > much of the humor was of the "women are terrible" variety. Also, pirate
> > jokes.
>
> The problem I had with Blades' pirate routine was that there was no payoff. If he'd done something piratey by episode's end and saved the day (like, say, deciding to "walk the plank" with the sharkmarine into the ocean and submerging it, thus keeping the explosion contained in the water) then it would have made sense. As it stands, it's just kind of a random mischaracterization (I say this because I assume he is not a pirate in every episode).
> > And Dani mistaking a boot for a fish, even as a child, I have to wonder why
> > they made one of the few female characters the butt of the joke.
>
> She could have been very young, like three years old. I could see a small child getting excited as soon as her fishing pole caught something--anything--only for it to turn out to be a piece of garbage.
I might just be grumpy because I have had an ear infection for a month (cleared the inner ear infection, the outer ear infection got one round of antibiotics, and now there is a fungal infection...)
> Granted, I don't know anything about Dani so I don't know if this is out of character for her or not. I really didn't get a feel for any of the siblings' personalities.
Graham is the bookish one, the dreamy one, the smart one. His bedroom eyes are hidden behind his glasses and his hair is always a bit unruly because someone has been running their fingers through it offscreen. Sigh. He is partnered with the gentle giant Boulder.
Dani is the girl, drawn to be easy on the eyes, and has a little bit of a chip on her shoulder, afraid that people think of her as less capable than her brothers. She is partnered with Blades, and often has to coax him through his fear of heights. We have NO evidence that she is not the one running their fingers through Graham's hair offscreen. She is almost always depicted as very competent.
Cody is the kid, and the main viewer identification character. Thus, it is often he who solves the problems and notices things. No self-respecting Autobot wants to partner with him, and so his is partnered with either Optimus Prime or Bumblebee, both of whom ditched Cody to go hang out in the depressing, bleak but Cody-free TF:Prime series.
The father, Charlie Burns, is the perpetual winner of the annual Griffon Rock Tom Skerritt Lookalike competition, and is paired with Chase, the police car.
We have NO evidence that he is an alcoholic, barely holding his life together while he searches the internet for signs of his wife who has been missing for years. We also have NO evidence that he killed and buried his wife in a drunken rage, which he did not remember the next day. It's actually a little creepy -- there's a middle aged man, with four kids of entirely different hair colors, and no mother, and no mention of the mother, or their family structure in any way. Does he adopt the town's orphans? Did their mother die? It's something no one on the show ever mentions, or even thinks to mention.
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Nov 21, 2015, 9:46:09 PM11/21/15
to
On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 6:19:30 PM UTC-8, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> > > "Flobsters On Parade" is fun, because the premise is ridiculous -- flying
> > > lobsters! -- and the character dynamics are better across the board, and
> > > the solution depends on knowledge of lobsters. This didn't have that, and I
> > > am really a bit puzzled as to why Velvet Glove recommended it.
> >
> > Maybe I will try to squeeze it in for December since you seem to love it so much.
I just watched it, expecting perhaps to have to say "Oh, just stay away from it", but it was better than I remembered. Just a pure joy from start to finish.
> > > "Flobsters On Parade" is fun, because the premise is ridiculous -- flying
> > > lobsters! -- and the character dynamics are better across the board, and
> > > the solution depends on knowledge of lobsters. This didn't have that, and I
> > > am really a bit puzzled as to why Velvet Glove recommended it.
> >
> > Maybe I will try to squeeze it in for December since you seem to love it so much.
Velvet Glove
Dec 1, 2015, 8:46:28 PM12/1/15
to
There goes my goal of actually getting to this *in* November.
I have to admit I'm a little bummed that you guys disliked this so much, but in retrospect, I shouldn't be that surprised. I'm approaching this from a very different angle, because my son was the perfect age for Rescue Bots when it first aired, and having seen a lot of shows for the pre-school to kindergarten set, I can confirm that this is a solid one. I don't like the animation either, but I've got used to it, the cast is great and overall, production values are high, even if it does feel like the redheaded stepchild of Transformers Prime.
I intended it to be an introduction to Transformers for my kids, but without Decepticons (there are recurring villains, but most episodes do without) it doesn't really feel like a Transformers show. Instead it's an introduction to sci-fi. They've covered all the usual plotlines and made some up of their own, and while it might not be apparent in this episode, there are some good female characters: both action heroes and scientists. Sadly, they're not as prevalent as the men, and let's not even get into which characters have made it into the toyline ahead of the two female members of the main cast.
I didn't really watch the show at first, but the kids had it on and the characters started growing on me. I picked this episode because this was the one when I realized that I actually liked this show--because I have a soft spot for Jaws and appreciated the little homages thrown in there and because Blades is one of my favourite characters (second only to Chase, who as the series goes on, gets all the best lines, IMHO.) I figured that there were more Jaws and Moby Dick gags than in-jokes, and I assumed you'd rather get to know the bots than the humans (though Boulder gets less screentime than I thought... then again, of all the episodes I've seen, I've yet to see the writers figure out what to do with Boulder.) There are definitely episodes I like better, but they tend to be of the kind that subvert the status quo, and if you're unfamiliar with the canon, you won't appreciate the subversion.
Anyway, I'm very fond of Rescue Bots even if my kids are outgrowing it. It came along at exactly the right time for us and was a great introduction for all kinds of sci fi tropes.
Velvet Glove (who also never met a pirate joke she didn't like.)
I have to admit I'm a little bummed that you guys disliked this so much, but in retrospect, I shouldn't be that surprised. I'm approaching this from a very different angle, because my son was the perfect age for Rescue Bots when it first aired, and having seen a lot of shows for the pre-school to kindergarten set, I can confirm that this is a solid one. I don't like the animation either, but I've got used to it, the cast is great and overall, production values are high, even if it does feel like the redheaded stepchild of Transformers Prime.
I intended it to be an introduction to Transformers for my kids, but without Decepticons (there are recurring villains, but most episodes do without) it doesn't really feel like a Transformers show. Instead it's an introduction to sci-fi. They've covered all the usual plotlines and made some up of their own, and while it might not be apparent in this episode, there are some good female characters: both action heroes and scientists. Sadly, they're not as prevalent as the men, and let's not even get into which characters have made it into the toyline ahead of the two female members of the main cast.
I didn't really watch the show at first, but the kids had it on and the characters started growing on me. I picked this episode because this was the one when I realized that I actually liked this show--because I have a soft spot for Jaws and appreciated the little homages thrown in there and because Blades is one of my favourite characters (second only to Chase, who as the series goes on, gets all the best lines, IMHO.) I figured that there were more Jaws and Moby Dick gags than in-jokes, and I assumed you'd rather get to know the bots than the humans (though Boulder gets less screentime than I thought... then again, of all the episodes I've seen, I've yet to see the writers figure out what to do with Boulder.) There are definitely episodes I like better, but they tend to be of the kind that subvert the status quo, and if you're unfamiliar with the canon, you won't appreciate the subversion.
Anyway, I'm very fond of Rescue Bots even if my kids are outgrowing it. It came along at exactly the right time for us and was a great introduction for all kinds of sci fi tropes.
Velvet Glove (who also never met a pirate joke she didn't like.)
Zobovor
Dec 2, 2015, 12:26:12 AM12/2/15
to
On Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 6:46:28 PM UTC-7, Velvet Glove wrote:
> There goes my goal of actually getting to this *in* November.
What's the big deal? It's November 31st, right? And tomorrow's the 32nd. (If I admit that it's December, then I have to admit that there are only about three weeks left until Christmas, and that terrifies me.)
> There goes my goal of actually getting to this *in* November.
> I have to admit I'm a little bummed that you guys disliked this so much, but
> in retrospect, I shouldn't be that surprised. I'm approaching this from a
> very different angle, because my son was the perfect age for Rescue Bots when
> it first aired, and having seen a lot of shows for the pre-school to
> kindergarten set, I can confirm that this is a solid one.
> Sadly, they're not as prevalent as the men, and let's not even get into which
> characters have made it into the toyline ahead of the two female members of
> the main cast.
> There are definitely episodes I like better, but they tend to be of the kind
> that subvert the status quo, and if you're unfamiliar with the canon, you
> won't appreciate the subversion.
> Velvet Glove (who also never met a pirate joke she didn't like.)
Zob
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Dec 2, 2015, 1:46:38 AM12/2/15
to
On Tuesday, December 1, 2015 at 5:46:28 PM UTC-8, Velvet Glove wrote:
> There goes my goal of actually getting to this *in* November.
>
> I have to admit I'm a little bummed that you guys disliked this so much, but in retrospect, I shouldn't be that surprised.
I like the series, just not this episode.
> There goes my goal of actually getting to this *in* November.
>
> I have to admit I'm a little bummed that you guys disliked this so much, but in retrospect, I shouldn't be that surprised.
> I'm approaching this from a very different angle, because my son was the perfect age for Rescue Bots when it first aired, and having seen a lot of shows for the pre-school to kindergarten set, I can confirm that this is a solid one.
> I don't like the animation either, but I've got used to it, the cast is great and overall, production values are high, even if it does feel like the redheaded stepchild of Transformers Prime.
> I intended it to be an introduction to Transformers for my kids, but without Decepticons (there are recurring villains, but most episodes do without) it doesn't really feel like a Transformers show. Instead it's an introduction to sci-fi.
> They've covered all the usual plotlines and made some up of their own, and while it might not be apparent in this episode, there are some good female characters: both action heroes and scientists. Sadly, they're not as prevalent as the men, and let's not even get into which characters have made it into the toyline ahead of the two female members of the main cast.
And Graham could have been the butt of the fishing-boot joke as well as Dani. After the opening, and the lame jealous-wife scene at the pageant, I may have been looking for something to take offense to.
> I didn't really watch the show at first, but the kids had it on and the characters started growing on me.
> I picked this episode because this was the one when I realized that I actually liked this show--because I have a soft spot for Jaws and appreciated the little homages thrown in there and because Blades is one of my favourite characters (second only to Chase, who as the series goes on, gets all the best lines, IMHO.)
> I figured that there were more Jaws and Moby Dick gags than in-jokes, and I assumed you'd rather get to know the bots than the humans (though Boulder gets less screentime than I thought... then again, of all the episodes I've seen, I've yet to see the writers figure out what to do with Boulder.) There are definitely episodes I like better, but they tend to be of the kind that subvert the status quo, and if you're unfamiliar with the canon, you won't appreciate the subversion.
I don't think the show is so revolutionary that you really need to know the canon to be aware of when it is subverted. Everything is drawn with big, wide brushes -- which is fine for a show like this -- but the structure is a bit of a well-trodden path.
> Anyway, I'm very fond of Rescue Bots even if my kids are outgrowing it. It came along at exactly the right time for us and was a great introduction for all kinds of sci fi tropes.
>
> Velvet Glove (who also never met a pirate joke she didn't like.)
It's not a bad show, generally, but this episode felt like it was hand-crafted to irritate me. I work in software, and it appalls me to see how women get treated in the industry, even on a day to day basis, so belittling the female characters just got under my skin. That, and pirate jokes.
And no resolution. It wasn't an episode, it was the beginning of a story arc.
Velvet Glove
Dec 6, 2015, 9:32:10 PM12/6/15
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On Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 1:46:38 AM UTC-5, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
>
> Here, I am really curious, do you mean this episode, or the series? The things that bothered me about the episode were things that would have either gone over the head of the target audience (mild misogyny) or actually appeal to them (pirate jokes).
I was referring to the series as a solid one, but I do like this episode too.
>
> Here, I am really curious, do you mean this episode, or the series? The things that bothered me about the episode were things that would have either gone over the head of the target audience (mild misogyny) or actually appeal to them (pirate jokes).
> I neither like nor dislike the animation. It's just kind of there. It's better than the woefully incompetent hand-drawn animation from TF:Animated. And, it doesn't bother me the way that TF:PrimeRID's animation does -- I might just have lower standards for the kiddie show.
> I really found the mayor's treatment of his wife in the first scene to be bothersome. Somewhere between offensive and lame. And a lot of the humor after that was in the same vein.
>
> And Graham could have been the butt of the fishing-boot joke as well as Dani. After the opening, and the lame jealous-wife scene at the pageant, I may have been looking for something to take offense to.
As far as the Dani thing goes, I believe she's the second-youngest of the Burns children, so she *had* to be the one who caught the boot. I have no issue with that one whatsoever. I'm very big on letting women be comic relief, and that means that they'll be the butt of jokes from time to time. Making women untouchable, or even people you can only laugh *with* never *at* is, in the long run, restricting the roles they can have. As Dani spends most of the series being perfectly competent and intelligent, it doesn't hurt her at all, IMO, to have this thrown in.
>
> It's Flobsters, isn't it? Of course it's Flobsters...
Velvet Glove (Though Flobsters may be one of the ones that I've never actually sat down and watched from start to finish. Perhaps that makes all the difference.)
Velvet Glove
Dec 6, 2015, 9:37:48 PM12/6/15
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On Wednesday, December 2, 2015 at 12:26:12 AM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
>
> Wise choice. So, once I've viewed a few episodes and gotten a good, solid feel for the series, which trope-subverting episodes are your faves?
I don't want to say that if you watch a few episodes, you'll definitely love this show--even my familiarity with the show is mostly it being on in the background. The ones I was most tickled by are the shrinking one--Heatwave, Blades and Boulder get accidently shrunk and lost; and the body-swapping one--where the mostly talented voice cast gets to mimick each other (the plot of this is rubbish, but I got a kick out of the acting.)
>
> Wise choice. So, once I've viewed a few episodes and gotten a good, solid feel for the series, which trope-subverting episodes are your faves?
There are some fun guest stars too, like Mark Hamill as Chief Burns' brother.
Velvet Glove (My favourite line of the series is Chase: "I have hazard tape in my glovebox," but I'm buggered if I can remember which episode it comes from.)
Zobovor
Dec 16, 2015, 6:35:23 PM12/16/15
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On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 6:30:01 PM UTC-7, Zobovor wrote:
> Maybe I will try to squeeze it in for December since you seem to love it so
> much.
Well, I gave it a half-assed effort. On the night of the 14th I was up with insomnia so I tried to find it on Netflix, but apparently it's not available? I can still try to find it online, perhaps.
> Maybe I will try to squeeze it in for December since you seem to love it so
> much.
Zob (feeling guilty, but only a little)
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