User blog:ThatGuy456/A Guy's Thoughts: "New Amazing World of Gumball in February!" (Week 1)

Cartoon Network of America. Classic, classic, Cartoon Network of America: just when someone thinks for a second that Cartoon Network is going to try to make Gumball last, they try to burn out all the episodes in a conspiracy to end the show faster the company treats the fans to month's worth of amazing new Gumball episodes. With 16 episodes on the horizon, I've decided to take it upon myself to share my thoughts on each episode part of this event (we'll see how committed I am to that, though).

For those unaware, this post and any future posts relating to this event will be structured similarly to my posts on my favorite Season 4 episodes and my favorite Season 3 episodes. This means my wrong opinions, screenshots, and my interesting captions are all included in this post.

Also, here's your warning on spoilers:

The Copycats
"The Copycats" isn't Gumball's first attempt at meta-humor; however, it definitely seems to be one of funniest meta-humor based episodes. "The Copycats" pokes fun at Miracle Star, a Chinese-made Gumball ripoff, and it shows that the writers had a fun time doing such. From the amazingly catchy song to the visual gags, this episode is sure to garner a chuckle out of fans.

The premise of the episode is that the Wattersons have a run-in with their doppelgangers, parodied versions of their Miracle Star counterparts, and find out these doppelgangers have been producing a successful Chinese television show based on the Wattersons' previous adventures, and the writers use this premise to the fullest extent possible. These doppelgangers copy nearly everything the Wattersons, and it makes for some pretty cool scenes; the fight between the Wattersons and the copycats revolves around this, and it makes for something very visually interesting. The segment of the episode in which the Wattersons decide to commit dangerously stupid acts in hopes that the copycats kill themselves was also entertaining and a good use of the copycat idea. The concept of the copycats having their own website and Elmore Stream-It channel dedicated to their show also makes for some good jokes. The episode provides a nice callback to "The DVD," and the jokes they tell with the broken translator are just amazing.

Those who are aware of Miracle Star probably know that Anais lacks a Chinese counterpart due to China's policy on child birth, and the episode takes full advantage of that. Although Anais is initially insecure about her lack of a copycat (hiding it behind a wall of sarcasm), it is that loophole that saves the Wattersons and (potentially) kills the copycats during their truck stunt. The excellent use of her small size to unhook the truck is just clever, and it leads to heartwarming scene between Anais and her family as well as the deliciously dark demise for the copycats. Overall, "The Copycats" was a hilarious episode with a lot of fun attached to it, and the Wattersons' personalities get to shine once more. I just wish legal issues would not have prevented the crew from using the authenticate Miracle Star designs.

The Potato
Now, "The Potato" was a very strange episode, even for Gumball standards. That being said, I feel as if the overall strange vibe of the episode only benefited it, and it made for a very surreal experience that I personally enjoyed watching.

The basic premise of the episode is that Darwin gives up on potatoes out of respect for Idaho's supposed wishes, but he as a tough time curbing his addiction. The episode portrays Darwin as a former drug addict trying to start anew, complete with the wild mood swings and the like, and I feel it works. It makes for some good moments, including the oragami moment with Teri, and the whole spew at the counseling session with Mr. Small and Sarah is just top-notch, especially at the segment in which Mr. Small exposes himself for being a fake vegetarian. Darwin's mental meltdown with this episode's musical number was very interesting to look at and very catchy to listen to. This episode also gives Idaho some of the spotlight at the episode's climax as he makes his way to a potato-starved Darwin. The visual gags that the crew includes during this journey manage to work very well and compliment this already funny episode, with my personal favorite being the salt joke.

Sarah also gets another chance in the spotlight, and as always she's enjoyable. I must amend the crew; it seems as with each passing season, Sarah's fangirlism tendencies seem to tone down. While Sarah's fangirl eccentricities are still there in full, Sarah does put aside her blind fangirlism to call out Gumball when his idiocy take over, and it's some nice character growth, although small. Now, this is a small nitpick of the episode, but I wasn't too big of a fan how Gumball became an idiot for the last few minutes of the episode. While it did lead to some slightly clever jokes, I've always been on the boat that jokes shouldn't come before a character's personality, and while Gumball isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, I felt the jokes pushed it with his idiocy. That's just me, though.

Overall, "The Potato" was a very weird episode, and while it's far from the best, the strangeness of it alone is sure to a few laughs.

The Fuss
"The Fuss" is another episode focusing on the Wattersons and their dynamic, and once again, it makes for another great episode. The episode has Richard and the Watterson children forget Nicole's special day, or so it seems. Not only does this episode manage to be hilarious, but it also manages to have a heartwarming ending towards the end, and I am a sucker for that kind of stuff.

Nicole manages to be a pretty funny character throughout the episode, from her "fuss" face to her apathy toward the rest of her family's half-hearted attempts to celebrate her special day. The beginning of the episode presents Nicole misinterpreting a bunch of scenarios as overblown gestures by her family, only for them to turn out to be something else. The IRS song and the Keanes' funeral especially had me chucking. Seeing Richard and the kids and the stress they must endure when trying to figure out what's wrong with Nicole also makes for some humorous scenes; their "Everything Party" was just too perfect. May I mention the songs as well? The two main songs of the episode, "The Day" and "The Everything Song", are quite catchy and compliment the episode nicely. "The Day" really emphasizes how lovely Ms. Gallagher, the voice behind Nicole and several other characters, and makes one wonder why she's not getting any more musical numbers. "The Everything Song" was creative and enjoyable with its incorporation of iconic many songs.

Once again, this episode plays around with the medium in typical Gumball. In addition to the joke with the subtext, the climax involves the Wattersons racing to stop Richard from getting his tattoo. The episode splits the screens so that the viewers can see both viewpoints at once, one from Richard's and the other from the rest of the family, and the writers once again play with the fourth wall by having Nicole and the kids aware of the line splitting the screen. It makes for some weird and funny moments as they struggle to get to the tattoo shop. I also do appreciate how the premise was handled; Richard is not in the wrong for forgetting his wedding anniversary nor is Nicole wrong for getting the date wrong. Nicole made an honest mistake, and Richard legitimately did not forget his wife's anniversary, as Nicole's honest mistake (setting the calendar upside down) was what caused the misunderstanding. It doesn't fall into that all too common prat of "herpey-derp! DUD frgt Maaaaam's anusversry. dummy dad for 2 HOURS XDD11!1", and instead puts Richard in the right and not make him look like a snob for forgetting his wedding anniversary. I do like it when Richard is shown as more than a dumb dad, and it also makes the ending feel that much more heartfelt, and while it didn't make me cry like "The Choices" did, it did make me feel fuzzy on the inside. It's the kind of stuff I like to see out of the characters.

Overall, "The Fuss" is in my opinion, an amazing episode definitely worth a watch.

The Outside
I thought this episode was going to take one route upon reading the initial synopsis, but to my surprise, it took a completely different turn, and I'm glad it did. The whole prison scenario turned out to be very comedic, and I applaud the episode for taking this path.

Basically, the episode has the Wattersons make some misguided assumptions about Frankie's lifestyle due to his living conditions; they jump to the conclusion that he has been in prison for over 30 years, and that in order for him to feel at peace, they must make his visit at the house into a prison experience. The Wattersons work together well to make that happen; all 5 of them are used well to comedy's extent. Nicole as a police officer makes for some golden interactions between her and Frankie; the brothers also do a good job at portraying psychotic criminal inmates, especially Darwin. Having Anais as warden made for one of the best scenes when she was negotiating with Frankie, and Richard's innocent desire for affection from his father being expressed in very "adult ways" is also just hilarious. The climax towards the end of the episode showcasing all of the main characters is also pretty great. Frankie also gets some time to shine in this episode, and he's likable as a character. I find that his selfish motivations can lead to some great moments, as seen in this episode, and the way he plays up that "gross uncle" trope is also quite enjoyable; I'm not sure if I'm interpreting the jokes wrong, but his questionable interactions with Nicole only make him that much funnier. His traumatic flashback at the end of the episode had me dead; from his facial expressions to the heartfelt violin piece; something about it was just very comedic. I must say, though, the ending brings up some interesting questions: If Frankie only had to serve three days, why did he not just serve them and get the days over with as opposed to running away from his family? Was there a bigger problem in his family life and the "running away from prison" only served as a nice escape route? Perhaps I'm looking too deep into it, but I really do hope they cover this issue in a future episode.

Voice Actor Change
Now, for those who are unaware, the Watterson brothers did have a voice actor change at the end of "The Copycats". I opted to talk about it there for the sake of giving this topic its own section. Gone are Jacob and Terrell, and instead, Nicolas and Doinelle take over the roles as Gumball and Darwin respectively.

I personally believed that Jacob and Terrell were the better of the two former voice acting eras (Logan/Kwesi and Jacob/Terrell. I felt that Jacob's portrayal of the character was more expressive, lively, and natural (though, Logan still did an amazing job as Gumball). Terrell only slightly edges out Kwesi for me because Terrell had a certain "softness" to his voice that I felt Kwesi lacked. While I am saddened to see them go, I am optimistic for Nicolas's and Donille's portrayal of the characters. While their voices are kind of inconsistent now, I am sure they will get better as time progresses. They just need to find their groove, and even then, I felt as if they already had some good moments. I believe if Nicolas could just sound a bit older and if Donille could really develop that "softness", then they can be suitable replacements.

I will end the section at this: you are allowed to criticize their voices all you want (heck, I just did in this section right now), but please, don't be too hard on the new guys. They're just kids. The reaction is admittedly better than the last voice change, but it could still be better.

Closing Thoughts
Here's basically a summarized version of my thoughts on this week's episodes (and also other Season 5 episodes):

Loved: "The Rerun", "The Stories", "The Vision", "The Choices", "The Test", "The Copycats", "The Fuss"

Liked: "The Slide", "The Loophole", "The Potato", "The Outside"

Okay: "The Guy", "The Code"

Meh: "The Boredom"

Having already viewed them, I am looking forward to discussing next week's episodes (especially "The Matchmaker").

As always, all comments are appreciated. I enjoy the discussion.