If nothing else, this season is showing South Park's dramatic range. The comedy has been really understated, mostly reserved for little moments in the background. It's still funny when it wants to be, but it seems to want so much more this time around. I imagine they're trying to take a page out of Bojack…

While I'm here, I watched the Family Guy premiere, and honestly it has a lot of the same problems as the Simpsons at this point. I know the AV club doesn't consider it worth covering, but the two are more comparable than ever in my opinion. Maybe more people are just turned off by the callous and ugly humor Family…

It's like they don't even have to try. God I could watch this family do anything and be entertained.

Honestly, this episode wasn't that bad. It wasn't great, but it seemed more on point than most of what we've gotten in the last few years. I think the fatal flaw of modern Simpsons isn't that it gets too dark or doesn't respect it's history or whatever. It's that too many unfunny jokes make it out of the writer's…

So cinematic, South Park. I don't have any actual insight on this, but are they giving themselves more time to animate the episodes now? Obviously they're still staying up to date with current events, so they have to be flexible toward whatever the hot button issue of the moment is, but this season seems to be more…

This episode was ok. I do love it when cartoons portray gangs of children as some lost, mysterious tribe, working off its own rules and engaging in bizarre little rituals, and I think they did a pretty good job with that trope. Besides the ketchup bit which went on a little long, I didn't really know what that…

If the Simpsons could just hire one person to let them know if a joke is worth it's time or if it should be tossed in the writing room waste bin before it makes it into the script, I'd be very proud of them which makes me very sad.

Fair enough. It's not the overall motivation that bothers me, like I mentioned that can be deduced well enough, it's the in-episode motivation. I guess it's just me and it didn't really bother anyone else, so at least the episode introduced some new elements to be used later down the line.

This was a glorious return for South Park in my opinion. I love what they did last season, and I love that it's continuing into this season. Creating longer arcs and more developed storylines has (again in my opinion) produced a lot of their best stuff in the the last 4 or 5 seasons. It just feels like the natural…

That's true (I appreciate the response), and that's why I understood the motivation from a logical sense. I can rationalize why Pearl is doing what she is doing, but the way it's conveyed in the episode feels incomplete and sloppy. I felt like I had to be making excuses for the show as to why this episode was going…

I did not like this episode. It was alright but I'm not seeing where the love for this one is coming from. It's fun that they're introducing a new love interest for Pearl but I never felt like her persistent attempts to break out of her shell were justified. I understand why she did it from a logical sense. She's…

This was ok. A lot of off model animation which nagged at my brain a bit, and Mr. Smiley just never seems to work for me. I'd put him in next to Ronaldo for Beach City characters I never look forward to seeing. I don't hate him, I just don't care for him. Whenever they throw in some out of left field joke for him,…

Sure, but the naming conventions were all the same stuff. That's what I was referring to in the comment.

I like the concept, and I like that they're trying to blend animation and live action to make something new, but from this advertisement the writing looks way too 'it's literally only funny because a barbarian is saying it.' He's just talking like a regular irresponsible dad character and only happens to be an…

Originally the name was a ripoff of Disney's Silly Symphonies. So, they're talking about the musical tunes. That's why the other type of Warner Bros cartoons were called Merry Melodies. It's all the same stuff

What's nice is, he could always just be pulling those references out of his ass, but even if I don't know what he's talking about, I always trust he's just that big of a nerd that it's all fully supported by the text. At least there's something this election cycle I can count on.

I'd argue that the genre and style of any expressive medium shouldn't be used to dictate whether or not an individual work is considered art or not. Personally, I see something as art if it transcends the standard archetypes of its genre.

You know, I felt compelled to rewatch the song from this episode online today, a day later, and now I'm as hooked to it as every other god damn masterpiece song this show spits out like its nothing. I don't know why it didn't really hit home the first time, but it is so good! You can just hear Garnet smiling singing…

This song didn't really stick with me. It was lovely and enchanting, but it didn't strike home emotionally for me as much as some of the other songs coming out of the show recently. I did enjoy the very slightly simplified animation of Ruby Sapphire Steven and Connie in the fusion mind scape though. It's like, they…

I think you should see the movie before you write it off like that. Thematically it sticks close to what the trailer shows but there is more to it. The movie is fine, not amazing or groundbreaking, but passable, and better than some other comedies that seem to be based off one dopey night's brainstorming.