Danger Mouse and Powerpuff Girls both announced for comebacks

[Drtooth]

While there is one thing I can agree is totally different about the new series vs the old series, it's the humor. It's new humor, clearly. Everything is a product of the time it was created, no matter how much anyone denies it.

This episode really felt like the writers were trying to blend new humor and classic PPG humor, and I think they were successful. This is one of my favorite episodes so far, right up there with the Beauty Pageant episode and "Arachnolove." Blossom is much more like her original character here and less obsessed about organization and cleanliness. Meanwhile Bubbles and Buttercup are bringing the new style of writing to the table fabulously to counterpoint the episode's A story, which is something that totally wouldn't be out of place in the original series. Especially the bit about how the teacher was always a centaur to begin with. Love the bit of lampshading at the end about how it would just have been easier to develop something that changed him back into a human.

It really seems that this episode is starting to show that the writers are trying hard to balance their writing style and the style of the original show. Writing is based all on bias. Writers have favorite jokes, references, and themes. The new series writers have a different childhood than Craig and Genndy and others who worked on the other show. Heck, they were inspired by that show. That's why the show feels a might off, it's copy of a copy. A good copy, IMO, but still a little fuzzier.

 

[mr3urious]

Now we get to meet another new antagonist named Jemeca, a female Indiana Jones wannabe who befriended the girls only to use them to steal priceless artifacts. This episode also continues the theme of "family and sisterhood can never be broken" as the girls try to resist the effects of the BFF bracelets they are provided with.

 

[Drtooth]

I'd say this series is just suffering first season syndrome. Seems they're spending most of the episodes establishing different allies and antagonists for future episodes. Though some feel like they've been there the entire time (not in the random Pig Goat Banana Cricket sort of way, though), and a backstory would give them more of an impact. I like the concept of some of the new villains, but you wonder exactly why they have a history with the PPG if they just randomly appeared. Unless they're also saving those for later, or they're still airing these wildly out of order. The Fashionista and her gorilla sister really seem like they could be a genuine threat if only we knew why they want revenge.

But I like how they established Jemeca and I hope she comes back with even more powerful ancient artifacts. They didn't exactly say what the Lemur and the other thing combined was. That's my only problem with the episode. Seems they really could have pushed it further.

 

[C to the J]

The episode even threw in "snoof" to mean "cool." What comes to mind is that it's one of the words made up in Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, as well as the name of that one Daran Norris Frosticon who sounds like an early version of Cosmo of The Fairly Oddparents.

 

[mr3urious]

Last night's episode was a loose parody of Enchanted. I liked how Princess Bluebell was a typical dainty damsel in distress, but only because she liked being that way because it meant getting rescued by a handsome prince and only became proactive because she was forced into doing so. Also, I can't believe CN let them get away with her (accidentally) kissing the severely underage Buttercup on the lips!

 

[Drtooth]

While I admit, the description and title of the episode didn't have me exactly enthused about it, I rather like how they managed to deal with the "girl Power" subject with nuance and such a clever nod at the double standard. Girls can like princesses and want to be like them, and empowerment doesn't just amount to the extreme opposite. The princess being exasperated by the Powerpuff Girls telling her to ditch the princess routine really made this episode work. The girls were only trying to help, but even choosing to be something less action hero-y is a choice and it was, in the end, the princess being herself and doing what she wants to do.

Seriously, for all the crap this show gets, this episode should be applauded.

 

[Drtooth]

I'm annoyed that they called this a "New 2 part episode" when it was just the sequel episode to Man Up. Other than that, I think this was a much better outing for ManBoy than the first one. I think this pretty much proves my point that the show's been a little weak here and there because they're laying the foundation. While the first appearance of the character came off more as a statement, this one really puts him to work as a supervillain, and I'm really liking him as one better here. Fact that it's Maurice LaMarche doing a Futurama quality voice aside. I especially liked his odd henchmen, especially "the British" who are there because they're an economic superpower. Seems the humor was stronger in this episode than before as well.

It seems that even the character writing is coming along nicely. I like how Buttercup somehow pulls a Bert and has a bottlecap collection. Bubbles is being written more naively and less kiddy. Loved how Blossom was trying not to compliment him but Bubbles couldn't help it.

 

[mr3urious]

The Amoeba Boys got to be the villains this episode, teaming up with a new threat to destroy the Internet. And Bubbles is unusually good with computers, something that would be more characteristic of Blossom.

 

[Drtooth]

I have to admit, I like what the episode was actually trying to do, and that is getting more girls to get into computer programming. Bubbles was a strange choice and it should have been Blossom (and I bet the old schoolers are ticked off about that as well), but I get why they chose that character specifically. As long as the writers treat that with nuance and subtlety, it gives the character a little more depth and shows the girls are indeed growing up. Time passing is what I actually like about this series. Plus it gives Bubbles something besides being the cutesy one who can lose her temper from time to time.

This episode also seems to be doing something I've been wanting to see with this series. Foreshadowing a future evil. Most of these episodes so far have been all one shots. With the exception of Man Up 2, there wasn't anything remotely resembling a follow up. Sure, there were little hints of continuity that running the episodes out of order kinda ruined. While it's forgivable that this is the show's first season and even the original PPG series wasn't that deep in its first season either, I kinda want this show to take a more solid direction to inevitably become like other cartoons on this network (and even its original incarnation), a Cerebus Rollercoaster. The mysterious robotic figure that gave the Amoebas the virus chip seems like it could very well be the series' first or main dark figure.

Plus...great to see the Amoeba Boys again. If there was one set of characters I wasn't expecting to see get an actual full plot (even Mojo didn't really get one yet), it's them. Especially with their original voice actor, Chuck McCann doing their voices with very little vocal wear. Seriously. I find it hilarious that one of the main panic points of this show was that everyone was getting recast, and only a small handful of characters that extends to the girls, Princess, and the sign off of Miss Bellum, only to see most of the original voices come back for their respective characters.

 

[Drtooth]

Rather liked this episode that seemed to close off the long standing "Bad School Photo" CN trilogy that started with Dexter's Lab and continued with Amazing World of Gumball.. 'Spose I need to work on Bubbles now to finish that off.

This is the kind of episode I was waiting for. Some sort of discord that can push one of the girls to the dark side. This is totally something that would have been in the original series, right up there with the girls stealing toys, Bubbles going on a rampage to show that she's hardcore, and Blossom stealing the Professor a present. This totally should have been an episode of the original. Bubbles freaking out over bad school photos and various disasters that took away her cuteness. Sure, there was that "meat hair" incident in the pilot cartoon, but I never saw it materialize in the original series. Instead we get a PSA about sunscreen.

I really really want to see more of Dark Bubbles and or the Roller Derby team pulling the girls apart. And I loved seeing Mojo, as much as he's a gag villain now, goading Bubbles into trying to attack her sisters, when that was never her intent. Though it would have been something for Dark Bubbles to try and attack that incompetent woman who kept messing her photos and Bubbles's hair up. She's totally the modern day humor aspect of the show.

Oh... and PPG is the girl's toy in the new McDonalds promotion. Most of them are legit, just two actually stupid girly things, but all 3 girls and Mojo. But that's not the interesting part about it. They have Tom Kane narrate the commercial, but say the "And once again the day is saved" line... so, A) wrong PPG voice actor named Tom, but well appreciated and B) a fast food company manages to get that in while the cartoon doesn't.