Change Your Image
dhochoy
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againUPDATE : I rearranged the listing a bit.
Reviews
Legends of Chamberlain Heights (2016)
Funny, but hardly for everyone
Overview
Ever since South Park premiered back in late 1997 various adult cartoons have emerge to push the envelop on what's acceptable on TV and most of them were... unsuccessful to say the least. Is this show any different?
Story
This show is about 3 freshmen who are lowly basketball bench-warmers but longing to become "legends" and the plots of each episode generally revolve this concept. There may be some side-plot turn into the mix but at large it's pretty much an urban coming-of-age story about the main characters Grover, Jamal, and Milk trying to earn admiration and respect from their peers. This is actually a pretty relatable story regardless if you're familiar with basketball culture or not.
How to humor you may be asking? Most of the jokes consists of references basketball and hip-hop culture, sex jokes (or references to it), and racial stereotypes bouncing off each other but without the broad social commentary of say (even though there is a bit of social satire going on)... The Boondocks which has a similar brand of humor so if you don't get any of the stuff mentioned you're most likely to be lost with the show's humor for most parts and it doesn't help the show constantly enforces how much it doesn't give a f*** on how raucous it is, which is something amusing to some but annoying to others. The story is more about the characters themselves than the message it conveys.
Characters
As I said before the trio Grover, Jamal, and Milk are the ones you'll be following for the most parts and they're all very like- minded in that they're immature but occasionally earnest bench-warmers longing to become "legend", though they have a lot to learn before then. Grover is the most normal and least obnoxious of the three while Milk is something of a "wigger" (so he gets slapped up the head for saying "my nigs") despite having to deal with a apparently racist stepdad who he calls "Uncle Joey" due to his resemblance to said character from the super-campy late-80's sitcom Full House and Jamal is a fatty who's secretly seeing the large-and-in-charge Medina and he's the brains of the group... always thinking outside the box. There are characters such as Randy; a high school senior, the popular jock, and the main antagonist who usually gives the trio (especially Grover) a hard time for not knowing their place... but he does get a taste of humility. There's his girlfriend Cindy, who is also the love interest for Grover and at first glance, she may seem like just sex appeal but she keeps Grover in his place especially by reminding she's already taken though without being antagonistic and stands on her own feet even though she doesn't do a whole lot. There's also Malik, Grover's younger brother, who provides most of the show's intellectual humor due to wise beyond his years and Grover's deadbeat older brother Montreal who mooches off his younger brothers' money to go to strip clubs (which he covers up as "investments").
As I've hinted at earlier the character are essentially stereotypes bouncing off each other and the black characters (and Milk) speak in exaggerated Ebonics for comic relief but they do show some genuine character development mainly the trio.
Art/Animation
Much like South Park the art and animation in Legends of Chamberlain heights is done in a deliberately crude and simplistic style to match the humor. Character designs are like comic book strips and the amount of frames they have are very minimal. The male characters are generally drawn with uni-brows unless they are shocked or sad while all black characters have big lips and female characters generally aren't drawn with eyebrows unless expressing emotion.
Sound
The voice work in Chamberlain Heights is for the most parts... passable but one thing I have to complain about is the voices for Jamal and Milk. Milk is voiced by a black man while Jamal is clearly voiced a white man trying his hardest to sound black but the results is sorta unsettling. Just like any other sitcom there's not music in Chamberlain Heights but when it does play it is pretty fitting to the show.
Overall
All in all out of the South Park "imitators" it's definitely above The Nutshack or Allen Gregory, a little better than Brickleberry, and about the same tier as Modern Family Guy/Simpsons but definitely below Bojack Hoarseman, Rick and Morty, South Park itself, and even Bob's Burger. This show may not last long but I'm at least interested enough to see where it goes.
Overall, I give this show a 6 out of 10.
Allen Gregory (2011)
A show with a good concept but poor execution.
I'll probably be the first to say that I liked the pilot, it introduced the main character Allen Gregory, who is a pretentious super genius, forced to go onto Elementary School instead of being home schooled for him to experience a life beyond corporate business, Allen thinks it would be a walk through the park but is faced with the reality that regardless of his talents, and intellect, he is really not above everyone else. It's not new, or groundbreaking material but with all the clever jokes, and settings that could been used, it would have made for a great show however the writers failed to really see the potential of the show, and in turns we were left with a bunch of dull, stagnant filler just to fill in the 8:30 - 9:00 time slot for a Sunday night block. The main problem with the show is the characters themselves, Allen Gregory in particular, he's a smug, pretentious little twerp who acts as though he's on top of the world, and is a total suck up yet he's able to walk all over everyone, and continue his nasty attitude, no real conflicts, no development, nothing. His dad Richard is pretty unlikable too, he's a homosexual stereotype; a male prima donna. He has that same problem of acting like he's on top of the world, and getting through life rather easy despite being a bad person. One thing about him is that he made a straight man (no really he is straight by will) into his love partner against his will. Everyone else are easily forgettable. The humor revolves almost entirely around the antics of Allen Gregory, and his father but considering the unlikability of their characters the delivery is really lackluster. Allen Gregory does have good points, the voice acting is rather well done for what it tries to work for, it gives you a sense that the characters (of lack thereof) are there. The animation is decent as the characters do look realistically designed, and the art gives a classy feel to it but the character movements are really stiff.
All in all, Allen Gregory would have been something great if the writers actually knew what they were working with but what came out was just a depressing waste of a good concept.
The Problem Solverz (2011)
For what it does, it does well however there are too many things it fails to deliver for it to merit as a good show
Problem Solverz has become, without a doubt, one of the most controversial cartoons that has graced the television screen for years, for reasons XY, & Z. Cartoon Network hasn't aired a show so hated since Out of Jimmy's Head. I'm going to be neutral, and try not to write a biased, hate-filled review that does it no justice.
---Story--- This show is about a "unique" detective group(Horace, Roba, and Alfe) who solve problems bizarre beyond comprehension, and that's all there is to it but that's not to stay it fails to deliver what it tries to achieve, Problem Solverz is one of the most bizarre shows I've ever seen, the show is full of meta references, and the plot lines are unimaginably crazy, however it's still not enough, there is hardly any subtly, and it's like the show is trying to prove itself that it's crazy just for the sake of being crazy. I mean, two of Cartoon Network's current most popular shows(Regular Show, and Adventure Time) are surreal, and have relatively simple plot lines as well but they lead to shows with deeper meaning behind it all. Sadly with Problem Solverz, it's a very shallow experience, and that's not a good thing.
---Animation--- The animation in Problem Solverz does a fine job at complementing the surreal style of the show, there are visual gags all over the place, and the show has video game-like feel to it all. That aside, the general animation is........well, sh!t. It's far too flashy, there are many errors, the character designs are repulsive(Horace being the biggest offender by far), it also doesn't help that the animation is really choppy, stiff, and cheap.
---Sound--- This is the strong point of the show, the voice-acting well accompanies the character's personalities(of lack thereof), and makes them seem alive. The soundtrack is a mix of techno, video game-like music, I honestly think they blend well into the show(given it's crazy storytelling, and video game-like animation), and they're pretty catchy.
---Character--- With a show that has a lame plot, and crummy animation, it'd at least make up by having memorable characters but unfortunately, this is not the case with Problem Solverz, the character are just done-to-death character clichés. Horace is the calm, cool collective leader of the group, Roba is the "smart" weakling, and Alfe is the impulsive, comic relief character. There is little to no character development, and there is nothing to make them even stand out from the pack, except that they're really crazy.
---Overrall--- Problem Solverz is good for what it is supposed to be; it's surreal to the MAX, and leaves an impression, however there are too many hiccups in where it's supposed to deliver beyond that. Ben Jones seems to favor style over substance. The show should only be watched by big surreal humor fanatics.
The Cleveland Show (2009)
So this is what replaced King of the Hill?
I don't know why FOX was so quick to canceling King of the Hill without second thoughts, granted King of the Hill wasn't a groundbreaking masterpiece, but it did have a wholesome plot that dealt with a lot of morals and realism, lovable characters,& offered plenty of laughs. WHICH IS WAAYYY MORE THAN I CAN SAY FOR THIS POINTLESS TRIPE!!!
Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate Cleveland Brown, in fact, I kinda liked him but I can't see how Seth can devote an entire show to him and result in being a good show especially considering the sad fact that a show with a cast fully consisting of African Americans rarely works out. However I went to see it anyways because I will admit to being somewhat a fan of Family Guy and boy was that mistake I will forever regret, the plot lines are ridiculously stupid,& not only that, it offers NOTHING new to the plate, everything in this show you've seen before, even the concept(Man loses house to wife but keeps the son, goes back to his hometown and marries his high school sweetheart; Correct me if I'm wrong but it feels like the concept was done many times before). The characterization is lousy too, Cleveland's new family are nothing more than a stereotypical African American household, I mean you have the sassy, attractive, big-booty wife(Donna Tubbs), the bratty, self-centered, first-born daughter(Roberta Tubbs), they changed Cleveland Jr. to the typical nerdy, momma's boy middle child - Still to this day I question why they did that,& lastly, we have the typical rambunctious youngest child(Rallo Tubbs). As for Cleveland himself, he's pretty much been reduced to being a black Peter Griffin. There are other characters as well, like Cleveland's old and new friends but I really don't care for any of them,& out of all of them, I really hate the Bear the most, he's just there for comedic effect, he has no depth whatsoever. The humor is the same as Family Guy's, only 100x dumber. Fortunely for the Cleveland show the animation is decent, the voice-acting is good although shoddy at times however the music is forgettable, I really hate the theme song, it's like a stereotypical 80's theme and it reminds me of how much they ruined Cleveland's character.
Verdict:
I wouldn't recommend this show to anyone, even the most die-hard Family Guy fans shouldn't subject themselves to suffering from this dreck.