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LeVar Presents: The Very 1st TV Walrus REVEAL
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07-02-2021 5:45pm#1Back in late December, 14 brave souls submitted some of their favourite TV Shows to be either highly praised or brutally torn apart by me, Also Starring LeVar Burton
104 shows and 312 episode later (there were a few duplicate submissions if anyone is thinking those numbers don't add up), the time has come for The Reveal
Gonna kick things off tomorrow evening and then hopefully do a round a day until we're done (may do a double bill one of the days)
Reveal times will vary depending on what else is happening that evening, so will confirm each afternoon what time that day's reveal will be at
There will also be two special bouts of bonus points awarded on Finale Night, although for reasons of suspense and mystery, I'll be keeping exactly how those bonus points were calculated (there is a mathematical system in place throughout the tournament) under my hat until the time comes...
A reminder of all the categories...
1. Back In The '90s I Was Into a Very Famous TV Show ; everyone loved TV in the '90s right? I certainly did anyway, so to kick things off, hit me with a '90s classic that you loved, which was aired either entirely or mostly in the '90s.
2. Adapted for Television ; exactly what it says on the tin for this one… Give me something that was adapted from another medium, be it books, comics, video games, films, etc.
3. Stick To That Tried & Tested Formula ; for this one I want a show that typically does the same old sh*t week in and week out, your Police Procedurals or Monster of the Week type thing, you know what I mean, nothing with a big ongoing arc, something you could theoretically tune into any episode anywhere in the run (I'll still be reacting to only the first 3) and still know exactly what is happening, and any genre is fair game.
4. Born Too Late to Appreciate The Classics ; I was born back in 1987, so for this one, quite simply I want a show that had finished its run and closed up shop before I was born on March 15th '87
5. Bam! Right In The Childhood! ; send me one of your childhood favourites, whether it be live action or animation, whatever it was that grabbed your attention as a youngster
6. Underrated & Unappreciated ; give me something that you absolutely loved but not enough people seem to have seen or it never got the attention that you thought it deserved.
7. 21st Century Comedy ; another one that should be fairly obvious, just send me a Comedy Series that began airing from 2000 onwards. I'm not gonna be a stickler for definitions of what is or isn't a Comedy, comedy-dramas or whatever are fine its up to yourselves, just be aware I'm looking for something that leans more on the funny side of the spectrum.
8. Must See TV ; this is your chance to make a massive impression on me, give me something that'll have me on the edge of my seat, a water-cooler type show, where I can't wait to watch the next episode.
This is probably as good a time as any to announce that I won't be holding back in my reviews, please remember that it's just my opinion, and please don't take any of the harsh commentary of the TV Shows I wasn't as fond about to heart... don't be offended by some randomer on the interwebs. If you do get offended after I've said not to, then that's on you my friend for putting forward a f**king terrible TV Show anyway
So be here tomorrow Monday the 8th of February @ 7pm for the TV Walrus Premiere9
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Join Date:Posts: 49740
Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »
This is probably as good a time as any to announce that I won't be holding back in my reviews, please remember that it's just my opinion, and please don't take any of the harsh commentary of the TV Shows I wasn't as fond about to heart... don't be offended by some randomer on the interwebs. If you do get offended after I've said not to, then that's on you my friend for putting forward a f**king terrible TV Show anyway
Seeing as I finished last in the Movie Walrus I probably should see myself out...
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I haven't done scoreboards or anything yet (and still need to match up the shows with the people who submitted them before tomorrow), so have no idea who's leading or losing myself even, but I don't think anybody did terribly, and the overall quality was very high.
I rated each of the first three episodes of each show individually (out of 10) and then used those ratings to give every series an aggregated percentage that determined their places in the rankings. I also did a write-up for each episode and some final thoughts after watching all three. There won't be any spoilers or major details in any of the reviews, all the notes are more my general reaction and overall feeling towards each episode, so everything will be safe to read.
Some of my notes on certain shows are almost essays (especially in the first few rounds, I then consciously tried to keep them shorter) and as usual I couldn't be bothered editing, so expect my reviews to be long and full of errors.
And stealing this disclaimer from Kolido...
Disclaimer
The reviews here are my personal opinions and may not reflect popular opinion.0 -
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SineadSpears wrote: »I'll admit, I em kinda not so accidentally overlooked the part about the first 3 episodes lol. I just nominationed shows I liked. The first 3 episodes may not even be that strong in my noms
I don't think you were the only one... 0 -
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Electric Nitwit wrote: »About time too, can't believe it took you over a month to watch... checks notes... 312 episodes
...and that was me taking it easy... 0 -
I was just telling my wife about this and told her what I'd picked
Those are some weird choices
Yeah, but they wanted new shows so I had to go obscure
Did they? Is that what they said?
Yeah, look, I'll check...Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »Oh, and don't worry about any of your nominations being too obvious, it'll be fun to revisit things and critique them from a fresh perspective
Oh...
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Electric Nitwit wrote: »I was just telling my wife about this and told her what I'd picked
Those are some weird choices
Yeah, but they wanted new shows so I had to go obscure
Did they? Is that what they said?
Yeah, look, I'll check...
Oh...
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I regret nothingAlso Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »
(and I genuinely love every show I submitted)
Also, my wife says "silly goose" all the time. I just had to check with her she wasn't running this without me realising 0 -
Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »This is probably as good a time as any to announce that I won't be holding back in my reviews, please remember that it's just my opinion, and please don't take any of the harsh commentary of the TV Shows I wasn't as fond about to heart... don't be offended by some randomer on the interwebs. If you do get offended after I've said not to, then that's on you my friend for putting forward a f**king terrible TV Show anyway
If I only watched shows that other people liked, I think I'd only watch two shows, ever. I could score dead-last in every category and still be satisfied with my choices 0 -
aaronjennings wrote: »If I only watched shows that other people liked, I think I'd only watch two shows, ever. I could score dead-last in every category and still be satisfied with my choices
That's the type of positive attitude I like to hear.0 -
The clarity of knowing everyone else is wrong when you're in a tiny minority is one of the things I cling to in lifeaaronjennings wrote: »If I only watched shows that other people liked, I think I'd only watch two shows, ever. I could score dead-last in every category and still be satisfied with my choices 0 -
I'll be kicking off the Back In The '90s I Was Into a Very Famous TV Show (aka. Round 1) Reveal at 7pm this evening
If you're desperate for a TV fix in the meantime, here's something I personally might have chosen myself if someone else was hosting this Walrus...
NewsRadio
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112095/IMDB wrote:The workplace sitcom "NewsRadio" explores the office politics and interpersonal relationships among the staff of WNYX NewsRadio, New York's #2 news radio station.
This is one that often slips people's minds when it comes to talking about the Greatest '90s US Sitcoms, with the likes of Seinfeld and Frasier often dominating those conversations, but NewsRadio is probably the finest and funniest of them all, it just sadly never got the same mainstream attention it deserved0 -
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Never heard of this before. Was it shown over here?Also Starring LeVar Burton wrote: »I'll be kicking off the Back In The '90s I Was Into a Very Famous TV Show (aka. Round 1) Reveal at 7pm this evening
If you're desperate for a TV fix in the meantime, here's something I personally might have chosen myself if someone else was hosting this Walrus...
NewsRadio
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112095/
This is one that often slips people's minds when it comes to talking about the Greatest '90s US Sitcoms, with the likes of Seinfeld and Frasier often dominating those conversations, but NewsRadio is probably the finest and funniest of them all, it just sadly never got the same mainstream attention it deserved
Some familiar faces there Phil Hartman, the guy from Kids In The Hall, the guy who voiced the slob in King of The Hill and the loser in Office Space and Dodgeball. The lady on top is very farmiliar looking, what rlse was she in?0 -
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Right, well I'm ready to get started, so let's kick this thing off...
I'll be doing the standard Walrus reveal, starting from the middle-of-the-pack and working my way outwards towards the tops and the bottoms, pausing briefly before revealing the Top 3 and Bottom 3 for reasons of suspense and the like...
Probably be about 4-ish minutes between each placing, unless I get distracted by something shiny, which has been known to happen, but I'll try my best to remain focused.
There was one duplicate in this round so despite there being 14 players, there will only be 13 placings - 1st place still gets 14 points, last place gets 1 point (unless the duplicate is in last place, then they'll get 2 points, as scores are based on the amount of players ranked above you), yadda, yadda, yadda, blah, blah, blah, enough of the explanations, let's just do this!
Starting off with 7th place, coming up in a couple of minutes...
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In 7th with 8 points isaaronjennings
Keeping Up Appearances
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098837/IMDB wrote:A snobbish housewife is determined to climb the social ladder, in spite of her family's working class connections and the constant chagrin of her long suffering husband.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 7.2
Episode 2 Rating: 9.5
Episode 3 Rating: 8.6
Aggregated Approval Rating: 84.3%
Episode 1: "Daddy's Accident"
I was today years old, when I realised that the sisters, Hyacinth, Daisy, Rose, and Violet are all named after flowers, and it makes the Bucket (it's pronounced Bouquet) all the more hilarious. That went over my head when I was younger, I always just thought it was funny how precocious (I definitely didn't know the meaning of that word back then) Hyacinth always was, and I still though, which is good seeing as that's the entire premise of the show. I got a few laughs out of just how absurd Hyacinth is, and I definitely enjoyed it, however there wasn't really much of a plot ; some things happened, but there was no story with a beginning, a middle, and an end, things just happen and are left unresolved, which I found a bit perplexing, and it was all just a bit too disjointed. Hopefully the other two episodes have a bit more substance to them in terms of a story that ties everything together.
Episode 2: "The New Vicar"
Now that was much more like it, the flow was much much better, the story was great, and all the plot strands tied together nicely in the end. I found it a good bit funnier than the first episode as well. Kept me smiling and thoroughly entertained throughout, which is all you can ask for from a sitcom. As great as Hyacinth's eccentricities are, I personally think Richard is the real hero of the show with his reactions to her nonsense ; colourful characters like Hyacinth are only as good as the straight characters they have to play off of, and Clive Swift at playing the worn down husband. Elizabeth and Onslow are also great at playing against the absurdity, although they're not quite as weathered as Richard is, and have their own quirkiness to them. Daisy and Rose on the other hand are almost just as mad as Hyacinth is, but she's on such a different level that at times you'd almost think they're both somewhat down to Earth.
Episode 3: "Stately Home"
Not as strong as the second episode, but still good craic. The episode was set away from the house, aside from a brief scene at the beginnig, so it had a slightly different energy without all of Hyacinth's usual phone shennanigans, or a call from Sheridan. The dynamic between Richard and Onslow is quite good, with Onslow wanting to rescue Richard from Hyacinth long enough to get him out for a few pints.
Final Thoughts:
I have very fond memories of Keeping Up Appearances growing up, it was something everyone would sit around and watch in my Granny and Granda's house, and was enjoyed by all regardless of age. All the characters are extreme caricatures of course, but we all still know people who are similar to Hyacinth or Richard or Onslow, so there's a great appeal in that sense as well. Definitely plan to throw on an episode every now and again whenever I need a good old fashioned laugh.0 -
A duo in 8th place with 7 points each areDeleted UserandJohnGreenFan
Animaniacs
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105941/IMDB wrote:The zany adventures of a trio of 1930s animated characters in the modern world.
Have I Seen It Before: Yes
Episode 1 Rating: 9.2
Episode 2 Rating: 7.3
Episode 3 Rating: 7.4
Aggregated Approval Rating: 79.6%
Episode 1: "De-Zanitized/The Monkey Song/Nighty-Nite Toon"
Hellooooooooo Nurse!!!
A delight from start to finish. The animation is fantastic, and the attention to detail is great ; there were many cartoons I remember watching as a kid that felt a bit careless when it came to making sure all the frames and colouring were correct, but that's not the case here, every little thing has been done with the upmost of care. Top class voice acting as well of course ; Rob Paulsen who voices Yakko, Dr. Scratchansniff, and Pinky is one of my all-time favourite voice actors, but everyone of the Animaniacs cast bring their A-game. As an introductory episode, this hit the ground running, and there were some great laugh out loud gags, as Animaniacs made sure to cater to the adult audience as well as the kids, which is why it is so fondly remembered by those who watched it, and even twenty-seven years later, it still feels fresh and holds up very well.
Episode 2: "Yakko's World/Cookies For Einstein/Win Big"
More of a mixed bag here. The first segment, Yakko's Nations of the World song, is arguably the most famous Animaniacs sketch and its superb. The final sketch is the introduction of the Wheel of Morality, which is fantastic and incorporates the sharp Warner humour that I really loved from the first episode, so the bookends of the show were fantastic, but they were also the shortest segments. Yakko's song is about 2 minutes long, and Wheel of Morality is really only a stinger and less than a minute in length. Of the other two segments, Win Big was the first proper Pinky & The Brain sketch which was pretty enjoyable overall, but not quite as strong as Yakko's Song or Wheel of Morality. Cookies For Einstein, which is the main Warner sketch of the episode where the Warners annoy Einstein and accidentally help him stumble upon the theory of relativity, and I just found it a good bit weaker than everything else I've seen so far in the first two episodes and it dragged the episode down a lot for me.
Episode 3: "H.M.S. Yakko/Slappy Goes Walnuts/Yakko's Universe Song"
Much like in the second episode, the main Warner sketch wasn't great, although the ending of that sketch in which they parodied I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major-General from The Pirates of Penzance was very very good, it just took about eight minutes of pure meh to build up to that point. The first sketch proper from Slappy and Skippy Squirrel featured in this episode was fantastic and it was the stand-out of the episode, definitely on the same level as the Warner stuff in the first episode and better than Pinky and the Brain's first sketch in episode two, with lots of great fourth wall breaking asides from Slappy. Another great song from Yakko rounds off the episode, so it finishes strong once again.
Final Thoughts:
The sketches are obviously a bit hit and miss, but when they get it right, it's top notch. While I probably won't go and watch every episode, I definitely want to have a look at some individual sketches, especially for the characters and segments didn't get their chance to shine here. Would have loved to have seen some Good Idea, Bad Idea or Chicken Boo sketches here in the first few episodes but I don't think they were introduced until a good bit later, and I definitely want to check out some Goodfeathers sketches, because I think they're probably the ones that I couldn't appreciate as a kid, that I would really enjoy a lot today.0 -
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