Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm on Dec 23, 2012 9:41:03 GMT -5
The Looney Tunes Show is the newest incarnation of the Looney Tunes currently airing in its 2nd season on Cartoon Network. Opinions are mixed on the show. Some think it's a refreshing take on the characters while others think it spits on the spirit of the Looney Tune shorts and is enough to make Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, and even Mel Blanc Roll in his grave.
My opinion? I don't think the show is absolutely terrible, but I do find it rather boring. Yes, I know it's supposed to be different from the originals and that they're trying something new, but that's no excuse for being boring. The plots seem to all be reused cliche sitcom crap, and a lot of the humor comes from wordplay, but I can't think of a single memorable quote from the show. Everything feels too "real" to the point that you could've made the show using live action characters and almost nothing would be different.
The characters themselves aren't very funny, except Lola and Tina(who are probably the best characters on the show): Bugs is a bland straightman, Daffy is a jerkass with almost no redeeming qualities, Witch Lezah is... a witch that doesn't do witchy things, etc. Speaking of the characters, I don't like how the show revolves almost COMPLETELY around Bugs and Daffy. In shows like The Simpsons, we get episodes focused on other citizens of Springfield. They might as well have just called it "The Bugs & Daffy Show".
And then there's next to no slapstick, and the slapstick that IS there is tame and "realistic". People go around saying, "it's the 21st century. Slapstick is dead and irrelevant." Then explain to me how Spongebob is still Nickelodeon's highest rated show(I know, audience quantity =/= quality but still)? And what's with the lack of background music?
Now before anyone thinks it, no, I don't want the show to be a carbon copy of the old Looney Tunes short. I just want it to be funny.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 9:49:32 GMT -5
I diddnt catch more than 3 or 4 episodes of the first series but I really liked it, it was good seeing a refreshing take on the characters.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 10:05:42 GMT -5
How is that any different from the original cartoons? In all of the most well known shorts, Bugs has always been portrayed as having a sarcastic sense of humor and an air of being above the antics of characters like Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam. And Daffy is a character that has been willing to sell his own mother out for a dime.
I know this was probably just an off the cuff example, but she's been shown to teleport in this show before plus, IIRC, use some sort of psychic power on Daffy.
But all the basics of the characters still remain from the shorts. Porky is still a stuttering pushover that gets abused by Daffy. Speedy is still fast, Yosemite Sam is quick to anger, the Gophers are codependent. etc.
What show doesn't focus around it's most popular and well known star(s)? If you ask anyone to name two Looney Toons characters, it's going to be those two almost every single time. Yeah it's called "The Looney Tunes Show", but if we're using The Simpsons as an example here, there are entire seasons of The Smispons that could simply be called The Homer Show given that he's clearly the most popular character.
There have been plenty of subplots about the peripheral characters. We've learned about Granny's service in WW2, Porky being a big brother to Henry Hawk, Yosemite Sam's becoming their annoying neighbor, etc..
Even the Simpsons never had the story focus on a peripheral characters without someone from the family involved somehow.
Don't know what episodes you've seen, but there is plenty of slapstick and visual gags. There's also plenty of background music in the series, it's just that they make sure it's not too distracting when the characters speak.
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Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm on Dec 23, 2012 10:22:24 GMT -5
How is that any different from the original cartoons? In all of the most well known shorts, Bugs has always been portrayed as having a sarcastic sense of humor and an air of being above the antics of characters like Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam. And Daffy is a character that has been willing to sell his own mother out for a dime. Funny, I don't recall mentioning their original portrayals at all. They've had many different personalities and portrayals from different decades(Daffy for example has been a goofball, a greedy coward, a wacky salesman, etc.) I just don't care for this portrayal of Daffy and it's NOT because it isn't the "original".
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 10:30:26 GMT -5
I love it. Say it's my sixth favorite cartoon on TV right now, behind My Little Pony, Legend of Korra, Phineas & Ferb, Regular Show, and Adventure Time.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 10:35:48 GMT -5
How is that any different from the original cartoons? In all of the most well known shorts, Bugs has always been portrayed as having a sarcastic sense of humor and an air of being above the antics of characters like Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam. And Daffy is a character that has been willing to sell his own mother out for a dime. Funny, I don't recall mentioning their original portrayals at all. They've had many different personalities and portrayals from different decades(Daffy for example has been a goofball, a greedy coward, a wacky salesman, etc.) I just don't care for this portrayal of Daffy and it's NOT because it isn't the "original". I should have said "older" instead of "original", but still if people tried to decide the most well known portrayals of Bugs & Daffy and how they relate to each other, they would point to shorts like Rabbit Fire, Show Biz Bugs, and Ali Baba Bunny.
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Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on Dec 23, 2012 10:54:46 GMT -5
This might be blasphemous to most cartoon purists, but making Bugs into a straight man has been one of the best things they could have done with the character. He's no longer unbeatable and totally infallible, and he's shown more actual frustration and relatability than he has in the past 45 years. Before LTS Bugs was pretty much what people say about Cena to the 25th power, almost nothing could bother him.
I'd say he's light years awat from being a "bland" straight man though- he can still be clever (his dealings with the cable company), he's still frequently in drag, and he's even allowed to make mistakes (the shelf episode, biker Bugs)
Anyway, it's my favorite CN show after Adventure Time and it might have a legit shot at passing it soon. The wordplay is still a vital cog, but they seem to have upped the slapstick considerably this season.
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Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm on Dec 23, 2012 11:11:36 GMT -5
I really want to like the show, and sometimes I do(I liked "Off Duty Cop" and the episode with the Pizza restaurant), but then I see something like "Bobcats on Three" and, well...
Probably doesn't help that I HATE Seinfeld.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 11:30:21 GMT -5
I grew up on Looney Tunes when I was a little kid. They really shaped my idea of what qualified as funny when I was that age. I don't really watch cartoons anymore but I've seen a few episodes of LTS and I actually like it.
I loved the violent slapstick and the old-timey jokes but those are beyond past their prime and people just don't enjoy them anymore. Maybe the characters aren't exactly like their old selves but they're not entire departures. Daffy is still greedy and pretentious. Bugs is still a workaday straight-man type. Foghorn Leghorn is still the talkative Southern slickster. I think the normality of it is the strong point of the show. They don't make a big deal about how Bugs & Friends are living in a modern world. It's more about how they're just living at all, and that gives them a lot more flexibility with what to do in the show.
I've yet to laugh out loud at it but the voice acting is great and the characters are easy to like.
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Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm on Dec 23, 2012 11:37:36 GMT -5
I loved the violent slapstick and the old-timey jokes but those are beyond past their prime and people just don't enjoy them anymore. I still cannot fathom how people can say this and Spongebob is on the air.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 12:54:53 GMT -5
'Tis like Looney Tunes meets Curb Your Enthusiasm. I like it.
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Post by HMARK Center on Dec 23, 2012 17:57:23 GMT -5
I haven't seen much of it, but I appreciated that they basically went in saying "Let's try something totally different with these characters, let's take that chance". I adore the old school Looney Tunes, and I agree that most people today still love them (slapstick isn't dead...GOOD slapstick is just relatively tough to find), but the characters are decades old, so it's nice to try some new, potentially risky things with them.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 20:05:01 GMT -5
I loved the violent slapstick and the old-timey jokes but those are beyond past their prime and people just don't enjoy them anymore. I still cannot fathom how people can say this and Spongebob is on the air. It's the exception because it's Spongebob. A show that coasts entirely off reputation of when it was actually good, back when it was first on the air nearly 12 years ago. Kids don't know the difference because they see reruns interspersed with the crappy new episodes and they don't make the connection.
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Cronant
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Post by Cronant on Dec 23, 2012 20:34:33 GMT -5
I enjoy it. Last episode I watched was when Bugs told one lie and it snowballed to ridiculous proportions.
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Post by Orange on Dec 23, 2012 20:54:47 GMT -5
I enjoy it. Last episode I watched was when Bugs told one lie and it snowballed to ridiculous proportions. Which would have never happened in the original cartoons, as Clash alluded to. I mean, for God's sake, he ended up in an Albanian prison! And that's a good thing, he's no longer unbeatable, and IMO it's done a lot for the character. Daffy's just the same, I love this version of Daffy just as much as the old - although they're very similar. Daffy was a douchebag in the original show, and he's a douchebag here - so that's all good. IMO, the show is absolutely fantastic. I find your criticism of the show being like a sitcom kind of without legs, because that's what the show was marketed as and it's what it is. Also, I'm confused as to what you mean about revolving solely around Bugs and Daffy. There have been plenty of episodes that focus around Porky, Tina and Lola just as much as Bugs and Daffy. Sure, they may not be exclusive episodes - but how about the episode where the gophers (who I hate, by the way) get separated and Daffy and Lola go to find them. Hell, I don't believe Bugs even appeared in that episode. Overall, the show's not for everybody - but it seems that your OP is more based around trying to get a rise out of people, rather than having legitimate criticism of the show. Yes, comedy has changed - and I guarantee you if they put up a show that was a carbon copy of the original, despite whether or not that's what you want - it'd be cancelled within episodes. Also, I don't find Spongebob to be that slapstick at all, but that's just me. I'd suggest that you give the show another chance - and pretend that there is no original version. Because, in my opinion, that's how they want the show to be presented - as if these were brand new characters for a brand new age.
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Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm on Dec 23, 2012 20:57:12 GMT -5
I enjoy it. Last episode I watched was when Bugs told one lie and it snowballed to ridiculous proportions. I'd suggest that you give the show another chance - and pretend that there is no original version. Because, in my opinion, that's how they want the show to be presented - as if these were brand new characters for a brand new age. I tried. I just don't find Seinfeld-type humor funny.
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Post by Orange on Dec 23, 2012 21:00:14 GMT -5
I'd suggest that you give the show another chance - and pretend that there is no original version. Because, in my opinion, that's how they want the show to be presented - as if these were brand new characters for a brand new age. I tried. I just don't find Seinfeld-type humor funny. Neither do I. I can't stand Seinfeld at all - despite the multiple chances I've given the show. I just flat out can't get into it, no matter how hard I try. I don't think there's too much of a correlation between a show like Seinfeld and The Looney Tunes Show, myself, other than the fact that they're both sitcoms. I find The Looney Tunes Show to be much funnier than Seinfeld.
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Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm on Dec 23, 2012 21:05:14 GMT -5
I tried. I just don't find Seinfeld-type humor funny. Neither do I. I can't stand Seinfeld at all - despite the multiple chances I've given the show. I just flat out can't get into it, no matter how hard I try. I don't think there's too much of a correlation between a show like Seinfeld and The Looney Tunes Show, myself, other than the fact that they're both sitcoms. I find The Looney Tunes Show to be much funnier than Seinfeld. People often say The Looney Tunes Show is basically "Looney Tunes meets Seinfeld". It feels so Seinfeld-esque to me and everything moves at a snails pace... It's just feels dull even on its own merits. Maybe I'm just watching TV wrong.
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Post by Orange on Dec 23, 2012 21:08:47 GMT -5
Well, Like I said - outside of the sitcom similarity, I don't see too many similarities between the two shows. I mean, maybe they've shared plots and whatnot, but I don't get a Seinfeld feel from it. Of course, others might, as you do, I just personally don't see it.
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