COMPFUNK2 Reviews

What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2002–2006)

3 stars -- The least exciting incarnation

[2 March 2006]

After over a decade of inaction following A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Joseph Barbera and company decided to give Scooby and the gang a makeover with 2002's What's New, Scooby Doo? The show doesn't really stray away from the original format; what brings things down is the voices.

Here's the thing: the only original voice actors that returned for this series are Frank Welker (Fred) and Casey Kasem (Shaggy). Mindy Cohn takes over as the voice of Velma (but that's not really surprising because Velma has had a different voice in just about every series; plus, the voice isn't as annoying as whoever took over in 1979 after Patricia Stevens left), and even Heather North failed to reprise her role of Daphne (to be fair, though, North didn't do the voice in 1969); she is replaced by Grey DeLisle.

The strangest thing of all is Scooby-Doo's new voice. Since Don Messick died back in 1997, Frank Welker does the voice, and to say that he doesn't sound the same would be an understatement. It's not that I was expecting the voice to be identical, but Welker's version sounds, well, weird. Not only that, but he does it in a way that ANYone could be doing the voice. Another thing about it is that Scooby hardly ever talks now; the only thing he really says is "Scooby-dooby-doo!" at the end of each episode, as well as saying "Yeah!" followed by a snippet of what Shaggy just said. Isn't this supposed to be HIS show?

Since the format of the show hasn't changed, people will probably argue over whether the series is classic or dated, but I personally am just going to stick with the episodes from the show's glory days: the 1970s.

Anthony Rupert

The Parent 'Hood (1995–1999)

How did this show last for five seasons?

[26 August 2004]

I remember when this show first came on, I thought it was okay. But then after a few episodes, I came to the decision that it just wasn't funny. By looking at movies from the '80s (Hollywood Shuffle, for example), it was evident that Robert Townsend COULD act, but maybe he'd forgotten how for this show.

After the end of the third season, Kenny Blank (who played the eldest child, Michael Peterson) abruptly left the show, and he was replaced by an ex-con kid named T.K. (played by Tyrone Dorzell Burton). I initially thought the episodes with T.K. were better, but I've seen those episodes on reruns and now I know that I was wrong. With the possible exception of Burton, the acting on the show was TERRIBLE. And this includes the cast AND the guest stars. In fact, any time anyone yelled, it was overdone.

Also, as another reviewer said, the plots went from funny escapades to instilling wholesome family values in the most generic way possible. Approximately at the point where there were ten minutes of show left (including commercial time), Robert and Jerri came to the selected kid and said something like, "Don't change your image. Be yourself!" or "If you really care about her, you should tell her."

I have no idea how this show lasted as long as it did. Usually wack sitcoms only last on UPN.

Anthony Rupert

Ren & Stimpy 'Adult Party Cartoon' (2003)

WTF?

[1 February 2004]

[1 star out of 5]

Now, this isn't just another review that says that the new Ren and Stimpy is nothing like the OLD Ren and Stimpy. I can tell that when John K. was given the OK to once again recreate R&S, he wanted to steer as far away as possible from the Nickelodeon version (after all, he was fired from his own show). But THIS version of the show is just unsettling.

Let me do a quick comparison of a few other cartoons. Now, a little bit of "bathroom humor" can be seen on The Simpsons from time to time, and even MORE can be seen on South Park. But calling the new Ren and Stimpy bathroom humor would be an understatement. The stuff seen on this show is just disgusting for no reason. Ren and Stimpy living in a spittoon eating people's snot and vomit -- I'm sorry, HOW is that funny? If you're going to be gross, shouldn't it at least remotely make sense?

I was looking at the R&S page at IMDb's affiliate site, TV Tome, and of course it had the different synopses for the episodes. When I read some of them, I said, "Holy living F!" Stimpy getting pregnant by Ren? Okay, last time I checked, Stimpy was a guy. I know this is a cartoon, but that's just stupid. And there were a few episodes that showed Ren and Stimpy having oral sex or something, and I'm not homophobic or anything, but I agree with the reviewer that said that that's not exactly the kind of thing that people want to see on "the first network for men."

A lot of Adult Party Cartoon lovers say that the show needs to find its niche, as do the other Spike TV cartoons (Striperella and the hilarious Gary the Rat), which is why only three episodes were shown and the rest held back until sometime this summer (supposedly). But these people are overlooking an important point: there were more than three episodes of Striperella and Gary the Rat shown. In fact, some of the Ren and Stimpy episodes they showed came from the Nickelodeon years (and no, all of them were NOT first parts of sequels, as some fans will probably argue).

I know this is hard to do, but the new Ren and Stimpy is even more disturbing than the OLD Ren and Stimpy. I'm not 100% sure if it's actually coming back, but it's not like I care, either.

Anthony Rupert

Whoopi (2003–2004)

I don't know...

[9 December 2003]

It's nice to see Whoopi Goldberg on television again, but I'm not sure about this show. It's not that basing the series around running a hotel isn't interesting. It's the characters I don't click with. They're not all that interesting. And the one-liners are pretty bland. The show is funny at times, but most of the time things are pretty average.

Anthony Rupert

The Tracy Morgan Show (2003–2004)

Great! Except for...

[4 December 2003]

I'm glad to see that Tracy Morgan has a show, because a lot of times when people leave Saturday Night Live, nothing happens after that, no matter how hard they try (have you heard from Cheri Oteri?). Anyway, Tracy is pretty good as the patriarch Tracy Mitchell, and Tamala Jones (ahhhhh.) is good too, and I really like the kids, but there's one character I can do without. Freddy (Katt Williams), the token angry black man or token scrub, I'm not sure which, just isn't funny. Also, sometimes it seems like the audience's laughter is forced. I hear a lot of funny jokes, but after I hear the audience I sometimes find myself saying, `It wasn't THAT funny.'

Other than that, I think the show is going to last. And isn't it amazing how much weight Heavy D lost?

Anthony Rupert

Spyder Games (2001)

People are seriously wondering why this show got canceled?

[29 September 2003]

Who in their right mind would turn to MTV for a soap opera? Spyder Games' sole existence was obviously because MTV had 30 minutes to use up, which could have easily been done by showing some Cribs reruns or, here's a thought.some VIDEOS?

It's not that the acting was bad, it's that the characters were uninteresting and the storylines went nowhere. I'm glad this show got laid to rest quick.

Anthony Rupert

The Simpsons (1989– )

It WAS one of the best. Pay attention, people: "WAS".

[15 November 2002]

Frankly, I agree with all the more negative reviews of this show. Yeah, there was a time when The Simpsons was the funniest show around, but let's be honest. When's the last time anyone watched The Simpsons and laughed WITH it?

Personally, I stopped watching it after they killed Maude Flanders off the show. I know it's just a cartoon, but that was still a terrible way to do it. In fact, The Simpsons' ratings seriously dropped after that episode. And I've noticed that now the more celebrities there are, the wacker the episode is. (That episode with *NSYNC reminded me why I stopped watching it in the first place.)

The chalkboard gags aren't even creative any more, the episodes feel like someone wrote them in about two minutes, and...you know, there should be a rule that Dan Castellaneta should never be allowed to write an episode again. There was one episode he wrote with his wife (from Season 11 or 12) called "Days Of Wine And D'ohses", and if it were up to me, I would have fired him for that if he didn't do so many voices.

So in the end, The Simpsons WAS one of the best shows around, but it sure isn't now. If you think it is, quit living in the past.

What I Like About You (2002–2006)

Here's the problem...

[10 November 2002]

Though Amanda Bynes has obviously grown up, if you watch a few episodes of this show, you'll agree that this show seems like it should be on Nickelodeon. It's produced by Dan Schneider (who produced all or most of the Nick shows Amanda was on), and it also has Wesley Jonathan as a main character--the guy who played Jamal Grant, the main character on City Guys. So basically, even though this is supposed to be a more mature show, and the acting isn't TERRIBLE, there are "kid" influences all over the place.

Roger Ramjet (1965)

Animation vs. style

[6 May 2002]

Roger Ramjet aired in 1965, and back then a lot of cartoons were said to have bad animation. (Of course, none of them compare to Japanimation.) Roger Ramjet actually had good animation, but the trouble was that the STYLE of the cartoon was bad. The beginning "credits" have a children's chorus singing a Roger salute to the tune of "Yankee Doodle", and a picture of Roger surrounded by a ring of stars. That part isn't so bad, but when the actual cartoon comes come, whenever the narrator says "Roger Ramjet" it shows a similar star-surrounded picture of Roger. If not that, Roger's name is displayed incorrectly in big letters on the screen (it says "Rojer Ramjet".) Also, for some reason when the narrator speaks (which is whenever the scene changes), the words he says come on the screen. In short, Roger Ramjet is the most generic cartoon I've ever seen.

The Skatebirds (1977–1978)

Same show, different name

[25 April 2002]

I know of few people that even heard of this show. On the other hand, some people might have seen it and not realized it. How? This show was exactly like The Banana Splits, a show that Hanna-Barbera (the same company) created not even ten years prior! The only difference is that Skatebirds didn't have any animated shorts. Talk about no originality.

In the House (1995–1999)

Too much transition

[25 April 2002]

Nothing was actually bad per se about any of the four seasons of this show (well, maybe the fourth season), but looking at it from a casting point of view, it was all over the place. The first season revolved around the Warrens--mother, Jackie (Debbie Allen); daughter, Tiffany (Maia Campbell); and son, Austin (Jeffery Wood)--who lived in a duplex alongside the landlord, a retired football player named Marion Hill (LL Cool J). Tonia Harris (Kim Wayans) changed from chasing Marion to becoming his best friend--as well as changing from a recurring character to a permanent character--as the season changed. Also, at the end of the season, Jackie and Austin moved away, leaving Tiffany to live with Marion. In order to afford to take care of her, Marion opened a health clinic with Tonia.

Several new characters popped up in the second season. The main new character was Dr. Maxwell "Max" Stanton (Alfonso Ribeiro), a conceited clinical doctor who also became part owner of the clinic. Also, Tiffany was given some friends, Carl (Ken Lawson) and Raynelle (Gabrielle Carmouche), who popped up here and there. But the most unnecessary character was a kid named Rodney (Deejay Daniels). He came out of nowhere and nobody ever bothered to ask whose kid he was. He didn't bring much to the show, which is probably why he was gone by mid-season.

Things were going fine until the beginning of the fourth (and final) season. The only people that were left were Marion, Max, and for some reason Carl and Raynelle. Because Carl and Raynelle were still merely recurring characters, the fourth season had more guest stars than regular cast members (the beginning credits only listed LL Cool J and Alfonso Ribeiro). The plots were very bland and uninteresting, particularly because the funniest characters and jokes were brought out by actors that were no longer there.

Overall, In The House was a good show, but it would have been better if the producers could make up their minds about the cast.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Hard To Swallow

[6 February 2002]

Critics everywhere say that The Royal Tenenbaums is the best movie of the year. WHY??? That is the most boring movie I have ever seen. Half the people in the theater were falling asleep, and the other half left early like I did. It's very hard to tell what the plot is, and the movie direction is just bad. Didn't anyone notice the weird way the scenes were changing? There were a few people in the theater that were laughing, but I don't even remember hearing any jokes. Danny Glover can add this to his list of bad movies.

Two things people need to understand: just because many people see a movie doesn't make it good; a good director and good actors don't necessarily equal a good movie, especially with a bad script.