ds1
CONTAINS SPOILERS4/10 4 years ago
So, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland create this particular animated series, that gets quite famous.
They need a ridicolous amount of time writing new episodes despite a 70 episode deal they got at one point and I am sure they will never be able to deliver upon just by how much time they need for ten episodes. Then Justin has the "idea" of doing his own animated series that's copying Rick and Morty basically, just without Rick and Morty and without multiverse? Timeline is important here, Wikipedia says, the series was shelved but not for how long.
The art style is the exact same, the randomness and over the top stories are the same, several voices are the same, all that this is lacking is good writing. Solar Opposites, funny name considering the not so much "opposites", is airing on another network. In other words going into competition to R&M. Is this a very elaborate prank from DH and/or JR, even though DH isn't mentioned? Or does Justin want to piss of DH? How's this even legal from a business standpoint?
SO does scratch the R&M itch. But it's nowhere near the greatness of R&M. SO doesn't try as hard, though.
There's almost no continuity. The stories of the main characters are so random, as random as any interdimensional cable episode, there's no point in watching. You could watch any episode in any order you wish, without losing or missing anything regarding the main characters. That makes this series incredibly boring for me personally.
The most interesting subplot, with actual continuity so far that needs a certain episode order, is "The Wall". That part is the best part of this whole season 1 and really a good idea with actual fun, consistent characters. If [spoiler]Cherie[/spoiler] survives for revenge in S2 it would make me gladly come back. Other than that I don't particularly care for this to get a second season.
If JR wants to do R&M, he should focus on R&M and push Harmon (and all the other writers) to do more, instead of half-assing his own stuff. Other than that I simply fail to understand why this exists other than to leech off of the success of R&M. Creating an instance of "you like R&M? You must like this, too. It's from one of the creators". But no. I do not like this. I don't hate it, but I certainly do not like it. Would this not rely on so many similarities or be a direct and open spin-off I wouldn't mind, though.
Kristen Schaal should have been cast as the voice of Jesse as well. Mary Mack sounds way too much like her and Schaal's voice would fit that character very well.
Reply by slurpity_slurp
4 years ago
@ds1 I don't get your point. You made a lot of comparisons to R&M so I will play into your way of thinking to show that you don't really make sense. You argue that there is no continuity. Well, duh, its an episodic series. The A and B plots are just how R&M is structures as well. You praise R&M for it's writing, yet they explicitly went out of their way to shit on the idea of serialization on S4E6. At least SO is taking it's serialized elements, i.e. The Wall, seriously. I get why someone could be mad thinking Roiland, or whoever else is also working on R&M, are dividing their attention between the shows, but you can't let this affect your judgement of the show as a unit.
Reply by ds1
4 years ago
@slurpity_slurp Considering R&M is objectively fairly superior to this (staff wise, money wise, development time wise) and seeing you give SO a 9 out of 10 shows me that you're being a) very generous b) quite on an opposite point of view compared to me, so I am not surprised that you pretend to not get my point. Well, "duh".<br />
<br />
I knew someone will have an issue with my continuity point. R&M has a shitton of continuity, despite all of its nihilism and multidimensional/interdimensional bullshittery and despite its quite episodic approach. So, your point is, SO is an episodic series and therefore there is no continuity. But then, why does R&M, an episodic series, have continuity? I don't mean a soda can must be at the same place between scenes with continuity. I'm talking about things that are established in episodes like Homer was an astronaut, Homer works at the nuclear plant "for her", Maggy shot Burns, Murphy was an important influence on Lisa type of continuity. _Some_ things that do not reset each episode, because they serve a purpose for growth or consequence or as a goal and don't need to be present each episode.<br />
Other than earth-isn't-that-bad-after-all-growth (which is lame in on itself but still growth) SO has nothing regarding our main characters, I don't count Pupa yet. In other words, there are no consequences in SO for anything. Kids shrinking countless humans for example. Except for a joke no one really cares (like police, military, family). It's like the aliens live in a human society, where humans collectively and deliberately do not interact with these aliens until approached/influenced by them. So they can carry out their bland stories uninterrupted. No consequences involved. Even in R&M there are always consequences, Rick makes that very, very clear on multiple occasions. On SO it's just mindless chaos writing-wise, it doesn't need to make even slightly sense within its own universe. Because it's just not fleshed out as a series. It's an interdimensional cable episode as an entire series with the same characters. I think that is incredibly boring to watch.<br />
<br />
Either way, you cannot cherrypick single episodes (S04E06) as an argument against my "praise" of the writing on R&M as I cannot cherrypick a single episode to claim the writing is great. We have to take a look at the whole picture to acutally judge the show "as a unit", as you put it. Even though you take a single episode of R&M to judge that the writing in R&M isn't deserving of my "praise", we cannot use single episodes to affect one's own judgement of the whole. You're contradicting yourself there, but whatever. As an extreme example - matching your way to look at things - look at The Simpsons and how their writing changed drastically over the decades. There have been entire bad _seasons_ but as a whole Simpsons has been praised a lot for good reasons. R&M has several awful, shitty, ridicolous episodes, S04E06 being one of the shittiest, imo. So, nice cherrypick there. Doesn't make the _overall_ writing bad. Just like one decent episode of SO doesn't make the subpar writing good (kids go to school all summer).<br />
<br />
SO writing in this first season should be compared to S01 of R&M, when it wasn't that hyped, financially backed and didn't have to live up to so much pressure. Back then R&M was a lot more toned down (with a lot more disgusting burping), had a very slow start until E05, but still had a way better premise, way more hilarity in its absurd chaotic shenanigans all around the universe rather than just earth. But the writers were able to make sense of it all and spin some theme around it, holding the puzzle pieces ("episodic series") together. On SO there is almost none of that, there's no care for that as outlined above. Can it get better in a potential S2 in SO? <br />
Sure. But we do not know yet and it wouldn't make a not good first season better. Just like the best episode of R&M will never make S01E01-E04 good. They are not good episodes.<br />
<br />
There are similiarities, things in SO that are in R&M, yes, I said so as well. But copying an ingredient from a good show into another show doesn't make that new show the same or equally good. That's a weird way of looking at things.<br />
<br />
You didn't really "play into my way of thinking" to "show I make no sense".<br />
All you did is cherrypicking, contradicting yourself, telling my what to do, talking in extremes, dismissing any kind of positive implications to get your way, twisting my points to mean something different than what I say, throwing in stuff that's either irrelevant or a general thing in television (A/B stories). Showing only that you don't really care, just that you disagree with me and wanted to raise that point. Which is fine, liking SO is fine, too, but going out of your way to talk an opposing opinion down with highly questionable wording and rethoric is a terrible character trait.
