This is a show that I love dearly and have been with since I accidentally saw the first episode in a bar, lo those many moons past (fuck me- ten years ago!) and so was thrizzled when my dvr* unwittingly snatched it out of the aether this past weekend.
I've been fine with the changes they put the show through in season 4, even the death of Number 24 didn't really hit me (maybe the idea of an "evil" analogue to Rusty and Sons (Monarch, 21 & 24) seemed redundant) like it did a lot of people, but the premier of season 5 really unloaded a ton of new stuff in our laps. Some of it seemed simply irritating, and really, the first 30 minutes were less than spectacular viewing, but once all the groundwork was laid, the rest of the show was mostly entertaining.
Even without the new changes, everything seemed a little off. Some of the voices seemed, I don't know, strained and the designs, the artwork, was definitely on the crude side compared to the early days of the show. I suspect that the new production company, Titmouse, Inc. (tee hee,) was the culprit there. The animation was pretty tight, for the most part, but too many characters were kinda... crusty. Dr. Girlfriend, in particular, seemed to suffer from the new production and just looked sloppily drawn. Hopefully things'll straighten out as the season progresses. I really don't like those CG cars, though.
In the end, it wasn't a heartbreaker. I can live with the changes as long as good stories come out of them, as they did last season. The little, grey, atrophied optimist inside me has his fingers crossed.
[One last thing- I've noticed some SDCC hipster douchebagness creeping into the show in recent years, which can be a real funkiller. McCulloch & Hammer have, in the past, jokingly embraced this with the humor they're known for, but lately... I dunno. It seems like they wear sunglasses all the time now and, if it's all a joke, it's one that is getting old. I guess you can only fuck so many Molotov Cocktease cosplayers before it goes to your head. I sure hope I'm wrong.]
*I had set the thing to record new episodes sometime last winter, not knowing when or if there would be new episodes any time in the future.
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