"Family Guy" [Fox, 2009] Season 8

Being truly miraculous in its awesomeness solely because the producers can deconstruct, condense, simplify, hyperbolize especially, all of the aspects of everyday life; and then rearrange them so as to “milk” them for humor, MacFarlane concentrates instead on only that humor which survives for just a moment—then dies. Therefore, one is left staring, aghast, into the void—in fact, it’s actually as though the jokes collapse in on themselves. But of course this is all just an effect of the notorious “selling-out/downhill” effect to which every (AC) show must fall victim sooner or later. And indeed, isn’t this one kind of overdue? Bwah ha ha! GRADE: C-

"Adventure Time (With Finn & Jake)" [CN, 2010]

It would be scary if this was actually identical to its obvious counterpart Flapjack--however, the most obvious difference is that the formermore unfocused and, dare I say it, whimsical, although the topics are remarkably similar all the same. This is here carried out much further than one could ever imagine, dragging along with it the two main character's attitude, one of--not exactly flippancy, most of all blithe, selfish optimism. Which is very obvious on its own, but not as much when one considers all of the highly mellifluous implications this has all across the plot. So this is not just about being "outwardly inoffensive," as a uber-snob would put it, but about the show's very title, and the aforementioned eagerness that invariably accompanies it, at least according to Finn. This Pendleton Ward renders in an abrasive (yet not inaccessible!) style evocative of Flapjack, and with a plotline much more expedient than you would expect from such a comedy. But this creates a startling effect that itself is a major part of the show's appeal. Grade: B PLUS