Post by Stirfry on Feb 27, 2020 14:10:39 GMT -5
Alright, with the wrap up of season 1, I think it’s a good time to have a look back at the season and give a more educated review of the episodes than I had when the started.
It turns out you actually miss quite a lot watching the episodes in order and not knowing all the characters. Particularly Hunter De Vil cameos, Like right in the first episode!
You see him, but you have no idea who he is, he just looks like a random background character, same for his appearance in the intro.
They put him in there with another random character, so you don’t get this sense like “Oooh, he’s the villain. Something’s up with that guy.” which is very good. Watching the episodes through again, he has been in a number of episodes, probably following the dalmatians around, and I completely didn’t realize the was the bad guy he blends in so well.
Along with that you have other subtle little Easter eggs that you just miss going through things the first time, like this lady and her dog in the intro.
I’m pretty sure she’s the granddaughter of this lady and her dog from the original 101 Dalmatians. If not, it’s at least a reference to the original scene just hidden in there, there’s so much going on, that I completely missed it the first probably dozen times I watched the intro. So, I very much appreciate the Easter eggs, it gives you a reason to go back and watch the episodes again because you might find things you didn’t notice the first time.
Anyway, with all that out of the way, let’s get started!
Episode 1 A Dog’s Best Friend
So, the episode opens strong with Dylan pretending that he’s cleaning up space junk in his home while he vacuums, and Dolly goofs off. They show Delilah going to work while Doug gets home from work, leaving Dylan and Dolly in charge. It’s a scene that does what it is supposed to very well for a first episode. It establishes the most important characters, and the setting, it explains how the parents constantly work and need their pups to watch their siblings. Doug’s “Worked like a dog” pun though, was pretty cringey and my first time watching it made me think “Oh no… they’re putting in jokes like that already. Is this what I can expect from the show?” It really isn’t good to have things like that in the first scene of the first episode. As small of a thing as it was, it’s the first impression we get of the show, which starts it off on a bad note.
They then have Dylan look out the window to introduce Clarissa very well as a snotty rich dog, in just a few seconds without even having her say a word. Very good… But THEN they have Dizzy and Dee Dee pop on the screen acting and sounding like generic Disney Jr characters in the way they speak and come up with the idea to get Dylan a pet.
Now, after having seen the whole season and knowing what the show is going to be, the scene is actually kind of cute, but we have to remember this is still the first episode of the show. The first time I watched this, I had just cringed at a bad pun and then only a few seconds later they’re throwing some Disney Jr characters on the screen, speaking in high pitched children’s voices and simplistically stating “let’s get Dylan a pet!” Now that's in character for Dizzy and Dee Dee but it wasn't good to throw in this early into the show. It really filled me with dread for what was to come. The tone was set for me to be cringing through the entire rest of the episode.
We then go to the cafe where we have some rapid fire throw away gags, and Dizzy and Dee Dee bring back a typical millennial
He's sad that nobody wants to date him because he’s already in a relationship with his phone. He’s also completely incompetent, can’t work a vacuum cleaner or do housework and has probably never had a job in his life.
This is the point where the episode really starts to drag. They name him Mr. Fuzzy and what follows is, a long sequence of slapstick comedy and jokes just showing off the house and the dog’s lives, which has a purpose for the first episode, but if you don’t like the jokes, then it’s going to be really boring because there really isn’t much plot relevant happening here. Mr. Fuzzy is is shown to be completely incompetent and obsessed with his phone. There were a few good jokes like Dylan using Mr Fuzzy’s phone to get him to play fetch, and a joke that the writers TOTALLY stole from me where Mr Fuzzy pees in the “Drinking bowl” and the pups are disgusted. But those are a few stand out moments in several minutes of cringey or otherwise just boring jokes and further gives off a bad impression of the show to come. I kind of phased out at this part of the episode both times watching it because nothing is happening and only snap back to reality when they decide to get rid of Mr Fuzzy. When that happens I’m like “FINALLY! I really don’t like this guy!” He isn’t cute, he’s basically the human version of the dumb animal that gets into everything and ruins stuff or maybe a baby character. I half expect him to walk into a construction site because he’s too busy staring at his phone and to have Dylan chase after him.
So they get rid of him, they help him find a girlfriend who… is probably just as in love with her phone and the episode ends with a group “Awww” as the humans kiss… except for this dog.
He um… He seems to be the one outlier looking disgusted by it. I feel you, kid… whoever you are. Humans are disgusting. Pressing their lips together to show affection, peeing in water bowls. You are the most sane pup in the group and we will probably never know your name.
Final thoughts: The episode really felt like it was just the pilot episode they used to pitch the show rather than a proper introductory episode. It introduced the setting and characters, and each scene did introduce aspects of the world, like the animals thinking humans are the pets, or that the dogs are the only ones living in the house and don’t have a human, that they have these crazy machines for things like stroking or distributing kibble, they establish what a trigger word is, which is a rather unique plot device that will be used in many episodes to come. You get an idea of what the world is like, but the writing is so awkward and the plot does very little other than establish these things and it’s just not an enjoyable episode for me.
Final Rating: 3/10
It turns out you actually miss quite a lot watching the episodes in order and not knowing all the characters. Particularly Hunter De Vil cameos, Like right in the first episode!
You see him, but you have no idea who he is, he just looks like a random background character, same for his appearance in the intro.
They put him in there with another random character, so you don’t get this sense like “Oooh, he’s the villain. Something’s up with that guy.” which is very good. Watching the episodes through again, he has been in a number of episodes, probably following the dalmatians around, and I completely didn’t realize the was the bad guy he blends in so well.
Along with that you have other subtle little Easter eggs that you just miss going through things the first time, like this lady and her dog in the intro.
I’m pretty sure she’s the granddaughter of this lady and her dog from the original 101 Dalmatians. If not, it’s at least a reference to the original scene just hidden in there, there’s so much going on, that I completely missed it the first probably dozen times I watched the intro. So, I very much appreciate the Easter eggs, it gives you a reason to go back and watch the episodes again because you might find things you didn’t notice the first time.
Anyway, with all that out of the way, let’s get started!
Episode 1 A Dog’s Best Friend
So, the episode opens strong with Dylan pretending that he’s cleaning up space junk in his home while he vacuums, and Dolly goofs off. They show Delilah going to work while Doug gets home from work, leaving Dylan and Dolly in charge. It’s a scene that does what it is supposed to very well for a first episode. It establishes the most important characters, and the setting, it explains how the parents constantly work and need their pups to watch their siblings. Doug’s “Worked like a dog” pun though, was pretty cringey and my first time watching it made me think “Oh no… they’re putting in jokes like that already. Is this what I can expect from the show?” It really isn’t good to have things like that in the first scene of the first episode. As small of a thing as it was, it’s the first impression we get of the show, which starts it off on a bad note.
They then have Dylan look out the window to introduce Clarissa very well as a snotty rich dog, in just a few seconds without even having her say a word. Very good… But THEN they have Dizzy and Dee Dee pop on the screen acting and sounding like generic Disney Jr characters in the way they speak and come up with the idea to get Dylan a pet.
Now, after having seen the whole season and knowing what the show is going to be, the scene is actually kind of cute, but we have to remember this is still the first episode of the show. The first time I watched this, I had just cringed at a bad pun and then only a few seconds later they’re throwing some Disney Jr characters on the screen, speaking in high pitched children’s voices and simplistically stating “let’s get Dylan a pet!” Now that's in character for Dizzy and Dee Dee but it wasn't good to throw in this early into the show. It really filled me with dread for what was to come. The tone was set for me to be cringing through the entire rest of the episode.
We then go to the cafe where we have some rapid fire throw away gags, and Dizzy and Dee Dee bring back a typical millennial
He's sad that nobody wants to date him because he’s already in a relationship with his phone. He’s also completely incompetent, can’t work a vacuum cleaner or do housework and has probably never had a job in his life.
This is the point where the episode really starts to drag. They name him Mr. Fuzzy and what follows is, a long sequence of slapstick comedy and jokes just showing off the house and the dog’s lives, which has a purpose for the first episode, but if you don’t like the jokes, then it’s going to be really boring because there really isn’t much plot relevant happening here. Mr. Fuzzy is is shown to be completely incompetent and obsessed with his phone. There were a few good jokes like Dylan using Mr Fuzzy’s phone to get him to play fetch, and a joke that the writers TOTALLY stole from me where Mr Fuzzy pees in the “Drinking bowl” and the pups are disgusted. But those are a few stand out moments in several minutes of cringey or otherwise just boring jokes and further gives off a bad impression of the show to come. I kind of phased out at this part of the episode both times watching it because nothing is happening and only snap back to reality when they decide to get rid of Mr Fuzzy. When that happens I’m like “FINALLY! I really don’t like this guy!” He isn’t cute, he’s basically the human version of the dumb animal that gets into everything and ruins stuff or maybe a baby character. I half expect him to walk into a construction site because he’s too busy staring at his phone and to have Dylan chase after him.
So they get rid of him, they help him find a girlfriend who… is probably just as in love with her phone and the episode ends with a group “Awww” as the humans kiss… except for this dog.
He um… He seems to be the one outlier looking disgusted by it. I feel you, kid… whoever you are. Humans are disgusting. Pressing their lips together to show affection, peeing in water bowls. You are the most sane pup in the group and we will probably never know your name.
Final thoughts: The episode really felt like it was just the pilot episode they used to pitch the show rather than a proper introductory episode. It introduced the setting and characters, and each scene did introduce aspects of the world, like the animals thinking humans are the pets, or that the dogs are the only ones living in the house and don’t have a human, that they have these crazy machines for things like stroking or distributing kibble, they establish what a trigger word is, which is a rather unique plot device that will be used in many episodes to come. You get an idea of what the world is like, but the writing is so awkward and the plot does very little other than establish these things and it’s just not an enjoyable episode for me.
Final Rating: 3/10