Thoughts on 6ACV25 - Overclockwise - SPOILERS!

[Reply #360 on:]

Eh... I'm still not sure whether I prefer 6A or 6B.

6B was more consistent with its overall quality, but nothing in 6B came close to being as good as 'The Late Philip J. Fry'. I'm the kind of guy who often sides with a handful of incredible episodes and a handful of crap episodes over a bunch of episodes that are just good.

[Reply #361 on:]

6B was more consistent with its overall quality, but nothing in 6B came close to being as good as 'The Late Philip J. Fry'.

6A has three outstanding episodes for me. Rebirth, TLPJF and TPOB. It also has one crappy episode and one absolute stinker (IAGDL and TFHS respectively).

6B has two outstanding episodes (though not as good as TLPJF), one absolute stinker, and a couple of episodes that had their high-and-low points. (Reincarnation, Mobius Dick, YLL, TTOTZ and Cold Warriers respectively).

Overall, the episodes between the ones I've named have been slightly better in 6B... but the highs are higher for 6A. So I'm reluctant to pick either over the other. I'd take 6 as a whole over 5 any day. But 5's the only "season" that has more bad than good in it for me.

Then again, there's at least two episodes per season so far that I feel are "must-see" Futurama, not counting the pilot, the episodes that form the "arc" between that and TWOF, or the AOI episodes.

[Reply #362 on:]

Call me crazy, but I'd be inclined to take 6 as a whole over 1 and 2, as well.

[Reply #363 on:]

I loved 6B much more! Ocw and the rest of the highs were so great quality-wise. Two meh episodes and some episodes between average and really great but not amazing. 6B was a solid 9 for me.

[Reply #364 on:]

In my opinion, 6B was a lot better. It had three fantastic episodes (Cold Warriors, Overclockwise, and Reincarnation), and the rest were fantastic. (Excluding neutopia, YLL, and ATPH.)

Although nothing was as good as TLPJF, it was sure up there.

[Reply #365 on:]

Overall I liked 6B slightly more as it had more great eps (Overclockwise wasn't one of them), but 6A had the best ep from either, TLPJF...

Season 1 and 2 were better though...

[Reply #366 on:]

I preferred 6A by a little bit...I'm not sure why this is, but 6B really felt less ambitious to me, with more of the episodes feeling too "standard" or otherwise sort of recycling past conflicts and themes. There were fewer really thought-out, crazy sci-fi stories (Mobius Dick and Benderama get special props, though), and fewer episodes with really thoughtful themes, format-pushing stories (like Prisoner of Benda), or that took the characters in genuinely new directions (like Lethal Inspection, or any of the other "put two characters who don't generally work together, together" episodes). And just fewer standouts, IMO. Granted I don't think there was a huge difference, even with these criteria, but 6A did stand out more to me.

But yeah, I'd probably put season 6 a a whole above seasons 1 and 2...and hey, I love those seasons. 3 and 4 were better, though. So many standouts in those.

Overclockwise was good, but I'm glad it wasn't the finale if for no other reason than that it just wasn't as satisfying as an actual FINALE to me as Devil's Hands or even Wild Green Yonder were. Even Late Philip J. Fry would have felt like more of one, honestly, since it hits on all the major themes of the show, is more emotionally satisfying (plus just more sci-fi....why does potentially the series finale of this show take place partially in a courtroom?) and makes better use of all the main characters (for such a major part of the episode's emotional crux, Leela really isn't in very much of it....it's quite possible that Cubert has more lines). That said, it's a bit uneven, and unevenly paced, but overall still really good. The Bender plot, when it's there, is lots of fun and makes for some of the funniest moments in the season, and, however rushed, the Fry and Leela stuff is for the most part really sweet and funny also...I may have had a tear in my eye during the brilliant, dialogue-less ending. Plus, in certain sequences (like inside-out Bender), the animation is especially impressive. I still would have been a little disappointed if it was actually the spiritual - not counting Reincarnation, basically - finale to the show, but going into it knowing the show would be back, I enjoyed it quite a bit and it's still a really good episode.

[Reply #367 on:]

For those who found this sucky, about 70% gave a 9 or up!

[Reply #368 on:]

69.7% to be precise. Not that I agree with your sentiment that whatever the masses think is correct.

But I did like this episode a lot.

[Reply #369 on:]

I don't think many people think it's sucky. Otis is the only person I've seen who seems to be critical of it, but I think he still thinks it's okay.

[Reply #370 on:]

I preferred 6A by a little bit...I'm not sure why this is, but 6B really felt less ambitious to me, with more of the episodes feeling too "standard" or otherwise sort of recycling past conflicts and themes. There were fewer really thought-out, crazy sci-fi stories (Mobius Dick and Benderama get special props, though), and fewer episodes with really thoughtful themes, format-pushing stories (like Prisoner of Benda), or that took the characters in genuinely new directions (like Lethal Inspection, or any of the other "put two characters who don't generally work together, together" episodes). And just fewer standouts, IMO. Granted I don't think there was a huge difference, even with these criteria, but 6A did stand out more to me.

I think I preferred 6A, too. It had three episodes ("Lethal Inspection," "The Late Philip J. Fry," and "The Prisoner of Benda") that were worthy of my top 25, and only two real stinkers ("Proposition Infinity," which is my personal least-favorite episode ever, and The Holiday Spectacular). The rest of the episodes ranged from 6/10s to 9/10s, which is not half-bad, and probably puts 6A ahead of season one for me in terms of quality and enjoyability.

Also, I enjoyed the fair amount of consistency in Fry and Leela's relationship in 6A, which then completely fell by the wayside until the very end of 6B. It's not like I graded episodes in 6B lower because they chose not to feature Fry and Leela's relationship--but I still found it jarring that at least half of the episodes in 6A dealt with shippy matters, and only one episode in 6B ("Overclockwise") went that route. (You could make a case for "Fry Am The Egg Man" being shippy, I suppose, but it's a bit counterproductive considering Leela's sort-of fling with McZongo. Hell, "Reincarnation" was shippier than that, and it wasn't even canon.)

My other issue with 6B, shippiness aside, was its horrible inconsistency; I went into each week's new episode praying that I wouldn't be as disappointed with it as I had been with the previous week's. Only "Law & Oracle" was a particularly great episode by my standards--at least until the end of the season, which contained three episodes in a row that I gave a 10/10 to. But shit-tastic shit-fests like "Ghost in the Machines" and "The Silence of the Clamps," and much-anticipated disappointments like "All the Presidents' Heads," really stopped me from truly loving 6B as a whole.

When you take all of season six into account, though, I do think it's at least better than season one (and season five, really, though I thoroughly enjoy all the movies except for "Bender's Game"). So that's something, I suppose.

[Reply #371 on:]

69.7% to be precise. Not that I agree with your sentiment that whatever the masses think is correct.

Indeed. The masses have been known to elect dictators, and to consume enough fast food to catapult certain retail franchises into global domination.

The masses tend to be as smart as their dumbest constituent.

That said, I did like the episode... I gave it an eight. It fell short of greatness for me (due to a few flaws) but still counts as good. Of course, this is partially dependant on whether the events are followed through on. If the reset button on the Fry/Leela relationship ends up being pushed in Season 7, this episode will lose points with me.

[Reply #372 on:]

I really enjoyed how Bender set everything up beforehand when he saw the Hoverfish coming in the future.

[Reply #373 on:]

Ghost in the Machines and Prop Infinity are great eps....

Clamps and Oracle are fine but fit into what I'm talking about, not to mention the latter really has big pacing issues. The robot mafia and Bender being involved with them is familiar territory, and "this character gets a job" is beyond cliche and nearly impossible to become invested in. They're still fine, and funny, but neither is very ambitious. I still enjoyed 6B a lot, but there were just fewer standouts.

[Reply #374 on:]

Ghost in the Machines and Prop Infinity are great eps....

PI wasn't great. It was good (IMO). It had some funny moments, but the plot was out of control. I know IGN sucks, but I do agree with them on this, it was a 7.5/10.

[Reply #375 on:]

'Ghost in the Machines' was pretty poor, however.

And don't even get me started on 'The Silence of the Clamps'.

[Reply #376 on:]

Both good eps.

[Reply #377 on:]

Although they were both good  'Silence of the Clamps' wasn't as good as 'Ghost in the Machine'

[Reply #378 on:]

SoTC was a little weak, but still solid overall. It was funny and the plot was decent, but a little flawed. I would give it an 8/10. And GiTM was pretty impressive, I loved ghost Bender.

[Reply #379 on:]

Do you have to give a rating every time we discuss an episode in another thread?

[Reply #380 on:]

I guess it's just a habit.

[Reply #381 on:]

'The Silence of the Clamps' was the worst of 6B by a mile. Yes, worse than 'Yo Leela Leela'.

[Reply #382 on:]

'Silence of the Clams'

This is PEEL, not "The OFFICIAL Spongebob Squarepants Forum".

[Reply #383 on:]

Yes...There they would say 'Shell City is 5 days away.'

'By car...'

[Reply #384 on:]

Most episodes of 'SpongeBob SquarePants' that I've seen are considerably better than 'The Silence of the Clamps'.

But then, most episodes of 'SpongeBob' that I've seen were pretty good.

[Reply #385 on:]

I quite liked The Silence of the Clamps. I don't understand why no-one likes it.

[Reply #386 on:]

I found it to be painfully unfunny at times.

[Reply #387 on:]

I quite liked The Silence of the Clamps. I don't understand why no-one likes it.

Agreed, it had some very different humor, but still funny.

[Reply #388 on:]

Despite what I said above I don't really get it either. It's not terribly ambitious, but it tells its story pretty well (notable since when it aired there had already been 2 or 3 recent episodes with really bizarre pacing) and is consistently funny. And it didn't even do anything to piss off shippers or "canon"-obsessives (unless them not really recognizing Clamps counts?) so I don't really get it. It's perfectly fine and would fit comfortably somewhere in the middle of all the episodes produced, I think.

[Reply #389 on:]

Maybe it only appeals to younger audiences, as in middle and high schoolers.

[Reply #390 on:]

As a college graduate who laughed throughout it (and watched it with a room full of other college graduates who also laughed throughout), I don't really think so.

[Reply #391 on:]

I guess I'm wrong, but it's sorta a good thing...

[Reply #392 on:]

I guess I'm wrong

Hold that thought in your head.
Apply it to everything that ever occurs to you.
Then resist the urge to ever express a thought again.

Edit: I'm sorry, that was needlessly harsh. It's too hot today.

[Reply #393 on:]

It's just full of really lame jokes.

"Billy West, what a dumb name, etc" is one of the worst jokes in 'Futurama''s history.

The Colonel Mustard Gas joke is just bizarre and makes little to no sense. I mean... it's not even a joke, it's just a reference to something. And the thing isn't even sci-fi or science or maths related. What the fuck does 'Cluedo' have to do with 'Futurama'? That isn't funny.

Clamps swearing isn't funny (although it does set up the John F**king Zoidberg line which is hilarious, though very cheap).

Bender stealing the Donbot's meatball recipe was so laboured it genuinely upset me.

To be honest, all of the jokes felt really amateurishly written - like a fanfic. As if they knew the usual pacing and stuff for 'Futurama's humour and knew how to immitate it with regards to knowing where to put a joke and roughly what type of joke, it's just that the jokes were all really poor.

Plus the story rehashed a load of stuff we've seen many a time.

[Reply #394 on:]

SGB, you alter your opinions just to please others. Don't.

"Billy West, what a dumb name, etc" is one of the worst jokes in 'Futurama''s history.

It was corny, but I thought that was the point...?

The Colonel Mustard Gas joke is just bizarre and makes little to no sense. I mean... it's not even a joke, it's just a reference to something. And the thing isn't even sci-fi or science or maths related. What the fuck does 'Cluedo' have to do with 'Futurama'? That isn't funny.

I really liked that joke. Also, listen to yourself. What does Cluedo have to do with Futurama? What does Garfield? (TTOTZ) What do the Smurfs? (Also TTOTZ) What do Priuses? (TFHS) What does Susan Boyle? (AOTKA) Futurama would be so stale if it only made references to sci-fi ALL the time.

Clamps swearing isn't funny (although it does set up the John F**king Zoidberg line which is hilarious, though very cheap).

It was a nice (yet weird) change, even if slightly overdone.

Bender stealing the Donbot's meatball recipe was so laboured it genuinely upset me.

That was just a silly gag. I agree it was a little lame, but still awesome.

[Reply #395 on:]

I really enjoyed 'The Silence of the Clamps', I'm not going to back down and say I disliked it just because Cyber_Turnip and a few others don't...

[Reply #396 on:]

Even disregarding recent episodes, the whole series is filled with jokes like the Clue one. There were pop culture jokes within the very first few episodes that were hardly sci-fi.

Also, Silence has some really clever allusions to pop culture beyond that joke, e.g. Robot Stack (the name and general character). Even the mafia characters themselves are a send up of common, non-sci-fi tropes.

[Reply #397 on:]

The Colonel Mustard Gas joke is just bizarre and makes little to no sense. I mean... it's not even a joke, it's just a reference to something. And the thing isn't even sci-fi or science or maths related. What the fuck does 'Cluedo' have to do with 'Futurama'? That isn't funny.

I really liked that joke. Also, listen to yourself. What does Cluedo have to do with Futurama? What does Garfield? (TTOTZ) What do the Smurfs? (Also TTOTZ) What do Priuses? (TFHS) What does Susan Boyle? (AOTKA) Futurama would be so stale if it only made references to sci-fi ALL the time.

The differences there are that they actually made a joke out of those things instead of just making reference to them.
They didn't just have Garfield pop up for no reason, they set a running gag where a load of illnesses in the future are bizarrely similar to cartoon/puppet shows. They didn't just put a Prius in the episode, they made a joke out of Priuses and what they're like. And Susan Boyle was only alluded to through a mutation. They gave it all a decent sci-fi spin.

I despise that Colonel Mustard gas joke. It's the same as if a character said "You need to try my Professor Plum Pudding!" or "I hope this year is a Mrs. White Christmas". They're not jokes. They're just crow-barring two things together. It's shit, frankly.

Anyway, I fear I'm taking this thread off-topic. I'm going to re-watch 'The Silence of the Clamps' and post a comprehensive list of things that I hate about that episode in its respective thread. See you there!


Edit: Yes, the Agent Robot Stack joke was great - I'll give the episode that. Can you all see the difference between that and Colonel Mustard Gas? He's a robotic detective character that the story called for that is named, cleverly, in honour of Robert Stack. Colonel Mustard Gas makes no sense within any context.

[Reply #398 on:]

I really enjoyed 'The Silence of the Clamps', I'm not going to back down and say I disliked it just because Cyber_Turnip and a few others don't...

I appreciate your opinion very much!

[Reply #399 on:]

I cannot believe the 10's rated here. Seriously. I am in shock. This was not a good episode at all. We were mostly just bored with it all. The getting arrested for overclocking thing was just fucking stupid and ridiculous. The Fry/Leela stuff was as usual, forced and eye-rolling. This was borderline a hated episode for me, but it escapes that just because everything in it was just so mundane and boring. And that ending. ugh.

3/10