Disenchantment

[Reply #40 on:]

It didn't have bonder... I don't know if I want it to continue.

[Reply #41 on:]

Hi! I have some ideas about how the show could have been better -- or at least more interesting. Yeah, hunker down, mi cielitos, you're not going anywhere.

Show spoiler

I think a lot of problems with the writing and world-building can be chalked down to the show being rushed. I actually have no idea when this was even green-lit, but it feels rushed, so I'm just going to talk authoritatively about it as if it's a known fact.

The main thing that would have improved the show (or at least, distinguished it from Futurama) was if it were a more focused parody - as it is, it's kind of a scattershot, kitchen-sink parody of just about every pop cultural fantasy world there is (D&D, Tolkien, Game of Thrones, the "Dung Ages" conception of the Middle Ages), and since both Futurama and The Simpsons have already done variations of this, none of it is very fresh or biting - it's all very generic fantasy; easily-recognisable to a general audience.

The series would have more of a voice (and I think, would work better tonally with the long-term serialised plot) if it had been specifically parodying the current grimdark-sex-'n'-violence-with-a-smattering-of-philosophy-to-give-the-pretence-of-weight trend in mainstream fantasy and sci-fi (Game of Thrones, Westworld, The Walking Dead, Altered Carbon), and modified the atmosphere and character designs to reflect that - a more muted colour palette, subdued character designs, more character-and-conversation-based humour, less slapsticky humour, etc...

In relation to this, half of the time it seems like the show is going for a low-fantasy world, but the other half of the time it can't help throwing in all the fantastic elements because they're such easy fodder for jokes, but that undermines one of the driving plots of the show - the appearance of Elfo is supposed to be an amazing and fantastic revelation to the people of this world!- except... everyone is already constantly doing magic and if Newt Scamander still wants to find fantastic beasts, they're everywhere, so what's the big deal? The main world and Elfland need to have more of a contrast for this to work. See, even Elfo can stay in this alternate version I'm proposing; he just needs some tinkering with. But the unrequited crush can still be safely jettisoned, because not even a tinker could be convinced to give a damn about that.

Final observation, just for fun: early in the show, I really had my heart set on it being revealed that Oona and the then-yet-to-be-shown Dankmirians were Lovecraftian Deep Ones; all the signs were there: her creepy piscine-cephalopodous traits, the arranged breeding between a male human and a female Deep One (although I can't remember if this is actually in The Shadow Over Innsmouth or just something that's been established by post-Lovecraft lore), and the fishy architecture in Castle Dreamland being reminiscent of the fish-motifed jewellery that the Deep Ones give to humans. And Lovecraft is public domain, it would have been sooooo easy! I'm just saying, I was so psyched up for this and then it let me down, and now I'll never look to a cartoon comedy for my racist miscegenation-horror needs again.

[Reply #42 on:]

And I am only back for one reason and it is because how much do I enjoy this brilliant new show. I love the three main characters. Bean happens to be one of the best in your face and don't give a damn princess. Elfo is so cute and adorable. Luci is cool too. I've also liked the prince that Bean almost married in episode 1 and 2 and I really wish that he would have be back as well.

So far I've watched 5 episodes and I am almost there to finish the rest so I do tend to avoid the spoilers. My favourite episode is the one where they throw a party while the king was away and that was really good.

If I might stay longer on this board I wouldn't mind have my Avatar changed to Bean

[Reply #43 on:]

It doesn't have Bender, it's pretty much trash.

[Reply #44 on:]

As a broad thought, there seems to be a surprising lack of pop-culture references compared to The Simpsons and Futurama. It might just be because I don't know the fantasy genre all that well, but there didn't seem to be an insane amount of nods to Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings or Dungeons and Dragons like I was expecting - which is a good thing.

It's a really good thing. Those references often make the episode look dated farther down the road.

Unfortunately, haven't seen Disenchanted yet, just came here to see what the general impression was.

[Reply #45 on:]

Just saw all the episodes, the last few episodes were meh to me. Now I give it about a 7 out of 10.

[Reply #46 on:]

0 Benders out of 0 Benders

[Reply #47 on:]

3 - It is actually set in the future. Technology and society collapses, and the cycle goes back round, with another medieval age etc.

I think this is almost certainly the case after that episode 10 Easter egg.

That said, I can't see it ever forming a big part of the plot. I think it'll just feed into the occasional background gag or reference to Futurama.

It's just a nice little easter egg, I don't see how this directly connects it to the Futurama universe? Everyone has 5 fingers for a start. I agree that it'd be cool to see little references and stuff pop-up every now & then, however.

[Reply #48 on:]

I've just watched all of the episodes and I need more episodes right now

[Reply #49 on:]

Just watched all 10 episodes of Season 1. The first episode was easily the worst, but from episode 2 onwards it steadily improves and by the last three episodes the show completely won me over. I'm definitely looking forward to Season 2 for sure now!

[Reply #50 on:]

3 - It is actually set in the future. Technology and society collapses, and the cycle goes back round, with another medieval age etc.

I think this is almost certainly the case after that episode 10 Easter egg.

That said, I can't see it ever forming a big part of the plot. I think it'll just feed into the occasional background gag or reference to Futurama.

It's just a nice little easter egg, I don't see how this directly connects it to the Futurama universe? Everyone has 5 fingers for a start. I agree that it'd be cool to see little references and stuff pop-up every now & then, however.

It seems to be one of the hundreds of future scenarios that come and go in the future of Futurama - you could even argue the case for it being the medieval-esque period seen outside whilst Fry was frozen in New York. I think that time-machine is such a specific choice of Easter egg (compared to, say, the three-eyed owl thrown in as a nod to The Simpsons) that is has to be intentional.

Like I say, though, I can't see it ever being anything more than a nice little bit of trivia for people who care about it.



Anyway, it's kind of neat that this show's composer is this guy:


I guess Groening is probably a bigger fan of Devo than I realised.

[Reply #51 on:]

Finally finished all ten episodes. I really liked it. I was wondering if Groening and co would still be able to capture lightning in a bottle because I was not a huge fan of the Comedy Central Futurama revival, but I was very pleased with Disenchantment.

Show spoiler

The consensus seems to be that the show started slow and picked up. I think that this is because your modern television viewer has gotten accustomed to serialization where every episode ends on sort of a cliff hanger, and that lends itself well to binge watching. This is a case where Groening hasn't done anything wrong, but the TV landscape has changed under his feet. Personally, I liked the whole season, but the earlier episodes were funnier but light on drama, while the later episodes had lots of drama but weren't quite as funny. I hope eventually they strike a balance between the melodramatic serialization that people have become accustomed to and comedy. I'd hate to see the series too go to far in the direction of Bojack Horseman. Bojack is very good at what it does, but often tends to wander into dramady territory putting it closer to shows like Please Like Me as opposed to The Simpsons or Futurama. Personally, I would rather if they avoided that with Disenchantment. I think a good model for Disenchantment would be Parks and Rec, where you have this overarching plot driving each season of the series that makes it feel as though everything is serialized, but the characters are still allowed to be wacky. I think once they better establish more b-characters like Chazz and the pig guy this will get easier, because in episodes where the main characters have serious shit to do, those characters can crack one-liners.

Classic era Simpsons developed this layered humor as time went on where the punchline for the previous joke was the setup for the next joke for a string of five or six jokes. There is a little of that here. Sometimes you get two or three layers in but never five or six like classic Simpsons. Hopefully it develops more as time goes on.

The three main characters feel like a bit of a retread. Elfo, Bean and Bender feel very similar to Fry, Lela and Bender. The stupid outsider in love with his female counterpart, the strong female leader with daddy issues, the cool, evil non-human counterpart that acts like he doesn't care but he actually does. I don't know that that's a bad thing. If it isn't broken, there's no need to fix it, but these are pretty well the exact same archetypes used for the three main characters in Futurama. I felt out of the supporting cast King Zog was the strongest character, and often had the best jokes and most interesting backstory.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Elfo is in love with Bean plot. I think he works better as the wide-eyed innocent child-like character in the depressing fantasy world where fairies are used up hookers and everyone throws shit out their window.

I would put it below the Simpsons season 1-9 and Futurama season 1-4, but above the Simpsons post season 9 and Futurama post season 4. I think it's a much better take on a fantasy world than Bender's Game, personally.

In summary, I like war, but I don't love it. I hope they strike the right balance between throwaway humor and subplots and the serialization that the modern viewer craves. I'd give it a solid B+.

It's a really good thing. Those references often make the episode look dated farther down the road.

Agreed 100%. I found the lack of pop-culture references frankly refreshing. Bojack and South Park have those cornered. There is no need to bog the show down. Let the humor grow out of the setting.

[Reply #52 on:]

Hi! I have some ideas about how the show could have been better -- or at least more interesting. Yeah, hunker down, mi cielitos, you're not going anywhere.

Show spoiler

I think a lot of problems with the writing and world-building can be chalked down to the show being rushed. I actually have no idea when this was even green-lit, but it feels rushed, so I'm just going to talk authoritatively about it as if it's a known fact.

The main thing that would have improved the show (or at least, distinguished it from Futurama) was if it were a more focused parody - as it is, it's kind of a scattershot, kitchen-sink parody of just about every pop cultural fantasy world there is (D&D, Tolkien, Game of Thrones, the "Dung Ages" conception of the Middle Ages), and since both Futurama and The Simpsons have already done variations of this, none of it is very fresh or biting - it's all very generic fantasy; easily-recognisable to a general audience.

The series would have more of a voice (and I think, would work better tonally with the long-term serialised plot) if it had been specifically parodying the current grimdark-sex-'n'-violence-with-a-smattering-of-philosophy-to-give-the-pretence-of-weight trend in mainstream fantasy and sci-fi (Game of Thrones, Westworld, The Walking Dead, Altered Carbon), and modified the atmosphere and character designs to reflect that - a more muted colour palette, subdued character designs, more character-and-conversation-based humour, less slapsticky humour, etc...

In relation to this, half of the time it seems like the show is going for a low-fantasy world, but the other half of the time it can't help throwing in all the fantastic elements because they're such easy fodder for jokes, but that undermines one of the driving plots of the show - the appearance of Elfo is supposed to be an amazing and fantastic revelation to the people of this world!- except... everyone is already constantly doing magic and if Newt Scamander still wants to find fantastic beasts, they're everywhere, so what's the big deal? The main world and Elfland need to have more of a contrast for this to work. See, even Elfo can stay in this alternate version I'm proposing; he just needs some tinkering with. But the unrequited crush can still be safely jettisoned, because not even a tinker could be convinced to give a damn about that.

Final observation, just for fun: early in the show, I really had my heart set on it being revealed that Oona and the then-yet-to-be-shown Dankmirians were Lovecraftian Deep Ones; all the signs were there: her creepy piscine-cephalopodous traits, the arranged breeding between a male human and a female Deep One (although I can't remember if this is actually in The Shadow Over Innsmouth or just something that's been established by post-Lovecraft lore), and the fishy architecture in Castle Dreamland being reminiscent of the fish-motifed jewellery that the Deep Ones give to humans. And Lovecraft is public domain, it would have been sooooo easy! I'm just saying, I was so psyched up for this and then it let me down, and now I'll never look to a cartoon comedy for my racist miscegenation-horror needs again.

Show spoiler

You're that guy the the viking shoots in the chest with the flaming arrow.  

[Reply #53 on:]

I didn't know Bojack was considered serialized.  I thought all the jokes were puns about what if animals were people, and I could never figure out how all of the animals became people--a part of me thinks the creators just wanted to steer society in a direction where it's okay for people to fuck dogs.

Needs more bender though.

[Reply #54 on:]

I just binged every episode without realizing there weren't more and now I'm rewatching it. I think its just funny how Futurama is all futuristic(No shit) and Disenchantment is based centuries ago and SOMEONE OUT THERE REALLY HAS SOMETHING AGAINST PRESENT TIME. But then I think about it, and I agree present time sucks.

Show spoiler

Elfo  

The lack of benders is also very disappointing

[Reply #55 on:]

I think its just funny how Futurama is all futuristic(No shit) and Disenchantment is based centuries ago and SOMEONE OUT THERE REALLY HAS SOMETHING AGAINST PRESENT TIME. But then I think about it, and I agree present time sucks.

........The Simpsons?

[Reply #56 on:]

Futurama???

[Reply #57 on:]

........The Simpsons?

Got me there, guess I just never really got into the Simpsons so it slipped my mind And even so it takes place in a sort of "alternate universe" setting.

[Reply #58 on:]

Simpsons was pretty great.  It was humorous, and we talked about it the next day every episode.  I don't even know how to explain how it's funny.

You can run, but you can't glide!

[Reply #59 on:]

I really should try to get into it but I think that boats already sailed    there's definitely a demand for more shows similar to Futurama, and Disenchantment is a good start in my opinion. I've already heard tons of kids talking about it at Uni, could be the start of something great.

If anything, it's relative to Futurama and could rekindle some Futurama hype, who knows, maybe in a couple months PEEL will have some new valuable members.

[Reply #60 on:]

We don't have new members because new accounts have been on a lockdown for a few years.  Tbh, I think there's enough interest, even with Futurama dead, that we'd have a relatively active group if people could join.

[Reply #61 on:]

I didn't know people couldn't join 

[Reply #62 on:]

Don't know what constitutes spoiler so I'll tag the whole lot:

Show spoiler

I don't watch the Simpsons, haven't for years but then again I don't think Matt Groening has been significantly involved for years. I also thought Futurama never recovered from the first cancellation. I was mildly interested in seeing this show but it was really hard work in the first half of the series.

Don't think there were any classic laugh out loud moments but I thought Eric Andre really stood out through the demon character. Bit annoying how nearly every character is some kind of mystery to be revealed at a later date and there is no protagonist to introduce me to this strange world.

There was an interesting story arc across the series, which really was mostly dealt with in the last three episodes but sprinkled elsewhere. I feel like a lot of the character establishment happened far too late and if you want to use a whole series as set up then that is very brave/foolish, as the audience could justifiably have given up by then.

Think if this plot had been better spread out and the motivations of the characters been better signposted from the start then we could have enjoyed the same plot much more. Also the big emotional choice the main character has to make was made far too quickly and came shortly after the other big emotional moment in the series, very poor choice!

Much better out there, probably not made/cancelled without the huge names in the credits. And I feel the cascade of "Futurama voices" throughout the support cast is more of a negative distraction that a plus point for me.

[Reply #63 on:]

Has anybody decoded the elf language yet?

[Reply #64 on:]

And I feel the cascade of "Futurama voices" throughout the support cast is more of a negative distraction that a plus point for me.

I thought this was most noticeable with the characters Maurice LaMarche voices; that deep voice he uses for heaps of different characters is very distinct.

[Reply #65 on:]

And I feel the cascade of "Futurama voices" throughout the support cast is more of a negative distraction that a plus point for me.

I thought this was most noticeable with the characters Maurice LaMarche voices; that deep voice he uses for heaps of different characters is very distinct.

As soon as I saw Odval on the trailers (where we didn't know his voice) I knew that he would sound exactly the same as Walt, I could tell just by looking at him. And after watching the show and finding out for sure... yeah. So predictable.

[Reply #66 on:]

A Matt Groening show with consistent characterization and an ongoing plot? This I am very pleased with. And unlike Futurama, it seems to have had a rather smooth start, if a bit slow for something so story-dependent and less based on gags.

The involvement of Gravity Falls staff is a great thing as well.

[Reply #67 on:]

How did Futurama not have a smooth start?

[Reply #68 on:]

I remember not liking Futurama until round season 3.

[Reply #69 on:]

I remember futurma too

[Reply #70 on:]

How did Futurama not have a smooth start?

I think it's less that the first season was bad, and more what came after was a lot better.

[Reply #71 on:]

Partway through the first episode of Disenchantment I was thinking "this is pretty good but not as great as the best episodes of X and Y show" and then I remembered - the first episodes of many great shows are weak compared to the later stuff. You have to get introduced to the characters and setting, and that can pull some focus away from the hilarity. Futurama and Firefly both had the same "issue".

I've enjoyed what I've seen of Disenchantment so far, and am looking forward to more.

Spoiler alert!

Show spoiler

Snape kills Dumbledore

[Reply #72 on:]

We watched, idk, maybe 4-5 episodes at the recent Virginia nano-Peelathon. I like it. It necessarily took a bit of time to get through the character introductions and establish the setting, but I enjoyed that development phase even if it didn't knock my socks off.

The only hurdle for me was getting past the voice and character traits shared between Princess Bean and Colleen, from Futurama. Not sure when I'll have the chance to watch more episodes, but I definitely shall.

[Reply #73 on:]

Recently watched this for myself, not really a fan honestly. It wasn't terrible, but nothing to obsess over either. I feel the exact opposite everyone else feels- It started off great, I felt like it had alot of promise after watching the first episode. But after the second episode or so it became apparent that this is going to be another show full of meta humor, the same humor responsible for the decline of Futurama in it's latter seasons. I'm not really a fan of the show's serialization either. Like, I get why they're doing it but the whole plot just falls flat for me. I like a nice handful of characters (Especially Elfo and Zog), but it wasn't really enough to redeem the show as great in my eyes. Don't get me wrong, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the show, but it's just so obvious that everything will be resolved and back to normal upon the beginning of Season 2. So with that in mind, I'll have to see more of it when the next season drops to have a definitive opinion about it. But for now I'll give it a generous 7/10. Worth a watch if you're not expecting much

[Reply #74 on:]

I started watching it not too long ago but never got around to actually finishing it. It wasn't terrible, though. I'm not a fan of the direction they seemed to be heading with Elfo and Bean, but I guess I should keep watching before judging.

[Reply #75 on:]

'Disenchantment' Scores Two-Season Renewal at Netflix

[Reply #76 on:]

That's good news, everyone.

I'm looking forward to it, and hopefully it can improve.

[Reply #77 on:]

Season two! Who's watching?

[Reply #78 on:]

I saw the first episode. It's still not even close to comparing to Futurama or The Simpsons, but I don't dislike it so I'll keep watching.

[Reply #79 on:]

It's out now, or it just got renewed?