Line #49 YMMV/AllenGregory


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
2	** The show never gave any details on exactly ''how'' Richard managed to tear Jeremy from his wife and kids. Did Jeremy do everything he could and [[IDidWhatIHadToDo gave in out of desperation to protect his family]], or was he too much of a [[ExtremeDoormat spineless wimp]] to seriously fight back against Richard's advances?
3	** Gina can be seen as a BitchInSheepsClothing given that she never punishes the popular kids, even when they are openly insulting Allen Gregory, no matter what kind of line they cross.
4	* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Specifically, exaggerating Series/{{Frasier}} Crane's worst attributes, putting them into a seven-year-old, surrounding him with similarly huge {{Jerkass}}es at home, and then sending him to terrorize an elementary school which contains a huge number of its own {{Jerkass}}es. It also contains a recurring subplot about Gregory attempting to date his principal, who is in her 70s. Worse, much of the focus on Richard is on his sexual obsession with Jeremy, a man he not only abuses but forced to "convert" to a homosexual lifestyle when it's clear that Jeremy has no genuine affection for Richard, whom he was forced to leave his family for.
5	* BileFascination: Many people have taken an interest in the show solely to see if it's really as bad as it's said to be.
6	* CommonKnowledge: No, this show was ''not'' cancelled because of its poor reception. The reality is that Creator/{{Fox}} [[ScrewedByTheNetwork had essentially doomed it from the start,]] originally planning to use it as a summer replacement for ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' with full intention to cancel it afterward.
7	* CrossesTheLineTwice: Seemed to have intentionally made a point of this trope. One particularly cringe-worthy example comes in the first episode, when Allen Gregory has his first sexual fantasy of Principal Gottlieb; he asks her how she's doing ''down there''. Her response: "It's like....''post-Katrina''".
8	* DesignatedHero: Allen himself. No one in the show was really developed into a likeable {{rounded character}}, but he is just the worst of them; he's rude, lecherous, arrogant and manipulative, and we're apparently supposed to think he's funny and someone we should root for. There's the occasional, ''brief'' hints that Allen [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold might actually not be all bad]], mostly just being a product of his environment, and some CharacterDevelopment might have helped in bringing this out; but the moments are usually either glazed over, [[AesopAmnesia forgotten]], or immediately wrecked due to surrounding situations or Richard's influence. Then it's [[StatusQuoIsGod right back to normal]].
9	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
10	** Julie and Jeremy, for being rather sympathetic and two of the few likable characters in the series.
11	** Also, Sheila, Allen Gregory's biological mom, [[spoiler: except not really]], for her being a competent mom and [[TakeThatScrappy humiliating Allen Gregory]]. Also, she's voiced by Creator/LisaKudrow which, obviously, earns her a million extra points.
12	** Carl Trent for being the only side-character who is legitimately funny.
13	* FetishRetardant: Allen being attracted to his elderly principal. In the first episode, no less, we are treated to gratuitous shots of her huge, wrinkly backside.
14	* FridgeHorror:
15	** There's a lot of this in the De Longpre household: Richard basically blackmailed a straight man into being his lover. And Allen Gregory just assumes that this is what relationships are like.
16	*** The use of "[[Music/PhilCollins In The Air Tonight]]" for Allen's fantasies about Mrs. Gottleib is so [[IsntItIronic unfitting]] with lyrics like "If you told me you were drowning/I would not lend a hand", that it crosses over into FridgeBrilliance with this in mind. Allen Gregory has a ''very, very'' skewed view of what a relationship is.
17	** The superintendent openly sexually harasses and is implied to have date raped Gina. [[KarmaHoudini He's never received any comeuppance for these actions]]. Likewise, Allen acts like this is perfectly normal and often laughs at the superintendent's highly amoral antics.
18	* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: In perhaps the only ''genuinely'' funny moment in the entire series, "Gay School Dance" has Richard asking Jeremy about several artists, and asking if their names start with "D". After getting jealous of Jeremy being complimented for his DJ playing, Richard spills a drink all over the equipment, ruining it and giving us this glorious exchange.
19	-->'''Roller Rink Worker''': Jeremy! My equipment! You [[PunctuatedPounding stuuupid]] ''[[PunctuatedPounding douche!]]''\
20	'''Richard''':...Is that with a "D"-\
21	'''[[OnlySaneMan Jeremy]]''': OF COURSE IT'S A "D"!
22	* HoYay:
23	** One-sided: Allen wants to be on Joel's good side, oblivious that he doesn't want any of it.
24	** In ''Gay School Dance'', Beth and Val are pretty much the only students who seem to enjoy the setup.
25	* MemeticMolester: Allen Gregory, for his uncomfortable lust towards Principal Gottleib. Richard too, since part of it is canon. In addition to being an incredibly creepy guy to begin with, he continuously stalked Jeremy for years until he finally decided to give in.
26	* MemeticMutation:
27	** On some ImageBoards it's become popular to mistake Allen Gregory for a ventriloquist dummy.
28	** Also comparing Julie to a character from ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko''.
29	** Joking that this (among several other unfitting [=IPs=]) is now officially a Creator/{{Disney}} property in wake of the company's blockbuster merger with Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox.
30	* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: Sheila, Allen's biological mother, [[spoiler: except not]], humiliating him by chewing him out in front of his class and giving him a huge TheReasonYouSuckSpeech at the end of the episode, mentioning everything that is wrong with him and Richard. Clearly the most satisfying moment on the entire show.
31	* RetroactiveRecognition:
32	** Patrick would later go on to be the [[WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse comedic sister of a large, loud family]].
33	** Creator/RachelBloom worked as a staff writer on the series a few years before creating and starring in ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend''.
34	* RootingForTheEmpire: This trope is certainly in force, one way or another. Allen is a comedic sociopath who would be the villain in any other show but is cast as the protagonist. Yet, the audience cheers more at everyone and anyone (including characters who aren't overly likable themselves) who is willing to [[TakeThatScrappy tell off or humiliate Allen in some way]].
35	* ShockFatigue: A primary reason why this show is so hated is this. In fact, the creators knew from the start the show would not last because of this. The show goes out of its way to make everyone as horrendous as possible (with the exception of Julie). Every time it seems like they'll have Allen Gregory learn a lesson? [[AesopAmnesia They swerve back and double down on what a little shit he is]]. That isn't even going into the endless jokes about him wanting to HAVE SEX with his elderly principal. It quickly becomes tedious and loses the ability to even disgust within its short seven-episode run.
36	* SignatureScene:
37	** TheReveal that Richard forced Jeremy to be his partner despite him already having a family is invariably brought up when discussing just how horrible the show is.
38	** Almost every review of the show will bring up the plot about Allen having sexual fantasies and making a sex tape with his principal who is seventy years older than him.
39	* SoBadItsGood: Despite the show's infamous reputation, there are some people who find its badness to be so extreme that it loops around to being strangely charming.
40	* SpecialEffectFailure: The show sees a complete lack of movement or interactivity of the background characters when the focus is on the main cast in quite a few shots. The art style in general is simplistic despite the high detail of the characters and tends to make everything look stiff and lethargic.
41	* {{Squick}}:
42	** Allen's crush on his principal ''(who is over 70 years his senior, by the way)'' would be this by itself, but then we get first hand looks at Allen's fantasies. One moment in particular is where he does a MaleGaze on his principal's thong when she's bending over in her car, complete with GrossUpCloseUp.
43	** The first time Allen tries to put the moves on Principal Gottlieb, which results in her rejecting him with a slap to the face, which shocks him so much [[BringMyBrownPants he craps his own pants]].
44	** All of the "sweet talk" between Richard and Jeremy, for the simple fact that we know the latter is not gay but is forced to live as such.
45	* TearJerker: In "Van Moon Rising", Jeremy tries to convince Julie that Richard loves them both deep down, so she'll attend a party hosted by Richard's SitcomArchNemesis Perry Van Moon. When Jeremy can't bring himself to say that honestly, he's forced to switch gears and explain that Richard will make both their lives even more miserable if she doesn't attend.
46	* TooBleakStoppedCaring: This is the big reason why the series got canned after only ''seven'' episodes. The two worst characters (and our protagonists) always win, beating out everyone from minor {{Jerkass}}es to the basically well-intentioned, often for flimsy reasons. No one is particularly well developed that we can even properly sympathize for the ones who suffer.
47	* UncertainAudience: Another big reason the show failed. This show was, allegedly, intended to be a satire on rich people, how they are disconnected from the world and how socially inept they are due to their upbringing, and the fact that Allen does a lot of things throughout the show that most people would deem offensive and unacceptable is clearly meant to drive home that narrative. However, that narrative is muddled by the fact that the story also tries to make the audience root for Allen Gregory and laugh at the stuff he does (whether we're supposed to laugh AT him or laugh WITH him is difficult to tell), not helping matters is that he never receives any comeuppance for his actions. People looking for a satire will be put off by how confusing and topsy-turvy the narrative and message is in the show, and people looking for a comedy show with witty humor will also be put off by how unfunny the humor is and how unlikable the characters are. FOX realized this, and pulled the plug on the show after just two months.
48	* UnintentionallySympathetic: We're supposed to think Julie is a spiteful, irritating girl. However, given that she receives far more than her share of hatred and mistreatment, to the point her own ''friends'' think nothing of mocking her, it's hard not to feel sorry for her. It doesn't help the creators's efforts that she's one of the few genuinely funny characters present ([[WebVideo/TVTrash Rowdy C]] compared her to "a preteen WesternAnimation/{{Daria}} Morgendorffer").
49	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
50	** We're supposed to feel bad for Allen Gregory when he fears not getting friends, but he's so unlikable and intolerant that anybody who is rude to him is justified.
51	** Gina can be this at times, particularly in that she has no issue with the popular kids openly bullying and humiliating anyone, even in her own class. Anyone who was bullied by a teacher that favored the popular kids could easily see her as a BitchInSheepsClothing.
52	* TheWoobie:
53	** Jeremy, who at least tries to be a good father to Allen and life partner to Richard after he was forced to leave his original family, but gets no real respect from either of them, with Richard emotionally and sexually abusing him at every turn and Allen [[UngratefulBastard being generally rude and dismissive towards any favor or act of kindness he gives]].
54	** Julie, like Jeremy, also gets mistreated despite not being that obnoxious. No wonder she's snarky; living with two intolerable, arrogant {{Jerkass}}es makes you that.
55	** Patrick is easily the nicest kid in the show and has no friends apart from Allen, who he does his best to help. [[WithFriendsLikeThese Allen isn't grateful in the slightest, treating him as a doormat and manipulating him into doing whatever he wants]].
56	** Gina, who is constantly overruled and insulted by Allen when she tries her best to be reasonable and patient, simply because he refuses to acknowledge her as the true authority in his classroom. Not at all helped by the fact that she is being sexually harassed by the school superintendent, often with Allen's help. Her impatience and disgust with him is more than justified.
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Context YMMV / AllenGregory