Doug Walker (TGWTG, Nostalgia Critic, Bum Reviews, and other projects)

Wait, so the word "spaz" is derived from "spasm"? Never knew that.

Even given that, though, how is it offensive? Muscle spasms are an incredibly common occurence that virtually everyone has experienced; why is it a more sensitive subject than sneezing or vomiting?

Spastic is a slur for people who suffer from spasms in the UK.

That sounds unnecessarily pointless as a term, since it seems to only exist as an insult for an actual problem.

Let me explain.

• "Spastic", in medical terms, refers to muscle contraction causing increased tone, as opposed to "flaccid", which is muscle relaxation and reduced tone. (Hence, muscle "spasms".) The term is still used by medical professionals in that context.
• People with cerebral palsy used to be called "spastics", because brain injury tends to cause spastic paralysis in addition to a host of other functional disabilities. (See also: strokes.) In my country, we actually had a support group for these patients back in the day called the Spastic Children's Association, without insult or irony intended.
• Since people are terrible, the word ended up being applied as an insult to imply that your subject is physically or mentally incompetent, thereby falling into the same category of terms as "lame", "retarded", and "dumb".
• And then it was shortened to "spaz".

So that's a brief history of the word.

Derp, on the other hand, just refers to stupidity, with the cross-eyed bit added in later.

edited 5th Sep '15 7:50:00 AM by Pyrite

It may sound pointless but as someone who was relentlessy called.a spastic in primary school...its hurtful and demeaning.

Not everyone is from the UK.

But UK citizens are part of Doug's audience. A web reviewer really can't afford to alienate so many viewers. Linkara and Weird Al have made similar errors and apologized.

Not everyone may be from the uk but that doesn't mean we don't exist

But whatever i don't even watch that garbage anyway

Treatment of it often varies by region. I recall once the author of Scandinavia and the World writing about a time when she (Humon) was talking about a friend with palsy to another friend from the UK, who was offended at hearing Humon refer to her afflicted friend as spastic. To her (she's Danish but has lived in Sweden and America), spastic was just the word for the condition and Humon was confused, wondering "then what am I supposed to call it?"

edited 5th Sep '15 11:06:58 AM by Tuckerscreator

See, when I hear "spasm", I don't think of cerebral palsy. I think of stuff like a charley horse, or those medical shows where a patient starts thrashing about on their bed and the music gets all dramatic.

Or that weird thing your body does sometimes just as your falling asleep where you suddenly just have your arms and legs jerk around and feel like your falling.

Thats ones weird its happened before

Apparently it's caused by some deep, reflex based part of your brain registering everything shutting down as you fall asleep, as you dying, and sends every motor nerve it can a jolt to try and jump start you. Or something to that effect.

...that's the most bizarre thing I've read all day and that includes Cameron Diaz humping a car. I will never think about midnight twitches in the same way again.

Though actually that's kinda cool, weirdly...

aaaaand that description just brought about the paranoia I have for this kind of stuff, thanks

On the Smurfs review, I'd like to say that I knew it would be bad when I saw the posters, but that's on a level with seeing rain and predicting it will be wet. I never particularly loved les Schtroumpfs, but they deserve better than that. Hopefully the coming film can feel like a fantasy adventure, and maybe even cameo Johan and Pirluit.

New Steven Universe vlog on one of the worst episodes in the series (and they certainly didn't like it, or at least the reasons why it's not exactly the best).

Eh, I didn't think it was really that bad. Heck, I don't even mind the relationship between Sadie and Lars. Yes, it's a dysfunctional, abusive relationship and the two of them really shouldn't be together, but like Doug and Rob said, you do see those kinds of relationships in real life, and unlike Doug and Rob, I'm fine with seeing it portrayed this way in SU. It still wasn't a great episode, but it was still okay.

It is one of my least favorite episodes as well. Mostly because of the rather abrupt ending and the fact it have never been followed up properly. Lars and Sadie relationship can be interesting interesting, but I think it is too complex to be satisfactory with only a few glimpses here and there.

I also think they are just entering the weakest part of the show. The next 4 episodes are all on the weak end of the show, I think. Not that they are awful, I just think the show can be so much better overall. I am curious to see what the two of them will say about them. If they dislike it, it will be funny to see they trying to be careful to not piss of the fans.

edited 6th Sep '15 9:44:32 PM by Heatth

I looked up the episode list, to remind myself which ones were next, and yeah, those aren't exactly the strongest episodes in the show. I don't think they're nearly as (relatively) bad as this one is, though. Especially "Garnet's Universe"—that one's pretty damn amusing, and has some of the most subtle foreshadowing this show's ever had.

I guess it doesn't help that run of episodes that the ones immediately following them are pretty consistently good.

edited 6th Sep '15 11:07:13 PM by Odd1

Once we hit Lion 3 it's a high quality stretch all the way up to... maybe even the present, this might be the lowest dip the series has.

EDIT: Well accepting Shirt Club. Not fond of that one.

And for the record, Keep Beach City Weird kills a LOT of Ronaldo's likability very very dead and leaves him in a weird place, Fusion Cuisine is funny in concept but the second hand embarrassment makes it cringe inducing, Garnet's Universe is adorable, and I like Watermelon Steven but it's odd and kind of pointless.

edited 7th Sep '15 12:21:45 AM by odafangirl

See, I always found Fusion Cuisine to be immensely funny, so I have a hard time figuring out why so many people dislike it. There are a lot of great lines, and the absurdity of the whole thing is amazing.

That said, once we hit Lion 3, the show kicks into overdrive.

I see Ronaldo as more of an object of pity than anything, and I feel his documentary episode lends credence to this viewpoint.

What was some of the foreshadowing in Garnet's Universe?

edited 7th Sep '15 1:05:18 AM by KarkatTheDalek

Garnet Universe is pretty fun, but ultimately too "fillery" for my taste. It is not bad, by any means (none of those episodes are), it is just not as good as the rest of the series.

Lion 3 does indeed kick the show right back on track, though. Almost all episodes after that are great.

@Seraphem: Huh, so that is a thing

Funnily enough, I always forget that that happens sometimes after I have woken up in morning, but I always little freak out when that happens at night xD

Karkat: I don't watch the show, but I'm assuming it's something having to do with Garnet already being a fusion.