Penn Zero: part-time hero

OK. But I still think that bringing up R34 on a site like this is a bit risky. Esp. with a show like Star Vs.

Well for one thing Star Vs. had some hype before it had came out due to the opening getting revealed at comic con last year. I can't say I knew what Penn Zero was until I saw the ads for the Christmas Special pilot. Star vs. is also probably more appealing due to being very anime like and reminiscent of Magical Girl animes(namely Sailor Moon). Star vs. is the first show in a long time on Disney's tv channels to be made by a woman so that's likely to get it some attention.

I do think it sucks that Penn Zero doesn't seem to get as much love or attention as Star Vs., even though I like Star Vs. more. Hopefully the show get's some later on down the line.

Nope, you nailed it. Perfectly.

Now, as for my opinions on the latest fare:

Where Dragons Dare (Mid High Tier): Judging by the synopsis, I was a bit scared that this would be as predictable / stupid as "That Purple Girl"; Going by the setup, all the way to the ending, this turned out a lot better than I thought. However, making Sashi infatuated with whom Penn was competing with just felt kinda dumb and OOC for Sashi to me, TBH, hence why I can't praise this too much, despite this being far better than when "That Purple Girl" attempted this, only to succeed in making Penn and Boone (especially) look like idiots...

Rip-Penn (Mid Tier): Wasn't feeling this one too much, unfortunately. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable to me, either, despite the unique setup of Penn and Rippen sharing bodies, ala Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hide. I think the dialogue from Larry is part of the issue I take with this one, TBH. Everything else was alright, however. It's just too bad IMGO that the way it ends just feels like a slap in the face to Penn, which felt unnecessarily mean-spirited and stupid, as well.

I've only caught this show off and on since it's aired, but I admit to liking it more than Star vs at the moment (mostly because Star, as a character, comes off a little obnoxious to me; she's still adorbs though). The first few episodes didn't really wow me, so I stopped watching every so often. That said, the animation style is what got me interested in this show in the first place (oddly enough, the style reminds me of how Jake and the Neverland Pirates is animated).

So far, I've been liking most of the newer episodes, so I'll probably try to rewatch the older ones when I can. I only have minor gripes for the new episode today though:

• First Half: Sashi falling for Blaze... was fine I guess (since it just happens so they can exaggerate how "cool" Blaze is), but I'm sad that it never really got pointed out. especially since it seems out of character for Sashi to act like that without explanation (granted, I don't know very much about her except that she sometimes resents her tomboy status, if the singing episode was anything to go by). Other than that, it was good episode.

• Second Half: Never got the vibe that Penn was overly impatient until this episode, but okay. This one was decent but the premise (Penn and Rippen playing Jekyll and Hyde to each other) could've worked out differently.

I think one of the things that Penn Zero has over Star Vs. is the alt. universes. I'm an absolute sucker for AU's and this show gets real creative with them. I like that they don't always go with standerd AU's(0like the cereal mascot one or the one with the color people) or if they do they mix it up(like the gender bend one is a mix of fairy tales and musicals or the cowboy one has dinosaurs-WAIT A MINUTE!).

edited 20th Jul '15 7:07:58 PM by ScottPilgrim2013

Did Rippen actual beat Penn's parents or did Penn's father just say that to get him to laugh?

Yes.

Ok, so if anyone is interested, The new episodes were on, and they were pretty standard. But good.

Yeah, I caught the latest effort (8/10/2015)... I'll keep this blunt.

On one hand, (with Chuckle City 500), there is an interesting idea for some legit drama that could shake up the status quo of how our protagonists operate, thus keeping things from becoming formulaic-ly stale (Penn's friends being jealous and wanting to share in the glory of being a hero happens to us all. This is something that should have been elaborated and built - up upon better than it was here.); on another hand (with Rock n' Roll), a rather disappointing entry, brought about by Penn feeling OOC to me with his whining and not adapting to the primitive setting fast enough, at first - not what I would expect from a hero, to be honest - and definitely not one of the show's strongest points, either.

It doesn't take much to see why this show is so underrated / easily ignored. And I think it's a real shame, but I can see why, too, sometimes.

edited 11th Aug '15 4:46:00 AM by Shokew

For anyone who might be interested, new episode at 8PM tonight (8/17/2015)...

Plantywood: City of Flora / Boone's Apprentics

I'll be there. City of Flora sounds very imaginative.

Not much to say about the first episode, but I liked the atmosphere of the world they went to and Boone's role as the narrator.

The second episode I have a bit of mixed feelings on, since it felt like a retread of other "Boone annoys friends but stays true to himself and they all forgive him in the end" episodes. I don't really hate Boone, but he becomes my least favorite of the trio in the episodes where they focus on how unfocused Boone is compared to Penn and Sashi. Other than that, it was fairly enjoyable.

Also, I think the second episode marks the debut of "Buff Bunny!Penn" from the show's title sequence.

edited 18th Aug '15 4:21:43 PM by Customer

Actually, you summed my thoughts exactly on this week's latest effort (8/17/15's premieres, to be exact.). I admit I did like both of these episodes more than last week's, to be honest, but if the second segment is anything to go by and how it highlights how dumb Boone can be written... It's not by all that much.

If the second segment in general is anything to really go by, it just felt like unnecessary Flanderization of Boone's character, which really rubbed me the wrong way, in regards to the writing. I know for a fact Boone isn't this stupid, so to see him written as that in such a way is quite sad to watch for me.

edited 19th Aug '15 2:45:44 AM by Shokew

Latest Episodes coming soon (9/28 - 10/1)... For anyone who's interested, that is...

“The QPC” – Uncle Chuck and Aunt Rose must prove that they have a heroic side, after they break the QPC, an essential part of the machine that zaps Penn back from other worlds, before their nephew is lost forever. (premieres 9/28/2015 at 8:00 PM)

“Shirley B. Awesome”– The kids are zapped into a backyard world where they are military action figures and Sashi meets her hero, General Shirley B. Awesome. Wanda Sykes(“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) guest stars as Shirley B. Awesome. (premieres 9/28/2015 at 8:15 PM)

“Massive Morphy Merge Mechs” – Penn, Boone, Sashi, Rippen and Larry must figure out how to work together when they merge as giant metamorphosing robots, battling for control of an alien planet. (premieres 09/29/2015 at 8:00 PM)

“Ultrahyperball”– When the fate of two alien planets is tied to the outcome of a sporting event, Penn finds a loophole in the game and must convince the two opposing coaches to admit their love for each other in order to save both planets. Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”), Jane Kaczmarek (“Malcolm in the Middle”), John Anderson (ESPN’s “Sports Center”), John Henson (ABC’s “Wipe Out”) guest star as Coach Wallace, Coach Jackie and sports announcers Mike and Ron, respectively (premieres 9/29/2015 at 8:15 PM)

“Zap One” – Penn’s origin story is revealed in a flashback to his first day of high school when he learns his parents are part-time heroes instead of insurance salespeople. (premieres 9/30/2015 at 8:00 PM)

There's also "Save The Worlds", which is the Season 1 finale... (premieres 10/1/2015 at 8:00 PM)

There you go... Again, for anyone who's still interested in this show.

As for my personal thoughts, while I am happy to see more of this show, this smells like a burnoff to me - even if a second season has been announced. Then again, it's not surprising to me; the ratings for this show and critical reception were less than stellar, compared to the true animated breadwinners on Disney XD...

edited 25th Sep '15 4:26:55 AM by Shokew

Well, I'm gamed.

..... first Cartoon Network, and now Disney, proving that this isn't simply one network's decision, it's a whole new movement! .... I am not very much liking these week-long "bombs" for one particular cartoon. You gotta wait months on end for one particular show to air, and when it DOES happen, it seems like they're pushing through it too drastically.

Week of premieres:

The QPC was obviously the best with Chuck and Rose dealing with the real world problems to rescue Penn, but hearing Wanda Sykes voice Shirley in the second half was pretty awesome.

Didn't really like the first ep. I dunno, the ep really just chose to focus on..... Penn's aunt and uncle, who personally just annoy me. I enjoyed the second ep though!

For anyone who cares, Tonight episode is an origin story.

I am totally digging this episode! I was afraid this would be an all-musical one too, but we only had like 3 short ones.

.... strike that: four.

Man, there better be a legitimate reason for Sashi being trained as a Sidekick for literally her whole life without her parents knowing. I'm kinda peeved that wasn't elaborated on (though I guess it was supposed to be a story about Penn, not her).

Dang good origin episode, and MAN was Sashi mean back then. "I've had years of training and you had none and don't want this, THEREFORE I WILL ANTAGONIZE YOU!" And yes, how the hell did her parents not know about her training?

I'm fine with this amount of musical numbers in this show. They aren't very good at them. It must be the lyricists.

The QPC (9/28/15): What should have been a funny episode just fell flat for me; Penn's aunt and uncle just come off more annoying than funny, and you can see why Penn has some minor resentment for them, as likely does the audience if you've stuck around with this show long enough. Probably the weakest episode in the whole series; I don't think repeat viewings could convince me of this - even if I can still watch it in comparison to Star Vs. as a whole, which ain't saying much for mine or this specific show's case...

Shirley B. Awesome (9/28/15): Definitely the better of the 2 premieres on 9/28, overall. Not to say it was a truly spectacular effort, however - I just wasn't feeling Penn and Boone acting so silly at first. Once we got to the actual focus, things picked themselves up for me, so much so that I was actually pleased that Penn's plan actually worked and that he and Boone weren't just goofing around, which is nice to see. As for the titular character, well - she does live up to her name quite well, and I can why Sashi is so smitten with her; Shirley's like soulmate to her, in terms of how to portray one's self as an actual hero, of course.

The Mech Episode (That title is a bit too silly for me to say, to be honest) (9/29/15): Silly-sounding title aside, this was the better premiere on 9/29 for me - and a better episode than I thought it would be, too. I do like that Penn and Rippen had to work together, but not just with each other, but with everyone. That was some clever enough writing there out of this show - I just wish Rippen wasn't the victim of one big butt joke (that was kinda sad - especially for someone whose supposed to be the villain to worry about on this show.). Too bad by now we've established exactly now why he's only part-time - he ain't that good at it, so I've learned to actually laugh at him like I can Lord Hater, (Wo Y) at least.

Ultrahyperball (9/29/15): This episode just felt all over the place for me. Not saying it was terrible, as I was legitimately laughing at it, throughout, especially at that ending. It's just that I felt this idea could have been executed better, had this game everyone was playing made more sense, that way things could flow a bit better. Seriously, having your planet be destroyed over a stupid game is hard to laugh at, if you think deeper enough about it. I'm just glad Penn and Co. could see that, too.

Zap One (9/30/15): I think it's pretty clear THIS should have been the first episode in the series, if only to better establish things and make this show just a little more noteworthy than it actually is. I do like how these writers also remember to keep the school setting to a minimum, which is a plus, in my eyes. As for the rest, however - I'm kinda mixed on things. While I do like that Penn isn't completely resentful of Rippen, which he likely should have been more of knowing who did what to his parents and that he was able to pull himself together and get things done (same with his friends, too.), I think we could have done without Sashi being such a jerk to Penn & Boone, for one thing (it's the worst thing about her whole character, overall...). Also, that ending dialogue with Penn and his parents was just embarrassing, unfortunately. If those two things had been written better, this would have been a bit more enjoyable for me than it actually was.

No argument there. I guess we should be thankful that musical numbers aren't what we're actually watching this show for. Even then, this show could use better musicians and singers going forward if they're going to do that, besides some better writers for Season 2. I have my reasons for saying all of that, too.

Man, latest ep was the Disney equivalent of Crisis on Infinite Earth! Only more fun, less depressing, and wasn't a lazy attempt to make a story more simple.