(and acknowledging it doesn't make it better, just lazy)
Disagree. Phineas And Ferb has set up a formula and is running with it, acknowledging how said formula works lets us know that they know what kind of show they want this to be and are enjoying playing around with it. So I enjoy that too.
The show also makes light of bullies through buford basically getting away with the abuse he gives them (especially Baljeet).
In Baljeet's case, though, he really isn't his victim anymore. He's his friend, or "his nerd" as he calls him. Buford used to be more of a bully but these days, he's more "bully in name only".
"Disagree. Phineas And Ferb has set up a formula and is running with it, acknowledging how said formula works lets us know that they know what kind of show they want this to be and are enjoying playing around with it. So I enjoy that too."
-Whether or not they have a formula that "works" or that a lot of people think it's funny is irrelevant to it being lazy.
"In Baljeet's case, though, he really isn't his victim anymore. He's his friend, or "his nerd" as he calls him. Buford used to be more of a bully but these days, he's more "bully in name only"."
-Buford still shows some Bully-ish tendencies which go unchecked. It really goes back and forth even from the beginning.
Hm. I don't see the formulaic as a flaw, something that needs to be fixed rather than just acknowledged. Rather, I see the adherence to formula as a way of tweaking audience expectations by occasionally moving around or omitting a key element, and watching what happens. It's actually fairly clever.
It would be lazy if they were only doing a formula to avoid coming up with new plots wholesale each week, but that's clearly not the case. The need to riff on the structure is the cause of the structure, not the result, and for that reason I can forgive it.
Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.Leave a Comment:
Used to hate it
I used to hate this show mostly due to me disliking virtually everything else Disney Channel has to offer. Now I kind of enjoy it.
For the bad things I'll admit, objectively, the show is extremely cliche. Particularly when it tries to do "edgy" things like breaking the fourth wall etc. it comes off as extremely forced. The plots are repetitive (and acknowledging it doesn't make it better, just lazy). It goes the route of having diverse types of families (divorced, step, interracial etc.) which isn't bad but can be some what cridge worthy in the presentation (particularly the mexican-jewish celebration and the fact that Doof's ex-wife still comes to his family reunions bother me). The show also makes light of bullies through buford basically getting away with the abuse he gives them (especially Baljeet).
Amoung the good things, the songs (as someone mentioned earlier) are hit or miss but I'd like to say they "hit" more than miss by at least being catchy. My personal favorite is "(S.I.M.P)Squirrels in my pants". I like the idea of having a female character endure slap-stick antics for once. I like that the show mantains some continuity despite being a comedy. Not really much to say beyond it's arguably the best show on disney channel.