Let's face it; Sturgeons Law isn't strong enough to cover the sheer level of shit out there on the web. This was especially true after Homestar Runner managed to make garbage trucks full of money; just about every asshole with Adobe Flash and thirty seconds of free time was trying to pull some of that precious cash for themselves. Bonus Stage started out as another one of these blind followers, but after a while managed to find its own voice in a sea of mediocrity.
The show is about as basic as it comes. Joel and Phil are roommates that don't get along. Joel is an eccentric inventor, Phil is an alcoholic loser. Their neighbor, Elly, is the target of Phil's affection, but she only has eyes for Joel. Later additions include Rya (a Deadpan Snarker robot that wishes outright death on the entire cast), Jessica (Phil's mom de-aged via a Freak Lab Accident), Andrew (a guy that randomly becomes Ely's boyfriend), and an assortment of poorly-characterized, one-trick-pony characters. (Those were the author's words, folks.)
The humor consisted of a slew of Shout Outs, constant Take Thats, and enough random jokes to make Family Guy proud. Death Is Cheap and Negative Continuity were the law of the land; the same character would sometimes die seven or eight times in the same scene. Matt Wilson also hated his fans, and made damn sure everyone knew it. (An entire episode consisted of a Bonus Stage Fan Convention, and another had crappy fan art invading the series.) The last season made a few attempts to add a story, but the entire series was canned thanks to Matt's increasing frustration with fans, financial woes, and general Artist Disillusionment.
This is honestly one of the few series I can name where random gags are actually funny. An episode can go from trying to start a musical number, to building an underground city. Every character is a Jerk Ass that deserves their repeated deaths. Almost every line is quotable, with or without context. And to be honest, it's the only series that has literally made me fall out of my chair laughing. (Damn you, Big Fat Guy!)
I recently rewatched the series (thank god for You Tube), and it's actually held up pretty well. Check it out there, if you wish. (It's certainly easier thank working the Wayback Machine.)
Great back then, holds up okay today
Let's face it; Sturgeons Law isn't strong enough to cover the sheer level of shit out there on the web. This was especially true after Homestar Runner managed to make garbage trucks full of money; just about every asshole with Adobe Flash and thirty seconds of free time was trying to pull some of that precious cash for themselves. Bonus Stage started out as another one of these blind followers, but after a while managed to find its own voice in a sea of mediocrity.
The show is about as basic as it comes. Joel and Phil are roommates that don't get along. Joel is an eccentric inventor, Phil is an alcoholic loser. Their neighbor, Elly, is the target of Phil's affection, but she only has eyes for Joel. Later additions include Rya (a Deadpan Snarker robot that wishes outright death on the entire cast), Jessica (Phil's mom de-aged via a Freak Lab Accident), Andrew (a guy that randomly becomes Ely's boyfriend), and an assortment of poorly-characterized, one-trick-pony characters. (Those were the author's words, folks.)
The humor consisted of a slew of Shout Outs, constant Take Thats, and enough random jokes to make Family Guy proud. Death Is Cheap and Negative Continuity were the law of the land; the same character would sometimes die seven or eight times in the same scene. Matt Wilson also hated his fans, and made damn sure everyone knew it. (An entire episode consisted of a Bonus Stage Fan Convention, and another had crappy fan art invading the series.) The last season made a few attempts to add a story, but the entire series was canned thanks to Matt's increasing frustration with fans, financial woes, and general Artist Disillusionment.
This is honestly one of the few series I can name where random gags are actually funny. An episode can go from trying to start a musical number, to building an underground city. Every character is a Jerk Ass that deserves their repeated deaths. Almost every line is quotable, with or without context. And to be honest, it's the only series that has literally made me fall out of my chair laughing. (Damn you, Big Fat Guy!)
I recently rewatched the series (thank god for You Tube), and it's actually held up pretty well. Check it out there, if you wish. (It's certainly easier thank working the Wayback Machine.)