It's hard to disagree with most of the points you raised here. I've watched the whole series too, and what I got was that it was a little too much like Regular Show, and yet also too different (as in not really being anywhere near as funny or entertaining compared to its predecessor). Not really terrible but also not so great either, overall it was just kind of a bland sitcom that played it too safe.
Happy someone agrees with me for once.
Most of the comments under my reviews are from easily-offended people who have a hard time respecting opinions.
Glad to see you're not one of them, @Arsenius!
And yeah, Close Enough was cancelled because it was basically the same song and dance as Regular Show with not enough unique aspects for it to have its own identity.
Add in the fact that it wasn't being promoted much so it didn't have a huge audience (understandably so), and that's how you get your show cancelled.
...You know, I was going to let you know that, while it still has some of the same problems as your previous reviews, this one does represent improvement, and I wanted to encourage you to keep going.
But seeing that you clarify that you actually absorbed absolutely nothing from previous comments on your reviews and instead just think of me as an \"easily offended [person] who [has] a hard time respecting opinions,\" I think I\'ll just be on my way, and spare myself your work in the future.
I wasn\'t referring to you specifically, @Spectral Time. I was talking about others.
But can you understand why it\'s not a good look to refer to people who disagree with you like that? Especially since you imply that agreeing with you makes you a more reasonable person, which isn\'t how this sort of discourse works?
Like I don\'t even care about the work, I just feel like you\'re handling these things poorly.
Current Project: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
… Well, taking you at your word…
It is better than some of your earlier stuff. It bridges out a bit more and digs a bit deeper. And the core point, that it’s trying too hard to take cues another popular show and in the process comes across as uncreative and derivative, is not a bad one. (I don’t know if I agree or don’t, because I am simply unfamiliar with the source material.)
But it is still probably about twice as long as it needs to be, and you repeat said core point way, way too much.
Thank you, I'm happy to hear it. I guess my improvement has to do with age — many of those old reviews I wrote when I was 17-18ish (Amphibia, Cupcake and Dino).
But now that I'm 20, I'm getting a lot better at it (I guess my Frozen review would be an exception).
I\'d also recommend checking out my review of The Ghost and Molly Mc Gee.
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Wasted potential, thy name is Close Enough.
After hearing about Close Enough being cancelled after only three seasons last month, I out of curiosity watched the entire series on HBO Max, a few episodes at a time.
I had seen short snippets and clips of Close Enough in the years beforehand. From the bits and pieces I saw before deciding to actually watch the series, to me it seemed like basically Regular Show 2.0 — TOO similar to Regular Show. Too similar to stand out on its own merits, and to have its own identity.
And after seeing each and every episode of Close Enough, I couldn't be more right. This IS just Regular Show 2.0. I completely understand why this show got the axe so soon. Bravo, HBO Max.
It's incredibly difficult to judge Close Enough on its own merits, because it's basically just Regular Show all over again, only with human characters, and not nearly as fun or enthralling either.
Because of this, Close Enough is a bland, tired, old hat, been-there-done-that affair with little to save it from the depths of mediocrity. This does not make for compelling animation in the year 2022. So it's really not hard to see why this show was canned.
There's no point in discussing most of the cast, really. Josh is dollar-store Mordecai, Emily is discount Margaret/CJ, and Alex is essentially the Great Value equivalent of Muscle Man. So what is there to talk about?
The only characters that spark any interest in me are Bridgette and Candice. Bridgette is the one character I can actually say I kind of like. She's like an older version of Miko from Glitch Techs — the cool Japanese-American Genki Girl.
By and large, she is the sole bright spot of the series, her snarks and remarks often breathing a tiny bit of life into this dry husk of a show.
One thing Regular Snow didn't have was a child character as part of the main cast, so Candice is somewhat original. She's of the bright yet impulsive little girl variety (think Anais from The Amazing World of Gumball). Candice can also manage a decent joke or one-liner once in a while, but those are sadly few-and-far between.
It's unfortunate that J.G. Quintel and co. had too much Regular Show on the brain during the making of Close Enough. Such a shame — this actually did have potential to be a really good show, its own original thing, but it seems that wasn't in the interests of ol' J.G. Oh, what could have been....
At this point, it looks like J.G.'s creativity meter is all used up. I can't say I blame him though; the guy's pushing 40, and he already created one of the most iconic and well-remembered cartoons of recent times, one of the longest-running on Cartoon Network, in fact. That is an achievement in and of itself.
At the same time, though, it's sad acknowledging what Close Enough could have been if it was different enough; had it not been so derivative of Regular Show, it most likely would not have been cancelled and could have even lasted as long as Regular Show.
But ultimately, this depressing plateau of rehashed ideas will most likely be forgotten by the masses in the coming years. Shame.
I think the most feasible option for J.G. is to step down from cartooning — he's already done a great service to the animation industry with Regular Show, and continuing to produce hackneyed claptrap like Close Enough will only damage his legacy.
Or at the very least, a long break is in order to allow his creativity banks to refill. Because for now, they're all used up, if Close Enough is any indication.
It's no Regular Show, but it's Close Enough.... not.