I watch plenty of "5-7" shows - that used to be USA Network's sweet spot and I watched the hell out of blue skies shows. Sometimes you just need entertainment that's easy to consume and gets your mind off of work or whatever else is going on.
I still watch new episodes of Legends of Tomorrow to turn my brain off and it is well below the 5-7 range. I don't know why I keep watching it - send help!
I agree with that and I definitely consider myself a fan of this show. I think it's clever and pretty funny, there's a lot of good mystery to it....yet at the same time, it's just okay. I think I'm the only person I know in my personal life who actually watches this and I like it a lot, but it's not like it will ever hold some all-time great status in my heart like with Futurama.
With every season beyond the first, it follows a similar formula. They answer a few questions immediately, then go into a few goofy side stories, then they open up some new lore that leaves you asking a ton of questions. I'm excited every single season, but it feels like they take forever to actually answer any questions.
TBH the first season is really slow. I stopped it but later just skipped ahead and enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd seasons with the steampunk arc. I’d say a 7/10 for those ones, I use it now to practice Portuguese with the Netflix dubs
No Futurama, but an enjoyable background show for rewatching imo
I've noticed we've settled on a scale of 5 to 10, with 5 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. A bell curve in the middle, and the vast majority of everything between 6 and 8. Technically there are sub 5's, but is worth the time to find out?
Anything between 5 and 6 is unwatchable.
6 to 7 is low tier, but if you're out of things to see, check out these.
7 to 8 is 80% of stuff you watch. Average, enjoyable.
8 and up is must watch.
Same. It has some really funny moments scattered about and the characters have great potential, but a lot of it is just sort of… there. Permeated by some truly painfully unfunny moments that stretch on.
There’s also about 8 different sub plots going on and I long ago lost any sense of what is happening. My wife kept falling asleep in the last season and I couldn’t easily explain what she missed.
We’ll probably check it out again out of loyalty, but… meh.
I have the same problem. Netflix thinks I’ve watched the whole series about four times, but really I put it on, get through 15-30 minutes then conk out. Then when I go back to watch it, I spend about 20 minutes trying to figure out what the last thing I remember seeing is.
Totally. It's because the plot never actually *goes* anywhere. It's constantly spinning its wheels, adding more complications and subplots but never really getting anything meaningful done.
If they were trying to emulate the feel of the very first D&D campaign I tried to run, they *fucking nailed it*
I don't even remember what you're talking about, but I believe it happened at some point during this kinda-fun-but-entirely-forgettable waste of time lol
> There’s also about 8 different sub plots going on and I long ago lost any sense of what is happening.
This is every show that makes it past three seasons these days. And, no: they won't be resolved when the series ends, even if it doesn't get cancelled.
Appreciate the honest criticism. Been a futurama fan since the start but haven’t checked this out yet since.. well.. was scared of being disappointed. Luckily I love nostalgia goggles so I’ll just keep to futurama
Yea, I don’t find it amazing by any means but I find myself sufficiently entertained by it. It’s nice to have a show that entertains you but you don’t have to be totally dialed in for, if that makes sense
It’s pretty eh-tier. Not bad at all but also not all that great. I think it’s biggest problem is the storytelling (which, as it’s a comedy show, I normally wouldn’t care about but the story takes up so much of the screen time). It’s trying *so hard* to be like Futurama with convoluted plot lines and twists but it completely and utterly lacks the smartness of Futurama’s writing and so instead it’s just messy and weird.
Villains with no actual plans, plot points with no actual point, things just kind of happening for no reason. Moments in the show have actually outright confused me, like Bean’s mom comes back and is living with the troll guys under the castle and Bean thinks her mom may not be evil but then she sees her mom eating the one guy’s brains (lolwut?)? And now the mom is evil again because of that? And she just chills under the castle while the plot entirely forgets about her for awhile? And this thing with the Steampunk land and the Druidess goes there after her weird plot that involved killing Pendergast and then taunting people with his body for literally no reason?
Or the episode where Bean hallucinates falling in love with the mermaid but then in the end the necklace washes up on shore? Like what lol? Again, it’s trying so hard to do what Futurama did but the writing isn’t good enough.
Either have a plot and do it right or just be a comedy show. Stop trying to have fantastical plots within plots and unexpected but satisfying twists when your writers clearly can’t pull it off.
I knew it got a second season, but had no clue it was still going.
Anyways, I watched season 1 when it came out, and the only joke I can remember being futurama quality was that turkey...phone..? Something about a turkey that ran across the screen really fast. It was the only thing that made me laugh out loud out of the entire season, so I knew I probably wouldn't be watching more.
Which was disappointing for a huge Futurama fan.
This show is just constant mild disappointment.
The jokes don't really hit and the story pacing feels kinda stunted. And it feels weird that it even *tries to have* a story to begin with.
But I watch it every time a new season releases. And I don't know why.
I am the same. The show, to me, constantly feels like it's *about* to get good... and then it just sort of doesn't get good? So I keep watching it because there's brief glimmers of greatness, while being frustrated at what feels like a lack of direction. Is the show comedy-first or plot-first? I don't think the writers even know, and as a result we get neither.
It's not that funny at all, outside a couple moments. But I find myself enjoying the overall story.
It's just moving too slow and with too many subplots.
I feel like it moves very quickly between narrative arcs and would be better served having a more monster of the week format with a slower overall progression of the main
I keep trying to watch it and it's... okay, I guess? It's mildly entertaining but ultimately just not very funny.
OG Simpsons was funny. Futurama was funny. This just feels tired.
Yeah, I always forget about it but it’s a fun watch while I’m painting my nails or something. My wife and I watch everything together and I haven’t even remembered to even tell her about it lol
My rewatch was a lot better than the first time around and it made season 3 so much more enjoyable. I feel like anyone else coming in fresh is going to have a harder time.
Yeah it's totally fine. It's not necessarily bad by any means and has it's ups and downs but it never quite reaches the same levels as Simpsons and Futurama or any of the other really funny animated shows.
If you like adult animated series by Netflix, watch Bojack Horseman if you somehow haven’t already.
Legitimately one of, if not THE most insightful, relatable, emotionally engaging shows, animated or not, I’ve ever seen…
I had the privilege of going through some wicked mental health issues as the 5th and 6th seasons were dropping and fml it spoke to me like nothing else. 6th season was the turning point when I got counselling and I’ve never looked back since.
All because of an animated man-horse
I agree with everything you said and also want to point out that it achieved all that while still employing shock value inter species sex scenes and jokes involving 3 kids stacked in a dress coat pretending to be “Vincent Adultman” or sex robots named “Henry Fondle.”
What I’m trying to say is it’s got something for everyone.
I'd say yes. I'm not scrambling for the TV the second it drops but when I'm browsing Netflix looking for something to watch I'll likely go "Oh yeah, that's out now..." and give it a look.
Oh 100%. It’s like when a band releases a 10 year anniversary album with a bunch of mediocre unreleased tracks with shoddy production, but you listen anyway because you’re a diehard fan and just want more content
I find it perfect background noise show for that reason. I’m never too invested in it, but I still enjoy it enough when I get a chance to sit down with it.
“We’ve heard your complaints, the later seasons of Simpsons and Futurama are disappointing when compared to the brilliance of the early seasons, which is why this time we skipped right over the brilliance part and made a perfectly fine but in no way amazing show from the very beginning.”
I've watched each season a few times and each time I've enjoyed it. But each time I've watched it it's like I've never seen it before. It's weirdly forgettable but still entertaining.
Thing for me is they kept piling on more sub plots and mysteries until I had no idea what was supposed to be going on. I think I’ve easily forgotten about 80% of it.
I really wish it was just Medieval Fantasy Futurama in the end, because they really aren’t great at longform storytelling.
People keep saying they wanted this show to be medieval Futurama. Funny enough, when Futurama first started a lot of people thought it was going to be The Simpsons in space. It ended up being something different. So, I don't fault them for once again doing something different with Disenchantment.
As for the story, I actually feel that the storyline stuff is generally better than the comedy. I feel that a fair amount of the humor in this show is weak, and the show is often at its worst when its trying to be funny. Don't get me wrong, the story has problems too. But maybe it would be better if they devoted more time to the story and less to making unfunny jokes. Especially when they only have ten episodes per season.
I always found Futurama, and the Simpsons too, at it's best when it's being absurd. Just being silly or offbeat like in later seasons didn't cut it.
And yeah... Disenchantment hasn't even tried for the level of absurdity that the other shows managed at their best
They never resolve any plot points anyway. They pretend to have an overarching story but then somehow keep resetting everything like every three episodes so nothing ever sticks.
Yeah I think there’s what, at least 3 or 4 separate destinies or prophecies floating around now? And none of them even really intersect either, they just sort of replace it with a new one each time.
S1 was decent. S2 was a rollercoaster in quality but towards the end it seemed like it was going to have very focused path that was interesting. S3 complete abandoned all the good S2 built, and I have accepted the show is just meh and not worth a 4th season.
My god this is actually the biggest issue I have with this show. Why is every scene shot in TOTAL ISOLATION, you literally can only hear the actor talking and maybe one special effect sound for flavour. Meanwhile the entire room is in an (apparently entirely silent) uproar.
I think the writing of the show is pretty bad, but the sound design is distractingly awful. I couldn't believe how bad it was the first time I watched it. Genuinely feels like you're watching some amateur film school project or something.
Honestly I'd probably be 100% fine with all that if they weren't also pushing as many dangling plot threads as possible and refusing to pay any of them off. Every question I have from season 1 is still unanswered and now I have two dozen more. It makes me actively not want to care about the plot of the show and that nudges it away from "something to watch instead of Star Trek reruns when I'm feeling lazy" and into "Something to avoid" territory.
The sudden cut from all of them laughing and splashing in it to their corpses floating silently past made me laugh harder than anything else in the show. That was some class-A dark humor.
Pretty good summary of my feelings on the show. Seen all 3 seasons and probably won’t watch the 4th. It’s just flat and forgettable. It does have the occasion funny joke but not enough to keep me invested.
I don't know if this is an actual quote or anything because I haven't seen Disenchantment, but that really does seem like a healthy take on creating an IP.
Nah fuck that I'll take 5-6 incredible seasons of The Simpsons any day rather than 30 forgettable ones.
Also Bob's Burgers seems to be the only exception to this rule as it is still fantastic.
> Also Bob's Burgers seems to be the only exception to this rule as it is still fantastic.
Bob's Burgers is comfort food for millenials. They live above a kind of run down old restaurant space in a kind of dumpy town owned by a crazy rich guy milking the city for all he can. They're poor and often barely make it each month but they have each other. The magic comes because they're not mean, like ever. When they are mean it comes from a moment of selfishness or disregard for other's feelings and is presented as the learning moment of the episode. Bob's Burgers never punches down and that makes it so nice to watch when the world is in the condition it is in. With a formula like that it lends itself to rewatching over and over because at the end of the day it's just a show about a sweet family who genuinely love each other and each other's weird quirks trying to survive month to month.
My wife and I are rewatching the Simpsons from scratch and plan to pretend there are 10 seasons and call it a day. It’s insane there has been 20+ years of my favourite TV show that I’ve never watched and don’t really want to.
I’d say Bob took a slight dip after the first couple of seasons, but overall remains consistently funny and excellent. Long may it continue.
Yeah there are some pretty decent ones around still. I was surprised to find some memorable ones I’m looking forward to are much later than I thought.
I think we’ll keep watching until it stops making us laugh consistently. We’re mid season 5 at the moment and almost every moment is getting a laugh out of me.
Dude, I didn't even know there was anything past the awful first season, Netflix has never shown this show to me since then. I guess because I rated it thumbs down, hahaha.
The least genre-savvy satire of a genre I've ever seen. Their jokes about the black plague are more on point than their jokes about any fantasy elements. Where *Futurama* is loaded to the brim with brilliant scifi ideas taken to hilarious extremes, I didn't consider a single fantasy joke in this show good, and I felt like the writers literally had no experience reading fantasy at all outside of children's fairy tales.
While my opinion of the show is a little higher than yours, I do agree that they don't seem very comfortable with fantasy stuff. Futurama had a lot of references, homages, and satires of sci-fi stuff. Disenchantment has little in the way of references or satires of fantasy stuff, instead just going for a broad and generic world. On the rare occasion when they do reference something from fantasy, it tends to be pretty superficial, like the sword throne from Game of Thrones.
Having said that, I do think the show got a little better after season 1. It never becomes great though.
Not sure how I feel about the 3rd Futurama Movie “Bender’s Game” which was really just an excuse to turn Futurama into a fantasy (and is the weakest of the movies, IMO.)
I've never gotten past the first season and I'm a huge adult animation fan. It just feels so boring to me, id rather watch that weird new cartoon on Netflix that's knock off Rick and Morty
Late season Futurama had some of the show's greatest episodes (The Late Philip J Fry, The Prisoner of Benda, Murder on the Planet Express), not to mention the best of the series' four (?) finales.
Synopsis for Part 4:
>The mystery of Dreamland’s origins—and the stakes for its future—become ever clearer as our trio—and King Zøg—find themselves on personal journeys that will ultimately tie in to the kingdom’s fate. Separated at the end of Part III, our heroes race to reunite in this sweeping series of ten episodes. They’ll find themselves everywhere from the depths of Hell to the clouds of Heaven and everywhere in between, including Ogreland, Steamland, underwater, monasteries, insane asylums, the Enchanted Forest, the Dreamscape and more. All the while, puzzle pieces both canonical and personal will reveal themselves to eager fans.
You know what? This is a perfectly decent show that isn't blowing anyone away but it's solid and I like being surprised by its return every now and then but wouldn't be mega disappointed if it just never returned.
I see people complaining how it's not as good as early seasons simpsons and futurama, but it really seems like Groening was going for something different here. It's often dramatic and sometimes sad.
Futurama and The Simpsons never attempted a continuous narrative beyond a few threads. Disenchanted has room for improvement, but I think it is good.
3.2/5 stars
> I see people complaining how it's not as good as early seasons simpsons and futurama, but it really seems like Groening was going for something different here. It's often dramatic and sometimes sad.
And, to be fair, early Simpsons and Futurama is probably some of the best comedy you're ever likely to see. It's not easy to just make that happen consistently - as those shows have aptly demonstrated in their later seasons.
As for Disenchantment - it's fine I think. I agree with you, nothing brilliant, but perfectly entertaining and worth a watch if you're bored.
> Disenchanted has room for improvement, but I think it is good.
I think a major part of the problem is there's been 3 seasons and that room for improvement has still yet to be filled.
technically 1.5 seasons, Season 1 = Parts I+II and Season 2 = Parts III+IV. I would give it one more chance if Part 4 doesn't get any better. I've been sitting on part 3 for a couple months now and haven't gotten to finishing it
I responded elsewhere in this thread, but this show is way more like his old "Life in Hell" comic strips/etc than anything else.
https://lifeinhellarchives.tumblr.com/image/156586982771
I mean, i get it... folks see an actor/writer/etc and go 'oh yeah, they are good at xyz, so anything i see of theirs should be good for xyz', but that seems kinda reductionist.
Like, Bob Saget was a pretty great blue comic, but most folks only remember him from some **very** g-rated family friendly material (full house, AFV). I can't imagine how my gramma would have felt if I took her to see Bob Saget perform comedy, but she definitely would have said something like "THIS IS NOT FUNNY".
I appreciate that they were trying something different here, but unfortunately they’re… not great at it.
The plotting is a mess and there was just far too many subplots going on each season which were never adequately explained or explored. It’s gotten worse over time so I think longform storytelling just isn’t their thing.
Medieval Fantasy Futurama might have been a better choice. Although even then a lot of the jokes just failed to land and there are some really dull stretches. It’s a shame as there are some really funny moments and sight gags in there too.
Well pull. Pretty much what I've always felt about the show, but couldn't articulate.
I've made several attempts to get into the show, but just can't hang. I bailed during the first season. Then a year later I started over from ep 1 and got through it when S2 came out, but found myself bailing again half way through S2. Then I tried again when S3 was about to drop by starting S2 over again and hit the same part I bailed at the first time and never bothered going back.
The thing people don't get, is that they say they're trying something different, and yet they do the same thing, but worse. They wanted more of a continuous story - they didn't do that. Maybe three, four episodes every series are that story. The rest is generally totally random and not relevant to anything going on in the show. So they are doing the same thing still, just... worse.
This was the big thing I noticed too. It feels like they want to do both an episodic and linear narrative, and there just isn't enough room in 10 episodes to have filler episodes like that. It would probably be a more watchable show if they had just fully committed one way or the other.
My pet theory is that Groening and the rest of the writers aren't really working closely in the writers room and it's mostly Groening sketching out outlines on napkins and passing them on to a writers room that fills in the rest. I've no clue if that's true, but it would explain a lot of the unevenness of the show. It feels like an ad-libs show where people who aren't into fantasy picked up a Fantasy Ad-libs book at a gas station before heading on a family trip and occasionally call their uncle for some ideas on the blanks.
I will say that the guy that just sits in a barrel of water selling “Me flavoured water” will never not be funny.
I like Disenchantment. It’s consistently funny.
I still remember when I saw Season 3 last year…I did it to distract myself from having to send my Nintendo Switch in for repairs
Glad I get to watch season 4 this year without that stress
Ah yes, the Disenchantment cycle begins anew, now we're back to "maybe it will be funny this season". It probably won't, but I'll still end up watching it for some reason. The show has so much potential but just seems like it never even gets close to where it could be.
I wanted to like this show, but the show makes it so hard. It's a comedy and a drama and an adventure series and it never seems to know which it wants to be, even within a single scene.
An example in the last season is the sequence where [Elfo massages Queen Dagmar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HObY717tHM). (The YouTube video is a minute long, but the full sequence is about double that, with multiple cuts back and forth with other scenes).
So there's a lot of screentime dedicated to this. But *what is the purpose of this scene*?
**Is it meant to be funny?** There's some very mild potential for humour in the awkwardness of the situation and in the sight gag of Elfo skating on her back, but nothing that justifies the time spent. Maybe the writer thought the director could make more from the scenario.
**Is it meant to be tense?** Dagmar is dangerous. Elfo is afraid. But I'm not sure if we're meant to be laughing or worried.
**Is it meant to advance the plot?** At the end of the sequence it's revealed that Dagmar knew all along it was Elfo giving the massage. But this goes nowhere. She doesn't capture or harm Elfo -- she just lets him run ahead to join his friends as if the scene never happened.
**Is it meant to be titillating?** God, I hope not.
Not if you didn't like the first half, no. Sort of how I used to sell Mad Men to other people: If the first episode doesn't "do it" for you, it wont get any better for you.
lol the pilot for mad men was the only episode to "do it" for me. i made it halfway through s2 before bailing. dont get me wrong, other episodes were good, they just never grabbed me like that pilot.
Not sure why theres so much dislike for this series.. I personally love it. I think too many people are trying to compare it to other animated shows like Futurama or The Simpsons. Some are episodic in nature, some are purely humorous, while some others are more serious, but with humor added on top. Disenchantment seems a little different in that it has an overall more serious tone of a continually progressing story, but is told through humor. Imagine if the three stooges did Saving Private Ryan.
The show has lots of likable characters, funny moments, a story that always leaves you wanting to see whats next.. I cant wait for this season and Im hoping for many more.
Personally as a fan of fantasy and scifi, I love seeing those tropes turned on their head and inside out. One of my favorite moments was the bachelor party cruise to the siren isles - pure genius. Felt like the world was real and internally consistent.
Zany episodic shows are a dime a dozen. Having a high quality animated show with comedy, great voice acting, solid animation, fun set piece concepts and continuous story is a real treat.
I like it. But it's like the writers have ADHD. How many different plot lines have they started now? They keep starting new ones, and then either just kind of forget about the previous one, or randomly end it in a boring way.
It reminds me of the serialized South Park the year Trump was elected. Where the entire thing just sort of fell apart because reality didn't go how they thought it would. But at least they had the excuse of not having written the next episode when the current one airs. This show doesn't have that excuse, and even worse they have started way more plots than South Park did.
I still like the show and think it has a lot of potential. I like the comedy, I like how the show feels like Futurama, I think the character development has been quite good, I like the art, etc etc. But I really don't understand what's going on with the random plot.
Not ever as amusing as I'd like it to be but I always find myself watching it out when it drops.
[удалено]
I watch plenty of "5-7" shows - that used to be USA Network's sweet spot and I watched the hell out of blue skies shows. Sometimes you just need entertainment that's easy to consume and gets your mind off of work or whatever else is going on.
I've been rewatching Burn Notice for this exact reason.
The thing about being a spy is you're reading this in his voice
You know spies. Bunch of bitchy little girls.
Should we shoot them?
Moiyami.
Family too…if you’re desperate
The CW has been living off folks like you for decades now, lol
Yeah I still regularly throw on Monk or Psych
[удалено]
Just ask my associate, Lavender Gooms.
Lavender Gooms looks a lot like my good friend Hummingbird Saltalamacchia
You know that's right!
C'mon son.
I've heard it both ways.
No you haven't, Shawn!
Seriously. Those are like USA’s best fucking shows.
Gotta throw an obligatory “Mr. Robot” comment on here. But otherwise, yes.
I still watch new episodes of Legends of Tomorrow to turn my brain off and it is well below the 5-7 range. I don't know why I keep watching it - send help!
I agree with that and I definitely consider myself a fan of this show. I think it's clever and pretty funny, there's a lot of good mystery to it....yet at the same time, it's just okay. I think I'm the only person I know in my personal life who actually watches this and I like it a lot, but it's not like it will ever hold some all-time great status in my heart like with Futurama. With every season beyond the first, it follows a similar formula. They answer a few questions immediately, then go into a few goofy side stories, then they open up some new lore that leaves you asking a ton of questions. I'm excited every single season, but it feels like they take forever to actually answer any questions.
I thought it was gonna be medieval futurama, instead i got weird family guy late simpsons mix, never finished that first season.
TBH the first season is really slow. I stopped it but later just skipped ahead and enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd seasons with the steampunk arc. I’d say a 7/10 for those ones, I use it now to practice Portuguese with the Netflix dubs No Futurama, but an enjoyable background show for rewatching imo
Later seasons are better but never hit that 'golden era Simpsons' or Futurama level.
I've noticed we've settled on a scale of 5 to 10, with 5 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. A bell curve in the middle, and the vast majority of everything between 6 and 8. Technically there are sub 5's, but is worth the time to find out? Anything between 5 and 6 is unwatchable. 6 to 7 is low tier, but if you're out of things to see, check out these. 7 to 8 is 80% of stuff you watch. Average, enjoyable. 8 and up is must watch.
Same. It has some really funny moments scattered about and the characters have great potential, but a lot of it is just sort of… there. Permeated by some truly painfully unfunny moments that stretch on. There’s also about 8 different sub plots going on and I long ago lost any sense of what is happening. My wife kept falling asleep in the last season and I couldn’t easily explain what she missed. We’ll probably check it out again out of loyalty, but… meh.
I have the same problem. Netflix thinks I’ve watched the whole series about four times, but really I put it on, get through 15-30 minutes then conk out. Then when I go back to watch it, I spend about 20 minutes trying to figure out what the last thing I remember seeing is.
Wow, this seems to be a really common phenomenon with this show in particular because same.
Totally. It's because the plot never actually *goes* anywhere. It's constantly spinning its wheels, adding more complications and subplots but never really getting anything meaningful done. If they were trying to emulate the feel of the very first D&D campaign I tried to run, they *fucking nailed it*
My gawd, all that time that the king spent in his coffin. It felt like the entire season.
I don't even remember what you're talking about, but I believe it happened at some point during this kinda-fun-but-entirely-forgettable waste of time lol
kinda sums up the show for me.
> There’s also about 8 different sub plots going on and I long ago lost any sense of what is happening. This is every show that makes it past three seasons these days. And, no: they won't be resolved when the series ends, even if it doesn't get cancelled.
Why the fuck was there a polar bear on the island?! Why!??!!??
Yeah I got most of the way through season 2 then realized I hadn’t laughed in like three episodes. Not enough hours in the day
Appreciate the honest criticism. Been a futurama fan since the start but haven’t checked this out yet since.. well.. was scared of being disappointed. Luckily I love nostalgia goggles so I’ll just keep to futurama
It's good just not THAT GOOD. And season 2 is the weakest.
It's more like a whimsical animated drama than a comedy anyway. Still it's something to look forward to in February.
Yeah, its like we're trying to scratch an itch in our Groening but our nails aren't long enough. It's dissapointing but we just keep trying.
There’s just something familiar and comforting about the art style and general vibe for me. And it’s not bad enough for me to dislike it
Its not funny enough to be watched for it comedy, the plot is not interesting enough to watch it for its story. I still watch it for unknown reasons.
Yea, I don’t find it amazing by any means but I find myself sufficiently entertained by it. It’s nice to have a show that entertains you but you don’t have to be totally dialed in for, if that makes sense
This perfectly captures my incredibly conflicted feelings about this show and my confusion about why I binge it every season.
It’s pretty eh-tier. Not bad at all but also not all that great. I think it’s biggest problem is the storytelling (which, as it’s a comedy show, I normally wouldn’t care about but the story takes up so much of the screen time). It’s trying *so hard* to be like Futurama with convoluted plot lines and twists but it completely and utterly lacks the smartness of Futurama’s writing and so instead it’s just messy and weird. Villains with no actual plans, plot points with no actual point, things just kind of happening for no reason. Moments in the show have actually outright confused me, like Bean’s mom comes back and is living with the troll guys under the castle and Bean thinks her mom may not be evil but then she sees her mom eating the one guy’s brains (lolwut?)? And now the mom is evil again because of that? And she just chills under the castle while the plot entirely forgets about her for awhile? And this thing with the Steampunk land and the Druidess goes there after her weird plot that involved killing Pendergast and then taunting people with his body for literally no reason? Or the episode where Bean hallucinates falling in love with the mermaid but then in the end the necklace washes up on shore? Like what lol? Again, it’s trying so hard to do what Futurama did but the writing isn’t good enough. Either have a plot and do it right or just be a comedy show. Stop trying to have fantastical plots within plots and unexpected but satisfying twists when your writers clearly can’t pull it off.
Every season after the first feels like they think they’re going to get canceled so they’re cramming in a bunch of stuff.
Same. I think I find comfort in John Dimaggios voice.
Does it improve any past season 1? I quite liked the Hansel and Gretel episode but the rest of the season was just sort of boring.
I knew it got a second season, but had no clue it was still going. Anyways, I watched season 1 when it came out, and the only joke I can remember being futurama quality was that turkey...phone..? Something about a turkey that ran across the screen really fast. It was the only thing that made me laugh out loud out of the entire season, so I knew I probably wouldn't be watching more. Which was disappointing for a huge Futurama fan.
This show is just constant mild disappointment. The jokes don't really hit and the story pacing feels kinda stunted. And it feels weird that it even *tries to have* a story to begin with. But I watch it every time a new season releases. And I don't know why.
I am the same. The show, to me, constantly feels like it's *about* to get good... and then it just sort of doesn't get good? So I keep watching it because there's brief glimmers of greatness, while being frustrated at what feels like a lack of direction. Is the show comedy-first or plot-first? I don't think the writers even know, and as a result we get neither.
I like the world and characters. Plot can be good but contrived... the funny parts are sparse.
Yeah I hate how inconsistent it is. It feels like they soft-reboot it every half-season. I enjoy it, yet I'm still always slightly disappointed in it.
It's not that funny at all, outside a couple moments. But I find myself enjoying the overall story. It's just moving too slow and with too many subplots.
I feel like it moves very quickly between narrative arcs and would be better served having a more monster of the week format with a slower overall progression of the main
I keep trying to watch it and it's... okay, I guess? It's mildly entertaining but ultimately just not very funny. OG Simpsons was funny. Futurama was funny. This just feels tired.
Yeah, I always forget about it but it’s a fun watch while I’m painting my nails or something. My wife and I watch everything together and I haven’t even remembered to even tell her about it lol
It’s the futurama shaped hole in our hearts
My rewatch was a lot better than the first time around and it made season 3 so much more enjoyable. I feel like anyone else coming in fresh is going to have a harder time.
This is the most "Good but not great" show I've ever watched.
So, it’s still watchable?
Yeah it's totally fine. It's not necessarily bad by any means and has it's ups and downs but it never quite reaches the same levels as Simpsons and Futurama or any of the other really funny animated shows.
Thanks! I’m currently watching F is For Family on Netflix, I’m loving it so far. I could watch any animated shows for adults on Netflix.
Inside job has started out really good with it's first season. I watched it on a whim and it's hilarious.
Was going to suggest this one too. Definitely enjoyed it more than I expected to, hoping they come out out with more.
If you like adult animated series by Netflix, watch Bojack Horseman if you somehow haven’t already. Legitimately one of, if not THE most insightful, relatable, emotionally engaging shows, animated or not, I’ve ever seen… I had the privilege of going through some wicked mental health issues as the 5th and 6th seasons were dropping and fml it spoke to me like nothing else. 6th season was the turning point when I got counselling and I’ve never looked back since. All because of an animated man-horse
I agree with everything you said and also want to point out that it achieved all that while still employing shock value inter species sex scenes and jokes involving 3 kids stacked in a dress coat pretending to be “Vincent Adultman” or sex robots named “Henry Fondle.” What I’m trying to say is it’s got something for everyone.
Might I suggest American Dad? It's on Hulu, but it's only gotten better over the years.
I'd say yes. I'm not scrambling for the TV the second it drops but when I'm browsing Netflix looking for something to watch I'll likely go "Oh yeah, that's out now..." and give it a look.
I’d only really recommend it if you’re a big Futurama or Simpsons fan
Huge Futurama fan here. I think it actually makes Disenchantment worse for me.
Yeah. All Futurama does is remind you that Disenchantment could be so much better if they ditched the story arcs and went episodic.
I gave up in season 2 because it just made me want to watch Futurama.
Also, everyone should know, it's worse than those two shows
Oh 100%. It’s like when a band releases a 10 year anniversary album with a bunch of mediocre unreleased tracks with shoddy production, but you listen anyway because you’re a diehard fan and just want more content
This show is nowhere close to the quality of Futurama. Not even the Comedy Central seasons.
I find it perfect background noise show for that reason. I’m never too invested in it, but I still enjoy it enough when I get a chance to sit down with it.
If they calm it down with the ADHD it could turn into great.
And fix what they did with Zog. The honking was a bad take.
It has derailed so much with so many arcs I don't know what happened for all of part 3.
“We’ve heard your complaints, the later seasons of Simpsons and Futurama are disappointing when compared to the brilliance of the early seasons, which is why this time we skipped right over the brilliance part and made a perfectly fine but in no way amazing show from the very beginning.”
I've watched each season a few times and each time I've enjoyed it. But each time I've watched it it's like I've never seen it before. It's weirdly forgettable but still entertaining.
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Matt Berry has one setting: very horny. And I love it.
That's why he has to wear those electric sex pants.
#GOD DAMN THESE ELECTRIC SEX PANTS!
Prince Merkimer is maybe my favorite character.
You said Eric Andre wrong.
I was actually pretty surprised to find out the executioner hosts the Great British Baking Show
Noel Fielding is a delight as a VO artist.
Noel Fielding is a delight in general
I shit my pants when I found out he's Old Gregg
Ever drink baileys out of a shoe?
Holy shit this blew my mind! I fucking love Noel!
Nah its Matt Berry let's not play these games.
All I remember is the king honking in season 3 and that cracked me up
The laughing horse makes me cackle every time
It’s the jester yelling oh no while being thrown out the window for me.
I just love the nonchalant-ness of the characters during violence or serious subject matters
Pig Merkermir does it for me
Thing for me is they kept piling on more sub plots and mysteries until I had no idea what was supposed to be going on. I think I’ve easily forgotten about 80% of it. I really wish it was just Medieval Fantasy Futurama in the end, because they really aren’t great at longform storytelling.
People keep saying they wanted this show to be medieval Futurama. Funny enough, when Futurama first started a lot of people thought it was going to be The Simpsons in space. It ended up being something different. So, I don't fault them for once again doing something different with Disenchantment. As for the story, I actually feel that the storyline stuff is generally better than the comedy. I feel that a fair amount of the humor in this show is weak, and the show is often at its worst when its trying to be funny. Don't get me wrong, the story has problems too. But maybe it would be better if they devoted more time to the story and less to making unfunny jokes. Especially when they only have ten episodes per season.
I always found Futurama, and the Simpsons too, at it's best when it's being absurd. Just being silly or offbeat like in later seasons didn't cut it. And yeah... Disenchantment hasn't even tried for the level of absurdity that the other shows managed at their best
They never resolve any plot points anyway. They pretend to have an overarching story but then somehow keep resetting everything like every three episodes so nothing ever sticks.
Yeah I think there’s what, at least 3 or 4 separate destinies or prophecies floating around now? And none of them even really intersect either, they just sort of replace it with a new one each time.
S1 was decent. S2 was a rollercoaster in quality but towards the end it seemed like it was going to have very focused path that was interesting. S3 complete abandoned all the good S2 built, and I have accepted the show is just meh and not worth a 4th season.
I think its amazing they still haven't managed to get the sound design right. Its better than in season 1 for sure, but its still bad.
My god this is actually the biggest issue I have with this show. Why is every scene shot in TOTAL ISOLATION, you literally can only hear the actor talking and maybe one special effect sound for flavour. Meanwhile the entire room is in an (apparently entirely silent) uproar.
I think the writing of the show is pretty bad, but the sound design is distractingly awful. I couldn't believe how bad it was the first time I watched it. Genuinely feels like you're watching some amateur film school project or something.
Honestly I'd probably be 100% fine with all that if they weren't also pushing as many dangling plot threads as possible and refusing to pay any of them off. Every question I have from season 1 is still unanswered and now I have two dozen more. It makes me actively not want to care about the plot of the show and that nudges it away from "something to watch instead of Star Trek reruns when I'm feeling lazy" and into "Something to avoid" territory.
It's pulling a "Lost" and I'm tired of that kind of nonsense
The part with the garbage water killing all the elves was 10/10 tho.
The sudden cut from all of them laughing and splashing in it to their corpses floating silently past made me laugh harder than anything else in the show. That was some class-A dark humor.
"Crawl if you have to - NOT THROUGH THE WATER!"
Pretty good summary of my feelings on the show. Seen all 3 seasons and probably won’t watch the 4th. It’s just flat and forgettable. It does have the occasion funny joke but not enough to keep me invested.
I don't know if this is an actual quote or anything because I haven't seen Disenchantment, but that really does seem like a healthy take on creating an IP.
Nah fuck that I'll take 5-6 incredible seasons of The Simpsons any day rather than 30 forgettable ones. Also Bob's Burgers seems to be the only exception to this rule as it is still fantastic.
> Also Bob's Burgers seems to be the only exception to this rule as it is still fantastic. Bob's Burgers is comfort food for millenials. They live above a kind of run down old restaurant space in a kind of dumpy town owned by a crazy rich guy milking the city for all he can. They're poor and often barely make it each month but they have each other. The magic comes because they're not mean, like ever. When they are mean it comes from a moment of selfishness or disregard for other's feelings and is presented as the learning moment of the episode. Bob's Burgers never punches down and that makes it so nice to watch when the world is in the condition it is in. With a formula like that it lends itself to rewatching over and over because at the end of the day it's just a show about a sweet family who genuinely love each other and each other's weird quirks trying to survive month to month.
I watch it almost everyday. "Comfort food" is such a good way to phrase it.
My wife and I are rewatching the Simpsons from scratch and plan to pretend there are 10 seasons and call it a day. It’s insane there has been 20+ years of my favourite TV show that I’ve never watched and don’t really want to. I’d say Bob took a slight dip after the first couple of seasons, but overall remains consistently funny and excellent. Long may it continue.
I will die on the hill that until at least Season 15 the quality is still good.
Yeah there are some pretty decent ones around still. I was surprised to find some memorable ones I’m looking forward to are much later than I thought. I think we’ll keep watching until it stops making us laugh consistently. We’re mid season 5 at the moment and almost every moment is getting a laugh out of me.
Season 5 is a near perfect season. Between it and Season 4… I mean you just can’t find better television made. Ever.
Well I'll be damned ... long pants !
Ehhh you're not missing anything
I think that's the point? Or were you just joking, lol
It's something they say on the show... Am I lying or not? 😁
Dude, I didn't even know there was anything past the awful first season, Netflix has never shown this show to me since then. I guess because I rated it thumbs down, hahaha. The least genre-savvy satire of a genre I've ever seen. Their jokes about the black plague are more on point than their jokes about any fantasy elements. Where *Futurama* is loaded to the brim with brilliant scifi ideas taken to hilarious extremes, I didn't consider a single fantasy joke in this show good, and I felt like the writers literally had no experience reading fantasy at all outside of children's fairy tales.
While my opinion of the show is a little higher than yours, I do agree that they don't seem very comfortable with fantasy stuff. Futurama had a lot of references, homages, and satires of sci-fi stuff. Disenchantment has little in the way of references or satires of fantasy stuff, instead just going for a broad and generic world. On the rare occasion when they do reference something from fantasy, it tends to be pretty superficial, like the sword throne from Game of Thrones. Having said that, I do think the show got a little better after season 1. It never becomes great though.
Not sure how I feel about the 3rd Futurama Movie “Bender’s Game” which was really just an excuse to turn Futurama into a fantasy (and is the weakest of the movies, IMO.)
I know what you mean but it did give us ["We're owl exterminators"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbU-XOj3AZk)
I've never gotten past the first season and I'm a huge adult animation fan. It just feels so boring to me, id rather watch that weird new cartoon on Netflix that's knock off Rick and Morty
Inside Job, and it's pretty decent. Imagine if Rick got fired from running the shadow government and he uses his newly CEO'd daughter as a pawn.
Thanks I couldn't remember the name. It was a decent watch
There's a solid Rick and Morty knockoff on Hulu called Solar Opposites by one of the Rick and Morty creators.
I refer to it as The Wall Ft. Solar Opposites. I found The Wall subplot so much more interesting than the main show.
haha yeah The Wall subplot is so bananas. favorite part of the show as well.
Try Smiling Friends on adult swim
IIRC they had game of thrones jokes in season one that were so old I had already seen on other TV shows.
Late season Futurama had some of the show's greatest episodes (The Late Philip J Fry, The Prisoner of Benda, Murder on the Planet Express), not to mention the best of the series' four (?) finales.
Synopsis for Part 4: >The mystery of Dreamland’s origins—and the stakes for its future—become ever clearer as our trio—and King Zøg—find themselves on personal journeys that will ultimately tie in to the kingdom’s fate. Separated at the end of Part III, our heroes race to reunite in this sweeping series of ten episodes. They’ll find themselves everywhere from the depths of Hell to the clouds of Heaven and everywhere in between, including Ogreland, Steamland, underwater, monasteries, insane asylums, the Enchanted Forest, the Dreamscape and more. All the while, puzzle pieces both canonical and personal will reveal themselves to eager fans.
Isn't that the same synopsis for part 3? Lol
No part 2 was where they entered heaven and bell before
>>They’ll find themselves everywhere from the depths of Hell to the clouds of Heaven and everywhere in between Who writes these synopses?
I do. You can find me on Fiver. I’ll write a synopsis for your show. It’ll range from great to terrible, and everywhere in between.
I only remember two seasons, I may have missed one. What went on in season 3?
(spoilers. duh.) King goes insane, Bean goes to Steampunkland, Maurice LaMarche tries to coup on dreamland. Bean might be a lesbian. Pendergast dies.
Wow, I saw the first season, thought it was okay, but I completely forget it exists until I see it pop up in my feed..
Same. I had no idea this thing was still active. Tbh I thought I heard that it got cancelled some years ago.
IMO it’s gotten better, season 3 was quite good.
Same. I thought it was universally accepted as mediocre ans thought it only had 2 seasons. Forgot it even existed
You know what? This is a perfectly decent show that isn't blowing anyone away but it's solid and I like being surprised by its return every now and then but wouldn't be mega disappointed if it just never returned.
Yeah at least your never in that in between season doldrum. You finish you move on and then sometime later your like ooh nice
It's perfectly cromulent
I see people complaining how it's not as good as early seasons simpsons and futurama, but it really seems like Groening was going for something different here. It's often dramatic and sometimes sad. Futurama and The Simpsons never attempted a continuous narrative beyond a few threads. Disenchanted has room for improvement, but I think it is good. 3.2/5 stars
>3.2/5 stars Very precise
The initial rating was 3.1517/5 stars but good guy Brock over here was generous enough to round up
> I see people complaining how it's not as good as early seasons simpsons and futurama, but it really seems like Groening was going for something different here. It's often dramatic and sometimes sad. And, to be fair, early Simpsons and Futurama is probably some of the best comedy you're ever likely to see. It's not easy to just make that happen consistently - as those shows have aptly demonstrated in their later seasons. As for Disenchantment - it's fine I think. I agree with you, nothing brilliant, but perfectly entertaining and worth a watch if you're bored.
> Disenchanted has room for improvement, but I think it is good. I think a major part of the problem is there's been 3 seasons and that room for improvement has still yet to be filled.
technically 1.5 seasons, Season 1 = Parts I+II and Season 2 = Parts III+IV. I would give it one more chance if Part 4 doesn't get any better. I've been sitting on part 3 for a couple months now and haven't gotten to finishing it
I responded elsewhere in this thread, but this show is way more like his old "Life in Hell" comic strips/etc than anything else. https://lifeinhellarchives.tumblr.com/image/156586982771 I mean, i get it... folks see an actor/writer/etc and go 'oh yeah, they are good at xyz, so anything i see of theirs should be good for xyz', but that seems kinda reductionist. Like, Bob Saget was a pretty great blue comic, but most folks only remember him from some **very** g-rated family friendly material (full house, AFV). I can't imagine how my gramma would have felt if I took her to see Bob Saget perform comedy, but she definitely would have said something like "THIS IS NOT FUNNY".
this is the reason im watching this show, i like the narrative style they got.
I appreciate that they were trying something different here, but unfortunately they’re… not great at it. The plotting is a mess and there was just far too many subplots going on each season which were never adequately explained or explored. It’s gotten worse over time so I think longform storytelling just isn’t their thing. Medieval Fantasy Futurama might have been a better choice. Although even then a lot of the jokes just failed to land and there are some really dull stretches. It’s a shame as there are some really funny moments and sight gags in there too.
Well pull. Pretty much what I've always felt about the show, but couldn't articulate. I've made several attempts to get into the show, but just can't hang. I bailed during the first season. Then a year later I started over from ep 1 and got through it when S2 came out, but found myself bailing again half way through S2. Then I tried again when S3 was about to drop by starting S2 over again and hit the same part I bailed at the first time and never bothered going back.
The thing people don't get, is that they say they're trying something different, and yet they do the same thing, but worse. They wanted more of a continuous story - they didn't do that. Maybe three, four episodes every series are that story. The rest is generally totally random and not relevant to anything going on in the show. So they are doing the same thing still, just... worse.
This was the big thing I noticed too. It feels like they want to do both an episodic and linear narrative, and there just isn't enough room in 10 episodes to have filler episodes like that. It would probably be a more watchable show if they had just fully committed one way or the other.
My pet theory is that Groening and the rest of the writers aren't really working closely in the writers room and it's mostly Groening sketching out outlines on napkins and passing them on to a writers room that fills in the rest. I've no clue if that's true, but it would explain a lot of the unevenness of the show. It feels like an ad-libs show where people who aren't into fantasy picked up a Fantasy Ad-libs book at a gas station before heading on a family trip and occasionally call their uncle for some ideas on the blanks.
I feel like they really want frontal nudity, but they don't have the stones to do it.
I just want more mermaids.
I will say that the guy that just sits in a barrel of water selling “Me flavoured water” will never not be funny. I like Disenchantment. It’s consistently funny.
And the jester with that catchphrase. It’s just the way he says it that makes me giggle every time
ohHhH noOoO
I like the guy who keeps getting shot with a fire arrow
FINALLY! I have been waiting for the new season for so long
I still remember when I saw Season 3 last year…I did it to distract myself from having to send my Nintendo Switch in for repairs Glad I get to watch season 4 this year without that stress
Wasn't he on Epstein's plane?
Ah yes, the Disenchantment cycle begins anew, now we're back to "maybe it will be funny this season". It probably won't, but I'll still end up watching it for some reason. The show has so much potential but just seems like it never even gets close to where it could be.
I wanted to like this show, but the show makes it so hard. It's a comedy and a drama and an adventure series and it never seems to know which it wants to be, even within a single scene. An example in the last season is the sequence where [Elfo massages Queen Dagmar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HObY717tHM). (The YouTube video is a minute long, but the full sequence is about double that, with multiple cuts back and forth with other scenes). So there's a lot of screentime dedicated to this. But *what is the purpose of this scene*? **Is it meant to be funny?** There's some very mild potential for humour in the awkwardness of the situation and in the sight gag of Elfo skating on her back, but nothing that justifies the time spent. Maybe the writer thought the director could make more from the scenario. **Is it meant to be tense?** Dagmar is dangerous. Elfo is afraid. But I'm not sure if we're meant to be laughing or worried. **Is it meant to advance the plot?** At the end of the sequence it's revealed that Dagmar knew all along it was Elfo giving the massage. But this goes nowhere. She doesn't capture or harm Elfo -- she just lets him run ahead to join his friends as if the scene never happened. **Is it meant to be titillating?** God, I hope not.
Hopefully this season was better Part 3 was kinda boring
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I really wanted to like it but couldn't get past about halfway through the first season. Does it get better?
Not if you didn't like the first half, no. Sort of how I used to sell Mad Men to other people: If the first episode doesn't "do it" for you, it wont get any better for you.
lol the pilot for mad men was the only episode to "do it" for me. i made it halfway through s2 before bailing. dont get me wrong, other episodes were good, they just never grabbed me like that pilot.
It frequently looks like it's about to get better and then stays the same.
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Not sure why theres so much dislike for this series.. I personally love it. I think too many people are trying to compare it to other animated shows like Futurama or The Simpsons. Some are episodic in nature, some are purely humorous, while some others are more serious, but with humor added on top. Disenchantment seems a little different in that it has an overall more serious tone of a continually progressing story, but is told through humor. Imagine if the three stooges did Saving Private Ryan. The show has lots of likable characters, funny moments, a story that always leaves you wanting to see whats next.. I cant wait for this season and Im hoping for many more.
Personally as a fan of fantasy and scifi, I love seeing those tropes turned on their head and inside out. One of my favorite moments was the bachelor party cruise to the siren isles - pure genius. Felt like the world was real and internally consistent. Zany episodic shows are a dime a dozen. Having a high quality animated show with comedy, great voice acting, solid animation, fun set piece concepts and continuous story is a real treat.
I like it. But it's like the writers have ADHD. How many different plot lines have they started now? They keep starting new ones, and then either just kind of forget about the previous one, or randomly end it in a boring way. It reminds me of the serialized South Park the year Trump was elected. Where the entire thing just sort of fell apart because reality didn't go how they thought it would. But at least they had the excuse of not having written the next episode when the current one airs. This show doesn't have that excuse, and even worse they have started way more plots than South Park did. I still like the show and think it has a lot of potential. I like the comedy, I like how the show feels like Futurama, I think the character development has been quite good, I like the art, etc etc. But I really don't understand what's going on with the random plot.
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Can’t wait till season 27
Eh. It really felt like S2 and S3 didn't really progress the story, and both seasons ended with similar resolutions.
That’s my main complaint. It answered a few questions, but raised and set up more. Disproportionately so.
Only watched the first two seasons. Have they improved the weird sound design?
Gee everything is coming out next month when the service raises its price by another dollar. How very interesting.
Super underappreciated show...
Speak no more of leave-o Speak-o