Once Upon a Time (complete)

[Sir Finkus]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

yeah, season 2 lacks the subtlety of

*Sportacus knocks an apple out of the tree*
*Stephanie catches the enormous apple, while sporting a smile so large it might be digitally enhanced*
*Stephanie takes a bite* MMMMMMMM *The power up noise sounds, while the smile seems even larger*

yep, the cheese of season 2 needs to be much more refined,
of course, there is Ziggy's excellent response to "sports candy is great" from the Laziest Town, and I quote:
"Yeah, it's better than lying on the ground with your tummy full of junk"

Sportacus: Mmm, I love sports candy, and it gives me lots of energy
Stephanie: Yeah, and it tastes so good too
Ziggy: I wish I could eat sports candy ALL the time
*all laugh*
Pixel: Did you know carrots contain a vitamin that helps you see better?
All: Wow!

etc...

Instead of showing how you can benifit from healthy behavior, the show seems to be telling how you can benifit. This particular episode didn't really show how you benifit from reading. The first half was just telling you that reading is good, and the second half was an almost completely unrelated story that doesn't at all show how reading is good for you.

[Tobias]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

true, but it wasn't as "distracting" as "reading/school is fun." It didn't take you out of the moment, it didn't compromise the energy. And whatsmore, your examples are still pretty much "in character" whereas some of the season 2 instances of preachiness i think are questionable in that respects.

Season 1 started the eps plot really quickly, whereas in the case of some of the season 2 eps, the plot doesnt even really start until the 10-15 minute mark, with all the time preceding being "the message" and that isn't as effective. Its the difference between taking your bitter medicine, then washing it down with something sweet afterwards, or mixing your meds with the sweet and maybe you wont taste the bitter at all.

[crosis52]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

yeah, season 2 lacks the subtlety of

*Sportacus knocks an apple out of the tree*
*Stephanie catches the enormous apple, while sporting a smile so large it might be digitally enhanced*
*Stephanie takes a bite* MMMMMMMM *The power up noise sounds, while the smile seems even larger*

yep, the cheese of season 2 needs to be much more refined,
of course, there is Ziggy's excellent response to "sports candy is great" from the Laziest Town, and I quote:
"Yeah, it's better than lying on the ground with your tummy full of junk"

[Tobias]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

Part of what made Lazytown appealing to me is that when they had a message (which wasn't always the case. What was the message of Secret Agent Zero?) it was secondary (if not tertiary) to being an entertaining show. Like, Dr. Rottenstein, the message was "fruits and veggies - good, junk food bad" but it never bogged down the ep, they never compromised the "energy" of the show. Whereas the recent trend is, lets front load the ep with moral junk thats not particularly engaging, then ramp up the fun and energy to make up for it in the second half.

And I thought Rockin Robbie was one of the best season 2 eps! It taught kids that rock and roll is pure and will never die \m/

[Sir Finkus]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

They should have sticked to the season 1 forumla: just show everyone having fun while doing healthy activities without resorting to cheesey "reading is cool" type segments. I think it worked a lot better, now the "message" seems forced.

Still, once this one got going, it was a good episode.

[crosis52]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

I think it's hard to get the message across on a tv show unless they're that direct. It's easy to demonstrate how great moving and eating sports candy are, but reading doesn't really require enough movement as opposed to the regular pace of LazyTown. If they just took out all of the preachy parts, it would end up like the LazyTown Snow Monster or Rockin' Robbie, i.e. not very educational, and not especially entertaining. All in all, if I had to choose between an episode being preachy or being mind-numbing, I'd go with preachy.

/rant
I just seem to be in a ranting mood today. :)

[ForGreatJustin]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

I think it was an awesome episode. So far I haven't really had a problem with messages, but when Pixel said reading is fun I did kinda cringe.

[Tobias]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

There was too much of an agenda in the first act for me, like with Energy Book, but thankfully it let up for the rest of the ep.

Yeah, I've noticed the season 2 episodes seem to be a lot more preachy.

Definitely
In addition to inferior songs (with some exceptions, given) season 2's mo has been: have the first half of the ep be really flat and hammer your message, then drop it after the song and go back to being the best show on tv. School Scam, Pixel TV, and this ep really show this most off the top of my head
The bit where Pixel says "Reading is cool" and allthe kids nodding in agreement and then Mayor Milford of all people chimes in "Yes it is" -- >_< gaah, what a horrible little segment.

Other than that (and the song, which if not for Stephanie in the princess/red riding hood outfits and the other kids, woulda been a total bust) the ep was one of the better eps in season 2. The animation was good -- if not a bit weird for some reason, but its a neat gimmick that didn't overstay its welcome. Julianna was more "comfortable" in this ep than in other season 2 eps....tho it really sounded like she phoned in the voice over for the animated segments =P

I was talking to cicley yesterday and saying that I'd like the show to end on a high note. If they had saved this ep for last (or intended at least,) I would not mind at all because all the characters more or less "did their part" in the show the last words in the ep (saving for "Bing Bang" and Robbie's epilogue) are Stephanie saying "and they all lived happily ever after."

[Sir Finkus]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

Yeah, I've noticed the season 2 episodes seem to be a lot more preachy.

[Ultra Magnus]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

This ep was alright, but it didn't exactly make my pants tingle.

There was too much of an agenda in the first act for me, like with Energy Book, but thankfully it let up for the rest of the ep.

It does present a LazyTown cartoon as a viable way to carry on the brand's TV presence when the series is done.
I probably wouldn't watch it, but it is viable.

And, of course, Aussie birds, thank you both for getting it to us.

[ooozmin]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

nice, time to dl and fap, I mean watch.

[Mr_Gazpacho]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

was Robbie speaking Icelandic or gibberish at the beginning? :)

He read the words backwards since he was holding the book upside down. :)
...
Yes, that makes lots of sense.

[crosis52]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

puedo comprender, lo siento si yo era grosero, eventualmente, "Lazy Rockets" sera aqui, y lo siento si es un problema con que estoy diciendo, mi espanol no es perfecto y nunca aprendo a usar tildes o accentos

[Mr_Gazpacho]

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

Lo mismo aquí en Suecia, pero no teneis que...
Screw it, what I'm saying is that it's getting tedious reading the same request made by the same person over and over. We know that you want to see the episode Lazy Rockets, (we all want to see that episode) but nagging will not get it uploaded any sooner. It'll be up sooner or later, just be patient. :)

Re: Once Upon a Time (complete)

crosis52
Sorry,pero es que soy de España,y aquí todavía no se han estrenado esos dos episodios y como a mi me encanta Lazy Town.