Red vs. Blue Never Looked Better

Red vs. Blue is unique in its own way, mostly because it, arguably, started the whole Machinima progress. When it had first come out in 2003, NOBODY had ever used the strategy that Rooster Teeth did. They recorded voices of the staff, but synced the voices with the actions filmed in the popular Xbox series "Halo". The first episode currently has 3-and-a-half million views. It was just a bunch of guys fucking around, but those guys then fucked around for seven more seasons, creating an award-winning hit series that garnered attention from critics around the globe.

I like Red vs. Blue because the animation is clean and the humor is inventive. The characterization is also really good, and as the plotlines progress, Red vs. Blue can be pretty addicting.

Quite honestly, the series to me took sweet time to finally hook me. The first season, although funny, I didn't think it was up to standards. The second season improved over the criticism it more than likely got.

I talked about Red vs Blue to Jamie one day, and he told me that it was one of the greatest and most inventive things he'd come across. Nick objected, saying that, although the idea was really good, and the humor was alright, he thought the characters were way too alike. After mulling over this, it appears that the 1st season kinda did suffer this problem.

Some images from Season 5 and Revelation

I was kind of counting on my crew at TF141 Media to help me out. Sometime in 2005, Nick McCarthy and Jamie Smith came back, and our conversation led to asking if Red vs Blue would get better. They told me that the improvement was miraculous, it was a lot more addicting and fun.

Sure enough, they were right. Think Spartan teenagers who just throw insults while doing nothing but shoot at the air and yank flags for no reason. In the middle of fucking nowhere.

We finished the Blood Gulch Chronicles, and, sure enough, the series would continue.When I heard that Season Six would not be set in that small little map anymore, some lunch notes popped up whilst searching for Halo 3 maps, with state-of-the-art rushed handwriting and half-assed paper. But, hey, lunch breaks are pretty quick. And it was at a Subway.

Lunch notes with Emile Christ, Derek Carter, Alice Thompson, and Pierce Sanders

And the joys of writing with Gregg

We figured out it was in Valhalla, the two Red and Blue bases. We honestly would of picked Sandtrap, but, hey, it's Rooster Teeth, right?


We learned that one of the dudes from Barenaked Ladies was Butch Flowers, one of the dudes from Blood Gulch, and that just proved the show's popularity was increasing rapidly. We had to rewrite the crazy ideas that Rooster Teeth had planned about 3-4 times just for something to actually make sense.

Darrin Garcia, both an avid fan and criticizer of the show, made a very good point: you have to stick to the formula, right? I kind of mulled over this, considering that moving from Blood Gulch was a bad idea.

But then I figured out Blood Gulch wasn't even fucking in Halo 3.

Then Darrin's idea seemed a bit cracked up to me.

If this Map Pack map was one of the original, I would of SO used this as the new Blood Gulch.

We had finally mustered up the courage (and dignity) to finally buy Halo 3, and we realized what a blast it could be. Alice and Sean wrote a far more detailed dialogue suggestion.

When Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles finally came out, we looked over the DVD. We thought that it looked rather impressive.

I'm not sure, but I think that Chris took a shot of this menu.

Red vs. Blue was two months late in the mail. It kind of sucked real balls, but in the end, we're glad we waited. We had to decrypt the entire god damn set, but going over the DVNR was a bitch.

You know, I'm really starting to wonder where my life's headed.

Which is ironic, I never really noticed RvB until the DVDs came out.

TF141Soldier's Kindle Stories: Swindle

I had the time to copy a Kindle 'Read First Chapter free', and I took it upon myself to write down a story that never made it on Amazon. One of my favorite books, Swindle.

Griffin is one of my favorite characters ever created, mostly because he doesn't tolerate a whole lot. He believes that adults have no right to do whatever they feel like. To them, they're getting the job done. However, to Griffin, it's just to fill their own selfish needs. He doesn't have a load of personality, but the character development that Korman adds into the story only adds to the depth and originality.

Ben is also an interesting character, mostly because he's made fun of in particular by the school bully, Darren, for his size, and although he's extremely loyal to Griffin, he never goes along with his plans and questions them quite a lot.

Griffin really is "The Man With The Plan". In the course of the three books, however, Griffin's plans will almost always get them in some sort of trouble, the third book almost causing Griffin to go to jail. Savannah's a strong female character, mostly because her love towards animals can really help out the team.

Logan Kellerman is my favorite character in the book, mostly because his acting skills and self-gloating can really make up for some of the greatest moments in the series, and also some of the most unique ever written in a book. Pitch is another great character, mostly because she can point out several flaws within most of Griffin's ever-present plans. Not to mention the fact that's she a great rock-climber, and rock climbing is one of my favorite pasttimes, besides writing in my blog and reading stuff on my Kindle. It's addicting, honestly.

Most of Korman's recent books I really haven't enjoyed. "On The Run" was particularly bad, because I think that the six books had too much information and shortened it with bad details and average characterization. The pacing, though, was a little better, and the story was interesting in its own way.

One of the things I also enjoy about Korman's series is that you're supposed to feel sympathy for each of these characters. Ben has Narcolepsy, which can cause an extraordinary amount of brief sleepiness during the day, which can really endanger him during the plans. Griffin is framed in the third book (which is also the title of the book) for seemingly stealing the school's super bowl football. Not to mention the fact that they're the usual targets of Darren Vader and his pranks.

But then there's Korman's entries for the 39 Clues series, but that's a whole different story to be told later in a whole different century.

Transcript of Bill Wray and Scott Wills Chat

Participants:

Billwray
Alec (me)
razorvince21`
fallout36
LUMMOXMODS
Scottwills
renstimpyVEVO
orderofstupids1

After looking at Lyris-lite, I had the honor to be invited to a chat with Bill Wray and Scott Wills, who did some commentaries on the Season 5 Ren and Stimpy DVD. I copied down the entire transcript, and invited some friends.

We're really just talking about whatever we feel like, so don't expect a lot.

Bill Wray and Scott Wills were some of the original artists for the Spumco era, and some of the APC.

[Bill Wray's online]

Alec: Hey, Bill!
renstimpyVEVO: One of the original geniuses? Man, I'm glad you told me.
Billwray: It's nice to be here.
Alec: We're glad you're here. Scott online?
Billwray: He'll be here in a moment.

orderofstupids1: Well, what should we talk about?
Billwray: We'll do the same thing we did in the commentaries.
Alec: Talk about random shit that noR one cares about?
Billwray: Exactly!
razorvince21: Well, he's got a sense of humor.

[Scott Wills online]

Scottwills: I didn't miss much did I?
LUMMOXMODS: thankfully, no. You're just in time.
Alec: We were just about to talk.
Billwray: Welcome, fellow artist.

Alec: Alright, what kind of Spumco episodes did you guys have the luxury of writing?
Billwray: Well, we did have a part in Stimpy's Fan Club. Me and Elinor Blake were kind of excited to write it. Peter Avanzino and John K (of course) helped out with the story and colors. I had actually wanted this to be the greatest Ren and
Stimpy episode ever produced.
fallout36: Better than Stimpys Invention?! And Space Madness?
Billwray: I wanted it to, but nobody else seemed as excited. So I kind of gave up.

Scottwills: I took some pleasure in helping with Stimpy's Cartoon Show.
Alec: Which was a Games ep, right?
Scottwills: Yeah, I hated the fact that it was so late. I didn't write it though.
razorvince21: What did you write?
Scottwills: I'm not sure, possibly Ren's Brain.

Either I got the idea of talking with them lying drunk in Texas or being annoyed by the Games cartoons. I'm kind of leaning towards the former camp.

Alec: Ren's Brain was an unfinished Spumco episode, I believe.
Scottwills: Yeah, it was the first time the whole team got a chance to write some gags.
Billwray: I'm not sure, but I think Bob Jacques drew most of the poses.
fallout36: yeah, the show really inspired a lot of cartoons.
renstimpyVEVO: What about Magical Golden Singing Cheeses?
Alec: Yeah, it explains it in the commentary.
renstimpyVEVO: Oh, I don't have the season three DVD.

Probably the highlight of the commentaries on this set were them talking about the same thing. I hated the commentaries.

Alec: I think Ren's Brain would of have extra credits, which Space Madness did several years ago, right?
Scottwills: Yep. Only thing is, we didn't decide to add them.
fallout36: Hey, did that use a digital ink-and-paint system?
Alec: I think you would of known, Stimpy's nose being completly light blue would of been an example.
Alec: Or.... say.... Bill, you were an artist. Help me out.
Billwray: Ren's eyes would of been light pink instead of straight purple, I think.
fallout36: The APC used that.
Scottwills: The outlines around Ren would of been light brown.
LUMMOXMODS: Space Madness started out as a little paper, right?
Billwray: John told me writing Space Madness was a pain.

Alec: Pain? Look at what Stimpy's Invention!
Scottwills: Frankly, I never had a big Ren and Stimpy job until 1992.
Billwray: I have some old papers on the desk next to me.
fallout36: About some R&S?
Billwray: Yep.

LUMMOXMODS: Any opinions on the DVDs?
orderofstupids1: Will there ever be a true unuct Ren and Stimpy set?
razorvince21: Ren and Stimpy APC.
orderofstupids1: Of the real series?
Billwray: Well, the Timelife had an uncut episode that wasn't on the 'Seasons One and Two' DVD.
Alec: I can supply the uncut version of Son of Stimpy, for those who want it.

I think these set a world record for "fastest item to get off the market". It got taken off the shelves in less than a month.

razorvince21: YOU DO?
fallout36: That's great!
Scottwills: How did you get the uncut footage?
Alec: There was an MTV2 air on June 2 that I recorded, and sure enough it had that heartwarming 17 second scene.

LUMMOXMODS: Uh, Bill, about the Timelife set?
Billwray: Yeah?
renstimpyVEVO: Where can we find it for a decent price? It's nowhere on the market.
Alec: I can probably root it out from my pile of DVDs and VHS tapes, and some people at TF141 Media have it.
Alec: I'll put it on Amazon when I can.

Scottwills: Eh, I wouldn't hold my breath.
renstimpyVEVO: There isn't a Region 2 version of it, is there?
Billwray: Even if there was, I wouldn't recommend.
Alec: You'd have to deal with the whole NTSC-to-PAL.
fallout36: Not to mention extra shipping.
LUMMOXMODS: What about Ebay?
Alec: I don't know. I'm sure Lyris has a copy.

razorvince21: We're only asking because that would A. Complete my Ren and Stimpy collection.
razorvince21: And B. It's not on the market, so that would be worth it.
Alec: The Timelife set also fixes a lot of DVNR problems...
Billwray: But episodes like Stimpy's Fan Club and Son of Stimpy are missing.
razorvince21: More than that, I'm sure.
renstimpyVEVO: Well, I'll still buy it, mostly because I've already got most of Season 1 /2 on iTunes.
Scottwills: The extras are also bullshit. All you get is a bunch of sing-alongs.
Billwray: I mean, if you have it on iTunes, there's no arguing against that, but the Timelife really isn't worth it anymore.

I really recommend watching this on Netflix or buying it on iTunes. You'd only pay half the price on the latter for an actual DVD.

fallout36: Hey, does anybody have a favorite R&S episode? If so, name it.

Alec: Either Son of Stimpy or Stimpy's Invention.
fallout36: My money's on Ren Seeks Help.
Billwray: Pass.
Scottwills: Pass.
razorvince21: Altruists.
renstimpyVEVO: Stimpy's Fan Club. It may be long for what's it's worth, but it's still good.
LUMMOXMODS: Space Madness.

Alec: Anybody still up for the Timelife?
renstimpyVEVO: Yep.
razorvince21: Of course.
fallout36: Depends on how much it costs. If it's cheap, I'll take it.
Scottwills: I already own a copy, currently in the city dumpster.
Alec: Ha!

Alec: Well, I can supply a home-made DVD case containing the rest of the episodes, along with the UNCUT Son of Stimpy and Big Baby Scam.
razorvince21: Where's my wallet?
Billwray: Is Man's Best Friend still on there?
Alec: Uncut and untamed. I also think that Big Baby Scam's uncut from what I downloaded.
fallout36: How much?
Alec: I'm estimating about $16.99 for this set, lowering the price because of the cuts and lack of extras.
renstimpyVEVO: That's a steal? When should I check Amazon?
Billwray: Are there any extras?
Alec: I expect it to sell some copies on Amazon by tommorow.
Alec: Sorry, Bill. All I got was a gallery of storyboards and old pencilings.
Scottwills: I still don't regret throwing it away.

LUMMOXMODS: While you were talking, I found this.
LUMMOXMODS: http://www.bfast.net/ren-stimpy-collect34/
Billwray: What is it?
LUMMOXMODS: It says that it includes every single uncut episode. Is it worth what it says?
Scottwills: It's fake. You can tell by the packaging and cover.
Alec: It's more than likely bootleg.
fallout36: I think I saw something similar.
Alec: Yeah, I don't recommend Bfast.
renstimpyVEVO: I've been there. It's all bootleg, completly member-owned.
razorvince21: It does have a weird selection.

Billwray: I wonder if Bob Jacques remembers working on Stimpy's Invention?
Alec: Probably. That was a groundbreaking episode.
fallout36: Really, I hated Games watching the Spike TV re-run.
fallout36: And I hate Spike TV. They're all commercials.
Scottwills: Not to mention DVNR.
renstimpyVEVO: I dunno. Spike TV's really gone down the drain.
Billwray: So has MTV.
Alec: The only channels I ever watch? VH1 Classic and TNT.
renstimpyVEVO: Being in the UK, I watch VH1 UK and Nicktoons UK.
Scottwills: How come Nicktoons? Nothing's ever good on there, MAYBE spongebob.
razorvince21: I think Ren and Stimpy plays more often in Nicktoons UK.
LUMMOXMODS: I hate every channel. I only like watching Netflix.

Billwray: Being the person that I am, I watch any channel that'll have good movies on, like FX or VH1, but I'll sometimes tune into Nicktoons, considering that I worked for them once.

Alec: Well, I gotta go. See ya later.

I logged off after that, either out of boredom or the fact that I hated talking at 3:00 in the morning. With only a bottle of beer.

In a fucking hotel.

I wonder if John K had the same experience talking with Lyris.

This so-called "re-run" really sucked. Big time. Don't watch it.

'Not Afraid' Bitch Fight on Youtube

Probably the most interesting thing that ever happened on a VEVO channel so far, Eminem's Not Afraid turns one simple comment into a reply, then another comment, then another comment, then swiftly into an entire bitch fit. And, frankly, me and a couple friends were trying to stop it. With numerous failed attempts and weak responses.

I'm not sure, but zoom in to find out who started it.

It started at about around 8:00-ish yesterday, the 27th. Frankly, I unintentionally started it, by saying something positive about the song, and how bullied kids could compare it to real life. This is his response:

"you don't have to like beiber but he has confidence unlike eminem so he was asked to be at the superbowl,.

eminem has no talent and no ability and no confidence (he suffers from panic attacks) and eminen is SO OLD and he goes against everything he superbowl represents"

Followed by the next:

"It teaches children to run away from home, and go with some crack dealer like Eminem to buy some crack so he can molest and rape the children himself. Only niggers and jewish people suck his dick, because they're niggers and jews."


Well, with the hundreds of people online, I was viciously offended. I think that black people, despite having just a different skin color, are equal to us, are just as great, if not better. (Martin Luther King, remember?) So, I responded to that, along with a grand total of three other people, who I had never met.


After that, a good eleven more comments were just a bitch fight between a good amount of people online, but here's the highlights:


gonzogaind 
The096757 

They were the particular leaders against the revolt, saying things that you'd never hear anybody else say, only on the internet. It made me cringe, and I don't get startled by language. Rarely do I.

And I know, because I've watched Pulp Fiction AND Goodfellas.

This went on for a good half hour or so before finally stopping. I really didn't want to get involved, but the comments were so painstakingly stupid, hurtful, and I had never had an experience like that before on Youtube, so (regretfully) I stayed until it ended at around 9:20.

After that experience, I'm probably never going to go on a VEVO page in my life.

I wonder if anybody knows a way to ban members from Youtube because of spamming or comments like that. That would take off a good 1% or 2% of Youtube users. Maybe more.

Does anybody know a really good painkiller brand? I could use one now.

Blu-Ray DVD Player vs. LaserDisc DVD Player

Yahama CDV-1000 LaserDisc Player
Designers: Sony
Publishers: Sony
List Price: $129.99 [Buy at Ebay]


Sony BDP-S57 3D Blu-Ray Player
Designers: Sony
Publishers: Sony
List Price: $154.99 Revised [Buy at Amazon]

Kinda looks like a combination between a DVD player and a microwave

A loooooooooooooooooong time ago, in another galaxy in another couple thousand universes away, I had a VCR player. It was okay, and I thought it was the coolest damned thing to ever come up, the VHS tapes. In fact, my mom used to comment "Hey! It's like watching a movie at home!", which, obviously, was before we had Netflix and regular DVD players today.

So, sometime in the 90's, when I was kind of past my college years, something was slapped beside the Christmas tree in rather average wrapping. A Laserdisc Player, with about fifteen Laserdisc disks. And I thought this was the next big thing. It could hold movies on a single dual-sided disc, and they were recordable, so I could just take something off my television and send it to my friend's house.

So then came the regular DVD player, but I was kind of "eh" to said player. However, several years after the Laserdisc came the Blu-Ray. I first saw it hands-on when I was online on my Playstation 3, and my friend suggested "let's watch a movie." He brought over some movie that slipped past my memory now, and I was literally blown away.

So, here at the small TF141 Media studio I work at here (more on that in later posts), the Blu-Ray was slapped on my desk, bought with my own money.

Since these were made by the same people, you might be wondering, since Laserdiscs are still around, which one's better? The Laserdisc or the Blu-Ray? Well, here's my straight-forward opinion.

DVD BURNING

WINNER: LaserDisc

Let's be honest: Laserdisc is what started the trend of Compact Disks and DVDs. For starters, the visuals that transform from the computer unto your disc are amazing. When it comes to making a good-looking picture, nobody does it better than this here disc.

You also have the choice to switch between the UK anamorphic PAL, which gives you a longer running time, but the audio is kind of drowned out. Not to mention that you'd have to suffer the whole NTSC-to-PAL transfer. Granted, most Sony Discs nowadays can beat the LaserDisc length space. Not to mention the fact that the resolution for a regular NTSC disc is 425 TVL, and the PAL is 440 TVL.

The problem is, compared to blank BD-R discs, you'd need a BD-R writer, which will give you quite a bit of advantages over the usual VHS tape or Memorax compact disk. Unless you want to spend the money on a good BD-R writer, I'd rather suggest the far more superior Laserdisc burning thing.

Well, despite the whole Laser rot thing, but that's a whole different story.

Many thanks to Lyris, a moderator of the Loyal Order of Stupids, for this example!

The remastering on the LaserDisc is a resounding success, all kinds of Digital Voice Noise Reduction is fixed
and the audio sounds far more superb.

Do note, though, that if there's harm done to a Laserdisc, such as a scratch, fingerprint, or dirt, the picture will be drastically damaged at times (you'd be lucky to get away unless you fix it), so play with care.

And does anybody have a Laserdisc version of 'Apollo 13'? I ask because this is a very blurred disc, filled with comb filtering, I believe.


VIDEO

WINNER: Tie

For starters, the Laserdisc is able to fix a common DVD problem called 'Electronically Speeding Up' the DVD. It's really common in television episodes and TV Show season DVDs. These are easy to spot, the fields have been shown to jump, disturbed with vibrancy. The Laserdisc, if you know the correct options, is able to fix any kinds of DVNR or problems with electronically sped up movies / television episodes.

The Blu-Ray, however, with the motion and animation, tends to be the victor, mostly because the Laserdisc can be subject to fade freezes, and pictures can be known to distort. Animation on some pictures for the Laserdisc can be applied by accident. Blu-Ray masters said problem. Note that, if you record using a Laserdisc, be sure to switch the master to a different one should there be DVNR, or if the movie is electronically sped up. (I can send a free disc example, provided there's no legal violations)

AUDIO

WINNER: Blu-Ray

Blu-Ray's stereo soundtrack is superb. The Laserdisc version tends to be a lot more muffled, suffering from standard transferring from your PC-to-NTSC. The Blu-Ray's DVD can freely be supplied on its own disc with a 1080i HD viewing option, the audio remastering is excellent.

At times, I swear I could of heard something like a cassette tape while I was playing the Laserdisc. Does anybody know the reason to this?

PRICING

WINNER: Blu-Ray

Let's be honest: the Blu-Ray discs are great, and at the price some people offer nowadays, it seems pretty fair. The Blu-Ray revising is amazing, with very little DVNR popping up. It's a clean protection master, and the operating on the Blu-Ray disks are far and beyond better than VHS tapes and regular DVDs.

Laserdiscs are quite expensive, still today, and, granted, both are flawed in their own ways. The Laserdisc, however, can have some real problems.

THE VERDICT

BLU-RAY

Well, after several papers thrown about, many, many disk comparisons, and having to discuss the whole NTSC-to-PAL and PAL-to-NTSC problems (OVER AND MOTHERFUCKING OVER AGAIN), I've decided that the Blu-Ray is far superior.

Hey, Gregg, do you remember working with these differently?

I'm not sure, I think that Nick had supplied me with these examples. Whoever did, cheers to you!

I think I met those guys in high school.

I don't know, but I think I haven't mentioned SECAM quality on the Laserdisc.

Ah fuck.

Review: The Ren and Stimpy Show, Pt. 1 (Seasons One, Two, and APC)

NOTE: The first paragraph is taken from Homecinema's Michael Mackenzie's review of 'The Best of Ren and Stimpy', the rest are my words, completly.

The creator of Ren & Stimpy is one John Kricfalusi (popularly known as John K), a Canadian animator who became incredibly fed up with the stagnant state of the animation industry, which in the 1950s had been taken over by bureaucrats and sitcom writers. Ren & Stimpy was designed from the outset as a show that would break all the taboos that had been enforced on the industry. John K's goal was simple: to make cartoons funny again. Rather than writing scripts, he returned to the technique used on almost all animation until the 1960s (and still used by Pixar, Spumco and some Cartoon Network shows today): developing the stories on storyboards, eliminating the scriptwriting process altogether. This was radical at the time, as such a practice had not been used for nearly 30 years (studio executives, according to those in the know, can't understand storyboards and don't like the amount of freedom it gives the cartoonists). It is this, more than anything, that gives Ren & Stimpy its sheer energy and fusion, and is the reason why almost all scripted animation is lifeless and sterile, with little or no cohesion between the writing, artwork and voice acting.

To be honest, I think that The Ren and Stimpy Show, for the first third of its run, was the greatest cartoon show ever produced on television.


Here's a little history, besides what you read: John Kricfalusi had drawn a psychotic chihuahua based off a postcard that contained a chihuahua in a sweater, and Stimpy was based off Bob Clampett and Tex Avery cats, with round, interest-piquing bulbous noses. So, John Kricfalusi gathered up a few friends and founded Spümcø in 1988.

The Ren and Stimpy Show had certainly smashed through all kinds of boundaries that cartoons back then (and most nowadays!). Without them, cartoons like the torpid 'Doug' and the always uneven and stupidly designed 'Barney The Dinosaur'. Without the insane chihuahua and the mentally challenged manx cat, animation would be at a stand-still. The drawings and expressions were all the more untamed, shot on film and animated like none other.

It was basically a message to all animation studios back then, basically saying 'Hey! Crawl out from under your rock already!' and showing them what they were missing. The incredible, sheer, painstakingly schizophrenic nature and energy of the show had, and yet, the true nature of the show had never been realized until Nickelodeon bought it. Channels like VH1 Classic, TNN, all kinds of channels, had turned it down.

Unaired Spumco episode

 But, honestly, The Ren and Stimpy Show, despite all of the university students and younger audiences singing its praises, Spumco's time with Ren and Stimpy was rather short-lived. Nickelodeon decided for them to finally turn off the lights in September 25th of 1992. The Ren and Stimpy Show then slowly made its way to the electric chair. The Games Animation run -- Nicktoon's then-original name -- was taken over by Bob Camp, but some Spumco employees (in particular artists Bill Wray and Scott Wills, John K announces) decided to stay true to the mediocrity the show became: a torpid, tedious, uninteresting excuse for a cartoon was what Ren and Stimpy became, and what the critics said before, their opinions were more or less worse. Finally, Ren and Stimpy pulled the trigger in 1995.

Eventually, Ren and Stimpy was revived in 2002 - 2003 by The National Network (now Spike TV) in a series of episodes entitled 'Adult Party Cartoon'. My review of said season should come up (an episode's image up above!)

SEASON 1 REVIEW:

Writing: ****
Humor: *****
Production: ***
Replay: *****

Opinion: Highly Recommended

It all started in August of 1991. That was the true start of The Ren and Stimpy Show, the second of the three original Nicktoons.

The first season was, in its wholeness, experimental. However, these twelve episodes are very unique, staggeringly hiliarious, and wholesome because you get a different kind of story, gag, and (of course) drawing every single time.

Seeing as though that the initial season was shot on low-quality film, the visuals were not as top-notch as it would seem in the later episodes. The digital ink-and-paint mastering system was never introduced until the banned episode, 'Man's Best Friend', which you can consider part of the first season or the second season, since it was never aired. Your choice.

It's pretty hard to pick a favorite, but some of the particularly great classics include "Stimpy's Invention", an immoderately funny, screamingly psychotic episode based on Stimpy's attempts to make a clear invention to make Ren happy (which he does succeed) and Ren's hell going through it (including having to dance to the infamous 'Happy Happy Joy Joy'), 'Untamed World', where Ren and Stimpy are nature show hosts, featuring animals that are similar in features to the duo, and 'Space Madness', where Commander Hoek and Cadet Stimpy go crazy from boredom.

IMAGES FROM THE FIRST SEASON

Just to watch a few.

SEASON 2 (1992 - 1993)

Writing: *****
Humor: ****
Presentation: ****
Replay: ****1/2

The first season DID contain quite a few classics (that I'll watch over and over again, but, in my opinion, it was the second season where Spumco's run really improved.

Technically, it improved. The digital-ink-and-paint system was introduced in the following episodes: Son of Stimpy, Haunted House, Royal Canadian Yaksmen, Man's Best Friend, Out West, and Sven Hoek. (To name a few)

Storywise, it quite improved. Some of the highlights of the second season are 'Stimpy's Fan Club', a two-parter on Ren becoming president of answering Stimpy's recent swarm of letters (with a great psychotic scene), 'Sven Hoek', with features Ren's Swedish (and quite idiotic) cousin, Sven, coming for a visit, and who also instantly befriends Stimpy, 'Powdered Toastman', which features the insane (and controversial) adventures of Powdered Toastman, and 'Son of Stimpy', a heartwarming two-parter that stole fans: Stimpy farts, and thinks he has given birth.

However, it was the second season when Nickelodeon began to issue new censors. 'Son of Stimpy' is a particularly bad episode, because it contains a 20-second clip where Ren pushes Stimpy's christmas present towards a picture of Stimpy. (Image somewhere below) It's missing from the Spike TV 'Digitally Remastered Classics' run, the VHS tape, AND the 'Seasons One and Two' run. (However, it aired in Nicktoons UK and Nicktoons US' re-run of The Ren and Stimpy Show) It appears that John K had issued censors on The 'First and Second Seasons' set, in particular 'Ren's Toothache' and 'Haunted House', both of which contain censors that last up to longer than 2-3 minutes.

Nonetheless, I think The Ren and Stimpy Show's second season is a crowning achievement in animation.

Son of Stimpy cut moment

REN AND STIMPY: THE APC (ADULT PARTY CARTOON OR SEASON 6) - (2002 - 2003)

Writing: ***
Production: *****
Humor: ***1/2
Replay: ***1/2

Advice: Recommended

Ever since Spumco left The Ren and Stimpy Show, and it continued on for three more bland, monotonous seasons until finally pulling the plug. Since then, I've been wondering, when will the REAL Ren and Stimpy return?

Well, Ren and Stimpy: The Adult Party Cartoon (arguably, for me, I think it's the sixth season), is both a near-perfect blend of humor and adult themes, and a disaster.

There are currently six episodes available for either download on iTunes or Amazon, or you can probably buy them on DVD or watch them on instant streaming for Netflix. Anyhow, out of the three episodes that aired on television, only one really struck me as 'great': and that was 'Ren Seeks Help'. It stuck to the original schizophrenic formula of the old show, but blended it in to make Ren even more a sociopath, and you will never look at the old Ren and Stimpy era with any real blessed innocence.

The other two for me were a real bust. 'Onward and Upward' was absolutely terrible, a complete gross-out episode. If you've puked your guts out, you're not even close to being ready to what this episode has in store for you. Firedogs 2, an oblivious sequel to the 1991 Firedogs (I certainly wouldn't of chose it to have a sequel, but, hey! When in Rome!), and the best thing I say about it was featuring legendary animator Ralph Bakshi as the fire chief.

The last three episodes, though, are much more better in terms of pacing, scriptwriting, AND humor. Out of the six, 'Altruists' is, far and away, in my opinion, the second greatest Ren and Stimpy episode ever produced
for a DVD. (The three episodes I'm going to list never aired.) The first being Stimpy's Invention. It has so many gags-a-minute, it handles the long length well (40 minutes), and has a great Three Stooges-inspired story.

'Stimpy's Pregnant' is still pretty good, but I'd say it's more like the 'in-the-middle' episode. For starters, it was supposed to be the pilot (image up above), but Bob Camp, using his all-powerful veto skills, denied it along with Nickelodeon. So, fifteen years later (it was that long since the start), Stimpy's Pregnant pops up on the 'Lost Episodes'. Really, I think that the voice acting was the best in this episode, but only in the power of the vocals. Really, I think that the line-reading was far more superb in 'Ren Seeks Help'.

Aaaand, 'Naked Beach Frenzy'. Honestly, watching this for the second time, this seems closer to a decent sex film than a Ren and Stimpy episode with cute naked girls. Granted, this is pretty generic, and kind of lame at a couple of points, but the entire 'Showers' sequence was brilliant, and I'd more than like say no to seeing cute girls. I just think that this episode pushed its TV-MA rating a little too far.

One of the things I hated about this was the choice of Eric Bauza as the role of Stimpy. Granted, it does take some time for him to reach his mark, but in the further episodes like 'Stimpy's Pregnant' and 'Altruists', he sounds like a really good Billy West impression, kind of like identical twins. John K makes Ren sound older,
but, then again, I'm glad Billy West isn't voicing Ren anymore! (Come on, laugh.)

Despite the praise I've given it, this is for hardcore fans only. Honestly, others just might be a little shocked for Ren and Stimpy to go R-rated like this (and further). And I haven't even mentioned the groundbreaking expressions and extraordinary coloring yet. Still, I do think that 'The Lost Episodes' is great.

Here's some images I shot:

From the particularly better episodes.

-Alec Martin, Signing Out