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Welp, guess I'm finally going to rant a bit about the current series!
I recently saw a bit of the NuPpG episode that was nominated for an Annie and in it, Blossom winds up in a rocket and flies to space, where she then sings a song that's referencing... something. It's been a couple of months and I honestly don't recall whether it was referencing David Bowie (most likely), The Beatles (this is ground control to Major Tom), or Shatner's Rocket Man. I don't recall it because it wasn't particularly memorable and the reference itself felt pretty shoehorned in – although, to be fair, I do not keep up with the new series and could not begin to tell you whether it a) felt like it rose organically from the story that was being told, or b) exemplified a key component of the series' style of comedy. (I mean... aside from its characteristic of not being terribly funny?) Perhaps the whole episode was paying homage to an album or music artist a la “Meet the Beat-Alls” and in only viewing the clip I missed the greater context of the episode, but based on what I have seen and know about the show, my deductive reasoning suggests otherwise.
It did remind me of this interview I once read with Lauren & Craig. One of the driving points behind the original PpG series' comedy was that any pop culture references had to be funny in and of itself – if the comedy depended on knowing what the moment was referencing, then the joke didn't work and would be scrapped. Comedy built solely on in-jokes is, well, not good comedy. The best outcome is the joke plays/gets a laugh, and those who are familiar with the reference (or who later become familiar with what the joke is referencing) are able to both laugh and appreciate it on another level.
I like that approach. I think it's the right approach when it comes to inserting pop culture references in a show/movie, and I think that's kind of what NuPpG is going for but... I don't feel they're coming from the angle that the original crew was coming from. But then again, maybe they're trying? Ugh. I don't know. Nothing in the show feels very organic at all. Every part of this show just feels like someone trying to shove a square peg into a round hole, or like that Simpsons clip where Homer is trying to build a BBQ pit. I can't pinpoint a strong, singular vision, be it visual or storywise – and that's despite having some strong talent working on the show (well... at least on the art side).
Maybe the challenge for the scene in question was that it wasn't intended to be comedic at all. In it, Blossom has flown into space, which is beautiful and incredible, but she's also isolated from her sisters and experiencing some complicated emotions because on Earth, they literally ostracize her and now, while space is beautiful and everything she had hoped for, she also has no one to share it with. That's some real emotion! But then it's completely undercut by this David Bowie reference that few 11-year-olds, if any, are going to understand. Is it supposed to be funny? Maybe not? But if it isn't supposed to be funny, then what's the point of the reference? What is this show going for? Is it trying to be funny a la TTG or is it trying to be poignant a la SU? I think that lack of a clear vision kills it. It's trying to be a great show that celebrates girls and how great they are and a funny show and a hit show and a show about sisters and and and. And I get it. I can't fault them that. The show wants to be liked, so it's up there throwing itself across the stage in a desperate attempt to give the audience (and, let's be real, its parent company) what it thinks we want.
That's understandable. Unfortunately, simply being understandable doesn't make it funny, or likable, or good.
While it would not alter my perception of the show as a whole, I do want to revisit the clip and maybe even the episode so I can fairly validate what I'm talking about.
It did remind me of this interview I once read with Lauren & Craig. One of the driving points behind the original PpG series' comedy was that any pop culture references had to be funny in and of itself – if the comedy depended on knowing what the moment was referencing, then the joke didn't work and would be scrapped. Comedy built solely on in-jokes is, well, not good comedy. The best outcome is the joke plays/gets a laugh, and those who are familiar with the reference (or who later become familiar with what the joke is referencing) are able to both laugh and appreciate it on another level.
I like that approach. I think it's the right approach when it comes to inserting pop culture references in a show/movie, and I think that's kind of what NuPpG is going for but... I don't feel they're coming from the angle that the original crew was coming from. But then again, maybe they're trying? Ugh. I don't know. Nothing in the show feels very organic at all. Every part of this show just feels like someone trying to shove a square peg into a round hole, or like that Simpsons clip where Homer is trying to build a BBQ pit. I can't pinpoint a strong, singular vision, be it visual or storywise – and that's despite having some strong talent working on the show (well... at least on the art side).
Maybe the challenge for the scene in question was that it wasn't intended to be comedic at all. In it, Blossom has flown into space, which is beautiful and incredible, but she's also isolated from her sisters and experiencing some complicated emotions because on Earth, they literally ostracize her and now, while space is beautiful and everything she had hoped for, she also has no one to share it with. That's some real emotion! But then it's completely undercut by this David Bowie reference that few 11-year-olds, if any, are going to understand. Is it supposed to be funny? Maybe not? But if it isn't supposed to be funny, then what's the point of the reference? What is this show going for? Is it trying to be funny a la TTG or is it trying to be poignant a la SU? I think that lack of a clear vision kills it. It's trying to be a great show that celebrates girls and how great they are and a funny show and a hit show and a show about sisters and and and. And I get it. I can't fault them that. The show wants to be liked, so it's up there throwing itself across the stage in a desperate attempt to give the audience (and, let's be real, its parent company) what it thinks we want.
That's understandable. Unfortunately, simply being understandable doesn't make it funny, or likable, or good.
While it would not alter my perception of the show as a whole, I do want to revisit the clip and maybe even the episode so I can fairly validate what I'm talking about.