Clone High

I'm surprised at how low rated the first episode is, that was my favourite one. Lots of great writing, great jokes, I was smiling ear to ear. Sure not everything is the same - Ghandi is missing, and Cleopatra was recast for some reason. But there were lots of interesting new characters, and they were exploring modern themes with a 2003 lens.

And then I guess they ran out of ideas and went back to the old "haha white people are so dumb and ignorant" barrel, and well, it's getting old. At best it's lazy and unfunny, and at worst it's hurtful and leads to real life bullying. It's a shame because I was really liking the show until then.

This show was good, but not great, and I don't think it lived up to the original. The positives are the show's animation looks great and is a good upgrade to the original in terms of technology and style. The voice cast overall was great, except Will Forte, who had this weird lisp thing going on. Also, the show brings back the alternative and emo music that helped make it a cult classic, but I wish they had used more of it. As for the negatives, the show is no longer a satire of teen dramas and tries to be more of a straightforward comedy, which works in the show's detriment, as the premise and characters are too ridiculous to be taken seriously in a standard comedy tv show. The show also introduced too many new characters, which led to it struggling with character management, pacing of character development, and the notable absence of side characters, who made the original show a lot funnier. Though I like most of the characters introduced, I disliked Topher in a bad way, and the character of Candide was completely unnecessary and honestly held the show back. Overall, I found some enjoyable moments, and I really liked the finale, but I am overall disappointed with this season.

I made it to the 5th episode before I couldn't watch it anymore. I think this show has a lot of potential and I started watching it with an open mind. I obviously knew the show wouldn't be as "out of pocket" as the original but I didn't think it'd be this unfunny. I enjoyed the original and as someone who's recently graduated high school I think it's safe to say that the writers clearly do not understand how the youth is in todays society. The only thing I've seen properly portrayed about the youth is that it's lame to be a delinquent and cool to be smart. Every episode there's some social issue that's thrown in and the reality is teenagers really don't care as much as millennials think they do. I think the writers should've tried to focus a little more on the old clones adjustment to the things that actually matter in modern life and do a better job at tying in the old story.

What was once a parody of teen dramas, with excellent wit and comedy, is now purely a teen drama plagued by the stale elements that burden most other modern adult animation productions. The show's original off-the-wall and at times tender aesthetic feels like it was left in the storeroom along with Ghandi. The new character additions to the show add little to the experience with some such as Ghandi's and the S. B. O. S. F's replacements being far below their predecessors. Despite the more disagreeable portions of it, the show isn't all negatives. The animation and design while almost feeling less fitting for the series is fine, the returning voice actors do a good job, and some moments almost reach the cleverness seen in the first season. In conclusion, it's not horrible and it could have been far worse but the fact it's such a downgrade from the first season makes this pseudo-reboot not all that worth watching.

Try hard humor at its floppiest. So much of it is referencing the high points of the original that it feels like it has nothing new to say. What the writers might have had to say, surely they were too afraid to go there. I feel like Ghandi got them in so much trouble back in 2001, that the whole experienced has been stifled by the fear of being cancelled. This new reboot is full of jokes, but none of them land. The new characters are just milquetoast archetypes that other shows have done better. Frida Kahlo is a nice touch, Confucius is almost as capable as a watered down replacement for Ghandi, but still the whole thing feels stifled, bereft, and empty. Do yourself a favor and rewatch Another Period, maybe even drunk history. Everything this show tried to do this go around has been done better elsewhere by a mile. Just finished the first three episodes this morning and I want my time back.