Overview
Ever since South Park premiered back in late 1997 various adult cartoons have emerge to push the envelop on what's acceptable on TV and most of them were... unsuccessful to say the least. Is this show any different?
Story
This show is about 3 freshmen who are lowly basketball bench-warmers but longing to become "legends" and the plots of each episode generally revolve this concept. There may be some side-plot turn into the mix but at large it's pretty much an urban coming-of-age story about the main characters Grover, Jamal, and Milk trying to earn admiration and respect from their peers. This is actually a pretty relatable story regardless if you're familiar with basketball culture or not.
How to humor you may be asking? Most of the jokes consists of references basketball and hip-hop culture, sex jokes (or references to it), and racial stereotypes bouncing off each other but without the broad social commentary of say (even though there is a bit of social satire going on)... The Boondocks which has a similar brand of humor so if you don't get any of the stuff mentioned you're most likely to be lost with the show's humor for most parts and it doesn't help the show constantly enforces how much it doesn't give a f*** on how raucous it is, which is something amusing to some but annoying to others. The story is more about the characters themselves than the message it conveys.
Characters
As I said before the trio Grover, Jamal, and Milk are the ones you'll be following for the most parts and they're all very like- minded in that they're immature but occasionally earnest bench-warmers longing to become "legend", though they have a lot to learn before then. Grover is the most normal and least obnoxious of the three while Milk is something of a "wigger" (so he gets slapped up the head for saying "my nigs") despite having to deal with a apparently racist stepdad who he calls "Uncle Joey" due to his resemblance to said character from the super-campy late-80's sitcom Full House and Jamal is a fatty who's secretly seeing the large-and-in-charge Medina and he's the brains of the group... always thinking outside the box. There are characters such as Randy; a high school senior, the popular jock, and the main antagonist who usually gives the trio (especially Grover) a hard time for not knowing their place... but he does get a taste of humility. There's his girlfriend Cindy, who is also the love interest for Grover and at first glance, she may seem like just sex appeal but she keeps Grover in his place especially by reminding she's already taken though without being antagonistic and stands on her own feet even though she doesn't do a whole lot. There's also Malik, Grover's younger brother, who provides most of the show's intellectual humor due to wise beyond his years and Grover's deadbeat older brother Montreal who mooches off his younger brothers' money to go to strip clubs (which he covers up as "investments").
As I've hinted at earlier the character are essentially stereotypes bouncing off each other and the black characters (and Milk) speak in exaggerated Ebonics for comic relief but they do show some genuine character development mainly the trio.
Art/Animation
Much like South Park the art and animation in Legends of Chamberlain heights is done in a deliberately crude and simplistic style to match the humor. Character designs are like comic book strips and the amount of frames they have are very minimal. The male characters are generally drawn with uni-brows unless they are shocked or sad while all black characters have big lips and female characters generally aren't drawn with eyebrows unless expressing emotion.
Sound
The voice work in Chamberlain Heights is for the most parts... passable but one thing I have to complain about is the voices for Jamal and Milk. Milk is voiced by a black man while Jamal is clearly voiced a white man trying his hardest to sound black but the results is sorta unsettling. Just like any other sitcom there's not music in Chamberlain Heights but when it does play it is pretty fitting to the show.
Overall
All in all out of the South Park "imitators" it's definitely above The Nutshack or Allen Gregory, a little better than Brickleberry, and about the same tier as Modern Family Guy/Simpsons but definitely below Bojack Hoarseman, Rick and Morty, South Park itself, and even Bob's Burger. This show may not last long but I'm at least interested enough to see where it goes.
Overall, I give this show a 6 out of 10.
Ever since South Park premiered back in late 1997 various adult cartoons have emerge to push the envelop on what's acceptable on TV and most of them were... unsuccessful to say the least. Is this show any different?
Story
This show is about 3 freshmen who are lowly basketball bench-warmers but longing to become "legends" and the plots of each episode generally revolve this concept. There may be some side-plot turn into the mix but at large it's pretty much an urban coming-of-age story about the main characters Grover, Jamal, and Milk trying to earn admiration and respect from their peers. This is actually a pretty relatable story regardless if you're familiar with basketball culture or not.
How to humor you may be asking? Most of the jokes consists of references basketball and hip-hop culture, sex jokes (or references to it), and racial stereotypes bouncing off each other but without the broad social commentary of say (even though there is a bit of social satire going on)... The Boondocks which has a similar brand of humor so if you don't get any of the stuff mentioned you're most likely to be lost with the show's humor for most parts and it doesn't help the show constantly enforces how much it doesn't give a f*** on how raucous it is, which is something amusing to some but annoying to others. The story is more about the characters themselves than the message it conveys.
Characters
As I said before the trio Grover, Jamal, and Milk are the ones you'll be following for the most parts and they're all very like- minded in that they're immature but occasionally earnest bench-warmers longing to become "legend", though they have a lot to learn before then. Grover is the most normal and least obnoxious of the three while Milk is something of a "wigger" (so he gets slapped up the head for saying "my nigs") despite having to deal with a apparently racist stepdad who he calls "Uncle Joey" due to his resemblance to said character from the super-campy late-80's sitcom Full House and Jamal is a fatty who's secretly seeing the large-and-in-charge Medina and he's the brains of the group... always thinking outside the box. There are characters such as Randy; a high school senior, the popular jock, and the main antagonist who usually gives the trio (especially Grover) a hard time for not knowing their place... but he does get a taste of humility. There's his girlfriend Cindy, who is also the love interest for Grover and at first glance, she may seem like just sex appeal but she keeps Grover in his place especially by reminding she's already taken though without being antagonistic and stands on her own feet even though she doesn't do a whole lot. There's also Malik, Grover's younger brother, who provides most of the show's intellectual humor due to wise beyond his years and Grover's deadbeat older brother Montreal who mooches off his younger brothers' money to go to strip clubs (which he covers up as "investments").
As I've hinted at earlier the character are essentially stereotypes bouncing off each other and the black characters (and Milk) speak in exaggerated Ebonics for comic relief but they do show some genuine character development mainly the trio.
Art/Animation
Much like South Park the art and animation in Legends of Chamberlain heights is done in a deliberately crude and simplistic style to match the humor. Character designs are like comic book strips and the amount of frames they have are very minimal. The male characters are generally drawn with uni-brows unless they are shocked or sad while all black characters have big lips and female characters generally aren't drawn with eyebrows unless expressing emotion.
Sound
The voice work in Chamberlain Heights is for the most parts... passable but one thing I have to complain about is the voices for Jamal and Milk. Milk is voiced by a black man while Jamal is clearly voiced a white man trying his hardest to sound black but the results is sorta unsettling. Just like any other sitcom there's not music in Chamberlain Heights but when it does play it is pretty fitting to the show.
Overall
All in all out of the South Park "imitators" it's definitely above The Nutshack or Allen Gregory, a little better than Brickleberry, and about the same tier as Modern Family Guy/Simpsons but definitely below Bojack Hoarseman, Rick and Morty, South Park itself, and even Bob's Burger. This show may not last long but I'm at least interested enough to see where it goes.
Overall, I give this show a 6 out of 10.