pizelli-75957 Reviews

Sam & Cat (2013–2014)

Gonna fly over most peoples heads

[10/10 · 19 March 2023]

The show, like all Danwarp Productions (Victorious, iCarly, Gameshakers, Henry Danger, Danger Force) is primarily made for folks who are the same age as the tight knit team of writers and producers that made all of them. (They started all this in their 40's back around 2000 and now are in their 60's) The plots, storylines are irrelevant. Its more about the sarcasm, the randomness, the subtleties, and things of that nature in the dialog, these concepts could be inserted into any episode, scene or line. The popularity of this type of humor took hold around 1977 and the movie Airplane!. But this show and the others have taken it to the highest levels using a boat load of money thanks to Nickelodeon.

The producers/writers are using the following in all of these shows:

• Paying homage to sitcom principles from the 60s and 70s and the people that made them. Using a lot of folks that worked on those shows and even some actors.

• Criticizing a myriad of topics from media, social media, human behavior, television show creation, stage moms, and pretty much any other topic.

• Using elaborate sets with the most detail ever given to set design I think the world will ever see. You will have to freeze a scene to really notice some of these sets, even if its just a one-off set, they add in so much detail, you can tell they are trying to push the envelope just because they can and no one else really has done it like that before.

• Great stories - While the stories are not the focus, they have come up with some interesting ones, rarely relying on boyfriend/girlfriend or parent/child angles.

Because its on Nickelodeon, most people will have never even heard of it. 90% of the rest who have heard of it or watched an episode think its made for kids and therefore just meant to be time-filler. If you truly appreciate television production and writing, and have a sarcastic sense of humor, this is a world of rewatches awaiting you. You'll find something new each time.

The Villains of Valley View (2022– )

Good Dry Humor

[9/10 · 4 February 2023]

Like all of the post 2000 Nickelodeon and Disney Situation Comedies, it has a few different layers to it. The layer I enjoy is the dry-sarcastic language humor which has nothing to do with the storyline. All of these shows could (and are) about anything, but its the dry-sarcastic responses between characters that conveys the humor. The storylines are just generic vehicles for the language humor. People don't realize these shows are all written by people generally in their mid to late 40's and they write stuff that makes them laugh. I know I would have never found the humor in these shows as a kid, you have to be over 40 to catch the humor. It's humorous to me when people think just because a show is on one of these networks, it must be a stupid kids show. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I know its hard to get over that hump at first to accept that these shows are every bit as adult as the shows on other networks. The plots are not the draw here, all sitcoms have been using the same 30 storylines since the 1960's. Its all in the sarcasm that has absolutely nothing to do with plots.

Sam & Cat: #MyPoober (2013) Season 1, Episode 19

Audrey Miller hit a homerun

[10/10 · 2 August 2022]

The show is one of the best of the series if only for the scene taking place at Bots, the deal presented by Cat is countered by Ellie in a very funny way. Then the culmination of that scene has Sam conceding defeat to Ellie, and the way Jeanette delivers the line is very funny as well.

Audrey was very convincing as the bratty manipulative genius.

Jessie: Spaced Out (2014) Season 3, Episode 18

One of the best

[10/10 · 30 July 2022]

The number of humorous lines in this episode is high. A large percentage of them are regarding the questionable functionality of the foreign space craft the characters travel in.

Raven's Home: School House Trap (2019) Season 3, Episode 8

Fun and funny episode

[10/10 · 21 June 2022]

I enjoyed it a lot, top 5 of the series, it's hardly relevant if a story line has been used before, that's not the point of this type of comedic show, if you are paying attention to the story, the humor went flying over your head.

iCarly (2021–2023)

Laughs still there but a bit less frequent.

[7/10 · 22 January 2022]

I miss the elaborate colorful set designs, lighting and cinematography of the original a little. I can't really get into the two new main characters much. There would be no way to try and remake a DanWarp series without utilizing the small team of folks that wrote them.

The King of Queens: Damned Yanky (2004) Season 6, Episode 16

A top episode for the series

[10/10 · 20 August 2021]

The subject matter of this episode is rarely if ever found in comedy. The episode has a large amount of time that is just Doug and Carrie.

I think this is as good as any episode gets. It's a constant barrage of jokes, and the characters do nothing but talk about the subject.

This would be an Emmy winner in my world.

Bizaardvark (2016–2019)

Bernie Shotz - Another good show

[9/10 · 28 July 2021]

There haven't been very many characters as good as Bernie Shotz (Ethan Wacker). Greed always brings bad karma to him at every turn. That character alone makes this a sensational series. The Rodrigo, Hu and Ledridge characters all get a decent amount of sarcastic comments that are very funny as well. This show is going to go right over the head of people that just don't understand silly sarcastic dialogue, which is most people. But if you are an adult just as the writers of this show are, the show will appeal to your comic senses.

The King of Queens (1998–2007)

Kevin James - Stuntman

[10/10 · 20 July 2021]

If you pay attention, Kevin James performs an enormous number of very dangerous stunts through the nine seasons. I can't think of very many actors that have done a tiny fraction of the stunts Kevin has. I have yet to see a single stunt no matter how dangerous that there was a cut away to an actual stuntman.

The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–2023)

Good show, almost great

[10/10 · 20 July 2021]

The supporting cast is for the most part excellent, I think the show could have been improved if the Louise-Dreyfus character was just a little less crazy and the brother a lot more mature.

Side Hustle (2020–2022)

Light harmless fun

[10/10 · 20 July 2021]

The only new situation comedy to be created after 2019 by Nickelodeon (and Disney) as of 2021. I appreciate that the show only attempts to be funny, and never enters into the all-too-common pitfall of trying to tell it's viewers what ideals they should have such as what happened with Raven's Home and Sydney To The Max. The two main stars have proven to be great together in both Group Chat and All That previously.

Victorious (2010–2013)

Character analysis - Tori, Jade, Cat, Andre, Robbie, Beck

[10/10 · 19 July 2021]

Los Angeles Arts High School comedy. Main characters:

Tori Vega - Smart, nice, compassionate, level headed. This character is the general focal point of the series. Rarely ever creates any problems, follows the rules, is extraordinarily attractive.

Jade West - Smart, disturbed in general, very aggressive in almost every situation.

Catarina Valentine (Cat) - This character never really solidified into any one thing, but was generally unintelligent except when the story needed her to be knowledgeable. There was a lack of consistency both in the writing and the ability of Ariana Grande to step fully into the character. Cat's personality varies greatly throughout the series and continues to vary into the spin-off Sam and Cat.

Andre Harris - The most emotionally unstable character in the show. He is constantly whining and crying in very dramatic loud obnoxious ways in response to very minor problems that most of us would consider daily annoyances. In contrast he also takes on a cool guy persona some of the time, but his childlike inability to deal with simple problems is the primary trait of this character. He also has been shown to be extremely self centered, rude and downright horribly offensive when dealing with Tori or Tori's mother.

Robbie Shapiro - His primary characteristic is that he is a ventriloquist. He is generally respectful, awkward and nerdy.

Beck Oliver - Very good looking, even keeled, cool guy. Rarely causes any confrontations.

The King of Queens: Best Man (1999) Season 1, Episode 13

Surely one of the best

[10/10 · 4 June 2021]

My opinion of this episode is that it is one of the best episodes from any series of any era. It also contains one of the series moments where you can feel some definite hatred between some of the characters, but it seamlessly is woven into hilarious moments, which this episode has an inordinate amount of.

Raven's Home (2017–2023)

Was a funny show, writing has taken a turn

[10/10 · 23 May 2021]

I think it was a 10 star show in the first three seasons. There were some very humorous scenes sprinkled throughout. However its very clear the shows production has undergone dramatic changes. The show has become more of a platform to portray certain ideals than to just entertain with light harmless humor.

Danger Force (2020–2024)

Excellent series

[9/10 · 17 May 2021]

There is no giant departure from the humor style of this show versus every other DanWarp series dating back to iCarly. There has yet to be a spin off that isn't regarded as a failure by a large percentage of the existing fans. While it took me a while to appreciate this show, it contains segments that maintain the original comic style of the DanWarp productions, but to a lesser extent.

Raven's Home (2017–2023)

Mid Series Change of Format

[10/10 · 15 May 2021]

Seasons 1-3 were developed as a 'comedic' situation-comedy.

Beginning early in season 4, they have abandoned that format entirely. The show is now a drama focusing on racial issues mainly.

Raven's Home: The Foreign Identity (2020) Season 3, Episode 17

Number one episode

[10/10 · 12 May 2021]

My favorite of the series. All of the scenes are interesting premises, but each of those scenes has more humorous lines than the average scene as well. I enjoyed the writing of this as much as I have any episode of any situation-comedy. Raven's Home seasons 1 to 3.2ish are some of the best television in recent times in my opinion.

Other top episodes: The Pilot School House Trap Smoky Flow.

Two and a Half Men: Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt (2011) Season 9, Episode 1

Missed opportunity

[4/10 · 10 May 2021]

They should have given Alan the house and a ton of cash. It could have been very entertaining to see him deal with all that. The only thing I really disliked about the post-Sheen seasons was the character and/or acting ability of Ashton. The Walden character is not interesting, even with a billion dollars.

Lost Horizon (1973)

Fine film, exceptional collection of Burt Bacharach songs

[10/10 · 7 May 2021]

10/10 just for the music alone. I am unable to understand why so many people consider the film to be terrible. I guess having pre-conceived expectations is likely the culprit.

The Thundermans: Who's Your Mommy (2015) Season 2, Episode 16

Excellent episode

[10/10 · 6 May 2021]

There are three simultaneous plots: 1. There's a heat wave, the goal is to get a pool 2. There isn't enough money, so the family holds a garage sale, but some are not willing to part with their belongings.

3. A superhero weapon is accidentally sold at the garage sale, efforts to recoup it ensue.

There are a bit more jokes and gags in this episode than usual and most of them are funny. Examples are: -Phoebe doesn't really think her moms powers were very threatening, she mentions that the worst thing her powers could do is cause someones lights to go out.

-The kid who bought the superhero weapon is extraordinarily verbally abusive to Max by calling him names like Hipster, Sideburns, Wallstreet, Chinatown and Tank top, which Max never wore up to that point, but does wear one to the boys house later in the episode.

-Hank tells the kids they don't have to sell things they still use, Nora puts on every bow she owns to avoid having to sell them, the result is she is a giant blob of bows.

-Barb fires up her old computer and witnesses things like a huge number of updates to process and the completion status of those updates going in reverse.

In the end the family ends up with a kiddie pool, but ends up respecting the mothers superpowers better after seeing them in action.

Lidia's Kitchen (2013– )

Cooking show extraordinaire

[10/10 · 3 May 2021]

Not entirely sure why this show is my favorite cooking show, but it is likely because it seems as if everything she does is effortless, spontaneous and delivered with a comfortable demeanor. There is no contrived attempt to be a TV star or a cooking star, you get the sense you are just watching a master at her art.

Jessie: Make New Friends, But Hide the Old (2012) Season 2, Episode 3

One of the best of the series

[10/10 · 29 April 2021]

The character of Rosie is a great addition to the series, although it only lasted two episodes. It allows us to see the Emma character show she can be compassionate even under duress. Rosie has some great lines throughout this as she clashes with other girls and Emma as the typical character from "the other side of the tracks". I highly recommend this episode and would place it comfortably in the top 10 Jessie episodes.

Jessie: Snack Attack (2014) Season 3, Episode 10

Great episode

[10/10 · 24 April 2021]

Isabella Crovetti performs the role of Wendy very well. One of Skai Jacksons better episodes as well. This episode is the beginning of Emma (Peyton List) working at the Empire Skate Building.

Sydney to the Max (2019–2021)

Another classic that will stand the test of time

[9/10 · 24 April 2021]

The production, casting and writing of this show is good. There's really two shows with an emphasis on current day Sydney versus past tense Max.

The plots are similar most episodes: a deception usually caused by not being forthcoming leads one party to mistake the intentions of another party.

The New Adventures of Old Christine: Teach Your Children Well (2006) Season 1, Episode 8

Possibly best joke of the series in this one

[10/10 · 16 April 2021]

While at a party planning business, Christine is told that for $400 a head, the party comes with a special appearance by one of the Desperate Housewives. Matthew asks is it Terri Hatcher? The party planner hesitantly confirms yes. Then Christine, trying to get the price down, asks how much is the party without Terri Hatcher, before the planner answers Matthew smiles and says "$600?" All three on screen characters break out in laughter which is quite rare to see characters laugh at a joke, but I think in this case, the joke is so good the writers/director felt like it was appropriate.