TALKBACK: The Regular Show

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The first episode of the fifteen-minute series The Regular show premiered yesterday on the Cartoon Network. It can be seen below. Thoughts and opinions by those who have seen it are welcome.

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  • JP

    I thought it was pretty good.

    The litmus test came when my wife sat down on the couch next to me.

    She’s not an animation enthusiast by any means. Mostly, I think she just tolerates many of the shows I watch.

    That being said, she can’t stand “Adventure Time” or “Flapjack”. She’ll get up and leave the room immediately when they’re on.

    I was kind of surprised she sat down and watched the entire episode of “Regular Show” with me. She thought the characters “looked fun”… it wasn’t “gross-out” humor… and there’s wasn’t “too much yelling”.

    A brief review of “Regular Show”… from a “regular person”!

  • Isaac

    I agree with your wife completely, JP.

  • TheGunheart

    I’m not sure yet. To be honest, I though it was genuinely hilarious, but it feels like it’s lacking something, something Flapjack, Adventure Time, Chowder, and the old longrunners all had.

  • http://siskavard.blogspot.com Corey McAwesome

    Finally I get to see cartoon characters HAMBOOOOONING!

    Utter nonsense. I love it.

  • Alfred E. Neuman

    Hey Brewmasters — the new Mad Magazine tv show premiered also. I didn’t see it, but am interested to know what the feedback from this community is. Can we have a talkback for Mad?

    • The Ghost of Warner Bros. Past

      The “Mad” show hurt my eyes.

  • http://www.jpdj.com JPDJ

    I dug it. And The new Mad show was also cool.

    • Daev

      Agreed. More like the Sad Show.

  • http://farleftside.com mike stanfill

    Ten years from now someone will unaccountably look up while cleaning the gunk out of the traps in the kitchen sink and say “Hey, remember that cartoon show? You know, the one with the two guys who did random stuff? Anyone remember what it was called?”

    • Chris Sobieniak

      It’s certainly gonna be that kind of a show with a name you just can’t put it down exactly because of it’s unfamiliar approach.

  • http://kaseygifford.com Killskerry

    Ok it was really cute and personally I loved it. I laughed and I love the character designs…but here is my question.

    Who was the cartoon made for? Most of the time the characters did nothing but talk. I think about 90 percent of this was jokes that would go right over most kids heads.I notice a really disturbing trends in cartoons lately, there is a widening gap in content. On one side is fare for small kids that is borderline insulting in its ineptitude and on the other side is cartoons clearly made for college students.

    Plus…did I meantion there is ALOT much talking? If we want to make cartoons that appeal equally to adults and to children we need more successes like Dexters Labratory which had the right mix of physical comedy and well written dialogue. I’m getting tired of cartoons that rely on complete non sequiter humor and I’m equally tired of cartoons that jump up and down frantically beggin 20 somethings to watch them and wear their t-shirts ironically.

    • Insufficientfare

      I couldnt agree more.

    • Jesstech

      As a 20-something who wears cartoon T-shirts ironically, I resent this comment.

      • dm

        As a twenty something who loves animation unironically, I resent you.

    • GhaleonQ

      I agree with all of your premises, but I think there should be 1 cartoon at a time that carries this tradition forward. This one has appeared to be quality since it was previewed and announced, so this is the 1 that gets the pass from me.

    • Stephan

      Kids aren’t cyphers who enjoy the same thing. As a kid my favorite cartoons were the Simpsons and Family Guy, and Looney Tunes. Two of them were just talking head a thons. Likewise, Rocko’s Modern Life trumped all else for me on Nickelodeon, and I’m pretty sure there was an episode where Rocko was a gigolo. Kids will like it because its weird and fun and smart!

    • Rupe

      As far as the talking goes, especially when they break the wall, it seems like they are trying to emulate an ‘always sunny in philadelphia’ dialogue style, which is essentially a lot of aggressive dialogue. Also it is eerily similar to adventure time, I hope this doesn’t kill adventure time’s thunder.

    • Kdee

      I had noticed in the episode “the power” the one character actually swears… I mean small children still watch the show and not that I’m big on totally not cussing but, producers will be ruined when children have bad language and parents blame it on the tv show.

  • http://beesbuzz.biz/ fluffy

    I love it. Cartoon Network needs to do more like this and less like all the other crap they’ve been doing for a while.

  • Deaniac

    Saw it last night, loved every minute of it. It didn’t fail to meet my expectations, it actually exceeded them. I already like it more than Adventure Time (sorry Pen Ward, your show’s still good, though). I’m surprised with the minor swears they got away with (“pissed”, “crap” “How in the H are we gonna fix this S”), but it does have a PG-rating, so I guess anything’s fair game. I sure hope this show doesn’t get ditched after 2-3 seasons.

    Now all I have to do is get a magic keyboard and get people to do my biddings…

  • http://mrscriblam.tumblr.com/ mrscriblam

    i think regular show and mad were both great and im very optimistic for the future of both shows

  • Chris Sokalofsky

    Characters seemed fine, animation passable. Just.Too. Much. Dialogue. Talking heads just doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s not enough to run a show on. The best part of the episode was the first 30 seconds, because it had the most interesting visuals.

    Hopefully they move away from the talk show format and get a little more dynamic acting in there.

    • http://torontoanimation.blogspot.com TempleDog

      Thank you! Damn, waiting for someone to mention this. Shut the hell up and DO something, fer corn’s sake!

  • Mr. Semaj

    Looks like they’re prepared to blur the line between the kid-friendly shows and the adult shows that came when Adult Swim showed up. That’s progress.

  • Charlie

    This show is walking a very fine line between funny and annoying, luckily I find hamboning incredibly funny. Hoping they can keep it up.

  • Tim Nicholson

    Saw it. Loved it

    “I always wanted to date a girl named The Power.”

    C’mon folks, that’s good entertainment. MAD was fast-paced, but in a awesome way. Way better than Robot Chicken.

  • Was my face red

    It’s weird. Normally I’m pretty easy going about talky toons but after a while I was really willing for there to be more to look at.

    Fans of random, if you haven’t found it yet. look out the BBC show ‘The Mighty Boosh’, odd, funny, starring a strange double act and with occasional animated sequences and backgrounds (in season two and three) by someone very good.

  • Rooniman

    Pretty good, though I’m suprised by the couple of swears they said.

  • Cartoon Lover

    I found this tedious and was bored 30 seconds into it. Considering this is animation, 30 seconds is a fair amount of time to build a reasonable level of interest. Certain commercials do it every day. Other cartoons, like Adventure Time, do it too.

    However, this has some good ideas, like having the squirrel (?) character run on all fours.

    How about posting the new Gobelins shorts instead?

  • Kyle Maloney

    Love it. it has a similar vibe to Angry Beavers to me, which I also love.

  • http://1me0.deviantart.com/ Joel

    I love it. This show is gonna be the only reason besides “Adventure Time” and “The Rotten Tomatoes Show” that I watch television at all.

  • Brad

    My 3 sons (4, 9, and 13) loved it. After it was over they were singing the song and saying “send him to the moon”. Maybe CN has done something right? My kids knew exactly when the premiere was gonna be and tuned in.

  • Christopher Cook

    Maybe it’s just me but it just seemed too random. And yes, too much talking. It’s what Chuck Jones termed many years ago as “illustrated radio,” and the medium of animation needs less of that.

  • http://doubleben.blogspot.com Emmett Goodman

    The first episode was okay. I really like the look of this show. It feels very rustic, and not so overdone. The humor didn’t quite live up to what I thought it would be. This feels like something that will really start to get better the further it goes along, once the setting is firmly established, and not so random.

  • http://www.frankpanucci.com FP

    I liked it a bunch. The show is sort of a different flavor of ADVENTURE TIME.

    It’s odd that so many animation fans on C-Brew complain about cartoons being “too weird and random”. Maybe they should go watch Toon Disney or Nick Jr.

    Cartoons are made for weird and random.

    • Insufficientfare

      im all for random and weird ala chowder i really want to like this show but theres something missing i cant put my finger on it yet. maybe i should synchronize my watch

      • AnimationNation

        I AGREE Cartoons are literally made for things that would be impossible for writers to write for a human.

  • Hmmm

    I didnt really like it that much. But i’m also the guy who doesnt understand why Adventure Time is a hit. I guess I just dont get the humor now a days.

    What is the premise of this show?

    • Cade

      The Premise Of this show is that the blue jay and the squirrel Make surreal Adventures out of their everyday lives.

  • ridd

    good stuff!

  • http://mayberabies.blogspot.com Raven M. Molisee

    I don’t know how I feel about it. On one hand, some of the exchanges are cute… but it gets old fast when you realize all they’re really going to do is talk. I don’t know why I love that in a show like Home Movies, but on this show its just.. boring. The absurdity of the character designs is almost a tease.

    Its hard to judge it on just the premiere though. Lots of the shows I eventually came to love are ones that I initially hated. We’ll see…

    • NC

      probably because in home movies even the dialogue felt random, which worked for it, the dialogue on that show was all improvised. Regular Show is random with structure. It had sort of King of the Hill structure with Flapjack randomness.

    • Cyle

      I think Home Movies is a good example of a show where the abundance of dialogue worked well. To me those characters were more convincing, and the dialogue felt natural making it more believable. Much of the lines on The Regular Show seemed forced to me.

    • dm

      The central theme of home movies was average people goofing off while trying to make a movie sometimes.

      This show has no central theme or purpose.

    • http://www.totalmediabridge.com Kevin Johnson

      I would say the show is basically an animated Seinfeld – literally, a show about nothing (which I’m willing to bet it was pitched as), where the animation allows it to go in weird directions, but so that it still is meaningless.

      It’s pretty good, but nothing to adore.

  • Cyle

    I wasn’t too impressed. It was certainly random, but that didn’t always translate into funny. I really enjoy random humor when it’s done right, but this failed to keep my interest. Random humor should be used in *addition* to clever writing, not in place of. Also there’s something off putting about the voice acting. The characters don’t seem to have the personality and charm of those on a show like Adventure Time or Flapjack.

    Adventure Time may be “louder” but I don’t find it irritating like I do this episode. I wouldn’t have minded the abundance of dialogue if I’d felt it was genuinely clever, but a lot of it came across as forced to me. That’s not to say it didn’t have any good ideas. I just wasn’t particularly fond of the execution.

    I might change my mind after another few episodes. It may not have been as great as Adventure Time, but it was certainly far better than what I saw of the MAD show. I was only able to sit through the first few minutes of that one.

  • http://www.spiteyourface.com Tony Mines

    Flight of the Conchords but with squirrels or whatever. got it. NEXT!

    • Tim Nicholson

      Give it a chance.

    • Stephan

      Are you happy now? A Cartoon Network exec (an individual using all of his analytical prowess) shouted “Next!” THE CARTOON WAS CANCELLED. I have to shout MOAR for there to be more.

      Also, Flight of the Conchords with Squirrels sounds like a masterpiece to me. Dontcha poo poo it!

      [MOAR!]

  • holyduck

    Some jokes were good. You get used to the boys’ nonsensical and uncalled for gibberish and fooling around, but I still don’t see why a pitch needs to include at least one protagonist who yells and screams like shit in the first place! I learned in a pitching session that people look for a character that the audience would like to hang out with, or can captivate the audience in a white empty room. We already have that loud Spongebob. Why introduce these guys?

  • http://www.facebook.com/dylan.h.king Dylan King

    I’ve always appreciated J.G.’s work – this is another reason why I do so. It’s funny and creative, like a good cartoon should be. Though with the minor swearing and the PG rating I’m still a bit confused with the audience it’s trying to reach. My guess is the teens – but then again, hell, my nine year old brother and my mother also enjoyed it as well so it’s kind of hard to tell (with a bit more cursing, this could easily be an early program on Adult Swim – which would be cool to see Regular Show both on CN & AS. Speaking of AS, anyone else notice the possible potential of this show? This could be – if CN is serious about making cartoons again – the next Aqua Teen cult). Besides the audience reaching – which I think shouldn’t matter to you if you enjoy it – I love it. This totally makes up for the cancellation of our beloved Chowder & Flapjack… now if only CN would notice the ratings of the live action segments…

  • jusdecrabe

    I’m not sure about this. It seems so toned down, uncartoony and dialogue-based. I’ve listened to it at work (sound only, I don’t waste that much time when I work :)) and then I watched it at home with the actual video, and I realised I didn’t miss much.

    There seems to be a lack of structure, I found it revolved around ways to be ‘cool’ and ‘awesome’, but to me it never manages to reach the impact than say, Adventure Time does in the same kind of humor. I don’t think they’re gonna be able to go somewhere with this series, there’s just not much likeable about it. The main character designs are cute, yes, but their personality and voices are just so… bland.

  • http://kieranpertnav.tk Kieran Pertnav

    It was hilarious.
    ’nuff said

  • Thomas Hatch

    (talking like a dumb person) Yeah, I didn’t care for it too much because it wasn’t exactly like other things from my childhood which I have fond memories of. Also they sang a song in it which reminds me of other shows where they sing songs. NEXT!!!!!! Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah the first time I watched it I only used my sense of smell, then I listened to it, and then finally I watched it with my eyeballs because that’s the way everyone should experience art. One sense at a time! Ha ha, BLAM!

    • The Brewmasters

      Thomas Hatch: The Talkback posts provide a forum for those who have seen a production to express their opinion about it. They are not a place to mock and disparage the opinions of others. Please respect the spirit of these talkbacks and participate accordingly.

      • Thomas Hatch

        I’m sorry.

  • Bill

    If I ever have to sit through a full episode of this I’ll bring a pillow, or maybe some sugar.

  • zowie

    Well i guess at least it’s titled appropriately it certainly is “regular”

  • Cyber Fox

    I saw both Regular Show and MAD, Both are really great
    at least they overshadow the stinky turd that is Total Drama

  • Wayne

    I felt compelled to stop watching during the predictable stuff (the wrestling and prattle about the hole in the wall, etc). When the keyboard stuff started, there was no way of knowing what would happen next. That’s when the cartoon kicked in for me. Unpredictability. Ya gotta have it.

  • Nightmare is Near

    I liked both Regular Show and Mad TV which were both hilarious as hell. Regular Show was anything but regular with funny random humor that was better than anything Family Guy could come up with. Mad TV was hilarious the whole fifteen minutes, it was filled with comedy gold by making fun of James Camron’s Avatar, Justin Bieber, and Teenage Disney actors within the first ten minutes. Then ending the show with a parody on both “ICarly” and “CSI” making it “CSICarly” was very funny too.
    Now I hope that “Unnatural Hell” last only a season the same with Paul Dini’s Tower Prep otherwise known as “Toilet Paper” and Robert Sorcher gets vegetebles tossed at him for being a dumb executive that doesn’t know the meaning of the word “cartoon”. I hope Regular Show and Mad TV make fun of all three of them with Stuart Snyder somewhere in the mix.

  • Cartoon Paul

    I loved it. I thought it looked great. And I don’t understand the people who thought there was too much talking. The banter was clever and did little things like, oh, add depth to the characters and further the story. You want action and no depth with a double helping of irritating dialog, sit throught that awful new trailer for Disney’s Tangled. Eeeeesh. Regular Show’s gonna be popular, I know it.

    • Bill

      The problem with the banter is it stalled the story! Well, whatever story this cartoon even has (its a comedy cartoon, story need not matter).

  • Robert

    I went into this show after having seen the pilot some months back and not really liking it. The recent promos didn’t help much either. However, by the end of the premiere, I loved it. Going in, I feared it’d be nothing but Mordecai and Rigby and their mundane problems for 11 minutes. And I was still pretty underwhelmed until, as Wayne said, The Power came in. And I thought I had the plot figured out from there until halfway through the second act when the really crazy stuff started. I was pleasantly surprised by the turn of events and found myself laughing out loud for the rest of the episode.

    If the rest of the season turns out like this, I’d say we’ve got a winner!

  • ZiggyStardust

    freaking hysterical

  • http://benjaminnielsen.blogspot.com Benjamin

    I loved it, loved it loved it!! I’d like to work on it!!!

  • papashango

    I looooved that…it was awesome :)

  • Justin

    I had no problem with the amount of dialogue. It was the story. Nothing of real substance happened. There really wasn’t anything at stake that mattered to me. Was I supposed to care if they got fired? The thing that is missing from this show is a well crafted character driven story. It’s got everything else in spades. Time to hire some good writers who can craft an entertaining narrative.

  • Adam

    I enjoyed it a lot and agree that it could easily be an AS program with a few more cuss words. But that was probably because the bird character has exactly the same voice as the warden from Superjail.

  • http://www.chrisniosi.com Chris “Kirbopher” Niosi

    I really hope this is a direction that broadcast cartoons begin to go in, in the sense that they stop worrying so much about protecting kids from “inappropriate content” and just have fun with the comedy, even if it’s a little dirty. I feel like we can be freed up from having to unnecessarily censor ours senses of humor and start making shows with more range than just the cut and dry daytime CN/Nick/Disney Channel thing or late night MTV/[AS] thing.

    For the show itself, it really seems like a fun time. Somethin’ about JG’s conversational dialogue and the humor that goes with it really does it for me. The visuals were some of the best looking of CN’s newest stuff, to me anyway. Not totally sure how I feel about the half of a half an’ hour timeslot deal, but I can only hope we’ll continue to get more of these.

  • Mr. James

    Ok, I just watched it and I’m not understanding the random quality of all of these cartoons on CN recently. When we look back on this period of animation on television will we call it the “age of random” or is there something here I’m not getting? It seems like the writers and creators just sit in a room with post-it notes and doodle any idea that pops into their heads and then post them on a wall and start throwing darts at them to get an episode written. I also agree with everyone else that I’m not understanding the audience at all. The animation seems tame and cutesy but then the couple of swear words got thrown in for no apparent reason and I was confused. I think CN needs to get a better structure in place for programming and development. That episode was painfully bland and airy. Color me not impressed.

  • steelespam

    Funny line: “ham-boning will save your life one day”

  • http://www.rocarts.com Meredith D.

    I’m a 37-year old woman, maybe it’s not my demographic, because although I found it mildly amusing, I couldn’t get into it. I used to love Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast, but the non sequitur type shows on these days seem like a stand-in for good writing.

  • Scarabim

    Color me not impressed *in the slightest.*

    CN does have some good new toons – most notably Generator Rex and, of all things, the new Scooby Doo (and I’ve never liked any of its prior incarnations), but this Regular Show is just Dumb and Dumber married with childish scrawls. Oh, and some questionable humor for the younger crowd. I applaud CN for trying different things, but has it no taste whatsoever?

  • Knox Harrington

    My two grandchildren (8 and 12) enjoyed it very much and were singing the “to the moon” song after and I was delighted to see that they now enjoy hamboning, BUT, it didn’t really do much for me. I suppose I just don’t understand “random humor.” Someone above pointed out that the writers of this program come up with episodes by throwing darts at post-it notes. That is a terrible way to write! (and dangerous) Also, having worked at JPL, I can assure everyone that there’s no way a golf cart would be able to move that quickly on a lunar surface, let alone evade a magical predator. But I guess “drug humor” is what passes for entertainment these days. Well, I didn’t get the memo!

    • Fart Simpson

      Really Guy? You don’t get “random humor” or “drug Humor”. Strange choice for a screen name then. Isn’t Big Lebowski chalked full of both? are you telling me you didn’t laugh at the note pad boner joke? I know I did.

    • Throw me a bone, Joan!

      The way I see it, it hits home with my generation (9th grade to Juniors), because most of the older cartoons have done it already! Random keeps it weird and funny! The Simpsons and Family Guy got stale after 5th grade, imo. So, bring on the odd. It’s about my age group got some cartoons. Johnny Test is immature, Scooby Doo is overdone (with Total Drama getting there), and the alien/machine sci-fi shows don’t cut it with everyone (not to mention the crappy ‘American anime’ feel they give).

  • Scherepache

    Laughed out loud several times during the premiere. :)

  • http://www.daryl-rhystaylor.co.uk DarylT

    The guys who made this watched too much Family Guy. Whose this made for? It’s nothing but boring talking. I don’t see this working. It’s not going to be Spongebob Big, not even Phineas and Ferb big.

    • N Harmonia, your God-Emperor

      You’re comparing apples to oranges when you compare Regular Show to Spongebob. Here’s the thing people need to understand: this show isn’t just “Lol randum~” like Spongebob or other TV shows are. It’s suppose to be down to earth and mundane to the point where it can be relateable, yet the execution of events and the overall atmosphere is so contrasting, it essentialy becomes surreal. Stuff like the Big Lebowski and Mighty Boosh are perfect examples of this. And really, it’s not chock full of dialouge as some people here make it to be. So yeah, it’s not gonna be Phineas and Ferb status anytime soon. But then again, it’s not trying to be that.

  • Mike Caracappa

    I didn’t mind the talking parts, but personally I think the show works best when it’s engaged in the action sequences. The wrestling sequence in the beginning was fun, and I lit up when they go to the moon to rescue their friend. That was fun. The animation was also well executed. I think it could be a great show. We’ll have to see how it progresses.

  • http://mattoonart.blogspot.com Matt

    Simply put: I didn’t like it. I hope it doesn’t stay long.

    • The Brewmasters

      Matt: Simply put, your comment added nothing to the discussion. If you’re going to participate in a talkback, please give your reasons for or against what you’re reviewing. It is a waste of everybody’s time to say you don’t like something and hope it fails, and then offer no details as to why you feel that why.

      • Ron

        Right. Matt: for future ref, this is how you are supposed to maturely discuss people’s work around here —

        “I commend Cartoon Network’s bold decision to save all of the humor and entertainment for the actual show and ensure no traces of it appear beforehand.”

        For what it’s worth, I’m not a big fan of a lot of the downshot security camera staging, but I found it a lot more charming than I expected.

    • The Ghost of Warner Bros. Past

      Matt has the right to dislike the show, Brewmasters. Judge not, lest ye be judged. Let’s face it, we’re all passing judgements around here. So back off.

      Matt didn’t like the show. I’m afraid I agree with Matt. It’s not that I didn’t like it — and I didn’t. I actually didn’t “get it.” To call the viewing experience of this show “a waste of time” is giving it more credit than it deserves. If anyone who spent fifteen minutes watching this program instead spent those 15 minutes doing something worthwhile, like reading a book or cleaning up the bathroom, they would be much more enlightened and would probably decrease the possibility of contracting a staph infection.

      • Thomas Hatch

        No disrespect to the Brewmasters, but in terms of “details” and “reasons” I do not see any difference between the above comment and Matt’s. (In fact, if given the choice, I actually prefer Matt’s because of its brevity) Anyway, I guess my question is, why scold Matt and not The Ghost of Warner Bros. Past? Why?

      • The Ghost of Warner Bros. Past

        Why scold anybody? It’s ridiculous! The “Brewmasters” put this show up on their site, they solicit “the thoughts and opinions” of those who watch it, and then they object when someone offers a thought or opinion that doesn’t fit within some narrow range of what they want to hear in the discussion. The Brewmasters seem to be running for the office of “Thought Police. And, as for you, Mr. Thomas Hatch, nobody declared you the king of word count, so stay out of my brevity or lack therof.

      • Thomas Hatch

        No Ghost of Warner Bros. Past, I was only saying that as a fan of the show, I would rather read a short comment from someone who hates it rather than a long one. Not trying to criticize your word count. My observation still stands that based on the Brewmaster’s criteria for what constitutes meaningful talkback, there is absolutely no difference between your comment and Matt’s (other than length) so why pick and choose? Just curious.

  • Jed G Martinez

    I thought that “The Regular Show” had some potential – especially since some of the characters were living, breathing inanimate objects (like talking anthropomorphic vending machines and giant lollipops).

    What I’m wondering is this: I know that Mordecai is a blue jay, but what’s the specie of Rigby? One of my friends and I are debating the issue. I say he’s some sort of bandicoot/lemur hybrid, while my friend says he’s a coatimundi. This is an even bigger mystery than figuring out what sort of animal ‘Chowder’ was!

    As for “MAD”, in a nutshell, it’s “Robot Chicken” for kids! My favorite spoofs were that of “Avatar” and Disney’s “Bambi”. (Expect calls from various lawyers, ASAFP!)

  • NC

    All I know is they opened up the episode with a Hulk Hogan Wrestling Buddy, that’s win in my book!

  • NightmareisNear

    Now all Regular Show has to do is add the characters to this montage found here http://vimeo.com/14789781

  • Ruby

    I’m 16 and personally I really like the show. I don’t think they do too much talking and it’s a great concept. My 8 year old sister loves it too. We love adventure time

  • Steve Sues

    I think the episode is hilarious. But it feels too much like a Cartoon Network show that really wants to be an Adult Swim show, but thinks it would be way cooler to be the kind of show aimed at kids that college students love, like Adventure Time or Spongebob. Except it actually takes steps beyond “cartoon that kids love with jokes that will fly over their heads!” and is literally about two twentysomething slacker friends who try to find ways to not do their job. Make no mistake, I laughed a lot during this episode, but that’s because I’m exactly the demographic it won’t admit it’s aiming for.

  • Chris Sobieniak

    Having just seen that first episode (c/o YouTube and it’s ilk) I want to say I like this show very much, even with it’s talky randomness that seems to have left a mild impression on others here. It certainly made me think of the kind of people I knew who were into that mode, but just cranked up a notch given the way this episode escalates in due time. I’m guess I’m a sucker for it since I dig Quintel’s work the first time I saw “The Naive Man from Lolliland” many years ago (another of his films I just saw on YouTube that also has some Regular Show-ish roots is “2 in the AM PM”). Perhaps it’s that sort of mesh between nostalgia and a sense of not knowing what to expect that gives RS it’s flavor. I’ll say it’s a plus for now.

  • http://www.chrisniosi.com Chris “Kirbopher” Niosi

    Oh I think this is worth putting out there, to all of the people confused on how the low-level curse words made it through in there.

    From what I heard down the grapevine, which is sort of what I was making reference to on my earlier post, The Regular Show (as well as another new CN series formerly called “Horrobots”) were supposed to be part of a new block on CartoonNetwork intended to be in between their regular hours and [Adult Swim]. I’d assume the new MADtv show was made for the same purpose. I’m just as surprised about these shows airing as early as 8 or so, when I assumed they’d be around 10, which is the fine line between their two typical demographics of kids and adults.

    (Related side note: a few years back, they made use of this time slot from 10-11 PM with airing the first two seasons of Dragon Ball Z, Uncut, which featured quite a bit of violence AND some cursing here and there, a level above the “cursing” in Regular Show.)

    That said, I guess the higher-ups at CN maybe felt it wasn’t a HUGE risk to try and air these earlier than they originally intended? Not sure, I don’t have that much of a problem with it overall, I was just surprised. But if anything, keep that in mind for if you hear any more naughty words on future episodes. In fact I think “chesticles” is one that’s used at some point, according to a Creative Director on the show that visited SVA a while back.

    • http://ixintro.newgrounds.com Ixintro

      Yes, it’s because Adult Swim is moving to 9 pm starting in January and the network wanted some shows to buffer the two programming blocks. Yup Adult Swim’s goin to prime-time…

  • Andyman

    I guess it’s funny. I mean it didn’t make me laugh or anything, but enough people say it’s funny, so I guess it is. It’s not like the 20 something slackers cliche hasn’t already been beaten into the ground for its feeble comedy potential, but disguised as a blue-jay and a raccoon = BRILLIANCE! Wacky, zany and delightful. In the same hilarious vein as “Magilla Gorilla”.

    • Bill

      If its not funny to you then you can say that, I know its not funny to me but its nice that theres a commercial free episode on youtube, great for calming a guy down.

  • Steve Gattuso

    I just didn’t like it. I’ve grown tired of characters who do wacky things because they’re complete idiots and unable to fix their own mistakes. They remind me too much of the G.O.P.

  • http://bakertoons.blogspot.com/ Charles Brubaker

    Just saw the episode on iTunes. I think I like it better than “Adventure Time”. The animation’s acceptable and the design’s great.

    I’m guessing CN is trying to attract older audience with this show, judging by some swear words that slipped through. Imagine if “Chowder” began just two years later.

  • Chuz

    Man, I found this really funny… well done.

  • Compn

    i liked the cartoonistute pilot immensely. i’m not a big fan of the characters yelling all of the lines (looking at you spongebob). so hopefully it will shy away from that in the future.

    while watching, i knew they were trying to make a joke with the wizard in the park. i knew it wasnt ‘peeing wizard’ or ‘pissing wizard’. i checked wikipedia which used the very boring ‘urinating wizard’ moniker. just now i figured ‘whizzing wizard’ hahaha.

    the show had a beginning (problem), a middle (solution) and an ending (resolved). it included an arc even! the characters went from scammers to remorseful to redemption. you can hardly call it randumb, but i guess thats the current hipster thing to call cartoons, so have at it.

    mark hamills voice sounds kinda wasted on skips i guess.

    • Bill

      An arc just makes it predictable in the cartoons “flow”, the actual events can still be random.

  • Ian

    I also enjoyed the Regular show, it was has a speacial modern silly to it. Watching it made me optimistic in regards to the future of cartoons and cartoon network in particular. I think the CN may have finally realized that they dont need to compete with other networks like Nick and Disney. they are Cartoon Network…CARTOON network. with shows like the new looney tunes, sym bionic titan (which looks beautiful), and the thundercats (animated by studio 4c- enough said) i think CN may be on the verge of reclaiming its former glory.

  • An 11 year old girl who just learned a new word

    OMG this show is SO random!

    • Cyber Fox

      The show is good kind of random not the bad kind of Random like say Family Guy is

  • http://therealscratchpad.wordpress.com/ Andrew

    I loved it. I’m not exactly sure why they thought this was a good “kids show” but I enjoyed every minute of it.

    Talking is fine if the dialogue keeps me entertained and Regular Show certainly accomplished that much.

    The kind of off-beat almost dry humor mixed with absolutely absurd situations makes this show refreshing to me.

    The unpredictability of some parts is great though in the first episode I’m sure anyone could have guessed they’d cover up the hole with a poster eventually.

    One aspect I particularly am impressed by is how natural the voice acting sounds. It doesn’t sound like they’re playing characters so much as they are the characters having a normal conversation.

    If this really was meant to be a middle ground show then it hit its mark I’m pretty sure but I’m delightfully surprised to read that children are enjoying it as well though that makes me think they should tone down the language because it does not actually add anything in my opinion.

    I’m looking forward to next Monday night.

  • Morly

    Count me as one that loved it. Looking forward to more.

  • Caleb

    Really it had its moments…but some things that were said, I really didn’t care or expect to hear from a kids cartoon. Like when they broke a hole in the wall. Rigby: “How in the H are we gonna fix that S”… well what do you think they mean? Hmmm… at first, I was led to beleive that substituting the words with the first letter of it was like saying the real thing. Most other parents that I know scold their children for using the letters in place… so this voids that issue. Now seeing this show, kids are gonna do it too. Also I recall Rigby saying “Pissed”, never in any cartoon have I heard this. “Pissed” is one of those halvesies words. Like you can say them, but they still are kinda bad to say. But it was a good cartoon, and if the language issue is fixed it would be ten times better.

    • J.T.

      I agree completely. My children watched this show today and really enjoyed it. I asked them if what I heard was correct, a character swore. I don’t feel at 5:45 pm that it’s necessary for a cartoon to swear. My kids are young. I feel bad but told my children they could not watch the show any longer. It’s a personal choice. To bad because they really liked the Regular Show.

  • http://woweh.com Kelly

    Personally, I loved it as a woman in her mid-twenties and a character designer. Animation-wise? Well, it’s no Glen Keane, but then again, that’s not the point!
    It was fun, unique, and it gave my friend and I a great new way to communicate what we want from life!
    *dances*
    “Give us a raise, LOSER!”

  • Dr. Ivo Robotnik

    I’ll give it a few more shots, but honestly, I don’t know. I’d appreciate it more if I could understand what they’re trying to do. This seems to be the kind of thing that would be better suited for live action, but then again, I don’t want to fall into the trap of pigeonholing all animation as “wacky, zany cartoons for kids.” I feel almost as if Chowder, Flapjack and Adventure Time all led up to this- cartoons with an increasing hipster vibe to them.

    This feels like someone was told to produce a show based on the general feeling of an acting performance from Michael Cera- too slow for me and I’m glad to see I’m not alone on that. At the risk of sounding like John “Do Me Hard, Bob Clampett” Kricfalusi, if you’re going to make a cartoon, make a cartoon, not “Seinfeld: The Animated Series.” There are cartoons that did dialogue-heavy shows well (when animation wasn’t as important as the writing, i.e. action cartoons from Fox Kids during the 90′s), but it distracts me to see characters, who are obviously designed for a zany cartoon, get misused for ten minutes of talking.

    Of course this show does have lots of sequences that are really clever and fun to watch, and if the Monster of the Week trope turns out to be a regular thing, it might be worth watching just for that.

    Yeah, dunno yet.

  • Clay

    Hamboning had me loling for realsies

  • randumbz

    The new best show on cartoon network after ben 10 alien force.

  • And-rue

    Personally, being 17, I really liked the show. To tell you the truth the dialogue reminded me of how my friends and I actually talk sometimes(weird? yeah I know). I also like how the characters are drawn and the expressions they have. They’re like ordinary people in extraordinary situations. I would like the show to be longer, but something tells me it might lose it’s touch.

  • http://h-y-l.com vertius

    I thought it was really funny. I’m not a cartoon expert, but this is high on my list of funny cartoons. The plots were so absurd and unpredictable. I don’t understand the comments about too much dialogue. I am not mocking, I just don’t understand. I don’t mind dialogue, as long as it’s funny.

  • Moobie

    Regular Show has been an interesting experience, I am not sure if I like it or not. The original pilot was okay, usually cartoon pilots are slow and over a few episodes you get into the series. This happened with The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack– which had all the right sort of personalities, physical and dialouge humor. It played off well, was silly but not too kiddish. Being that the same creative director made THIS show, I was expecting a bit more. Very dialouge heavy – it has it’s moments but most jokes are hit and miss. I feel it’s ‘trying too hard’ even with the random spurts of ‘cursing’ which only consist of saying pissed. It seems it’s trying to be cool but — is lacking. Adventure Time is random too, but at least I can get most the jokes and nothing seems over done. Regular Show is ‘alright’ but I don’t see the whole hype. I still would perfer to watch Spongebob – even though I am 23 just like the characters in Regular Show.

  • Jessica

    This show was hillarious, but I don’t think it’s much of a kids show. Its a PG rating, which is one step closer to it being rated TV 14. I think this probably all of kids parents would hate, but I loved it. It need to work on its language a little because I’m sure that if they keep saying stuff like “crap”, “pissed”, and ” What the H dude how are we gonna get out of this S” and they did a little bit innapropate things in episode 3 the giant coffee guy pretty much breastfeed Mordecai and Rigby. and in episode 7 ( this one isn’t so bad but still, its a kids show) Rigby pinched Mordecai’s nipples ( even though since hes a a bird) but this show is still my favorite. and if it didn’t have these problems I’d love it even more. ;D

  • Jessica

    Oh and guys Rigby isn’t a squirrel he’s a raccoon. and my favorite character. I mean Rigby is just so adorble. xP

  • http://talkback brittany

    it is soooooooooooooooooooooooooo coolthat rigby and mordecai are the best characters(include:pops)

  • http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/talkback-the-regular-show.html Bruce

    This show keeps me laughing with its little absurdities, and my 6 year old likes it too. It seems culturally grounded in the 1980′s, which is great. The semi-trailer from hell, the cosmic El Camino, the early video game graphics. Each episode seems to center on the shenanigans of Rigby, and invariably results in a “breach in the fabric of reality,” which Skips the Yeti usually repairs. This seems much better than “Adventure Time” or “Flapjack” which were somehow repugnant. High-Five Ghost is brilliant. Love it that Rigby intermittently walks on two legs, and then runs on four like a raccoon.

  • Sam

    I know alot of you are saying that this show is too inapro or that it needs to tone it down, but thats the thrill of it! You dont know what lines they think they wil be able to get a way with and them saying stuf liek crap and pissed is what makes me want to watch this show so much! I mean, im 14 and I love this show. ITs almost boundary breaking dialouge is what attracts my age group. And this is also the reason I stil like iCarly, cause their are lots of innuendos that kisd wouldnt get but are completel hilarious to me :D

  • jodi

    I love this show! You can stream shows by watching a youtube playlist all day long. Cartoon Network needs to show Regular Show more and the other crap they have less. Their ratings will be sent to the moon! Know what I mean, dude?

  • montgojj

    adventure time,world of gumball,regular show,mad,almost naked animals,sidekick,beyblade i will never watch. too kiddish & dumb

  • Hunts

    Montgojj, I agree with you on all those except for regular show.

  • http://www.cartoonbrew.com Ahkee

    I love this show. It’s pretty good. I love Mordecai and Rigby. They are the best. And Benson kinda gets on my nerves.

  • kitty

    I know its got a lot of drunk and sexulal innuendo, but still it is a great show! Despite some eps rated TV-PG, when they deserve TV-PG-L (L for Language) because like u pissed me off, hes gonna be pissed, etc etc is innapropriate for kids (like me, im only T-E-N).

    i say GOOD SHOW~but like i live in AUSTRALIA so its You Ticked Me Off and Hes Gonna Be Miffed (which means Pissed)
    And i dont have TV-PG, its actuallty just PG here
    it goes
    G PG M MA AV R X
    TV-G TV-Y7 TV-PG TV-14 and so on so fircken forth.
    SOOOH GOOD SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

  • Turrable

    This show is repetitive and predictable. Every episode you can expect they will have a problem, then something supernatural happens and the place they are in gets destroyed. I guess this is ironic humor but when it happens in every episode it gets boring. Lazy writing, badly drawn, and lazy character creation.