Vermin_Empire Reviews

The Oblongs (2001–2002)

Bring back the Oblongs!

[8 April 2004]

The Oblongs takes a little while to get used to, but once you do, you can see past the "horror and cruelty" and "tastelessness" and appreciate it for the humor. The Oblongs pushed the Simpsons envelope in much the same way the Family Guy did, and should not have been cancelled. Critics of the show call it "awful", "gross" and "disgusting", although by the time the show hit the airwaves the network censors had watered it down from Angus Oblong's original concept. I wonder what their reaction would have been had there been no censorship.

What bothers me most about the cancellation of shows like this is that moronic pablum such as King of the Hill is everlasting while the Oblongs, Futurama, The Critic and the Family Guy get cancelled (although the Family Guy has re-emerged on cable with new episodes.)

To those critics who slam the show: if you don't like it, don't watch it. Don't get it thrown off the air by complaining about it. To those who love the show: you can still catch episodes on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network at 12:30AM & 3:30AM Mondays, and according to Angus Oblong's website, in Canada on "TeleToon". There are only 13 episodes in existence (and only 6 were ever broadcast on network television). There should be more. Shame on the critics! And shame on the Nielsen viewers!

2001: A Space Travesty (2000)

WORST. MOVIE. EVER.

[8 April 2004]

Being a huge fan of Leslie Nielsen and the "Naked Gun" series and films, I thought I would check this movie out. It is, and I can say this without hyperbole, the WORST MOVIE EVER. Never before have I seen a movie with such a cheap plot and inane characters. The writing seems to have been done by a group of chimps, as there is nothing funny in the entire movie. They try, of course, with bathroom humor and stealing visual comedy from the Naked Gun. But aside from Nielsen, there are no funny characters and the only laughs come from Nielsen's "Lt. Drebin"-esque slapstick (and those laughs are few and far between, and only "chuckles", at that.)

I think the people who made this movie saw they had a giant stinker and tried to "dress it up" by hiring Nielsen and putting him on the cover, so when you see it in the video store you will think it's funnier than it is. A Space Travesty indeed.

Crank Yankers (2002–2022)

My thoughts on the show

[7 April 2004]

IT'S ABOUT TIME someone made a crank-call show. The Jerky Boys have been around since the early '90s and it's taken this long to put the premise to a show. Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Corolla have pulled it off brilliantly. Using puppets to add visualization to the phony phone calls is a stroke of genius. This way, the producers can add to the "story" by personifying the victims and extrapolating possible reactions to the calls, or simply by poking fun at the "prankee". I can't stop laughing every time I watch this show. I especially enjoy the varied "celebrity yankers" who make the calls. It's interesting to try to put the voice to a name, and see if you were correct at the end of the show when they list the "yankers." Bottom line: if you liked The Jerky Boys albums, you will love Crank Yankers.