January 2019

Gravity Falls: Not What It Seems

Posted 28 January 2019

Gravity Falls / Disney Channel, Disney XD / 2012-2016 (added 9-12-19)

From November 5th to November 30th, 2018, I watched the entire “Gravity Falls” series including the behind-the-scenes special “Between the Pines.” I first started watching a few episodes between 2014-2015 on the Disney XD website. Years later, after finding all the episodes on Hulu, I thought why not this one? This show is soooo weird…I like it!

What’s It About?

This show follows the Pines twins, Dipper and Mabel, who visit their Grunkle (Great + Uncle = “Grunkle.” Clever!) Stan for the summer at his Mystery Shack, a tourist trap. Taking place in the fictional town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, the small town is occupied by many mysteries and weird on-goings that the twins encounter during their stay.

Changing Tones

Despite the dynamic changes in tones between the two seasons, this show is definitely a must to watch in its entirety. Season one had its share of peppiness and self-episodic stories which eventually transitioned into season two’s darker and progressive story arc. Despite this change, the show maintains its quality.

“Dreamscaperers” (the second-to-last episode of season 1) is an ep I enjoyed as it had much going on. It is a preparation for the feel of the then-upcoming season two. This episode began the end of the colorful, goofy storytelling that was possessed by the preceding episodes. More eventful and shadowy events were on the horizon in season two.

The episode “A Tale of Two Stans” (S2, Ep 12) was the season two ep that stood out to me. The episode tells of the early relationship between Grunkle Stan and his twin brother Stanford. Revelations of secrets and what made them drift apart are a major feature in this episode. I’d say the Stan twins had quite a history that was interesting to hear and see. I like the name of their boat, “Stan o’ War.”

Scattered Mysteries

One of the dominant elements of this show are the clues and puzzles that the creator scattered throughout the series about the show’s meaning. I didn’t catch all of them the first time around but the types of clues that even my untrained senses can sense are the cryptograms at the end of the ending credits and the backwards voice at the end of the opening theme song. Watching “Between the Pines” special pointed out what I missed after my first full go-around. It gives me things to look for whenever I watch the entire series again.

Yes, A Popular Show I Actually Like!

This show can be very, very interesting if you follow the hidden clues and solve the cryptograms. Even if you missed most of them (like I did), this show will still have a unique feel over the animations Disney offered at that time. On top of it all, this show had a decent ending! What other shows have that?  I give this show 4.5 stars. This show had complex themes that were difficult for me to write about without performing extensive research but it definitely makes this show worth watching again someday. If you haven’t seen this show yet, do me a favor and please watch it. It could change the way you think of things.

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Happy New Year — 2019

Posted 17 January 2019

Hello and welcome to the new year. I hope you had fun ringing in 2019. Or did you sleep through it? No matter what you did at that time, I have many reviews I plan to write for this coming year. I will post them as soon as they are written which may take some time.

The Old Vic’s Review’s New Look

If you’ve been on the old Vic’s Review blog recently, you may have noticed its new, modern look. You may be wondering why I decided to give the old site a hot, new makeover and not this one. The reason why VR1 got the first makeover was so that whoever found the blog on their phone or other small-screened device can read the blog more easily. The previous theme was old, outdated, and was not responsive to other device screens.

Blogger has some awesome new themes that look excellent on such an old blog. Unfortunately I can’t decide on a fresh look for this blog. It’s hard to find a good theme on WordPress for a blog with not many pictures. I want this blog to look just as modern, if not more modern, than its predecessor. I shall make it so even if I have to build a hip theme myself with code.

Yes, 2019 will be the ultimate year for new reviews and gradual improvements for this new blog itself. Hopefully I can post more than I did last year. Remember the look of this blog now for around this time next year, it will look better and more modern.

Now, on with the reviews…

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