The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Not the movie! The TV show.

I just finished watching the series (I still haven't watched the shorts). Although it has a very unique sense of style, and about a million awesome ideas, the show has some serious downsides. Although a few of the episodes have a clear plot and direction, most just meander along, slow and aimless. The show starts of as relatively grounded Sci Fi, but is thick with pseudo-intellectual babble that smarts in the same way that it does in the Matrix sequels. The show is at its best about a third of the way through the series, when it replaces the metaphysical lectures with inventive intercourse. Seriously, Trevor Goodchild is like the Thomas Edison of sex. But the show sags when the Sci-Fi and the sex are replaced with ultra-fantastical what-if scenarios (Æon trying to kill God birthed from a pregnant man (!), Æon chasing a giant narcolepsy-inducing baby (!!), Æon becoming a soccer-mom back in our century (!!!), etc...).

For the most part I enjoyed the show, especially the episodes that focus on morality and psychology (I specifically like that they leave it up to you to decide if Æon is the "good guy" or the "bad guy"). However, it's too boring in places, too meandering and pointless in others, and the narration is embarrassing throughout. C+, but it's only a few-hour commitment, so I recommend it.

I recently got the boxed set too, and was surprised to find that I'd actually already seen nearly every episode and every short. The remastering job they did for the collection was top-notch, and I think it brought a lot to the table.

I don't think there was so much philosophy; it was mostly just random weirdness. Peter Chung started the series because he was blowing off steam from being so repressed by his previous animation job (which was pretty surprising; definitely watch the featurette on disc 3). And it worked pretty well for that.

Anyway, the shorts are great. I particularly liked "Tide."

Yeah, the shorts are very good. I loved Tide and also Gravity.

Gravity's my second-favorite. You just so much want her to live JUST THIS ONCE and she looks like she's about to survive but she makes one stupid mistake which ends things even earlier than they normally would have.

But I think Tide wins just because of the hilarious punchline.

Oh, but for sheer beauty, War is amazing.