TV.com

show: iCarly

The Bottom Line: "Great"

Now, I won't really bother with the plot on this review, but basiclly it's about a girl named Carly who starts her own web show, obviously named ICarly. It's a web show, by the way, and in it her and her best friend Sam perform random acts of stupidity/hilarity/randomness. The person running the show (as in technical stuff) is her other friend, Freddie.

As soon as you've seen an enjoyed the fantastic (and possibl the best) Nick show Drake and Josh, you're wondering how a (somewhat) spinoff which is similar to it will be. Will it be one of those lousy shows that shouldn't have been made in the first place, or is it so great it's even better? ICarly falls in the middle, it's a very good, great in fact, show which features energetic actors and mostly very funny plotlines which are used to show the creative Dan Schnieder's knack for making sitcoms. In fact, this, along with his other shows (The Amanda show, Drake and Josh, Zoey 101) is in my opinion what's keeping Nick alive. The people at Nick headquarters should be thanking this man for keeping a seemingly dead network (as far as good shows go) alive.

Miranda Crosgrove is very good in the show, and it goes to show that she can carry her own sitcom with herself in the lead role. However, I can't say she's the only thing that makes this what it is, because her funny and likeable co-stars (who's names escape me right now...) provide setups for each and almost every punchline. And a special mention is needed for the actor who played Crazy Steve in Drake and Josh, because he, like in Drake and Josh, is often the funniest character on the show with his over the top inventions and "art". And lastly, the chemistry between everyone in the show is amazing, espeically for a show that's fairly new. They all fight and love and try to solve problems like they really have been best friends for a long time, and it shows that they've grown comfortable in their roles in such a short amount of time. To be fair, however, Miranda has had experince on Drake and Josh, but her and the other actors are pitch perfect in their roles.

And I don't think I really need to mention the creativity and energy of the show itself, since that's to be expected from the guy who created and directed The Amanda Show and Drake and Josh. Each episode is unique, and we never get the feeling that things are getting repititous, because each episode provides a brand new and fresh plot.

Okay, now on to the bad side. As impressive as the lead actors are, they still don't match the charisma Drake Bell and Josh Peck had on their show. They give it their all in each episode, but I guess it was sort of "magic" that made their predecessor so good. They're all funny and energetic, but they're missing that certain spark.

And honestly, some of the plotlines are very predictable but done in a way in which we "think" it's orginal. For instance, when Carly and Sam get into a fight in one episode. The setup is orginal, and so is the outcome, but haven't we seen the whole "best friend fighting" plot in, I dunno, almost every TV show? Alright, it was acceptable in Drake and Josh, but that's because it was just plain hilarious. ICarly isn't that hilarious, and thus it's flaws show.

Overall, ICarly is surely a great show and a creative one, and a good substitute for Drake and Josh. But somehow, and it's to be expected, it doesn't quite live up to it. Which, for the most part, isn't a fault of it's own, but with it's creator. Blame him for making a great and classic TV show, and then just making a great TV show.

show: Avatar: The Last Airbender

episode: The Beach

The Bottom Line: "Bad"

Wow, now this one hurts. The Beach is supposed to be one of those episodes that shows us the feelings of some characters we love to hate, such as Azula. They apparently want to take some kind of vacation or something and come to a very nice beach to relax. But, as usual, nothing ever goes right. Tell me, if things always went right, would shows be any fun? Maybe, because this episode sure isn't fun. And, without any explaination, the Gang pops up at a pond somewhere....sorry, I don't have any details since the episode explained absolutely NOTHING. But, Combustion Man shows up and does the same attack over and over...and..yawn..over again.

So, let's get on to the "expressing" at the end of the episode. Without any warning, everyone goes OOC and starts talking about their past, and they start shouting, and pretty soon everyone is letting out their secrets. I laughed. I laughed harder, and then I started wincing. Then, I hoped nobody would see me watching this mess of an episode, because I don't think I could show my face to them again. Why? Because the once great show Avatar: The Last Airbender, which took it's time with characterizations and development has now resorted to rushing things, and allowing the characters to act like they're entirely different people. And the end result is one extremely painful to watch episode, and what (in my opinion) is the worst episode of Avatar to date. Ty Lee is now saying how mis-treated she was in the circus, but why can't we have an episode that shows her past, like Zuko Alone, and make us feel for her, instead of some shout-fest which includes her going from happy-happy-bubble-gum mood to sappy-sappy-emo mood. Everyone did this (and by everyone I mean Zuko, Mai, Azula and Ty Lee). I want to watch Avatar, not an episdode of Dr.Phil.

And Combustion man is, well, there. People say he's not developed because he's a minor character, and that might be true. But, as a villain that is supposed to pose such a threat to the Gang, you would think we would have at least an idea of where he came from, or how he got the third eye on his head, and how he got the mechanical arm. He's like a wooden box, you can decorate him on the outside, but inside, it's just a bunch of empty space.

The action seqeunce is tedious. Combustion Man fires his laser (or whatever the heck it is, see what I mean by not the show not explaining things?). The Gang blocks his laser. He fires his laser again. The Gang blocks his laser again. The Gang gets away. The end.

I sure do hope the show stops giving us these gimmicks (Combustion Man, counseling sessions with Azula, Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee) and start giving us some real character development, some real action, and some real villains. I just won't settle for five minutes of people sitting around a campfire "expressing" themselves. We were only given an overall summary of what happened in their lives. We got the apetizer. Now where's the main course?

All in all, this episode just plain SUCKED.

show: Avatar: The Last Airbender

episode: Bitter Work

The Bottom Line: "Superb"

Now this is character development, not like other failed attempts at it (The Beach). This episode shows Zuko's struggles with himself, it shows how he can't seem to control something without getting rid of the turmoil inside of him. I feel sorry for him, he wants to learn so badly, but even with Iroh's help, it seems as though he'll never be able to improve. Iroh is at his best here, giving us a funny, insightful look at bending, how they have their own effects and differences. His speeches in this episdode are also quite touching, when you think about it. Here's a sixty year old man helping his nephew with an injury, and yet he keeps his confidence and humor. Aang also struggles to learn earthbending, which shows us that he's the oppisite of what he has to learn. Air is light and gentl, and earth is strong and stubborn. You feel for each character, you want them to win, you want them to prevail. Not just because they're good guys, but because the characters are so likeable.

This episode is a real character peice, which is done with such flow and pacing, such precision and heart. This may be my favorite episode of the series, or at least one of them.

show: Avatar: The Last Airbender

episode: The Puppetmaster

The Bottom Line: "Fair"

So here we have a great storyline, right? Yes. But do we get a huge plot development, with an exciting showdown, tons of character emotion? Nope, just another filler that doesn't exist outside this episode. Don't know what I mean? Well, bloodbending is not used, nor mentioned, outside this episode. I don't see how great it can be when we only see it for about ten minutes of the episode. At least if we see something like that, it be more, what should I say, "important". If bloodbending upsets Katara so much, why wasn't their more of a reaction in the episode, instead of her just crying at the end? This episode might've been better if it had been a two-parter.

Still, it's another lacking episode.

Edit- I take it back, this isn't the best episode of season 3. That title would go to The Avatar and the Firelord.