Channel Awesome
Rob and Doug take a look by popular demand at the hit series!
Tagged with: cartoons channel awesome doug walker laser light cannon rob walker steven universe steven universe vlogs television
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gem glow is actually episode 2 the DVD is out of order i recommend viewing by alternate means
also this show is really good at drip feeding you story and character development so have fun
Yeah, the DVD episodes are out of order, and a good chunk of them is missing (like episode 3 isn’t even on the DVD)
of course, seeing how you already did all the Vlogs, its too late to tell you now
Wait, Cheeseburger Backpack isn’t on the DVD? Why? That episode is amazing …
Plus it comes back in a pretty significant way later on.
I love cheeseburger backpack it’s a cheeseburger shaped like a backpack plus it helped Steven bring some pretty neat stuff(including a raft they thought they lost when Steven thourgh it down the waterfall but then it floated back up and helped them return home in the end). Plus I like saying it like they did in the commercial they aired on cartoon network
Cheeseburger backpack,cheeseburger backpack,Wing wing,chesseburger backpack,cheeseburger backpack,wing,wing, lol halirious episode.
How does it come back?
This is sort-of spoiler territory, so read at your own risk:
SPOILER WARNING
It’s a plot point in an episode later on that the mission Steven goes on in Cheeseburger Backpack was intended to test how ready he was to go on actual missions. It was basically one giant test where Steven failed to complete the objective, but his other ideas worked so they decide to take him on missions anyways. Also, much later on, the raft from that episode comes back and I’m pretty sure they loosely reference the episode.
He carries the cheeseburger backpack on his shoulder and it floats up randomly and perfect timing I might add(guess it just was plot convinence that it came back).
Wait, episode three ISN’T on the DVD? What the hell is up with networks these days and messing with their popular shows?
That was just a special DVD they released but maybe they’ll release the full season like they did with adventure time?
Well, it’s not really supposed to be a season set or anything, it’s just a regular DVD, with a few episodes from the first season.
Makes me wonder why anyone would think that’s a good product.
A DVD with episodes on it has two core necessities:
1) complete
2) in order
If both are missing it’s just a bunch of random episodes.
personally,i would like to mention that whether or not you do actually watch the opening title sequence,that opening gives the general information of the show
the song says,they are the crystal gems,and they’ll always save the day,and they’ll always find a way to save the day,and end it off naming the four gems who make up they’re group they call the crystal gems: Garnet, Amethyst,and Pearl, and Steven!
it may be part of the reason why they don’t really go to far into introducing themselves in the show,the title sequence sort of does that for you
I don’t think that arguments holds much water when speaking of TV shows (especially ones aimed at kids) in general.
Cause lots of cartoons, especially ones from the 80s and 90s era that Doug and Rob mention, did have both expository theme songs AND exposition dump first episodes/pilots.
The info-dump opening sequence is rather a reminder of what the story is about, while the actual exposition happens in the introductory episode.
the episodes on the DVD in their chronological order:
“Pilot” (Special Feature) Ep:0
“Gem Glow” Ep:01
“Laser Light Cannon” Ep:02
“Cat Fingers” Ep:06
“Bubble Buddies” Ep:07
“Tiger Millionaire” Ep:09
“Steven’s Lion” Ep:10
“Giant Woman” Ep:12
“Lars and the Cool Kids” Ep:14
“Onion Trade” Ep:15
“Beach Party” Ep:18
“Rose’s Room” Ep:19
“Steven and the Stevens” Ep:22
I suggest getting the missing episodes from iTunes
“If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hot dogs.”
Based on his Facebook age, the episodes being out of order on the DVD has already been brought to Rob’s attention, so I won’t mention it apart from this disclaimer.
When I first heard about Steven Universe, I was already familiar with Rebecca Sugar’s work on Adventure Time. For some reason, I didn’t get around to watching for close to year after its initial airing. Coincidentally enough, I managed catch up a few hours before Mirror Gem and Ocean Gem aired. So far, I’d say it’s easily one of the top five cartoons ever produced by channel. I practically grew up on Cartoon Network, so it’s great to see that it has mostly gotten over its 2005-2009 decline.
Steven Universe and Adventure Time are definitely similar in that they both drop the viewer into a strange world with little context, and give them more information related to the characters and lore over time. I look forward to seeing how you react to its gradual evolution.
“This is our first episode, Laser Light Cannon.”
“I’m not convinced that’s not what we just saw, just something somewhere in the middle.”
Well yeah … Laser Light Cannon is the second episode. You missed Gem Glow, the episode where they actually introduced the main characters and setting and everything.
Laser light cannon is definantely NOT the first episode.
Gem Glow is, and while nothing really happens in it they do explain who the gems are, there personalities and a bit of there abilities.
Not much happens, but they establish quite a bit. They establish a monster that becomes pretty important for a later episode and might be even more important in the future, the concept that gems have special weapons and that summoning your weapon is a big deal, mention briefly how that even works, and that Steven has his mother’s shield. Which is a big deal for the series.
From what i’ve heard its very clear the people who made this love older anime. Apparently there are a lot of references to those 70s 80s shows.
i still wish doug one day talks about invader zim
We all wish they would Vlog our favorite shows. Personally, I would like to see a Vlog of Once Upon a Time (because they’ve talked about and referenced it so much recently) or American Horror Story
He’s already seen Invader ZIM. He just do Vlogs for shows he hans’t seen.
When I asked him about IZ, he said he wants to review the show? But I’m also wondering to do Regular show, or flapjack.
Im sorry I meant to say it in a sentice tha, hr would want to Review invader Zim. Not question.
Woo! Though…. mainly going to return when we get to the episodes that finally got me hooked (somewhere like 18-21 ish). And especially when it becomes mostly non-filler episodes
And, yeah, like everyone else is saying: Look up the order of episodes.
The idea of Steven Universe is that you learn about the world as he does you’re kind of just have to be patient.
I just don’t like this show as much as adventure time or gravity falls. The lessons are so basic that you’d see them on mickey mouse club house. I’ve watched several episodes because my little brother is a fan, but I’ve honestly never laughed watching it. It’s just not funny, and nothing about Steven has heroic worth to him. If he didn’t incidentally happen to have magic powers, he’d have nothing to contribute. That’s just terrible for a protagonist. It’d be better if he was a side character or something.
What are you talking about? There have been TONS of times where Steven has saved the Crystal Gems, his friends, and on some occasions the whole world. But it’s hardly ever through masculine action hero like qualities. There have been many times where his pacifist nature are much more effective than the Crystal Gems blindly running into dangerous fights (if it weren’t for Steven talking one of the villains out of it, the ocean would have stayed sucked up).
And during the few times where his powers properly develop, they’re some of the most impressive moments of the series. Now Steven is a full fledged member of the CG and it’s awesome to see him use his powers in creative and heroic ways. And never does it look like he’s a burden to the gems. Seeing him grow from an ignorant, yet lovable kid into a competent magic user is one of the main returning draws of the show.
Are you kidding? I actually have seen the latest episode you know. He’s no different from usual. He’s not mature by any measure. He does what the Gems tell him, and otherwise saves people unintentionally. That’s not a hero. And I don’t mean Hercules when I say hero. I happen to think Dipper is very heroic.
Also I’ve seen the episode you just described. I’m not an idiot. I know you’re full of shit. Once again Steven saved the world using his powers that he did nothing to earn. He healed the water girl’s injuries so she didn’t need the ocean anymore. And then she left. That was it. There was no convincing. His pacifist nature meant nothing, he merely needed to use a single iota of intelligence to remember he can heal things.
Any time he faces adversity he whips out an indestructible shield. The condition for Steven actually accomplishing something is that everyone else is being incompetent or stupid.
In the words of The Dude “Well that’s just like, your opinion man”
And your opinion is no more valid than the opinion of anyone else here (in fact it might be less valid because you seem determined to see only what you want to see in the show)
That’s just a poor excuse people use when they have no way to defend themselves. I am not determined to see the show in a bad light. I have absolutely no reason to. I don’t like the show and I explain why. That’s it. Please don’t pretend you’re an authority on valid opinions just to get your way. It is my opinion that the show is not funny. That’s all there is to it. But there is more to be said in regards to my belief that Steven usefulness pertains almost exclusively to his powers. If you disagree, give a few examples.
Just think about it for a second. Could other people with Steven’s powers easily replace him? Let’s take his mom for instance. Obviously things would go about 1000x smoother if they had her instead of him, but that’s a bit unfair of an example.
What if it was Connie, or hell even Steven’s dad? The way I see it, these people could easily replace Steven if they had his powers, and nothing would be lost. I almost feel like the gas station lady would be a better Gem than Steven.
In a way I sort of agree with you…
…Steven has never struck me as a ‘Hero’
he’s like any other kid really… but I guess what makes him different is his innocence.
Well, feeling useless is kinda a MAJOR conflict with many characters. Like you said, Steven never really did anything to earn his powers and he’s painfully aware of that. “And I think the Gems sort of blame me for my mom not being around.” That’s a pretty harsh thing for a kid to feel like he’s the mistake that caused for the loss of his family’s loved one. His mom is constantly built up to be an amazing hero and leader. And Steven … Is a naive little kid who’s barely learning how to use his powers (which correlate with his emotional state and maturity). The Gems are even constantly leaving him in the dark about Gem history and powers because they don’t think he can handle it, and for a kid who’s only around 10 years old, it kinda is a lot to take in. But it’s not just Steven who has that kind of problem.
Greg can’t relate to his son’s magic problems and obviously feels very inferior/ awkward around the gems, seeing as they’re more amazing than he understands. He states how he feels useless the both the Gems and his own son.
Pearl thought so lowly of herself that she constantly put herself in danger to “protect” Rose, even though she has an indestructible shield. She’s “nothing compared to Rose” and she tried to convince a young human girl to feel the same compared to Steven.
Connie has some insecurities about Steven. She feels too mundane compared to his lifestyle. Because of this, she was susceptible to Pearl telling her “you are useless compared to the one you love,” and felt more useful as his obedient servant.
Amethyst feels insecure about her personality and origin.
Garnet is just awesome.
And as for the Lapis situation, nobody knew what she wanted the ocean for. Even Pearl says something along the lines of “what would she want with the ocean.” It just so happens that she already made friends with Steven and was willing to bring him up and tell him why she needed the ocean column. And so Steven finally finds a use for his healing powers. And if it weren’t for his bubble, his dad and Connie would have likely drowned under the weight of and entire ocean.
And I don’t see how Steven would need to earn his powers. He’s the son of a powerful, magical gem. That’s pretty basic. Did Dipper earn the book when he accidentally found it in a tree? Did Superman earn his powers by being the last son of Krypton? Did Peter Parker earn being bitten by a mutated spider? The thing is, unlike Spider-Man, Steven doesn’t have a quick montage to figure out his powers. And unlike Dipper, there’s no manual for how his powers work, especially since being a half human kinda warps the powers a bit. He’s a kid… You can’t exactly expect a 10 year old to figure out how to use his fathers guns all by himself. His shield is not any sort of deus ex machina. He NEEDS to learn how to use these powers if he’s ever going to be useful to his team (like the giant shield in The Return).
(SPOLER ALERT) And just to sum up the different ways he helps.
How his human flaws helped in unorthodox circumstances:
1. He figured out the spinning mechanism of the Strawberry temple. This wasn’t just an accident. He used a past experience with motion sickness to figure out how the temple was spinning, something that the gems hadn’t yet noticed.
2. He felt empathy for the Centipeetle monster and was able to tame it, something that his mother wasn’t even able to do.
3. His need for sleep somehow lead for him to be able to dream his way through other gems mindscapes. It’s already been theorized that gems may have already had this power. Garnet could sense Steven’s presence and the CG seem pretty capable of hunting gem monsters. However, they never need to sleep. Steven accidentally discovers that he can communicate to other gems. This isn’t just brushed off either. He discovers his powers, and then tries to reacitivate it to communicate and help his lost friend. Sure he may have gotten them because he was half human, but wouldn’t this new development be kinda… helpful? He discovered it by accident, but who the hell cares by this point? They accidentally discovered something, and now they can use it to their advantage.
Times where his powers are NEEDED:
1. Steven learns how his healing powers work (having healing spit is a weird development from a mothers healing tears but whatever). This just so happens to be what Lapis needed.
2. In that same episode, his bubble saves the entire team from drowning under a collapsing ocean column and floats them back home.
3. In The Return, giant shield stops doomsday laser cannon.
4. In Sworn to the Sword, he can summon a shield and bubble at the same time, all because of his desire to protect the girl he loves, regardless of what she’s feeling.
4. C’mon. Their sword and shield combo at the end of that episode was pretty awesome.
Times where he’s great emotional support for those he loves:
1. He showed Pearl how she was strong in the real way.
2. He stopped Connie and Pearl from thinking of themselves as human shields.
3. At the Kindergarten, he was able to calm down Amethyst and Pearl and convinced them to talk about their problems.
4. In Tiger Millionaire, he gave Amethyst some better closure with how she acts around the team.
5. In Roses Scabbard he got Pearl to get over her dead lesbian crush (for a little while anyway).
These are all at the top of my head.
And yeah. I don’t think the show is all that funny either. Still love it.
wow…every party needs a pooper, that’s why they invited you
The humor might just not be for you, but I love it. And this is a coming of age story for Steven, he gets much better later on and far less annoying.
In what way are the lessons basic? The way I see it, there are actually plenty of mature, complex morals developing in the show. Just one of the main examples is in “Alone Together” in which it touches upon gender identity and social anxiety. A recurring and non-“Mickey-Mouse” lesson is that of keeping secrets from those you love to protect them and the possible consequences of doing so, such as Rose keeping secrets from Pearl, the Crystal Gems and Greg keeping secrets from Steven, Connie keeping her magic life secret from her parents and the Mayor keeping secrets from his townsfolk and the repercussions that follow.
About Steven not being what you see as a “hero”, I don’t think he’s meant to be, and not every protagonist of an action-based show necessarily has to be. In his case, he’s just a kid who happens to be the son of who others saw as a hero and he sort of pressured into also fitting this image as he also contains the potential to be like her. His story as that of maturing and coming of age, and he does mature across the course of the show. He doesn’t just stay the childish, naive character archetype he was at the beginning.
In agreement with everyone else, you reviewed the 3rd episode for your 1st vlog review. I go by the order given by Wikipedia. Some plots would work better if they are seen in proper order…or else spoilers… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Steven_Universe_episodes
I was introduced to Steven Universe through Blockbuster Buster (who didn’t like it) but WOW I love Steven Universe, the tales these people are able to tell in 15 minute increments is Amazing! The music also very catchy too, two thumbs up to Rebecca Sugar’s latest creation. 🙂
Watching the actual first episode, Gem Glow, definitely would be better. It would be better to get season 1 on itunes since that one’s at least in order and has all of the episodes (some of them are a little mixed around in the next ones, but I figure you guys will take a little while to get through season 1).
I don’t want to give too much away, but I will at least explain a little bit: the Crystal Gems are aliens and Rose Quartz was their leader, Steven is Rose Quartz’s son, Garnet is the tall and red one with two gems in her hands, Pearl is the middle one with the gem in her forehead, and Amethyst is the purple one with the gem in her chest.
Sad to see the episodes out of order thanks for that Cartoon Network -_- but happy to see them vloging this great series. This episode brings in a few important things to the show we see Steven’s dad for the first time and that eyeball in the sky gets brought up latter.
The creator, Rebecca Sugar, is 27. She was actually one of the staff members working on Adventure Time. A lot of the best episodes were ones that she worked on. She was also one of the storyboard artists for Hotel Transylvania. Also, Garnet (the Gem with the afro) has a British accent. She’s voiced by Estelle, who is a British musician. ^_^ Steven Universe is my favorite cartoon of this decade so far.
You have forsaken the cartoon gods by not watching Rick and Morty.
Its so weird to hear them praise the show for starting off in an unconventional way, when the proper first episode is a more straightforward introductory episode, though its still doesn’t go full exposition dump. Laser Light Canon is a much better episode to me though, I was really happy to see that Greg was not much of a dead beat dad as it initially appeared. Really glad these vlogs are finally starting, even if they are probably going to be out if order for a while.
“If you never told me this was the first episode I’d never have guessed this was the first episode.” Hehehe.
It is a bit funny to hear you praising the “dump em in the middle” technique when the first episode is admittedly a little more traditional. Only a little though. I don’t think I figured out the alien stuff until Steven and The Swordfighter.
It doesn’t really hurt mixing some of the early episodes around, since they’re still introducing concepts. Though as I’m sure many will tell you, the Steven Bomb finally does have to be watched in a certain order, despite what Itunes or Amazon says.
I think Rob will enjoy the anime comparisons. I honestly feel this is the closest american tv animation has gotten, even more so than a series like Avatar despite the style.
Also Roly Poly Kid is an adorable nickname. They should use it for Steven in the show itself.
Can’t wait for the next one!
i also wanna say that,the interesting story elements or not,what always helps me enjoy each episode is just how likeable all the characters are
i love all the characters in the show,and even on the slower episodes,i love seeing them interact,and thats why i love this show
Finally thank god your finally doing this after so many people have asked you to. But the women who protect Stevens names are garnet(the black one),amethyst(the fat one),and pearl(who wears the tutu and is the thin one). His parents are rose and Greg so just so rob could know and have someone write in the comments about it. I suggest you guys watch the episodes not on that DVD on cartoon network, what I mean is that you can watch episodes not on the DVD on cartoon network then when your on an episode that’s on the DVD then you can watch it. But garnets voice is estelle who is British I believe and was raised by a Jamaican family(I don’t know). Can’t wait for you guys to watch gem glow it’s kookie kat time.
People have probably already done this, but here’s the premise while you try to figure out the episode order.
The Crystal Gems are…beings who protect the universe from the forces of evil. There were four of them; like their group name indicates (the Crystal Gems), each woman is named for a gemstone– Garnet (the leader– the African American one), Amethyst (The short, fat purple one), Pearl (the skinny pale one), and there was a fourth one named Rose Quartz.
Before the series began, Rose Quartz met a man named Greg. The two fell in love and Rose Quartz became pregnant with Steven. When Steven was born, Rose Quartz had to give up her physical form, and thus Steven inherited her gem, making him a Crystal Gem and his mother’s replacement. The gems protect Steven as they train him to use his powers
Can you really say an alien being made of hard light with a rock for a core is African American??? I mean, not to start anything, but the term is used to describe people who have a skin color reminiscent of an African due to genes living as an American citizen even though it probably should be used to describe something more along the lines of an African immigrant to America…. And Garnet’s a red alien who technically doesn’t even have a gender, like the other gems…. Even if you do consider her to be African-ish in skin tone, Amethyst is purple. Shouldn’t that be considered somewhat close to an African-ish skin tone, too?
Other than that, yeah, that’s pretty much the premise.
Sorry. Garnet is the leader of the gems. She has the appearance of what resembles an African-American woman. Better?
you cant use women. Remember gems are not female. They have no gender.
I know what the show is about but I want Doug to go on the Internet and look up the episode order for the show is what I mean’t.
That one was for the mysterious m dory about that.
He might review every episode in an order.
Have you seen his second episode yet he said that they are gonna review the four episodes on the DVD first then they are going onto amazon prime to watch every episode in order?
Also, I like the theme song. It’s one of the catchiest themes I’ve heard in a while.
And… Let me Drive my Van into your Heart
The creator of the show was previously a veteran Adventure Time writer, hence the unapologetic abrupt start of the story
Great to see them doing this, awesome show and I’m curious about how they’ll respond to stuff later on. In fact, according to someone above me, the episode order on the DVD has Cat Fingers next, so it should be their next vlog video I guess?
And what a pick for the second episode, lol. Hope you’re ready for some genuine “The fuck is going on?!” moments and nightmare fuel, Doug! Because this one is just weird even for Steven Universe standards.
Pretty sure the one after this is Gem Glow, the actual first episode.
Funny thing is I actually started watching episodes myself. Im actually up to episode 21 and most likely be done in a day or two since the episodes are like 11 minutes long.
I just bought the first two episodes. I want to see what all the fuss is about. Followup comment to come. I hope I like it better than Adventure Time.
Um… I see why you skipped the first episode. It kinda went into Teen Titans Go! territory when he started singing that Cookie Cat song. The background music in the first episodes battle is awesome though. The same goes for the end music of the entire show itself. The black lady’s voice (Garnish was it?) does sound British. The second episode was MUCH MUCH better. Heck, even the song was better. I really liked Laser Light Cannon. Also, is it just me or does it have a touch of Bob’s Burgers in some way? Maybe it’s the quirkiness. I think I might keep going with this show because the second episode reeled me back.
It’s just that they got the order wrong on the DVD. That’s why Doug and Rob were confused about the show. Also Steven universe’s songs are not like teen titans gos songs and frankly the shows a hundred times better then the toddler titans(which I don’t get why cartoon network wants it to be kids new favorite show since I would want them doing that for this show or Clarence but whatever networks dumb hive). If Doug would had started off with the first episode he would have understood the show more cause they dump some exposition in that episode and I like it way better then this episode(though this one is still close).
*Garnet
I think you are doing yourself a disservice if you watch the episodes out of order. Mostly because they do reveal secrets and important info that reveal mysteries.
I suggest you watch them in order from episode 0. Here’s Wikipedia’s listing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Steven_Universe_episodes
I don’t know how others find the Pilot (episode 0), but it’s on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu-Fd7T8NuI
And I found all the episodes in proper order here:
http://www.watchcartoononline.com/anime/steven-universe/page/5
Great to see y’all starting up vlogs on this episode. I do hope the Adventure Time vlogs will still continue as well though. “Laser Light Cannon” and “Gem Glow” are both good introductory episodes, “Gem Glow” is better for introducing the primary characters (you would see right off that Steven has a gem), while “Laser Light Cannon” does a lot to set up future details. LLC is typically my favorite to rewatch of the two, just because of all the little details.
Even as a kid I had difficulty getting into any kind of media if I didn’t start from the beginning. I remember seeing one episode from a show in the middle and not understanding it at all. Once I saw the first episode though, it quickly became one of my favorite shows as a kid. I’m still very much that way, but for whatever reason the abrupt introductions in this show and Adventure Time never bothered me. I was pretty quickly charmed by both shows though, so they’re definitely doing something right.
no shame in getting the episode order wrong Walker Brothers, just like we learned in your nostalgia critic episode on the TMNT series way back in the day.
You can never trust producers to put television shows in the right order on VHS or DVD
EVER.