Channel Awesome
This episode grows on you, like a killer plant.
Tagged with: cartoon network cartoons channel awesome doug walker lars and the cool kids rob walker steven universe steven universe vlogs television
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I really didn’t care for Lars when I first started watching this series, he kinda reminded me of Robbie from Gravity Falls. He’s definitely grown on me as the series went on, though.
wow, another vlog where they went off on all kinds of sidetracks, but talked very little about what was going on in the episode itself. if your hearts aren’t into series guys, its okay if you want to let it go.
The Mysterious Mr Enter of Animated Atrocities fame named this one of his very few Admirable Animations, and with good reasons. This is the best of the early episodes, imho. For those who actually want an insightful and detailed analysis of this episode, you could always look up Mr. Enter’s review.
The one moment in this episode that really stood out for me was the brief exchange between Steven and Lars about Steven’s mother. We get a hint of really just how emotionally trouble Steven is that he never knew his mother, and the void that seems to have left in his young life.
Plus, I don’t think its too much of a spoiler to say Dogcopter appears a few more times, and gets more awesome with each appearance.
That exchange is one of the most memorable moments in the show for me. What really sticks is the anger and pain Steven expresses
Fuck MrEnter! He’s a nitpicking douchebag that doesn’t deserve any attention!
Nah, Mr Enter is cool.
No, he’s shit.
I love Mr. Enter. He’s so cool. Way better than some dumb kid with a lame adventures time icon. *Dreamy sighs*
>MrEnter
>cool
That’s a good laugh.
Apparently a spongebob or Toddler Titans fan here. He’s a comedian in the same vein as most people at Channel Awesome. If your not into nitpicking for comedy sake then why are you here?
Still yeah this is a good episode I think. It’s one you can appreciate more for those lessons and what not, that sticks in the back of your mind instead of being outstanding in other areas I think.
>MrEnter
>Comedian
Yeah…….. no, just……..no.
(PS: Calling Teen Titans Go Toddler Titans sooooooooooo totally makes you sound like a mature adult.)
so he was right
What is even the context of this comment?
His review of Lars and the Cool Kids is actually what spurred me into watching the show. Coincidentally, I caught up just in time for the premiere of Mirror Gem and Ocean Gem.
Well they seem pretty into the series and seem to like it a lot. I get more of a “we don’t know what to talk about yet vibe, than any kind of “lets get this over with” kind. They might just not be far enough into the series to really think more deeply about some of the stuff in these early episodes. They get sidetracked it a lot, I wouldn’t take it as a sign of disinterest.
Rob, at least, has said that he loves the show on his Facebook page.
This is a huge reason why I stopped watching the Vlogs. And why I hate it when he does them with another person. He gets too damned distracted, and very little of the video is about whatever episode he is SUPPOSED to talk about. If he wants to make a video diary where he gets to goof off and talk about like- fine! Do that! But this is just misleading.
He also tends to completely miss huge moments in ANY huge episode. I mean, I’m glad he’s branching out to more fandoms and I love that he’s loving new show, but lets be blunt here. Doug is great at talking about movies. He is… sadly downright awful at talking about shows.
^ ALL OF THIS
I kinda have to agree. Though to be fair he does these right after he watches an episode so he has not digested it yet unlike when he’s talking about a movie that he probably watched many times or took some time to think about. And yeah sometimes some episodes don’t have a lot to discuss. Honestly I think he just needs a different format.
My favorite part is where Steven gets all over Lars about his mother. I know a few people who hate it when others insult a parent that they never knew or aren’t allowed to see
50 bucks says the movie they saw was Fant4stic
Suckers bet.
I didn’t expect them to pick up on the similarities between the gems and the cool kids so quickly. I think it’s been stated as intentional but i don’t know if it’s more then symbolic yet.
I never really thought this episode was about peer pressure? I cans see a ‘be yourself’ message but the cool kids never pressure Lars into anything. I think it was more an insight/development episode on Lars
and Steven’s growing relationship with the town; which is a MAJOR theme of this series whether some like it or not.
I’m also amused by how they pick up on Dogcopter but Steven’s reaction to Lars’s statement about his mum. Another insight in this episode was into who Rose was and Steven’s relationship or lack of relationship with her.
Well they’ll be happy to see that Dogcopter makes his return very soon.
But before that it’s Onion Trade. If they considered this one ‘fine’ I’m a little worried for the next vlog.
I suppose reading the comments section here, I don’t really agree that the Walker brothers have to talk about certain things in particular. I mean vlogs are usually a less scripted and more natural reaction right?
On the other hand when approaching an episode I do agree it might be best to loosen up on looking for the moral. I think the ‘lesson of the day’ is a more Disney thing and dare I say 80’s/90’s thing. It occurs here but less consistently and more as a result of the story.
Steven Universe tends to deal more in themes, characters, relationships, and world building.
In this episode for instance; the beauty in all things, Lars’s insecurity, Steven’s feelings towards Rose, Rose’s lingering presence, Steven & Lars’s relationship, the beginning of Steven’s relationship with the Cool Kids.
That’s the stuff to look out for and the more fun to analyse.
Yeah seriously. This is why them already have been spoiled on the show is a bad thing. They’re waiting for the big stuff and in the process they don’t see the little things that make this show so great. They’re looking too deeply at things that don’t matter and missing the huge things that will actually matter.They noticed dogcoptor…but managed to miss the speech Steven made about his mother? Seriously Doug? Just try to enjoy what you’re actually watching instead of looking at your watch for Steven Bomb because these Vlogs are starting to bum me out
Dang it! I’m getting farther and farther behind. The last Steven Universe episode I saw was Serious Steven. š You guys had OBVIOUSLY just seen Fan4stic. š I’m almost always me. The only exception is when I go on job interviews. LOL.
As ecstatic as I am that they’re reviewing this series now, I’m getting a teensy bit tired of them making a lot of these vlogs just social commentary about whatever “lesson” they think the episode is about. It’s like, guys, come on, can’t you comment on the humor or the writing or the characters or the animation or something else? There’s like no point in watching 80 percent of this video if you want actual feedback on the episode itself.
I mean, I don’t know, maybe they just really couldn’t come up with anything to say. I think the problem is just that if they assume the episode is about a specific theme, which a lot of people might not even agree with, it becomes kind of boring if they don’t even talk about the theme as it relates to the plot of the episode and they just talk about, like, peer pressure or video games for ten minutes. At least for me.
Thank god I thought it was just me
The cool kids are designed to kind of resemble the gems, but I think it’s mostly that way for fun (plus, yeah, Lars and the cool kids do have kind of a bizarro Steven and the Crystal Gems relationship). I’m surprised you didn’t point it out, but it was pretty nice to see the cool teenagers of the series being nice to the young main character that’s kind of a loveable doofus, since it seems like more series in the past like to have cool kids in them that are total jerks and bullies towards the main character (with maybe a little character development later on if you’re lucky). The cool kids are genuinely nice to Steven and see him as a friend, so that’s pretty refreshing from my viewpoint.
I kind of have to agree with Neodusk that it would be cool to hear you guys actually say more about the episodes themselves and stuff than a chosen theme. Then again, the vlogs don’t appear to be super scripted or anything so maybe sometimes it’s a little difficult to do something like that on the fly.
Yeah I adore the cool kids and I was looking forward to the review of this episode, but alas their wasn’t much discussion of it.
Really? No mention of Lars being a butt?
The internet exploded when he said Steven’s mom is weird.
Then Steven got this really shocked “OH NO YOU DIDN’T” look on his face and blew up at him.
This was the ep that made me hate Lars.
“What do you know about my Mom?! I DIDN’T EVEN GET TO KNOW MY MOM! But I do know, she saw beauty in everything! Even in stuff like this, and even in jerks like you!”
I’m enjoying the videos, but that particular moment was a fairly significant thing to gloss over. I don’t think Steven has ever been that angry before or since.
I was originally glad to hear that Doug and Rob were going to review Steven Universe, but after this vlog I’m not sure right now. In a few of the vlogs they did discuss about how beautiful the colors in the show are especially in Steven’s lion. I was disappointed that they did not acknowledge the scene between Steven and Lars and the hurt and angry feelings between them. I think what they need to do is get someone else who has watched the show and loves it to review it with them, just like how Doug got Jason to do the Adventure Time Vlogs with him and those were great. I usually don’t mind it when they get off topic about the episode, because it usually is something interesting, but here they talked about nothing really.
Worry not gentlemen, Dogcopter makes more appearances, you shall see him again!
3 Dog 3 Copter.
Rose saw beauty in all things.
Some snakes are cool, Lars.
As echoed in some other comments, this episode was noteworthy for me in that it’s the first time we ever saw even a shred of negativity from Steven. His blow-up at Lars is one of my favorite scenes from the early episodes. I’m not sure if there’s any symbolic reason the Cool Kids are such clear analogues to the Gems, other than a funny running gag. They do something similar in a later episode with the Pizza family, right down to having Steven subtly comment on it. I have read an interesting theory that Buck Dewey saw Garnet when he was young and consciously modeled his image after her, but the other two don’t really have that kind of rationale.
As mentioned by more or less everyone, it’s a shame they didn’t go into Steven’s reaction to what Lars said about Steven’s mom. I mean, I guess that’s what was implied during the whole episode being about more than “be yourself”, and I have a feeling it’s that particular moment that made the Walker brothers think it was an after-school special like episode, but it really was a pretty powerful moment.
That said, can’t wait for them to learn when Dogcopter comes back into play. They’ll probably love it, and thankfully it comes back in one of the cooler episodes too.
Having seen the comments, I think I’ll skip watching this one. I also get frustrated when the Walker brothers don’t discuss much of the episode they just watched or have anything relevant to say.
For me, I got tired of Lars instantly. Even them dragging Steven’s emotional upset into it, or Lars’s pathetic aspirations to be “cool”, to try to inject some depth into these otherwise very shallow side character episodes doesn’t really fix it for me. And once I realized that Lars is just Squidward to Steven’s Spongebob, I lost interest even more. I was pleased to see the episodes eventually becoming less Spongebob and more anime. I don’t need everything to be some tragic character study – I certainly wouldn’t enjoy that either – but the time-wasting nonsense I was glad to see less and less of.
I think it’s oversimplifying a bit to say that Lars is just “the Squidward to Steven’s Spongebob”. Lars is and always has been Steven’s foil; dishonest, insecure, and self-absorbed where Steven is honest to the point of bluntness, totally secure in who he is, and constantly thinking of others.
I didn’t get a “peer pressure” lesson from this episode AT ALL. Lars put a crap load of pressure on HIMSELF becuause he’s an insecure, inauthentic ass, but I’m not sure where you guys got such a big “be yourself” vibe from this story.
Because that is, of course, Steven’s advice to Lars and how Steven behaves throughout the episode. He is himself and instantly has an “in” with the “cool kids” because to him, it didn’t matter what they thought. Lars was constantly insecure and trying to make himself seem cool, sucking up to the cool kids opinions on things instead of sticking by his own, etc.
Hence the “be yourself” vibe from that part of the story.
For me, this episode was OK, and I’m surprised that you didn’t mention the part where Lars spoke bad of Steven’s mother š®
Someone said that you spoke about something else instead of the episode again, and I think they’re right. There were more things to talk about :/
We get more insight on lars in the sadie and lars espisodes. They dynamic between those two is pretty great and helps develop them a bit more.
I kind of have to agree with the other comments, the past few videos I’ve basically skipped through because they end up talking about something else. And I’m watching the episodes for the first time along with the vlogs (only a little ahead), so I don’t know what about the episodes should be read into or is really important. I mean yeah I’m not exactly hooked on the show yet and it doesn’t seem that deep (yet, apparently) but not much is talked about each episode. I don’t even think they did a recap in this one. I liked the adventure time vlogs a lot, I guess they went off track in those ones it was still entertaining.
The plot and character elements are gradually being layed out. it’ll all come together.
As much as I love that you guys are watching this series now (just in time for me to have gotten into it), I gotta say the “moral of the story” routine is getting a bit tired, in my opinion. At least in this show’s case. It’d be nice if you guys would point out individual things that happened throughout and all that (after all, it’s all about the experience; if it teaches you anything, that’s good too :p)
The cool kids looking like the Gems is just a visual joke since they also have similiar personalities. In a much later episode they even reference it.
I really get the feeling that they only watch part of the episodes or maybe even skip parts of it. There is no “Be yourself” message in this episode.
I think that they don’t know to read between the lines at certain parts, and once later episodes bring back references to those parts, they’ll learn to look in those directions. They still have little context for Rose or what the Gems are or what their greater mission is, so they don’t know what to look for.
Guys, please make more of an effort to talk about the episode and not get sidetracked constantly. If you have to watch the episode twice or watch it and then let it fester in your minds for a day, that’s fine. I don’t mind if it means we get them later, just so long as you have something to actually say about the episodes themselves.
You guys talking about social media and peer pressure and video game addiction is fine and everything, but it’s not what I want out of this vlog series, and I suspect it’s not what most other people want, either. This is the second vlog where you guys were like “oh, this episode is about [theme], so let’s just talk about [theme] without really talking about the episode.” Please don’t do that. People don’t just watch this show for its moral lessons, so we’d like it if that’s not all you focused on for the entire duration of a given vlog.
I think this episode also puts a twist on the old “be yourself” lesson in another interesting way. Usually, the “cool kids” convince the naive kid to do something bad, but in this case the “cool kids” are actually nice and put no pressure on Steven to be anything but himself.
me: Oh I can’t wait for the Walker brothers to talk about this episode!
*actually watches Vlog*
me: Still waiting for the Walker brothers to talk about this episode!
Seriously guys…just talk about the actual episodes. You spent 25 minutes on an episode like Tiger Millionaire but you glossed over one of the bigger moments in the early episodes? Look I know you know have been spoiled already but you can still enjoy what you see on screen. They’re talking about themes because they know later episodes will have them. He already said in one of the early Vlogs he wishes the show would hurry up and give answers already. This isn’t Gravity Falls. This is Adventure Time, where the answers don’t come immediately but they do come, and you enjoy the ride all the way there. This show is better an Adventure in my opinion if only because it never drops a story arc for too long. But that’s just me, the point is, stop expecting things and just watch the goddang show
Yo, walker bros. Yo. you gonna read this?
Well *clears throat* do what you did with the avatar vlogs and talk about the episode instead of just what you think is a moral of the story. This show ain’t mlp fim (which i happen to like to, but This ain’t that show)
This is one of my least fav episode mostly cause i don’t like Lars
Even though this certainly isnāt one of the shows best episodes, itās a lot better than I expected an episode called Lars and the cool kids to be, I think the reason for that is that 1 The cool kids themselves are surprisingly likeable and enjoyable characters.
And 2 the element of Stevenās mother, we learn a lot about her as a character, most importantly that she saw the beauty in everything, which honestly I kind of feel is this episodes real message, especially considering this is the first time Lars is portrayed as actually having some redeemable character traits.
Yeah its strange that the cool kids look so much like the crystal gems, they make it even more obvious in their second major appearance(and yet somebody still had to point it out to me), as far as Iām aware thereās no reason for it both in and out of universe.
In the next episode Steven makes a deal with the devil, thankfully no marriage was involved.
I was eagerly waiting for the vlog for this episode, as I was really looking forward to hearing what they would have to say about Lars and Steven’s exchange about Steven’s mom.
Didn’t say anything, and that was really the defining moment of this episode. A sign of how the series dives into deeper emotions and fuller story telling as it progresses. Really a disappointment!! I’ve been waiting “patiently” for 14 vlogs.
Bummer.
This didn’t strike me as an episode about peer pressure AT ALL. If anything it was really refreshing to see the “cool kids” as perfectly nice, normal kids. They never try to pressure Steven or Lars into doing anything. The episode is about seeing the beauty in things. Steven is like his mom in that he can see the beauty in everything. Lars can’t see the beauty in things or people or even himself, which is why he is so unhappy and feels so insecure.
Too bad you guys didnt like this as much as other people did (the mysterious mr.enter to give abig example). But thiw was a good episode and lrt me guess thr movie you guys went to see was the new fantastic four movie(wwasn’t it!!)
I hadn’t realized until watching this video that this episode is where Dogcopter is introduced.
You know, I’m not completely convinced that they actually watched this episode before doing this vlog.