Season Five: Your Analysis?

[Ditchy McAbandonpants]

Wow...six months almost, since the last time I posted here? Sorry NF, looks like I lived up to my name and just abandoned you all for half a year without a word of explanation. In my defence, I could cite my relocation from China to England to Scotland or my hectic university schedule as contributing factors in my prolonged absence, but that don't cut the mustard; no, the best way to begin making amends for my negligence is with a big, intimidating, and most-likely-really-boring GIANT WALL OF TEXT. Just to show you that I still care.

So: to topic! As my topic heading suggests, I feel that we've reached the point where we can look back upon and critically evaluate the fifth season of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. With the airing of "The Little Peas" last month, the number of Season Five episodes broadcast reached a total of twelve; the Cartoon Network (and Foster's) norm for a season is thirteen episodes, so it's safe to say that even if there are still S5 episodes yet to air, it's likely to only be one or two, and we have now seen the vast majority of what Season Five has to offer.

With that in mind, what has been your overall impression of S5? What have been its defining features, its successes and failures? And what, in the final reckoning, is your verdict of this sometimes controversial season?

To get things going, I'm going to highlight the features and trends that I feel have defined this particular season of Foster's.

Out and About
One of the things I've always noticed about Foster's is that for an animated show, it's always felt rather "studio-bound", rather like a sitcom does. That's no criticism; it's not a jet-setting adventure series that constantly needs fresh scenery to function, it essentially is a sitcom, thriving in static locations that let the character comedy play out without needless environmental distraction. That said, though, taking the action out of the house certainly does broaden the horizons of the show's universe and offer new possibilities for the characters, both of which were factors in making "Good Wilt Hunting" such an accomplished breath of fresh air.

Clearly, the Foster's crew realised this too, and therefore Season Five took this new sense of liberation to the next level; all of the season's opening four episodes ("Cheese A Go-Go", "The Buck Swaps Here", "Say It Isn't Sew", "Something Old, Something Bloo") were set predominantly outside the Foster's Mansion, whilst the fifth ("The Bloo Superdude and the Magic Potato of Power") was set predominantly outside REALITY. In many ways, this gamble paid dividends; it was clear that the writers were having a blast finding original and fun new uses for the characters in narrative, comedic and visual terms, never more obviously than in "Bloo Superdude". That said, though, I couldn't help feeling as the season wore on that separating the friends from the house for too long causes the show to lose something vital. Not for nothing is the show called Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends; the home itself is more than just a setting, it's part of the show's identity and is almost a character in itself, with its distinctive decor, its oddball yet comforting ambiance, and its teeming population of cute, squidgy, slimy, spiky, hairy, scary and freaky extras, many of whom are walking puns and visual gags in themselves. More than anything, the episodes set away from Foster's made me truly appreciate that this crazy old mansion is the ONLY place this show could be set; frankly, I started to miss it. As imaginative as the dreamscapes of "Bloo Superdude" were, there was nothing in that episode that made me as ecstatic as the first half of episode six, "Schlock Star", when I realised I was watching the first Foster's-set Foster's episode to air in almost a year. Truly, there's no place like Home.

"Bloo's Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends"
The best imaginary friend ever? That may be up for debate, but there's no arguing with Blooregard Q. Kazoo's status as the most visible friend of all, and Season Five has been the season when the world's greatest self-promoter smashed his way right back into centre stage. Sure, Mac and Bloo have always been the show's lynchpins, but in my eyes Season Five felt like a deliberate retreat from the slightly more ensemble feel of the previous two seasons, giving us the most Bloo-centric collection of episodes since Season Two; aside from the group effort of "Cheese A Go-Go", and the secondary character spotlights of "The Buck Swaps Here", "Better Off Ed" and "The Little Peas", every episode in S5 is a Bloo showcase, with "Bloo Superdude" again standing out in its reinterpretation of the entire Foster's universe through Bloo-tinted lenses.

It's a valid direction to take, and one can see why the Foster's crew might want to choose to get "back to basics" in this way; Bloo is, after all, Foster's most unique and defining creation, and his intensely egotistical, impulsive and reckless personality makes for an anarchic and high-energy show. That said, I do feel that indulging Bloo doesn't always do the character a lot of favours; his relentlessly manic energy can become overbearing in large doses, especially given Keith Ferguson's tendency to go rather screechy with Bloo's voice whenever the character is let off the leash. Moreover, I can't help thinking that the team are underestimating the quality of the cast they've assembled: there's the other principal, Mac, who deserves far more than simply being "Bloo's foil"; a rich selection of secondary characters (Wilt, Eduardo, Coco, Frankie, Herriman, Madame Foster, Goo, Terrence, Cheese), all of whom have proven themselves strong enough to carry a story themselves; and a cavalcade of scene-stealing bit-part characters who are going from strength to hilarious strength (more on them later). This memorable gang of misfits is one of the show's key strengths, and offers a lot of comedic versatility that's simply missing from a Bloo-centric show; Wilt, Coco, Goo, and Herriman, in particular, have been given extremely short shrift by the writers of S5, Terrence has gone AWOL completely, whilst Frankie and Ed, whilst faring better, have still been underused. Needless to say, I have missed their presence; the resources are all there, guys, and you should use them!

Lauren and Darrick
Maybe it's something to do with the ongoing, high-profile strike, but audiences and fans suddenly seem to be taking a lot more notice of writers recently. With the exception of the "attention" garnered by Craig Lewis in the aftermath of "Imposter's Home...", I don't remember that many people discussing the issue of writers prior to S5, but this season they seem to have come under a lot closer scrutiny, with a certain Mr Darrick Bachman becoming something of a bête noire amongst certain fans. For me, though, my perceptions of Season Five are tied up with two people: Bachman, and our mutual friend Lauren Faust.

Let's deal with Darrick first. In a very real way, S5 has been his season, writing five episodes solo and co-writing a further two; that's seven out of twelve episodes, which is unprecedented for Foster's, trumping Tim McKeon's five episode stint in Season Four. Bad move? Certainly, I don't feel Darrick has quite lived up to the potential he showed in S4 (his "Emancipation Complication" and especially "Bloo's The Boss" remain two of my favourite episodes); "Cheese A Go-Go", which felt more like his than co-writer Lauren's, was simply too chaotic and formless for my taste, whilst "Say It Isn't Sew" is one of my least favourite episodes ever, taking a thin premise and doing nothing with it. However, I do think it's unfair to call him anything other than a decent writer; "Schlock Star" and "Nightmare on Wilson Way" were imaginative and energetic, "Better Off Ed" was a solid, traditional-feeling and welcome Eduardo spotlight, and I'll even admit to being a fan of two of his most contentious episodes, the frenetic and fun "Ticket to Rod" and the ambitiously experimental "The Little Peas". I do think that he's a little too keen on the louder, shoutier aspects of the show's humour, and is perhaps one of those responsible for the Bloo-centricism I highlighted earlier, but on balance I have to say that whilst I don't love his stuff, I do like it.

The other writer I've highlighted as being notable this season is Lauren Faust, but sadly she's been notable for her relative absence. Not without justification is Lauren the head writer; of all the writers to work on the show, she is by far the one who best understands the appeal, rhythms and dynamics that make this setting and these characters work. The vast majority of my all-time favourite episodes are solo Lauren efforts, which makes it all the more disappointing that S5 didn't feature a single one. Sure, she has co-writer credit on quite a few S5 episodes, but for me none of them, not even season standout "The Bride to Beat", quite struck that perfect tone that typifies a Lauren Faust episode. What's happening there, I wonder? Is she taking a more hands-off supervising role now? Is she busy with her ongoing Galaxy Girls project? Whatever the case, I sincerely hope she flexes her writing muscles properly again come Season Six, because the show isn't the same without thoroughbred Lauren Faust episodes to look forward to...

Their Time To Shine!
As I said before, one of the key strengths of Foster's that really makes it stand out from the rest of the pack is the care, imagination and thought that goes into its colourful and misshapen cast of background characters; it's a real pleasure to watch these guys milling around, and even though you only see them for a matter of seconds most of the time, they enhance the fun atmosphere of the show no end.

Well, once again, Season Five seems to have been the season that the writers truly realised what an asset their background cast is, so much so that they've decided to bring a bunch of them centre stage, resulting in a number of true breakout stars. Unlike my previous points, there's no "but..." here, no downside; the show does nothing but gain from the way they've developed the likes of Jackie Khones, Fluffer Nutter and Bloppy Pants from single-line caricatures into hilarious full personalities. Whether it's Jackie's deadpan sullenness and smug manipulation, Bloppy's neurotic stammering or Fluffer's incongruous spikiness, they open up new avenues for humour and keep the show feeling fresh and full of possibilities. And don't even get me started on Jackie & Fluffer...or Jackie's pimp costume...or Pizza Party dressing up as the Village People ...certainly, this trend of developing bit-part players is one that I absolutely want to see continuing. My pick for a character who needs an expanded role? Green-Cyclops-Guy-Who-Dresses-As-Blossom-Then-Bubbles on Halloween.


OK, I think I'm done. I originally had a few other things to say, but then I noticed that I'd overshot the 12,000 character limit, and I took that as a sign that I should stop typing and let other people talk. Over to you.