Decline in Quality?

[Foster's Geek 287]

Hey, guys!
I was wondering something:
Do you think there's been a bit of a decline in quality from some of the season 5 episodes?

I think that a few references to other episodes are OK, but normally that can cause continuity errors. The episodes in question should be orderless.

"The Little Peas" was an interesting episode, but I think it should have been spread out a little (made a little into a later season)

I guess the episodes themselves are OK, but the references to other episodes makes them look like they're running out of ideas. But they aren't, or course. What do you guys think?

[Shelltoon]

I don't mind referencing other episodes so long as it doesn't screw around with said continuity. I think though, Darrick Bachman's episodes have been less than stellar, simply because I feel he's making characters a little too one-dimensional in episodes.

[koosie]

Na, I think the references show that they (the Creators) are comfortable with their achievements and the fact that they have a fanbase who'll respond to that stuff as it makes the show even more alive.

It's a fair point of course as self-referencing can be a sign of a decreasing spiral, we've seen it many times, but I could give you many wonderful exceptions from various artistic fields. For the record I still maintain that Petite Pois was a genius creation. It wasn't my favourite Season 5 ep but certainly not the weakest and I've not seen them all yet.

This is confusing but if season 5 was season 1, I still think we'd all have been hooked by this show and I think Peas would have been given a much warmer reception as there'd be less perception of him treading on people's toes or stealing a episode from beloved, sometimes overlooked, established characters.

[pitbulllady]

I'd have to say yes, SOME of Season Five's episodes left me less than thrilled, but from what I've seen of Season Six thus far, the show has bounced right back. One of the biggest let-downs of the past season was that it put way too much focus on Bloo and Mac, or just Bloo, while largely ignoring the other characters, and even worse, really ignored that group dynamic that worked so well in the earlier seasons. The Season Six episode, "Let Your Hair Down", really showed that Mac, Bloo, Wilt, Coco, Ed and Frankie work best together as a team, rather than as individuals, most of the time. While it is nice, once in awhile, to have episodes that focus on single characters, it gets a bit trite when the focus is just on ONE character, over and over, and that's where the weakness of Season Five lies. It's also neat once in awhile to have a background character shine, like Jackie or Bloppy Pants, but again, there are a LOT of characters on this show, and if the writers try to give equal time to every background character, it can't help but to be at the expense of the main characters. I wouldn't want a season that featured Jackie, Fluffer Nutter, Cy, Bloppy Pants, Yogi Boo-Boo, George Mucous, etc., but more or less left out Wilt, Coco, Eduardo, Frankie and Madame Foster. I also really wouldn't want recurring characters from early seasons, like Terrence, to be forgotten, either. These are the characters who got most of us watching in the first place, and they're a large part of what keeps many of us watching.


pitbulllady

[Ub3rD4n]

I may be wrong, but I believe that Let Your Hare Down was a season 5 episode. As to the decline, I say nay! This season had ups and downs of course, but I still say it was almost as good as season 4, and just as good as season 3.

[fosters-fan]

What references do you guys mean?

BTW, I agree that Bloo and Mac were the only characters to get most of the spotlight in the season 5 episodes. All I can do is hope that all of the main characters- ALL of them (i.e.: Mac, Bloo, Wilt, Coco, Eduardo, Frankie, Madame Foster, and Mr. Herriman)- all get their fair share of the spotlight in season 6. AND I hope, for Sparky's sake, that Terrence gets to be in at least one episode, if not more than one.

[KazooBloo]

I disagree, OP