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Sunday, 11 January 2026

Spongebob Squarepants: Help Wanted , Reef Blower and Tea At The Treedome Review


There are some shows that are for lack of a better word iconic as there've been with us now for so long that everybody knows what they are with a good example of this being The Simpsons. Another such example is oddly enough Spongebob Squarepants as even if you've not seen a single episode of the show you are still aware of the character be it due to the show or one of the characters SEVERAL movies and well I thought that now would be the right time to go back and look at the very first episode of the show and so then join me as I review the episode that introduced the world to a yellow sponge and his square pants with the episodes segments being called simply just "Help Wanted" , "Reef Blower" and "Tea At The Treedome" enjoy.

The plot of "Help Wanted" is Spongebob finally has the chance to work as a fry cook at his favorite restaurant but when several fish come in at once demanding service it's up to the young cook to prove his worth in "Reef Blower" Spongebob causes mayhem when a reef blows near his house and he has to clean it up and finally in "Tea At The Treedome" Spongebob and Patrick meet a land squirrel called Sandy and when they go round to her house they discover that she does things a little bit differently to them. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good with "Tea At The Treedome" having the best plot of the episodes three segments just due to the fact that "Help Wanted" had to do alot of the heavy lifting as it had so much to set up for the rest of the show and "Tea At The Treedome" was therefor more free to just go and do it's own thing which is something that it did really well how much like with "Reef Blower" the plots for these segments weren't the strongest that they could have ben with this being something that does make alot of sense as this is a show that only has segments that last a few minuets and nothing more then that therefor none of this episodes can be that strong in the first place and this is great as it does mean that all of the episodes segments can be more focused on giving us good jokes without having to worry about the plot of the episode making sense with the plot of this episode being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this episode is Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants , The Narrator , A Sub Driver , Gary and some Anchovies . Also starring in this episode is Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles , John Wick: Chapter 4 , Green Lantern 2011 and A Nightmare On Elm Street 2010 star  Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs , Jennifers Body star Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star and some Anchovies and Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With this being something that was quite surprising as you usually don't expect the first episode of a TV show to have good acting in it and while yes this shows acting would of course get alot more better over the years the fact that this episode and these three segments all had some really strong acting in it from all of the episode actors is still something that was truly shocking to behold with it just going to show you that these bunch of actors are a really good group of actors as they knock out of the park with there characters right away with all of these characters being really well cast and while this is kind of obvious now looking back n this episode but it is really hard to picture anyone else playing these characters with it really being hard to say just who the best actor in this episode really is as by all rights anyone of this episodes actors could make that claim and it would be totally justified but if push did indeed come to shove then i'd have to say that the best actor in the episode is Tom Kenny just due to the fact that he voices more characters in this episode and each one of them sound distinctly different from one another with the acting that's in this episode really being helped by the fact that the scripts for this episode are just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.


Doing the animation for this episode is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Rough Draft Korea. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good as really all three segments of this episode have some really high quality animation in them even taking into account that not only was this episode made in 1997 before being aired in 1999 but also the fact that this is a TV show and therefor it would have been understandable if the makers of this episode did indeed cut corners to make the episode for alot more cheaper and yet you can tell right away that the people who worked on this episode from an animation point of view put al of there love an attention into all three segments as all three segments look really good with all of the episodes characters having these really nice and fluid movements to them that help to make the animation in this episode feel more alive then what it really should have done if there's one grips to be had with the films animation it's that they don't go zany enough with it as this is a show that does allow you to have those more zany character movements and yet for some odd reason the makers of this episode don't go that route which has the add on effect of making the show feel alot less fun to watch in the process and yet if they did have some zany animation then it would have made scenes like the big anchovy scene with Squidward and Mr. Krabs be all the more funnier then what it already is in the first place but credit where it's due this episode still does look really good even all of these years later.


In what could be seen as being a surprising move this episode does have it's middle segment "Reef Blower" be pretty much a silent cartoon. With this being something that does work really well as it does harken back to those early days of Hollywood where there would be no lines of dialog and all of the action came from the characters body language and that is present in that segment with that segment being all the more better for it as not only is it the shortest of the three segments its also one that doesn't really need any kind of dialog to put across just what the story of the segment is meant to be in the first place and infact the only piece of sound that we hear in that whole segment is just the musical score for the segment and that's really it and that is something that does work really well for this segment with it also making you wonder why there aren't more Spongebob segments like this as it's segments like this that do force the animators to step up their game as usually you could have a voice actor express what it is that there meant to be feeling but now that you don't have that to rely on it all has to come across in the animation and while that doesn't exactly work alot of the time the times that it does work is where that segment really does shine it's brightest with the even the idea of the segment just being Spongebob wanting to remove this one reef from the front of house being such a simple one as it allows the characters to go as crazy as they need to and be as cartoony as they need to and while this might have been shortest segment the idea of making it a silent cartoon is weird enough for this show that it could have worked as a full twenty two minuet episode of the show due to the fact that the idea itself is more then strong enough to support it in it's own right.

Like alot of debut episodes the first segment of this episode did have alot of heavy lifting to do as it had to set up four of the main characters, get across what there personalities are like and set up the relationships for the show moving forward. Which is something that would have been seen as doing far to much for a short segment and yet to be frank it was something that did work but it didn't work as well as it perhaps could have done as while Patrick is formally introduced in that segment the segment doesn't give him alot of screen time with him only appearing at the start and at the end of the segment and that's it which is fine as the segment did have more important things to do but at the same time tho given just how beloved he is as a character in his own right it was weird to see that they fully didn't set up just who Patrick is and what his relationship to Spongebob is in that or even the final segment for that matter with this being something that they very easily could have done just by having one of the characters say to the other that there friends and that's it as it could have been said when Patrick is trying to give Spongebob a pep talk and while nothing is lost from not fully setting him up as a character in this opening segment as it could be argued that the segment was made before the creators of the show even had any real idea just what there relationship was meant to be like it is still something that is weird to see them not set up as first episodes by right of passage have to set up alot of things and one of those things is character relationships heck Spongebobs relationship with both Squidward and Mr. Krabs is set up in that segment and there not even meant to be his best friend but his best friend doesn't get his character fully set up at all.


Whilst the Spongebob movies especially the first one are known for having really dark and dramatic moments in them, This is something that was actually set up in the third segment of this episode "Tea At The Treedome" where Spongebob starts t slowly die and dry out after not having water for a long time with both him and Patrick pretty much dieing for a small portion of that episode which for a kids show is pretty dark and even tho that scene is played for laughs it is something that does let you know right away that this is a show that's not afraid to go to those dark places albeit in a more kid friendly way with the thing that makes it more dark being the fact that we see Spongebob suffer and grasp for air all throughout the segment with this being something that alot of kids shows even today dare not do and yet here it is in the first episode of an iconic series and while yes alot of it is played for laughs as we the audiences know full well that Spongebob can't breathe without water its the fact that we see him and later Patrick grasp for air and then dry out that makes it a really dark moment and while the show really doesn't go to those dark places all that often the fact that they still did it in the movies does show you that the makers of this episode really did  know what they were doing with the only thing that could have made it better if we got to see both Spongebob and Patrick running around the Treedome looking for any bit of water as that is something that would have made that really dramatic scene all the more funny and heck you could have had them run into Sandy alot of the time but without her knowing it and just to hit home how much they've learnt from being in the Treedome Spongebob should have said to Sandy that they needed water on screen and not have it happen off screen.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty three minuets and forty nine seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this episode to have with all three of the episodes segments ranging from six to eight minuets with the second segment being around about two minuets and forty eight seconds with all three segments having the right amount of plot there to cover there respective running times and yet in saying this tho both "Help Wanted" and "Tea At The Treedome" don't use there running times all that wisely as they don't use there respective running times to fully develop there plots which in the case for the first segment does make sense as they have to set up alot of things for the show moving forward and yet it's also the case in the third segment with it feeling like that things are just happening for the sake of happening rather then because of the fact that they make sense in context of there plots with this slightly being true for the episodes character development as well as both of those segments don't really put there characters in situations that help to fully develop them as characters but it could be said that those segments don't fully develop there characters because of the fact that they get there character development in all of the other episodes and movies however the character still need to be have that development started which is something that both the first and final segment don't do however it is understandable that the second segment doesn't fully develop it's plot and characters as that segment isn't even three minuets long but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With the episode on the whole having some really funny jokes in it all of which work really well because of how well done that the episodes characters are with all of the episodes jokes feeling there very character driven and heck it's even in the episodes jokes where the episodes animation on the whole gets to really come alive and make them as funny as they could possibly be due to the fact that we get some really funny facial expressions which help to sell us the audience on the joke with the best joke in the whole episode being in "Help Wanted" when Spongebob goes to lift weights and we see that his weights are two teddy bears which he struggles to lift which is a dumb joke and an easy joke to make but that's exactly why it's so good and why it's so funny in the first place as it is the obvious joke with all three segments having some really good jokes in it as well and heck even "Reef Blower" could be argued is one big joke due to the fact it's just Spongebob trying t get rid of one reef and that's really it but it's that simple joke that works all the more better because of the fact that you could see a character like Spongebob actually struggle to life up to kids toys with the sound effect being made when the toys hit the floor again being the icing on the cake and heck really of this episodes jokes are some really good and funny jokes as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall if this first episode was anything to go by then it was easy to see why Spongebob Squarepants become as big as it was and still is as this first episode had three really good segments in it and while yes some where better then others the episode on the whole was really good in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Wednesday, 7 January 2026

Doctor Who: Lux Review

 Doctor Who has always been a show that has tried out new and fresh ideas and while some of those ideas haven't always landed. The ones that do tend to stick with us such is the case with the episode that i'm going to be talking to you all about today as while the season that this episode is apart of isn't the strongest season of the show out there this episode is one of the more better episodes due to the fact that has an original idea for a villain and so then join me as I review the episode that tries to make cartoons scary with the episode in question being called simply just "Lux" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is when fifteen people all go missing in a theater in 1950's Miami it's up to The Doctor and Belinda to work what happened to them before it's far to late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. As while the episode is rather light on plot with it being hard to work out just what the main plot of the episode is meant to be alot of the time when the episode does focus on it's plot that's when the episodes plot gets to be more fun as this is a rather out there and weird plot and yet it also feels oddly at home in this new season of Doctor Who but at the same time tho this episodes plot and they that it's structed does feel oddly reminiscent of the previous seasons episode "The Devil's Chord" with there being alot of scenes in that episode that are just straight up copied in this episode even down to the episode using a character from the same group which is a character from the pantheon of gods which is something that does make this episode feel like a carbon copy of that episode but in all fairness to this episode tho it's plot is one that could be seen as being rather fun as well as they do take the time to loving poke fun of how cartoons where seen back in those days which was nice to see but at the same time that is screen time that is taken away from giving us more plot relevant information with the plot of this episode also being rally rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 


Starring in this episode is Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor , Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra and Linus Roache as Reginald Pye. Also starring in this episode is Cassius Hackforth as Tommy Lee , Millie O'Connell as the voice of Sunshine Sally , Lewis Cornay as Logan Cheever , Lucy Thackeray as Renée Lowenstein , Jane Hancock as Helen Pye , William Meredith as A Policeman , Samir Arrian as Hassan Chowdry , Bronté Barbé as Lizzie Abel , Steph Lacey as Robyn Gossage , Alan Cumming as the voice of Mr Ring-A-Ding and Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With the series main regulars turning in some really good performances which is to be expected from them at this point in time and even Varada Sethu who only really joined the show in the previous episode despite her playing a different character on the show in the last series still does do a really good job and is really likable in this episode with her Ncuti having some wonderful chemistry together which is not all that surprising as Ncuti can have chemistry with a blank of wood with the only thing that lets the pair of them down acting wise being the fact that when they are turned into cartoons there acting is a little it wooden and stale with the best actor in this episode being Alan Cumming as he can be both hilarious and terrifying as this films creepy cartoon villain Mr Ring-A-Ding with his performance reflecting the villains more cartoonish nature with it being as over the top as it needed to be for certain scenes but then when his acting needs to be more serious he becomes more terrifying with this coming through in his final performance as the character as even tho it's only a voice over role Alan still does give it his best and because of that Mr Ring-A-Ding himself really does become all the more memorable as a villain because of it with the acting that's in this very episode not really being helped by the fact that the script for this episode is just so bad as it gives none of the episodes actors absolutely nothing to work with interms of what it is that there actual characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that rally does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.


Doing the CGI for this episode is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Real SFX and BBC Wales Graphics. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good with it being obvious that the team doing the CGI for this episode had alot of fun with the shots that they had to do as the very idea of having cartoon come to life and try and take over the world is something that does allow itself to have some really fun looking expressions which is something that the makers of this episode do take full advantage with Mr-Rig-A-Ding really being the only big CGI effect in the episode outside of a few shots on the outside where they replace Wales with 1950's Miami and yet you can tell that even tho this episode was basically made on the cheap as there's only one main location all throughout the episode the effects budget for the episode was really high as when Mr-Ring-A-Ding does go fully 3D he looks really creepy with the fact that they had a cutout version of him on set is something that really does help out in the long as while he was never going to really look like he was actually there on the day due to the fact that he's a cartoon character it is something that does help with matching the characters eye lines with the only effect that does let the episode being the fact that you can tell right away that they didn't actually film in Miami which is something that was always going to be the case but the effect does look rather cheap which is something that does make alot of sense as they put more time and effort into making the episodes villain look as good as they possibly could have done.


This episode was pretty divisive when it first came out due to the fact that it has The Doctor and Belinda quite literally break the fourth wall and talk to fans of Doctor Who. Which to be fair isn't a bad scene in it's own right as the three fans are purely there for comedic effect and that's it but at the same time tho the show has never openly admitted that it's just a show and that's really it before now so it will of course be really jarring to see happen in this episode as it does fell like that the makers of this show are making fun of the fans rather then making us laugh with them and heck they even have one of the fans say the hashtag #RIPDoctorWho at one point which was something that alot of fans were using when talking about the show when if they wanted to have this scene be this weird and funny scene they could have found a way to do it without breaking the fourth wall and without having jokes in there that feel like there taking aim at Doctor Who fans in general as they could have had the three fans be these weird , quirky but lovable characters that you want to get to know more about and that you want to see more off and yet they don't do that this is despite the fact that here scene is actually a key plot point in the episode as one of the fans called Lizzy straight gives The Doctor the idea of how to beat Mr-Ring-A-Ding in the first place which is something that does come into play just a few short scenes later and while them essentially sacrificing themselves is a great way to up the threat level for the episode it also amounts to nothing as they come back for lame joke during the episodes mid credits scene which makes there sacrifice pointless in the grand scheme of things.

The villain in this episode oddly enough doesn't really have an end goal in mind as for a large of the episode he's just after any kind of light that he can get from the theater and that's really it. With him really only getting a real plan when he finds out that The Doctor is a time lord with him then deciding that he wants as much light as he possibly can do which to be fair is a fairly solid plan to have and yet at the same time for an episode that did have alot of promise to it its also a really weak plan as well as this is a character that gives you permission to go as out there and as weird as you want to with your main villain plan and yet the makers of this episode don't do that rather they instead play it safe and go with a really boring plan that doesn't allow for your main villain to actually do all that much in the episode which fair enough is something that does work for the villain as this is a character that doesn't really know all that much about the outside world outside of what he's learned from watching movies which re at best lies when it would have worked just as well if Mr-Ring-A-Ding had a more out there and weird plan like maybe he wants to use his powers of light to take over the world and make the whole world be a cinema so that the whole human race can feel as trapped as he's felt for the months that he's been stuck in the theater but in saying this tho having is plan just be light and having him be defeated by the very thing that he wants the most is oddly poetic as it's basically boils down to the old saying of be careful what you wish for because you just might get it and in this case Mr-Ring-A-Ding was defeated by the very thing that he wanted light.


To be fair it was really fun seeing both The Doctor and Belinda turned into cartoons with them having these really stilted movements to them which makes them like the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons. With the thing that lets this small piece of the episode down being just that it was only a really small part of the episode and yet the BBC put this scene in alot of the trailers and teasers for this season which did give of the impression that it was going to be a lot more longer then what it ended up being in the first place but to be fair the makers of this episode do use that one scene to get across the fact that both The Doctor and Belinda are scared abut the things that are going on with The Doctor being scared that he will never be able to get her home due to the fact that something might have happened to Earth and Belinda being scared by the fact that she might miss the people that she loves the most and yet even so something that they never address this season while they can't land exactly on May 24th they never state why they can't land one day before and just stay there for twenty four hours but going back to the cartoon whilst it was fun seeing those characters as cartoon characters the whole segment did feel like it was making fun of cartoons and how classic cartoon characters don't have much in the way of dimension when it would have been more beneficial of that part of the episode didn't do that and instead chose to just be a fun segment as we have The Doctor and Belinda in a cartoon so much more fun would it be to have those characters act all cartoony and yet they don't do that infact they barely move at all which is something that does make the scene as a whole alot less fun to watch as we're not getting the chance to see just what the makers of this episode could do with the characters as fully done cartoon characters.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly forty four minuets and three seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this show and to be fair the episode does have the perfect amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place and yet un saying this tho this episode really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the episode doesn't take the time to fully develop it's plot in the first place with the episode being more focused on letting us know that this episodes villain is a cartoon character then it is in giving us a reason to care about the characters and to care about the plot of this episode with it feeling like that the plot of the episode was being treated as an afterthought as the plot of this episode doesn't get alot of focus and plot development with the same thing also being true for all of the episodes characters which is fine for The Doctor as you could argue that he has well over sixty plus years to get his character development and yet for characters like Belinda who we are still getting to know and Mr-Ring-A-Ding those are characters that really did need to get some sort of character development as that would have given us the audience a reason to care for these characters and to want to see them make it out of the episode alive and yet the episode doesn't really give us any of that when it had more then running time in order to give the characters some character development and still the story as well as it does in the final episode and yet for one reason or another the makers of this episode thought that it was best not to give any of the characters the character development that they really all needed to get but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really goo pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is an action show that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty i in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. While the episode really only has the one action scene near the end of the episode this is something that does make alot of scene as there's no way that you could have a good looking action scene with a cartoon character taking on two live action characters and with the episode putting more of a focus on comedy then action it does make sense that this episode would have just the one action and yet at the same time tho having more then one action scene in the episode even if it's brief one would have gone a long way into showing us the audience why Mr-Ring-A-Ding is a threat to The Doctor with the episodes best action scene of course being it's only action scene where we get to see the episodes main villain essentially suck the life force out of The Doctor in order to build himself a real body all the while Belinda is is busy running around grabbing all of the film stuck so that she can light it on fire something which would kill of the episodes main villain and while it's not her that delivers the blow as that honor goes to the projectionist Reginal Pye it's the fact that it gets done in the first place with it somehow blowing a huge hole in the building so that sun light can come thus allowing to Mr-Ring-A-Ding to essentially drown in the light with that action scene being a really tense scene just due to the fact that it's The Doctor himself who almost dies with it also being a really fu scene to watch in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall whilst this might not be the best episode of this season of Doctor Who it's also not the worst one either with this episode actually trying to do something new by giving us a cartoon villain that helps to make the episode as good as it is and while the writing by Russell T. Davies isn't that good as it feels like he was just copying what he really did in "The Devil's Chord" something like "The War Between The Land And The Sea" does prove that h wants to he can still write good Doctor Who it's just that this episode isn't the best episode that he's written in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad thigs that are in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a gran old score of exactly a 6 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally sued in this very review ell then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk , Tardis . Wiki and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Tardis . Wiki really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Tardis . Wiki really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Tuesday, 6 January 2026

WWE Raw January 5th 2026 Review


There's no doubt that the biggest show on Netflix was Stranger Things and given that Netflix also airs WWE Raw it would make sense that one day the two would sort of crossover with each other. Well that's exactly what has just happened on the latest episode of Raw with this being something that to there credit the WWE really did go over board promoting as they were pushing this episode for weeks on social media and well the episode has now aired and since I still love pro wrestling you all just knew that I had to check this episode the very first chance that I got and so then join me as I review the show that sees things get stranger with the show in question being called simply just "Raw" enjoy.

For once this episode really doesn't have much of a plot with the episode instead feeling like a free PLE and not an episode of a weekly TV show. Now then interms of what I thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad as even tho this show doesn't really have a plot as the whole idea behind this episode is to basically be a glorified PLE which is something that could have been seen as being a bad thing yet it is something that does oddly work in this episodes favor as the whole push behind this episode isn't the stories going into it altho that is a big part of it rather it's the fact that the episode is one big crossover of sorts with Stranger Things and that's really it and to be fair that's not really something that does require a lot of plot especially when your storylines can last months which is something that WWE do with it being made clear that this episode is also there to get more fans into watching pro wrestling and having a lot of plots be further developed in this episode could be something that might put them off watching next week as it doesn't matter if you get those new fans to watch this week what happens is if they come back and watch next weeks episode and if this episode did have a plot or carried on or advanced several plots it is something that they wouldn't be able to do and while it would have been nice if this episode did have a plot as that's something that the die hard wrestling fans would love it's also something that wouldn't really work in what is just a glorified PLE and nothing more then that in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


The set for this show is as expected just the regular set for this show with the thing that sets it apart this week being he fact that there's alot of things tied into Stranger Things planed not only where the stage is but all over the place as well. With it seeming like the WWE wanted to let you know that this episode was tieing in with Stranger Things as they have branding for that show all over the place with the coolest part of that branding being at the top of the stage where they have what is quite possibly the entrance to the Upside Down where the wrestlers make there way to ringside which was a nice little touch but at the same tie tho given that this is meant to be a special episode of the show it would have been nice if they went over board and used some of that Netflix money to give us a more unique looking set as the one that they give us in this episode is nothing more then the regular set and that's it and while that would be fine if this was just an average episode of the show the fact is this isn't just an average episode of the show as this is one that both WWE and Netflix have been promoting all of the time and therefor it should have been treated as something special and part of that does mean giving the show a unique looking set as that would help to make the show feel more special even if it's something as simple as making the main LED screen slightly bigger it's something that would have gone a long way into making this episode feel more special and yet all they do is slap the Stranger Things logo on the LED screen and have some props from that show spread all around the stage which does look nice but it's not enough to make this episode feel all the more special then what they've been making it out to be on social media.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual set that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual set that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. With this episodes set just being the set that they use for the show and really nothing more then that it is still a set that looks really good butt it's hard to say that this set is one of the best Raw sets of all time as this show did have some really good looking sets in the 2000's but for modern WWE this set does look really good but again as was just mentioned it would have helped this episode out quite a lot if they did come up with an original set as they have the money to make one and heck if they wanted to save money they could have made so that the set could then be used for special episodes or things like Saturday Nights Main Event or something like that and yet all they did was just use the typical main series set which oddly enough does make this episode feel alot less special as they do the bare minimum to make it look different when in this episode they should have gone all out in making it look as good as they possibly could have done as as right now the set feels like the set that they would use for a Christmas episode of the show where they do the bare minimum but there it makes sense as alot of there staff aren't there at that time to make the set as good as it could have been where as here they working with a full staff and yet they didn't create a unique set and don't get me wrong this set does make the show stand out from all of the other episodes of this show but given that they really did push this episode for weeks before it even aired it would have been better if they went over board with making a new and unique looking set for this episode.


To be fair even tho this episode really hits you over the head with the Stranger Things iconography they do also do alot of really cool things with it as well. With the episode quite literally turning things upside down at the start of the episode which was a really cool thing and then you add in the fact that they have unique transitions which feature characters from Stranger Things which do look really good and it is something that does show that the WWE was putting alot of care into this episode which is something make alot of sense as this episode is the first episode of Raw in the new year with the crossover aspect of this show being done more subtly then what it really could have been as if this was under the Vince McMahon era you just know that he would have done something crazy and over the top just to really make it obvious that this is a tie in episode of the show and yet as this show is under the Triple H era it's done alot more subtly with all of the cool things that we got from this tie in being nothing more then things that are on video and nothing more then that heck none of the cast and crew from the show even make an appearance in the episode which granted does make this tie in pointless as they could have had the cast take part i some backstage segments and maybe do some segments in the ring as well and yet the WWE didn't do any of that with all the things that they do do being these really cool little things that you don't get to see on the average episode of Raw with the only down thing being the fact that they play the Stranger Things theme song alot of the time which is bit of over kill especially when you only need to play it the once and that's really it.


When this tie in was first announced and first being promoted I and i'm sure many others immediately wished that this episode was alot more better then the Army Of The Dead tie in that the WWE did at Wrestlemania Backlash 2021. As on that PLE they straight up had two wrestlers compete in a match while surrounded by zombies and then had a further two zombies get eaten by those zombies where as here the tie in aspect was done in much more subtle with the focus being more on the wrestling side of things then in the tie in side of things which is a great to do something like as that is something that the wrestling fans will love this however doesn't make this tie in that good as outside of the set and graphics there's nothing to say that this is a tie in with Stranger Things which is were having things like the cast and crew appear on the show would have helped things out as it would been a really subtle thing to do and it wouldn't take away from the wrestling aspect of the show either and yet for one reason or another the makers of this episode instead chose not to that which again makes it pointless for this episode to be a tie in episode and while it's easily better then the Army Of The Dead tie in was that's not really saying all that much as it would have been fun to see some wrestlers interacting with the cast of the Stranger Things heck they could have had R-Truth confuse the actors from the show with there characters and treat them as there characters which sis something that would been true to his character and it would have been really fun to see in this episode but in all fairness not having the cast and crew of the show appear in this episode does also work for this episode as it keeps the focus on what it should have been that being the wrestling.

This episode is pretty much here just to provide Netflix with some synergy between two of it's shows and that's really it/ Which is fine but at the same time you have to wonder why the WWE why not have it be with something like Wednesday or one of there animated shows as there really isn't much crossover interms of fan support between both of the shows whereas alot of people that would love Stranger Things would also love something like Wednesday as those two shows are very similar in style and tone whereas having it be with WWE a brand that changes it's tone with every segment and has nothing to do with horror it makes no sense for them to team up for this episode but as this episode could serve as a great way for Stranger Things fans to see what the WWE is all about then you really can't go wrong as this episode does give you some good stuff but at the same tm this isn't the company at there best either with this episode just straight up dropping nearly all of the Stranger Things heavy talk after the first few segments and then they only mention the show by name once or twice and that's really it but to this episodes credit for a show like Stranger Things it really would be hard to do a proper tie in that appease fans of both shows and would get people from either show to watch the other with the makers of this show doing the best with what they had to work with and to be fair they do make the most of it even tho alot of the stuff that they give us would have been better served if it was on a PLE and not just a regular episode of the show and if this episode does get some fans of Stranger Things to watch Raw then great as they can very easily watch alot of the past episodes on Netflix and hopefully that will then make them fans of this show.


There was one thing that was really annoying to watch that being the fact that alot of the time the show does cut to black. With this happening very early on in the episode where it happens seemingly every few minuets which is just pointless as there doing it just for no reason whatsoever now if this show was still airing on regular TV and not on Netflix you could then make the case that this is were the show was cutting to a commercial break but it doesn't air on TV anymore it airs on Netflix which makes those fades to black pointless and annoying with the other thing that was kind of annoying was that for a wrestling show there was very little wrestling on the show itself as there was only four matches on the entire show and while that is close to the norm for the Triple H era as he has put more of focus on quality rather then quantity you still need to have alot more wrestling happen on your wrestling show and yet here the episode was filled up more with interviews and backstage segments then it was in actual wrestling which would be fine if this was a PLE as by then all of the build up for that event would have been and the event it self would just be the pay off to alot of the stories being told but here it's just another episode of the show and yet it's being treated like it was a PLE which is great for match quality but we still want to see more wrestling matches happen on this show heck there's alot of wrestlers who could have done something literally anything on this show that weren't featured as the makers of the episode were alot more focused on letting us know that this is a special crossover episode with Stranger Things then they were in giving us a good episode in it's own right.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running tome of exactly two hours and twenty seven minuets and twenty four seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this show to have and while this show doesn't really have a plot to cover that amount of running time in the first place alot of the shows matches are really well paced with none of the shows matches lasting longer then what they really need to with the only match going near the thirty minuet mark being the shows main event and that's really it as alot of the shows matches are all under twenty minuets long which is a perfect amount of time for them to last which again makes you wonder why there wasn't one more match added to this card with the episodes running time actually being shorter then some of the shows other episodes where they usually run alot more closer to three hours in length and yet this episode really doesn't feel all that long with this being due to the fact that the episode does have a good balance of match time and interview time which is something that very easily could have skewed more in favor of either one which would have thrown of the episodes pacing as the episode does need to balance the amount of times that they mention Stranger Things , the amount of matches that they have and the some of the shows interviews and backstage segments as well as the one the in the ring segment with this being something that the show does really well with even the shows Stranger Things aspect being alot more fun then what it really could have been as well as that is something that very easily could have been seen as being to campy and on for to long and yet here those aspects of the show run for just the right amount of time but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a wrestling show that really does mean that I gave to actually talk about the actual wrestling that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual wrestling that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With this episode having some really good wrestling in it be it from the opening women's tag team title match between The Kabuki Warriors and Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky or even the match between a returning Liv Morgan and Lyra Valkyria bottom line there is a lot of really good matches to be found in this episode altho given that only one match features the men and the rest of the women it does make this episode feel like a version of WWE Evolution and not an episode of Raw with the best wrestling match on the whole show being the amin even match between CM Punk and Bron Breakker as even the the ending was overbooked with there being far to many things happening just ti set up the end of the match the match it self was really well done with there being some really good looking moves done by both people with the match itself being very hard hitting with part of makes this match so good being the fact that the match had the time that it really needed to be this fun and crazy match and while the opening tag match also had that it's ending really did feel a bit rushed with it feeling like that they were just rushing to get to the end this match really was just hard hitting action that alot of wrestling fans might like in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 


Overall interms of tie ins go this one is easily better then Wrestlemania Backlash 2021 was as this episode whilst it didn't take the tie in aspect as far it really could have done it took it just far enough for the episode to be enjoyable but this is an episode that won't be remembered and will be forgotten about by the larger wrestling fan base by at best next month as it's just that forgettable of an episode in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that means that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally sued in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Thursday, 1 January 2026

Paddington 1976 TV Series "Paddington Goes Underground" Review


It really doesn't need to be said at this point as it's something that's becoming more and more obvious with each passing revie but i'm really loving this classic Paddington series. As the show does have alot of charm in all of it's episodes this is despite the fact hat the episodes are no longer then five minuets in length with the episode that i'm going to be talking to you all about today being a good example of an episode that makes alot of use out of having only handful of characters and really one main location and so then join me as I review the episode that sees Paddington try to go on a train with the episode in question being called simply "Paddington Goes Underground" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is when he , Judy and Mrs. Brown decide to go shopping they find that just getting down to the London tube station underground is more challenging for Paddington. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good with the very thing that makes this episodes plot as good as it is being the fact that it's simple as all the main plot of the episode is is just Paddington trying to get down the Escalator at Paddington Station and that's really it and that's all that it needed to be as that set up alone is more then enough to carry the plot of entire episode and with this show only adapting portions of certain Paddington books it does make sense that every once in a while you'd get a plot that's nothing more then just the basic set up for the episode and really nothing more then that and yet in saying this tho it would have helped the episode out a bit more if the plot of this episode was a bit more stronger not that it's weak by any means it's just that for an episode called "Paddington Goes Underground" we see very little of him on the London Underground with the episode more focused on showing us him struggling to get down the Escalator there in the first place which is still a good idea but at the same time tho it's also one that doesn't really allow for alot of plot to happen in the first place with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this episode is the shows only voice actor Sir Michael Hordern with it being made quite clear in this episode that he was the right choice to be the narrator for this show. As he does have kind of soothing voice that does fit the character of Paddington quite perfectly and while he doesn't really change his voice all that much when he's voicing the other characters he does enough to make it obvious that he's not talking as Paddington with that being something that does come up quite a bit in this episode as we see him give the female characters a more high pitched voices and yet he gives some of the Underground guards more of east end of London type of voice all of which are things that do fit there respective characters and yet at the same time tho this is a show that could have used more actors in it just to give him someone to bounce off of and while that's not needed as the show works just fine with him as the main actor but it is something that would have helped the other characters have more of a distinct voice as alot of the time you can tell that it's just the one man playing these characters which is something that does take you out of the episode and yet if the episode did have even just one more voice actor in it then it would have helped to make the world that this show takes place in feel more unique as it would have added more voices to the show but when all is said and done there was a reason why the makers of this show went with Michael as he does process a voice that is calming which in turn makes it feel like that he's reading us the audience a bedtime story and not just reading us the script to a TV show.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With this films one and only actor doing a really good job of playing all of these different characters and yet making them all sound unique enough from another that not only will us the audience be able to tell just who is talking but so will the shows kid audience with Michael really being the best that the makers of this show could have got to play these character as he really is just so good not only in this episode but in the show as a whole with it being made obvious that he is a fan of the Paddington books with him even being the episodes best actor which granted he was always going to do as he's the shows only actor but it is something that does speak to his skill as an actor that he makes you believe that this bear is real and that's going on all of these adventures all the while he's still telling us this fun and charming story in a really smooth and calming voice when it would have been very easy for him to go over the top with his voices and really play up to the shows kid audience and yet episodes like this one do proof that you really don't need to play up to that audience with the acting that's in this episode really being helped by the fact that the script for this episode is just so good that all this episodes actor has to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of him naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.


Doing the animation for this episode is the legends and the greats that really are currently over at FilmFair. Now then interms of what Impersonally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good with this episodes animation more then matching up to the already high quality of animation that was seen in the previous two episodes something which was completely shocking as this whole first series was basically animated by the shows director Ivor Wood and yet there's not a dip in quality be it in the animation or in the shots that we get in the episode as while the shows 2D characters aren't given that much in the way of fluid movement that's only because of the fact that they don't really move alot in this episode with alot of the episodes human characters either just standing still or are shown from behind and yet when it comes to Paddington himself that's where the episodes animation really does begin to shin as he does have these really fluid movements to him that make it look like that he was actually there interacting with these human characters which were added in after the episode was finished with the episode even giving us some really creative shots that would have been very hard to get given the time that this show was being made which is something that does show you that the makers of this show really did know how best to show off there animation as alot of the shots in this episode are all about showing off the episodes animation.


What makes this episode stand out from alot of the other episodes of this show is the fact that for alot of this episode. We are just in the one location with only a very small amount of characters and yet at the same time the episode doesn't feel claustrophobic at all as we are meant to just see the top and the bottom of the escalator and that's it with this being something that does work well enough in the episodes favor as it allows for the episodes more charming nature to shine through as while other episodes of this show have more of a verity of locations for the characters to visit which is something that dies allow for more comedic antics to take place here we just have the one main location with the episode really milking it for all it's worth so much so that the 2014 Paddington movie even dedicated a small amount of it's running time to the same set up of this episode and while it could debated on who did it better it's a set up that does work as it allows us to see that Paddington is still adjusting to life in London and is still trying out things that we take for granted for the very first time with all of the charm coming from how he interacts with the inspector and the guard all the while both Mrs. Brown and Judy are trying to catch up with him with this idea of having one major location for the entire episode working so well that it makes you wonder why the makers of this show didn't use that idea more as surely there are more Paddington books that only use one main location that they could very easily adapt into episodes of the show and yet thus far anyway it does seem like that this is the only episode that has this unique set up to it and while it would have been ice if we got to see more locations just for the comedy of it all having the one major location is one that still works as it allows the characters to be there usual charming selves.

It really is hard to find any real faut with this episode as while it is continuing the story of the first few episodes and it's story doesn't really get resolved until the very next episode. This is more due to the fact that the makers of this show are adapting the various Paddington books pretty much word for word with that being why this show and these characters are well beloved in the first place as the books themselves are really well loved as well and when something is already perfect in the first place why change it with the only thing that could have been changed being the fact that they could have cut down the underground bit of the episode and combined it with the next episode just to tell one whole story of Paddington going on the train to go shopping something which they very easily could have done as we don't need to see him going up and down the escalator several times in the episode but this would also have the add on effect of making what is a really funny episode in it's own right seem all the less funny because of the fact that instead of setting up and paying of joke rather quickly the episode would now have to be more focused on telling one whole story which is fine when your episodes are twenty two minuets an episode and yet when you episodes are allot less then that it does mean that you have to take an entirely different approach to the episode which in this case does mean splitting up a story that you very easily could have told in one episode and making it into two episodes and while the episode doesn't fully flesh out it's story by doing that as it really doesn't need what it does do is create a charming plot with a really simple setup and that's great as that's all that it really needed to do. 


Just for future reference all of the review for this series will now be based off of the newly released complete series version of the show where all the episodes plus the three episodes have been remastered. With the colors of all of the characters looking really sharp and having all of the colors that you'd expect them to have as well something which was a bit of an issue on the complete series version of Worzel Gummidge where they made a character alot more orange in skin tone here you can see that none of that has happened with it being made clear as day that the team behind the restoration have put in alot of thought and effort into making this show look as good as it possibly could be whilst i'll be using the DVD version just because of the fact that that means I can now watch this show anywhere in the world it would be very easy to picture this show and this episode looking really good on Blu-Ray just due to the higher resolution that Blu-Ray has when compared to DVD but either way there was alot of love and attention put into this show and put into making look as good as it did back when it first aired in the seventies with this being a good example of why studios should keep an eye on what they've done in the past as there will always be someone out there who wants these old shows restored to there former glory heck just look at how well that the new Tom And Jerry restored Blu-Rays have been doing as proof of that and yet for one reason or another we get alot of sloppy restorations alot of the time which is something that does do more harm then good and right now Fabulous Films who released both this and the whole Worzel Gummidge fully restored seem to be one of the few companies in the UK that are looking at these classic properties and restoring them back to there former glory and putting them out there for us all to enjoy once again.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly four minuets and forty three seconds. Which is pretty much the exact bogstandard running time for alot of this shows episodes in the first place with this episode even having more then enough there interms of plot to full cover that amount of running time in the first place as this episode really doesn't need a long running time in order to tell it's story as it's basically just telling one half of a story and to the episodes credit the episode does use it's running time as wisely as it perhaps could have done as the episode really doesn't need to fully develop it's plot all that much as there's not much there interms of plot in the first place as all the episode is is just Paddington using an escalator and that's really it and to be fair that is something that doesn't require of plot development as it's not even telling a full story which means that it really doesn't need that much development in the first place with the episode not really fully developing it's characters which is something that does make sense as this is a plot that doesn't really allow for character development as all this show is is just seeing Paddington get from one misadventure to the next and that is something that doesn't really require character development and while that is still a bad thing as it doesn't give us much of a reason to care for the characters in this episode due to the events of the previous episodes the characters are already likable in the first place but it still would have been nice if we did get to see Paddington get some character develo0pment in this episode as the only thing that he really learns is that he like Paddington Station and that's really it but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With the episode having alot of moments in it that not only laugh out funny but are also really cute as well with all of this episodes jokes working because of the fact that characters like Paddington are made to be these characters that you want to cheer for with them being presented as characters that are likable and can have these more out there jokes with the best joke in this episode being a toss up between Paddington pretty much causing a bunch of dogs to chase after him because of the fact that he has a beacon sandwich sticking out of his suit case or the entire segment with Paddington trying to use an escalator and constantly missing both Mrs. Brown and Judy but always bumping into the inspector as both jokes work as they feel true to the character of Paddington as you do believe that he would leave a beacon sandwich in his suitcase just for emergencies as that does feel true to his character but if push does indeed come to shove then the best joke in the episode has to be the one with the dogs as again it does feel like something that Paddington would do as it plays into his more childlike and innocent nature with the episode on the whole basically being one big joke as the episode is all about the build up to Paddington getting to the station and yet it still has all of these more smaller jokes in it that work really well as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall this episode is a really fun episode that does remind us the audience as to why Paddington not only did work as a character but still does work as a character as he is a really charming character with this being something that does come through in this episode as this episode is just as charming if not more so then it's title character is in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in his very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.