Was very mixed on the concept this time. Brain's involvement sounded intriguing and true to character, but any excitement was dulled by knowing that Elmyra and Rudy were going to be quite promininent in it, being somebody who dislikes Elmyra in 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain (which never did it for me as a show despite some watchable episodes) and who has never bought how anybody could find any appeal in her as there is nothing appealing about her.
"At the Hop" is not one of the worst episodes of 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain'. It is also not quite one of the average (the best the show ever got, with the likes of "My Fair Brainy" and "The Icky Mouse Club") ones, Brain's presence certainly makes it better and there is a little amusement from two characters. It is an episode where the referencing is a bit all over the place and dates it and the flaws here are similar to most episodes from the show.
Does "At the Hop" have its good things? Yes. Brain's character writing is very well done. As has been said in reviews for the previous episodes, the character writing on the most part was really off but Brain was the exception, always amusingly deadpan and intelligent. Maurice LaMarche's voice acting is pitch perfect, as is Ben Stein's.
Other than Brain, the best character is Rockin Johnny Hot who gets some strong laugh out loud moments. The animation has some colour and nice background detail.
The storytelling however could have done with a lot more verve and could have been less predictable and simplistic. The writing is not witty or sharp enough, apart from moments with Brain and Rockin Johnny, and also can be childish and over cute with Elmyra and Rudy. The character chemistry doesn't connect and the premise doesn't quite come together due to that the chemistry between two characters is hard to buy.
While some of the referencing is fun, well the ones that are easy to spot from a young adult perspective, too many of the references are too stuck in the 90s and will go over the heads of younger audiences due to not being familiar with what is being referenced, some of them quite oddly adult and out of place. The animation could generally have had more boldness and polish, it looks nice but is a bit on the safe side. Even when softening her, Elmyra is still annoying and Rudy is bland.
In summary, semi-watchable but not particularly good. 4/10.
"At the Hop" is not one of the worst episodes of 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain'. It is also not quite one of the average (the best the show ever got, with the likes of "My Fair Brainy" and "The Icky Mouse Club") ones, Brain's presence certainly makes it better and there is a little amusement from two characters. It is an episode where the referencing is a bit all over the place and dates it and the flaws here are similar to most episodes from the show.
Does "At the Hop" have its good things? Yes. Brain's character writing is very well done. As has been said in reviews for the previous episodes, the character writing on the most part was really off but Brain was the exception, always amusingly deadpan and intelligent. Maurice LaMarche's voice acting is pitch perfect, as is Ben Stein's.
Other than Brain, the best character is Rockin Johnny Hot who gets some strong laugh out loud moments. The animation has some colour and nice background detail.
The storytelling however could have done with a lot more verve and could have been less predictable and simplistic. The writing is not witty or sharp enough, apart from moments with Brain and Rockin Johnny, and also can be childish and over cute with Elmyra and Rudy. The character chemistry doesn't connect and the premise doesn't quite come together due to that the chemistry between two characters is hard to buy.
While some of the referencing is fun, well the ones that are easy to spot from a young adult perspective, too many of the references are too stuck in the 90s and will go over the heads of younger audiences due to not being familiar with what is being referenced, some of them quite oddly adult and out of place. The animation could generally have had more boldness and polish, it looks nice but is a bit on the safe side. Even when softening her, Elmyra is still annoying and Rudy is bland.
In summary, semi-watchable but not particularly good. 4/10.