What It's Like Being Alone

When the ads first started running on CBC las year (?) I thought the show looked great. A creepy, silly fun stop-motion animation show for adults! Can it get any better than this? Well, yes it can, because after viewing a number of episodes, the beauty of the animation can only carry weak writing so far. Each episode had a few laughs (few being the main word) but overall, this is an unfunny comedy and that's the worst thing a comedy can be.

Yes, I get that the humour is supposed to be ironic and that the tragic lives of the characters are supposed to be sickly darkly funny. Sometimes they are indeed, but most of the time their just kind of bland, or boring or tedious.

I really wanted to support this show, to see it succeed as a cool new thing, and Canadian to boot, but sadly, what it's like is, well, dull.

From the comment titled "What It's Like Being Amazed"

***A wondrous and fiendishly humorous stop-motion animation series about freak orphans who are desperately trying to get adopted. They must have had a crack writing team. Incredible animation and each touching story is as pithy as it is erudite.... (yadda yadda yadda...)***

Clearly, this post was written by Peyton himself - no other human being would display such bravado as to write such complete drivel about a poorly constructed show that has nowhere to go and no way to get there.

While I have to admit that the animation and set design is top-notch, the actual story lines are weak and the characters direct rip-offs of other artist's creations: a cuter version of Princess Lucy can be seen on "The Oblongs" and the dead bunny is practically a direct steal from Vasquez's "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" - not to mention the Tim Burton-esquire "influence" that other posts have mentioned. This can come as no surprise to anyone who has ever had the pleasure of reading Dirge's "Lenore" comic book only to later be exposed to Peyton's "Evelyn" - the plagiarism is tangible enough to choke even the most stalwart goth-wannabe.

It is a shame that this show was made on the backs of the Canadian tax-payers while the art and animation department struggled to make the show funny and brilliant under the weight of poor scripts and even poorer management.

Do yourself a favour and watch the show with the sound turned off - at least that way you may enjoy the beauty of the animation and art direction unencumbered by the lousy writing.

Edgar Allan Poe meets "Superjail". Hilarious in its absurdity, the cartoon shows the awkward and violent lives of the orphans in the forgotten mansion. Various creatures struggle for their dreams and mostly fail to archive them.

I first saw this show when a friend sent me a text message saying turn to channel 3 (the CBC). Now, i normally don't watch this channel, it is usually quite boring (except for the Simpson's's at supper-time!), but i tuned in anyway. It was a really cute stop motion animation show that was playing. I liked it quite a bit, and i put a reminder on my television to watch it again next week. I really liked the one character (my friend has watched this a few times and believes she is the main character) she appears to be goth, tall, skinny and depressing. I didn't catch her name, but i really liked her. She reminds me of a few other characters that have been in other shows. For some reason, i am usually drawn towards the goth characters. (my mother thinks i am morbid) But anyway, i thought this was a cute show, and you should check it out if you have a chance.

A wondrous and fiendishly humorous stop-motion animation series about freak orphans who are desperately trying to get adopted. They must have had a crack writing team. Incredible animation and each touching story is as pithy as it is erudite. Though it is appealing to a younger audience the plot lines aren't facile. For example I especially enjoy the brilliant autopsy of the idiosyncrasies of racial stereotypes. Dwayne Hill is a maestro of voice. If only there were more shows like this on television. Finally we have proof that a fantastic series with great production values can come from Canada. I just wish there was more marketing behind it.