Arby 'n' the Chief

An irreverent comedy, a dramatic thriller, a buddy adventure and a psychological horror all at once: "Arby 'n' the Chief" is a series that frequently and expertly glides between genres. The series evolves from momentary situations and petty squabbles into a visceral, satirical saga that touches on grievous problems with society, pushing further and deeper into existential dread and soul-killingly reality than any fictional series to date.

Jon Graham's growth as a filmmaker over this series' 15-year run is apparent and impactful. Beginning as a simple Toy Story parody where he takes digs at common online gaming problems, utilizing action figures of Master Chief and The Arbiter as proxies for rowdy and respectful gamers, respectively; "Arby 'n' the Chief" concludes as a surreal and grim tale that truly is on-par with Arthur C. Clark's "2001: A Space Oddessy," but is conveyed in a manner that is easier to both consume and understand.

Master Chief and The Arbiter are the greatest pair of deuteragonists to be published, ever. Chief plays the role of an irreverent, bull-headed realist that exists only for the stimulation of his animal brain, while Arbiter exists as an overanalytical, self-deprecating existentialist that craves validation for his sapience. Neither is a protagonist: the protagonist of the series is the turbulent relationship between the two of them. Them simply being them actively does not progress the plot, it is only when our two deuteragonists are going through an experience that ruins their relationship that they are ushered onward.

In Seasons 1 through 4, which are wholly episodic, we only ever see minor rifts form between them. As more rifts take place, we see a progressive lengthening to the story; with episodes gaining multiple parts in a season. By the time we reach Season 5, we witness larger and larger breaks in their pseudo-friendship that result in season-length story arcs and ever-mounting consequences, all bought about by the clashing of Chief's heedless need for thrills and Arbiter's self-destructive pursuit of meaning.

Every episode, with very, very few exceptions, uses satire to outright assault a point of the entertainment industry or society. Using a blend of thoughtfulness and thoughtlessness, an episode tends to surgically deconstruct a point and take a look at every part of it, not just its core. This machinima series has wrestled with concepts that more well-known projects have never dared to step near; including survivor's guilt, black-pilling, and the ethics homicide.

This series is easily approachable by any, but Seasons 6 and onward are only for those that are not feint of heart, as they tackle numerous, heavy topics that can shake even a cynic like me to the core. There were points that I needed breaks in my viewing experience, because of how haunting the later plotlines are.

Avid fan since 2010, when i was then aged 15 now turning 25 on nov 8 2019

ITS PERFECT! John made an amazing series that no one could ever top! He made what was supposed to be a hero (chief) and made him a sexist, rude, retarded pig!!! Arby is the mature one and is just there to counter everything chief does aha! The first 3 seasons were so funny and didn't really follow a storyline but then they got serious but were still amazing! Honestly an amazing show to watch no matter what mood! Arby and Chief remind me of Brian and Stewie! I downloaded every single episode so I can just watch it forever and ever! I even bought the action figures just so I can say I have arbiter n the chief in my house! Its seriously an amazing show.!

The writing is genius. The comedy is hilarious. The story is perfect. Wow what a show. It is so amazing and so perfect in so many ways. Everything is great. I recommend this to everyone reading. This show is amazing. I've been watching the show since 2007 when it was conceived in the mind of the legendary comedy genius Jon Graham aka Jon CJG. It started out as a short that received a phenomenal response. After 2 sequels, the show Arby 'n' the Chief was premiered. And boy was it great. New episodes came out annually and each was received greatly and this went on for a few years and came out to 3 seasons. At one point there was even a awesome movie. Then Endgame came out as the series finale. It was a 40 minute movie that was a hilarious and quite shocking conclusion. After a year or so Jon came back and continued the show with season 4. Hundreds of thousands of fans came back to rack up millions of views to the premiere and the following seasons. Writing got more complex, episodes got longer, and reviews got better (if that was even possible). Now the show is in its 7th season, possibly it's last, but still going strong.

Thank you Jon for all the great years :3

To those curious about the show I'd recommend giving it a go. Start with season 5 or something seasons 1-4 are great but can be off putting to someone missing context, essentially you'd have to be familiar with internet culture of the time and gaming culture from that era to fully appreciate it.