You know that famous saying, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey”? Well, the thing is, in order to start that journey, you have to take that first step. And I figured…better later than never.
A couple years ago, my boyfriend MikeTheHuman113 and I had gone through the entirety of “The Simpsons” that was on Disney+(as well as the Michael Jackson episode that wasn’t on there), and we documented our journey through it in the 10-Words-Or-Less format. This meant we had experienced the whole of the first 31 seasons of that series, two episodes a day in just less than a year. Now, this was of course a big undertaking, and let me tell you, managing to actually accomplish it felt so damn good.
I’ve gone through plenty of other shows in that format since then, of course, and I’m not getting rid of it anytime soon. After all, it’s proven to be a very efficient way that I get to experience a lot of shows that I’d been meaning to get to at some point, and people like it enough that it’s basically become a staple for my Twitter account. But ever since my “Simpsons” milestone, I’ve wanted to find some way that I could top it, maybe cover another show more in-depth than that, even if the show itself isn’t quite as long.
And it was then that I realized, there’s been a particular series that I’d been meaning to marathon, but have neglected to get to for years and years.
…until now.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about the one, the only, the strong-Christian-values spouting “The Fairly OddParents, created by the man who singlehandedly created our childhoods, Butch Hartman. I have to say, I really want to thank this man for just changing my life. I honestly have no idea where I’d be in my life if I didn’t get to experience the childlike wonders of pregnant Cosmo at the age of 10.
Okay, in all seriousness, yes, “The Fairly OddParents” was a major part of my childhood. While I didn’t like it quite as much as “SpongeBob”, it was one of the few Nickelodeon cartoons that I was in love with, making sure to see every new episode as they aired. As a result, the vast majority of the show I did grow up with, and in that respect, it will always hold a special place in my heart.
But it’s also no secret to anyone who’s been keeping track that the franchise has been really put through the wringer, with Nickelodeon milking it dry, pushing the series past its prime, doing everything it can to stay relevant, and more recently, putting out a live-action revival that literally no one likes. To give you an idea, I’ve barely seen any of season 10, but the few episodes I did check out I’ve been ready to declare some of the worst pieces of media I’ve ever seen.
So with that in mind, why do I want to cover this franchise specifically? Well, to put it simply, it is utterly fascinating just how far it’s fallen. Even putting aside what little I’ve seen of the end of the series, I remember a time when “The Fairly OddParents” was a huge thing, my school friends would talk about every new episode that came out, I was there for a lot of the big event stories they would do. And now it’s basically become a runner-up for the worst case of seasonal rot of all time.
That kind of track record doesn’t just happen on a whim; the show has to have taken some truly awful dips in quality to get that kind of reputation. Sure, I could always just go by word of mouth, but I’ve always been more for hands-on experiences. Whether it’s a show I’ve heard glowing praise for or one that I’ve heard practically no good things about, actually experiencing it makes my views on it much more worth something than if I just went by what some randos on the Internet have to say.
But, I’m an optimist at heart, and I’m holding out hope that the more recent seasons have at least a few hidden gems in there. That was actually part of the fun of doing the “Simpsons” marathon: finding those rarely-talked-about episodes that you get to tell people are actually really good. Is that a fool’s wish? Possibly. But I find it my duty to see if there are any diamonds in the rough, as well as to see for myself exactly how far the show has fallen over the years.
And to really spice things up…this review series won’t be in the 10-Words-Or-Less format like normal. I’ll be going through one segment per day, doing much more in-depth analyses on them than I usually do. I’m doing it this way for two reasons. One, because it allows me all the time I need to truly analyze the show, and two, because like Nickelodeon and Paramount, I want this to last as long as humanly possible and milk it for all it’s worth until there’s literally nothing left.
But even then, I don’t think that’s enough to really make this particular marathon stand out. So I’ve got a couple more ideas in mind to do between each season and movie. One is to keep track of the series’ rules. One of the most common criticisms of the later run of the show is that any and all consistently regarding how the universe works gets completely thrown out the window. But I want to really put this to the test, and so, I’ve got a Google Doc set aside for this purpose; jotting down every rule regarding the series’ lore, and any rule that gets contradicted will be marked as such. Link to that just below here:
The second idea was actually inspired by Quinton Reviews. I recently watched his videos covering “iCarly” and “Victorious”(all those videos are excellent, go subscribe to him), and in those videos, he basically had a list of things that exist in the universe of those shows as basically a side gag. I feel like doing that kind of thing as well, keeping track of things that exist in the “Fairly OddParents” universe, mainly just so I can make fun of it a little more. Link to that just below here:
Each of those Google Docs will be updated as we go along this marathon, and I’ll be sure to mention those updates as I go through it.
To finish this intro, I’m gonna give you an idea of just how big this project is going to be. With “The Simpsons”, I watched nearly 700 episodes, the movie, and all the shorts and gave a 10-Words-Or-Less review for each of them. But with this show, not only am I going to be going much more in-depth with every single segment, I’m not just restricting myself to the show itself. I’ll be covering every “Fairly OddParents” story that ever hit the airwaves. Every episode, every made-for-TV movie, every crossover event, every live-action film, and yes, I will be doing the revival as well. With all that in mind, this is shaping up to be the biggest project I’ve ever done, and I for one am very excited to get to it. Even if the later seasons really are that bad, well, I’m a certified masochist, so I’ll be sure to get some joy out of the pain.
And to prove my point that we’re gonna be covering everything “FOP” related aired on TV…we’re not actually gonna be starting with season 1. No. We’re gonna be starting with the impetus, the ones that started it all, the “FOP” stories that existed before the official series. That’s right. When this mega-thread starts, we’re kicking things off with the original “Oh Yeah! Cartoons” shorts that got the show picked up in the first place, or as I like to call that era, “The Fairly OddParents” season 0.
…I hope you appreciate what I do for you.
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