My thoughts on Arby 'N' the Chief

My thoughts on Arby 'N' the Chief 

 

For those of you who don't know what Arby 'N' the Chief is, it's a web series created by Jon Graham that aired on Machinima at the time. The show is a comedy about two walking, talking toys name Arbiter and Master Chief who live their lives in their owner's apartment, and online gaming is their only access to the outside world. This is one of the best comedy series I've seen in a long time! What makes this show different from others like it is that it combines video game footage with puppeteering. The show has self-aware humor and deals with the subjects it addresses seriously for the most part. It starts off by addressing gaming culture, pop culture, and gaming business practices. 

Season 5 shows us how much this series has grown from the writing and directing. Instead of telling one-shot stories, it tells an ongoing story for each season. Not only that it builds off what the previous seasons did, brings back old characters and offers shorts that don't involve the main story. Going in this direction turns into a dark comedy that's engaging. Season 7 deals with the ugly side of humanity, exploring the human condition, illnesses, death, isolation, and what is considered good and evil? Season 8 surprised me because I thought season 7 was the final season in the series. Season 8 deals with a time gap; we see how much things can change in four or five years. The fact that it took six years to finish this season helps. I also love the soundtrack.  

Master Chief is an overgrown child who is a sexist, narrow-minded, and moronic fanboy. Plus, he loves to make mom jokes. Despite that, he's happy with his life. 

Arbiter is the voice of reason. He's also smart, witty, and helps balance Chief from being vulgar. Because these two are different, they are the textbook definition of a love-hate relationship. 

We have other characters like Cortana, Greg, and Clarie, but we don't see them that often.              

One of the problems I have with this series is that the earlier seasons have jokes involving a man's you-know-what. There is a plot hole involving what happened to certain characters. I don't understand why Jon continues to use Halo Reach footage after Halo 4 came out. Because this show deals with serious topics, it might make people feel uncomfortable. The way season 8 ended might rub the religious community the wrong way. That season wasn't subtle that it took inspiration from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The first half of season 4 and the L.A. season are the weakest seasons in the series. What bothers me about the L.A. season is that it introduces Sonic and Mario, and Jon wasted them. 

Before I wrap this up, I want to talk about Jon Graham. I feel sorry for him because he's underrated; he should have been a star. This series started getting millions of views when it first aired on Machinima. Then it slowly lost viewers over time due to the change in direction Machinima took. I wish he would have aired this show on G4TV because A, doing that could have helped make the network more relevant. B, doing this could show Neil Tiles that he was wrong about people not wanting to watch video games on screen. If the network did hire him, it should revive portal and have him host that show because he's doing the same thing that show did. If you want to know this guy's story, watch the first episode of Mediabyss. 

Overall, this is an excellent comedy series! I would recommend this if you want to watch a mature version of Toy Story.