I have to admit, I'm pleased for everyone involved that it's been a success, etc etc ...

But do I find it funny or even particularly enjoyable?

Not so much, and the current series less so than the first two.

I am so out of the loop. I had no idea it was still on.

I guess it's one of those things where you go "Yay, bro'Town's back on telly!" Then you never watch it.

I suppose I'll wait for the DVD, it just seems more fun to watch the episodes back to back. And my English flatmate loves it.

Hayden I have to agree, I have never found the hype believable after the first episode. There has been no development in the characters, no addition of new semi permanent characters or attempts at different ways of delivering a narrative, or in the case of South Park no rampant iconaclastic going for the throat. Two dimensional animation is a very apt way to describe the show.

That or the show is written for the horizon of ten year olds which in that case it is poor programming (and some pretty hasty 'looky we made something' local flag waving, so it must go into prime time) by the broadcaster. Staying with the broadcaster, TV3's owner has had to pull its belt in a few notches this year, so the low quality in production could very well be a directive form an accountant somewhere - ill say conspiracy as soon as some else does.

For the shows quality does any one know if the frame by frame work is done here or wage slaved off shore? Either way whoever mastered the show to a DV codec for analog broadcast should be shot. Aliased lines are so second year polytec maaaaaan.

Final words: Bring back Sesame Street and Barney Miller.

Adding cameos by local celebs doesn’t add humour, and humour is why I watch comedy

Agreed. It only really works on established franchises where cameos are more about irony (Simpsons) or social commentary (Southpark.. brutally).

Now Futurama was a cartoon with class. And you can get the entire first 3 episodes from the Warehouse for less than $70! Swoon

For the shows quality does any one know if the frame by frame work is done here or wage slaved off shore?

It's done in Korea, I think.

Either way whoever mastered the show to a DV codec for analog broadcast should be shot. Aliased lines are so second year polytec maaaaaan.

Yay. Video geekery.

Video geekery you bet your ass, at Whakatane Highschool I was the av club. Lets not single out video though, music, film, political, computer and internet geekery all rok th' party. Who here would disagree?

The rumor I heard that BT was done in India.

Now Futurama was a cartoon with class. And you can get the entire first 3 episodes from the Warehouse for less than $70! Swoon

Better still I saw a boxed set (4 disc) of the original Pink Panther at K mart in Henderson, Mancini providing the soundtrack beyond the theme tune as well. $ 70.00 Wowza.

Bro'Town is done in three studios. Two in good old N of Z and one in India.

I think we should send them to Korea. They seem to have a better quality of underpaid sweatshop animators.

Futurama was one of, if not the greatest animated comedy. The line: "__Hey it's that guy you are__" still cracks me up.

When it comes to TV match ups

SCRUBS vs Bro Town

Scrubs wins hands down, one of those shows where you byt he DVD to watch it over and over again..

I still definitely enjoy BroTown, but the bits I find funniest are the parts which seem to be adlibbed, the little incidental bits.

And I agree about the cameos - just because the Prime Minister is available, do you have to use her? Actually, maybe you do, who's going to pull NZOA funding when the boss is on the show?

Scrubs is definitely a favourite, but with everything that's on Wednesday my MySky is working overtime. Does it seem to anyone else that Wed night TV is the new Western Front?

I agree that Bro'Town often seems hard to hear/understand, with all the lines jumbled together. I usually like it but last week I just couldn't be bothered in the end. Which is a shame, as it still contains the odd laugh out loud gem. And it's personally inspiring to see homegrown animation being made, screened and enjoyed.

From interviewing Elizabeth Mitchell, it seems the turnaround time between hurried production and actual screening is really slim (ie, on a week-to-week basis) so I guess that doesn't help. A $$ issue, maybe?

Damian: Yeah man. For a while it was Tuesday now it seems Wednesday is the day to try out your new show.

Thursday just plain sucks.

Dawn: I wouldn't surprised if the episodes were being rushed out. They should a take a bit of time and make a polished product. Compare Simpsons season 1 with now.

But have you noticed that Bro'Town is (obviously) huge with kids and at the start there is a warning saying that this show is "not intended for younger viewers".

I don't think that anyone has mentioned the worst thing about Bro'Town yet: all the people who now add "ow!" to the end of everything they say. Of course they did it way before Bro'Town...

Going back to the original post: I have to disagree on something. This series of The Simpsons has so far been one of the unfunniest ever.

I love The Simpsons; I want to love the new series. But I can't. It has failed to produce any real laughs from me. Maybe all the good writers are busy working on the feature film...

The Simpsons are disposable.

The two-tiered comedy layering was awesome through series 10-15 (late 90s), and the guest celebrities were written in well. Penn & Teller were awesome: http://www.snpp.com/episodes/BABF02

I don't think that anyone has mentioned the worst thing about Bro'Town yet: all the people who now add "ow!" to the end of everything they say.

Y'all may be interested to know the origins of "ow". It's a contraction of the Maori word ehoa, meaning something akin to bro or mate. It should technically be spelt "ea", but most non-Maori speakers probably couldn't get their mouth around that diphthong.

Yep sad but true, while many of us have struggled to escape a past that included people who came out with that "Ow" - actually as noted by others a mangling of e hoa that my classmates at Kawerau Central School might have spelled "au hore" - this show has made it all white and middle class and angsty...new popularity for old patois...

I have a few others from that time to share if anyone's interested...

How about "missy tore", and "patero"

"Makatiko bum" (not sure of the spelling on that one) was a big favourite at my school.

I love The Simpsons; I want to love the new series. But I can't. It has failed to produce any real laughs from me. Maybe all the good writers are busy working on the feature film...

Not sure if it counts as "good writing", but I like the advance trailer of the Simpsons movie on the QuickTime site. Violent slapstick involving Homer. Yay.

The very first episode of Bro'town turned me off forever: not only were the jokes at least 9 months old (America's Cup and "cheeky darkie" references) the opening credits were in (gulp) Comic Sans.

If you have some time free, the 195 comments on this blog post of Stephen Judd's are worth a laugh.

Tend to agree with your assessment of bro town. What gets me most tho is the shameless 'advertorial' product placement that goes on within the show.. vodafone go live on the mobiles, characters standing in front of ASB and puma signage, probably scarfing their own 'brotown' snack bars...! hmm.. wondering how much of firehorse films brotown budget is supplied by advertisers?
Yes, elizabeth and oscar, I am pleased at the success of your show, but PLEASE..is all that placement really necessary? Does the show get NZ on air funding?