So I just watched Making Fiends...

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Originally my next journal post was gonna be about Robin in Smash, but since the game's already out and my thoughts were meant to be posted on him before the game came out, I guess I can wait a little longer for that. =P

Recently when I was discussing ideas for a Nickelodeon-themed project with a fellow friend on dA, it became increasingly apparent how many Nicktoons I've never actually seen. At that point I'd never seen El Tigre, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Invader Zim, TUFF Puppy, or even Danny Phantom! But there was one particular obscure Nicktoon I had never seen that I been starting to notice being brought up several times to me: Making Fiends, a short-lived Nicktoon (and former web seires) created by Amy Winfrey.

Completely unaware of it's existence, I first learned of the show in 2012, where on a failed fan-page I made attempting to get DLC made for Nicktoons MLB, someone suggested Making Fiends characters. I remember googling it and looking at some images and not really thinking much of it (and also misread the name and thought it was called "Making Friends", leading me to assume it was some lame little kid's show). But about a year later, when I stumbled upon NewEraOutlaw's Nickelodeon fighting game art project, I saw a character from Making Fiends in the gallery and had a look. At this point I figured the show wasn't about what I thought it was, but still thought nothing much of it.

But after that discussion with the friend about my project, I decided that I should really get around to watching some of these shows, and since I knew that Making Fiends was a short series, it would be easy to start with that one first. After doing some research (and finding out that it's calling "Making Fiends", NOT "Making Friends"), I decided to watch the show. I knew it started as a web series first, so I decided maybe it'd be a good idea to watch that prior to the TV series, and so I did.  It was a cute and amusing little series, but I still didn't think it was anything that special, but it was a good idea to watch it to know what I was in for with the TV show. I knew it was about an evil little girl called Vendetta and the ever-cheerful Charlotte, but I surprised at how dark it would sometimes get (at one point she convinces Charlotte to wear concrete shoes and walk off a pier). Anyway, having watched the web series, I was ready to watch the show, which was conveniently available on YouTube (I guess Viacom doesn't care about their shows being on the net unless it's SpongeBob, right? Huehuehue!).

It was... okay. Very decent, I got quite a few laughs out of it, it was cute despite it's darkness, and overall an amusing little show. Vendetta's evilness is very amusing, and Charlotte's cheeriness, stupidity and obliviousness to Vendetta's behaviour always opens up to some funny situations. While some of its content was toned down from the web series (Malachi calls the giant cat a "hellcat" in the web series, but a "fiend cat" in the show), despite being for kids it didn't shy away from the implications that Vendetta rules over a town through threatening to kill everyone with fiends.  It also managed to pull off being dark and having a miserable setting while still being likeable, something many other cartoons have failed at doing. Overall, while I wouldn't say I'm a fan and probably wouldn't watch any of the episodes again, I'm glad I did watch it. 

That said, I don't really understand why it's a cult classic. It is unique and has a particular niche that no other Nicktoon fills, but I just don't feel it was good enough to reach the echelons of Nick's other cult classics. Something feels a little lacking. The series is clearing going for dark comedy, yet it's not that funny enough to get there, and while the writing is decent, it doesn't quite hit the mark. I also wish it was a little more fleshed out. I know it's not meant to be a lore-heavy show, but there's still some questions that bother me. Was Vendetta born in Clamburg or did she move in one day to take over it? Did Vendetta invent fiends or are there other fiend makers out there? How come no else has managed to do something about it (surely other towns would have noticed something going on?)? I'm not sure what Amy Winfrey's doing now, but I hope for a scenario similar to Mike Judge. Now I've never seen Beavis and Butthead or King of the Hill, but I've heard a lot of people say the revival of Beavis and Butthead was better than the original, and this was most likely due to years of Mike Judge working on comedy and building up his experience (whereas the original run was one of Judge's earlier works). If Amy decided to return to the web series one day (I doubt Nick would want more of the show), hopefully it could be after she's built up some more experience. I mean no disrespect to her, it's just some constructive criticism. The show has potential, but it just hasn't been fully realised.

Apparently there was a second season of the show consisting of seven episodes but never aired. Despite feeling the show was decent but not something I'd be a fan of, I still think this is a darn shame and a waste to not air them. People, if pigs fly and Nickelodeon ever asks what its older fanbase wants, please ask them to air the unaired season of Making Fiends (and to let the Hey Arnold Jungle Movie happen, but one miracle at a time here folks).

If you have never seen Making Fiends and are interested, I've posted a link to the first episode below:



You can also watch the original web series on the official Making Fiends website here: makingfiends.com/
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