Animation
Good Times
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
The StoryBots aren’t Transformers; they’re teachers.
We live in a pretty complex world filled with plenty of concepts that need explaining. That’s where the StoryBots come in, answering all your questions with a flick of the wrist. Real kids send in their questions, and the StoryBots provide goofy (and often musical) responses.
But sometimes, the questions are a bit too complex, even for a studious StoryBot: those are what they call a Level Three question (usually asked by celebrity guests like Josh Gad or Scarlett Johansson). And in those cases, the StoryBots will have to travel throughout their computer home in order to learn what the answer is.
StoryBots: Answer Time breaks down lots of difficult concepts to help children understand them: How does glue work? What is a financial budget? How does a GPS find your location? And throughout the episode, we’ll hear catchy songs that’ll help reinforce the lesson—similar to the style of Schoolhouse Rock.
In terms of content, there’s only a little for parents to be worried about here. The sixth episode of Season One contains a reference to the Burning Man festival (where many hippie-like robots are seen). One claims to be “trying to transcend,” while another is seen with various rocks and gems around them apparently for meditation purposes. Most episodes also employ slapstick violence (although our StoryBots never seem mortally wounded). Occasionally we’ll hear bathroom humor and discussions regarding the age of the Earth, but StoryBots: Answer Time offers educational entertainment that, with some clarifying conversations, will be navigable for most families
The Cosmic Caller (the foremost authority on UFOs) needs the StoryBots’ help. He’s discovered a paper with some strange numbers on it, and the Cosmic Caller is convinced these numbers are proof of alien life. Unfortunately, the StoryBots can’t decode the numbers either, so Bing (one of the StoryBots) sets out on a journey to find someone who can help. Fedora-wearing and whip-swinging Alabama Smith is the treasure-hunting robot for the job. After travelling by map, narrowly avoiding flying arrows and almost falling into a pit of spikes, Bing finds Alabama Smith in the Temple of Fractions.
Alabama Smith and Bing narrowly avoid peril. Bing walks past a talking skeleton, a robot holding a heart (albeit a cartoon version of the organ) and almost gets crushed by a falling ceiling. Meanwhile, Alabama Smith gets run over by a boulder (though he seems to recover).
A character asserts that snow comes from snow fairies, and a giant walrus pops out of some ice and scares the StoryBots (though the walrus means well). In a scene about verbs, there is an explosion that chars one of the StoryBots, and the episode employs some bathroom humor. One character says the phrase, “What the …,” and another uses the word, “heck.”
The StoryBots receive a desperate call from the Great Bubblini. He’s supposed to perform a bubble magic show tonight, but his bubble-making machine is broken. Contrary to his name, the Great Bubblini is ignorant when it comes to the bubble-making process, and he needs the StoryBots to teach him. Happy to help, StoryBot Bang visits a laundromat and the bubble-making event at the StoryBot Olympics to discover the sudsy secrets of bubbles.
During his visit to the laundromat, Bang accidently uses too much soap in a laundry machine, causing the building to explode with bubbles. There is also a sequence in which a cartoon man is tied up over a pit of lava with robot monsters swimming below him.
Back at StoryBot headquarters, a witch visits the robots asking to borrow an eye of newt, a toe of frog and a tongue of dog so she can make a jellybean potion. The Great Bubblini (a magician), incorrectly believes that the bubble mixture is a magic potion, and he says the magic word, “Abracadabra” to start his bubble show. In one sequence, a StoryBot wishes she could smell like a flower, and a magic unicorn comes to grant her wish. This causes a swarm of insects and birds to chase her. One character exclaims, “What the what?”
A burglar attempts to trick the StoryBots into teaching her how keys open locks so that she can steal a diamond. Another bot learns the difference between 2-D and 3-D shapes.
A magician performs dangerous stunts on an unwilling volunteer. A rocket explodes. Other general slapstick violence occurs.
Giuseppe needs to figure out how many pizzas to make for a grizzly bear birthday party or else be eaten, and the StoryBots help a guy namedGiuseppe learn multiplication. We also learn about why and how food rots.
When asked a question on the age of the Earth, a bot says that it’s “4.5 billion years old.” A witch gives a man a potion to drink. General slapstick violence is present.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
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