Red vs Blue (Rooster Teeth)

[Independent George]

Well Red vs Blue is entering its 16th season, and is evidently going to be the start of a multi-season arc beginning just moments after season 15 ended and possibly involves time travel.

I don't know how I feel about this; I've been a fan and sponsor since the Blood Gulch days, but season 15 felt like the show was approaching its last days. It had some great moments, but I think they've taken the main characters about as far as they could go. Just about every last loose end involving Project Freelancer has been tied up, the characters have all grown and been through enough adventures for several lifetimes.

Caboose has come to terms with Church's death. Tucker has cemented his place as the reserve leader. Locus has become a martial pacifist. Grif and Simmons finally broke through their long-repressed sexual tension. Everybody's moved on with their lives, and are done with being soldiers. S15 felt like one last adventure, and even gave them a chance to say their farewells to Church. I feel like it's our turn to bid farewell to the Blood Gulch crew.

[CharlesPhipps]

The series has ended numerous times in the past. At this point, I think they'd be better off trying NOT to end the series and just accepting it's the only thing which they've managed to produce which sells. It's the nature of being an artist where if you DO have a success, you'll often times be forced by financial circumstances to make more and more of the same thing.

I'd be happy to go back to jokes, personally.

[nebagram]

I loved this show during the Blood Gulch days (I even have a lot of the DVDs) but around season 8 or 9 it became so wrapped up in its continuity it's a wonder it hasn't already imploded under its own weight. Though I'd personally love to see Chuck do a few reviews to see his take on it all.

[CharlesPhipps]

I think it was a mistake the show got rid of ghosts.

[Independent George]

S16 E1 just aired for First members. I'm having trouble hiding my comments behind white text, so beware of spoilers below:

***SPOILERS***
//It felt a little disjointed, but I suppose that's to be expected for the beginning of a whole new arc. As much as I love the running 'Why are we here?' gag, the bit with the knights at the start felt lame and went on for too long - possibly made worse by the terrible accents. Much like S15, I think it took too long to get back to the main characters.

I'm really glad Sister is back along with the Lieutenants, and going to check in on Wash means we get to see Dr. Grey again. I love Dr. Grey. It seems obvious that this is primarily to keep Carolina from taking over for the Reds & Blues while they go on their Pizza Quest, but there are a lot of possibilities for pairing the Freelancers up with the LTs, and this is an opportunity to see some character growth from all of them.

In terms of plot, it looks like were' in for a rather brilliant bit of arc welding. The Great Destroyer - the dumbest creature in the universe who also happens to be blue - wasn't Caboose, but Loco. His time machine from last season is what sets off the Great Prophecy. Gary probably knew about the Great Prophecy because of his time distortion ability - I don't know how exactly, but it has to be related.//

[skirr]

The series has ended numerous times in the past. At this point, I think they'd be better off trying NOT to end the series and just accepting it's the only thing which they've managed to produce which sells. It's the nature of being an artist where if you DO have a success, you'll often times be forced by financial circumstances to make more and more of the same thing.

I'd be happy to go back to jokes, personally.

It has ended its arcs multiple times, yeah. But let me direct you to this fantastic website:

http://areyoumakingmoreredvsblue.com/

I don't know how long this website has existed, but I'm guessing nearly a decade. Burnie and co have repeatedly said there are no plans to end RVB unless it becomes unpopular or they stop having fun making it.

Season 15 was one of my favourite seasons, and I love this structure of having each season as its own film. My favourite season is 6 I think though.

First two episodes of s16 got me hella hyped for this season too. The format of RVB allows it to experiment with a lot of genres and put its own ridiculous spin on them.

[Independent George]

The S8, S10, and S13 finales all would have been wonderful endings to the series. I particularly liked S13, but a lot of people prefer S8; either way, they would have been great ways to close out the series as a whole.

My problem with S15 was how much time we spent away from the Blood Gulch Crew and with completely new characters (Dylan & Jax) who are, literally, observers rather than players within the story. Dylan even got the closing monologue instead of Tucker, Griff, or Caboose - the three characters who provided most of the emotional core to that season. That said, episode 5 ("Previously On") might be the single greatest episode of the series, and the "I come to serve" gag might be the single best setup & payoff. The highs were there, but the focus was not.

S16 so far seems like all exposition. Granted, we're only two episodes into a whole new multi-season arc, so hopefully it will pay off, but RvB has historically been very, very good at getting you hooked very quickly. They had to be, especially in the early days, so hopefully this is just them utilizing the fact that the series has already established itself with the fans.