10 Shows to Binge With The Family

Have you already worn through everything you wanted to catch up on, but see the quarantine stretching out in front of you like the road to Mordor? Here's 10 shows you can binge watch right now with the family all across the streamingverse.

10: Gargoyles (Disney Plus)

Remember Gargoyles? It's Disney's answer to Batman: The Animated Series. This beloved show is back thanks to Disney Plus, and is just as enjoyable as it always was, with the bonus feature of not having to rush home from school to catch the next episode. The writing is stellar and features half the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation for some reason, so you know the acting is on point. Show your kids, let them see something amazing that has nothing to do with Fortnite.

9: The Andy Griffith Show (Amazon Prime)

I know I've already talked extensively about this show, but seriously you can't find a better show to binge with the family than The Andy Griffith Show. The jokes are still as relevant as they were when they were first written and the wholesome town of Mayberry is just what we all need in these uncertain times. Bonus points if you can convince your kids that the reason it's not in color is that color wasn't invented until the 50's (My father in law convinced his son that).

8: We Bare Bears (Hulu)

Never heard of this? Then you're welcome. This delightful show features three bear roommates, Ice Bear, Grizzly and Panda as they try to fit into the human world and fail spectacularly. The show has the kind of random sense of humor adults would remember from stuff like Homestar Runner from the ancient days of the internet, and is a delight for all ages.

7: Year Million (Disney Plus)

One of the exclusive treats on Disney Plus, this documentary follows a family living in the hypothetical year million, a time when technology is beyond our imagination. It offers some interesting food for thought on how technology can influence our lives. It's also really neat to see the entire solar system enveloped by a Dyson Sphere.

6: DC Super Hero Girls (Netflix)

A spin off from the online series, DC Super Hero Girls  follows a team of heroes as they navigate high school. The show's vibe is somewhere between the original Teen Titans series and Bugs Bunny, basically what Teen Titans Go should've been but never was. Check it out if your kids are fans of superheroes or strong female protagonists, or just want to watch something funny with heroes.

5: Pokemon: Origins (Amazon Prime)

Completely detached from the story of Ash Ketchum, this miniseries follows the plot of Pokemon Red and Blue, giving us the Pokemon story we always wanted. We see Red go from town to town collecting badges and and Pokemon the same way we did on our old Gameboys. It's the best Pokemon show to come out in years, and I'm including Detective Pikachu and Mewtwo Strikes Back: Remix.

4: Sailor Moon (Hulu)

The original Magical Girl anime, this show really doesn't get its just due. While it does follow a gaggle of school girls, Sailor Moon never gets inappropriate. The campiness of the show is enjoyable to adults and the action and humor appeals to kids of all ages. If you've never seen it now is the chance to give it a try.

3: Our Planet (Netflix)

Another documentary but this one focusing on the natural world we live in with stunning cinematography. It's one of those shows that you stop on while your flipping through the channels and immediately get sucked into learning about elephant migration patterns or the nocturnal party scene of the Mojave desert. It's a good one to snuggle up to and watch while the kids name the animals.

2: Tiny Toon Adventures (Hulu)

Another blast from the past is this classic out of Warner Brothers. A bunch of toons for the next generation (or... our generation...) this show always sparked joy in the hearts of the kids who watched it. Tiny Toon Adventures is just as good as it always was, and will be fun to introduce to the next generation... The one that you made...

1: Scooby Doo Mysteries Incorporated (Netflix)

A modern take on the classic Scooby Doo, this show is more a coherent series than a formula repeated episode after episode. With connecting stories, callbacks to the OG show and references to H.P. Lovecraft, Scooby Doo Mysteries Incorporated is the Scooby Doo we always wanted, and thankfully, completely devoid of Scrappy Doo.

-JOE

DC Super Hero Girls

I didn't think this thing would honestly make it, but since the official premier of DC Superhero Girls is showing at Fan X in a couple weeks, I think it's time we take a look at the latest Monster High knock-off.

As an outspoken fan of Monster High, DC Comics and particularly Harley Quinn, I should be all over this show. So then why after watching the clips already on YouTube am I not all that impressed?

Well... Okay kinda impressed.... I did buy a Harley Quinn doll...

I have to say that I do like how the super heroes in the show do have more conservative outfits than any of their comic book counterparts. I'd rather see little kids cosplaying as a Wonder Woman with pants than Frankie Stein in a miniskirt. The characters themselves are pretty well rounded as well, so far no chasing after boys but focusing on their schoolwork and their friendships, which I see as a major plus. We haven't even seen a shopping montage at the mall, so there is some hope.

Okay so here's the real problem: Consistency. I know comics rarely worry about making a lot of sense, but this one takes the prize.

DC Superhero Girls is about a private high school to teach heroes how to be heroes. The stories are mainly focused on the girls going to class and trying to learn how to be real heroes by learning how to fly, fight, and rescue people.

The word "Hero" is thrown around pretty loosely though, as the main characters include Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. These aren't even the children or sidekicks of our favorite heroes, they're just the heroes all in some weird high school with dorms learning how to be heroes. This worked with Monster High and Ever After High because we were talking about the weird offspring of our favorite monsters and fairy tale folks. And Disney's Descendants line has the same concept only focusing on villains. But here it's just a nonsensical mess.

Some might say that this is just another way to sell toys to kids and to not over-analyze it, but frankly I can't let this one go. One of the reasons I like Monster High so much is that it's empowering. While occasionally delving into boys fashion and Facebook, the show also teaches individuality, acceptance and how to deal with bullies, while still having a clever premise. DC could've made the premise make sense, since all female super hero teams exist in cannon like the Gotham City Sirens or the Birds of Prey, or they could've made up their own team of super hero women teamed up to take on crime, so why use this clunky high school setting? Why dispose of 80 some odd years of canon?

Frankly I find it insulting. young girls can understand other situations besides high school. There's an unhealthy fixation in media to try and glamorize the high school setting into some sort of perfect Saved By The Bell-High School Musical-everything's perfect and fun and easy concept. It's story writer short hand for "We don't know how to write for women so we're going to do what's always been done instead".

I still have hope for this. Like I said, I like the characters in general, even enough to add Harley Quinn to my doll collection, but the actual episodes will have to do a lot to impress.

What do you think?

-JOE