Review Omnibus

This will be a short and unusual review section, as it will be several short reviews instead of one long one. The first review covers why.

My back: As of now, a D at best. For reasons unknown to me, my back has a tendency a few times a year to become incredibly painful, and this weekend I was due I guess. Today was spent skipping church, the gym, and everything else that involved mobility. Even walking was difficult; I had to sort of hunch over while I did it. And unusual muscle movements started to put stress on the rest of my body, so my left hip started hurting too. Wonderful, that. I don't know why this happens. I've been seeing a chiropractor, but it clearly hasn't helped enough yet.

White Fence Farm: Specifically, this refers to the original restaurant, owned by the Hastert family, back in Romeoville. This family-style chicken-focused restaurant is really known for its sheer size and aesthetics. The restaurant is huge, having a good dozen major dining rooms, each given a unique name, making it almost feel like navigating a labyrinth just to find your table. The design of the restaurant is homey and rustic, with wood furnishing and walls and old doodads lining every path. The entrance in particular captures this feel; there are ancient news clippings on the walls, old children's rides conveniently located next to semi-modern arcades, and even a small museum. The food itself is fine; decent chicken of the sort one can expect, but they're famous for their corn fritters, which are basically small donuts with a kernel or so per fritter. Despite having a back of man thrice my age, I had a good time, but I attribute much of that to my niece. They also have a petting zoo, though it's a small one and all the animals weren't really in a position to be petted, so I don't know what that deal was. Sadly, the farm motif was also ruined by the industrialization of the entire area around the restaurant, making it stand out a bit too much. But that's hardly their fault. I give the restaurant a B-B+, though I think you go for the atmosphere primarily.

Fox cartoon shows: Simpsons-Didn't see. Great inspiration, the series will earn an article here at some point, but it had sunk into craptitude years ago and this is the year I'm trying to finally declare my independence.

King of the Hill-A low B. The premise started out fine (Peggy Hill never has good birthdays, and the current one ended disastrously so,) but it never really went anywhere. They start things off well by having the original theme, a disco-themed murder mystery onboard a train, go wrong by the end of act one, when one of her friends figures the mystery out before the train even leaves, and the actual actors call it an early night. But then it sort of gets into a weird non- sequitar of public sex, a pseudo mystery replacing the normal one that lacks any real suspense, an abrupt resolution, and a B plot involving Bobby that also fails to go anywhere.

Family Guy-A C or so. The main plot, involving a son that Brian suddenly has (a human one, for some reason,) is as important as most Family Guy plots at this point. It's all about the incidental jokes, but these were not as clever or memorable as the best Family Guy ones, and the entire thing ended with another return to the status quo; a typical move for sitcoms including Family Guy, but to be fair this show has been known to mix things up at times and make permanent changes. Just not this time, unless the son does show up again.

American Dad-American Dad gets unfairly maligned as a clone of Family Guy, and it did start that way, but with time it found its own path, combining Family Guy humor (though mercifully doing away with the cut-away joke Family Guy is famous for,) with actually coherent plots, usually revolving main character Stan Smith's conservative beliefs when mixed with real life and his own naiveté. This week's episode wasn't their best, but it wasn't bad. A former KGB rival of Stan's moves in across the street and begins a battle for the heart and mind of Stan's son, becoming a sort of twisted fable about communism versus capitalism. The B plot, involving Roger and Klaus' trip to Europe, never really developed a plot of its own, nor any real resolution, but the main plot made up for it, though the show has had funnier weeks. Probably a B minus; this was a fairly slow return for main of the shows after weeks of reruns.

Next week, I expect to do at least one, and maybe two, video game reviews! Also, I'll be able to walk again!