Review: Big City Greens “Times Circle; Super Gramma”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

“Times Circle”
The family heads to Big City center for some discount Halloween shopping in Times Circle (the presumably copyright-safe version of Times Square) and get a chance for costumed shenanigans as Tilly and Remy perform a play, Bill and Cricket help some superheroes defend their territory, and Gramma becomes a co-host to Tuck Offerman (voiced by Keith Ferguson) on a snarky show.

“Super Gramma”
After her eye surgery, the family tries to get Gramma to relax, but she insists on attempting her Tuesday routine of getting a newspaper and a burger. Bill convinces her to let him handle the food fetching and ends up charming hipsters at the modern burger shack with his authentic ways. Meanwhile, the kids try to minimize the damage from Gramma stubbornly moving forward with her own plans.

Our Take:

Two quietly impressive episodes this week as we see some of the more “Big Apple” aspects of Big City.

“Times Circle” features some quality time for Tilly and Remy, as they team up to bring the magic of the theatre to people waiting in line. I actually love the dynamic between these two, as a gentler but equally wacky duo compared to the antics Cricket gets them into. Their home-grown production “The Specter of Affection” suffers when they attempt to change it based on audience feedback, but the show goes on. Remy in particular gets a few solid lines, like when they’re being booed while he plays a ghost and retorts “Hey! That’s my line!” Meanwhile, Cricket has an exciting superhero encounter. His storylines can often border on making him appear ready to tackle problems meant for someone a bit older, but his adorable business card and belief that the superheroes are real is a sweet reminder that he really is just a kid. Despite briefly having his heart broken when they reveal they’re just actors, he springs into action anyways to save his Dad and his newfound friends jobs and/or dubious honor. Bonus points for Roger Craig Smith (you may have heard him in the 2010 Sonic the Hedgehog series or as various voices on Regular Show) as America Rat giving an inspiring, slightly too honest speech about equal opportunity and swindling tourists.

Alice takes center stage in “Super Gramma” as she resists the family’s help and instead attempts to continue her Tuesday routine while temporarily blinded from cataract surgery. Her stubbornness is out in full force as she not only insists she can carry on as always, but even gives Bill the wrong address for Greasy Gus’s, her favorite burger shack. The kids manage to help her get there in one piece without making her aware of their help, which unfortunately emboldens Gramma into heading to a literal underground establishment to challenge her rival in a game of darts. While I would’ve liked to see them do more with the name here (maybe some sort of Daredevil pun? Or Batmma? I dunno) it’s always thrilling to see wild Gramma adventures, a la Hey Arnold! This episode more than delivers on that front, particularly when Alice challenges reigning darts champ Gertie to a high stakes match. Gertie seems to be inspired in equal parts by Dorothy from Golden Girls and Rizzo from Grease, and gets her HBIC voice from Sandy Martin (of Napoleon Dynamite and Always Sunny fame.) Cricket’s comment about even superheroes needing sidekicks ties this story in nicely with his “Times Circle” situation, by that may just be coincidence. The episode rounds out with Bill becoming unintentional fashion inspiration to hipsters, who unfortunately have less beneficial offerings in exchange, besides complimenting him as an “absolute unit”.

“Times Circle” and “Super Gramma” continue to build out the world of Big City and show us how our favorite country bumpkins deal with some uniquely urban obstacles. With fun guest voices, quality jokes, and the ever-colorful characters (both in appearance and personality), this week’s offerings are solid additions to the show.