OPINION: Lessons aren’t just learned in class

EDITOR’S POINT of VIEW
By David Gomez Jr.
Editor-in-chief
Published March 30, 2020

Two shows left their mark on my psyche—and for the better—because I learned so much from them, especially about growing up.

College life, they say, is some of the best years in your life. They also say those memories of mediocre food and “freedom,” are the best days anyone can ever experience in their life.

As of now, many people are enjoying their college life. This consists of meeting new people, stimulating the brain conversing with others taking the same courses and, of course, partying.

These days, though, it is still practiced but most connections now start off by asking, “What shows do you watch?”

An honest, straight-to-the-point question, which the people I referred to as “they” earlier may have asked in their days, “What are you reading?” to spark interest in or upon their crush.

“What show/shows do you watch?”

It still baffles me this is the way my generation and younger meet new people. I guess it’s no different than my mother, and her mother, asking around the hair salon which new novella has the most drama.

The reason I bring this up is because there are two shows, actually one, that I can truly recommend without a speck of remorse, and that show goes by the name of—“Bojack Horseman.”

“But it’s a poorly drawn animated Netflix original show about a rich, washed-up, talking horse that lives in the Hollywood hills. What can be so interesting about that?” several friends asked me at various times.

If that’s the mindset you’re going in with, then don’t watch it.

“BoJack Horseman” is a show molded from the anti-hero trope that is known throughout many TV shows like “Breaking Bad,” “Dexter,” and “The Sopranos” before that, and probably its biggest influence: “Californication.” Which, in the first season, just about mirrors it to a tee: an alcoholic in California who struggles with writing due to writer’s block.

Like many shows, its first season struggles to connect with the audience. One of the most notable first-season slumps that later got its footing, NBC’s hit comedy “The Office” made Thursday nights funny again after the finale of “Friends.”

If you are in the least-bit interested in “BoJack Horseman,” know this before going in: be prepared to ride out the first half of the season because you find out later that it was all set up.

The show will never let go of your attention, or emotions, because if you slip up then you might lose interest. The show’s tonal balance whiplashes back and forth.

It is topical, nuanced and fun as hell. OK, OK … maybe that last line was for myself because I’m biased toward the animal puns, misspelled shirts that make a joke or a birthday banner that reads more than just “happy birthday” because the guest star comes out of the birthday cake in said episode. Celebrity guests never take the spotlight away from our main characters but I’m always impressed which big names they get, though.

At the beginning of this editorial, I mentioned that there were two shows I hold dear. That other show is “Morel Orel.” This Adult Swim original show ended way too soon, but got its message across. I brought this show up because, for being an alternative comedy show, it shifts its tone to drama with a deep message in its final season.

A show like “Morel Orel” walked so that a show like “BoJack Horseman” could run.

There are plenty of laughs to go around in both shows. “Morel Orel” with its misinterpretations of religion and “BoJack Horseman” with its silly scenarios and running gags; what made both of them so near-and-dear to my heart was their message of growing up.

And growing up is painful, but not impossible.