Review: Regular Show “Format Wars II”

The “Format Wars” line suffers from a slight case of sequelitis.

Before we get to the review of the episode, I want to say something. I LOVE the mini-commercial that airs before for Regular Show during Adventure Time’s credits. This was a great premise, and I hope that it continues for a full commercial.

And now, “Format Wars II” had me rolling on the floor. “Format Wars II” picked up three months after the first Format Wars. The surprising part in this, was that Benson was the secret fifth Discmaster. I like how the writers are more inclusive of Benson with stories that involve the workers, because he’s a part of the park staff and all.

I was floored after “Format Wars,” because I thought the story was awesome. I love old video formats, and having a show revel in what made each great was nice to see. It was so different, because no one gave a shit about anything except VHS and DVD. Now we have a show that loves laserdisc. If I were as much of a video nut then as I am now, I would have definitely had a laserdisc player. I hear the Star Wars laserdiscs were awesome.

Moving on, this may be a small gripe, but I cannot put a finger on when this show takes place because of both Format Wars episodes. Sometimes, the show seems like it’s in modern times, and others, it’s in the 90’s, and the comics only fuel the confusion. Tonight, the Format Wars has us in a mix of late 90’s technology fighting the tech of the past, and then the internet takes over as the big bad of “Format Wars II.”

The only drawback with “Format Wars II” is that the battle of formats didn’t feel as epic as it did in “Format Wars.” Yeah, we had the all powerful Internet with his wifi reciever, and we had DVD, Laserdisc, I think reel to reel, and microfiche died as the episode hit its stride. While the episode was funny as shit, the climactic battle of the second prophecy lacked severely.

That gripe aside, the battle didn’t take too much away from “Format Wars II”. The episode was still hilarious, especially with Benson’s certain brand of cynicism coming into the Discmaster fold. This wasn’t as good as the first “Format Wars,” but still very worthy to watch. If the last two episodes are any indication, I am very excited to where Regular Show is going from here on out.