Thank you for your perspective, Power Crunch. I agree with you on some points, but I have some nits to pick. I just want to be sure that my message isn't misunderstood or distorted.
Power Crunch wrote:
I don't see how you couldn't be surprised by stuff like a balogna truck on a deserted island or the electronic no loafing sign.
The "balogna truck on a deserted island" you mentioned was actually not from a SBEmail, but from "Welcome Back", which I described as a "breath of fresh air".
I'm not saying the TBC aren't funny anymore. I'm not even saying that Strong Bad isn't funny anymore. What I'm saying is that the SBEmail premise (Strong Bad answering fan e-mails) and the format by which the premise is executed doesn't amuse me nearly as much as it used to. It's not the jokes themselves, it's the context that they're told in.
Had the electronic "No Loafing" sign shown up in a 'toon somewhere I might've been surprised and amused, but because it was in a SBEmail I was unfazed. I've grown used to Strong Bad's non sequiteur approach to subjects. So tired in fact that they don't seem non sequiteur at all. First he'll try something in one random way. Then another random way. Then another. Then at the end of the SBEmail (usually in an easter egg) they'll be some sort of reference to an earlier joke in the SBEmail. The jokes are of the same quality, I've just grown tired of the formula.
Power Crunch wrote:
Sbemails keep content coming their way and help them create things that otherwise may not exist... like Trogdor, TGS, Stinkoman, etc. If you didn't have sbemail you'd probably not have so many spin off ideas.
That's true, but how many new spin off ideas have SBEmails created? Trogdor, TGS and Stinkoman are all pretty old by now. I don't think that it's because TBC are less funny or inventive now, I think it's because the format of the SBEmail isn't the same wellspring of inspiration it once was. Maybe if TBC took some time away from it it would be effective again.
Power Crunch wrote:
the viewer particpation involved in sbemail is part of what keeps H*R alive.
I agree with you entirely. The fan participation is part of what makes H*R such a unique experience. SBEmail isn't the only way to use fan participation though. I think it would be cool if TBC experimented with other ways to use and invite fan participation.
That's my spiel, friends. Though I've got a feeling I'm not going to have too many sympathizers.