Review: Pendleton Ward's Animated Netflix Series THE MIDNIGHT GOSPEL Is An Odd Trip To... Somewhere?
Television shows like Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, and Steven Universe have paved the way for the Midnight Gospel’s otherworldly and crazy adventure which comes from Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward. However, The Midnight Gospel seems more like a test run for how far animation limits can be pushed while talking about virtually nothing of importance to the actual show. There are some very good and interesting parts of this show, but they are overshadowed by the experimental nature of the show and its excessive desire to be ultra-different.
To not give much away, the show revolves around Clancy, a man who runs an online interviewing webshow to various people and creatures through various earth simulations. The concept is great, the characters are mostly likable, and the writing can be pretty funny at times. However, the execution and complete disconnect from some of the interviews and what is happening around them gets very old, very quick and is not that entertaining by the end of the second episode. Sure, there are some variations here and there, but only the last episode actually changes the format of: 1. Go into simulation, 2. Interview someone while crazy things happen in background, 3. Leave simulation and talk to the computer at home. It would be great if there was some real character growth, more constant characters or anything, but it just felt like a series of podcast-like interviews about random topics plucked out of a hat. Then those recordings are handed to an animation team that is told to just be as weird and “creative” as possible.
Now, with all those negatives out of the way, let’s assess the positives. The colors and animation are beautiful 99% of the time, it can just become exhausting to look psychedelic colors for 20 minute sessions. To illustrate my point, a red rose under a spotlight can be beautiful, but it becomes much less impactful in a room full of beach balls. The visuals are nice, but after a while they become bland because it is the same, wacky colorful weirdness all the time.
Another positive about the show are the actual conversations. If this were just a podcast, I think I would be more genuinely interested than this set of conversations that purposely ignore their surroundings. Topics range from parenthood to legalization of drugs to coming to terms with death. Some of the insights are very interesting and well stated, but it can feel a little preachy at times. The last episode is the only episode with some weight in the narrative and the conversation between Clancy and the person he interviews, which is too bad because it is set up for more adventures with Clancy, but won’t happen for some time probably.
The Midnight Gospel takes a lot of risks, and only a few really pay off. It isn’t a bad show at all, but it is hard to find reason to watch it when most episodes are barely connected, and yet feel like they should be. It is worth watching the first and last episode, and just about any one or two in the middle, but that is about it.
