And so the adventure begins.
If you missed the previous post (see it here), ‘Come Along With Me’ is meant to be a collaborative review series of the acclaimed Cartoon Network show Adventure Time. What will this project entail? Exact details will be provided in this post, but in general each episode of the show will be divided out among the various (volunteer) commenters here at the Avocado who will then post a review of said episode when it comes time in whatever format or level of detail they desire. Adventure Time was a show of many facets, and so getting the chance to read the diverse takes of so many different people just feels like the perfect match.
In addition to providing the guidelines for this project, this post will serve as the central hub for Season 1. This is where you will volunteer for episodes, where links to the reviews will be posted, and where any questions or concerns can be brought up during the process of reviewing this season.
Schedule
Two episodes will be reviewed per week in a single post released on Mondays at 10:00 AM ET. If you don’t have a WordPress account or would prefer not to use it, type your review up in Google Docs (or something similar) and post a link to it in the comments to this thread by 11:00 PM ET on the Saturday before your review is due. (To ensure that no one else will be able to edit your document, set the Share settings for the document to ‘Viewer’.) Either I or the other reviewer for that day (if they have a WordPress account and are willing) will then copy the review into WordPress.
Review Format/Content
The format and content of the reviews are almost entirely up to you. You can write about the episode as a whole, or just what you see as an important component of it. You can write as much or as little as you want. (As long as you follow the Avocado’s guidelines and policies.) There are a few rules I would like to note, however:
Embedded Images/YouTube Videos – If you want to include embedded images or YouTube videos in your review and are not posting in WordPress yourself, provide a URL for the image or video at the spot in your review where you would like it to go. The Adventure Time Wiki is likely a good source for images.
Tags – I would like to keep the tags used for the reviews consistent to make it as easy as possible for people to find the reviews. If you are posting any reviews in WordPress, make sure to use the following tags: Adventure Time, Classic Coverage, Animation, TV Review, Come Along With Me.
Title – To keep the titles consistent, the review posts should use the following title format:
Come Along With Me: Adventure Time – “Title of First Episode” and “Title of Second Episode”
Header Image – Adventure Time has some really amazing title cards, and I would like to incorporate them as the header images for the reviews. If you are posting the reviews in WordPress, choose the title card for one of the two episodes to use as the header image. If you are unable to find either of the title cards, find a screenshot from one of the episodes to use.
Spoiler Policy – Spoilers for future episodes are not only tolerated, but encouraged as a way to stimulate discussion among those who have already seen the series. At the same time, I want this to be a place where those who are new to the show can also discuss their thoughts on the episodes. To that end, any paragraphs (or individual sentences if applicable) containing major spoilers for later episodes should be clearly marked as such. If you are entering reviews into WordPress, try to cover up any spoiler-marked paragraphs/sentences if possible. One method to do so would be to use a Details Block (see example below). Shorter spoilers could use the Popover function.
If you are discussing spoilers in the comments, please use spoiler tags.
Details Block example:
>Click Here for Spoilers<
Spoilers go here.
Sign-Up
The assignment schedule is here.
If you would like to write reviews for this season, please comment with the following pieces of information:
1. A ranking of up to three episodes you would be most interested in reviewing. If you would like to be assigned entirely at random, let me know.
2. Whether you would prefer to review only one episode in a given week at a time or both episodes in a given week. (Or no particular preference.)
3. Whether you are willing to post your review (and potentially someone else’s if they are assigned the same day) through WordPress or whether you would like someone else to do so for you.
4. The maximum number of episodes you would like to review for the season. Depending on the number of reviewers, each person will likely review between 2 and 3 episodes. If you would prefer to do no more than 1 or 2, let me know.
The main sign-up period will close at 1:00 PM ET on Saturday, July 29. At that point I will assign the episodes in the sign-up sheet above according to your rankings first and then on a semi-random basis in compliance with the other information you provided. Hopefully this will be done by next Monday, but in any case I will comment when the assigning is complete and tag all of the volunteers. Once the episodes are assigned, you will have the chance to dispute the assignments if desired. I will also leave open the option to sign up after the sign-up period has ended – in such a case I might re-assign one of my own reviews if necessary.
Review Links
This section will be updated with links to the Season 1 reviews as they are posted.
Slumber Party Panic/Trouble In Lumpy Space
Ricardio the Heart Guy/Business Time
My Two Favorite People/Memories from Boom Boom Mountain
City of Thieves/The Witch’s Garden
When Wedding Bells Thaw/Dungeon
Again, this thread will serve as the central hub for this season. If you have any questions or concerns during the months we will be covering this season, post them here. If the question is urgent and you would like me to respond faster, make sure to tag me in your comment.
Thank you for your involvement in this project!