What makes For Better or for Worse special is the fact that its realistic. Sure it doesn't rank in the humor of Calvin and Hobbes, but it has a lot of heart. Something you won't see with comic strips (in this case a TV show adaption) is aging in the characters. For Better or for Worse ages its characters and succeeds. It deals with real issues like dates, death of an animal and adjustment to certain things. It's family safe and even if it wasn't i'd still recommend it to kids of all ages. Not only is it enjoyable for the young ones, adults will probably tune in to watch it as well. Watching For Better or for Worse is like watching your own family grow up. You see the good, the bad and the ugly but you mainly see the good. If you can still find it, I recommend it highly.
2 Reviews
An excellent family cartoon.
BlackJack_B13 February 2002
This animated series is actually produced and drawn here in my hometown of Ottawa, Canada.
Lynn Johnston may be the most underrated cartoonist of the last 30 years. Her creation "For Better or For Worse", based on her family life, is much different than other cartoons. Unlike "Peanuts","Calvin And Hobbes" and all the others where time stands still, the Patterson family actually ages over the years. The adults have more children, the children grow up and leave the nest, and all the friends and family do the same, too. That makes it a truly special cartoon.
Johnston's cartoon isn't laugh out loud funny like "Garfield" or "Calvin and Hobbes", but it intrigues me because of the family structure and situations. It's like an 80's sitcom, which is better than anything that passes as a sitcom in 2002.
Ergo, the series is split into three segments, covering three time periods of the Patterson family. The animation is very good and look better moving, the look at family life refreshing, and the storylines are ones we can relate to. Lynn Johnston herself introduces her segments while drawing in kind of a "pep talk" way. It's not a laugh out loud show, but it's still an intriguing cartoon nonetheless. If I'm staying up until 2 A.M. to see it, it must be good.
Lynn Johnston may be the most underrated cartoonist of the last 30 years. Her creation "For Better or For Worse", based on her family life, is much different than other cartoons. Unlike "Peanuts","Calvin And Hobbes" and all the others where time stands still, the Patterson family actually ages over the years. The adults have more children, the children grow up and leave the nest, and all the friends and family do the same, too. That makes it a truly special cartoon.
Johnston's cartoon isn't laugh out loud funny like "Garfield" or "Calvin and Hobbes", but it intrigues me because of the family structure and situations. It's like an 80's sitcom, which is better than anything that passes as a sitcom in 2002.
Ergo, the series is split into three segments, covering three time periods of the Patterson family. The animation is very good and look better moving, the look at family life refreshing, and the storylines are ones we can relate to. Lynn Johnston herself introduces her segments while drawing in kind of a "pep talk" way. It's not a laugh out loud show, but it's still an intriguing cartoon nonetheless. If I'm staying up until 2 A.M. to see it, it must be good.
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