Jesper Brun
I vaguely remembered watching this as a child and never have I felt so happy to re-watch a TV-series. Back then the humour mostly went over my head, but today it had me laughing hard!This show is beyond hillarious with tons of fourth wall breaks, literal humour and puns mixing up with the oddest premise and characters ever seen. It is hard to describe it with all its gold. You are guaranteed entertainment if you do not mind the randomness of its nature. It contains a couple of running gags which are repeated in every episode and can get a little tiring at times, but mostly they find a new way to keep it funny.Comedic timing is everything in these kinds of TV-shows and what "Sheep in the Big City lacks in timing it makes up for in how self-aware it is of its ridiculous nature. A comedic gem with plenty to laugh at.
TheLittleSongbird
Enjoyed 'Sheep in the Big City' as a kid, it was very funny, silly and charming with a lead character that endeared and amused, even if the animation was not quite to my taste and occasionally the humour went over my head. Seeing it as an adult, not only does 'Sheep in the Big City' fare even better but it was a show where the humour and concept were easier to understand.'Sheep in the Big City' is sadly very much underrated now, especially when at the same there were longer-lasting and more popular shows airing more regularly. It may not be for everyone's taste, particularly if one likes more variety to their plots and beautiful animation, but it did deserve to last much longer than it did and deserves to be better known other than another relatively obscure (thank goodness for good old Youtube) show. Although not a Cartoon Network show strictly speaking, 'Angela Anaconda' lasted longer and had higher ratings when it aired on Cartoon Network in the UK in 2000 when 'Sheep in the Big City' first aired, plus aired at more accessible times, which is sad because 'Sheep in the Big City' was the significantly better show (actually being good).The way 'Sheep in the Big City' was treated by Cartoon Network may have played a large part in the show not as successful as it deserved, with its troubled cancellation and revival history (it even almost didn't get a second season!). Although the pilot was well viewed, actually the highest rated premiere of any Cartoon Network original show at the time, ratings dwindled from my understanding. Which would have been partly because there was stiff competition of shows also airing, back when 'Dexter's Laboratory', 'Courage the Cowardly Dog', 'Cow and Chicken', 'Ed, Edd and Eddy' and 'The Powerpuff Girls' were airing on a regular basis and when the network was not just good but actually watchable (now it has the odd gem but has declined severely with a lot of the frequently aired shows being dross). And also the show's erratic scheduling which practically buried it amidst everything else airing, being aired (when first appearing in the summer vacation of 2000) either when families wouldn't be stuck indoors or around the children's bedtime period. It deserved much better treatment than that.By all means, 'Sheep in the Big City' wasn't the perfect show. While it is colourful and more detailed, some of the pointy visuals are still not quite to my taste. There are times too where the show is a little formulaic and could have done with more variety and a few of the stories went a little overboard on the strangeness.However, these are the only criticisms and they are not big ones. The stories a vast majority of the time are really entertaining with a clever satiric edge and an imaginative structure that was unlike any other Cartoon Network show airing at the time. Things that are deliberately unrelated could have been completely irrelevant but are used and written so cleverly and so seamlessly put together it adds to the fun and is what makes the show as unique as it is. Pacing is always lively.Really like the characters. My childhood memories of Sheep being an endearing and funny protagonist still stand as a young adult. He is very cute but has a personality that makes him so much more than that, 'Sheep in the Big City' does a great job with making him an intelligent but flawed character and with the "sheep out of water" aspect. General Specific is one of those humorous, dim-witted bumbling villains that actually is entertaining, yet he does have a little menace in his treatment of his subordinates. His losses and outcomes of his scheming are predictable but you have to admire the guy's refusal to be discouraged.Private Public is a perfect much smarter contrast. Farmer John has similar motives to Specific but is less overt and far more mild-mannered, while deliberately monotonous (part of the character) his pseudo-psychological talk is entertaining. Ben Plotz is one of the best use of narrators seen and heard in a cartoon in recent memory, his presence actually serving a lot to the show's humour and never becomes over-explanatory. There are other characters, with clever apt names (i.e. The Plot Device) that are also very interesting and fun.It is the humour that makes 'Sheep in the Big City' a winner. Humour-wise, it is unusual but also quite unique, it is this uniqueness that makes the show a joy. It's extremely clever and hilarious, and done in a sharp, knowing, zany and satirical way. The apt oxymoronic character names, the constant breaking of the fourth wall, the unrelated sketches and shorts, sheep puns, use of literal humour, the narrator being treated as a character himself with frequent interaction, multiple rhetoric and comic references to film and broadcasting, this is humour unlike that of most other shows and it is done so well if more understandable to adults than children. The theme song is catchy and the voice acting fitting.Overall, a great under-appreciated show. 9/10 Bethany Cox
AllenTehAwesome
All the literal, dry humor, the breaking of the fourth wall, the random bits thrown in for no reason. There is nothing unlikable about this show. If you dislike this show, you probably hate all happiness and just wish the whole world would be as miserable as you. But I say No Thank You, Sir. I live in a world of joy and happiness, and that is why I love this show.This show was the best thing to ever happen to Cartoon Network. It was the last truly funny Cartoon Cartoon developed, and it can be summarized in one word: Awesome. But there is a requirement for lines of text in a review, so I will use a few other words: Joyous, Delightful, A Godsend, Beautiful, Wonderful, and was all around the light of my life from ages 10-12, before it was coldly taken from me with little to no chance of a DVD release.
sjoakley
this show was great...one of the most clever pre- adult swim shows ever produced by cartoon network. with such clever segments as "touched by a ninja" and "the ranting swede", how could this show not be genius? the show was sadly short lived, as many of the satires and may not have been geared towards the younger audiences of cartoon network. the brand of offbeat humor might not have appealed to the younger crowd as much either, but i know my friends and i loved the show. if you're a big fan of silly satire, the type of offbeat humor provided by such shows as the kids in the hall, you're definitely a Sheep fan. WHY Isn't THERE A DVD I CAN BUY???
