You know, it's easy to forget, but when I was growing up summer was known for re-runs. (I imagine this was done so people in the industry could get a break.) New movies coming out, sure that was normal, but tv it was just the same stuff that aired during the previous year. No new shows or anything, that's what the fall was for. To me, the fall meant back to school and new tv shows to check out.

Which made it easy for me to plan things. If there was a show in the past year I got really attached to, then when fall was starting to approach I would think "Dang, I better record some of the episodes before the end of summer."

Why I do this? Because as a kid/preteen I didn't know if that show had gotten cancelled or not and there was a solid chance once the fall came with the new shows it would be gone. I could never rewatch the show again unless like a couple of years later a network just picked it up because they needed to fill in a time slot and it was cheap by that point because it was older or by some miracle some episodes got released on a vhs tape and such.

There's a reason in the early/mid 2000 there was a huge boom in old shows being released in DVD sets. Shows that some people hadn't seen in over a decade was now in a physical media they could happily rewatch and presever these shows. If not for that a lot of the more obscure shows probably would have been forgotten and become lost media. Heck there are a bunch of whole shows where that's just the case because the show was never released on DVD or the original tapes of the show were lost or damaged.

I guess I'm just thinking about this because of the state of streaming services just removing things with no warning they're going to do it and it's a lot harder to persevere these shows digitally. We're going to end up with a lot more lost media and from a historical pov I really hate it.

So, this is something that I’ve been thinking of doing for awhile. There have been a few new shows that I have been watching mostly because I enjoy the found family feels to them. Since today is Valentine’s Day, I figured I would post this list for the people who don’t want to see romantic love and rather focus on the platonic kind.

So, here we go:

The Owl House

Summary:
Luz is a self-assured teenage human girl who accidentally stumbles upon a portal to another world instead of going to Reality Check Camp. When on the Boiling Isles, which is made from the remains of a dead Titan, she befriends the rebellious witch Eda the Owl Lady and an adorably tiny warrior named King. Despite not having magical abilities and having to pose as a witch due to the prejudice towards humans, Luz pursues her dream of becoming a witch by serving as Eda’s apprentice at the Owl House and ultimately finds a new family in an unlikely setting. (copied from wiki)

Why I like it:
This is a new show and only about 5 episodes of it have aired so far, but I’m really enjoying it. The characters are fun, the world is both creepy and fun and we’re slowly getting into an actual plot but every episode so far has been useful in setting up more of this world. Also Eda is a badass character and is now becoming one of my favorite witch characters.
If you enjoyed Gravity Falls then I would definitely recommend this show since it has a similar humor and style, which isn’t surprising since Dana Terrace (the creator) worked on Gravity Falls and Alex Hirsch even does voices for two of the characters.
With that said, one of the minor things I like about this set up is that Luz the human girl isn’t stuck there. She does have the option of going home whenever she wants and her mother isn’t worried about her since she believes she’s away at summer camp. It’s nice not having that detail weighing over the character. Anyway, the found family vibes are just jiving in this show, and the characters are just fun.
Highly recommend.



Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

Summary:
Kipo Oak, a thirteen-year-old girl, is searching for her father after being forced to flee from her underground city. To do so, she travels through an overgrown post-apocalyptic urban wasteland ruled by sentient mutant animals ("mutes"), together with her new friends Wolf, Mandu, Benson and Dave.(copied from wiki)

Why I like it:
I’m not usually one to go with post-apocalyptic stories, but this one has a very whimsical vibe which is more my jam. Kipo is a great character, but so is the rest of the cast. I love Kipo’s relationship with the jaded Wolf, but Bensen and Dave also add to the fun. (I will say for Voltron fans that Shiro and Wolf could relate in dealing with traumatic experiences).The world itself is very bright and colourful, but also has a very fun villain in Scarlemagne. He gives me mega Ratigan vibes if that’s any indication.
And one thing I appreciate is that the show does not bait people into thinking a particular ship is going to happen. Nope, this group is all family/friendship and I love it for it.

Add to the fact that this show has a terrific soundtrack and it’s a great watch.

Infinity Train

Summary:
Hard to describe the plot for this one without spoilers, but basically a girl named Tulip struggles to deal with her parents divorce and ends up on a mysterious train where each cart is it’s own mini world. Also, she gets accompanied by One-One a both happy and depressing robot, and the King of Corgis.

Why I like it:
Out of my recommendations this one is strangely probably the darkest of the four. It’s not a show I would recommend for little kids to watch. The show so far has two seasons which flow into each other despite having a different main cast for each one. Some could read a ship into the second season, but I think the cast for both seasons leans towards a more family/friendship feeling.
The characters for each season are enjoyable to watch, especially Atticus the Corgi King, to the point you feel your heart strings tug due to events that happen near the end of each season. Also One-One is just hilarious to watch.
It’s hard to go deeper without spoilers but the best way to sum them up is the first season has a strong Wizard of Oz/Alice in Wonderland tone, while the second season has a more Pinocchio style to it. It’s a kooky little cartoon that I hope gets a book three because it’s such an interesting set up and since each season is only 10 episodes, that are each only ten minutes, it also doesn’t take long to watch it.


Amphibia

Summary:
The series chronicles the adventures of a self-centered 13-year-old Thai-American girl named Anne Boonchuy. After stealing a mysterious music box on her birthday at the advice of Sasha, she is magically transported to Amphibia, a wild marshland-themed lilypad-shaped island full of anthropomorphic frogs and giant versions of smaller animals. She soon meets and befriends an adventurous 10-year-old frog named Sprig Plantar who will guide her to be a true hero while discovering the first true friendship of her life as she lives with the Plantar family. (copied from wiki)

Why I like it:
Another show where, if you enjoyed Gravity Falls, then you would enjoy due to similar tone in the humor and mystery - likely because the creator Matt Braly also worked on Gravity Falls. Gee, it’s like that show started a trend or something?
What I like about this show is that you not only get to see character development for Anne, but you get to see her bond with both the Plantar family, but also with the frog community as a whole. The plot might be a bit slower paced compared to the other shows on this list, but it has cool monsters and Sprig is very enjoyable to watch. Not to mention that there is an intriguing mystery going on that makes you curious to stick around. It also explores what exactly makes a good or bad/toxic friend, especially for a teen like Anne.
I will say there are a couple of characters that get crushes on some side characters, but the show mostly focuses on the family and those crushes are just mostly a background detail. Overall, a cute show that’s nice to put on for background noise if nothing else.