Welcome back to "Underrated Episodes". I haven't done an episode of this review series in over a year, but I just recently got an idea to talk about an episode of "The Simpsons" that is often overlooked. With such an overwhelming number of classic episodes from the show's glory years, it's only natural that there are some gems that get lost in the pile and aren't talked about as much as others. There are quite a few I could have talked about on "Underrated Episodes", but the one I'm going with today is "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in 'Curse of the Flying Hellfish'" (long-ass title, I know).The relationship between Grampa and Bart deteriorates and around the same time, one of Grampa's fellow-veterans of World War II dies, leaving Mr. Burns as the only other living member of Grampa's war squad, the Flying Hellfish. In the final days of the war, the unit had discovered several paintings and agreed on a tontine, placing the paintings in a crate. The surviving member would inherit the paintings, and Burns is determined that he'll be the one who collects the prize. Bart and Grampa end up on a wild adventure where they try to retrieve the pantings before Burns.This episode is from Season 7, which is tied with Season 6 as my personal favorite season of "The Simpsons". This season is often remembered as one of the show's most interesting and subversive years. It kicked off with the second half of the "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" two-parter, and it went on to give us emotional episodes like "Mother Simpson", status quo changing episodes like "Lisa The Vegetarian", and high-concept episodes like "22 Short Films About Springfield". "Raging Abe Simpson" is another fine example of something new and exciting they did from Season 7.This really isn't your typical "Simpsons" episode. The story doesn't have much satire, and it's not filled to the brim with snarky jokes or quotable lines like most episodes. This one is more focused on being an action/adventure story, and it manages to do that extremely well. I always enjoy it when Mr. Burns acts like a James Bond villain, and you're really with Bart and Abe the whole time as they try to beat Burns to the paintings.It was cool getting to learn about Abe's backstory and that him and Mr. Burns served in World War II together, and it made for a great dynamic between them. The episode shows us a side of Abe we haven't seen before or since. It was also nice that he got to bond with his grandson Bart over the course of the episode.The animation is utilized so well in this episode. We get so many beautiful looking and well-framed shots and scenes, such as the funeral scene at the beginning and the scene where Mr. Burns arrives on the boat.The climax is wonderfully gripping and exciting. Grampa really proves himself to be quite the fighter here. He saves Bart from drowning, and then he manages to stop Mr. Burns from leaving with the paintings in a crazy boat chase. We get Abe's finest moment when he completely owns Mr. Burns and discharges him from the Hellfish, thus expelling him from the tontine. Way to go, you old coot.Despite being different from other "Simpsons" episodes, it doesn't stray away from giving us plenty of funny moments. Jokes that stand out are:- Burns accidentally ruining Abe's attempt to kill Hitler- "I'll be in the car, dudes"- "Our residents (bang) are trying (bang) to nap! (bang)"- The ending with Abe getting the paintings taken away from him by the U.S. State DepartmentThis is a truly unique episode in the "Simpsons" catalogue, and it is a lot of fun to watch. Don't let the painfully long title fool you. This is one you need to check out if you haven't. RATING: 9/10

It's time for another episode of "Forgotten Cartoons", just in time for the 2nd anniversary of when I started this review series! Today, I'm reviewing a series requested by Towers-of-Obscure, a good friend of mine on this site. The series is titled "Ruby Gloom"."Ruby Gloom" is based on the Mighty Fine apparel line of the same name created by illustrator Martin Hsu. The series was produced by Nelvana and aired in Canada from October 2006 through June 2008 on YTV. In a Victorian mansion on the outskirts of Gloomsville lives Ruby Gloom. Some kids might be afraid of the dark, the eccentric neighbours and the unknown things that dwell in the closet, but Ruby is different - she befriends these strange and sometimes scary creatures. In fact, Ruby finds them all delightful. She pays no attention to their unusual appearances, perceptive only to their hearts and souls. As Ruby likes to point out "Always look on the bright side - unless of course the dark side is your bright side and that's okay too!" Ruby's perfect day is a gloomy one, full of creativity and adventure with her offbeat circle of friends.Yet another Canadian cartoon for this series. What about that? I decided to do this one because the title sounded intriguing, and when I checked it out, I quite liked it. This was an entertaining show with quirky characters, an appealing asthetic, and an interesting world.The episodes are largely confined to the aforementioned Victorian mansion that the characters dwell in, and it's a pretty fun setting. It's a big, expansive abode where many crazy things happen. The spooky, gothic atmosphere of this show just really appeals to me and makes this a cool show to watch around Halloween time.The characters are all likable in their own ways, and we get a variety of fun interactions between them.- Ruby, our title character, is open-minded and quite kind to everyone around her. She is often the voice of reason in the cast, but she still likes doing fun things.- Iris is all about having fun and living adventurously. She is eccentric and impulsive and will do any activity that comes to her mind as long as it's fun. Sadly, she doesn't always consider how dangerous her habits are.- Misery is a banshee girl who is in a constant state of despair and apathy, and she often accidentally destroys objects around her due to clumsiness and extremely bad luck. I find her really cute. Just seeing the look in her eyes makes you want to give her a hug.- Skull Boy is a skeleton who is a bit prideful because of his wide range of talents. From directing to painting to solving mysteries to playing music, he can do pretty much anything.- Frank and Len are conjoined brothers who are great at playing rock music, but are pretty slow with everything else. Frank is by far the smarter of the two and is often annoyed at Len's absent mindedness.- Poe, a crow, is a man of culture and sophistication and likes to think of himself as a role model to the rest of the mansion's residents. However, that might not always be the case, as he can be clumsy sometimes.- Scardey Bat is a bat with an Indian accent who is afraid of almost anything. He's sometimes cute and sometimes annoying.- Boo Boo is a ghost who haunts the mansion, but he has a hard time actually scaring anyone. Scardey Bat is the only one who he's good at scaring.The characters are really funny together most of the time, and there are even heartwarming moments occasionally. They do seem to care for each other at the end of the day.I really love the look of this show. After a bunch of cartoons where I had to knock off points because of poor-looking animation, I finally get one with really cool-looking animation. There are many dark, gothic, gloomy colors on display, yet there are just enough brighter colors mixed in to keep it from feeling too drab and depressing. The backgrounds are also creatively structured. This show is a visual treat.Another thing must be said, I LOVE the theme song for this show. I've been praising theme songs on FC a lot lately, but I particularly enjoyed this one. It's surprisingly catchy, has great bass lines, and makes really cool use of the synthesizer. Fits the mood of the show well, too.This show was quite good and a fitting one to review on FC's 2-year anniversary. Give it a watch if you haven't seen it yet.So that's a wrap for this episode of "Forgotten Cartoons". To my watchers and anyone else reading this, do you have any requests for what forgotten cartoons you want me to do a review on? Leave it in the comments!