OK so I have a lot of episodes to talk about, and I'm gonna be kinda brief about them while still trying to put the right words on what I did (or didn't) like about them.
Away Game answered to my expectations of having some episodes about Arturo being in the city (hope this won't be the only one) and this was a decent one. Pretty funny for the most part (Sergio stole the show here) but Rosa's character has been a little too exaggerated here for her own good. I can understand her fears at first but wanting the kids to come home and not stay with their dad is plain mean-spirited, and as far as I remember, she didn't apologize for her wrongdoing.
Monster Cash is just good ol' fun to watch. A simple premise that leads to good silliness, Carl being really funny here. I liked the subversion about the monster not being Ronnie Anne (even though the real responsible isn't that hard to find out either but it's a fun moment). And Sergio's last line "Heard that before", I wonder if that's a way to mock episodes with a character seemingly learning a lesson at the end while returning to his old wrongdoings in a following one, and if that's the case, that's clever.
Trend Game was a pleasant surprise, as someone who dislike these trending things, I thought it would be a poor attempt to be "relevant" through cringe challenges that get old the next day for the sake of poor comedy, but it actually is a well written Ronnie Anne episode with a lot of good jokes and using that trending plot to talk about RA's relatable insecurities and a nice resolution (as much as I don't like these trend things, it's nice to see that the episode has an inbetween point of view about it). And Sid is glorious in this episode.
This Bird Has Flown is... stupid. I mean, I found this episode OK for the humor (won't lie, the underwear joke at the beginning cracked me up) but certainly not for the writing. I don't like when an episode makes character being way more stupid than they are for the sake of a specific plot, and here, the family buying that the drone is actually Sergio is WAY too much (and for some reason now they adore the hell out of him, I mean yeah he's part of the family so it's normal to see them worrying about his disappearance, but still). Also, Sergio is too much unlikeable, even though he (softly) apologizes at the end. But at least, there were some good jokes to save the episode (especially with the ostrich). Too bad for the first episode written by Alec Schwimmer, who wrote a number of my favorite episodes of the main show (including my number one favorite episode). Quality-wise, it's closer to a Making the Grade than to an Undie Pressure.
I have some of the same problems with V. I. Peeved. Again, the family acts more overboard than usual for the sake of the plot. I get that they don't mean to be intentionally embarassing, but it's still too much for my taste, especially when it's implied they weren't in the wrong (well, they weren't totally in the wrong, but still kind of). Quite boring too despite a number of fun moments here and there. Nice ending though.
Señor Class is another meh episode and another one who has trouble with characterization, along with a predictable plot which wasn't entertaining or compelling enough to keep my attention. Adding something like this to Hector (the fact he didn't have the chance to finish school) is nice, but the overall execution is so worn out, and again just saved by the ending. I prefer Back to School from Hey Arnold!, by a long margin.
Fast Feud was a very nice and funny episode all around. I like how they handled such a plot, again with some great moments with Sid (seeing her being "cranky" and complaining about the fast food is really funny), and with a surprising ending, which felt realistic with these two owners being so busy by running the restaurant that they can't work on the complaints they got immediatly. Nice jab at the reports in search of the most juicy stories as well.
Never-Friending Story is decent but pretty forgettable for the most part. I think you summed it up quite well, CousinMerl. Even though I liked the focus on Bobby and learning more from Par which gets a nice focus on as well, and despite some fun moments in the second part, the whole adrenaline stuff wasn't that well bringed up, but it is quite entertaining.
Slink Or Swim was OK but felt half-baked with its idea. Nice bonding between Carl and Bobby, with the latter lying about not knowing how to tie his shoes in order to make Carl feeling more confident (though he apparently really doesn't), nice development for Carl, but it didn't go as far as it could and the humor felt flat for the most part (especially the poop jokes... and ESPECIALLY the last one).
The Big Chill is pretty good, and I guess relatable considering the heatwaves we've got recently, aha. I liked the story, I liked the plans the kids came up with in order to have enough money to buy an air conditioner (I also liked that they give an understandable reason for Hector to not buy one, instead of just making him looking like a cheap person), I liked the chemistry between the kids throughout the scenes, and I liked the ending which is a nice win-win solution.
I'll talk about the last two episodes later. Also, [MENTION=17229]CousinMerl[/MENTION], I do agree with your statement about the tone of the show. In fact, I like that it differentiate it from the main show like you said, even though it isn't always well-handled and it doesn't differentiate it that much since the formula can be quite the same between the two shows, but I appreciate the effort. And yeah, you got a point about expectations not being the same which can have an influence. I think I like this show like a fine way to be entertained with its likeable characters even though I know it can have the potential to be really good from time to time (like with episodes like Croaked or Operation Dad).
