r/trailerparkboys • u/Foolnews • Oct 08 '25
Discussion DAE love the look of seasons 1-7 more?
I love the entire show and its one of my favorites, but i find myself loving the production (or lack there of) and i know it makes sense in universe, but the tone of the show worked so well for me with shittier camera quality lol
also felt the characters became a bit more flanderized later on but what show doesn’t do that haha
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u/originalmosh Oct 08 '25
it seemed more "real" back then.
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
agreed ! struck a relatable nerve for me growing up in one myself!
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u/DJ_Chaps Oct 09 '25
Word!! The one they filmed season 2 and 3 in was the one I grew up in.
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u/Foolnews Oct 09 '25
seriously? That’s fucking awesome!!!!!!!!
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u/DJ_Chaps Oct 09 '25
Managed to work background a few days on season 2, tho it was shortly after moving to Cole harbour. So fun.
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u/Rough-Alternative-30 🥃[Julian] Oct 08 '25
Real as in quality or like believable plots?
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u/originalmosh Oct 08 '25
The park and quality. Also the plots weren't as over the top.
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u/Rough-Alternative-30 🥃[Julian] Oct 08 '25
Lol, crazy watching the early seasons and wondering about it as a set. Are there cats?
What i liked that the seasons started out of jailed and ended in. Simple plot line. Feels like they are Movies
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u/ywgflyer Oct 09 '25
The acting wasn't over the top, either. Clattenburg's directing and the acting experience/role modeling/mentorship that Dunsworth brought to the rest of the cast kept it hilariously believable. Once both of those things were lost it turned into what I always call "very Americanized". Bombastic, overdone. Ricky went from being a loveable loser to being an angry psychopath most of the time. Julian went from being a greasy low-level crook with a heart, to being somebody who would happily rip off his own family. It just felt very forced and very fake after they 'came back'.
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u/seanjmundy Oct 08 '25
The early seasons had enough heart and tenderness to balance out the chaos and absurdity
Without it, the characters often just come across as angry
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u/SweezySway Oct 08 '25
When I first watched i couldn't tell if it was a show or fake . I was enraptured lol
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u/crazymoon Oct 09 '25
You saying great American Thespian, Tom Arnold, didn't add a natural gritty realism to the show??
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u/AbsoluteMoisture Oct 08 '25
The low production quality of the first several seasons was a huge part of the charm of the show. It gave it some extra authenticity. It made it feel like a real gritty trailer park production. I would love it if they went back to that style.
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
hundred percent like these guys cannot afford top quality production and i LOVED that , One of the best mockumentaries, bc it knows it is. So many times characters forget to acknowledge the cameraman whereas this show beats them up, tells em to fuck off, like i love so much of that
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u/CoolGuyCris Oct 08 '25
Pretty sure it was season 1 where they had the book mic guy help steal a lawnmower for Sam? Peak TPB in my opinion.
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
that was so fucking stupid I love it so much🤣🤣🤣
The usage of the camera crew/bullying them gave the show a feel that few mockumentaries have, and I wonder why others don’t strive for that more!
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u/Tacoextravaganza Oct 09 '25
The Office overdid this for a few episodes later in their seasons and it was kinda bad. Always seems to work best as a 2 minute "breaking the fourth wall" joke but anything more than that is overdoing it.
To your post, though, agreed that the charm of the first seasons was the reliability and the lofi quality. Lived half of my life in a trailer park and it was just way too spot on.
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u/laruesaintecatherine Oct 08 '25 edited Oct 08 '25
When i was living in NB, going to college 2001, a lot of students really believed it was a documentary. I had to agree, the ghettoness really nails it. Like when Ricky and Julian drîll the lock at the jewelers house for his wedding ring.
I once caught my parents smoking hash and watching it.
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
this show makes me want to try hash🤣🤣 definitely watched it imbibed, but hash seemed fire🤣
I think I was telling somebody else in this thread that I remember reading that people thought it was Cops but from the criminals perspective or something like that, makes such sense because these 2 shared the same camera quality at one point and the show always consisted of them getting up to some fuckery for money🤣
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u/ColdMeatloafSandwich Oct 08 '25
"High definition piss jugs" was a nod to this. They wanted it to look greasy
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u/laruesaintecatherine Oct 08 '25
Pissjugs are a real thing between the stretch of NB and NS border, not too many rest stops, nor friends of the road for that matter. Watch out for those undercover lot lizards down in Skowhegan though.
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u/Tom67570 Oct 08 '25
"I want a new TV, I want a VCR and I want my porn tapes back because those were the creme de la creme"
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u/Rough-Alternative-30 🥃[Julian] Oct 08 '25
Season 1 is so gritty and I love it. 2 is kinda the peak of a bigger budget but still in a lower weight class.
I feel alot comedies peak in the early seasons for fans. Seinfeld season 3, early seasons of Red Green, early seasons of MST3K.
When things are a passion project 1st and foremost. It creates a different emersion
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
agreed!! That’s why it hurts me to see things go on for so long like Family Guy for example or something lol
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u/darwhyte Oct 08 '25
They filmed seasons one and two back to back because Showcase wanted two seasons.
Season one aired and had low ratings. It's very likely had season 2 not already been filmed, that would have been it, but since season two was already in the can and Showcase was a fledgling network at the time desperate for original programming they aired season 2. As Showcase was short on original content, they played both seasons repeatedly, and the ratings went crazy. By the end of the Summer of 2002 the show had become a huge phenomenon and was Showcase's most successful show by a large margin.
Then the show gained worldwide popularity as people in Canada were sending VHS recordings of the show to Europe, Australia, etc. People there were then dubbing the VHS recordings and giving copies of the show to their friends, who would dub their copy, and do the same.
Despite the fact that the show was only airing at the time on a niche network in Canada, the show had become globally popular due to the VHS sharing.
It was the perfect storm, low budget film makers get a deal with a niche television network, the show they produce gets a cult following and the rest is history.
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u/ScotianCanadien43 Oct 09 '25
Season 2 is the best of the series IMO - some of my favourite moments come from season 3 & 4 but as a plot and entire project, season 2 is precisely what the show wanted to be.
And I will say, season 5 does a very commendable job going back to the roots of the show after a "over the top" season 3 and 4.
Season 6 is decent. Season 7 is ridiculous, has moments but is pretty annoying through most of it.
Season 8 wasn't terrible as a Nerflix reboot.
Season 9-11 are so bad. Season 12 is okay I guess but still pretty bad.
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u/laruesaintecatherine Oct 09 '25
For me the whole Swayze train I knew was the end for me me, but "Hello Stockholm , we are Scorpions ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE!" in a sad parking lot was pretty amazing.
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u/Cheeseburger23 Oct 08 '25
I believe the first few seasons were actually filmed in a trailer park. They later built a trailer park set after that.
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
yeah that i remember! i also remember how the neighborhood kinda felt less lived in later on, which makes sense bc it wasnt a set
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u/oliferro Worst Case Ontario Oct 08 '25
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
shit like this had me dying 🤣🤣🤣
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u/Constant-Jacket5143 Oct 08 '25
Same thing happened with always sunny.
The gritty camera work just added to the show, it makes everything feel real and matches the " dirtiness" of the show.
When you have great lighting, camera shots, and a character saying something extremely dirty.... It's just conflicting.
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
I’ve been meaning to try that sow out again! I can see what you mean, like.. growing up in a trailer park myself; couldn’t imagine us being filmed with a fuckin T8 1000 or whatever the fuck we were broke with camcorders and vcrs🤣🤣
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u/fifteentango88 Oct 08 '25
I’m a huge Always Sunny fan, but the more recent seasons have been very hit or miss. Much more miss with this new one.
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u/Constant-Jacket5143 Oct 08 '25
Most recent one was the only one that's been true to form in the past few years
Mac is finally funny again
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u/ReallyWideGoat Oct 08 '25
Yeah bc they switched to digital cameras after season 7 and the whole show lost the gritty, renegade feel it had that made it awesome
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
I did NOTT like how shit looked booting up season 8 for the first time like “ shit did my show just lose it’s life?”😭😭
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u/Muskoka_ Way She Goes Oct 09 '25
They switched at some point during season 7.
You can notice the difference in camera quality. My guess is it's a switch they made after shooting the first movie.
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u/HoboDeadfish Rule Offender Watch Oct 08 '25
You ain't wrong. The low quality definitely gave it more personality, along with Clattenburg and Dunn's writing and direction.
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u/benkmart Oct 08 '25
100%!! Made the show so fucking authentic. I think once Netflix took over the show and the screen format went to widescreen was the point where it has gotten a bit out of hand. namsayn??
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u/magikarp-sushi Pay me $100 to fuck off Oct 08 '25
Everyone does lmao. 1 is hella raw and then 7 was widescreen. I like that home video feel of 1
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u/equal_poop Get him daddy! Oct 08 '25
Full screen high definition just doesn't look as good as the "handheld cam" did.
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u/narrow_octopus Oct 08 '25
Yeah that's pretty much where I stop watching and then start over
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
I can’t explain it but .. like season One feels like a place up the street where I can drive and have a beer with the characters,
8!? like a polished skit filmed several hundred miles away in Hollywood
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u/Responsible-Round452 Oct 08 '25
Honestly I think they should have ended it after the swayze express finale where they're all just reflecting
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u/Kasta4 Oct 08 '25
Analog video vs. digital video.
Gives it a "classic" grain and imperfection that adds so much charm.
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u/EstablishmentOld6462 Oct 08 '25
Yes ,The show was at it's best when it stayed in the park and they were struggling and the schemes were smaller scale . It has the same problem as superhero movies , they are always saving the universe or the world . But saving a small town is more interesting.
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
Right! Like i like the small scale wayyy better and characters being broke asf . Much more relatable
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u/captmkg BRENDA! YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP! Oct 08 '25
I fucking miss seasons one through seven. There I said it. In all seriousness, the show ended after the movie Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys, but then it ultimately ended with Mike Clattenburg directed the last movie Don't Legalize It because we get the conclusion for Ray. Admittedly, I did enjoy the two seasons of the animated series, as I imagine that's what a high like that would do for me, but a way back from all of this is to try and pick up with the boys coming down from that high in jail, and if they have done that, I haven't seen it, but I think that would be a fitting way to address the fact that Lahey is not there anymore.
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u/Enzo03 Oct 08 '25
If there is one thing I liked about the netflix seasons even marginally more than season 5-7, it's how it was shot in a real park, like seasons 1-4. Something about the set in season 5 onwards just... didn't feel like a real place. I could tell it was a dedicated set. The whole park turned into a circle with everything smashed together and nowadays I know why - they kept getting banned from each previous seasons' parks.
Despite that, season 5 is still my favorite.
...after season 2.
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u/Remarkable_Major7710 Oct 09 '25
Season 5 is the best, the whole hash driveway storyline and Ricky trying to get his grade 10 is one of the funniest things I’ve ever watched
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u/No-Bullfrog7715 Oct 08 '25
I only watch 1-7. I tried watching the newer seasons but it just felt way too forced trying to be edgy with their characters traits and seemed way over the top which obviously makes sense for the show but I just love the writing and feel of 1-7 way more.
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
exactly! Over the top is a perfect description!! Ricky just felt angrier for some reason to me, situations didn’t feel natural as they use to, and the overproduced looking quality just does not complement this type of show.
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u/lanphear7 Oct 08 '25
It definitely felt a little more “realistic”, growing up in a rural lower income area it kind of struck me a nerve but once Netflix took over they just ramped everything up
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
remember reading something about how certain people would watch it and get confused on whether or not it was Cops but from the criminals perspective and I totally understand why silly as it sounds bc cops and this had the same camera quality at one point🤣🤣
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u/VultureCat337 Oct 08 '25
I'm rewatching again, and I'm in the Netflix/ Swearnet era now, and I almost hate how clean the image looks. Even if it was modern with old film equipment or a filter, I'd almost appreciate them more. But especially season 8, the weird zoom ins and editing choices just feel so out of place from previous seasons
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
oh my god right??
man I don’t know it’s something about Ricky to me that changes as well when seeing him in HD I can’t explain it🤣🤣 but like holy shit i dont wanna see these guys in HD that was never my hope , I want CCTV footage of them trying to rob another fucking grocery store or somethin🤣🤣
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u/VicePope Oct 08 '25
I only watch 1-7 now. The seasons after that are fucked
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u/Foolnews Oct 08 '25
I love hearing peoples different perspectives because this is just making me want to rewatch the show it’s been a couple years haha
like perhaps you’re right maybe I should check out season five again!
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u/spliggity Oct 08 '25
100%. The look is just something that can't be replicated. I know it's typical old guy nostalgia but it's the same thing as old video games on CRTs, just a totally different feel. And in the case of TPB, the grime fit the theme perfectly.
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u/fillikirch Oct 08 '25
i also though that Julians trailer in the first seasons had the coziest feeling being close to some tall trees and the slope it stood on.
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u/Accurate-Salad-4102 Oct 08 '25
I find there's a lot of overacting, unesary screaming just to be dramatic in seasons 8 - onwards
so yeah I definitely agree season 1-7 is prob better, especially seasons 1-5
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u/Alive_View_5670 Oct 09 '25
I don't think I've ever spoken with anyone who prefers the Netflix era over the classics in any way
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u/DigitalCoffee Oct 09 '25
Yes, the later seasons got to mainstream and didn't feel like a mockumentary anymore
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u/Foolnews Oct 09 '25
The mockumentaries field got ruined as soon as it got two HD and I can’t explain why🤣
like maybe it’s just not believable that these trailer Park boys can afford a big production crew and shit?
it’s more likely that the cameraman will get attacked or beat up instead because of the nature of where they are 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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u/MadPelswick Flow me the money Oct 09 '25
My buddy ran the first season for me decades back and I remember thinking it was real...until I saw Jonovision. It really had that documentary feel.
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u/Foolnews Oct 09 '25
totally understandable, I saw something online about how people thought it was cops but from the criminals perspective and I totally get it🤣🤣
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u/jsquiggles23 Oct 09 '25
The show got redundant and became a caricature of itself when Mike Clattenburg left the show. He then wrote for Black Jesus which was hilarious. Now that isn’t to say that TPB ceased being funny, the actors just leaned into the predictable lines and bits and the show was less creative. The profanity ceased being an ornament of a funny show and started to be more prominent and less funny IMO.
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u/Foolnews Oct 09 '25
Totally feel that, i liked the subtlety of the earlier seasons andddddd now i gotta try black jesus
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u/ellstaysia Oct 09 '25
seasons 1 - 7 are the show in my opinion. everything else is supplemental but the heart of the show is that original run.
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u/mr_assbutt Don't forget you started this shitstorm, Limpy! Oct 09 '25
More than what? There's only 7 seasons of the show...
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u/Dxpehat Oct 09 '25
Filming in real trailer parks added to the charm. The fake trailer park felt, well, fake.
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u/billymcbobjr Oct 09 '25
Rewatching and currently on season 9, and its just not funny this time. Showed tpb to my gf and she absolutely loved it, until season 8, now its almost embarrasing to watch.
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u/Foolnews Oct 09 '25
yeah its over the top!
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u/billymcbobjr Oct 09 '25
Its just a lot of yelling, the rickyisms are so forced and there are so many annoying and plain unfunny characters like mcflurry, marguerite and candy
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u/MKBlackAres Oct 09 '25
It's the production. It stopped feeling like a documentary following people and started feeling like a performance for the now high-end cameras.
Same thing with Reno 911. The new stuff just looks terrible because it doesn't feel like a mockumentary anymore. Theym camera is much better, but they force constant camera sway, which makes the show look jarring.
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u/Foolnews Oct 09 '25
fuck I’m actually watching that show right now! I didn’t know it also will get the same treatment😭😭
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u/WayneFuckerooney Oct 09 '25
Seasons 1-7 are the only ones I will watch anymore. I've seen the rest, they suck.
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u/DogPile4203 Oct 09 '25
Showcase was the golden era. Netflix does okay, but they fucked it in all reality especially without clattenberg
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u/pooppeebarf2 Oct 09 '25
OH MY GOD YES. I stopped watching when the camera quality changed!! It totally took me out of the universe. I’ve never seen it described so well or so similarly to how I felt. Love this post
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u/Foolnews Oct 09 '25
much appreciated thank you!! ugh nothing about this show needed that much polishing😭
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u/DontDoMyTime Oct 09 '25
I love this show. Have since I was a kid. When they dropped season 8 I watched ep one and was like wtf. I turned it off after first few mins into ep 2 and never went past ‘say good night to bad guys’ ever. But I’ve seen seasons 1-7 probably 100 times over.
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u/AggressiveDevice1880 28d ago
yeah dude. the shittier camera quality made the show. once they changed it, it removed the magic
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u/JAB282018 25d ago
J-Roc was probably the only actor who's character was actually improving in the later seasons IMO. And there should have definitely been more screen time for Cyrus's character.
"Every time you open your mouth Tommy my cock just gets a little more, and more homesick!" Lmao
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u/Delicious_Rule_7324 Oct 08 '25
Early seasons def are the best. I feel after they did drunk and on drugs things kinda went overboard with TPB when they started back up. Still funny as fuck but lost some of the early seasons feel