Besides the fact that the creator(s) are clearly geniuses, I think a big part of the awesomeness of the show is that those creators are abstract people. One example was when Finn (the human) suggested that they should pretend to be defeated by a tiny little army of little mushroom people because he pitied them and wanted to give them confidence. To this, Jake (the dog) said something like "no way man, it'll ruin my stats".
In other words, the humor/atmosphere is much geekier than what you'd expect to find on a television show. The only other show I remember with this aspect is Futurama, except that Futurama is overt with its jokes, whereas Adventure Time has many shades of subtlety.
The idea of "stats" is a gamer thing, but Jake is talking about "stats" as applying to real-life scenarios.
Then there's the idea that a robot is "doing a thumbs up" in some sense or another that doesn't get across through the physical realm. That's how I perceived it, aynyway.
the show is often dungeons & dragons-y, so i assume it was in that context. regardless, you wouldn't use the jargon of "stats" when talking about real-life scenarios. and besides this altogether, there are countless examples. i just randomly picked two that i could remember. there's an entire episode ("All the Little People") that is a playful exercise in abstraction. but maybe "idea humor" has a better connotation
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Besides the fact that the creator(s) are clearly geniuses, I think a big part of the awesomeness of the show is that those creators are abstract people. One example was when Finn (the human) suggested that they should pretend to be defeated by a tiny little army of little mushroom people because he pitied them and wanted to give them confidence. To this, Jake (the dog) said something like "no way man, it'll ruin my stats".
Or NEPTR's "You cannot tell, but I am giving a thumbs up." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTTplK3kin8
In other words, the humor/atmosphere is much geekier than what you'd expect to find on a television show. The only other show I remember with this aspect is Futurama, except that Futurama is overt with its jokes, whereas Adventure Time has many shades of subtlety.
Why are those two examples abstract?
The idea of "stats" is a gamer thing, but Jake is talking about "stats" as applying to real-life scenarios.
Then there's the idea that a robot is "doing a thumbs up" in some sense or another that doesn't get across through the physical realm. That's how I perceived it, aynyway.
"Stats" were a sports thing before there were video games, or even before integrated circuits.
the show is often dungeons & dragons-y, so i assume it was in that context. regardless, you wouldn't use the jargon of "stats" when talking about real-life scenarios. and besides this altogether, there are countless examples. i just randomly picked two that i could remember. there's an entire episode ("All the Little People") that is a playful exercise in abstraction. but maybe "idea humor" has a better connotation
But taking a dive doesn't cause stat damage, except to your HP. Unless the mushroom people drain levels.
I actually saw "All the Little People" as an advanced version of The Sims.