As far as the classic, iconic cat and mouse duo go, The Tom and Jerry Show is not in the same league as any of the MGM (1940-1958) shorts, a vast majority of which being cartoon classics, but it is far more watchable than every single one of the Gene Deitch cartoons, all but two being abominations, and the worst of Chuck Jones' hit and miss output. And as far as shows airing on Boomerang go, it's neither among the best or worst, it's no original Looney Tunes, original Tom and Jerry or Scooby-Doo but it's better than The Looney Tunes Show, Sonic Boom and the Inspector Gadget reboot.
The Tom and Jerry Show is heavily flawed and hugely disappointing, but does have its moments. The music is lively and characterful and does try to stay to the style of the style of the classic cartoons, with energetic pacing and appealing instrumentation, no crude or going-through-the-motions scoring here. A good job too is done with the sound effects and the expressions of the characters, and the classic Tom and Jerry characters are mostly kept intact, Tom is still easy to root for, even for a 'predatory' character played for laughs, and Spike has some amusing moments. The slapstick is never as well-paced or imaginative as the original cartoons but there are times where it is fun and it doesn't veer on sadistic like the Gene Deitch cartoons did. The detective stories are very inspired and it was nice to see a different side to Tom and Jerry, which is one of the laudable things of The Tom and Jerry Show, for while it may not be a great show overall it does try to stay loyal to the formula and also attempts to do things different.
Where The Tom and Jerry falls down mainly is in the animation style and a lot of the humour. Apart from the expressions of the characters, the flashy animation just looks cheap and lazy, looking more flat or over-saturated than vibrant, backgrounds are scrappy and lack detail and the characters often look rough. The problem with the humour is not that it's predictable, but more that the execution of a lot of it feels very half-baked and the timing is far too rushed, almost like the show was going for quantity for quality by trying to fit in as many gags as possible without giving enough thought to their execution. There is even some gross out humour incorporated, like in the episodes featuring the witch characters, and it seemed rather juvenile and out of place. Apart from the detective stories, the stories suffer from too hurried pacing, lack of imagination and flat material. Too many of the secondary characters are annoyingly punchable, Jerry while sometimes amusing is also like that a good deal of the time in the occasions when his treatment of Tom goes too far and Toodles, an adorable character before, is similarly obnoxious. The show also boasts a talented voice cast, but all of them have done much better work and few distinguish themselves.
Overall, has its moments and is not that bad but for Tom and Jerry this was a huge disappointment. 5/10 Bethany Cox
