The first season of Gravity Falls works as a strong, humorous comedy. There is definitely a bit of an overarching story here, but the main priority of this season is the humor, so it's a good thing that they pull it off so well.
Gravity Falls has a fairly simple premise. Dipper and Mabel go to spend the summer with their uncle, Grunkle Stan. During their stay, they run into all sorts of monsters and weird paranormal events, while also dealing with the evil Lil Gideon who wants to take Grunkle Stan's store, the Mystery Shack. There's also a mystery about a mysterious book Dipper found and uses to learn about the aforementioned monsters, along with a bunch of romantic subplots that I did not find all that interesting.
The whole season has this fun kid-friendly Twin Peaks vibe. Many of the paranormal-events-of-the-week are a lot of fun, ranging from ghosts, to time travel, to pinball tables, to a body-swapping carpet. The titular Gravity Falls is a well-defined town with its own group of diverse locals, most of which having their own quirky personalities and appear frequently throughout the show. It makes the town really feel like an actual rural town with a small population that you slowly get to know throughout the season.
The plot is fairly basic, as there aren't many episodes that actually progress the overall myth arc about Gideon and the books. There's a light continuity here, but most of Gravity Falls' episodes are fairly standalone, meaning that there are plenty of weak episodes this season. However, in general, I think the humor was consistently strong and carried even the weaker moments. Bill Hirsch has this unique and witty style of comedy that feels like it's on full display throughout the show, leading to tons of hilarious episodes. The overall story also does a great job of converging in the last two episodes, which resolve most of the mysteries and even reference plenty of previously-thought standalone episodes.
The first season was most consistently solid, but there were plenty of fun and notable episodes:
The Time Traveler's Pig: A fun and creative time travel story that pits Dipper and Mabel against a lose-lose situation, and despite all the goofy hijinks and the introduction of Waddles, the ending hits some surprisingly emotional notes for this point in the show.
Boss Mabel: This episode was just plain funny from start to finish. Mabel was easily my favorite character, and she got a chance to shine throughout as Boss Mabel's focal point. In general, it just feels like the writing was sharper than usual and most of the jokes managed to land for me.
Bottomless Pit: I'm a bit fan of vignette episodes like this, and Bottomless Pit managed to meet my lofty expectations. All of the three (four?) vignettes were entertaining, well-paced, and unique, and this episode was overall just another chance to let the comedy truly shine through.
Dreamscapers: Easily the season's best episode and it's not even close. Bill Cypher is a wonderfully entertaining antagonist, and the sheer amount of referenced plot threads, resolved mysteries, creative and surreal visuals, and fun visuals make me feel like I was watching Gravity Falls at its peak performance. Not to mention the excellent cliffhanger.
Gideon Rises: I won't lie, coming after such a visually unique episode, the more grounded Gideon Rises did feel a bit underwhelming. However, it was also a strong finale with a satisfying defeat for its titular villain, and a surprising ending that answered as many questions as it ended up raising.
Overall, Season 1 of Gravity Falls was a strong start to the series. Despite being slightly light on plot, the season was stuffed with excellent humor, likable characters, and a very well-done ending.
3/5 Stars
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