Many were formulaic, gimmicky, comic-book-style films. However, Poniewozik derided the premise of the show, Future Ted's narration, as a "gimmicky distraction". Some journalists have criticised the practice as embarrassing, gimmicky, or PR-driven. As video game controller peripherals go, R.O.B. was a particularly gimmicky one. He felt gimmicky in comparison to his predecessors. This was probably included as a slightly "gimmicky" tribute to Triumph's rallying successes. Another commentator, Peter Craven, described the 2008 season as being increasingly gimmicky. Fricke wanted the footage to "look normal" and not contain any "gimmicky" special effects. However, he secretly buys gimmicky self-help items to become strong. Alavi felt that having an emotional scene abruptly shift into a firefight was "gimmicky". No More' from being a gimmicky found-footage episode.