Chuck Jones's 'To Beep or Not to Beep' is one of my least favourite Road Runner cartoons. My favourite thing about the Road Runner series isn't the gags (although they are frequently great) but the way in which they are so beautifully animated. The reactions of the Coyote and his fourth-wall-breaking relationship with the audience turn standard gags into great ones. 'To Beep or Not to Beep' is extraordinarily minimal in its animation and look and, frankly, its ugly. The few genuinely funny gags are underworked, grabbing their quick laughs and moving on. There's no hopeful or sly looks to camera from the Coyote, he simply gets on with the job in a workmanlike fashion, refusing to acknowledge our existence. The cartoon ends with an extended set of gags all based around the same catapult. These longer sequences would often make the Road Runner cartoons more interesting but, like everything else in 'To Beep or Not to Beep', the gags are just knocked out with no energy or flair. The final catapult gag experiments with prolonging the inevitable but, without the usual sense of Jones timing, when the inevitable arrives it's not funny. 'To Beep or Not to Beep' appeared late on in the Road Runner series and it almost feels like Jones is tired and can't be bothered to meet anything but the most minimal requirements. Financial constraints or a failed experiment are more likely reasons for the cartoon's atrocious visuals and pacing but, whichever way you look at it, 'To Beep or Not to Beep' is feeble.