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Muttpop Bob's musings and rants for all things Muttpop, toys, videogames, hip-hop, and whatever else he's thinking of. |
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Dennis The Menace
Jerry's latest post on the French Muttpop Blog opened a part of my brain with tons of DENNIS THE MENACE memories. I remember immensely enjoying many episodes of the black & white live action tv series as a young child. I also remember watching the animated series years later. I had no idea that both incarnations were based on the Hank Ketcham's Dennis The Menace comic strip that debuted in 1951. I assumed that the cartoon was some Japanese animated reinterpretation of the original Black & White television series (which originally aired from 1959-1963). I remember loving the cartoon character designs. The theme song was pretty rad, too. I was shocked to find out years later that the character designs were 100% American. Looking at things now, I sense that both Ketcham's Dennis The Menace and Schultz's Peanuts had a huge influence on Japanese character design. The proportions and minimalist line Ketcham and Schultz use feels a lot like the Chibi-style that has become a staple of Japanese Pop design.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Drunk Halloween Ewoks
This is the coolest thing I've ever seen on a Halloween themed TV Show! The Today Show decided to go with the Star Wars theme on their Live Telecast. This gives us the odd fortune of seeing Al Roker dressed as Han Solo... but what really makes the segment sing is the pseudo drunk ewoks wreaking havoc on set by stealing food and alcohol from the Halloween-themed food display, punching and kicking each other, moonwalking, and humping random objects. If this doesn't make you a life long Ewok fan, nothing will. Happy Halloween!
Friday, October 09, 2009
Community TV Show Abed and Troy
Community (the newest addition to NBC's Thursday night TV line up) has all the ingredients to be a classic television series. It isn't quite there yet, but there are moments of comedy brilliance that make it worthwhile to check out. The Office has harbored in a new brand of NBC comedy: the eclectic group of characters forced to interact with each other because of some unavoidable mundane responsibility. You've got The Office (in a small branch of a paper supply company), 30 Rock (in a TV Studio), Parks & Recreation (in some small political office), and now Community (in a Community College). The sobre and universally relatable environment becomes the foundation for a rich mix of off-center characters. When done right, there are enough situations that the audience can relate to that opens them up for connection with characters that often take non-traditional approaches to interacting or solving ordinary situations.
Beyond The Office, I feel that Community has the most potential to connect with people. Everyone has had some experience with the corporate world (a world The Office captures wonderfully). As for Community, almost everyone has experienced some form of post-high school education. Thus far, you can feel the writers struggling in finding the right tone for the series. The series works best when it's just a handful of characters hanging out in a study group or cafeteria. When a plot thread is introduced, the show's magic is lost. For example, the writers' continue exploring an unsuccessful romantic tension between protaganist Jeff (played by Joe McHale) and Brita. Jeff is convincingly portrayed as a smart ass who manipulates others to get things his way. I'm open to him having a bit of a sensitive side... but uncharacteristically becomes a drooling puppy dog whenever Brita's around doesn't seem in character for Jeff. Hopefully the writers will find that right sense of balance as the show progresses.
The consistent highlights of the show are the final 30 seconds of Abed, a nerdy film fan, and Troy, a former high school football star, hanging out and distracting themselves from studying at the library. You can find some of those bits below. I have also included a wonderfully done remix of Abed and Troy's Spanish Rap (with bits of Ken Jeong as the Spanish Teacher).
Spanish Rap
Library Dialogue
Krumping
