Somebody Buy Him A Beer
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Top Ten Episodes of G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero - Number 08
"Computer Complications"
Written by David Schwartz
As I said last week, one of the biggest challenges the Joe writers faced was juggling so many characters while still giving them all adequate face time. If they had a hard time in the first season, then things only got harder in the second season. The 1986 toy line brought over 20 new characters that needed to be sold. Naturally, this meant that the older characters got pushed further to the background in order to make room for the new characters. But the 1985 characters would still be on the shelves for a few more years, so they couldn't just disappear completely.
The best formula for dealing with the copious characters was to ground a story around one or two characters and fill in the background with whatever other characters needed some face time. Season Two's Computer Complications makes perfect use of that formula by focusing on two new characters, the G.I. Joe Mainframe, and the Dreadnok Zarana.
The story is fairly straightforward. The Joes are attempting to
retrieve a satellite probe that fell into the ocean and everything goes awry when Cobra tries to steal the satellite for themselves. This probe is very important because apparently it's got Anti-matter in it. Unfortunately for Cobra, the Joes are using some silly robot submarines that successfully fight off Cobra.
The satellite and the robot subs are just a Maguffin, a plot device in order to get the real story going, the story of Zarana attempting to infiltrate G.I. Joe and getting tangled up in a relationship with Mainframe. Mainframe, the Joe's new resident "computer guy" is diligently working on reprograming the robot submarines that were damaged in the fight with Cobra. Zarana is sent undercover to get the computer codes so Cobra can control the robot submarines. It's a story of espionage and intrigue, loyalties are questioned, duties take precedence over romance, and heartbreak is inevitable.
Zarana is the bad girl sister of Dreadnok leader Zartan. She's a tough girl who grew up and spends all her time with a gang of uncouth bikers. She's fought for everything her whole life and is caught off guard by Mainframe's chivalrous advances.
Although Mainframe is himself a sarcastic tough guy, he's also a guy who is trying to learn from his past. He's both handsome and charming, but he's also been through a failed marriage. He's pretty carefree and treats women like things to be conquered. He is completely taken by Zarana's independent self reliance and resolves to do right by her.
Throughout the episode there's some obligatory action between G.I. Joe and Cobra as they battle over the satellite probe, but the majority of time is spent on Mainframe and Zarana's relationship. Mainframe procrastinates his duties working on the submarines in order to spend more time wooing Zarana. Zarana gets increasingly aggravated by Mainframe's advances interfering with her own mission.
There's a particularly good joke when Mainframe is working on the computer. Zarana keeps picking up tools with which she intends to
beat Mainframe. But each time she's about to strike, Mainframe turns around and thinks she's being helpful, because each tool she picks happens to be the exact one he needs.
In the end, Zarana goes through with her mission out of duty to her brother but saves Mainframe's life, refusing to let him die in the process. Mainframe, in turn, protects her identity from other Joes looking for the spy. Despite successfully reprograming the robot subs and stealing the Anti-Matter, the Joes blow up the Cobra helicarrier transporting it. Surprisingly enough, the helicarrier crashes into the USS Flagg, sinking both ships. It's a very action packed ending.
The episode ends in a bittersweet draw for both Cobra and G.I. Joe, neither of whom gained the Anti-Matter and both of whom lost some heavy artillery. Then there's a beautiful shot of Zarana and Mainframe both looking at the moon, lamenting the fact that they could never be together.
It's a strong episode that deals with the high drama very well. Mainframe and Zarana's relationship even becomes a good continuity point revisited in a later episode (that weird one where Mainframe, Dial Tone, and Lady Jaye are all de-aged to 10 year olds and Flint, Sc-Fi, and Gung Ho are all aged to senior citizens).
Written by David Schwartz
As I said last week, one of the biggest challenges the Joe writers faced was juggling so many characters while still giving them all adequate face time. If they had a hard time in the first season, then things only got harder in the second season. The 1986 toy line brought over 20 new characters that needed to be sold. Naturally, this meant that the older characters got pushed further to the background in order to make room for the new characters. But the 1985 characters would still be on the shelves for a few more years, so they couldn't just disappear completely.
The best formula for dealing with the copious characters was to ground a story around one or two characters and fill in the background with whatever other characters needed some face time. Season Two's Computer Complications makes perfect use of that formula by focusing on two new characters, the G.I. Joe Mainframe, and the Dreadnok Zarana.
The story is fairly straightforward. The Joes are attempting to
retrieve a satellite probe that fell into the ocean and everything goes awry when Cobra tries to steal the satellite for themselves. This probe is very important because apparently it's got Anti-matter in it. Unfortunately for Cobra, the Joes are using some silly robot submarines that successfully fight off Cobra.The satellite and the robot subs are just a Maguffin, a plot device in order to get the real story going, the story of Zarana attempting to infiltrate G.I. Joe and getting tangled up in a relationship with Mainframe. Mainframe, the Joe's new resident "computer guy" is diligently working on reprograming the robot submarines that were damaged in the fight with Cobra. Zarana is sent undercover to get the computer codes so Cobra can control the robot submarines. It's a story of espionage and intrigue, loyalties are questioned, duties take precedence over romance, and heartbreak is inevitable.
Zarana is the bad girl sister of Dreadnok leader Zartan. She's a tough girl who grew up and spends all her time with a gang of uncouth bikers. She's fought for everything her whole life and is caught off guard by Mainframe's chivalrous advances.
Although Mainframe is himself a sarcastic tough guy, he's also a guy who is trying to learn from his past. He's both handsome and charming, but he's also been through a failed marriage. He's pretty carefree and treats women like things to be conquered. He is completely taken by Zarana's independent self reliance and resolves to do right by her.Throughout the episode there's some obligatory action between G.I. Joe and Cobra as they battle over the satellite probe, but the majority of time is spent on Mainframe and Zarana's relationship. Mainframe procrastinates his duties working on the submarines in order to spend more time wooing Zarana. Zarana gets increasingly aggravated by Mainframe's advances interfering with her own mission.
There's a particularly good joke when Mainframe is working on the computer. Zarana keeps picking up tools with which she intends to
beat Mainframe. But each time she's about to strike, Mainframe turns around and thinks she's being helpful, because each tool she picks happens to be the exact one he needs.In the end, Zarana goes through with her mission out of duty to her brother but saves Mainframe's life, refusing to let him die in the process. Mainframe, in turn, protects her identity from other Joes looking for the spy. Despite successfully reprograming the robot subs and stealing the Anti-Matter, the Joes blow up the Cobra helicarrier transporting it. Surprisingly enough, the helicarrier crashes into the USS Flagg, sinking both ships. It's a very action packed ending.
The episode ends in a bittersweet draw for both Cobra and G.I. Joe, neither of whom gained the Anti-Matter and both of whom lost some heavy artillery. Then there's a beautiful shot of Zarana and Mainframe both looking at the moon, lamenting the fact that they could never be together.
It's a strong episode that deals with the high drama very well. Mainframe and Zarana's relationship even becomes a good continuity point revisited in a later episode (that weird one where Mainframe, Dial Tone, and Lady Jaye are all de-aged to 10 year olds and Flint, Sc-Fi, and Gung Ho are all aged to senior citizens).
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Music Review: Tijuana Panthers - Max Baker
Never having any older brothers, I never had anybody really close to me to emulate or tell me about all the great music I should listen to. I was blind and unable to swim when I took my first tentative steps into the music pool. For me, it started with the oldies station, because that was the safest music to listen to.
When I was a kid, oldies meant 50's and 60's music, I guess these days it leans more toward 70's and 80's but whatever. I was introduced to rock and roll through Elvis, The Beatles, The Kinks, Buddy Holly, and so forth. One of the songs that really struck me, the same way it struck many other young men who actually grew up in that time period, was Walk, Don't Run by The Ventures. The Ventures were my first introduction to anything that could be categorized as Surf Rock.
Later, after I had grown but was still in the influential teenage years, I saw a movie called Pulp Fiction. Quentin Tarantino introduced me to real surf rock, the kind that you didn't hear on the radio, and my world was turned upside down again.
Ever since then, I've had an undying love for surf rock. At it's best, it is raw, simple, unfiltered fun. That brings me to the Tijuana Panthers. These guys rock.
These kids are just pure rock and roll. It's impossible to listen to this music and be in a bad mood. They are a stripped down three piece combo who dance back and forth between Buzzcocks style three chord punk rock, easy going riff rock, and good old southern rock jams.
Tijuana Panthers are easy to listen to, and sometimes, when you're cruising around at 2 A.M. with the windows down letting the summer wind blow though you, that's all you need to make it a perfect night.
When I was a kid, oldies meant 50's and 60's music, I guess these days it leans more toward 70's and 80's but whatever. I was introduced to rock and roll through Elvis, The Beatles, The Kinks, Buddy Holly, and so forth. One of the songs that really struck me, the same way it struck many other young men who actually grew up in that time period, was Walk, Don't Run by The Ventures. The Ventures were my first introduction to anything that could be categorized as Surf Rock.
Later, after I had grown but was still in the influential teenage years, I saw a movie called Pulp Fiction. Quentin Tarantino introduced me to real surf rock, the kind that you didn't hear on the radio, and my world was turned upside down again.
Ever since then, I've had an undying love for surf rock. At it's best, it is raw, simple, unfiltered fun. That brings me to the Tijuana Panthers. These guys rock.
These kids are just pure rock and roll. It's impossible to listen to this music and be in a bad mood. They are a stripped down three piece combo who dance back and forth between Buzzcocks style three chord punk rock, easy going riff rock, and good old southern rock jams.
Tijuana Panthers are easy to listen to, and sometimes, when you're cruising around at 2 A.M. with the windows down letting the summer wind blow though you, that's all you need to make it a perfect night.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Blog-A-Song 02
Gaston
I did not write this song. Here are the lyrics.
Gosh it disturbs me to see you, Gaston
Looking so down in the dumps
Every guy here'd love to be you, Gaston
Even when taking your lumps
There's no man in town as admired as you
You're ev'ryone's favorite guy
Ev'ryone's awed and inspired by you
And it's not very hard to see why
No one's slick as Gaston
No one's quick as Gaston
No one's neck's as incredibly thick as Gaston
For there's no man in town half as manly
Perfect, a pure paragon
You can ask any Tom, Dick or Stanley
And they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on
No one's been like Gaston
A king pin like Gaston
No one's got a swell cleft in his chin like Gaston
As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating
My- what a guy, that Gaston
Give five "hurrahs!"
Give twelve "hip-hips!"
Gaston is the best
And the rest is all drips
No one fights like Gaston
Douses lights like Gaston
In a wrestling match nobody bites like Gaston
For there's no one as burly and brawny
As you see I've got biceps to spare
Not a bit of him's scraggly or scrawny
And ev'ry last inch of me's covered with hair
No one hits like Gaston
Matches wits like Gaston
In a spitting match nobody spits like Gaston
I'm especially good at expectorating
(Ptooey!)
Ten points for Gaston!
When I was a lad I ate four dozen eggs
Ev'ry morning to help me get large
And now that I'm grown I eat five dozen eggs
So I'm roughly the size of a barge
No one shoots like Gaston
Makes those beauts like Gaston
Then goes tromping around wearing boots like Gaston
I use antlers in all of my decorating
Say it again
Who's a man among men?
And then say it once more
Who's the hero next door?
Who's a super success?
Don't you know? Can't you guess?
Ask his fans and his five hangers-on
There's just one guy in town who's got all of it down
And his name
is
Gaston!
I did not write this song. Here are the lyrics.
Gosh it disturbs me to see you, Gaston
Looking so down in the dumps
Every guy here'd love to be you, Gaston
Even when taking your lumps
There's no man in town as admired as you
You're ev'ryone's favorite guy
Ev'ryone's awed and inspired by you
And it's not very hard to see why
No one's slick as Gaston
No one's quick as Gaston
No one's neck's as incredibly thick as Gaston
For there's no man in town half as manly
Perfect, a pure paragon
You can ask any Tom, Dick or Stanley
And they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on
No one's been like Gaston
A king pin like Gaston
No one's got a swell cleft in his chin like Gaston
As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating
My- what a guy, that Gaston
Give five "hurrahs!"
Give twelve "hip-hips!"
Gaston is the best
And the rest is all drips
No one fights like Gaston
Douses lights like Gaston
In a wrestling match nobody bites like Gaston
For there's no one as burly and brawny
As you see I've got biceps to spare
Not a bit of him's scraggly or scrawny
And ev'ry last inch of me's covered with hair
No one hits like Gaston
Matches wits like Gaston
In a spitting match nobody spits like Gaston
I'm especially good at expectorating
(Ptooey!)
Ten points for Gaston!
When I was a lad I ate four dozen eggs
Ev'ry morning to help me get large
And now that I'm grown I eat five dozen eggs
So I'm roughly the size of a barge
No one shoots like Gaston
Makes those beauts like Gaston
Then goes tromping around wearing boots like Gaston
I use antlers in all of my decorating
Say it again
Who's a man among men?
And then say it once more
Who's the hero next door?
Who's a super success?
Don't you know? Can't you guess?
Ask his fans and his five hangers-on
There's just one guy in town who's got all of it down
And his name
is
Gaston!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Top Ten Episodes of G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero - Number 09
"Worlds Without End"
Written by Martin Pasko
The regular G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon series began in 1985 and the characters featured most prominently were the series four toys, which were the newest ones available at the time. The toy line first went into production in 1982 and produced new characters and play sets each year for over a decade. This, of course, means that by the time they started producing episodes for the cartoon series, there were already 3 series of toys, each with a number of characters in them. Some of these characters saw some action in the two mini series from '83 and '84 and some, like Mutt & Junkyard, Duke, Scarlett, and Roadblock sustained a presence throughout the show. Others were lucky to make an appearance whenever their specific skill was required before fading into the background to make room for the characters who still had toys available on the store shelves.
Although this vast sea of rotating characters was seen as a hindrance to the writing process by some, Martin Pasko takes advantage of the situation and gives us an epic two part episode with a dramatic conclusion that writes some of the more disposable characters out of the show in a dignified way.
Duke in a coma, this is not.
The story begins like so many others, with Cobra attempting to steal a new technological weapon, namely, The Matter Transmuter Ray. The ray can change the molecular structure of anything it touches. A team of G.I. Joes are sent to make sure that doesn't happen. Action and adventure ensue.
After Cobra steals the weapon, the team of Joes get into a battle with Cobra which accidentally
sets off the device. The ray goes haywire and the Joes are all knocked unconscious. When they awake, they find themselves in an alternate bizzaro reality where Cobra has defeated G.I. Joe and taken over the world! They eventually meet up with the resistance forces and help instigate a civil war between Cobra Commander and Destro, who are obviously incapable of sharing power with each other. The team eventually finds the portal home but series one characters, Steeler, Grunt, and Clutch decide to stay and restart G.I. Joe.
This episode featured a lot of characters. Aside from the three series one characters, Flint, Lady Jaye, Footloose, Airtight, and Barbecue make up the rest of the team. The nine characters all get a fair amount of screen time thanks to being a double episode, but the real star is Steeler the tank driver. He is the emotional core of the episode.
As far as I know, this is the only episode that Steeler gets any talking parts, and boy, does he talk. He spends the first part of the episode lamenting his position in G.I. Joe. He has no free time, his girlfriend left him, and they never appear to make a difference in the war against Cobra. It's a little heavy handed, but Pasko does a good job of setting up a character who is cynical and embittered by war. After a near death experience, he decides he's quitting G.I. Joe for good, but before he can quit, he gets caught up in one last life changing adventure.
Once in the alternate world, Steeler is horrified by effects of Cobra's rule and, thanks to a biologically weaponized insect bite and seeing the skeleton of his alternate reality self, actually goes temporarily insane and believes he's in Hell. Fortunately for him, he is found by Baroness and is nursed back to health. He learns that Baroness is secretly in the resistance against Cobra Commander and used to be in a romantic relationship the Steeler of her world. Steeler learns that every little bit of effort makes a difference and decides not to return to his own world. In this world he's truly needed, by both the resistance and by Baroness. So, he pretty much gets everything that he was complaining about at the beginning of the episode. Steeler's two friends, Clutch and Grunt decided to stay and help also, despite the fact that they don't get smoking hot girlfriends like the Baroness.
The rest of the episode is standard alternate reality action affair. The Joe team are on the run in a strange totalitarian world that resembles their own. The Dreadnoks are cops, the Lincoln Memorial is replaced by the Cobra Commander Memorial, and a bad guy is actually a good guy.
This episode is in my top ten because it doesn't pull any punches. In a cartoon where the characters fire make believe lasers and everyone parachutes out of exploding vehicles, it was
pretty intense to see skeletons wearing G.I. Joe uniforms lying in a mass grave. The animation is really clean, and as previously mentioned, there's a strong emotional story about a three dimensional character at it's core.
I'll happily give a fond farewell to great characters.
Written by Martin Pasko
The regular G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon series began in 1985 and the characters featured most prominently were the series four toys, which were the newest ones available at the time. The toy line first went into production in 1982 and produced new characters and play sets each year for over a decade. This, of course, means that by the time they started producing episodes for the cartoon series, there were already 3 series of toys, each with a number of characters in them. Some of these characters saw some action in the two mini series from '83 and '84 and some, like Mutt & Junkyard, Duke, Scarlett, and Roadblock sustained a presence throughout the show. Others were lucky to make an appearance whenever their specific skill was required before fading into the background to make room for the characters who still had toys available on the store shelves.
Although this vast sea of rotating characters was seen as a hindrance to the writing process by some, Martin Pasko takes advantage of the situation and gives us an epic two part episode with a dramatic conclusion that writes some of the more disposable characters out of the show in a dignified way.Duke in a coma, this is not.
The story begins like so many others, with Cobra attempting to steal a new technological weapon, namely, The Matter Transmuter Ray. The ray can change the molecular structure of anything it touches. A team of G.I. Joes are sent to make sure that doesn't happen. Action and adventure ensue.
After Cobra steals the weapon, the team of Joes get into a battle with Cobra which accidentally
sets off the device. The ray goes haywire and the Joes are all knocked unconscious. When they awake, they find themselves in an alternate bizzaro reality where Cobra has defeated G.I. Joe and taken over the world! They eventually meet up with the resistance forces and help instigate a civil war between Cobra Commander and Destro, who are obviously incapable of sharing power with each other. The team eventually finds the portal home but series one characters, Steeler, Grunt, and Clutch decide to stay and restart G.I. Joe.This episode featured a lot of characters. Aside from the three series one characters, Flint, Lady Jaye, Footloose, Airtight, and Barbecue make up the rest of the team. The nine characters all get a fair amount of screen time thanks to being a double episode, but the real star is Steeler the tank driver. He is the emotional core of the episode.
As far as I know, this is the only episode that Steeler gets any talking parts, and boy, does he talk. He spends the first part of the episode lamenting his position in G.I. Joe. He has no free time, his girlfriend left him, and they never appear to make a difference in the war against Cobra. It's a little heavy handed, but Pasko does a good job of setting up a character who is cynical and embittered by war. After a near death experience, he decides he's quitting G.I. Joe for good, but before he can quit, he gets caught up in one last life changing adventure.
Once in the alternate world, Steeler is horrified by effects of Cobra's rule and, thanks to a biologically weaponized insect bite and seeing the skeleton of his alternate reality self, actually goes temporarily insane and believes he's in Hell. Fortunately for him, he is found by Baroness and is nursed back to health. He learns that Baroness is secretly in the resistance against Cobra Commander and used to be in a romantic relationship the Steeler of her world. Steeler learns that every little bit of effort makes a difference and decides not to return to his own world. In this world he's truly needed, by both the resistance and by Baroness. So, he pretty much gets everything that he was complaining about at the beginning of the episode. Steeler's two friends, Clutch and Grunt decided to stay and help also, despite the fact that they don't get smoking hot girlfriends like the Baroness.The rest of the episode is standard alternate reality action affair. The Joe team are on the run in a strange totalitarian world that resembles their own. The Dreadnoks are cops, the Lincoln Memorial is replaced by the Cobra Commander Memorial, and a bad guy is actually a good guy.
This episode is in my top ten because it doesn't pull any punches. In a cartoon where the characters fire make believe lasers and everyone parachutes out of exploding vehicles, it was
pretty intense to see skeletons wearing G.I. Joe uniforms lying in a mass grave. The animation is really clean, and as previously mentioned, there's a strong emotional story about a three dimensional character at it's core.I'll happily give a fond farewell to great characters.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Blog-A-Song 01
I'm going to post videos of songs I write. This is a folksy song called I Got Mad at Someone on the Internet.
I don't know what I was trying to do with my voice but now you're stuck with it.
I don't know what I was trying to do with my voice but now you're stuck with it.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Top Ten Episodes of G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero - Number 10
"In the Presence of Mine Enemy"
Written by Chris Weber and Karen Willson
The premise of G.I. Joe makes for a difficult set up. On the one hand, you have a colorful cast of characters and an easy storytelling engine of Good Vs. Evil. On the other hand, you have an unmanagably large cast of characters and a neutered portrayal of war in which fake weapons have to be used, nobody can die, and vary play sets must appear in each episode. Often times, episodes would degrade into a one large group of random characters shooting lasers at a large group of faceless Cobra soldiers and/or a ridiculous cartoon monster.
The best episodes, the truly great ones, were able to sidestep all of that and focus on only a few characters. Such is the case with the season two episode, "In the Presence of Mine Enemy."
This episode only features two main characters, and one of them wasn't even a toy! It features, Sky Shark pilot Slipstream, and an unnamed Cobra Night Raven pilot nicknamed...Raven. This episodes keeps the high concept of G.I. Joe pretty simple, giving us a little story about two opposing pilots being forced to cooperate. There are shades of Top Gun and Hell in the Pacific all over this episode.
Slipstream intercepts a secret Cobra code and is chased down by a squadron of Night Ravens. After a brief dog fight, Slipstream gets shot down and is stranded on a tiny island off the coast of Africa. The Night Raven, also damaged from the battle, crashes on the same island. Slipstream is waiting for reinforcements, but he doesn't have much time. Cobra launches a bunch of Battle Android Troopers onto the island, whose sole programming seems to be to kill anything that moves and destroy the tape with the secret code on it. The B.A.T.'s don't bother to differentiate between Cobra or Joe and fire on the two pilots indiscriminately. Forced to retreat into a secret underground Cobra bunker, the two pilots have to learn to trust each other and work together if they plan on surviving the B.A.T. assault.
The strength of this episode lies in the portrayal of the Cobra pilot, Raven. In so many episodes, you see armies of faceless soldiers ready to die in the name of Cobra, so it's incredibly refreshing to get some character work on one of the faceless soldiers. Throughout the episode, Raven is portrayed as greedy, untrusting, and has some anger issues. Cobra is presented as almost cult like in the way they brainwash her into thinking they are like a family to her. There's also a casual line about having enhanced reflexes through bio enhancement. I really liked getting into the world of the rank and file, it helps to make the whole concept of Cobra more believable.
There's another strength to the portrayal of the Cobra pilot that I'd like to mention. Since they had the opportunity to feature a faceless character for a whole episode, they give her a face! Specifically, the face of a Native American or possibly Indian woman. It's never mentioned in the dialog, so I suspect it may not even have been mentioned in the script, but somebody at some point in the character design process, decided that this character would not be white. It was very refreshing to see the show embrace multiculturalism without feeling the need to highlight or focus on it. Instead, it's just treated as a natural, normal thing, and trust me, coming from a cartoon in the 80's, this is a monumental feat.
Slipstream was never one of my favorite Joes, mostly because I never had him or his accompanying jet, but he's very likable in this episode. He plays a cocky, witty, charismatic, and chivalrous fighter pilot who is doing his best to be the good guy despite being tricked and deceived by Raven every chance she gets. He constantly goes out of his way to save Raven from her own stubborn arrogance.
As the episode charges along, Slipstream learns that the bunker was abandoned after one of Dr. Mindbender's experiments went "horribly" wrong and, you guessed it, they have to face off against a ridiculous cartoon monster.
Raven is shocked when she learns that Dr. Mindbender intends to let her die and that her attempts to survive have been pure entertainment for him and the rest of Cobra.
In the end, Slipstream and Raven destroy the island and everything on it just as a Joe rescue chopper shows up to haul them out of there. The action climax is truly dwarfed by the emotional climax of Raven learning that Cobra never cared about her, they just care about the power they seek. She abandons Cobra and decides to enlist in G.I. Joe!
I don't remember seeing this episode as a child, and in truth it's not as flashy or immediately memorable as many other episodes. The genius of this episode was that it featured a good number of play sets and characters as per the requirements, specifically the jets and the robot soldiers, but was actually a really strong character piece about a character that never even had a toy to push.
And we got to hear Slipstream utter one of my favorite expletives, "Aw, nertz!"
Written by Chris Weber and Karen Willson
The premise of G.I. Joe makes for a difficult set up. On the one hand, you have a colorful cast of characters and an easy storytelling engine of Good Vs. Evil. On the other hand, you have an unmanagably large cast of characters and a neutered portrayal of war in which fake weapons have to be used, nobody can die, and vary play sets must appear in each episode. Often times, episodes would degrade into a one large group of random characters shooting lasers at a large group of faceless Cobra soldiers and/or a ridiculous cartoon monster.
The best episodes, the truly great ones, were able to sidestep all of that and focus on only a few characters. Such is the case with the season two episode, "In the Presence of Mine Enemy."
This episode only features two main characters, and one of them wasn't even a toy! It features, Sky Shark pilot Slipstream, and an unnamed Cobra Night Raven pilot nicknamed...Raven. This episodes keeps the high concept of G.I. Joe pretty simple, giving us a little story about two opposing pilots being forced to cooperate. There are shades of Top Gun and Hell in the Pacific all over this episode.
Slipstream intercepts a secret Cobra code and is chased down by a squadron of Night Ravens. After a brief dog fight, Slipstream gets shot down and is stranded on a tiny island off the coast of Africa. The Night Raven, also damaged from the battle, crashes on the same island. Slipstream is waiting for reinforcements, but he doesn't have much time. Cobra launches a bunch of Battle Android Troopers onto the island, whose sole programming seems to be to kill anything that moves and destroy the tape with the secret code on it. The B.A.T.'s don't bother to differentiate between Cobra or Joe and fire on the two pilots indiscriminately. Forced to retreat into a secret underground Cobra bunker, the two pilots have to learn to trust each other and work together if they plan on surviving the B.A.T. assault.
The strength of this episode lies in the portrayal of the Cobra pilot, Raven. In so many episodes, you see armies of faceless soldiers ready to die in the name of Cobra, so it's incredibly refreshing to get some character work on one of the faceless soldiers. Throughout the episode, Raven is portrayed as greedy, untrusting, and has some anger issues. Cobra is presented as almost cult like in the way they brainwash her into thinking they are like a family to her. There's also a casual line about having enhanced reflexes through bio enhancement. I really liked getting into the world of the rank and file, it helps to make the whole concept of Cobra more believable.
There's another strength to the portrayal of the Cobra pilot that I'd like to mention. Since they had the opportunity to feature a faceless character for a whole episode, they give her a face! Specifically, the face of a Native American or possibly Indian woman. It's never mentioned in the dialog, so I suspect it may not even have been mentioned in the script, but somebody at some point in the character design process, decided that this character would not be white. It was very refreshing to see the show embrace multiculturalism without feeling the need to highlight or focus on it. Instead, it's just treated as a natural, normal thing, and trust me, coming from a cartoon in the 80's, this is a monumental feat.Slipstream was never one of my favorite Joes, mostly because I never had him or his accompanying jet, but he's very likable in this episode. He plays a cocky, witty, charismatic, and chivalrous fighter pilot who is doing his best to be the good guy despite being tricked and deceived by Raven every chance she gets. He constantly goes out of his way to save Raven from her own stubborn arrogance.
As the episode charges along, Slipstream learns that the bunker was abandoned after one of Dr. Mindbender's experiments went "horribly" wrong and, you guessed it, they have to face off against a ridiculous cartoon monster.
Raven is shocked when she learns that Dr. Mindbender intends to let her die and that her attempts to survive have been pure entertainment for him and the rest of Cobra.In the end, Slipstream and Raven destroy the island and everything on it just as a Joe rescue chopper shows up to haul them out of there. The action climax is truly dwarfed by the emotional climax of Raven learning that Cobra never cared about her, they just care about the power they seek. She abandons Cobra and decides to enlist in G.I. Joe!
I don't remember seeing this episode as a child, and in truth it's not as flashy or immediately memorable as many other episodes. The genius of this episode was that it featured a good number of play sets and characters as per the requirements, specifically the jets and the robot soldiers, but was actually a really strong character piece about a character that never even had a toy to push.
And we got to hear Slipstream utter one of my favorite expletives, "Aw, nertz!"
Sunday, March 6, 2011
What I Am Reading: The Bulletproof Coffin
Warren Ellis' Planetary.
Grant Morrison's Animal Man.
Alan Moore's...majority of his work...
I like comics that play around with a meta narrative and I've made no secret about it. Subversion of reality, historical metaphors, character analogues--these are things that I love to read in comics and The Bulletproof Coffin delivers all of that in full.
Writer David Hine and artist Shaky Kane bring us this delightful comic about a man waking from his boring life and entering the world of sexy action he finds in his favorite comic books.
Steve Newman works for the city. When somebody dies and doesn't bequeath any of their belongings, Steve has to haul the valueless possessions to the dump. As a pop culture junkie, he enjoys his job because he gets to scavenge anything he wants to keep. One day, he finds a comic that shouldn't exist as well as the costume of his favorite old superhero, Coffin Fly.
Steve begins to take on the identity of Coffin Fly and follows clues hidden in mysterious old comics in an effort to save all of humanity. He travels through portals to a post apocalyptic future, meets all of his favorite comic book characters, fights Shadow Men, dinosaurs, a platoon of zombie soldiers from Viet Nam, and even falls in love.
The high concept of this series is that all the old comics that Steve finds are pastiche's of classic pulp comics and Hine and Kane have inserted themselves into the story as the creators of these comics. In the fictional history of this book, these comics, published by Golden Nugget comics, were bought out by another company aptly named Big 2 Comics who promptly fired the creators and killed the characters. The comics Steve finds are all published and numbered after they were canceled, meaning they don't officially exist, yet inside each of them lies clues to the fate of mankind.
These comics, with titles like Red Wraith, The Shield of Justice, The Unforgiving Eye, and Ramona: Queen of the Stone Age, are all wonderfully represented. In each issue of The Bulletproof Coffin, the narrative jumps back and forth between Steve's story and the old Golden Nugget comics and, eventually, the two begin to collide.
"--Am I a man, dreaming I'm a Coffin Fly--or am I a Coffin Fly, dreaming--"
The play between the comic book pastiche and story narrative is reminiscent of Alan Moore's acclaimed work on Supreme, which is easily one of my favorite works of Moore.
I was wonderfully surprised by the quality of this book because I'm completely unfamiliar with both of the creators. UK comic readers are probably familiar with the art of Shaky Kane, who has worked regularly in UK comics magazines like 2000 A.D. I've never read any of his work before but I really loved what I saw in The Bulletproof Coffin. Some of his line work can be kind of dirty and there's some loose anatomy but there's a real pop flare to his compositions and character work that is very reminiscent of Jack Kirby. He also utilizes a beautiful coloring style full off bright, primary colors. It's the kind of coloring you don't see regularly these days except for in work by Mike Allred.
I'm only familiar with writer David Hine from seeing his name on some scattered low profile Marvel books that I have no interest in reading. There's a lot of imagination in this story and although the narrative is purposefully fractured and jumbled, it's very easy to follow. Most importantly, The Bulletproof Coffin delivers a perfect ending. It's an ending that sums up the intent of the book, the history of comics, and the story plot very succinctly in a way that is both obviously simple and thought provoking.
I really loved this book. It's the kind of book that I wish I would have written, but now have no need to because it could never compare to The Bulletproof Coffin.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Greatest Expert Team on Earth G.I. Joe
I have an unashamed love for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, not for the toys, the cartoon, or the comics, but for the entire franchise. So entrenched was G.I. Joe in my developmental childhood years that it's impossible for me to look at the franchise objectively. Hasbro successfully pegged me in it's target demographic.
There are a lot of reasons why G.I. Joe was so successful. The biggest thing that appeals to me is the direct and obvious influence of classic superhero tropes. This should come as no surprise since the franchise was created by comic book writer Larry Hama. He managed to take a lot of characteristics and distill them down into easily recognizable and broad costumes and code names.
But the comic book influence extended into the cartoon as well. Again, this comes as no surprise when you realize that guys like Marv Wolfman, Steve Gerber, Denny O'Neil, Paul Dini, and Gerry Conway all wrote for the show. These guys, who when not busy writing classic Marvel or DC comics, turned in some classic G.I. Joe episodes.
I've been watching the cartoon lately and I'm honestly impressed with how well most of it holds up. Sure, there's continuous animation mistakes, some odd censorship here and there, and lamentable plots every now and then, but the stuff that's good...it's really good. I find that pretty impressive considering that, not including the two mini series that aired a few years prior, they belted out 85 episodes in two years and followed that up the next year with a feature length movie.
In the coming weeks I'm going to list my Top Ten Favorite Episodes. There's a lot to love in those 95 episodes and feature movie, and it was actually harder than I expected to whittle it down to ten episodes. In fact, only two of the classic comic writers I mentioned before had episodes that made the cut.
There are a number of great episodes that, for one reason or another, just didn't make it into my top ten. The Movie, for example, was fantastic really. It had a really nice character arc with the new recruits(along with some of the funniest interactions with my personal favorite Joe Beach Head), sweet Sgt. Slaughter scene's, and some crazy Lovecraftian nonsense of a finale. I loved it. It's too bad that Hasbro chickened out of Duke's death. There was a really strong dramatic climax with Falcon(voiced by the awesome Don Johnson) that was neutered by slapping Duke in and out of a coma instead. Yet, for whatever reason, my mangled childhood memory of the movie was of Duke indeed dying. It wasn't until I watched it many years later did I realize that it was a coma. I suppose that's a testament to the visual storytelling, which clearly tells a story that can't be undone by two hastily added lines of off screen dialog.
Of course, I also remembered Arnold dying at the end of Predator, so maybe I was just a dumb kid who didn't pay attention.
Regardless, I'm not a dumb kid anymore, despite the opinions of my closest friends and family, and there's a lot to talk about when it comes to G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Sure, it was produced by a toy company trying to sell toys, but there was some genuine love and craft that went into G.I. Joe that truly connected with and inspired children's imaginations.
Ultimately, I think that speaks more toward it's merits than anything else.
There are a lot of reasons why G.I. Joe was so successful. The biggest thing that appeals to me is the direct and obvious influence of classic superhero tropes. This should come as no surprise since the franchise was created by comic book writer Larry Hama. He managed to take a lot of characteristics and distill them down into easily recognizable and broad costumes and code names.
But the comic book influence extended into the cartoon as well. Again, this comes as no surprise when you realize that guys like Marv Wolfman, Steve Gerber, Denny O'Neil, Paul Dini, and Gerry Conway all wrote for the show. These guys, who when not busy writing classic Marvel or DC comics, turned in some classic G.I. Joe episodes.
I've been watching the cartoon lately and I'm honestly impressed with how well most of it holds up. Sure, there's continuous animation mistakes, some odd censorship here and there, and lamentable plots every now and then, but the stuff that's good...it's really good. I find that pretty impressive considering that, not including the two mini series that aired a few years prior, they belted out 85 episodes in two years and followed that up the next year with a feature length movie.
In the coming weeks I'm going to list my Top Ten Favorite Episodes. There's a lot to love in those 95 episodes and feature movie, and it was actually harder than I expected to whittle it down to ten episodes. In fact, only two of the classic comic writers I mentioned before had episodes that made the cut.
There are a number of great episodes that, for one reason or another, just didn't make it into my top ten. The Movie, for example, was fantastic really. It had a really nice character arc with the new recruits(along with some of the funniest interactions with my personal favorite Joe Beach Head), sweet Sgt. Slaughter scene's, and some crazy Lovecraftian nonsense of a finale. I loved it. It's too bad that Hasbro chickened out of Duke's death. There was a really strong dramatic climax with Falcon(voiced by the awesome Don Johnson) that was neutered by slapping Duke in and out of a coma instead. Yet, for whatever reason, my mangled childhood memory of the movie was of Duke indeed dying. It wasn't until I watched it many years later did I realize that it was a coma. I suppose that's a testament to the visual storytelling, which clearly tells a story that can't be undone by two hastily added lines of off screen dialog.
Of course, I also remembered Arnold dying at the end of Predator, so maybe I was just a dumb kid who didn't pay attention.
Regardless, I'm not a dumb kid anymore, despite the opinions of my closest friends and family, and there's a lot to talk about when it comes to G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Sure, it was produced by a toy company trying to sell toys, but there was some genuine love and craft that went into G.I. Joe that truly connected with and inspired children's imaginations.
Ultimately, I think that speaks more toward it's merits than anything else.
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