Dancing with the Stars… of Lost in Space!

Congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama!

Since today is such a happy day, let’s do a happy dance with those zany Robinsons from Lost in Space!

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! (With The Flash and Donald Duck!)

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!

Vote as if your LIFE DEPENDED ON IT… because it very well MIGHT!

Vote with conviction! Be as brave as a KNIGHT!

Vote not by emotion, but vote with your HEAD!
Don’t act like a “puppet” and be MISLED!



Don’t find that you’ve missed the BOAT, BOAT, BOAT!
Don’t let yourself be someone’s GOAT, GOAT, GOAT!

Just remember to VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! ‘Nuff said!

See what can happen if you leave it to OTHERS?

It's all up to you!

“Magilla Gorilla vs. Yogi Bear for President”

Admit it… Don’t you wish this was REALLY the choice?!


In two days, it'll all be over! For now, let's enjoy this...

In 1960, Hanna-Barbera and Western Publishing, the producer of H-B licensed comic books, ran Huckleberry Hound for the presidency. Read about that by clicking HERE.

If ONE Hanna-Barbera character running for the highest office in the land was a good idea, why not run TWO H-B characters for the next such election in 1964?

Some one must have felt that way, and so there was the electoral oddity better known as MAGILLA GORILLA # 3, as discussed in my column THE ISSUE AT HAND # 70 from Election Time 2004.

The Issue at Hand Is: MAGILLA GORILLA # 3.

Cover Date: December, 1964. Released in September, 1964.
Cover Art by Harvey Eisenberg. Published by Gold Key Comics.

“Magilla Gorilla vs. Yogi Bear for President” 32 pages. Writer: Unknown. Art by Pete Alvarado.

MAGILLA GORILLA was Hanna-Barbera’s first new television series of 1964. This would be a great year for the H-B Studio, as it also saw the premieres of JONNY QUEST, PETER POTAMUS, and perhaps the best season of THE FLINTSTONES.
       
Yogi Bear, according to legend, began life as both a “tribute character” to comedic actor Art Carney – and as one of the three components of THE HUCKLEBERRY HOUND SHOW of 1958 (More on that HERE.).

Self-described as being “Smarter than the Average Bear”, Yogi’s charm and popularity resulted in an unprecedented animated series spinoff, THE YOGI BEAR SHOW in 1960.
 
Magilla Gorilla was a big, naive but lovable APE for sale at a pet shop in an unnamed city (…presumably, New York). The series followed what became a “tried-and-true” formula for producers Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera – that of a “lovable, wise guy animal” confounding a long-suffering human authority figure. This became such a recurring formula, you can actually play “Fill-In-The Blank” with it.
   
Lovable, wise guy animal Yogi Bear confounds long-suffering Ranger Smith.
   
Lovable, wise guy animal Top Cat confounds long-suffering Officer Dibble.
   
Lovable, wise guy animal Wally Gator confounds long-suffering Zoo Keeper Mr. Twiddle.

    

Lovable, wise guy animal Magilla Gorilla confounds long-suffering Mr. Peebles.

      
Lovable, wise guy animal Breezly Bruin confounds long-suffering Colonel Fuzzby.

  

   Get the picture? Somehow, though, we loved it every time!

     

Our story opens with Magilla, in his pet shop window, watching a televised debate between the “Elephant Candidate” and the “Donkey Candidate” for the presidential election of 1964. The eternally frustrated pet shop owner, Mr. Peebles, hits upon the idea of ridding himself of Magilla by running him for president.

At the same time, three-fourths of the way across the continent, Jellystone Park Ranger Smith decides on a similar course of action to rid himself of the pesky Yogi Bear! …Yes, really, that's it!

Gosh, could this be the flimsiest pretext for a political action in the history of… like, EVER? Imagine if we used such fundamentally flawed reasoning to… um, I dunno… go to war… Oh, no, wait…

I also wonder if Officer Dibble, Mr. Twiddle, and Colonel Fuzzby had similar ideas in “untold stories” of their own!

In any event, Top Cat is recruited from the ranks of available Hanna-Barbera characters to act as Magilla’s campaign manager and, in a role-reversal of the 1960 comic, Huckleberry Hound takes on the Yogi Bear campaign.

32 pages of electoral laughter ensue. Here’s two moments the comic didn’t show you…

Cam-PAIN Antics # 1: Magilla trails a swing-voter to his medicine cabinet. Could this be part of his plan for Health Care Reform?

Cam-PAIN Antics # 2: Yogi’s special appeal to a gun-lobbyist.




We end with the “Elephant and Donkey” candidates (…horrified at the prospect of losing to a gorilla or a bear) maneuvering both Magilla and Yogi to launch themselves into space – and far, far away for Election Day – in a symbolic gesture toward our efforts in the Space Race.
       

So, with the contest once again paired down to Lyndon B. Johnson and Barry Goldwater, it is presumed that history resumed its rightful course. In closing, I'll leave it to each of you to decide for yourselves if that was a good thing...

What’s a good campaign without BUTTONS? Here’s one for each!

Remember to vote… even if you write-in for a bear or a gorilla!

Fun with DVDs: More “Guy” Gorging!

Hmmm… After two posts, you’d think I’d have found a better way to express that by now!

It’s STILL about how I’m choosing to watch FAMILY GUY Volume 6 on DVD. Scroll down for more detail – or click HERE.

I’ve just completed the wonderful 100th Episode Two-Parter (…I guess that would make it Episode 100 AND 101) “Stewie Kills Lois” and “Lois Kills Stewie”.

This is actually a milestone moment for Stewie Griffin, as well as the series, as it appears to finally reconcile (…and transition him from) the evil genius, homicidal, would-be world conqueror that made for such a beautifully bizarre characterization in FAMILY GUY's early seasons with the less evil and more… um, “flamboyant” characterization demonstrated in the seasons since the show’s hiatus.

In other words, we get to see how Stewie “killing Lois and taking over the world” would play out… and then we and the series move on.

But, per the unique way I’ve elected to enjoy the episodes on FAMILY GUY Volume 6, I get to see it play out in TRIPLICATE. That is, in the three ways that each episode is offered: “Original Television Episode”, “DVD Uncensored” and DVD Version with Optional Audio Commentary.

If you’re a fan of FAMILY GUY, you’ve already seen this on TV… multiple times, in fact, due to the writer’s strike shortened season. But, as I keep telling you about almost every TV show on DVD, it’s a completely different experience when you “spin the disc”!

Part Two, in particular, shines in its variant offerings.

Its running time is an unbelievable 26:10 in its “DVD Uncensored” state, vs. 21:47 in its “Original Television Episode” version!

A large portion of this extra footage consists of a musical number performed by Stewie (and an incredible array of background characters and animated dancers) after he takes over the World. He sings on about the “List of Enemies” he is compiling, upon whom he will take revenge… and it is based upon “I’ve Got a Little List” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado! In it, he takes shots at everyone and everything on his “sh*t list”, including THE SOPRANOS and rival Sunday Night Animated Sitcom THE SIMPSONS.

This piece – and a magnificent “action score” for the final over-the-top-funny-violent battle (in the White House Oval Office, no less) between Stewie and Lois – is a true musical tour-de-force by composer Ron Jones, formerly of DUCKTALES and STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. He even satirized ST:TNG’s season-ending cliffhangers with his cue to end the cliffhanger of Part One.

The Optional Audio Commentary has creator Seth McFarlane discussing the music cues with Jones and actors and crew alike commenting on the incredible action.

If you saw “Stewie Kills Lois” / “Lois Kills Stewie” on TV, you didn’t see ANYTHING like this! As I’ll say again and again… pop in a DVD, and enjoy TV the way it OUGHT TO BE enjoyed!

"Oh, Mama! Have I been a BAD BOY!"

Fun with DVDs: Gorging on “The Guy”!

Hmmm… Maybe I should reword that title!


It’s really about how I’m choosing to watch FAMILY GUY on DVD. If you’re the type that gets so into a song, when playing a CD in your car, that you play it over-and-over until you get it out of your system, you’ll understand what follows. If not, come back in a day or two, and I’ll discuss something more interesting.

FAMILY GUY Volume 6 was released October 21, 2008, and due to its being released on the same day as LOONEY TUNES GOLDEN COLLECTION Volume 6 and THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. THE COMPLETE SERIES, I’ve barely scratched the surface on it – or any of them for that matter.

But, FAMILY GUY, in particular, is configured in such a way that (if you’re REALLY into it – like that hypothetical “car CD song”) you can find yourself watching the same episode THREE TIMES in a row. Here’s how…

A topic for another time (…and we WILL get to it!) is that, for a TV DVD set where I’m very familiar with the property, I tend to watch favorite episodes first – then go back and sit through the rest as time and inclination allows.

So, in the case of FAMILY GUY Volume 6, I went immediately for “Meet the Quagmires”, a hilarious “time-traveling-reality-changing-genre-spoof” where Peter Griffin travels back to 1984, inadvertently undoes his marriage to Lois and, in the process (...depending on one's point of view, of course), improves the World immeasurably!



(Pictured above is the Disc Menu that includes “Meet the Quagmires”)


Yes, it’s the good old “alter-the-past-and-you-alter-the-future” thing! Back to the Future did it… so did Star Trek, The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, Freakazoid, and even the final two issues of Disney Comics’ MICKEY MOUSE ADVENTURES in 1991, to name but a few. ...And I love it every time! So, there!

“Meet the Quagmires”, as with every episode on the set, can be viewed in three modes: (1) “DVD Uncensored” (the default), (2) “Original Television Episode”, and (3) DVD Version with Optional Audio Commentary.

My MO is to watch each episode (and I’ve done a few this way by now) in the order of 2-1-3!

My feeling is that “Original Television Episode” mode should be the DEFAULT (as that’s how everyone has seen it, then “DVD Uncensored” to compare it with the original (…additional or omitted things stand out much better if viewed in this order), and finally with Optional Audio Commentary, to learn the “juicy insider secrets” and hear the participants continually laugh at their own brilliant wit. So, here we go…

“Original Television Episode”: Just as good, if not even funnier, than it was originally. And there are no commercials, “Bug” logos, pop-up-ads, and (in tribute to the 1984 setting of the episode) we get an “Eighties Remix” of the FAMILY GUY theme song… over end credits that you can actually read!

“DVD Uncensored”: Milder, more TV-Friendly words are occasionally replaced with stronger words throughout. Brian the Dog’s startled and already salacious reaction to seeing an 18-year-old Lois circa 1984 is replaced by an even more salacious line. An ADDITIONAL GAG is TACKED ON to the end of a scene where a “Prototypical-Eighties-Guy” picks a fight with Brian. It was a laugh-out-loud gag for me… but I can see why it didn’t make the TV Cut.

Again, the only way to really gauge the extent of the differences is to watch the TV version first, followed by the DVD version. When run back-to-back, you’ll notice clearly how much (or, in some cases, how little) has changed.

These examples are typical of the “DVD Uncensored” episodes, and it makes me wonder if at least SOME of this is actually produced with the specific purpose of creating alternate DVD versions of FAMILY GUY episodes, rather than being left off for the usual reason of Network Standards and Practices.

“Optional Audio Commentary”: Members of the cast and crew complement one another in a gigantic love-fest (as is almost always the case with multiple member commentaries) and regale us with tales of “When Production Goes Wrong”.

There are “music clearance issues” such as the band Debarge turning them down on the use of some authentic eighties music.

Also “copyright issues”, in that the JETSONS cameo in the episode was used with permission from Warner Bros. but was mandated to be COMPLETELY REDRAWN in an almost unnoticeable recreation of the original style – rather than reuse old, existing footage that is the exclusive property of WB. TV series geeks like me just eat this stuff up!

The Jetsons, as redrawn for FAMILY GUY!

Aside: One of more of the participants didn’t even know that Warner Bros. now owns Hanna-Barbera and so owns THE JETSONS. So much for animation folks knowing their own (even recent) history.

So, as has now become my practice, I’ve watched (or will watch) each episode of the set THREE WAYS in succession, thus gorging myself on FAMILY GUY!

…There are worse ways to go!


FAMILY GUY Volume 6... Crack it open and experience a "Three-Way Episode Experience" of your own! Tell 'em Brian and Stewie sent you!

Pressed Duck: “Donald Goes to Press” on DVD this November!

I’ve vaguely hinted at it, buried in THIS POST and THAT POST, but now it can be told.

The comic strip and comic book career of Donald Duck will be examined in grand detail in “Donald Goes to Press”, a very special DVD Extra Feature to be included in Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald Volume 4 (1951-1961).

This final volume of The Chronological Donald series is to be released on November 11, 2008.
Some special and unexpected friends of Donald turn out to celebrate his life in the Four Color Firmament. Gemstone Publications Archival Editor David Gerstein, former Managing Editor of Disney Comics Bob Foster, DC Comics and Warner Bros. artist Bret Blevins, Disney Historian Brian Sibley… and a certain freelance scripter for Gemstone Publications who (AHEM!) just happens to run this Blog!

Rarely is there much advance discussion of such features in the online publicity leading up to such a release but it’s worth mentioning here because there are persons who like the comics far more than they like the cartoons (that would include me) and might buy it for this feature alone. Especially as the series, at this point in its run, is in the period of being dominated by Chip 'n' Dale and Humphrey the Bear – lacking the diversity of subject matter more common in the previous decade.

If you are a strictly a Barks/Rosa fan and/or a Dell to Gemstone comics reader, you might overlook this set if you didn't know what lies within. But, believe me, if the rough cut of the feature I’ve seen is reflective of the finished product… THIS IS WORTH IT!

It covers everything from Donald’s early long-beaked days the in the “Wise Little Hen” Sunday Silly Symphonies and Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse strip, up through the present-day Gemstone Era, and is profusely illustrated – thankfully and rightfully overlaying some of our on-camera appearances.

Topics include how Donald’s comic books differed from his animated films, characters specifically created for the comic books, artists of note, how the comic books reflected the times in which they appeared, and the rise of the European publishers.

It will be 13 minutes well spent for anyone who loves Donald Duck comics… and the cartoons ain’t so bad either!

DVD Review: POPEYE THE SAILOR: Volume Two 1938-1940 -- "The First Great Eight"

This is Part One of my two-part POPEYE DVD Review. As an experiment in Blog Posting Order, it will be posted AFTER Part Two – but will, forever more, COME BEFORE Part Two in its proper reading order as you scroll down through this Blog.

See the original post on “Blog Posting Order” HERE, for an only marginally better understanding of what I’m going on about!
    
(In other words: Read Part One here and now… then scroll down to read Part Two! Enjoy)

POPEYE THE SAILOR: Volume Two 1938-1940: Released: June 17, 2008. Part One of a Typically Long DVD Review by Joe Torcivia.
   
Can you review such a set after just viewing the first eight cartoons? Let’s find out.

     
What a great series of Popeye cartoons we have to open Disc One of this new set! By 1938, Max and Dave Fleischer have clearly broken with the formula they established early on… and the one that the Famous Paramount studio would do to death in their later Popeye cartoons. You know… Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto, triangle, spinach, Sock-o, etc.
         
In the first EIGHT cartoons on the disc, Bluto – and the formulaic conflict he brings with him – is nowhere in sight, save for a cameo appearance AS A PHOTOGRAPH (!) in the first one. In these eight alone, we have a diversity of cast that would be unimaginable in later years. Popeye, Olive, Wimpy, Swee’Pea, Eugene the Jeep, Poopdeck Pappy, the Goons… and, of course, the photograph of Bluto that (not unexpectedly) steals the only scene that it’s in!

   
Before continuing, I should say that, despite my comments above, Bluto is one of the great villains in the history of theatrical animation, and most (if not all) of his appearances on the first POPEYE set (1933-1938) were very enjoyable. But, in times to come, he will wear out his welcome (at least to me) and it is with this knowledge of what lies ahead that I take this position. But, if we go much longer than these first eight without him, I’m going to really start missing the big lug!
   

Here’s a (relatively, but not completely) Spoiler-Free recap of those first eight cartoons…

    
01: “I Yam Love Sick”. Enraptured in romance novels, and aided by a huge box of chocolates from Bluto – and that scene-stealing photograph – Olive totally ignores Popeye, to the point where he has to play sick-and-dying to get any attention. “I must be losin’ me sex repeal, or sumpthin’!” mutters the sailor man, in one of those famous Jack Mercer ad-libs where Popeye’s mouth doesn’t move! She takes him to the hospital, where he continues to play almost-dead… until it’s time to operate!
02: “Plumbing is a Pipe”. I’m guessing that, in ye olde-tyme slang, if something was “a pipe”, it was easy or “a cinch”. Olive springs a leak in her kitchen, which she compounds – and Popeye compounds much further. Wimpy is great as the plumber, who keeps forgetting things or has other excuses like Lunch to keep from getting on the job. He gets his later!
















03: “The Jeep”. Swee’Pea keeps trying to escape Olive’s very high apartment, by crawling out the window. She thwarts him (Saying that he’s giving her “Populations of the heart!” – on first play it sounds as if she says: “Copulations of the heart!”), until he finally gets out! Popeye shows up with Eugene the Jeep (a “magical dog”!) who can accurately answer any question, disappear and reappear, and track anything with his uncanny abilities to walk through walls, on air, or anywhere else. He tracks the missing Swee’Pea, leading Popeye on a merry – and painful – chase and to a great ending!

This is one of the two best cartoons on the disc so far! Though it is not an origin for “The Jeep”… he’s just there with Popeye, visiting Olive. Oddly, his animated origin occurs in “Popeye Presents Eugene the Jeep”, which is the LAST cartoon on Disc Two – and was apparently produced by the Fleischers about TWO YEARS after this one.

The latter Jeep cartoon contradicts the former, in dealing with Eugene’s origins, but that’s to be expected from Golden Age animation. The presence of the second cartoon, a good explanatory commentary on this cartoon, and an extra feature mini-documentary, “Eugene the Jeep: A Breed of His Own”, detailing the Jeep’s comic strip origins, help ease (…or maybe they ADD TO) the confusion over this odd and wonderful character.

Oh, and try to watch this one and not be reminded of PFLIP, Eega Beeva’s version of a “magical dog”, from Floyd Gottfredson and Bill Walsh’s MICKEY MOUSE comic strip of the late ‘40s – early ‘50s! Especially the story “Pflip’s Strange Power” that was reprinted in WDC&S # 667 (2006). Something tells me that Pflip owes Eugene the Jeep a small debt, at the very least!

04: “Bulldozing the Bull”. Popeye’s in Spain, Mexico, or somewhere that bullfighting is popular. In this unexpectedly superior cartoon he demonstrates the more modern attitude (…and certainly not the prevailing attitude when this cartoon was made!) that the sport of bullfighting – and especially the killing of the bull – is cruelty to animals! Olive is the obligatory seniorita (presaging the sort of role-playing she’d often do in later outings), and a seating mix-up leads to Popeye being a reluctant toreador. Lots of good gags, and a great surprise ending that I will not spoil! Popeye’s steadfast values here left me clapping!

That’s the Popeye I love from the comics, unflagging ethics and all!

05: “Mutiny Ain’t Nice”. One of my general complaints about the POPEYE series is that he isn’t shown often enough to be a SAILOR! Well, here he captains his own cargo sailing ship, with a rough and dangerous crew to boot. Olive falls into a trunk and is brought aboard as they shove off. The crew believes that females are bad luck on a ship and, when they find Olive, they mutiny against Captain Popeye and try to kill Olive. The great thing about this one (…and it’s only a small spoiler in the greater scheme of things) is that Olive finds that she ACTUALLY ENJOYS leading the murderous crew on a wild chase! Popeye, once regaining control, enacts a solution that satisfies everyone – just not the way any of them would like!
06: “Goonland”. The best cartoon on the disc so far – and more of an adventure in the E.C. Segar comic strip tradition than the usual animated comedy. Popeye sails (Yes, he’s a sailor again!) to the mysterious "Goon Island”, to find his lost “Poopdeck Pappy” who left 40 years ago, when Popeye was a baby! Was Pappy animation’s first “deadbeat dad”? The Goons AND Pappy, from the Segar strip, are introduced in this one!

Pappy is a prisoner of the Goons, and wants no part of his son, until the Goons capture Popeye and try to kill him by staking him at the foot of a cliff and dropping a boulder on him. Pappy downs the spinach, which the Goons removed from Popeye, and saves the day. The Goons are dealt with by a remarkable fourth-wall-breaking device that is both extremely clever and looks somewhat out of place at the same time. You judge for yourself. Its unexpected surprise value goes a long way toward selling it, though!

This is a magnificently designed cartoon! Everything on Goon Island is eerie looking… especially for a cartoon of this period! As with the introduction of Eugene the Jeep, a good explanatory commentary on this cartoon, and an extra feature mini-documentary, “Poopdeck Pappy: The Nasty Old Man and the Sea” detail Pappy’s comic strip origins.

07: “A Date to Skate”. With Bluto still among the missing, Popeye convinces a VERY reluctant Olive to roller skate in one of those old roller skating palaces. As expected, Olive soon careens out of control, onto the street, wreaking havoc on the outside world! The Fleischers continue to marvelously play with “The Formula” by having Popeye FORGET TO BRING HIS SPINACH on the skating date! “I must be gettin’ OLD! Don’t tell me I left it HOME!” Don’t worry; he gets some though a device we’ve seen in some other cartoons. And, as when she was pursued by the crew of murderous mutineers, Olive ends up enjoying her near-death-ride for the sheer thrill of it all! This is a take on the usually timid Olive that we seldom saw! I guess THAT’S what Popeye sees in the old scarecrow!
        
08: “Cops is Always Right”. A funnier than expected cartoon, where Popeye and his little crank-start, puttering car continuously run afoul of a gruff police officer. And he helps Olive with spring cleaning to boot. Popeye comes across a little more ignorant of the law than you’d expect even a one-eyed sailor to be, but it works anyway because the officer is such a good one-shot antagonist.

Alas, as was the Fleischer practice of the time, there are no writing credits on any of these first eight cartoons. Though, story credits begin during the period covered by this DVD set, as the second Jeep cartoon lists a story credit. The lack of credits early-on is a particular shame, as the cartoons discussed in this review comprised a very innovative portion of the series, story-wise. I’d sure love to know who wrote these!

The Fleischer animation is always tops, and Jack Mercer and Mae Questel (though Questel is replaced in some of these) are magnificent as Popeye and Olive – especially with their frequent and outright funny ad-libs! Indeed, at this particular point in the history of animation, they would have been the most entertaining animation voice actors of their time. But, look out for Mel Blanc lurking in the shadows…
 
    
So, on the basis of the first eight shorts (…and I have little expectation that this will change over the balance of the set), POPEYE THE SAILOR: Volume Two 1938-1940 is highly recommended by this reviewer!

And… Hey, Bluto? We’ll see ya soon, ol’ pal! ...In fact, just scroll down and read on!