Comic Book Letter of Comment: UNCLE SCROOGE # 379 “The Phantom of Notre Duck” (Reprint).

Okay, readers… How many of you would mind if I posted a SPOLIER to a 44 year old Uncle Scrooge story?
Those who do can come back for my next “Looong DVD Review”. The rest of you can read my Letter of Comment that was written in response to 2008’s UNCLE SCROOGE # 379 (and also references other issues of the time) and never saw print because Gemstone evaporated.

As many of you know, I was quite the regular in Gemstone’s letter pages, with often tongue-in-cheek observations, but this one probably never got past their e-mail inbox. …And, never throwing anything away, it’s now fodder for my Blog!

So, here’s a hint of “The Gemstone That Never Was”…
“The Cathedral of Notre Duck! Pride of Duckburg! Steeped in legends older than history!” -- a real estate ret-conning caption from Carl Barks’ gothic golly-wower, “The Phantom of Notre Duck”, reprinted in UNCLE SCROOGE # 379.

You’ve gotta love those fantasy cities and towns that instantly evolve to meet the plot requirements of their ongoing sagas. After four seasons, Bedrock suddenly grows a huge haunted stone mansion, on the “non-Rubble side” of the Flintstone residence to house “The Gruesomes” for the two episodes in which they are featured. And after six seasons, Springfield does likewise with a large, opulent, and heretofore unseen gated home for former president George H.W. Bush, directly across the street from The Simpsons.

And, after over twenty years of back issues, Duckburg sprouts a brand spanking new, yet suitably ancient, creepy cathedral to house (…of all things!) a Scrooge look-alike character who delights in playing phantom. Though props are due our “guest star”, a talented pen-and-ink-processed actor, who clearly and without credit played the “Scrooge Clone” in issue # 368 as well as the “Scrooge [Brother] from Another Earth” in issue # 370 and is most likely as much a living tribute to Scrooge McDuck as Vicki Lawrence is to Carol Burnett.

No doubt he’s also served as Scrooge’s stunt double in selected “dangerous situations”. After all, if YOU were a multi-bajillion fantasticatillionaire, would YOU jump out of a plane into the valley of Tra La La? Howlin’ crashwagons, no!

Seriously, though, Carl Barks should be given his due here for developing a full-blown, near book-length adventure out of his cover idea for UNCLE SCROOGE # 13, where HD&L build a coin castle from Scrooge’s stash… and especially for wringing so many gags from the melody of “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” in the silent medium of comic books.

Joe Torcivia

DVD Review: Looney Tunes Superstars: Bugs Bunny Hare Extraordinaire

Looney Tunes Superstars: Bugs Bunny Hare Extraordinaire

(Released August 10, 2010 by Warner Home Video)
Another Looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia
Once upon a wondrous time, the land was fertile, unemployment was low… and there was a shining example of how to package animation on DVD called “The Looney Tunes Golden Collections”.

For six glorious years (2003-2008), each fall, the faithful would flock to their favorite retail store or online provider and gleefully partake of the BEST animation experience DVD had to offer. There were FOUR FULL DISCS of classic animated shorts and extras galore.

Commentary tracks by animation figures and historians, isolated music scores, featurettes highlighting specific characters or other aspects of Looney Tunes lore, “lost” bits from the fabled Warner Vault (…or would that be the iconic WB Water Tower?) remnants of the legendary “Bugs Bunny Show” (ABC 1960) – a “Holy Grail” for the “first generation” of TV animation fans. …At one point, there were even LIMITED EDITION MINI-LITHOS included with the package!

And Warner Home Video did not stop there. It offered similarly outfitted Hanna-Barbera series packages, extensive (though not quite complete) Tom and Jerry packages – and even ventured OUTSIDE their own realm to offer all of the Black and White Max Fleischer / Paramount Popeye theatrical cartoons. WHV was clearly the class of its field.

THEN, IT ALL STOPPED… or was severely curtailed.
After 2008, the Looney Tunes Golden Collections ended. Popeye has seemingly ended. And Hanna-Barbera series were limited to being lumped into “Saturday Morning Cartoons” collections or packages decidedly inferior to previous releases. To be fair, “Tom and Jerry: The Chuck Jones Collection” (2009) was a true highlight – and a harkening back to the Glory Days – but that was more of an anomaly.

Repackaging of Scooby-Doo and Tom and Jerry (Still incomplete!) became the order of the day. WHV went on the cheap – and fell from “first” to “worst”.

This leads us to “Looney Tunes Superstars: Bugs Bunny Hare Extraordinaire”.

It is an odd “middle ground” into which this release falls, as we shall see in this review.


As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS.


The CONS:
The Number of Shorts vs. the Price: Fifteen cartoons may seem like a lot, until you consider that (at the rate of three shorts per a theoretical half-hour show), you are only getting the equivalent of FIVE SHOWS! That’s not very much for an MSRP of 19.98.

The Extra Features: There are NO extra features! This is mitigated by the extraordinary amount of such features on the Looney Tunes Golden Collections. But, still for the price, something could have been attempted. At the very least, a few short commentary tracks, as were done in the past.

Robo-Promos: “Robo-Promos” is my term for advertisements that play automatically before you even reach the initial menu. They are unavoidably inflicted upon the viewer before “getting on with the show”, prompting me to add this new category to my CONS list. This was particularly annoying, given the small amount of actual program content that comprised the set, even though you can “zip” through them if you wish. At least there are only two of them here. Other Warner sets have had up to FOUR!

Too Many Warnings: Like Disney, Warner has lawyered itself to excess. A more recent result of this is that, when the program content ends, there are ELEVEN (I’ll repeat it for effect: ELEVEN!) warnings against copyright violations and the like – and in more languages than anyone purchasing this DVD would be likely to comprehend!!! I can certainly understand ENGLISH, SPANISH, and even FRENCH, but this expansive journey into multi-lingual legalese includes various Asian and Arabic languages! WHY? This excessive exhibition kicks in the moment the final cartoon ends and runs for 2:10 (…or about ONE THIRD the running time of some of the later cartoons!). Thankfully, you are able to skip through these, if you wish. …And you WILL wish!

The PROS:
No Double-Dipping: Considering that there have been SIX Looney Tunes Golden Collections – all but one of which containing as many (if not more) Bugs Bunny cartoons as are found on this set – WHV is to be commended for releasing 15 (count ‘em fifteen!) Bugs Bunny cartoons that have NOT YET been released to DVD! It could have been so easy to have simply done otherwise.

The Talent: Some of the very best talents in the history of theatrical animation are featured in this collection, even if some of their later efforts included here are not fully representative of them at their best.

Directors: I. (Friz) Freleng, Charles M. (Chuck) Jones, and the severely underrated Robert McKimson.

Writers: Warren Foster, Michael Maltese, Tedd Pierce – and the also-underrated John Dunn, who stepped into the breach when Foster and Maltese moved-on to Hanna-Barbera.

Music is by “Classic Carl Stalling”, Milt Franklyn, and the also-also-underrated William Lava – who had the sheer misfortune to follow Stalling and Franklyn.

And, of course, “Voice Characterizations” are by the great Mel Blanc – with additional roles by June Foray and Bea Benederet.

Menu and Navigation: Menu navigation is very easy. The Main Menu image of Bugs is attractive, with a nice WB Water Tower background image, similar to the outer packaging pictured above. Main Menu background music is not too loud (a frequent complaint of mine with Warner sets), and appropriately consists of the Main Looney Tunes Theme with the title sub-theme for the short “Hare We Go”.


Image Quality: I don’t really know how to rate this category. I begrudgingly regard it as a “PRO”, but this is how I see it…

It would seem that, starting with the sixth cartoon of the set, 1953’s “Lumber Jack Rabbit”, they appear to have been remastered in some sort of WIDESCREEN effect!

Unlike MGM and Disney (and even later Columbia Three Stooges shorts), I was not aware that any of the Warner Bros. animated shorts were released to theatres in widescreen but, apparently, this would seem to be the case.

If true, however, I wonder why WHV waited until THIS series of releases to start getting “historically accurate”. (The same situation prevails with the concurrent DAFFY DUCK collection!)

After all, there were six previous Golden Collections – and Warner DID release the MGM TOM AND JERRY and DROOPY shorts in widescreen, when they were originally produced that way. So, if this was the case, why didn’t the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies get the same treatment in other DVD releases?

Adding to my initial belief that WHV has indulged in some video trickery, is the fact that the TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN IMAGE look to be cut off – or, are far too close to the frame than I recall from nearly a lifetime of viewing these cartoons. Such is not the case with the widescreen DVD releases of DONALD DUCK, TOM AND JERRY, and DROOPY cartoons of the later 1950s that WERE produced for widescreen Cinemascope viewing.

In these cartoons, credits might appear at the VERY TOP (or bottom) of the screen and, if (say) a tall character was wearing a HAT, said hat is cut off at the top of the screen. You can’t help but notice this.

Now, having recently gotten a widescreen HD TV, I must confess that I LIKE the widescreen effect, especially when compared to the standard (full-screen?) image of the first five shorts of the collection.

But, something is still awry when viewing them this way.

Thad Komorowski discusses and illustrates this better than I ever could HERE.


And, the ultimate “PRO” for “Looney Tunes Superstars: Bugs Bunny Hare Extraordinaire”…

The Shorts:
“Mutiny on the Bunny” (Freleng, 1950): “Shanghai Sam” (um…) shanghais Bugs to man (rabbit?) his pirate ship, in one of several “Sam as a Pirate” shorts. This is the one where Bugs continually finds new and inventive ways to SINK Sam’s ship, and Sam is seen continually repairing and re-launching it. Classic Bugs and Sam to be sure!


“Bushy Hare” (McKimson, 1950): This one was on TV at least once a month (if not more often) in local syndication during the early ‘70s. Then, it disappeared – most likely due to the Australian Aborigine antagonist. The Stork (sober in this outing, unlike in some other cartoons) loses baby kangaroo “Hippity Hopper” and delivers Bugs to a Mama Kangaroo. (“Hippity” is, presumably, off scaring Sylvester into thinking he’s a “giant mouse” for the majority of the short.) Bugs (and the audience) enjoys a highly spirited chase and contest with the fiery little hunter in one of Mc Kimson’s better cartoons. Highlight: Bugs arguing with the Aborigine and not even knowing what he’s saying! …Just curious, do kids today even KNOW about the Stork? Or is this just another aspect of Looney Tunes that has become lost to time?

“Hare We Go” (McKimson, 1951): Another great, with Bugs as the mascot on the voyage of Christopher Columbus. Great line: The ship pitches back and forth, allowing Bugs and Italian stereotype Columbus to share the same bowl of soup – until it falls off the table and splatters all over the deck. Observing the sign “Captain’s Mess”, Bugs remarks: “If it’s the Captain’s Mess, let HIM clean it up!”


“Foxy by Proxy” (Freleng, 1952): Still another great with Bugs vs. what appears to be about a half-million bouncing and bounding foxhounds (cloned from the Barnyard Dog of the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons)… and one really big, dumb one! To see this pack of pooches move forward and in reverse across your screen is to remember it always! Oddly, Bugs spends most of this cartoon dressed as a fox, just to heckle the hounds.

“Hare Trimmed” (Freleng, 1953): Granny inherits a large sum of money, and Sam comes a’callin’ with marriage on his greedy little mind. Bugs is not about to let this happen – with an ending at the church you won’t soon forget! Bea Benederet plays Granny.


“Lumber Jack Rabbit” (Jones, 1954): Bugs wanders into the territory of the fabled Paul Bunyan – where everything is giant sized, including the carrot crop and Paul’s watchdog! Bugs sings “Jimmy Crack Corn” throughout this cartoon. A pleasant-sounding melody (that we actually sang in early 1960s grade school music class), until you stop and listen to what the song is actually about. A very odd choice, to say the least. The rest of the cartoon is good, despite that unfortunate aspect.


“Napoleon Bunny Part” (Freleng, 1956): Bugs tunnels into the chamber of Napoleon Bonaparte and his big, dumb guard. Lots of loud and violent gags ensue – with more than a few laugh-out-loud moments.


“Bedeviled Rabbit” (McKimson, 1957): A much better Tasmanian Devil outing than “Doctor Devil and Mister Hare”, later in this set. Stowing away inside a crate of carrots, Bugs is airdropped to the package’s destination in Tasmania. The animation of terrified stampeding animals seems to be reused in “Doctor Devil”, only with a DOG added! Thanks to DVD clarity and freeze-frame, we can see an unrelated article (that appears to be about REAL PEOPLE) being used as “generic text” in the Guidebook to Tasmania, from which Bugs reads about the Devil and his voracious appetite. One SURPRISING GAG that I didn’t notice until the ‘80s is Bugs commenting that Taz “…tosses a MEAN SALAD!”, and you see the Devil at a huge salad bowl tossing about leafy greens and lots of little dead animals! WHOA!


“Apes of Wrath” (Freleng, 1959): A less energetic, more talky, but still quite good remake of “Gorilla my Dreams” (1948). The now-drunken stork temporarily misplaces a baby gorilla… and bops Bugs on the head, dresses him in baby togs, and presents him to Mrs. Gorilla as her new baby. Mr. Gorilla (named “Elvis”) is appalled at the new arrival, and sets out to do away with him – only to be continually clobbered by his wife when he does. June Foray is good as Mrs. Gorilla, as is Mel Blanc who grunts and stammers his way through the short as Elvis.

“From Hare to Heir” (Freleng, 1960): Medieval “Sam Duke of Yosemite” is broke when along comes Bugs, offering the convenient contrivance of a million pounds if Sam can hold his fiery temper. With each outburst, Bugs can deduct any amount he sees fit – and does he ever put Sam to the test! Despite the very-out-of-left-field-plot-motivation, this is a good and funny cartoon – written by Freleng himself, after his longtime collaborator Warren Foster departed for Hanna-Barbera to write Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, and The Flintstones.

“Lighter than Hare” (Freleng, 1960): “Yosemite Sam of Outer Space” (…If nothing else, Sam had RANGE!) lands at a junkyard inhabited by Bugs Bunny. Modern mechanized mayhem ensues. Particularly good is the “Robot Sam vs. Robot Bugs” sequence, where “Robot Sam” mirrors his mentor’s personality to the extent that, when “Robot Bugs” goads him into pressing a booby-trapped button, he says “Ahm a pressin’!” This is the only Bugs Bunny short I ever saw theatrically – though later than 1960! Also written by Freleng.


“The Million Hare” (McKimson, 1963): In a prophetic foreshadowing of modern reality television’s unfortunate “The Amazing Race”, Bugs and Daffy must race each other to a television studio to win a million “box” prize. By this time, Warner Bros. cartoons had been trimmed by 30 seconds to a minute from their Golden Age of “Seven Minutes-Plus” running times. Indeed, the running time for “The Million Hare” was 6:19, leading me to believe that, when I saw these on ABC and CBS Sat AM network runs, that they were CUT EVEN MORESO than they actually were.

WE INTERRUPT THIS REVIEW FOR A BRIEF MOMENT OF SILENCE! THE LAST THREE CARTOONS OF THIS COLLECTION CONSTITUTE THE FINAL APPEARANCES OF THREE CLASSIC LOONEY TUNES STARS! It is odd, but somehow fitting, that this collection ends in this manner. (……………………..!) Okay, let’s resume.
“Mad as a Mars Hare” (Jones, 1963): The last original appearance of Marvin Martian and, by far, the least successful. It is WAY too talky for a Warner Bros. short, and illustrates the effect of the loss of Michael Maltese on Chuck Jones better than anything could. It is also not helped by a short running time of 6:49. …Or WAS it?

“Doctor Devil and Mister Hare” (McKimson, 1964): The last original appearance of The Tasmanian Devil (…he was not yet universally referred to as “TAZ”), in a string of medical, hospital, psychology, and mad-science related gags, flimsily held together by the sheer cussedness of our devilish antagonist. Even Bugs seems to be going through the motions here, as he will in our next and final short. Still, there are some enjoyable moments – just not nearly as many as there once were. Give it points, however, for at least TWO gags backfiring on Bugs! You didn’t see that very often.

“False Hare” (McKimson, 1964): The last original appearance of (“True, Non-Sarcastic Moment of Silence”)… BUGS BUNNY! Even I’ve yet to figure out exactly what the title seems to be a gag on… a wig or toupee, perhaps? Robert McKimson’s version of “The Big Bad Wolf – and his nephew the Little (…not “L’il”, for the Disney lawyers that might be reading this) Bad Wolf” set out to trap Bugs with a phony club for rabbits. Bugs pretty much walks his way through this outing, and into animation history. I’ve never seen a completely uncut version of this cartoon until the DVD release.


Overall:
“Looney Tunes Superstars: Bugs Bunny Hare Extraordinaire” is a mixed bag, with more to like than to “run away from”. The later cartoons simply do not approach the older ones in overall quality – but this should not be news to anyone familiar with Looney Tunes. By this time, the gags are tired, the pacing is slow, and the scripts are too talky – which is an odd thing to say, when Mel Blanc is doing the talking, but the difference is all too apparent.

Still, there is something to like about all of them. And, as noted earlier, it is a definite PLUS that Warner chose to include these, rather than re-package the already-released and better-known classics. Indeed, I hope to see MORE of these on future volumes.

The “widescreen matter” is open to debate. Overall, I like it… despite any shortcomings.

The issue of “number of cartoons vs. list price” will also vary by viewer, as discounted prices can be found by anyone with a search engine.

Strictly speaking for myself, I find the complete and total absence of “Extras” to be the greatest negative – especially as WHV has already and routinely shown us just how WELL they can be done.

So, if you want your “hare without the trimmings” – and get the cartoon “Hare Trimmed” to boot – this collection is for you. Aw, heck… It’s BUGS BUNNY with no double- dipping… just enjoy it!

DVD Review: Futurama: Volume One

Futurama: Volume One

(Released: 2003 by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment)
Another Looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia

Ten years after his success with THE SIMPSONS, creator Matt Groening produced his second (and, as of yet, unfortunately last) animated series for the FOX Network – FUTURAMA.

Groening has often acknowledged the influence of THE FLINTSTONES on THE SIMPSONS, to the extent of copious references within SIMPSONS episodes, so it adds that his next primetime series would smack of THE JETSONS.

While THE SIMPSONS reflects THE FLINTSTONES in structure, FUTURAMA reflects THE JETSONS in setting. The Future… and all that comes with it!

Unlike THE JETSONS, however, we “see” this future, its ways, and its denizens, through the eyes of a semi-relatable, 20th Century dolt named Philip J. Fry. Further, to connect FUTURAMA with THE SIMPSONS, in more than just the uniquely familiar art style of Matt Groening, Fry (by his actions) would seem to be SOME RELATION to Homer Simpson. Picture Homer at 25, with no family to ground him, and you have Fry.

Where Homer has, by some incomprehensible means, managed to attain the position of “Nuclear Technician”, Fry (in New York City, circa 1999) had not managed to progress beyond the station of pizza delivery boy. On New Year’s Eve of that year, his route includes a “Cryogenics Facility”. He blunders into a freezing tube, and wakes just in time to see 2999 turn to 3000!

While Fry is frozen, we see (through sped-up animation) civilization fall – not once but twice – leaving “New New York” (built atop the ruins of “olde” New York) to become his home. There he meets Leela (an attractive – but tough – purple-haired cyclopean alien), the robot Bender, his great, great, something, something, grand-nephew the ancient Professor Farnsworth (owner of the package delivery firm “Planet Express”), the professor’s office manager Hermes Conrad, his intern Amy Wong, and the company doctor – hapless crustacean alien Dr. Zoidberg. And, in another of those great instances of “cosmic balance”, Fry once again becomes a “delivery boy” – this time for Planet Express.

CGI animation is widely used in FUTURAMA (to an extent uncommon for the time), for various ship movements, space scenes, and complicated backgrounds and character movements. I’ve never been much of a fan of CGI, but it is used well in this series.

The voicing triumvirate of Billy West (Stimpy of “Ren and…”, as well as contemporary voice of Woody Woodpecker, Popeye, and Bugs Bunny as Fry and Farnsworth), Katey Sagal (“Married with Children”, “Lost” as Leela) and John DiMaggio (Aquaman on “The Brave and the Bold” as Bender) are superb, and are backed by the talents of Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Lauren Tom, and Dave Herman.

As Bart Simpson was to his series, Bender is the “breakout character” of FUTURAMA. And, to note how times have changed between debuts of the two series, recall that Bart’s catchphrase was “Eat my shorts!”… and Bender’s is “Bite my shiny metal ass!”

Here’s a quote from Matt Groening on Bender (taken from one of the set’s Extra Features): “Bender is a robot who is Fry’s best friend in the whole universe. And Bender is a pretty cool robot. He’s a ‘bender’. His full name is ‘Bender Unit 22’. He’s programmed to bend girders. That’s all he’s programmed to do, but he hates his job. And, as a result, he drowns his despair in beer and shoplifting, and reads ‘robot pornography’ (like circuit diagrams) – and so he’s not really like the other sci-fic robots you might remember from the past. Not like the one in LOST IN SPACE, or the FORBIDDEN PLANET Robby the Robot. He drinks beer and then he eats the bottles!”

A character description like THAT, from the character’s creator – no less, is worth the price of admission, I’d say.

Revisiting FUTURAMA in 2010, I must say that I find it far more enjoyable than I did at the time of its original airing. There are certainly more “laugh-out-loud” moments than I recall in 1999. It also taps nicely into the “Y2K Panic” of the time, that I was so personally involved in combating in my “day job”. The satire in FUTURAMA is both clever and absurd, and lots of “what you like about THE SIMPSONS” is here as well.

This set covers the first 13 episodes of FUTURAMA. Though, as I recall, only the first NINE of those aired as part of the first season, which began in March 1999. The final four were shifted to the beginning of Season Two. Perhaps that’s why the set is titled “Volume One”, rather than “Season One”. FOX is to be commended for packaging the “First Season” as it was INTENDED TO BE, rather than as it was broadcast.

As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS.

The CONS:

I must be on a “hot streak”! Other than “Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season One”, my DVD reviews of late have been notably “CON-free. I’d have to think really hard to
find a true CON with this set… And, like Fry, I don’t feel like thinking quite that hard!

The PROS:

General: The episodes, the cast, and the print quality are all first rate. The packaging is both attractively illustrated and perfectly functional.

These 1999 shows are in WIDSCREEN, something THE SIMPSONS would not get around to until 2009. Oddly, in the second season, the shows go back to standard ratio. I’ve given up trying to figure this out. See THIS POST on whether or not BUGS BUNNY was ever done in widescreen.

Finally, unlike any of the FOX TV broadcasts, the end credits can be seen – and freeze-framed for detailed reading. Imagine having to include THAT as a “PRO”!


Extra Features: A wealth of goodies including:

Commentary tracks on every episode with creator Matt Groening, producer David X. Cohen, voice actors John DiMaggio and Billy West, directors, writers, and animators.

Deleted scenes where available.

A “Making Of” featurette.

Lots of concept art, showing the visual development of the characters and setting at many different stages.

Anamatics, Script, and Storyboards for the Pilot Episode.


The Episodes:

“Space Pilot 3000”: Fry emerges in the year 3000, and meets Leela, Bender, and Professor Farnsworth.

“The Series has Landed”: On a delivery to the schlocky amusement park of the Moon, “Luna Park” (a nice joke that older New Yorkers might get), Fry, Leela, and Bender get lost out on the “real” Moon.

“I, Roommate”: Fry and Bender become roommates. At one point, there’s actually an “Odd Couple” visual and musical parody tailored for the pair.

“Love’s Labours Lost In Space”: We meet FUTURAMA’s most obnoxious character, “Zapp Brannigan”, and his long-suffering aide Kif Kroker. Also introduces Leela’s pet, the cute and surprisingly savage “Nibbler” (with alien noises supplied by Frank Welker).

“Fear of a Bot Planet”: Fry, Leela, and Bender find themselves on a planet of human-hating robots. Guess who defects, and becomes a huge celebrity.

“A Fishful of Dollars”: Fry comes into lots of money, via the year 3000’s interest on his very meager 1999 savings account, and indulges himself in every 20th Century remnant he can find – including the very last unopened can of anchovies on Earth. This episode introduces “Mom”, a wonderfully evil old lady industrialist played by Tress MacNielle, and her three stooge sons. Mom wants the fish as badly as Fry and battles him for it.

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“My Three Suns”: On a planet with three blazing suns, Fry accidentally DRINKS the planet’s emperor. The emperor is a bottleful of cool water. By the planet’s quirky laws, Fry becomes the new emperor – until the next “water being” in line for the throne can assassinate him. Great gag: A succession of Emperors’ portraits ends with “Fry”, a blank frame titled “Fry’s Assassin”, followed by “Fry’s Assassin’s Assassin”! Upon seeing this last one, Fry remarks: “At least my assassin will get what’s coming to him!”

Oh, and they DON’T retrieve the Old Emperor in the way you’re expecting! So there!

“A Big Piece of Garbage”: A particular favorite of mine, during the original run. An asteroid-size ball of trash is on a collision course with New New York. It is all the garbage the city had once rocketed off into space, come home to roost. Believe it or not, Fry and Professor Farnsworth save the day. An absurdly cynical ending that I just love!

“Hell is Other Robots”: Bender goes to Robot-Hell! The “Robot-Devil” is wonderfully overplayed by Dan (Homer Simpson) Castellaneta.

“A Flight to Remember”: The Planet Express crew takes a vacation cruise… on the Space Titanic – and Zapp Brannigan is the captain! Bender romances a robot passenger. What else do you need to know? Great spoof of a mega-successful film of the time! Maybe you remember it? This was bumped back to become the Season Two premiere.

“Mars University”: Fry, Bender, and a super intelligent monkey enhanced by Professor Farnsworth go collegiate – at Mars University. This is mostly an excuse to spoof “Animal House”, “Revenge of the Nerds”, and films of that ilk. On that level, it succeeds.

“When Aliens Attack”: Perhaps the only one to supersede “A Big Piece of Garbage”! Back in 1999, Fry’s bumbling, while delivering a pizza and drinks to the actual New York FOX affiliate WNYW TV, knocks FOX off the air during the season finale of “Single Female Lawyer” (read “Ally McBeal”).

Ten centuries later, the warlord ruler of Omicron Peresi 8 and his wife (who have been faithfully receiving “Single Female Lawyer” from Earth’s broadcast signals on a thousand-year delay) are horrified to have lost the ending to the season finale.

Enraged, their armies of saucers attack Earth, demanding satisfaction. All seems doomed until Fry (who actually remembers the show) and company ineptly reenact the final scene in clumsy sets and makeshift costumes, finally delivering the closure the alien audience craves. Wonderful in that same absurdly cynical way!

“Fry and the Slurm Factory”: A well-crafted send-up of “Willy Wonka / Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” – only with the disgusting and addictive soft drink SLURM. Dated now, but very funny then, is “Slurms MacKensie”, the drink’s “party-slug” mascot. Trust me, you DON’T want to know where Slurm comes from! Yuck!

Overall:

FUTURAMA delivers far more laughs and a greater sense of the absurd than I recall from 1999. And the Second Season only gets BETTER!

I must not be alone in my admiration for FUTURAMA for, just as with FAMILY GUY, successful DVD sales and syndicated reruns have prompted its return! The revived series premiered June 24, 2010 on Comedy Central. I can’t wait for the DVD!

If you enjoy any of the FOX Sunday evening animated series – or shows like Warner Bros.’ severely underrated FREAKAZOID! and the ‘80s version of MIGHTY MOUSE – you will enjoy FUTURAMA! Bender says “Buy it!”… and he’s a very smart robot! Just ask Matt Groening!

Best DVD Commentary Ever!

One of my favorite things about the DVD experience is the audio commentary track.

These, of course, are informative discussions, by one or more persons (be they directors writers, actors, crew – or even historians or other noted experts) on the property, movie, or television episode in question.

Personalities range from such well-known names as film critic Roger Ebert and director Peter Bogdanovich on CITIZEN KANE to creators Matt Groening on THE SIMPSONS and FUTURAMA and Seth MacFarlane on FAMILY GUY.

But, I think I may have just heard the best DVD audio commentary track… ever!

It is on Disc 3 of the DVD collection STAR TREK ENTERPRISE: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON, for the unlikely episode “The North Star” (…a “space-western” digression from the overall spectacular season-long “Xindi” arc) and is by Assistant Director Mike DeMeritt.

In the “40-or-so” minutes of the commentary DeMeritt, tells us more about the episode’s production, actors, locations, working with director David Straiton and his camera techniques, and more than you could ever imagine – including the sudden and untimely death of a key member of the crew!

DeMeritt does all this in a warm and friendly style that never once lags. This is not as easy as it may sound, keeping it lively and interesting with no dead air – all by your lonesome! For THAT length of time!

I must declare this as perhaps the very best example of what such a commentary track should be!

At the end of the episode, Mike DeMeritt even echoes a point I’ve mentioned in my review of the STAR TREK ENTERPRISE Season One set – and the upcoming review of Season Two, and elsewhere…

“Closing credits. Here’s your chance to actually see ‘em.

“You know, usually they’re crunched down into a corner and over, stuffed away where you can’t possibly read them.

“So, take the time, and just take a look. It’s a strange business, and we like to see our names up-in-lights just a little bit… [ HIS OWN CREDIT ROLLS PAST ] There I am! There I am! …But, really, we know that we’re making a product that is designed to entertain you.”

HOW DO YOU NOT LOVE THAT! …Especially, if you’re a “credits geek” like me!

REMINDER: If you comment on this post… PLEASE, no spoilers on the “Xindi” arc! It’s been spectacular to this point – but I AM seeing (and enjoying) it for the first time!

What’s Up (with That), Doc?

Warner Home Video released “Looney Tunes Superstars: Bugs Bunny Hare Extraordinaire” on DVD August 10, 2010.

We’ll have a full review of it at TIAH Blog before long, but first an item or two of interest.

I can’t help but note the TEXT on the back of the package: “Here they are – the smart aleck rabbit’s cartoons you’ve probably never seen, because they’ve never ever been on DVD.”

Um… Consider how SAD that statement is!
You’ve never seem them, because they HAVEN’T BEEN ON DVD?!

In days gone by, Bugs Bunny was on TV virtually EVERY DAY! Local syndication, network (…usually cut to ribbons, but still THERE) and cable. But now, alas, that statement is TRUE, despite Warner owning SEVERAL networks of its own, and we are all the worse for it.

On the plus side, though, WHV is to be commended for releasing 15 (count ‘em fifteen!) Bugs Bunny cartoons that have NOT YET been released to DVD! So, they get major points for no “double-dipping” vs. previous releases, and a few more points for their honesty in revealing an unfortunate truth of their own making.

The other point that cannot wait for the full review is that, starting with the sixth cartoon of the set, they appear to have been remastered in “SIMULATED WIDESCREEN”!

Unlike MGM and Disney (and even later Columbia Three Stooges shorts), I don’t believe that any of the Warner Bros. animated shorts were released to theatres in widescreen. I can’t say that I know that for certain, but I don’t recall ever hearing so.

1954’s “Lumber Jack Rabbit” (the first short of this collection to receive the "widescreen treatment") was released in 3D but, to my knowledge, that was the only gimmick that Looney Tunes ever attempted to compete with the emerging medium of television.

Adding to my belief that WHV has indulged in some video trickery, is the fact that the TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN IMAGE looks to be cut off – or, at least far too close to the frame than I recall from nearly a lifetime of viewing these cartoons. Such is not the case with the widescreen DVD releases of DONALD DUCK, TOM AND JERRY, and DROOPY cartoons of the later 1950s that WERE produced for widescreen Cinemascope viewing.

In these cartoons, credits might appear at the VERY TOP (or bottom) of the screen and, if (say) a tall character was wearing a HAT, said hat is cut off at the top of the screen.

Now, having recently gotten a widescreen HD TV, I must confess that I LIKE the widescreen effect, especially when compared to the standard (full-screen?) image of the first five shorts of the collection.

But, something still feels awry when viewing them this way.

I’m not an animation historian. My accumulation of knowledge comes from my life’s viewing, research books, and DVD collections. So, I cannot truly speak to what Warner might (or might not) have done to these shorts.

Perhaps our readers have some information to share…

That’s All Folks (…at least for now!)

Comics Review: DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES # 24 (February , 1994)

Over at his Blog, “Duck Comics Revue”, our friend GeoX discusses William Van Horn’s opus (…and apparent tribute to THE TWILIGHT ZONE and THE OUTER LIMITS) “The Black Moon”.

To see this nicely illustrated review, click on THIS LINK. Be warned that there are major spoilers.
Reading this inspired me to dig up my own write up of this issue, prepared about 15 years ago for my APA and fanzine column “The Issue At Hand”.

If you don’t mind SPOILERS to a story that was published in the USA at the end of 1993, please read on.

The Issue at Hand Is: DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES # 24 (February , 1994)

Published by Gladstone Comics Series II

“The Black Moon” 21 pg. Story and Art by William Van Horn.
     
The planet “Ronald” has been discovered beyond the orbit of Pluto (…the planet, not the dog!), but that’s not all, folks! Orbiting Ronald is a “Black Moon” consisting entirely of high-grade petroleum. …And, I’ll assume, just a little internal gravity to keep it held together. Nevertheless, a “moon-sized ball of oil”, out there for the taking!

Competing for this prize, among the nations, corporations, and high-powered individuals of the Earth, is rich Scrooge Mc Duck – armed with an ace in the hole, a “thought-ship”, produced by inventor and (…all together now!) accommodating source of miracles, Gyro Gearloose.

This spacecraft, which can “operate by thoughts alone”, is capable of reaching the Black Moon at the speed of… well, uh… thought! Having incurred yet another debt to his miserly Uncle Scrooge, Donald and his three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie are tapped for the mission.

First to reach the destination and file a claim in the name of Scrooge, the ducks collect a sample droplet of the oil, and all seems well. That is, until the droplet, no longer inhibited by the cold vacuum of space, “doubles” to two droplets! Then four, eight, sixteen… Yike!

The Ducks are soon overwhelmed by the murky alien substance, the increasing volume of which, eventually blows the ship apart! Temporarily kept alive by their space suits and gear, the Ducks face the prospect of extinction in the void, until a second ship appears. A rescue tanker ship piloted by Scrooge, who thought it wise to follow at a safe distance.

It’s all aboard for Earth, as Scrooge elects to leave his unstable treasure behind, vowing that Gyro will eventually “tame the stuff”. As we fade out, a droplet of the oil, unnoticed by the Ducks, falls from Donald’s boot… and begins to expand! Oooooh!
    
William Van Horn is best known for his unique and always funny series of “ten page” Donald Duck comedies, which primarily appeared in Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories. Continuing the series in the tone of its originator, Carl Barks, Van Horn is perhaps the only other American creator to achieve regular and consistent success working within this deceptively difficult art form.

His forays into the realm of adventure, unfortunately, are all too few and far between. (Though, thankfully, Don Rosa has more than ably taken up any slack in this area.) Van Horn’s previous effort, Disney Comics’ Donald Duck Adventures # 15 (August, 1991) “A Tuft Luck Tale” was met with universal praise from the Disney comics faithful, as was “The Black Moon”.

Though decidedly in the traditional Carl Barks vein, Van Horn’s adventures are as unique as his “ten-pagers”. How often does a Disney comics story end on as ominous a note as this one? Has Van Horn taken a page from Rod Serling, as well?

Uncle Scrooge in “A Game of One-Cupmanship”. Review and Comments.

If anyone would like to see a full-blown review of the story I dialogued for UNCLE SCROOGE # 380, click on THIS LINK to visit the Blog “Duck Comics Revue” by our friend GeoX.

You’ll find his lengthy, illustrated review and my lengthy follow-up comments.Visit “Duck Comics Revue” regularly. It’s unique and its fun.

And, what the heck, as long as links are wild, here’s my own original announcement of the story from 2008.

Had enough?

Yeah, I thought so!