What I'm going to do here each week is pick the winner of each game, and since there are games on Thursdays for many weeks throughout the season, most of the weeks picks will be made on Wednesday or Thursday. Anyhow, let's cut to the chase.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
NFL Week 1 Picks
What I'm going to do here each week is pick the winner of each game, and since there are games on Thursdays for many weeks throughout the season, most of the weeks picks will be made on Wednesday or Thursday. Anyhow, let's cut to the chase.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
SOS Review: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki (OVA) Episode 2- "Here Comes Ayeka" (Or Is It Spelled Aeka?)
*By Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki, I mean all three OVA series.
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Episode 2
Aeka ga Deta!
阿重霞が出た
Here Comes Ayeka
Contains Spoilers
Synopsis: The episode begins with some space tree receiving the rainbow lasers from last episode. This awakens a couple of talking logs who then release a young woman from stasis. The woman asks what planet they arrived to. She is told the planet is called "Colonized Planet 0315", aka Earth. She then figures that this is where her brother, Yosho, is. The logs tell her that only Ryoko was detected, but logically speaking, Yosho would have followed her. The lady expresses disdain for Ryoko and someone or something called Ryo-Ohki while watching on screen Ryoko's statute of limitations run out, and is not happy about it, wondering why she isn't wanted forever. One of the logs refers to a decision made by the Supreme Council of Jurai. She doesn't care, and then she decides to descend toward Ryoko's location and capture her.
Meanwhile, Tenchi is gawking at Ryoko, who is still on his bed. She then asks for his balls. Tenchi declines, thinking she's talking about his junk. She's actually referring to the gems in his sword, and proceeds to wrestle Tenchi for the sword. Ryoko grabs it, but the sword shocks her instead. While this is going on, Tenchi's father hears the noise and wonders what's up. He peeks into Tenchi's room and is surprised to see a young lady in there with him. Meanwhile, Ryoko pleads with Tenchi to give her back her gems, telling him about a devil lady. That "devil lady" Ryoko refers to is the woman inside the ship, who is going to begin capture protocol, also ordering the ship to refrain from firing. Tenchi wants to know if a peaceful arrangement is possible, but Ryoko tells him otherwise. Meanwhile, Tenchi's father is videotaping his son with Ryoko and the tree-ship appears, scaring the hell out of him. The lady orders Ryoko to show herself, who doesn't, and then orders a shot to fired nearby. This is enough to convince Tenchi to give her back her gems, or rather, one of them. This allows Ryoko (unhappy that she only got one gem back, but gets over it) to summon her ship, Ryo-Ohki, who rises out of a lake with a "meow", then arrives to Ryoko's location, who then shrinks Tenchi's house and father and brings them on board. They try to get away, but are eventually captured by the unnamed young lady.
Some time later, the young lady interrogates Ryoko about the sword that Tenchi was carrying, and then about her (half-)brother, Yosho. Ryoko doesn't answer the question, and proceeds to receive electroshock therapy, which she seems to enjoy. The lady, referred to as a princess of Jurai by Ryoko, wonders if she is a masochist; but Ryoko answers that she is a sadist. The princess accuses Ryoko of being responsible for Yosho's disappearance, then shocks her with the sword. Ryoko then mentions that Tenchi would know more about Yosho; the princess assumes that Ryoko is referring to the sword, which has the same name as the boy. The princess is advised by flying, talking gems that it is her bedtime, so she retires for the night.
Meanwhile, Tenchi is stuck in some kind of tree cell. He attempts to move the branches to escape, but fails, then he grabs a knife and tries to cut the branches, but is interrupted by a young girl. She introduces herself as Sasami, tells Tenchi about the ship, then frees him with an object similar to his sword, which he no longer has. So, Tenchi asks Sasami to return him home; but, she'll only do so if he does something for her.
We cut away to the princess. She is getting ready for bed and while doing so listens to a recording from Yosho. His message is that he is off to fight a criminal and that he will return. She finishes the message by stating that when he returns, she, who now has a name, Aeka (or Ayeka, I'll explain later), is to become his bride (...). Right after she turns out the lights, Tenchi and Sasami arrive. Their plan is to have Tenchi go and steal Aeka's head ornament. He seems reluctant, but complies with Sasami, nonetheless. So, he sneaks in, sees the head ornament...on Aeka's head, and wonders how he'll remove it without waking her. He then notices the sword...that she's clutching, so he decides to retrieve it first. He is unsuccessful as he wakes her up. From her perspective, he looks like he's doing something...else. Anyway, she screams, Tenchi tries to keep her quiet, is unsuccessful, he gets kicked but manages to get the sword, and then he hightails it out of there. The two logs, Azaka and Kamidake, give chase, in order to put Tenchi to death per Aeka's command. He picks up Sasami, and asks if she can do anything to stop the logs, but she can't as they belong to her sister. They continue running until they run into a tree portal.
The portal brings them to where Ryoko is being held. Tenchi frees her, albeit accidentally through the sword. Sasami asks who the old lady is, and Ryoko is not happy about being called an old lady (oba-chan). She is happy, though, that Tenchi retrieved the sword; she then proceeds to retrieve the other two gems still embedded in the sword. But, they are interrupted by Aeka, who notices that it was Sasami who released Tenchi. She then asks him about the owner of the sword. He tells her that the owner passed away a long time ago, but Aeka doesn't believe him. Tenchi tells her that's how it's told in the legend. She asks for that person's name, and he tells her his name was Yosho. Aeka is in disbelief and orders the logs to charge at them. Ryoko holds an energy sword to Sasami, but she is then captured by vines. The logs then go after Tenchi, Sasami begs them to stop, as does Tenchi. The logs are stopped, but only because of the sword; Aeka notices this, and can't believe that Yosho is dead. Ryoko, now freed, calls Ryo-Ohki up. The ship stabs a hole in Aeka's ship and Tenchi and Ryoko escape. Ryoko decides to have Aeka brought down to Earth so that she no longer causes any trouble. Tenchi pleads with Ryoko not to do this, but she doesn't care. Ultimately they all crash, destroying a bridge in the process.
The next morning, the incident about the Great Seto Bridge's destruction by what is described as a meteor is on the news. We then see that Tenchi's house and father, who is taking all of this very well, have been restored and are now by Tenchi's grandfather's shrine. Ryoko comments that Tenchi doesn't have a scratch and Sasami mentions that their (Aeka's) ship took most of the damage. Tenchi's dad asks where the other one (Aeka) went. It turns out that she is trying to resurrect her ship, but no avail as it sinks deeper into the lake.
Review/Analysis: I really got to find a way to shorten these summaries. It doesn't help that I watch the episode and write the synopsis up at the same time, but, oh well. Anyway, I liked this episode for the most part, but I have a few questions. However, we'll get to those later.
First off, the episode continued from the last one very well. We see those rainbow lasers that were
sent off last episode received by Aeka's ship, and we see the continuation with Ryoko in Tenchi's room. Every scene from there seems to move smoothly into the next, the pacing is consistent, and we learned a bit more about our characters.
From what I've seen in these first two episodes is that each event almost, if not, directly leads into the next. The progression is logical, even in this episode alone. After Aeka wakes up, she wants to find Yosho, her brother, but instead finds out that Ryoko is there instead. Aeka attacks, Ryoko calls Ryo-Ohki and runs away with Tenchi and are then captured. Every event makes logical sense. If there were any surprises in this episode, it would be Sasami's introduction. She does not appear until we see Tenchi being held captive. That's not to say that she doesn't make sense to the story; she frees Tenchi, agrees to help him if he retrieves Aeka's head ornament, which ultimately leads to Ryoko's freedom, her escape with Tenchi in Ryo-Ohki, which leads to their return to earth. So, everything that happens has some sort of reason behind it.
The only possible exception to all the logic here is that they land at the lake by Tenchi's grandfather's shrine even though they clearly crashed into a bridge and the next thing we see occurs the next morning at Tenchi's house, restored, which is now located at the lake. There isn't any real explanation for it here, so it does raise some questions here, but I'll try to speculate anyway. My best guess is that the ships did not stop moving after the crash into the Seto Bridge and eventually made their way to the lake by the shrine. Other than this, I don't see questionable logic in this episode at all.
Another oddity that I did notice is that Tenchi's house and his father we're both shrunken down in order to fit on Ryo-Ohki. I didn't understand how this makes sense, and it probably doesn't; but it's Ryoko, she can do whatever she wants, I guess. This at least leadsto the plot point of all of them living near the shrine, so I guess I'll have to accept it; this better help the plot pretty damn well, and from what I've seen so far, I'd venture that as highly likely.
There are a couple other things that did intrigue me, though. The first being that Aeka is betrothed to her brother Yosho. Yeah, read that again. Brother and sister, or rather half siblings, are engaged to be married. I'm not one to care for incest, to put it lightly. In real world terms, it's just plain wrong! Be that as it may, though, I'll try to explain the reasoning for this as well. It has more to do with how royal families conduct themselves; they want to keep that royal blood "pure" and they want to keep themselves in power, so they married into other royal families in order to make political alliances, this kept up until the point that all those royal families were related due to a shrinkage in the gene pool; this was very common in European royalty. The most famous of these is the Hapsburg family of Europe, which is also where the condition of mandibular prognathism, or Hapsburg Jaw, was a family trait, which highlights a genetic risk to inbreeding. As said, though, royal inbreeding was due more to political motivation than anything, so let's leave it at that. I won't say anything more on this subject unless it is warranted.
The other thing that intrigued me was Aeka's shock and disbelief at the revelation that her brother, Yosho, is dead. Even after she discovered that her brother's sword, the one Tenchi has, is in sync with Tenchi. This may be simple denial and that realization will eventually occur, or there may be something more to this story; but that's what the next episode is for. If the going logic follows, it would make sense to explore Aeka's background a bit along with Yosho's. Again, we'll find out soon.
One last thing, I have seen Aeka's name spelled Ayeka. I'm guessing it's spelled that way in order to provide emphasis and proper pronunciation on the "ae" syllable/character/sound as there is no "ye" syllable/character/sound in Japanese. Since I like to be as authentic as possible, I'll go with the original romanization of the name. That's just me, either way is correct, though.
Overall, this was a very good episode. I look forward to what happens next!
As always, feel free to express your thoughts on the this review an other things that I have written about here. Dialogue is always appreciated.
Until next time, God Bless!
Aeka ga Deta!
阿重霞が出た
Here Comes Ayeka
Contains Spoilers
Some time later, the young lady interrogates Ryoko about the sword that Tenchi was carrying, and then about her (half-)brother, Yosho. Ryoko doesn't answer the question, and proceeds to receive electroshock therapy, which she seems to enjoy. The lady, referred to as a princess of Jurai by Ryoko, wonders if she is a masochist; but Ryoko answers that she is a sadist. The princess accuses Ryoko of being responsible for Yosho's disappearance, then shocks her with the sword. Ryoko then mentions that Tenchi would know more about Yosho; the princess assumes that Ryoko is referring to the sword, which has the same name as the boy. The princess is advised by flying, talking gems that it is her bedtime, so she retires for the night.
Meanwhile, Tenchi is stuck in some kind of tree cell. He attempts to move the branches to escape, but fails, then he grabs a knife and tries to cut the branches, but is interrupted by a young girl. She introduces herself as Sasami, tells Tenchi about the ship, then frees him with an object similar to his sword, which he no longer has. So, Tenchi asks Sasami to return him home; but, she'll only do so if he does something for her.
We cut away to the princess. She is getting ready for bed and while doing so listens to a recording from Yosho. His message is that he is off to fight a criminal and that he will return. She finishes the message by stating that when he returns, she, who now has a name, Aeka (or Ayeka, I'll explain later), is to become his bride (...). Right after she turns out the lights, Tenchi and Sasami arrive. Their plan is to have Tenchi go and steal Aeka's head ornament. He seems reluctant, but complies with Sasami, nonetheless. So, he sneaks in, sees the head ornament...on Aeka's head, and wonders how he'll remove it without waking her. He then notices the sword...that she's clutching, so he decides to retrieve it first. He is unsuccessful as he wakes her up. From her perspective, he looks like he's doing something...else. Anyway, she screams, Tenchi tries to keep her quiet, is unsuccessful, he gets kicked but manages to get the sword, and then he hightails it out of there. The two logs, Azaka and Kamidake, give chase, in order to put Tenchi to death per Aeka's command. He picks up Sasami, and asks if she can do anything to stop the logs, but she can't as they belong to her sister. They continue running until they run into a tree portal.
The next morning, the incident about the Great Seto Bridge's destruction by what is described as a meteor is on the news. We then see that Tenchi's house and father, who is taking all of this very well, have been restored and are now by Tenchi's grandfather's shrine. Ryoko comments that Tenchi doesn't have a scratch and Sasami mentions that their (Aeka's) ship took most of the damage. Tenchi's dad asks where the other one (Aeka) went. It turns out that she is trying to resurrect her ship, but no avail as it sinks deeper into the lake.Review/Analysis: I really got to find a way to shorten these summaries. It doesn't help that I watch the episode and write the synopsis up at the same time, but, oh well. Anyway, I liked this episode for the most part, but I have a few questions. However, we'll get to those later.
First off, the episode continued from the last one very well. We see those rainbow lasers that were
From what I've seen in these first two episodes is that each event almost, if not, directly leads into the next. The progression is logical, even in this episode alone. After Aeka wakes up, she wants to find Yosho, her brother, but instead finds out that Ryoko is there instead. Aeka attacks, Ryoko calls Ryo-Ohki and runs away with Tenchi and are then captured. Every event makes logical sense. If there were any surprises in this episode, it would be Sasami's introduction. She does not appear until we see Tenchi being held captive. That's not to say that she doesn't make sense to the story; she frees Tenchi, agrees to help him if he retrieves Aeka's head ornament, which ultimately leads to Ryoko's freedom, her escape with Tenchi in Ryo-Ohki, which leads to their return to earth. So, everything that happens has some sort of reason behind it.
The only possible exception to all the logic here is that they land at the lake by Tenchi's grandfather's shrine even though they clearly crashed into a bridge and the next thing we see occurs the next morning at Tenchi's house, restored, which is now located at the lake. There isn't any real explanation for it here, so it does raise some questions here, but I'll try to speculate anyway. My best guess is that the ships did not stop moving after the crash into the Seto Bridge and eventually made their way to the lake by the shrine. Other than this, I don't see questionable logic in this episode at all.
Another oddity that I did notice is that Tenchi's house and his father we're both shrunken down in order to fit on Ryo-Ohki. I didn't understand how this makes sense, and it probably doesn't; but it's Ryoko, she can do whatever she wants, I guess. This at least leadsto the plot point of all of them living near the shrine, so I guess I'll have to accept it; this better help the plot pretty damn well, and from what I've seen so far, I'd venture that as highly likely.
There are a couple other things that did intrigue me, though. The first being that Aeka is betrothed to her brother Yosho. Yeah, read that again. Brother and sister, or rather half siblings, are engaged to be married. I'm not one to care for incest, to put it lightly. In real world terms, it's just plain wrong! Be that as it may, though, I'll try to explain the reasoning for this as well. It has more to do with how royal families conduct themselves; they want to keep that royal blood "pure" and they want to keep themselves in power, so they married into other royal families in order to make political alliances, this kept up until the point that all those royal families were related due to a shrinkage in the gene pool; this was very common in European royalty. The most famous of these is the Hapsburg family of Europe, which is also where the condition of mandibular prognathism, or Hapsburg Jaw, was a family trait, which highlights a genetic risk to inbreeding. As said, though, royal inbreeding was due more to political motivation than anything, so let's leave it at that. I won't say anything more on this subject unless it is warranted.
The other thing that intrigued me was Aeka's shock and disbelief at the revelation that her brother, Yosho, is dead. Even after she discovered that her brother's sword, the one Tenchi has, is in sync with Tenchi. This may be simple denial and that realization will eventually occur, or there may be something more to this story; but that's what the next episode is for. If the going logic follows, it would make sense to explore Aeka's background a bit along with Yosho's. Again, we'll find out soon.
One last thing, I have seen Aeka's name spelled Ayeka. I'm guessing it's spelled that way in order to provide emphasis and proper pronunciation on the "ae" syllable/character/sound as there is no "ye" syllable/character/sound in Japanese. Since I like to be as authentic as possible, I'll go with the original romanization of the name. That's just me, either way is correct, though.
Overall, this was a very good episode. I look forward to what happens next!
As always, feel free to express your thoughts on the this review an other things that I have written about here. Dialogue is always appreciated.
Until next time, God Bless!
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Commentary: Let's Play Projects II
All right, sorry for the radio silence once again; work, school preparation, and other projects have kept me away for much of the week. But, that does not mean everything else has to stop, right? Anyway, let's talk let's plays...again.
I mentioned last time that I was working on two projects concurrently, Super Mario Bros 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Well, this is more of a status update than anything. Short answer: everything's being edited right now, and a new episode of one let's play and a debut of another are expected this week. Long answer: keep reading!
I am in the middle of splicing together episode three of Bros 2. More or less I recorded two parts to that episode separately. You will see why when it's up, which should be Tuesday or Wednesday. You might or might not get a kick out of it! Anywho, I am looking to record Worlds 4 and 5 this week and have those ready to go in short order. I just hope that what happened in World 3 doesn't happen again, though. I am thinking of keeping the once-a-week release system for this game going forward; luckily, this isn't a long game.
As for Ocarina of Time, I did mention that I was going to release a trailer for it. Well, that plan has changed... I'm reworking the trailer as an intro for episode one, thus merging it all together. Episode One itself is in the mid-editing stage currently. There are quite a few cuts I need to make; I hope the episode turns out well. With that said, I'm looking to have it up by the weekend, so long as I am not distracted by too many other things.
Anyway, that's all I have for now. There isn't much else to report on this front. We'll see how everything goes!
Until next time, God bless!
I mentioned last time that I was working on two projects concurrently, Super Mario Bros 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Well, this is more of a status update than anything. Short answer: everything's being edited right now, and a new episode of one let's play and a debut of another are expected this week. Long answer: keep reading!
I am in the middle of splicing together episode three of Bros 2. More or less I recorded two parts to that episode separately. You will see why when it's up, which should be Tuesday or Wednesday. You might or might not get a kick out of it! Anywho, I am looking to record Worlds 4 and 5 this week and have those ready to go in short order. I just hope that what happened in World 3 doesn't happen again, though. I am thinking of keeping the once-a-week release system for this game going forward; luckily, this isn't a long game.
As for Ocarina of Time, I did mention that I was going to release a trailer for it. Well, that plan has changed... I'm reworking the trailer as an intro for episode one, thus merging it all together. Episode One itself is in the mid-editing stage currently. There are quite a few cuts I need to make; I hope the episode turns out well. With that said, I'm looking to have it up by the weekend, so long as I am not distracted by too many other things.
Anyway, that's all I have for now. There isn't much else to report on this front. We'll see how everything goes!
Until next time, God bless!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Football Monday on Tuesday: Season Predictions
Sorry this wasn't up yesterday, I was preoccupied with a few other things. Anywho, it's the last week of August and football season is just around the corner. We may have one game of preseason left, but that game is usually for the backups and third-stringers to fight to be on that list of 53. However, like everybody else, I'm anxious and excited. Also like everyone else, I'm going to make some predictions. Most of them will be based on what I have seen from each team so far, while others are mostly guesses.
For my predictions, I'll go through each division and predict how each team will finish, including playoff seeding. Then I'll predict individual awards such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, etc. Lastly, I'll predict the postseason from the wild card round to the Super Bowl. So, without further ado:
Friday, August 23, 2013
Commentary Friday: Let's Play Projects
If you are reading this blog, you may have found that I do let's plays on two different channels, SOS Hardline Productions and Fogarty Logic: The Legend of Rohn Storey. If you have not, check them out.
Anyway, I am currently working on projects for both. For Fogarty Logic, BigFreakinJ and I are working on "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time", and we've recorded up to a major plot point (take a guess, hint, hint), and recording will start up again in September. On the editing side, Episode 1 is in the works and will be out on Labor Day; I've also making a trailer for the project as well. So that's all I have on that front.
For SOS Hardline Productions, I am doing a solo project for Super Mario Bros 2 (All-Stars version). That project is recorded up to World 3, and I've taken a break since. You'll find out why when that episode is released. That's also why I haven't posted anything here until today. But, the show must go on. Hopefully, I don't rage out any further, but I'm only cautiously optimistic...(World 4...ice physics...). We'll have to see how everything goes.
I also have another solo project on hold, but it won't be started up until after Bros. 2 is finished. It will be a longer project, so more will need to be planned. I won't spoil the title here, but I'll give you a hint: it's a Wii game. That's all you get...for now;)
While that's all I have for now, I do have a few other projects planned. In addition to Rohn Storey and my solo runs, I am also planning some multiplayer ones as well. I'm not going to say anything else about them until I'm able to coordinate them with my fellow gaming buds.
That's all for today. Until next time, God Bless.
Anyway, I am currently working on projects for both. For Fogarty Logic, BigFreakinJ and I are working on "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time", and we've recorded up to a major plot point (take a guess, hint, hint), and recording will start up again in September. On the editing side, Episode 1 is in the works and will be out on Labor Day; I've also making a trailer for the project as well. So that's all I have on that front.
For SOS Hardline Productions, I am doing a solo project for Super Mario Bros 2 (All-Stars version). That project is recorded up to World 3, and I've taken a break since. You'll find out why when that episode is released. That's also why I haven't posted anything here until today. But, the show must go on. Hopefully, I don't rage out any further, but I'm only cautiously optimistic...(World 4...ice physics...). We'll have to see how everything goes.
I also have another solo project on hold, but it won't be started up until after Bros. 2 is finished. It will be a longer project, so more will need to be planned. I won't spoil the title here, but I'll give you a hint: it's a Wii game. That's all you get...for now;)
While that's all I have for now, I do have a few other projects planned. In addition to Rohn Storey and my solo runs, I am also planning some multiplayer ones as well. I'm not going to say anything else about them until I'm able to coordinate them with my fellow gaming buds.
That's all for today. Until next time, God Bless.
Family Lore Tuesday on Friday: "Kitchen Nightmare"
Sorry I was absent the last couple of days; I've been busy with work, recordings, and frustration during said recordings. Lots of frustration... I'll talk about that in a different post. Anyway, here's Tuesday's family lore.
My family is one that you could consider for the most part normal. That being said, we do have our share of funny stories and happenings. From siblings, to parents, and to grandparents and further back, we each have our own moments.
Today's lore is one of my own moments.
I'm considered a rather decent cook. But, that wasn't always the case. When I first cooked without help, it wasn't pretty. My mother had bought a pancake maker, an interesting appliance, but impractical. It was only able to make up to two pancakes at a time (whereas, a griddle, which I own, can make up to eight pancakes at once). Let's just say that I couldn't figure it out too well at first... Anywho, I made a mess;some most of the pancakes were either burnt or all over the counter in the form of spilled batter. The result: Two edible pancakes. Only TWO! For three people, my mother, grandmother, and me. They were...amazed to say the least. That's not all, though; I then suggested sharing the two pancakes between the three of us. I think they were trying their hardest not to laugh while seeing that abomination, and after that suggestion, it became even more difficult. Afterwards, they helped out, or rather, took over, while I cleaned up.
I know it sounds boring, but it's all about the moment. Or rather, in this case the moments. This was my first time cooking and I made a ridiculous mess. Then, I suggested splitting up what food survived that comedy of errors. That's what its all about. That's how this event became family lore. On the plus side, I did get better at cooking afterward, albeit, I learned the hard way. So that's something to say the least.
Anyway, that's this weeks story. Until next time, God bless.
My family is one that you could consider for the most part normal. That being said, we do have our share of funny stories and happenings. From siblings, to parents, and to grandparents and further back, we each have our own moments.
Today's lore is one of my own moments.
I'm considered a rather decent cook. But, that wasn't always the case. When I first cooked without help, it wasn't pretty. My mother had bought a pancake maker, an interesting appliance, but impractical. It was only able to make up to two pancakes at a time (whereas, a griddle, which I own, can make up to eight pancakes at once). Let's just say that I couldn't figure it out too well at first... Anywho, I made a mess;
I know it sounds boring, but it's all about the moment. Or rather, in this case the moments. This was my first time cooking and I made a ridiculous mess. Then, I suggested splitting up what food survived that comedy of errors. That's what its all about. That's how this event became family lore. On the plus side, I did get better at cooking afterward, albeit, I learned the hard way. So that's something to say the least.
Anyway, that's this weeks story. Until next time, God bless.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Nostalgia Monday: "Ed, Edd n' Eddy". Plus, Some Football Thoughts
Yes, yes, I know it's preseason and I should talk some football today; the only problem is, though, is that it's preseason. I don't watch all that much football until the regular season starts for a variety of reasons, the main one being that most preseason games are only locally televised. Because of this, I primarily watch the Packers, and I don't have much to say about them. They looked good against the Rams on Saturday; Eddie Lacy (Packers RB) looked very good for the offense, and the only surprise was on defense with Johnny Jolly (DT), who has returned to the NFL after a three-year absence, who made a few plays, including an interception. Those were the major pieces I picked up on. But, enough about that, let's talk about the Ed's.
For those who do not already know, "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" is a cartoon that premiered on Cartoon Network in 1999 and officially ended in 2009, with a couple of breaks in-between. While the show was a basic slapstick kids cartoon, it did have a more nostalgic feel to it than other cartoons back in the day. I don't know if it was the animation, which was wildly different than other cartoons at the time, with the squigly lines for the first few seasons along with cel-animation for the first four seasons; these alone already give it that nice nostalgic smell. But that's not all, the episodes of this series at least somewhat resemble those stories your parents and grandparents told you about their childhoods, albeit highly exaggerated; thus giving it the feel of the lives of children from those days, mainly the 1950's (as confirmed in an interview with series creator, Danny Antonucci).
The show itself was episodic in nature, something very common in TV media, but there were some tie-ins with previous episodes, which does form a sort of continuity. Hell, this show also has (some) character development (actually, only one character, Edd, actually develops as a character over time), which is something you will almost never see with other cartoons of the time. The characters themselves, for the most part, though, fit a specific type and never really deviates. For example, Ed is almost (99% of the time) always the idiot of the group; Edd is the smart one, but very shy early on in the series, which does change over the course of the series; and Eddy, the greedy one, is always thinking up new ways to scam money from the other neighborhood kids. The other characters are also stuck in a specific character trope; you have the jock (Kevin, Eddy's next door neighbor and rival); the mean little sister (Sarah, Ed's sister) who is overprotective of her best friend, the so-called weakling (Jimmy, who has another aspect to his personality which was cultivated by Eddy); the girl next door (Nazz); the immigrant who is struggling to adapt to the local culture (Rolf); and the psycho not-really-girlfriends (the Kanker sisters- Lee, May, and Marie).
As I mentioned earlier, the plots are episodic, and usually follows one of two formulas- the first one being Ed and Edd minding their own business, Eddy comes along for an idea to make some money to buy jawbreakers, usually in the form of scamming the kids with some sort of weird contraption; a game; or service work. The scams almost always end in failure with the Eds (or at least Eddy) getting their comeuppance by either getting beaten up or captured by the Kankers. The second formula is the same as the first, the difference being that the kids themselves are minding their own business and then the Eds come along with a scam, which ends badly for them, something else comes along, Eddy comes up with some (usually terrible) ideas to obtain that something else (or in some cases, just finding different ways to scam), they also end badly and comeuppance occurs again. It's a rather basic formula, but is still (at least somewhat) funny in its own way.
One thing i did not notice as a kid that I did notice in rewatching "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" was subtlety; a child probably would not understand right away, but an adult would likely catch the joke rather quickly. One very subtle example is shown in the second episode (Nagged to Ed), where Eddy is messing around with the protective gear and appears to be flipping the bird. There is also a very obvious joke in the last episode of the TV series, "Look Before You Ed", in which Eddy tells Edd toward the end of the episode, "What's winter without a snow job, eh, Sockhead?" Take the "s" out of "snow" and replace it with another letter and that's the joke, and Edd's reaction is the punchline. There are other examples, but too many to list.
If I had to pick a favorite episode, it would be Season 2's "One+One=Ed". This one starts out as a general knowledge quest, but turns into breaking every physical law in not only real life (they're broken anyway, but that's beside the point) but the show's own parameters involving physics. The episode does end in traditional fashion, this time Ed carries a sewer pipe that Edd and Eddy fell into while being pursued by Sarah. It's the one episode in this entire series where I (and probably others) have asked, "How the hell can this get any weirder than it already is?" Then it becomes even weirder. This is also the one episode where I had to think about what was going to happen next and that fact is why this one is a favorite.
There is one last thing to talk about. Each episode title of "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" incorporates the word "Ed" into it, be it a phrase (e.g. "Gimme Gimme Never Ed" changed from 'gimme gimme never gets'), movies ("O-Ed Eleven" from Oceans Eleven), and even math problems (the aforementioned "One+One=Ed"). The way it was done for every episode was very interesting to me back when I first saw the show and even now.
With all that being said, "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" is/was one of Cartoon Networks finest programs. It is something that you can sit back, turn your brain off and enjoy the show and the nostalgia that comes along with it. Plus, if you can see the subtlety, that makes watching the Eds that much funnier.
Until next time, God bless.
For those who do not already know, "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" is a cartoon that premiered on Cartoon Network in 1999 and officially ended in 2009, with a couple of breaks in-between. While the show was a basic slapstick kids cartoon, it did have a more nostalgic feel to it than other cartoons back in the day. I don't know if it was the animation, which was wildly different than other cartoons at the time, with the squigly lines for the first few seasons along with cel-animation for the first four seasons; these alone already give it that nice nostalgic smell. But that's not all, the episodes of this series at least somewhat resemble those stories your parents and grandparents told you about their childhoods, albeit highly exaggerated; thus giving it the feel of the lives of children from those days, mainly the 1950's (as confirmed in an interview with series creator, Danny Antonucci).
One thing i did not notice as a kid that I did notice in rewatching "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" was subtlety; a child probably would not understand right away, but an adult would likely catch the joke rather quickly. One very subtle example is shown in the second episode (Nagged to Ed), where Eddy is messing around with the protective gear and appears to be flipping the bird. There is also a very obvious joke in the last episode of the TV series, "Look Before You Ed", in which Eddy tells Edd toward the end of the episode, "What's winter without a snow job, eh, Sockhead?" Take the "s" out of "snow" and replace it with another letter and that's the joke, and Edd's reaction is the punchline. There are other examples, but too many to list.
There is one last thing to talk about. Each episode title of "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" incorporates the word "Ed" into it, be it a phrase (e.g. "Gimme Gimme Never Ed" changed from 'gimme gimme never gets'), movies ("O-Ed Eleven" from Oceans Eleven), and even math problems (the aforementioned "One+One=Ed"). The way it was done for every episode was very interesting to me back when I first saw the show and even now.
With all that being said, "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" is/was one of Cartoon Networks finest programs. It is something that you can sit back, turn your brain off and enjoy the show and the nostalgia that comes along with it. Plus, if you can see the subtlety, that makes watching the Eds that much funnier.
Until next time, God bless.
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