Star Trek Memories: And How It Helped Point Me to the Love of My Life

Well, I'm finally getting around to the post I alluded to ten days ago for Star Trek's 60th anniversary.  And the celebrations continue for me as I'm thoroughly enjoying re-watching the first series' episodes, some by myself and some with my wife. That shared enjoyment of the series began a long time ago and was a key factor in knowing she'd be a suitable mate for me. So let's slingshot around the sun and go back in time from somewhat recently to a long, long time ago...(Sorry, wrong franchise)

Select Art from DC's "Who's Who in Star Trek" (1987)

I made a foray to my secret library to retrieve some Star Trek comics the other day, two of which were the late-1986/early-1987 mini-series by DC Comics, Who's Who in Star Trek.  Contained within are some great pieces of art by some classic creators, old and new (at the time).  I thought it might be nice to share some with you (quite a bit actually):

Note: At this time, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home had premiered a few weeks earlier (before issue #1) with the newly christened Enterprise 1701-A, and  Star Trek: The Next Generation was still nine months away.  You could say the Star Trek universe was pregnant with possibilities! [and I was a junior in high school]

Let's start with the covers by Howard Chaykin.

More after the break...enjoy!

Building the LEGO Star Trek Enterprise Bridge Set (with Music)

 See more after the jump break

(showing the progress - mostly in order)

Star Trek turns 60 today!!!

No time for anything lengthy right now, but here's a video from 10 years ago to commemorate...

https://youtu.be/BbOGAcRjYGw

Hope to write more later in the week!

Happy Star Trek Day!!!

Dark Shadows turns 60 today!!!

 

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the airing of Dark Shadows episode 1 from 1966 June 27.  Or, as streamers would recognize it, Dark Shadows Beginnings episode 1.  Even though Barnabas won't show up for another 200+ episodes, those early ones are great.  Read about my initial enthusiasm here.

I finally purchased the legit complete series boxset from MPI not too long ago.  And it's the perfect time to restart the series, which I've completed at least twice (and some change). You see, I had to take a break because I didn't want to watch a week's worth of commercials by streaming it again.  

The Martian Chronicles Miniseries (1980)

 

Yesterday, I finished watching The Martian Chronicles, a miniseries in three parts that originally aired in late January 1980, less than a month before the original Miracle on Ice.  I was reminded of the series when I was looking up episodes where Roddy McDowell appeared in Fantasy Island (or as Mr. Rourke would say it, "Faan-Ta-see EYE-land").  A search that was prompted by the shock realization that Roku wasn't streaming all the episodes of the series. (They were missing episode 4 from season 1, and had switched the order of 3 and 5.  Their order for UFO was really jumbled a few years ago.)  I realized I had watched some of this when I was 9, but I doubt I got past the first episode back then.  Compared to Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (still in its superior first season) or even Galatica 1980, which premiered the hour before (with flying motorcycles!), The Martian Chronicles had little of the Sci-Fi space action that I was accustomed to since seeing Star Wars a mere three years prior (with The Empire Strikes Back only 4 months away).  Instead, it was atmospheric, philosophical, thought-provoking, and methodical (a bit slow at times) - it's like a mash-up of The Twilight Zone and Space:1999 (first season).  Anyway, I definitely appreciated it more as an adult than as a kid.  Although each viewing left an impression on me.

Imponderable Prompts - Which TV Show from the 70s is Your Favorite? - Part 2

Today, I've "got some 'splanin' to do". Specifically, the process I embarked on the other day to answer the imponderable prompt concerning my favorite TV show from the 70s.  

The aforementioned spreadsheet is still a work in progress somewhat (because I'm a perpetual tweaker [and it's fun]), but it's good enough to start populating some of the fields.  Let's look behind the curtain and delve into the intent behind the design. If you thought my response to my friend's query was overkill, wait to you see the other things I'm compelled to consider...

Imponderable Prompts - Which TV Show from the 70s is Your Favorite? - Part 1

Last night, my friend, John, asked me this question:

I was thinking about TV shows from the 70's lately ... which would be your favorite?

To which I quickly replied:

 A more refined prompt is required...and more time to comply with the request. ; )

Seriously, that's such a loaded question!  Sure, some favorites quickly sprang to mind, but to commit them down as favorites, or even to pick one as "my most favorite" is near impossible.  We've got to have some defined parameters first:  

Having been born in 1970, I've got the whole decade to consider.  And a lot of shows from the 60s were rerun in the 70s, when I first saw them. (Lost in Space) Do I include those for contention?  What about shows that originated in the 60s, but were still running in the 70s? (Dark Shadows) Or ones that started in the 70s that I might have still enjoyed in the 80s? (I'm looking at you, David Banner.) Are we talking childhood favorites, or ones that I discovered later in life?  Do I divide by genre (sitcom, drama, or adventure...)?  What about Saturday morning versus Daytime versus Primetime? Do I include British shows like Doctor Who or The Tomorrow People, etc.?

Whew, this is going to be tough, but a fun challenge nonetheless...

Wonder Man (2026) - A Review

 

My wife and I finished Wonder Man yesterday, which dropped last Tuesday.  We did it in three viewings (1st: episodes #1-2, 2nd: episodes #3-6, 3rd: episodes #7-8).  Honestly, we probably would've completed it the second night, but other things had to be attended to.  We both thoroughly enjoyed it that much, and it helped that some episodes were pretty short (most are around 35 minutes, but one is only 26).  I'd say, "Watch it, you won't be disappointed", but really that depends on what you like to watch, not my opinion.

16 YEARS LATER

Today, 2026 January 30th, marks the 16th anniversary of my premiere posting on Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales.  I recommend reading the preamble (at least) from my initial offering, which can be found here, as context for today's post.

As this milestone "sweet sixteen" anniversary approached, I have now reached Season 5 of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, which I began watching back in early November, the day before my Planet Earth/Dylan Hunt post.  I finished the eighth episode (s5.8) yesterday.  It's been a great series so far, which I've enjoyed immensely (especially Harper and Rommy), but a friend warned me at the start that an abrupt change in direction occurs in the fifth season.  After a brutal Season 4 finale, the status quo has been entirely upended as we encounter characters days, months, and years after we've last seen them, displaced in time and space.  They've been living (and surviving) during this time, having undergone major changes along the way (and some regressions as well).  This all reminded me of DC Comics' "One Year Later" event from twenty years ago (2006).

Maybe DC got the idea from Andromeda, since Season 5 began in 2004.  Regardless of where it originated*, it was a pretty nifty publishing endeavor (I hesitate to use the term "gimmick").  After the big (miserable) Infinite Crisis event, DC dropped readers into each title, picking up with the characters "one year later".  And a year in a comic book character's life is a looooong time in normal publishing.  The character may be barely recognizable or their status quo has undergone tectonic shifts, leaving readers to ponder why and what caused this to happen to their "lives".  Creatively, it allowed DC to mix up or establish new creative teams to move the needle on a character's story that otherwise would've taken years to achieve normally.  It's both familiar and nouveau at the same time, with the ongoing story and the backstory unveiling simultaneously.

*Actually, Marvel did it first with Secret Wars back in 1984!  Think Amazing Spider-Man #252 with the first appearance of his black symbiote suit or She-Hulk unexpectedly joining the FF in #265. (See my MMW post from last July for stories from that era, ironically not long before Marvel announced the cancellation/indefinite hiatus of the Marvel Masterworks line.)

[This is different from a hard reboot ala New Earth (post-Crisis), or a soft reboot like One More Day where they de-aged and de-married Peter Parker to make him sexually promiscuous and ruin his character for all time, as it happens in continuity.]

I co-opted DC's "One Year Later" label above for this comparison reflection on where I am...16 years later.

THIS is "Planet Earth"? (or Will the real Dylan Hunt, please stand up?)

One of my favorite albums from the early '90s is School of Fish.  The whole thing is a masterpiece, especially the first two tracks: "Intro" & "3 Strange Days".  I echo some of the lyrics frequently because they represent a limited and compressed toe-dip into some pop culture phenomenon, experience, or sampling.  I'd even call the term 3 strange days a "short soirée", even though that stretches the definition well beyond the norm.  But hey, mangling and jangling the English language is just how my thoughts work.  And it may not be a strict three days (and it doesn't have to be limited to pop culture entertainment), but you get the idea:

For three strange days
I had no obligations
My mind was a blur
I did not know what to do
I think I lost myself
When I lost my motivation
Now I'm walking 'round the city
Just waiting to come to
For three strange...

So last weekend, after completing my annual Halloween movie fest (more on that another time...maybe), I started watching Gene Roddenberry's unsuccessful and bizarre, loosely-connected trilogy of mid-70s SyFy films: Genesis II (1973), Planet Earth (1974), and Strange New World (1975) on Tubi.

It's something I've heard about and seen pictures of over the years, and I've always wanted to check it out.  Let's just say there's a lot to discuss...

TRON: UPRISING

I missed TRON: UPRISING the first time around, back in 2012-2013, because we didn't pay for Disney XD back then.  However, streaming Disney+ (which is increasing in price again next month to $18.99/month!) allowed me to check it out before I rewatched TRON: LEGACY.  I (briefly) mentioned my fondness for Legacy in my TRON: ARES post earlier this week.  Somehow, I had time to watch episode 1 on Monday, then I got around to episodes 2-5 on Thursday, before finishing the series in a marathon layabout day (that was quite enjoyable) yesterday*, watching episodes 6-19.

*Skipping the Baltimore Comic-Con for the second year in a row for other reasons.

Was it worth it...?

Dark Shadows Beginnings -- A Review

I'm way behind in my new comic reading.  And I'm making slow progress thru some of my more recent hard cover acquisitions.  The reason?  Too much TV (as always).  How can that be when all the CW comic-related shows (including the excellent Riverdale) are on winter hiatus and the Marvel Netflix shows are all but done (sob)?  Amazon Prime.  Or rather, the free streaming shows available on that service.  It all started around Halloween when looking for something spooky to watch, I viewed the Dan Curtis Production of Frankenstein (1973).  It reminded me of Dark Shadows.  I then caught the film-quality version of Dan Curtis' Bram Stoker's Dracula (also 1973) with Jack Palance, who if you believe the internet was the inspiration for Gene Colan's depiction of the character in the Marvel Comic.

After a few more Dan Curtis classics(?) such as a werewolf in LA and a zuni doll from Trilogy of Terror (filled with plenty of jump-scares), I decided to delve back into watching Dark Shadows.  I became a fan of the show over a quarter of a century ago around the time I got married.  It was on the Sci-Fi (now SyFy) Channel (back when it contained good material) where they aired at least two episodes back-to-back, I think around 10:00 am (after the Six Million Dollar Man or Incredible Hulk).  I had seen odd episodes here and there, but this was the first time I recall making a concerted effort to watch the series regularly.  I remember seeing much of the late 1860's story line, where Barnabas' consciousness enters his entombed body during that time and meets the "real" life Quentin (I think to deal with the music-appearing spook version from 1968 [then present day]).

I even got a few books on the series back then celebrating its 25th anniversary, so I read synopses of most of the episodes.  After all, how could anyone watch them all?  Back when MPI was issuing video tape versions, each one was about $30 each and contained a week's worth of shows, meaning only five 22 minute episodes.  That's quite an expense when you understand that there were 1225 episodes!  Enter Amazon Prime.  A search will show you that they have divided the series into 26 "collections" of around 40 episodes each.  As a daily [Gothic-horror] soap-opera (did I forget to mention that?) there were no yearly seasons as we understand them, which means they just broke them up into roughly even chunks that stop whenever, not necessarily at the end of a major story arc.

Picking up roughly where I had left off in the mid-1990's (and possibly later as my older kids remember watching some of the show with me at times - maybe from the library?), I began watching Collection 17, episode 27 (#884 or sequentially #873), which originally aired on 1969 November 13.  This means I was viewing it almost exactly 49 years later!  (The episode numbers don't always add up due to interruptions and them always wanting the Friday episode with the bigger cliff-hanger to be a multiple of 5.)  It was a show that I could watch by myself, when others are watching This is Us or Call the Midwife.  But a funny thing happened.  My 10-year old son, "Manny" (Matthew Jr.) started watching it with me.  He enjoyed it enough that he got upset if I watched it without him (shades of Netflix show viewing with my beloved wife)!  So, I waited, and waited.  Our progress became too slow for my purposes.  I kept watching with him  -- we're currently thru Collection 20, episode 15 (#996 or sequentially #981), which originally aired on 1970 April 20 (nearly a month before my birth!).  We've seen the entire Leviathan story-line and have entered into 1970 Parallel Time.

I didn't like having nothing to watch when he wasn't available (or willing), so I went back to the beginning.  Specifically as it is listed on Amazon -- Dark Shadows Beginnings.  It's a six-part collection that includes the first 206 episodes (thru #209), spanning from 1966 June 27 to 1967 April 14.  All of these precede the first appearance of Barnabas Collins (at least in person).  You may question the need to view the episodes before things "got interesting".  Well, I'm here to tell you (after an extremely long-preamble/warm-up exercise), that there are plenty worth watching.  It's OUTSTANDING!!!

But where to begin...How 'bout the way each episode does:

"My name is Victoria Winters..." 

[more after the break]

Lou Scheimer: Creating the FILMATION Generation -- A Review

I picked this up during TwoMorrows' nearly month-long Black Friday Sale last November at a substantial discount and have been reading it off and on since it arrived, finishing it on Friday, 2018 Feb 23.  The bulk of the reading took place before basketball games and during half-times with me then finishing up certain chapters before bed.  Sometimes this turned out to be a real distraction, since I didn't want to stop reading even when the games started, especially when the subject covered a show that I was particularly fond of from childhood.  However, it wasn't just the shows that I was interested in by that point, I wanted to spend more time with Lou and hear what happened next in his life!  Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this intimate and personal autobiography.

The book is primarily black and white with a small color section.  However, it came with a FREE digital version download that was in full color.  It would have been nice to have the print version be full color, but I can understand the need to keep costs down, and honestly, I prefer the regular matte paper versus the glossy color magazine style.  I think it is another testament to the compelling story that I wasn't deterred from reading a book about color cartoons in black and white.  Since I only read digital media on a PC (no hand held devices yet), it wouldn't have been the same reading experience for me on the screen.  Opening a physical book just connects you more with the material, I think.

Lou was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Russian and German Jews, which had immigrated to the US in the early to mid 1920s.  The first chapter is entitled, "Wherein My Father Punched Out Adolf Hitler Years Before Captain America Did (1928-1946)".  His experience of growing up Jewish in Pittsburgh is very engaging and was a great way to start the book, because it not only established important background, but it helped you get to know him more as a person, rather than just what he later did. That personal thread is throughout the whole book.  He talks about his time in post-WWII Japan and his courtship with Jay, who would become his beloved wife.  She was thought of as a shiksa by some in his family.  Choosing to marry a non-Jew, illustrates early-on his attitude of accepting people based on their character, regardless of their diversity label.

I believe the book was primarily constructed from interviews, since it has such a narrative style to it.  You really do feel that Lou is conversing with you the whole time. You learn of his passion for quality children's entertainment to mean something and have pro-social messages.  The trials and travails of the animation industry are recounted as well, along with his mostly successful (for FILMATION) but ultimately doomed efforts (for the industry) to keep the work stateside. But he doesn't gloss over his mistakes and regrets either.  He cusses at times and drinks too much on occasion, which caused him to forget to credit his friend Hal Sutherland during his Emmy acceptance for a Star Trek episode.  And when he mentions a person that was troublesome or a jerk, well he doesn't mince words even when he's trying to restrain himself from saying too much negative about them.

Andy Mangles' role in fact-checking (with help) Lou's tale and his reconstruction of the interviews is essential to making this book flow so well.  Many of the chapters, generally focusing on specific periods or years, foreshadow to future events later in the book, making this reader salivate for the next juicy morsel.  By the time it got to shows that I wasn't particularly familiar with or interested in, I was hooked because I still wanted to listen to Lou.  There is also an exhaustive amount of FILMATION facts and details. I think one could skim some portions that were more strictly business related without taking too much away, but it's also so entwined with his story that I'm only talking about isolated paragraphs here there, where numerous names are listed (kinda of what some people do when reading Numbers).

Lou's reflections on his life are bittersweet.  Just when FILMATION is doing its best year, things quickly change, which leads them to abandon the Saturday Morning networks, which had largely abandoned them already, to produce He-Man and She-Ra in syndication, certainly their most successful shows ever. However, their pioneer work on the weekday cartoon series phenomenon is quickly crowded out by a glut of such shows on the market. Then thanks to a vicious buyout by a company that only wanted their back catalog and not their studio, it's all over very abruptly not long after their 25th anniversary.  Lou's efforts to get back to work over the next 15 years isn't very fruitful at all.  His final thoughts on his legacy and life are Solomon-esque in their wisdom of ups and downs and what really matters at the end of it all.

My copy of the book is a second edition, published in 2015.  I didn't realize this, so I was shocked to learn (the day I finished the book) that Lou had already died in 2013, less than a year past the first edition (late 2012).  And here I was thinking of how nice it would be to meet with him at a convention someday.   I had seen the Lou Scheimer gallery at Pittsburgh's Toonseum on 2015 Jul 31 before attending an ApologetiX concert in Wexford, PA.  It was relatively small, but I immediately recognized the film cells from the cartoons.  Regrettably, the Toonseum closed its downtown doors just yesterday (as of this writing) on 2018 Feb 24.  It was a neat place.  I hope it comes back someday and that Lou's gallery becomes even more prominent.

I am certainly one of the FILMATION generation.  I grew up on these shows before I even started getting comics (and that may be a subject of a future post: TV's role in comics).  My favorite FILMATION shows (in no particular order) were/are STAR TREK: The Animated Series*, TARZAN of the APES**, FLASH GORDON*, BLACKSTAR, Lone Ranger, and the live-action SHAZAM*, ISIS*, and ARK II*.  I also remember watching Fat Albert and the Archies* on occasion.  The * represents DVD box sets that I'm very happy to have in my collection, since some of them are way too expensive these days.  The ** represents a recent purchase from a Canadian online site called RETROTVMEMORIES, so that I could get the remaining episodes of Tarzan.  (The one readily available only covers the first season's 16 episodes, missing 24 others.)  RetroTV is a good source of out-of-print material, but the quality is variable -- still better than watching bits and pieces on YouTube.  I can also recall the anticipation of wanting to watch Journey Back to Oz on the SFM Holiday Network, which I always seemed to miss.  After reading this book, I even have a strong desire to delve into He-Man and She-Ra someday.

Some of my Filmation boxsets (forgot to include Tarzan).

I've been blessed to be able to share some of these shows with my children. The music is incredible, the live-action acting is very authentic with great "after school special" style morals, and most of the stories are really great.

If you're a FILMATION fan of any of their material, this is a MUST READ.  And if you just want to get to know a guy who tried to do his best all his life, but didn't always succeed.  A creative person who struggled at the end, living past his "prime" years, but was eventually rewarded by the fans who appreciated his shows that shaped their lives, then this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.  It really makes me think of all our favorite comic creators that had super hot streaks, but eventually fell out of favor for various reasons.  We don't always get to know them personally or their stories, Lou's story is a good representation for ALL of them.

BONUS -- Here is the ISIS commission I got from Jerry Ordway this year at the Baltimore Comic-Con (according to him his first drawing of the TV version).

Netflix's Lost in Space TV Series Season One (2018) -- A Review

The new Lost in Space series that premiered on Netflix 48 hours ago is PHENOMENAL!!!  I absolutely loved it and would venture to say that it is easily one of the Top 10 Sci-Fi (SyFy) TV shows of all time.  Yes, it is THAT good, especially if you like a lot of science in your science fiction.  I watched the first 9 episodes on Friday, which included viewing the first episode twice.  Saturday, I watched episode 10 and after a harrowing hour of rookie driver instruction, sat down for the 11th.  But it was already over! "Oh, the pain.  The pain!"

Speaking of pain, my wife figured out what we owe in taxes this year.  You've got until the 17th to file in case you thought it might be due today.  Thus, ends the public service announcement portion of this post.

Everything about the look of Netflix's Lost in Space is incredible.  The sets and equipment are wonderful, modern "realistic" updates of the classic series.  The Jupiter 2 is round enough to evoke the iconic saucer appearance that I love so much with the addition of vital functional features (like rocket engines).  And the chariot is still the best looking mini-van on any planet!  The costuming is top-notch from the spacesuits to the fuzzy-hoodie jackets, both of which use some of the coloring from the original show.  The special effects are on par with any blockbuster movie.  The Robot is the most different looking "machine" (Sorry, Robot), but it's super cool too.

Kazu Kibuishi's (Harry Potter cover artist) first ever drawing
of the Lost in Space Robot from the 2017 Baltimore Comic-Con)

If you've ever had to suffer through the 1998 movie version, "Have no fear", this version encompasses all the best concepts and stories from Irwin Allen's most famous creation, meaning nobody is dressed up like a carrot.  My thoughts on the first season's story and the characters continue after the break, but "WARNING! WARNING! SPOILERS, WILL ROBINSON!!!"  Seriously, if you want to be surprised, watch the show first and then see if you agree with my assessment afterwards.

ARROW -- A Recommendation

Yesterday afternoon got away from me what with an unexpected Charlie Brown stomach-ache, so I don't have lots to say this week.  However, I did want to give a shout-out to the AWESOME new CW series ARROW (I didn't see that anyone had mentioned it previously in my hasty search).  It really is a tremendous show and my wife and I are thoroughly enjoying it.  I don't think we've watched a first-run TV series together in (almost) real-time since the first season of Heroes.  It doesn't help that we have pitiful limited basic cable (leaves more funds for my comic budget) that doesn't even present the show in HD.  What does help is that you can watch all the episodes (sadly with commercials) online for free here! We just stream it later and I'll be watching the fifth episode tonight.

Twas the Day before Christmas (Dennis the Menace style)

If you thought I was going to take this opportunity to come up with some parody of the classic “Twas the night before Christmas” poem, I’m sorry to disappoint you. No, I’m afraid I’m a little too weary to embark on such an endeavor this year (I gave up after a half-hour). However, I do have a fun story to share courtesy of streaming Netflik: The 11th episode of the Dennis the Menace TV show, which aired originally on 1959 December 20, entitled “The Christmas Story”.

A Second Life for My So-Called Life?

I must have watched the last 4-minute scene half-a-dozen times since we finished the final episode (#19) last Sunday night. In trying to defend his actions of helping Jordan Catalano compose a love letter to Angela Chase (to apologize for sleeping with her best friend, Rayanne Graff, one drunken night), a flustered Brian Krakow accidentally admits that HE meant every word of it. Angela is nearly struck dumb as it starts to sink in that “the boy next door” who she constantly argues with, occasionally used, and who was always annoyingly looking out for her in an awkward and socially inept way is in love with her. Not just a puppy-dog crush love, but a deep thoughtful unrequited romance, self-sacrificing time and again, just to try to make her happy at the expense of his own desires, enduring her verbal barrages and abuse. She had pretended that she knew it all along, when her gay friend Rickie Vasquez told her the truth about the letter’s authorship, but she didn’t really believe it. Angela’s response is soft and tender as she begins to see him in a new light, even while he’s quickly trying to cover-up his confession. The culmination of the entire season between these two is finally here, when Jordan walks up to drive Angela away for a night out. She had just forgiven Jordan and gotten back together with him after reading Brian’s letter. To add insult to injury, Jordan doesn’t even know Brian’s real name, even though Brian tutors him in remedial reading, calling him “Brain” instead. The two drive off, but Angela can’t keep her eyes off Brian, as he’s left alone in the street astride his bicycle.

Thus ends not just the first season, but the entire series of ABC’s My So-Called Life, which originally aired briefly in 1994 and 1995. My wife and I along with our two oldest children (girl age 14 and boy age 13) only started watching it a few weeks ago on Netflix through the PS3, as I had completely missed it the first time around, even though I had heard about it. I have to say unequivocally that it is one of the BEST TV series I’ve EVER seen, which is why I’m sharing my thoughts on it with you this week. It may not be based on a comic book, but it has fully developed characters, facing real-life circumstances. These characters seem so alive, that my wife and I start talking about an episode like we actually know these people!


You may be thinking, “Boy, Matthew sure is channeling his inner teen-age girl this week. C’mon, that sounds like a total Chick show.” Oh, but you’d be wrong dear reader. There’s much more to this series than just Angela’s love life. We also have her 40-something parents coming to terms with middle-age woes (I can relate) and a stale marriage (I CANNOT relate). There’s Rickie’s struggles and Rayanne’s battle with drug and alcohol addiction. We have Jordan, the guy with the untapped potential, who needs encouragement, and Angela’s friend, Sharon Cherski, who learns the ups and downs of being sexually active too early (Thomm, you’ll love it -- a lot of frank talk about sex). I may not agree with all of the characters’ motivations and actions, but you can’t help but like them. Sure it’s soap-opera-ish, but it’s never cheesy or cheap. It’s like experiencing high school again, tapping into those long-lost emotions, but realizing the joy that you’ve moved on from that part of your life.

I totally identify with Brian Krakow. I spent a lot of time on the sidelines liking girls that never wanted to think of me as more than just a friend (even my wife responded that way when I first revealed my feelings to her). So, I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed the show 16 years ago. However, being a 41 year-old parent of teen-agers and soon to be teen-agers, I now totally identify with the parental issues too.

Maybe you’re not convinced. Perhaps, I have some sort of sappy syndrome, which makes me drawn to the latest issue of New York Five on the stands. Really, I think it comes down to relationships. Our whole lives are revolved around relationships, and sometimes I want to see the characters I’m either reading or watching have “real” relationships.


The downside of this series is its abrupt ending. No matter how well scripted and acted the final scene is there are a TON of unresolved plot threads! Having the show unfinished is like someone caught down in their prime (like James Dean), forever young, but at least you don’t have to worry about them going down hill (like Elvis or Dawson’s Creek after Season Two or Three). I would love to see Brian (wouldn’t that be ironic) Wood tackle a comic-book version of MSCL: Season Two! It could be just the right time for this show to have a second life, with episodes now available for a pittance on-line. So much time has passed too, that we could actually have a MSCL reunion movie to celebrate their 15th year of graduating high school (Sophomore’s in 1995 would mean Senior’s in 1997 and 2012 would be anniversary time). After a quick wiki check, apparently everybody’s still living – if only Claire Daines would agree to do it. Until then I’m going to have settle for reading some of the FAN FICTION to get my fix… between episodes of Dark Shadows of course!

I love the theme song too! It's totally gotten stuck into my head.

Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes - A Review

I owe my comics fandom to the X-Men cartoon that aired on Fox during the 1990’s. I was so enraptured by that show that I ran out and bought a comic where Magneto pulled the adamantium off Wolverine’s skeleton and I never looked back. I have a bit of nostalgia for that old X-Men cartoon, but even that can’t disguise a simple fact that is evident to anyone who watches 2 seconds of it: it is terrible.

This is a description that can attached to pretty much all of Marvel’s animation projects, stretching back to the 60’s. Even something like Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends is viewed through rose tinted glasses and doesn’t really hold up to much scrutiny.

Now, this did not make Marvel terribly unique once upon a time. There have been plenty of terrible children’s cartoons, and plenty of them have been based on comics. DC changed all that with their Batman cartoon in the early 90’s. It was unlike anything that Saturday mornings had ever seen. The look of Bruce Timm, the show’s chief artistic influence, defined DC’s animated projects for over ten years of some of the best cartoons that have ever been made. Period.

Marvel struggled to keep up, but fell woefully short with terrible cartoons, like the aforementioned X-Men and Spider-Man. However, that seems to be changing with Marvel’s latest effort: Avengers, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.



Ignore the show’s terrible theme song. It avoids the traps of previous Marvel shows by A) not talking down to its audience and B) looking fantastic. Airing on Disney XD (the first network name I’ve seen that incorporates an emoticon) it is clearly aimed at teenagers, this is a show that can easily be watched by Avengers fans of any age. The cartoon draws on everything in Avengers history, from the initial Lee/Kirby run to Bendis to the Iron Man movie. And when I say everything, I do mean everything. In addition to the roster of core Avengers, thus far we’ve dealt with the Leader, Baron Zemo, Man-Ape, Ultron, Kang, 2 Fantastic Four cameos, Kree, Skrulls, Wonder Man, Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, AIM, Hydra, Baron Strucker, the Red Skull, Malekath the Accursed, and MODOK. Glorious, glorious MODOK. That they could translate MODOK in all his insane Kirby glory to the screen and still make him somewhat menacing is an achievement of the highest order.



The show also deserves a great deal of credit for highlighting the Avengers that are less known by the public. Hawkeye, Black Panther, and the Wasp are particularly well served by the cartoon and I can see whole new generations of fans falling in love with these characters thanks to this show.



The show’s episodes are largely self contained, but there is a surprising amount of plot, and to a lesser extent character, development from episode to episode. Loki has barely appeared, but his scheming has been in the background of almost the entire 20 episodes thus far. The Kang three parter that served as the show’s midseason break was particularly epic, as Kang conquered the past to stop changes to the timeline and thus save his wife from being erased from existence.



While it doesn’t have the defining visual style of that Batman cartoon, it still looks great. It’s simple, yet slick and works very well at capturing characters as diverse as the Wasp, the Hulk, Captain America, and Thor. The voice acting is not quite as exceptional as DC’s exceptional casting work on Justice League Unlimited, but it is always at least adequate and frequently above average. Eric Loomis, who plays Iron Man, deserves particular credit for not only sounding remarkably like Robert Downey, Jr., but transcending imitation and making the part his own.



I tend to be extremely skeptical of Marvel’s animation work. That something like X-Men Evolution or Wolverine and the X-Men could be considered a step up tells you how dire their previous output had been. However, I can’t recommend this show highly enough. While maybe not yet hitting the highest highs of JLU, I think it stacks up very favorably and is definitely worth a look. Its taken decades, but Marvel has finally given Warner Brothers something to worry about.