Muppet Babies Syndrome

I recently started listening to Trentus Magnus Punches Reality and in his first show Magnus defends Smallville. I've only seen a few episodes of the show myself, so I'm not qualified in commenting on the quality of it. I do agree with him that the premise of the show is the journey to becoming Superman, so having Clark put on the suit before the last episode doesn't make sense. One thing that I do have a problem with, and not just in this show, is what I call "Muppet Babies Syndrome."

What's that, you ask? That is the trope that we see, in TV and comics mostly, where just because characters know each other as adults, that means that they MUST have known each other as kids. Muppet Babies, Smallville, Flinstone Kids, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, etc, etc. All of these shows show horn in characters from other versions that, if you think about it, shouldn't be there.

Let's look at a typical person's life. They have friends growing up, that live near them and go to the same school. Fine, no problem. When they grow up, they go to college/get a job and meet new people. People that they didn't know as a kid. The older you get, the more people you meet. Some become closer to you than those you grew up with, some don't.

To take a character, like Superman, and say that EVERYONE he ever met in the comics knew him, at some point, before he put on the suit makes NO SENSE! You want Lana Lang, OK that works. Lex Luthor? I'm not a fan, but there's precedent there. Lois Lane? Um ... alright, if it make story sense. Green Arrow, Aquaman, Batman, and the ENTIRE Justice Society? Nope, sorry, I'm drawing the line. Superman was the hero that inspired others to become heroes, not the other way around.

Of course, the biggest problem with this is that DC then said "Wow, this show is successful. Let's bring all of that into the comics!" That was one of the things that made me stop reading the Superman comics. When Clark Kent runs into Lexcorp Tower claiming that he can talk to Lex since they grew up together, and I can pull out an issue where they first met, years after Superman made his debut, and no Crisis was involved, you lose me.

Please keep in mind that I have no problem with alternate takes on things. I can compartmentalize characters. Christopher Reeve =/= George Reeves =/= Brandon Routh =/= Tim Daly =/= Henry Cavill =/= Dean Cain =/= Tom Welling. Each exists in their own universe and doesn't affect the others. When they do bleed over, though, especially when they change the comics just because of this show/movie/whatever is popular and not for any valid story reason, that I don't like. Of course, I'm not buying new(er) comics any more, so it's kind of a moot point.

Let me stress that these are MY hang-ups. This is why I don't read the comics any more or watch Smallville. They have nothing to do with the products themselves by more my mentality. I know that I'll get annoyed by them, so why put myself through that? If you like this stuff, as Magnus obviously loves Smallville, good for you. We don't all need to like the same things.

OK, I just had to get that off my chest. We now return you to more light-hearted fare.

Tales of the Seventh Fleet

As a follow up to last week, and to prove just how far down the geeky rabbit hole I've gone, I present to you the first (and so far only) three episodes of "Tales of the Seventh Fleet". the web series that I did as part of the USS Justice fan club.

Those with sensitive stomachs may wish to click away now. While I'm proud of what we did here, I can not say that they are objectively good.


Return To Doomsday from Louis Srygley on Vimeo.



Upgrade from Louis Srygley on Vimeo.



A Touch Of Home from Louis Srygley on Vimeo.

How Star Trek Changed My Life

I have spoken previously about how Star Trek kick-started my geekdom (The Hammer Podcasts - Episode 1), but as the show turned 48 this past Monday, I was thinking about just how it changed my life. You see, when I was a kid I was fascinated by the way things worked, just ask my dad about the number of remote controls I disassembled. That was fed, partially, by seeing Scotty crawling around inside the Jeffries Tubes and adjusting stuff.

When I got the Mr. Scott's Guide for my birthday one year, I was so excited that you'd thought I won the lottery. That book, more than any other, cemented my love of behind the scenes things. But it also propelled me to want to emulate my TV hero and become an engineer. It was that decision, more than any other, that changed my life. Not only because of my current career, but because, through the School of Engineering, I met my wife.

If it wasn't for Gene Roddenberry's vision, which my mother saw when she was in high school, I wouldn't have my job, my wife, or my daughter. Heady stuff.

Legends of the Superheroes - The Incredible Hulk

Those of you following the blog on Facebook and Google+ will have noticed that I added a new "Legends of the Superheroes" podcast last night. This time Chris and Mike from The Ninjaverse were kind enough to join me in talking about The Incredible Hulk. Give it a listen, won't you?

http://twotruefreaks.com/media/podcasts/TheHammerPodcasts/mp3/Legends-Hulk-TV.mp3

Who Ya Gonna Call?

From GhostbustersNews.com

Part of this festivities this weekend, for me at least, will be meeting up with a group of friends to see Ghostbusters in the theater and celebrate the film's 30th Anniversary. This will be the first time I'll be seeing the film in a theater (I first saw it on HBO), so it should be a great time. This is one of my all time favorite films, and probably the first one that I was able to quote from memory. To this day, if someone says "Hey, let's watch Ghostbusters." I'm in.

What's nice about this film is that it works like Looney Tunes, in that you can be a kid and find it funny but as an adult there's more levels there to appreciate. It's a kind of movie making that, until very recently, I thought was a dead art. Luckily, Guardians of the Galaxy came along and restored my faith that movies could be enjoyable for all but still be intelligent.

And now I leave you with the very 80's music video for the theme song, by Ray Parker, Jr.

Gargoyles

One of the greatest things to come out of Disney Television, at least in my mind, was Gargoyles. While I was not it's target audience (being in college when it was on TV) I was sucked into it none the less. The premise is a mix of superhero, fantasy, science fiction, and Shakespeare. Add to that the spectacular voice acting of such greats as Keith David, Ed Asner, Frank Welker, Jonathan Frakes, and Marina Sirtis, among others, and how could I not love it? Just check out the opening theme, from back when shows explained the premise at the beginning of each episode, and tell me that this wasn't tailor made for me?



How about the rest of you? Was there a cartoon/comic/movie/etc that you were obviously not the target audience for that just spoke to you, like Gargoyles speaks to me?

This Was A Tough One

I've been struggling on what to post today. Last week I celebrated my daughter's birthday and today I'm posting about death. As many subscribe to death coming in threes, we had a trio of celebrity deaths this week. While I'm saddened at the loss of Lauren Bacall

 and Arlene Martel,

it is the tragedy of the death of Robin Williams that I think I should talk about.

As many of you know, after all the coverage, Robin Williams suffered from depression. He fought his inner demons for all of his life and finally lost that battle on Monday. I wish I could say that I understood what he was going through, but I don't. I have never suffered the way he, and many in the world, have. All I can say is that there is another way and that everyone, at some point in their lives, needs help. If you are feeling like there is no way out and are considering taking you own life, please seek out that help.

Also, if you know someone, as many of us do, that might be suffering from depression, please help them. Whether it's you personally, or just finding them someone else that can provide the help, please do so. Here is a great place to start: