Sam and Max

I’m sure you have seen some iteration of Sam and Max, be it a game, cartoon, or even a comic, and I am sure this duo can make most anyone laugh with their dark yet smart humor. It takes a unique talent to write something like Sam and Max and that unique talent comes from none other than their creator Steve Purcell, kind of hard to believe he works for Disney and Pixar now especially with what Sam and Max are known for. Sam and Max was the idea of a detective dog and his bunny partner/best pal that is slightly psychotic in nature, how can this not lead to dark comedy, and I love every minute of it.

My first introduction to Sam and Max was that of the cartoon in the nineties called Sam and Max Freelance Police, this series was geared towards children and man was it a barrel of laughs. To this day I know of adults who will still watch this cartoon and laugh as if they were children and this was their the first time watching the show again, proof that good writing and comedy can surpass the ages. The show sadly only lasted one season, but there are a lot of great moments in that season and if you find the DVD box set I recommend picking it up, maybe with enough support these characters may return to another television slot and in my opinion they totally deserve it.

The Sam and Max property still has its many fans though and Tell Tale Games did even release some adventure games starring our heroes, in the same moniker as the Lucas Arts game Sam and Max Hit the Road or Freelance Police (too bad these never got a remake, I know I’d be on that). The Tell Tale games started with the Sam and Max Save the World and this really stuck with the old point and click adventure game formula, I loved it because the characters were back and it had been forever since I played an adventure game so nostalgia really kicked in for me that day. This game was later followed by Sam and Max Beyond Space and Time and then Sam and Max Devils Playhouse, there has even been rumor of a fourth game in the works and I will gladly be watching out for it.

Futurama makes you love the year 3000

One of my favorite shows that started in the 90’s was and still is Futurama. This cartoon follows the exploits of a delivery company in the year 3000, it was created by David X. Cohen and Matt Groening for Fox animation.

Of course this seemed like a great idea, the guys behind the Simpsons have a new cartoon and it sounds like The Simpsons in space, but Futurama is clearly not Simpsons and that’s part of what makes it great, hell the only similar think to The Simpsons in this show was the character designs and even that isn’t 100% as the characters skin pigment is more realistic in this show.

The series originally aired with an episode called “Space Pilot 3000”  In this episode we meet our three main protagonists Phillip J. Fry a guy from the 90s stuck in the future (hey that sounds familiar), Taranga Leela, a cyclops who we are to believe is an alien orphan at first, but later it turns out has a bigger back story that really brings a tear to the eye  and finally Bender Bending Rodriguez a bending unit robot without inhibition, he loves woman, booze, and cigars (a man clearly with the finer tastes). We later of course meet the rest of the crew including Prof. Hubert Farnsworth, Hermes Conrad, Amy Wong, and John Zoidberg .

This show did well for four seasons on FOX and recently re-surged with four movies to create a revival of the series on the network Cartoon Central, since FOX didn’t continue the contract but this didn’t bother me at all, more Futurama is a good thing. One of the reasons I love the show is for the amazing voice talent, these are people that fit the role and make you believe the character and the role they are playing. Time to drop some facts and blow some minds with actors you may or may not know:
1) Fry / Prof. Farnsworth / Zoidberg – All these characters are done by Billy West and he is so talented that he even plays some side characters, like a recurring one known as Zapp Brannigan
2) Leela – voiced by none other than Katey Segal, you may best remember her as the role of Peg in Married with Children but she has proven to be a great voice actor and I would have no other be Leela, they even had an homage to Married with Chidren in an episode called “A Biclops Built for Two” I  recommend looking it up
3)Bender – Played by the talented John Dimaggio, he even plays various other characters in the show. I highly recommend checking his IMDB page it may surprise you how many roles he has played behind the mic.
4)Hermes – is played by Phil Lamar a man who has many voices, even a great early career on Mad TV. One roll of which you may remember him doing the voice for is the Green Lantern John Stewart on Justice League and Justice League Unlimited,  and I know when I read the comics I picture his voice for John Stewart in my mind
5)Amy –  Introducing the talented Lauren Tom probably one of the best Asian voice actors out there, due to the fact that she gets the feel right with and without the accent of how an Asian character should sound and she can still hit the comedic timing while doing it, I know she makes me laugh.

As you  can see with strong voice talent like this, and a creative team as strong as Matt Groening and David  X. Cohen there is nothing but a winning team here. However as fans of the series we get the bonus of the show being geared towards  adults with the joke material  not to mention the animation is top notch and has been great to  watch since day one. If you haven’t started watching Futurama yet I recommend you start and if you have you probably know the reason I made this post to begin Futurama is awesome ,  so as usual I will leave you with a pic from the show and a link to the theme song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8xw9VLiYlU

Guess they’re watching the show too.

Sorry for being gone

Hello 90’s fans, I just wanted to say sorry for not posting as often. The holidays have not been kinds to me and honestly I have been a tad burned as well. Do not worry though I will not let the page die since I do care about the project

I will however be posting once a week since I will be also spending some time to possibly working on a you tube channel as well since this interests me

Seth MacFarlane and his Cartoons

Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show, Three shows created by Seth MacFarlane a talented writer and actor who voices multiple characters in all three series. MacFarlane has proven time and again that he knows what is funny and that he loves his job. Always in character and ready for the audience this man loves the stage and it loves him back. I will be taking time to discuss each show shortly in as much knowledge as I can, Possibly even try to give a recommended episode for the people to see of each respective series.

MacFarlane`s most recognized series has always been Family Guy, a show well worth checking out especially for the early seasons but has recently seemed to gotten a little off track since MacFarlane no longer does the writing for the series. Though Family Guy still has some great moments, it seems to have issues with too many cut away gags sometimes and this can be disappointing. I am a person who loves an enjoyable and funny story,  sadly this seems to have been left behind and replaced with the how many cut away gags can we get in within our half an hour segments. This does not stop an occasional good episode to shine through ever once in awhile though like the recent Christmas special `Road to the North Pole` a truly funny episode centered around the story of Stewie and Brian going to the North Pole to see Santa Claus so Stewie can kill the Claus but things take a great turn in the second part and I will not ruin this awesome special for you since Christmas is close and this is a recommended watch for the Holidays.

Now my favorite show and well worth checking out for its Humor and Stories American Dad, This series rarely has a bad episode in my opinion and it is the funniest of the three because of the unrealistic situations and the liberties that they have with Stan Smith the main character being a C.I,A agent and the way that him and his Wife deal with parenting their children Steve and Haley. This series has had a handful of great episodes and for the Holidays I do recommend you check out all the specials, but the episode I want to put on a must watch is `Stanny Boy and Frantastic`. This episode is centered around the changes Stan and Francine need to make just to get friends and the situations just get more and  more hilarious with each confrontation, I was surprised with the levels reached in this episode alone and I still love to watch this episode on occasion to this day and I still laugh every time.

Finally we will  be discussing The Cleveland Show, this series is the definition of spin off. Cleveland one of Peter`s best friends from the early seasons of Family Guy leaves and gets a new family and television show of his very own. This series knows what it is and it has even made jokes about being the Black Family Guy time and again to prove this fact. I sometimes get a chuckle out of this show but ultimately I found it to be the weakest of the three series. Still it may be your show and I do not want to stop you from enjoying it. Now The recommended episode was tough to decide for me as nothing really stood out in my opinion. Then it came to me `Murray Christmas` an episode where Rallo, the step son of Cleveland is taken down a notch and learns that friendship can indeed be found with the older generation, not to mention there are even some heart warming moments here as well when things start to get serious and the steps taken for the resolution in the end. This may not be the best choice but it was the one that finally stood out to me.

Now I hope you enjoy watching the episodes I do recommend  and that you truly do find the Macfarlane show that suits your style of humor and enjoyment. I know I still love American Dad since the day it started and  I recently just watched a few seasons for nostalgia alone,.

It`s Monday

The start of the work week and another  discussion about me and what I have recently been up to in the last week. The simple answer is collecting Green Lantern comics. The long version, well continue reading onward and let the story unfold for you,

Within the last few years I have been subjecting myself to more and more comics that have interested me over time, but  sadly some of these stories that interested me did not have a definitive starting point in my opinion like The Flash, Superman, and Green Lantern to name a few. Hope was not lost though because at some point down the road I was introduced to a few recommended reading lists, thanks to the courtesy of  friendly people online hunting on forums and wikis, makes a man love the internet for more than just porn. Now with a new found confidence in me I knew what I was looking for and I jumped right in to the Green Lantern universe.

Reading the tales of Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, and John Stewart I have been impressed and gladly even found my self new favorite heroes to add to my list such as the likes of Green Lantern and Previous Ion  bearer Kyle Rayner. The four Green Lanterns of Earth have had some pretty awesome moments  in the comic book pages. such as the defeat of Paralax, The Sinestro Corp War and even the birth of the Blue Hope Lanterns to name a few. I highly recommend these stories to anyone who loves a good science fiction story and wants something exciting, especially the works of Geoff Johns and the books around them such as Green Lantern Corp or Ion Guardian of the Universe, you can see the connections these stories all have together before during and after the main events in the Green Lantern universe and it is a delight for people who just love that attention to detail.

I can`t wait to finally get caught up in these stories and see how they have been affected in the New 52 issues of comics especially with the discussion of the Third Army arc and Geoff Johns still writing strong for the main Green Lantern series. I know I have been reading the Green Lantern New Guardians with Kyle Rayner and Writer Berdard and I love every minute of it so far, so I`m looking forward to the other comics too. As there is nothing left to say I leave you tonight with a strong will that burns a bright green thanks to these books.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise

Hasbro a company well known for adapting toys into television shows just to make a quick buck. Can’t  blame them though it worked with many shows such as My Little Pony, G.I. Joe and My Littlest Pet Shop. Today however we discuss one of their longest running franchises Transformers.

The Transformers series has gone through many iterations since the original, such as Beast Wars (Beasties to some places) the Transformers animes, comics, and even the recent live action movies. The reason I think the Transformers, like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have such a strong  staying power is because they are created in a way that the characters and stories can always be brought to current generations easily with the proper writers. For example look at the old transformers cartoon it gets a lot of praise for its Generation one status but really pay attention to the story it was kind of silly but as kids we loved the action, guns and the transforming and in the eighties that’s all you needed for a good television series geared to boys. Now look at the new series Transformers Prime, a series telling a over arching story but still tries to  give the same eye popping visuals we get from the movies. Prime fails at the eye popping in my opinion but the story can be enjoyable sometimes so it at least has got something for its efforts and I am sure it entertains some fans.

Now If I had to choose a friends iteration of the Transformers it would have to be Beast Wars in my opinion. Now I still love Generation one but I grew up in the nineties and this is when Beast Wars was introduced. A series that was a continuation yet at the same a prequel to the Generation One Transformers series and it was masterfully done by the group at Main Frame, the same group that worked on Reboot in the early days. The series was a success and it lasted for quite a few seasons to a point it later evolved into the series known as Beast Machines. 

Personally I was never a fan of Beast Machines, this series felt too pretentious to me. The story and character from the original Beast Wars felt like they were trying to grow up but in all  the wrong ways. The series also felt unnecessary to me, especially with the solid ending that was found at the end of Beast Wars. This had the the surviving Maximals, including Optimus Primal returning home with Megatron on tow on the haul of their ship ready to serve for his crimes for when they returned to Cybertron. This is where it gets weird, see Beast Machines opens with this sequence but something went wrong somehow getting Megatron there before the Maximals and he was able to get a Nazi like regime going within this time frame, and this is where I get lost. I for one can understand maybe him hiding out in Cybertron finding Predacons or Decepticons to work with under a faction on  Cybertron, but controling the entire race of Cybertron with some kind of neural network and creating your own Nazi regime yea a little extreme. Still if you liked this series power to you I for one ended it with Beast Wars finale felt like the right thing to do. and the intro to Beast Wars really knew how to pump you up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds7NBsHxBZE unlike the intro from Beast Machines, which was alright but more primal in my opinion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNNQk4acqg4

Anyway I have prattled on for sometime about Beast Wars and  Beast Machines that I should continue talking about Transformers in general such as the things that I know will never change no matter how many times the series is rebooted:
 1.in this list are the rivalry of Megatron and Optimus Prime, these two character will constantly be characters in the series and will always be on opposite side of any version of Tranformers.
2. The Matrix, this key item will always be around in any version of Transformers. Whether it be a power source, a weapon, or even the building blocks of the universe it will exist in the Transformers universe
3. Transforming is the stable of the series and a must otherwise the name doesn’t make sense. I do however love to see how the transformations can be played with such as the animals in Beast Wars or the Combiners
4. The War of Cybertron kind of a stable and a reason for the Autobots and Decepticons or the Maximals and the Predacons to wage their ridiculous over the top battles that make us say wow.
5. Human companions whether for a cameo or to be a main role. C haracter the Autobots befriend as companions in are neccassary to the story and it show their compassion. Also some series have the humans become a power up for the Auto Bots  in a way

As you can see the list is not too long but these things are easy to find and stables of the Transformers universe. It is amazing that the stables are the only things that must be though, but it does make sense as to why the Transformers can live for so long as a franchise because it opens itself to interpretation through so many ways thanks to these things. So i like you with a picture of Optimus Prime over the different ages and I hope your favorite is somewhere in the picture.

Halo 4

Just got back from Halo 4 midnight release and got my copy. I will be honest with you I was not originally planning to purchase the game this soon but instead going to wait for the price to go down. However I was talking with a friend and was persuaded to join in the midnight release, which is fun if you have never been to one before.

I have never really been the biggest fan of Halo. I did indeed try to get into the books but they weren’t my thing. The games on the other hand are a fun time and a great excuse to play a match or two online with a few friends. Halo 4 is different in a few things such as introducing a new enemy called the Forerunners, which were apparently hinted at in the novels. This also has a different development team behind the reigns by the name of 343 Industries, the new group does consist of a few of the veterans from the original Bungie team but mostly it’s new people who have taken over the Halo project on Bungies behave.

Looking at the trailers for this epic game I will be honest and say that the game does look good and can’t wait to give a go. I know the line was long at the local EB Games shop today so like always it has the buzz behind it that’s for sure

 

Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball Z the original popular anime for the boys, this show had it all cool powers awesome characters and intense fight scenes, but I am not here to discuss Dragon Ball Z yet. no I am discussing its predecessor the one most people forgot, the original Dragon Ball http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlzhV3VHtuA

The series followed a young Goku, at the age of about 12. He lived in the woods and had a four star Dragon Ball that was passed down to  him from his Grandpa Gohan. Things of  course take a major  change for Goku when he is introduced to a 16 year  old Bulma looking for the seven Dragon Balls so that she can make a  wish. After some arguing and  great character development the two finally  agree to work together and meet many friends such as Yamcha, Master Roshi, and a perverted pig named Oolong. 

In the first season this series followed the theme of a popular legend in china  called the Journey to the West hence the character introductions Goku was the Monkey, even had the same name in some iterations. Oolong is the pig Demon, Yamcha the water Demon and Bulma was a female version of the priest,  but with the sex jokes because she was a teenager doing this for greedy purposes , Japan is weird.

Though in the second season the Journey to the West sub plot was forgone and the show had reached its own roots, even having Goku train under Master Roshi  at the Kami House, litterally means Turtle House. This is when we are introduced to a younger Krillian, and get this he didn’t suck at this time. He was actually a Buddhist Monk who worshiped the fighting style of Master Roshi and wanted to train under him like Goku. This was actually the start of one of the strongest relationships in animation history, if you ask me.

Some of the funnest things about the series were the adventures Goku would have with his friends for the selected quest to find the Dragon Balls, train under a special master or even getting ready for and fighting in the world championship tournament. You were there every step of the way and it made you love the series even more because the characters  grew and evolved as the series moved forward.

I loved Dragon Ball for the Adventure and the character designs and growth, there was no my power level is higher than your power level crap. This show gave you characters with skill and technique, characters trained and there was time lapses showing how long it took for things to happen. Dragon Ball had a sense of level to it Goku wasn’t god level he lost sometimes and had to pick himself up and return after forms of training, this was great for fans to be able to have a form of interaction with the characters and see them through hardships.

Akira Toriyama you were a great writer, with stories like Sandman and Dr Slump but after Dragon Ball I really don’t know what happened. The light hearted fun stories seemed to disappear but sometimes that’s what the world needs though. Maybe we can go back to those light hearted days again someday I hope.

 

Monday more like Assassins day

Alright it’s Monday again guys, and I am sorry getting the post up a little late but I have good reason. That reason being Assassins Creed 3, yeah I went for the midnight release with a friend and can’t wait to start playing this amazing looking game. I have been a fan of the series since pretty much the beginning.

I have put my hours into Assassins Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood and Revelations and  loved every minute of the games and their beautiful stories from beginning to end. All starting with the great assassin known as Altier, who grew from the ranks as the best, even to best his mentor. Then playing as Ezio, who started from the ranks of an assassin learning the ropes, then to leading your own guild of assassins and even be revered as one of the best in your time. Of course all these stories are connected to one center, a man named Desmond Miles, who is somehow descended from these characters Ezio and Altier, who each hold a piece of a puzzle leading to a bigger mystery in the greater which takes place in near current time. Now I don’t want to give too many spoilers if you haven’t played because these games really must be experienced to be enjoyed to their fullest extent.

I must in fact give props to the team behind these games Ubisoft, The fact they can release a new game each year with the amount of content that each of these games has is a testament in and of itself. Kudos to you and your wonderful team, it is times like this I am proud to be a Canadian with a great team like theirs supporting our ranks for awesome stories and games there is no arguing that Canada is Awesome.

Now I am itching to try out Assassins Creed 3 so I am leaving the post short but remember the creed “Nothing is true, everything is permitted” you should play the games to understand it’s meaning to the fullest as an Assasins does.

Men In Black

Who doesn’t love the Men In Black, the movies are enjoyable, the characters are fun, and of course awesome Aliens. Well Today I am not talking about the movies but in fact the Animated series created by Warner Bros. This series was geared towards children as it was on the WB kids block at the time, but after watching the series again as an adult I am surprised this show even got away with being a kids show at the time. 

We will start today with talking about the positives the show brings and later move to the negatives. Obviously in the positives pile one can include that Agent K and Agent J were the main characters and were supported by the regular cast of the movie such as Agent Z, Agent L, the Twins, and the worms to name a few. The casting choices for most all these characters were amazing with Ed O’Ross and later Greg Berger doing agent K, and Keith Diamond under  the voice casting for Agent J. Lastly I have to say the stories were great along with the character development, most of the stories did in fact serve to show some form of character growth. To better explain this look at the episode called “The Inanimate Syndrome”  This introduces a character named Eileen, and it is strongly suggested that K and her had had an intimate relation sometime before and that they may even get together again when the episode finished. This is later followed up with another episode having Eileen return in “The Sonic Boom Syndrome”, and clearly reference is made  to the previous episode she aired in and there is acknowledgment to the lessons from  time to still be in effect. For a bonus point since we are talking about these episodes there was in fact many a sex joke in the early seasons of this show, which surprise me that they even got past sensors as well as they did, especially since these jokes clearly go right over childrens heads and are clearly intended for the adult audience. Maybe the series was hoping to get that longevity who knows.

Now that I have discussed the good points of the series let us continue with the bad. Mostly the bad comes from season four. This is when the censors really dug into the show and changed a lot of things, such as including more worm-centric episodes. The problem with the worms is of course the inconsistent ramblings, and they do not  perform well under the spotlight as they were originally conceived as supporting cast and not meant for anything else. That of course was not the only terrible decision  by the fourth season but there was also the change of Agent L’s voice with the new actress Jennifer Martin, she did not have the same feel as Jennifer Lien even though she did seem to be trying her best and was doing a good job. Still the biggest complaint wasn’t L or the worms but the wasted potential of the new character Agent X an alien who disliked humans as he felt they were beneath him. This character was a jerk, and written to be that way but there was no real character development with him in the fourth season so we never learned to like him. This is what I  call lost potential, characters of this nature are usually the way they are for a reason obviously and that reason when confronted can show great character plot and development which can lead into a great story and possibly could have even helped Agent X become a more likable or relate-able character by the end of the series.

Still I love this show and recommend you give it a spin, I even recommend the fourth season as the finale alone saves it. So tonight I will be saying good night and leave you with the opening theme to the show which is stuck in my head as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXHeuRMc6ak