Random Thoughts-Family Guy/Simpsons Crossover

Your first questions may be, why did I even watch this? People who follow my stuff regularly probably know I am very passive Simpson fan. Even worst, I hate Family Guy. So, why then would I watch a crossover between a franchise I hardly like and a franchise I despise? Because I’m a sucker for crossovers. Whether they be TV, movies, or comic books–I love them! So when I heard about this event I had to watch it.

Then I saw the five minute preview that was released a few weeks ago and…I found many people were all ready disappointed. Now I am no major fan or either as I made clear so it could be that while it seemed cool from a casual viewer like me maybe it was lacking something a real fan would catch. So I watched the whole episode Sunday night called “The Simpsons Guy” . The premise being the Grifin’s have to leave town. Their car is stolen and they end up in Springfield.  And?


First of all I have to say one thing. That shot when we establish the Griffin’s are in Springfield was BEAUTIFUL! Nothing anyone else says will take that away, I loved that reveal. It was one of the best reveals EVER! Taking in the town with the Simpsons theme music, perfect! All capped off by the obligatory joke about which Springfield they are in (“I’m sure we’re not authorized to say”).

Five Lame Time Travel Plots (From Various Media)

I love time travel! It’s no coincidence that two of my favorite movies are Star Trek IV and Back to the Future. The idea of being able to travel back to see the past, even change mistakes made, is a fantastic one. Not to say anything about the chance to go ahead and see what our future will be like.

While I love time travel stories, I have to admit that some creators will come up with very….odd plots with time travel.



Now I don’t expect everyone who puts time travel in a story to have an advanced degree in quantum mechanics, and I concede even the best time travel stories require some suspension of disbelief, but some creators seem to lack basic common sense when it comes to how time travel might work. Making things up, or using time travel as a plot device, even if it makes no sense whatsoever.


Here are five examples of what I mean:



Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

I know I know, this a kids show and it’s probably not fair to make fun of it. But thanks to my nephew (and being out of work last year) I got see lots of episodes. I love nitpicking the silly plots, but the one that really annoyed was the one where Prof Von Drake builds a time machine. How does it work? Goofy goes through it and is somehow transformed into a baby. No he isn’t swapped with a younger version of himself, he is changed into a baby! Yeah, that’s not what time machines do!!!!! I mean obviously the kids watching wont care but the writers had to have some knowledge of time machines, why not called it a “transmorpher” or some other name that would make a little more sense? Or is the thinking that kids wont know the difference so why even try?

SPECIAL Face-Off:Superman Returns vs Man of Steel

Many people say that you can’t compare the new Superman movies to the Christopher Reeve movies. That the Reeve films, while great, belong to a different time. Ok, fair enough. So let’s just compare the last two movies.



While I have discussed Man of Steel I haven’t really said anything about Superman Returns. I was so disappointed with it I never even acknowledged it in past articles except to trash it. But…maybe I am being to hard on it. I mean it had it’s moments and it’s even possible that Superman Returns is a better Superman movie than Man of Steel. Man of Steel, on the other hand, I expected to hate and while flawed I ended up liking things in it more than I expected to. Though there were things about I did not like!



Which is really the better Superman movie? Let’s see if we can figure that out as today I present my first movie related face-off (obviously following the sitcom face-off format), as we have :

VS 
Superman Returns came out in 2006 and did not do so well. It was so badly received that the next movie was a total reboot, Man of Steel of course came out last year. Some loved it, others did not. But which was better? And yes I know I am not the first to do this kind of comparison.  I’m doing it anyway and of course all opinion feel free to disagree.

Underrated Trek:Encounter at Farpoint (TNG)

Welcome to a special edition of Underrated Trek, where I take a special look at Star Trek episodes that I love…which may not be the most popular or even liked by most. In keeping with my unintentional theme this week of pilots for TV shows, I decided it was time to look a look at the very first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

This episode premiered September 28, 1987 and kicked off a while new era of Star Trek! Most people have mixed feelings about this one, but is it good….or kind of lame?

A Look at Sitcom Pilot Episodes

As I mentioned before in my article on The Big Bang Theory, I have been wanting to discuss pilot’s for awhile. What was going to be a whole series has instead turned into one article (well, maybe two).
Pilot’s are of course the first episode of a TV series. Several pilots are made every year, and only a few become series. Even less than that will become hit series which last for years. Today I wanted to run down some pilot episodes and point out what differed from the series that came after it in some very interesting ways. Because pilots are just that, the first episode before the writers can really flesh out stuff the characterizations, back-story, or heck even setting! So pilots can very often look very different from the series that would evolve from it.



One quick note, no backdoor pilots and I am only discussing successful TV series. Pilots to awful series or series that were never even picked up is another whole article my friends. And I can only vouch for those pilots I am aware, so I will be leaving plenty of good examples off I am sure.



The Cosby Show



I decided to start with this one because this is the first pilot I remember seeing, although it was luck. I fell in love with this show instantly. The pilot is pretty close to what The Cosby Show would be, with one major change. The set is totally different! The Huxtables apparently live in an run down apartment here. Why did this change? The original concept of the series was for Cliff and Clair to be blue collar workers. When that got changed to wealthy professionals, they probably figured out that they needed a nicer place to live. In fact I always believed the kitchen scene in the start was filmed after this change was made. If you watch that episode, pay close attention when Cliff first walks into the kitchen. Behind him you can see the traditional Huxtable set that we would grow to know and love. Even though it doesn’t appear in the rest of the episode!
Oh and by the way, they only had four children in the pilot rather han the five they would have later on.

Analytical Episode Review:The Big Bang Theory, "Pilot"

So I decided it was time to review another episode of something, but what? Then it occurred to me that I did a whole month of series finale’s in May, why not do series premiere’s in September? I had an idea all year for a whole series on “pilot” episodes which never really made it off the ground. But that doesn’t mean I can’t discuss one now. So today let’s talk about the very first episode to a series which some love, and others hate! A series I have already talked a lot about.

“The Pilot”

As the series starts its eighth season in a week, let’s talk about the pilot episode and see if the show has evolved for better or for worst.

Underrated Trek:The Child (TNG)

Welcome back to Underrated Trek, where I take a special look at Star Trek episodes that I love…which may not be the most popular or even liked by most. If we’re going to discuss not great but not horribly bad episodes from Next Generation, season two is the best place to stop. Today we look at one which was originally written for the Star Trek:Phase 2 series before that became Star Trek:The Motion Picture. This is:

 

This season 2 premiere is not well regarded. Mostly because the story is a little…stupid. But is there any redeeming value to be had? Let’s take a closer look.