Stratovania

Well, it was another weekend of working, sleeping, and trying in vain to come up with ideas for my Digital Preservation paper. I didn't even get to use the Internet all that much. I do have some thoughts on last night's cartoon lineup, though.

Since the Simpsons episode had four stories instead of the typical three, they really weren't able to develop any particular segment, but I'd say that's probably all right. Most of them really only had one joke anyway. I liked the Polar Express segment with Bart, especially for its visuals. I was amused by the depressed atmosphere at the North Pole, and some of the background sight gags. I remember seeing Bumble from Rudolph as a janitor, and I think there were a few other such references I've forgotten. I do wish they'd called attention to the fact that they had a Jewish guy playing the role of Santa. Lisa's dream was probably the most involved story, in that they actually took it beyond one basic joke, but at the same time it was the most forgettable of the four. Was the story about World War II and Christmas trees based on anything in particular? It seems like it would have been, but if so it's not a movie (or whatever) I've seen. I did like the Inglourious Basterds reference at the end, and Lisa's reaction to the dream. Incidentally, I believe Nellie McKay, whom I'll be seeing live next week, has a song against cutting down Christmas trees. She played it at the Aimee Mann show that bethje and I attended two years ago. Getting back to The Simpsons, the Martha Stewart bit went back to being one basic joke, but it was pretty funny, at least for a while. The puppet segment was probably the most heavily advertised, and with good reason, since doing an entire segment of an animated show in another fashion is kind of a big deal. It's probably good that the segment didn't last very long, but I enjoyed the riffs on the Muppets and Sesame Street. I wasn't sure why they had a laugh track, but I just looked it up and found that The Muppet Show used one, so I guess that's what they were going for. I have no idea why they chose Katy Perry for the live-action guest star, but her dating Puppet Moe actually kind of makes sense. I mean, he's the same basic type as Russell Brand, right? {g}


I found it odd that the TV listings had a block for an hour-long Cleveland Show, when it was really two separate episodes, the second one having nothing to do with the holidays at all. Also, they really played up the crossover aspect in the commercials when all we actually got was a few minutes of Peter, Joe, and Quagmire. They've done more substantial crossovers between the two casts in the past. Did they advertise the Family Guy episode with the search for the source of dirty jokes, which featured Cleveland's family and the David Lynch bartender, in the same way? I can't remember. Mind you, advertising the Cleveland Show in the first place is probably kind of pointless, since I'm sure I'm not alone in really only watching it because it's on in between two other shows I actually like. As for American Dad, I'm not sure why they didn't do a holiday episode, but I can't remember whether there's been one in every previous season or just a few of them. I do remember those episodes being quite good, though. Anyway, I did like the episode, especially Stan's excitement at being on jury duty. I did find it a little hard to believe that Stan wouldn't have known who the defendant was until AFTER the jury had been selected; I've been called up for jury duty three times, and while I was never selected, I know that's not how it works. Speaking of American Dad, I had a dream a few nights ago in which Roger appeared, wearing one of his disguises. I believe it was the same night that I dreamed about having a class at my old elementary school, and having cats in the car with me for some reason. At one point not_glimmer showed up and told me I should just leave the cats in the car, but I don't think she was in the class itself.

So, the highlight of today was seeing Video Games Live, a touring show that consisted of an orchestra and a choir performing video game music, while footage from the games was displayed on a screen. Game franchises covered included Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Mega Man, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Castlevania, Metal Gear, Halo, World of Warcraft, and Kingdom Hearts. I knew some of them more than others, but the whole thing was fun. The Video Game Pianist, whose music I downloaded a few years ago, played a few numbers, and even wore a blindfold while performing the Mario theme. Audience participation consisted of a girl playing Guitar Hero and a boy playing Space Invaders with orchestral accompaniment, the latter of which really didn't work all that well, since it was his first time playing and that's not exactly an easy game. Oh, well.

In other viewing news, bethje and I finally watched the Sunday evening cartoon episodes from last week, as well as the most recent ones. Last week's Simpsons was actually pretty good, if for no other reason than its being the first to focus on Mrs. Krabappel since she broke up with Principal Skinner. I think the parody of The Secret is a little dated by now, but it was still funny, and forgivable in light of the time it takes to produce a new episode. Also amusing was the substitute teacher, although the way they got rid of him at the end was totally abrupt. He just all of a sudden decided to get drunk and endanger his job for no reason? Couldn't they have come up with a way to restore the status quo that didn't just come out of nowhere? I didn't care as much for tonight's episode. There were some amusing moments, especially in the training scenes, but it felt rather rehashed overall. And, once again, did they just not bother to write an ending that actually resolved anything coherently?

As for the other shows, well, last week's Family Guy was all right, although it really didn't seem to cover much that hadn't already been done in "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein." So why was it okay to show the new episode, and not "Weinstein"? Well, aside from the fact that they're now letting Seth MacFarlane do pretty much whatever he wants. "Three shows in one night? Well, hey, you're the one with the lucrative DVDs!" I really think he's spreading himself too thin. The second and third Cleveland Show episodes weren't any better than the first, and while last week's FG and American Dad were pretty good, this week's were lacking. Some Fox promo said that the Cleveland Show was the best-rated new program, but I have to wonder how much of that is due simply to people who watch both The Simpsons and Family Guy not bothering to change the channel in between them.