Into the Twilight : Static

Twilight Zone  

         With my "The Twilight Zone" posts, I have so far, never done a post on the original series. I've mostly dipped into the 2003 series, the 1980's series,  one look a the 2019 series, but the original hasn't been touched upon.  This is really a shame on my part, so I think I should rectify this situation.   There will be spoliers, but I'll point it out . 

        We are looking at Season 2 , Episode20 : Static, that first aired on March 10, 1961.  

    

          It starts with boarding house members watching television and doing some other things as well. The TV has some weird western going on, then a commercial about green cigarettes (those aren't cigarettes)   there's some racing, singing, and other stuff on television to make a point. A man named Ed Lindsay doesn't like this mindless television so, he goes downstairs, to listen to an old radio from 1935.   Ed looking fondly on this radio is like someone in 2020 looking back on this phone from 26 years before: 

             It helps even having a kid , who wasn't around 26 years before, be confounded by such a division.  The music playing is modern music, that Ed doesn't like either (same ,Ed)  and he finds a station playing a song he does like.  (Tommy Dorsey)  He also starts hearing old radio shows after banging the radio (I miss being able to bang things to get things to work again.)  Ed is kind of grumpy.   The other boarders don't understand how he was able to hear old time radio.  ( because reruns don't exist or something. ) 

Yeah yeah radio... Copyright CBS 

           He wants to show them with a portable radio, but that doesn't work. The boarders don't care because "Gunfire"is coming on.( I wonder what that is)   Also pay attention the station name, WPDA, that's important for later.  There's also a woman named , Vinnie Broun, who was intending to marry Ed many years before but things happened, so they aren't; more on her later too. 

           He tries to show Vinnie and another boarder, Professor Ackerman, the station on his big radio, but it's not coming in. They try to phone the station but WPDA hasn't existed in some time. (Dun dun dun) Ed wonders what did he hear then.  (poor guy) When they leave he hears the radio announcer say that President F.D.R was speaking, and F.D.R speaks. ( Taped F.DR. the real F.D.R was unavailable for the taping of this episode)  

F.D.R , you aren't J.F.K/ Copyright CBS 

          He tries to call the professor to hear it , but again no F.D.R.   Vinnie wants to talk to Ed, and he mentions he thinks everyone thinks he's lost it. Vinnie calls him cranky and other works, she mentions how they've been living together for 20 years in the same boarding house, but never got married. They met in 1940 and later he proposed. Things happened like his mother got ill and he wanted to wait,  She tells him that they had their chance and missed it. He admits he loved her. 

           She tells him that this time of year was the anniversary of when they met. The song he keeps hearing is the song they listened to, and the shows too.  Ed gets angry and kicks her out of the room  because he thinks that she thinks he's lost it. Ed starts to get obsessed with his radio. (The episode gets weird sitcom music) he comes home and wonders what happened to his radio. Vinnie had it taken away. 

    This is spoiler territory, so you can skip a head to end (after the last red word at  the end of this block) 

 

          Ed finds out that she had hsi radio hauled away by the junk man, he goes to find it, and buys it back for $10. It still works!  He goes back to his Tommy Dorsey song, the one he and Vinnie shared a long time ago.  (I'm getting sentimental over you, is the song)  It ends up back in 1940 and it seems that he got his second chance.   

 

      

  

 Spoiler over 

                    The radio symbolizing Ed's wanting to relive the past is a pretty interesting way of doing it, and having the conflict be that he and Vinnie missed on something big in the past, correlation to the programming on the radio is  master class.  It's a great way of showing how we connect to the past through old media. A modern example, could be TV shows, and still music.  A thing in the past to connect us back to maybe a happier time in life. 

 

             The deeper part of the episode is the conflict of Ed and Vinnie where regret from  the past comes into the present. The memories connected to the regret eat at both of them. The ending (that I won't give way in this section (if you were the spoiler skipper)  is a nice one, not something I was expecting how it was going to end. I think it's nice.  

        That's it for now, we are going to listen to this radio that's playing stuff from 1975,and see what happens next!  

     

       

 

CBS Announces Premiere Dates for 10 scripted series

CBS TVLookFall2020   

 

    CBS has finally been able to release some premiere dates for scripted series. These are shows that started production and have enough episodes to run. November is a good month, so the network can go in holiday mode, and have hopefuly have more episodes in the new year.   The 10 scripted series are , NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles. NCIS: New Oreleans, S.W.A.T, , All Rise, Young Sheldon, The Neighborhood, Bob 💓 Abishola,  B Positvite, and Mom. 

          Here are the premiere dates (all times ET/PT unless otherwise noted) 

   

 Thursday, November 5

8PM  Young Sheldon (Season Premiere) 

8:30  B Positive (Series Premiere) 

9PM   Mom (Season Premiere) 

Sunday, November 8 (NFL Double Header) 

7:30PM / 7PM PT  60 Minutes 

8:30PM/ 8PM PT  NCIS: Los Angeles (Season Premiere) 

9:30PM/ 9PM PT  NCIS: New Orleans (Season Premiere) 

10:30PM/10PM PT  NICS (fan favorite episodes) 

Wednesday, November 11

8PM   The Amazing Race 

9PM   S.W.A.T  (2 hour season Premiere) 

Monday, November16

8pm   The Neighborhood (Season Premiere) 

8:30pm Bob (Hearts) Abishola ( Season Premiere) 

9pm  All Rise ( Season Premiere) 

 Tuesay, November 17

8PM NCIS (Season Premiere) 

Press release after the Jump 

Freeform's Kick off To Christmas 2020 Schedule

Freeform  Thanksgiving  Christmas 

    

             Freeform' s annual  November programming event, Kick off  to Christmas is back. The event features of  mix of Christmas movies and some favorites as well, running from November 1 -30 th leading into December's 25 Days of Christmas .

Here's the full schedule  all time ET/ PT (for  West coast feed users) 

Sunday, November 1

7:30 a.m. – "E.T. the Extra Terrestrial"

10:05 a.m. – "Jingle All the Way 2"

12:05 p.m. – "Deck the Halls" (2006)

2:10 p.m. – "The Game Plan"

4:50 p.m. – "Matilda"

6:55 p.m. – "Frozen" (Disney Animated)

9:25 p.m. – "Coco" (Disney-Pixar)

11:55 p.m. – "Christmas with the Kranks"

Monday, Nov. 2

12:00 p.m. – "Christmas with the Kranks"

2:05 p.m. – "Matilda"

4:10 p.m. – "The Hunger Games"

7:25 p.m. – "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

Tuesday, November 3

11:00 a.m. – "The Hunger Games"

2:00 p.m. – "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

5:30 p.m. – "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1"

8:00 p.m. – "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2"

12:00 a.m. – "Stealing Christmas"

Wednesday, November 4

10:30 a.m. – "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1"

1:00 p.m. – "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2"

4:00 p.m. – "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (2010)

6:30 p.m. – "Frozen" (Disney Animated)

9:00 p.m. – "Shrek"

12:00 a.m. – "Jingle All the Way 2"

Thursday, November 5

10:30 a.m. – "The Simpsons"

5:00 p.m. – "Shrek"

7:00 p.m. – "Hercules" (Disney Animated)

9:00 p.m. – "Inside Out" (Disney-Pixar)

12:00 a.m. – "Early Man"

Friday, November 6

10:30 a.m. – "Boxtrolls"

12:30 p.m. – "Alvin and the Chipmunks" (2007)

2:30 p.m. – "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel"

4:30 p.m. – "The Santa Clause"

6:30 p.m. – "The Santa Clause 2"

9:00 p.m. – "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause"

12:00 a.m. – "The Simpsons"

Saturday, November 7

7:00 a.m. – "Boxtrolls"

9:00 a.m. – "Alvin and the Chipmunks" (2007)

11:00 a.m. – "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel"

1:05 p.m. – "Prancer Returns"

3:10 p.m. – "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"

5:15 p.m. – "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" – Freeform Premiere

7:20 p.m. – "Minions" – Freeform Premiere

9:25 p.m. – "Despicable Me 3" – Freeform Premiere

11:30 p.m. – "Miracle on 34th Street" (1994)

Sunday, November 8

7:00 a.m. – "The Mistle-tones"

9:00 a.m. – "Prancer Returns"

11:00 a.m. – "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"

1:05 p.m. – "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2"

3:10 p.m. – "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas"

4:50 p.m. – "Minions"

6:55 p.m. – "Despicable Me 3"

9:00 p.m. – "Zootopia" (Disney Animated)

11:30 p.m. – "A Wrinkle in Time" (2018) – Freeform Premiere

Monday, November 9

12:00 p.m. – "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"

2:00 p.m. – "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (2010)

4:30 p.m. – "Alice in Wonderland" (2010) (Live Action)

7:00 p.m. – "Tarzan" (Disney Animated)

9:00 p.m. – "Shrek"

12:00 a.m. – "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"

Tuesday, November 10

11:30 a.m. – "E.T. the Extra Terrestrial"

2:05 p.m. – "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996) (Disney Animated)

4:10 p.m. – "Chicken Little" (Disney Animated)

6:15 p.m. – "Shrek"

8:20 p.m. – "Wonder"

12:00 a.m. – "A Cinderella Story"

Wednesday, November 11

10:30 a.m. – "The Preacher's Wife"

1:00 p.m. – "Wonder"

3:30 p.m. – "A Cinderella Story"

5:30 p.m. – "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement"

8:00 p.m. – "The Simpsons"

12:00 a.m. – "A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits"

Thursday, November 12

1:30 p.m. – "Deck the Halls" (2006)

3:30 p.m. –"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2"

5:30 p.m. – "Mary Poppins" (1964)

8:30 p.m. – "Christopher Robin" (2018) – Freeform Premiere

12:00 a.m. – "Turkey Drop"

Friday, November 13

1:30 p.m. – "Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs 2"

3:30 p.m. – "The Goonies"

6:00 p.m. – "The Parent Trap" (1998)

9:00 p.m. – "The Secret Life of Pets" – Freeform Premiere

12:00 a.m. – "The Simpsons"

Saturday, November 14

7:00 a.m. – "The Goonies"

9:35 a.m. – "The Simpsons"

12:35 p.m. – "Disney's A Christmas Carol" (2009)

2:40 p.m. – "Lilo & Stitch" (Disney Animated)

4:40 p.m. – "The Secret Life of Pets"

6:45 p.m. – "Home Alone"

9:15 p.m. – "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York"

11:55 p.m. – "The Perfect Holiday"

Sunday, November 15

7:00 a.m. – "Deck the Halls" (2006)

9:05 a.m. – "Life-Size 2: A Christmas Eve"

11:10 a.m. – "The Perfect Holiday"

1:15 p.m. – "The Hunger Games"

4:30 p.m. – "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

8:05 p.m. – "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1"

10:45 p.m. – "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2"

Monday, November 16

11:30 a.m. – "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

3:00 p.m. – "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1"

5:30 p.m. – "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2"

8:30 p.m. – "Pitch Perfect"

12:00 a.m. – "The Mistle-tones"

Tuesday, November 17

10:30 a.m. – "Holiday in Handcuffs"

12:30 p.m. – "The Preacher's Wife"

3:00 p.m. – "The Intern"

5:30 p.m. – "Pitch Perfect"

8:00 p.m. – "Love Actually"

12:00 a.m. – "The Perfect Holiday"

Wednesday, November 18

11:30 a.m. – "The Perfect Holiday"

1:30 p.m. – "The Intern"

4:00 p.m. – "Love Actually"

7:00 p.m. – "Deck the Halls" (2006)

9:00 p.m. – "Disney's A Christmas Carol" (2009)

12:00 a.m. – "A Cinderella Story"

Thursday, November 19

12:00 p.m. – "Turkey Drop"

2:00 p.m. – "A Cinderella Story"

4:00 p.m. – "The Princess Bride"

6:30 p.m. – "Matilda"

8:30 p.m. – "Miracle on 34th Street" (1994)

12:00 a.m. – "A Very Merry Muppet Movie" – Freeform Premiere

Friday, November 20

10:30 a.m. – "Prancer Returns"

12:35 p.m. – "Matilda"

2:40 p.m. – "Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs"

4:45 p.m. – "Hercules" (Disney Animated)

6:50 p.m. – "Minions"

8:55 p.m. – "Despicable Me 3"

12:00 a.m. – "The Simpsons"

Saturday, November 21

7:00 a.m. – "Prancer Returns"

9:10 a.m. – "Bon Voyage Charlie Brown"

10:45 a.m. – "The Simpsons"

12:15 p.m. – "Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs"

2:20 p.m. – "Bolt" (Disney Animated)

4:30 p.m. – "Minions"

6:40 p.m. – "Despicable Me 3"

8:45 p.m. – "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (2000)

11:25 p.m. – "Shrek"

1:30 a.m. – "Scared Shrekless"

Sunday, November 22

7:00 a.m. – "Bon Voyage Charlie Brown"

8:30 a.m. – "The Simpsons"

10:00 a.m. – "Alvin and the Chipmunks" (2007)

12:00 p.m. – "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

2:00 p.m. – "Shrek"

4:05 p.m. – "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (2000)

6:45 p.m. – "Home Alone"

9:15 p.m. – "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York"

11:55 p.m. – "Black Nativity" – Freeform Premiere

Monday, November 23

11 a.m. – "E.T. the Extra Terrestrial"

1:40 p.m. – "The Princess Bride"

4:10 p.m. – "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement"

6:50 p.m. – "Inside Out" (Disney-Pixar)

8:55 p.m. – "The Secret Life of Pets"

12a – 2a – "The Simpsons"

Tuesday, November 24

11 a.m. – "Decorating Disney: Holiday Magic"

12 p.m. – "Deck the Halls" (2006)

2 p.m. – "The Goonies"

4:30 p.m. – "The Game Plan"

7 p.m. – "The Secret Life of Pets"

9 p.m. – "Shrek"

12 a.m. – "Prancer Returns"

Wednesday, November 25

10:30 a.m. – "Prancer Returns"

12:30 p.m. – "The Goonies"

3:00 p.m. – "Christmas with the Kranks"

5:00 p.m. – "Penguins of Madagascar" – Freeform Premiere

7:00 p.m. – "Shrek"

9:00 p.m. – "Tangled" (Disney Animated)

12:00 a.m. – "Turkey Drop"

Thursday, November 26

7:00 a.m. – "Christmas with the Kranks"

10:30 a.m. – "Bon Voyage Charlie Brown"

12:00 p.m. – "Penguins of Madagascar"

2:00 p.m. – "Pocahontas" (Disney Animated)

4:00 p.m. – "The Princess and the Frog" (Disney Animated)

6:00 p.m. – "Home Alone"

8:30 p.m. – "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York"

12:00 a.m. – "Matilda"

Friday, November 27

10:30 a.m. – "Matilda"

12:30 p.m. – "Jingle All The Way 2"

2:30 p.m. – "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996) (Disney Animated)

4:30 p.m. – "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas"

6:00 p.m. – "Ratatouille" (Disney-Pixar)

8:30 p.m. – "Zootopia" (Disney Animated)

12:00 a.m. – "The Simpsons"

Saturday, November 28

7:00 a.m. – "Alvin and the Chipmunks" (2007)

9:00 a.m. – "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel"

11:05 a.m. – "The Simpsons"

11:35 a.m. – "Deck the Halls" (2006)

1:40 p.m. – "The Parent Trap" (1998)

4:50 p.m. – "Cinderella" (2015) (Live Action)

7:20 p.m. – "Moana" (Disney Animated)

9:50 p.m. – "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) (Disney Animated)

11:55 p.m. – "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" – Freeform Premiere

Sunday, November 29

7:00 a.m. – "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms"

9:10 a.m. – "Christmas with the Kranks"

11:20 a.m. – "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"

1:25 p.m. – "Matilda"

3:30 p.m. – "Cinderella" (2015) (Live Action)

6:00 p.m. – "The Incredibles" (Disney-Pixar)

8:40 p.m. – "Incredibles 2" (Disney-Pixar) – Freeform Premiere

11:20 p.m. – "The Goonies"

Monday, November 30

7:00 a.m. – "Christmas with the Kranks"

10:30 a.m. – "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"

12:30 p.m. – "A Cinderella Story"

2:35 p.m. – "The Goonies"

5:10 p.m. – "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas"

6:50 p.m. – "Up" (Disney-Pixar)

8:55 p.m. – "Wreck-It Ralph" (Disney Animated)

12:00 a.m. – "Snow"

Press release after the Jump

Into the Twilight: Pay your Credit Cards on Time or Else

Twilight Zone 

           We're back dipping into the "Twilight Zone" another one from the 1985 series, because it's a fun series with different segments to talk about. This time, we are talking about an episode called "The Card" This is the first segment of the 13th episode of season 2.  (Lucky number 13) That first aired on February 21, 1987.

          You know those episodes of shows, usually in kids' media, where a kid gets a credit card, usually for emergencies and ends up going on a spending spree? This episode is that minus the kid,and instead of like parents helping them out at the end; it's darker.

                 A woman named Linda Wolfe is a mother and wife (This is important) and has been invited to a credit card company called The Card.  (That's  sign you might not want to join such a place) A woman working for the card tells Linda (and us) that she has a bad credit record, having been canceled by actual credit card companies.The woman talks about the facts of penalties and she has to pay weekly. Linda doesn't read the fine print.

If you take our pens we'll charge you $10,000

 
             Linda's husband warns her to be careful.  It's been a week, and that condition is that she has to pay comes up.  There the cat seen earlier has gone away and nobody but Linda remembers it existing.  Next,  she's getting a fridge and there's a problem with the credit card. The Card refuses to pay because she forgot to pay and has to pay them.  (They are tough) 

Ma`am we only take cash here

             There's a dog that we only see once, weird she was so focused on the cat. We get  hint that the Card might be the reason why things are going away.  Meanwhile, the dog is gone. The dog was named Scooby. (Is that legal?)  She still remembers the dog, but everyone else doesn't.  (This card company doesn't play) The husband thinks she needs professional help.  Linda says she doesn't plan to use the card anymore.

Mom. what's a dog ? 

           The Jeep Wagoner has other plans (I don't like how they have best car get attacked like this) She has to use the credit card, because plot reasons.   Meanwhile, at the card company they don't like that she used it and do something else.  She comes home and finds out she doesn't have children anymore.(They really want their money)  Her husband thinks she's losing her sanity.

Aah who picked this interior! 

      Eventually, she puts math together and figures out The Card might have something to do with  it. The next day, she goes to them. She sees her kids being put in the room she saw earlier. The woman at the card company says it was all in the card agreement. (Always read those things) The woman says everyone will be put in better environments. Linda writes a check and it has to clear, if not more penalties. Her husband is mad and he canceled the check.  Eventually, everything starts disappearing even her husband. Her card has her unmarried name on it.   She cuts the credit car but, that's no use and everything including her is gone.

The card 

      That episode was dark. The moral is read the fine print or don't have credit cards? If there is a moral.   The episode is interesting probably even more now, where terms and conditions are written and ignored, and cashless payment has increased.Though, many people use debit systems versus credit it still has a lot going with how modern the episode can feel.  It's an interesting episode.

 That's it for now, tune in next time when we ask for you to pay us your debts or your cat and dog are gone!

Peanuts Film Festival : Race for your Life, Charlie Brown

Peanuts 

        Our Peanuts Film Festival series continues with the Peanuts film from 1977.  That would "Race for your Life, Charlie Brown". This would be the penultimate film in the catalog  that was made when Schulz was alive. The movie first came out in Japan, then the United Sates in summer of 1977.  It's not a long movie, clocking in about 90 minutes, it would be good for a TV movie length to get about 2 hours on your station.

       The theme music is awesome. The movie is about summer camp. Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucky, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Sally, Franklin, and Schroeder all together on a camping trip.  Sot he movie starts with the characters on a bus on the way to camp.  The bus has a tire blow out, while Sally tries to threaten a girl and didn't work.  They had the tire blow out just to have whatever that was happen.   Snoopy and Woodstock are riding  on a motorcycle because they are cool like that.

The only true stylish way to ride! /Copyright Peanuts 

      They make another stop before camp, so we can see Snoopy and Woodstock have root beer. Charlie Brown gets forgotten on the bus and has to hitch a ride with Snoopy. He should be happy that his dog isn't normal after all. At the camp, we meet the three villains of this movie , or more to be exact, antagonists, and their cat.  Snoopy is afraid of the cat, but Linus has a whipping blanket that scares them off.  (Marcie invents the idea of stay-cations)  Charlie Brown's goal is he wants to be a leader.
                   

I don't like paper work! Ban Papers!/ Copyright Peanuts 

          Peppermint Patty is with the other girls and they do this thing that will be used most of the movie, where the girls vote on everything. (Showing us  that democracy is a failure) The Europeans will laugh at Franklin for not knowing 24 hours time. Many parts of the movie is little sequences  of things that just happen then kind of just stop and move to the next scene.  Like the characters having physical training then doing camp stuff like making wallets.
               

We weed out the weak here at camp/ Copyright Peanuts 

             Finally, there are some events going on like tent competitions where different tent groups compete for different things.  Charlie's group doesn't do to well in the first time. Peppermint Patty's group also has a hard time with the bully group.

         The main meal of the movie is this raft race. (RACE for your life) The bully boys have a fancy raft that probably shouldn't be allowed, but apparently nobody official cares.  There are four teams , with Charlie Brown and the boys,  The Bully Boys, Peppermint Patty and the girls, and Snoopy and Woodstock. I like how Snoopy and Woodstock have a simple sail on a  little inner tube.

Other racers nobody cared about/ Copyright Peanuts 

               The girls continue their ballots and voting thing because that's how decisions should work. (democracy has failed)  The race takes a break at night as characters relax for the night, minus the bully boys who try to get a head start by going at night and changing the arrow that was warning racers about rock explosions.  Then it snows. (Alright then)

                                             Snow in summer! My kind of summer 

     The next day, the race continues. The three non-bully teams are close, not knowing anything that happened the night before. The rock blasting zone comes into play, the bullies could have ended up killing everyone else. Peppermint Patty thinks something is off, but Charlie Brown decides that this is a good way, and Snoopy already went that way.  Good thing they didn't die.  Snoopy saves the day, because that's why he exists.  Funny enough, the end up ahead of the bullies.

Good thing Charlie Brown can't die/ Copyright Peanuts 

      There's a storm because this movie needs action.  The bullies learn that teamwork is important. Snoopy lives a life lonely and depressed calling for Woodstock  and Woodstock calls for him as they look for each other. Will they prevail ?  Find out, after the Jump

Arthur : Season 5: The Election and Season 18: Arthur Calls it

Arthur PBS 

     
         We're back dipping into "Arthur" This is an election year, unless you are reading this in a non election year or something.... (Election year..noooooo why oh god no! The worst years ever are election years)  I had decided to look at an Arthur episode about an election.  (I came for the other episode you are writing about) 

         "The Election" is a season 5 episode , episode 6a, it's paired  with "Francine Goes to War" which is not strange to be paired with an election episode. It first aired on October 30th 2000, right before the 2000 election.   (Don't mention that!) 

Season 5 Episode 6a:  The Election 

  The cold opening: Muffy is being sworn in a president of the United States by Chief Justice Brain because I don't  know how that happened, I didn't think he was interested in law. Muffy  ties to steal JFK's line.  Arthur shows up and gets arrested because she hates him now. (Dang !)


          The episode:  Mr. Ratburn want to finish their unit in government in action by making a mock election. (hence the title)  Francine gets turned turned down by her peers to be president and Muffy convinces to her to be a Champaign manger instead. Buster suggests that Arthur should run. Muffy announces that she's running for president and Buster nominates Arthur and everyone cheers him on. So it's Arthur vs Muffy (an election worth having) and the campaign goes on.

             Arthur isn't taking it as much as Muffy is who has decided to use her money for this. (Give me money, Muffy!)  This makes Arthur want to get real plans and start getting to work.  (Finally) Muffy starts doing negative campaigning, because of course she does.  Muffy uses her part of the debate to promote her father's business.  Meanwhile, Binky thinks Arthur and Muffy are boring candidates and he would do a better job.  So, Mr. Ratburn encourages Binky to do a write-in campaign.  He asks Muffy and Arthur what they think and Arthur is like alright yeah. (Arthur is nice)  Muffy is like  no. Mr. Ratburn goes along and decides to let him run.

             Election day happens and Binky wins! Muffy  is sad.  She complains that she spent the most money and was the prefect candidate.  (wait hold on , oh no no no  no)  That's also why the cold opening had adult Muffy having adult Arthur getting adult arrested.

                The moral of the story is that elections work better when you give people a third choice. (Whoa)  It is funny that Binky's write-in works because he knew his audience was offering stuff that people wanted to hear even though he couldn't deliver it. Arthur was a nice guy and offering the idea of working together to get things done, Muffy was going with funding things like a mad woman and trying bribe with perks and getting things slightly negative.

           It's not really a satire  on elections or anything more than just an episode of Arthur being Arthur and Muffy being Muffy but in election fun. Maybe WGBH didn't want to wade into some weird outrage and just of wanted to tell an election story. That's fine, it's  a good episode with some fun jokes and hints. It's funny that Binky is the guy who goes around saying I could do that better then actually runs to prove it, putting his money where his mouth is. The moment where Ratburn asks Muffy and Arthur about Binky running, gives a us great short tap into their characters, that by season 5 you would already know, Arthur is willing to let him run because why not? The more the merrier. Muffy is like he's going to ruin my chances, she was confident she was going to win  and yet something about Binky startled her.

          It does remind me of school campaigns with the snacks and stuff , that was fun. Anyway It's  a fun episode.  Not the best Arthur episode, but they all can't be the best , some just can be good.



More after the Jump

Time Warp Trio : 2105

One Shot Posts 

              Time for another One Shot Post, where we look explore something  that doesn't quite fit into our other posts  categories.  Though, in theory this could be a lookback, but oh well. I am looking at at the Discovery Kids (and NBC) series "Time Warp Trio" produced by WGBH ran from 2005-2006, and based off books of the same name . The concept of the series is about 3 boys who end up time traveling thanks to a magic book given to a boy named Joe, whose Uncle gave him the book.

         For this post, I'm looking at episode 2 which is called 2105.  (There's a good reason, if you look at the date of the post) 

              The episode starts as many of the episodes do with the three characters in danger  in some random time spot the book has randomly sent them to, mostly because Joe doesn't understand the book that much, it  happens for plot reasons, just like when the book gets lost somewhere, that's the main plot device each episode, because the book is somewhere and they have to get it back to get home.

 
           It is funny that title sequence gives away something before this episode, but hey, why make two theme songs?
 
         The episode starts in present day (2005) Sam, Joe, and Fred are at the museum with their class.Sam brought the book because Joe gave it to him because they were talking about a  magic square.  Fred is me and wonders what the next world series is going to be like  in a month. (He's a man of culture)  Because of the mistake of him pressing 2105.  The robot that was going to kill them wasn't , it was actually, an aggressive ad bot. (The future is a mess)

Where's  the book/Copyright WGBH 

             They are in the year 2105 and visiting the 2005 room where its September 17 2105 and the room has September 17 2005.  Funny enough a working computer, so that worked.   The book is missing or at least in theory, because it was hiding in plain sight. They get fired and thrown and can't get the book.  They notice three girls (who look kind of like them) looking at them, they run and a chase sequence happens.

Psst, we should get them!/ Copyright WGBH

             2105 world is kind of like ours with aggressive advertising and food costs too much. The girls show up again and they have to out run them. The girls invite them to their house. Also 2105 has music eye glasses.  The girls tell them that they wrote them a letter to meet them on September 21, 2105, because time travel is messy.  Also, in case you don't tell,  these girls are these guys great grand daughters. I do like how they each had grand daughters that look like them, each had one, and they are friends. (that's good loyalty there)

                     

Grandparents...Great/ Copyright WGBH 

      Jodie tells them this news and how she has the book too, and the boys faint. (reasonable)   Samantha tries to take them home using a watch from great grandfather Sam, The watch isn't very stable though and leap around and make it to the year 2106 where the Red Sox are playing the Yankees for the ALCS.   They notice that Samantha is missing, then they find her, well half of her.

                                                 Lost some weight/ Copyright WGBH 

             Sam does math and says that they have to find the book or the girls will disappear .  They go back the museum to sneak into the 2005 room to get the book.  (With a fun spy sequence)  The museum woman shreds the book and makes the girls disappear. (dark)  Good thing that watch exists, and Sam uses it to rewind time again to stop her from the shredding the book.  The plan works and they make it back to present time.


           

                This is a fun show, with some historical stuff, though not this episode. Seeing the boys meet their grand daughters is fun and they will become part of the series as it went on.  This episode is fun episode with some interesting steaks to see how the boys have to get back or the grand daughters would be gone forever.  The 2105 is kind of interesting, how it doesn't go too far how things work ,but still has some interesting things and some things that  maybe could exist in the future.  Sam's eye-pad for example. If you can find the show, it's a good one to check out. The books are fun too, and some kids would like them, so check those out too.


  That's it for now, tune in next time, we would look for our lower halves again.

The Loud House : Season 5: Episode 1: Schooled!

The Loud House Nickelodeon 

           Yes, I know , mostly moved these posts to our sister blog,but this episode is special enough to have on Joshuaonline.  (Send your complaints to us!) 

                    The Loud House ,as of this writing, has four seasons under its belt , and was renewed for a sixth season just before the premiere of the fifth. The series will be in the small club of Nickeloden's animated series to go have a sixth season, after already being in the small club of being a Nicktoon to get a fifth series, and small one of lasting more than one or two seasons. (Done blathering here) 

             The fifth season was promoted as changing the show up a little, taking the characters and moving them around. The idea was that Lori, the eldest Loud child, would go from being a High School senior and go to college. Plot lines talking about this were mentioned in episodes in the third and fourth season.  Lincoln would go from fifth grade to sixth grade in middle school. (Some middle schools in the US start at 6th grade, some start at  7th, but his starts at 6th).  I guess put Lilly in preschool because some people put kids under 4 in preschool, apparently. 

            This episode is the first episode of season 5, it's called "Schooled!"  The Loud House has done 1/2  long or actually 22 minute long episodes, (we've covered at least 3 of those) this the first time they've done 44 minutes.(Give or take a couple minutes)  That's a lot of breathing room for an episode, let's see how they that.  (Wow that intro was long!) 

           This episode's plot is focused on three things from the description: Lincoln gets a class that is different than his friends, and ends up in Canada (what?) , Lori, starting her new time in college has dorm troubles,  and Lilly and potty training.

          The episode starts with something we've not had in episodes in some long time, Lincoln talking to the audience. (I missed this. ) Lincoln has list of things to do.  He explains everything that is going on, like Lori is going to college, Lilly is potty trained now, and he's going to middle school.  Some background plots are happening as well, like Lynn being a hall monitor at school and Leni trying to figure out what to wear.  The goodbye to Lori isn't a big extended thing, it's more a quick goodbye, and she's off.

Beep Beep / Copyright Nickelodeon 

         Lincoln is optimistic, while is friends are worried about the first day.  There's even a musical number , which is unexpected. The song is called "We got this" it's a pretty good song,about how they'll fine at school and how they are a great team.  The other sing about their worries.  Of course, they won't be fine, that's how this works.  So they have this new teacher who seems cool, she's nice.  Lincoln finds out a clerical error and got the wrong class, because he forgot to turn in a form.The list from earlier coming into play.

We are here about the oh is that cake?//Copyright Nickelodeon

           He finds out that he has a different class. Meanwhile, Lilly is dropped off at preschool. (Also Lynn Sr. is over 42 years old)  The show forgets the parents have day jobs though, as they just apparently, hang around the house.   Also, Also, Lori is a college and finds a floor for a dorm, that's too quiet and wants their quiet.  Lynn helps Lincoln escorting him to his new class,which is in a trailer.  The teacher is more an unpleasant fellow, and the classroom is really hot. (The heat being hot) The parents find out the Lilly can't go to school because she's not potty trained, even though we saw her being trained earlier.  (Keep a pin in that)  Yes this episode switches between the plots like this.   Lori is having an awful time, so is Lincoln.  The episode has a nice touch of having Lincoln and Lori saying the same thing and being worried. 

                I'm calling this part one, since that was the first eleven minutes. It does a good job of setting up the plot threads and what we are expecting. Also, forgot to mention Leni's mini plot will have a little play.  It's also nice to have some Lincoln focus since the show has seemed to have lost that.

 Also, because this post is long we say, join us after the jump