Into the Twilight: It's a Good Episode, A Very Good Episode ( It's A Good Life)

The Twilight Zone 

Previously on Joshuaonline: We've proven ourselves to be a in the grip of time as eight-years ago was when I wrote about the "It's Still a Good Life" which was the 2002 "Twilight Zone" episode that was a made as a sequel of "It's a Good Life" from the OG series.  Also, it strangely is the only post on this site that is written in a different font, and I don't know why.  You can read that here, if you'd like. 

         Now I'm writing about the original. This is also a very well known episode it's been parodied including "The Simpsons"  and "Johnny Bravo" and it's also one without a big famous twist ending or something that I think would be hard to explain to a first time watcher. I will say if you are a first time watcher to "The Twilight Zone" watch this episode first before reading this post, it will be more fun to watch the episode then come in and read this, probably, I think. But  I don't think this post really has a spoiler of the episode that ruins the experience of it before watching though. 

       This good episode, a wonderfully good episode is based off a short story as some episodes of the show were, with the same name written by Jerome Bixby. It was published in 1953 in Star Science Fiction Stories No.2.  The short story is about 3-year-old Anthony  Freemont,  a good boy, a very good boy, with the very good powers. The story presents the idea of a 3-year-old boy and 3-year-olds are well 3, and then he was born with very powerful powers and the process of him connecting with that seems to go as well as one would expect. He's not presented as evil, but more 3-years-old with ultimate power. [It's a good read] 

    The episode does changes some changes, very good changes, the best changes.  The teleplay version was written by Mr. Serling, himself.  He did some changes like Anthony who was changed to six-years-old, played by a 7-year-old.  He didn't go wild and change too much of it.   He didn't use the part where Anthony forces a rat to eat itself, which I guess was very disturbing, they didn't want to try or couldn't do that effect in 1961, or CBS would have said no anyway because they would have been disturbing. (especially for the rat viewers)  Somethings he was able to kind of fill in the gaps himself if they weren't described like the TV show Anthony makes. Like how Anthony looks so he was free to just find anyone and why not use  Billy Mumy who appears in the "Twilight Zone" a few times, by few I mean three. Three very good times.  

        Serling also changed some aspects of the character where in the story, Anthony, again  age 3, does most of his stuff in the sheer will of trying to help and slightly more playful in the same sense.   

   He apparently, and why would he not? it's a good story, a real good story, wanted to make it a feature film idea too, but didn't get the chance to do so.   

            This, because of course, is one my favorite episodes of the series too.  Yeah, it's a popular episode, but it is because it's good, very well good.   This episode is the eighth  episode of season 3, which first aired on November 3, 1961 on CBS- a real fine network, the best network.

Into the Twilight: Careful Who You Call (The Call- 1985)

The Twilight Zone 

    

            We dip back into the 1985 The Twilight Zone with a featured episode that makes you maybe want to double check a phone number.   "The Call" is the 9th episode of the third season of the series. It was written by J. Michael Straczynski , who would later create  Babylon 5 .  

 

         The episode's main character is a man named Norman Blane who apparently worries that if he were to disappear nobody would notice.  I'm here wondering if they picked this name because it works like Normal and Bland. Blane is played by William Sanderson, whom you might know as Larry from the great TV series Newhart.   He lives by himself, minus a bird, and lives in a normal apartment and does things by himself. He sleeps on a pull out bed from a couch. 

        Anyway, he hears an ad on TV for public domain safe music, direct to consumer ad and writes down the phone number, now this very important even the camera cuts to a shot of the number being written on paper, so it's important. We hear the number and it looks like he wrote a 7 instead of the 1.  He calls in and a woman's voice picks up and it says hello and not something more business-y business. He realizes he might have dialed the wrong number.  (Oops he must have called one those numbers)  

        The caller doesn't seem to mind and she asks him his name, and he asks her name which is Mary-Anne. Mary-Anne is voiced by Julie Khaner and maybe more a voicing than being seen. Norman seemed to talk to Mary-Anne for hour  and he seems to get along.  

         The next day he told this to his co-worker, Richard (Dan Redican) and he seems to prefer Norman to not talk very much. Norman also mentions that the woman says he call her again, but after 7 PM.  Richard suggests he should ask her out.  Then wants some peace and quiet because he has five kids. 

I have five kids, none of them are even mine 

            Norman calls Mary-Anne again and they seem to have  3+ hour conversation. (Good thing it was after 7PM or that would be a high bill) He asks her out, but she says no  and prefers just talking on the phone and wants to keep it that way. He promises to call her the next day.  Now Richard is annoyed that Norman is being quiet, make up your mind.  He suggests that he calls the operator and asks what the address for the number is, that was a thing.  (The 80's were easier for stalkers) 

                

      We find out that is the Art Gallery. He goes to ask a woman for Mary-Anne and they don't know who that could be either and he waits for the director to come.  He finds a phone and dials the number and follows the ringing to a phone in spot right by a sculpture. A museum person shows up and talks about it and the artist who made it did a self sculpture and that was last thing she did before committing suicide.  [scary word] 

She looks like someone who calls taverns and makes bar tenders say See More Butts 

           He hears the name of the artist a woman named Mary-Anne. Well that's a funny coincidence  isn't it?  Then later he calls her and she says she saw him talking to the woman, he can't believe it and he hangs up. Then he calls again.  She feels bad. Then hangs up after saying it's been a long time since she talked to anyone and had been lonely. He seems to understand that and longs for her by sketching her.  

 

            He tries to make a call and she doesn't seem to pick up or something. Then he goes to the art gallery and tries talking to her face to face.  (She's kind of stone faced talking to him)  He talks to her and expresses how he feels and she made him feel worth something again and that's was in love.

         Later there's another call and it's her. She talks to him and he says that he loves her but she doesn't want him to. She says come to her that night and hurry. This is going in some direction, oh that's right this is the Twilight Zone.   A security goes on his rounds to check the place while she tells him she wants him to stay with her and guess what he's become a statue too. 

I'll melt...uh bronze with you... 

        Let's start with the first twist.  The episode does a good job at throwing in things that make you wonder. Why does the woman not want calls before 7pm? Why does she not want to see him in person. There's a whole lot it does to make a viewer curious and want to see where it goes.  I think the idea of her being statue could have been a great end, where he finds outs that. 

        The episode continues and we get that twist pretty much half way through. There's an point where yeah maybe it would have felt too dragged out if the whole 22 minutes were that story, but yeah. Then the episode continues with the next part.  Norman finds out and seems to process that fact pretty well after a minor eek moment.  The episode starts and mentions that he's a lonely man and establishes that and he finds connection to Mary-Anne because she was lonely too. Then he falls in love with her.

          Now there's the 2nd twist of what's going to happen in the episode with these two.  There are many potential ways it could have gone and chose the strangest one, [with that, I can also mention her turning alive - more alive?- would be strange too] to just have him join her as a statue. The narration introducing Norman at the start says would anybody miss him if he's gone?  Maybe his bird would.

      This episode is about loneliness and how that is with people how people feel about it. Richard, for his annoyance, has something Norman wished he had. Richard has a wife , I'm assuming, and the mentioned 5 kids, Norman would wish to have such a thing, whilst maybe Richard wouldn't mind at times having Norman's quiet existence. Though, that's a guess not a mentioned thing. 

      There is a tense uncertainty to this episode which is good for a "Twilight Zone" episode in any form of the show.  It's hard to guess where it's fully going and Norman really takes a leap of faith here , correction: he takes many leaps of faith here. He wanted to get away from his loneliness that badly. I like how it does leave things open in thought, like how did he become a statue was he one before and didn't realize it?  That's a different Twilight Zone episode.  

            It's a good episode , doesn't feel like it's dragging and presents an interesting story and twists.  

    Well, that's it for now, tune in next time when we call a doll and she sticks us with the charges, rude! 

        

            

Weekendering: The Weekenders: Season 3: Episode 10: Celebrity

The Weekenders Disney 

    Previously,  I have an experiment and if you didn't read the last episodes this your chance [here] 

   

Episode 10:  Celebrity 

        This episode is a two-parter, interesting. Also, we used to be a real country where you could bonk your TV when a problem happened. The gang is watching an episode of the in universe favorite show Teen Canyon. Tish introduces this episode and takes us back two months to an episode of the show being taped in their town.  They were watching it happen and also funny that the actor forces the people on the show to figure out a reason why he has his shirt off, he really wants people to see his abs. 

    They need a kid for the show and they have chosen  Tish.  I'm going to assume a show production couldn't just grab a random kid to be in their show without some paper work or something, but I guess we need to hurry up a bit. I also like that Carver is annoyed that Tish was called cute one. (we Tino fans were robbed)   Tish didn't really say anything and they dubbed over her with some weird  speech, I'm sure that's how kids talk, they say "ever so" right? right? (I don't know)  Carver is ever so not jealous. 

           Then back to the present and they've watched the episode.  Tish starts to get phone calls where other kids have seen the show and other people who ask if she can do something for them. Tish starts to think of herself as a star. Hmm I wonder if it will get to her head? That's usually how these things go. The next day, small town so the press is following Tish around because small town.  An old lady asks Tish to sign her teeth,  and the Pizza place has gone Tish themed. Tish is feeling overwhelmed.  She's even gotten her own TV show special about her. (Things need to calm down) 

            So this episode could have easily just got Tish getting a big ego because of the fame , but they went a different route and probably something better with Carver than him just seething for the whole thing.  He tells her that she's being a celebrity wrong. Like being nice (and following people on Twitter?)  and he says he going to teach her how to be one. Lor and Tino have seen the script already and know things are going to go wrong.  

Weekendering: The Weekenders: Season 3: Episode 9: The Tao of Bluke/An Experimental Weekend

The Weekenders Disney 

        Previously, Lor needs a Tutor, but we learned something instead [Here]  

Episode 9a: The Tao of Bluke 

            This episode decides to jump right into Saturday (can they do that?) and also Bluke is hanging out with the group (can they do that?).  The first minute of this episode is already winning by how it's going.  Tino can't catch us up on what's going on so he brings an a professional announcer , voiced by Jeff Bennett, to catch us up to speed. Then the episode rewinds to Friday. (Can they do that?) The group was at helpers helping the helpless to win a prize of a pool table.  They have to find 7 clues (Blue's Clues?) and bring them back and that will help them win.  Also use of the term Generation Z back in 2001, we're zooming. 

            In a twist, Bluke has been added to their team  and that's why he's hanging out with the friends.  The group is worried that he'll drag them down and they'll lose. Tino says they will not and they will help him out and the announcer is knocked out.  Their working with Bluke seems to be going not very well. There's a plan B, one of them is going to have to keep Bluke distracted for Sunday  and that ends up being Lor. 

         But first, Tino's Mom time!( YEAY)  She says that sometimes people will surprise you , if you let them. (She's just handing out the moral of the episode)  Lor is with Bluke helping him pick out overalls. The other three get to work on clues. (I've got my handy dandy notebook out)   I think there's a hard time finding one clue.  Bluke and Lor now having matching overalls. Which is fun.  They meet up with the other three. He reads the hard to solve clue and he found the 2nd clue, and the 3rd one, and the rest of them.

            The winners of the pool table isn't our Weekender group, but they pizza. He says it was good they didn't win because it's hard to split a pool table 5 ways, a pizza is easy. (He's right) The answer was fine.  Tino let's Bluke break the 4th wall, but that goes somewhere else. 

       This was a really fun story, like really fun. Bluke gets a nice spotlight and  he makes for an interesting side character. He's kind hearted and quirky but not in a way that seems annoying or over the top,  it's nice.  Tino's Mom does give the moral away a little too early here too early, but it is nice to see how he surprises by finding the clues by hearing the clues and seeing how he figures them out.   I also like how the episode has fun with the format of the show and the announcer part was fun.  This was a warm episode like Bluke and there's a lot to enjoy here, the funny moments worked well  and everything was well done. 9/10.  

More after the jump 

Oh Yeah! Cartoons : #36: Hobart

Nickelodeon 

Previously, too age old enemies  continue their fight [here] 

#36.1  Hobart: The Weedkeeper

Season 1, Episode 3c

        Hobart  is another two short series, so I will be covering both in this post.  This also happens to be another  Bill Burnett affair this time co-made with Greg Emison whom you also will remember worked together in  Jelly's Day   . So these two seem to be pitching machines. (Can they play for the Rockies?) Anyway, let's start with "Hobart: The WeedKeeper" 

                 Hobart is voiced by John Kassir who has a very long list of voicing credits He was the voice of the Cryptkeeper in the HBO series. For Nickelodeon he was Winston on "As Told by Ginger", Ray on "Rocket Power" and again he does alot.  

             Hobart is going to his girlfriend, Okra's, place to give her a puppy as a gift. So that she won't have to walk her toaster anymore. If that doesn't tell you what kind of short you're getting then nothing else will. Also, Hobart does kind of look like an adult Eugene from "Hey Arnold". He tries to put a ribbon the pup, but the dog wants to play and then flushes himself down the toilet. Then Hobart jumps down to help save the dog.  

            We meet the weedkeeper and who really wants a puppy and guess what falls on him? (a hamster?)  The puppy falls down on him  and he's happy, but then  Hobart falls on him.  They get into a fight over the puppy as he gets away. This cause the two of them to go on the chase.  

  

             The Weedkeeper has some interesting tools  and ends up being able to cage the puppy but has to work to capture the dog, but Hobart stops him and ends up chasing the dog.   Eventually he's able to give his girlfriend the puppy and she punctuates  the ending asking where do you put the toast. 

 More after the jump 

Oh Yeah! Cartoons! #35: Cat & Milk-Man

Nickelodeon 

         Previously, a company that gets it's kicks from taking down villains [here] 

#35 Cat & Milk-Man

Season 1, Episode 2c

            Cat and Milk-Man is a short created by Miles Thompson.  We've covered another work by him in Oh Yeah! Cartoons before.  This would be the first short that he did that came out for this series. 

        This one goes for a classic cartoon thing of having two different things against each other like Bugs vs. Daffy,   Tom vs. Jerry, etc. so is cat vs. a milk man fitting and interesting?   I do have to knock something off with this short, as yeah cats shouldn't be drinking milk, especially cow's milk. It's some weird thing that seem/s/ed to exist in cartoons especially.  I will not be taking it to seriously here though , just like to point that out at times when I need too.  

            Anyway, a cat who I guess is called Cat is looking for food in a trash can and throws a lid that causes a milkman who I guess is called Milk-Man to crash.  The cat sees the milk and wants some but the Milk-Man  doesn't want to give him any.  He goes on his route and gets loved on by an old lady and leaves, but Cat shows up to take her milk and he helps her.  Again I think most of this could be avoided if he gave the cat some milk. (He doesn't negotiate with terrorists) 

   

             He goes to the next house and give a military man some milk and Cat shows up again and the cat makes the man mad because he caused him to wet the flag.  You can guess where this cartoon short goes where it's pretty much Milk-Man does his thing, Cat shows up to try and take the milk and things go south.    Eventually, Cat takes Milk-Man's truck. and more chaos ensues. 

              Milk-Man gets squished and ends up in the hospital, and apparently his mother's name is Mrs. Milk-Man (family name power) and she's told he might not make it.  He runs away when he sees the cat though, because sure. 

             Very simple mostly goofy cartoon where most of the action is gag based and pretty much at Tom and Jerry like action of two characters going head to head to fight each other.   Though, the idea of him getting crushed and injured  was the darkest part but ends with him being able to run in a full body cast, so the short knows what humor it wants.  You can tell by the animation style and story that it was inspired by old time cartoons, there's even a Popeye like reference, but kind of constrained by it being 1998 and can't go as off the wall as it could have with some violence or something.   I do like the animation style and character designs are nice, 

         Do I think this could have been a full series, not for 1990's early 2000's. I think the full gag type cartoons were kind of not in the wanting at the time and I think in this mode it would have had a harder time.  I can see why a network didn't pick this up. This doesn't mean I think it's bad, because it could have been a series of shorts and would have worked, but it was just not the right time period.  

  That's it for now, tune in next time when ... why is there cat pointing a...  

Valentine's Day: I love the Chipmunks Valentine Special

Valentine's Day 

            No, that's not me saying I love this special, that's the name of the special. I Love The Chipmunks Valentine Special first aired on NBC on February 12, 1984 in primetime. (That means it was lucky)  This is during the era of the big 80's series had just started and this was the second ever special. 

            It starts with the Chipettes, the girl chipmunk characters created in the 1983 series.  It stars in their very nice tree house with the girls making valentines for the respective chipmunk boy the like.  Eleanor made Theodore a whole dang cake.  Britney wonders why Alivn hasn't called her for the Valentine's Day dance. (drama reasons, duh?)  

             It goes to the boys where it's Simon and Theodore making Valentines for the girls but stop when Alvin shows up because he doesn't like the holiday apparently. (Good thing it's not Christmas that's how you get visited by three ghosts.) I don't know how old he's supposed to be but apparently he had a bad experience on the date and that's why he doesn't like it.  He won't ask Brittney because he thinks she might reject him. ( Which going by 2 minutes earlier, she wouldn't but hey we need a story here. ) 

        Britney is apparently popular and all the boys want her, lots of human boys, but we don't ask questions  because that would be alot.  She really wants Alvin to ask her out, but he's not doing it. The other boys tell him that she wants him to ask her out. (Alvin is  a blockhead)  Alvin calls Britney but hangs up, so Simon and Theodore work to get him out there. 

            They try a tape to work on his mind when he's sleep. I forgot the chipmunks were also a music thing so yeah there's a song. Alvin is riding as the lone ranger like figure and goes to find Brittney and ask her to the dance, but she didn't know who it was.  This plan is not going well when Alvin wakes up from his sleep walking he's going to be confused.  

Chipmunk afterhours didn't work as a show 

            Awake Alvin hopes that asking  Brittney out will go well. Theodore and Simon are sure that she'll say yes.  We saw that she will not since she is going out Captain Chipmunk, which again the name he gave during his sleepwalking thing.  Funny enough,  Captain Chipmunk doesn't show up. 

         So Alvin brings a fake girl and  Brittney brings Jeanette dressed as Captain Chipmunk.  Alvin's date pops when a ribbon is put  on her and Alvin and Simon find out that Jeanette was playing Captain Chipmunk. (That's rough buddy) Alvin and Brittney aren't having a good night.  They have a song together where they give up on love. 

Your date is a bit off there, Alvin. 

  

             During sleep, Alvin accidently hits the tape player with the tape still in it this causes him to sleep walk again and become Captain Chipmunk and the special gets to reuse audio and stuff again.  This time Alvin is awoken by water and eventually realizes he's Captain Chipmunk. (I'm shocked)  He rides the horse to see Brittney and set things straight and causes window damage. 

         When she insults Alvin, he decides not tell her and will just go as Captain Chipmunk. He decides to be a not very good date the decides to leave early.  Then he hears Brittney crying about she wished she'd gone out  with Alvin.  (There's alot of drama going on here. He shows up as himself and dances with her. They make it as king and queen of the dance.   One more song. 

            I can't say this special wasn't entertaining, it was simple but alright. There's a charm to the normally confident Alvin being nervous about asking for a date.   The sleep walking stuff was fun to how it was played with where Alvin became a guy who is confident tor ride a horse to see Brittney. I enjoyed the Alvin and Brittney song the most of the songs in this special, though the Captain Chipmunk song was nice.

           Also it is fun to see Brittney and Alvin's dynamic. Of course they were characters made to be girl chipmunks  to complement the boys and they paired them off for such, but there isn't a blandness to them and do provide their own characterization. It's funny when Brittney does find out that Alvin was Captain Chipmunk.  This one is alright for Valentine's Day.  

            That's it for now, tune in next time when we make figure out who this masked person who comes by every night is. 

            

One Shot Posts: Future-Worm!

Disney 

             I kind of wonder how Disney XD will be seen in the future, it was Disney's attempt at making a male focused network, because of Disney Channel ending up on female skew, then they changed things to focus on animation, then gave up. I liked the network; it was always
more interesting than its sister Disney branded Channel to me.   

          With all that, it might be remembered for Gravity Falls, which is where that show was moved and had sucess with it. It was the home of a many of 2010's Disney Television animated shows that weren't for preschoolers that is. 

      I'm going to talk about a gem of a show for our One-Shot Posts this "Future-Worm!" 

      
    "Future-Worm!" was a Disney XD original animated series that premiered as shorts in 2015, then the full series started on August 1, 2016. Which is important for the fact that the show was running at peak Disney XD is your Disney Channel for animation (and still boys getting a spot too).  

       "Future-Worm!" was created by Ryan Quincy who worked on South Park and later crated a show for IFC called "Out There" (not be confused with any non 2013 non IFC series of the same name). Like this show, Out There was also animated, but that was going for more an adult audience, whilst I will say this was for a younger/child audience that doesn't mean it feels limited by that.  

        The basic premise of the show is a boy named Danny Douglas, has invited a time traveling lunch box and meets worm named Future Worm (very easy name) with great titanium reinforced abs (which we have to mention by law) and they go on adventures. 

       Danny is voiced by Andy Milonakis which is the most interesting and yet perfect casting choice for a character.  Future-Worm or Fyootch is voiced by James Adomian who brings a great voice that makes the worm sound like a gruff action character, which is great for our titanium abs, with bullet proof beard and a photo receptor visor. They are our main characters.   

                                 

          This show has 21 episodes as half hours (with ads) and most of the episodes are broken up into 3 segments , instead of the traditional 11 minute segments or a full 22 minute thing. This allows the show to vary the lengths of segments usually at 11 minutes, 7 minutes and 3 minutes.  Minus the final episode which does a full 22 minute single story. 

         Most of the time the segments are un related to each other and do their own different stories.  That doesn't mean the show is fully self contained stories, it does reward you for watching episodes and remembering things when you watch a different episode, calling back to certain things and details. This also pays off in the finale, as a reward for watching the series.    

  

           The first segment, "Long Live Captain Cakerz!" introduces some stuff that appears in the show like seeing the stake-based superhero show. (That's one of the weirdest thing I've mentioned.)  We also meet Danny's parents for a bit, they aren't big in this yet. We (because they already know) also meet a girl named Bug (voiced by Jessica DiCicco, which is ironic, she once voiced an actual bug in a cartoon). Bug's interesting it seems they are friends but not close and she wanted to go with them in the lunchbox, but they leave her. The plot is about  Danny wanting his favorite cereal, and wondering where all the boxes went. This is simple premise, but the fun part of the show is to see how it accelerates into madness. 

          There are some other hallmarks and long running gags, I'm not going to mention them all, but they are fun.  Anyway, madness, gloop aliens have taken over the world apparently, so the simple plot of using time travel to get cereal turned into aliens taking over the world, they shot the cereal into the sun. Then Neil deGrasse Tyson shows up (voiced by Neil deGrasse Tyson)  that's also something that will be said more than once for this show.  Neil knows Future-Worm because sure, and he explains the aliens are made of sour milk and good thing Danny has hidden the cereal in the backyard to fight them.  I love how this escalated. 

        The 2nd segment , "Healin' Touch with Dr. D" is shorter story where Danny has brain freeze and Fyootch brings him to a TV doctor in the year 3000 and the doctor happens to be a T-rex.  That all I'm going to say, because I do want you to watch the show. I will say, it uses it shorter time to give a story without feeling to bogged down.  

      The final segment, of episode 1 is "Terrible Tuber Trouble". Fun fact: this episode has Justin Roiland voicing a character, ironic to those who call this a "Rick and Morty" for kids or family or whatever.  The show takes a simple idea, having to make the parents dinner to cash in a coupon, and having something accurate in a strange way. 

More after the Jump