Now that it’s officially autumn, we’re ready to jump right into Halloween. Thankfully, Shout! Factory has just released Spooktacular Pony Tales, a collection of six My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episodes (along with extras like pumpkin stencils & a sing-a-long!) to help us ease into probably the best holiday ever! Of course, we’d watch Pinkie Pie in a chicken costume any time of year.
Good news! The angel Fettucini has just delivered a Message From On High: from this moment on, all politicians must be free of greed and egotism and be motivated solely by the desire for good governance and love of heir fellow man.
The, uh, bad news is that the above is true only on Earth 4072, which, of course, exists only in an alternate universe. These things are relative. To the inhabitants of Earth 4072, the news is not bad.
They can be useful, these alternate universes, especially, if you write fantasy or science fiction.
Consider Julius Schwartz, an editor at DC Comics. In 1959, he was given the task of reviving a character who had been dormant for most of the decade, the Flash. Instead of merely redoing the Flash comics readers (okay, older comics readers) were familiar with, Mr. Schwartz and his creative team gave the Flash a comprehensive makeover: new costume, new secret identity that included a new name, new origin story – the whole bag. But Mr. Schwartz had a potential problem: some of his audience – those pesky older readers – might wonder what happened to the original Flash. Mr. Schwartz provided an answer by borrowing a trope from science fiction: alternate worlds. In the Schwartz version, there were two Earths coexisting in different dimensions. The original, Jay Garrick, was on one Earth and the newer model, Barry Allen, was on the other Earth. It was the publishing equivalent of having your cake and eating it, too.
Take a bow, Mr. Schwartz.
The gimmick must have boosted sales because Mr. Schwartz soon applied it to other DC superheroes with similar success. Then other editors and their teams took the alternate Earth idea and ran with it and eventually, there were dozens of versions of Earth, each with its own pantheon of costumed heroes. This may have created story opportunities, but it also probably created confusion and narrative unwieldiness. For whatever reason, in 1985, the guys in the big offices decreed that all Earth be cosmically mashed into one, in a storyline titled Crisis on Infinite Earths that included all of DC’s superhero comics. Later, DC’s editors repeated the stunt three more times.
So…can we reach a verdict? Alternate Earths: pro or con?
Well…if you can get a good story from this, or any other, concept, yeah, sure. A good story is always its own justification. But you do risk alienating new or merely casual readers who might be confused, and you burden your inner continuity with the need to explain the multiple Earths stuff. Maybe this particular story could be told without multiple Earths elements and if that’s true, maybe it ought to be. Or do you risk compromising the uniqueness of your hero by presenting diverse versions of the character, and do you care?
You might want to mull these matters, especially if you make your living from comic books. Or you might not, but if that’s the case, why don’t you want to mull them?
I always wondered how World War II would have turned out if only Joseph Goebbels had a sense of humor. After all, what’s the old adage – you get more with a smile and a bomb than just a bomb alone? Really, the whole concept of Harley Quinn is based upon this philosophy.
You know Harley Quinn. The Joker’s… ah, paramour? Quadramour? Well, hold that thought for a couple paragraphs.
This is the start of the new fall television series, not only in North America, but evidently in Iraq as well. A new program, The Superstitious State, is being promoted up in the land between two rivers. It’s tagged “satire,” but it’s not going to close on Saturday night. Here’s the premise.
There’s this big celebration somewhere in some desert. It’s a wedding, although the focus is on the consummation of this blessed event. Don’t worry, it’s G-Rated, common for a Muslim nation that makes its media available to citizens of all ages. The idea is…
… jeez, I hope you’re sitting down…
Warner Archive, the really cool digital library for Warner Bros and its vast array of titles, has a series of new DVD releases coming this fall for the discerning comic book fan and the lover of old school television fare.
Pre-orders are now open for Warner Archive Collection’s Blu-ray™ release of Beware The Batman: Dark Justice. Featuring the final 13 episodes of the groundbreaking, all-new CGI series’ first season, the single-disc Blu-ray™ will be released on September 30. Beware The Batman: Dark Justice pits Batman, Alfred and swordstress Katana against the underworld likes of Anarky, Professor Pyg, Mister Toad and Magpie. Over the final 13 episodes, the rogues gallery expands with appearances by Killer Croc, Man-Bat, Deathstroke and more. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, this action-packed detective thriller deftly redefines what we have come to know as a ‘Batman show.”
Here’s a glance at other animated offerings now available at WAC and/or WAI:
BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON (Blu-ray)
Bigger, bolder, blu-er! The fearsome fan-addict forces behind Batman: The Brave and the Bold fired on all bat-cylinders for this fantastic sophomore season that skillfully blends super-heroics, sly satire, and a leviathan scope for an animated concoction embracing the fun of the past with the pow! of the present. Thanks to the series first season, Batman goes even farther beyond the expected grim and grit of the Dark Knight in both their narrative approach AND in the fun. Across the 26-Episode second season – presented in HD and widescreen as it was meant to be seen – you’ll find a vacationing Aquaman, a requiem for a Scarlet Speedster, the legendary Justice Society, the celebrated Justice League International, the Super Batman of Planet X (voiced by Kevin Conroy), Batman’s Strangest Cases featuring a team-up with one snack-loving, mystery solving mutt and an overarching story arc that climaxes in a stunning battle against Starro the Conqueror! Joining Diedrich Bader (Batman) are some very special guest voices, including Adam West, Julie Newmar, Paul Reubens, Mark Hamill, Tom Kenny, John DiMaggio, Tara Strong, Stephen Root and many more! And making this collection even more fab is the fact that the episodes are presented in the producer’s preferred order for the first time anywhere – including the “The Mask of Matches Malone!” in the correct aspect ratio! Batman: The Brave and the Bold, The Complete First Season is also available via WAC.
MARINE BOY: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON (1967-68)
Marine Boy, the amazing aquatic hero of the American anime action classic, surfaces for a final volume of sea-faring sci-fi adventures! This 3-Disc, 26-Episode Collections rounds out Marine Boy’s excursions for the Ocean Patrol Marine Headquarters with a series of fantastic confrontations against fearsome foes side by side with some fabulous friends. Thanks to the inventions of his father, Dr. Mariner, Marine Boy is super-scuba geared up and ready for the full fathom fighting form with his propeller shoes and bulletproof wet suit, not mention his boomerangs and Oxy-gum! So take a swim with Marine Boy, his dolphin Splasher, mermaid gal pal Neptina, hero-worshiping little Clicli and the stalwart crew of supersub P-1 as they go up against evil electronic brains, haunted island, ghost cruisers, mutant plankton swarms, militarized red dolphins, and attacking icebergs. It’s just another day under the sea for Marine Boy – brave and free!
SHIRT TALES
Meet the world’s cuddliest crime-stoppers: Pammy
Panda, Tyg Tiger, Rick Raccoon, Digger Mole, and Bogey Orangutan they¹re cute, they¹re furry and they have a secret. Whenever the purple mushroom by the giant tree they call home starts to flash, they swing into action as the crime-sleuthing squad called the Shirt Tales. Racing down to their secret lair hidden underneath the tree (and under the nose of Park Ranger Mr. Dinkle), they answer the Shirt Tale Alert from the Commissioner who clues them in on the current crime via holo-phone. Then it¹s off to their shape-changing supersonic craft where they use their wiles and their fantastic gadgets to solve the mystery and nab the bad guys. While these message-wearing T-shirted critters started out as adorable greeting card characters, it took the genius of Hanna-Barbara to take the cute and mix-it up with a blend of Batman and Scooby-Doo to create a fan-and family classic. This is the 46-episode, complete series collection.
LOOPY DA LOOP: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION (1959-65)
Between leaving MGM and building a TV empire, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera served up a series of theatrical shorts about a charming, tuque-wearing French Canadian wolf by the pun-tastic name of Loopy De Loop. Distributed to theaters by Columbia, these 48 shorts depict the misadventures of wolf with a mission to change the bad image that people have of wolves, and make them appreciated as warm and generous fellow creatures. Not an easy job, even for a loup as charming as Mssr. Loopy, and the poor fellow is usually rewarded with a terrified cry for “Help!” and a clout to the head. But hope springs eternal in the heart of this un-savage beast as he tries to undo his kind¹s big, bad image by rendering aid and assistance to the likes of Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Little Bo Beep, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, D¹Artagnan, Dr. Jeckyll and more to injurious and hilarious results. Rarely seen due to their unique genesis, Loopy De Loop is an unusual charmer (Much like Loopy himself) in the illustrious Hanna-Barbera oeuvre, combining the funny animal sit-com antics of classic H-B with the kind of satire associated with the work of Jay Ward. But now’s your chance to enjoy them all with this complete collection that will have you crying “Sacre-iliac!”
GILLIGAN¹S PLANET (1982)
It¹s a brand new story about The Castaways!
Leaving their tiny island after years and months and days, they built a little spaceship, crude but it could fly. They left their home and lost their way, between the stars and sky, they went from an island to star, lost on Gilligan¹s Planet.² It¹s true The Castaways are now lost in space! They¹re all here, in this strange, new world, Gilligan (voice of Bob Denver), the Skipper (voice of Alan Hale, Jr.), the Millionaire (voice of Jim Backus), his Wife (voice of Natalie Schafer), the Movie Star (voice of Dawn Wells), the Professor (Russell Johnson) and Mary Ann (voice of Dawn Wells). Now joined by Gilligan¹s alien sidekick Bumper, they begin a whole new life on a whole new world while still trying to repair the now space-worthy SS Minnow and return home from their near-infinite three hour tour. It¹s something old, something new in this Saturday morning cartoon sit-com sci-fi romp!
MAGIC BOY (1960)
Magically-gifted boy Sasuke lives in peace, deep in the forest with his animal pals and his elder sister, Oyu. After their forest sanctuary is violated by a demon witch who devours one of Sasuke’s animal companions, he vows vengeance. Leaving the forest, the boy sets out to master his magical gifts by making a pilgrimage to the home of the wizard, Hakuunsai. While Sasuke learns the ways of magic, Yakusha, the demon witch, terrorizes the countryside, and Sasuke works to complete his training in time. Magic Boy aka Shunen Sarutobi Sasuke is a classic piece of anime history – the first full-length animated feature produced in Japan to reach the shores of the United States. With much of the original storyline left untouched and centering on pop culture staple hero Sarutobi Sasuke (think Bomba the Jungle Boy crossed with a ninja), Magic Boy is an enchanting precursor to decades of imported Japanese ani-magic. Presented in 16×9 Widescreen.
And on Warner Archive Instant …
AQUAMAN (1967)
Swim along with the King of the Seven Seas in his swingin’ sixties animated incarnation from Filmation. Aquaman, alongside teen sidekick Aqualad and his Queen, Mera, uses his astounding powers to defend the ancient undersea city of Atlantis and endangered sea life everywhere. And, to sweeten the super-action, his adventtires are presented as originally seen, with segments featuring The Justice League, The Teen Titans, The Flash, Green Lantern and more!
MARINE BOY Season 1 & 2 (1966-67)
Suit up for some undersea superheroics with Marine Boy, the original “American anime” classic! Produced in Japan but intended for first run in the US, Marine Boy lead the wave that included such color anime classic as Kimba the White Lion and Speed Racer (with whom it shares a number of voice actors). Operating out of the Ocean Patrol Marine Headquarters, superscientist Dr. Mariner has outfitted his stalwart son with all the aquatic accoutrements he will need in his quest to keep the seas safe for all mankind. From Oxy-Gum and bulletproof wet suit to flying subs and propeller shoes, Marine Boy has what it takes to face a variety of fearsome foes above and below the ocean¹s surface.
It’s easy to throw The Maze Runnerin with the rest of the Young Adult fiction boom, and it’s probably mostly true, it is a YA book, it does seem to have made in a response to the money being trucked in by Twilight and The Hunger Games but there’s a world of difference here and much of it centers on having a male character be the center. The Maze Runner has a stronger focus on action and gives much less attention to establishing characters. Perhaps this is serving someone in some demographic but it feels too soft to be a real action movie and too hard to contend with the other YA franchises.
There are only three characters in The Maze Runner that I would need to use more than just “The <blank> Guy” to describe. This isn’t unheard of in movies but it’s a serious problem when the female lead falls in to that category (she’s The Girl Guy) along with almost every ally of Thomas, the hero. There are people who stand by him the whole way and seem to be some of his most trusted friends that I’m not even sure got named in the film. It’s hard to get invested in the climactic battles when the kids being thrust in to harms way feel like 80% red shirts. It’s also a bad sign for a franchise when two of the three characters that feel the most complete die in the first film. They’ve left a lot of heavy lifting for the sequels.
One of the surprise hits of the summer as been MANHATTAN, WGN’s fictional take on the creation of the atomic bomb and the people who designed it. Tony award winning actor, John Benjamin Hickey talks about his role on the series and what it’s like playing around in the past. Plus it may seem crazy, but these guys go to abandoned hospitals and creepy sanitariums looking for the weird and unworldly. Meet the guys from GHOST ASYLUM, a new series on Destination America.
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Just a bunch of random thoughts this week, gang…
As I mentioned two weeks ago, Martha Thomases and I go waaaay back to the days when she was DC’s go-to woman for marketing and promotions and I was a naive, newbie freelance writer for the company who always stuck my head in her doorway (“hey, Martha”) whenever I was in the office. We have always been kindred spirits in political thought and our taste in literature, television, and moves have always coincided more than they have diverged, and now Martha’s latest column extends that coincidence to some critics.
Martha, you have more patience than I do; I couldn’t even finish the piece because I got so annoyed. So, yeah, I’m not an A.O. Scott fan, either, although I do think he writes beautifully. In my not-so-humble opinion, Mr. Scott is a bit of a snob and a critic in the Rex Reed mold – meaning that he seems to actually enjoy tearing down anything that smells of popular culture because in Mr. Scott’s world “popular” is a euphemism for a four-letter word.
Martha’s column made me wonder if Mr. Scott would have decried Mark Twain’s Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and his Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) or Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1883) and Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (both in 1886) or James Fenimore Cooper’s The Leatherstocking Tales (of which The Last of the Mohicans (1826) is the second book in the series) or Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found (1871) as “the death of adult American culture” if he had been employed as a critic in the eras in which these classics of American literature were published.
Writer Chuck Dixon posted the photo posted above on his Facebook page, courtesy of Iconic Superman’s own FB page. I thought it tied in nicely with Marc Alan Fishman’s column this week about the trials and tribulations of a mother and her Batman-obsessed four year-old. I do agree with Marc that it is not generally the fault of the media but the fault of the parents when children are exposed to things that are “rated M for mature.” Parents should – make that must – be aware of the contents of a book, a television show, or a movie and they must be responsible for the interactions of that child with said media. However, I also feel sad that our comics icons (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman) are, for the most part, reflecting the grayness of the adult world, the ugliness that is present in the world.
Yes, I know about the comics and cartoons (excuse me, animation shows) geared towards children, but overall, our four-colored heroes are reflections of us, the adults, and are not the standard bearers of positive ideals they should be – and, yeah, I sound like an old fogey, and not the same person who wrote a column about how she wasn’t bothered by that ass-in-the-air Spider-Woman cover. So am I a hypocrite? After all, as an adult, yes, I love writing and reading stories hewing towards the darker side of heroism and life; hell, one of the best stories I ever wrote was about a young girl who runs away with the “bad boy,” has a baby, and ultimately leaves both the kid and the father because she just can’t stand it any more (“Found and Lost,” New Talent Showcase #13, January 1985).
But as a mother, I once told Alixandra that I didn’t care what she watched or read or listened to, except I didn’t want to hear gangsta rap in the house because I didn’t want to hear songs about how the singer was going to cut up and/or kill his bitch (I also told her that I knew she would listen to it outside the house or at her friends’ houses, but in “this house you are not going to play it.”) And as a grandmother, I once tied an apron around my neck, and ran around “singing” the theme to Superman: The Movie in front of the baby (who just stared at me like I was an idiot – he was probably thinking: “this is a grandmother?”
Outlander (on STARZ) has drawn me into its spell. Much less a “bodice ripper” (see my column from a couple weeks ago) than a really, really excellent time-travel story, I told you before that I originally tuned in because Ronald D. Moore was producing it. I have not been disappointed. The dialogue continues to seem realistic and natural, the history of the period has been well researched, and English actress Caitriona Balfre does a wonderful job portraying the time-displaced heroine, Claire Randall, who, while becoming entwined in the life of the MacKenzie Clan and the Jacobite movement, which aimed to place Bonnie Prince Charles on the throne of England, still aches for her husband and life in 1945.
This past Saturday’s episode, which focused on the wedding night between Claire and Jamie, was not only incredibly sensual and sexy – I mean H-O-T, people! – it also was one of the most mature depictions of two people, basically strangers, thrown into an intimate partnership I have ever seen on the screen, big or little. This coming Saturday is the “mid-season finale” – like many shows on television these days, especially on cable, STARZ has chosen to follow the British style of short seasons – the “leave them wanting more” approach. I get it. And I know that STARZ has already renewed the show for a second season. But just how long am I going to have to wait? (If anybody knows, please leave a comment below.)
Like the rest of us, I sometimes wish there were real superheroes (men and women) so us ordinary people wouldn’t have to worry about things like global climate change and terrorists and war. As if fucking ISIL isn’t scary enough, yesterday I read an article in the New York Times about a Syrian terrorist group, led by a member of Bin Laden’s inner circle who was in on the planning of 9/11, whom the nation’s intelligence agencies deem more of a direct and more imminent threat to the U.S. than ISIL. (By the way, don’t ever use the phrase “protecting the Homeland” around me. There was a political leader in mid-20th century Germany who looked like Charlie Chaplin’s “little tramp” who liked to use that phrase.) And of course with President Obama’s plan to “train and arm rebel groups in Syria” having passed Congress, I’m betting that some our arms and training falls into the hands of these guys.
I have been a big supporter of President Barak Obama, but I gotta tell ya, I don’t know what the fuck President Obama is thinking, getting in bed with groups and nations who either don’t particularly like us or outright hate us. I keep thinking about Franklin Roosevelt and how he knew that we needed to get into the war in Europe to stop the Nazis, but with an isolationist Congress and America the best he could do was the Lend-Lease Act, by which he could supply Britain, the Free French, the Republic of China, and eventually the Soviet Union with arms and other war supplies. Perhaps Obama is trying a 21st century version of Lend-Lease, but the lines aren’t so clear-cut, and the “Allies” aren’t really allies at all.
Yeah, we could use a rollicking cry of Avengers Assemble! right about now.
“Are you in or out?”
The Doctor and Clara wake in the company of two strangers and are quickly told they are to rob a bank. Everything is planned so well, almost as if the planner knows what’s going to happen, that The Doctor quickly realizes that this isn’t a mere bank heist, but a…
TIME HEIST
By Steve Thompson and Steven Moffat
Directed by Douglas MacKinnon
The Bank of Karabraxos is the single most secure bank in human history. A loyal staff, redundant security systems, and a guard dog that literally smells guilt in the customers. When The Doctor picks up the phone of the TARDIS and suddenly recovers from a blackout in a strange room with two criminals, it’s too tantalizing not to move ahead with. Being chased by the bank’s security at all times, the quartet must breach unbreachable security, all the while not actually know what they’re supposed to steal.
A solid thriller with questions and puzzles all the way through. Once again, the idea of breaking into the perfect bank is not new, but with the right character work and a delightful twist at the end, it works wonderfully.
GUEST STAR REPORT – Keeley Hawes (Ms. Delphox, Mme. Karabraxos ) is best known to genre fans as the voice of Lara Croft in seven games to date over nearly ten years. She’s played Lady Agnes Holland on the new version of Upstairs Downstairs, and DI Alex Drake on Ashes to Ashes, the sequel to Life on Mars.
Jonathan Bailey (Pai) appeared with David Tennant in the murder procedural Broadchurch and had the titles role in Leonardo.
THE MONSTER FILES – The Teller is a magnificent beast, both in design and ability. Unlike a number of creatures in the new series, it was made with practical effects, which meant it was on set with the actors and they didn’t have to imagine what it looked like. Like the Crooked Man from Hide, the being was driven by the loss of its mate, and once they were reunited, its rage and malice abated. There have been plenty of telepathic species in the show, though few with such a weaponized form. The Sensorites could affect the minds of other beings, and their planetary neighbors the Ood could communicate at amazing distances from each other.
BACKGROUND BITS AND BOBS –
THE FACES OF THOSE HE’S WRONGED FLOAT UP AT HIM – In that fast flip of hardened criminals, more than a few recognizable faces can be seen. There was a Sensorite from the Hartnell adventure, a Tereliptil from the Davison years, an Ice Warrior, a group of Slitheen, and a Weevil and John Hart from Torchwood. But most interesting is a character from the Doctor Who comics – Absalom Daak, Dalek Killer. Created by Steve Moore and Steve Dillon, Daak enjoyed a long run in the Doctor Who Weekly.
BECAUSE IT ORBITS URANUS AND LOOKS FOR KLINGONS – One of the treasures in Madame Karabraxos’ vault is quite valuable to episode director Douglas MacKinnon. It’s a rocket ship made from a toilet paper tube, made for him by her daughter for Christmas.
ONE CAN DO THE WORK OF TWO – They only made one Teller suit. Even the last scene as they walk away was a double-exposure, the suit actor playing both the male and female.
“It’s a memory worm” – First seen in The Snowmen, the memory worm is a creature whose slimy coating has the defensive ability to erase the past hour of memory from any being who touches it. In the aforementioned adventure, Sontaran Strax keeps touching it, as he is a boob. Here, they’re used to erase the memories of The Doctor’s gang (he has a gang now) before beginning their little expedition. The effects of the worms seem to have changed a bit, or at least clarified – here it’s shown that the memories are not erased as much as blocked. Not exactly a big change, and effectively no difference when attempting to get away from a predator.
“Why are we not using the TARDIS?” – It’s always fun to get to answer the questions the viewer are already thinking of. Let’s them know you’re a step ahead. Solar Storms affected the navigation of the TARDIS in The Rebel Flash, so there’s precedent for keeping away from the interference. Of course, as we’ll find out later, there’s a more ulterior motive for not using it – to make things more fun.
“He’s gone already, it’s over” – Once again, while the Tennant or Smith incarnations would sweat and suffer over not being able to save someone they’ve not even met, this Doctor is a pragmatist. Even when it looks like their own compatriots are killed, he moves forward, eyes on the prize. Of course, one could note that Clara seems to have rather quickly gotten over the loss of Psi and Saibra once that big tantalizing vault opens.
“Basically, it’s the eyebrows” – Not to mention the air of knowledge and authority The Doctor gives off. He uses a trick yr. obt. svt. uses whenever he can – act like you’re supposed to be there. Nine times out of ten, people take your unspoken word for it, and follow your lead.
“You can delete your memories?” – Psi’s story is somewhat of a mirror to Captain Jack Harkness’ original backstory, which has since been somewhat forgotten. While a Time Agent, he had a large part of his memories deleted, and was trying to find who did it, and if possible recover them.
“Don’t think” – Once again, a simple act is made scary. From trying not to Blink, to Clara having to hold her breath at the beginning of the season to trying not to think of anything here, they’re all things that the viewer can’t help but trying not to do along with her as they watch. We can only hope that nobody thought of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
“It’s a neophyte circuit – I’ve only ever seen one once before” – And I’ll lay odds this is the same one. The Doctor set this entire adventure up – the request from Madame Karabraxos could have been done any number of ways, but he chose to set it up in a way that would not only be the most interesting for himself and Clara, but to help cure/repair two people who he’d clearly never met before he did his research and found them.
“I hate the Architect!” – The theme of the episode is the idea of not being able to trust, or even stand, someone who looked exactly like you. It’s why Saibra couldn’t touch anyone (“Could you trust someone who looked like you, out of your own eyes?”), it’s why Madame Karabraxos’ relationship with her cloned employees was to tense, and why The Doctor thought The Architect was such a bossy prat. At that point he didn’t know he’d planned all this, he only suspected, based on an analysis of the mysterious man’s personality. It’s not the first time he’s displayed such a low opinion of himself – once he realizes who the Dream Lord was in Amy’s Choice, he said there was only one person in the universe who could hate him that much.
BIG BAD WOLF REPORT – Not much mention of the plot in this episode, save for a brief appearance by Danny Pink, who is certainly (OK, hopefully) not the Big Bad, but is certainly setting up to be important to Clara.
“I’m giving you my telephone number” – At the beginning of the episode, The Doctor once again mentions that there’s only a handful of people who has the phone number to the TARDIS, including a mysterious lady in a shop who gave it to Clara back in The Bells of St. John. Madame Karakraxos is now a member of that group, which also includes most of of The Doctor’s recent companions (like Martha Jones who used it to call him to stop The Sontaran Stratagem), Winston Churchill (from well before Victory of the Daleks) and, apparently, Marilyn Monroe, whose marriage to The Doctor did not count. And apparently, he’s STILL been too busy to re-route the line to the control panel, as he asked Handles to remind him to do.
“Beat that for a date” – And right there, all the questions about “Why would The Doctor go through all that rigmarole” are answered. He set the whole thing up as a game to give himself and Clara something to do that day. In DC Comics, wealthy socialite Sue Dearborn Dibny would get the ultimate Birthday present for her husband, Ralph Dibny, AKA The Elongated Man. She would set up an elaborate mystery game for him, usually with the assistance of other members of the Justice League, to give him an adventure he’d not soon forget. It’s entirely likely that’s the motivation for The Doctor here.
NEXT TIME ON DOCTOR WHO – Clara tries to give Danny more of her time, but The Doctor finds a problem that needs solving by any means necessary. The Caretaker starts his new job this Saturday
Once upon a time, when I was a boy, TV consisted of the three networks, one independent channel, and before long, one “education” channel. (“They actually had TV when you were a boy, Uncle John?” Yes. Quiet, you.) Every fall, each of the networks took a week to trot out their new and returning shows and they each took turns. And, if memory serves, that pretty much was it for the season.
If you were into superhero comics (and I was despite my mother), there were damn slim pickings. There was The Adventures of Superman, of course, and that was played pretty straight albeit it was considered a children’s show. Later on, there was the Batman series that was fun and interesting to me at start but got old real fast. Something along the superhero lines was Zorro. I loved that show. Guy Williams was my Zorro. Dressed all in black, masked, fighting injustice – yeah, I’d group him in with the superheroes.
But that was essentially it.
Not so today. Comics rule the cinema and they are taking over the small screen. Never so much as in the coming year and I thought I’d survey the new and returning shows and see what attracts my eye.
The other evening I was frequenting my Facebook parents group and a post caught my eye. A mother had introduced her four year old to Batman. “Good for her!” I thought. She went on to say she was “horrified” by her son now calling her “stupid,” and to “zip her lip,” and he was becoming more prone to poking and fighting. She was fearful what she’d started in her son, and at any request to remove the Dark Knight from her kid’s clutches was met with tantrums a’ plenty. She turned to the group for support and advice. I couldn’t help myself…
What this mother faces with her tot is what I think many creators of all ages material – myself included – fear the most: parental disapproval. When the gatekeeper that stands between you and your target audience deems you inappropriate, the likelihood of a sale diminishes exponentially. It’s a fine line to skate.
Much like a stand-up making the promise to not work blue, an all ages creator is tasked with entertaining without crossing the ever-creeping line of acceptable limitations. That entails language, violence, adult themes, and sexual activity. Show a drop of blood, a hint of boob, a mention of drug usage, or a slander on any deity being honored today? Get out, and don’t let the door hit you on the keester on the way!
That being said, as a creator, I am first and foremost about the quality and maturity of the finished product, blind and deaf parents be damned.
When I think to my childhood – likely between the ages of perhaps seven or eigth through to 12 or 13 – the media that stands out as the most beloved all contained shades of brilliance beyond the bright colors and fart jokes. Shows like Exo-Squad, the Transformers, and Disney’s Gargoyles all layered mature themes between the animated lines. And while my parents weren’t apt to purchase comics for me, no doubt any number of titles published at that time dealt in the same sandbox with aplomb. Ultimately as a creator, my responsibility is always to the book, as I said abov because if a scene demands brutality, it’s my choice as a creator to show it. How I choose to do so is what separates me from someone unrestricted.
In far too many cases, it’s often those creators who think beyond the predictable who end up elevating themselves to a better class of creation. Forgive me for reaching high, but like Seinfeld has said “…working blue is easy. Telling the same joke without having to swear doesn’t make you better. It just makes you that more appealing to more people. And how is that bad?” At the end of the day, as a creator, I see it as my duty to seek that balance, to make a book where a thirty year old and an eight year old can find common ground. To layer bits of mature themes in between the action, in an attempt to elevate the prose to exist with depth beyond the Photoshopped effects. To ultimately entertain the widest audience possible, not for profit in the monetary sense, but the spiritual one.
On the flip side to this argument comes my parental side. You see, I’m not just a creator of books. I’m a creator of life. My two and a half year old is just starting to shape his personality. With it, come those pieces of media he loves so much that he can’t live a day (truth: one hour) without re-consuming ad nauseam. Sometimes, he has impeccable taste – like his love of Peter Gabriel and They Might Be Giants. And yes, he also loves things I just can’t seem to understand – for example, videos where they repeat the same sing-songy chant about the alphabet until I want to jam a finger straight through my brainstem. But with all of it, I can’t help but put myself in the shoes of that aforementioned mother. When my boy eventually catches a love for Batman (or any comic related property) and he begins to emulate the sights and sounds, do I panic? Simply put… not one bit.
My personal parenting motto (thankfully shared by my wife) is that it’s not the fault of the media, it’s the fault of the parent. Now, let’s be clear: I’m not a dunce. It’s inevitable that my child will emulate something I don’t want him to. And when I will eventually explain that to him, his kneejerk reaction will be to repeat the undesired action until I’m yanking my beard out in anger. But the fact remains that as the parent it’s my responsibility to consume what my child consumes and to then interject perspective before, during, and after the consumption.
I’m a firm believer that children are smarter than the world at large deems them to be. I’ve come to this firm belief every time I’ve told my son that an apple is actually a french fry and he hurls said fruit back at me at terminal velocity. When Bennett eventually stumbles upon something that would otherwise scar him emotionally, that’s the time Dad needs to be there to explain that the zombie werewolves on the moon were only computer made monsters. And he’ll then soon learn that The Doctor will outsmart them too. Natch.
The reality is that we can’t shield our children from the world at large. And thanks in large part to how easily media can be obtained and consumed now, there’s no fighting the tide. As both a creator and a father, I think I know how to sail through choppy waters. By being honest, by communicating in terms my son will understand, and by helping him sift through the silt to find the best pearls to enjo, I’m doing the job I was meant to do.
For the poor mother whose kid is storming throughout the house declaring a personal vendetta on crime? The response I left her on Facebook stands: It’s a phase that you’ll have to deal with. Next time, stick to Superman. Your son will have a much harder time flying.
(Editor’s note: the story about the kid who wrapped a towel around his neck, shouted “I’m Superman” and jumped out the window is apocryphal.)
Columns / Glenn Hauman / News
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