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Hot - Slunch

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Posts posted by Hot - Slunch

  10. Posted

    The Hermit was from Maine. My friend bought a house about 10 miles from where they found the guy. Finding him was big time news last winter/spring. What's ridiculous is he had no survival training, didn't even know how to make a fire, and couldn't hunt. The dude listened to a radio (that he stole, and stole batteries for), cooked on sternos, and read books all day. Why'd he do it? No reason. He just felt like it one day back in the 80s.

     

    For people that have never been to Maine in the winter, it's rough. It's freaking 20 degrees right now as I'm typing and it's not even Thanksgiving yet. It gets to like -50 with windchill for 2-3 weeks every February... Plus all the snow.

     

    He covered his tracks, kept his fire low, devised a system of tarps for camoflague, and just chilled. Some people were pissy because he stole a shovel or something from their sheds sometimes, others couldn't give a fuck and left food and stuff during the winter.

     

    Apparently he developed diabetes and had diminishing eyesight, but other than that nothing was wrong with him physically or mentally (from what I heard/read). All I have to say is, that's hardcore.

     

    --

     

    Also, it was cool hearing McKay's side of the Breuer stuff. I figured it was something like miscommunication rather than outright vindictiveness. I feel like it's pretty tough for someone other than Lorne to pull the strings on that show. Unless there's a physical fight, or you're Norm MacDonald taking on OJ, it's probably Lorne's call.

  15. Posted

    Basically, just call bullshit on shows like Walking Dead or Lost (the list goes on and on) that just have episodes where characters circle talk about past action, consequences and feelings. And they way they feel about past actions and consequences. There's 2 minutes of action at the start of the episode and 2 minutes of action at the end.

     

    Ugh, that's the worst. I was really into Lost for the first two years, then I noticed that pattern starting up and that they would never accomplish or resolve anything until the finale so I stopped watching. Walking Dead has so many issues writing wise, act structure, motivation, stupid characters, plus the soap opera stuff...

  16. Posted

    And I looked at an ep on Youtube, and it the social commentary is so heavy-handed. It was South Park before South Park. The problem with Dinosaurs is that it wasn't nearly as funny as the Simpsons or South Park for that matter.

     

    To be fair, how many shows are as funny as prime South Park and prime Simpsons? If that's your bar, that's a lot to live up to.

     

    I'm a little biased of course because I genuinely love the show, but I find it consistently strong and laugh out loud funny. It's not MASH or Seinfeld witty dialogue wise, it's broader and more situation based. They followed the traditional problem resolution family dynamic. I don't know what episode you saw, but there are lighter ones. Heavy-handed isn't the term I'd use, that seems like they're forcing the issue even though it's built into the fabric of the show. I feel like some good values were reinforced in me from watching as a youth, and it's a show my parents enjoyed as well.

     

    Plus I respect the hell out of them doing something so different. The amount of work for just acting was mind boggling. Each action involved the people in the suits or puppeteers, tech people with the animatronics, and the voice actors.

  18. Posted

    I've not listened to the podcast before, and only listened to the segment on Dinosaurs... But I have to say that you guys were a little off base.

     

    The show was very ahead of it's time. It was developed by Jim Henson, roughly the same time as Roseanne, pre-Simpsons, pre-Family Matters. It was based on classic stuff like The Honeymooners... But no channel was interested until the Simpsons hit so big and they were scrambling for the next big thing. So many people claim Dinosaurs was a Simpsons ripoff, and it wasn't. The writers even poked fun at the idea by having the baby say 'Don't have a cow, man' in one episode.

     

    They were meta from the sitcom standpoint and very culturally aware. A big thru-line for the entire series was the idea that corporations were screwing people for profit, and that if we don't think about the decisions we make and how we interact with the world, shit will go bad. There were episodes about extinction, tv making people stupid, sexual harassment, racism, steroids, women independence, deforestation, war, the end of the world, ritual (coming of age/religion), the afterlife, vegetarianism, etc. all done under the guise of "look at the colorful animatronic puppets". They even brilliantly set up clipshows by making a faux documentary of a paleontologist educating the audience about what life must've been like for the dinosaurs.

     

    The end, while somber as fuck, had been set up the entire time and fit with the tone/consequences that we've seen the entire time.

     

    The show is pretty great, definitely underrated, and the animatronics are amazing.

    • Like 2

  20. Posted

    The shows on Friday were genuinely amazing. They did The Wasp Woman for the first show and Doll Squad for the second.

     

    A big surprise was that a massively beared Dave 'Gruber' Allen was with them, since J. Elvis was sick.

     

    - Gruber came out on stage, did a lip sync/dance to a sappy song followed by a sort of free form poem.

    - Mary Jo Pehl came out and read a really forced and stiff intro for Frank Conniff.

    - Frank did about 10 minutes of stand up (highlight was a joke about Twinkies).

    - Joel came out and spoke for a minute.

    - They riffed.

     

    During intermission they signed things for a large chunk of the crowd.

     

    - Gruber came out on stage again and did another lip sync/dance, but this time to 'Lucky' by Britney Spears.

    - Then Gruber had Trace and Mary Jo come out and read a selection of Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" while he riffed it.

    - They showed a 5-8 minute short Trace made about raising Frank from the dead (Frankenstein).

    - Frank did another 10 minutes of stand up.

    - They riffed the movie.

     

    They signed more stuff afterward. I got a handshake and autograph from them all. It was the first time I've ever met a celebrity, so I was a bit starstruck that these people were there. I told Gruber that I had just watched his episode of Drew Carey Show a few months ago and he lit up. I should've mentioned Naked Trucker, but I spaced. They were all super willing to sign things or take a picture with people, but I'm pretty sure they were tired as hell at that time. I think they traveled that day, did 2 shows, and 2 signings.

     

    I can't really explain it but I got a bit choked up when Joel got on stage the first time. A weird culmination of having been a fan since I was a kid, never expecting to see these people perform live, and seeing their years of work put them in this place where hundreds of people were thrilled to see them, there were older people, parents who brought kids, etc.

     

    When they riffed there were a couple of callbacks to MST3K, a 'HI-KEEBA' and a bunch of 'SLEEP!' transitions. There was also a reference to Maron's WTF podcast at one point. The second show felt a little dirtier, a little looser, and like they were having a lot of fun.

     

    All in all, great night. Well worth the price and the few hours in the car.

    • Like 2

  24. Posted

    Eddie Brocktober.

     

    I liked the behind the scenes talk about the David Cross/Todd Glass tour. I traveled 3.5 hours for a show and walked 3 miles in the rain for it! David is my favorite comedian and that was my first chance to see him.

     

    I was really surprised when Todd opened because I had no clue it was going to happen. The guy yelling off stage bit was also unexpected.

     

    If you squint really hard you can see me way up on the balcony on the Bigger and Blackerer dvd.

     

    Amber Tamblyn is a comedic powerhouse, especially for a first time guest. She didn't just keep up with two veterans, she even one upped them several times.

     

    I can't see a scenario in which the woman who marries David Cross isn't funny.

     

    She was pretty great on House too.

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