Episode 233 — Space Jam LIVE!

[taylor anne photo 11311]

1 minute ago, JammerLea said:

Oof, yeah, that's true that's the origin of the name. Could do without that specific one though.

First one I went too was Six Flags Great America in the Chicago area with my family as a kid. But that was just sad because I wanted to go on the roller coasters but my cousins were too small and the adults didn't want to go.

As for the Six Flags here, I liked the Superman coaster. Haven't been in a good few years though. It's expensive.

Fiesta Texas is the only one where I got to meet Bugs Bunny so it holds a special place in my heart lol

[Robert Denby 103]

On 2/14/2020 at 12:04 PM, Cameron H. said:

With those back problems? The Mon Stars would have ruined him.

Best part of the movie:

Bill Murray: It's 'cause I'm white, isn't it?

Michael Jordan: No. Larry's white, so what?

Bill Murray: Larry's not white. Larry's clear.

[JoelSchlosberg 352]

When they said that Space Jam got a D+ CinemaScore grade, that just didn't seem right for a rating drawn from audience members who had chosen to go see the movie (and thus not including people who had avoided it on principle).  Looking it up on their website shows that its actual CinemaScore is an A- ... with the D+ probably coming from that being the grade in the Entertainment Weekly review that was quoted as calling it "greed promoted as synergy" just before mentioning the CinemaScore.

[JoelSchlosberg 352]

One possible source for the association of the term "jam" with basketball (or confirmation that they were already associated) is the Michael Jackson song by that name. The music video is largely set in a basketball court where Michael Jordan joins the other MJ as a guest star:

There's also an animated short called "Jam" mentioned in the book Young Animators and Their Discoveries, which quotes its young animator Kevin Huart explaining exactly what he meant by the term: "The title, Jam, is used in the sense of a jam session, like musicians going out just to have a good time, a free, atmospheric thing. It doesn't have anything to do with some grape jelly that appears at one point in the movie." No basketball is mentioned, but the cartoon does have aliens and home invasion: "There isn't a big plot to Jam. There are two little Martianlike creatures who come out of a book called The Mysterious Worlds, adn they explore my living room and my kitchen and they like what's happening."

[gigi-tastic 2322]

On 2/14/2020 at 8:11 AM, Smigg. said:

So, let's carry on the discussion.  What sports did you do?  

I did:
- Rugby, I played prop forward as well as an all encompassing "as soon as he gets the ball, fucking twat him"
- Football, (actual football, not the armoured rugby football), I was a goalkeeper
- Cricket, where I was labelled by one trainer "The most aggressive batsman I have ever witnessed in my 20 years coaching this sport"
- Various throwing sports
- MMA, I didn't ever get to fight because of injuries, but I know some stuff
- Muay Thai, see above

Does Quizbowl count as a "sport" ? Technically there were Jr and Varsity teams!

[gigi-tastic 2322]

On 2/15/2020 at 2:11 PM, Cameron H. said:

I find it a bit disconcerting just how unquestioningly eager Jordan’s kids were to aid and abet Bugs and Daffy in stank basketball shorts larceny. I know they’re fans of the toons and all, but that’s really not an excuse. I mean, I’m a huge Beatles fan, but if Paul McCartney were to a break into my house at two in the morning to steal my father’s shoes and underwear, I’m going to call the motherfucking cops. Hell, Bugs and Daffy don’t even tell the kids *why* they’re stealing Michael Jordan memorabilia until they’re halfway out the door. 

Honestly, how much of a fuck up of a father do you have to be that your kids will gleefully give up your most prized possessions at the drop of a hat?

At the*very* least I would have some more questions and need to get said parents before being ok with sentient cartoons stealing from my family. 

[JammerLea 2070]

On 2/14/2020 at 7:11 AM, Smigg. said:

So, let's carry on the discussion.  What sports did you do?  

I forgot to answer this, but just a quick summation of my childhood sports, etc.:

Dance (Tap and Acrobatics)
Softball (Outfielder)
Bowling
Karate
Track (Long Jump and some long distance thing I forgot)

Can't say I was particularly good at any of these lol

------------

Last comment on Space Jam, which I sort of mentioned on Letterboxd...

To be quite honest, I really found the talent-stolen basketball players failing at being human to be far funnier than any of the cartoon antics with the Looney Tunes. Completely failing at DRINKING WATER and walking into the door frame at the hospital got actual laughs out of me. I know it doesn't make sense since those though aren't directly related to the talent required to play basketball, but I DID NOT CARE because it was actually funny to me. I wish there had been more of those jokes throughout the movie. I was far more invested in these poor saps than anything else.

Also I never noticed in the hospital hall scene that Muggsy was fake walking until it was mentioned in the podcast. But it's more like I KNEW he wasn't really walking, my brain just thought that he was in a wheel chair, because I didn't notice the shoulder movement.

[Lily412333 1]

On 2/14/2020 at 5:57 PM, grudlian. said:

They are called Looney Tunes which was a play off of Merrie Melodies.

 

On 2/14/2020 at 2:09 PM, CheddarWhizard said:

I’m just confused as to how Jason and June are so lost on why the title works. Let’s break it down:

 

Jam (noun) - an awkward situation or predicament

-- The Tunes found themselves in a bit of a JAM when they are kidnapped by aliens from SPACE. Later, the basketball players who have their talent siphoned away are also in a jam, caused by the same space dwelling aliens. 

 

Jam (verb) - slang term for a slam dunk in basketball. 

--This is the reason for its use in the title of the popular video game NBA JAM. In Space Jam, we once again reference the aliens from space and the generally fun-to-watch action of the slam dunk.

 

Jam (noun) - slang term for one of your favorite songs - “Yo! Hit ’Em High is my JAM!”

-- The soundtrack for Space jam was quite popular, with a number of hits including R.Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly”, which people may shun now, but was enormously popular at release and for years after. 

 

The title works in many ways, none of which are that much of a stretch to reach. Jason, June, stop hatin’.

Yes to all of this. I assume the reason why they didn't understand is because "jam" is more of a black streetball term, and I would not expect Jason or June to have that lived experience. The only reason I knew it was a thing is because my brother loves pickup games and all things basketball in general. He could probably tell you the whole lineup of the NBA Jam video game.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

9 hours ago, JammerLea said:

I forgot to answer this, but just a quick summation of my childhood sports, etc.:

Dance (Tap and Acrobatics)
Softball (Outfielder)
Bowling
Karate
Track (Long Jump and some long distance thing I forgot)

Can't say I was particularly good at any of these lol

Oh shit I forgot I was in Track too. I did shot-put and discus. I got one medal and that was my peak and never was good at it again.

[Smigg. 509]

I can't remember if anybody's brought this up, but in the myriad of the word "Jam", Charles Barkley, Basketball and Video Games, how about this forgotten gem... Barkley: Shut Up and Jam!  The edgy "street" equivalent to NBA Jam, to show how edgy it is, whenever the ball was loose, Barkley would say "GO GET THE DAMN BALL!"

 

[grudlian. 4725]

8 minutes ago, Smigg. said:

I can't remember if anybody's brought this up, but in the myriad of the word "Jam", Charles Barkley, Basketball and Video Games, how about this forgotten gem... Barkley: Shut Up and Jam!  The edgy "street" equivalent to NBA Jam, to show how edgy it is, whenever the ball was loose, Barkley would say "GO GET THE DAMN BALL!"

 

As a weird tangent, someone made an unofficial sequel to this called Shut Up And Jam:  Gaiden that is a post apocalyptic JRPG where basketball is illegal. You should be able to find it to play easily with a Google search.

[Smigg. 509]

24 minutes ago, grudlian. said:

As a weird tangent, someone made an unofficial sequel to this called Shut Up And Jam:  Gaiden that is a post apocalyptic JRPG where basketball is illegal. You should be able to find it to play easily with a Google search.

And, the theme to that?

 

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

5 hours ago, Lily412333 said:

 

Yes to all of this. I assume the reason why they didn't understand is because "jam" is more of a black streetball term, and I would not expect Jason or June to have that lived experience. The only reason I knew it was a thing is because my brother loves pickup games and all things basketball in general. He could probably tell you the whole lineup of the NBA Jam video game.

I was also surprised that no one else on the stage had heard of the NBA Jam video game. That game was MASSIVELY popular in arcades and spawned a lot of sequels and imitators.

But then again, June also didn't know anything about Street Fighter so perhaps I should not be surprised.

[JoelSchlosberg 352]

NBA Jam was famously the first arcade game to earn a billion dollars in revenue, so its level of popularity was on an order of magnitude comparable to Space Jam merchandise. And each of those billion dollars was fed in to an on-site arcade machine in quarters (each of which purchased a "quarter" of a basketball game), without any DLC or ancillary revenue streams. But the presentation of the game was so energetic and fun, with Monstar-level superhuman plays and classic catchphrases like "HE'S ON FIRE!" and "BOOMSHAKALAKA!" from legendary voice actor Tim Kitzrow's hyped-up announcer, that each buck felt like it was well spent no matter how badly it was played.

[JammerLea 2070]

7 hours ago, taylor anne photo said:

Oh shit I forgot I was in Track too. I did shot-put and discus. I got one medal and that was my peak and never was good at it again.

Oh yeah. I think I got 3rd place once in my long distance event. Enough to get my '00 numbers for a letterman jacket, which I never owned. So I just have two 0 patches in a box somewhere. A fitting number for my life lol

17 minutes ago, JoelSchlosberg said:

NBA Jam was famously the first arcade game to earn a billion dollars in revenue, so its level of popularity was on an order of magnitude comparable to Space Jam merchandise. And each of those billion dollars was fed in to an on-site arcade machine in quarters (each of which purchased a "quarter" of a basketball game), without any DLC or ancillary revenue streams. But the presentation of the game was so energetic and fun, with Monstar-level superhuman plays and classic catchphrases like "HE'S ON FIRE!" and "BOOMSHAKALAKA!" from legendary voice actor Tim Kitzrow's hyped-up announcer, that each buck felt like it was well spent no matter how badly it was played.

A friend and I used to rent NBA Jam for Sega Genesis a lot and I remember having fun playing it despite my lack of interest in basketball, so I can only imagine how popular it was with actual basketball fans. This makes me want to find a copy to buy lol

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

In response to the mini-sode, I was glad Cody pointed out the Space Jam song had to be written for the film. The Monstars Anthem also cannot be "by chance." I think the musicians wanted to be part of something associated with Jordan, (and I know, and I wish I didn't, that R Kelly was brought on to write something because he is from Chicago) and would argue at least 75% of my love of the movie has to do with the music.