be seeing you.

[thehefner]

Coming in late to the McGoohan mourning, but at least I come bearing goodies. First:

Patrick McGoohan: Son of a Bitch--an astute analysis as to the awesome prickitude of this great character actor. Now I definitely need to see DR. SYN, ALIAS THE SCARECROW if I can track down a copy. It's on DVD, yet Netflix does not yet seem to carry it! What the crap?

In related business, courtesy of another great misanthropic bastard, evandorkin:



Furthermore, anyone remember the 90's-tastic show REBOOT? I could never stand to watch it as a kid, but now I'm starting to realize that amid the terrible early CGI there were bits like... well, I can't help but admire any kids show that would do a whole episode of this:

As I only recently watched THE PRISONER from start to finish, I think that REBOOT clip helped finally wipe away any residual "what the FUCK?!" bitterness that held over from watching the last episode. See also, my initial reaction of the final TWIN PEAKS episode, which I now bloody love.

Comments

[bagelofdeath.livejournal.com]

I have a book about Reboot that I got signed at the last NYCC. No one was at the booth, but I knew the name of the creator and I was like "Oh my GOD". Rebecca and I got personalized "Kick ASCII!" and "Stay Frosty!" autographs.

I was/am obsessed with the show. Megabyte was my everything and I'm still sad about Tony Jay.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

It's bits like this and hearing stuff like that which make me reconsider my childhood aversion to REBOOT.

And same here. Really, I love Sir Ralph Richardson and all, but Tony Jay really did make a fucking awesome God Voice: "RETURN! WHAT YOU HAVE STOLEN!"

[swimpenguin.livejournal.com]

Indeed, it was a sad, sad day for me when I heard Tony Jay died. Especially as how they ended the show in such a Megabyte-centric cliffhanger.

[treyhawk.livejournal.com]

In its day, REBOOT was a great visual cartoon, as well as some excellent storywriting (for cartoons, at least). The episodes where Enzo turns the world 8-bit, as well as the X-Files parody episode (where Gillian Anderson voiced her counterpart Data Nully), were lots of fun. They also spiked a few episodes with Wallace and Grommit characters, especially the penguins.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Oh dear lord, those all sound like must-sees. Especially Data Nully, I love it.

Because I really loved the series...

[treyhawk.livejournal.com]

One of the things the REBOOT writers liked to do was to point out all the things they couldn't do because of the network's Broadcasting Standards and Practices (BSP). For example, you could not have a character break through a glass window because kids might try to do that at home. So, Bob sorta morphed-oozed through a window with the BSP command.

The best one of these moments was with Enzo and his pet dog. Enzo had a bazooka and fired it at the bad guys. Big no-no with BSP, as kids should never be firing guns. Instead of explosives, a rubber raft popped out - the S.S. BSP, according to the name written on the side of the raft - and inflated.

Of course, the network BSP didn't say anything about dogs using bazookas. So the dog picks up the same bazooka, fires it at the bad guys, and it shoots off rockets which mows the enemy down.

Re: Because I really loved the series...

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

As one who very much remembers the effect of Standards and Practices (Lederhosen-wearing German villagers shooting laser canons at Nightcrawler! Bwuhhh?!) on my Saturday morning cartoons, this trivia fills me with endless bits of joy. Magnificent.

Ah, the good old days...

[american-arcane.livejournal.com]

Haven't watched The Prisoner in years. Have the full set, though. :)

And I absolutely loved Reboot when it first came on. Unfortunately, it seems to have been around the time I stopped getting up on Saturday mornings for one reason or another... as I don't remember a whole lot about the episodes after a handful.

For example, I don't remember that clip at all.

And, y'know, I probably would if I had seen it. (And I probably would have been the only person in my class to get the joke.) :)

Re: Ah, the good old days...

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Apparently I really missed out. Mayhaps I'll catch up one of these days.

Really, I cannot help but giggle madly at every "GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!"

[tamburlaine.livejournal.com]

Yes to everything involved in this post.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Figured you'd approve. ;)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Furthermore, did you read the essay? No one's commenting on it so far, and I thought it was a pretty top-notch study on the guy.

[nectarousness.livejournal.com]

Holy shit, blast from the past. I remember actually being scared of the people in Reboot. Something about the way they moved and their googly fake eyes and... -shivers-

Yeah. Looking back on it now, I can see why.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it totally gave me an Uncanny Valley feeling back then. But now, realizing all the pop culture references and subversive elements just might make me endure the discomfort, especially if it yields rewards like the clip above.

[leiacat.livejournal.com]

Interesting. To me they were sufficiently cartoonish and un-person-like to have missed the Uncanny altogether.

[superfan1.livejournal.com]

These kids a there crazy rock n roll music, reboot used to love that show growing up.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Damn kids and their music.

[leiacat.livejournal.com]

I Reboot! I have no idea how it would be for a kids show, but
for a young CS major it was fabulous.

You should have seen me when 3rd season got underground-distributed on VHS (with Mainframe's blessing) in the US about a year before it officially aired. Squeeing fangirl at its finest. I have the Season 4 DVD, of course.

I've been meaning to rewatch that ep after I've seen the original. It was a little surreal to do it in the other order, even knowing what it's supposed to be.

[swimpenguin.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I LOVED LOVED LOVED Reboot! Early 90's CGI not always so hot aside, that show had more creativity and brilliant parodies/references in its pinky finger than most other shows have in a lifetime. That's a show I really wish would come out in a complete series DVD set. I loved that they got Gillian Anderson to voice Data Nully (snork) for their X-Files episode. And the second series finale? Probably the most traumatizing season ender I've ever seen for a show.

[philippos42.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was neat. I know nothing of Reboot, but that was indeed Fall Out. (Or whatever the title of that one was.)

[fiveseconddelay.livejournal.com]

reboot good

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Not seeing you at the cast party, BAD!

Or rather, SAD!