Trolling in the Deep
Great, I'm being beset by trolls over on my WordPress. Look at the comments on this post, for example. Then there's this one, which is even more bizarre. At least Xmas Boy's comments relate to the posts, even if they're totally ridiculous. This Lynn person used a post about Chick Tracts to rant about radical Islam. What, does this mean stupid little comics are our last line of defense against Al Qaeda? The problem is, I'm bad at dealing with trolls, because I kind of encourage them. Instead of just leaving their comments alone, I figure I might be able to get them to see a different point of view, and if not at least an argument with them would be funny. And it IS somewhat funny in retrospect, but at the time it's rather stressful. Part of the problem is that, when they start making personal attacks, I begin to wonder if that really IS how people see me. I'm just too sensitive to being disliked, I suppose. Of course, there's no way to win with such people, which is what makes them trolls. There seems to be a sort of link between trolling and fundamentalism, and I don't even necessarily mean religious fundamentalism. About eight or nine years ago, I spent way more time than I should have arguing with some guy on an Oz e-mail list. To his credit, he was really quite enthusiastic about the topic. Despite this guy's proudly announcing he was an atheist, however, he had the same approach to the Oz books that Christian fundamentalists do to the Bible. His interpretation was the only right one, and certain quotes that he pulled out had to be taken entirely literally. It's so frustrating, because I WANT people to feel free to disagree with my posts. If you're not even open to any other views, however, why even bother commenting? Just to be annoying?
Okay, let's get off that topic for a little while, and turn to one that's less controversial, Nintendo cartoons! You know, because everyone agrees they're not very good.
King Scoopa Koopa - Oh, holy cannoli, it's a message episode. I don't mind when there are lessons in a show, but it really helps when they don't hit you over the head with them, like they do in this one. Bowser opens Scoopa Koopa's Fast Food, a restaurant that serves chickadactyl egg sandwiches (a chickadactyl, in case you couldn't guess, is a sort of a combination between a chicken and a pterodactyl, which appears only in this cartoon), papaya fries, and coconut shakes. Several dinosaurs work in the kitchen, with Dino-Rhinos doing the cooking. Not only is the food fattening and addictive, however, but the sandwiches slowly turn those who eat them into chickadactyls themselves. Since Mario doesn't like eggs and the Princess refuses to touch any of the food, they're both unaffected, and try to shut down the restaurant. The customers and employees give chase, with Mario and Peach having to use the Star Road to get away. Eventually, after an encounter with a Rip Van Fish, they end up in the cavern where Scoopa Koopa's dumps their garbage. Mario finds a Cape Feather, and uses its power to drive out King Koopa and his cooks. He then tells the cave people to go home and eat some vegetables. So there's your lesson, kids: fast food is bad for you, because it can turn you into a chicken. Too bad this was quite likely followed by a McDonald's commercial when it aired on television.
Battle of the Baseball Know-It-Alls - Hey, remember how insane it was when Larry Bird showed up in "In Pursuit of the Magic Hoop"? Well, here's another gratuitous appearance by a sports star, Bo Jackson, who had a Nintendo game around this time. Actually, Bo and the "Bo knows" catch phrase were all over the place when this show first aired. If I remember correctly, the show following this one was a cartoon called Pro Stars. I never watched it, but I know Bo was a character on there as well. I doubt he did his own voice in either show, though. Anyway, Bo is stuck into Captain N continuity as the captain of the Videoland All-Stars and an inhabitant of Baseball World, which is quite possibly the place where Princess Lana visits a Videoland version of Yankee Stadium back in "Mega Trouble for Megaland." Bo is playing a game against the N Team, and I actually mean the entire N Team for once in this season, although Lana and Game Boy are on the sidelines. This is also the only episode this season with Mother Brain making an appearance, and she looks even more off-model than the other characters.
Seriously, she doesn't even have her tentacles anymore. She and her goons rewire a warp to send Bo and the N Team inside Baseball World, where there's a cellar full of sentient and nasty baseball equipment that they have to fight. One point of interest in this rather stupid set-up is that Mega Man uses a buzzsaw to defeat some bats. I've always wondered if that was supposed to be the Metal Blade from Mega Man 2. Granted, it doesn't fly off in different directions, but it's probably close enough for this show. Meanwhile, Mother Brain takes control of the palace, and we get a somewhat amusing scene where King Hippo brushes his teeth with a toothbrush that he and Eggplant Wizard had been using to clean the floor. Lana manages to open a warp zone out of the Baseball World cellar, but since it leads from the bottom of a gulf to the ceiling of the palace, she tricks the Brain's henchmen into making a giant cake for the N Team to land on. Mother Brain, King Hippo, and Eggplant Wizard end up inside Baseball World, and that's the last we see of them. No, seriously. I have to suspect they escaped eventually, because it would have been pretty lame for that to be the ultimate fate of the show's main villains, but we never see this. I'm not sure why the makers of these cartoons were so adverse to season finalés, but there you go. Anyway, while the last thing this season needed was ANOTHER episode based on a sports game, I think the writers made more of an effort with this one than with the basketball one. Also, the presence of Mother Brain was a plus.
Okay, let's get off that topic for a little while, and turn to one that's less controversial, Nintendo cartoons! You know, because everyone agrees they're not very good.
King Scoopa Koopa - Oh, holy cannoli, it's a message episode. I don't mind when there are lessons in a show, but it really helps when they don't hit you over the head with them, like they do in this one. Bowser opens Scoopa Koopa's Fast Food, a restaurant that serves chickadactyl egg sandwiches (a chickadactyl, in case you couldn't guess, is a sort of a combination between a chicken and a pterodactyl, which appears only in this cartoon), papaya fries, and coconut shakes. Several dinosaurs work in the kitchen, with Dino-Rhinos doing the cooking. Not only is the food fattening and addictive, however, but the sandwiches slowly turn those who eat them into chickadactyls themselves. Since Mario doesn't like eggs and the Princess refuses to touch any of the food, they're both unaffected, and try to shut down the restaurant. The customers and employees give chase, with Mario and Peach having to use the Star Road to get away. Eventually, after an encounter with a Rip Van Fish, they end up in the cavern where Scoopa Koopa's dumps their garbage. Mario finds a Cape Feather, and uses its power to drive out King Koopa and his cooks. He then tells the cave people to go home and eat some vegetables. So there's your lesson, kids: fast food is bad for you, because it can turn you into a chicken. Too bad this was quite likely followed by a McDonald's commercial when it aired on television.
Battle of the Baseball Know-It-Alls - Hey, remember how insane it was when Larry Bird showed up in "In Pursuit of the Magic Hoop"? Well, here's another gratuitous appearance by a sports star, Bo Jackson, who had a Nintendo game around this time. Actually, Bo and the "Bo knows" catch phrase were all over the place when this show first aired. If I remember correctly, the show following this one was a cartoon called Pro Stars. I never watched it, but I know Bo was a character on there as well. I doubt he did his own voice in either show, though. Anyway, Bo is stuck into Captain N continuity as the captain of the Videoland All-Stars and an inhabitant of Baseball World, which is quite possibly the place where Princess Lana visits a Videoland version of Yankee Stadium back in "Mega Trouble for Megaland." Bo is playing a game against the N Team, and I actually mean the entire N Team for once in this season, although Lana and Game Boy are on the sidelines. This is also the only episode this season with Mother Brain making an appearance, and she looks even more off-model than the other characters.
Seriously, she doesn't even have her tentacles anymore. She and her goons rewire a warp to send Bo and the N Team inside Baseball World, where there's a cellar full of sentient and nasty baseball equipment that they have to fight. One point of interest in this rather stupid set-up is that Mega Man uses a buzzsaw to defeat some bats. I've always wondered if that was supposed to be the Metal Blade from Mega Man 2. Granted, it doesn't fly off in different directions, but it's probably close enough for this show. Meanwhile, Mother Brain takes control of the palace, and we get a somewhat amusing scene where King Hippo brushes his teeth with a toothbrush that he and Eggplant Wizard had been using to clean the floor. Lana manages to open a warp zone out of the Baseball World cellar, but since it leads from the bottom of a gulf to the ceiling of the palace, she tricks the Brain's henchmen into making a giant cake for the N Team to land on. Mother Brain, King Hippo, and Eggplant Wizard end up inside Baseball World, and that's the last we see of them. No, seriously. I have to suspect they escaped eventually, because it would have been pretty lame for that to be the ultimate fate of the show's main villains, but we never see this. I'm not sure why the makers of these cartoons were so adverse to season finalés, but there you go. Anyway, while the last thing this season needed was ANOTHER episode based on a sports game, I think the writers made more of an effort with this one than with the basketball one. Also, the presence of Mother Brain was a plus.