"Yesterday" is relative. So is character.
anonymous
August 20 2010, 13:11:00 UTC
I found amusing the reference to "comic book superheroes of a time they vaguely define as "yesterday." ". Heroes of *my* childhood were as strong in their secret identities as in character. Clark Kent was always bending over backwards to pretend to be a milquetoast, and Bruce Wayne was a millionaire playboy whose Tony-Stark-ness was implied and "offscreen" due to the Comics Code (check some of the babes on his arm!). Only later did Marvel Comics buck the trend bigtime by emphasizing (a) the real-life complications of a double identity secret from your own family, (b) the uncertainties, weaknesses, and flaws of personalities defined from before the acquisition of powers, and (c) the dangerous problems of powers that even the wielder cannot control (like Cyclops, who can't even look upon his family, friends, and lover without risking frying them). Oh, and they have companions and lovers, too
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I never have been a viewer of The Doctor's antics. I know enough to explain what he his (time lord, though I don't really know what that entails.) So here is my question. What is a good place to start into the series on? I've seen a few episodes, but I always was a bit lost as to what was going on. Help a fellow geek who is sure he is missing out on a sweet show.
Wow. That's kind of a tough one, as my experience with the Doctor started when the world was faced with a severe drought of science fiction on TV. "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" were helping things at the box office, but I wanted to see more than Godzilla movies and 'Trek re-runs on TV
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My very first Doctor Who story was "The Android Invasion", which worked for me because it started out in fairly mundane surroundings (a peaceful little English village) and took some bizarre twists and turns from there. And it got into the character of Sarah Jane (who eventually got a series of her own, of course!) and why she and the Doctor trust each other.
The "animated mannekins" are also in this one, although they first appeared in "Spearhead From Space", back in the Jon Pertwee era. (All you need to know about the Pertwee era is that the Doctor had his time machine license revoked by the other Time Lords for crimes he committed before the start of the TV series. So at that time he was stranded on Earth under the care of U.N.I.T., a multinational military force that would eventually evolve into Torchwood. But the Pertwee Doctor stopped an even worse Time Lord from destroying everything [talking about Omega, not the Master] so he got his license back. Nuff said.)
According to a consensus of my friends, the best modern episode to start with is "Smith and Jones," because as the first episode of a new season, with a new companion, there's a lot of starting from square 1. And season 3 is an awfully good season all around, in my opinion.
On Comics and Games influencing kids
anonymous
August 20 2010, 19:27:01 UTC
I just had a conversation with a co-worker who asked if I thought movies and games like Grand Theft Auto lead to violent behavior. My response was that if movies and games could have that influence, then why haven't we seen people dress up as superheroes (outside of cosplay and one sick record producer) and attempting to stop crimes? Or people attempting to be supervillians? With all the Superman films, Batman films, Spiderman films, cartoons, TV series (including the Flash), why has no one with serious intent donned a mask and tried to fight crime or break the law? The simple answer is no one is that stupid or insane. Even the people who are serial killers and think dogs talk to them are not crazy enough to confuse video games and movies with their special brand of dementia. So "normal" kids of all flavors seem to be immune to it as well.
Re: On Comics and Games influencing kidsfrustratedpilotAugust 21 2010, 00:49:27 UTC
There ARE "real-life superheroes", as a Rolling Stone article last year examined in full. The people who do this are basically taking the neighborhood watch/Guardian Angel schtick to the next level, but aren't above getting into criminals' faces to do what's necessary.
Superheroes and SlackersgillsingAugust 20 2010, 21:17:47 UTC
From the Beloit College Mindset List: "71. The nation has never approved of the job Congress is doing."
Can one assume from this that there used to be a time (yesterday?) when the nation approved of the job that Congress was doing? If the politicians running the country aren't doing what the people want them to do, then it seems to me as if you'd need to be some kind of superhero to make the world a better place. (Because just doing your job and voting in elections wouldn't accomplish anything.) And if you're not a superhero you might as well slack off while waiting for people to wake up. But I can see why politicians would prefer media to take the blame.
Then again, media probably is responsible as well, but not because of the role models it presents. Instead I think it could be a matter of boys getting confronted with a bigger part of the world than before, which seems like it could present much tougher challenges than most boys could handle. Those few who can compete with the best of the best, they can become 'superheroes', while
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WWII on Facebook.
Note that College Humor used to be NSFW, but this page doesn't appear to be dangerous, at least at first glance.
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It put me in mind of this little animation from who knows when.
Edit: I should say that there's a little inappropriate language in that graphic in spots.
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The "animated mannekins" are also in this one, although they first appeared in "Spearhead From Space", back in the Jon Pertwee era. (All you need to know about the Pertwee era is that the Doctor had his time machine license revoked by the other Time Lords for crimes he committed before the start of the TV series. So at that time he was stranded on Earth under the care of U.N.I.T., a multinational military force that would eventually evolve into Torchwood. But the Pertwee Doctor stopped an even worse Time Lord from destroying everything [talking about Omega, not the Master] so he got his license back. Nuff said.)
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Rob
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"71. The nation has never approved of the job Congress is doing."
Can one assume from this that there used to be a time (yesterday?) when the nation approved of the job that Congress was doing? If the politicians running the country aren't doing what the people want them to do, then it seems to me as if you'd need to be some kind of superhero to make the world a better place. (Because just doing your job and voting in elections wouldn't accomplish anything.) And if you're not a superhero you might as well slack off while waiting for people to wake up. But I can see why politicians would prefer media to take the blame.
Then again, media probably is responsible as well, but not because of the role models it presents. Instead I think it could be a matter of boys getting confronted with a bigger part of the world than before, which seems like it could present much tougher challenges than most boys could handle. Those few who can compete with the best of the best, they can become 'superheroes', while ( ... )
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