T-shirt #366, pt-1 - More on Y&R

T-shirt #366, pt-1 - More on Y&R

Reprinting from Sense of Doubt blog.

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #418 - Y&R - 11,000 Episodes

Hi Mom,

So, The Young and the Restless or better known as Y&R is celebrating 11,000 episodes as of September First (this coming Thursday).

Every time I watch Y&R, I think of you, Mom. And I am pleased to tell you that I am caught up. Often I have a huge back log of Y&R to watch. Though I have not watched Friday's (1608.26) episode yet, I am otherwise current with the show.

I often get mocked (criticized) for my Y&R fandom by people close to me, but I no longer care. I am open and leaving myself vulnerable to discuss this nearly daily pursuit of episodic fiction that is near and dear to my heart.

Starting in 1973, we watched so many episodes of Y&R together. Even when I was away at college, The Young and the Restless  is something I watched as often as I could and that we would discuss together when you took me out to lunch.

It was our lunch time thing. For years, I would break for lunch just before 12:30, and we would eat together and watch our soaps (eventually we added The Bold and the Beautiful for a 90 minute lunch time).

When you had your bout with meningitis and were in a coma, I started playing Y&R for you in your Intensive Care room. I hoped that the familiar sounds would be soothing to you, comforting, like they are to me. We continued this practice even after you woke up. For a long time during that hospital stay, you could not talk. But we communicated as best we could, and we talked about Y&R.

Back in 2012, when Y&R celebrated 10,000 episodes (see link at end of this blog entry), we watched much of the celebration together. Checking back in my calendar, I know I spent the day with you on September 8th and again on October 2nd, which was right around the time of the 10,000th episode. We would have Y&R marathons together. I miss those.

At the rate of just about 260 episodes a year (five each week times 52 weeks is 260, but 365 - 104 is 261; 104 is the number of weekend days in a year), it's easy to see how Y&R is gearing up to celebrate its next anniversary with 1000 more episodes to reach the new landmark of 11,000. Since the 10,000th episode both you, Mom, and the grand dame of the Y&R cast, Jeanne Cooper, have passed away.

Before each episode for the past week, Y&R has been showing these interview chats with the cast as they reminisce about past stories and episodes and thank the viewership warmly for its dedication and loyalty. I was tempted to save these episodes on my DVR, but then I found that they are easily available online and so I embedded them here. I also posted the fun promo here as well.

You would have loved all this, Mom. I feel I share it all with you spiritually, but I wish I was sharing it with you physically, in person.

There are big plans for the 11,000th episode. Star Trek vet Nichelle Nichols will play Neil's mother, from whom he has been estranged for his entire run on the show. And Lee Phillip Bell, who co-created the show with her late husband Bill Bell will appear in a scene with her real-life daughter Lauralee Bell, who plays Christine Blair Williams, formerly known as "Cricket."

This is all explained here at SOAP SHE KNOWS - 11000 MILESTONE.

Y&R CELEBRATES 11,000 EPISODES - PEOPLE MAGAZINE - CAST PHOTO BELOW

1st Row (left to Right): Hunter King, Miles Gaston Villanueva, Melissa Ordway, Sean Carrigan, Mishael Morgan, Bryton James, Amelia Heinle, Jason Thompson, Eileen Davidson, Gina Tognoni, Peter Bergman, Eric Braeden, Melody Thomas Scott, Steve Burton, Sharon Case, Joshua Morrow, Justin Hartley, Melissa Claire Egan, Jess Walton, Tristan Rogers, Christel Khalil and Daniel Goddard
2nd Row (left to Right): Robert Adamson, Sofia Pernas, Michael E. Knight, Beth Maitland, Tracey Bregman, Christian Le Blanc, Doug Davidson, Lauralee Bell, Kristoff St. John, Camryn Grimes, Greg Rikaart, Mara McCaffray, Catherine Bach and Kate Linder

Not pictured: Chrishell Stause (current girlfriend of Justin Hartley) as Bethany Bryant.

Here's a great article by Candace Young, of whom I beginning to become a fan. She writes for SOAPS SHE KNOWS.

http://soaps.sheknows.com/the-young-and-the-restless/soapbox/381/deconstructing-yr-writers-seem-unable-to-move-on-from-staid-couples-stale-secrets-and-recycled-scenarios


Generally, I stay away from fan sites, mainly because of spoilers as I am often far behind on both Y&R but especially B&B. I think my record is 120-some unwatched B&B episodes on my DVR. I did not watch them. I would read recaps and watch every 12th episode or so.

So, two days after your death, Mom, I posted the first T-shirt blog post that I have posted in two years:

T-SHIRT #366.

I have been saving up content and ideas to do this HUGE Y&R post for the T-shirt blog, but maybe that's the wrong way to do it. Maybe I need to spread out the content over multiple parts. #366, pt.1; #366, pt.2; and so on. I will cross post this content to T-shirts as #366,pt.2.

I have made other Y&R posts on this blog as part of Hey Mom, but not many.

Hey, Mom! Talking to my Mom #4 - Last Y&R watched together aired Tuesday 1506.30.


Hey, Mom! Talking to my Mother #12 - I miss you

and then, because you would hate it and I would love to taunt you:

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #281 - Y&R - Victor goes to prison.

I have probably mentioned Y&R at other times that I did not save to the Y&R category. I am sure I have mentioned it as part of my Talking Again series. It's a constant theme in my life as I "watch" Y&R while working, just like we did together for all those years. Y&R is part of the soundtrack of my life. Its cadences and rhythms are a soothing music for me. And I do love it, as I love you, Mom.

But in all of this content and photos and things, there's something escaping me. There's an ineffable significance to this TV program and its place in my life, in our lives, Mom.

Maybe in the next Y&R post I make, I will figure out what it is and find a way to articulate it.

ENJOY these videos.




In case the following videos are ever broken, here's the page from SOAP SHE KNOWS that shares the interview videos.


Lauralee Bell (Christine Williams), Doug Davidson (Paul Williams), Tracey Bregman (Lauren Baldwin) and Christian LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin) are the latest stars to share their favorite memories from "Young and the Restless." Picking a favorite moment out of 38 years is "almost impossible" as Davidson notes. However Bregman jokes, "My hair alone, that could be a storyline just there!"

In the latest "Young and the Restless" video celebrating 11,000 episodes, Jess Walton (Jill Abbott), Kate Linder (Esther Valentine) and Jason Thompson (Billy Abbott) reflect on their favorite moments. Walton looks back on the "most wonderful relationship" she had with the late Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor) and the hilarious scenes they shared.

In this first video, Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman) and Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) reflect back on the beginning of their characters and their favorite moments. Braeden remarks on a pivotal turning point for his and Scott's characters, "Once I had done that scene, I walked off the stage, I knew that it would open up a Pandora's Box for all kinds of emotional scenes."

Some of the videos were removed, so I had to re-do this on Sunday, June 18 2017.
















From 2012, the celebration for 10,000 episodes. I tried to embed the link to the video on that page, but it failed. So if interested, go to the page and watch the video there.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

I miss you so very much, Mom.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

- Days ago = 420 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1608.28 - 10:10

NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - ## shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1608.28 - 10:10

Coming soon: T-shirt #366 - Y&R, for my mom

Coming soon: T-shirt #366 - Y&R, for my mom

Readers (and random people who stumbled on this by accident),

When I ceased daily transmission of this blog on Friday, March 21 2014, my plan was to resume after a hiatus with new material on an intermittent schedule as I had more t-shirts to feature.

The hiatus was meant to be short, like a month, maybe. It's been a year and a little over three months.

I was planning for my next post to be the one for this t-shirt, dedicated to my mother about the soap opera The Young and the Restless, which I have watched with her, often daily, since its debut in 1973, which is most of my life.

I last worked on this future blog post on 1309.17.

I will now deliver content on this t-shirt in a series of posts, though it may take me a while to generate it all.









My mother died July 4th, 2015 at 10:10 a.m.


Yeah, yeah, I know we're blurry. Blame my Dad.


Or think of me looking at the photo through my tears.


COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - ?? shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1507.06 - 12:04

T-shirt #266 - Serenity - Joss Whedon's Firefly

T-shirt #266 - Serenity - Joss Whedon's Firefly


Regular readers of the blog are saying to themselves right now: "it's about time. Why did it take you 266 days to get to Firefly?"

Then again, some would say this about Doctor Who, and you are not going to see any Doctor Who stuff on this site. I can't watch everything. I have to draw the line somewhere. Heck, I cannot even watch what I have in my possession to watch let alone getting new things I don't have and are not that interested in despite all the insane pestering from the Doctor Who-ful-faithfuls.

Seriously?

Firefly is in another league as far as I am concerned.

This is a nifty shirt, innit?

Though I am a huge Joss fan, owing to the genius of Toy Story and then Buffy the Vampire Slayer (see T-shirt #170), I was not possessed of abundant time when Firefly came out. I recorded it, and then I lost the recordings. I had to wait for the DVDs and an illness to discover the wonderful joyland of joyful love that is Firefly. I came down with the Collegiate NerfHerder Oozing Sludge Fever, and all I could do for a few days was lie around and watch TV. Oooh, let's watch Firefly. Due to some genius thing, I already owned the Serenity movie as well as the DVD set of the short first and only season. What a wonderful way to pass through my illness of the time.

Regular readers will also expect me to write a huge, complex, involved love letter to this late great (and much too short) TV series.  But that's not in the cards for tonight.

If you have seen Firefly, you know why it's great.

If you have not seen Firefly, nothing I say will make it any greater for you than just watching. It's fourteen episodes and a movie. Not a huge time commitment.

I have collected some great links as the fan community online for Firefly are rabid and passionate. Check out those resources, plus some articles on stupid rumors, such as Joss Whedon selling Firefly to Nathan Fillon. Horse hockey! I also added a few nifty pictures.

If you have not seen Firefly, go GET IT. Right now. Stop reading and go. It's worth it.

But before I close, I have some thoughts about the Future, which is now the Present.

A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FUTURE THAT IS NOW THE PRESENT

It is not yet second nature for me to to go to Google when I have to look up something.

My step daughter wanted a Sylvia Plath quote on a Christmas gift.

It's not yet second nature for me to make a Google search. My first thought is going through my Plath books and trying to locate an old poetry journal where I had scrawled a great quote from the Bell Jar, while reading it in a hotel bathroom in the middle of the night on Mackinaw Island. I still remember the cold, white tile.

It was quite some time before it dawned on me that all I needed to do was a Google search for some nifty Sylvia Plath quotes. Done and more done.

This is akin to the time, not long ago, I saw a student take a picture of the wipe board in the classroom with her phone rather than TAKING NOTES. I was a bit offended, and then I realized that this was a really good idea.

But then, I am still old school. I prefer searching through books. I like taking notes.

The Future is here and it's not like what I thought it would be. Back when I read The Bell Jar and all of Sylvia Plath's poetry like any well-read college student, back in the early 1980s, I knew that computers were going to become more common place. I knew the personal computer was coming. But I did not see the handheld phone/computer revolution. And neither did so many SF writers and filmmakers. Computers were bulky things, and handhelds were like small trays not like remote control size.

And things that were envisioned, like flying cars and personal jet packs, are not here. I don't have one. Revised futures keep us on the ground and our cars on the pavement. Really that makes sense. Even in Firefly, there's cars and in some cases, horses, which are much more reliable as vehicles than either flying cars or jet packs.

And cuter.

FIREFLY RESOURCES

FIREFLY WIKIPEDIA

FIREFLY WIKIA

FIREFLY FANS

CAN'T TAKE THE SKY - A FIREFLY SITE

FIREFLY FANS ON FACEBOOK

BROWNCOATS

THE SIGNAL -SERENITY - FIREFLY

JOSS WHEDON SHUTS DOWN FAN CAMPAIGN TO REBOOT FIREFLY

JOSS WHEDON ON KICKSTARTER AND FIREFLY

FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULD WATCH FIREFLY
(even after all this time)

FIREFLY AND THE REAL BATTLE OF SERENITY

FIREFLY'S 15 BEST CHINESE CURSES AND HOW TO SAY THEM

If the image above makes no sense, then you have not watched Firefly yet.

Get busy!

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 99 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1312.12 - 18:28

T-shirt #240 - Veronica Mars - Kickstarter - shirt-1

T-shirt #240 - Veronica Mars - Kickstarter - shirt-1

I am excited about the impending Veronica Mars movie. I thank my intrepid step-daughter Piper for spotting the Kickstarter campaign and alerting me immediately to the fund-raising for the film. I jumped right into that band wagon.

For those looking for their next binge watching candidate, choose Veronica Mars. It's less of a commitment than many shows with only 64 episodes. And with the feature film due next year, it is the best time ever to binge watch this fantastic program in time to better understand the movie.

For those not "in the know," Veronica Mars was a television show on the UPN and then subsequently the CW network.

A modernization of the Nancy Drew model, the show featured a smart and sassy main character, Veronica Mars, daughter of the former Neptune county Sheriff, who, after being ousted from office in a recall election, opens his own private investigation firm, where Veronica works part time.

The show only lasted three seasons, but it was a hit with its fans. Given the fervor and intensity of the fan support, it is surprising that the show did not survive for a fourth season.

Creator Rob Thomas experimented with a variety of approaches for story telling in the episodic format. Like most hour-long dramas, the show featured a "case-of-the-week" for Veronica to solve as well as progress on the over-arching mystery, which in the first two years encompassed the entire season, but in the last year, Thomas broke up the larger mystery format and presented two extended mysteries and several stand alone episodes. For those who love episodic fiction, like me, the mixture of weekly mysteries and larger, season-long story lines was an addictive combination. Adding strong characterization and compelling subject matter (such as Veronica's muddled memory of a rape and her search for her mother), the series is arguably one of the best teen dramas of the more recent UPN, WB, and CW set.

Like many shows of its kind, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the main character, in this case Veronica Mars, played BRILLIANTLY by Kristin Bell, begins as a high school student (a junior in this show) and each year grows one year older. The third season of Veronica Mars takes place in the main character's first year of college. The proposed fourth season would have followed Veronica Mars to her first job at the F.B.I.

The show's writing was superb: witty, gritty, pathos-laden, dark, light, and endlessly inventive. The cast of characters surrounding Veronica were fresh and well-rounded. The introduction of new characters when she went to college added rather than detracted from the cast synergy. And the show dealt well with the classic love triangle between Veronica and two hunky males: Duncan Kane (Teddy Dunn) and Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), both of whom figured in key ways into the ongoing and weekly stories and mysteries.

Without hyperbole, I would count this in my top ten favorite TV shows of all time. In an objective ranking, it would probably be demoted from being among the top ten best ever shows only due to its short run. I made a partial list of favorite shows in the entry for T-shirt #73, in which I discussed the merits of Battlestar Galactica. Though after my wife's recent experience with Breaking Bad, this list may have to be revised. After all, my list of favorite TV shows is quite obviously restricted by the TV shows I have actually seen.

Season Three cast

Veronica Mars set Kickstarter records when it launched the Kickstarter in March. I ordered TWO incentive T-shirts when I donated, and I have been waiting months for them to arrive. I may try to hold off on featuring the other one in the hopes I can use it when the movie is released.

VERONICA MARS KICKSTARTER PROJECT

The Kickstarter project page features all sorts of news and nifty and videos, such as the initial pitch and updates by Kristin Bell. The video at the top of the page will give you a GREAT idea of why the show is so hilarious and wonderful.

Did you click the link? Oh you mean THIS LINK BELOW???

VERONICA MARS KICKSTARTER PROJECT

Why didn't you click the link. CLICK IT  and watch the first video.

OMG.

Come on, CLICK AND VIEW: VERONICA MARS KICKSTARTER PROJECT.

Seriously.

I think you will understand why I funded this IMMEDIATELY with my hard earned dollars.

(BTW, I created a Kickstarter category, so you can see other Kickstarters I funded and one I wrote about but missed out on funding, though I would have funded it had I known. There's one Kickstarter that I have funded that I have not yet written about so STAY TUNED, Marshmallows.)

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

On March 13, 2013, Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell launched a Kickstarter fundraiser in an attempt to get the film made, with the help of fans to reach the goal of $2 million. The campaign offered various incentives to those who donated more than $10. Thomas and Bell stated that they approached Warner Bros. with the idea and they approved and will be distributing the finished title. Bell, Thomas, Enrico Colantoni, Ryan Hansen, and Jason Dohring appeared in a video promoting the campaign that was shot in February 2012. The goal was met within 10 hours of the start of the campaign. The project broke several Kickstarter records, including being the largest successful film project on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter campaign ended on April 13, with 91,585 donors raising $5,702,153. Production began in June 2013, with a projected early 2014 release. 

On April 5, Thomas had completed the first draft of the script. Several casting announcements were made through April to June, with confirmation of several returning cast members, including Jason Dohring (Logan Echolls), Enrico Colantoni (Keith Mars), Percy Daggs III (Wallace Fennel), Chris Lowell (Stosh "Piz" Piznarski), Francis Capra (Eli "Weevil" Navarro), Ryan Hansen (Dick Casablancas), and Tina Majorino (Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie), among several others (Veronica Mars, WIKIPEDIA, 2013).

I joined the Kickstarter in that early surge and added my money to the first wave, the original investment that funded the movie's goal in ten hours and set it on its way to breaking all KICKSTARTER and indie-Internet funding records. OH YEAH.

Also, this Kickstarter factors into my Blog Journey (which I just started writing about yesterday). The good crew of the good ship Veronica Mars launched their lovely Kickstarter the DAY I found out I had cancer. Dear readers of this blog will know that this diagnosis prompted me to start the blog eleven days later on March 22, 2013, beginning my T-shirt odyssey. If I remember correctly, Piper texted me the morning of my follow appointment, and shared a link on Facebook, and I banked my money into the Kickstarter immediately. Later that day, a very nice doctor told me as nicely as possible that I had prostate cancer. Good news and bad news in the same day. Really?

I guess that's how it happens. Good news, bad news. Then the bad news turns into good news? Sometimes.



Two hundred and fifty-one days later, I am on day #240 of my daily blog. Is that insane or what?

Did you click the link above? Want convenience? The video on the Kickstarter is the original viral video, but here's the San Diego Comic Con sneak peek with trailer. Oh yeah.

Veronica Mars Official Comic-Con Sneak Peek (2014) 

And I have another Veronica Mars T-shirt left to feature. Woot! Woot!

"Bring it now, Sugar. Bring it on, bring it on, yeah. Just remember me when"
- Dandy Warhols, Veronica Mars theme song "We Used to Be Friends"

COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE BLOG YEAR: 125 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1311.16 - 18:15

T-shirt #170 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

T-shirt #170 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

For many weeks, I have been stewing over creating a post featuring one of my Buffy the Vampire Slayer shirts and the continuing love letter I plan to write for Joss Whedon.

Sometimes the posts I want to make are a bit intimidating, and I put them off. How can I possibly do justice to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is considered by most as one of the best Television shows of all time, and surely one of my favourites?

And then I begin to investigate basic searches for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I find more material than I can possibly digest myself let alone synthesize into some digestible form for you, dear reader. I have not even read in their entirety all the books I own. And when is the last time I watched all the episodes? Or even one episode... I am a terrible fan...

I made my first attempt at a list of favourite TV shows in T-shirt #73, which was dedicated to one of the greatest ever: Battlestar Galactica (the new re-make not the original). Buffy the Vampire Slayer  made that list of favourites, which I won't repeat here (check the link). I mentioned Lost, though I wrote about this show separately in T-shirt #76. I must have had temporary amnesia as I failed to mention one of my all-time favourites, and for many years my number one, thirtysomething (but more on this show later; I have shirts).

I have one other shirt featuring Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and so I have a second chance to create a special, well-considered, intricate, detailed love letter to all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer because this post is not going to be so intricate or well-considered.

In fact, I have been struggling for weeks with why I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer so much. And then, I read a recent interview in Entertainment Weekly with JOSS WHEDON. (There does not appear to be a link to this cover story from the August 30, 2013 issue of EW; I am assuming one has to buy the magazine to read it.) When asked for his proudest moments, the two Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes that he named happened to be my two favourites, and the episodes I point to that define what is great about Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a show: "The Body" (Season Five, episode 16, production number 94) and "Once More With Feeling," the much-touted musical episode (Season Six, episode 7, production number 107). Joss also named the Firefly episode "Objects in Space," which is an excellent choice as well, but that's a story for another time.



Though "The Body" and "Once More With Feeling" are my two favourite Buffy episodes their impact will not be in any way significant if a viewer has not watched the ninety-three episodes that precede "The Body" and the one-hundred-and-six episodes that precede "Once More With Feeling." These episodes had an enormous impact on me, but I had already invested nearly one hundred and then more than one hundred hours watching the program's episodes, at least once each. I made friends on the Internet after the airing of "Once More With Feeling." I had to have this music ASAP to play on CD and eventually digitally. Come on, this was 2001. I was still using CDs and cassette tapes and did not yet own a digital music player. It was an entire year before Joss and company released the music on a commercial CD.

I think Joss was as surprised as many how popular the episode became and how quickly.

From the Wikipedia page devoted to the "Once More With Feeling," episode : "John Virant, president and chief executive of Rounder Records, told the Los Angeles Times, "I remember watching the episode when it aired last October, and after it was over, I said to my wife, 'That's the best hour of TV I've ever seen. Someone should put that [soundtrack] out.' I inquired at Fox, just following up, and they said, 'Well, we tried, it didn't happen. If you want to take a run at it, feel free.'" Allmusic gives the album five out of five stars, stating that the music is "every bit as fun as the episode itself", praising the voices of Benson, Marsters and Head. Reviewer Melinda Hill states it is "a must-have for Buffy fans, but it wouldn't be out of place in anyone's collection""

I bolded and underlined the key line in the above paragraph: "That's the best hour of TV I've ever seen."

It is a work of crazy and frenetic genius. One of the best things about the episode is how it advances the ongoing story lines through the musical numbers in a way that is much more sophisticated than most musical theater scores and books. BUT the viewer can only enjoy the full impact of the episode by watching the one-hundred-and-six episodes that precede it. I will share some clips. Sadly, only one clip from the actual episode due to copyright issues. They are amazing, but my assessment of amazing is grounded in my foundation of Buffy study. One must devote the time, invest in the characters, the show, its premise, to be fully moved by these episodes.



"The Body" has been hailed by critics as one of the finest episodes of television EVER broadcast. It was and is Emmy worthy, but the show, the episode, and the mind-blowing performance of Sarah Michelle Gellar were not nominated for ANY Emmy Awards, which is one of the many reasons why the Emmys, like the Oscars, are a joke. I do not want to share too much more about  "The Body". I recommend it, but only after watching all four and two-thirds seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that lead up to it. But I will say that the episode made me bawl like a baby, and it still does. Very few TV shows or movies have ever affected me so deeply. There was an episode of thirtysomething that got to me like that, too. Nothing else springs to mind.

EPISODIC NARRATIVE

As I have written before (T-shirt #76 for example), I adore the episodic narrative. Buffy the Vampire Slayer delivered 144 weekly episodes over a seven season period. Each installment built on the one before, and the cumulative effect creates one of the most powerful and enthralling and just damn fun television stories ever created.

BUFFY EPISODE GUIDE - WIKI

Do not judge by the first season. There were some clunkers. And though the first season has some bright spots, overall, it's an initiation period. Joss was trying to figure what he wanted to do and prove to the WB that he could attract viewers with it.

I caught on to Buffy because of the incessant ads during broadcasts of Chicago Cubs games because WGN was a WB network. I watched a lot of Cubs games in 1997. After seeing several dozen Buffy ads, I finally gave in an started recording the show. I am a big recorder. I have always had trouble watching shows as they are broadcast. Video tape, digital recording, and now streaming video are all so much more convenient than arranging my schedule to be home at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday. Though it was not long before I was doing just that for Buffy. I started recording Buffy  the summer of 1997, and at first, I thought it was kind of stupid. But then it grew on me, and then I saw episode seven, "Angel," and I was hooked. But overall, Season One, not so much. Then came Season Two. It was better, but Season Two was not the most outstanding. It was better, it was good, and seeing Angel go bad was fun, seeing the introduction of Spike was amazing. The season as a whole had some clunkers, but overall, Joss was starting to nail it. By season three, Joss had the groove thing happening. From then on, each season kept setting new standards of excellence that were just mind-blowing.

I am sure that my hunger for more episodes of Buffy  has not been sated since the last episode aired ten years ago much like the hunger felt by millions of fans. (Okay, at least thousands...)

Though, there is the comic book... it's not quite the same.

I know that someday there will be a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. But I am rather impatient in waiting for it. We don't want to see the performers get much older.

I LOVE BUFFY

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has always made me happy. It will make you happy, too, if you give it a chance.
The theme song still has the power to get me out of my chair dancing around the room like a wild banshee from one of the Hell dimensions. Check it out. FOX owns the theme song, but FOX is probably not reading my blog or uncovering this devoted fan's You Tube channel. This sequence is not a real opening sequence. Eliza Dushku was never in the opening credits. And this fan found some great clips to highlight the other characters. Some are the same as in the TV opening, and others are not.

Buffy Theme Song

Isn't that great?

I mean, really, really GREAT????????

Maybe my judgement is completely clouded by how much I LOVE Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

But, no, that's really great, right??

MORE ON "ONCE MORE WITH FEELING" - pics and videos

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Once More With Feeling - 

Something to sing about

Behind the scenes with Joss

Buffy needs "backup"
Anya, Tara

Buffy Once More With Feeling - I'll Never Tell + Lyrics

1950s sit-com style fun
and some of the funniest lines in whole show

Spike - Rest in Peace

Buffy Musical ~ Walk through the fire lyrics

I will stop now. I could post the whole damn thing. Difficult just to select those things I love most. I love it all "most." THINGS JOSS SAID More from that interview. One thing he said about Buffy that stuck is that the "empowered" female characters drive the narrative. In reacting to things like Twilight and Vampire Diaries, Joss questioned whether or not the women characters are driving the narrative or whether the women are passive and don't really know what the Hell is going on. And then he nailed it with the quip that all these new YA franchises could be entitled "Choosing Boyfriends: the movie." This is why I love Joss. Those comments right there. RESOURCES - BOOKS AND LINKS Here's a few resources. The first is a catch-up article on where the cast is now.

'Buffy the Vampire Slayer': Where are they now? - CNN.com

This article does a good job of explaining the ten best reasons that Buffy kicks ass.

The 10th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's series finale | PopWatch | EW.com

Great article on how CBS has clout now that it has a show with Sarah Michelle Gellar because of the power of her Buffy powered fan base.

How Buffy and Linebackers Helped CBS Slay Time Warner Cable

Not only is the following a comprehensive fan site with episode guides, but it's a daily update of fan fiction and fan chatter.

BuffyWorld -- A complete guide to all of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" episodes

I have a couple of other books that I could not find to feature in this photo. I expect to get a bit more "jiggy" with book content in my next and extended love letter to all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

 THE COMIC BOOK - FROM DARK HORSE

I mentioned that there was a comic book. There's actually several, but the main comic book for Buffy the Vampire Slayer produces stories that would have been the eighth and now the ninth seasons. In 2007, Joss Whedon took on over-seeing the series.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine

Unlike the TV series, the comic book runs more issues as one issue is not equivalent to one TV episode. Season Eight ran 40 issues. So far, Season Nine is up to 25 issues. The comics are very good, they are very well written, and well-done in making with the humor. But it's not the same. Though some interesting things have happened, such as see the page below after Buffy had sex with another woman. It was handled very well, but it's not so much an ongoing thing. She seems to prefer boys.

Check out this great cast. And I haven't even scratched the surface of why these people are so fantastic. And this collage only takes us into season three.

- chris tower - 1309.07 - 20:10

T-shirt #122: Calvin and Hobbes

T-shirt #122: Calvin and Hobbes

I am not supposed to have a Calvin and Hobbes T-shirt. Apologies to Bill Watterson. Also, thank yous to my friends Neil and Yvette Southwell who sent me this shirt from Malaysia, where American legal restrictions were not a problem.

Back in the 1990s, before the Internet was so easily accessible (hey, kids, we had to "dial" into it and it tied up the phone line) and before everything and more was actually available ON the Internet, commerce crawled along at a much slower pace. Back then, Bill Watterson's lock down on merchandising for his comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, which is the single GREATEST COMIC STRIP EVER MADE, was much more effective. Despite my greatest respect for Mr. Watterson and his choices, I still wanted a T-shirt when my friends reported seeing knock offs in Malaysia and offered to send me one. I did not wear the shirt too often as I felt intense guilt for circumventing Watterson's wishes about merchandising. Now, knock-off merchandising, such as the image of Calvin urinating on a Ford logo, are ubiquitous. AND if you Google "Calvin and Hobbes T-shirts," many delightful choices display on your screen. Times have changed. Time for owning another C&H shirt or six? PERHAPS.

Calvin and Hobbes has brought me great joy. Thank you, Mr. Watterson. You made my life richer because of your fantastic art and stories.

RANKINGS OF BEST COMIC STRIPS - CALVIN AND HOBBES WINS

There is little dispute (or there should be little dispute) that Calvin and Hobbes is the greatest comic strip ever created. A few sites do not have it as number one. I found one stupid site that did not have Calvin and Hobbes in the top ten.  In fact, I would argue that it is one of the very best entertainment works ever created in any medium or genre! (But such is an argument for another time.)

As you know -- or you may not know but are learning right now -- I am not one for ultimate or absolute statements. I have a lot of love, and I like to spread it around. But I have no hesitation in proclaiming that Calvin and Hobbes is far and away, above and beyond, infinitely THE GREATEST COMIC STRIP EVER MADE.

Back of today's shirt

There are many great strips that I love -- Bloom County, Peanuts, Dick Tracy, Buck Rogers, BC, Wizard of Id, Prince Valiant, Get Fuzzy, Speedbump, the Far Side, For Better or For Worse, Sally Forth, POGO, and more -- but Calvin and Hobbes takes the top spot. If you need more convincing, or if you agree and you want to investigate, check out the following links.

Though the following link is missing GET FUZZY, which is current and should place in a top ten, this is good one, and for the most part, I agree

IANTHECOOL - TOP TEN COMIC STRIPS

These are also good rankings though not my favorites from what I have found online.

HELIOPHON: Why Calvin and Hobbes is one of the best comic strips ever

SABOTAGE TIMES: CALVIN AND HOBBES - THE GREATEST COMIC STRIP OF ALL TIME!

BY FAN VOTE: Rankopedia - Best Comic Strip Ever

Want to vote? Try RANKER. It requires no log in and the ads are not very intrusive.

This T-shirt moved up on my blog entry list because of the following news that I just found out about (it's hardly "breaking news" as this news has been circulating since 2009 and I missed it until now):

THERE'S GOING TO BE A DOCUMENTARY!!

Check out these links and the trailer:

DOCUMENTARY!! - NEWS ARTICLE AT FANBOY

THE DOCUMENTARY WEBSITE:  Dear Mr. Watterson

I am very excited about this documentary. A film devoted to the love of Calvin and Hobbes? Really? And I thought I was excited when I kicked in to the Kickstarters for the WeAreBatman movie, the Amazing Randi movie, and the Veronica Mars movie.

Dear Mr. Watterson Trailer

It was a sad day (Nov. 9th 1995) when Watterson announced that he was ending the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip at the end of that year. Like so many fans, I felt a HUGE sense of loss. I was a devoted DAILY follower. Every day I would grab the paper to read my favorite strip. If I did not grab the paper for a couple of days, the newspapers MUST remain accessible so I could catch up. When I went on vacation, the comic pages had to be saved. When I was in Europe, I had massive withdrawal and could not believe that no one published the American strips.


Calvin and Hobbes was a part of my daily life and brought me great joy and comfort.


And yet, I understood Watterson's decision. His explanation (find it on the Wiki about him HERE) was succinct and clear. He did not want to "run it into the ground." I get it. I was sad. I am sad. But I get it. There are ten years of daily strips collected in books. It's enough.

Watterson is intensely private. He has declined many opportunities for interviews and biographies. He did speak to the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2010, and again the remarks are on the Wiki page (see previous link) in which he explained a bit further. He does not regret ending the strrip when he did, and after much thought, neither do I.

And yet, a documentary about the strip will surely be AWESOME. As one of the earliest Kickstarters, the film Dear Mr. Watterson promises to be wonderful (if the trailer is any indication). It will premiere in November of 2013. I am counting the days.

Last comment on merchandising, and then I am going to present some of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes strips (more Watterson and less me today). It sounds like a great idea to have a Calvin and Hobbes Christmas show on TV, Calvin and Hobbes stuffed toys, stickers, play sets, polo shirts, pajamas, bed sheets, limited edition statues, book ends, lamps, waste baskets, refrigerator magnets, and so on. And yet, my love for the strip may be diminished. For the most part, despite knock offs, the strip exists just as the strip: the art and the story.

It exists JUST as Watterson intended it.

This is as it should be.

MY ALL-TIME TOP THREE FAVORITE CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS

NUMBER ONE - NAILS IN THE COFFEE TABLE

NUMBER TWO - THE TOASTER 

NUMBER THREE - THE RECORD (LP)

OTHER FAVOURITE CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS

Surely, if I re-read all my Calvin and Hobbes books (which I may do before the documentary premiere in November) , I would probably have other choices. I like a lot of "Calvin the Bold" sequences. There was also the break-in story and the raccoon story; both of which were excellent. I loved the sequence in which Calvin transformed himself into a Tiger. There's Stupendous Man and Spaceman Spiff. So many great ones.
There's omissions here simply because I am not loading up several hundred strips. But these were among the best I found skimming current online resources. Enjoy.

PERFECT strip to end with today...

FOR MORE CALVIN AND HOBBES

- 25 GREAT CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS

- 10 BEST CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS
The preceding link also has a short film inspired by Calvin and Hobbes and some other goodies.

- 10 GREAT CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS

- WHEN WE FIRST MET - CAST OF CALVIN AND HOBBES

- chris tower - 1307.21 - 9:38