Sunday, June 8, 2008

E is for Pants

Ah, E. That letter of the alphabet that looks like a backwards 3. We've come to one of the letters already done by someone else, but now I present my own take on the fifth letter.

Earthworm Jim: Yes, the 90s video game series where a worm becomes a superhero when a super suit falls on him from space. A hilariously odd video game series where he battles villains such as Psy-Crow, Evil The Cat, Bob The Fish, and Professor Monkey-For-A-Head. Hell, it was even adapted into a short-lived animated series which was one of the original shows on the Kids' WB lineup. (and, like some of the other shows I mentioned before, was incredibly underrated). Sadly, his last appearance anywhere was in the fighting game "Clayfighter 63 1/3" and its Blockbuster-Exclusive sequel "Clayfighter: Sculptor's Cut"

Just when we thought that this great series was gone forever, its creators at Interplay announced that a full scale revival is in the works! Yes, it seems that a new video game, cartoon series, and movie are in the works, and that the first few games will come to the Wii's Virtual Console. Excellent.

Elekid: My favorite pokemon of all time. He's the Pre-Evolution of Electabuzz, another awesome pokemon (who also got kickass evolution Electivire in the Diamond/Pearl games). What makes this one so special? I haven't really thought about that. Perhaps he evolves into Electabuzz, which is a kickass pokemon in its own right. I also love its design, I especially like the detail of having plugs for ears. Maybe it's his name? The fact that he has a somewhat reoccurring role in the recent season of the anime? I don't really know. What I do know is I think he kicks ass and I love it.

Egg Rolls: I love Egg Rolls. Those Chinese restaurant delights, I don't know what they're made of, but I don't really give a damn. I'm unsure just WHY I like them, I just do. Whenever someone brings leftovers from takeout or someplace and I discover an egg roll, I imagine that Christmas came early for me. I've tried the microwaveable egg rolls that they sell in the supermarket, but I need the pure stuff.

Earboy: Any fan of the 90s Nick sketch show All That will be quite familiar with this name. He was your normal, teenage boy...but with really huge ears. You'd think that this would be completely dumb, but the entire cast made this work. The talented Josh Server, the Tim Meadows of All That, played Earboy as he struggled to fit in and try to be "normal." He originally was in a school where everyone either teased him or fled in terror due to his huge ears; he eventually transferred to a different school with kids of similar deformities: Egghead (egg for a head), Four Eyes (two irises in each eye), Tinseltooth (girl with foil in her mouth), and his best friend Pizzaface (Kel Mitchell with a slice of pizza for a face).

Whenever Earboy felt down in the dumps or was wondering what hilarious scheme he'd get into that sketch, he'd turn to his good friend and mentor Ross Perot, mainly due to being successful while also having big ears. All That was one of those rare kids shows that actually addressed some level of political satire, and Ross Perot was a very timely and hilarious subject. He was hilariously played by Katrina Jenkins, and would always ramble on that he has "Four Billion Dollars." After everyone got too old and left to do other things, the show and my views on Nick itself were never the same.

Elephant Issues: This was Tiny Toon Adventure's obligatory "Preachy" episode with 3 cartoons dealing about stuff you normally wouldn't find on a kid's show unless mandated by the "Cartoon Should Make Kids Learn Even If They Really Don't Have To Foundation." The first two segments are not that special, learning about Illiteracy via Dizzy Devil and a story involving Prejudice with Montana Max and a robot. But it's the final segment, titled "One Beer" that makes it infamous.

It involves Hampton, Plucky, and an out of character Buster (only for the purposes of this cartoon) taking a single sip of beer and becoming trashed off their asses for 7 minutes. They eventually steal a cop's car and drive it off a cliff, where they presumably die. They then walk off the set asking "Do you think we can do a funny show tomorrow?" It's due to this segment that the episode had been shown only once on Fox and once on Nickelodeon before being pulled forever. And I was one of those lucky people who managed to watch it.



(Today's blog title, and yesterday's were inspired by this cartoon)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've seen that Tiny Toons but I'm thinking I saw it years later in the bootleg market.

Anonymous said...

Elekid, Earthworm Jim and Egg Rolls! Best post ever! Seriously, these are great posts. I'm really enjoying them.