ABC World News Tonight: First Broadcast Review

Good everyone, everyone.

The 1970s. The year of bell bottoms, afros, beaded vests, free love, urban rise, the birth of hip-hop, the death of bubblegum pop, the birth and death of disco, some of the biggest news stories were scary and weren't around people who's fame didn't reach 14:59, things were much more simpler and TV was achieved (mostly) by antenna.
At the time of the turn of the decade, Americans had 4 choices of national news programs to get their daily stateside and worldwide fix:

the Nightly News with David Brinkley and John Chancellor on NBC


The MacNeil/Leher Report on PBS
(lead by Robert and Jim, respectively)


The Evening News with (the face of national news when it was objective and good) Walter Cronkite on CBS,


and...whatever the hell was on the Alphabet.

Yes, ABC in it's early days wasn't a success across the board. Primetime, daytime and news were in the ratings basement compared to the Eye and the Peacock. (Sometimes, it found better leeway [or got lucky] over NBC and the crap the latter regurgitated at the time.)

So, let's go cliff-notes into the history of ABC News' flagship program.
The Alphabet debuted its daily news program in 1948 and the format was just 15 minutes long. In 1953, the program was hosted by Mr. John Charles Daly, also best known as the host and moderator of What's My Line? on CBS. Daly anchored the program -- named John Daly and the News until 1960,-when he departed, and after multiple fill-ins, was succeeded by for a couple years (starting in 1962) by Ron Cochran, whom himself was replaced by (believe it or not)... Peter Jennings.
Yes, this wasn't the first time Jennings presided over the show. Peter was a transplant from the CBC in Canada, and was hired by ABC to bring a fresher, younger face to keep the show going, with a name change to Peter Jennings with the News. Too bad he was inexperienced at the time, as his (first) tenure didn't last and he departed the program two years later.
It was during that time in 1967 that the network gave the show a major revamp. A new (generic) name, a new format (double the runtime to 30 minutes) and change to color. ABC News was the name of its program from '67 to 1970, with a few hosts at the forefront during that time: Bob Young (67-68), Frank Reynolds (May 68-70; also not the first time as anchor as thought of too) and Howard K. Smith (May 69-70--as co-anchor).
And finally, another name and format change come a  new decade. In December 1970, Harry Reasoner left CBS to join ABC to replace Mr. Reynolds as co-anchor of the ABC Evening News (yep, not at all even more generic or lazily conceived) with Mr. K. Smith. Five years later, Smith slid into the role of commentator, leaving Reasoner as sole anchor. That is until 1976 when he received a co-anchor in one (unexpected but incredibly talented) Barbara Walters. Walters joined ABC from NBC's Today on October 4 of that year, and thus begins a storied (and even more turbulent) chapter in ABC News ' history. Reasoner was against Walters not only as his co-anchor, but also against women anchoring any evening news broadcast, as he saw it as a man's job to report short recaps of the day's news. And this wasn't something that he kept to himself or something I made up because of a dislike of him; he really made it known as time went on -- to producers, the viewers (well, at least those who could read his face and body language) and even to Walters. Because of this, the pairing failed to catch on with viewers and Reasoner left ABC after 8 years (up to this point, the longest tenure of an ABC News program host after Charles Daly, sadly) to go back to CBS. But, the best was still yet to come.

Despite its low viewership, constant host and format changes, and constant tension behind the scenes between the previous man-and-woman anchors, the producers and ABC News President Roone Arledge decided to completely revamp the nightly program's approach to presenting the day's main news, and bring Americans a new voice in evening news to get them informed every night at 6:30. So they brought in three new voices (from three different cities to catch up three different angles gathering to move the country closer to the world) and renamed the network's news half-hour to a name and brand that would (and did) change the landscape of the national news program forever.

World News Tonight.

Anchored by three of the best, brightest and most brilliant faces of news at the time, World News Tonight brought viewers the day's national, international, political and world affairs news along with special reports and commentary, all in less than  thirty minutes. Anchored by newcomer (and the first black anchor of a network news program) Max Robinson in Chicago, (the returning [and much more experienced]) Peter Jennings in London and (the re-promoted) Frank Reynolds in Washington; along with Special Reports by holdover Barbara Walters and Commentary by Howard K. Smith, this broadcast did just that and brought itself the viewers it deserved and the respect and credibility it really deserved. If you want proof, here's its  debut broadcast on this day, July 10, 1978.

During it's first broadcast, featured reports included:
-- International Desk Reports by Jennings
-- Jewish immigrant reporters on trial in Moscow for giving their honest opinions about relations between the United States and the Soviet Union (by Charles Bierbauer)
-- The White House's brutal response to the trial and a drop in Jewish immigration to Russia (by Sam Donaldson)
-- Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin's reaching out to President Jimmy Carter for a helping hand in freeing the jailed reporters (by Bill Siemmens[?])
-- The wife of one of the jailed reporters speaks out to correspondent Jack Smith (introduction by Jennings)
-- Barbara Walters' special report with then-Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz on his unsuccessful defense of the jailed reporters and the impact of their case (he calls it "a farce"). (Introduction by Reynolds)

-- Washington Desk reports by Reynolds
- Congress Returns from recess in hopes of a tax break, an energy bill and a controversial decision on abortion (by Reynolds)
- Firestone tire recall (by Bettina Gregory
- President Carter proposes spending on communities to fight crime

-- National Desk reports (Chicago) by Robinson
- Cleveland public housing police force problems
- Petition for Tax Hike  from Proposition 13 in Michigan going to impasse
-Four held hostage by bomb-wielding worker at World Trade Center (by Lynn Shure)
-Little on trial for prison guard murder and escape, delay denied in Raleigh, NC
-Western States farmers vs. crops eating grasshoppers

I thought this first broadcast was a fantastic and well-done production. Everyone was at the top of their game. Reynolds was always a brilliant, consummate professional, Robinson took a huge risk of co-anchoring a national newscast and paid it off handsomely (and damn sure rocks that afro with class) and Jennings proved after a decade of honing his craft as a correspondent for the network and the CBC in his native Canada, he can (and did [AND does]) become a brilliant anchor worth the timeslot. Barbara Walters' special report with Dershkowitz was captivating and have a nice perspective. Ms. Walters was already well known for her serious yet sweetly delicate reports on Today, and this iconic reporting style extended to WNT and the rest of her career with the News division and the network. And Howard K. Smith gave such powerful commentary on the decrease in world peace thanks to the Jewish Reporters on trial, and what negative impact protests could give in similar situations.

Plus, the theme music. If there is something so iconic and memorable that begins with just four notes, that it would become the audible symbol of an entire news division, it is this tune.

As the years pass, the faces would change.
Reynolds would anchor the broadcast until his time off from illness and his death from bone cancer on July 20, 1983. Robinson and Jennings remained in a dual anchor format ever since until Robinson moved to the weekend edition and news briefs (until his leaving the News division in 1984; he later passed away from AIDS in 1988), while Jennings became sole anchor and senior editor on September 5 and holding the role-- through praise and high respect, until his untimely death from lung cancer at 67 on August 7, 2005. Other faces leading the program would later include Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas (in the first male-female dual anchor team since the ill-fated Reasoner/Walters pair-up), Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer and current anchor (as of this post) David Muir.

While all network newscasts at the time definitely had the strong showing of objectivity, class, dignity, talent and emotion intertwined with both the anchors/correspondents/commentators and their reports, in my opinion, World News Tonight was the broadcast to watch; it was a unique format that drew me in from the word "go": three men bringing the News of importance from three different cities with their own distinct personalities separating them, but their one goal bringing them together and drawing me in in the process. In fact, many other viewers (although at time watched live, and I was still years from even being a semen) thought so too; since WNT's July 10 debut, ratings for it (and the network) gradually rose to the point of beating both Nightly News and the Evening News to become the nation's #1 evening network news program. And after watching this debut broadcast, you can probably see why.

For me though, that love for WNT extended to this this first broadcast. I was a longtime viewer since I was a child. One of my life's dreams and aspirations was to work in broadcast journalism. Mr. Jennings (as you know of course) was still anchor and his personality and long strong talents shone through to me and pulled me in every night, year after year. Because of him, he was a major inspiration to me and made my TV news dreams grow and grow ever since. His 2005 passing to me (and the rest of the country) was extremely devastating, but his legacy (along with those of Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Robinson) kept my aspirations alive -- along with my love of local TV news.

Well, that is my review of the first of many editions of World News Tonight (and yes, for reference and curiosity, many more are on YouTube. I hope you've had a good day, and I hope you've enjoyed it.
Here's to 40 years of such iconic reporting and reporters giving them and being such beacons of television news. And here's to 40 more.
Goodnight, everybody.

Goodnight, Everybody! Animaniacs will Return (No, Really)

Happy new Year, everybody!

So, how is 2018 starting out for us... We could say it's stating out with a ba--

Uhhhhhhhhh.

Well, anyway, here's probably the first great news of the year (especially for television animation fans), Animaniacs is coming back to television! Seriously. it's being revived as new episodes will air on Hulu starting in 2020. Steven Spielberg, executive producer of the original series, will board the revival as EP with his Amblin Television studio, no doubt along with many of the voice actors who helped bring the characters we loved and cherished since episode one to life, as they'll be back to bring them all out of the WB water tower.

The original series, along with other Amblin's other iconic animated series Tiny Toon Adventures, Pinky & The Brain and the later Pinky, Elmyra & The Brain are also available exclusively on Hulu, thanks to a deal between Warner Bros. Television Distribution and the streaming service. (And yes, the series was on Netflix some time ago.
This is a big get for Hulu, and definitely bolsters their current library at the moment, continuing the competition between the two services.

I'm honestly excited. As a fan of the original series, I can't be anymore ecstatic about this news. I don't care that I have to wait another two years or that I have to sign up for a Hulu account (which as of now I do have one), I'm just so happy that it's coming back.

Clearly as this is the start of 2018, we'll have to wait for more news and everything about production, but this, amphitheater other things in the news, definitely made my year start out just NARF!-tastic.

Hope you all enjoy this news. And I'll see you all soon.

Goodnight, everybody.

Charlie Rose Fired from CBS & PBS After Sexual Misconduct Allegations

I liked and respected this man. ...Not anymore.

"The Loud House" Creator Chris Savino Fired from Nick After Sexual Harassment Allegations

dang it.

Las Vegas Mass Shooting

Damn. It has happened again.

Cartoon Network at 25: A Retrospective

Martina Big: ...And You Thought Rachel Dolezal Was Crazy | Serious Post 2017

At least Rachel Dolezal had being President of a Seattle chapter of the NAACP as an excuse to be black.

This crazy wench you're about to see here takes pretending to be another race (specifically black) to gratify oneself to a grossly outrageous new level.

This woman here is Martina Big.

"This is super unsettling!"

So unsettling, that I'll need a bottle of bleach to erase all that visual gunk.


 (sorrynotsorry,) SHENEHNEH looks better than this.

During her younger years, she used to look like this.

She wanted to look like Pamela Anderson and Barbie, so she wanted to try to get as many surgeries and transformations as possible to like them both. And then decided to get more to look like a dark-skinned black woman.


Okay...Pam wouldn't want this. Not even Barbie would want this.

And the problem is, when she was younger, she was really beautiful. She had the look, the style and the flair. Even when she wanted to look like Pam Anderson and especially when she got them "melons", she still look hot (even if the titty size was unbelievable). But now there she goes looking like a chocolate transvestite drag queen who somehow placed 8th on RuPaul's Drag Race (a very entertaining show, no disrespect) to remind us that race issues in this country are still rampant and hitting heavy.

There are real, actual black women in this country who have real, actual issues with their skin color and tone with people making fun of them or rudely dismissing them because of it, and they have a hard time dealing with it--even as a young girl. All it would take to curb the heartbreaking hate is for their families to tell them they're beautiful. But these days, it's not enough. And now you have white bitches like Martina Big and Rachel Dolezal acting like going black is a thing to have men flock to you and have sex with you, instead of--you know--embracing their culture and history and showing your love of those topics to and for black people before even thinking of attempting to do so. (Well, Dolezal did to an extent, but still...) But outright just doing it is creepy and disturbing.








Why I wrote this post her, is because I've seen interviews on Inside Edition and a web exclusive on Maury this week, and from first laying eyes on her, I couldn't even hold in my stomach acid for very long. She really didn't have to resort to looking like a black woman (at least she didn't go Al-Joston-The-Jazz-Singer blackface to do it) to be beautiful. I could only assume she's doing this for attention and infamy. And surprise surprise, she's done it. Everyone's fauning over her, and even I'm talking about this mud-faced broad. (And watching the audience with mouth aghast in the Maury clip, I share their reactions) It's just unfair to real black women; for them to progress their look and movement only to see this and wonder "Why Lord Why?!?!", it's just sad to think.


Once her 15 minutes of fame are up, I can't fucking wait to forget about her existence.




Now when I go sleep, I see this...




and wake up like this.

Worst waste of drops ever.

PewDiePie Uses N-Word During Live Gaming Stream Screw-Up

So...PewDiePie used the N-word during a livestream on YouTube this week. That sucks...but...

Demon Kid Kills Mom Over a Fμcking PUPPY

I'm not the best son, no doubt.
I've gotten through arguments with my mother, and have even been hit by her many times in my life for trivial things, but getting told "no" was never a reason (if any at all [...and there was none]) for me to take her life. But for this kid you're about to meet (regrettably), it took a disagreement with his mother about a puppy to take hers.

This possible spawn of Satan is 19-year-old Michigan boy Andrew Wilson.
He shot and killed his mother in the back of the head while she slept (whose name is withheld as she doesn't deserve to be under this circumstance) last week on their home in Wheatfield Township.

...all because she told him he couldn't keep a puppy as a pet.

After the incident, the boy later called 911 and claimed someone murdered Ms. Wilson. He later fessed up when police arrived, leading to his arrest and incarceration. He was denied bond.

You know what? Kids these days are so rebellious, disrespectful, hostile and entitled. Admittedly, I myself was all of those things too when I was a kid, to a lesser extent of course. But I would never even think of shooting my mother to death. And the sad thing is, the boy didn't ask for anything like a car or cigarettes or any material possessions that don't cost cheap; he asked for a dog as a pet. And he's not a boy either; he's a goddamn TEENAGER! So you know he's got some issues from long ago to take his mom's life this way under these circumstances.

I had a pet a few times before, all of them cats. While not pet owner of the year, I did a real good job taking care of them until the end of our relationships. One of them later died of natural causes, one gave birth to a litter--which were taken to other homes (where they are still happy and safe) and later ran away and another was given to a family member. My point here? I was trusted to take care of them and my parents recognized that I did a great job; well-fed, potty-trained and enjoyed playing with me.
Here, this bad seed clearly couldn't have been trusted with a pet; Only Lord knows what he's done in the past to have gotten to this point for his mom to know he wouldn't be trusted to care for a fucking ROCK, let alone a dog; not to mention to take a rifle to his mom and pull the trigger. And now and forevermore, because of his selfish and outright dangerous actions, he no longer has a mother, and his family no longer has a daughter, sister, niece, cousin, aunt and mother.

He deserves to have his mental ass thrown in jail, and hopefully, get the book thrown at him so hard, he'll suffer brain damage. He deserves no leniency and no ease from the judge (whom I hope is anything BUT white) and last an eternity in an adult prison where the other inmates will be his new family (and NOT of the good kind). He will definity rot in Hell for this, where the dad in his afterlife will be Lucifer himself.
Meanwhile, Ms. Wilson will live a nice afterlife in Heaven where she'll be loved and happy forever.

I need you guys to read rhis: whatever you are going through with your parents cannot be this bad as what you saw here. So if you're going through bad blood with your parents, end it and repair your relationship. Tell them you love them and give them a hug. It's that important that you do so because your relationship can't be worse than this. And I need to do just that.

ESPN Went Up Jemele Hill, and Broke Their Crown: Network at Task for Distancing from Host's Heavy Trump Diss

This doesn't bode well for their character.

Everyone Needs to Leave Christina Miller Alone

You people need to get a hobby.     

   ...Now get another one.

Alf Clausen Fired as "The Simpsons" Composer after 27 Years | My Thoughts

D'OH!

We Knew It Was Coming: Tomi Lahren Hired by Fox News

I knew this was coming from 69th Street on the 108 bus.

Everybody's favorite bleach-blonde-brained blowhard bitch (no not Taylor Swift; at least she has some dignity and respect), Tomi Lahren is joining America's television hub for bleach-blonde-brained blowhards: Fox News Channel.

It was announced that she will join the Fox News family as a contributor to it's worst most horrifyingly biased show (No, Tucker Carlson; I didn't say excessively annoying and embarrassingly stupid show. Sit down and be a good little human jockstrap)--Hannity.

This doesn't surprise me. I had the thought in my mind for a long time since she was a host on theBlaze. She was an annoying loudmouth doof then, and she'll be an annoying loudmouth doof when she makes her first official appearance...when they make it happen. (I dunno--I never read an article about this, and I never will.) Even before her ass got her well-deserved pink slip, I had a feeling she would get interested by Fox and even get picked up when she was at the other network. Now that she's at the place where idiots get their propagan--I mean...yeah, propaganda, she'll get her turn in the limelight and even get her own show. (Don't ask how I know; I know it'll happen sometime or another. They'll definitively make room for her somewhere on the schedule and idiots will eat her vocal defication like they do Hannity's.)

Tomi, good luck bud. But...I still hate you like you hate everything sane and logical.

Toony Throwback Thursday: Recess

I’ve watched many cartoons when I was a kid--both on broadcast (syndication and broadcast television), and on cable (both pay AND penetration). And yet one of my consistent favorites across all of these mediums is Recess.

Recess, created by Joe Ansolabehere and Paul Germain (the latter previously best known as co-creator of another iconic and beloved western animated series that starts with R, Rugrats) revolves around six fourth grade kids as they go about their young lives attending Third Street Elementary School, along with a wide, colorful range of other students whom interact with the main group, are the focus of their antics or are just there for a good joke.
These students are, in this particular order:
-T.J. Detweiler--the popular and clever leader
-Vince LaSalle--the cool and confident athlete
-Ashley Spinelli--the tough and headstrong tomboy
-Gretchen Grundler--the sharp and extroverted genius
-Mikey Blumberg--the gentle giant with the Pavarotti pipes
-and Gus Griswald, the shy (but occasionally brave) latecomer

Their attending Third Street Elementary garners mixed responses (depending on the activity), but the one period of the day they (and the other students) look forward to the most and enjoy as


It had a lot of things I loved:
-A large ensemble of kids with different personalities that resemble all kids at a normal real-life elementary school, with our main heroes standing out themselves
-A wide-ranging faculty of either wide rage or sweet cheerfulness
-How this series is modeled like -- of all things -- escape heist films (specifically when the kids want to escape the long-boring confines of the classroom for the fun, fresh air and -- of recess). Seriously, you’ll feel like you’re watching something else, despite it being a kids show. Even if you’re a kid, you feel like something was off about this one (well, at least I did)

There’s also many moments of characters (both kids and adults) realizing something about one another that changes our perspective of them.
-When Gus was introduced in the second half of the very first episode "The New Kid", and his new friends did his best to remove the titular title most new kids get at Third Street, leading to his awesome moment of confronting King Bob to get his name back. And he does.
-When Vince praises on about his big brother Chad and accepts him as a geek. (Before the Big Bang Theory, nerds were always seen as scum of the school campus. So watching this episode and watching Vince love his big bro no matter what makes me humbled.)
-When Principal Prickly was hypnotized to being 6-years-old and the kids see something new (and odd) in him and enjoy a new perspective of their grumpy-but-well-meaning principal
-And in “Weekend at Muriel's”, Spinelli goes to Ms. Finster’s house for a weekend while her parents are away. After a while when she (and us) expected Finster to be her loud, boring disciplinarian self, she realizes this and begins a self reflection, of which she loosens up and shows Spinelli how she has a good time. Spin enjoys it and leaves with more respect for Finster than ever, and we’re treated to a newer, more mellow and more fun Ms.  Finster (at least for that episode, because she’s back to being a cruel, soulless old meanie by the next episode [with some open shades of her having a good time in several later episodes.])
-and many more too hard to list

If you’ve ever wondered why this show lasted nearly a decade on television in reruns (on ABC Kids after 1SM ended, and on Disney Channel & Toon Disney)? Those reasons are why. Most kids watching could relate to at least one of these kids , remember the times of having fun at recess at their school, laugh at the jokes about them or the Third Street Elementary faculty, well up from the Tear Jerking moments, feel swelling after the Heartwarming moments, and cheer in astonishment from witnessing a character (and ANY character) perform an action that is too awesome for words (and there were many).

When I began watching this series for this review again, I was immediately transported back to my childhood, watching the title sequence and listening to the theme song--humming along to it of course, excitedly waiting for another episode to begin. And when it begins, I sit and stare at the TV as the action unfolds, laughing or feeling good from every other moment.

Ehh, sure, it wasn’t all the way perfect; there were some notable episode/moments that didn’t go well with everyone over the years. Take “Nobody Doesn’t Like T.J.” for instance, in which T.J., apparently the coolest kid on the playground, finds out that Gordy doesn’t like him. Teej tests his temperament to turn Gordy to his team, but failed. The problem here is that he’s forcing Gordy to like him, but this gives the latter even more reason (well one reasonable reason--since he has none at the start) to dislike the former. This half-episode did have a message that needed to be told in a kid’s show--”not everyone can like a certain person”. Or was supposed to, But the execution was not a figure 8, instead showing itself like this--”people can dislike you for no good reason, and it’s okay!”. It just didn't work the way the writers intended.

But for episodes that I'd find great. there are many across this one to list (so I'll get to that another time)

These kids find recess as escapism from life, and I find Recess as escapism from real life.
And that is why I love Recess.

Thanks for joining me here, everyone. And I'll be back next month with something special involving a certain weekly block full of summer (hint: this series aired as part of it). See you in September!

I'm Andrew, and may the good toons be yours!

America's Got Talent Review Live: Quarterfinals 2: Simon Cowell is All Piss and Wind

Welcome back, one and all, to America's Got Talent Review Live!
It's week two of the live shows, and the next group of acts have a lot of work cut out for them after last week's big live debut. This week's acts were...a bit mixed. I enjoyed most of them, but I wasn't totally wowed. Let's take a look at what I mean...

Performances:


Results.


Hope you enjoy this review and I'll see you  next week for more AGT Review Live.

Too-oo!ny Tuesday: Woo-oo! (DuckTales Reboot | Special One-Hour Premiere Episode!)

If there’s a reboot everyone needed (but wasn’t asking for)...it’s this. And if there was a new show everyone who hasn't watched the original for should watch, it's this.

Woo-oo! It's the 2017 reboot/remake/re-imaging(/re-whatever) of DuckTales.

This reboot on Disney XD features the same old characters we knew, loved and grew up with all these years--just with new voices, traits and personalities and even outfits. This hour-long episode aired on August 12 in a very surprising marathon stunt. This episode aired literally all day--as in 24 times for 24 hours

There are also changes between the two versions:
In the original, Donald Duck has left for the Army, and gave guardianship to Scrooge MCDuck.
In the reboot, Donald is having a hard time with the “Eweys” and has to go to a job interview, and asks Scrooge to watch them.

And back to the Characters changing in personalities:

-Scrooge was indifferent, pretty stingy and a little grumpy yet more upbeat; now, he’s just super stingy and grumpy--he’s no longer as excited about his adventures as he used to be, and is even super glum as well, as his company has to cut back on the works on such, and sell the artifact he’s found to keep it going. It’s really sad that this guy is really down after all these years of being one of the best and most jovial explorers in the world.
Although I definitely believe he’ll mellow more and become more upbeat as the series progresses.

-The Duck Trips have always had their own personalities, as it seems (even though most of the times I’ve seen them on TV they were pretty much, the same boy with three different shirts and rhyming names), but this version takes it another way:
-Huey is smart and sensible if not a
-Louie is more laidback and jerkish (or--as the other triplets even call him--“the evil one”)
-Dewey is more reckless, stubborn and headstrong
And to top it off, they get their own outfits too.
Also, in the original, they already knew that Scrooge was their great uncle, and were pretty unexcited about living with him (more than seemingly because of his grumpy attitude and skinflint behavior) while uncle Donald had set off for the Navy. Here, they never knew Scrooge was their great uncle and was a little off the wall when they learned of it, unfortunately under the consequence of of his and Scrooge's years-long beef. Fortunately, it can only get better (and worse?) from here.

I love this change, because while I don’t think too much about the triplets when I see them, I just feel they have too much of the same personality. So I’m glad they all have a different personality; it’ll be great to see them be foils to one another (and to Webby as well) instead of being the same boy three times over.

-Webby has become more excitable, observant, confident, strong and brave--unlike the original, which many viewers and critics claimed as “boring” and “uninteresting” (with the OG Duck Trips even not liking her from the start) from what I’ve heard. Also from what I’ve heard, the writers wanted to give her a more positive, likable and flesh-out personality--which is what they’ve succeeded with her here. (It's fair to say that she's become one of my favorite characters of the series because of that...and more.)

-Donald is still his ill-tempered, down-on-his-luck self; but here it takes a more painful turn: he and Uncle Scrooge had a falling out years ago and haven’t spoken or have been kind to each other since. Their strained relationship doesn’t get any better when the triplets inadvertently tag along on their first adventure with Grunkle--ahem, I mean Uncle Sta--I mean Scrooge. Then there’s his fears that his nephews would get hurt or even killed while on treks with Scrooge (which are understandable).
And there’s this I love about him: while he will get screwed over a lot, he’s still not giving up on what he wants to do, His determination is limitless and he won’t let his unlucky disposition get him down. While he’ll still get into unlucky predicaments (some of which I’m sure will annoy me), he’ll actually join the rest of the Duck/McDuck Family on their crazy, dangerous world treks this time around. I have a feeling he’ll be one of my top favorites in this series. (well, it makes sense, as he’s been one of my all-time favorite Disney characters)
Orginal-wise, he went off to the Navy...and was nothing more than a glorified cameo from then on out. He did make more appearances, but he wasn't really important to the series unlike his nephews. Here, he's just as important as the rest of the family, and will take

-Instead of servant Duckworth from the original, he's replaced by Betina Beakly, Scrooge's sweet, motherly and sensible yet brawny and badass maid

-And then there's Glomgold .
In the original, he was pretty much a mirror image of Scrooge (maybe funhouse mirror, because of his square glasses and kilt). But here, the producers decided to give him his own design and nationality change. making him heavyset and a South African feigning a Scottish accent and look. (You see, in the comic series, he was South African; but in the original, he was as much a Scot as Scrooge. Here, he's back as a South African, complete with a lie that he's a Scotsman to get a leg up on Scrooge's empire in the worldwide artifact scouting industry. *phew* Oh yeah, and he's so devious he'll resort to murdering people to get what he wants. Yep, he's/they're going there.)

As for Launchpad McQuack, he’s still his lovable yet dimwitted self. You can’t change that.
These characters are real likable, well-made at the start and perfect for development later on.


And don’t get me started with the voice acting. (Well, actually please don’t; I already mentioned that in an episode of Maroon Mondays Live back in May, and I was already pretty pleased/excited/overwhelmed by the actors chosen. )

(so )

The animation looks like a hybrid of both the original and a comic book; it’s crisp, smooth, and rich (like Scrooge’s bank account), yet wide-reaching and perfectly colorful. I’ve watched a lot of cartoons with a shockingly expansive palette yet this one still manages to surprise me with its ink and paint use.

And before you mock me about it (and I’m being very generous, because that would mean people are actually talking to me), look at the establishing shots and backgrounds instead of the characters’ clothes, and you’ve got great eye-candy of a series.

And that extends to the Title Sequence, with a new spin on that theme song everybody loves and wants implanted into their brains until the end of time.

Everything just shines here.
The animation is beautiful, and everything you need to know about the series is shown in full view here.
-Our heroes going on a typical adventure, and Our villains chasing them;
-Scrooge reaching for his iconic (I assume) #1 Dime.
-Launchpad getting distracted from piloting a plane by giving us (or the air? can't really tell) a saluted greeting (Maybe if you look from a certain angle).
-And (something I haven't known about before), some righteous recreations of the works of comic book genius (and creator of the comic series that these shows are based on) Carl Barks

Then there’s the change in story:

The original was cartoon deep in action and adventure. This series continues aspects of both, but also includes bits and pieces of mystery and takes a slightly more darker tone.
AND BEFORE YOU ALL HAWK UP GRAVITY FALLS, lemme tell you this: yes, it does involve a story grounded in mystery...AND THAT’S IT. Before you all make any more comparisons: How Louie wears a hat like Dipper, how Webby is sweet, hyper and waaaaay into something like Mabel (along with both wearing similar outfits--including to a sweater and s), how Scrooge is grumpy yet mischievous like Stan (along with both carrying canes and wearing fancy hats), or how Launchpad is a kind yet dimwitted adult like Soos--oop, oh wait, I’m doing it. Well, anyway, just because they both have mystery aspects embedded in that, it doesn’t mean they’re one and their same. In fact, it’s becoming a thing now that annoys me-- people comparing newer shows to Gravity Falls just because they all share a genre and barely similar characters. It’s happened before with Welcome to the Wayne, and now it’s happening with this series. While they’re all fair, it’s the fact that they JUST. KEEP. COMING. that irritates me. While I won’t tell you all to stop it, I will say this: GF IS a brilliant cartoon, but ISN’T something everyone should look at or refer to for one genre over others. It just muddies the waters for other potential viewers/fans.
But as a fan of both shows (and that a lot of people from the former are now working on the latter), it's true that I love this development and I can't wait to see how far (and how dark) the crew will take the story from here and where they'll go for a great memorable moment. I'm sure they'll do just fine.

As for the origin story itself, it’s a great, well-written and refreshing retake on the original’s origin story. It adds some (barely) more backstory for the characters (Donald getting a job interview; the “Eweys” living with him and being a nuisance--uhh, yeah; Launchpad being a chauffeur [and being predictably bad at it], ) and begins some more interesting, salacious and definitely entertaining adventures to come.
And then there’s the short cliffhanger at the end when Dewey looks at the painting again and see a surprise behind its ripped flap as a stowaway on Scrooge and Donald’s shipside adventure: [SPOILER ALERT] his, Huey and Louie’s mom Della Duck. With this reveal, it’s definitely setting a domino effect of storylines, new locations, and character interactions and developments that’ll leave you hanging and hungry for more. And honestly, I can’t wait for to rack my brain for it all.

This pilot was fantastic . Everything a fan or stan of the original ever wanted in a re-imagining, and everything a new fan or casual watcher would begin to love. Fantastic casting and performances, superb animation, amazing new development for the characters and a brilliant start to an equally-brilliant, fresh, new story to unravel (and for us to sit back and ).

Bannon is Bounced: Trump White House Chief Strategist Fired | Serious Post

Bye-Bye Bannon.

Steve Bannon, the chief strategist of President Orange aka 45 has heard the latter's somehow famous(ly rehashed) words--"YOU'RE FIRED!".

This actually did happen earlier today, and I am grinning ear-to-ear.

Look, I'll get straight to it: I don't like him at all. His work at Breitbart was the stuff of infamy, what with its blatant bias toward right-wing partisan politics and white supremacy. And this is from what I hear from the grapevine. And when he was hired as one member of Trump's version of shitty rap group Rich Gang (right down to the title), I was a bit furious, but not surprised for the implications I just mentioned.

But his work wasn't done as soon as Trump was given--I mean won-- nah, "was given" is more fitting, the presidency.
It more than seemed like Trump wasn't running the shots all this time; it was Bannon, who was the indirect commander-in-chief. Or he was the Senior Wences and Orange was his Topo Gigio. (look at this for more proof) Bannon seemingly gave Trump his ideals and cares, and Trump fed into them like KFC on his private jet. Since then, and from what we've all heard on the news, it's been more and more clear that Bannon was doing the hard work from beyond the shadows--I mean, behind the scenes. And before you know it, comments and jokes about this random indirect set-up were abound.

To be honest, the reason Bannon got his pink slip was because he cased white supremacists losers. These "losers" were Trump's voter-base. Even since the over-tanned idiot made it unwittingly clear last week that he supports and condones those cretins, he'll do anything to keep them (including outright switching his stance on them after the Charlottesville Klan massacre of last week to say both sides caused the disgusting incident, proving how desperate and stupid he is to do anything to keep hold of the top political power.) And when he learned of it, he gave Bannon redundancy.
And I'm absolutely overjoyed.

I hated him since the one time I actually went to Breitbart, and I'll still hate him until the end of time. He is the definition of a racist, sexist, scum of the earth, monster and "fugly". And I don't know why I wasted post space for him, but hey I need pageviews this week. (Okay, I'm joking but still...)

I can only wonder what Trump's White House will look like in the coming weeks, but as I've heard his Business and Economics groups have disbanded after his dangerously retarded turnaround statement after Charlottesville, and his staff are under siege and are looking to break away, but even through the unexpected, I can't wait to see so I can laugh my ass off and then fear for the worst from then...then laugh my ass off again to curb the pain.

Oh well...

Good riddence, and I can't wait to see how Saturday Night Live--and next week's Weekend Update Summer Edition--parody you to death. Fuck, I bet they're dress you up as Death, as they have last season. That'll be fun...

America's Got Talent Review Live: Live Shows Ep. 1--One Oscar & A Little Mel B

Tonight...

for the first time...

America's Got Talent Review...

IS GOING LIVE.




...Literally.

Hope you all enjoy.

Here's my review of the first performance show.




(I will say that it was a mess because of some weird overheating issues my PC suffered because the exhaust fan was dusted up, causing it to suddenly shut down. I had no idea at the time. But fortunately since all is good, I will continue the live reviews.)


Here's my thoughts on the first results show.

Charlottesville White Supremacy Massacre (Why?)

Shit. It's happened again. Another attack on American values and love...by Americans who have twisted and backwards values and no discernible love whatsoever.

This attack happened yesterday in Charlottesville, Virginia. A protest by white supremacists protesting the removal of a stature

This should have no place in any country, let alone this one. But it just happened and it just needs to stop.

I condemn it all. All the people I condemn, and their actions are a true blue showing of their true colors. They don't care about people who want and have an open mind about inclusiveness and love for all people. They care about hate and oppression for others while showing solidarity in hatred for others not like them (in race, creed or psyche) and they'll do anything to protect and preserve it. And what they did was and forevermore shall be a prime example of it. People shouldn't suffer major violent consequences for speaking their minds or fighting for what they believe in. So why should these people do it to the counter protesters? Because they don't know any better or have any semblance of common courtesy or sense.

This is why all minorities don't like or trust most white people, or--in more extreme cases--white people in general anymore. Because they fear or being swindled or one-uped or being treated worse than them; and in a lot of cases, especially in this decade so far, it has happened. And they always get away with it (degrees of which depend on what they do). I don't speak for all minorities, but what I and many others across the internet are saying has been made more clearer here today.

Fuck all of the white supremacists in this horrible attack on humanity.
This is why we don't like you.

As for the piece of shit who rammed his car against the crowd of peaceful counter-protesters, I'm glad he got caught (I honestly thought he wouldn't and would've killed himself). He deserves maximum sentencing and security. There's a special place in hell for him. Fuck him too.

 But all this is why the world looks at this country with hated, disillusion and laughter. We are still a laughingstock because of things like this. Because of scum like this. People rioting and abusing lives for shitty reasons like a fucking statue and flag. What does that statue have anything to do with this?? Because the guy is racist and disgusting.

I have no hated for most white people. But it's white people like the supporters of the damn statue I have no likeness or care for. They bring all of us and America back four hundred years to Amerikkka a time where their kind is the worst to all people. These scum want to bring it back to there, they can go ahead. They can eat each other out for all I care. They don't matter to me--never have been, definitely never will be.

When President 45 gave his press conference, I had no words. We all know he has no idea how to speak about serious events or incidents after they've unfolded and say them from the heart, because he's said hypocritical bullshit about otherwise many times before. He has no heart. No matter what he says in "sympathy" to the victims or their families, he actually really truly doesn't care about them or anyone that isn't on the same tax bracket, and what he's said in the past cements this.
Fuck him and his administration.

The speech from Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe was cathartic and heartwarming.



He simply called out the attack for what it is: senseless violence on peaceful people who don't want an America embedded in racism and one-race supremacy that rules in hatred and fear.
I'm fucking tired of it.


Thanks to these cave-dwelling neanderthals; these slavery-cummers; these slack-jaw, dimwitted, hate-releasing bastards, this country is truly not what it is or seems anymore. I have no solidarity for any of them. This is not my fight, or the fight for all black people and all people of color. When we have fought about things we find important to fight about, we don't fight with fist or riot. We walk and fight with our voices. Yet we are destroying our country. We do wrong, and what you're doing is all right and okay for our country. (Right...)
We have turned our backs on them.
And thanks to this incident, we turn our backs on them forever.

And you know what's sad? I was watching a marathon of  The Jeffersons on TV yesterday, and two of the episodes that aired was about a meeting for the KKK, and another about the main characters opening their cleaning store right on the night of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination.
You know what happened in them and where it ended. I also had a discussion about it with my sister and it was really deep about this. But on that day, no one was convinced that the group was a group of racism, hatred and pure terrorism. They committed pure racism, hatred and terrorism (against members of their own race no less).
I love my country but it's times like this where I can say with no second thoughts: I hate it sometimes.

This wasn't America. This is AmeriKKKa.

Pat Robertson Believes Eric Bolling Isn't Sexually Harassing Because "He's a Good Catholic"

Oh really Pat?