It was just a matter of time until a post about People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (appropriately tagged as “wingnuts”, joining some fine company alongside articles regarding the Westboro Baptist Church) finally appeared on our quiet little blog. What took so long? While PETA has flirted with the entertainment industry before, this is their first incursion into videogame territory - in more ways than one.
It started with Samba de Amigo, one of the delightful little oddities which sprang-up during Sega’s Dreamcast era. Like a few other franchises from those days (Jet Set Radio still not one of them, much to continued annoyance), the anthropomorphic corpse of Samba has recently been exhumed and given new life on the otherwise safe and pedestrian Nintendo Wii.
Like many of the Sega’s experiments with the bizarre, no one really noticed aside from the old hardcore gamers… or folks like me, who still have Gunner’s Arsenal jerseys with Dreamcast sponsorship hanging in our closets. Oh, and PETA, who have somehow mistaken the title for some kind of virtual animal abuse. To the dismay of reasonable human beings everywhere, Sega caved to PETA’s demand to pull advertising. They received chocolates for their compliance. Vegan, of course. Probably carob.
As if the incident with Samba de Amigo wasn’t ridiculous enough, the upright citizens at PETA have now turned their eye towards Majesco’s Cooking Mama, which they have parodied in the form of a flash game. The goal is to convince Majesco to develop an entirely-vegetarian edition of their cutesy chef simulator - even offering to help promote it.
I have to wonder: if it weren’t for the virtual nature of the “offending” material, would PETA be taking such an outwardly-cordial approach in this case? Afterall, it’s exceedingly difficult to splash buckets of fake blood on a collection of pixels and polygons.
Well, no, I’m quite obviously lying through my teeth, but you can’t blame a guy for pulling a bait ‘n’ switch now and then. Seriously folks, if the internet has taught us anything it’s that we should know better than to allow ourselves to get hooked by a cheap headline. Let this be a lesson to you all.
Onto the subject at hand, I share some of the reservations fans have over classic properties getting modern overhauls, especially when an abrupt jump beyond the original media or genre is involved. That said, I doubt Warner Brothers and DiCaprio will reach quite this comical height of Hollywood adaption bullshit. It’s not that I expect anything beyond total mediocrity in cases like these, which is pretty damned instinctual at this point, more that I’d prefer to take the high road for once and allow myself the luxury of a pleasant surprise.
A question: why is it always the sci-fi/fantasy anime which gets optioned for live action remakes? Why not mine source material which could be molded into solid critical successes, such as Grave of the Fireflies?
I know you’re angry, but please don’t shoot the messenger. Or, in this case… the messenger’s messenger, I suppose. Plenty of other people are posting this story, go shoot one of them! Anyway. From the BBC:
David Tennant is to stand down as Doctor Who, after becoming one of the most popular Time Lords in the history of the BBC science fiction show.
Tennant stepped into the Tardis in 2005, and will leave the role after four special episodes are broadcast next year.
“When Doctor Who returns in 2010 it won’t be with me,” he said.
Sorry kids, but we all knew this was going to happen eventually. When William Hartnell became too elderly to continue the role back in the 60s and the concept of regeneration was conceived to explain the transition to Patrick Troughton, I’m sure everyone knew that subsequent actors would all become targets of a “death pool” of sorts. That’s the nature of the beast. Personally, I had Tennant pegged for at least one more year as The Doctor. Oh well.
I’ll miss him. He’s definitely somewhere in my top five of the ten actors who have (officially) played the role over the years… probably somewhere between Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy. I wonder where the next guy will place? Whenever this happens, the first thing people usually talk after the “who’s next?” speculation is whether or not the newcomer will be able to follow in the wake of their immediate predecessor.
Memo to Auntie Beeb: if you’re going to tap Patrick Stewart for his long-rumoured guest appearance, do it now, as his recent theatrical work alongside Tennant should translate to instant chemistry.
West: “How is Senator Obama not being a Marxist if he intends to spread the wealth around?”
Biden: “Are you joking? Is this a joke?”
West: “No.”
Biden: “Is that a real question?”
West: “That’s a real question.”
Biden: *laughs*
So who exactly is this Barbara West character? Well kids, when she’s not recycling the Hannity/O’Reilly/Limbaugh arsenal of neocon smears on WFTV-9 in Orlando (that storied bastion of political commentary), she’s busy playing wife to Mr. Wade West, a GOP Media Consultant. Shocking!
First we had Matt Damon (MATT DAMON!) compare Sarah Palin’s presence on the Republican ticket to a really bad Disney movie. I can see that (oh, and so can all you, too). Well played, sir! Top drawer.
However, now John Cleese has thrown down the gauntlet by referring to Palin as a well-trained parrot followed up by the rather keen observation that her rapid ascension is exactly the kind of skit material Monty Python could’ve dreamed up back in the day. And boom goes the dynamite.
Only 11 days left! Do we have time for another challenger? Take your shot now, this could be your last chance. I wouldn’t expect to see SNL’s favourite punching bag stick around in public after the GOP ticket has finished its long downward spiral.
