# Continuations and adaptations influenced by parodies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuations-and-adaptations-influenced-by-parodies/714903 "2015-03-13T12:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuations-and-adaptations-influenced-by-parodies/714903/1 "2015-03-13T12:57:22Z")
I have to admit that I love Peter Jackson’s bloated adaptation of **the Hobbit**. Even though it pads the material shamelessly, it’s never boring, and it has a lot of style and visually interesting devices. One of the more bizarre elements of the last installment, _The Battle of the Five Armies_, was the appearance of Dain – riding on a battle-pig, with tusks woven into his moustache. He sure as heck isn’t described that way in Tolkien. Then I remembered something similar. In the 1969 Harvard Lampoon parody, _Bored of the Rings_ the Ringwraiths (there called the Nozdrul, instead of the Nazgul) rode on pigs instead of horses or Tolkeinian pterosaurs. They’re described thus at considerable length, and even appear that way on the original Signet book cover (drawn by future Sesame Street and Muppet artist Michael Frith) [https://www.google.com/search?q=bored+of+the+rings+cover+image&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&imgil=aQNBILHdeGvglM%253A%253B08mP0n-Enuu8dM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fringlord.com%25252Fpeople%25252Fwalrus%25252Flotr%25252Fbotr.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=aQNBILHdeGvglM%253A%252C08mP0n-Enuu8dM%252C\_&usg=\_\_gBV-cffivXKeOmMGgRX52ouSflQ%3D#imgrc=aQNBILHdeGvglM%253A%3B08mP0n-Enuu8dM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fringlord.com%252Fpeople%252Fwalrus%252Flotr%252Fpix%252FBotR-854x1446.jpeg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fringlord.com%252Fpeople%252Fwalrus%252Flotr%252Fbotr.html%3B854%3B1446](https://www.google.com/search?q=bored+of+the+rings+cover+image&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&imgil=aQNBILHdeGvglM%253A%253B08mP0n-Enuu8dM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fringlord.com%25252Fpeople%25252Fwalrus%25252Flotr%25252Fbotr.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=aQNBILHdeGvglM%253A%252C08mP0n-Enuu8dM%252C_&usg=__gBV-cffivXKeOmMGgRX52ouSflQ%3D#imgrc=aQNBILHdeGvglM%253A%3B08mP0n-Enuu8dM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fringlord.com%252Fpeople%252Fwalrus%252Flotr%252Fpix%252FBotR-854x1446.jpeg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fringlord.com%252Fpeople%252Fwalrus%252Flotr%252Fbotr.html%3B854%3B1446) You could argue that Jackson’s crew came up with it on their own, but there’s no way that they were unaware of the earlier parody – they researched the hell out of _King Kong_ when they were doing that film, and I can’t believe they weren’t as thorough for _The Hobbit_. I can’t _prove_ that they were influenced by Henry Beard and Doug Kenney’s prose and Frith’s illustration, but it’s certainly plausible.\* Jackson reportedly said “If you were a dwarf, why wouldn’t you want to ride a pig?” But whence the idea and image? Another case of such parodic influence, I maintain, is _Slave I_, Boba Fett’s spaceship in **The Empire Strikes Back**. Nilo Rodis-Jamero, assistant art director on TESB and designer of the ship, said that he based the design on a radar dish, squashed in on the sides to become elliptical. It also closely resembled the streetlights outside LucasFilm, so the idea was circulated (and printed) that the streetlights influenced the design ( I recall reading this, back at the time) ( [List of Star Wars spacecraft - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_I) ) Here’s the ship: [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_I#/media/File:SlaveI.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_I#/media/File:SlaveI.jpg) [https://www.google.com/shopping/product/9023267376947243500?q=boba+fett+spaceship&biw=1920&bih=932&sqi=2&dpr=1&bav=on.2,or.&tch=1&ech=1&psi=atcCVdbqGfLjsAS1poCgAg.1426250569563.3&prds=paur:ClkAsKraX9FhdVz496jdun5yoSoRmz8qdvuicbWa3Za4YcdwwkIw\_lQOMCbSOCO-RgFw95RMzTQFjtUyN7jEnBEArWhgZHINKc40dH30MjlhyicStsUq8vlzKRIZAFPVH71jP0Q7eQAcNl1gs\_CEfuvxPNcVuw&ei=TNsCVeDyI43isATVp4CAAQ&ved=0CMwEEKkrMB4](https://www.google.com/shopping/product/9023267376947243500?q=boba+fett+spaceship&biw=1920&bih=932&sqi=2&dpr=1&bav=on.2,or.&tch=1&ech=1&psi=atcCVdbqGfLjsAS1poCgAg.1426250569563.3&prds=paur:ClkAsKraX9FhdVz496jdun5yoSoRmz8qdvuicbWa3Za4YcdwwkIw_lQOMCbSOCO-RgFw95RMzTQFjtUyN7jEnBEArWhgZHINKc40dH30MjlhyicStsUq8vlzKRIZAFPVH71jP0Q7eQAcNl1gs_CEfuvxPNcVuw&ei=TNsCVeDyI43isATVp4CAAQ&ved=0CMwEEKkrMB4) [![](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Slave_I?file=Slave1.jpg) ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Slave_I?file=Slave1.jpg) Here’s a Radar Dish [https://www.google.com/search?q=Radar+Dish&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=fNsCVajiDJfbsATNkoKwCQ&ved=0CB0QsAQ#imgdii=\_&imgrc=lndgSGyzvpAlHM%253A%3BqTTCTX85AncXNM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhqwallbase.com%252Fimages%252Fbig%252Fradar-dish-wallpaper.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhqwallbase.com%252F17922-radar-dish-wallpaper%252F%3B1920%3B1080](https://www.google.com/search?q=Radar+Dish&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=fNsCVajiDJfbsATNkoKwCQ&ved=0CB0QsAQ#imgdii=_&imgrc=lndgSGyzvpAlHM%253A%3BqTTCTX85AncXNM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhqwallbase.com%252Fimages%252Fbig%252Fradar-dish-wallpaper.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fhqwallbase.com%252F17922-radar-dish-wallpaper%252F%3B1920%3B1080) Here is a street lamp that looks sorta similar [https://www.google.com/search?q="Street+lamp"+images&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=FdwCVe-SEqHlsAS\_6YKIAg&ved=0CCYQsAQ&dpr=1#imgdii=\_&imgrc=KniHrlH35gkbKM%253A%3BhuHXzJ19YXGsIM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.photos-public-domain.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2012%252F04%252Fstreet-lamp-close-up.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.photos-public-domain.com%252Ftag%252Flamps%252F%3B3000%3B2000](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Street+lamp%22+images&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=FdwCVe-SEqHlsAS_6YKIAg&ved=0CCYQsAQ&dpr=1#imgdii=_&imgrc=KniHrlH35gkbKM%253A%3BhuHXzJ19YXGsIM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.photos-public-domain.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2012%252F04%252Fstreet-lamp-close-up.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.photos-public-domain.com%252Ftag%252Flamps%252F%3B3000%3B2000) And then there are these: [https://www.google.com/search?q="Hardware+Wars"+images&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=dtwCVaj6H6easQSNnICgAw&ved=0CB0QsAQ#imgdii=\_&imgrc=2oI8qqOjCpdOHM%253A%3BO4JLN0jzDfI0tM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.shockingimages.com%252Fgraphics%252Freviews%252Fh%252Fhardware\_wars2.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.shockingimages.com%252Fmodules%252Fsmartsection%252Fitem.php%253Fitemid%253D1128%3B216%3B162](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Hardware+Wars%22+images&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=dtwCVaj6H6easQSNnICgAw&ved=0CB0QsAQ#imgdii=_&imgrc=2oI8qqOjCpdOHM%253A%3BO4JLN0jzDfI0tM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.shockingimages.com%252Fgraphics%252Freviews%252Fh%252Fhardware_wars2.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.shockingimages.com%252Fmodules%252Fsmartsection%252Fitem.php%253Fitemid%253D1128%3B216%3B162) [https://www.google.com/search?q="Hardware+Wars"+iron+images&biw=1920&bih=932&noj=1&site=webhp&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=It0CVbG7D\_eKsQTZ3ICQAg&ved=0CB8QsAQ#imgdii=\_&imgrc=MXDUPk1ex4pumM%253A%3BK0ydRFQkMJ7TsM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.joblo.com%252Fshowimagewpscr.php%253Ff%253D%252Fimages\_screensavers%252Fscreen-hardware-wars.jpg%2526w%253D613%2526h%253D460%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.joblo.com%252Fmovie-screensavers%252Fhardware-wars%252F%3B613%3B460](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Hardware+Wars%22+iron+images&biw=1920&bih=932&noj=1&site=webhp&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=It0CVbG7D_eKsQTZ3ICQAg&ved=0CB8QsAQ#imgdii=_&imgrc=MXDUPk1ex4pumM%253A%3BK0ydRFQkMJ7TsM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.joblo.com%252Fshowimagewpscr.php%253Ff%253D%252Fimages_screensavers%252Fscreen-hardware-wars.jpg%2526w%253D613%2526h%253D460%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.joblo.com%252Fmovie-screensavers%252Fhardware-wars%252F%3B613%3B460) Ernie Fosselius’ parody **Hardware Wars** came out in 1978, months after the release of Star Wars. It was made cheaply, on a shoestring budget, but that’s part of the charm. In the film, many of the ships are “played” by ordinary clothes irons (including one in black and white with flashing lights as a “police” iron) – hence the parody’s title of “_Hardware_ Wars” (there are other pieces of random hardware thrown in as space stuff, including a waffle iron and an egg beater). Again, I can’t prove influence, but George Lucas is on record as saying that Hardware Wars was his favorite Star Wars Parody (in 199, after Spaceballs came out [Hardware Wars - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_Wars) ) . He’s also the one who urged Rodis-Jamero to squish in the sides of his originally round “radar dish” to make it more elliptical, like a clothes iron. So you tell me – was Lucas paying homage to the parody that paid homage to him? Any other cases you can suggest? - Jackson’s image of Dain on a Pig inspired a parody song, _Dwarf on a Pig_. It’s all part of the Great Circle of Parody. [The Esgaroth Three - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_On_A_Pig) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuations-and-adaptations-influenced-by-parodies/714903/2 "2015-03-13T13:08:07Z")
If you consider the TV _Batman_ to be a parody, then the answer is Mr. Freeze. The villain existed in the comic books, but his name was “Mr. Zero.” The TV show renamed him, and then _Batman and Robin_ used “Mr. Freeze.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuations-and-adaptations-influenced-by-parodies/714903/3 "2015-03-13T13:23:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > If you consider the TV _Batman_ to be a parody, then the answer is Mr. Freeze. The villain existed in the comic books, but his name was “Mr. Zero.” The TV show renamed him, and then _Batman and Robin_ used “Mr. Freeze.” I agree. “Mr. Freeze” on the TV show bothered me as a kid. “Mr. Zero” was neither the same, nor was he as prominent as in the TV show. If you go that way, you can include a lot of other stuff from the TV show that immediately got into the comic books. Aunt Harriet, for instance, She’d actually been a character in the comic books, but her appearance on the Batman TV show brought her back (dammit). Some argue that she was there to quell ideas about Batman and Robin’s ambiguous sexual status ( [Harriet Ascending: The Queer Case of Dick's Aunt - Reactor](http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/02/harriet-ascending-the-queer-case-of-dicks-aunt) ) In any event, the Batman comics, after a long period of silliness with Giant Props and Time Travel and Aliens, had just settled into a stylish “New Look” with Batman returning to his tough-edged crime-fighting detective roots, with a sleek new Batmobile to replace the old clunker and a generally more serious tone – until that campy TV series came along and ruined everything. The comics scrapped all that New Look stuff and camp reigned for the next couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuations-and-adaptations-influenced-by-parodies/714903/4 "2015-03-13T14:04:56Z")
Here, by the way, is Dain on his Battle Pig: [https://www.google.com/search?q="Battle+of+the+Five+Armies"+Dain+image&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=yO0CVfXwPMOiNtnZgeAH&ved=0CB0QsAQ#imgdii=\_&imgrc=DWZ5UxrjZ8YIEM%253A%3B\_s2QmrENoft\_oM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww-images.theonering.org%252Ftorwp%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2014%252F12%252FOpZ8mZy.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.theonering.net%252Ftorwp%252F2014%252F12%252F01%252F95306-three-new-tv-spots-for-the-hobbit-the-battle-of-the-five-armies%252F%3B1990%3B961](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Battle+of+the+Five+Armies%22+Dain+image&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=yO0CVfXwPMOiNtnZgeAH&ved=0CB0QsAQ#imgdii=_&imgrc=DWZ5UxrjZ8YIEM%253A%3B_s2QmrENoft_oM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww-images.theonering.org%252Ftorwp%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2014%252F12%252FOpZ8mZy.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.theonering.net%252Ftorwp%252F2014%252F12%252F01%252F95306-three-new-tv-spots-for-the-hobbit-the-battle-of-the-five-armies%252F%3B1990%3B961) [https://www.google.com/search?q="Battle+of+the+Five+Armies"+Dain+image&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=6-0CVcrZOIHXggTUtoGYCA&ved=0CB0QsAQ&dpr=1#imgdii=\_&imgrc=J2BxOkENRYZT0M%253A%3BUymlrbfSm5HbxM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-5N0KdC4cggo%252FVJRmkpve6QI%252FAAAAAAAAICk%252FYQvxsyfRTNI%252Fs1600%252Fdain\_boar.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fofblog.blogspot.com%252F2014%252F12%252Frabbits-elk-war-hogs-and-battle-rama-oh.html%3B381%3B520](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Battle+of+the+Five+Armies%22+Dain+image&biw=1920&bih=932&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=6-0CVcrZOIHXggTUtoGYCA&ved=0CB0QsAQ&dpr=1#imgdii=_&imgrc=J2BxOkENRYZT0M%253A%3BUymlrbfSm5HbxM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-5N0KdC4cggo%252FVJRmkpve6QI%252FAAAAAAAAICk%252FYQvxsyfRTNI%252Fs1600%252Fdain_boar.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fofblog.blogspot.com%252F2014%252F12%252Frabbits-elk-war-hogs-and-battle-rama-oh.html%3B381%3B520) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuations-and-adaptations-influenced-by-parodies/714903/5 "2015-03-13T15:10:28Z")
The most recent Aquaman series had, in it’s first arc, an initially welcome _answer to_ the parodies, that quickly got kind of annoying. Aquaman would frequently run into people saying ‘what kind of superhero talks to fish?’, then either demonstrate one of his other powers, or go into a lecture about ‘king of the sea, lots of powers, etc’ (ie, paraphrasing the usual response to that nonsense from online discussions). They’d apparently realized that joke had run its course before getting to the large scale demonstration of how useful his telepathy could be. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuations-and-adaptations-influenced-by-parodies/714903/6 "2015-03-13T21:53:40Z")
While the link between Dain’s cinematic mount and the Nat’l Lampoon parody is pretty good, it’s worth pointing out that the idea of dwarves riding boars has been around for a while in fantasy gaming. I think I first encountered it in _The Complete Book of Dwarves_ expansion for 2nd ed. D&D, which came out in the early '90s. Going on to other subjects: there was a popular series of YouTube videos which redubbed old X-Men cartoons to give the characters ridiculous voices - Juggernaut, in particular, who was given the unlikely catchphrase, “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” Arguably the only good thing in the third X-Men movie was when they gave that line to their version of the character after Kitty Pride tried to imbed him in a concrete wall. [This was from a reader for young children](http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/108/061/lexluthorcakes.jpg?1318992465), and not intended as a parody, but it does get a passing mention as one of the schemes Superman foiled in Grant Morrison’s excellent “All-Star Superman.” Which is kind of excellent. I’ve also seen more than one winking reference to the old [Hostess Fruit Pie](http://www.ripten.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/hostess_fruitpie.jpg) ads in main-continuity comics