# Get Fuzzy and Doonesbury get serious **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 21, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245 "2004-04-21T17:39:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/21 "2004-04-22T13:55:03Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > I think it’s contrived because he was ready to use it 12 years ago during Desert Storm. It’s as if he’s had it stored up, just waiting for a war big enough to use it in. I’m sure he did have it stored up. If he was prepared to have this happen to BD during the last war, he probably had a story arc pretty well mapped out. Since he didn’t have BD get injured in some other way (traffic accident, etc.) after the Gulf War ended, it’s safe to assume the story line will revolve around BD’s response to the _way_ he was injured as much as his response to his injury itself. I remember BD’s Purple Heart in Vietnam - “cut myself on a beer can.” He’s changed a lot since then, but to have this gung-ho icon come back permanently “disabled” opens a lot of doors for Trudeau as a writer. We all know which way Trudeau will go with this, but that still doesn’t make the story line contrived. It takes guts to permanently change one of your main characters. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/22 "2004-04-22T14:02:23Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > And he’s having a seriously bad hair day. You wear a helmet night and day for thirty years and see how good YOUR hair is. As for the comments about a “contrived” plotline, it’s a comic strip, not reaal life. ALL of the plotlines are contrived. This is actually considerably LESS contrived than a typical Uncle Duke plot. BTW, BD is not much over 50, thankyouverymuch. That’s not surprising about Uncle Walt. The guy is pushing 100. But I’d hate to be Skeezix taking the call, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/23 "2004-04-22T14:21:19Z")
> [@rimshotgdansk](#): > > I’m sure he did have it stored up. If he was prepared to have this happen to BD during the last war, he probably had a story arc pretty well mapped out. Since he didn’t have BD get injured in some other way (traffic accident, etc.) after the Gulf War ended, it’s safe to assume the story line will revolve around BD’s response to the _way_ he was injured as much as his response to his injury itself. > > I remember BD’s Purple Heart in Vietnam - “cut myself on a beer can.” He’s changed a lot since then, but to have this gung-ho icon come back permanently “disabled” opens a lot of doors for Trudeau as a writer. > > We all know which way Trudeau will go with this, but that still doesn’t make the story line contrived. It takes guts to permanently change one of your main characters. I don’t know that it takes guts to do this. Characters change all the time in other strips…For Better or for Worse, Arlo and Janis, etc…and they do it without getting a leg blown off in a war. This seems like a cheap, unoriginal, non-creative way to affect a change in a character’s attitude. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/24 "2004-04-22T15:30:12Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > This seems like a cheap, unoriginal, non-creative way to affect a change in a character’s attitude. If others do it without blowing off legs then how is this unoriginal? And why are you so against it? Do you live in some happy world where soldiers do not get wounded? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/25 "2004-04-22T16:10:56Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > This seems like a cheap, unoriginal, non-creative way to affect a change in a character’s attitude. And would you feel the same way if it was Mallard Fillmore losing a limb? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/26 "2004-04-22T16:20:34Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > I don’t know that it takes guts to do this. Characters change all the time in other strips…For Better or for Worse, Arlo and Janis, etc…and they do it without getting a leg blown off in a war. This seems like a cheap, unoriginal, non-creative way to affect a change in a character’s attitude. No, the cheap and non-creative way for Trudeau to do it would be having some minor/never-before-seen character get **his** leg blown off, have BD be the one yelling “you’re not dying today!” and then get all shell-shocked/introspective/both about it. This is a permanent change in a main character of the strip, and opens up a ton of plot angles. What will he think about that war, about any wars? (Maybe he **won’t** go all peacenik.) How will this affect his relationship with Boopsie, especially since she shut down the football program in his absence, leaving him with less to do after his return, and possibly being pushed into the middle in that conflict. If he returns to coaching, will he feel that he can be a good coach? Will his players? The loss of a limb makes the person in question, and everyone who interacts with him, to look at him in a different way. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/27 "2004-04-22T16:24:04Z")
> [@Illinois\_Boy](#): > > I was minding my own business, reading the comics. I read the Chicago Trib, and they have a great finish to the comics section. So I’m ready for the big laughs when WHAM ([http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/archive/getfuzzy-20040419.html](http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/archive/getfuzzy-20040419.html)) … I am truly uncertain as to how I feel about this. Foolish as it is, I have genuine concern invested in these characters, and the storyline already is compelling. But, dammit, I needs my funnies, and I prefer they be funny. > > Any thoughts? I love “Get Fuzzy” and I was a little surprised to see Darb bringing this up, but not completely stunned. He sometimes gets political (e.g., he did a couple of strips back in February about Janet-gate). So far I have to say that his handling of things has been pretty even-handed. Looks like he’s trying to focus on the characters more than the conflict, you know? And everyone knows someone who’s been affected by Iraq, no matter what their personal take on things is. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/28 "2004-04-22T16:49:09Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > And would you feel the same way if it was Mallard Fillmore losing a limb? 😃 My paper doesn’t carry Mallard Filmore and I don’t care enough about it to look it up online, so I guess I wouldn’t care either way. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/29 "2004-04-22T16:56:09Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > If others do it without blowing off legs then how is this unoriginal? And why are you so against it? Do you live in some happy world where soldiers do not get wounded? Some other strips have done it well without some “A Very Special Episode” feel to it. Children grow up, people change their attitudes, people have kids etc… MANY other strips, TV shows, etc have done the whole “major illness/injury/death” thing as a cheap way to explain why a character changes. Hell, Troudeau has done it without the Very Special Episode bit himself with Mike. AND with Zonker. Zonker didn’t get hit by a car and then discover he was gay, he just figured it out. Mike didn’t lose a friend to 9-11 and then become a Republican, he just decided (pre 9-11) that he wanted to be one. If BD was going to have an Attitude Adjustment, it could have come from introspection or discussion with someone else rather than the Very Special Episode where he gets his leg blown off. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/30 "2004-04-22T17:14:50Z")
Ummm…that would be Mark Slackmeyer who is gay, not Zonker. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/31 "2004-04-22T17:19:06Z")
Zonk could just be in denial. There are books written about it. ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/32 "2004-04-22T17:21:03Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > . . . Zonker didn’t get hit by a car and then discover he was gay, he just figured it out. . . Wait a minute – _Zonker’s gay_? How could they tell? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/33 "2004-04-22T17:27:28Z")
Well that would explain a lot. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/34 "2004-04-22T17:52:56Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > MANY other strips, TV shows, etc have done the whole “major illness/injury/death” thing as a cheap way to explain why a character changes. > Hell, Troudeau has done it without the Very Special Episode bit himself with Mike. AND with Zonker. Zonker didn’t get hit by a car and then discover he was gay, he just figured it out. Mike didn’t lose a friend to 9-11 and then become a Republican, he just decided (pre 9-11) that he wanted to be one. If BD was going to have an Attitude Adjustment, it could have come from introspection or discussion with someone else rather than the Very Special Episode where he gets his leg blown off. Yes, people change without traumatic injury. On the other hand, traumatic injuries happen in real life, especially in wars, and they change people. ‘A and not B’ does not imply ‘B does not cause A.’ Does “Get Fuzzy” have a contrived feel to it? Or are you just down on Trudeau? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/35 "2004-04-22T18:38:07Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > And would you feel the same way if it was Mallard Fillmore losing a limb? 😃 Nah, Mallard would get his Dad to “pull a few strings” and keep him stateside in a cushy position. 😃 I think **RikWriter** is just annoyed because Trudeau is barbecuing one of his sacred cows at the moment. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/36 "2004-04-22T21:25:51Z")
The idea that it’s somehow contrived or inappropriate for a character who is a soldier in a war to, gee, I don’t know, GET INJURED in that war just boggles me. ---
**Author:** ![AzRaek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/azraek/32/16739_2.png) [@AzRaek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AzRaek)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/37 "2004-04-22T21:35:44Z")
> [@](#): > > And would you feel the same way if it was Mallard Fillmore losing a limb? Mmmm…with orange sauce, I’d be fine with that scenario. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/38 "2004-04-22T22:12:26Z")
RikWriter: > [@](#): > > [Mark] didn’t get hit by a car and then discover he was gay, he just figured it out. Actually, it did have a “special episode feel” to it…it wasn’t exactly a natural evolution in the character, it came about as a from-beyond-the-grave revelation from Andy Lippincott. Whose death from AIDS, as well, had something of that “special episode feel.” Trudeau is still a good writer (although his humor has suffered from his dislike of Bush II - he handled Reagan and Bush I much better), but like anyone, he’s on on his game 100% of the time, and quite frankly, the Mark-is-gay stuff was on the wrong end of that equation, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/39 "2004-04-22T22:43:17Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Yes, people change without traumatic injury. On the other hand, traumatic injuries happen in real life, especially in wars, and they change people. > > ‘A and not B’ does not imply ‘B does not cause A.’ > > Does “Get Fuzzy” have a contrived feel to it? Or are you just down on Trudeau? I don’t really pay that much attention to Get Fuzzy. I’ve never found it that funny. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2004, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245/40 "2004-04-22T22:44:51Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > I think **RikWriter** is just annoyed because Trudeau is barbecuing one of his sacred cows at the moment. 😉 Nope, you think wrong. I am not annoyed at all, I am just voicing my opinion…and being second-guessed by people who obviously DO have a political axe to grind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-fuzzy-and-doonesbury-get-serious/241245.md?page=3)