Watching Disney Channel with my daughter this afternoon, it rolled around time to watch the cartoon Totally Spies!, as near as I can figure a sort of Beverly Hills 90210 meets Charlie’s Angels. I had mostly ignored it as more anime fluff up to now, but sitting on the couch today I found myself following the plot and . . . well . . . :o laughing out loud at several parts.
It was episode 108, “The Granny”: “Jerry tells the girls he has a very treacherous mission for them: they are to transport an extremely dangerous criminal to WOOHP’s highest security penitentiary. At first the Spies are a little nervous, that is until they meet the villain – an 80-something grandmother with a sweet disposition. The girls are sure there must be a mistake, but Jerry assures them that “The Granny” is the most notorious and ruthless bank robber in the annals of criminal history.”
And Granny proceeds to escape and hooks up with two other senior citizens to knock over the nearest bank. There was an old white-bearded fellow in a rocket-powered mobility scooter and whose primary weapon is a pair of false teeth that fly out of his mouth and go chopping toward his adversaries. Granny herself flings bobby pins like shurikens, and gets one of the Totally Spies in a leg/head lock with inflatible old-lady knee-high hose.
What’s your story? “My God, I can’t believe I was so entertained by _____.”
On Saturdays, there’s a cartoon that comes on called The Emperor’s New School. It’s a take-off on a movie (The Emperor’s New Groove, I believe it was called). The show has a lot of snappy one-liners; Patrick Warburton (Puddy from Seinfeld) plays one of the characters, and I think he is hilarious. I’ve been known to put it on if I’m watching TV on a Saturday morning.
I also like Spongebob, although I can only take it in about 10 minute doses.
Did I mention that I’m a week away from turning 30? And I don’t have any kids.
Charmed - after quite a while being disparaging about it I then managed to really heavily get into it and discuss it quite a lot with a friend who really liked it to. Fortunately I’ve moved past that and no longer watch it.
Yeah, I know what you mean about Charmed, Illuminatiprimus. I was much happier when I gave it up.
The actual response I have for the OP is Ghost Hunters. I don’t believe in ghosts, and yet I love to sit and watch these people go through buildings in the dark. Part of it, I think, are the personalities of Grant and Jay, as I really found Ghost Hunters International lacking. For some reason though, I really adore this show.
Also…they’ve gone to some really awesome places. Old forts, prisons, the Stanely Hotel, museums and other cool places. I always want to see where they end up next.
Just to break from cartoons (although I have a couple that would fit the bill), I hate reality shows. I dislike the concept and I avoid them at all costs.
That said, when I’m at my mother’s house and she has control of the remote, she’ll frequently flip to American Idol or Top Chef…and I watch. And even get a little animated in the discussion when she starts talking about it. It is more interesting when you’re watching it with others and can make fun of the drama or speculate on who will win. Still, I’ll only ever watch them at her house.
About a Girl. I started watching because Jesse Hutch is gorgeous and only a few years younger than me (no one on that show is really 18 or 20 like their characters) but I found myself liking the characters and getting sucked in. Of course it’s just been announced that it’s not coming back for a second season
I was also shocked that I enjoyed Totally Spies. Especially the first season where the humor played a larger role. In the same girls kick butt and save the world vein W.I.T.C.H. was also a lot of fun.
I was surprised I didn’t hate Flavor of Love or American Idol. Like Bosstone I won’t be watching them on my own but I won’t get the heebie-jeebies like my girlfriend gets when I watch cartoons.
Totally Spies! actually airs on Cartoon Network, at least here in America. I’m guessing you’re American, too, since there’s no Canadian Disney Channel, so it was probably just a slip-up. (The series itself is either French or Canadian, I forget which.)
Spin-off, actually. Besides Warburton, Eartha Kitt (who won a Daytime Emmy for the series) reprises her role as Yzma, and also plays Principal Amzy. What? They’re the same person? Could’ve fooled me.
I don’t get into reality shows. Except that Thursdays we have *Survivor * following The Biggest Loser and I am stuck snacking in front of the telly for two solid hours, watching people work hard and starve. Yay!
My son will watch Spongebob until he turns yellow. That being said, sometimes after it is Drake and Josh.
On occasion, the remote will be, like, on the other side of the couch and I’m lazy, so… yeah.
But yeah, I get sucked in on occasion. The skinny-then fat-then skinny kid has got some serious comedic skills. Can’t wait for him to get out of the ghetto.
It was originally a Disney show but they canceled it after the first year then CN picked it up and it became a big hit for them.
I also enjoy Out Of Jimmy’s Head. Everything is so stupid and the show takes nothing whatsoever as serious that it’s really funny. I love the moron dad and the crazy friend with his schemes like counterfeit soda. The only part I don’t like are the animated characters he sees. I wish they’d get rid of them.
I had to check this out, since I don’t recall it airing on Disney: it aired on ABC Family, a Disney subsidiary. (Most of Disney Channel’s programming is American-made, save for a few Canadian shows and foreign interstitials.)
More response in next post- the system eats my big post, for some reason.
Out of Jimmy’s Head is entertaining, but the TV-movie that inspired it, Re-Animated, was even more so. The film sets up the basic premise, and spoofs a lot of the Walt Disney mythology and the “Walt is frozen” legend- after an injury at Gollyworld, Jimmy needed a brain transplant. The only brain available was that of the park’s founder, animation legend Milt Appleday, played in “archival footage” by Fred Willard. Now, Jimmy is able to see Appleday’s famous characters, which causes a lot of problems. Mainly because Appleday’s brother has moved in with his family in an attempt to get the brain back.
Another “good TV-movie leads to mediocre series” is, in my opinion, The Naked Brothers Band. The independently produced movie (originally self-released at a film festival) was a very funny, This Is Spinal Tap-style parody story about the formation, breaking up, and re-formation of a rock band…with kids. Although I’m sure you’d find Polly Draper’s picture in the dictionary if you looked up “nepotism,” there were some very funny jokes poking fun at the stereotypical problems rock bands go through from a kid point of view and some amusing celebrity cameos (one band member gets angry because his song is rejected, not realizing the song is just Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with new lyrics; one of the band members gets addicted to Sprite and becomes a sodaholic, eventually getting “sober” after being introduced to milk by Tony Shaloub), as well as some very funny lines (“Don’t say ‘Jesus!’ He was the greatest president we ever had!” “I’m fortified by milk!”) Albie Hecht, the former head of Viacom’s cable division, and now an independent producer, liked the movie and sold the franchise as a series to Nickelodeon. The series has the same mockumentary tone, but for some reason lacks the style and humor of the film. However, I’m not ashamed to say that I find Nathaniel Wolff’s original music for both the film and show very well-written and damn catchy. That’s one talented kid. (Despite the mediocre scriptwriting- well, except for High School Musical 2, which was pretty damn deep for a Disney film- I’m also not afraid to say that I love the original music written for modern Disney franchises, such as Hannah Montana and the High School Musical TV-movies. I’m still convinced that Matthew Girard and Robbie “Ces’t La Vie” Nevil are this generation’s Richard and Robert Sherman.)
When was Josh Peck skinny pre-diet regimen? When he was on The Amanda Show? I seem to recall Peck being extremely fat when the series began, then losing weight during a regimen of diet and exercise. The change is amazing. (My mom and I both like Drake and Josh, as well as Dan “I was on Head of the Class” Schneider’s current project, iCarly, starring Drake’s Miranda Cosgrove.
In the early 90s, I could not be pulled away from the first few seasons of Mighy Morphin’ Power Rangers. :smack: I was a collage student at the time… and was perfectly sober in every way.
WWE Wrestling. But I quickly realized that I was actually getting into the storyline and slapped some sense into myself. (though I still occasionally sneak a peek while the SO is watching. There are some seriously hot guys on there)
Chalk another up for America’s Next Top Model, which is one of the most inspiring shows I’ve ever watched. It makes me want to go take on the world. Yeah, I know…
Admittedly I’ve only seen one episode, but what I gathered it was actually quite clever and pitched itself at child and adult level at the same time. Or was that just a one-off?
