Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Episode Listing

Welcome to The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode listing!  Blogger doesn't make it easy to keep sets of posts together in a neat package, aside using labels which I think aren't constructed well enough.  I've decided to make it easier to find any particular episode you may wish to look at here while including a link back to this post on each episode page.  The pilot season kicked some serious shell and I'll begin there.  I hope you find it easy to navigate and enjoy the posts!

Turtle Tracks - Episode 1
Enter the Shredder - Episode 2
A Thing About Rats - Episode 3
Hot Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X - Episode 4
Shredder & Splintered - Episode 5
Return of the Shredder - Episode 6
The Incredible Shrinking Turtles - Episode 7


Here is my review of the animated movie Turtles Forever
If you like cartoons and of course you do then hop over to The Real Ghostbusters

Men In Black 3 (2012)

Before I saw this movie which wasn't until this month I was split between the first two movies.  The first being a fun fresh take on aliens and the second being not very good.  I heard good things about three though so after finally seeing it I’ll let you know what I thought.

Tommie Lee Jones looks old and the joke about him being so in the movie is quite accurate.  His sunken eyes make me think he may be an alien, couple that with his lack of emotion and it’s possible.  Will Smith returns and settles into his character well.  The series so far has usually been about K (Jones) whether it’s wiping his memory clean, getting it back or saving earth from letting his emotions get out of control, is he a jedi?  It gives that hint again as a new alien emerges and K really tries to distance himself from J (Smith).  We are left thinking for yet another movie K has messed up again and our heroes must save earth.  It’s mostly true but the ending finally provides emotion that has been lacking from this series overall.  What is that ending?  I’ll let you find out because it reveals a pain K has lived with most of his life and you wonder how he could do it. 

Time travel is used as part of the plot.  I spoiled that for you but most people already had to know that since Josh Brolin (young K) was in the trailers anyway.  I don’t like Brolin much but he did great this time.  If you find yourself in that same boat then perhaps you two will want to watch this movie.  The time travel element is actually fun and feels like Terminator and Back to the Future rolled into one at times.  There isn’t a machine killing everything or a young kid escaping terrorists in a DeLorean but copies of time travelers and a certain alien trying to kill a certain agent in the past does exist.  Did I give too much away on that? 

One aspect I liked is the cast is smaller.  What I mean by that is there aren’t as many characters being stuffed onto the screen.  You get to enjoy the ones you like and get more of them which for me is awesome since Smith does well as this character.  There is also the time travel alien who does a fantastic job along with our lead villain.  I tend to enjoy smaller casts so if you do to then it can’t be a bad thing.  Another amazing cast acknowledgement is that Rip Torn is absent from the film, thank God.  He was decent in the first one but I was never a fan of his.

If you’re looking for a fun ride I’d say look no further as far as recent movies go.  It’s not blowing away critics but its a couple steps up from the last one and pretty close to the first one.  I’d say watch it to see Smith and Jones back in action, see the biggest emotional moment in MiB history and a tough bad dude alien looking to keep his species from going the way of the dinosaur.

Rating: 9 of 10

Lost Time

This dream begins in my own home, in first person as usual.  I don’t remember the very beginning much other than my friends (Jonathan and Natalie) being there along with my wife, I think.  Jonathan had brought over two female students for some reason but I’d guess it had to do with his real life job.  My mind must have generated to that conclusion since he works with students.  From what I gather they were top tier students so perhaps they were hanging out, I don’t really know.  He said something but it’s a garbled bunch of nonsense to me now.  The real peculiar part happens now.

A Skip in Time

I wake up on my sofa looking straight forward to the wall clock, 1:25pm.  I can’t believe I’ve slept until this time and look out my window which is just behind the sofa I lay upon.  It’s daytime alright but what has happened?  I look around the slightly dark room since its winter, even in my dream, and see in a recliner, which I don’t have in actuality, someone I know.  It’s Rita, a friend of Natalie’s, and I come to the realization she managed to get into the dream due to Natalie mentioning her in a text to me a few days ago.  She was sleeping in the recliner when from the kitchen I heard a voice, it was Jonathan.  He seemed distraught and I asked him how I slept so late.  I didn’t know where to begin so I brought that up.  He informed me that there was a party here in my house last night.  I looked around and saw evidence of that as I woke up more.  He told me he threw the party and I was a bit shocked, he wasn’t the type.  He went on asking me if I really didn’t remember anything.  I did have a feeling of missed time from the previous evening until this very afternoon so I had an eerie feeling something went on.

Jonathan informed me that I was at the party but I had gravely assumed that since I woke up here.  He told me I had a drink but I protested that I don’t drink, which is true.  He claimed it was only a shot.  He didn’t go much into detail because he clearly had something else on his mind.  I walked toward the window and saw a small boy walking bare footed outside on the sidewalk inside my yard.  I knew his feet had to be freezing cold but the boy just happily walked to and fro as if it were summer time.  In my mind I wondered where the mother of this child was. 

I talked with Jonathan some more and finally I got out of him that a crazy party occurred last night and something dire happened to the two female students.  I didn’t know what to think and was still in surprise at this event.  He seemed somewhat in a panic, nervously pacing at least.  The news was on TV which was interesting since I had no cable in real life.  It was informing us that two brilliant girls were being hospitalized.  Of course it was the girls we had met the day before, the dream told me so, it was one of those things in a dream you know are true without much detail into it, you just know.  A news report on it seemed so quick but the media was this way nowadays, it didn’t take long to break a story.  Jonathan decided to go to the hospital and check on them, I went along.

As we arrived at the hospital we entered in through a back entrance of some type up a ramp.  We were sneaking in apparently, although I couldn’t imagine why, I felt as innocent as I’ve ever have.  I also couldn’t remember a thing from the previous night so who really knows what is going on.  Jonathan did lead me to believe I had nothing to do with it and it was some blunder of his that landed these unfortunate students here.  A news crew was crowding the back and we forced our way through, they didn’t seem to bother or notice us.  We came to the room with the two students and saw them in a terrible state.  They were side by side in beds and looked fine except their hands appeared to be severely crumbled, like an extreme case of arthritis.  They both had laptops and were trying to type but failing horribly.  The twisted bent fingers slammed the keyboard and they looked very angry.  Their faces also looked different than before.  They had a look of being twisted slightly, not much so that they didn’t appear so smart anymore.  They had the look of a mental patient in ways.  I felt sad for them and Jonathan appeared crushed. 

I don’t know what in the world happened that night in dreamland and it’s apparently a secret dream Jonathan will have to bear until a further time perhaps.  I have recalled dreams before as I have also remembered dreams within dreams as well.  I never close the book on dreams but for now we’ll just stick a bookmark in this one.  For more dreams check out the list below.

Dreams Master List

Dreams Master List

I’m a dreamer, in fact I spend most of my time daydreaming.  Whether it’s at work (mostly am I right?), relaxing at home and of course while sleeping I create many imaginative realities.  This list will provide a way to easily navigate those times I've tried my best to recall what goes on inside my mind during those hours I lay asleep.  Enjoy them and hopefully you’ll better be able to enjoy the adventures of your own dreams. 

3 Dreams

Dreaming of East Chicago? 

Space Dream

Gremlin and Australia Dreams

Lost Time

Dog Bite

Chased Forever

The Old College Spirit

Episode 23

Fraternity ghosts are haunting Peter’s old college and it’s up to the Real Ghostbusters to take them to school.  Pranks, jokes and typical college behavior abound in a ghostly sort of way that is.  At the end of the school day do the Real Ghostbusters wish they had cut class or do they send the spirits away on permanent detention?  It’s a first for John Shirley so let’s see what he’s got.

Who do you hate most?

It all starts at the college when three guys, a jock, prep and nerd get framed by a ghost for kicking the dean down a few steps of stairs outside a building.  The guys try to blame it on a ghost but the dean isn’t buying it and has had nearly enough of their apparent foolishness.  I can understand the dean here and wondering if the ghost excuse is the best they can come up with for their behavior.  The nerd student kills the scene a bit with his line, “We need the Ghostbusters.”  It’s obvious you do but the delivery is so cheesy, I didn’t care much for it.  We can assume you call them without it.

Can't deny his memories.

At the firehouse a woman’s club of some sort, it’s rather irrelevant, is trying to give an award to the Ghostbusters.  Slimer shows up and scares them off with some rather weak dialogue from Peter.  The college boys show up at the same time and get trampled by the women running away.  It’s not a very good start and unfortunately the animation is lacking too.  The frat boys explain to Peter they have ghosts haunting them but Peter turns them away thinking it’s an initiation gag.  The prep kid sings a brief motto of the fraternity gaining Peter’s immediate interest.  He goes on to add that Peter is a legend for the time he ran his underwear up a flagpole while still wearing them.  Needless to say Peter accepts the case.  Peter what if it was still a gag, how would you know?

Ghostbuster burrito anyone?

As they arrive at the college Winston says, “10 to 1 we find a bunch of college kids in sheets.”  It doesn’t seem like he’s very interested in this case but I’d be skeptical of it too, frat boys.  They go ahead and go inside as Egon claims there is nothing here.  Do you have the PKE meter on Egon?  He has it out but the ghosts wrap them up in a rug, perhaps the PKE meter needs a tune-up?  As they get spun around by several frat ghosts, which have some cool designs, Ray asks if it was Peter who said this job would be easy.  Peter says, “Hearsay Ray, it’ll never stand up in a court of law.”  Do you think your comment will go that far?  It’s not even a funny remark, boo!  They decide to split up to find all the frat ghosts, which should work out well, things always do whenever a team of any sort splits up.

They ain't afraid of no Winston!

Winston is walking around without a PKE meter but they don’t seem to be working right now anyway so it doesn’t matter.  He finds them and the ghosts claim they’ll surrender so he walks slowly talking into his walkie talkie informing his team.  Why not pull out your thrower and zap them into a trap?  That’s a good way to surrender to but Winston falls down a trap door instead.  Odd place for one of those I’d say.  He lands in a tomb of haunting bed sheets and is later found outside being tossed about in them.  How long did it take to find him I can’t say, but its still daylight.  After nearly blasting poor Winston to bits the guys must chase after the ghosts heading for the main campus.  Hopefully things will pick up because so far it’s been a rough day at school.

Finish them!

The lead frat ghost has a neat power as he shoots a ray from his finger to a goldfish swimming in a fountain outside a common area.  The goldfish grows to enormous size and looks quite terrifying!  The prep kid runs to the scene and shouts, “What’s going on?”  The lead frat ghost grabs him up and says, “Why not get a really close look?”  I like it, I hate the living frat boys but rather admire the twisted nature of the dead ones, this could be a turning point.  “How about a good old fashioned goldfish swallowing contest?”  Then the lead frat ghost drops the prep to be eaten alive!  The other two, the jock and nerd also get eaten as the lead frat ghost adds, “Three students not bad, how about some more.”  He doesn’t know when to quit but I’m not complaining so far.  As the Ghostbusters finally catch up Peter says, “Look at that thing, its big enough to give Jonah a bad case of déjà vu.”  At least a joke gets through this time.  The guys blast the crap out of the goldfish and it vaporizes but somehow the three college guys survive, boo again!  Kill them off I say, they don’t return to the series after this episode and it would provide the Ghostbusters with more incentive to capture the ghosts.  They can always claim the ghosts killed the student’s right?

Nearly outsmarted by frat ghosts.

Later in the cafeteria Ray uses the PKE meter to success as they again catch up to the ghosts.  Instead of blasting the ghosts though they get disarmed.  I mean the guys seem to be gun shy at all the wrong times so far.  The lead frat ghost then transforms into a more gruesome ghost than before and says, “We’re going to initiate you into the fraternity of the dead!”  This guy doesn’t waste much time and the Ghostbusters are in quite a bit of trouble, they are really off their game in this one.  As a kid this scene spooked me a bit, it’s rather well done.  Peter has one lame trick left up his still alive sleeve as he shouts that there are girls somewhere nearby.  The guys make a mad dash and run off all the while giving the lead frat ghost a fun new idea.  He decides to raid the girl’s dorm, nice one Peter.  That ghost may be dead but he could still go for some well mischief we’ll say.  As the guys reach safety Peter suggests brushing up on some history to find out who these ghosts were in life.  He also states that the dorm used to be a fraternity mentioned by the prep kid but didn’t Peter know that at the beginning of the episode?  I thought he went to this college, it seemed that way.

50 years ago.

They discover the lead frat ghost to be Edwin Spalding.  He and his old pals were a rowdy bunch of guys back in their old fraternity but got caught stealing the final exams test answers thus getting the boot.  They vowed to get even and chose now.  Peter claimed it happened when the new fraternity took over their old building.  I suppose we can let that slide as reason enough for this one.  The guys still don’t have their packs and I have no clue what happened to them.  I guess the frat ghosts destroyed or hid them.  Ray uses the PKE meter to track them at the girls dorm as one of the frat ghosts asks the girls if he can try on their cloths.  Peter eventually engineers a scheme to allow the ghosts to graduate and it catches their interests.  It seems they want to; perhaps it’s their weakness in death since they were deprived of it in life.

Be careful what you study Egon, it may eat you!

Peter gets cold feet about teaching some crash courses when Winston reminds him, “Anyway the whole thing was your idea.”  “Right and that’s where you failed me Winston you should have told me it was stupid.”  I love Peter’s character so honest about his own faults.  He stumbles upon a brief lecture and sends the ghosts onto the next course.  I like the effect of the ghosts fading downward to the next floor.  Egon is teaching biology and has a mushroom for study.  He drones on and on about them when Edwin gets bored and uses another neat supernatural trick.  His eyes glow red as the mushroom comes to life and startles Egon.  They quickly pass the class by way of Ray to avoid things from getting out of hand.  Peter then gets another shot at teaching when Edwin demands a senior obstacle course before graduation.  It’s not very entertaining until Edwin travels around inside the sprinkler system.  He pops his ugly little head out of a sprinkler to see the women from the beginning of the episode trying to hand out another award, she claims to be a chairwoman.  “You look more like a sofa woman to me.”  It’s crude but it fits his character perfectly.

 

Containment diploma.

In the end the guys lure the frat ghosts to the auditorium for a class photo.  Ray has rigged up a device to the camera that functions like a thrower or it is one.  It’s not explained at all so I’m assuming he built one.  They had one trap left and caught all the ghosts in it but shouldn’t they have to get that trap into the containment unit post haste?  They had to back in Episode 4 when they caught all those ghosts absorbed into that big one.  Anyway we get deprived of the theme music which this episode sorely needed to boost it a bit; at least for the scene it would have been used.  Peter pulls a prank on the dean to conclude the episode.  I suppose it would be possible for Peter’s ghost to be of the frat variety in the afterlife.  I’d say this episode had its ups and downs but it manages to stay middle of the road for me.

Rating: 4.5 of 10

Links

The Real Ghostbusters Episode Listing

Next Up: Ain’t NASA-Sarily So – Episode 24

Previous: Venkman’s Ghost Repellers –Episode 22

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A Tale of Two Cities - Book Review

Author – Charles Dickens

A review of A Tale of Two Cities

I always wanted to get a taste of what Charles Dickens wrote and I thought for awhile the first book of his I would read would be A Christmas Carole.  That turned out to not be the case as I opted to go for A Tale of Two Cities.  I decided upon it since I knew nothing of the book itself so my first experience in a Dickens novel would be something to remember.

I’ve never read anything, as far as a novel, dating back to the 1850s thus far and my early frustrations of reading the book hampered me.  It took me some time to get used to an older style of writing than I thought it would.  I’ve read stories from the 1890s and followed along well but this book took me about 100 pages worth to get into a comfort zone.  I’d say it’s necessary to have a stronger mindset before you begin this book.  I mentally coasted into it thinking I’d pick up on it quickly as I do most books no matter the time era.  It’s different for all people, of course, but I thought I’d mention it for those debating as I did about reading this book for the first time.

What I enjoyed about the book was the dialogue.  It flowed as well as any story I’ve read and keeps you wondering what the characters plan to do after so much strife they face.  The love shared by them is what you can really connect to as you read, even though separated by 150 years.  The hatred of other characters is also moving as society classes’ battle for stability in France.  Through the dialogue you may find yourself surprised of the terrible things people of this time found entertaining. 

   

There isn’t much back story for many of the characters and the story itself revolves around a dreary time period.  Now that doesn’t mean it’s uninteresting but areas in the book tend to detail and explain these harsh times to the point you could find yourself hoping you get back to the story.  I wasn’t accustomed to such details and struggled throughout the book at times.  I’m not interested in being told paragraph block by paragraph block about the horrible state of Paris and France in general.  I can pick up a history book for that.  I would prefer it be brought out through conversation between characters as you stay within a flow of the main story.  During those times you can more easily develop characters through what they say as well.  That’s what I didn’t like as much but hey that’s just me.

In the end I’d probably read this book again but in the distant future no question.  It requires more patience to read than what I’ve read so far but if you stick with it you’ll find you are rewarded with a satisfying ending.  I hope this helped and that I didn’t spoil it for anyone unfamiliar with it.  

Book Review Master List

Venkman’s Ghost Repellers

Episode 22

A visual commentary is provided with this episode that let’s Richard Mueller share his thoughts on it along with the series in general.  It’s not to be missed by fans of this show and it comes on the DVD set released by Timelife.  It’s very interesting to learn that Mueller wrote about these characters before this series even came to be by means of a novel based on the movie Ghostbusters.  He is the one who fleshes out characters like Aunt Lois and introduced in this episode Peter Venkman’s conniving father.  He began belief in the supernatural in college when his dormitory was believed to be haunted so a basis for writing material on such events is genuine.  He worked in the coast guard and incorporated that into this particular episode seamlessly as well.  All in all I’m impressed thus far with Mueller’s writing in this series and his confession that The Real Ghostbusters was his favorite job he had.  If you’re further interested in the behind the scenes material I’d highly recommend watching the visual commentary for this episode.

A ship is alone in the Atlantic Ocean when suddenly the New Jersey Parallelogram appears in front of them.  Unable to alter course, the ship collides with it and vanishes.  The idea of this Parallelogram is amazing and fits right into the world of the Real Ghostbusters.  Who else could battle against something so supernatural?

Proton pack? Try a ghost-repeller!

At the firehouse Egon and Ray are listening in on recent phenomena of disappearing ships on the radio.  Ray as usual is very excited to go there and investigate but Peter puts that notion to rest, “Ray who lives there?”  “No one, it’s in the ocean.” Ray exclaims.  “Then who’s going to pay us?” Peter ends it.  Classic Peter behavior but it makes sense, why do it for free?  Janine waltzes in with a red poncho on and informs the guys who she got it from, Peter’s father.  His father even went to the trouble of labeling Peter as the chief Ghostbuster on the tag.  Peter is not happy about this turn of events.  Egon points out that it’s not legal to suggest a poncho can repel ghosts, especially with Peter’s name on it.  Peter adds that his father is a notorious con man.  He puts the theory to the test as Slimer bull rushes the poncho while Peter stands to the side like a matador.  “Useless it won’t even stop Slimer!”  Peter says as he slams the poncho to the ground.  I’m surprised Slimer didn’t slime Peter in the process, it seemed like an obvious thing to do considering the shows history of overplaying that gag, I’m glad they didn’t.

Why does this seem to explain a lot?

Enter Peter’s father, an excellent looking character indeed.  The two get into it right away with his father calmly blowing off the poncho talk with smooth lines.  Peter talking about the ponchos, “They don’t repel ghosts!”  His father’s sly response, “And they don’t attract them either, what’s the big deal?”  After some brief chatter of what’s legal and what’s not his father claims there aren’t any laws about ghosts.  He offers to cut them in on the ponchos but of course Peter shoots it down.  He tries to get him to stop selling them but its left unclear if that will happen.  As he leaves Peter feels some sorrow for his old man, “He’s a not a bad guy.  He just can’t make an honest buck.”  The character development for Peter in particular shines through in this episode.  Let’s not leave out his physique body as well, where did that come from?

Incredible technique and animation to boot!

It’s unclear how much time passes but the Ghostbusters are at the docks busting some well drawn and animated ghosts.  A dash of theme music is put in for good measure and it makes for a magnificent 30 seconds of ghostbusting.  As they head out they meet a trucker looking for a ship headed toward the, gulp, Parallelogram.  As he drives off, after the guys point to the ship just across the port, Egon wonders who would want to go there.  Ray says, “I would.”  Winston adds, “Yeah I figured you would.”  Ray gives a big smile.  Meanwhile Peter’s father is selling the expedition his latest hot commodity, ghost repelling ponchos of course.  Incredible odds the Ghostbusters having a call at the next dock wouldn’t you say?  It would be certain they need those ponchos now!  I ain’t afraid of no ghost with my poncho.  It figures there are people out there who buy those and that part of the story I believe with no doubt.  Needless to say the expedition gets caught in the Parallelogram, right who would’ve guessed.  They should have known that two for the price of one was too good a bargain!

"Ah nuts." -Egon

Back at the firehouse sometime in the near future a member of the coast guard asks the Ghostbusters to help locate a ship.  He goes on to state he’ll pay any reasonable fee, Ray is so excited he’s clapping his hands.  He’s probably thinking the perfect situation has presented itself to go investigate the Parallelogram; we’ll get paid so Peter has to say yes!  Peter still refuses nonetheless until the coast guard man says, “Ghost repellers.”  Peter decides to check it out thinking his father is going to get him into trouble yet.  Peter’s father hears of the news on TV and feels guilty so he heads out to the ocean in a very small boat.  Admirable but foolish I’d say.  The Ghostbusters as well are headed out on a bigger ship in command of the coast guard.  They stumble upon the Parallelogram and vanish as well, thus setting up the rescue mission of the expedition.

After going through a nifty dimensional portal they arrive in place comprised solely of ectoplasm.  Egon sets the PKE meter to hone in on reality instead of ghost frequency.  It’s a neat concept and should aid well in finding the lost expedition.  I love it when the captain says the boat is running fine considering there isn’t any water underneath them.  The helmsman is steering with all his might in the meantime, is it necessary if you can’t steer anyway?  Aren’t they aimlessly floating along?  Perhaps they can steer but it’s still pretty funny to watch.  Ray picks up a signal but Egon claims it’s too small to be the liner and it must be something else.  They ignore that reading and continue.  What if someone else is trapped in this place though?  Sorry the Ghostbusters only rescue or investigate what they get paid for, true heroes.  It’s not like Peter’s father was nearby.  The ghosts chasing his father sound like the subway ghost trains from the episode Knock, Knock.  His father goes right by the expedition ship and says, “Hey how do you steer in this stuff.”  I’d say that cements my point of the helmsman going steer happy at the wheel.  He drifts away into the unknown, “I don’t think I’ll be able to con my way out of this.”  First you have to admit you have a problem before you can take the next step to correct it.

Quit giving us the 'bug eyes' Winston

The cement theory of steering takes another ‘turn’.  A torpedo is set directly at the Ghostbusters ship and they maneuver enough to avoid it thus proving you can steer.  Perhaps there are steering patches in this dimension like we have signal patches for our cell phones here on earth?  OK, I’ll stop on my steering theory, I’ve gone too far!  I just wanted to make you think; hope you didn’t get a headache.  Egon actually explains it to us as nothing can collide with each other thus getting the name Parallelogram in essence.  It’s something I never picked up on as a kid and the only cool part I liked about this episode was the effects of the Parallelogram gate in the ocean.  However it’s a crumbled up Parallelogram so the lines aren’t necessarily straight.  You with me?

I guess this is how you con your way out?

They find the expedition ship and tow it behind them.  The captain asks, “How much longer?”  I love that question, it reminds me of the kid in the backseat asking if we are there yet.  Dude, I mean captain, we are in an unknown dimension for the most part and are lucky to even be alive, we’ll get there when we get there.  Egon leads them out and the coast guard is thanked for their service, nice.  They also discover “Dr. Venkman’s” small boat alongside them, referring to Peter’s father of course.  Peter thinks a moment before they decide to go back in after him.  It’s subtle but it’s great to see him struggle with the mere idea of saving his father from the Parallelogram.  Winston offers his help, “Peter we’ll find him.”  Peter responds with, “I ought to leave him here it’s the perfect place for him nothing here is what it seems either.”  What a burn, his father will need a bandage after that one.  They eventually go into a swirling portal that will lead them to Peter’s father as Ray shouts, “We’re all going to die!”  He really wanted to be here though, lighten up Ray and enjoy what’s left of your life.

Part of him wants to blast his father no doubt.

The rescue scene is amazing as Peter’s father is desperately trying to bat away ghosts with an oar.  The theme music starts up that takes the moment to another level as Peter’s father says, “Boys.”  He is extremely relieved to see the guys blasting the ghosts away from him.  It’s merely one word but it represents the character very well.  Peter and Ray have on the rubber insulating gloves that makes any Ghostbuster fan instantly drool upon seeing.  No ghosts get trapped but why should they?  Leave them in this forsaken dimension!  As they head to the boat Peter asks his dad, “What do you have to say for yourself?”  “Thanks for saving the boat; I had to put a deposit on it.”  Can it end any better than that?  Possibly as Ray states, “We’re the only guys to destroy a wonder of the unnatural world.”  Referring of course to the chaos brought down upon the dome when they blasted everywhere in saving Peter’s father.

The ending has a postcard sent to the firehouse as Peter’s learns his father is selling ice boxes to Eskimos.  It ends with Peter causing Ray to laugh wildly as the camera zooms away from the firehouse.  What occurred during that moment is beyond me.

The animation in the episode was amazing and was done by a Japanese company at least for this particular one.  You could tell as it had unique animation throughout that isn’t often seen in the series.  It goes down as one of the best I’ve seen yet but not quite the top.

Rating: 10 of 10

Links

The Real Ghostbusters Episode Listing

Next Up: The Old College Spirit – Episode 23

Previous: Night Game – Episode 21

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Jurassic Park 4

I present to you a 100% fake spoilers list of what will occur in the recently announced Jurassic Park 4 film.  If you follow my posts or simply have the misfortune of knowing me personally (har har) you will know what the Jurassic Park franchise means to me.  It’s no doubt if I had to be any other creature in this world of ours we call Earth I’d be a velociraptor.  You might be thinking why I would create such a harsh set of events to occur in the fourth installment though, well again if you know me than you know I have tendencies to try hard to be humorous.  I fail at times but I succeed often enough to be deemed, dare I say, funny.  I laughed myself stupid, if that’s possible, typing out these ridiculous scenarios.  Are they the most creative possibilities imaginable?  I’d answer a quick no.  I’m not the only creative mind on this Earth and I implore you to add some of your own below because I love a good poke of fun at the things you otherwise think are untouchable.  Those books, shows, or moments in your life that you feel to be sacred but have always wanted to slip the tongue and wonder why a script was once made for raptors to be trained to fire automatic machine guns.  I answer to that – why not make the velociraptors zombies as well or the overly popular vampire velociraptors.  Enjoy the post and please don’t drink soda while you read unless you like the burning sensation of it through your nose.

John Hammond as a cyborg – What we didn’t know was Mr. Hammond recovered Robert Muldoon’s dead lifeless hand and teased pursuing velociraptors with it as they escaped in a jeep at the end of the original film.  Hammond was seen with his body still intact but that was added with computer effects as the scene was cut due to the disgusting nature of it.  Imagine if you will Hammond leaning outside the jeep feeding the velociraptors like it was Jaws or something.  Steven Spielberg declined comment.

Dr. Grant as a foul mouthed alcoholic – After his last venture to a dinosaur infested island Dr. Grant receives publicity but not the kind he thought he might get.  The media, as it often does, spun the series of prehistoric events Grant has been troubled with as a desperate cry for funding for his digging.  Nobody would support his paleontology anymore and accused him crazier than Ian Malcolm.  After learning that he hit the bottle hard and ultimately was involved in the disappearance of Billy (you know, his right hand man from JP3).  It was never proven Billy was murdered but Grant was quoted as saying, “If a pteranodon (the flying dinosaur for the commoner) can’t kill him then what makes you think I could?”

Dr. Malcolm, the gay elementary school teacher – He has a catastrophic meltdown as chaos theory is proven to be a hoax for its inherent nature of destroying the notion that complex ideals will collapse on themselves.  It is later proven that dinosaurs are responsible for that which leads Dr. Malcolm to pursue the opposite direction for his life.  He abandons mathematics, black and gray cloths, humor and his own natural sexual preference to become a homosexual art teacher in a public elementary school.  Instead of solving math equations he decides to join a profession (art) where there is no wrong way to perform it, burns his black and gray clothing in exchange for anything showing the colors of the rainbow and ditches humor for a mere lisp.

Vince Vaughn being lasered to death by velociraptors with "friggin lasers on their heads" – Nick Van Owen (Vince Vaughn) is back and ready to get the big moment he was robbed of in Jurassic Park the Lost World.  He reportedly wanted his chance to photograph a velociraptor in the flesh but was held against his will to flee for his life on a helicopter.  Now the velociraptors are back and have laser mounted guns on top of their heads and have him in their sights.  Escape is impossible but he does get one photograph of them before he meets his fate that turns out to be later stolen by Roland and sold for millions.  Roland was caught up with in Europe as saying, “The bastard stole my bullets when I was hunting the tyrannosaur, one good turn deserves another.”

Tim & Lex discover John Hammond is their father – The reality hits them when, after so many years, that pursuing knowledge of dinosaurs can’t be stopped.  Tim and Lex find themselves burying themselves in books to learn anything dinosaur.  The worst began to occur when they started to prefer tropical climates and living outside scavenging for food.  It was later revealed at InGen that they are clones of the original Tim and Lex (with traces of Hammond’s DNA) who were killed in a horrific car crash in their toddler years.  Hammond took their DNA and blended it with dinosaur DNA thus bringing them back to life.  The result is as maturity progresses they are discovering they are more and more dinosaur then they originally thought.  Tim first discovered that when browsing in a pet store he shot a venomous spit from his mouth to hit an unsuspecting animal.  The last reports of them are only that they were last seen on a boat headed toward Las Cinco Muertes (the five deaths).

William H. Macy reveals he is Ned Flanders – How this relates to Jurassic Park is by technicality only.  Paul Kirby (Macy) notices he resembles a certain animated cartoon character and wishes to know the truth once and for all.  He goes to all sorts of genetic laboratories across the country until he arrives at one owned by Hammond.  He discovered the shocking news that he was originally a cartoon character named Ned Flanders and was successfully genetically transferred into reality.  He believes it to be true since he has no memory prior to Jurassic Park 3 but only in dreams of saying, “Okilee-dokiely.”

Dennis Nedry comes back to life as a zombie – This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone considering all the zombie/vampire flicks out there in recent years.  Dennis Nedry, only partially eaten by the dilophosaurus but nonetheless dead, reanimates to life as the embryos he stole somehow enter his body causing unexpected results.  He is captured by scientists and eats Mr. Ludlow (Hammond's nephew for you lax JP fans) in a horrific experiment gone terribly awry.  Ludlow was only partially digested by the baby rex and found alive in rancid condition on the deck of the ship that transported the adult rex and baby rex back to the islands.  Nedry broke free of the lab and remains on the loose.

Rex sits on a toilet while the spinosaurus eats him off of it – The baby rex from The Lost World, who irritated us all with that terrible cry, is reaching the potty training years.  One night as a torrential downpour is ‘happening’ it locates a toilet to relieve itself.  The baby rex limps slowly while dragging its leg.  As the baby rex enjoys the comfort of mankind’s modern plumbing system the ferocious spinosaurus, upon smelling the defecation of the baby rex’s stool, get’s an easy meal.  This twist of fortune for the rex family should come as no surprise considering M. Night Shyamalan will be indeed directing his first Jurassic film.

Robert Muldoon obtains a dragonball – Muldoon returns from the afterlife upon attaining the magnificent crystal ball that resurrects anybody.  I’m not sure how a dragonball works but Muldoon deserves a second chance.  He returns in the flesh to blow the crap out of zombie Nedry and end his horrible existence once and for all.  He then sets off to hunt down the beast in this treacherous world that managed to best him, the velociraptor.  How clever he has become will be the only question left to be answered.

Free for all – Dr. Sattler, Sarah Harding and Amanda Kirby (Tea Leoni) have a three way death match proving who the most worthless female character in the franchise.  The battle rages as Sattler uses the prehistoric venom of plants to blind her adversaries, Harding insists she correctly fixed the baby rex’s leg and Kirby simply runs around screaming while flailing her arms.  It’s a critical moment in the film you will have to see to believe.

Nick Van Owens detailed demise - After being lasered to death by velociraptors Vince Vaughn gets trampled by stampeding triceratops then picked up by pteranodons to be feed to their babies while the scraps are eaten by lowly procompsognathus (compy’s to the commoner) beneath the high standing pteranodon nest.  Do you accuse me of not being an admirer of Vince Vaughn?  Well if that’s what you were thinking than I’m glad I made it so obvious. 

Mr. Arnold (Sam Jackson, again for you lax peoples out there) reemerges – Arnold was never dead in that bunker he was last seen in, although he does have one arm missing.  His anger and rage are directed at Muldoon who he doesn’t know died but is back to life anyway to have a final showdown with him for not escorting him safely to the shed in the first place.  Arnold never finds Muldoon but finds himself in a similar situation Muldoon was in against the velociraptors.  Samuel L. Jackson doesn’t think they’re clever girls but rather, “You %$*& @#$% piece #@$@ snakes *#(#$* ahhhhhhh!”  Muldoon then shot the unsuspecting velociraptor in the back of the head completing his vengeance.

The finale consists of the island being over-run with this apparent disastrous turn of events mentioned above leaving everyone horribly dead except for Dr. Grant since nobody bribed him to come to the island for a 3rd time - he lives a miserable 50 more years as the oldest drunk ever recorded in the history of mankind.

The true question is why even bother with a fourth film after so long a time period.  I’d rather see a fresh take on it with a new plot and characters for the new generation of viewers.  It was a solid trilogy in its time but I can’t see where a fourth would lead us.  It’s been many a failed script these last ten years and if they couldn’t continue the story by now then it probably won’t work out.  Sometimes an audience demanding a sequel isn’t the correct motivation to make one unless money is involved but even then you could start over. 

The third film ended so horribly that you’d have to assume the military would be involved in some fashion which would just destroy the vibe the entire franchise has.  The more people know about these islands the more attention it will draw and the natural world feel to it will be gone.  Perhaps we can say Jurassic Park 4 – Dinosaur Survivor Island!  Who wouldn’t love seeing reality “stars” being eaten?  I may be onto something. 

A few links to other Jurassic Park articles I've wrote including, movie reviews.

Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park - How's it bonded with my DNA

Book Review Master List

For ease to those of you who read my book reviews I present to you the list to rule them all.  Here you will find the entirety of anything related to books in general with the most recent being added to the bottom.  I trust you will enjoy this list and it complimenting my blog.  Simply click on the book or topic you wish to read about and you’re there!  Option to return to this list is on each individual page. 

Books Read in 2012 - Area 51 *RESTRICTED*

The Shining Ones

Rising Sun

Next

Congo
A Tale of Two Cities
Moby-Dick
Treasure Island
Wizard and Glass
Understanding China
The Martian Chronicles – The Illustrated Man – The GoldenApples of the Sun
The Redemption of Althalus
Disclosure
The Great Train Robbery
High Hunt
The Making of Jurassic Park
Cemetery World
A Modern Utopia
The Lost World
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Poison Belt

Congo - Book Review

Author – Michael Crichton

A review of Congo

I liked this book and it kept to Crichton’s usual ability to keep you interested throughout.  The thrill of adventure soared more than any other aspect I would have to say.  I wouldn’t say you’ll learn much about Africa by reading this but it was neat for me to find about it in some ways.  I’m sure there are plenty of books that discuss the rainforests, village life and illegal trafficking in Africa but in this book you still get a decent concept of it.  Of course I’m not very knowledgeable of the continent in general so learning about it in a Crichton novel made it fun for me.

If you enjoy treasure seeking journeys with added technological advances then you should find this read welcoming.  What I liked most about the story was the actual travel time within it.  Crichton had travelled in his lifetime and it’s easy to tell by the way these occurrences are described.  For me it was the mystery of what was to happen next and when it happened it wasn’t the greatest.  It ended well but it felt the rush was on to do so.  Considering the circumstances of the story I suppose it had to be that way.

What I loathed about the book can be summed up in the science part of the story you could say.  I normally like to read about science and what can be done in the present or future with it.  In this book though the explanations for it get lengthy and actually occur at moments you want the story to push forward.  I understand that the input of the science is important to include but usually Crichton incorporates it much better.  I found myself forcing to read through talk of this corporation trying to do this with, that to, this other one, hoping I’d get back to the adventure side of things.  I don’t want to mislead and will add this doesn’t occur often.  It’s mostly toward the beginning during the setup so you have an idea of where said corporations are coming from which makes sense.

If you’re a reader of Crichton I’d say you would enjoy this one easily enough.  If not or never having read one of his then it’s not a bad place to start either.  The back stories on the characters are short and to the point while allowing for adventure to take over much of the book.  The one thing I hoped for but alas didn’t read about was Tim Curry making a surprise appearance.  If you saw the movie adaptation of this novel you’d know just what I mean, long live Tim Curry.

Book Review Master List

Night Game

Episode 21

A brief introduction is given by the writer before the episode and its neat how she incorporated her love of baseball into the show.  In the episode Winston is a fan of the sport but that stands to reason considering he is the only one who would probably have an interest in it.  She mentions a goof in the script where Ray refers to the score as points rather than runs but takes the blame for making the mix up.  It’s not a big deal but it’s unusual to see people take blame for something they did wrong.  Anyway I enjoyed this one as a kid and find out now that it still holds up very well.  The question is will Winston be able to save the day with his baseball skills or will the Ghostbusters strike out?  I know a poor pun but would anyone be able to resist saying that for this particular episode?

It begins at night on a minor league baseball field.  I’m guessing its minor league since there isn’t even a stadium.  From the pitcher’s mound come streaks of blue and red spectral energy I dare say.  The streaks dart around the field and eventually return to the mound but clearly something supernatural is stirring.  The music is added perfectly to provide that feeling of otherworldly phenomena.

Ghostbuster policy = bribery

Winston comes strolling into the firehouse in full baseball attire flashing around two tickets.  He asks Ray and Peter if they want to go to the game with him but Ray dismisses the invitation once he finds out the Jaguars are playing.  Apparently they are a very terrible team as Ray would prefer to see the Yankees or Red Sox.  Peter declines as well but does he like anything?  Janine in turn refuses the offer opting to stare at her exciting magazine instead.  Egon comes downstairs with a huge stack of books but declines only offering Winston the story that he knew someone in college who studied the curveball.  Alas Winston is left to bribing Slimer with food to join him.  Slimer agrees by taking Winston’s ball cap off and wearing it.  A wink to the camera by Winston and we’re off.

In the stands Slimer is eating wildly while wearing a jacket and hat.  I usually find nothing remotely interesting about Slimer but it’s a funny brief scene.  The blue and red streaks appear during the game as Winston watches on.  Again they came from the pitcher’s mound.  Curiosity is pulling at Winston’s soul right about now.  Let’s face it its far more interesting than watching a crappy baseball team play.

Don't mess with a forearm like that

Back at the firehouse the guys raze Winston about the Jaguars.  “A jag player dropping a pop fly isn’t exactly a supernatural event.”  Ray states.  “Now if he caught the ball that’d be supernatural.”  Peter adds.  Winston slams his fist on the table claiming, “I know what I saw.”  It’s awesome to see him sticking it to the guys for their disbelief in his story.  He brings out a book he checked out from the library, ah the good old days, and explains to the guys about an old Indian legend.  It states once every 500 years the forces of good and evil battle at the very same spot the Jaguars play their games.  That basically shuts up the mockery from them and they agree to check it out in the morning by visiting the mayor for a permit.  Winston is afraid people may get hurt in the meantime because it could take days to get legal permission to check out the baseball field.

Winston decides to take matters into his own hands without the others knowledge and drives up to the field alone in his car, which is styling.  A security guard lets him in because he’s so excited to meet a ghostbuster in person.  That’s when the spirits come out to play so to speak.  Winston tells the guard to take off and he’ll follow.  The guard calls the ghostbusters and the others come quickly.  “He’s in there.  I gotta tell you this guy is brave.”  The guard informs the ghostbusters who look at the supernatural event surrounding the field.  I always liked that line by the guard, don’t know why.  Egon suggests they all fire their beams at the same spot at the base of the dome now covering the field.  That allows a tunnel to be formed and entry possible by the guys. 

Which side was the umpire on though?

As they arrive inside they notice a supernatural baseball field in place with Winston playing as the shortstop.  I love the creativity of the spirits and the layout of the field, in particular the bases.  They have eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth that look downright creepy.  Winston explains he suggested good and evil play a game of baseball this time since they always conform to their surroundings and do battle based off of it.  It’s a fun idea actually.  Winston has to play in the game since he was present when the spirits showed up, makes enough sense.  The umpire wants the rest of them to go and explains this game is being played for one human soul.  Peter overacts and refuses to leave as the guys think Winston’s soul is on the line.  The umpire allows them to stay but they can’t play, that’s probably a good thing.  Can you imagine Egon, Ray or Peter playing baseball, it couldn’t be pretty.  If evil wins the human soul must do evil’s bidding for 500 years, high stakes.

The game goes on with the score being tied at 0 in the 8^th inning.  Evil gets a hit and Winston catches a pop fly where about 50 or so balls fall toward him, although he makes the play and catches one for the out.  Peter informs the umpire that evil cheated.  I love the response by the umpire as he explains that evil is allowed to cheat because it’s their nature but if good cheats they will forfeit the game.  Good can’t take the ways of evil and still be good.  Basically evil can do whatever they want to win while good must play by the rules, it’s an awesome little speech.  Ray says as they walk away, “I wonder if good is allowed to steal bases?”  Peter replies, “Maybe good just borrows them Ray.”  Amazing dialogue is all I can say.

Cheater's never prosper guys

As evil goes up one run Winston comes over to say how much it means to him that the guys are letting him do this.  They in turn encourage him to go back out there and do his best more or less, what else can they say?  They’re worried he will lose his soul for 500 years!  Good eventually gets a couple of hits prompting evil to call for a relief pitcher, a giant one eyed, long elephant-like trunked beast.  It doesn’t look good for, well, good.  With the pressure mounting and good down to their final out Winston comes up to bat.  The music is on mark as well which adds to the tension.  The umpire informs the guys that evil’s best pitcher is up and Winston may do better against another pitcher.  The guys ponder over cheating since they haven’t been forced to leave.  Peter hates the idea of a game determining Winston’s fate.  Egon remembers everyone must be on a side.  Peter wants to trap the pitcher to save Winston.  It’s apparent they are on the side of good with Winston though as Egon stops Ray and Peter from blasting the pitcher.  Cheating isn’t an option even for them.

Used to be a woolly mammoth?

Cue the theme music as the pitcher prepares to fire and Winston stares it dead on.  It’s a powerful scene as he smashes the ball straight back to the pitcher with supernatural velocity (appropriate I’d say) sending the spirit into the scoring post.  He rounds the bases to the exciting thrall of the music and the celebration of good winning the game.  Evil melts away in defeat for another 500 years while good gets the classic fade out.  Egon wishes he could have studied the umpire a bit more while Peter says, “At least we saved our buddy here.”  Winston says, “What?..  Oh no, you got it all wrong it was your soul we were playing for Peter.”  Peter collapses in the reality if he cheated it would have been his soul suffering instead.  It’s a great little twist ending to a fantastic episode.

I’m not a fan of baseball but this was one of the best episodes yet.  It’s not the top but it earns its points, runs or whatever you want to call it.  The minimal and effective use of Slimer was great while integrating baseball and ghostbusting flawlessly.  I recommend this one to anybody new to the show that is curious about ghostball.

Rating: 10 of 10

Links

The Real Ghostbusters Episode Listing

Next Up: Venkman’s Ghost Repellers – Episode 22

Previous: Adventures in Slime and Space – Episode 20

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