Tag Archives: Shows

Monday Morning Gotham: Deciding Factor

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The big takeaway for tonight’s episode is the return of Jerome.

“I said Jerome’s in the house…watch ya mouth!” Wrong show, but seriously who else has been waiting for this. Hugo Strange’s resurrection program as it were, combined with Jerome’s murder (by Theo Galavan) last season…should be some interesting developments but I’m not here to talk about any of that. Let’s go back a bit and quickly analyze a line from Mr. Valeska’s more memorable messages.

“Why be a cog…be free, like us!” – Jerome Valeska sending a message to the GCPD

Season 2, Episode 2: Knock, Knock (Rise of the Villains)

So what exactly is the deciding factor when it comes to the decisions that we make? It is family, personal gain, pride, loyalty? The expression, “Freedom ain’t free” makes a lot of sense when you factor in the military overtones it serves. But what about for regular people who just work a normal job…people who make up the framework behind some of these big companies; the cogs in the huge machines. Does being free mean not having to be a little man amidst a bigger plan? Yes. Key word not having to be. The true cost of being free lies in an even greater power source: choice. The deciding choice that determines winners, losers, victories, defeats on a daily basis. I know I can be viewed as a cog, a spoke on the wheel and am at the mercy of my employers. Sometimes it’s not about bringing down the machine in order to be free. I think Jerome, in the Gotham sense wants to prove that while he may be a part of grander design, he can still operate independently, apart from whatever said plans may or may not have for him. When you are good at what you do, somebody will be willing to compensate for your services. Knowing this, means that while you may be a cog, you can be one that can exist in any machine and that is a level of freedom that pays for itself.

What is your next big decision? Will it allow you to be more restricted or offer you more flexibility? Let that be you deciding factor.

justTerry

Top 10: Favorite Shows from PBS

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10.) Reading Rainbow

The third-longest running PBS show (yes, the other two are on my list) that has my man LeVar Burton as the host. A show…about books, that wouldn’t work today. Good thing the 80’s didn’t subscribe to the idea that quality equals boring in this sense. Not for nothing, but this and all of the PBS shows for the most part had incredible theme songs.

9.) Bill Nye the Science Guy

Science Rules! Speaking of shows that pushed intelligence over entertainment…let me not lie, there was a lot of comedy and music in this show. As this list continues, you’ll see how I love my music-influenced shows but the one show that is so left of all the others actually has a lot of good tracks. Ranks very high in the theme song category.

8.) Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

The original PBS show for children. When I hear “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, takes me back. I remember the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and all of the puppets. I remember the music being very classical and even jazz influenced. Most of all I remember Rogers as someone who came across as genuine and earnest. It was right before I graduated high school that he passed away…very sad day indeed.

7.) Wishbone

One of the shortest lasting PBS shows (the shortest on my list) but left a memorable impact. To me this is the spiritual successor to Reading Rainbow. I say that because Wishbone always tries to find the parallels between classic literary arts and the current situation of the day. I always liked that the audience gets to hear Wishbone but the human characters around him can’t. (Bill Nye may have the catchier theme song, but it’s not better than this one) What’s the story?!

6.) Kidsongs

This show did your standard children’s job of teaching lessons and solving problems. For me, I loved this show as a kid for the music. All of the songs that would be done…I would walk to school instead of catching the bus just so I could watch this show. Good memories of this show.

5.) Sesame Street

The one show that everyone should have some familiarity with. Whether it’s the human characters, the actual Sesame Street characters or a particular segment…Sesame Street had to have left an impression on you if you were a kid in the last century. Musically, only Animaniacs compares when it comes to all of the different songs that were used. (I may do a Top 10 on Sesame Street songs honestly) We may not have know exactly how to get to Sesame Street, but it being on TV was the next best thing.

4.) Arthur

Who would of thought a cartoon about an aardvark would be so entertaining? Personally, the Christmas episode alone puts this high on my list. Grew up with the books and loved those, but never thought it would get turned into a show. Granted, I was out of that target demographic but like Disney’s Recess, I was able to get on board with this show. Buster even got a short-lived spin off out of this. (Honorable Mention to two other shows that I red as a child that got turned into cartoons; Clifford and the Berenstain Bears) You can’t help but do a little dance when singing this theme song!

3.) Magic School Bus

Considering how much I enjoyed school as a kid, “I knew I should’ve just stayed home today” always got me every time Arnold said it. Lasting just slightly longer this Wishbone, this was one of my favorite cartoons period at that time. At the library at school, we had “The Pit” which was a carpet-laced area into the floor where we could lay out and read whatever books we checked out. I member those paperback Magic School Bus books…You can’t go wrong with Little Richard singing your theme song.

2.) Lamb Chop’s Play Along

This puppet-inspired show hosted by the legendary Shari Lewis was worth waking up early for to watch. (Actually I was already up because Mr. Rogers came on before it). Big on music, loved the interactions of Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy…wow, these names, I’m just realizing it now. Lamb Chop always acted as somewhat of a foil to Shari which was funny. Even the Knock Knock jokes and Riddles segments I remember. Oh, and if you ever want to annoy someone, just sing, “This is the Song that Doesn’t End.”

1.) Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

So why is a game show my number one? For one reason…DO IT ROCKAPELLA!!!

Top 10: Favorite Shows from Kids WB

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10.) Johnny Test

Just another day in the life of a boy…to me this was Warner Brothers’ answer to Dexter’s Lab. Not nearly as good but I remember it well enough to be fair.

9.) Road Rovers

Wow, how old is this? Catchy little theme song and was a cartoon that never took itself too seriously. Short run but it has enough to where I would watch whenever it came on.

8.) Mucha Lucha

A cartoon about Lucha Libre (wrestling). How cool is that. Cool is Ricochet, cool is Buena Girl, cool is the Flea. Loved the signature moves and how overly animated they were. Better than I remembered.

7.) Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries

A new spin to an old classic. Hey it beats watching Scooby Doo have these type of adventures. Love the dynamic between all the characters and really fleshes out Granny, something that the old shorts never really got to do. Oh, and Tweety finally gets eaten at the end…sort of.

6.) Cardcaptors

In the vein of Sailor Moon, this was a more or less a girls’ anime. Kinda funny in Sailor Moon, the main is Serena and here the main is Sakura. I was drawn into the show because of all the different Clow Cards and the interesting/mythical characters like Yue and Clow Reed. This show was better than it had any right to be.

5.) X-Men Evolution

I was so hooked on this show. I remember being in message boards discussing who the 4 Horseman were going to end up being. Oh and the final episode with Xavier having visions of the future. Man we were so hoping for another season after that, but that is the way you end a series. Amazing memories of this show…to me, enjoyed this more than 90’s X-Men.

4.) Spectacular Spider-Man

Speaking of shows that I feel are better than their predecessor. If there was a show that had no business being canceled after only two seasons. I love the new animation style for this (even Disney Infinity liked it). The relationship between Peter and Gwen was so sweet, so though out. This is the one show on my list that deserves to be brought back.

3.) MegaMan NT Warrior

The Top 3 I own personally so that should show my love for these shows. MegMan is my favorite of the classic mascot gaming characters. But, honestly the Blue Bomber himself is not even in my top five characters on this show. His NetOp, Lan being one example, in fact I enjoy all of the NetOps’ on the show. World Three, Commander Beef, Grave and my favorte ProtoMan. This show made me go out and beat the Battle Network games (and there were a lot of them too). Power Up!

2.) Jackie Chan Adventures/Xiaolin Showdown

I couldn’t decide between the two honestly. They both operate in the same space. Talismans of the Chinese Zodiac and later Demon Chi and the Masks of the Oni on one side; the numerous and wide variety of Shen Gong Wu on the other. I think Jackie Chan did enough to warrant it’s long shelf life, while Showdown really gave a lot seriousness and depth to an otherwise quirky little kids cartoon. Both are awesome, both deserve to be this high.

1.) Static Shock

Of course, growing up a black cartoon…that wasn’t corny and a superhero one at that. Virgil, Richie, their friendship is the stuff of legends. Loved the variety of villains they had. Oh and what I said about corny, they did have guest stars like Shaq and Backstreet Boy members so…got to get those ratings. Always love when Static gets some airtime in later shows (Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice) and it all started here. Puts a shock to your system!

(Now for the record, I acknowledge that Animaniacs, Batman/Superman, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Teen Titans were all mainstays on Kids WB and yes, I love all of these shows in some degree or another. I left these particular shows of the list because there will be upcoming lists that involve going more in depth into these shows specifically. So I wanted to give some shine to the shows I wouldn’t otherwise mention.)