It IT Spot: Rereading, part 7

Here we have the short, not sweet life of the Cochran brothers. Their aside is left out of the miniseries entirely, so this whole post is a SPOILER.

This isn't a formal aside from Mike's notes: just something King gives us. Eddie Cochran's body was never recovered, as IT ate him as The Creature from the Black Lagoon. And just for a bit of added horror, his little brother Dorsey died by being beaten to death with a hammer. From his stepdad.

This section is horrible, but it sets up a lot of important things. Another kid with a connection to the Universal Monsters that plague the rest of the book is one.

It makes sense that other kids in the town would have pop-culture inspired fears. We'll see more of it later (but that's getting ahead of ourselves).

The other important thing is Eddie's reaction to the Gilman coming after him. Even as he's dying, he thinks it can't be real and searches for the zipper on the creature's back. The only other child that expresses such a strong amount of disbelief in the face of death is our good friend, Stan Uris.

Disbelief isn't a saving grace in Derry. It is death, both literal and metaphorical.

The other, more subtle factor is Dorsey's aforementioned beating death. Bev is also subject to beatings, and at one point IT actually inhabits her father, trying to do something worse than a beating. We don't witness the incident (King is not a monster), but in the aftermath we get the sense that the stepdad may have been pushed into his actions by the malevolence in the town. Oh, in another area he still would have been an abusive POS, but he may not have been so much of a terror, or a murderer.

Every little bit of wrongness in Derry is magnified by IT, whether it's an explosive disaster, or a parent making the wrong choices.

There will be a lot more of that before we're done.

Watching the Bay

With the Baywatch movie coming out soon, you may be wondering "How can I possibly follow the complex plot-line established over the 11 seasons of the original show, plus the reunion movie and Baywatch Nights?"

Or you may just be wondering how much David Hasselhoff's ego has grown since he's sharing a role with The Rock.

Never fear, the internet is here! Specifically Allison Pregler's series, Baywatching. 

 The first taste is free.

This comedian...dare I say Hero?...is watching and reviewing every episode, providing hilarious commentary and behind the scenes context along the way. For example, did you know that Baywatch was basically kept on the air at one point by A&W Cream Soda and Waverunner TM product placement? Or that one of the characters was played by real lifegaurd/Firefighter Michael Newman, whose real rescues were re-created for the show? Or that The Guinness Book of World Records list the show as the MOST WATCHED SHOW OF ALL TIME?!

If you're like me (or the reviewer), you never gave a thought to Baywatch, aside from swimsuit jokes, and never watched the show. This will make you sad you missed the hilarity the first time around. Did you know there's an episode with an Orangutan? Or Gilligan?  Or aliens? Or SEVERAL with Ghosts?

Or Hasselhoff alligator wrestling?

Baywatching is on season 5 of Baywatch at the time of this writing, and has promised to go all the way through Baywatch Nights, so there's a lot of fun left to be had. I can't speak highly enough of Allison Pregler, and this series is hysterical. Check it out! 

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UPDATE! This blog has the notice of the creator herself!  

 

The IT Spot: New trailer AND Rereading part 6

 Oh boy, there's a LOT to unpack here!

First, we have Stan's Bar Mitzvah:

I think this is touched on in the book (just as a mention), and shows that Stan is more adult than the others. This will be part of his eventual undoing. His voiceover follows us through most of the trailer, hammering home the danger every child in the town is in.

We then see what I believe is the Apocalyptic Rock Fight, where Mike joins the Ka-Tet/Losers Club.

Another shot of the House on Neibolt Street, replete with sunflowers. I'm not sure who's walking in.

Next, the bullies, with Patrick Hockstetter, watching Ritchie (no doubt about to lay the hurt on him).

I'm sure this unpleasant fellow is Mr. Keene, the pharmacist, and bringer of unwelcome news. Also, check the classic 80s King-style glasses!

This is followed by a pretty funny section of Bill and Ritchie (with a Voice) trying to get Eddie and Stan into a sewer pipe...

...making the unpleasant discovery of the missing Betty Ripsom's shoe....

...and then this getting closer and closer before blowing.

We finally see the balloon lift away as Pennywise watches Eddie (I think it's Eddie, a lot of these kids look similar).

All in all, a good trailer, and shows a lot more about the kid's character and interactions overall. I approve, though I'm still not happy about Pennywise's look.

 On to the rereading!

Bill's flashback section is far more engaging than Ben's, at least for me. I find it so because I remember Ben's the most clearly (it does come first, after all), and there are still things about Bill that I forget. For example...

SPOILERS

The PTSD-esq behavior of Bill's Mom and Dad in the wake of Georgie's murder. Bill as an adult recognizes they were wrong to lose themselves so completely in unspoken grief that they stopped being his parents, but as a child he can only articulate it as 'Why are they crying so far apart?'

I cannot fathom the pain that comes with losing a child. King has other books and movies dealing with the subject from an adult POV. But this book is a child dealing with the loss of a sibling, and the subsequent death of the family. It's well done, and something that you really have to read to get the full effect.

SAFE

The section, much like the movie, splits itself. The first bit is about Bill getting Eddie's ashmah meds, in the wake of the bullies (notably Henry Bower's) attack on (and by) Ben.

 This isn't so much about establishing his relationship with Eddie and Ben as it is about his relationship with his bike, Silver. He is both physically and metaphorically using the bike to escape his problems (King outright says so), and it sets up the importance of the bike, which comes later.

The other half of the section deals with the aftermath of Georgie's death. Bill is handling as well as possible, with it culminating in the winking, bleeding picture of Georgie. It's done just about perfect in the mini series:

We've yet to touch on most of the loser's club. It may be surprising that King chose to reveal Bill's issues before the others, as Bill was the last adult gathered. I think it's because Bill's relationship with every member of the group is crucial to the dynamic, and unless we get his story out first the others would fall flat.

Join me next time, when you get two dead kids for the price of one segment!

Ro-Butts

There's been a lot of talk about advanced robots in the news lately. From Disney's advance/creepy Na'vi shaman...

Jimmy Fallon's cornucopia of creepiness (and butterflies!)...

To Bill Nye fighting (and losing to) a coffeepot.

Also a fridge, because why not.

 I didn't even like it when my smartphone figured out where I worked and started giving me updates on how long it would take to get home each day. Now I've got to deal with an uprising from the uncanny valley?

For anyone unfamiliar with the Uncanny Valley, watch this video. For anyone familiar with it, but wanting some extra-creepy examples, watch the video below. Warning: it is NOT funny. It features, among other things, a person with severe deformations from polio (portraying their drag personality and dance routine, so...yay?).

I think C.S. Lewis summed up my feelings for the look of most humanoid animations back in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (though the quote was about witches, not robots):

“But in general, take my advice, when you meet anything that is going to be Human and isn’t yet, or used to be Human once and isn’t now, or ought to be Human and isn’t, you keep your eyes on it and feel for your hatchet.”

In movies, the uncanny valley can be used for either good or ill, especially when it comes to horror. But when it comes to real life, I'd rather not have to deal with it. I've always been a bit of a Luddite when it comes to learning new technology. Until they get over the valley, or back off from it entirely, I'd admire these advances from afar.

Or at least watch Markiplier be spooked by it.

The IT Spot: Rereading, part 5

I've just finished the section where Ben thinks about his first meeting with IT, and we're given more of the old Ultraviolence.

Enjoy, my droogies.

It plays out half like the mini-series: Ben is lonely, threatened by bullies, etc. But unlike the series...

SPOILERS

He gets the shit beat out of him, is cut with a switch knife, and kicks Henry Bowers (his primary attacker/cutter) in the balls. He also dreams of his first encounter with IT, where IT takes the form of Karloff's mummy, not his dead father.

This is echoed by Ritchie's IT Teenage Werewolf, and by Mike's Kaiju-like bird monster. These were common enough monsters for the 1950. I hope the 80s adaptation lets them keep that theme going.

Overall, a satisfying section that lets you really get to know Ben. I remember it quite clearly from previous readings, so there's no surprises here, and little else to discuss.

SAFE

I'm sure this section will be filmed excellently, as it's very visual, bloody, and perfect King. Really looking forward to it in the theater.