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!  

 

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared: THIS IS IT! Part 1

I've posted before about the DHMIS series. I also kickstarted it. The 6th and final episode just aired. Watch it. I'll wait.

It's about media, that much all the viewers agree on. But what does it all mean? Let's take a multi-part in depth look!

The first episode details how creativity is only encouraged to a point. Go, make stuff, but make sure it's inside the box, and doesn't do anything to challenge the corporate overlords. I.E.Yellow Guy stating "I might paint a picture of a clown" and the Notebook replying "Whoa there friend, you might need to slow down." and doing this:

Also Notebook telling Yellow Guy "Green is not a creative color."

 Yellow guy is the series designated Butt Monkey. It doesn't get better for him.

We also get the first hints of characterization from the  Red Guy declaring that using your hair to express yourself "...sounds really boring."

He's my favorite.

Bird guy just plays along. More on him later.

So, it's a basic message; the corporate overlords represented by the Notebook teacher want us to be creative, but only inside their preset parameters.A good way to establish the tone of the series, and a subtle message delivery. But it's not the end.

We'll discuss more next time.

Dead Bart, Simpsonwave, and the lost generation

I recently stumbled across something called Simpsonwave. It's a sub-genera of punk (apparently) where you distort old footage of The Simpsons and put wavy music over it.

See this for further explanation.

This reminds me of another video that distorts old Simpson's footage, but for another purpose. There is a type of internet horror media called 'Creepy Pasta' It's short horror, mostly written, often using pop culture as the base.The "Dead Bart" story is one of the most widely spread, inspiring a wealth of 'lost episode' stories.

If you don't have time to read it, Dead Bart is an episode description, of, well, Bart getting killed, and the surrealist aftermath. It includes creepy descriptions of the funeral, weird animation, pretty typical of this sort of story.

Someone went to the trouble of re-creating as much of the 'episode' as they could with existing footage, and the story's narration.

Simpsonwave and the Creepypasta have VHS distortion. It's an integral part of the 'authenticity'. For the few generations  that grew up when VHS tapes were plentiful, before DVDs came along, we all know what those wavy lines mean. Kids today don't even know what a VHS is from firsthand experience. They won't understand the intrigue of finding an unlabeled tape; is it a Disney movie? Your mom's soaps? Something...dirty?

Let's see Indy snatch a piles of these from a cave.

Maybe it's because VHS tapes aren't easy to transfer to the internet, and are thus harder to share worldwide. You have to have a VHS play, hook it up special to a computer, convert it, all that jazz. There's an air of mystery in the blank black plastic.

That's not to say Simpsonwave or Dead Bart are necessarily good. They're interesting, but I wouldn't choose to listen to Simpsonwave. There are better Creepypastas than Dead Bart. Why pick The Simpsons as the focal point?

Maybe like the VHS tape the old Simpson episodes have an air of mystery. They're weird looking, the voices are off, and they're generally not rerun before season 3. Perfect fodder for 'artists' and trend hangers-on alike.

I know what DVDs I'll be breaking out tonight.