Sunday, January 18

Disney has always cut corners

People have complained that female characters of Tangled and Frozen look a like and that minor characters in Frozen are the same people in different dresses but this isn't the first time Disney has cut corners. Disney has always recycled models and animation.

Beauty and the Beast
At the beginning we see a forest, the forest animals were recycled from Bambi. At the end, the dancing animation cycle of Beauty and her prince was recycled from Sleeping Beauty, you can tell by the Prince's sudden body change. This was done because they ran out of money.
 
Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland used animation from Pinocchio (fish underwater) and Bambi (blue bird on branch).
 
 101 Dalmatians
They reused animation of the cat from Cinderella, a woman walking from a short and an outdoor building from Peter Pan.
 
 Sword in the Stone
They reused a dummy getting hit on the head from 101 Dalmatians, animals from Bambi, a boulder from a short, a man on a sword with shield from Sleeping Beauty, Jousters from a short called The Truth about Mother Goose and the tiger from short Tiger Trouble.
 
 Robin Hood
They reused a lot of animation like Mary clapping to dancing was taken from Snow White, Baloo dancing in Jungle Book became the bear Little John dancing in Robin Hood and the Aristocats dancing was also used for the Merry Men dancing.
 
 Pocahontas
Pocahontas as under production during the same time as the Lion King. Pocahontas was released after Lion King. The staff thought Pocahontas would do better. These feathers and things flying in the air were reused, it is hard to tell which came first.

 Princess and the Frog
Believe it or not, maybe it was a homage and not the original animation but the alligator did a similar move as the witch in Sword in the Stone.
 
For much much more, check the link below!
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RIP Greg Plitt

 Greg Plitt was a fitness model/bodybuilder/trainer/reality show star/stunt actor/actor. Greg Plitt was 37 years old, he was hit by a train in Burbank, California while filming a promo. He appeared on Bravo's Work Out and new show Friends to Lovers. He was in the movie Terminator Salvation and the show Days of Our Lives. He provided the body for Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen. May he rest in peace.
 


 

 

Annoying Camel Geico Commericals

It is not enough Geico has ten million spokespeople like the gecko, dollars with google-y eyes, but a year ago there was a camel that said "Hump Day." But now they have added a new commercial.
 
It is where idiotic people at a zoo imitate the commercial to 'real' camels. Of course, in this commercial they talk, but I am just hoping people aren't really doing this at zoos. Or even trying to do it now that they have the idea from this commercial.


Friday, January 16

Giving another chance to Blackish

ABC has a new sitcom with Anthony Anderson called "Blackish," when I first heard of it, I thought it had an offensive title. I just didn't like the title. I am Guatemalan-American but grew up in urban Allapattah and grew up with the African-American community. Blackish wasn't meant to be an offensive title but it sounded garish to me. And the promos for the show didn't look funny, just looked like a smug guy, silly wife and obnoxious children. But watching already a couple episodes, the show revels in the obnoxious children. It is not only a funny show, it is smart too. Last episode had to do with Martin Lurther King Jr day and the disconnect children have these days with the legend. Reminds me of my nephew who came home yesterday telling me he learned at school that the President King died in a book. Anyway, I do find Anderson's voice in the narration annoying at times and the wife is a pushover, I wish she was a stronger character. Even though the show promoted Lawrence Fishbourne, he is only in a  couple episodes. 

Saturday, January 10

Television Spin-Offs that changed their characters

Spin-offs are common in Television and continuity isn't one of them. When a character is popular off one show, they are given their own show, a spin-off. In this post, I discuss how the character might have changed in their new show than in their original incarnation.
 
 
Cleveland Brown in "The Cleveland Show"
Original show: Family Guy
He started out as Peter Griffin's slow talking Deli Owner friend and neighbor. When the show was canceled and returned, his personality became more vibrant. Most fans are surprised to find out the actor (Mike Henry) that does his voice is White and not black. Before he gained his own show in 2009, his personality was slightly getting more brash but on the show itself he is more outgoing, dropped the slow voice and he is much more sexual and violent. Various flashbacks give conflicting histories of his speech patterns. His show was canceled in 2013 and he has since returned to "Family Guy" in which he is not the main focus but has been more or less the same but slightly reduced.
 
Rhoda Morgenstern in "Rhoda"
Original Show: Mary Tyler Moore Show
Rhoda was Mary's friend and neighbor on MTMS and then she got her spin-off. She starts out single, then meets the character Joe and they get married, but then ratings dropped. Producers thought fans didn't like to see her happy. In season 3, they decided to have them divorce which split fans apart and made them much more mad. Ratings dropped even further in seeing Rhoda unhappy. Upon moving to her own show, the mention of Rhoda’s Jewish religious and ethnic background faded. While on the parent sitcom, Rhodawas explicitly Jewish. During the first season of Rhoda, the representation of Rhoda Morgenstern altered from her parent show to fit a more mainstream audience: she was trimmer, more confident, and less "Jewish."
Captain Jack Harkness in "Torchwood"
Original Show: Doctor Who
The character's introduction served to posit him as a secondary hero and a rival to the series protagonist, the Doctor, simultaneously paralleling the Doctor's detached alien nature with Jack's humanity and "heart". Jack's original appearances in Doctor Who were conceived with the intention of forming a character arc in which Jack is transformed from a coward to a hero, and John Barrowman consciously minded this in his portrayal of the character. In Torchwood, Jack is re-introduced as a changed man, reluctantly immortal, having spent years on Earth waiting to reunite with the Doctor. Jack returns with a lighter attitude in the second series. Within Doctor Who, Jack's personality is relatively light-hearted, although this changes in Torchwood's first series, where he becomes a darker character.
 
Joey Tribianni in "Joey"
Original Show: Friends
"On Friends, Joey was a womanizer, but we enjoyed his exploits. He was a solid friend, a guy you knew you could count on. Joey was deconstructed to be a guy who couldn't get a job, couldn't ask a girl out. He became a pathetic, mopey character. I felt he was moving in the wrong direction, but I was not heard." —Kevin S. Bright on the reason for Joey '​s cancellation.
 
Sam Puckett and Cat Valentine in "Sam & Cat"
Original Show: Cat from "Victorious" and Sam from "iCarly"
In iCarly, Sam was a wild card, a criminal, morally ambiguous, angry and crass. She wasn't the man character obviously. In "Victorious," Cat was flightily, dreamy, soft voiced and loony. I was against the idea of pairing these two. Because in the original show "The Odd Couple," Felix is straight and neat while Oscar thinks out of the box and is sloppy. You need your 'straightman.' In this case, neither of these characters were the 'straightwoman.' "iCarly" had ended as the main actress wanted to move on and "Victorious" was forced to end in order to pull off the spin-off. Both are wild cards. Sam is now a biker-chick but still criminally-minded and crass. Cat is the same, soft-voiced and flightily. But somehow they tried to wedge Sam into the straightwoman position, reigning in the insanity of Cat but it did not quite gel. The show was popular but it was not canceled because of that but conflicts behind the scenes with the actresses.
 

 


Friday, January 9

Crossovers through different Networks

Last post I covered crossovers on the same network and same night, now I am covering crossovers that happened between different networks. This rarely has happens as networks compete but mostly happens as they are from the same producer.
 
Fox's Ally McBeal/ABC's The Practice (1998)
Since David E. Kelley ran these two shows and they were both hits, ABC and FOX agreed to cross them over. On the night of April 27, 1998, Ally McBeal‘s episode "The Inmates,” Dylan McDermott appeared and an hour later on ABC, Calista Flockheart and Gil Bellows appeared on "The Practice" episode "Axe Murderer."
 
WB's Angel/UPN's Buffy (2003)
Buffy was on the WB but then UPN for Seasons 6 and 7 in 2001-2003. Season 3 of Angel and Season 6 of Buffy had no on-screen crossovers but off-screen, which was played with in the comic books (Dawn, Anya and Xander wondered about the Buffy/Angel encounter). While it did NOT happen on the same night and not crossover many characters, the characters did crossover and bridge a recurring character over. Season 4 of Angel episode "Orpheus" aired March 19, 2003 where Alyson Hannigan (Willow) guest starred and took Eliza Dushku (Faith) with her. Faith reappeared on Buffy on Season Seven's episode "Dirty Girls" which aired on April 15, 2003. Though Willow did get a phone call from Fred in the episode "The Lies My Parents Told Me" which aired March 25, six days after "Orpheus" aired so if Buffy fans didn't know about the crossover and found out through the Buffy show itself, then they would've missed the episode. David Boreanaz (Angel) later appeared on "End of Days" and "Chosen" of Buffy on UPN while his show was still airing on the WB.
 
 John Munch
This character has crossed over networks and genres. He has originated on NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street," (1993-1999) and when that show was canceled, he later moved on to NBC's "Law & Order: SVU." While he was on Homicide he guest starred on Law & Order in 1996 four times. John Munch has been on SVU since it started in 1999. While he was on "Homicide," he appeared in FOX's sci-fi classic "The X-Files" in 1997 with the Lone Gunmen. In 2000, he appeared on UPN's "The Beat", which was canceled in months. In 2005, he appeared on "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" on NBC. He then appeared on FOX's comedy Arrested Development's season three episode "Exit Strategy" in 2006. In 2008, he appeared on HBO's The Wire's episode "Took." He has also made guest appearances on other types of programs like "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "30 Rock" (but as the actor himself Richard Belzer).
 
 
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Same Network Same Night Crossovers

What I am talking about here is crossovers between shows that happened on the same night and same network. This mostly happened on ABC and NBC. I am referring to crossovers that had a story plot or gimmick that went through the episodes through the night, not an isolated crossover in one episode (like the recent Simpsons/Family Guy episode that was just a Family Guy episode). Also not counting little crossover cameos without a story thread on the same ep. This was mostly done with shows hat had the same producers.
 
NBC's Hurricane Sunday (1991)
Susan Harris had three shows on Saturday night in 1991: "Golden Girls", "Empty Nest" and "Nurses." All shows were set in Miami and a Hurricane occurred. "Golden Girls" was a two-parter and Carol appears in one of the two episodes dating Stan's therapist. Sophia Petrillo was featured in the "Empty Next" episode. On "Nurses," Rose Nylund and Laverne Todd from Empty Nest were featured.

NBC's Blackout Thursday (1994)
On the night of November 3, 1994, 'Friends,' 'Mad About You' and 'Madman of the People' all had a blackout in New York but none of the characters crossover on the show, just the blackout. This was the first season of Friends and Madman lasted one show. Though characters of Mad About You did appear on Friends and confusing Phoebe for her sister Ursula as Lisa Kudrow played both characters. These shows had different producers.

NBC's Law & Order and Homicide: Life on the Street (1996-1997)
On Feb 2, 1996 Law and Order's "Charm City" season 6, episode 13 and Homicide's "For God and Country" season 4, episode 12 were interconnected. Then on November 12, 1997, Law & Order's "Baby, It's You" season eight, episode 6 and Homicide: "Baby, It's You (2)" season 6, episode 5. Finally, February 17th, 1999 saw Law & Order's "Sideshow" season nine, episode 14 & Homicide: "Sideshow (2)" season 7, episode 15
 
 ABC'S TGIF Time Event (1997)
The night of November 7, the four shows "Boy Meets World," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," and two sitcoms that newly premiered that season and were canceled the next--the 'I dream of Jeannie' gender-swap "You Wish" and the 'male' Sabrina "Teen Angel." The thread was that Salem the cat ate a 'time ball' and took the different sitcoms through different times. The last show of the night "Teen Angel" actually had Melissa Joan Hart in it and guest star. Many people are confused when seeing "Boy Meets World" in syndication and see Salem and not understand why. Sabrina the Teenage Witch went to the 60's. Boy Meets World was swept into the 40's, You Wish to the 60's and Teen Angel to the 70's. Some of these shows had different producers.

NBC's The Pretender and Profiler (1999)
Five years after Susan Harris' comedies were over, Saturday night was the night for The Pretender and Profiler. On May 18, "The Pretender" Season 3 episode "End Game" and  Profiler's Season 3, ep 19 -"Grand Master". Pretender's Season 4 ep "Spin Doctor" lead to Profiler's "Clean Sweep." And Profiler's "Pianissimo" had a cameo from a Pretender character.
 
The WB's Buffy and Angel Crossovers (1999-2000)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) had various crossovers with Angel (1999-2004) like "The Harsh Light of Day" (season 4 of Buffy) and "In the Dark" (Angel season 1) on the same night of October 19, 1999. November 23rd had "Pangs" of Buffy and "I will Remember You" on Angel. Faith crossovered from Buffy episode "Who are you?" to Angel episode "Five by Five" but not on the same night. Buffy appeared on "Sanctuary" and then Angel in "The Yoko Factor" but not on the same night. The WB would not do a same night event until November 14, 2000 that had the episodes "Fool For Love" (season 5 of Buffy) and "Darla." (season 2 of Angel) Other characters like Drusilla, Harmony and Willow would crossover but it wasn't the same night nor a main storyline. Buffy moved to UPN for season 6 and there was no more crossovers until season 4 of Angel and Buffy season 7 but I will cover that in the next post. Both shows were produced by Joss Whedon.
 
ABC's 2009 Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice Crossover Event
After the success of Addison returning to Seattle for an ep, the idea of a big crossover between the 2 shows was created. Both the creative forces behind the series and the network wanted to produce. The fourth crossover was marketed as the "Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice Crossover Event" by ABC. It was the episodes : Beat Your Heart Out (GA), Acceptance (PP), Before and After (GA), Ex-Life (PP), and An Honest Mistake (GA). Both shows had the same producer.
 
Fox's Seth Macfarlane's Night of the Hurricane
The event depicts a hurricane which hits the towns of Stoolbend (The Cleveland Show), Quahog (Family Guy) and Langley Falls (American Dad). The "Night of the Hurricane" block is similar to the NBC "Hurricane Saturday" block with three series created by Susan Harris—The Golden Girls, Empty Nest and Nurses. It was originally scheduled to air on May 1, 2011, but was delayed after the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak. It ultimately aired on October 2, 2011.

The CW's "The Brave and the Bold" Crossover Event
Even though Barry/The Flash has originated on "Arrow" (two episodes), there was recently a crossover between the two shows. Also Felicity has guest starred in 2 episodes so far. On December 3, 2014, The Flash's "Flash Vs Arrow" and Arrow's "The Brave and the Bold." Also Grant Gustin appeared on "The Calm" in October.

 


Spanengrish Ramblings Revival

It is almost 9 years since I started this blog and I have kind of neglecting the blog to be honest. I feel bad about it. It has been I've been busy with work and my main blog Henshin Grid. Also, to be honest this is my megaphone to the world and since I joined Twitter two years ago, it has been like a megaphone too. The most recent tweets have been about Every Witch Way, which has started again but I haven't a chance to see so I haven't been able to do a review for. My new plan is to revive Spanengrish Ramblings and do various posts on television tropes and stuff. I will also cover random things that come to mind.