Televisual ruminations

[threemonkeys]

I was watching some Family Guy episodes on DVD last night. They did a little Peanuts homage. On the commentary, the writers ragged on Snoopy Come Home. They said that it was one of the most depressing pieces of TV animation ever. Well my childhood memories of this show were a bit different. So I watched Snoopy Come Home this morning. It really is pretty depressing and does not have much merit otherwise. Neither does A Charlie Brown Christmas. Childhood memories are not what they used to be.

I have always liked the Peanuts strip. It is still one of my daily reads - the peanuts.com site does a daily "classic" strip. But watching these animations again after so many years emphasised to me why so many cartoons strips and comics don't always animate so well and why they have an even harder time translating to live action. The internal dialogue of the printed comic is missing. On screen it is all about external dialogue - you can't hear what the characters are thinking. In Peanuts, the best bits are Snoopy's thoughts. Without them the animations are lifeless. It is different with Family Guy - it was written for Television and does not have to accommodate a paper based legacy.

This is not a universal rule. You see, I finally was able to see the live action version of The Tick earlier in the week. I love Ben Edlund's comic and thought the animated version was good but not great. However the live action version is superb. It captures the spirit of the comic and yet isn't really the same. It is a show written for television that takes genuine inspiration from the comic rather than paying lip service to a few aspects of it. The Tick live action show was cancelled pretty quickly. I wish I could remember who said "Television is called a medium because it is neither rare nor well done". Well I still have some more Family Guy to watch.

Comments

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

Eh, I thought the Tick live action was pretty cringe-worthy, actually. Nothing ever happened. The characters whinged a lot. It was like Seinfeld with spandex. The animated version at least managed to get some actual villains and smiting every episode...

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Smiting is boring - everybody does it. I love the Tick's random stupidly eloquent speeches, there is nothing else quite like them. Seinfeld with spandex is a good description though - but then I liked Seinfeld and I liked It's like you know even better and that was just Seinfeld west coast.

Each to their own I guess.

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

Well yes, but I thought that in the animated version the random stupidly eloquent speeches were better, and the stories weren't so nihilistic and Waiting for Godotish. Also, if they wanted to bring in Galactus, or a homicidal cow, or a talking hand puppet, for that matter, they jolly well could, instead of bumping into a shoestring budget all the time. Sets and costumes aren't everything, but they do delight the eye, sometimes.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

...in the animated version the random stupidly eloquent speeches were better/q>

I haven't listened to them side by side - an experiment worth doing...

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Ack - I hate broken html in comments and hate that you can't edit a comment.

[ratfan.livejournal.com]

Before the days of computers, yea, into the dark ages, I had a file where I kept writing-related material; lists, rejection slips, letters, more rejection slips...and on the inside cover a Peanuts strip, where Snoopy sits at his typewriter atop his kennel and Lucy (?) comes up to him with a sheet of manuscript saying, "I think this is the best story you've ever written...which really doesn't mean anything because your other stories were so dumb." Snoopy reflects, "I love a good compliment!"

He was one of my earliest inspirations :-)

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Nice memory.

[littenz.livejournal.com]

I thought the live action "The Tick" better than the animated. The live version brought out the shallow brainpan of the the Tick superbly (and the personality issues of the other mediumheroes) - something the cartoon series had to work at, but human actors did so much better.

But then, I have fond memories of "The Monkees" tv series. A memory I haven't put to the test.