DR. BELCH
03-30-2002, 03:35 PM
JCA#229: "Glove Story"
Was anyone else thinking of the Animaniacs short "White Gloves" while watching this?
Come to think of it, the pirate captain reminded me of Alan Hale, Jr. (The Skipper) with a beard, and his first mate looked a lot like Quasimodo.
We also learn that Tohru staying with the Chans isn't purely voluntary or out of loyalty, but part of his parole; one screw-up and he's back in the slammer. Though in an earlier ep, when we met his mother, he had considered rejoining his old life of crime briefly.
When Jackie recovers a treasure chest for the San Francisco museum, he also retrieves a pair of seemingly worthless leather gloves belonging to a long-dead buccaneer...but it turns out the gloves are alive and pretty nasty little customers. They frame Tohru for a jewel theft. Later, needing some muscle for a big heist, they break the big guy out of prison by slipping onto his hands, and proceed to head towards the museum. While Uncle distracts the police with his life story, Jackie tries to stop them but winds up stuck with a glove on his hand. To make matters worse, Capt. McCrory and Haggis are robbing the museum that night. Jade manages to bait the gloves into releasing their grip on Jackie and Tohru by tricking them with a jewel into slipping into a sewer drain, where they get washed out to sea (and later found by a fisherman). Tohru is found innocent, and the pirate and Haggis are taken into custody.
Not much to say on this one, except there were three gratuitous "booty" jokes...and a funny exchange reminiscent of "One Froggy Evening" where Uncle and Jackie try to convince the precinct captain the gloves are alive. I half expected Jade to sing a chorus of "Hello My Baby" when Jackie held them aloft and made them "dance" with his fingers.
ZETA#14: "Wired", part 1
While running from Bennett, Ro and Zeta get mixed up with a band of "freedom fighters" who turn out to be unscrupulous chop-shoppers. They also seem to be in communication with Bucky, who seems an odd ally considering in the past he's had designs on capturing Zeta himself.
Granted, a fugitive needs to make friends whenever possible, but these guys creeped me out. Especially the fat otsaku (sp?) with the Ro shrine on his bedroom wall. "He has kind of a--" Bucky tries to warn Ro before he throws an object through the screen. I have a feeling the next word was either "temper" or "mental problem" (people of his ilk in Japan, I've read, are actually known to seduce and keep girls hostage in their rooms, even without their parents' knowledge/consent. Ro came this close to being a statistic.)
The group, who follow Ro and Z's exploits online with the dedication of fans, or stalkers, claim they can get in touch with Selig, if he lets them study him...but they only intend to strip and gut the tin man. Hobbling around with half a chestplate and one arm, Z realizes he's between a rock and a hard place with both Bennett and his new "friends". He has no choice but to succumb to their dubious treatment...and Ro knows without him she's as good as in the streets, a foster home, or in juvvie trading favors for cigarettes.
Watch also as West attempts to look sophisticated with the new recruit Rush, but she is less than impressed when he nearly gets flattened by one of their transport vehicles.
POK JJ#14: "Control Freak"
Ash and company meet up with a young female archaeologist who is uncovering ruins in an ancient temple, one of which is a mask and staff said to be able to control Pokemon without benefit of catching and taming them. Team Rocket overhears and decides to go underground, with the help of a Diglett-designed drilling device.
They find the mask and staff...and the best moment is after Jessy puts on the gold mask and is infused with its power. She giggles like she's lost it and demands that James kneel before her. "What, with my bad knees?" he complains. If what most Pokemon fans believe about James is true, he's no stranger to getting down on his knees (he's a born groveller, we'll put it that way), which might explain why he has so much trouble with them. :o He later admits he might bow down on just one knee; he thinks he can manage that much. He's a trooper.
Jessy forces Victreebell to bite James (though it does that anyway without being told) and Meowth to do a weird littlle fandance with...large black dots? I'm sure that means something. He seems all too happy to dance several times to please the new Queen of Pokemon.
She then, after completely butchering the Rocket motto--James is at a loss to find something to rhyme with "adore me" that would be appropriate for a children's show-- has Pikachu shock the blazes out of Ash (a la "Pikachu Revolts").
Jessy learns, however, that her power only lasts within the perameters of a certain area around the excavation pit. Outside of city limits, the mask is nearly useless--and it's funny to see Jessy get shocked by Pikachu several times before she grasps the concept. Faced with ruling nothing more than a few square feet of sand or being free but empress of nothing, she chooses to run with the treasure they stole from the pit.
Now...they could have just let them go, and hope the cops nabbed them when they tried to hock the goods. Surely stuff like that wouldn't even interest a reputable fence, or Giovanni, who couldn't unload it without getting pinched. But whether it's his code of ethics or his desire to make points with Misty, or maybe even the pretty archaeologist chick, he has to STOP TEAM ROCKET.
Enter Nachtowl, and Brock's newly-evolved Crowbat, who earlier had gotten buried in a cave-in Jessy's tantrum caused and who Brock saved by putting those big perpetually-Misty-yanked ears of his to good use and hearing its supersonic cries of help under the rubble. Together they send the Rockets crashing down again.
Brock wants to stay with the pretty archaeologist lady, but Misty--either wanting to avoid another Ivy incident or just playing the jealous card--hauls him off by that big marvelous well-tuned earlobe of his.
XMEN#24: "Operation: Rebirth"
This is one I've been waiting some time for--it answers several questions about Wolverine's swiss-cheese past, as well as about several other characters on both sides.
Wolverine meets up with his former commanding officer, Nick Fury (who here looks a lot older than he did on Spider-Man), who tells him some old ghosts fro mthe past have come back.The m.o. --a ripped metal door--is eerily familiar. This brings back a partly-buried memory of storming a P.O.W. camp in Poland during WWII, where he met both Steve "Captain America" Rogers and a young boy named Eric Lensherr...and observed for the first time his terrible power. This explains quite a bit--he appeared no more than ten then, and likely wouldn't meet Charles for another fifteen years at least. If they had met in a war, it would've likely been 'Nam or Korea...or perhaps the two young men first encountered one another during peacetime. Either way, we now can place Magnus' age at around seventy...and we see why he appears to be half that. So it begs the question of whether the Professor and Magneto are the same age, or was Charles born after the war..and how old was each when they did meet? Hopefully a future ep can further clear the mystery.
A partial memory in Rogue's head she'd culled from Magneto leads them to the Sahara Desert. When Nightcrawler sees a withered, nearly-dead Magnus in his youth chamber, the old man comments that he is just like his mother. An odd comment, and coupled with hints from last season, makes me suspect that he is Kurt's biological father, rather than the German nobleman Mystique claims (in other continuities). Which makes it doubly interesting that he and Rogue are so close, being practically siblings (Mystique, as you'll recall, raised her during her early teens). Also, if this is true, Kurt and Quicksilver (Pietro) are really half-brothers. Guilt allows the boy to let him restore his health before they blow the chamber to bits...and he spares them in turn.
The scene with Captain America cryogenically frozen was touching, and at least shows there's some hope (I was expecting to see his grave, much like the one of another old comrade of Logan's from the Fox series).
So...how much has Logan really forgotten and how much has simply he pretended to? Sabretooth is seen briefly, but can he shed any light on the dark pieces of his former friend's past? And what of their history? It's been hinted the falling-out was over a woman, but between continuity shifts and questions of what's real and what's implanted memory wise it may never be fully clear.
Still, a pretty powerful episode, especially the exchange between Logan and Charles about the use of eugenics sixty years ago--"...and this was our side," he says, making it clear that both the Germans and the Americans did abominable things in the name of victory.
Did anyone else notice FOX reaired an ep of Digimon from last week? I'm not sure if that was a mistake or because it's Easter and they had a character who looked like Jesus. Also, today was, I think, the final biomerge--Rika's. Strange yet adorable, and likely the only time you'll see her in lipstick and high heels. ;) Plus was anyone else unnerved at the way Jerri, already depressed, eyed that chunk of purple antimatter goo that landed at her feet? I found myself thinking eerily of the bit in Julius Caesar where it's said Brutus' wife Portia committed suicide by sticking a hot coal in her mouth and holding it shut.... :eek:
Was anyone else thinking of the Animaniacs short "White Gloves" while watching this?
Come to think of it, the pirate captain reminded me of Alan Hale, Jr. (The Skipper) with a beard, and his first mate looked a lot like Quasimodo.
We also learn that Tohru staying with the Chans isn't purely voluntary or out of loyalty, but part of his parole; one screw-up and he's back in the slammer. Though in an earlier ep, when we met his mother, he had considered rejoining his old life of crime briefly.
When Jackie recovers a treasure chest for the San Francisco museum, he also retrieves a pair of seemingly worthless leather gloves belonging to a long-dead buccaneer...but it turns out the gloves are alive and pretty nasty little customers. They frame Tohru for a jewel theft. Later, needing some muscle for a big heist, they break the big guy out of prison by slipping onto his hands, and proceed to head towards the museum. While Uncle distracts the police with his life story, Jackie tries to stop them but winds up stuck with a glove on his hand. To make matters worse, Capt. McCrory and Haggis are robbing the museum that night. Jade manages to bait the gloves into releasing their grip on Jackie and Tohru by tricking them with a jewel into slipping into a sewer drain, where they get washed out to sea (and later found by a fisherman). Tohru is found innocent, and the pirate and Haggis are taken into custody.
Not much to say on this one, except there were three gratuitous "booty" jokes...and a funny exchange reminiscent of "One Froggy Evening" where Uncle and Jackie try to convince the precinct captain the gloves are alive. I half expected Jade to sing a chorus of "Hello My Baby" when Jackie held them aloft and made them "dance" with his fingers.
ZETA#14: "Wired", part 1
While running from Bennett, Ro and Zeta get mixed up with a band of "freedom fighters" who turn out to be unscrupulous chop-shoppers. They also seem to be in communication with Bucky, who seems an odd ally considering in the past he's had designs on capturing Zeta himself.
Granted, a fugitive needs to make friends whenever possible, but these guys creeped me out. Especially the fat otsaku (sp?) with the Ro shrine on his bedroom wall. "He has kind of a--" Bucky tries to warn Ro before he throws an object through the screen. I have a feeling the next word was either "temper" or "mental problem" (people of his ilk in Japan, I've read, are actually known to seduce and keep girls hostage in their rooms, even without their parents' knowledge/consent. Ro came this close to being a statistic.)
The group, who follow Ro and Z's exploits online with the dedication of fans, or stalkers, claim they can get in touch with Selig, if he lets them study him...but they only intend to strip and gut the tin man. Hobbling around with half a chestplate and one arm, Z realizes he's between a rock and a hard place with both Bennett and his new "friends". He has no choice but to succumb to their dubious treatment...and Ro knows without him she's as good as in the streets, a foster home, or in juvvie trading favors for cigarettes.
Watch also as West attempts to look sophisticated with the new recruit Rush, but she is less than impressed when he nearly gets flattened by one of their transport vehicles.
POK JJ#14: "Control Freak"
Ash and company meet up with a young female archaeologist who is uncovering ruins in an ancient temple, one of which is a mask and staff said to be able to control Pokemon without benefit of catching and taming them. Team Rocket overhears and decides to go underground, with the help of a Diglett-designed drilling device.
They find the mask and staff...and the best moment is after Jessy puts on the gold mask and is infused with its power. She giggles like she's lost it and demands that James kneel before her. "What, with my bad knees?" he complains. If what most Pokemon fans believe about James is true, he's no stranger to getting down on his knees (he's a born groveller, we'll put it that way), which might explain why he has so much trouble with them. :o He later admits he might bow down on just one knee; he thinks he can manage that much. He's a trooper.
Jessy forces Victreebell to bite James (though it does that anyway without being told) and Meowth to do a weird littlle fandance with...large black dots? I'm sure that means something. He seems all too happy to dance several times to please the new Queen of Pokemon.
She then, after completely butchering the Rocket motto--James is at a loss to find something to rhyme with "adore me" that would be appropriate for a children's show-- has Pikachu shock the blazes out of Ash (a la "Pikachu Revolts").
Jessy learns, however, that her power only lasts within the perameters of a certain area around the excavation pit. Outside of city limits, the mask is nearly useless--and it's funny to see Jessy get shocked by Pikachu several times before she grasps the concept. Faced with ruling nothing more than a few square feet of sand or being free but empress of nothing, she chooses to run with the treasure they stole from the pit.
Now...they could have just let them go, and hope the cops nabbed them when they tried to hock the goods. Surely stuff like that wouldn't even interest a reputable fence, or Giovanni, who couldn't unload it without getting pinched. But whether it's his code of ethics or his desire to make points with Misty, or maybe even the pretty archaeologist chick, he has to STOP TEAM ROCKET.
Enter Nachtowl, and Brock's newly-evolved Crowbat, who earlier had gotten buried in a cave-in Jessy's tantrum caused and who Brock saved by putting those big perpetually-Misty-yanked ears of his to good use and hearing its supersonic cries of help under the rubble. Together they send the Rockets crashing down again.
Brock wants to stay with the pretty archaeologist lady, but Misty--either wanting to avoid another Ivy incident or just playing the jealous card--hauls him off by that big marvelous well-tuned earlobe of his.
XMEN#24: "Operation: Rebirth"
This is one I've been waiting some time for--it answers several questions about Wolverine's swiss-cheese past, as well as about several other characters on both sides.
Wolverine meets up with his former commanding officer, Nick Fury (who here looks a lot older than he did on Spider-Man), who tells him some old ghosts fro mthe past have come back.The m.o. --a ripped metal door--is eerily familiar. This brings back a partly-buried memory of storming a P.O.W. camp in Poland during WWII, where he met both Steve "Captain America" Rogers and a young boy named Eric Lensherr...and observed for the first time his terrible power. This explains quite a bit--he appeared no more than ten then, and likely wouldn't meet Charles for another fifteen years at least. If they had met in a war, it would've likely been 'Nam or Korea...or perhaps the two young men first encountered one another during peacetime. Either way, we now can place Magnus' age at around seventy...and we see why he appears to be half that. So it begs the question of whether the Professor and Magneto are the same age, or was Charles born after the war..and how old was each when they did meet? Hopefully a future ep can further clear the mystery.
A partial memory in Rogue's head she'd culled from Magneto leads them to the Sahara Desert. When Nightcrawler sees a withered, nearly-dead Magnus in his youth chamber, the old man comments that he is just like his mother. An odd comment, and coupled with hints from last season, makes me suspect that he is Kurt's biological father, rather than the German nobleman Mystique claims (in other continuities). Which makes it doubly interesting that he and Rogue are so close, being practically siblings (Mystique, as you'll recall, raised her during her early teens). Also, if this is true, Kurt and Quicksilver (Pietro) are really half-brothers. Guilt allows the boy to let him restore his health before they blow the chamber to bits...and he spares them in turn.
The scene with Captain America cryogenically frozen was touching, and at least shows there's some hope (I was expecting to see his grave, much like the one of another old comrade of Logan's from the Fox series).
So...how much has Logan really forgotten and how much has simply he pretended to? Sabretooth is seen briefly, but can he shed any light on the dark pieces of his former friend's past? And what of their history? It's been hinted the falling-out was over a woman, but between continuity shifts and questions of what's real and what's implanted memory wise it may never be fully clear.
Still, a pretty powerful episode, especially the exchange between Logan and Charles about the use of eugenics sixty years ago--"...and this was our side," he says, making it clear that both the Germans and the Americans did abominable things in the name of victory.
Did anyone else notice FOX reaired an ep of Digimon from last week? I'm not sure if that was a mistake or because it's Easter and they had a character who looked like Jesus. Also, today was, I think, the final biomerge--Rika's. Strange yet adorable, and likely the only time you'll see her in lipstick and high heels. ;) Plus was anyone else unnerved at the way Jerri, already depressed, eyed that chunk of purple antimatter goo that landed at her feet? I found myself thinking eerily of the bit in Julius Caesar where it's said Brutus' wife Portia committed suicide by sticking a hot coal in her mouth and holding it shut.... :eek: