Frustration over G.I. Joe

**rmarti3926** · 10-06-2002, 06:01 AM

Of alll the cartoons I have experience over the past 25 years, one cartoon had the immortal reputation of extremely ticking me off. That cartoon's name... is G.I. Joe.

Here's a list of reasons why:

1. No one dies here and pilots always ejected out of their planes before they explode.

2. Laser sound effects on REAL guns. Must be semi-censorship on firearms back then. Still, I don't like being decieved to think that an M-16 rifle or a Colt .45 pistol sounds like that if they made on gun factory on MARS or something.

3. Hand-to-hand combat have been reduced to "one punch and you're unconcious" rotine.

4. Both the good guys and bad guys are BAD shots! All those weapons fire and explosions and not a single person was even hit by it!

5. FIGHTING A WAR IS FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! At least that's what the DIC version of the series wants us to know. Sheesh, does anybody working in Hasbro ever saw Platoon or Saving Private Ryan in their spare time?

6. The villians STINKS!

All in all, the G.I. Joe experience started a uncomfortable chain of events that forces me to retreat into the wonderful world of Japanese Anime (Ironically, the original G.I. Joe series was animated by Toei Animation (DBZ, Sailor Moon, Digimon)) I hope I see no more new G.I. Joe material, or I will steal all their toy lines and dump it in a pit of molten lava!

**RZetlin** · 10-06-2002, 10:02 AM

You can blame it on censorship and U.S. regulations for all "bad" things you mentioned on the list.

I am sure that G.I. Joe would have been a cooler show without it.

**mbaker** · 10-06-2002, 10:09 AM

Good observation. I would also point out that the morals at the end of the show (And knowing is half the battle) kinda contradict what goes on in the show itself when you think about it. Although A good way to explain this would be if the Joes did "Public Service" ads as A requirment for their "services". A new series done with more gun use (Like in Batman TAS), gripping drama, and some sence of what war is realy like would be just the ticket. You can still have at least some fun in it, but give it more credibility. By the way, Are Image's G.I.Joe comics along those lines?

**gtracer72** · 10-06-2002, 11:06 AM

I guess the one thing that bothered me the most was all the bad shooting. The Cobra soldiers would lay hit after hit on G.I Joe tanks and what not, but they never exploded. Then a Joe pulls out a pistol and blows up an airplane. Come on, thats just stupid.

Another one is that Cobra never won a battle.

**GoufCustom** · 10-06-2002, 01:12 PM

Originally posted by rmarti3926
Of alll the cartoons I have experience over the past 25 years, one cartoon had the immortal reputation of extremely ticking me off. That cartoon's name... is G.I. Joe.

Here's a list of reasons why:

1. No one dies here and pilots always ejected out of their planes before they explode.

2. Laser sound effects on REAL guns. Must be semi-censorship on firearms back then. Still, I don't like being decieved to think that an M-16 rifle or a Colt .45 pistol sounds like that if they made on gun factory on MARS or something.

3. Hand-to-hand combat have been reduced to "one punch and you're unconcious" rotine.

4. Both the good guys and bad guys are BAD shots! All those weapons fire and explosions and not a single person was even hit by it!

5. FIGHTING A WAR IS FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! At least that's what the DIC version of the series wants us to know. Sheesh, does anybody working in Hasbro ever saw Platoon or Saving Private Ryan in their spare time?

6. The villians STINKS!

All in all, the G.I. Joe experience started a uncomfortable chain of events that forces me to retreat into the wonderful world of Japanese Anime (Ironically, the original G.I. Joe series was animated by Toei Animation (DBZ, Sailor Moon, Digimon)) I hope I see no more new G.I. Joe material, or I will steal all their toy lines and dump it in a pit of molten lava!

Hence, why I hate G.I. Joe, now.

**Christopher N. Denner** · 10-07-2002, 09:43 AM

*Enter a heartfelt rant*

Now... this goes for a LOT of shows from BEFORE the mid-90s and the "serious" Anime, Invasion.

You know... I see topics like these come up from time to time, and I never quite understand where it's coming from. A lot of people who never grew up in the 80s, and even a few that did, don't quite GET the realization that times were different and shows were different back then.

It's strange that most all cartoon watchers who grew up with the series LOVE GIJoe, yet still have complaints about the sound effects, or the parachutte syndrome. I find it odd that a show held in such high regards could have so many people complainint about them.

It doesn't make sense, logically, to take a show from the 80s and expect it to be as serious as shows today... or as violent... or as realistic. Just as in 2020, people will complain about how the shows of today make no sense compared to those ones. That's not what the shows were about.

GI. Joe isn't ABOUT being a realistic depiction of war. So what if the sound effects sound like real guns. I think the idea is cool, because it's not to be expected. Besides... Who of any of you can claim to know what a REAL lasergun sounds like anyway? And so what if almost nobody is ever hit by them? That just makes them better characters at what they do.

And what's wrong with war being fun? It's not REAL! It's a cartoon. I'm sure a few of you guys have played Lazer Tag or Paintball Guns... I bet you guys didn't HATE IT, now did you? Cartoons are supposed to be fun. Who in their right mind would want to tune in every day to see people getting blown up and shot up? How depressing a life is that? And yes... I'm sure people at Hasbro HAVE seen Saving Private Ryan... but for some reason I doubt they've managed to go back in time 15 years to incorporate it's influence into the show.

People don't realize that all these elements that they complain about in GIjoe... IS WHAT MAKES GIJOE WHAT IT IS! It's the spirit of the series. If people did get killed off constantly, or blown up in planes, or punching each other for 20 minutes straight, it wouldn't BE the GIJoe we all know and love. It would just be some OTHER show called GIJoe that we got instead.

I personally, love 80s cartoons MORE than cartoons today. Cartoons now of days, for the most part, are not fun to me. Where's the excitement? Where is the imagination? Where are the lighthearted adventures? Everything I used to watch as a kid and 30 minutes later feeling good in my own little world knowing that there are real heroes out there to make everything safe for today and the next day I toon in. Now, most shows take themselves WAY too seriously, are clones of clones of clones of other shows, are marketting gimmicks just for the sake of being marketting gimmicks, and leave me depressed after watching them.

I honestly don't want to question the memories of my childhood, to update them for today's standards. Because the best time of my life watching toons was in the late 80s and early 90s. And it's gone downhill since I've gotten older. I don't watch shows for what I want them to be like, I watch shows for what they are. Would and could GIJoe have been better if people got shot, or killed, or had non-realistic sounding gun noises? It's possible. Who really knows? But with the show in the hearts of many people for what it is, why would anyone want to change that?

I guess I just see things differently.

**Chris Wood** · 10-07-2002, 02:51 PM

Originally posted by rmarti3926

1. No one dies here and pilots always ejected out of their planes before they explode.

2. Laser sound effects on REAL guns. Must be semi-censorship on firearms back then. Still, I don't like being decieved to think that an M-16 rifle or a Colt .45 pistol sounds like that if they made on gun factory on MARS or something.

3. Hand-to-hand combat have been reduced to "one punch and you're unconcious" rotine.

4. Both the good guys and bad guys are BAD shots! All those weapons fire and explosions and not a single person was even hit by it!

5. FIGHTING A WAR IS FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! At least that's what the DIC version of the series wants us to know. Sheesh, does anybody working in Hasbro ever saw Platoon or Saving Private Ryan in their spare time?

6. The villians STINKS!

All in all, the G.I. Joe experience started a uncomfortable chain of events that forces me to retreat into the wonderful world of Japanese Anime (Ironically, the original G.I. Joe series was animated by Toei Animation (DBZ, Sailor Moon, Digimon)) I hope I see no more new G.I. Joe material, or I will steal all their toy lines and dump it in a pit of molten lava!

1. That's censorship for you. However, how many American cartoons are on today where you actually see people shot with guns?

2. They sound like lazer guns because they are! Except for a bizaare sequence in the movie, you never see any bullets because there are none.

3. Sure, the hand-to-hand combat is rather brief, but it is intended to advance the story, not pause it for 12 rounds.

4. See point 1.

5. Forget the DIC version, the Sunbow series is all you need to know. What does Private Ryan have to do with cartoons anyway? We're not talking about PBS specials here.

6. WHAT?????? The villains rule! Cobra Commander, Baroness, Destro, Zartan - what a cast! There are few other cartoons that can come close in the bad guy department.

Anime is cool too, but that doesn't make G.I. Joe any less awesome. It was a product of its time, but it's still great entertainment today. Can you name any superior military cartoon series? I didn't think so.

I certainly hope there will be a new series that can get the action scenes done right.

**j32885** · 10-07-2002, 05:31 PM

I believe what Chris said in reguards to G.I. Joe is true. If your looking for more realism in G.I. Joe, then buy the new comic series which made by Image . You be surprise how similar it is to the original TV show made by Sunbow.

**oranthal** · 10-07-2002, 06:28 PM

Originally posted by rmarti3926

5. FIGHTING A WAR IS FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! At least that's what the DIC version of the series wants us to know. Sheesh, does anybody working in Hasbro ever saw Platoon or Saving Private Ryan in their spare time?

great line! War is fun the whole family.

**zarius** · 10-08-2002, 06:58 PM

Uh-Oh, an ANTI-GI JOE THREAD!

Crashing through the sky..

comes the fearful cry

Flamers!

Flamers!

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide

Panic spreads far and wide...

Who can turn the tide?

G.I JOE!

A Real American Hero

G.I Joe is there!

G.I JOE

YO JOE!

(Zarius, Duke, and the G.I Joe team infiltrate this thread and blow COBRA'S evil flamer agents to smitereens)

And knowing that Bergis Merideth voiced Globulopus proves the show had some popularity amongst the celebrity world...

And knowing is HALF the battle..

**mbaker** · 10-08-2002, 08:12 PM

Don't forget Don Johnson & Sgt. Slaughter! (WE ALL GO HOME, OR NOBODY GOES HOME!)

**rmarti3926** · 10-10-2002, 01:12 AM

Originally posted by Desslar
1. That's censorship for you. However, how many American cartoons are on today where you actually see people shot with guns?

2. They sound like lazer guns because they are! Except for a bizaare sequence in the movie, you never see any bullets because there are none.

3. Sure, the hand-to-hand combat is rather brief, but it is intended to advance the story, not pause it for 12 rounds.

4. See point 1.

5. Forget the DIC version, the Sunbow series is all you need to know. What does Private Ryan have to do with cartoons anyway? We're not talking about PBS specials here.

6. WHAT?????? The villains rule! Cobra Commander, Baroness, Destro, Zartan - what a cast! There are few other cartoons that can come close in the bad guy department.

Anime is cool too, but that doesn't make G.I. Joe any less awesome. It was a product of its time, but it's still great entertainment today. Can you name any superior military cartoon series? I didn't think so.

I certainly hope there will be a new series that can get the action scenes done right.

Well, as for number two, tryif you have the time to take a look at part two of the first season's Symphiod two-parter and Leatherneck's rifle on most of season two, and see my point.

**rmarti3926** · 10-10-2002, 01:15 AM

And... If my memory serves correct, one of episodes in Season two (the one with Serpantor is the main villain) Leatherneck's M16 "lazergun", despite the same deceptive laser gun sound effects, spat out SHELL CASINGS. Also keep an eye of some more of those "lazerguns" spitting shell casings in the opening sequence and the first major battle scene of G.I. Joe the Movie.

**Chris Wood** · 10-10-2002, 10:22 AM

Originally posted by rmarti3926
And... If my memory serves correct, one of episodes in Season two (the one with Serpantor is the main villain) Leatherneck's M16 "lazergun", despite the same deceptive laser gun sound effects, spat out SHELL CASINGS. Also keep an eye of some more of those "lazerguns" spitting shell casings in the opening sequence and the first major battle scene of G.I. Joe the Movie.

Yes, I know you can see shell casings in the opening scene of the movie. Why I don't know. However the vast majority of the time it seems clear that the guns are intended to be lasers.

I remember being impressed when the Rambo series started, because he actually fed an ammo belt into his M60, which spat out shell casings. I thought there's a level of realism we'll never see on G.I. Joe.

**Tienshin** · 08-13-2004, 01:07 AM

As a kid I never cared, but watching old G.I. Joe eps today the frustrations with what was a war 'toon makes me go

They flipped back and forth between realism and fantasy in battle scenes, no less. In one scene the Joe's could unleash devasting firepower on Cobra and "killing" their dudes, then in the next thier "lasers" were virtually useless (when fired at human targets)

Truth be told, I view G.I. Joe as a big ol' propaganda series....an allegory between good (capitalist) and evil (communist).

But why no nukes?

**William C. Maune** · 08-13-2004, 01:17 AM

I thought I read somewhere that the reason the pilots always survived by way of parachute, etc. was because that's the way the creator of the series wanted it. It had something to with some sort of bad experience he had.

**Toon Capone** · 08-13-2004, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by Desslar

1. That's censorship for you. However, how many American cartoons are on today where you actually see people shot with guns?

2. They sound like lazer guns because they are! Except for a bizaare sequence in the movie, you never see any bullets because there are none.

3. Sure, the hand-to-hand combat is rather brief, but it is intended to advance the story, not pause it for 12 rounds.

4. See point 1.

5. Forget the DIC version, the Sunbow series is all you need to know. What does Private Ryan have to do with cartoons anyway? We're not talking about PBS specials here.

6. WHAT?????? The villains rule! Cobra Commander, Baroness, Destro, Zartan - what a cast! There are few other cartoons that can come close in the bad guy department.

Anime is cool too, but that doesn't make G.I. Joe any less awesome. It was a product of its time, but it's still great entertainment today. Can you name any superior military cartoon series? I didn't think so.

I certainly hope there will be a new series that can get the action scenes done right.

That's right, tell' em Desslar.

Anyway what people need to understand is the time this cartoon was made. Of course you are not going to see a lot dead bodies laying everywhere on the battlefield this was 1980s so that kind of thing was just not going to happen in a cartoon, and people shooting people point blank with a gun wasn't going to happen either. As for people injected from a plane right before the plane blows up that's no more ridiculous than on Justice League where a giant ship of people gets hit by a laser and everyone survives and makes off the ship before it sinks.

Now the comic was very mature though so as long as I had that I really didn't mind the cartoon being what it was. The only real complaint I have about the cartoon is that I wish Cobra Commander himself was more ruthless and not a joke, but he was still a good villain though.

I actually kind of liked the Dic episodes because they at least let Cobra Commander get his revenge on Serpentor for what he did to him in the movie.

All in all G.I. Joe was a good cartoon even though I didn't like the movie.

**shogunthethird** · 08-13-2004, 04:06 PM

*Stares longingly at a picture of the Baroness* yes the show was cheesy, yeah it was jingoistic propaganda, but that didn't make it any less fun...I was always more of a Transformers/Thundercats fan anyway

and truthfully given the religious zealot terrorists the word is assoicated with today I actually long for the cliche' "take over the world using some overcomplicated plot" kind of Terrorists Cobra used to be, I'll take "sexy dark-haired leather-clad european" over "some chick in a Burkha" any day

**Dr. R.K.Z** · 08-13-2004, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by RZetlin

You can blame it on censorship and U.S. regulations for all "bad" things you mentioned on the list.

I am sure that G.I. Joe would have been a cooler show without it.

It still IS a great show, considering that the censors were all over this baby, I still love it.

(My god...this thread is OLD)

**kaine23** · 08-13-2004, 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by William C. Maune

I thought I read somewhere that the reason the pilots always survived by way of parachute, etc. was because that's the way the creator of the series wanted it. It had something to with some sort of bad experience he had.

Saban must have talked to them when they dubbed DBZ season 1 then. (5 points if you get the reference)