One of the things that’s been bugging me lately is the constant remaking of childhood memories into new shows or movies that use nothing more then name recognition to sell. Chipmunks, Transformers, GI Joe, Curious George, A-Team, Smurfs, Miami Vice, Underdog, Karate Kid, TMNT, Star Trek, George of the Jungle, Superman and Batman, Yogi Bear, and of course Tron. There’s also rumors of a new Ferris Bueller, Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, Adventures in Babysitting, Thundercats, and another Indiana Jones all in the next few years.
Now, that’s just a partial list but it’s a good sample. A couple of those are great, but most are just terrible. The track record has NOT been good so far. Not at all.
So every time a new remake is announced I get a little LOT nervous. If there is one thing I hate HATE HATE with a passion it’s people destroying my good memories with lazy, uncreative, poorly written trash that just uses a brand name and a lot of flashy new computer animation to rake in ill-gotten gain.
Michael Bay is my Satan. Enough said.
The most recent ‘remake’ goes by the name of Looney Tunes. A new show is planned for Cartoon Network that plays homage to the old classics, and with it comes the rebirth of the short three-minute films before movies. Three new shorts involving Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote will grace large screens this year – the first appearing with Cats and Dogs 2 this past weekend.
Now, as much as I’d like to say I have the inside scoop on this I really don’t. However, I did find out that Jerry Beck over at Cartoon Brew DOES in fact have an inside scoop on the cartoons. In fact, he’s already seen them all! You can find his review and some pictures here and a short sample clip was made available which I’ve got for you just below.
Since there’s about zero chance of me going to see Cats and Dogs 2 I’ll just have to wait for one of the other movies to get a real taste of the new cartoons. Or, if all else fails, I’ll wait for the cartoon show when it gets here. What I can say is that this little clip made me chuckle, and that’s a good sign. I don’t know if the whole show can keep me laughing, and Looney Tunes is a BIG icon to live up to.
Still, at least this clip and review are a good start to making me feel like Warner Bros. is going to deliver some quality and not just a piece of Acne junk that’s likely to sling me into the side of a cliff and then blow up. Leave that stuff to Coyote, thanks.
…. or Michael Bay.
Yesterday I revealed Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s new footlong cheeseburger and that got me thinking to one of the best commercial’s ever. This commercial was so great that every time it came on I would stop whatever I was doing – even breathing – so I could savor every moment of it. Just ask Rob, cause many a time I’d stop a conversation mid-word cause my brain immediately went to ‘the zone.’ Of course I’m talking about the Hardee’s commercial with Padma Lakshmi.
Just to clarify: yes, I’m a guy and she’s hot and that’s pretty much it. Think less of me if you want, but I know why my sister and girlfriend go to see every Twilight movie. Besides, for a Hardee’s commercial this one’s pretty tame, and that may be a large part of the reason it appealed to me so much. Nothing wrong with a woman in a sundress eating a giant bacon cheeseburger. Nothing at all.
Anyway, remembering Padma led me to check up on the next season of Top Chef which which just started a couple of weeks ago. New season is called Top Chef D.C. and is on Bravo Wednesday nights at 9. Padma Lakshmi returns as the host and that’s reason enough to watch – a role with got her an Emmy nomination in 2009. If you like cooking challenge shows this is one of the better ones.
Oh, and if you were thinking she’s just a pretty face hosting a show about food you’ve fooled yourself cause she’s actually written two cookbooks – the first of which was awarded the Best First Book at the 1999 World Cookbook Awards in Versailles. She also hosted a show on the Food Network called Padma’s Passport before joining Top Chef.
Plus she was also in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, so you know she’s gotta have some geek cred too. Just sayin’.
This week, Carl’s Jr. & Hardee’s began market testing a new footlong cheeseburger. As you can see in the picture it’s 3 patties with 3 slices of cheese on a large footlong bread roll. The whole thing will sell for $4.50 and it’s being tested in southern California and Indiana to see how it goes over. You can read a little more about it over at USA TODAY if you’re interested.
So, here’s the awesome part: if you were a fan of my first comic WTH then you might remember I made a joke about EXACTLY THIS BURGER. Well, not exactly. My joke was a 5 dollar footlong thickburger and this is a $4.50 footlong regular burger, but the fact remains that I totally called it!! CALLED IT!
Well, either I predicted it or the fine folks at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s must’ve read my comic and thought I was on to something great. Which I was. In that case, I’m fully in support of their new footlong burger but I also expect some free Hardee’s giftcards in the very near future. I think that’s a fair deal for being the inspiration behind the next great heartattack-maker. Right?
Anyway, for those that don’t remember or didn’t read WTH, I went ahead and dug up that old comic for you. You can find it in the archives here on or just read the classic comic below.




























