OK, now it’s Nate’s turn to be incredulous. Odie and Cohen’s idea of making the robot “look really cool” is to haphazardly bolt a football helmet on top of it. They actually succeed in making the robot look less cool. And in what sense of the word is this a “spinoff”, Cody? It’s more of a kludge.
22 thoughts on “These Effects Aren't Very Special”
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Son of Stuck Funky 
Amazed that the man whose strip begat JOHN DARLING and CRANKSHAFT appears to have no idea what the accepted description of a “spinoff” is.
HINT: Dalek cosplay constructed with materials found at the local Goodwill ain’t it.
So, you did about the only thing that could make this failed R2-D2 look even stupider. Great job, boys–I’m sure Weta Workshop will be hammering your door down in no time.
Oh God. So it turns out that they really ARE just total morons. Way to develop your characters, Batface. This is really, really awful, stupid as all hell and the “punch line” makes NO sense at all. “Spinoff”???? Huh?
Brotha Nate must have been in the Clunky Dialog Club, as he needlessly reiterates that the robot belongs to the Technology Club. He needs to run back to his office (where a naked Cayla is most likely waiting) and see if this Helmet On The Robot “spinoff” is in the student handbook somewhere.
NFL coach Jim Mora needs to burst on the scene, emphatically asking, “SPINOFFS? SPINOFFS??? Don’t talk about spinoffs!”
Maybe I’m a dumbass. Maybe the problem is on my end, but I don’t “get” this at all. Joke? Pun? Obscure reference? Sorry. What was supposed to be funny here?
Eh.
And again, eh. Uh…um. Whatev.
Unless Les is involved, it seems pretty clear that Tom Batiuk has no interest, inspiration, or ideas at all. He clearly has contempt for all of his readers and characters (except one) and has no idea what to do with them (again, except one, and the idea here is to shove this character’s awesomeness unrelentingly until everyone agrees he–that is, Les–is the ultimate destiny of humanity).
If these ideas were presented in the Tom Baker Doctor Who story “Genesis of the Daleks” (“Genesis of Les Moore”), the Doctor would never have blabbed about the Daleks’ good points and how maybe he shouldn’t kill them. He would have fried those miserable mutants and asked for hot dogs for lunch.
ouch ! come on batshit,this is painful
Maybe spinoff means when the damn thing moves the helmet will spin and fall off the moving trash can. Seriously – why does Batiuk still have a job? When does his contract run out to where we can kick him, Evans, and Brooke out to the curb? Dinkle selling band candy and talking leaves this ain’t.
I will now do a performance piece called “The Online Comics Fans.”
“If you don’t like a comic, why do you still read it? Just stop reading it and let others enjoy it. Or are you a troll? Your negative comments are not welcome here. Don’t feed the trolls people. Did you see that funny moment in Tuesday’s LUANN?”
Dear “Online Comics Fans”; – fuck off.
Thank you and good night.
I can certainly see why Batom Inc. doesn’t want them referred to as “comic strips” because this week in FW has been the saddest excuse for a story I’ve seen in a LONG time.
There’s so little to snark about in today’s strip, let me instead pass on something embarrassing and relatively on-topic. As I left work yesterday, I was wearing a red Ball State baseball cap a co-worker had brought back for me from a trip to Muncie, the kind with a squarish trucker-hat sort of crown. While unlocking my truck, I glanced in the driver’s side window and realized I looked exactly like Ed Crankshaft in it. Even the glasses were the same. The only thing missing was a red nylon jacket. Don’t think I’ll be wearing that hat in public any time soon.
so is the guy with the glasses and the checked shirt on his knees or just very very short?
and no I don’t get it. In this case even reading it backwards doesn’t help. I can’t even figure out the idea is. Robo-Goat’s an obvious link to Robo-Cop but the visual shows a RD-D2 knock off – it does not compute to quote. The strip needed a star wars reference not this.
And as for the boy’s work on special effects – they are the perfect people to call when someone’s remaking Plan Nine from outer space.
All I can come up with is this quote by Gene Wilder from the movie Blazing Saddles:
“Jim: [consoling Bart] What did you expect? “Welcome, sonny”? “Make yourself at home”? “Marry my daughter”? You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know… morons. “
Hey, what’s Original Cayla doing in the Technology Club?
Given that sentient computers were okay in Act I FW, I’m hoping this robot suddenly goes on a rampage at Westview High School.
EX-TER-MIN-ATE. EX-TER-MIN-ATE.
For shame, Owen! Why a football helmet? Put your chullo on top of that robot, for a truly bitchin’ techno look!
These two assclowns remind me of a quote from Milhouse: “I’m not a nerd! Nerds are smart!”
Hahahahahahah. This strip is hilarious. Wait, am I getting that word right?
So, why -is- Nate here? It’s been so many years since I was in high school, but from what I recall, our principal had next to no involvement in the clubs.
Certainly, he didn’t have the time to hang around and ask inane questions of ever single little action the club members did.
Tom, really, if you don’t have the energy for a new arc, don’t even try. It’s embarrassing.
Well, you know, it’s not as if they actually had a science teacher who could be the faculty advisor to the tech group, so it’s Principal Nate, who, predictably, has nothing else to do as Principal.
It is interesting how so many subjects apparently aren’t taught at all in Westview, since no teacher for the given subject has ever appeared. Jim Schlaboltnick or Hitbyabrick or Dumbshitdick is the science teacher, who appears to be more focused on life science rather than the more engineering oriented sciences. Les is the English teacher. Becky is the band teacher. There’s an anonymous, inescapably dippy art teacher, and Linda’s apparently the algebra teacher even though we’ve never seen her teaching said algebra class in her life. (Although she taught a life sciences class, such as it was) There are no social science teachers, nor are there any foreign language teachers, and there are no math teachers who teach something other than algebra. Guess TB couldn’t come up with a goofy stereotype for each of those.
Well, you know, it’s not as if they actually had a science teacher who could be the faculty advisor to the tech group…
Jim Kablichnick sure couldn’t be bothered. It’s all he can do to stay in the classroom long enough to teach the class. He has even more contempt for the students that Les has.
@TFH: “He has even more contempt for the students than Les has.”
Hrm… Here I thought inexplicable should be this strip’s epitaph, but contempt is also a strong contender.