So, we have to wade through this mawkish, maudlin dreck again. It isn’t enough for Tom Batiuk to have one “Lisa’s Story” storyline, no, we have to have dozens of them. But of course–Lisa’s death is the only thing that defines Les Moore, a “real hero.”
Does Batiuk have any idea how shallow and one-note his main character is? I have to think “no,” because every time he appears, it’s something to do with Lisa. Over and over and over, again and again.
That Pulitzer committee ain’t rethinking their decision, Tom. They’ve moved on…something Les should have done at least ten years ago, if he was a mature, adult man. But he’s not. He’s an overly pampered man-baby who demands that everyone feel sorry for him.
By the way–still no timecode.
Son of Stuck Funky 
It’s not even a victory lap anymore. This is like a whole darned victory parade. BatYam is sitting on a podium in the back of a convertible Batiukmoblie, waving to the adoring throngs lining the streets, a copy of The Trilogy in each hand, as “Lisa’s Story” individual panels rain from the sky. The Greatest Arc There Ever Was will never die, it will only be rehashed at every possible opportunity.
Heh, I get it. The leaves are a METAPHOR, most likely for dying. So I guess it’s a good thing that Lisa lasted until autumn, as if she’d died in April it’d be all screwed up. Him and his leaves, he’ll never stop sledgehammering his readers over the head with that rather obvious cliché.
Forget the victory lap, Epicus. Forget the victory parade, too, for that matter. The Funkyverse exists within a victory Mobius strip, an oncological ouroboros in which we tonstant weaders (apologies to Dorothy Parker) are “privileged” to vicariously experience Lisa’s illness, death, beatification, and sainthood as seen through the eyes of the story’s one true victim, You-Know-Who.
By the by, is that really one of the more “attention-getting” scenes they could find to put in the trailer? I hate to spoil it for you, Lisa, but I’m pretty sure that at any given point after, say, the Summer Solstice you can find leaves on some trees that have started to turn thanks to heat, lack of precipitation, pollution, or other factors (I just raked up a bunch of them in an aunt’s backyard last week). Still, I guess we should be grateful it’s not the “playground closed for repairs” scene.
Will tomorrow’s trailer clip feature “From the Stars of ‘Starbuck Jones: Rise of the Zeton Warriors'”?
In a way, BatYak is God, Lisa is Christ and Les is Peter, compelled to forever spread the gospel. But unlike JC, Lisa rose, rose and rose some more, over and over and over again.
Actually, it makes Lisa even more Christlike. Just as the church goes through a liturgical year, with the the church retracing the death journey of Jesus again and again throughout Lent, leading up to his resurrection each Easter. So Lisa story is replayed, again and again and again, marked annually with the Via Dolorosa of the Legacy Run through the park of her Passion.
The only difference being, in Christian theology Jesus was the perfect and willing sacrifice who died to forever balance the holy scales of justice and mercy, opening the door to everlasting life.
Lisa gave up fighting so that her mopey husband could finally get a second book published. The only person her death benefited is the most insufferable twit who ever lived.
Even better, the dying leaves are just some warmed over stuff from the earlier days of the strip. They used to talk to one another. Batiuk clearly thinks that not only are dying leaves highly poetical, but that he got there before anyone else.
Jeeze, lady, why kill yourself over this? Just stay at home and watch the stomachs turn.
There’s clearly a long gap in time between these two scenes. It gives the impression that Lisa delivered the first half of her sentence at home, and then deliberately paused until they arrived at the park, and then delivered the second half. Which would be very silly indeed.
A more charitable interpretation would be that the editor of the trailer took two sentences from different scenes and spliced them together in a “clever” way. But frankly, I don’t feel very charitable towards…any of this.
Batiuk does this all the time. I recall during one of my stints, the Atomic Komix staff was going into a coffee shop, and Pete gave the first part of his “quip” while they were ordering, and the second half when they were seated. But then, no one ever said Batiuk could tell a joke.
I was going to say that this is why you don’t adapt comic strips directly to the screen, but the strip this is based off of doesn’t follow what we are seeing here – Lisa delivers this line while being pushed out the door.
Look at Les, he doesn’t even care how wrong this is. When “not glamorizing Lisa’s story” and “telling Lisa’s story correctly” were the entire motivation for making the movie a second time. We watched Les pout and fume for weeks, and now the story just ignores all of that. Even worse, he’s about to congratulate himself for all the hard work he did to “protect Lisa”, even though he skipped the last 98 percent of the filming and nobody was ever attacking her. This story is so far up its own asshole it’s forgotten its own plot.
It’s so hilariously uncreative. It’s nothing more than rerunning old strips with exactly the same dialogue with exactly the same circumstances. I think when Les talks about “glamorizing” Lisa’s Story, what he means is to make it something that might fit a larger thematic narrative, or change anything at all. If you want to make it better, you’re betraying the spirit of the original work.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think there’s ever been a single strip where Les has attempted to put Lisa’s Story into any kind of context. There’s never been a strip where he deliberates over what the story’s supposed to mean, or where he discusses it with his collaborators in now two different film productions. He doesn’t discuss it with Susan. He never seems to be aware that his story needs to have a theme or a point. Any time we’re shown something from the story, it’s just a rote recalling of some strip word-for-word. And there’s never a larger point to bringing it up, it’s just there to reinforce itself, or perhaps that “dying makes people sad.”
Look at the strip where Les ran the bases. What was the point of that monologue that Cindy gave to Lisa? Les certainly didn’t indicate one. He just seemed to think it was great and worthy of celebration because it sounded dramatic.
And he never talks to anyone about it. He didn’t discuss anything with Susan, despite him approaching her presumably for advice. All she offered him was praise. “It’s beautiful!” He doesn’t discuss it with Mason. “Here’s why that sequence where Lisa finds a quarter was important.” (No, that Les has it later to make a phone call isn’t the answer) “Here’s the larger context of why the snow angel scene was important.” “This is why the ‘playground will be closed for repairs’ scene needs to be included”. For a writer, Les seems remarkably disinterested in what makes writing worth reading. No wonder his English classes are devoted to trivia, or him plainly summarizing what the book his class is reading is about. Anything more significant is lost on him.
And this is where Batiuk screws up. Sure, we’d probably still be annoyed at him bringing up Les’s stupid damn book about his dead wife every year for well over a decade, but at least by delving deeper into Lisa’s Story, he can flesh it out, and make it more real. All he’s doing here is repeating his shallow, pointless steps.
“For a writer, Les seems remarkably disinterested in what makes writing worth reading. No wonder his English classes are devoted to trivia, or him plainly summarizing what the book his class is reading is about.”
This is a really god point and it’s reflected in TomBa’s own blog. His “Flash Friday” installments consistently are limited to relating the plot and giving his personal opinion whether he liked the story or not, but never get into the question of why or how the story works or doesn’t. I can sort of understand this since he was never an English teacher but what puzzles me is his similar lack of analysis with regard to the artwork of a strip or cover. Art was his major in college! He taught art! He’s a working artist! When he’s writing about a strip or a cover he should be able to discuss composition, use of color, and the details of the artist’s style. He never does. It’s as if these concepts aren’t in his own mental toolbox.
It seems like Les, Cayla, and even Masone’s reaction to this would be the thing we’d want to see. So, of course, we don’t see that at all. Instead we see silhouettes and various shades of blur.
Somebody set up Les the bomb.
Please.
Y’know…..
This arc would be smarmy BS even if the original “Lisa’s Story” arc had been good. And it wasn’t. I don’t care if it got nominated for a Pulitzer. Eve Hill was right yesterday when they said Lisa’s Story was crap. I lost my mother to lung cancer because it was detected too late. I recently lost a great-aunt to cancer because the treatment just didn’t take -she was elderly and not in the best health to start with. People can die of cancer because they just can’t afford treatment (the musician Chuck Schuldiner, whose story would certainly make for a more interesting movie than Dead Saint Lisa’s, is a notable example). But relatable situations weren’t good enough for the Great Auteur; he had to concoct a melodramatic paperwork screwup, to which the “heroes” responded with “oh guess I’ll give up lol”, and 20 years later everyone in the world has to walk on eggshells around bitch-ass Les because someone else’s death is all about HIM, and isn’t HE just so Noble for doing nothing at all.
Sorry, kind of went off on a rant there, but it’s just so frustrating seeing this tone-deaf crap get published for people who’ve actually struggled with cancer and cancer loss to have to see.
I was recently reminded of “Scatman John” Larkin, the purveyor of that well-known mid-90s novelty hit. I never knew it, but he had a hell of a life story. He was an accomplished jazz pianist who actually made a jazz record in 1986. He had a dreadful stutter, and wouldn’t do vocals or even talk much because of it, but he found out it made him good at doing the jazz scatting. He moved to Germany because there was more of a jazz scene, his agent suggested putting his scatting over some Eurodance, and we all know the song that resulted. He didn’t even want to do it because of his stutter, but his wife encouraged him to bring it to the forefront. He died in 1999 from terminal lung cancer, but he did live shows as long as he was able to.
I bring him up because his story is everything Lisa’s Story isn’t. His spouse encouraged him, instead of telling him to give up. He made the most of the time he had left, instead of waiting for cancer to kill him. He was legitimately talented. He even overcame a drug problem, which he openly talked about. A lot of people, especially stutterers, found him inspirational. And he did something Les and Lisa never do: he enjoyed life. Every film clip that exists of him, he’s smiling and joking and having a ball, even though he knew he didn’t have much time to enjoy it.
I’d much rather watch a Scatman John biography than Lisa’s Story. And I imagine this tribute song playing over the end credits:
A good piece on Scatman and his surprise novelty hit here. He was a compelling character, something Lisa never approached no matter how many times Batiuk tells us otherwise.
I’ve seen that too! Todd is pretty cynical about the one-hit wonder artists he talks about, but the Scatman’s earnestness seemed to win him over.
By Grabthar’s Hammer, by the Suns (Sons?) of Worvan (Warvan?), no apologies are needed for a rant this fine.
Thank you for making me aware of Chuck Schuldiner. You can learn even more from Son of Stuck Funky and its commentators than you can from Lydia the Tattooed Lady.
Take a sixth curtain call next time you perform *Richard III.* You’ve earned it.
Mr one trick pony rides again. I can’t believe the syndicate doesn’t cancel him already. He really is going off the deep end…but oh, Charles Schulz liked one of his strips.
I lost my mother to cancer. I remember the day she decided she would not take any more treatments. I was sad but after many thoughts and tears I honored her request and found a wonderful hospice nurse. But in the end she died in her own bed with her dogs beside her. I was only trying to be a good son, I wasn’t worried about winning a Pulitzer or profiting off of her misery.
Give it up and retire already you hack. You had some good characters and some good bits, but now there are no words to describe the crap you are putting out.
Wow… This reel really sizzles
What’s with all the hand gestures? This isn’t a silent movie, though it should be.
Maybe Bobby Bittman actually is playing Les!
Good old Herschel.
I’m getting big “The Menagerie” vibes from this strip:
Simply Stunning.
But not in a good way. How can two mere panels and 28 words have such an adverse effect on me?
I hate just about everything about today’s strip.
I hate the corny way Les and Cayla are reverently staring at the screen. I hate Les’s resting smug face. Cayla’s eyes are on her forehead.
I have no real hatred of Mason Jarre. Yet, when he’s made up to look like Les I have a fervent desire to throw things at him. Heavy things. Sharp things. I believe it’s the combination of the glasses and the helmet-hair. It’s a conditioned response.
Q: What do you get when you cross Mason with Les?
A: Mess
I hate the usage of the cutesy name ‘Leese’. It just rubs me the wrong way. ‘Leese’ = quease. Unless he’s talking to rock guitarist Howard Leese, shouldn’t it be spelled ‘Lis’?
Oh God, there’s that frickin’ park bench again. It’s just an object to sit on, Batty. It’s not a holy relic.
Again with the leaves metaphor, Batty? You’re a one-hit-wonder in your own mind.
I hate Mason’s insipid hair fweep. Wait! Is the fweep pointing down? Is Mason’s fweep giving the trailer a thumbs down? Alright, hair fweep! You rock!
Talk about low budget. Mason invites Les and Cayla to view the trailer on a $200 Kmart blue light special TV. Where are the Lazy-Boy recliners and the 20-foot movie screen? Where is the sparkling water?!
What’s up with that blue-gray paint again? Not only is that color on the exterior of the building it’s on the interior walls as well? Did the local Home Depot have a special close-out on that color?
Ugh. Two rants in two days. You’re killing me, Batty.
I have a feeling I should start reading this story arc on my desktop computer. When weepy Les shows up I fear for my phone’s well-being. There’s a good chance it might get thrown into a wall.
Again you have cast your light over dark evil, but, alas, these dark things can stand the light.
The oath of the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, who I think is now called Sentinel and is also gay. (Say, there’s a prom in Westview coming up, and Principal Nate says that you’re not excluded.)
I still like “in brightest day” better. Gives me goosebumps.
Oh, absolutely, which is probably why Alan Scott himself used it after 1943 rather than the “shed my light” oath.
As the story has it, in a 1960s issue featuring Tomar-Re of Xudar, editor Julius Schwartz gave him Alan’s original oath to see whether anyone would recognize it.
No one did.
Thank you!
I wish I could adequately explain how this strip makes me feel. It’s an uncomfortable feeling. Lisa’s story is so objectionable to me, it feels as if my entire body has restless leg syndrome. I want to scream.
I’d like to see my doctor’s face if I tried to explain it to her:
Doctor: If it makes you feel that way, why don’t you quit reading the strip?
Me: I can’t quit. I enjoy reading the snark the comic strip generates, too much. I’m hooked!
Doctor: Can’t you take up smoking or something?
Can you imagine having a prescription specifically for reading Funky Winkerbean?
“I’ll write out a prescription for a new treatment.” [scribbles] “Here. Take this to the nearest liquor store.”
I totally understand what you mean. Funky Winkerbean is extremely off-putting.
I call it the “emotional uncanny valley.” Uncanny valley is the concept that humans react positively to artificial humans that are extremely realistic, or extremely unrealistic. We don’t like artificial humans that try to be more realistic than they are capable of. Peter Griffin, Andy from Toy Story, and C3PO are all acceptable, for different reasons. But the humans in Polar Express</iget called "creepy." They try too hard to be human when they lack the artistic or technical merit to be believable.
I think the same concept applies to emotions. And Funky Winkerbean is really, really bad at this. Act I had a more cartoonish and exaggerated tone, so all the zany happenings fit into in that world, and it was well received. But when Tom Batiuk decided he was a Serious Artist, and set about making everything grim, he lacked the writing or artistic talent to make it believable.
And after 30 years of being indulged at this, his supposedly realistic world is full of human characters who don’t resemble human beings in any manner whatsoever. They never react to anything, never have conflicts or even mild disagreements, and do things for ridiculous reasons. No character has their own opinion or perspective; they all just go along with the story, no matter how stupid it is or how contradictory it is to their own character. And the audience can tell. And they’re repulsed by it.
“Leese” annoys me too. “Lisa” is two syllables and it’s already a nickname!
The entire thing annoys me, but that’s what I’m going to focus on today.
Why not spell it “Lease”?
Sometimes cutesy nicknames can get people in trouble. I remember a story my brother told me about his wife and him when they were college students.
As they walked away from one another on campus between classes, my brother yelled something slightly derogatory in jest to his girlfriend (eventually his wife). He ended the sentence with his nickname for her, “Jul.” A visibly upset man, who my brother says had the appearance of an extra from the Fiddler on the Roof, came out of the crowd of people and accosted him. The man was waving a finger in my brother’s face and angrily discussing the persecution of the Jewish people. My brother was completely taken by surprise and couldn’t figure out what he had done to offend the man. “Jul” came over to the man, put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and informed him that there had been a mistake. She smiled and calmly told the man her name was “Julie.” My brother meant no offense. The man profusely apologized and left as quickly as he appeared. The man was obviously Jewish and thought he was protecting Julie, another Jew, from a hateful person. She was a Presbyterian.
After the man was out of earshot, Julie laughed herself silly. Not at the man but at my brother, “You should have seen your face.” That was Julie in a nutshell. She could make people feel as if they were filled with gold. I wish I had the chance to know her better.
For years, I’ve been using a certain nickname for my husband. Our last two homes have been in areas with high Hispanic populations. Many of our Hispanic friends do double-takes when I call him “Mal.” His given name is Malcolm. “Mal” in Spanish means “bad” or “evil.” My husband likes it.
No timecode and no visible leaves, either.
And I’ve seen better trailers than this at the mobile home park on the edge of town where all the meth heads hang out.
This is the quality and consistency we’ve come to expect from a FW strip.
And the trailer is supposed to be on the grounds of a major studio. It’s the same studio that planned to make the original Dead Lisa movie as a cheesy made-for-cable weeper, with low-rent actor Mason Jarr playing Les; the same studio that then made the Starsux Jones movie (salvaging an old computer tape-drive for an already-built set, and including a near-lethal bus accident in a lame-ass attack scene). When it comes to thinking small, Batiuk’s versatility knows no bounds.
I still find it amusing that this is essentially the Funkyverse equivalent of The Rock deciding that he wants to stretch out into dramatic acting, so he decides he’s going to remake Love Story, playing the part that Ryan O’Neal played in the 1970 original. And then he makes sure to cast Michelle Rodriguez for the Ali MacGraw role. Plus he convinces Justin Lin to direct.
There wouldn’t be a single critic or viewer who would take it seriously. Hell, they’d have a hard time believing that The Rock himself was taking it seriously.
And no one in the movie business would respond to The Rock pitching this dramatic prestige project with something like “you’re ready to move on from all the action films?”
Dreadful dialogue, but at least Les gets put in his place, so I like it.
I’m no Hollywood macher, but I refuse to believe that movie bigwigs refer to actors by their most famous role. Batiuk has shown this happening numerous times.
If you’re Chris Hemsworth walking into a meeting with a producer, do they jump up and cry, “Hey! Thor is here! How was your trip from Asgard?” Do studio heads greet Harrison Ford with “Welcome to the project, Han Solo! Glad to have you on board”?
I dunno. I’ve never been in these kinds of meetings. But it sounds irredeemably idiotic and dorky.
I don’t know about Hemsworth, but I’m pretty sure Harrison Ford would deck you and walk out if you did that.
“points on the back end” LOL
I do like how People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive Mason JarrE looks like a member of the Tingle siblings from the Zelda games.
Yeah, I have nieces. SO WHAT?
I don’t think Batiuk gets the idea of a “theme” or an overarching point or meaning to a story. That’s why we’ve been getting snippets and vignettes of Lisa’s story — the same ones repeated ad nauseam — but they never cohere into anything more meaningful than “Lisa died and Les didn’t like it.” They don’t say anything about love, or death, or motherhood, or anything.
If you read Batiuk’s blog, you can see the same thing going on when he talks about his favorite comics. All he does is relate the plot, in excruciatingly boring detail, and with his, er, highly unusual grammatical errors. He doesn’t seem to get the idea of summarizing, or grasping an overaching theme. Really, anyone who cares about the details of a plot from a 1981 Flash comic is going to read the comic themselves.
Personally, I believe this is an intelligence marker.
Let’s say you showed “Citizen Kane” to a bunch of people, and afterwards asked them to tell you about it.
The dullest people would just relate the plot in order. “Well, see, this dying guy drops a snowglobe. And then….”
The ones in the middle would summarize the plot. “It’s about this guy who runs a newspaper and then tries to get into politics….”
The most perceptive ones would try to grasp the theme. “I guess it’s about isolation — this guy tries to fill up his life with money, and possessions, and power, but it just pushes everyone away, and he can never fill the loneliness inside him.”
Batiuk would be in the first group.
I didn’t see your post when I was responding to Charles upthread, but I agree completely with your analysis.
I see exasperated minds think alike. The crazy thing is that most of the plots of these Silver or Bronze Age comic books are, to put it plainly, childish and ridiculous. Which is totally fine, because they were intended to entertain, not to be profound and meaningful. The plots were light and silly on purpose. Batiuk doesn’t seem to get it at all. He ignores the point of these comics: The visuals — the layout, flow, and energy that the good artists bring — and, as you noted above, the coloring, which can radically affect the mood and meaning.
Steve Allen used to mock rock music by reading the lyrics out loud, as poems.
“Be bop a Lula, she’s my baby.
Be bop a Lula, I don’t mean maybe.” Etc.
He got a lot of laughs, but all he demonstrated was that he didn’t understand music at all. “Be Bop a Lula” continues to be a fantastic song that swings ferociously, and the lyrics support the song. It is meant to have a groove you can get down to, not to be a piece of high literature. The lyrics are meant to be percussive, to accentuate the groove. (I notice he never gave the same treatment to the lyrics of “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” another great song with perfect lyrics, in context.)
Batiuk, for all his Flash stanning, doesn’t seem to “get” comics. He still doesn’t understand that in comics, the art is ultimately paramount. Comics are a visual medium. If the art were an afterthought, the writer would have written the plot as prose or a play.
The constant stream of old duffers who say the creators of these ephemera (komix, serials) saved their lives is telling.
I assume you mean in-universe? Please tell me that there aren’t others like Batiuk IRL.
Thank you thank you thank you.
Wow thanks for the flashback; I miss Crow.
OH MY GOD NO ONE CARES.
^^ Cut and paste daily for efficient use of time.
As I noted yesterday over at CK, there IS a timecode on the trailer. To be specific, it’s on the WALL of the trailer, several inches below the screen. Like the audience, it’s trying to get away from this movie.
I re-read the letter from Charles Schulz that TomBa is so proud of. Is it just me, or are there a fair number of thinly-concealed insults in it? For example, “I have also always feared that someday I might duplicate a school bus idea with you” (translation: “I fear that someday I might descend to your level of schlock”), or “I look forward, someday, to a good conversation. Maybe at next years Reuben Dinner” (translation: “I look forward to a good conversation, not necessarily including you. Maybe at the Reuben Dinner, where you will not be honored.”)
The “school bus idea” remark makes me wonder, did Tom send Sparky a “Funky” strip… or a “Crankshaft” one?
I don’t think they’re thinly veiled insults. But its like a letter Schulz would write to a fan, not an industry colleague. It’s polite and encouraging, and it shows that Schulz really took the time to consider what was sent to him, but it avoids anything personal. There are plenty of genuine Schulz letters floating around the Internet you can compare it to.
What pisses me off is Batiuk acting like it’s some kind of endorsement. “Oh, Charles Schulz sent me this letter just as I was beginning to work on Lisa’s Story.” Even though the letter is clearly about something different. And Schulz’s death in 2000 makes it impossible for him to have much of an opinion about Lisa’s Story, which ran in papers from 1999-2007.
I have another pet peeve. This verdamtner cosplay makeup. In what universe is it necessary for actors wear (outside of John Hurt’s brilliant performance as John Merrick in “The Elephant Man”) makeup and prosthetics to exactly resemble the characters they play. To take a famous cancer movie as a reference, James Caan and Billy Dee Williams didn’t turn themselves into clones of Brian Piccolo and Gayle Sayers in order to play them.
It’s been done often, actually, typically for people whose faces are so unusual and well known that an audience won’t accept them without prosthetics. Daniel Day-Lewis playing Lincoln, for example.
It’s clear that Les puts himself and Dead Wife in the same category of people whose appearance is so famous and iconic that no audience would accept anyone portraying them without spot-on prosthetics.
True. And yet another view into the workings of TomBa’s mind.
George Kennedy put on this kind of prosthetic makeup when he wanted to play the role of Ed Crankshaft:
Don’t do that. I almost punched the screen.
Yeah, I expect some downvotes for that. But I couldn’t resist how on-topic it was.
Yipes, from Cool Hand Luke to that!
Hannibal’s Lectern,
Given the context you’re not wrong in thinking that, but 8-10 is actually TomBa’s note as to the date the strip is supposed to run.
Oh, I’m well aware of that. I just couldn’t resist the idea that even the date code is trying to get away from the steaming heap that is “Dead St. Lisa–The (not very) Moving Picture.”
She said “Yes! Yes!”
“Star Trek” won two Hugos in its first incarnation, for “The Menagerie” and “The City on the Edge of Forever.”
As I go through the comments, I find myself hearing Leonard Nimoy saying:
“Les, Lisa Moore must die…”
Doesn’t make her Sister Edith Keeler the Slum Angel. It certainly doesn’t make Les Mr. Spock:
Edith Keeler : [to Kirk] I still have a few questions I’d to ask about you two. Oh, and don’t give me that “Questions about little old us?” look. You know as well as I do how out of place you two are around here.
Spock : Interesting. Where would you estimate we belong, Miss Keeler?
Edith Keeler : [to Spock] You? At his side, as if you’ve always been there and always will.
Edith Keeler : [to Kirk] And you… you belong… in another place. I don’t know where or how… I’ll figure it out eventually.
Spock : [to Kirk] I’ll finish with the furnace.
Edith Keeler : [to Kirk] “Captain.” Even when he doesn’t say it, he does.
When some children are left behind I guess it’s best to follow Captain Kirk’s advice at the end of the episode and get the hell out of here.
A Clark Gable picture must be playing somewhere.
This reminds of a Flintstones episode where Fred got a home movie camera and made lots of home movies about Pebbles. He showed them to everyone, including some robbers who were relieved to be taken away by the cops. The cops said take it easy on the crooks, they’ve suffered enough.
There is a church in Belgium called the Basilica of the Holy Blood. It houses a relic supposedly containing Christ’s blood. It was venerated about once a year, but now they trot it out daily for the faithful and tourists alike. For a couple of euro, you can see it up close and reflect upon it. A fourteenth century papal decree granted indulgences to those who prayed before it.
Now it’s almost a roadside attraction. Today’s strip is sort of like that.
Can they clone it? Set up a Jurassic Park but with saviors instead of raptors?
Check out Children of the Shroud, 1990, by Garfield Reeves-Stevens.
Personally I want to see a sequel: Children of the Shroud vs. the Boys from Brazil.