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The Saturday Comics: Doctor Who

11 Jun

June 11, 2011

Doctor Who may not need an introduction but it does need an explanation.

It is a British science fiction show that debuted in 1963, coincidentally on the same day that President Kennedy was shot. It is about a mysterious alien time and space traveler known only as The Doctor and his rotating cast of assistants. Early on the lead actor, William Hartnell, became too old and sick to continue so the part was recast and Patrick Troughton took over as The Doctor. What was really slick was that the producers didn’t just have him continue as the same character, they hit on a way of keeping the show running, potentially, forever. When Patrick Troughton joined the show, he didn’t just slip into the same part. The Doctor “regenerated” into a new version of himself. It was a great way to explain why he looked different and allowed the new actor to bring something new to the role. No matter who plays the part, it is still the same character introduced in 1963, with all the memories and experiences but with a brand new personality. Really, it was a great way to keep the series fresh. All in all, eleven actors have played him on TV, Peter Cushing played him in two feature films, and some others have done non-canonical versions as well.

You can check out some clips of him here, from The Late Night Movie House.

The strips below are a sampling of the first four actors to play the role. While Doctor Who has always (and very unfairly) been called a kid’s show, the comic strips below are positively juvenile and not the best representation of the show. In many cases they are based not on any real knowledge of the show and feature characters who may never have been in the program. I’m also including some strips featuring The Doctor’s biggest foes, the Daleks. They became so popular that they rivaled The Doctor and nearly had their own American TV show. How popular are they? Check out these fangirls:

Daleks

Can you imagine better plumbers?

I freely admit all the flaws in these strips but I still have some affection for them.

William Hartnell

Patrick Troughton (easily my favorite Doctor)

Jon Pertwee

Tom Baker

The Daleks

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Let’s Go Crazy. Let’s Get Nuts.

9 Jun

June 9, 2011

Say what you want about talk radio, the real lunatic fringe is on sports radio.


In NYC we have one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sports-talk radio stations in North America, WFAN. I almost never listen to it. First of all, the station is dominated by the pompous and sports-challenged Mike Francesa. A bigger sack of crap you’d be hard pressed to find outside of Congress. And secondly, WFAN is the home of the Mets, and as a Mets fan I can’t stand the Mets. You really need to be a Mets fan to understand, but lunatic alleged alien-contactee Riley Martin (google him, you’ll thank me later) once said “he is my good friend, though I cannot stand him” and that kind of comes close.

Sports is the great equalizer. A bricklayer can speak with equal authority to a billionaire on the subject, and because of that you get an amazing cross-section of humanity calling sports talk shows. And with that, I would like to introduce you to Jerome from Manhattan.

Steve Somers, BTW, is a legend in NY sports circles. I love the guy.

Jerome is an excitable sort. If the Yankees win ten in a row and then lose one, he’ll call up yelling and screaming for someone to be fired or traded. He is a total nut. To say he makes snap-judgments is an understatement. If Joe DiMaggio were playing today and his 56 game hitting streak ended tomorrow, Jerome would be on the phone right after game 57 demanding that the Yankees trade him.

From wikipedia, and if you wonder why I hate them bear in mind that I actually cleaned up some of the grammar in this poorly written post:

A die-hard Yankees and Knicks fan, Jerome is famous for his on-air take-no-prisoners blistering rants and raves, as well as his unique take on the English language. One of his favorite exclamatory phrases is “frickin’ frack!” He refers to the bullpen as the “ballpen”, and once shouted that the Yankees are “done! D-O-E-N DONE!” His relationship status is intriguing enough for Steve   Somers to once give Jerome $60 to take a lady out on a date, only for Jerome to keep the money and not go out on the date. Former host Sid Rosenberg once asked Jerome if he was upset that he was not taking his eagerly anticipated trip to Colorado, and Jerome replied, “No, to Denver.” He does not like jets. They make him “seasick.” Jerome, when he still called WFAN regularly, was known for being the only caller to have an audio intro, much like those played at the top of each show. Occasionally when he calls in to Steve Somers’ program, a special introduction is played to the tune of The Twilight Zone. Mr. Mittelman’s health problems had kept him from the WFAN airwaves on a regular basis from late 2004 until mid-2008; he has recently started to call in more frequently.

He calls the station five or six times a day and usually calls other stations in between. Jerome has been banned from WFAN for racist language. After his ban I heard him on the air say of a black Yankee player “I hate that nig- … I hate that guy.” He also has very little knowledge of sports outside of his very limited knowledge of current Yankee players. Frankly, he has very limited knowledge of most things.

In the clip below, the picture will remain black because there is no video, only audio.

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