Uncle Phil's thoughts on THE DUKES OF HAZZARD

THIS IS A GUEST POST BY UNCLE PHIL BOB KRAUSE. HE IS A FUNNY GUY WHO HAS WRITTEN SOME COMICS FOR ME TO DRAW IN THE PAST. ENJOY HIS MUSINGS ON THE DUKES!

Some thoughts after watching Dukes of Hazard as an Adult:

"If I were Boss Hogg, I wouldn't wear white suits exclusively all the time. There's only like two paved roads in his whole county, he'd be constantly dirty."

"Cousin Bo. Cousin Luke. Cousin Daisy. Uncle Jesse. None of them are Jesse's kids, I am 99% sure that none of them are siblings. That's six dead, jailed, or just plain gone parents before you start counting Cousin Coy and Cousin Vance."

"I'm pretty sure that there are better fight scenes on Benny Hill. I might have been in better fights than this and I'm an indoorsy wuss."

"Why is Roscoe always chasing the Dukes? He knows where they live and they can't leave the county."
"Boss Hogg was a bootlegger. Uncle Jesse was a bootlegger. How come Hogg runs the county and Jesse has two pairs of overalls and probably enough food to maintain a healthy and luxurious hick-beard?"

"It's a little odd that three attractive adults never really date anybody."
"How come Daisy is the only one with a job?" 

Also: "The Duke boys seem to have lots of black friends and acquaintances. I'm not saying they're racist (and they never act as such in the show that I can recall) but I don't know if I would hang out with guys with a car named "The General Lee" with a stars and bars painted on the top if I were a southern black guy in the early eighties." 

Envelope Art, Drawing Up Past Memories

One of my favorite memories of paging through game magazines as a kid was the envelope art. I loved all of the original artwork and varying styles . The most exciting aspect to me, was it being submitted by readers of the magazine. It was an awesome exchange between reader and publisher, championing the art of video games.

I know the long time debate of video games as art, but you can't deny the grand artistic side the medium brings. The games of my youth greatly affected my impression of art and animation, I mean It was video games that taught me what graphics were in the first place.

Most art has some sort of message or meaning. envelope art has a direct, literal and and tangible message and meaning in the form of a letter. A fan could scrawl renditions of their favorite video games on the out side and write gushing love letters to them on the inside.

I always dreamed of one day being featured in Nintendo Power. The only problem was that I never even drew on an envelope. I was not as much of an artist back then and perhaps a bit intimidated.

Moving a lot in recent years, I write more letters than I used to. I have not forgotten these childhood fantasies of creating envelope art and have started pumping them out. I am not sure what I will do with them all, but it is everything I dreamed of. Except for being published in Nintendo power, of course. But hey, you can't win em' all.

Any one actually get an envelope featured or know someone who did? I can only imagine they were the most popular kid on the play ground.

Nintendo Game Captain Skyhawk is awesome!

Captain skyhawk

I have heard some bad press on this game and I tell you, ALL LIES! Captain Skyhawk is one of the many titles developed by rare, in the 8-bit era. The game was released in 1990 by Milton Bradley for the Nintendo Entertainment System. I should probably mention here That I am not usually a fan of jet plane games or flying sims. That is why I was pleasantly surprised when I popped the ol' Skyhawk into my Nintendo and prepared for take off (against alien intruders.) 

Most of the game is in an isometric view. The game play can take a bit to get used to . I remember crashing into hills a lot at the start of the game. Once I got the hang of it though I played it almost obsessively for a week straight. The enemy bullets seem to move at just the right speed to make the game challenging and really fun. The plane handles really well too. The controls are tight but have just enough play that it makes it unique.

There are a few different play modes while the game unfolds. There are the straight missions that require you to essentially get from one end to the other without dying. There are also missions that require you to drop off a packages , and rescue scientists. You will also have to line up your ship in between levels to dock. There are also dog fight levels, similar to top gun on the NES.

There are good weapon upgrades that spice up game play . Power ups can be purchased and outfitted between levels after docking. The first time I played the game I didn't even think to actually use the missiles or bombs until I was like 2 stages from the end. Which was awesome when I got to the final boss, because I smoked him.

If you are a retro gamer or interested in old games, this one is worth checking out or re- visiting . There are several ways to play on the internet but I prefer the good old Nintendo Entertainment System.

Teddy Ruxpin the Toy and Toon.

Teddy Ruxpin was a legend in his own time. A character that caused a 1980's toy craze, and won the hearts of a generation . Teddy Ruxpin was the enduring vision of Ken Forsse. Ken captured a kids wonder with his life-like storytelling Toy and accompanying 65 episode Cartoon series.

The Toy

The Toy was developed by Ken and Produced by Worlds Of Wonder in 1985. Teddy is a bear- like  Iliop with animatronic features that would interact with a cassette tape placed in Teddy's back. Teddy Ruxpin would tell you stories that you could follow along with in a book that sold with each cassette adventure.

Ruxpin's mouth moved and his eyes blinked in sync with the story that made for the feeling of actual interaction. Teddy had several outfits that could be purchased separately. You could also purchase his companion Grubby who could actually be plugged into Teddy via auxiliary cable and he would interact right along with your teddy ruxpin toy. Worlds of Wonder took a dive in the 90's that put them out of business. Since then Playskool and backpack toys have put out different versions.

The Cartoon

The cartoon was done by Alcamy 2. The series does a steller Job at bringing the characters further to life on screen. The stories are well paired with the book and tape series. The show begins asTeddy and Grubby set out on a quest for the treasure of Grundo. The pair hails from the island of Rilonia a land off Grundo's southern coast mostly inhabitaed by iliops. Together Teddy the Iliop and Grubby the Octopede travel the land of Grundo discovering 6 mystical crystals in the Hard to find city that will be the key to unlocking the series and Teddy's past.

The cartoon employs a unique style of storytelling that is more akin to a soap opera than a Saturday morning cartoon. Each episode is very intertwined and related to the series as a whole. Plot elements are not just quickly summed up at the 30 minute mark like most cartoons of the day, but spread out through a string of episodes. This tactic really gets you hooked and coming back for more. The series starts out very strong but begins to dip in the middle and does' t exactly have the epic ending you would expect after watching the first 20 or so episodes. But the series is still great to watch and worth checking out.

My musings

If you are looking for the Toy, the internet is full of them as well as the book and tape series. Ebay and Amazon are a good resource. Also if you happen to get hooked make sure you check out all the Teddy Ruxpin hacks on youtube, people are doing some cool things keeping the memory of Teddy alive.

If you are going to purchase the cartoon series I recommend purchasing the set in a three part series from amazon or ebay rather than the complete series dvd. The complete series can be ridiculously overpriced, Purchased seperatly I picked up the series for under $15. 

Its about time we see Teddy Ruxpin make a come back. I would not be surprised if I saw a modern version hit shelves soon. I would really like to someday make a graphic novel or comic series that would finish the adventure out the way I saw fit, but that requires time, not to mention all the purists that may condemn me for it. So go watch Teddy Ruxpin. Below I have included some great links to sites about our favorite iliop that I enjoy and you may too.

http://www.teddyruxpinonline.org

http://www.dreeyoreshospital.net/index.html

http://www.jcaliff.net/tr/