Monday, July 29, 2019

Princes, Princesses, and Goofs

Kicked off another sunny morning with breakfast and more Goof Troop. "As Goof Would Have It," Goofy is easily able to lose weight, while Pete eats constantly. Hoping to win a health-food contest, he sends his picture as the "before" and Goofy's as the "after," claiming that Goofy is him. Once again, he ends up regretting this when Peg insists that "Pete" live in his house and eat his food, and "Goofy" actually goes on a real diet.

Spent the next hour or so doing research on what website builder would be appropriate for making a writing site. One thing I noticed that most of the writing sites had in common was the writer listed either what they were writing or everything that they could do and had done. Um...I'm not really sure what I can do now. I haven't done anything besides fanfiction and my blogs since I made those pieces for the Helium Network in 2012, and that was only when I was out with a fractured ankle. I need to write down what I can do and maybe make a few more sample pieces.

Finally finished out Goof Troop while having a quick lunch. Goofy has just enough money to afford tickets for him and Max to go to the big family reunion, at least until Pete takes all his money with hidden fees after he repairs his car. Fed up with her husband's treatment of Goofy, Peg's "Calling All Goofs" and brings his relatives to Spoonerville, even letting them stay at their house. Pete's horrified to have all these Goofs around and does everything he can to get rid of them.

Once again, that seems to be all that's on DVD at the moment; among the episodes that are currently missing are the ones that ran concurrently on ABC's Saturday morning block. Of what's currently on DVD, I liked it, but it could be awfully strange, especially for what's essentially an animated sitcom. Some of the weirder episodes stuck out like a sore thumb; notable offenders include "Come Fly With Me," "Close Encounters of the Weird Mime," "Frankengoof," and the two Goofy relative spoofs.

By far my favorite character created for the show was Peg. Tough, devious, and no-nonsense, she and Pete were absolutely perfect for each other. I also enjoyed the touching relationship between Goofy and Max, especially compared to their antagonism in the later Goof Troop-based movies and anthology shorts. For all Goofy's clumsiness, they really will do anything for each other. In fact, I really appreciated how the three adults basically took care of the three kids together. Goofy gave PJ almost as much advice as he gave his own son, and Peg mothered all three kids at several points.

Ehh, I feel the same way about this one as I did about Chip n Dale's Rescue Rangers - it was cute enough that I'm glad I finally saw most of it, but not enough for me to rent a lot or buy. If you've got kids who love Disney shows or sitcoms, they may enjoy checking out Goofy and Max's strange but loving world.

Headed out as soon as the episode ended. Work was pretty much the same as it was for most of last week - dead as a doornail. Men working fixing a pothole in the middle of the parking lot near the Black Horse Pike didn't help. Nor did a very hot but dry day that likely had anyone who wasn't on vacation outside. I spent most of the day outside, gathering carts or the trash, though I did go inside to sweep twice.

As hot as it was, it was still nice enough to take the long way home down Nicholson Road. Dodged a lot of cars by the shopping center entrance and down Nicholson as I made my way past glowing gardens and people going for strolls. The leaves are still pretty green, if a little dusty, given we haven't had any rain for a week and there was no breeze.

Went home and into writing. While Maz considers how to get Harris and Leia together, Vader is dealing with his own problems. He just killed one of his men for not capturing Harris and Leia and has ordered the man next to him, Piett, to take over finding the Rebel League. Finding the Millennium Falcon and Force Girl is a job for a very different group of scum...

Broke for dinner at quarter of 6. Switched to Garfield In the Rough while having a turkey bacon, cucumber, and tomato sandwich for dinner. Garfield's not happy when Jon drags him and Odie on a camping trip. Where's the TV and microwave lasagna? His annoyance turns into flat-out fear when they hear that a panther is loose in the area and he and Odie get lost in the woods.

Didn't have much luck with Lego Star Wars tonight. Tried "Mos Eisley Spaceport" and missed three pieces. Came so close on the New Hope Super Story, but just missed it in "Rebel Attack." I'll try again tomorrow.

Finished the night with Krull. Part of the run of Star Wars imitations and sword-and-sorcery epics of the late 70's and early 80's, this one takes place on a planet called Krull. Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony) is to marry Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) and unite their kingdoms. Before they can finish the ceremony, the evil Beast (voice of Trevor Martin) and his Slayers invade, kill the kings and their armies, kidnap Lyssa, and leave Colwyn for dead. Colwyn is found by Ynyr (Freddie Jones), the old one. He insists on Colwyn finding the Glaive, which will give him the power to destroy The Beast. Along with finding the Glaive, Colwyn releases a group of thieves with the promise of pardons when he's king and recruits magician Ergo the Magnificent (David Battley) and cyclops Rell (Bernard Bresslaw) to his aid. The men face many dangers, from the Beast's teleporting Black Fortress to an assassin that can change his form, to find the fortress and rescue Colwyn's lady love.

Oh boy, was this fun. Considering how many sci-fi and fantasy fans there are in my family, I'm surprised I never ran into this one before. A decent cast (including a young Liam Neeson and Robbie Coultrane among the thieves), rather good special effects for the time (especially the Beast and the Widow of the Web's lair), and appropriately stirring music make up for the nonsensical and cliched plot and some really over-the-top performances. If you're a fan of 80's sci-fi or fantasy like me, you'll want to give this unusual hybrid another try.

No comments: