The Goonies, 1985

When I was growing up, there seemed to be a bit of an odd trend in movies where certain ones were compared to others, and where fans seemed to have leanings towards one over the other. Let me explain this better. For example, Steven Spielberg was working on two projects in the early 80's: E.T. and Poltergeist. I was never a fan of E.T., but loved Poltergeist. Some others that were naturally compared/competing were Labyrinth vs The Dark Crystal, Drop Dead Fred vs Little Monsters, and The Monster Squad vs The Goonies. Ah, see where I'm going with this now?

I never saw The Goonies when I was a kid. I always leaned more towards The Monster Squad, which is still one of my favorite movies today. The comparisons made sense though. Both featured a group of kids on their own sort of fantastical adventures that their parents were oblivious to (Mary Ellen Trainor played the mother in both movies, no less), both featured the token "fat kid" who behaved jarringly similarly, both featured adult actors playing the villains, both featured a strong disfigured character the children befriended (Sloth in The Goonies, and Frankenstein in The Monster Squad).

It was interesting watching The Goonies for the first time last night as an adult, especially being so familiar with The Monster Squad and being able to point out my own comparisons. In the end I discovered that their contrasts made a world of difference, and I had a better understanding as to why I was never drawn to The Goonies like I was to The Monster Squad when I was a kid. For starters, The Goonies is grounded in a pretty real world. The kids go on an adventure which, sure, is a bit unlikely but not out of the realm of possibility. As a kid, I never really got into movies about pirates, high adventure, or things of that nature. The Goonies almost put in mind of an Indiana Jones movie for kids (and no, not because "Short Round" was in it). The movie is predominantly adventure with aspects of fantasy and zero horror, which I think made the biggest difference to me. As a kid, I was always drawn to the horror genre, even more so than straight up fantasy. I also was drawn to movies where the villains were as appealing/interesting or more appealing/interesting than the heroes. The villains in The Goonies were sort of bumbling idiots and hard to take seriously as any sort of real threat. Now I know kids movies have to be careful about making the villains too scary for younger kids, but I still think they could've been done with less comedic effect. Though maybe that's what the director was going for, in which case it might just come down to personal preference. For me, I'd rather the heroes triumph despite overwhelming odds (*cough* The Monster Squad *cough*) even if it makes the storyline a bit less realistic.

Ignoring the comparisons to The Monster Squad, I actually came away from The Goonies enjoying it more than I thought I would. The cast was familiar (Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Martha Plimpton, Jonathan Ke Quan) and great as usual. The story, though a little slow at times, did interest me, and I liked watching the kids figure out the various puzzles/booby traps in the film. My favorite character was Sloth, and I wished he had been featured more. I was always a sucker for the gentle giant type characters in films. As a kid, since I hadn't seen the movie, I would occasionally see pictures of Sloth, and he scared me (oddly, even more than the villainous monsters in The Monster Squad). I sort of wished I had seen the film when I was younger, just so I could've appreciated Sloth as the good character he was.

Although the movie wasn't entirely my cup of tea, either then or now, I can still see why other kids loved it so much and why it remains a classic to this day. I'm happy I finally took the time to watch it.

Toehider Cover Album

As I was find reference material for my blog post about Mysterious Cities of Gold, I stumbled upon a very cool album by Toehider of 7 covers of 1980's cartoon theme songs. It's free to download and definitely worth checking out!

Sample:



Click here to find the rest.

The Mysterious Cities of Gold

The Mysterious Cities of Gold, which aired on Nickelodeon in the 80's and into the early 90's as I recall, was an animated series taking place in 1532. Although drawing from history and using real historical figures, the series was a fictional account of the time period. The show centers around Esteban, child of the sun, and his comrades Zia and Tao. They are also joined by three adults: Mendoza, Sancho, and Pedro who have mostly selfish reasons for helping the children. This made for an interesting dynamic in which the child characters could really only trust one another.

This is a show I grew up on and was always one of my favorites. Until the dawn of the internet however, this series had almost completely gotten lost in my memory bank. I remembered the characters, but the storyline was extremely fuzzy (I think a lot of the historical references went over my head as a child). At one point I managed to find and rewatch all the episodes online, and I was amazed to discover that even much older, the show was still appealing and fun to watch. This is truly one of those children's shows that adults can get into as well. There's a lot of action which will better hold a child's attention, and yet the deeper plots and the suffering of the various people the main characters come across, makes this much more than a lighthearted romp, which makes it very engaging for adults.

A few years back, The Mysterious Cities of Gold was released on DVD for the first time, and about six months ago I finally had the time to really sit down and enjoy the series again for the first time in several years. The DVD set is exquisite, with tons of extras, including interviews with the original cast. If someone would've told me 15-20 years ago that this obscure little children's show that I adored would someday have a proper video release including information (let alone interviews) about the cast, I would've never believed them. It was genuinely thrilling to see all the behind the scenes stuff and find out so much more about this childhood favorite of mine. Unfortunately, the DVD set has gone out of print, but I have to believe they will reissue it again at some point.

This show stands out as one of the defining parts of my childhood. I remember my sister and I would "play" Cities of Gold, but since there was only one female character in main cast, we would pretend to be "Big Zia" and "Little Zia". Clever, right? I also remember having the biggest crush on Esteban, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. He made a great hero, genuinely cared about his friends and anyone in need, and was very brave. He was very much a moral compass to those around him, especially Mendoza, Sancho, and Pedro. I believe he was a good role model for kids to have.

Before I wrap this up, I have to talk about one of the most brilliant aspects of the series and that was its theme song. It stands the test of time as being one of the catchiest, most nostalgic musical representations of children's TV in the 80's. You can hear it below:



It remains one of my all time favorite TV theme songs, and I always catch myself singing it at the most random moments. The lyrics are below:

Children of the sun
See your time has just begun
Searching for your ways
Through adventures everyday

Every day and night
With the condor in flight
With all your friends in tow
You'll search for the Cities of Gold

Ahhhh, wishing for the Cities of Gold
Ahhhh, someday we will find the Cities of Gold

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo, ahhhh
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo, Cities of Gold
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo, Cities of Gold

Children of the sun,
Someday soon you're gonna find
That your destiny
Holds the secret, holds the key

Ahhhh, someday we will find the Cities of Gold


Ahh, memories.

But wait! There's more!

Today I discovered that a season 2 of The Mysterious Cities of Gold is in the works! Woohoo! Don't believe me? Well, check this out:

Les mystérieuses cités d'or - Trailer (2012) Vidéo TF1 sélectionnée dans Replay TV

Courtesy of FlicksNews.net.

Yes, I know it's in French, but as with the original series, I assume it will be dubbed into English. I'm going to refrain from making an assessment about it until I actually see the show, but for the most part it seems to have stayed pretty true to the original. The characters look slightly "off" to me, but I think that's just a side effect of continuing an animated series from so long ago. Overall though I'm super excited to see it!

Random Terminator 2 Tribute FTW

I've been watching Kathy Griffin's new talk show on Bravo (love it!), and last week one of her staff members performed a song he had written about Terminator 2 called "Neural Net Processor". When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Terminator 2 (I believe I was eight the first time I saw it), and so I instantly fell in love with this song. It's awesome, amusing, and oddly catchy ;)



Btw - This one-man-band is called Space Cops and you can get the MP3 here.

Mr. Rogers Remix

Recently, I stumbled upon this video on Youtube and was blown away by it:



Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood was a big part of my childhood, and I truly believe it was one of the sweetest children's shows ever on TV. Mr. Rogers was one of a kind, and it still saddens me to know he is gone :( The remixed song in the video made me tear up and is absolutely beautifully done. The MP3 is free to download from their channel.

Reading Rainbow Meets Punky Brewster

What does Reading Rainbow's Levar Burton and Punky Brewster's Soleil Moon Frye have in common? They both appeared on last night's episode of Watch What Happens...Live on Bravo! If you missed it, check out some of the clips below. It was a great interview!





More clips available at Bravotv.com

Roseanne (1988-1997, TV Series)

Roseanne is a TV sitcom that I watched faithfully as a child with my family. This show is interesting for me because it really shows how much changed between the late 80's and late 90's (the crux of my childhood), and it's a great example on how perception can change.

As a kid, I related a lot to Darlene, and I thought she pretty much made the show. I was a tomboy like she was, but I also could relate to her when she became sort of reserved and moody and dark. Nowadays, I guess maybe she might be considered emo; back then, she was simply behaving like a teenager. Her relationship with Dan (her father, played by the great John Goodman) was one of the most realistic dynamics I've seen on TV. Before puberty, she was a tomboy, loved sports, and had a close relationship with her dad, based on their common interests. After puberty, her interests change, as she makes the transition into womanhood. Dan has trouble dealing with this, because as Roseanne put it, "Face it, Dan. Your son is becoming a woman." This reminded me a lot of the dynamic between me and my dad, when I was growing up, and it was nice to know that it wasn't so uncommon.

The shows from that time were really good at utilizing children and making them realistic. They were actual people with their own personalities and nuances. It seems like many shows today treat children like accessories or for use when the plot is convenient. Back then, it seemed like the parents and kids were more 50/50. Sometimes the kids even outshone the parents, and perhaps that's partly why the dynamics are so different in shows today. Ok, so maybe that's partly nostalgia talking, but I think many would agree that shows today are very different from shows then.

Even for the time however, Roseanne stood out in many ways. This was one of the first shows to really show middle class America (or even upper-lower class America) in a realistic way. It didn't glamorize life. The Conners struggled to make ends meet, changed jobs often, and struggled with real life problems. Sometimes the show got a bit too serious for a sitcom (ie, Jackie, Roseanne's sister, in a physically abusive relationship), but it usually handled these issues well. And very few sitcoms avoid having their "special" episodes, so this is hardly something that can't be forgiven.

As a kid, a lot of the issues dealt with on the show, ended up going a bit over my head, especially the politics involved. This is where perspective and maturity can actually breathe new life into an old and even familiar show. A few years back, Roseanne started being shown in syndication on Nick at Nite, TV Land, Oxygen, and even The CW (at least where I live). As a lark, I started watching it again in passing just for nostalgia's sake. Soon, it became one of my favorite shows again, only now instead of watching the show for Darlene, Becky, and DJ, I was watching it for Dan and Roseanne and Jackie. Suddenly the issues I didn't know about or care about as a kid, seemed very poignant even in today's world. The humor isn't dated either and just as funny (or funnier) as the sitcoms today. I don't if that makes Roseanne ahead of its time or timeless. Maybe it's a little of both.

One thing I have to talk about are the Halloween episodes of Roseanne. When I was a kid, some of my fondest memories are of Halloween, and it's still my favorite holiday today. I remember on Halloween night, after Trick-or-Treating, my family would gather around and watch Halloween episodes of our favorite shows. At the time, Halloween episodes were not very common. We'd usually watch The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, Home Improvement, and Roseanne. Roseanne stands out as having some of the best Halloween episodes of any series. Even as an adult and before I started watching Roseanne again, most of my memories of the show were the Halloween episodes, like when Dan dressed up as the Three Stooges, Roseanne dressed up like a man, and when Dan and Roseanne played a ventriloquist and dummy back from the grave. In fact, the Halloween episodes were so memorable for so many people, there's a DVD release with just those episodes on them...and yes, I watch it every October nowadays.

The last season of Roseanne is very symbolic of the death of an era. The final season was poor at best, and in some ways tarnished what was a fabulous sitcom. It turned into an indulgent escapade, only for the last episode to be a bit of a slap in the face to fans. Just as the end of childhood was depressing, so was the final episode. Now looking back, I can still enjoy the other seasons and pretty much disregard the final season without too much effort. At the time though, it was a huge downer.

Overall though the series holds up well today, especially the Halloween episodes, and has good nostalgic value as well as true comedic value. Highly recommend checking it out, if you've never seen it or haven't watched it since childhood.