WW 84

Neon colors from the 80s.

The pandemic struck hard in the world. Not only in health terms but also in unemployment rates, businesses going out of business, and the industry of entertainment struggling to find new ways to deliver their products to a world that could no longer go out to concerts, cafe venues, and movie theaters. Moreover, global warming, nonsensical wars, dictatorships and sexism continued to hurt a planet that is running out of batteries long ago. Of course, my fellow reader, I have no intentions of waking up to this sick sad world, I'm sure you are well aware of it.

Wonder Woman 1984, AKA WW 84 was supposed to premier in theaters in 3 different dates that were delayed until it was decided the movie would premier in selected theaters in the USA & Canada, while also premiering at HBO Max streaming service on December 25th, yes, Christmas Day! A little ray of hope in such uncertain times is more than a welcomed gesture.

By the way, I stopped reviewing superhero films years ago due to an overwhelming exhaustion caused by lots of these films. However, I can make an exception since this is the only superhero film to ever premier during the pandemic.

 

Barbara Minerva.

Maxwell Lord.

Background

WW84 is a 2020 American  superhero film based on the DC Comics character Wonder Woman. It is the sequel to 2017's Wonder Woman and the ninth installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is once again directed by Patty Jenkins from a script she wrote with Geoff Johns (a real comic book person) and Dave Callaham, based on a story by Johns and Jenkins. Gal Gadot returns as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, alongside Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright, and Connie Nielsen. Set in 1984 during the Cold War, the film follows Diana and her past love Steve Trevor as they face off against Max Lord and Cheetah.

Discussion of a sequel began shortly after the release of the first film in June 2017 and the decision to proceed was confirmed the following month. Principal photography began on June 13, 2018, with filming taking place at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in England, as well as the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia in the United States, London and Duxford in England, Tenerife and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, and Almería in Andalusia, Spain. Production wrapped on December 22, 2018, after a six-month shoot, with additional filming in July 2019.

 

Wonder Woman 1984 premiered on December 15, 2020, via the DC FanDome virtual platform. It was theatrically released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 25, 2020, and also made available to be streamed digitally on HBO Max for a month before it will go to premium video on demand. In international markets that do not have HBO Max, the film was theatrically released beginning on December 16, 2020. It was praised for its "escapist qualities" and Jenkins' take on the 1980s, but many critics found it "overindulgent or cliché". A sequel is in development, with Jenkins and Gadot returning.

Steve Trevor and 80s fashion.

"Not a fan of your look Steve".

Plot

In her youth, Diana Prince participated in a multi-stage athletic competition on Themyscira against older Amazons overseen by Queen Hippolyta. After falling from her horse, Diana takes a shortcut to catch up to it and resumes the competition. Just before she wins, her aunt Antiope removes her from the competition, lecturing that "no true hero is born from lies".

In 1984, 66 years after the first film, Diana works as a senior anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., specializing in ancient Mediterranean civilizations; Diana also secretly fights crime as Wonder Woman. At work, she meets new employee Barbara Ann Minerva, an insecure woman who comes to idolize and envy Diana. After Wonder Woman foils an attempted robbery, the FBI asks Barbara to identify a cache of stolen antiquities from the robbery. Both Barbara and Diana notice that one object — later revealed to be the "Dreamstone" — has a Latin inscription. 

Diana unknowingly uses the stone by wishing that her deceased lover Steve Trevor was alive; his soul then returns and inhabits another man's body. Later, after Diana saves her from an assault, Barbara wishes upon the stone to become like Diana, inadvertently attaining Diana's superpowers and godhood. Businessman Maxwell "Max Lord" Lorenzano visits the Smithsonian under the guise of a wealthy donor, secretly coveting the Dreamstone in hopes of saving his failing oil company. During a gala at the Smithsonian, Max seduces the unwitting Barbara, who is taken by his charm to gain access to her office and steal the Dreamstone. He later wishes to become the embodiment of the stone and gains its power to grant wishes while also having the ability to take whatever he desires from others.

Friend?

...Or foe?

Review

Superheroes are obviously still a trend in the film and TV industry. Despite a certain excessive amount of products related to them, audiences around the world are still craving for more, and that accurately connects with the "Be careful was you wish for" concept present in WW 84. 

Running two hours and 30 minutes WW 84 is a light hearted story that will surely appeal to the innocence of younger audiences looking forward for an adventure full of heroics and a simple plot with simpler antagonists. Grown ups, depending on which side of fandom you're standing on, will either enjoy it for its nostalgic approach, or hate it for its apparent lack of realistic drive which serious superhero  films have (?) But I'll leave that up to you, of course.

 

The opening scenes are all about WW saving the day. For some reason, this sequences strongly reminded me of the opening scenes from Superman IV The Quest For Peace. Anyway, after the nostalgic heroics we are taken back to Diana's childhood while slapped in the face with some ugly CGI. How can this be? I mean, aren't they resourceful enough to afford working with the best? Fortunately, things get way better in that department, as the movie moves on. 

Plot wise, this ancient stone (Dreamstone) works as a wishing well and I for one, think it's a nice Mcguffin, I mean even Diana Prince, Wonder Woman! couldn't help to wish for the one thing she wanted most in the world. From there on, it's all about facing the consequences of the "be careful what you wish for" idiom which by definition is described as follows: 

 

If you get things that you desire, there may be unforeseen and unpleasant consequences.

And here's where the film actually starts. As above mentioned (in plot) The main character and her two antagonist, wish for a few changes in their lives, so consequences will arise ready or not.

Flyboy is back.

Useless man next to a Goddess.

80s wise, the setting isn't THAT 80s. There isn't a bunch of songs from the decade playing in the background, and honestly, the shopping mall scene (which also briefly features a video arcade) is the most 80s scene. On the other hand clothing, especially, Barbara's is definitely 80s. And last but not least, the Cold War. All these secret nukes and red buttons are there, and they are very 80s. I mean, a lot of movies and TV shows from the 80s focused on secret missiles, double agents and nuclear bomb fears all over, so that's definitely the other 80ish element present in the film, but then again I do wish there was more neon lights and an actual soundtrack with cool songs by Blondie, Duran Duran, A-Ha, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, The Cure, etc.

Now, let's talk about those consequences above mentioned. While the film is directed by a woman, you can easily see the influence of men from the production desk all over.

On the one hand we have, Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) a professional woman who's not valued in her field because she isn't popular? because she doesn't have a perfect body? because she doesn't dress to kill? because she doesn't sleep with her colleagues? This is a big What the fucking fuck? moment in the movie. Moreover, Her overly anxious desire for popularity with men ultimately leads her to fight against WW, a woman that treated her kindly and befriended her! Oh, but women should hate the likes of Diana Prince! Smart, professional, independent and good looking! let's trash her! If this was a representation of women in the 80s, I'm not too sure the script had a lot of Patty Jenkins on it. it's more like it was 80% written by Geoff Johns and Dave Callaham and all Patty was left with, was to choose the dresses and hair styles.

 

Borrowing Saint Seiya's sagittarius armor.

Up up and away!

On the other hand Wonder Woman!, her movie is ruined as soon as Steve Trevor is back from the dead. Why? Well, because she becomes the good girl next to the "capable man". 

 

Look at her role as soon as Steve Trevor shows up. She helps him pick out clothes. She listens intently as he pontificates on flying. She risks herself to save children. And she appeals to the better nature of the power hungry man, to talk him off the ledge by reminding him that he has feelings... instead of snapping his damned neck like she does in the comics. 

 

You can like that. It's very likeable. That's the point. In the first film, she was defying femininity norms for the 1910s. In the sequel, Diana is embracing them: she's demure, humble, eventually selfless, supportive, but still emotionally and sexually available. She compliments men. She wants nothing for herself. How perfectly... traditional. 

 

This is no longer the woman who held the shield in No Man's Land, with the men following behind her. It's not that it's not, for the most part, an enjoyable movie. It is. I just feel guilty for liking it. Every good superhero movie has a "fuck you" quality about it. Something that uses inherent silliness to boost it. 

 

Superman was "fuck you I'm a guy in my underpants and a cape. I'm still cool. In fact, I'm cooler for making this work!"

 

Batman was "fuck you I can't even move my neck and I'm still taking dudes down."

 

Iron Man was "I'm Robert Downey Jr. and everyone said my career was dead! fuck you!"

 

Thor was "fuck you it's Shakespeare with muscles!"

 

The first Wonder Woman was a "fuck you I'm a woman in my metal underwear being scandalous". But in WW84 she spends more time getting effed than doing the effing. And if you were left feeling somewhat disappointed and can't put your finger on why, maybe that's it. 

 

It's not the plot holes. Superhero movies have those. It's not the required suspension of disbelief. It's that, in the scramble to SAY SOMETHING about the root causes of, among other things, Trumpism, everyone seemed to forget that it wasn't Maxwell Lord in superpowered Wall St. It's supposed to be a WONDER WOMAN movie. 

 

Now I'm worthy because men want to fuck me.

The Breakfast club.

Moving on to the good things about WW84 I can say, there were moments where Wonder Woman shows progress, evolution as a hero. This time her lasso of truth has become a much stronger weapon, and we get to see her cover big distances with it. I really liked that, and I liked it even more as later she learns to fly! because WW flies! In addition, I liked the fact she gets wounded and still continues to fight. The invisible plane nod was also nice. Moreover, the thing I liked the most is how she wins the big fight by not throwing a single punch to Maxwell Lord. What else? oh, the acting. We can't deny Kristen Wiig plays a convincing troubled woman. I can say the same thing about Pedro Pascal. He was good enough. Gal Gadot was also the best. that is,  when she had the chance.

Overall, an entertaining film that isn't good. it lacks most of the things it promised to be, considering WW should be an iconic feminist hero.

Here's the movie trailer:

 

Joysticks

More fun with tits!

Before video game movies were somewhat based upon characters and original stories, there were other films were these electronic devices played a role from a more realistic perspective, like a scene filmed inside an Arcade center, or a kid playing in a national Nintendo contest. The very first one being Tron (1982), were an arcade game designer gets sucked into the video game world he created.  The film was a big hit and to this day is still seen as a "classic from the Arcade years", thus paving the way for several films including these coin craving electronic entertainment time wasters. 

1983 saw the release of Nightmares, Wargames & Joysticks (today's film in review). 1984 had Cloak & Dagger (officially based upon an Atari videogame), and The Last Starfighter (another classic). The Dungeonmaster followed in 1985, then Hollywood Zap the next year, Kung Fu Master (1988) and the Nintendo product placement film that introduced Super Mario Bros. 3 to the world: The Wizard (1989) .Obviosly, more films were made in the coming decades. However, our interest lays in these 80s films because we will be reviewing each of these starting today. 

Arcade nostalgia.

A bunch of misfits from the video arcade.

Background

Joysticks is the most different out of the 80s bunch of films, essentially because it's  a classic 80s sex comedy! T & A!.

Directed by Greydon Clark the film was theatrically released on March 4, 1983 in the United States by Jensen Farley Pictures and was the fifth highest grossing in its first week. It grossed $3,952,448 in the United States.

The film was released on VHS by Vestron Video. Liberation Entertainment released the film on DVD in 2006. It was released on Blu-ray by Scorpion in 2013 as a 30th anniversary edition.

The production took 13 days and allowed the image of Pac-Man by video game developer Midway Games to be used in the film. Also, they allowed the filmmakers to showcase Satan's Hollow and the then-unreleased Super Pac-Man during the film's climactic video game showdown.

Plot

Jefferson Bailey (Scott McGinnis) runs the most popular video arcade in town, much to the chagrin of local businessman Joseph Rutter (Joe Don Baker). With his two bumbling nephews, Rutter aims to frame Bailey and have his business shut down. Bailey, however, is wise to Rutter's plan and teams with best friends Eugene Grobit (Leif Green) and McDorfus (Jim Greenleaf) to stop this scheme, which also involves a video game duel with punker King Vidiot (Jon Gries). 

 

My baby girl can't hang around with suchlewd people.

Green Day can suck my punk balls!

Review
 

The story mode from Joysticks is that there’s a popular video arcade, and a rich man wants it shut down because he’s sick of his daughter hanging around the awful people who patronize it. Among this clientele are every single ’80s movie stereotype: the cool kids, the valley girls, the nerd, the slob, and the punks.

The rich guy — played by Joe Don Baker, also has two bumbling nephews who act as his goons to try to sabotage the arcade to win their uncle’s favor.

You know how, sometimes, people will try to do some sort of modern homage to the ’80s, and they put all these obvious tropes in it, like bad acting, bad hair, bad clothes, a synth soundtrack, a predictable and hackneyed plot — and you see it and think, “well, they didn’t really make movies like that in the ’80s, this is just an idealized stereotype.”

Nope. It was true. And Joysticks is that movie.

I never saw such fine ladies at the video arcade back in my day.

You're on TV smile!

Everything the movie tries to accomplish, it does fairly. The cool kids aren’t that cool. The punks are not that punk and the trouble they cause is inconsequential. The pranks that the kids pull on each other are lame. The naughty scenes are unsexy excuses to show topless girls. The rich guy isn’t even that rich, he’s like barely upper middle class.

Of course, there are plenty of video games in the movie. It’s always cool to see original arcade cabinets back in the day. There are tons of popular titles, like Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, Defender, Pole Position, and Centipede, but you can also spot lots of lesser-known games, like Space Dungeon and Star Castle.

Interestingly, there’s a scene featuring a game you may not have seen before. It’s referred to in the film and credits as “Stripper Game,” but a quick bit of research turned up that it was a 1981 game called Streaking by Shoei. Already a bawdy game featuring nudity — which is probably why we never really saw it outside Japan — it apparently was retooled a bit for this movie. So at least there’s a bit of obscure game esoterica here that’s worth a look — if you can get past the fact that the scene showing this game is also full of welcomed boobs.

 

Gamer tits.

The rare Streaking arcade game.

The arcade also has what’s called The Arena, which is two oversized screens side-by-side with two gigantic, floor-mounted joysticks in front of them, which they use for competitions. There are two major contests in the movie, one pitting punk King Vidiot against the slovenly Dorfus in a game of Satan’s Hollow, and another featuring Vidiot versus the arcade’s owner, Jeff Bailey, in a Super Pac-Man faceoff. It’s ridiculous, but actually could be seen as a bit forward-thinking, in today’s era of gigantic arcade machines from Raw Thrills. It also looks an awful lot like the climactic scene in The Wizard.

All things considered, Bailey’s Arcade actually looks like a pretty cool place. I’d totally hang out there. They have hot dogs!

Joysticks was only released on VHS back in the day — never on laser-disc or CED — and copies go for quite a bit in today’s collector market. There were a few DVD releases in the past several years, which are also now out-of-print and expensive (the only one available on Amazon that’s inexpensive is a region 2 version). However, if you have Amazon Prime, Joysticks is available to stream for free!

 

Sexy gamer ladies.

Talk about product placement!

It should also be noted that Ship to Shore Phono Co., the record label responsible for many great video game soundtrack LPs, did put out the Joysticks sountrack on vinyl, but the limited pressing of 1000 units is also sold out.

Now, before we go, here's our trivia section  for this 80s gem:

1.When Greydon Clark approached game company Midway about using the image of Pac-Man in the film, he also requested that they allow him to feature a yet-to-be-released game in order to increase the film's appeal. The game Midway chose to feature was Satan's Hollow, which is played in the face-off between King Vidiot and McDorfus. Strangely enough, games that were allegedly made for kids, ended up being promoted in an adult T&A comedy.

2.Director Greydon Clark has stated that he developed the idea for the film after seeing teenagers waiting in line to enter an arcade. He decided that an arcade-themed film could tap into that market. He wasn't wrong, was he?

 

3.Exterior of the arcade is the actual exterior of the warehouse in which the arcade set was built. 

 

You'll get the girl at the arcade.

You'll get two girls at the arcade!

4.The opening scene with Eugene (Leif Green) was shot without permits in less than an hour.
 

5. Shot in three weeks.
 

6.This film was made under the title "Video Madness."
 

7.All the video games were rented from a local wholesaler.
 

8.The house used as Joseph Rutter's home had once belonged to Nat 'King' Cole, at a time when Cole was the only African-American in the neighborhood.
 

9.Jon Gries came up with the idea to sit on top of a chair instead of in said chair during the town council trial sequence.
 
10.The town council trial sequence was filmed in a rented VFW facility. 

 

 

Whatcha got there stud?

You've unlocked the nude level!

So yeah, Joysticks is awful. And yet, if you’re the type of movie fan who actually loves watching terrible movies (and there are plenty of those folks out there — I admit, I can be one myself), I gotta say, Joysticks is also watchable enough to be that Friday night session you might be looking for. It’s really a pretty solid package of ’80s bad teen movie cliches that you might actually enjoy.

 

Here's the movie trailer:

 

 

The opening credits:

 

 

The Avengers (TV Series)

R.I.P. Dame Diana Rigg.

I'm really sad to publish this review this late. I'd been planning it for months. Unfortunately, this week I was devastated by the terrible news: Dame Diana Rigg, dead at 82...

Emma Peel is one of the earliest memories I have of seeing an empowered woman do justice by herself with a tremendously avant-garde set of skills. Not that anyone cares but, Today,  I'm a 38 years old man, I wasn't even born when the show originally aired, so thanks to the 80s  frequent reruns of old TV shows,I got to meet one of the most important female characters of all time. 

*Bare in mind, today's review is about The Avengers Seasons 4, 5, & 6. The seasons that had an official international release (over 90 countries) and coincidentally, the seasons that featured Dame Diana Rigg's character.

 

"But aren't The Avengers*  the blockbuster superhero films?"

No. The Avengers we're talking about today, is a British espionage television programme created in 1961. It initially focused on Dr. David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). The series ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as 46 minute episodes for its entire run. The pilot episode, "Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 21 May 1969 in the United Kingdom. The Avengers was produced by ABC Television, a contractor within the ITV network. After a merger with Rediffusion London in July 1968, ABC Television became Thames Television, which continued production of the series, though it was still broadcast under the ABC name. By 1969, The Avengers was shown in more than 90 countries. ITV produced a sequel series, The New Avengers (1976–1977), with Patrick Macnee returning as John Steed, and two new partners. In 2004 and 2007, The Avengers was ranked No. 17 and No. 20 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.

 

Mrs. Peel & Mr. Steed.

Spies with class.

Background.

The show was sold to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1965, and The Avengers became one of the first British series to be aired on prime-time US television. The ABC network paid the then-unheard-of sum of $2 million for the first 26 episodes. The average budget for each episode was reportedly £56,000, which was high for the British industry. The fourth series aired in the US from March to the beginning of September 1966.

The US deal meant that the producers could afford to start shooting the series on 35mm film. The use of film, rather than the videotape of the earlier episodes, was essential, because British 405-line video was technically incompatible with the US NTSC videotape format. Filmed productions were standard on US prime-time television at the time. The Avengers continued to be produced in black and white.

The transfer to film meant that episodes would be shot using the single-camera setup, giving the production greater flexibility. The use of film production and the single-camera production style allowed more sophisticated visuals and camera angles, and more outdoor location shots, all of which greatly improved the look of the series. As was standard on British television filmed production through the 1960s, all location work on Series 4 was shot mute, with the soundtrack created in post-production. Dialogue scenes were filmed in the studio, leading to some jumps between location and studio footage.

 

Mrs. Peel Lotus.

Mr. Steed mighty steed.

New female partner Mrs. Emma Peel (Dame Diana Rigg) debuted in October 1965. The name of the character derived from a comment by writers, during development, that they wanted a character with "man appeal". In an early attempt to incorporate this concept into the character's name, she was called "Samantha Peel", shortened to the awkward "Mantha Peel". Eventually, the writers began referring to the idea by the verbal shorthand "M. Appeal", which gave rise to the character's ultimate name. Emma Peel, whose husband went missing while flying over the Amazon, retained the self-assuredness of Gale, combined with superior fighting skills, intelligence and a contemporary fashion sense.

After more than 60 actresses had been auditioned, the first choice to play the role was Elizabeth Shepherd. However, after filming one and a half episodes (the pilot, "The Town of No Return", and part of "The Murder Market"), Shepherd was released. Her on-screen personality was deemed less interesting than that of Blackman's Gale, and it was decided that she was not right for the role. Another 20 actresses were auditioned before the show's casting director, Dodo Watts, suggested that producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell check out a televised drama featuring the relatively unknown Rigg (she had earlier guested in an episode of The Sentimental Agent that Clemens had written). Rigg's screen test with Macnee showed that the two immediately worked well together.

A prologue was added to the beginning of all the fourth-series episodes for the American broadcasts. This was to clarify some initial confusion audiences had regarding the characters and their mission. In the opener, a waiter holding a champagne bottle falls dead onto a human-sized chessboard, a dagger protruding from a target on his back. Steed and Mrs. Peel (dressed in her trademark leather catsuit) walk up to the body as the voice-over explains: "Extraordinary crimes against the people, and the state, have to be avenged by agents extraordinary. Two such people are John Steed, top professional, and his partner Emma Peel, talented amateur. Otherwise known as The Avengers." During this voice-over, Steed pours two drinks from the wine bottle and Mrs. Peel replaces her gun in her boot. They clink glasses and depart together as the screen fades to black and the opening titles begin. 

 

Empowered woman.

Yet very delicate.

Review. 

Dame Diana Rigg said in a 2015 interview "Emma Peel was avant-garde". However, she acknowledged, this was the result of mere causality since none of the producers, writers and people involved in the series production thought "ahead of their time". Implying the industry was at its most sexist (she was under payed. Camera men made more than She did!) back then, this product of causality empowered millions of women that saw themselves reflected in Emma Peel's impressive skills. As a matter of fact, I think that's what made the character remain in everyone's hearts for decades to come.

Although Patrick Mcnee was brilliant as John Steed, the masculine secret agent wasn't an original idea, even by the time the series originally aired. On the other hand, Emma Peel was nowhere near a damsel in distress. She knew Kung-fu, Judo, she was an expert in sciences, quick-witted and never, ever had to answer to a man. She drove her own sports car, had a wardrobe that established new standards in fashion, could easily use any weapon at hand, and didn't exploit her physique to get whatever she wanted. She was the archetype of feminine empowerment and, I, a stinky greasy unworthy male, could see that even when I was a small kid. The industry needs more Emma Peels and less [insert whatever name you can think of here].

Now, the combined talents of McNee & Rigg provided our screen with one of the finest couples ever seen on TV, and it shows. They were so good together, producers allowed to improvise their lines and even write their own dialogs whenever they came across a dead body, and boy did they come across dead bodies throughout the 51 episodes they partnered together.

World famous Emmapeelers.

Ready for action!

Setting aside the above mentioned talent of their protagonists, The Avengers was indeed a marvelous series where genre variety played a key role establishing the show as one of the greatest of all time. Besides the relatively obvious espionage episodes full of Soviet spies and her Majesty's traitors, there were cyborgs, mad scientists, horror stories, Aliens, secret societies, absurd yet terribly dangerous characters, corruption, frame-ups, blackmail, eccentric murderers, feminist killers, butlers, Arabian princes, state-of -the-art  weapons, food poisoning, high tech murdering houses, and amongst all of that 19 gallons of Champagne!

After Rigg decided it was her time to move on from the series, "because She didn't want to play the part forever". She became the only Bond girl to actually marry the fictional character in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".  She also continued to work in plays (she acted in 38 plays from 1957 to 2018), 51 TV series (including The Avengers & Game Of Thrones), and 18 movies. The Black Narcisus series will be released posthumously this year, as well as the Last Night In Soho film set to release next year. 

Patrick McNee died in 2015. Legend has it they remained friends long after the series was cancelled. 

 

The Avengers Trivia

 

• Emma Peel's name was taken from the British movie industry expression "M-Appeal", or "man-appeal", which is what the show's producers were looking for in her character. Something that makes total sense considering Dame Diana Rigg said producers made her characer avant-garde by  causality.
• During her first season, Dame Diana Rigg was dismayed to find out that the cameraman was being paid more than she was. She demanded a raise, to put her more on a par with her co-star, or she would leave the show. The producers gave in, thanks to the show's great popularity in the U.S. 
• Series writer Brian Clemens noted in an interview the sexual chemistry that particularly existed between Steed and Emma Peel, and the common question of "Will they ever go to bed together?" Clemens' attitude toward the characters was that they already had done, and this was the next day. Patrick Macnee and Dame Diana Rigg confirmed later in interviews that they had decided their characters had a casual sexual relationship, "but just didn't dwell on it."  
• The look and character of Steed is an amalgam of Patrick Macnee's father (a racehorse trainer and dandy), fictional character The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Macnee's commanding officer in the Navy. 
• At least two principal actresses and one principal actor in this show appeared in James Bond movies: Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964), Dame Diana Rigg (Contessa Teresa "Tracy" Di Vicenzo Bond) in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), and Patrick Macnee as Sir Godfrey Tibbett in A View to a Kill (1985).
• Dame Diana Rigg was the first person ever to do Kung Fu on-screen. In 1965, Ray Austin went to his producers and said, "Listen, I want to do this thing called Kung Fu." They said "Kung what?" and insisted that Emma, like her predecessor, stick to judo. Instead, Austin secretly taught Rigg Kung Fu. 
• Mrs. Peel's maiden name is Knight. We learn more about her childhood and her relationship with her mother and father in an exhibition on the "late Emma Peel" in season four, episode twenty-three, "The House That Jack Built".  
• According to Patrick Macnee in his book "The Avengers and Me", Dame Diana Rigg disliked wearing leather and insisted on a new line of fabric athletic wear for the fifth season. Alun Hughes, who had designed clothing for her personal wardrobe, was suggested by Dame Diana to design Emma Peel's "softer" new wardrobe. Pierre Cardin was brought in to design a new wardrobe for Macnee. 
• Emma Peel's revolver is a gold-plated, pearl-handled pocket version of the Webley Mk IV chambered for .380/200 (a.k.a. .38 Smith & Wesson).  
• Dame Diana Rigg auditioned for the role of Emma Peel on a whim, without ever having seen this show. 
• This show was the first British television show sold to an American network.
• "The Avengers" became ground-breaking for introducing regular female characters who were portrayed as being just as tough, brave, and tenacious as men.

You don't mess with Mrs. Peel.

Style.

 

Now the influence The Avengers had, and especially Emma Peel's influence inspired several artists to write songs about her. Sit back, and chillax to the following songs.

 

The Pretenders "Don't Get Me Wrong"

The Cretones "Hey Mrs. Peel"

The Allies "Emma Peel"

Dishwalla "Miss Emma Peel"

Matmatah "Emma".

Slot "Emma Peel"

Sadly, the songs by Pussy Galore, Shark Inferno and Babette Novak didn't have an available video at the time this post was made.

Overall, the three seasons featuring the great Emma Peel, are The Avengers at their best. If you still haven't given them a try, do so now. You won't  regret it.

Last but not least, our classic opening and ending section:

Season 4 Opening & Ending.

 

Season 5 opening.

Season 6 opening.

 

Dame Diana Rigg, may you rest in peace...

忍者龍剣伝 / Ninja Gaiden

From NES to Animé.

 

Context:

On a dark, late night in New York City, Ryu Hayabusa is chased and attacked by assassins. After disposing of them, he finds an I.D. card for the Friedman Company. The next day, it is announced that Dr. Ned Friedman has discovered a cure for cancer. But after providing no information at his press conference, a reporter named Sarah decides to investigate with the help of her friends Robert and Jeff. When passing by Dr. Friedman's house one day, Ryu hears the voice of a young girl calling for help. When Sarah and her entourage investigate the house as well, they run into their colleague, Ryu. Upon that, they discover Dr. Friedman has been conducting experiments on live humans using biotechnology, and that it may have something to do with the power of the Evil Gods, whom Ryu had defeated in the past. But when Ryu's friend, Irene, is kidnapped, he must dawn his role as a Dragon Ninja once again to defeat this new enemy and save her...

 

"Of course you are excited by battle! We all love violence! We all love getting drunk! We all love sleeping with women! Some of us even enjoy sleeping with men! The point is that we are manly men and that is nothing to be ashamed of! Now lets go kill some fucking demons and celebrate with some fucking beer!"

- Robert Sturgeon from Ninja Gaiden: The anime

Evil rises.

...And so does good.

Overview:

Ninja Gaiden (NINJA 外伝) is a series of video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as Ninja Ryukenden (忍者龍剣伝, Ninja Ryūkenden, "Legend of the Ninja Dragon Sword") in Japan. The word "Gaiden" in the North American Ninja Gaiden title means "side-story" in Japanese, though the Ninja Gaiden series is not a spinoff of a previous series. The original arcade version, first two Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games and Game Boy game were released as Shadow Warriors in PAL regions.

The series gained popularity on the 8-bit NES for its tight action-platform gameplay, catchy music and, according to G4's X-Play, for being the first console game to have the story presented in cinematic cutscenes. The 8-bit trilogy was enhanced for the 16-bit Super Nintendo (SNES) in 1995. Sega also released two Ninja Gaiden games for the Game Gear and Master System, the latter only for PAL regions. A new game, titled Ninja Gaiden, was released in 2004 as a 3D action game on the Xbox, developed by Team Ninja, the makers of Dead or Alive. The Ninja Gaiden franchise is known for its high degree of difficulty, particularly the original NES version and the Xbox revival.

 

You better hide Irene!

A tad bloodier than the original game.

Story:

This is a direct sequel to the original Ninja Gaiden game from 1988. The world is constantly under threat by demons, who are held at bay by the ninjas of the Hayabusa Clan. Our hero is Ryu Hayabusa, who currently lives in New York City and does...uh...ninja things. His girlfriend is a Chinese American named Irene who runs a Chinese antique shop. In my head canon, it's the rival shop to Uncle's from Jackie Chan Adventures. Suddenly, a pair of mad scientists want to summon demons and bring chaos to the world. One of them also kidnaps Irene, so now its up to Ryu and his 2 American mercenary friends to save the day! The plot is simple, but it works. This is an adaptation of a game where the main plot is that you keep getting knocked into holes by birds, LOL.

Nah, the actual game story is about a  ninja named Ryu Hayabusa who finds a letter by his recently missing father, Ken, telling him to go to America and meet with an archaeologist Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith tells Ryu that two statues hidden by Ryu's father and the doctor have the power to end the world if united. Ryu ends up in South America and battles Jaquio, an evil cult leader bent on reviving the ancient demon called "Jashin" and responsible for the attack on Ken Hayabusa.

Friends are always welcomed.

 

Suit up!

Characters:

Ryu is a stoic, badass ninja who kills people in awesome ways. This anime doesn't try to force a tragic backstory or shoehorn in some forced character moments. It knows it only has 40 minutes to tell its story and those 40 minutes should be filled with cool Ninja stuff. Honestly though it is Ryu's mercenary pals that steal the show. The character Robert Sturgeon is voiced by the incomparable Norio Wakamoto and it just shows how a great actor can take a cheesy speech and make it GLORIOUS. Think Raul Julia in the Street Fighter movie and that's like Wakamoto in this anime. This is the guy who voiced Cell, Alexander Anderson, Oskar von Reuenthal, Vicious, M Bison, and everyone's favorite, the floating cat from Azumanga Daioh. His charisma is off the scales and here he is allowed to ham it up as much as he wants. 

Animation:

This anime was made in 1991. Considering all that, it looks pretty damn good for what it is. The action scenes are plentiful and the blood is heavy. It has an annoying habit of often being lit really dark to hide the limited animation, but besides that I have no complaints. Studio Junio, the team behind the production of this OVA has made a few other Anime. The most popular being Saber Marionette J, 3x3 Eyes: Seima Densetsu and Amada  Anime Series: Super Mario Bros. The animation style resembles that of Macross II  and other Anime from the early 90s.

Experimenting with bio-engineering.    

 

...But you must save the world.

Review:

So this an adaptation of a video game with a 3 sentence plot, made on a limited budget by a nothing studio. This has NO right to be a decent anime, and yet it honestly is. Who directed this beautiful schlock? Mamoru Kanbe. Of COURSE it was Kanbe. I have never seen an anime director so good at salvaging the worst possible situations. This dude is like The Wolf from Pulp Fiction. Why do I say Kanbe is underrated? Just ask the internet what it thinks of Elfen Lied. "Ugh..it's overrated crap for casual fags just like Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul, and Code Gayass!" Is there a difference between Elfen Lied and those others? Why yes there is. All of the other "casual trash" anime had budgets 40 times higher, were made by A-tier studios, and were based on red hot properties. Anybody could have directed Attack on Titan or Tokyo Ghoul and it would still be a hit. Kanbe was able to take a frankly horrendous manga and with a terrible studio and limited budget, craft one of the most beloved anime of its decade in countries around the world. The man has some SERIOUS talent.

I just had to watch this OVA after spending years playing the NES/Famicom trilogy which is famous for how hard it is. So I am biased about this one as a fan.

 

I don't remember this scene from the games but...

a manly statement.

In a nutshell, The OVA is a direct sequel to the first game picking up some time after the final battle against Jaqiuo. By the time this premiered, the Ninja Gaiden NES trilogy was already completed. However, the Sega Game Gear and Nintendo Game Boy were released on 1991, and the next year the Sega Master System version was made, so this little 45 minute film was made while the NES videogame trilogy was still selling like hotcakes. I mean, it made sense to work in an animated direct to video movie based upon this Nintendo hard blockbuster.

In order to make the Animé appealing to fans, there were some minor changes to the story and characters, like Irene not being a special agent or making Robert an "ex" soldier. They still do their jobs pretty well. Irene being a damsel in distress and Robert being a rad dude. And Robert has a few more buddies to hang out with.

All sorts of mutant monsters are on the way of justice...

...Before facing the final enemy.

Overall it is a great fanservice to me as a fan of the franchise. It is not the best but it is still a good watch even today.

 

Since there are no trailers, I'll finish this long overdue review with a picture of my Ninja Gaiden NES cartridge:

 

 

 That's a wrap for today, hope to post more often, stay home! wear a mask!