Category: Musings

Don't Call It A Comeback

Tomorrow, Atari SA launches its IndieGoGo pre-order campaign for its mysterious Ataribox VCS system. And if there is one thing that I am hoping will come out of this initial campaign, it’s that it answers this one simple question that can only be summed up in the best way possible.

“What the fuck are you trying to sell me, Atari?”

I’ve been holding off on the Rambles video on Ataribox for the simple reason that I wanted to wait until the campaign kicks off (or gets shitcanned again, whichever comes first) and perhaps reveal something a little more substantial about this upcoming project that has been a lot of hype over a whole lot of nothing. To say that there is nothing to get excited about over Ataribox would be stating the obvious and to compare Ataribox to other failed ventures such as the Ouya or the Gamestick would be beating a dead horse; a genre that Atari SA knows all too well, having done just that with the Atari brand since the dawn of time.

Nonetheless, I remain somewhat curious to see whether this thing will be worth the hype. Initial impressions based on what little info was made available was not very encouraging and any sort of ridicule that this has garnered is (sadly) well deserved, but maybe the next info drop will yield something more substantial that would present this Ataribox project as a potential alternative to the currently stagnant video game console scene rather than another in a long line of failed microconsole gimmicks that people are hoping would be viable because it has a familiar brand behind it.

Anyway, we’ll see what happens tomorrow and maybe I’ll make a video about it. Or maybe I’ll just put the dog to sleep.

For The Record…

As of today, I have yet to see the Solo movie. I have mixed thoughts on the matter and I’ve even seen a couple pictures of supposedly empty theatres showing the film. It might be a while, but I’d imagine sooner or later, I’ll catch a weekend viewing somewhere down the line… assuming big brother is up for it, of course.

That having been said, that logo in the recent review was going to happen regardless of whether the movie was good or bad… and I may very well keep it for any Star Wars-related fails in the future.

No More Saban Brands

Source article here.

TLDR (am I doing that right?): Saban Brands closes its doors July 2nd.

Well, you knew the Hasbro deal had to come to this. And given that Saban Brands existed solely for the sake of getting Power Rangers off Disney and try to make it viable in the interim years before the recent acquisition, I don’t think it was any surprise that this company would not last long beyond that. Sucks for the guys and gals getting laid off as a result and I do wish them all the best in whatever future endeavors they pursue.

That having been said, this DOES put a lot into question what happens to a lot of the older stuff they do own, such as the Beetleborgs, VR Troopers, and that Next Mutation series. Is Shell-Shocked once again going to be the only semblance of Saban’s Ninja Turtles the world is going to see come July?

I shudder to think.

Power Rangers Reflections Redux #07 – Shell Shocked

Yeah, like you thought I’d go through life never talking about this.

The fourth episode of Power Rangers In Space featured the one and only official crossover story between the Power Rangers in any form and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in any form. And to say it was a disappointment would be stating the obvious. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this episode, so let’s give it a look and we can move on to better things… maybe.

The reason this crossover was possible is because during this time, Saban was putting out a live-action Ninja Turtles series called The Next Mutation, which had the Turtles fighting off not perennial villain Shredder or any of the familiar menagerie, but a monster called Dragonlord and his band of putties or grunts or whatever. And on top of that, we have a fifth (female) Turtle named Venus, who knows magic and stuff. Said female Turtle is said to be a controversial addition and I’ll spare my thoughts on both the Turtle and the show for another time.

But the point is that when people like to visualize this particular crossover combination, they usually visualize the original Mighty Morphin team going up against the classic quintet Turtles incarnation (of which there are many, so take your pick.) What you’re getting here is not the “colossal” event that it might’ve been or could’ve been; it’s just a crossover between two shows that happened to be on the air at the time… and it’s just another episode of Power Rangers overall, as there was no attempt to do a similar crossover on the Next Mutation show.

Of course, that would’ve been problematic to pull off since Next Mutation had a somewhat smaller budget compared to PRIS and also, both shows were filmed in different locations. It also explains why the Turtles here have different sounding voices and personalities in comparison to their show of origin. But I’m jumping ahead here… also, two paragraphs share the same first word… let’s break that pattern now.

Continue reading “Power Rangers Reflections Redux #07 – Shell Shocked”

4-Hour Plus PPVs? I Tap.

WWE Backlash was a pretty awful show, but the one bright spot was that it wasn’t a ten-hour show or anything. Well, turns out that was an accident.

Word has gone around that WWE sent their international broadcasters advance noting that starting with the Money In The Bank PPV, all WWE PPVs will start at 7 p.m. and have a run time of four hours or more. The exception would be Wrestlemania and Summerslam, which will undoubtably be ten-hour marathons featuring a bunch of shitty matches and even more failed attempts to try and get people to give a shit about Roman Reigns in a way that makes him feel like a big star and not just in a THIS TIME FOR SURE.

Yeah, well, you know what? I tap.

I showed a bit of weakness on the “road to Wrestlemania” and gave the B-shows a chance… and they failed miserably. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to watch a four-hour PPV where the best match on the card is the opening contest and the bed gets shat on afterwards. You know what? I’m perfectly content on using the WWE Network to watch a whole bunch of old wrestling PPVs that I haven’t seen in a long while or even at all. And if that’s all the wrestling musings I end up doing on this blog going forward, then I’m perfectly content with that.

So I will more than likely skip the Money In The Bank PPV… and the PPV after that… and who knows? Unless the Summerslam card stacks up to something worth a damn, I may as well skip that show too. Worst case scenario, I don’t touch another WWE PPV until the Royal Rumble. And if I do end up watching a show, it’ll be weeks after the fact when I’m bored and I need random background noise to keep me awake.

This saddens me, because we got all these great, talented guys on the WWE product. I like watching guys like Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan Danielson, Kevin Owens, and others. They do good stuff and can pull off some awesome material and it just irritates me that the creative monkeys not only give these guys little to work with, but also manage to find ways to make me uninterested in anything they do. In some ways, I get irritated at seeing AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura get turned into a joke despite being awesome appearances while watching WWE attempt to get people to accept Roman Reigns as THE Guy, only to turn it into a running gag that I can’t take seriously anymore. I’m all but glad to see Daniel Bryan Danielson back to doing what he loves doing and am hoping he gets some deep material to work with in the future, but doubt that he will. I’d want to be able to give the women a chance, but how can I when WWE decides to put the focus on their failed UFC charisma vacuum?

So yeah, unless there’s something worth watching, I’m done with WWE PPVs until the Rumble rolls along. I think I’ll stick with watching some of the older stuff. Sure, there might be some stinkers, but at least they’ll be interesting… unless the focus is on McSon-In-Law. Then, it’s going to suck.

FOX Expected To Air WWE Smackdown In 2019

Source article can be read here.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Fox could very well be the new home of WWE Smackdown starting October 2019. The deal will not only ensure that Smackdown will air on FOX for five years, but the deal is estimated to be worth close to $1 billion. Now that’s a huge chunk of change right there.

Good news for WWE as they found a home for Smackdown and maybe Fox will give that show a good push in ads. Meanwhile, it looks like RAW will stay on USA network for the moment.

There Are Them Street Fighters In Power Rangers: Legacy Wars… WTF

So, first off… I already did the Street Fighter/Power Rangers crossover ages ago. Actually, I did it TWICE. Once in a comic form and another in a prose fanfic form that mocked the whole idea.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way… um, yeah, why is this even a thing?

Look, I dig the Legacy Wars game. I didn’t think I would because of the lack of single-player experience and the chances of having to be online all the time means I won’t be playing this thing on long road trips, but it’s a fun little diversion regardless. That having been said, I don’t know why this game needed Street Fighter characters to “spice up” the roster when you still have a whole bunch of pre-existing Rangers, grunts, villains, and whatnots that still haven’t got a chance to shine.

I’m sure somewhere down the line, I might make a grab at one or two of them if they’re not that out of reach, but really, why is this even a thing?