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Here’s the finish to George Lucas’ visit with Stephen Colbert, featuring an exciting new Tek Jansen adventure. I have to confess that I censored 19 seconds of the cartoon! The opening scene is just a bit too much for a family blog. Sorry! 🙁
Was there ever a super-hero named Pratt, you ask? Why yes, as a matter of fact, there was.
Al Pratt was the original Atom. Introduced by DC Comics in 1940, during the Golden Age of comic books, Pratt was very short, about 5 feet tall, and he had the strength of a, uh, normal man. But he was tough. Real tough! And he learned how to be a — a — really good boxer. *Sigh.* OK, so he wasn’t Superman. But neither was Batman. So there!
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Previously, I posted one of the better entries in Stephen Colbert’s Green Screen Challenge. Last night, Colbert announced the winner. But wait! There was a special, surprise last-minute entry. See for yourself!
As mentioned several weeks ago, the first time Monty Python members John Cleese and Terry Gilliam worked together was in a humor magazine called HELP! In issue #24, cover date May 1965, an impossibly young-looking Cleese appeared in a fumetti (photo comic) titled, “Christopher’s Punctured Romance.” It seems fitting to present it now, immediately after viewing the videos of Stephen Colbert’s deft jabs at feminine and feminist stereotypes in the previous posts. I would suspect that the author’s name, Dave Crossley, is a pseudonym for Cleese himself *, but I have been unable to confirm whether or not that’s true. For me, the use of the name “Jennings” in the story is something of a giveaway. Also, I once spoke with HELP!’s creator and editor, Harvey Kurtzman, about this story and I don’t recall him referring to anyone other than Cleese being involved, except for the fact it was Gilliam who had found him performing off-off-Broadway with a British troupe called the Cambridge Circus.
*See comments
A complete, uncensored scan of “Christopher’s Punctured Romance” is in the gallery, and can be viewed by clicking the PG-13 logo. I have applied this rating because, as described by one friend, “it’s a bit perverse;” but, then, so was a lot of Monty Python’s material. The story works on many levels, being subversive and, yes, somewhat obscene. But it’s a sharp critique of a male-female value system that was changing rapidly in the mid-60’s, as well as a scathing indictment of the true symbolism of Barbie™, beyond its popularity as a mere toy. I would characterize it as depravity in the service of enlightenment.
NOTE: Grateful acknowledgment is hereby given to Dennis F. Rogers for loan of his copy of the original magazine.
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I don’t want this to become another Stephen Colbert blog, and goodness knows any video I post from the show will be found sooner, rather than later, on YouTube. But Colbert had a great closing to his feminism show last night, so here it is. He’s one of the finest comic actors I’ve ever seen.
Tonight’s show is supposed to include the third Tek Jansen installment, and the winning entry to the Green Screen Challenge. Plan on seeing both of them here on Thursday!
Note: This is how I’ll be presenting videos from now on — linking, not embedding.
I’ve decided to stop using embedded video and audio. Everybody moans. Awwwww….
Sorry, but the problem with it is the setup phase, which can be seen in the status bar message, “Connecting to media.” When there are several of these on the same page, the load time takes too long, especially if the hosting service is busy. The server is in Phoenix, by the way.
From now on what I’ll do for video is take a screen shot and make it a link to the file. The videos will appear in their original size, 320×240 pixels, and you’ll have to use your media player to make them bigger. For audio I’ll try to find a picture to use for the link, but failing that there will instead be a text link.
