Discuss the Current Episode

quote:

Originally posted by Narsham Dorothy does make the perfect superego, doesn't she? Except maybe in The Greatest Villain.

Well, no, she doesn't. Unlike a conscience, she tends to be completely silent when Roger is making his most important decisions. Roger looks to her for moral support rather than moral guidance, but when the chips are down he tends to make his decisions alone.

Nor do I agree that Big O is unconscious in any meaningful sense; just inarticulate. The two aren't the same thing at all.

quote:

Originally posted by A Clockwork Tomato Unlike a conscience, she tends to be completely silent when Roger is making his most important decisions. Roger looks to her for moral support rather than moral guidance, but when the chips are down he tends to make his decisions alone. Nor do I agree that Big O is unconscious in any meaningful sense; just inarticulate. The two aren't the same thing at all.

Well, comparisons of this sort are liable to be incomplete at best, just because it may not make good dramatic sense for the writers to follow those conventions to the letter. However, consider that the id is posited as the oldest part of the psyche and the part from the which the ego (sense of self) springs. Big O clearly seems to predate Roger, and Roger "just knows" how to use it with no conscious effort or even memory of learning how.

The superego, besides being the seat of conscience, is also the de facto arbiter of social norms. We hear Dorothy talking about "form's sake" at least once, and we also see her sense of appropriateness in action whenever she lets someone know she's Not A Real Girl. And then there's her aversion to lying.

Roger clearly is the sense of self and the show's primary interface with the tangible world, both in position and function. Put all three together, and you have a perfectly integrated team.

Again, the parallels are neither slavish nor exact, but they're interesting to contemplate.

I love this episode. Not that we really needed telling, but it shows that Dorothy is not only capable of emotions, she's capable of emotions on someone else's behalf, when she became overwhelmed by anxiety for Instro.

Roger, as usual, is pleased when he sees additional evidence of her emotions, so long as she's not using them to bug him.

Instro is quite a charmer, too. Very polite. Wonderful voice. He's not without emotions, either.

The episode throws a lot of light on the Megadeuses and their androids. Instro is yet another android with a human personality -- he has definite memories from his human childhood. How Amadeus copied the memories of his human child into an android brain is unclear. Is Dorothy just the same? When Roger asks her questions, he almost always does it in an irritating manner, which causes Dorothy to snarl at him and then clam up.

When Constanze is active, he seems to be partially mind-controlling Instro, who manages, for a brief time, to believe that it is his duty to destroy Paradigm and that this is what his father wanted. Once Constanze is disarmed (if you'll excuse the pun), this influence seems to fade. However, in an odd echo of Dorothy's mimicry of Dorothy 1's actions (even to the point of falling unconscious when Dorothy 1 did), Instro feels compelled to destroy his hands in mimicry of the injury suffered by Constanze.

That phonosonic device is one nasty weapon. Big O seemed completely defenseless against it. And the idea that there's a convenient portable version you can build into a walking stick is not one that makes for pleasant dreams, either.

Dorothy smiles while she listens to Instro playing at the end! It's gonna be a long time before we see her do THAT again!

quote:

That phonosonic device is one nasty weapon. Big O seemed completely defenseless against it. And the idea that there's a convenient portable version you can build into a walking stick is not one that makes for pleasant dreams, either.

Some folks might be surprised what can be concealed inside a walking stick or cane.


o/`But they told us
All they wanted
Was a sound that could kill someone
From a distance. o/`

-- Kate Bush, "Experiment IV," circa 1987

http://gaffa.org/sensual/l_exiv.html


Doc

Or, going by it's original title:
Of Pianos and Lounge Players.

I can't blame Roger for getting up from time to time in a pissy mood; having a beautiful, scenic view right out your bedroom window of nice, big clock towers having suffered the effects of bomb blasts can perhaps help set the tone of your day when you first strain to crack open one eyelid in the early afternoon.
I wonder what Norman thinks to himself whenever Roger has a case of the snippies when he asks his Master a simple, honest question.

Whatever the problem is, it must be a doozey judging from the way he's stomping on the throttle pedal and slicing-up traffic like that - even getting his Griffon airborne.
That must be good for it's longevity.
I wonder how much that car weighs.
Ahh, well...it's not like he's the one that'll be making repairs, anyway, so he probably doesn't hold back whenever a spell of road rage comes over his raven-suited self.

I wonder what Dorothy thought when Roger told her to look around once they stepped foot inside The Amadeus.
"Roger...why does everyone look half in the bag?"
I think that I may know what the bartender thought when he first saw them:
"Hmmm", he thinks.
"Now, what would be a suitable drink for a couple dressed like they just came from a funeral?"

What the heck do those fancy words that Instro used while he's waving his finger mean?
Does he mean that Dorothy rocks?
She sure does - but stand in line, 'kay?

Well, there goes that deep, artistic mood.
Whenever you have a strange-looking guy with super-long grey hair and a lens over that popular left eye show up, you know that the plot is going to start picking up and some kind of a mecha is gonna pop up.

Dastun.
That ink'll never come out of that white shirt.
Don't make things so difficult for Norman on laundry day, OK?

A couple of the specs on Giseng's file look like the result of Metric-to-English conversions.

Ahh, well.
Another day, another door off it's hinges.
When Roger hears those attention-getting words come out of Dorothy's mouth, I wonder if that little something that's been tucked away in the back of his mind since the moment at Soldano's factory was screaming something like:
"Rats!
When is she gonna' start saying that stuff about me?"

Constanze reminds me of a big tick.
And where the heck did Instro's shirt go?
Yup.
While your opponent is taking a trip down memory lane when listening to your employee's playing, then is the time to launch the missiles.
Bow tie held in pale, delicate fingers.
Cue fade-out on touching note.

One thing that I'm left wondering is whose idea it was to fix Roger's ass with that prank at the end.

A great episode. Definitely a favourite, even though there isn't any Schwarzwald. Maybe it's because it first introduced me to Chopin, and he's since become one of my favourite composers.

quote:

Originally posted by YZEtc What the heck do those fancy words that Instro used while he's waving his finger mean?

fortissimo

adj : chiefly a direction or description in music n : (music) with great loudness [syn: forte] adv : a direction in music; to be played very loudly


pianissimo

n. pl. pi·a·nis·si·mos
A part of a composition played very softly or quietly.

Gotcha'.
I'll remember that for the next time I see this one, Ness.

man, there are a lot of german people in paradigm, Geezhang(sp?) is german...

is Dorothy actually smiling?

Giesang looks suspiciously like Dr. Moriarity in SHERLOCK HOUND, a series where Miyazaki (all bow down before Miyazaki!) did a lot of the original design and the first episodes. He even SOUNDS like Moriarity in the English dub (which is quite good) -- I haven't checked to see if the voice actor is the same.

In SHERLOCK HOUND, all the characters are dogs except Moriarity, who is a wolf, and Holmes, who is a fox.

quote:

Originally posted by C.R Foxhound is Dorothy actually smiling?

Yep, but only at R. Instro's piano playing, unfortunately.

Is it just me, or do the cars at the bottom of the sea in Act 7 look more modern than the rest of the cars in the series?
Significant?
Mistake?

The whole thing of them on the dock and the mysterious fog makes me think of Scooby Doo....

Back to the subject, they are wearing diving suits. Roger refers to them as "clothes that let them swim underwater", I believe.

quote:

Originally posted by GAT-X105 Is it just me, or do the cars at the bottom of the sea in Act 7 look more modern than the rest of the cars in the series? Significant? Mistake?

I'd say it's just more evidence that the Event threw everything retro. NO more color tv, no more Megadei, no more world outside Paradigm City...

Other interesting things: Rosewater's phone is touchtone, but has a rotary-like dial for its buttons.

There's a very "Call of Cthulu" feel for this episode, right down to the title itself. "The Call From the Past" sounds like something Lovecraft would write. THe "Sea Titan" is even called Dagon, and those "Servants" are rather like Cthulu Cultists.

However, Dagon's rampage through the seaport district seems straight out of a Godzilla film! There's even an unusuallly Asian style to the buildings in the area. Heheh.

Is it just me, or does Dorothy seem somewhat sad that Roger is going away for the night and leaving her there? She looks like she's on the verge of tears.

Speaking of Dorothy: Just how does she do that jump thing she did in Big O's cockpit? Also, she seemed rather displeased with the male sex tonight, didnt she? No less than two disparaging comments, one towards Norman and the other to Roger. Hehe. Of course, Roger was being strange. Maybe it was lack of oxygen to the brain?

Also, the sub's builder, Readerman looked a lot like Rosewater to me. Freaky. Very freaky.

Gee... it's late and I'm even less observant than usual. I though he was saying the green sea titan guys look more modern....

im such a louse

quote:

Originally posted by BigPrime quote: Originally posted by GAT-X105 Is it just me, or do the cars at the bottom of the sea in Act 7 look more modern than the rest of the cars in the series? Significant? Mistake? I'd say it's just more evidence that the Event threw everything retro. NO more color tv, no more Megadei, no more world outside Paradigm City... Other interesting things: Rosewater's phone is touchtone, but has a rotary-like dial for its buttons. There's a very "Call of Cthulu" feel for this episode, right down to the title itself. "The Call From the Past" sounds like something Lovecraft would write. THe "Sea Titan" is even called Dagon, and those "Servants" are rather like Cthulu Cultists. However, Dagon's rampage through the seaport district seems straight out of a Godzilla film! There's even an unusuallly Asian style to the buildings in the area. Heheh. Is it just me, or does Dorothy seem somewhat sad that Roger is going away for the night and leaving her there? She looks like she's on the verge of tears. Speaking of Dorothy: Just how does she do that jump thing she did in Big O's cockpit? Also, she seemed rather displeased with the male sex tonight, didnt she? No less than two disparaging comments, one towards Norman and the other to Roger. Hehe. Of course, Roger was being strange. Maybe it was lack of oxygen to the brain? Also, the sub's builder, Readerman looked a lot like Rosewater to me. Freaky. Very freaky.

"Call of Cthulu"? Hm, yeah, I can see that, though the first Lovecraftian reference that occurred to me was "Shadow Over Innsmouth," which had something about Dagon in it, IIRC. (It's been a long time.)

Doc

Like #5 and #6 before it, The Call from The Past isn't one of the episodes that stick into my memory really strongly.
Oh, sure, it's got it's fun moments, but if - for example - I woke up one morning and suddenly discovered that this episode was no longer in my collection, I'd probably just throw a major fit, and then be set for the rest of the day.
Now, if one like Roger the Negotiator or Underground Terror or Enemy is Another Big! was gone, well...geez...don't get me so worked-up, 'kay?

Cutting back and forth from flashbacks to present always is a surefire way to spice-up an otherwise average episode.

Hmmm.
Somebody is throwing a major nicotine fit.
The votes are in:
Angel's wet look is a hit.
However, if she weren't pacing around so nervously, she wouldn't have gotten so hot and had to remove some clothing.
Hold it.
On second thought, want to run a couple of laps around the room?
I'll time you.
Roger's probably thinking: Aahh. If only the marks on that back could talk...
Roger, shut up.
That wasn't even funny, for cryin' out loud.
Angel's only laughing because she's getting light-headed due to lack of oxygen.

Yeah, Dorothy, I'm on your side:
All I get is nothing more than riddles, too - especially as this series goes on.
You are not alone.

Rub-a-dub-dub,
Two sleuths in a sub...
And they're of the opposite sex, eh?
I wouldn't be expecting much sleuthing to get done.
Well, not of the scheduled kind, anyway.

Ooooooooo-kaaaay.
Where in the heck is the Prairie Dog going?
How did Roger and an unconscious Angel get inside Big O without flooding it?
Maybe they're just too fast.
"Ooh, Roger...is that you?"
Getting dropped off on the dock from the hand of your crush's Megadeus must be the ultimate way to end a wild evening out under the town - if the tone of Angel's voice is any indication.

Time for a little pouty-face.

Well, it's obvious that Alex doesn't care for those citizens outside the Domes, memories are thought to be a tradable commodity in, around, and under Paradigm City, and it appears to me that there is a huuuuuuge wall up between Roger and Angel - one that would only be brought down with a lot of time, or a case of booze.

Roger doesn't want to give his secret away to Angel, whom he likes but doesn't trust. Does Angel know about Big O? She MUST suspect, since the shenanigans at Electric City, and Alex may have flat-out told her. She never levels with him, but she wants him to trust her. Well, love's like that. So she spends the episode snarling at him. In her underwear. In her own special way, Angel's as incompetent at relationships as Roger is.

Dorothy's getting tired of having Roger treat her as the hired help. She wants to go on adventures with him, like they did on their first date -- at Soldano's Megadeus hangar.

In the sub, why didn't they just blow tanks and surface? Did either of them actually know about ballast tanks? Angel must have had some clue, of the thing never would have dived in the first place.

Nasty scars, Angel. And you're not self-conscious about them at all. Interesting. Looks like the people who felt that foreshadowing Act 26 wasn't done until Act 26 were off by 19 episodes. Well, that's about average for a Big O theory.

I love the way Roger and Angel are going nuts with the waiting, followed by a cut to Norman and Dorothy where Norman is also going nuts with the waiting. Why doesn't Roger call? What's happening down there? Call, dammit!

Come on, Dorothy. say something reassuring to the old geezer. Don't be so cold!

We have half an episode that is technically fan service, as Angel is in her underwear, but she's so distracted, irritable, and unhappy that it doesn't click. I wouldn't be surprised if the animators did this on purpose; setting themselves a challenge, for instance.

We now know that you can get Roger out of his suit and into something more casual if being drenched in salt water looks like it's on the agenda.

Dagon's trip through Paradigm lanes was sort of odd. I can't help but feel that he could probably have been calmed down. Dorothy wasn't given much of a chance to talk to him, and didn't insist. Who knows what would have happened a year later?

Dagon's blinky lights are viisible, which means that he has no armored mask. Bad move to run amok in the city without getting dressed first! Only Angel can get away with that.

Speaking of which; my GOD, Angel, but you look great when you're totally pissed off. Mama, buy me THAT one!

And if you were Dorothy, watching a gorgeous blonde in her underwear give Roger Smith a glare that would blister paint and then walk away, what would YOU think had been happening at fifty fathoms?

Not my favorite episode, but a goodie. But tonight --- MISSING CAT! Oh, boy!

yea, total fan-service fest this epidsode

but when is that ever a bad thing?

FAVORITE MOMENT:
Its right when angel rips off her dress and they show thefront of it

god, i need a girlfriend....

any takers?

ladies?








*leaves*

quote:

Originally posted by dr_malaki quote: Originally posted by BigPrime quote: Originally posted by GAT-X105 Is it just me, or do the cars at the bottom of the sea in Act 7 look more modern than the rest of the cars in the series? Significant? Mistake? I'd say it's just more evidence that the Event threw everything retro. NO more color tv, no more Megadei, no more world outside Paradigm City... Other interesting things: Rosewater's phone is touchtone, but has a rotary-like dial for its buttons. There's a very "Call of Cthulu" feel for this episode, right down to the title itself. "The Call From the Past" sounds like something Lovecraft would write. THe "Sea Titan" is even called Dagon, and those "Servants" are rather like Cthulu Cultists. However, Dagon's rampage through the seaport district seems straight out of a Godzilla film! There's even an unusuallly Asian style to the buildings in the area. Heheh. Is it just me, or does Dorothy seem somewhat sad that Roger is going away for the night and leaving her there? She looks like she's on the verge of tears. Speaking of Dorothy: Just how does she do that jump thing she did in Big O's cockpit? Also, she seemed rather displeased with the male sex tonight, didnt she? No less than two disparaging comments, one towards Norman and the other to Roger. Hehe. Of course, Roger was being strange. Maybe it was lack of oxygen to the brain? Also, the sub's builder, Readerman looked a lot like Rosewater to me. Freaky. Very freaky. "Call of Cthulu"? Hm, yeah, I can see that, though the first Lovecraftian reference that occurred to me was "Shadow Over Innsmouth," which had something about Dagon in it, IIRC. (It's been a long time.) Doc

Maybe I should've just said "Lovecraftian", but it was 1 am when I was writing that. Shadow over Innsmouth and Call of Cthulu both mention Dagon, IIRC. It was another name for Great Cthulu. The cultists at Innsmouth called him Dagon, as that was the name the South Pacific Islanders they got their cult from called him. But whatever Lovecraftian story we remembered while watching it, there's definitely a Lovecraftian air to it. I think that's why I like this episode as much as I do. I'm a fairly big fan of Lovecraft's writing.

"Missing Cat" tonight.

Once again, that was "Missing Cat" tonight.