Animation Block: Exo-Squad

by: Jesse Baruffi

In Western animation, most shows are episodic. This is logical, because the target audience is kids, who aren't exactly known for their ability to keep up with long, intricate plots. Hence, there were very few sagas that require paying attention to them from beginning to end. Even shows I quite enjoy and have mentioned here, like Mighty Max and Conan the Adventurer (which I like even more than Dave does) have a meta-plot that pops up sometimes, but most of the episodes have a small core cast and are perfectly easy to follow one to the next. This brings me to Exo-Squad, which has none of that. It is a 52-episode saga, with an ongoing story, a large cast, and a definitive beginning, middle, and ending. It was ballsy to make such a show, but the result was something unique and enjoyable.

Exo-Squad is a series that takes place in the 22nd century, after humanity has colonized Venus and Mars. Through genetic engineering, humanity has also created a servant race called Neo-Sapiens, who are stronger, tougher, and more intelligent than humans. Naturally, treating a race with all these advantages as slaves led to an uprising, and though it was put down, the Neo-Sapiens were eventually granted their independence, though were still generally treated as second-class citizens. The military of the core worlds, known as Exo-Fleet, keep the peace, and use personal mechs called E-Frames (you guessed it, the toys!). It is neither a particularly optimistic or pessimistic future, with a fair share of good and bad traits.

This all changes when the majority of Exo-Fleet is called away on a grand mission to wipe out pirate clans who live in the outer worlds of the solar system. Phaeton, governor of the Neo-Sapiens on Mars, using ships and E-Frames he had been building in secret, stages a massive coup and conquers Earth and Venus. Phaeton and his generals reduce humans to slaves as payback for their mistreatment. Exo-Fleet, marooned in space and facing three planets with entrenched Neo-Sapien armadas, are forced to find a way to retake their homeworlds.

The point of view from which we see this is Able Squad, a group of E-Frame pilots often sent on the most dangerous and important missions of the war. The entire squad is fleshed out and filled with likeable characters, including their leader J.T. Marsh, a philosopher and strategist, and Marsala, a Neo-Sapien who is highly conflicted about fighting his own people, but loyal to his human friends nonetheless. The war was said by the creators to have been modeled on World War II, and we follow the moves and countermoves of Exo-Fleet and the Neo-Sapien Order from beginning to end. Despite being a cartoon, Exo-Squad portrays war realistically, and people die quite frequently. The show deals with themes of war, loss, and prejudice in a way that is not ham-handed. While we want the humans to win, it is easy to sympathize with the Neo-Sapiens, who were horribly mistreated and harbor understandable resentment. Indeed, while Phaeton and most of his inner circle are ruthless and power-hungry, not all the Neo-Sapiens, perhaps not even most, are evil. Phaeton himself is a fascinating character. He is charismatic and brilliant, and probably would have been easy to like before he became a supreme dictator. As time goes on, his sanity wanes and he becomes extremely paranoid and irrational. It seems likely the series creators based him on Hitler, and perhaps other dictators of similar stature.

The series had a few small missteps, particularly when new breeds of Neo-Sapiens began to appear. The Neo-Warriors were inexplicably immune to blaster fire, which makes one wonder why they didn't build ships, E-Frames, or at the very least armor out of the material used for their skin, and why this immunity seemed to vanish later on in the war. There is also the sad fact that the series ended with an apparent presumption that there would be another season, and as such, a massive cliffhanger. Much to my chagrin at least, that season never came, and what was to come will likely never be known.

Still, for all that, Exo-Squad is an amazing series, with lots of combat, strategy, characterization, science fiction, humor, and thought-provoking drama. The first 13 episodes are available on DVD, but sadly, the rest does not seem to be. Luckily, the show is available in its entirety on Hulu, so if you've never seen this underrated classic, go there and watch it now!

Show Status

Good news!

At this point, we have recorded four episodes, which will begin airing on Non-Productive Radio after the station's November hiatus ends. We have had several exciting guests and many fun discussions, all of which you will soon be privy to. On top of this, David and I have secured many more great guests for the upcoming weeks, and we intend to keep the blog rolling with as much strange and exciting content as we can. For the possibly two-digit number of fans out there, keep reading and keep listening!

Film flashback: Anguish

Anguish (1988), dir. Bigas Luna, Luna Films

An overweight man (Michael Lerner) is driven to madness by his overbearing mother (Zelda Rubenstein). Acting at her whim, he goes to a movie theater and unleashes his plot. He must have eyes you see, and he isn’t picky on how he gets them.

Except that is just a story. A film entitled The Mommy, to be exact. To two people watching in the theater, however, it is more than just a film. To Patty, the film is far more horrifying than the people in the theater realize, as Patty sees actions in the film being acted out in the theater. To an unnamed man, the film is a blueprint, telling him exactly what to do. With his .357 at the ready, the nameless man is going to turn the theater into a real horror show.

This is a real trip of a film. As one audience member quipped, “I had no idea David Lynch and Jess Franco made a movie together.” The Mommy scenes and Anguish blend together in such a way that it is very easy to confuse the two. Surreal and violent, this is a film that constantly plays with your senses. Indeed, the VHS was tagged with a warning on how the film could hypnotize the viewer. Worth a glance if you find it.

The eyes of the city are mine

Film flashback: Abby

Abby (1974), dir. William Girdler, American International Pictures

Plagiarism and the movie industry often go hand in hand. “If the film’s budget is under a million, it’s a rip-off; but if it’s over a million? Then it’s a homage” as the saying goes. Whenever you have one film that is successful, you can count on there being dozen of similar films. True today and in the 1970’s, especially in the wake of such films like The Exorcist.

Abby in particular was deemed so much of a rip off that Warner Bros. sued AIP to have Abby pulled from theaters. Was such action warranted?

We open with a priest (William Marshall) leaving for Africa. Once he arrives, he discovers a temple dedicated to Eshu, a trickster often associated whirlwinds and sex. Opening a small casket unleashes a terrific gale, knocking the men down, while on the other side of the globe (Kentucky to be exact), the priest’s son Emmett and his wife Abby have just settled into their new home when they are woken up by a fierce shaking and howling winds.

From there things get worse. Abby’s body is cold to the touch, she grows increasingly profane, but only in the presence of her husband, and then there is the deep guttural voice she snarls in when she talks.

This is an odd movie. William Marshall shines, conveying a deep dignity and power, even when the other actors seem to be unaware of how to pronounce their lines. The plot points that parallel to The Exorcist are numerous and have been mentioned elsewhere. Using Carol Speed as the victim, rather than a child, does move the film away from its roots and it is overall better for it. As the possessed Abby, Speed chews up the scenery and seems to be having a great time mowing through the cast. The final confrontation, done under the serene glow of a disco ball, echoes the final confrontation between Father Merrin and Regan, yet just different enough; although I have read where the scene in question is close enough to The Eerie Midnight Horror Show to be accused of ripping that off as well.

“Abby doesn’t need a man anymore…the devil is her lover now!”

Things That Need to Go Away: "Now, It's Personal!"

by: Jesse Baruffi

Okay, let's get this out of the way: for the most part, when I talk about these things that need to go away, I probably should clarify that I generally don't mean most of them are so awful that they should never be used again (though some are). The reason a lot of the stuff I talk about gets overused is because to some degree at some point, it does work, and probably very well, and while imitation is the highest form of flattery, it is not necessarily the best way to create great works of art. Some things simply need to be moderated and approached with caution, but Things That Need To Be Moderated And Approached With Caution just isn't quite as catchy a title.

Such is the case with "Now, It's Personal!" the latest Thing That Needs to Go Away. This refers to the conflict between a hero and a villain in which it's not simply a matter of law and order, good and evil, survival, or prevailing ideals. It is, in fact, personal, between the characters. On a certain level, this can be highly entertaining and indeed drive the story. Adding a personal element can give the audience reason to care about a conflict between individuals, after all. The problem arises when EVERY conflict inevitably becomes personal because that's what the audience responded to best.

I have several examples of this. A big one is the Star Trek movies. Ask just about anyone what the best one is and they'll tell you it's Wrath of Khan. Why? Partially because of (SPOILER ALERT FOR A 30-YEAR-OLD MOVIE) Spock's death, but mostly because of the personal conflict between Kirk and Khan. Khan saw Kirk as having wronged him, and made it his mission to deliver revenge, along with a lot of Melville references. It's also kind of an interesting inversion because usually the hero has to seek revenge, or justice if they're more idealistic, against someone who did something bad to them, but in this case, the villain hates the hero. So okay, it's the popular one, fair enough. But why do they then have to copy it? I mean, Shinzon becomes Khan for Picard in Nemesis. Picard himself gets personal on the Borg in First Contact (this one I'm kind of okay with, as the Borg aren't exactly a person), and of course Nero becomes Khan for Spock in the new movie. Of course, Nero was completely insane, and his revenge was against a guy who actually tried to help him, but the crappiness of that movie matters less in this case than does the fact that he was out for revenge.

In every case, we're given some reason why it's personal, and frankly, after awhile all that personalness stops meaning anything. If every tale is a vengeance tale, stories of nothing but retaliation for past misdeeds, not only are we mired in the past, but no one is fighting for ideals anymore, and it's hard to see any side as particularly better than the other. A big example of this problem is superhero comics. Villains are all out for revenge against the heroes now. Again, I don't mind it in small to moderate doses. Dr. Doom, for example, wants to destroy Reed Richards, but that's just one piece of his motivation. He mainly wants to rule the world because he thinks he's the most qualified to do so, and hates that the accursed Richards stands in his way. This is actually more of a psychological flaw on his part, because it impedes his true goal. But when villains don't actually commit crimes except to destroy the heroes, and heroes aren't doing any good except to squash their personal rival villains, it takes away a lot of the idealistic themes of the genre. I'm nerdy enough to believe that superheroes were not born out of the desires of physically weak boys who want revenge on the world, but on the notion that given enough power, individuals of conscience would choose to make the world a better place and inspire others to do the same. As such, this ideal must, more often than it doesn't, come into conflict with those who believe that power is used for personal benefit, which most villains of the mundane and super variety are. Again, I'm not saying it should never be, or never become, personal, but the trend seems to be moving towards only the personal, and it begins to feel a bit hollow. I don't need Dr. Light, a second-string villain, to have to commit horrible rape against a hero's wife to be taken seriously. Couldn't he simply have a really nasty light beam that he uses to blackmail people or something? I don't know, that's just one example, but you see where I'm coming from.

Not everyone needs to have a personal mortal enemy. I don't, and chances are you don't either. Not every conflict between a cop and criminal has to have a tragic backstory, or sparring commanders on different sides of a war. These situations are compelling in and of themselves. Mainly, this comes down to a matter of impact. Save the personal stuff for special occasions, because otherwise, the visceral thrill of seeing two people who have a truly vested interest in each other's destruction becomes hollow. That way, when a conflict goes beyond the ideological and enters the realm of the personal, it truly means something.

Everything I Need to Know in Life I Learned From Gurren Lagann

by: Jesse Baruffi

1. Sometimes, you have to ignore reason and attempt the impossible.
2. Evolution cannot and should not be stopped.
3. If you can't believe in yourself, believe in those who believe in you.
4. Eventually though, you will need to believe in yourself.
5. A surprise attack is useful, but it only works once.
6. The world needs people who are reckless, but it needs people who are cautious just as much.
7. No matter how special another person is to us, we shouldn't try to become them, even if they're gone.
8. But our lost loved ones live on in us, and they can inspire us to be better.
9. Even though sometimes we must consider doing what is practical over what is right, it's better to find a way to do both.
10. You should always be there to punch your friends in the face when they need it.
11.Even if we gain the power to do so, we should not bring back the dead. The world has to make way for the next generations.
12. Just because humanity is capable of doing harm or evil doesn't mean we deserve to die.
13. Kissing the busty redhead will probably get you killed. It's still worth it.
14. Grow, adapt, evolve, never run away, and never give up.
15. If you dare to be awesome enough, nothing can stop you.

Film flashback: Night of the Creeps

Night of the Creeps (1986), dir. Fred Dekker, Tristar Pictures

Fred Dekker’s cult classic Night of the Creeps was a slightly different step from most of the other 80’s horror films.  Opening with an alien experiment gone awry, we cut to the black and white era of 1959. A young couple head to the make out point when the male decides to investigate said alien experiment that just happened to crash land about twenty yards from his car. Since this is a film made in 80’s, the woman meets her end at the hands (and ax) of an escaped mental patient.

Jumping ahead to the 1980’s, we are introduced to our main cast (note the names). Chris Romero and his best friend J.C. are two luckless losers in college. Chris falls madly in love with Cynthia Cronenburg at a mixer, and decides to pledge to a frat in order to impress her.

Ordered to pull a prank by the head frat boy (who’s dating Cynthia), our heroes end up unleashing hell in the form of the frozen body from the prologue, who now happens to be host to a rather large number alien parasites. Horror and humor occur in equal measure.

At a glance, this seems to be one of the first horror films that poked fun at the rules established in earlier films. The character of Detective Cameron (played to perfection by Tom Atkins) is really something special. As the former boyfriend to the girl killed in the prologue, we see someone whose life stopped for them. We aren’t given any drawn out monologues or characters info dumping us, but a look at the man’s house shows us a perfect picture of someone who never got over 1959. Atkins was an actor who could do world weary with the best of them.

Would I recommend it? I’d say the film has held up rather well, but the humor is a wee bit dated. Thankfully the horror and the humor are equally proportioned, so the film never drags too far in one direction or another. There is a slight grindhouse-ish feel to the film, just lurking under the surface. I found the character of J.C. to be a bit grating at times, but thankfully the film doesn’t focus on him too long

 Be careful though, as there are two editions running around. The theatrical one ends with a jump scare, while the TV edit has a resolution.  

"The good news is your dates are here.”

“The bad news is... they’re dead.”