Arnie's The Governator officially the Worst Thing Ever?

[Ben]

Ouch! Came across this this morning, and I seriously can't believe my eyes:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/a ... tor-174327


I mean, seriously! Someone that works at Arnie's level is not only putting his name to this but endorsing it as a co-creator and unashamedly going ahead as if it's not a complete and utter rip-off of any sci-fi elements dreamed up over the past 30 or so years!?

Everything's in there, in a cynical attempt to just make money. But who's the audience? The thing is too childish and badly made for adult fans of the guy, while just who is Arnold Schwarzenegger to the under tens nowadays? Some old-guy politician with a name that's based on a character too old for them to know or watch? And the name was a career-crossing political/movie joke nickname anyway!

Apart from all that, it's just the complete crumminess of this project that I can't get my head around. Like Arnie, it's like some undiscovered relic of the 80s, with all the production values and TMS explosions that those shows regularly had.

This just looks bad, bad, bad. And worst, it counts none other than Stan The Man Lee within its developers. After Striperella you'd have thought he'd learned his lesson in mixing real life egos with superheroes. Or maybe he's out to redress the girl-to-boy ratio in that realm for himself.

But one of the great Lee creations this is not. It's actually quite embarrassing for all involved.

[Randall]

I still can't believe this isn't an April Fool's joke that everyone took too seriously. The whole thing seems preposterous.

[GeorgeC]

I had a better idea for a Futurama episode years ago...

I wrote a treatment of it that ran just over 6 pages.

I titled it, "The Ex-Terminator 4: Rise of the Voting Machines!"

It was basically making fun of Arnie running for governor of Californneeeeyah.
Arnold wasn't actually in it. His Simpsons counterpart, Rainier Wolfcastle, was the guest star.

It would have been a minor Simpsons (just one character) crossover with Futurama.

Of course, I also mocked that whole recall election by writing a political parody campaign ad incorporating as many titles from Schwarzenegger films that I could remember!

Ah, the ideas just tumble forward where Arnie is concerned!


P.S. -- I kid because I actually like the guy somewhat. He's sometimes ridiculous in a Shatner-esque way. The huge difference is that the Austrian idea of a prank usually involves dropping an anvil on somebody...

.,. At least they have a sense of humor.
Germans, I'm not so sure!

[EricJ]

And the name was a career-crossing political/movie joke nickname anyway

From people who thought it was Like, Really Neat that an actor was becoming a politician, 'n stuff!

(Completely ignoring that he had been largely funded by a pre-scandal Enron to preserve energy deregulation, while the departing governor took all the blame for it--
In a race that had become so publicly campy that even Gary Coleman trotted out his old pop-kitsch joke as candidate, the incumbent Lt. Governor was the only solid voice of reason in the campaign, but nooo, heads must roll...Well, happy now, pop-gigglers, you got the movie-ref joke you wanted; how's that economy going? )

[droosan]

Don't blame me; I didn't vote for (either) "Arnold" in either election.

But by the same token, I don't blame Mr. Schwarzenegger entirely for the current 'state' of the state. California was already pretty well screwed-up before he got hold of it.



-------------

As for The Governator ..



It's no worse than the Mr. T or Chuck Norris cartoons, I suppose.

But -- as Ben noted -- this style of cartoon show is about twenty years 'out-of-fashion.' At least.

Then again .. My Little Pony and Thundercats are back, now.

[EricJ]

I had a better idea for a Futurama episode years ago...
It was basically making fun of Arnie running for governor of Californneeeeyah.
Arnold wasn't actually in it. His Simpsons counterpart, Rainier Wolfcastle, was the guest star.

Annnd, then the Simpsons Movie went ahead and did the "President Schwarzenegger" joke anyway.
(Parodying the real short-lived "Let's amend the Constitution so obsequiously Bush-kissing Republican foreigners can qualify for president!" campaign, also on the Neato Movie-Star appeal.)

...No, don't bother to sue, it was pretty much a Groening-ly corny cliche' to begin with.

[Rodney]

I'm not entirely opposed to this. I read the EW article explaining the show. I'm sure it's going to be targeted at kids. They don't care who Arnold was. They will just know him from the cartoon show. If they can make it funny, it could work.

[Dacey]

Apparently, Arnie's planning to make a comeback in the live-action world, too:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=76883

[Ben]

Was just about to post that!

[GeorgeC]

Oh,

Come on!

It's going to take a lot to top the true awfulness of 95% of the Flash animation out there, 89% of Marvel animation, and Space Balls: The Animated Series!

(That last one was really painful to mention. I'm a Mel Brooks fan -- a fan of his GOOD stuff(!) -- but when he's bad, it's terrifying!)

(Note to self: Take Christopher Lee's advice to heart and reserve "horrifying" for disgusting things like disembowelment, Roseanne Barr, and Joy Behard. "Terrifying" is a better word for things that make you want to run away screaming... Space Balls: TAS was terrifying...)


P.S. -- Droo, you just had to bring up Mr. T and Chuck Norris' animated TV series. Ah, Mr. T... the theme song you never forget!

Remember, there also used to be an animated series for practically every Gary Marshall series created in the '70s, too! There were animated spin-offs of Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy!

I don't think Norman Lear ever got anywhere with animated spin-offs of All In The Family, Good Times, Maude, and The Jeffersons, though.

How's that for AWFUL animated tie-in trivia???

[GeorgeC]

To quote Dr. Smith, "Oh, the pain, the pain..."

===> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mork_% ... _Fonz_Hour

This was SO bad that it couldn't be made up!

Oddly enough, I don't really remember any of these episodes and I usually have a pretty good memory of 1980s animated series!

******************

Droo forgot to mention the Gary Coleman Show...
-- the all-time best animated series based on a kid TV star.

The 21st Century didn't develop mediocrity and bad ideas... it's just HONED them further!

[Ben]

I remember "Fonz And The Happy Days Gang", but never knew about these other shows. An animated Mork & Mindy? Mental!

[Randall]

This may sound sad, but I'd love to see any of those animated Garry Marshall shows again. Not saying they were good, but sci-fi Fonzie was nutty enough to be at least a little interesting. I've been watching the original Mork and Mindy with my kids recently, and it would be neat to compare it to the animated version, which I do vaguely recall.

[GeorgeC]

Exedore was the best thing about the original Mork & Mindy series...

After Mearth was introduced, the show went downhill. Shoulda been a sign of what was to come with Robin Williams' showbiz career!

[EricJ]

Exedore was the best thing about the original Mork & Mindy series...

After Mearth was introduced, the show went downhill. Shoulda been a sign of what was to come with Robin Williams' showbiz career!

(At this point, I have this sudden urge to see whether I can Kevin Bacon-link Robert Donner and Jonathan WInters back to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Ha, beatcha, George, I can do Winters in three, and Donner in two! )