The X-Entertainment Blog!

06/30/2007: Summer Megaparty: Pokemon, and bad Doritos!

I live to be shocking, so here's a new article, exploring, recapping and reviewing the very first episode of the Pokémon cartoon series. Special care was taken to put that little squiggly line above the "e" over 200 times in this article, and I hope you appreciate that. The genesis of this one is that I got the first season on DVD and can't believe how well the series still holds up. It's written more or less for people who know nothing about Pokémon, so my apologies to anyone who really didn't need an explanation of what a Pokéball was. But you know what? You'll live.

Seems like as good a time as any to get this out of the way. I know it's old news by now, but it just didn't feel right to not archive the Doritos X-13D Flavor Experiment chips on the site. Basically, it's a wonderful promotion of an unnamed "mystery flavor," in which junk food lovers are supposed to suggest names for a chip that was clearly based on a cheeseburger.

It's pretty unbelievable…they taste just like McDonald's cheeseburgers. While "beef flavoring" is a listed ingredient, what you'll really take home from X-13D chips is the strong flavor of pickles, ketchup and mustard. Knowing that, they're pretty terrible once you take away their fancy clothes. I assume Doritos has no choice but to release the chips with whatever name is decided upon when the promotion ends, but I don't expect them to last much longer than that. They're putrid.

Putrid…like a fox. Twenty years from now, when the Internet comes in special edition colors and is capable of cooking steaks for you, upstart nostalgia websites will likely pay tribute to Doritos X-13D chips. These would've made an incredible impression as me as a child, but even as an adult, I can appreciate eating from a bag that looks like a leftover prop from Back To The Future Part II. Just wish they didn't taste like the asshole of a dead bear.

Yay, Pokemon again! I was so sad a while (few years?) ago when other people around here said they were not interested in Pokemon.
And now, to read the article!

Guess I gota find these things and try them before people realize how bad the ytaste and they go away…

Good stuff to read old X-E articles and see what it used to look like. Wow it's changed…

Each species has its own set of strength and weaknesses, but they're irrelevant, because everyone knows that you're supposed to pick Bulbasaur. Frogs with trees growing out of their backs — like a Wuzzle crossbred with Jesus Christ.

Solid. fucking. gold. I will disagree with you on Misty, if only for my own vanity. I'm forever connected with May over at Shrine and I keep bringing back the avatar, though not the sig. I think it's time I just resigned myself to the fact that I will always be thought of as an over-developed 10yr old girl

Pikachu fries her bike and she's all like "the truth is I don't even like Pokemon" and "which bag?" when there's only one bag in front of her. Then Mudkip douses her instead of her target. Now THAT is a great first episode.

My favorite pokemon is still Meowth, Team Rocket flavor. Even if he was on the good guys' side, he'd still be a smart-ass.

Awesome note to anyone near my side of Oklahoma, the local movie theater is going to show TransFormers Monday night at 8:00. I will do my best to go then, and take my nephew, who's birthday is on the 4th. Nice way to celebrate turning 12 years. I hope we can get there early enough to snag good seats, its guaranteed to be crowded.

The only flavor of Doritos I can eat is the original. I highly doubt I would buy "cheeseburger-flavored" Doritos no matter what they called it.
BTW, I just saw the funniest thing. My brother went to some yard sale today and picked up an old souvenir program for "Star trek: The Motion Picture". The last page of the program carried an ad for OMNI magazine (is that even still around?) which made a quick mention of a (then) future issue that would highlight some behind-the-scenes stuff on The Empire Strikes Back. The funny thing was, and I had never seen this before, was that the ad referred to the movie as "Star Wars II".

I got my Pokemon Indigo League Season One (part one…those bastards) on Christmas morning. I had succeeded in watching every episode (9 hours worth) by the time we cut the Christmas ham. Then I felt kinda bad and kinda awesome about myself. So what did I do to find the balance between the two? Started watching the Pee Wees Playhouse season 2 boxset that I got. The only qualm I've ever had about the Pokemon series is the new Team Rocket: Butch & Cassidy. They suck. Their "remixed" Rocket theme sucks. Their voices suck. They're not Jesse & James. I hate hate hate them.

We never see what happens to the Spearows following this, but I'm taking that to mean that they're all dead.

If I remember correctly, that initial Spearow evolved into a Fearow and gave Ash and Pikachu shit on an episode where they returned home.

Those Doritos are so bad. My husband and I bought a bag maybe a month ago and as soon as I put it in my mouth I knew it was a McDonald's cheeseburger. It's that distinct onion/pickle/ketchup thing, and it's gross.
All that to say I feel quite validated by your review. We couldn't even finish the bag.

I remember when the local UPN affiliate started showing Pokemon back when I was in high school. Immediately hooked. But, like Matt, I gave up on Pokemon once they got past the original 151. I have been really tempted to pick up a copy of either Diamond or Pearl for the DS, though. Then I can get that Pokedex guide that goes with and learn all about the other 300+ that have come along since.

I've seen these in stores a few times and have been tempted to grab a bag solely based on my exposure to them from this site. I've defeated the urge however and am still currently an X-13D virgin. Call me crazy, but a tortilla chip modeled after a McDonald's cheeseburger sounds pretty disgusting. I suppose that could be half of the charm, but the looming threat of that aftertaste in my mouth cancels out any potential future glory of remembering, "hey, I remember eating those chips - I vomited!"

I picked up a few DVDs at Best Buy today. Black Snake Moan, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, and Imprint (this is a Masters of Horror short film by Takashi Miike that was banned! from cable - exciting, I know!).

Anyone seen any of these yet? Did I just throw away a few bucks? Oh well, wouldn't be the first time. Something tells me I should crack open that bottle of whiskey over in the cupboard if I truly want to enjoy these films.

I gotta disagree on the cheeseburger Doritos. I like them quite a bit. Still prefer Salsa and Taco, but they're better than those crappy Buffallo Wings one they had a while back. I want to see them attempt pizza soon. Yes, they're are/have been other pizza flavored chips before, but those sucked. Doritos would do it right.

Pokemon was pretty good for the first couple seasons, but when they kept interchanging Brock and Misty for those other ones, I lost interest quickly. Heck, they're were even a couple that made me tear up slightly.

A new article!! WZWEOHOWEJI!!! I must celebrate…with Johnny Depp! Well, I was going anyway, but I'll pretend it's an X-E celebration just for you, Matt. I can't freaking wait until Halloween season - scary movies, costumes, Halloweeny kitsch, etc. etc. are some of my favourite things! If I get this excited about a Pokemon article (I'm not a huge fan of the show, though I watched it occasionally when I was younger), I can only imagine what I'll be like in October. Rabid, most likely.

I still haven't played Diamond or Pearl, I really wish I had it now. Sadly, I just don't have that kind of money, the kind that can buy things.

I'm with you, Matt. At first I was insulted by the whole premise of the X-13D experiment. You want me to BUY a bag of chips that aren't even NAMED, just so you can try out some crappy flavor on my unwitting tastebuds? Then I was intrigued by the chance to name them and be a part of history. One chip was all it took — so obviously a cheeseburger flavor — and the rest of the bag sat in the kitchen until I threw it away a few days ago. Bleggh.

By the way, if you have a year and a half to kill while it loads, you should check out doritos.com They've done a heckuva job with the animations there.

Like Matt, I got into Pokemon because my younger brother was into it at the time. My parents still didn't have cable in 1997, so I ended up taping many early episodes for him at college and got hooked. (I wonder if Mom still has those tapes?) I have fond memories of taking him to see the first two movies, and I still have all the Pokemon toys I bought in college (including the collectable mini-Pokemon my ex-boyfriend gave me as a college graduation present).

Also like Matt and many of you, I lost interest when the show went past the initial 151 and I got out of college and no longer had daily access to new episodes. I might end up looking for the Indigo League DVD set myself; some of my favorite times with my brother involved playing "Pokemon" videos or the actual card game or playing with his tons of Pokemon toys.

I've been wondering just what was up with those Doritos and why the packaging looks like a reject from a bad mad scientist movie. I've sold them for a couple of weeks now at the grocery store where I work. I don't like Doritos at all and I'm on a diet, so I won't be trying them any time soon, and from what Matt says, it's just as well.

I never watched that show past when Ash's asshole Charizard wouldn't fight at the tournament.
Did he ever get down with Misty?

Those "MYSTERY CHIPS" are horrible. Now I have never tasted ass, but I pretty sure it taste just like those chips. So if you tasted ass, X-13D is for you. Pokemon is so 1999. I have moved on to porn, and buddy that never gets old. Know is have the battle.

That last line should be Knowing is half the battle. I'm a little drunk…at the moment.

Personally, I think your review are some of your best articles. I'd like to see you do more of them, but I suppose they're a lot of work.

I've begun to enjoy some anami, mostly Cowboy Bebop and Full Metal Alchemist. But I'm never been much into Pokemon. After reading the article I may pick up the first season of Pokemon and check it out.

Okay, now to comment on the article itself. Perfect review

I always love the X-E take on stuff, and this was no exception at all; I think my favourite was the 'motherfucking pimp' line. I do hope that there are more reviews of later episodes, as it seems to be more interesting than I remember. Or maybe I just like Matt's comments on it.

On a strange note, did anyone else think that the font Matt used (the futuristic one) looked like the language of the Visitors in V: the Miniseries?

The font is actually a knockoff on the font Disney uses for Space Mountain.

But yes, it does look rather V-ish as well.

Thanks everybody for leaking the secret of these Doritos, because they sound horrible. I eat my burgers plain anyway, so the condiment combination is totally grossing me out. I don't want to think about hamburgers when I'm eating Doritos.

Man, reading a Pokemon article written by Matt is almost nostalgic in itself cuz I can remember doing the same thing when I was seriously back in high school.

Heh, I remember going to Otakon '97 and seeing all these horrible little yellow rats all over the place and wondering what the flying fuck they were. It wasn't until shortly before the Pokemon beanies were released at KFC that I caught onto the craze, which was right around fall '98 I think. My first boyfriend and I each had a Pocket Pikachu and we'd sit around tapping the fuckers all day and only set them down so we could make out on the couch while his parents were gone.

I've never been sedused be Pokemon but I am glad that Matt has taken the time to educate me. Now I can finally hang out with Pokemon fans. I don't know any but I'm looking.

Matt, are you still rockin' the Pokemon inspired tattoo or did you add to it to make an X-E collage? I have a Led Zeppelin tattoo that was John Paul Jones symbol. It was cool until that assclown Riverdance came out with that exact symbol.

Hey Matt, where did you find those sprites for the Pokemon article banner? Some of them are from Pokemon Green (which was revamped for America as Pokemon Blue, but you probably new that), but colored as if from a GBA game. Whatever sprite sheet you pulled that from, I want it too. =D

Just Googled my way into them, so I honestly have no idea.

They didn't come from one sheet, though.

Ain't shit going on tonight. I need the perfect movie and the perfect cup of coffee.

Go see 1408. Best horror movie I have seen in the theatre since….I don't know. I am so used to being let down. This was great! A+

Awwww man, I wish I had some money to go see Transformers on Monday. Even if I did, I wouldn't go without my man, though…

Anyway, I didn't realize there were so many Oklahomans here. I hardly ever see other Oklahomans on the web.

I don't know anything about POKEMON (still a good elementary overview article though)nor have I tried the chips (Mrs. Manimal HATES Doritos) so I guess I am out of action tonight.

Hmm… when I ate the chips I did not taste McDonald's cheeseburger, but Zapp's Spicy Creole Tomato Tabasco chips. Now, I don't know if those chips are available anywhere outside of Louisiana, but they taste exactly like the Doritos. And even though I didn't like either brand, I was still compelled to eat the entire bag. Something about them…

And Matt, thanks for taking me back to when I was 9 years old and obsessed with Pokemon. I love this site to death, so it's nice when my born-in-1989 self can join in on the nostalgia.

I was hooked to Pokemon after seeing the episode where Metapod turns into Butterfree. I loved cute little Butterfree and they way he said his name. Buta FRREEEEE!!

Now here I am, 25 years old and I have been playing the crap out of Pokemon Diamond. Today I purchased Pokemon Stadium for Wii. You cannot imagine my glee to see my bad ass Blastoise in it's full 3d Wii glory The best part is that I get to actually battle other people in the world through the Wii's internet.

Those Doritos were pretty awful. The kind of awful that you must keep shoving them into your face cause the taste of so peculiar. I have never had knowledge in Pokemon, and still do not. But the article did clear up a bit.
I totally posted yesterday during blog hiatus, but it didn't show. I am still counting it. Glad it's all back up and running

OK, update to my first post. I just finished watching Black Snake Moan and it was unexpectedly one of the better movies I've seen it quite some time.

I know the recommendation of a stranger on the internet is basically worthless, so I expect most probably won't see this because I liked it. However, I hope if you were thinking of seeing it before, this positive take will maybe be what pushes you over the edge.

Very good movie. There was a lot more to it than I expected. I suppose it was perfect that I popped it in to the DVD player with very little background information on the movie. I had seen the television commercials a few months ago and that was it.

They marketed it as an exploitation movie… and it is somewhat that… but much more.

I never got into, or understood, Pokémon and the surrounding craze. It could be that I was in college at the time and more interested in getting drunk than playing RPG's. Unless, of course, it's Harry Potter related. I find myself wasting hours doing silly tasks on the Harry Potter games.

JLAJRC: I was actually quite fond of Pizzaria's. My mother and I were devestated when Keebler stopped producing them. I know they were picked up by another company, but apparently we don't get them in Kentucky.

I used to absoutely LOVE Pokemons… Then a friend of mine borrowed the cartridge and beat the game several times, kept it for over a month, lost a box with irreplacable pokemons in it with GameSharking… Needless to say he didn't get hold of my Pokemon Gold cartridge. Though I never actually beat that game… The depth was overwhelming.

I also saw the new Die Hard. Have you seen Terminator 3? It's a sequel like that: it tries to be like the last one, but just can't quite get up to it's levels…and you leave the movie thinking "did they really need to make that movie?" Don't get me wrong, as it was enjoyable. But like Terminator 3 was enjoyable.

To prep for seeing Transformers on Tuesday we watched the original movie last night. I was surprised that I wasn't the only one quoting the thing almost word for word

; so much fun!

I was supposed to go to a bonfire (or barn fire…heh, old joke) tonight but decided to stay home; quilt of leaving the new kitty got the best of me I guess….

Oh and on the Pokemon front: a friend -who sometimes visits the site- makes the claim that Mewtwo could totally kick Optimus Prime's ass. Any thoughts on the subject?

Here's something that fits into this site that can get you in the summer vacation retro mood:

I am trying to avoid eating junk food so I'll probably never eat the doritos which is kinda bad. I am totally curious. I also can't afford 88 cents for a "big bag" or a lot more for the bigger bag. That's mostly the reason.

oh yeah Nikki Welcome aboard, I have a cousin named Nikki her b-day is in '88 so that's cool, her birthday is August 31st so it's coming up. I remember her b-day the most because if she was born a day later she would of had to wait another year to go to kindergarten. It was wild.

Nothing I have been posting is showing. Which is why I changed up the name. Anyone else having this problem?

Frakkyfire, you happened to mention Johnny Depp and I read something interesting online earlier. For anyone on here following the progress on J.J. Abrams' new "Star Trek" movie: what do you think of Johnny Depp playing Spock in the new movie?

Hmmm, weird. Oh well. I forgot what I said. Except that the new doritos are so bad they must be eaten repeatedly to understand their awfulness.
Happy SNT!

Awesome article. Makes me feel like I was in middle school again watyching it for the first time (yes, I saw that first episode when it first aired oh so long ago)

While Matt was referring to Bulbasaur in that great paragraph, there actually is a pokemon like that now: Torterra, the final evo of the new Grass starter which is a turtle that literally has a tree growing on its back. All Venusaur had was a flower.

I was a fan of pokemon up until the craze from the Gold & Silver games died down sometime in 2001…but then restarted last year at the tail end of Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and now with Diamond & Pearl i'm back up to full fledged Pokegeek.

Like that there's currently 493 pokemon right now. And I'm pretty sure those sprites in the pokemon banner in the article are from the FireRed/LeafGreen games.

On my pearl game…I'm up to Victory Road. So close to the Elite 4! I just need to train a hell of a lot…

Oh and on the Pokemon front: a friend -who sometimes visits the site- makes the claim that Mewtwo could totally kick Optimus Prime's ass. Any thoughts on the subject?

That all depends on which Optimus it is. If it was something like G1 optimus, or the original Optimus Primal, or even the new Movie Optimus, he'd kick some ass. But if it was one like…oh…An optimus from some of the recent series without all of his "combined" attachments, Mewtwo would so kick his ass.

Mewtwo couldn't kick Rodimus Prime's ass, that's for shizzle. Note that I am a horribly biased Roddy fanboy and was glad when Prime kicked it and Ultra Magnus had his shit blown to pieces.

I love you so much Wreck-Gar, but you put that fucking useless cunt back together, why??????

Marowak! My favorite! Awesome article. I wasn't into the games, but I used to come home from school everyday and watch this show, at least until I got my first serious job and couldn't anymore. I always preferred Jesse, James and Meowth to Ash and the gang, though.
Happy SNT guys.

I'll start by saying that I'm really happy about the new seasons of Entourage and Big Love.

kb: I just turned off some of the blog functions which may have been causing that problem. It seemed that some anti-spam things were blocking more good comments than actual spam.

In regards to the article, I was in third grade when Pokemon first came out and it rocked my socks. I remember I was so exited when I finally found some Pokemon toys. I bought every mini-figure from the first wave. You know the ones that came with master balls. Shortly after the Pokemon movie I lost interest though. Meeril, or whatever that blue Pikachu’s name was, was cool but Christ. They just kept adding more and more.

Tato Skins are a commodity around these parts, and by that I mean, stores no longer sell them. Whenever we travel and spot a deli with the right touch of magic, most of our luggage consists of sealed bags of Tato Skins.

So far Entourage has been top notch this season. The first episode, with its mockumentary approach, was outstanding. I'm really looking forward to tonight's episode to see how Vince takes it when Kevin breaks the news that he thought Medellin was not the blockbuster they had hoped it would be. Or at least it isn't yet, before editing.

What I really wanted to say however is this… Have you checked out Flight of the Conchords? I DVR'd the second episode of the season last Sunday and immediately had to follow that with going back to watch the first episode which, thankfully, is on On-Demand. (Also on On-Demand has a nifty 30-minute live show the two guys put on at some theatre in NY - also gold)

Anyway, since you are already watching Entourage, then I hope you stick around and check out that show. I thought it was pretty brilliant.

Has anyone else gotten a chance to sample the Kiwi-comedy samplings of Bret and Jemaine?

Yeah, Entourage was really getting away from its supposed concept before this season began, and while still a great buddy comedy, I much prefer what we're getting this season: Real Hollywood crap. The chain of episodes where Vince switched to the hot agent seem really out of place and irrelevant now.

Big Love is a tougher sell for most people, but it's so well acted and written that it's tough not to fall for.

I haven't seen Flight of the Conchords outside of that one promo which unfortunately did nothing for me, but hey, before Entourage debuted, I hated its promos, too. I'll give it a looksie.

Tato Skins are the absolute best snack in existence. Or at least firmly on the top-10 list.

I had nearly forgotten entirely of their existence until I blissfully rediscovered them in the lone vending machine in my college dorm. For four straight years my entire diet (post 10 PM) consisted of Tato Skins, Snickers bars, and cans of Tropicana OJ.

This is of course excluding the rare occasion where we found a sober kid to drive us to Denny's.

Matt… do give it a look. I really didn't think much of it from the previews either. I was setting my DVR to record the latest Entourage episode and decided to give it a go. I am glad I did.

If you can… watch episode #2 first. Then backtrack to the first. That is how I did it. It seemed to work.

Manimal: I'm having a hard time finding a common ground on this thread too. But I think I am just getting old. I just realised this today, I guess. I mean I spent 15 minutes in the tea isle at the grocery store looking for the perfect sleepy tea, my favorite show on TV now is Little People, Big World (I like watching little people play soccer), my hangovers are now two days long, I read for fun, I would buy Triscuits before Doritos, I recently developed a taste for grapefruit, I listen to NPR: All Things Considered, and I have an investment portfolio. This is terribly depressing to realise.
So I have no opinion about Pokemon either. It's still a good read.

So, I'm to believe that you've never seen TF: The Movie, Manimal? I can understand never jumping the Poketrain, but I find it hard to believe you can't talk TF.

Maybe you just mean combining the two. You really only need to know about one combatant in a fantasy duel. The rest is all bias. Now, I do happen to know that Mewtwo is a very powerful pokemon, but I don't need to know how strong to just say that a character that I know and love will beat them into a pulp.

Sure you can try to be scientific about it (a la the Goku vs. Superman article) but at the end of the day it all comes down to "my guy's better than yours."

I'm so jealous of all of you that have so many television shows to enjoy… the only show that I am utterly hooked on is Supernatural. Watching it is also awkward sometimes, it is so chick oriented that I have to explain to my friends why I watch it: Creepy ass shit every Thursday. It is like a mini-movie…

Pokemon, wow, it has been a long time since I have thought about Pokemon. I too was one of those people who abandoned it after it went over 151.

Oooh, I am effing LOVING the new Big Love. So far it looks like they're avoiding the problem they had last season where nothing actually happened for huge stretches of time. The last two eps especially were mondo awesome. I just wish it was still on airing on Sundays, since they're feeling pretty empty nowadays.

Entourage is great as always, though it still drives me nuts when they spend entire episodes or more on some conflict or another only to completely drop or reverse the storyline in the very next episode (to be fair, I'm lumping last "season" in when I say that, including the Carla Gugino as Vince's agent storyline). If they don't bring Sloane back for at least one more appearance I'm going to be so annoyed at the copout. I'm bitching, but it's still one of my favorite shows. I'd watch even if it was The Turtle and Drama Show…featuring Lloyd.

Haven't checked out Flight of the Conchords yet (or John from Cincinnati, but I've yet to be all that intrigued by that one) because I'm short of space on the DVR but I've been meaning to fire up the OnDemand.

Lloyd (from Entourage) is probably my favorite character in any television program. He is so well acted and steals EVERY scene he is in.

Squee: Definitely agree that BL needs to go back to Sundays. My brain will never recognize it as a Monday show. Especially because Mondays are usually for like, 24 and pro-wrestling. Hard to think of Mondays that way and remember the wacky drama about the little polygamists who could.

Bill: I hear you. I write about what I write about, then I go read encyclopedias and try to match cigars up with the right wine. I was going through the server and finding all this old stuff from when the site began in 2000, and I couldn't believe how old it made me feel. It's funny how quick real life springs on you. Now every big decision is less about "how will this make me feel today" and more about "how will this set me up for five years from now."

Grrr, I just realized that I referred to Eric's character as Kevin (Kevin Connolly) in an earlier post.

Matt, I wish their was a female version of you. You're the only one that can satisfy my pokefetish.

Kneg, I totally hear you. Especially now that they've eliminated the one thing that made Eric any different from the rest of the guys (Sloane). But Ari is really the best part of the show.
Hey Bill I love Little People Big World!

I can see the points about getting old from both Matt and Bill. I recently thought back to what I was doing 10 years ago and it felt odd. I would not say I feel old, so to speak, just amazed that that much time has passed.

But I think it's all about balance. If you're doing things you enjoy because you enjoy them, not because you feel like at a certain age you should do them, then your not old, you just know what you like. It's the people that feel like thay have to stop playing video games, walk down the toy aisle, or watch cartoons at 25 because they "are too old for that stuff", even though they actually do enjoy those things, that seem like old people to me.

James: I've heard tons about AVGN, but have never actually watched the vids, so any reference is unintentional.

Psssh, Squirtle is where it's at. When he's fully evolved he has freaking cannons inside his shell! Not to mention he can spit out backwashed stomach fluid with the power of a fire hose.

Up a few posts, as for the perfect movie, My Best Friend is a Vampire JUST finished. May I recommend Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town?

Someone linked the Angry Video Game Nerd the other day on Shrine and it was the first I've heard of him. I've watched just about all of his video's now and have to say I love him dearly–even if his first ever was Simon's Quest

I've also been watching MatrixPrime's TF toy reviews. Makes me glad I did before I picked up Barricade and Ironhide. I've got enough nostalgia-sauce to ignore Jazz's faults, but none whatsoever for those two. I think I'm done with the movie line. I'd like to get Classics Rodimus (actually Hot Rod) and Titanium Roddy but I'll probably have to eBay those at this point.

You know, I thought it was just me making weird associations when I saw the Angry Video Game Nerd-esque line. At least I'm not alone

And Matt, you really must see the AVGN videos - they're some of the funniest stuff I've seen (aside from your articles, of course). Btw, James - you wouldn't happen to actually BE the AVGN, would you? Seems interesting with the name and the link, is all.

And to answer a question from a post from a little ways up the page - Johnny Depp as Spock is incredibly hard to picture. It could work though, since Depp can play such odd characters. Still - Star Trek??? Didn't that stuff die out a while back?

And just to weigh in on another question - in the case of Optimus Prime v. Mewtwo, I would say that Optimus would sneak up on the pokemon as a truck, then suprise the shit out of him by transforming and then stepping on him before he had time to react. But that's just me.

I agree with you, Matt–the first season of Pokemon is one of the best seasons of anything. I also have the DVD set. Get this–I got it for $21. Want to know how? Maaaybe I'll tell you and maybe I won't.

I found a typo, because I just tend to:
Ash's Pokédex tells us that wild Pokémon and jealous of trained Pokémon
You mean "are."

Oh yes, and today is my birthday. Everybody say "Happy Birthday" and make me feel significant!

I can remember when the early Pokemon series hooked me. It was that early episode when Pikachu and that caterpillar one (the form before Metapod?) have a long chat under the stars using nothing but their names over and over. I watched and felt myself stagger: It was just . . . too cute!

To be honest, I actually preferred Digimon. Maybe because it kept its lineup down to a core handful among the characters without having to work in 150-plus creatures throughout. Although I wondered how the characters kept the names of their creatures straight when they transformed three or four times each episode . . . .

The screenshot of gym leader Matt and his Mystery Peanut isn't getting enough lovin'

Mmm Digimon… fond memories of Fox Kids and UPN (now my 16/14/whatever) are coming back…

I recognized an AVGN reference, too. The line was the one at the end, Just wish they didn't taste like the —hole of a dead skunk." This is very similar to a line in the AVGN's review of Back to the Future for NES, where he says something like, "I'd rather eat out the rotten —hole of a roadkilled skunk than play this game." Was that really James Rolfe who posted? That would be awesome if it was.

Oh, in the Doritos review…I thought we were talking about Pokemon. As I've made several references to animal rectums in the past, I feel comfortable leaving this one as is.

Personally, Cotter, I prefer the time before UPN and WB and CW and MyTV splattered all over the airwaves. But that's mainly because I remember watching KCOP, which would constantly drive into my skull that it was VERY INDEPENDENT. Plus that was the station that showed He-Man and She-Ra and Rambo!

Eh, fuck it, I'm changing "skunk" to "bear" to avoid confusion. Let them have their skunks.

I go through all this trouble to avoid like-minded/like-styled sites unless I know the people behind them personally so I can stay fresh and clean, and what happens? I make a joke about a skunk's asshole that somebody else made first.

Think nothing of it, Matt. It's like the old saying, great minds think alike. Especially when it comes to decomposing animal recta.

Even worse yet, that stupid skunk butt has cost me birthday wishes. I'M STILL HERE!

I borrowed the DVD set from my friend, and i can agree that it's really great, except for one episode called Bye Bye Butterfree… if i remember correctly, the episode is about Ash's butterfree trying to find a mate, and Ash and friends trying to help it… but the ending sequence is so horribly ridden with cliches, pointless emotions, and loud, high pitched "FREEEEEEEE" (because it would sound better than BUTTER, i guess)

Butterfree brought his share of sad show moments. There's the one you mentioned, plus that heartache-filled Raticate trade episode…Butterfree is my symbol of pain.

I tried to buy a Wii today, but none of the stores have it in stock! I went down to the target to buy a DS instead, and they were out of those, too! I was reall upset! I felt like the AVGN when he finally beat Ghostbusters on NES. I went through all this trouble and wasted all that time for nothing! On the plus side, I found some new power rangers vehicle toys that were pretty good. I'll probably have to go to Circuit City tommorrow before work to get A DS. BTW, do any of you guys out there have DS and/or PSP? Which one do you think is better?

BTW Matt, don't feel to bad about the "skunk" thing. I'm pretty sure this sort of thing happens all the time.

So true, Matt. When a Butterfree was present in an episode, you knew that the tissues were going to be needed.

On the subject of Optimus Prime vs. Mewtwo… it's a clear victory for Mewtwo. Sure, Optimus Prime is "great", but he stands no chance against psychic powers. First of all, let's focus on the telekineses; being rendered useless in mid-air by Mewtwo's mystical techniques, he would be an easy target for another attack such as psychic. Moreover, Mewtwo has a forcefield-like object around him, keeping anything from touching him.

Matt Hey buddy even though the skunk joke scandal probably scared you I suggest you watching as your first angry video game nerd video power glove (my personal fave)

I like all of the thicker potato chips, like kettle chips, potato skins (tater skins and tgi fridays kind)

I think I'll give an impromptu list of last-minute suggestions for the summer jukebox-
All selections are by the Beach Boys unless otherwise noted:

You're So Good to Me
And Then I Kissed Her
Disney Girls (1957)
Hawaii
Cool, Cool Water (from Brian Wilson's Smile)
Wind Chimes
Here Comes the Night (disco version; that's right, a Beach Boys disco song, it's better than it sounds)
Good Vibrations(why didn't I think of it before?)
Do It Again
Amusement Parks U.S.A.
Palisades Park (Beach Boys' version, although the original is good too)
It's O.K. (I know I mentioned it before)

I know this is a lot of stuff, but I don't expect all of them to end up on the jukebox. Also, I tended to avoid the more obvious hits in favor of more obscure, but still appropriate material. I'm certainly excited about the jukebox going up soon!

I must say, I enjoyed your review of the episode. I'd like to see more, especially of Bulbasaur.

They have a cheeseburger pizza at Stevie B's that taste exactly like those chips.

Huh, I always thought that it was Pidegeoto… Still, this article makes me feel better about my own secret love for the early Pokemon.

Speaking of which, here's the Norm MacDonald Show/Pokemon crossover. Features Nikki Cox and the dad from Alf as Team Rocket:

I heart the chips and was planning on buying a few bags for when they stopped selling them…and then they stopped selling them. Unfortunately, most of the reviews of them say they're horrible so I don't hold out much hope for tasting them again.

Haha … I'm not normally interested in new chip flavours in a big way, but something about 'based on a cheesburger' really makes me want to taste these suckers.

I guess if I've missed the boat I can always go kill a bear … and eat it's dead asshole? (ewww) =x

Damn it! Your spot on reminiscence has got me watching that first series again, and I got my cards out, and I just preordered Pearl (I'm in UK, we don't have it yet) and you can bet that whatever my trainer looks like, I'm going to be calling him Ash. Again. I'm too old for this, will I never be free?

The book "Pikachu's Global Adventure: the Rise and Fall of Pokemon" (sorry, I didn't do the accented-e) points out there's a scene in the original Japanese version in this episode that was edited out in the American: after Misty meets Ash for the first time, she slaps him for not taking care of his Pikachu. Of course, this slap means something more: in old-timey movies, when a woman slaps a man, it usually means they're going to fall in love with each other later on. Foreshadowing!

Mental note: Don't put pictures of food on the blog's main page that disgust you. Every time I look at that bag, I feel sick.

An oddly entertaining article on the Pokemon episode. Even more strange is that I'd like to read more poke-reviews.

Nice review. Back when Pokemon was cool. I had such a huge crush on Misty. WAAAH! I MISS MISTY!!

I have lots of Pokemon VHS' from 96-98 in a box at my new house. All the gym leader episodes in an article would make ME cut off my Voltorbs.

I remember my very first Pokemon episode - it was the one with the giant Tentacruel that used Team Rocket's Meowth as a speaking platform. I was hooked after that, as well. But I think a lot of the magic was gone when the show made the jump to the WB. The First Movie was the climax of that rabid, RABID fandom I use to possess - it all went significantly downhill after that.

People don't realize the dark underworld Pokemon has in Japan. One episode refers to "weird gym equipment" (refers to the torture lab in "Holy Matrimony"), James crossdressing, and a bunch of other things.

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