So, I was in the midst of my BNL obsession – just past the point where I started looking into The Brothers Creeggan and Thin Buckle, but still before I had purchased any of their albums – when I started reading the BNL Blog. That was about March 15th, so the first entry that I read was Ed Robertson’s about how awesome it is to be a rock star. And what was his reason? Who remembers? Was it because of the fame? The fortune? The number of women who think he is the sexxiest, most talented thing to come out of Canada since...ever*? Nope.
It was because he got to be a minor character in the 50th episode of Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles.
I was already aware of the fact that he was a gamer geek, and I am enough of a geek myself to find that endearing instead of pathetic, so I just chuckled softly to myself and went about my business digging through the television pilot news, the Macy’s Parade analysis, and the Election Day fallout. An hour or two later (I had moved on to doing other things at this point. I didn’t sit there and read the blog for multiple hours on end), I got to wondering about this Red vs. Blue thing. I wasn’t curious enough to actually go watch the 50th episode of a webtoon based on a video game that I didn’t even have an inkling of an urge to play, but curious I was. And it actually took me another hour before I broke down and went over to http://www.redvsblue.com, which I believe is a personal record for holding out on something connected to an object of obsession.
So, off I went, boldly leaping into the midst of a whole new subculture of geekdom. Big mistake. Episode 50 (the one with Ed) turned out to be the first in a three-part time-travel episode, wherein one of the characters goes back in time and tries to prevent approximately 75% of what happens over the course of the series from happening. Needless to say, I was utterly lost the entire time. But instead of backing away slowly, I continued watching because I could tell that the episode was well written and that I would have adored it if I knew what was going on.
Unfortunately, they cycle through the older seasons instead of keeping all of the episodes up all the time, so I couldn’t just immediately start from the beginning and catch myself up. But, I have been slowly piecing the series together, albeit in a rather convoluted way, as the episodes cycle through. Sure, it’s incredibly confusing. But it’s worth it, because the show is phracking awesome. It’s got a twisted plot, a deliciously cynical feel, and even the slowest-witted characters are highly sarcastic. Not to mention the fact that the way they “film” is just the epitome of everything lazy, brilliant, and geeky. But I won’t go into that here. If you care enough to really want to know, they have an excellent (and highly entertaining) FAQ on the site. The one thing about the show that they don’t address, though, is who provides the voices for the characters. This is information that I am very much interested in, being a voice geek.
Am I saying “geek” too much? Nah...
RvB is very definitely not a family-friendly ‘toon. It’s about soldiers in an army, and it is therefore on the R-rated side for language and occasional barracks humour. I won’t be watching any of it around my dad, but I’ve been showing my sister the series and don’t feel like I have to turn it off when my mother walks into the room, so it’s obviously not too terribly obscene. Just be warned.
Alright. Just for the record, my current favourite characters are Church and Griff (but only just barely), I’m rooting for the Blues (because there are technically only three of them, and one is a little...deceased. I’ve got a soft spot for the underdogs), and my favourite episode is definitely “Silver Linings.” And not just because Ed Robertson is my hero.
The guys at Rooster Teeth are fabulously funny, and you’ll enjoy it muchly. Go watch. But only if you’re old enough.
“I think today is actually a good day to retreat. Can’t we push ‘dying’ to a week from Friday?”
* Um, yeah. I’m going to have to count myself among them. Well, maybe he’s not the sexxiest (I’m gonna go with Ryan Gosling on that one), but he’s definitely way, way up there. And I suppose it could be argued that some of his fellow Ladies are as talented, and possibly slightly more so. So let’s just put it this way: if we’re judging on voice and guitar skill, Ed is far and away the sexxiest, most talented thing to come out of Canada since ever. Back up
Page created May 20, 2005.
