About this Episode:
That’s right, I named the heroic policeman after Robocop. I’m a nerd.
Zombie Cliché Lookout:
In zombie stories, anyone representing the government tends to get painted in a bad light. FEMA, the military, the police, and everyone in between have to fail utterly at stopping the zombie outbreak before we can have any fun in the zombopocalypse. To add insult to injury, these people are also usually portrayed as so incompetent and/or lazy, it’s a wonder they’re able to make it into the office every day.
Police officers tend to occupy one of two jobs: part of the mook patrol (along with the army) who are dropping the ball on containment, or the standout officer who is actually competent at his job. Those officers in the former category tend to be reserved for the first act of the story. They act as cannon fodder and obstacles for our heroes while the world falls apart. The heroic cops, on the other hand, tend to show up once the shit has completely hit the fan. Whether these characters become regulars, or are heroically sacrificed to allow the protagonists to press on in anyone’s guess.
See, I figured it would be a “Murphy’s Law” joke. But I’ve not seen “Robocop” since… since… a good decade before Kurtwood Smith became a beloved tv sitcom badass. Probably more.
You should check it out again, Lich. It’s one of those rare movie that’s actually much better than you probably remember.
Considering how “Gladiator” gets used for eighth grade history hereabouts, it’s only a matter of time before it’s put on the English curriculum for teaching “satire.”
Though the “Bitches, leave” line would be a tricky one to discuss in class…
Gladiator is being used to teach history? Please tell me it’s to demonstrate the differences between movie history and what actually happened.
It’s usually either “Yay! You finished the unit!” or “Gadzooks! The substitute needs something to play on double-block day!,” but there’s rarely much other than “watch it and be quiet” for instructions. I am not quiet; I do my best Tom Servo as a teacher impression – particularly for “how lazy screenwriters make villains villainous” and “I never knew that CGI could build such things” issues.
I’ve not seen it yet this year. I think I watched it four times last year, and at least five to eight times prior to that. That’s way more than anyone should have to. Still, at least it’s not “Dead Poets Society” – that one really hurts.
And it has Kurtwood Smith! Full circle!
Oh, well at least a “Let’s just be on cruise control today” movie is better than using Gladiator, or Braveheart, or the Patriot, etc.,etc. to teach. You had me worried.
I’ve only seen Dead Poets Society one (in high school, imagine that) and remembered liking it quite a bit despite the presence of Robin Williams. I think I’ll avoid revisiting that one.
i saw glatiator in 8.th grade history class
Did you learn anything?
Actually I watched Gladiator in Latin class in fourth year of secondary IIRC. It was used as an accurate demonstration of Roman military tactics and then otherwise used as a contrasting text to the accepted history of the era. From my shakey memories of it, almost a decade ago, it was basically a plausible story with very little support for or against it’s factuality.
A much more fun timefiller was the BBC’s old series, “I, Claudius”, probably becausee we were teenage boys and it had “accurate costume” for the female characters….