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Possible weaker variation of "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" [message #164982] Thu, 21 August 2008 12:08 Go to next message
George Johnson is currently offline  George Johnson
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Re: Possible weaker variation of "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" [message #164983 is a reply to message #164982] Thu, 21 August 2008 17:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Doug Elrod is currently offline  Doug Elrod
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On Aug 21, 12:08 pm, "George Johnson" <matri...@charter.net> wrote:
[snip]
> Menno's Mind (1996)
> Long before The Matrix and eXistenZ offered their own stylish spins on the
> dangers of virtual reality, Showtime was on the case with the futuristic
> sci-fi thriller, Menno's Mind.

[snip]
It makes me wonder if they had originally intended for his mind to go
on a THREE-HOUR TOUR!

> Standing between Medina and success is rebel leader Mick Dourif (Bruce
> Campbell), but Medina has a solution for him, too, as he dispatches a
> security hit squad to assassinate him. Dourif, formerly a computer
> programmer who designed the Resort's mainframe, won't die without a fight,
> though. Mortally wounded, Dourif makes his way back to the Resort where he
> puts in motion one last gambit — downloading his own brain into the
> mainframe where it can then be uploaded into someone else's mind, boosting
> brain power, strength, and cunning. Enter Menno (Once and Again hunk Bill
> Campbell), mild-mannered Resort programmer. Enlisted by Dourif in his last
> act of defiance, he becomes the vessel for Dourif's brain.

THRILL, as *Bill* Campbell acts like *Bruce* Campbell! "Hey, where's
my DISTINCTIVE CHIN? Oh that's right, I'm in *your* body!" ;-)

> But, as Medina discovers, like that flying
> rodent, once committed, Menno proves unstoppable.

Unless you *commit* him/them! They thought they'd be so clever
occupying the same body -- but it just means that we have to buy less
food for them... IN THE POKEY! Or save bullets by using JUST ONE!

> Decidedly low budget, particularly when compared to something like The
> Matrix, Menno's Mind still entertains with a surprisingly witty script and
> vivid production design that emphasizes the film's comic-book aspects.
> Outsized performances by the two Campbells and the scenery-chewing Bernsen,
> who all appear to be having a grand time playing these characters, keep
> things energized. Despite its future-shock trappings, this is not the most
> thought-provoking movie ever made, but it's fun, escapist entertainment.

Maybe MSTable, though?

-Doug Elrod (dre1@cornell.edu)
Re: Possible weaker variation of "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank" [message #165100 is a reply to message #164982] Fri, 22 August 2008 14:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
nebusj- is currently offline  nebusj-
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"George Johnson" <matrix29@charter.net> writes:

> Basic core plot is a guy moving his mind into a computer and trying to
> get it back out.
> This is more of a weak "action" movie rather than the "guy who gets
> stuck in a computer-generated fantasy and is finding it much more desirable
> than the real world" plot.
> http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=128672&PID=10081038&am p;Tab=reviews&CID=18

Hm. Well, I suppose there's some relation, although there've
been brain-swap stories before 'Overdrawn at the Memory Bank' too. I
think maybe an important point of the 'Overdrawn' gimmick is first that
it's essentially a 'lost luggage' story -- guy goes on vacation (in the
movie, a mandatory one, admittedly), loses something important, has to
make do until getting it back.

The twist that the guy has months in his virtual-reality
simulated world to improve himself and his lot in real life while just a
few hours pass in reality is unique to 'Overdrawn', I think. Admittedly
this aspect is not at all clear in the movie -- it amounts mostly to
Aram Fingle declaring he's bored, but if you'd spent six months in his
little SimWorld that's a fair thing to be -- and it probably could have
been dropped with little confusion.

--
Joseph Nebus
------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------
Brain-swaps ("Overdrawn at the Memory Bank", etc) [message #165102 is a reply to message #165100] Fri, 22 August 2008 16:33 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Doug Elrod is currently offline  Doug Elrod
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On Aug 22, 2:16 pm, nebu...@-rpi-.edu (Joseph Nebus) wrote:
>         Hm.  Well, I suppose there's some relation, although there've
> been brain-swap stories before 'Overdrawn at the Memory Bank' too.  I
> think maybe an important point of the 'Overdrawn' gimmick is first that
> it's essentially a 'lost luggage' story -- guy goes on vacation (in the
> movie, a mandatory one, admittedly), loses something important, has to
> make do until getting it back.  

"The Prisoner" had at least one. I wonder what the most unlikely TV
series to have one would be. Punky Brewster never had one, did
it? ;-)

> The twist that the guy has months in his virtual-reality
> simulated world to improve himself and his lot in real life while just a
> few hours pass in reality is unique to 'Overdrawn', I think. Admittedly
> this aspect is not at all clear in the movie -- it amounts mostly to
> Aram Fingle declaring he's bored, but if you'd spent six months in his
> little SimWorld that's a fair thing to be -- and it probably could have
> been dropped with little confusion.

Ironically, although this aspect is not made clear *in* the movie, it
FEELS as though six months have passed while *watching* the movie!

-Doug Elrod (dre1@cornell.edu)
"Whoa, huge slam on ANTEATERS outta nowhere!" -Crow
Re: Brain-swaps ("Overdrawn at the Memory Bank", etc) [message #165103 is a reply to message #165102] Fri, 22 August 2008 16:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Anonymous
Karma:
Originally posted by: Derek Janssen

Doug Elrod wrote:
> On Aug 22, 2:16 pm, nebu...@-rpi-.edu (Joseph Nebus) wrote:
>
>> Hm. Well, I suppose there's some relation, although there've
>> been brain-swap stories before 'Overdrawn at the Memory Bank' too. I
>> think maybe an important point of the 'Overdrawn' gimmick is first that
>> it's essentially a 'lost luggage' story -- guy goes on vacation (in the
>> movie, a mandatory one, admittedly), loses something important, has to
>> make do until getting it back.
>
> "The Prisoner" had at least one.

As did the Avengers, and just about every Saturday morning cartoon in
recorded history, predating the Flintstones.

> I wonder what the most unlikely TV
> series to have one would be. Punky Brewster never had one, did
> it? ;-)

I assume that winky is because they *did*--
Unless you've managed to forget the "Punky forgets to take care of her
dog" episode...
(Don't ask me how I know that, it was just more research for what was
going on with the Shout Factory thread, honestly)

Derek Janssen (hey, it was the 80's, and brain-swap was coin of the realm)
ejanss1@verizon.net
Re: Brain-swaps ("Overdrawn at the Memory Bank", etc) [message #165212 is a reply to message #165103] Fri, 22 August 2008 17:08 Go to previous messageGo to next message
nebusj- is currently offline  nebusj-
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Derek Janssen <ejanss1@nospam.verizon.net> writes:

> Doug Elrod wrote:
>> On Aug 22, 2:16 pm, nebu...@-rpi-.edu (Joseph Nebus) wrote:
>>
>>> Hm. Well, I suppose there's some relation, although there've
>>> been brain-swap stories before 'Overdrawn at the Memory Bank' too. I
>>> think maybe an important point of the 'Overdrawn' gimmick is first that
>>> it's essentially a 'lost luggage' story -- guy goes on vacation (in the
>>> movie, a mandatory one, admittedly), loses something important, has to
>>> make do until getting it back.
>>
>> "The Prisoner" had at least one.

> As did the Avengers, and just about every Saturday morning cartoon in
> recorded history, predating the Flintstones.

One of the many things I was glad for back when Boomerang was
created and was very, very good was that finally I could prove the
existence of the cartoon where Yogi Bear gets his brain put into the
body of a chicken.

(I was also surprised to learn just recently that the classic
Star Trek slightly embarrassing episode 'Turnabout Intruder' derived
its title from Thorne Smith's novel, later movie, Turnabout, which I
really should have been able to figure out in the decades I'd had to
think about it.)


>> I wonder what the most unlikely TV
>> series to have one would be. Punky Brewster never had one, did
>> it? ;-)

> I assume that winky is because they *did*--
> Unless you've managed to forget the "Punky forgets to take care of her
> dog" episode...
> (Don't ask me how I know that, it was just more research for what was
> going on with the Shout Factory thread, honestly)

I must admit that I've managed to forget every Punky Brewster
episode, live and cartoon, except for the one where that old guy she
was always hanging out finally for the first time in decades *didn't*
buy season tickets for the Cubs, only it was 1984 and the Cubs were in
the postseason, but fortunately Punky was darned cute enough that she
got him into the dugout anyway.


> Derek Janssen (hey, it was the 80's, and brain-swap was coin of the realm)
> ejanss1@verizon.net

We did need some way for the public to finally understand what
it was like to be Judge Reinhold.

--
Joseph Nebus
------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------
Re: Brain-swaps ("Overdrawn at the Memory Bank", etc) [message #165214 is a reply to message #165103] Fri, 22 August 2008 17:13 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Doug Elrod is currently offline  Doug Elrod
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On Aug 22, 4:38 pm, Derek Janssen <ejan...@nospam.verizon.net> wrote:
>> I wonder what the most unlikely TV
>> series to have one would be.  Punky Brewster never had one, did
>> it? ;-)
>
> I assume that winky is because they *did*--
> Unless you've managed to forget the "Punky forgets to take care of her
> dog" episode...
> (Don't ask me how I know that, it was just more research for what was
> going on with the Shout Factory thread, honestly)

Wow! I didn't know that. I was just casting about for what *I
thought* would be an unlikely series. How little did I know!
(Thanks, man!)

> Derek Janssen (hey, it was the 80's, and brain-swap was coin of the realm)

I have to think that being "actor-challenging" has something to do
with it, too :-) (I'm tired of my character; so I want to act *yours*
for a while!) Didn't the actors on "Star Trek" say something to that
effect about the various episodes where it happened there?

-Doug Elrod (dre1@cornell.edu)
OK, how far *back* does it go? Did Shakespeare use it much?
Re: Brain-swaps ("Overdrawn at the Memory Bank", etc) [message #165217 is a reply to message #165212] Fri, 22 August 2008 18:19 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Anonymous
Karma:
Originally posted by: Derek Janssen

Joseph Nebus wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hm. Well, I suppose there's some relation, although there've
>>>> been brain-swap stories before 'Overdrawn at the Memory Bank' too. I
>>>> think maybe an important point of the 'Overdrawn' gimmick is first that
>>>> it's essentially a 'lost luggage' story -- guy goes on vacation (in the
>>>> movie, a mandatory one, admittedly), loses something important, has to
>>>> make do until getting it back.
>>>
>>> "The Prisoner" had at least one.
>
>> As did the Avengers, and just about every Saturday morning cartoon in
>> recorded history, predating the Flintstones.
>
> One of the many things I was glad for back when Boomerang was
> created and was very, very good was that finally I could prove the
> existence of the cartoon where Yogi Bear gets his brain put into the
> body of a chicken.

As Bugs Bunny, of course, being Bugs, managed to escape:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGYXHBdQ7io

(For those who only know the boxset toons, and not the classics Warner
continues to ignore...)

> -Doug Elrod (dre1@cornell.edu)
> OK, how far *back* does it go? Did Shakespeare use it much?

Only the medaled Children's-Books geek would know that the Judge
Reinhold "Vice Versa" was based on Thomas Anstey Guthrie's British
children's book.

From 1882.

Derek Janssen (beat *that*!)
ejanss1@verizon.net
Re: Brain-swaps ("Overdrawn at the Memory Bank", etc) [message #165221 is a reply to message #165217] Mon, 25 August 2008 13:19 Go to previous message
nebusj- is currently offline  nebusj-
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Derek Janssen <ejanss1@nospam.verizon.net> writes:

> Joseph Nebus wrote:
>> One of the many things I was glad for back when Boomerang was
>> created and was very, very good was that finally I could prove the
>> existence of the cartoon where Yogi Bear gets his brain put into the
>> body of a chicken.

> As Bugs Bunny, of course, being Bugs, managed to escape:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGYXHBdQ7io

> (For those who only know the boxset toons, and not the classics Warner
> continues to ignore...)

I did remember that one, although I think I went from the
glorious days of the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner show on ABC, back when
it was its just 90 minutes or more, straight to one of the later
June Bugs segments without seeing it.

Similarly the Bugs short that's one of Chuck Jones's efforts
to see how many times he can make 'Duck Amuck' I first saw ... I want
to say in one of those half-hour prime-time special way back when,
but that does seem like an odd choice. But then that vanished from
my conceptual universe until one of those happy late nights when
Cartoon Network was at its peak around 2000.


>> -Doug Elrod (dre1@cornell.edu)
>> OK, how far *back* does it go? Did Shakespeare use it much?

> Only the medaled Children's-Books geek would know that the Judge
> Reinhold "Vice Versa" was based on Thomas Anstey Guthrie's British
> children's book.

> From 1882.

> Derek Janssen (beat *that*!)
> ejanss1@verizon.net

I am startled, yes. I had assumed 'Vice Versa' was purely the
result of whatever weird mind virus went around Hollywood and inspired
the making of fifty mind-swap movies to be released the same weekend.

If Ovid didn't do a body-swap story he missed out on a good bet,
though.

--
Joseph Nebus
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