So if you weren't aware, and odds are you weren't, the comic strip Little Orphan Annie finally came to a halt last month. The strip dates back to 1924 and was apparently limping along in fewer than 20 newspapers when it was finally put out of its misery. (20 newspapers? There are personal ads that appear in more than 20 newspapers.) Ordinarily I wouldn't care -- while I'm a fan in general of classic comics like Popeye, Dick Tracy, Peanuts, Pogo, etc., I've never read any of Annie's adventures. But I decided to read the very last installment just for the heck of it, to see how the writer (a newer guy, the creator having died decades ago) went about ending an 86-year-old strip. And the answer is... he didn't. Literally, the strip just stops mid-storyline. From what I can tell, Annie's gotten herself kidnapped by some terrorist who can't decide what to do with her, and Daddy Warbucks' servants are whispering that he's resigned himself to never seeing Annie again. After that, there's a single panel of text telling readers "And this is where we leave our Annie. For now--"
Which, what?! "For now"? You can get away with that crap if there's a decent chance the story actually WILL be continued somewhere. 24 didn't give us any real closure in its series finale, but that's because they were pretty sure they were going to get a movie deal. Veronica Mars did gave us an ending -- not a cheery one, but an ending -- because they knew it wasn't likely they were coming back. But Little Orphan Annie? From what I can tell, there is zero talk of bringing it back as a comic strip anytime soon. Why would there be? -- it's already shown it can't sustain profitability, and it's not like it was a critical darling that had a short but memorable run... this is a strip that ran for the better part of a century and whose best days are long, long behind it. Yes, there's talk of reviving the musical, but that's going to be its own story, its own continuity. If, IF they ever revived the comic strip (which probably wouldn't happen for years), it's pretty unlikely they'd give it back to the guy who -- fair or unfair -- showed he couldn't keep it going the first time around. And if IF they DID ask him to write it again, they'd want him to start fresh with a brand new storyline, not continue an old one that a grand total of 18 people were reading when it ended. (Yes, I know it was in 20 newspapers, but I assume many of those were just used for lining birdcages and making paper mache hats and so on.)
So, seriously -- what the hell, man? Don't tell me he didn't have time to wrap up the story. No. One, when your strip is that unpopular near the end, you have to see the writing on the wall. And two, even if they only gave him a couple of weeks' notice (which I doubt), that's still enough time to wrap up a storyline. Do you have to cut some corners? Sure. Will you get to include everything you wanted? No. Tough shit, it's your job. You're the sole designated writer of a once beloved character who, recent obscurity notwithstanding, has earned a place in the history books. You owe it to the few remaining readers to give the story, and the character, some closure. You want to go traditional, have a deus ex machina rescue and return Annie home just in time to hug Daddy Warbucks and Sandy, look at the readers, and thank them for a wonderful 86 years. Too cheesy? You want to go all St. Elsewhere? Fine- Annie wakes up and realizes her entire 86 years of adventures were all a dream, she's still stuck in an orphanage. Dark, but it's an ending. Y'know what's not an ending? "And this is where we leave our Annie. For now--"
Is this a stupid thing to complain about? Sure. But that doesn't change the fact that this guy seriously dropped the ball. Maybe he was just pissed at the strip ending, and this was a last little "eff you" to the people who made the decision to pull the plug. But if so, he drastically missed his target. Those guys, whoever they are, don't care. The only people this hurt were the fans, few though they may number. I'm not one of them, but on their behalf, I'm a little peeved. So screw you, Annie guy. I wouldn't hire you to write Marmaduke. (Maybe Family Circus.) Let's hope you never have to write a will, you'll end it, "I, being of sound mind and body, do hereby bequeath all of my worldly possessions to... no one. For now."
And if I'm wrong and there are definitive plans to revive Annie and continue this story in the near future? Well, I'll be astonished, but I'll take it all back. You'll forgive me if I don't hold my breath.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
This and that
I know, it's been less than a month since my last entry... what *am* I thinking? Not much, as usual, just wanted to share two quick tidbits:
1) A couple days before Father's Day, I went to Best Buy to look for the new Lewis Black DVD for my dad. Lewis Black is my dad's reigning favorite comedian, a fact I take no small amount of pride in since I was the one to first introduce him to the curmudgeonly comic. Not finding it on the shelf, I track down a random store monkey and ask if he can check their computer system for it. As we walk, he asks what I'm looking for, so I tell him it's the new Lewis Black DVD. He replies, "Oh, yeah... I don't think he's very funny." At my noncommittal grunt, he goes on to say, "I saw one of his specials on TV once, and yeah, I don't know, just didn't think much of it." To which I didn't say anything but thought, really dude? I know you don't work on commission and thus don't care if I buy anything or not, but still... really? I hadn't told him it was for my father, so for all he knew he was badmouthing something I planned to buy for myself. You don't have to lie and say you love Lewis Black, just don't say anything. I actually walked away glad they didn't have it, even though it meant another trip, because after that I didn't want to buy it there anyway. I'm probably overreacting, but come on, man. There's a reason your immediate supervisor is five years younger than you and eats his own skin.
2) My own service-related anecdote: the other day I was speaking with a client, giving him feedback on why he shouldn't hire a candidate for a sales job. When I explained that the guy wouldn't have a lot of follow-through after making an initial pitch, you could practically hear the nod through the phone as he said, "I get ya. You're saying he's the guy who, if his wife says she has a headache, will just shrug his shoulders and give up instead of crackin' open a bottle of wine and trying to get somethin' going anyway."
I tell you, sometimes my customers annoy the piss out of me, but God help me, there are times I really love 'em. ;)
1) A couple days before Father's Day, I went to Best Buy to look for the new Lewis Black DVD for my dad. Lewis Black is my dad's reigning favorite comedian, a fact I take no small amount of pride in since I was the one to first introduce him to the curmudgeonly comic. Not finding it on the shelf, I track down a random store monkey and ask if he can check their computer system for it. As we walk, he asks what I'm looking for, so I tell him it's the new Lewis Black DVD. He replies, "Oh, yeah... I don't think he's very funny." At my noncommittal grunt, he goes on to say, "I saw one of his specials on TV once, and yeah, I don't know, just didn't think much of it." To which I didn't say anything but thought, really dude? I know you don't work on commission and thus don't care if I buy anything or not, but still... really? I hadn't told him it was for my father, so for all he knew he was badmouthing something I planned to buy for myself. You don't have to lie and say you love Lewis Black, just don't say anything. I actually walked away glad they didn't have it, even though it meant another trip, because after that I didn't want to buy it there anyway. I'm probably overreacting, but come on, man. There's a reason your immediate supervisor is five years younger than you and eats his own skin.
2) My own service-related anecdote: the other day I was speaking with a client, giving him feedback on why he shouldn't hire a candidate for a sales job. When I explained that the guy wouldn't have a lot of follow-through after making an initial pitch, you could practically hear the nod through the phone as he said, "I get ya. You're saying he's the guy who, if his wife says she has a headache, will just shrug his shoulders and give up instead of crackin' open a bottle of wine and trying to get somethin' going anyway."
I tell you, sometimes my customers annoy the piss out of me, but God help me, there are times I really love 'em. ;)
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
D-Day
I know. I can't believe it's been 2 1/2 months since my last post either. Honest to God, I looked at the date and thought, "No, that's wrong... my last post was at the end of April, not March." I actually kind of still think that (March?), but in the interest of not arguing with a computer program, let's not force the issue. Unfortunately, this isn't going to be much of an entry either. Shh, shh... it's okay. Let it all out. Tissues?
That's a dear. Right, I won't offer any false promises because clearly I cannot be trusted, but I will say that we're officially moved into the new house, I only have ten weeks left of grad school forever, and as soon as I get caught back up at MRFH, well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, but hopefully there will be more free time to be had. I know, empty words, but we'll see. But that's not why I've blown the dust off my keyboard to regale you tonight. No, this is actually a serious occasion. You see, today marks the one-year anniversary of the day I was laid off.
I won't go into any great detail, one because that's not what I feel like writing about, and two because thankfully that's all in the past and had a happy ending. I was incredibly lucky enough to be rehired very soon after, being out of work for under a month, so I have far, far less to complain about than many. Without my reemployment we certainly wouldn't have bought this house, so that short period of fear and uncertainty notwithstanding, our family has been very fortunate indeed. No tears or gnashing of teeth needed on my behalf, thanks.
However... that said, it was still something that came completely out of the blue (we were on vacation for God's sake, they actually called my cell on my last day of vacation to tell me the bad news), and for that brief period of time, it was incredibly scary. I'm not bitter and I've never been good at holding grudges, and Lord knows there are many people who were laid off before me and are still out of work now, so this is neither a complaint nor a plea for sympathy. If all I walked away with was a slightly bruised ego, well, that's a hell of a lot better than most, y'know? I guess I just needed someplace to mark the occasion, and since a lot of my coworkers are on Facebook, that wasn't exactly an option. (That'd be a fun entry though, wouldn't it? Status: ...turned off his cell phone all day and is afraid to check his voicemail. Or: ...is doing a lot better than this time last year, thanks for asking!) So instead, I forced you all to sit through an incoherent musing about something that only affected three people, didn't affect them for long, and is entirely in the past. Sorry about that.
Anyway, that's enough for now; back to the books, don't ya know. Because that's the joy of being a former proofreader in a group with one other native-born English speaker, three nice but only marginally fluent in English Chinese exchange students, and one Hungarian transplant- your editing services are always in demand. Hey, maybe that's a fall-back career...
That's a dear. Right, I won't offer any false promises because clearly I cannot be trusted, but I will say that we're officially moved into the new house, I only have ten weeks left of grad school forever, and as soon as I get caught back up at MRFH, well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, but hopefully there will be more free time to be had. I know, empty words, but we'll see. But that's not why I've blown the dust off my keyboard to regale you tonight. No, this is actually a serious occasion. You see, today marks the one-year anniversary of the day I was laid off.
I won't go into any great detail, one because that's not what I feel like writing about, and two because thankfully that's all in the past and had a happy ending. I was incredibly lucky enough to be rehired very soon after, being out of work for under a month, so I have far, far less to complain about than many. Without my reemployment we certainly wouldn't have bought this house, so that short period of fear and uncertainty notwithstanding, our family has been very fortunate indeed. No tears or gnashing of teeth needed on my behalf, thanks.
However... that said, it was still something that came completely out of the blue (we were on vacation for God's sake, they actually called my cell on my last day of vacation to tell me the bad news), and for that brief period of time, it was incredibly scary. I'm not bitter and I've never been good at holding grudges, and Lord knows there are many people who were laid off before me and are still out of work now, so this is neither a complaint nor a plea for sympathy. If all I walked away with was a slightly bruised ego, well, that's a hell of a lot better than most, y'know? I guess I just needed someplace to mark the occasion, and since a lot of my coworkers are on Facebook, that wasn't exactly an option. (That'd be a fun entry though, wouldn't it? Status: ...turned off his cell phone all day and is afraid to check his voicemail. Or: ...is doing a lot better than this time last year, thanks for asking!) So instead, I forced you all to sit through an incoherent musing about something that only affected three people, didn't affect them for long, and is entirely in the past. Sorry about that.
Anyway, that's enough for now; back to the books, don't ya know. Because that's the joy of being a former proofreader in a group with one other native-born English speaker, three nice but only marginally fluent in English Chinese exchange students, and one Hungarian transplant- your editing services are always in demand. Hey, maybe that's a fall-back career...
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