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Dear Jack: Your Unashamed Obsession with the Dinosaur Documentary, Dinotasia

  1. 6 and a half years.

Dear Jack,

Saturday morning as Mommy bought the groceries at Kroger, I stayed home with you and your sister, letting you pick something to watch on Netflix until Mommy got back.

We scrolled through the “Because You Watched Jurassic Park” suggestions and came across a seemingly appropriate selection: Dinotasia. As opposed to being a movie like you’re used to watching, it’s more of a documentary that shows what life was like for dinosaurs, featuring CGI cartoons, as opposed to interviews with paleontologists.

So I explained that to you before I clicked play, “This is a dinosaur documentary.”

As I assume all Kindergarten boys are, you are thoroughly obsessed with dinosaurs with the same degree of passion as you are with Pokemon characters.

Every night before bed, I read to you from your giant Dinosaurs book, as you learn the names and unique features of each dinosaur.

So by watching Dinotasia, you were able to correctly shout out, “Hey Daddy, that’s a Pachycephalosaurus!”

I know I’ve said this a lot before, but you really are a smart kid.

We were able to finish the documentary before Mommy got back with the groceries. And of course, you bombarded her when she came through the door, as you told her all about the dinosaur documentary we had just watched.

Then the next morning on Sunday, you woke up early to watch Dinotasia, a 2nd time; this time with Mommy.

Later that day, as we were leaving from church, Mommy asked you what you did in your group class, which includes some kids that are a bit older than you.

“I told them about the dinosaur documentary, Dinotasia. There was this older girl who thought I was only 3 years old and she didn’t think a 3 year-old could watch a documentary, but I told her I am in Kindergarten.”

We typically talk about what we value. You obviously value Dinotasia. I like having a son who proudly watches dinosaur documentaries.

Love,

Daddy

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Parental Review: Stranger Things (Netflix Original Series- Season 1)

Parental Review: Stranger Things (Netflix Original Series- Season 1)

It appears that 2006 is the year for 1983.

First was this summer’s X-Men Apocalypse, and more recently, Disney’s reboot of Pete’s Dragon, both same in that marvelous year in history. And of course, Netflix’s Stranger Things.

I personally have had an obsession with 1983 since I was in Junior High, about a decade later. The culture, the style, the music, the movies, and the TV shows were so enjoyable.

Even John Mayer backs up my theory in his song, “83”, where he admits, “Had it make in ’83.”

So it makes sense to me that people today, in 2016, continue to enjoy seeing the year 1983 brought back to life.

Stranger Things

I am thoroughly impressed by the seemingly flawless way the Duffer Brothers have captured 1983 in their new sci-fi thriller, Stranger Things.

There is no question that Stranger Things is an exceptional TV show, like Breaking Bad and Lost.

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But the question you might be asking, as a parent, is at what age Stranger Things would be appropriate for your child to watch.

While I can’t answer that question for you, I can give you a brief overview of elements of the show which ultimately give Stranger Things what I deem as the equivalent of an intense PG-13 rated movie.

Profanity:

While there are no major curse words, like “g—d—“ or “f—“, every episode contains multiple uses of “sh—“ and many of the episodes contain the phrase “son of a b—-“ and/or “d-ck”. I should point out that much of the the profanity is by the 12 year-old boys, in addition to the adult characters.

Sex/Nudity:

Most episodes are free of sensuality, but there is an early episode in which 2 teenagers (who are protagonists) engage in sexual activity. While no nudity is shown, the bedroom scene is not a quick one. The event is referenced briefly again in a later episode, in which the girl is referred to as a “sl-t” by the boy she had sex with.

Violence:

There is violence throughout the series, including a girl’s telepathic ability to break bones and even kill people. Additionally, there are many uses of guns and weapons.

Drugs/Alcohol:

There is occasional use of cigarettes and beer by some of the adult characters.

Dark Themes:

The overall theme of Stranger Things has to do with connecting to a darker, sinister parallel universe; as people are being taken there from the 1983 version of Indiana. Again, one of the main characters is able to excess her telepathic abilities.

Stranger Things is by no means a family friendly show, yet it is definitely fascinating, intriguing, and addicting.

As for a child watching it, I say the best comparison for inappropriate content for children would be Lost; regarding profanity, sex, violence, drugs/alcohol, and dark themes.

However, it’s up to the individual parent to decide at what age.

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Fuller House Recaps- S1: E5 “Mad Max”

Fuller House Recaps- S1: E5 “Mad Max”

In the canon of the first season of Fuller House, this episode ultimately feels like a filler episode, with the exception of one major revelation:

Stephanie explains to DJ, at the end of the episode, that she is unable to have children.

While I’m sure the writers of Fuller House want the audience to focus the majority of their attention of who DJ will end up with, I don’t.

Instead, I’m sort of obsessed with the fact that the writers have made such a conscious effort to paint Stephanie as the ultimate middle child.

Here she is at age 34, without a real job, without a family of her own, and without any real direction in her life.

Now on top of that, she has recently find out that even when she does settle down and start a family of her own, she can’t have her own biological children.

This plot line is crucial to the character of Stephanie finally beginning to start acting her age. She is now realizing that by infusing herself more fully in to DJ’s family, she can begin to have a sense of being needed by a family again.

To further illustrate this, Stephanie helps “Mad Max” gain confidence by letting him practice his song to Stephanie’s audience, via her cell phone.

This is also the episode where there’s a classic misunderstanding when Ramona flushes a baby diaper down the toilet, causing DJ to believe that a guy who Kimmy set her up with online is actually the plumber. From there, innuendos follow to help ensure we know that Fuller House is not a G-rated show.

Please mark my word. The aspect of Fuller House that is the most intriguing is not DJ, but instead Stephanie.

For this show to really go somewhere, we will have to see Stephanie truly grow into her age; because truly, right now, she’s about a decade behind.

She’s not the typical 34 year-old. Leave it to Stephanie’s family to change that.

Also, here’s my own video version of this recap as well:

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Fuller House Recaps: Renewed for a 2nd Season

Fuller House Recaps: Renewed for a 2nd Season

Just a few days after the 1st season of Fuller House was released on Netflix, it was announced that a 2nd season has been ordered.

Therefore, that means there will also be a 2nd season of Fuller House Recaps. I look forward to continuing to be your host and guide not just through the rest of this first season, but the next one as well.

Here’s my video recap of this historic event:

I imagine that Season 2 will answer some of our unanswered questions:

“Why does Uncle Joey wear a wedding ring but never mention his wife or bring her to the house?”

“What about Danny’s wife? We briefly saw her kiss Danny, but I don’t believe we even got a name.”

“Who will DJ choose: Steve or Matt?”

Plus, is there a chance that Mary Kate or Ashley will reprise the role of Michelle? (Either one will do; we don’t have to have both.)

And will Stephanie, age 34, finally start acting like she’s 34?

The fact that Fuller House was so quickly renewed apparently tells us something about the money being made from the show.

Obviously, Netflix must have greatly benefited from the number of viewers that turned out to watch. They realized that whether or not the critics liked the show was irrelevant; what matters is that it’s a popular show.

In other words, the free market decided to make Fuller House so popular it would actually be financially irresponsible to not make a  2nd season.

Ultimately, the whole concept is pretty weird: A feel-good family sitcom from 1987 is resurrected, not on a major TV network, but on a streaming service people can watch anytime.

It was a plan just crazy enough to work. And even if we are mainly here just for the curiosity side of it, we still are indeed coming back.

Good job, free market. Good job, 1980s kids. Good job, Netflix.

5 Comments Posted on Nostalgia, reviews, Uncategorized

Fuller House Recaps- S1: E4, “The Not-So-Great Escape”

Fuller House Recaps- S1: E4, “The Not-So-Great Escape”e-guide-list

In the 4th episode of Fuller House, we are officially introduced to DJ’s veterinarian clinic, as DJ’s son Max is given the responsibility of choosing which spawn of Comet he wants.

The main plot line involves Jackson and Ramona getting into trouble together at school, and therefore, both being suspended; after Jackson makes a (smoke producing?) volcano underneath the smoke alarm in an effort to cause a diversion to help Ramona escape (?) from school.

I find that concept difficult to follow, but it takes even more imagination to figure out how Stephanie and DJ’s boys found so much tomato soup to soak in after the skunk sprayed them.

And speaking of Stephanie, my disappointment for her character (age 34) grows after learning that her career as a DJ (?!) isn’t even paying off: She has a collection of maxed out credit cards, causing her to be unable to pay her $18 coffee bill.

From there, a misunderstanding or two causes Stephanie to pretend to be a single mom in order to impress a guy at the coffee shop.

We also see DJ parenting Kimmy on how to parent, after they initially discipline their children much differently after “the not-so-great-escape”.

This episode is heavy on character development, as we see the character similarities between Jackson and Ramona (yearning 7th graders), as well as Stephanie and Kimmy (adults who lack self-discipline as well as the ability to efficiently discipline children), contrasted against the “real adult” figure of DJ tanner.

Though by the end of this episode, Kimmy (age 39) shows honest efforts to be an adult, Stephanie (age 34) shows she her character will continue to struggle.

Isn’t it at least a little odd that so early on in this series it is becoming evident this show is about adults who failed to grow up?

Must I remind you about Uncle Joey (age 56) on the episode right before this, leading the kids in trashing the house with slime?

Seriously, it’s a theme: Adults who forgot to grow up since Full House ended in 1995.

And don’t forget to watch my video recap here:

If you would like the full version, watch this one instead: