The Secret, Sinister, & SEXY origin of Smurfette

The Smurfs 3D movie opens this weekend and in addition to starring Neil Patrick and Hank Azaria, the most famous face attached to the film is the face you don't see, Katy Perry (whom I love) as the Smurf's token sexpot, Smurfette.

A lot of people may NOT know the actual CONTROVERSIAL origin of Miss Mini-skirt, wherein there were a lot of hidden (or NOT-so-hidden) messages! The Smurfs were originally an all male society. In the cartoon and comic strip, in attempt to exploit the Smurfs' weakness, the evil wizard Gargamel created Smurfette, the first FEMALE Smurf, to infiltrate Smurf village and eventually cause their demise. "Women as the root of chaos and the downfall of a fully functioning social order"? Hmmm ...

It was also speculated that Smurfette was included to either a) debunk any "homosexual" speculation the "village of shirtless blue men" may have aroused or b) to act as a draw to the young female demographic, strictly as a marketing - consumer standpoint ... Whichever notion makes you less uncomfortable :)

And the fun doesn't end THERE! Smufette was initially born with nappy black hair, wearing a poor-girl's dress. She was the creation of Gargamel and was evil at the core, so that should be represented in her appearance, right? And although intrigued by her "femaleness", the Smurfs weren't really feeling her at first. It wasn't until Papa Smurf purged her of evil and made her pure and good, did she become the blonde knockout that the other Smurfs fell in love with. Message?

I love it!
Plus it was the 80's, so ... What're you gonna do, right?

You can watch the full episode here!

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a Phat trip back to the 90's for a Bit!

Small milestone here, but this marks the 100th blog post of EWLYD!!! For those of you that have been along for the ride, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your support, appreciate your readership, and assure you - the best is yet to come!

Of varying topics I considered discussing for the 100th, I decided to go with something I discovered this week that also spotlights my most formative decade - the 90's ... This week was the debut of the "new" program block on Teen Nick called "The 90's are All That".

From 12-2am every weeknight, Teen Nick airs some of the most decade defining Nickelodeon shows from the 1990's. The teen-sketch comedy All That, followed by Keenan and Kel, (the 1st spinoff vehicle), the timeless and beloved Clarissa Explains It All, starring a Pre-Sabrina Melissa Joan Hart, and the most grounded and relatable cartoon of all time - Doug.

Full on nostalgia, you can't HELP but smile out loud ... The 90's Fashion ... listening to TLC sing the All That theme song ... Rapping along with Coolio on the opening credits of K&K, knowing that in 15 years the world will only remember ONE of those K's ...  Teen life and comedy before "smart phones" and "the Internet" was ever a thing...

(What did Ferg-face just say?! ... FYI: Cowboys & Aliens opens in theaters this weekend!)

An incredible decade, with an outstanding crop of shows selected for the lineup ... With so many more STILL that I can't wait for them to reintroduce. Are You Afraid of the Dark ... Salute Your Shorts ... Welcome Freshman ... Hell, even the cheesiest teen soap ever, Fifteen, starring a young Ryan Reynolds (it was as much fun as it was painful to watch) And does anyone remember Roundhouse? It was one of the launch shows for SNICK - aka Saturday Night Nickelodeon. Corny as HELL, but I wouldn't mind curling up on the Big Orange Couch to check it all out again. 

... And Doug. Can never EVER get enough Doug.

If you didn't have anything to watch this summer, or a reason to stay up till 2am every night? - Now you do.

and just in case you forgot how it goes ...

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Awkward - Is it Really?

MTV, the network which was once the very definition of pop-culture and all things edgy and young, seems to be throwing WHATEVER at the wall lately, just to see what sticks. Best strategy? Time will only tell. So let's just discuss the latest offering to be slapped on our viewing plate, even though it might be a bit Awkward ...

Simply put - Awkward is excellent. I rolled my eyes during initial previews of the show. Leave it to MTV to try and make satire out of the premise of "a teen girl suicide attempt". But if it helps encourage you to watch it, the main character Jenna, played by the adorable Ashley Rickards, doesn't ACTUALLY try to kill herself. After some poorly worded venting online and a freak slip and fall in the bathroom with pills and other incriminating contraband strewn about, the world assumes the worst. She is here on branded as "That Girl" and now, no longer "invisible", has to navigate a new school year with all judgmental eyes on her.

What makes Awkward good is that it reinvents many of the usual teen comedy/drama cliches. Jenna is an "underdog", but she and her friends aren't COMPLETE outcasts as to make the whole exercise unbelievable. It has fun with the high school stereotypes - i.e. - the "Jock" that Jenna is smitten with is basically a clod, which Jenna isn't blind to, yet the show makes no excuses or justification for her affection towards him. The cheerleaders are evil, of course, but the head cheerleader, Queen Bee, and biggest bully, is a actually also the "fat girl", who's riddled with her own insecurities, using that energy to make life miserable for Jenna.

Refreshingly, Awkward doesn't take itself too seriously, which is something I always appreciate. Moreover, it isn't trying to create any grand enlightening social statement on the teen class system. It's just having fun. The adults (who're usually a total wash in these MTV shows) are kooky without being clueless, and Jenna, herself, is cute, sarcastic and conscious, but without being all too obnoxiously self-aware.

Icing on the cake? It's only a 30 minute show. Glad MTV got the memo. Check out Awkward, Tuesdays @ 11 pm.

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Back in Black

It's the debut of Rebecca Black's eagerly anticipated follow-up to her Youtube Mega-hit Friday! The new single is called My Moment and it actually premieres on Entertainment Tonight tonight ... But rather than make you sit through the entirety of that show, you can just check it out here!

Oh, and just how IS the new song? ...
As awesome and catchy as Friday? Not on your life.
Auto-tuned like crazy? You better fuckin believe it!

Take a look & listen!
(I miss Pato ...)

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a LONG night in New York ...

On weekends in NYC, after the AFTER hours, when the bars and clubs have long thrown you out and the rising sun is reminding you to take your ass home, people are accustomed to seeing just about anything. This, on full display in front of Grand Central Station this morning at 5am, was NO exception. Regardless, it's always fun and enjoyable sight to behold so I thought I'd share.

Can you BELIEVE there's a 70% off sale at Banana Republic?!

I know! Right?!

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Juan de los Muertos - I'm dying to go see it!

I said it before, I'll say it again - EJ LOVES Zombies! Thus, with new episodes of AMC's The Walking Dead still a few months away, I've been chewing at the bit for something to satiate my appetite for the undead! ... In walks this trailer for a FANTASTIC looking movie entitled Juan de los Muertos.

Translated to Juan of the Dead, the film is billed as "Cuba's first horror movie" and is written and directed by Alejandro Brugues. It is very much fashioned in the same vein as British zombie hit Shaun of the Dead, fusing the impending zombie-apocalypse with comedy. It's a winning formula, proven over in other zombie movies like Return of the Living Dead part 2 and most recently, one of my all-time faves - Zombieland ... So I SERIOUSLY can't wait for this one!

No release date yet for Juan de los Muertos, but check out this trailer to whet your whistle!

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Voltron remake is NOT the cat's meow ...

You may have heard, you may have not - there's a NEW Voltron force in town! For those that loved the classic 80's cartoon of freedom fighters piloting legendary magical lion robots, this is big news.

"Car Voltron" had its appeal, but nothing beat the Lion team, and although there have been some remake attempts already, (none of which ever really took off) cartoons nowadays push the boundaries of edginess that allow grownups something to appreciate. So would this, the latest 80's throwback getting the "new millennium" treatment, be anything to roar about?

In a word? - Hardly. It's a watered down, bland imitation of the 80's original, seasoned with all the 90's character cliches that you can stuff down a Male 12-17 year-old throat.

In the original version, all the characters were different but they were ALL endearing and devoted soldiers. Fighters cut from the same mold. Now? Pidge has glasses so he's the computer geek. Hunk is the big, therefore brainless oaf. Lance is the cavalier rebel who keeps Keith, the boring 1-note leader on his toes. And lastly, there's Allura, "the girl". Completely flawless, thus lacking any real dimension, she serves as the underscored competing love interest for both Lance and Keith.

They dropped the awesome iconic victory theme for an updated auto-tuned ear-wreck, and also added 3 extra obnoxious teen cadets to the team, who are nothing short of cringe inducing. The stories have been exhausting, with even a half hour feeling like an eternity.

The only interesting updates are the fun new configurations. Black Lion, the leader, has always been the Voltron head. However, they have now discovered how to change things up and form Voltron with DIFFERENT lions at the center (check out Red Lion as the head in the top pic), which gives way to new Voltron abilities. Cool! But, unfortunately ... that's all that this show's got.

You can see for yourself (or not) as the new Voltron airs on Nicktoons, Thursdays @ 8:30pm.

FYI - the new Thundercats remake comes out soon, so you may as well just wait for that!


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