Slashdot Mirror
Dilbert, the cartoon, UPN 7:00 Tonight
steven
writes "The Dilbert Cartoon is starting tonight on UPN
at 7:00 (in Houston). I know it is probably going to
suck, but I'll be watching just in case! *smile* "
I don't think I get UPN, but I'll check anyway- I have
to admit I'm curious.
I have a friend who had dealings with Scott Adams - he turned down a previous commitment to attend a reading because he didn't think many people would attend his reading.
Yo Scott - we're just outside Silicon Valley. Local newspapers had commited to put front page advertising of the reading in their papers.
Scott's so wrapped up in his world that he's become, in many respects, the pointy-haired man he so often ridicules.
I've no respect for the man.
Dilbert's on at 8PM here on the east coast. It looks interesting somewhat. Unfortunatly they have the same guy that did the voice over for The Wonder Years as the voice of Dilbert
The premiere of the Tom Green Show is on MTV at 10:30 tonight. If it's half as good as the commercials, it should be a pretty funny show.
Anyone know what channel UPN is on
DirecTV? I couldn't seem to find it
listed as its own channel at least.
I realized the man's true nature years ago when I ordered a shirt online. When my email confirmation arrived, it didn't say "Thanks for your business", it said "Christmas is coming, you must know people you should buy more stuff for."
Since then I've seen the flood of absolutely useless things that serve no purpose other than to earn Mr. Adams money. Somebody, thinking I was a fan of the merchandise, sent me some items for my birthday : a "cubicle flag", and a stuff dilbert head with velcro on it. What the *hell* am I supposed to do with those things?
Dilbert is cool. Adams is annoying. Hopefully selling his soul to a tv series will be the step over the line, and he'll fail and realize that there is a limit to market saturation.
I also think that when you're an author/artist/comic maker like that you just become annoying. I had a chance to meet Doug Adams once and we was quite a jerk too. He finally signed my leather bound deluxe version of the Guide but he was far less plesant than I was expecting. Probably because he is constantly being spotted out and asked about his books or for autographs. I can't blame them entirely, but as a fan it would sure would be cool if they were as cool to their fans.
I think I linked off of the be.com page and read about this. I just thought it was interesting. The graphics are kind of simple but someone trying a new platform is kinda cool.
Hmm, well we do get local stations via
DirecTV because we are in an area that sucks and can't get anything by antennae... but if they dont have broadcast then we probably can't get it.
thanks
I think Shultz has completely lost it in his old age. Nevermind laughing at Peaunuts in the last 10 years, have you understood it? Some of his strips are just plain bizarre.
I couldn't agree more about Waterson(sp?). He really raised the comic strip to High Art(tm). His was the only strip that frequently made me laugh out loud. AND he has a high level of artistic integrity: he refused to trivialize his work by plastering it all over T-shirts and coffee mugs (much to the dismay of many would be profiteers), and he was wise enough to quit while he was ahead, rather than allow the quality of the strip to slowly degrade...
For further throwing-in, Waterson is followed by Crumb is followed by Breathed...
I have had to put up w/ a 40ft high sign on my
block for the past two months. Everyday, day in
and day out, I am reminded that fscking Dilbert
will be on tonight. Enough already!!!! I sure
hope they take it down now, otherwise, I am
liable to set fire to it.
I think that comment you recived via email was more humor than it was reality, But, I do think Dilbert's time is just about up. I stopped reading it about 6 months ago, I think it's more about bashing the system than making fun of it. The incompetance of the characters has gone from "I know someone like that" to "No one is actually this stupid" Dont worry though Dilbert the icon will never go away despite the fact the comic isn't funny.
What???
You are on crack. Calvin & Hobbes was cute but it doesn't even come close to anything Crumb has done. The guy is an insane genius.
As for Dilbert "DEFINING the new age of computing", I have to call bullshit. It just took advantage of a bunch of bitter cubicle dwellers who were tired of stupid management practices. And it got old real fast.
Dilbert is for people who are too "cool" to cut out sappy philosphical crap and display it in their cubicles for all to see. Instead those Dilbert lovers are living on the edge, busily cutting out stupid comics and pasting them up proudly at work. Yeah, fight the power, dude. Everyone respects you 'cause you're tired of being hassled by the man.
You have to really unhappy with your job to think a poorly drawn comic strip that repeats the same tired formula every week is even remotely funny. Okay, we know that work sucks, your boss is stupid, etc. Let's move on.
Dilbert *is* better than Cathy, though. (smirk)
heh...Dilbert is soooo 1997.
I'll probably give it a look, but I get the feeling that the
Office Depot Dilbert spots outshine this thing.
Someone else mentioned Walt Kelly, so throw him in there ahead of Waterson as well. You guys are elevating Waterson to a status he just doesn't deserve. Calvin and Hobbes was a lot of fun but it wasn't as good as you seem to think. It got too formulaic toward the end where you'd see the same shit over and over again. Didn't you guys get tired of him hopping into his magic cardboard box and going on adventures? And waking up from an adventure only to be in school, with the monster being his teacher? 5-10 basic themes permutations of which appeared every day for years. Boring. At least he had the good sense to quit.
He does destroy adams though. Dilbert chews.
In the Boston area its Channel 38. You don't
need cable. Incidently, I found out that if
you don't have cable service, but your TV is hooked up to the cable wire, you get good
reception of the 3 major networks but loose
FOX, WB, UPN, and the few other you can get with
an antenna.
IMHO User Friendly has its moments, but Sluggy Freelance is funny far more often. Then there's Helen, an amusing and different take on the BOFH.
Scott Adams was approached by a local non-profit agency near his home town. They wanted to know if he would speak at a small local event.
He wanted thousands of dollars to do it. I understand that he has right to ask whatever price he wants, but if he knows the non-profit can't afford it, and he really doesn't want to do it, why not just politely turn them down?
The whole deal really changed my feelings toward Scott Adams. I now find it difficult to enjoy Dilbert ripping on dumb bosses and the whole corporate culture (of greed).
LAUGH AT ME, FOR I AM YOU.
If you want him for free then either he is very interested in helping the cause (he doesn't strike me as one who "helps the cause" unless that cause is profitable) or his boss needs to be very interested in helping the cause.
Comics aren't meant to be laughed at.. they are meant to be an abstract image of our current society's cultural, ethical, and moral standards. Sorry, but I don't think ANYBODY ever laughed at Lucy pulling the god damned football away from Charlie Brown at the last minute. It's just NOT FUNNY. Now Stef being bitten on the ass by a maniac Tomagatchi IS hilarious. User Friendly will bury these old fogeys in a firestorm of comedy and hilarity. Dust Bunny is just sooooo cuuuute.
Oliver Wendel Holmes is the defining hacker.
Berke Breathed, we miss you!
And the Banana Jr!
Brandish your cutlasses, lads. We're about to scuttle Bank of America!
It's worth repeating that he's *NOT* mocking the corporate culture *OF GREED*. He's mocking the corporate culture of *SHEER STUPIDITY*.
It's one of the reasons I, at least, like it so much. I believe thoroughly in greed, but have no patience for stupidity.
Rogers community service television --> MTV
And it's not even a very good show, what fun can people really have watching somone drop a bagpiper in on his parents while they sleep. Or how about those witty lyrics that make up the theme song:
It's the Tom Green Show,
It is my show,
It's not your show,
It's the Tom Green Show.
Then again as the other commentor said, it will probably be a hit.
By the way, does he still live at home?
I can see why he would ask for at least something from the Non-Profit. Once you give something away to one organization, you'll have every other non-profit knocking on your door.
Don't forget Gary Larson. In my mind, The Far Side is the defining geek cartoon. Never thought much of Dilbert, which is more...uhm...business oriented.
sorry i guess i made a mistake oh well good call
Did anyone read the recent story in the Atlanta Journal & Constitution (I assume it was picked up by the major wires). Apparently, Adams has his own food division now. The next big project is a food product for 'cubicle dwellers'. This of course, is the 'Dilburrito' (sp?). Supposedly this is a nuke-able food for the masses. This sounds too bizarre to be true. Can anyone confirm? I know I read it, but maybe it's all some horrible joke....
Sigh, some ABC affiliate's trasmitter is much more powerful than the local UPN transmitter (I ordered cable, but it's not installed yet).
It would have been nice if a real network had picked up Dilbert... then again, this protects me from disappointment.
I mean, it could have sucked a lot worse.
And seeing Alice in her underwear was a real turn-on.
Just finished watching it. I just didn't laugh very much. A few good lines but mostly lame...
He only sold part of his soul.
DirecTV cannot/willnot give you the broadcast stations if you are within an area that can recieve them. I believe that is an FCC law. This is the same reason why they will blackout certain sports events even if you paid to get every game for the season.
One thing that guy did get wrong is that you dont have to fill out a bunch of paperwork and pay a lot of money for the stations. When I signed up for DirecTV they simply asked if I could recieve local stations. I said that I could but not very well and they gave it to me. No paperwork. It costs something like an extra $5/month.
I actually thought it was pretty good. Alice's voice is far too "nice" though. I was imagining her as sounding much more gruff and evil. Also, Dilbert and Dogbert have mouths?!?! What's up with that?
Anyway, the show shows promise.
I personally don't own any compilations, but my brother had 'em all (which I read).
Having all the compilations helps you see the repetitiveness, so I don't know what your problem is.
Of course Family Circus is terrible. It's a given. Most comics suck ass and I would put Calvin & Hobbes above most of them. But Calvin & Hobbes is *not* better than Bloom County. I'd say it was about even with the Far Side on average, but that Far Side's best strips were better than Calvin & Hobbes best strips. And Crumb is on another level altogether.
You can't seriously say that Cavin & Hobbes is better than Pogo, can you?
I will give you this - it was far, far better than Dilbert was or ever will be.
I will try to get a life now.
It sucked..
Dilbert is lame now..
i was soooooo worked up
then i heard it on the radio this morning
it sucked that clip
and the rest of the show tonite was just as bad
Uh huh huh. I live in a 'served' area and went through the standard process of lies to get the PT24 networks which will be shut off next month.
But none of that matters, gimp, because WSBK and WWOR are superstations and ANYONE with the ability to throw $4.99/month at the right company can get them. WTBS used to be one... WGN still is one... get the picture?
I think the IQ poll is way off.
isn't there, um, already an acorn? like an NC or something?
What a lame piece of crap. I'm nauseated that someone could get a bunch of money for putting S**T like that on TV. It was worse than America's Stupidest Home Videos. I finally found an answer to my biggest question about AFV: "How many times can you watch guys get hit in the balls?" Answer: "More times than I can stand to watch that Dilbert piece of crap."
I thought about 90% of the show sucked. There was a few good jokes etc.. but it lacked the edge of the cartoon and the books. The chicken bit was lame. The board game was lame. The office catching on fire and looting was lame. Most of it was lame. Re: Acorn AT&T once had a product I worked on called the Acorn Network Control system. It was a measure monitor system for teleco networks. I still have the tee-shirt!
Tom Green is one crazy fuck! I live in Ottawa (where Tom's show has been on for quite a while on the local community channel) and have seen Tom around many times-- in "real life" he's as crazy as he is on his show. Hopefully the show doesn't get all "commercialized" and lame-- it's funny 'cuz it's raw and bizarre.
R. Crumb doesn't draw cartoons. He is an artist.
Cartoons (the kind that run in the daily paper)
are not art. There's no comparison, really.
I saw it when it was still a Community Cable show.
And it was brilliant. On one episode Tom Green woke
his parents up at 3 AM to get them to watch a Bon
Jovi concert video with him. I don't know if it's
still that good but you should definately give
it a chance.
OK it was lame.
The test for me, though, will be if they span things across shows the way Adams does across strips. Chicken man may develop. It may get worse... or it could end up being funny.
So I will wait and see. I have learned not to judge a SERIES on its first episode. By that measure, most things would suck.
So I was sitting at work today and wondering how the hell do I telnet home and tell my VCR to record the show?
...
Good thing my wife was home
The show did suck though. It could of course has sucked less, but not much. I used to like Dilbert, but this? Hope it gets better...
My girlfriend and I thought it was pretty funny. There was some stupid stuff in there like the mom dancing. And the chicken bit was too predictable. Other than that, it was pretty good. We laughed really hard at the acorn part and a couple of other places.
Say what you want about Bob Saget and America's Funniest Videos, it's still miles better than Bob Coulea (sp) and the bimbo of the week on America's Stupidest... I mean Funniest People.
dilbert can eat the peanuts out of my shit
the tom green show rulez!
He might be money-oriented (which necessarly isnt a bad thing) but claiming that he is downright mean to his fans is just narrow-minded and judgemental.
Adams recieve an enormous amount of emails each day, but he still took time to
and to be honest there wasnt anything outstanding with it, beside my usual genius that is.
-kvikk
Show was rather ho-hum. Perhaps the best part would've been Elfman's theme music, "The Dilbert Zone," except for one little thing...
It's just a rehashed version of the theme he used for the little-known 80's B-movie, "The Forbidden Zone."
How perfectly Dilbertian. Simply re-heat and serve. Anything for a buck, I s'pose.
Was there a reason they were all in their underwear at the meeting? Was there insanity gas in the aircon?
There needed to be more plot... the name wasn't enough in and of itself... it could have followed the whole _process_ and established the characters in the process.
Also, I always thought they'd be in a tech company... throat lausenges???
Anyone posted a RealVideo and/or MPEG yet?
Yes.
ARM == Acorn RISC Machines (now, of course, owned by DEC).
Acorn manufactured the first RISC PC (the Acorn Archimedes) and sued Apple when they advertised the PowerPC Macintosh under this description in the UK.
They were indeed the manufacturers of the BBC micro (a 6502-based 32kB machine used as the basis of the BBC's computer literacy project in the UK).
You're right, most things on TV do suck. Usually if the first show sucks, the rest unbelievable and totally suck.
Give up, it's all down hill from here on.
I noticed that after the brief introduction, they peppered the thing with so many commercials that the opening credits were going at 8 min after the hour. It just seemed to be an excuse for rolling ad after ad in front of the viewer.
No thanks.
nO. dUde. itS hoCKing. As in, "Do you need someone to Hock-up an exuse for your existance?" Does the phrase "get a life" mean anything to you? Do you spend hours wondering why people keep saying that to you?
It was actually pretty funny :-)
It's his life and he can be stingy if he wants to. He has no obligation to come, and you have no power to force him to come.
-- Erich
Slashdot reader since 1997
If you get a broadcast channel on there, maybe. (example: WGN from Chicago is carried on a lot of cable systems, and they're WB.. Dunno if any other large stations carry UPN, tho..)
UPN is technically a broadcast network, so DirecTV is forbidden by law to carry it unless you live somewhere where you cannot get broadcast TV. Even then you have to fill out a pile of paperwork and pay mucho $$$ to have the honor of getting broadcast TV over your satellite.
Just thank your local special interest groups for that one.
I read the internet for the articles.
UPN is the United Paramount Network, a United Artists/Paramount joint-attempt at a broadcast TV network. About it's only claim to fame besides "Star Trek: Voyager" is the brand-new "Love Boat: The Next Wave." *Oh-boy!* (note sarcasm) It and the WB (run by Warner Bros., of course) tend to fight for 5th & 6th place among the 4 major broadcast networks. ;) If you have either of these, they'll probably be really high on your UHF dial (assuming you don't have cable).
That said, I don't know why everyone is expecting the show to be bad; I thought the commercials were hilarious, despite the fact UPN was advertising the show *before Christmas*.
Posted by Mr. Assembly:
It was worth a couple of chuckles, which is more than you can say for most of the drivel on the tube these days. I thought the opening sequence with Dilbert "evolving" was lame though.
You might also notice the density of strips in the old Dilbert books and the new ones; the new ones have a lot fewer strips. And some of his management help books contained more than one copy of the same strip. Talk about padding... Hasn't the guy already earned more money than he could ever reasonably use?
Not to mention how the strip has gone downhill recently. Too bad he (and even more so, Charles Shultz -- have you laughed at a "Peanuts" in the last ten years) couldn't take a cue from Bill Waterston, halting Calvin and Hobbes before the quality declined.
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
As a matter of fact, Scott Adams is a long-time Mac user. If I remember correctly, he has a PowerMac 8500 in his home studio.
That and a cat.
'nuf said.
I can't answer the question of whether you're going to see that kind of product, but he has brought the idea up. Did you read his book, The Dilbert Future? In the subchapter on ``Food in the Future'' (page 213 in my copy), Scott Adams . . . umm . . . predicts:
You thought his books were a mere vehicle for cynical workplace humour, but he does sneak some common sense and . . . umm . . . interesting ideas in. Methinks every single PHB should read the ``OA5'' chapter of The Dilbert Principle.
--
This web site will cure all your ailments.
UPN = United Paramount Network, which is a US-based broadcast network. Other shows on UPN include The Sentinel and ST: Voyager.
http://www.upn.com/ has a "find station" button with a list of US affiliates. Probably if you're outside the US, you're out of luck for now.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the UPN affiliate is KBHK channel 44, channel 12 on most cable systems.
Adam
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
Blew chunks.
At least the ads for HotBot were hilarious.
Yes, he's still around (as far as I know) but
;)
he's not doing the writing or the drawing, I
think it's his son or a bunch of people. These people are not funny.
In his day, Schulz was a very good at political satire in the same vein that Waterson was good with Calvin and Hobbes. I remember there used to be a Charlie Brown encyclopedia whenI was like 8 years old, the political wit was quite good (looking back, not when I was 8 years old.
Peanuts stopped being funny when he stopped writing/drawing it.
sri
FYI The greatest mind of our time was in fact a gentleman name Lamop'DuPchan of the North Umberland tribe of the Maori. He understood the tax regulations and was typically able to navigate the most difficult voice mail system on the first try. Mr. Lamop, unfortunately, died last year at the age of 56 after suddenly understanding a particularly distressing actuarial table dealing with blowgun fatalities.
[-- Trust the Monkey --]
Einstein would not play dice with Hawking. -- God
[-- Trust the Monkey --]
Celebrities are people too. Just because they might not give you that extra moment of personal attention you've been craving or they might be having a bad day doesn't mean they're evil.
I met Douglas Adams (for the second time) at this month's Macworld Expo. He was sitting at a table autographing free Starship Titanic boxes and even a few beta copies of the game which were being given away (the game's not out for the Mac yet, and he apologized profusely for that). Lots of people in the line tried to strike up personal conversations with him, and some of them walked away annoyed that he didn't seem as enthralled by them as they were with him. No one took a moment to consider that they were holding up a long line and Douglas. Adams's hand was probably getting tired from signing so many boxes.
If you set unrealistic expectations for the people you idolize, they're going to fall short, and it's not their fault.
About the Dilbert TV show: Dilbert started out cool, but Scott Adams's continual moneygrubbing is really bugging me, too. I mean, $20 for little magnetic cutouts of the characters? He probably deserves credit for shamelessly and unapologetically milking the franchise while it's still milkable, but he won't be getting any of my money.
Besides, the jokes are becoming stale. Jokes about choosing the name of a new product are funny the first time you see them in the paper, but they become very old very fast when they start appearing on mugs, on tee shirts, in calendars, and now on TV...
What is UPN, and how can I find out if I get it? I know, if I have to ask... I probably don't get it. But just in case? If you really want to help, my line-up is here.
--
The real Paul Vallee is slashdot userid 2192, and, what do you mean it's not cool to point out your low userid?
Yup, I checked, and I don't get it. It's in the lineup, but along with pay-tv. So what the hell is UPN?
--
The real Paul Vallee is slashdot userid 2192, and, what do you mean it's not cool to point out your low userid?
I had wrist surgery to remove a cyst which ran late and I missed it. Now I'm typing one handed for the next week, which is a royal pain in the ass. I wonder if I can find a keyboard mapping for one of those funky one-handed devorak layouts... :)
Shawn Asmussen
By God, man! You call the greatest mind of our times by 'Hawkings'? what are you? a fool?
It's HAWKING.
Well, Life in Hell was and is a weekly. Not daily.
I have seen a number of clips for the new Dilbert cartoon. What I seen does not impress me. The delivery of the lines was flat and not very funny. Hopefully it will not be like a giant office max commercial. I am not getting my hopes up.
Since it is on UPN, maybe they can do a Dilbert/Voyager crossover. (6 of 9 as the boss' domanatrix or something...)
"Trademarks are the heraldry of the new feudalism."
I'll host it on my web site...mail me
But the Dysfunctional Family Circus is hilarious....
-- Raven
Obviously, Adams' reply comment was meant in jest. If you read the strip, you're probably aware that he has a very dim view of corporate America (and tie-ins) and that, in turn, justifies the goofy merchandise.
As always, the caveat is if you don't like it, don't buy it. Scott Adams is not arriving at your doorstep wielding a flaming pike and demanding your wallet.
As for personal judgment on the cartoonist himself, while he may be a "techie", he uses AOL. That should say it all. Humorous chap though.
~Dan
"World domination, of course. And scantily clad females. Who cares if it's twenty below?"-Linus Torvalds wizard@twcny.
I gotta say I liked it. Whatever you think of Scott Adams -- get over it. Separate the man from his art.
Nothing worth doing is worth doing today.
I am still in shock.
It will be a while before I can jump in the shower at the same pace again.
-- Caucasian demiurge@reborn.com
It's true that the last scene of a lot of the adventures is of Calvin waking up in class, but with C&H the punchline was never the last thing said - it was usually the second-last statement or frame that was the real joke. The "waking up" was more of a wrap-up.
As for giving up - I respect him a great deal for that. I think I did see two strips towards the end that really were repeats of earlier stuff and I think he knew it. I'm glad he didn't indulge himself and let it linger on like Peanuts which, however clever it may have once been, is incredibly dull now.
That was total crap. Hardly funny at all and really stupid in parts. Why would anyone think the chicken man stuff was funny? Or the vibrating barco-loungers?
And other than Alice, the voices all sounded pretty much the same.
These guys need to call Matt Groening to learn how to make the transition to TV.
Unfortunately, talent and popularity don't make you a nice person.
A doctor friend asked Maya Angelou to visit a dying 7-year old boy who worshipped her. Her response? "My appearance fee is $10K." I'm not making this up!
And that part in the opening sequence where it pans back to reveal an infinite field of identical cubicles was terrifying. I nearly had to stop watching right there.
There is no K5 cabal.
I am not the real rusty.
How the hell did Dilbert end up using a MAC?!?!?!
-- adraken
I love Dilbert - don't know how the show will be though
God does not play dice - Einstein
Not only does God play dice, he sometimes throws them where they
I don't know how a TV show of it will be though.
God does not play dice - Einstein
Not only does God play dice, he sometimes throws them where they
...nothing else close.
<^>_<(ô ô)>_<^>
Thanks to this article we can have a cartoon flame war to provide a contrast to the usual hardware flame wars, OS flame wars, and the occasional language flame wars... ;-)
On your line-up it's listed as
74 WSBK UPN
That would be channel 38 in Boston MA USA, longtime TV home of the Boston Bruins hockey team.
...Nothing interesting here. Just move along...
Chris Eliot as the voice of Dogbert.
'nuff said.
...Nothing interesting here. Just move along...
Yeah. Schulz is still around (I'd assume). My understanding (last I read) is that he plans to have no successor, that the strip will die with him.
Ask your doctor if getting up off your ass is right for you! -- Bill Maher
finished watching it 1/2 an hour ago...
not that funny, except for dogbert...
the chicken-man thme was taken a bit too
far.
--
I saw Satan laughing with delight
I thought that tonight's episode was a greatly overexaggerated but mostly accurate of corporate cubicle life (It was a cartoon after all)...The chicken thing did get annyoing, but parts of it reminded me WAY too much of real life. Not bad for a first episode (Btw, the first simpson short SUCKED! but the show redeemed itself over time).