078 - Speed Vs. Wonder
Jun. 15th, 2016 07:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
captain_slinkyIt may seem simple and unimportant, but I think that after some 40 years, it's time to settle this age-old debate.
Which is "Better"; Speedbuggy, or Wonderbug?
First, let's look at Speedbuggy. Debuted in 1973, it's the story of three BRILLIANT mechanics - one who's a top-notch Nuts-N-Bolts guy, one who's an engineering/science whiz, and one who is an expert race driver - that come together and build a car SO INCREDIBLE that it BECOMES SENTIENT! The car can talk in a Scooby-esque series of engine sounds that become speech. "Putt-putt-putt-putt-VROOOOoooom VROOOOoooom yeah putt putt yeah let's go VROOOOOOM!"
They exist in a universe where for the most part, nobody notices the talking car even though no other cars talk or have headlights that look like eyes or can bend their various doors-fenders-rollbars-bumpers-tires (presumably made of steel, rubber and fiberglass) to be used as hands, legs and other body parts.
They use this modern miracle of technology, this potential birth of the singularity that will be the next step in the evolution of life on this planet which leaves us humans behind in the same way that we once left the dinosaurs, to win races and solve mysteries.
And then there's WONDERBUG. First and most importantly, Wonderbug was a live-action show, which i LOVED, because it further blurred the dangerously thin line between Fantasy and Reality for me as a child (and, admittedly, as an adult). Debuted in 1976 as a part of the Krofft Super Show (along with such notable shows as "Bigfoot & Wildboy"), the entire story is summed up in that theme song - a group of kids are digging through a junk yard, they find a "Schlep Car" (junker) that barely runs but seems to be able to "talk" through a series of sputters and other engine sounds (nowhere NEAR as articulate as Speedbuggy). They then find a "Magic Horn" that they attach to the car and discover that when they honk said horn, the car magically transforms into a sparkly red dune buggy with headlight eyes and a double front bumper that forms "lips" that are never actually used since Wonderbug still can't talk. Even though the transformation is magical, all of Wonderbug's "powers" appear to come from a blinking computer control panel on the dashboard.
His powers include an antenna that can be used as a hand which can reach literally *anywhere*, driving up walls, flying, rudimentary camouflage (costumes) and shooting a variety of useful items out from under his hood. When not being Wonderbug, he keeps his identity a secret by reverting to his junker "Schlepcar" mode.
His friends include an insultingly stereotypical JJ Walker-type African-American, an insultingly stereotypical ditsy blonde who is smarter than anyone gives credit for, and an insultingly stereotypical Woody Allen Jewish fellow who is the only one who can understand when Schlepcar/Wonderbug talks.
They use the incredible machine which is a fusion of magic and technology to thwart Italian Mobsters through a series of racially insulting plots which almost always involve costumes and skits that are super-racist ("Oh me so solly, me Chinee man who not know how to drive because honorable eyes are so squinty! So solly!")
Which is "Better"; Speedbuggy, or Wonderbug?
First, let's look at Speedbuggy. Debuted in 1973, it's the story of three BRILLIANT mechanics - one who's a top-notch Nuts-N-Bolts guy, one who's an engineering/science whiz, and one who is an expert race driver - that come together and build a car SO INCREDIBLE that it BECOMES SENTIENT! The car can talk in a Scooby-esque series of engine sounds that become speech. "Putt-putt-putt-putt-VROOOOoooom VROOOOoooom yeah putt putt yeah let's go VROOOOOOM!"
They exist in a universe where for the most part, nobody notices the talking car even though no other cars talk or have headlights that look like eyes or can bend their various doors-fenders-rollbars-bumpers-tires (presumably made of steel, rubber and fiberglass) to be used as hands, legs and other body parts.
They use this modern miracle of technology, this potential birth of the singularity that will be the next step in the evolution of life on this planet which leaves us humans behind in the same way that we once left the dinosaurs, to win races and solve mysteries.
And then there's WONDERBUG. First and most importantly, Wonderbug was a live-action show, which i LOVED, because it further blurred the dangerously thin line between Fantasy and Reality for me as a child (and, admittedly, as an adult). Debuted in 1976 as a part of the Krofft Super Show (along with such notable shows as "Bigfoot & Wildboy"), the entire story is summed up in that theme song - a group of kids are digging through a junk yard, they find a "Schlep Car" (junker) that barely runs but seems to be able to "talk" through a series of sputters and other engine sounds (nowhere NEAR as articulate as Speedbuggy). They then find a "Magic Horn" that they attach to the car and discover that when they honk said horn, the car magically transforms into a sparkly red dune buggy with headlight eyes and a double front bumper that forms "lips" that are never actually used since Wonderbug still can't talk. Even though the transformation is magical, all of Wonderbug's "powers" appear to come from a blinking computer control panel on the dashboard.
His powers include an antenna that can be used as a hand which can reach literally *anywhere*, driving up walls, flying, rudimentary camouflage (costumes) and shooting a variety of useful items out from under his hood. When not being Wonderbug, he keeps his identity a secret by reverting to his junker "Schlepcar" mode.
His friends include an insultingly stereotypical JJ Walker-type African-American, an insultingly stereotypical ditsy blonde who is smarter than anyone gives credit for, and an insultingly stereotypical Woody Allen Jewish fellow who is the only one who can understand when Schlepcar/Wonderbug talks.
They use the incredible machine which is a fusion of magic and technology to thwart Italian Mobsters through a series of racially insulting plots which almost always involve costumes and skits that are super-racist ("Oh me so solly, me Chinee man who not know how to drive because honorable eyes are so squinty! So solly!")
no subject
Date: 2016-06-15 04:26 pm (UTC)I'm all for Speedbuggy.