The Power of T.V.
Today’s For Better or For Worse did dumbfound me. Did Michael Patterson actually expect that he could take his kids to their bedroom and tell them to go to bed, and while he went back to his reading; they would just do it? When my kids were 3 and 5 years old, they wouldn’t do that. My kids are 10 and 12 now, and they really have only gotten to the point of putting themselves to bed without a long bedtime ritual just in the last few years.
Is it wrong of me to actually be charmed by Meredith’s creative rhyming? Is it wrong for me to look at Robin towering over the side of his crib, and wonder why in the world he is still sleeping there? Is it wrong for me to wonder why Mike is holding the T.V.-watching ransom, when he probably could have gotten the kids to stop fighting using the T.V.? Is it wrong for me to look at Mike handling his kids with an egg timer and think to myself, can it be that Lynn Johnston is actually showing that Michael Patterson is a more competent parent than his wife Deanna?
Is it wrong of me to actually be charmed by Meredith’s creative rhyming? Is it wrong for me to look at Robin towering over the side of his crib, and wonder why in the world he is still sleeping there? Is it wrong for me to wonder why Mike is holding the T.V.-watching ransom, when he probably could have gotten the kids to stop fighting using the T.V.? Is it wrong for me to look at Mike handling his kids with an egg timer and think to myself, can it be that Lynn Johnston is actually showing that Michael Patterson is a more competent parent than his wife Deanna?
posted by howard at 11:46 PM
13 Comments:
Is it wrong for me to look at Robin towering over the side of his crib, and wonder why in the world he is still sleeping there?
If that's wrong, I don't want to be right. And give these kids their own rooms already, Mike an' Dee. You're not in a two-bedroom apartment anymore.
That, sadly, would deprive Her Ladyship of her sewing room. Think about how awful that is for a second She wants a sewing room now when she doesn't sew and she has too children who need their own space now. She can't wait until she's fifty like Elly did because she has definite trouble putting other people's needs ahead of her own.
dreadedcandiru2,
You could be right. I remember when Deanna started talking about that sewing room, when she had never been shown sewing before, I wondered what that was all about. Then when the reprint strips of Elly sewing showed up, a little light bulb clicked on and I said, "Oh. Now I know why Deanna wants to sew." It's that circle of life thing Lynn Johnston has going where Mike turns into John and Deanna turns into Elly.
Um ... so Robin's in the crib in panels 1-3, then in the bed in panel 5. What the heck? How did that happen?
And how did the BING!!!! not wake one or both of them up again?
And where's Dee, if it's nighttime? Pharmacy convention? Dead? Fled Upper Pattersonia like the devil himself was after her, and Mike Tha Author hasn't noticed yet?
I see Michael's sitting bolt-upright in an easy chair while he reads, just like NO ONE DOES. I know that family owns a couch.
I'm not charmed by the rhyming, incidentally. It shows the same slightly insane tone-deafness as the lyrics to 4-Evahahhhuh's "songs." And it makes me terrified by the notion that one day Lynn may get it in her head to write a nursery rhyme book.
Another thing that convinced me that Deanna was kind of insenstive was talking about the Ravine of Death. To her, it was simply some place she remembered from when she was a kid. To the Pattersons, it's a lot of mostly bad things.
dlauthor,
Um ... so Robin's in the crib in panels 1-3, then in the bed in panel 5. What the heck? How did that happen?
If Robin is big enough to lower the railing of his crib by himself, then he is big enough to get off that uncomfortable crib mattress into Meredith’s bed.
And where's Dee, if it's nighttime? Pharmacy convention? Dead? Fled Upper Pattersonia like the devil himself was after her, and Mike The Author hasn't noticed yet?
The reveal of where Dee is has to occur into tomorrow’s strip, where she walks in and asks Mike if he had any problems and he says, “No problem.” Then Deanna says, “Good. Now I can get that divorce I have always wanted.”
I see Michael's sitting bolt-upright in an easy chair while he reads, just like NO ONE DOES.
Think Alistair Cooke in Masterpiece Theatre.
I'm not charmed by the rhyming, incidentally. It shows the same slightly insane tone-deafness as the lyrics to 4-Evahahhhuh's "songs."
Oh,you’re just not looking at these lyrics carefully. It is clearly an original poem and shows Meredith is quite aware of her situation.
Robin’s mad
An I’m sad.
An’ I know howta tease yaaah!
Clearly this comes from their recently altercation over the last few days, showing that Meredith is aware that her teasing has been the source of much of their battling and Robin’s anger. Not only that, but the reason for her teasing is revealed. Meredith is sad. No doubt from her inability to peel carrots
Drink some ink.
Meredith shows that she is aware that she is a inked in drawing.
An’ then you’ll stink
Meredith knows that once Lynn Johnston inks in the drawing, it can’t be changed and usually the art stinks. Or this could simply be a reference to the usual joke about Robin messing up his diaper. Or it could be an indictment of the strip’s quality in general.
An’ then we’ll hafta freeze yaa!
No doubt this is a reference to the Lynn Johnston’s plans to freeze the modern characters in age by no later than this September. Imagine Robin’s horror, if this freezing happened just after his final joke about having a smelly diaper.
As you can see, this poem is filled with insight.
And it makes me terrified by the notion that one day Lynn may get it in her head to write a nursery rhyme book.
Not a nursery rhyme book. She’s writing a children’s book starring everyone’s favourite deceased dog, Farley. I can just see it now.
I do not like tuna casserole and baked barley.
I do not like them, Dead dog Farley.
DreadedCandiru2,
To the Pattersons, it's a lot of mostly bad things.
We mention it a lot when we talk about Farley, but within the strip, no one’s gone to or talked about the old Farley tree since Mr. B died.
By avoiding the place, they may be trying in their own clumsy way to move on from the whole Farley thing. After all, it happened a long time ago and everyone who isn't Elly (who thinks it almost happened yesterday) or April (who decided on her life path because the guilt she still sort of feels) has more or less forgotten about it.
Maybe Meredith should start taking voice lessons, and put her energy to good use. I remember her singing with Mira once, and both seemed happy. With an afterschool hobby she could make friends her own age and not play with Robin all the time. My parents enrolled me in ice-skating partly so I wouldn't be such a tag-along to my Big Sis, and also becuase they thought I would enjoy it. 20 yrs later and I still love to glide across the ice.
Just like Blanthony with Francoise, no one seems to have any idea of putting a child to bed at night. The routine of putting my kids to bed was one of the best times of the day. We would read, talk, and then I would sing them our special song and then leave with "good night, I love you".
The kids were really seldom asleep as they got older, but they certainly were able to drift off soon.
I can't imagine any two kids going right to sleep if they were still bickering.
This also reminds me of another story--one of my friend's said his dad told his kids "I don't want another peep out of you, or you're going to get it!" when the two kids were fighting one night. He said they got a pretty good spanking when his brother started going "peep, peep" under his breath>
DreadedCandiru2
By avoiding the place, they may be trying in their own clumsy way to move on from the whole Farley thing.
I think Lynn likes the idea of Farley = Hero and the attention she got from that storyline is matched only by the Lawrence Poirier story. However, the part of the story that involves ravines close to people’s back yards and the parental negligence that led up to it, she probably wants to ignore. On the website pages talking about Farley, the latch on the gate part is completely left out.
Must Love Dogs
With an afterschool hobby she could make friends her own age and not play with Robin all the time.
This strip was the only time Lynn did anything like that. Aside from 2 strips where Meredith visits Grandpa Jim by herself (including no parents), Lynn has stuck herself portraying the kids in their one-note theme of being brats. I agree showing them interacting with other kids would be excellent.
debjyn
Just like Blanthony with Francoise, no one seems to have any idea of putting a child to bed at night.
Or any sense of bedroom safety. Françoise was in the top level of a bunk bed, and Robin is in a crib for which he is clearly too big.
He said they got a pretty good spanking when his brother started going "peep, peep" under his breath
It’s too bad he got a spanking. That sounds pretty funny to me.
Post a Comment
<< Home