View Full Version : Malcolm in the Middle DDR
Did anyone catch this past Sunday's episode of Malcolm in the Middle? In this episode Hal becomes infatuated with a DDR knockoff called "Step Step Dance Fever."
:( This episode did not live up to my expectations at all. Not only was it not very funny, but the parts with DDR weren't well researched. It's like one of the writers saw DDR in the arcade and said to the others, "Hey, let's make fun of this dancing game by having Hal get addicted to it!" and then went forward without much else spirit behind their actions.
Maybe they should change the name of the show to "Malcolm Going Through the Motions." -_-
Kejoriv
05-03-2004, 07:48 PM
I cannot stand that show. The father on the show gets of my nerves. Actually...come to think of it. I cant stand anything about it. The little brother is anoying too.
Querjek
05-03-2004, 09:02 PM
That show is... well, not bad, but not too great. Why couldn't they just have shown 2 episodes of Arrested Development and then renew the series? WHY, DAMNIT, WHY!?
GamecubeFreek
05-03-2004, 10:12 PM
Malcolm in the middle is not the first show to copy DDR, and the others that I had seen did not copy the game correctly either, so I did not expect much from that part of the show. However, I thought the episode was pretty good. And Malcolm in the Middle is a good show. It may have lost it's charm and is not as good as the first couple seasons, but the qulity of writing and comedy is much better than most recent Simpsons, King of the Hill, and especially Arrested Development. But this does not have much to do about video games, so I'll stop.
Mr. Smashy
05-03-2004, 10:51 PM
Have any of you considered that they didn't use DDR or any other actual game to avoid getting sued? I've seen commercials on TV where kids are holding game systems upside down (probably for the same reason). That kid in Rumble in the Bronx got a Game Gear from Jackie Chan and starts playing it without a cart in it. I've also heard the audio from the Atari 2600 Donkey Kong in many movies/TV shows (all circa) just as generic video game noise. All this might seem silly to us, but I'm sure the producers (or whoever) have their reasons.
When you watch shows like Friends (PlayStation), Drew Carey (N64, I think), and 8 Simple Rules (Xbox), and Will and Grace (Xbox again), you can bet that these shows are getting paid for product placement.
On a side note, I have no TV reception (satellite, cable, air) in my apartment at all. Nor do I have a functional TV. Please don't blast me for being a TV addicted couch monkey. :P
Also, I like Arrested Development better than any of the shows listed here thus far.
kainemaxwell
05-03-2004, 11:21 PM
Wasn't DDR's first apperance in a cartoon series from King of the Hill?
Jasoco
05-03-2004, 11:22 PM
I caught that last night. It looked so dumb with them trying to pretend to look like they were doing it right. The South Park rendition of DDR was more believable.
Now, I actually do enjoy Malcom. And Hal is my favorite character followed by the oldest son who lives on a ranch with the best damn dream boss in the world. I thought the other episode with Hal obsessed with the candy bars to win the prizes was priceless.
But the DDR part was embarrassing. Now, I've never seen DDR in action in real life. Yeah, I know. I'm missing something. But I could still tell how badly faked that was.
youruglyclone
05-03-2004, 11:50 PM
DDR showing up on shows isn't as rare as you make it...hell it showed up on an episode of megas xlr on cartoon network last saturday(2nd episode of it's premier). funny thing is the character that interfaces with the player is a bit like ulala from sc5. so it's a guess there are animators who are gamers.
Have any of you considered that they didn't use DDR or any other actual game to avoid getting sued? All this might seem silly to us, but I'm sure the producers (or whoever) have their reasons.
Actually, they wouldn't get sued at all if they got permission in advance. Most companies opt not to be realistic instead of paying a royalty though.
And, as you've stated, just about any movie/television show has 2600-era sound effects for any game regardless of its generation. The reason for this is that media producers use royalty-free sound effect CDs that they purchase for reasonable-to-large sums of money. When they need sound effects for something they just pull the "appropriate" sounds from the disc. I, however, question if the producers of the effects discs ever got permission from Nintendo/Namco/etc. to include their sounds.
When you watch shows like Drew Carey (N64, I think) you can bet that these shows are getting paid for product placement.
The Drew Carey Show featured a SEGA Saturn, actually. This was after the system was officially dead. The reason? Drew likes the Saturn a whole lot -- even more than Mardi Gras!
Wasn't DDR's first apperance in a cartoon series from King of the Hill?
As far as I know it is. The first "mainstream" DDR coverage that I can remember (outside of news stories) is a Sketchers commercial, but that didn't have music from DDR playing or showed much of the screen. But the machine was definitely Dance Dance Revolution.
Ironically, the DDR on King of the Hill was the most accurate portrayal I've yet seen on television.
JaredCenter
05-04-2004, 10:03 AM
Hollywood needs to do a better job in featuring games in TV shows. There is only one show, to this day, that takes the cake in featuring a game -- the Frogger episode of Seinfeld. LOL
MoreEbolaForYou
05-04-2004, 10:15 AM
jesus, listen to you guys. it's a tv show. does it affect the plot at all if a FICTICIOUS game designed to resemble a real game isn't potrayed realistically? you are the kind people that the comic book guy on the simpsons was created to make fun of. settle down.
Jasoco
05-04-2004, 01:32 PM
When you watch shows like Drew Carey (N64, I think) you can bet that these shows are getting paid for product placement.
The Drew Carey Show featured a SEGA Saturn, actually. This was after the system was officially dead. The reason? Drew likes the Saturn a whole lot -- even more than Mardi Gras!They also prominently placed Macs everywhere. Even when the store got changed and everything. It went from old Beige Macs to Cubes and gumdrop iMacs to LCD iMacs and iBooks and everything. But didn't he have that Saturn for the whole series or something? I check the dates on some of the episodes with it in them and it's like 2001 or 2002. You'd think he'd have moved to a DC by then.
I always wonder if it's an homage to a company they love, or if Apple and Sega pay them to use them.
Mr. Smashy
05-04-2004, 03:29 PM
Actually, they wouldn't get sued at all if they got permission in advance. Most companies opt not to be realistic instead of paying a royalty though.
So, are you upset that they didn't get permission or choose to pay royalties thereby sacrificing realism and credibility or are you upset that you wasted a whole half-hour hoping to be entertained and ending up unsatisfied? I'm not going to pretend that I know the real reason for why they did what they did. It's just a silly TV show. I wouldn't take it seriously.
The Drew Carey Show featured a SEGA Saturn, actually. This was after the system was officially dead. The reason? Drew likes the Saturn a whole lot -- even more than Mardi Gras!
Yeah, I was taking my chances on that guess. :) I haven't watched the Drew Carey Show in years and my memory was a little hazy there.
Captain Wrong
05-04-2004, 04:15 PM
jesus, listen to you guys. it's a tv show. does it affect the plot at all if a FICTICIOUS game designed to resemble a real game isn't potrayed realistically? you are the kind people that the comic book guy on the simpsons was created to make fun of. settle down.
Heh.
At least they didn't use the 2600 Donkey Kong/Pac Man sfx for their DDR knock off. I'd say that's a step in the right direction.
So, are you upset that they didn't get permission or choose to pay royalties thereby sacrificing realism and credibility or are you upset that you wasted a whole half-hour hoping to be entertained and ending up unsatisfied? I'm not going to pretend that I know the real reason for why they did what they did. It's just a silly TV show. I wouldn't take it seriously.
Both.
Tetsu
05-05-2004, 11:57 AM
Actually in the last few seasons of the Drew Carey show I remember distinctly that the Saturn was swapped with a Dreamcast.
optic_85
05-05-2004, 03:02 PM
jesus, listen to you guys. it's a tv show. does it affect the plot at all if a FICTICIOUS game designed to resemble a real game isn't potrayed realistically? you are the kind people that the comic book guy on the simpsons was created to make fun of. settle down.
Now i consider myself a geek(i like video games, comicbooks, and horror movies)...But i TOTALLY agree with you.