Month: December 2016

  • The Secret To Russian Fudge

    How to make Russian Fudge — a step-by-step guide for cooks with no sweet thermometer and no Edmonds Cookbook (which is only of limited help anyway). Googling has so far not helped me out on this one, so while Mum was staying at our place this week I had an extended lesson in how to […]

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  • Serena (2014) Film Study

    Serena (2014) Film Study

    Serena is an example of a film in which the production values and acting talent far exceed the final product. Serena’s obvious symbolism and on-the-nose dialogue make for a film that’s narratively sub-par, but for students of storytelling  it’s an interesting case study. The name ‘Serena’ is meaningful — although the character comports herself serenely in public and […]

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  • The Great Fusilli Courage The Cowardly Dog

    The Great Fusilli Courage The Cowardly Dog

    STORY STRUCTURE OF THE GREAT FUSILLI The Great Fusilli is the last Courage story of season one and it is fitting that the creators have made a work of metafiction — in other words, the audience is reminded that they are watching a TV show. WEAKNESS/NEED Courage: That it’s up to him to save the […]

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  • Little Muriel Courage The Cowardly Dog

    Little Muriel Courage The Cowardly Dog

    Often in stories with a very small character there is some metaphorical/thematic reason for it, but in this case Muriel’s regression to the body and mind of a 3 and a half year old is pure fun. In other words, this is a carnivalesque story.

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  • The Precious Wonderful Adorable Loveable Duckling

    The Precious Wonderful Adorable Loveable Duckling

    The Precious Wonderful Adorable Loveable Duckling episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog reminds me of a type of picture book in which a cute character (often an annoying younger brother or sister) gets away with doing mean things behind the parents’ back. This must be a common family dynamic because I remember my own younger […]

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  • The Snowman Cometh Courage The Cowardly Dog

    The Snowman Cometh Courage The Cowardly Dog

    In The Snowman Cometh episode of Courage is interesting for the way in which the writers comically represent a part of science which is difficult to understand and even harder to portray on screen. SETTING Most of the Courage episodes are set in the Bagge family home in the middle of Nowhere but by this […]

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  • Heads Of Beef Courage The Cowardly Dog

    Heads Of Beef Courage The Cowardly Dog

    “Heads Of Beef” is an episode of Nickelodeon cartoon show from the late 1990s, Courage The Cowardly Dog. In any horror comedy starring a dog, surely at some point the dog must find himself a hot dog, right? The trope of the surprise in the burger plays on a primal fear we have when visiting […]

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  • The Hunchback Of Nowhere Courage The Cowardly Dog

    The Hunchback Of Nowhere Courage The Cowardly Dog

    “The  Hunchback of Nowhere” is an episode from the first season of Courage The Cowardly Dog. As ever, this modern re-visioning takes inspiration from a wide history of storytelling, including from The Bible. Any adult viewer will know immediately that this is inspired at least partly by The Hunchback of Notre Dame, though the writers can’t […]

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  • The Clutching Foot Courage The Cowardly Dog

    The Clutching Foot Courage The Cowardly Dog

    This episode of Courage seems to be a parody of an episode of a TV serial from the 1930s based on a novel by Arthur Reeve. It is called “The Clutching Hand” and is about a detective named Craig Kennedy. This serialised original includes the following elements: A get rich quick scheme Assuming a false identity Criminals […]

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  • King Ramses’ Curse Courage The Cowardly Dog

    King Ramses’ Curse Courage The Cowardly Dog

    In the “King Ramses’ Curse” episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog we have three plagues — since storytelling loves The Rule Of Three — and the plagues comprise a mixture of ancient and comically modern curses. This horror comedy for children takes inspiration from ancient holy texts such as found in the Bible and in the […]

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  • Shirley The Medium Courage The Cowardly Dog

    Shirley The Medium Courage The Cowardly Dog

    “Shirley The Medium” is an original recomposition of elements from diverse sources: Pandora’s Box, the Ancient Greek Myth A Christmas Carol, Dickens Modern TV psychics STORY STRUCTURE OF SHIRLEY THE MEDIUM SHORTCOMING Courage is unable to tell Eustace not to open the box. He is a dog and can’t speak English. Besides that, the adults don’t […]

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  • The Duck Brothers Courage The Cowardly Dog

    The Duck Brothers Courage The Cowardly Dog

    “The Duck Brothers” episode of Courage The Cowardly Dog features opponents who are revealed to be not really bad, which makes for a comical big struggle scene. The big struggle scene is noteworthy for including a wide variety of small big struggles. STORY STRUCTURE OF “THE DUCK BROTHERS” SHORTCOMING Courage is unable to convince Eustace when […]

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  • Mother’s Day Courage The Cowardly Dog

    Mother’s Day Courage The Cowardly Dog

    “Mother’s Day” is an episode from season one of Courage The Cowardly Dog. This is where we get some of Eustace’s back story. Until this point in the series, Eustace Bagge has been a singularly unpleasant character. We haven’t see what made him the way he is. In this episode, for the first time, we […]

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