The NBC series Community has had an episode featuring a game of Dungeons & Dragons. It pretty good and I think you will get a kick out of it. It does good a job of setting up the characters if you haven't watched it before.
I guess I figured the writers had actually played D&D.
But, no, of course the D&D player is going to kill himself. You can argue it was a satire of the 80s misperception of D&D (Dallas Egbert et. al.). But if it's so subtle you have to infer it, if you can; does it count as satire?
And to pick some nits. Nice that it was old-school with the AD&D books they picked up at Half-price books, but what was the 4e Essentials book doing there? Why did Abed roll all the dice? (Indie game much?) How come he only had one set? What kind of player only has one set of dice? Fat Neal didn't have dice?
Sure, Hector the Well-Endowed's moment in the sun was great; but if that was the best game Neal ever played....
Sorry to rant, but I hoped for something more. And having my hope's and dream shattered makes me cranky.
To me it looked like that some of the choices in the staging of the game were due to the logistics of filming a television episode.
The game itself I felt was treated with respect. It was clear it was an activity that Hector normally enjoyed. But in the end the point of episode was Hector and problems with Pierce. The game was a means to an end.
Yeah, they took some liberties. But I still loved the episode (and I had never seen the shoe before). I had no idea Chevy Chase was back on TV and I thought the whole "winning D&D thing" was an awesome thing to do. Weird, also, because Chevy Chase really reminds me of my dad (even or especially as Pierce).
Gratuitous Saxon Violence said: "Why did Abed roll all the dice? (Indie game much?) How come he only had one set? What kind of player only has one set of dice? Fat Neal didn't have dice?"
Actually, that was how we played when I was a kid. The DM was usually the only guy with the dice and made all the rolls. I don't think that was that uncommon back in the day.
I've been playing since the 80's, and I had no problems with the inaccuracies on how the game was played. This is a 21 minute episode, and given that I think it would have been impossible to portray the "real" game.
They had the *spirit* down cold, that's what counts.
And those were Dan Harmon's own books used in the show. He's a true D&D fan.
I'm not much of a TV watcher anymore, but Community is one of the few shows I try to catch weekly. It's consistently funny in a geeky sort of way. If you haven't seen it, they did a pretty good zombie attack Halloween episode, and a spoof of Apollo 13 that was worth watching.
I was disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI guess I figured the writers had actually played D&D.
But, no, of course the D&D player is going to kill himself. You can argue it was a satire of the 80s misperception of D&D (Dallas Egbert et. al.). But if it's so subtle you have to infer it, if you can; does it count as satire?
And to pick some nits. Nice that it was old-school with the AD&D books they picked up at Half-price books, but what was the 4e Essentials book doing there?
Why did Abed roll all the dice? (Indie game much?)
How come he only had one set?
What kind of player only has one set of dice?
Fat Neal didn't have dice?
Sure, Hector the Well-Endowed's moment in the sun was great; but if that was the best game Neal ever played....
Sorry to rant, but I hoped for something more. And having my hope's and dream shattered makes me cranky.
To me it looked like that some of the choices in the staging of the game were due to the logistics of filming a television episode.
ReplyDeleteThe game itself I felt was treated with respect. It was clear it was an activity that Hector normally enjoyed. But in the end the point of episode was Hector and problems with Pierce. The game was a means to an end.
I don't think it was that bad, I never watched this show before.
ReplyDeleteMy g/f and I were cracking up.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
You seen this Freaks & Geeks episode?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJAGxAeV7YU
It's very lovey to the D&D.
Yeah, they took some liberties. But I still loved the episode (and I had never seen the shoe before). I had no idea Chevy Chase was back on TV and I thought the whole "winning D&D thing" was an awesome thing to do. Weird, also, because Chevy Chase really reminds me of my dad (even or especially as Pierce).
ReplyDeleteHi Rob. I enjoyed it. I was rooting for the 20 to show up, but 19 did the job just fine.
ReplyDeleteGratuitous Saxon Violence said:
ReplyDelete"Why did Abed roll all the dice? (Indie game much?)
How come he only had one set?
What kind of player only has one set of dice?
Fat Neal didn't have dice?"
Actually, that was how we played when I was a kid. The DM was usually the only guy with the dice and made all the rolls. I don't think that was that uncommon back in the day.
I've been playing since the 80's, and I had no problems with the inaccuracies on how the game was played. This is a 21 minute episode, and given that I think it would have been impossible to portray the "real" game.
ReplyDeleteThey had the *spirit* down cold, that's what counts.
And those were Dan Harmon's own books used in the show. He's a true D&D fan.
I'm not much of a TV watcher anymore, but Community is one of the few shows I try to catch weekly. It's consistently funny in a geeky sort of way. If you haven't seen it, they did a pretty good zombie attack Halloween episode, and a spoof of Apollo 13 that was worth watching.
ReplyDeleteLoved it!
ReplyDelete