Danny Ainge Thinking About Making Some Trades Before the NBA Draft Tonight
Did “Speed” Rip Off “Family Matters?” In a Word, Yes.
After catching an old episode of Family Matters the other day and rewatching Speed last night, a dark and insidious question came over me: Did Speed rip off Family Matters??
We all know the plot of the wildly popular 1994 action thriller Speed starring Keanu Reeves:
But I feel like a lot of people forget about a suspiciously similar plot of a 1991 episode of Family Matters. Here’s the synopsis of “Boom!” the Season 3 premiere of Family Matters.
Urkel befriends Lowell, an orangutan who has been abused through a series of laboratory experiments. At the precinct, Carl is exercising on a treadmill when he discovers it has been booby-trapped by a revenge seeker; the bomb hidden inside will go off should he step off the treadmill. He must rely on Lt. Murtaugh – and a little bit of luck – to disconnect the bomb’s wiring before it explodes.
Just watch this clip from Family Matters and tell me this isn’t the exact plot of Speed, except on a treadmill.
Compare that to the focal point of Speed:
I mean that looks pretty damn close to me. My wife told me to do some research before slandering the good name of Speed, but I mean come on. I tried to do a little digging to see what the rest of the internet thought, but it seems nobody is asking the tough questions. All I got from my Google search was a story about Eddie Winslow getting arrested for failing to pay child support.
I am merely here to ask thought provoking questions and let you come to your own conclusions, but if you ask me Speed 100% ripped off Family Matters. Reginald VelJohnson put up with too much shit on Family Matters to not get the credit he deserves for indirectly creating one of the biggest blockbusters in movie history.
With that being said, Speed is still one of the most rewatchable action movies ever made despite just how dumb it truly is. Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels, and Sandra Bullock are all great, but I am a Keanu Reeves stan and he is in the middle of a HEATER here. Just a decade plus of dominance starting with Bill & Ted in ’89, Point Break in ’91, Speed in ’94, The Devil’s Advocate (with Pacino!) in ’97, my favorite movie of all-time The Matrix in ’99, The Replacements in ’00, and Hardball in ’01. Keanu has always been a stoic, sometimes mistaken for stilted, actor which is why he absolutely kills it in some roles (Neo) and whiffs on others (Dracula) before landing a career defining role in yet another blockbuster action franchise, John Wick.
Did I just turn a blog accusing a movie of plagiarizing Family Matters into a Keanu Reeves stan session? I guess I did.
PS – Heres how the episode of Family Matters ended in case you weren’t watching it at 9 am on a weekday like me.
2K Sports Just Announced PGA Tour 2K21 from the CLOUDS
Last year I went on the hunt for a golf game actually made this century since as we all know Tiger Woods PGA Tour hasn’t been a thing in years. Luckily I stumbled on to The Golf Club 2019, which is a pretty solid game as well as a very realistic round of golf.
It can be a little too realistic at times though and just as frustrating as actual golf is sometimes. Think Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge.
So I would like something a little more casual as it pertains to the laws of physics. Hell I’d love a new Mario Golf platform game, which Nintendo has kept locked away in its IP vault since 2003 for some reason.
Well out of nowhere 2K sports just announced they are coming out with PGA Tour 2K21! Talk about some much needed good news during this never ending quarantine. This is huge because despite its solid gameplay, one of the biggest drawbacks to The Golf Club 2019 is that it doesn’t have the full PGA license so there are only a couple of real courses and zero real golfers in the game. Well PGA Tour 2K21 seems to have no such issues as the teaser shows off the gorgeous 17th green island at TPC Sawgrass.
Golf Got Game. Stay tuned for more 😉 🏌️♂️ #PGATOUR2K21 pic.twitter.com/aWemg8aDM5
— PGA TOUR 2K (@PGATOUR2K) May 6, 2020
PGA Tour 2K21 will actually be developed by HB studios too, which is the group that made The Golf Club 2019. 2K teased the fact that more info will be released next week. So help me God if this game isn’t coming out real soon because without actual golf or actual anything happening right now, I think we are all going a little stir crazy.
Take my $60 right now and let me and Brooks Koepka CRUSH the competition as we go for the Tiger Slam.
Steve Carell is Back On TV in “Space Force” and This is Exactly What I Needed
Wait, who's in charge of what now? Steve Carell, welcome to Space Force. May 29th. pic.twitter.com/XVNivZ3Uay
— Space Force (@realspaceforce) May 5, 2020
The co-creator of Space Force is Greg Daniels, who was the co-creator of The Office, Parks and Rec, King of the Hill, and also won an Emmy as a writer on The Simpsons. That is an absolutely teflon resume for a TV writer. Throw Steve Carell into the mix and you have one of the most promising shows in a long time.
It’s not just Daniels and Carell either as the show has a cast of comedy vets including John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Fred Willard, Noah Emmerich, Lisa Kudrow, and Jessica St. Clair.
So we get a collection of some very funny actors, Steve Carell and Greg Daniels leading the way as co-creators, and it’s all on Netflix where they aren’t constrained by 22 minute episodes or F-bomb regulations from the FCC. Throw in the subject matter of Carell playing a general leading the (very real) newly created Space Force branch of the military and I am all in.
PS – Daniels was nominated for another Emmy for his song “Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart” in the season 5 episode he penned, “Homer and Apu”, which any Simpsons fan can sing to you right now.
28 Years Ago Today, “Homer At The Bat” Debuted
Looking to kill 30 minutes at work after lunch? Well, The Simpsons episode of “Homer At The Bat,” which first aired 28 years ago today, can be found in it’s entirety right here. Arguably one of the best Simpsons episodes ever as it fell right in the show’s sweet spot during Season 3 when it was firing on all cylinders. (They even made a documentary of this episode!) It’s even more relevant to me today than it was all those years ago since I am now an older out of shape guy playing beer league softball twice a week.
In case you’ve forgotten what happened 28 years ago, Homer and his homemade bat help lead the Nuclear Power Plant’s softball team to the championship game. After betting on the team to win Mr. Burns hires an entire squad of MLB ringers to replace the roster. Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Ken Griffey Jr., Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, José Canseco, Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry and Mike Scioscia all make guest appearances on the episode.
This episode had all time moments that I still quote to this day like Wade Boggs getting reamed out for his sideburns or Ken Griffey Jr. getting hooked on Brain & Nerve Tonic.
I was reading up on how the episode came to be and I guess they just recorded all the players lines over time when they were in LA playing the Dodgers or Angels. Apparently they were all cool except for Jose Canseco, who was a pill to work with and made the writers rewrite his scenes to make him seem more heroic, which only makes this scene even funnier.
This episode also gave us Terry Cushman himself singing “Talking Softball” in one of the best pieces of Simpsons created music not named “Planet of the Apes: The Musical”
Fire Flames Jersey Alert: Springfield AHL Team to Wear Ice-O-Topes Simpsons Jerseys
NHL.com – The Ice-O-Topes are headed to Springfield. The Florida Panthers’ Massachusetts-based American Hockey League affiliate will become the Ice-O-Topes and wear spectacular uniforms for one week to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “The Simpsons.”
NEEEEED. Minor league teams love to run promotions based on the wacky jerseys they’re wearing and most of them are terrible, but some of them…some of them are special.
Just look at the attention to detail with the donut and nuclear symbol stripes!
If they auctions these off after the game like a lot of teams do then I may have to put this jersey on The 300s company card. It may also be the only reason I ever go to Springfield ever again. Now that the casino has opened up in Boston, just around the corner from my office, there really is no need to go west. Maybe if you want to take your kid to the Basketball Hall of Fame I suppose? Welp, the Panthers AHL team just put this on my list of places I would consider leaving my winter hibernation for.
What if America’s favorite family was located in Springfield, Massachusetts? #TheSimpsons pic.twitter.com/EtK50B8BCI
— Springfield T-Birds (@ThunderbirdsAHL) December 17, 2019
The Top 5 Sitcom Christmas Episodes
So I sat down on Christmas Eve yesterday and got sucked into about four hours of sitcom marathons. Few things are better at this time of year than binge watching all the random sitcom Christmas specials. It’s become a staple for any sitcom worth its weight. So lets break down some of the best Christmas specials from over the years.
The Office
S3EP10 – “A Benihana Christmas”
After photoshopping himself onto an old photo of Carol’s family over the ex husband’s head, Carol is creeped out and dumps Michael. Meanwhile the office is split in two as the party planning committee argues so Pam and Angela end up creating two separate office Christmas parties.
The Simpsons
S9EP10 – “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace”
The Simpsons love doing holiday specials and this Christmas episode is one of the funniest specials of all-time. Bart drinks a dozen glasses of water so he can wake up early on Christmas before everyone else. He does just that, heads down stairs to play with some new toys except he accidentally burns the Christmas tree down and all the presents underneath it. Naturally he lies about it and the entire town of Springfield takes sympathy on the Simpsons until Bart cracks. Hilarity ensues.
Seinfeld
S9EP10 – “The Strike”
While technically not a “Christmas” episode, this is still one of the best Christmas specials as George’s father invents a new holiday all together: Festivus. Airing of Grievances, Feats of Strength, the Festivus Pole, which is displayed unadorned because tinsel is distracting. People literally buy aluminum poles and put them in their living room as an ironic protest of Christmas and I will laugh every time I see it.
Malcolm in the Middle
S3EP7 – “Christmas”
One of the more underrated sitcoms that never seems to get the credit it deserves. All the more relatable to people because of the absolutely chaotic family dynamics.
That 70s Show
S6EP7 – “Christmas”
If Billy Bob Thornton is the No. 1 disaster of a Santa Claus then Red Forman is without a doubt 1A. The older I get the more I personally identify with Eric’s curmudgeon of an old man. When a girl asks for a pony, Red tells her ponies die. He also tells another boy who asks for a slinky that he’ll be getting flash cards for a present: “Math. That’s what you’re getting for Christmas.”
What’s your favorite Christmas special? Tweet it at me @The300sBoston and we’ll get the ball rolling on this nostalgia trip.
The 300s Podcast: The Dog Days of Summer Mean It’s Officially Red Sox Season
Start your weekend early with The 300s Podcast + it only takes 2 minutes before the first “Homer at the Bat” reference. Listen, subscribe, rate and review on iTunes, Google Play, and The 300s Podcast is also NOW ON SPOTIFYYYYY
New ep of #The300sPodcast: #RedSox on pace for 110+ wins, JD Martinez legit may win the Triple Crown, should #MLB ban the shift & we launch #The300sTop3 BONUS: If you catch the obscure reference 37 mins in & tweet us a GIF from that movie, you win a prize. https://t.co/WULqCqMk5O
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) July 12, 2018
Seeing as its the dog days of summer and there’s no other Boston teams playing, unless you count the Revs and the Cannons, pretty much everyone’s attention has shifted towards the Red Sox finally. So that’s what we’re gonna focus on today.
BONUS: If you catch the obscure reference 37 minutes in and tweet us a GIF from that movie, you win a prize.
-The Death of Baseball has been Greatly Exaggerated
-Outlaw the Shift?!
-Why Does the Media Insist Nobody Cares About the Red Sox When Ratings Are in Fact UP?
-JD Martinez may legitimately challenge for the Triple Crown this year.
-The 300’s Top 3
The 300s 