Spoilers DC's Legends of Tomorrow - Season 2

[The Old Mixer]

I was trying to let this go, but for the record, I picked up FTFY right here in these parts.

And it always amuses me when people post that they don't know what something like that is, when it would have taken them no more effort to Google it.

 

[Christopher]

Honestly, I barely know what "Reddit' is.

Isn't it some kind of whipped-cream product?

 

[Greg Cox]

Isn't it some kind of whipped-cream product?

It's a dessert topping and a floor wax!

 

[The Old Mixer]

That's what they told you? You may want to see a doctor.

 

[Tallguy]

Graeme McComb does a really good Victor Garber impression.

YES he does.

I'm coming to the conclusion that this is my favorite DC show. I love The Flash (my DC gateway drug) and I love Supergirl. I watch a lot of Arrow.

Shows have a very different flavor when you're binge watching as opposed to going week to week. I binged Flash 1 and 2 as well as four seasons of Arrow and the first season of Legends. But now I'm watching all four DC shows week to week. So "slow" or "filler" episodes aren't as easy to ride through.

I'm finding out that Arrow is the show where I'm most interested in plot and less interested in characters. But with Legends I don't care if it's a dumb episode. I just like hanging with this gang for an hour. Mick and Ray is an inspired pairing.

Ahhh, 1987. I just about spit out my beer when Danger Zone started playing. Congratulations to the writers for keeping the Reagan jabs to an absolute minimum. Miami Vice wasn't so much of a thing by late 1987 but I guess I'll allow it. I'm almost surprised Ray didn't get a talking car. (Routh was 8 years old in 1987. Do we know how old Palmer was?)

Oh, and does ANYONE look back on 1987 TNG fondly? >

 

[Dick Whitman]

I was surprised Martin did not understand the Dr. Brown reference. Considering he is enough of a geek to know the exact year TNG debuted. More so since he seemed to be paying homage to Marty McFly when he gave instructions to the German band in 1942.

I am guessing the joke was there could be thousands of doctors with the last name a Brown. But did does not fit with what we know of Martin Stein. Maybe I am biased because Back to the Future is my favorite movie. But it's a cornerstone of pop culture that is more and more referenced. I was 7 went it came out. It's longevity really hit me about 5 years ago. I was in Taco Bell and the song "Power of Love" was playing on the radio. I over heard 2 teenagers discussing the song. One said "how come I know this song? The other replied "Of course you know it, its from Back to the Future"

 

[Christopher]

Are these anachronisms?

1) Amaya entering the library and greeting Nate with "Hey." That doesn't sound very 1942.
2) Todd/Obsidian declining a beer because "I don't need the carbs." I don't recall if they said "carbs" yet in 1987; I certainly don't think they'd become a dietary obsession like they did later.

 

[Tallguy]

I was surprised Martin did not understand the Dr. Brown reference. Considering he is enough of a geek to know the exact year TNG debuted. More so since he seemed to be paying homage to Marty McFly when he gave instructions to the German band in 1942.

You're right! Stein's pop culture knowledge fluctuates with plot.

I was annoyed when Stein referenced John le Carre, Heywood said he liked Flemming, and Jackson said "Right, less clothes, more explosions." My first thought was that they'd only seen the movies. My second thought was that Care Bears probably has more explosions that le Carre. (I've only read two or three le Carre books.)

2) Todd/Obsidian declining a beer because "I don't need the carbs." I don't recall if they said "carbs" yet in 1987; I certainly don't think they'd become a dietary obsession like they did later.

THIS! I remember the first episode of Agent Carter when someone sneezed into their elbow. Amazing what can scream "modern day".

 

[Nerys Myk]

Are these anachronisms?

1) Amaya entering the library and greeting Nate with "Hey." That doesn't sound very 1942.
2) Todd/Obsidian declining a beer because "I don't need the carbs." I don't recall if they said "carbs" yet in 1987; I certainly don't think they'd become a dietary obsession like they did later.

1) Websters says "Hey" has been around since the 13th Century.
2) Websters says the first know use of "carb" as a diminutive of carbohydrate dates to 1965

 

[Tallguy]

1) Websters says "Hey" has been around since the 13th Century.
2) Websters says the first know use of "carb" as a diminutive of carbohydrate dates to 1965

First known use of "dude" goes back to 1883. But if a 1940's character walked in and said "Hey, dude, what's up?" it might seem a bit out of time.

 

[Christopher]

1) Websters says "Hey" has been around since the 13th Century.
2) Websters says the first know use of "carb" as a diminutive of carbohydrate dates to 1965

I guess I should've clarified -- I wasn't asking about the existence of those words, but about whether they would've been used in that way at the time. "Hey" would've been more likely used in the '40s as an exclamation of annoyance ("Hey, who do you think you are?") or an attempt to get attention ("Hey, you, come over here!") rather than as an equivalent for "Hi/Hello" as we use it today and as Amaya used it here. Or at least, its use as a greeting would've been limited to certain populations, like Southerners ("Hey, y'all") or working-class people. Amaya strikes me as someone whose English usage is more formal and polished. I think she'd be more likely to say "Hello" upon entering a room.

And as I said, the reason "carbs" feels like an anachronism is because Obsidian phrased it as a health/dietary matter, and the obsession with low-carb diets is a 21st-century thing as far as I'm aware.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Or at least, its use as a greeting would've been limited to certain populations, like Southerners ("Hey, y'all") or working-class people. Amaya strikes me as someone whose English usage is more formal and polished. I think she'd be more likely to say "Hello" upon entering a room.

She could have picked it up from the JSA, who aren't all "formal and polished" types. In the comics, Rex Tyler has been presented as a working class type of guy.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Bugs Bunny = "What's up Doc?"

 

[Christopher]

She could have picked it up from the JSA, who aren't all "formal and polished" types. In the comics, Rex Tyler has been presented as a working class type of guy.

But in the show, the JSA has been consistently portrayed as a disciplined, formal, military team, in order to contrast them with the band of misfits and screwups that are our heroes. This is a different reality from the comics, and the characters aren't all the same. Amaya Jiwe and Sara Lance don't even exist in the comics, and Jefferson Jackson was a bit-player friend of Ronnie Raymond's and never became part of Firestorm.

 

[Nerys Myk]

But in the show, the JSA has been consistently portrayed as a disciplined, formal, military team, in order to contrast them with the band of misfits and screwups that are our heroes.

I don't see why being a "disciplined, formal, military team" would prevent them from using "hey" as a greeting.

 

[Christopher]

I don't see why being a "disciplined, formal, military team" would prevent them from using "hey" as a greeting.

Well, that's the question. Was it even used that way back then, and if so, by which social strata or subcultures? I'm not asserting anything for certain, I'm asking the question because I'm not sure.

From what I can tell, researching it online just now, using "Hey" to mean "Hello" was initially a Southernism, and also a Midwesternism, perhaps from Scandinavian influence. I think that in the past, it was considered rude or uneducated by people in polite circles; I remember one or two examples of a kid saying "Hey" and their parents disapprovingly saying "'Hey' is for horses," i.e. civilized people don't talk like that. In the 1950s, Ed Norton did routinely say "Hey there, Ralphie Boy" to Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, but Ralph and Ed were working stiffs.

So for a character who's from 1942 and who behaves in as proper and polished a way as Amaya does, who speaks careful English without a regional accent or a significant amount of slang, using "Hey" as a casual greeting feels anachronistic.

 

[Nerys Myk]

So for a character who's from 1942 and who behaves in as proper and polished a way as Amaya does, who speaks careful English without a regional accent or a significant amount of slang, using "Hey" as a casual greeting feels anachronistic.

Or she's trying to reach out or fit in. Maybe establish a connection with Nate.

 

[Christopher]

Or she's trying to reach out or fit in. Maybe establish a connection with Nate.

The episode established that she was doing the opposite -- trying to avoid a connection with Nate, because he reminded her too much of what she'd lost. In that very same scene, Nate expressed regret that they'd barely spoken since she came aboard, and she resisted his efforts to establish a connection.

 

[The Old Mixer]

2) Todd/Obsidian declining a beer because "I don't need the carbs." I don't recall if they said "carbs" yet in 1987; I certainly don't think they'd become a dietary obsession like they did later.

I distinctly remember the first time I heard somebody talking about carbs was pretty close to that...maybe 1989. I also vaguely recall somebody using the term "carbo-load" in a late-'80s comic...might have been a Byrne issue of one of the Superman titles.

I was annoyed when Stein referenced John le Carre, Heywood said he liked Flemming, and Jackson said "Right, less clothes, more explosions."

To be fair, the books sometimes had outright nudity where the movies avoided it (e.g., Honey Ryder's famous bikini didn't exist in the book). And they definitely did have their share of explosions.

 

[JanewayRulz!]

And as I said, the reason "carbs" feels like an anachronism is because Obsidian phrased it as a health/dietary matter, and the obsession with low-carb diets is a 21st-century thing as far as I'm aware.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Atkins_(nutritionist)

I read about the Atkins diet in high school in the mid 70's, needless to say the "low carb diet" has been around for a while.

Perhaps you are thinking of the "South Beach Diet" which was 1st published in 2003.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/south-beach-diet/art-20048491