Author: Tisha Mora

90s Kids Rejoice: Childhood Reboots Are Upon Us

Tisha Mora

Back in July 2016, the news about our beloved childhood shows coming back for an encore hit the floors of San Diego Comic Con. Nickelodeon based their entire theme and showcase on ’90s nostalgia, bringing back old favorites such as “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” “Rocko’s Modern Life”  and “Hey Arnold.” These well known series are coming back as TV movies.

Although “Legends of the Hidden Temple” premiered later in 2016, and no new news has been released for Rocko, Nickelodeon fans are trying their best to be patient for “Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie.” Here is what we know so far.

Along with the title, the main premise of the movie was released last year. The two hour special will pick up where the original series left off in 2004, tying up loose ends and cliffhangers. It will finally answer the question we’ve all been asking: what happened to Arnold’s parents?

Variety, who first reported about the movie, also stated the following in regards to who will be returning to voice their original characters,”Original voice actors Francesca Marie Smith will return as Helga; Anndi McAfee as Phoebe; Justin Shenkarow as Harold; Olivia Hack as Rhonda; Nika Futterman as Olga; Dan Butler as Mr. Simmons; “The Simpsons” vet Dan Castellaneta as Grandpa; Tress MacNeille as Grandma; Antoinette Stella as Stella; Carlos Alazraqui as Eduardo; Dom Irrera as Ernie; Maurice LaMarche as Bob Pataki; Kath Soucie as Miriam; Danielle Judovits as Big Patty; Danny Cooksey as Stoop Kid; Jim Belushi as Coach Wittenberg; and Craig Bartlett as Miles.”

Variety went on to report that new voice actors will be playing the roles of most of the other kids, as well as Pigeon Man and Arnold. However, the original voice actors for those roles will still be involved with the project and will voice other characters in the movie.

Along with that, Nickelodeon released these images of Arnold and friends at their 25th anniversary panel at Comic Con 2016.

(Source: Nickelodeon via Variety)

Other news about the movie has not been released since then, but the film’s release date is slated to be November 23, 2017.

Jumping back to present day, Nickelodeon still has a grip on the ’90s kids’ anticipation. Earlier this month, a short trailer was put online, signifying the return of another famous franchise from our childhood.

“Invader Zim,” after nearly 10 years of being off the air, is finally returning. Although news on the reboot is still fairly slim, as no release date or premise has been announced, we can assume one thing is certain: the original voice actors of Zim and GIR, Richard Steven Horvitz and Rikki Simons, will be playing their original characters.

Despite all this, Nickelodeon has to work extra hard to keep their fans, as one of Nickelodeon’s long term competitors is proving to be just as successful with ’90s remakes.

That’s right: Jack is back.

Although the show is now being produced through Adult Swim, rather than Cartoon Network, this “Samurai Jack” reboot has proven to be just as successful as the original. After the air date on March 11, the network has continued to slowly release the short series that has all the ’90s kids begging for more. As of right now, the show has aired seven episodes of the 10 they have slated for season five. So far, the show has received positive reviews all around, as well as a 100 percent rating from Rotten Tomato. Some fans speculate that, if the show’s success continues to grow, the series may have a permanent spot on Adult Swim. But, that’s just speculation.

But what do you think? Are you excited for any of these reboots? Who will prevail as the Conqueror of Reboots? Let us know on all our social media platforms, @KCRCollegeRadio.

Disneyland Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride

Tisha Mora

Why is the rum always gone?

Well, this year, Disneyland has the answer. The famous theme park is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride and Disney fans are tipsy with excitement. Originally debuted on March 18, 1967, fans from all over the world have lined up to see the classic attraction.

For the longest time, however, the attraction was known as an older ride that had little to no modifications (in terms of appearance, I’m sure regular maintenance is practiced for safety reasons), until 2006. The 2006 modifications included the addition of Captain Jack Sparrow hidden throughout the ride, as well as the later addition of Davy Jones. Jones was replaced by Blackbeard in 2011 to coincide with the ongoing movie series.

(Source: Disney via PoTC Wikia)

According to the Disneyparks Blog, the park will be turning the upswinging, jazzy New Orleans Square into a rapscallion filled party fit for pirates of all ages. Pirate themed meals and beverages can be found in various restaurants around the square, such as Cafe Orleans, French Market Restaurant, Mint Julep Bar and Royal Street Veranda. The Blue Bayou Restaurant, located within the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride, is of course participating in the festivities as well.

(Source: Disney via Daveland Blog)

Some of these scurvy-defying meals include the highly anticipated gold-dusted churros (not coated with actual gold, but with lemon sugar bits), Lost Treasure beignets, Jolly Roger Punch and a Caribbean Breakfast Burrito comprised of scrambled eggs, Andouille sausage, ride, black beans, cheddar cheese and sweet potatoes. Each restaurant in the square has meals fit for a pirate.

(Source: Heather Sievers via DisneyFoodBlog)

Adding to the celebration is the entertainment provided by the Bootstrappers and Lucky the Pirate, as well appearances from the famous Captain Jack Sparrow himself. Whether or not that will be Johnny Depp, however, is yet to be confirmed. I highly doubt it, as much as I’d like that to happen.

Lastly, Disneyland will naturally be providing pirate themed booty and merchandise for all ages. To cater to rising trend of pin trading, Disney will be selling special 50th anniversary pins that visitors can purchase or trade with the employees throughout the park. There will also be special t-shirts for sale in honor of the anniversary, as well as the regular “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie and ride merchandise.

(Source: Disney via Disneyparks)

Will you be joining in on all the swash-buckling, pirate fun? Be weary though, these celebrations, attractions, merchandise and meals are all for a limited time only.

Featured Image: Disney via D23.

what you should know about The Nintendo Switch

Tisha Mora

The Nintendo Switch is finally here and available worldwide! Announced just a few months ago (in October), the Switch is the newest gaming system from Nintendo. It includes detachable, wireless controllers that hook onto the actual gamepad itself, which allows for on-the-go accessibility that has only been provided once before (with the DS series). The Switch is essentially the hybrid of at-home gaming and carry-on gaming, and is dominating other competitors such as the Playstation 4 and Xbox consoles.

The device itself carries 32GB of storage, and supports additional storage, via SD cards, up to 2TB. It also has its own speakers, charging dock, headphone jack – the works. The screen is brighter than its last carry on predecessor, The 3DS, by nearly nine times the pixels. Comparatively, the 3DS’ screen is 400 x 240, and the Switch’s screen is 1,280 x 720.  This is coupled with the most advanced touchscreen capability to date for Nintendo, equipped with a 720p touchscreen capacity. The battery life for the system itself lasts for about 3 to 6 hours, which isn’t exactly impressive compared to other handheld gaming devices. However, since the Switch is charged via USB cable, this is easily fixed with an external battery pack. The Joy-Con controllers, however, must charge while the Switch is being charged, but are rated to last up to 20 hours.

The Joy-Con controllers themselves are bright red and blue, and act similarly to the Wii controllers from previous consoles. However, the difference between the two, besides the obvious paint job, is the shape of the controllers themselves. Instead of the original white, sleek, rectangular controllers, the Joy-Con controllers are curved to fit the Switch, providing a more compact shape for on-the-go gaming. The safety straps, however, did carry over, for obvious reasons.

Now, for the games. Nintendo has created several multiplayer games for the Switch, including newcomers such as “Arms,” “1, 2, Switch” and “Snipper Clippers,” but has also brought back favorites, including “Mario Kart Deluxe 8,”  “Just Dance 2017,” “Splatoon 2,” “Fifa,” “Skyrim,” “NBA2K18” and even “Minecraft.”

Click image to view source. Copyright @ PCMag.

However, the game dominating the charts is their showrunner, “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild.” Rated by IGN and multiple platforms across the web as 10/10, the game lives up to the legacy of the “Zelda” series. From impressive graphics showing off the world of Hyrule, to little secrets and puzzles along the way, the game provides hours of endless content. Reviews are raving about the freedom of the game too, as side paths allow gamers to veer off into the virtual world at their own pace for as long as they desire.

To wrap things up about Nintendo’s new breadwinner, though, I’ll address the elephant in the room. Or rather, the cartridge in the system.

Ever since the Switch was released, many online personalities have tested the theory that the Switch cartridges are considerably disgusting to consume. Obviously, you should not consume anything inedible, like a game cartridge.

But, the weird trend rose from a statement given to IGN by Nintendo about the Switch’s packaging. Nintendo stated, “To avoid the possibility of accidental ingestion, keep the game card away from young children. A bittering agent (Denatonium Benzoate) has also been applied to the game card. This bittering agent is non-toxic.” 

Denatonium Benzoate, for all you non-chemical savvy readers out there (me included – I had to do my research), is the chemical considered to be the most bitterest substance known to science. The chemical was accidentally created back in 1958 when scientists were experimenting and trying to create new anesthetics for dentists. So, be glad you don’t have to worry about having that stuck in your teeth the next time you’re at the dentist. Now, the substance can be found in rubbing alcohol, anti-freeze, liquid soaps and shampoos. If your curiosity gets the better of you, just know that the chemical itself is not a toxic substance. It just tastes really, really bad (so don’t do it, please).

Youtube TV

Tisha Mora

YouTube, the mass media giant and king of video sharing, has proven to be one of the fastest growing social media platforms on the web. From their founding in 2005, YouTube has grown under the wing of its parent company, Google, as well as through its own respective community. Instead of TV personalities, younger generations are growing up with YouTube personalities from many different categories: gaming, cooking, news, reactions, beauty and many others. My personal favorites include Philip DeFranco, his wife’s channel, TheDeFrancoFam, and the channels he helped found, SourceFed and SourceFedNerd.

Within the past few years, YouTube has grown to include YouTube Red, YouTube Music, the infamous YouTube Heroes and its newest addition, YouTube TV.

Announced on February 28, 2017, YouTube has labeled themselves as a new competitor among television live streaming.

YouTube TV will be the newest live streaming service for viewers’ television sets, for $35 a month. There will be no big contract attached, so users can cancel their subscription at any moment. YouTube TV can be shared by up to six accounts for that price (so your friends won’t be constantly bugging you for your Netflix password anymore), and will provide regular television channels such as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and even some local channels, as Youtube continues to partner with more networks.

One cool feature is the ability to personalize what channels you would like to have and therefore pay for. For example, if someone is a huge baseball fan, but has no interest in cooking, they can choose to pay for MLB and remove Food Network and Cooking Network from their account.

Another feature is the unlimited Cloud DVR, which will mimic the way one would subscribe to a YouTube channel. Once “subscribed” to the show you want to DVR, YouTube TV will record it, and the user will be able to watch the show whenever, as long as they are connected to the internet. On top of all this, regular features such as pause, rewind and fast-forward will be available. There will also be no ads on YouTube videos, and viewers will have full access to YouTube Red via a YouTube Red app within YouTube TV.

So what does this mean for you?

Well, to put it simply, it comes down to the picking game for consumers. I think YouTube TV essentially has the upper-hand. The competition is Direct TV Now, Sling TV and Playstation Vue, as well as the traditional cable providers such as AT&T, Cox, etc. Personally, I think services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go and Amazon TV are also competition. The hyperlinks provided link to the FAQs and rates that each provider will have/has.

However, YouTube TV has something that the other providers do not: a well established, online community. YouTube announced that although they have not established the exact features that will highlight their creator community, they see many opportunities to bring in new audiences, and promote shows and channels, through YouTube Red. For a more visual example of that, I highly suggest watching Philip DeFranco’s video on the matter.

Will you be joining the YouTube community through YouTube TV? How does this sound to you, compared to what services you already consume (i.e. Netflix, cable TV, etc.)? Let us know on KCR’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.