Random/Useless Thoughts of the Moment

What's the appeal of Saved by the Bell? It wasn't a very good show, and yet it's been running continuously since it first aired twenty years ago. I like to think I'm a fairly intelligent person with an eye for quality television, and yet, if it's on, I'll watch it, even though I know it's not that great. Even when it was still airing new episodes, I knew it wasn't that great. I remember thinking as a ten year old that it "really went downhill once Screech's voice changed". It always bugged me too how every non-main cast member student was some sort of stereotype, and how all of the classes seemed to be held in that one room across the hall from Mr. Belding's office, and how 75% of all classes were taught by Mr. Tuttle or Mr. Dewey. And still, God help me, if I come across an episode, odds are I'll stay with it at least until the commercial break. Maybe they have some kind of hypnotic thing going on, like that episode where Zack put a hidden message in a song to get Bayside's female student body to fall for him during that Valentine's Day, heart-swapping thing.

Now I don't know what's worse. That I admitted to watching Saved by the Bell*, or that I made reference to an episode.

*I caution to add that that's infrequently, if ever. Just so we're clear.

Countdown to Final Crisis #23 - - Sold Out?

So, yesterday I went back to my local comic shop to look for a couple of back issues and to get a book or two that I missed on Wednesday -- Captain America #32 and Countdown #23. Captain America because it's a great book that I really enjoy following month-to-month, Countdown because I'm an idiot who doesn't know when to stop reading a book, much less a finite title like Countdown, even if it does mean I'm committed to it for another six months.

I got Captain America, of which they still had ample copies. I didn't get Countdown.

Now I don't know if they under-ordered the latest issue -- that would be the obvious solution -- but this is the first time in as long as I can remember, even going back to 52 (Countdown's predecessor in the weekly DC Comics game), that it's been sold out. The fact they still had extra copies of the last four weeks worth of Countdown issues could mean they finally curbed their orders accordingly. And certainly the fact the issue seemed to be about Superboy-Prime* torturing Mr. Mxyzptlk doesn't make cry out "must have collectors item".

I'll have to make a point of finding out what happened on Wednesday. Unless I forget, which I will almost certainly do.

And by the way, I got a copy of Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Gotham by Gaslight #1 instead. Yeah, yeah. I know.

*Because calling him Superboy-Prime sounds less stupid than Superman-Prime for some reason.