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To paraphrase Jack Handey- "when I think of all the TV I watched as a kid, I think, man, I am really rich with TV". Not surprisingly, very little of the stuff I watched holds up at all, and none less so than the show 'Doug'. I was reminded of the show the other day and it surprised me how little of it I remembered for how many episodes I watched. I feel like I have to watch them again just so I can consciously make an effort to UN-learn some of the lessons my idiot child brain absorbed without question. I do remember it being peppered with some very questionable sketchy morals and was obviously an outlet for its creator's anxieties, to the point where I was aware I was only watching it because it was an animated show, shown on a network for kids, at a time I was watching TV. When it became Disney's Doug I started watching documentaries on whales instead like a good autist. Looking back, with the exception of Rocko pretty much all the Nickelodeon shows are terrible. Duckman was tight, but I think that was a Klasky-Csupo joint, and also uniquely suited for the very grotesque style of animation that particular studio was known for- but I digress. Straddling the divide between rural and urban America are the trash hinterlands of suburbia, where millions of Dougs live and breathe and multiply in silent misery and unarticulated rage. Instead of the urban sensibilities of Hey Arnold or the bucolic thoughtfulness of Arthur, Doug is an insight into the mind of a Columbine kid. According to Wikipedia, the creator Jim Jinkins lived in Richmond, VA in the 1950s, which tells you everything you need to know about the kinds of morality tales (really amorality tales) that are crystallized within the series. The show is notable for its depiction of characters in a variety of deliberately fantastical skin tones- according to Jinkins this "symbolize[d] the irrelevance of race"- a nice thought. Truthfully however, instead of the irrelevance of race, it highlights the centrality of whiteness to being a protagonist in life in general. In the show, everyone else is colorful and different, while Doug is white and thus "normal". It reassures the viewer, looking and thinking much like the show's creator- "Don't worry- white people's place as History's Protagonist is not in any danger." It speaks more to the creator's distaste or unwillingness to address the very real realities of race in America than any kind of progressive mindset. It's the drawn equivalent of not wanting to have a conversation about race because it would be "impolite" or "uncomfortable" (the discomfort comes from having that bubble of whiteness breached, the feeling of impoliteness comes from the necessary self-confrontation of actually having to unpack your own privilege to understand what you take for granted in your own life on account of what you were born into this world as). Perhaps Jinkins was right- it highlights the "irrelevance" of race, but from the perspective of whiteness, where at best race is perceived as an obstacle and inconvenience, and is certainly not a topic of 'polite' conversation or a subject needing reconciliation or historical context. Let us also not forget the laughable hubris of "Doug's First Movie" (who the gently caress wants to see a 'first' movie starring this nebbish, let alone a second?). Also lmao at replacing Billy West with literally anyone (which they did). Dopes! So let's dispense with this fiction that there's anything "Funny" about Doug Funnie. He's explicitly not a good guy, but not defiant or adversarial enough to power to be considered an anti-hero. In the face of his imagined powerlessness, he retreats into the pathetic Walter Mittie character of Quailman (more like Failman imo). Well GBS, that is my Doug post. What did you think of this awful piece of poo poo garbage TV show? What was the worst lesson YOU repressed from it? Have at it and happy posting! 
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Jan 14, 2021 13:29
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Yea I never had cable and was more of what you might call an "outside" kid until much later in adolescence so in short I'm Roger Klotz kicking your Doug rear end in this situation .
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Jan 14, 2021 13:36
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i dont think you can honestly say a character with a nose like that is "white".
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Jan 14, 2021 13:44
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Wow very controversial stuff here op
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Jan 14, 2021 13:51
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i agree with the OP. not very funny, pretty boring
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Jan 14, 2021 13:56
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Jan 14, 2021 13:58
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the premise is right but the OP manages to be wrong and suck anyway by trying to be some fake unfunny essay about white privilege. Doug kinda sucks because Doug is insane and needs therapy and is an rear end in a top hat, literally the worst character on the show. I feel like this show specifically taught me how to be an over anxious over thinking piece of poo poo and I spent years digging out of the hole. (Digging up)
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Jan 14, 2021 14:00
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Can't wait to read your article about Action League Now and how The Flesh's portrayal irreparably-damaged nudist culture.
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Jan 14, 2021 14:04
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BANGIN' on the trash can BANGIN' on he street light nice sweater vest, idiot hahahaha
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Jan 14, 2021 14:06
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bus hustler posted:the premise is right but the OP manages to be wrong and suck anyway by trying to be some fake unfunny essay about white privilege Not sure what's funny about white privilege to you, but okay
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Jan 14, 2021 14:08
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green lives matter
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Jan 14, 2021 14:12
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OP is Mr. Dink in that one daydream where Doug tries to apologize for breaking his grill and turns into a muppet-rear end werewolf but instead of a broken grill its over the context of a lovely 90's kids show merely existing
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Jan 14, 2021 15:03
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how about this, OP: white male mediocrity
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Jan 14, 2021 15:06
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I used to live with a guy whose schtick was to regularly impersonate Mr. Dink trying to sell weed to Doug whenever we smoked. He was pretty good at it. Welp that's my story.
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Jan 14, 2021 15:07
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20 Blunts posted:how about this, OP: white male mediocrity 
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Jan 14, 2021 15:13
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Jan 14, 2021 15:19
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i remember my dad complaining that Doug was whiny and a wimp before changing the channel on me a few times when I was a kid
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Jan 14, 2021 15:20
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I love to "Doug"
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Jan 14, 2021 15:25
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poo poo cartoon. Excellent music. Everyone remembers the Beets songs and Banging On A Trashcan, but all the incidental music was rad. Tied with Totally Spies! for "Shittest cartoon with bestest music". Blueshirt fucked around with this message at 15:30 on Jan 14, 2021 |
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Jan 14, 2021 15:28
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It was fine but you were really killing time between rugrats and Hey arnold
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Jan 14, 2021 15:32
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WILDTURKEY101 posted:i remember my dad complaining that Doug was whiny and a wimp before changing the channel on me a few times when I was a kid Your dad owns lol Also isn’t the show dynamic basically Tintin and Snowy? Not content with being simply problematic, the show has to be derivative too 
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Jan 14, 2021 15:44
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teach me how to doug
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Jan 14, 2021 15:46
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I'm old now and like tofu, but can appreciate the sentiment behind fearing it. The Beats knew what it was about. I NEED MORE ALLOWANCE. Also I think I tried liver and onions for the first time because I thought it looked good on that Doug episode. It is.
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Jan 14, 2021 15:47
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"There's a bomb in the lasagna!" is what I remember for some dumb reason, and his weird dramatic older sister.
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Jan 14, 2021 15:48
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crazy eyes mustafa posted:Your dad owns lol it's more Charlie Brown and Snoopy, in that Doug is a loser and Porkchop is consistently cooler than him. but whereas Charlie Brown understood that he was a loser and bore his fate with dignity, Doug is just a whiny rear end in a top hat who has to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing the right thing no matter how obvious or trivial.
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Jan 14, 2021 15:51
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A Strange Aeon posted:"There's a bomb in the lasagna!" is what I remember for some dumb reason, and his weird dramatic older sister. That. That episode was hilarious and almost makes up for the rest of the show being trash. Even as a kid I thought it was garbage and that Doug was an entitled little punk. And that it was kind of odd how everyone was weird colors except the white kid. Like I get the point he was supposedly trying to make, but then Doug should have been some other color, too. There shouldn't have been anyone with real-world human skintones.
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Jan 14, 2021 15:51
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I am the astronaut, symbol of all who came before me!
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Jan 14, 2021 15:51
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i think about this art a lot
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Jan 14, 2021 15:51
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Ooo-eee-ooo Killer tofu Ooo-eee-ooo Killer to-FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!
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Jan 14, 2021 15:52
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Did anyone else think the Beets sounded like Blue Oyster Cult?
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Jan 14, 2021 15:52
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I haven't gone into a forest in years because I'm so scared of nematodes
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Jan 14, 2021 15:53
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I've always heard that Doug is also to blame for why we never got Invader Zim or the Angry Beavers or any other Nick shows that were cancelled while still good on other networks. That apparently Nick was super salty about having sold Doug to Disney who then were able to turn more of a profit than they ever did off of it, and that because of that Nick is basically - or at least was for the 2000s - going to hold on to all of its IPs with a death grip. So if that's true and you need another reason to hate Doug, there ya go.
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Jan 14, 2021 15:56
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low key sex master posted:I love to "Doug" DOUG FASTER
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Jan 14, 2021 16:02
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Also we can all agree that Doug is a stupid name
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Jan 14, 2021 16:09
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Doug was absolutely that dude that claimed to never smoke weed but was always the one to cash the bowl and never even cough up a 5 spot or bring beer that louse addled bitch. At least skeeter and patti were good for it
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Jan 14, 2021 16:09
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Chrispurple posted:DOUG Patti, please.
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Jan 14, 2021 16:12
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Jan 14, 2021 16:12
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Porkchop was a loving baller tho
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Jan 14, 2021 16:12
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RoboChrist 9000 posted:I've always heard that Doug is also to blame for why we never got Invader Zim or the Angry Beavers or any other Nick shows that were cancelled while still good on other networks. That apparently Nick was super salty about having sold Doug to Disney who then were able to turn more of a profit than they ever did off of it, and that because of that Nick is basically - or at least was for the 2000s - going to hold on to all of its IPs with a death grip. I don't think this can actually be counted as doug's fault
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Jan 14, 2021 16:24
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Straight White Shark posted:it's more Charlie Brown and Snoopy, in that Doug is a loser and Porkchop is consistently cooler than him. but whereas Charlie Brown understood that he was a loser and bore his fate with dignity, Doug is just a whiny rear end in a top hat who has to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing the right thing no matter how obvious or trivial. Ugh that’s so much worse Blueshirt posted:poo poo cartoon. I liked the music in the Tintin cartoon, but I enjoyed that one unironically and still have all the books https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVr2Ah8N9v0 Now that’s a hit of pure nostalgia. Apparently it’s on Netflix. Welp see ya
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Jan 14, 2021 16:26
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