Cowboy Bebop

[aquaunitpatrolsquad1]

In this episode a senior looking Dr. Londes is reveilled to be a teenage boy in a vegetable state from a coma. 

The boy was a talented computer hacker unbeknowest to the hospice and ended up consciously being able to recreate a persona of himself using the computer system he was plugged into at his hospital bed.

This is one of my favorite episodes of Cowboy Bepop because ever since then I always wondered if in the future it would be possible for this to happen.

Obviously not to the extent of the show, but don't you think in the future people could be able to talk to their visiting relatives through a connected "conscious capturing" computer system, so they can use their mind while they are in a vegetative state such as a coma. 

[SudachiChu]

I like it because everything that Londes was saying about television and god rings true in my ears.

[SpikesMrsSpooky]

I like it because I think Spike actually wakes up in this session.

I think it's right what it says about TV, and oh yeah, would I love to be able to have a more immersive experience of socializing with my internet friends.  

I didn't like it the first time I saw it, but the more I watched it, the more I liked it, and now it's one of my favorites.  Plus we get to see what Ein is REALLY capable of (and I adored Ed's reactions to watching him work).

The song they played at the end was so beautiful it moved me to tears.  Awesome ep all the way around.  

[aquaunitpatrolsquad1]

I think a lot of what Londes says is very related to ideas in Buddhism, it is almost strange to consider him a villain in the episode because his oppinion is that of a spirit, living within the stunted body an individual.  I was also surprised by Spike awakening at the end, like Londes thinks that the mountain of televisions would knock Spike out but he suddenly regains himself right before Ed begins to shut Londes down.

[SudachiChu]

Except Buddhism didn't promote the death of its followers.

Gotta love the line "god didn't create man, man created god".

[aquaunitpatrolsquad1]

Yea that is a really good line.  Or the part where he talks about television being the new God for people.  I think that definitely makes sense for a lot of different reasons.  We all love tv, some of us depend on it everday not just for entertainmnet, but for news, music, politics, oppinion, raw information.  I think this episode is very special because while it is definitely not an action packed episode it still has a lot of intriguing ideas in it and it is well paced for being more about philosophy than chases and explosions.

[SudachiChu]

I think it was Shinichiro Watanabe's parting message to the fans.

[aquaunitpatrolsquad1]

Your probably right.

[SudachiChu]

From what I understand he's a pretty socially active guy. There was an episode that aired in Japan in response to school violence that some thought was caused by the violence in seen in the show. He preempted his own series to address this between episodes 13 and 14.

[WittyName]

"god didn't create man, man created god"

Best **beast** line in the series. I gave it a standing ovation the first time I heard it.

[SudachiChu]

He says a lot of stuff in that monologue that rings true.

[aquaunitpatrolsquad1]

---

SudachiChu wrote:
From what I understand he's a pretty socially active guy. There was an episode that aired in Japan in response to school violence that some thought was caused by the violence in seen in the show. He preempted his own series to address this between episodes 13 and 14.

---

hm wow that's interesting

[SudachiChu]

It was called Mish Mash Blues.

[aquaunitpatrolsquad1]

I wiki'd those episodes and now I recognize them.  That's cool though, its just one more of the thousands of reasons I really want to find some good time to rewatch this series.

[desantoos]

A large pale face preaching to crowds. This may have sounded profound back in 2001 when I first watched the series but now it is the gold standard of 24/7 news networks and VH1.

I still like some of the stylistic marks and the inventive ending but I don't think this episode held up as well as others did.

[GinaSzanboti]

(yeah,yeah, this is a repost, I got nothin' new to say) 

This is one of my favorite episodes, and this is one reason why:  Londes appears to Faye and Spike (and a host of other, dead cowboys, and Jobim) as images on a tower of tv screens.  To me this is a sort of "the medium is the message" imagery.  Initially it just looks like an altar to worship the god of television (and also Londes).  Londes must have directed his followers to build this, since obviously he couldn't have done it himself.  But when I imagine those people building such a precariously balanced structure, I imagine the Tower of Babel ("gate of God").  In a universe where everything is broadcast in at least 12 different languages, the pile of tvs is metaphorically a tower of Babel, is literally the gateway of a wannabe god, and given the type of content shown in the opening of the episode (you can be a DJ while you exercise!) it's essentially a tower of babble.

How could I not post something in this thread? 

[scoobdog]

Where'd you originally post that?

[westpark]

---

SudachiChu wrote:
I like it because everything that Londes was saying about television and god rings true in my ears.

---

Also, Londes did lots of LSD.