DragonMasterHiro

I usually dismiss most Disney shows as being really cheesy. This is one of the few exceptions probably because all the characters are believable. The series managed to impart little lessons and morals without shoving them down your throat.

It's got a good title too. "The Famous Jett Jackson". Nice ring to it. It's the story of Jett Jackson, a boy who stars in an TV action series called Silverstone. It sounds more like a tire company but anyway...Jett convinces the network to move filming to his hometown in North Carolina. That way he can be with his father and grandmother, and pal around with friends Kayla and JB. Jett had to deal with being famous, having his father as the sheriff and dealing with his parents' divorce. Other characters included Booker the town deputy and Cubby, a props master on the set of the show. Now you'd think one moron-type character would be enough but you'd be wrong. They pushed that a little too far. I didn't mind Cubby too much since he actually had some worth but Booker was just a bumbling fool. Also on the set, you had Riley Grant, who looked like she was thirty, and co-starred with Jett on Silverstone along with Nigel who played Artemus. The Silverstone segments fit well into what was happening off set too. I remember one episode where the director wanted them to start using guns to heighten the action but Jett didn't want to. That was a good episode.

Sure the theme song sounded like a rip-off of Eric Clapton's "Change the World" but it was a pretty good show that didn't lose it's plot arc. Deals with issues and what not but is still fun.

I had no idea this game would be so addictive. Despite being on a small black & white Gameboy screen, the game's content and appeal overcomes all that. There's so much to do in the game that it drives you nuts because you want to do it all. There are 150 kinds of POKeMON (in this Red/Blue version) to be found. They are all unique which makes it easy for anyone to pick a favorite (my personal favorites were Kadabra, Omastar and Raticate). Your goal is to earn all 8 gym badges from the different elemental leaders and beat your rival to becoming a POKeMON Master. Little side quests put you in situations to collect more POKeMON. The more you have, the more flexible you can be in battle. The catchy music is great for Gameboy standards. It changes depending on the town, different places you walk through, your current action and when you're in battle. I thought it was cool they incorporated all the game themes into the cartoon. Sometimes the battles could get tedious as there are always many competing trainers on the way from place to place. It was a great way to build experience but in certain spots they were just overwhelmingly annoying. I haven't played any of the sequels but I've seen some of the new character designs on the more recent versions of the cartoons. I don't like them as much as the old POKeMON. It just seems like they're trying too hard.

Overall, POKeMON is a great game and I dare you not to get addicted.

The Good: Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Garrett (who was also the housekeeper on Diff'rent Strokes). She was kooky and goofy but she was sweet and there was something warm about her. She ran the boarding school, took good care of them, and was always there to talk to them. Even when they got in trouble, she'd punish them but still be understanding. They were all different characters you could relate to probably because they were realistic. I remember the opening the most: Mrs. Garrett holding a broom and the girls teaming up on her, the paint throwing scene, Tootie with her huge braces and Blair with her hair dryer. Jo rode a motorcycle and had that NY accent and she'd always give Blair a hard time. Natalie had that hat with the lightning bolts and Tootie had mushroom hair.

The Bad: When they changed the theme by putting that stupid rock guitar in it which was cheesy and annoying. Unfortunately in later seasons the show's appeal began to decay. I forget what happened exactly but eventually Mrs. Garrett had that shop in the later episodes and then George Clooney was hanging around with excessively long hair. And then Mrs. Garrett wasn't on the show anymore and Cloris Leachman stepped in as her sister. She just didn't do it for me. Maybe because Mrs. Garrett was there for so long, or maybe because she had those little clips in the opening of season one.

Take them both and there you have: a good first season, bad following seasons and the cheesiest ending to a comments post ever. And of course, the Facts of Life.