Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for May 23, 2023

And you can’t change the channels outside.

One thing both this world and TV have in common is that there isn’t always a happy ending.

I wonder if the commercial is for that “under-boob”, “in butt-crack” slop they air continuously on TV.

In real life, the writers can’t go on strike. The actors write their own scripts.

There’s an outside? What’s the web address?

He’s young now, when he’s older he’ll be thankful life isn’t like TV.

I guess this means that Dad sprung for a color TV.

That’s what I kinda liked about Last Action Hero, when the characters from the movie get into the real world and realize that smashing a window hurts and that (on a darker note) shooting someone doesn’t immediately bring the cops running.

This reminds me of CSI: Miami, where the colors are super-saturated. Everything is bathed in the golden hue of the setting sun. All the residents of Miami are either gorgeous babes or handsome hunks. And the one detective that makes pithy observations as he puts on his stylish sunglasses.

It’s called the idiot box for a reason, Calvin.

Me, I love the commercials for prescription only drugs with their list of possible side effects that are scarier than the illness the pill is supposed to fix.

Pat personal exchange???

The real bonus of being in the woods: no commercials.

TV shows rarely have people who look like regular folks, they’re always really good looking

Several minutes go by without a murder? I’m not sure that’s true anymore.

Calvin has a point. The Count has noticed how people in the non-TV (television, for clarification) are a lot uglier than those on screen. Except, of course, for The Count and Countess. :). OK. And Taylor Swift.

who is Pat, and what are you exchanging with them ?

If Cal ever saw the truly awful and garishly ugly ad for a once respected and stylish makeup brand that recently appeared in a ‘Spenser’ rerun break, he’d think the car crashes and other mayhem he mentioned were pure comedy.

Okay. I see his point. TV compresses unreality into chunks I can fit into my reality a few minutes at a time. I mean really, time is money. Now a word from our sponser… whatever you want, here.

Certainly people don’t smell as spiffy.

I hope it’s not the one for Lume where the woman gets uncomfortably close to the camera and gestures to the body parts whereon you should apply the stuff.

Speaking of deordant commercials….has anyone seen the Lume commercials? They are the most crass, disgusting, offensive commercials I have ever seen. I can’t believe the censors allow it. It’s on a family channel, to boot!

I like the outside, as long as I am looking at it from the inside.

Sadly, TV now has plenty of ugly people…..especially in the deodorant ads (and the ZocDoc ads).

Hobbes can relate.

I think Calvin prefers the that other matrix full of beautiful avatars and altered realities.

I have routinely noticed that in gathering and crowd scenes the people making up the ‘crowd’ have very little resemblance to the actual crowds one sees in real life. Calvin is right, filmed people / crowds are better looking, and have healthier weights.

Sadly, commercials are usually the best part of the show

Calvin will become one of the people who will buy a television that has “higher resolution than real life”.

Calvin’s world has no color at all, except on Sundays…

It’s not good out there if someone changes them for you.

People can change the channel for you out there. Happens in the news everyday.

Calvin seem to fall for the sugar coated commercials and the daily soaps.

Wish my body had thr healing power of a cartoon character…..and the ability to freeze my age.

If Calvin thinks the image on that old Tube Tv is better than the real thing, I wonder what he’d make of today’s 8K Tv’s with the millions of colors?

Is the deodorant Old Spice, Calvin?