Friday, June 21, 2019

Mary Worth 3145

Our parallel emotional histories consist of sunsets and seafood.

Mary and Jeff's failed attempt to replicate human language reminds me of several similar extraterrestrial efforts. The first is Nathan W. Pyle's brilliant strip, Strange Planet:

And of course, the dolphins circling the boat, hoping Mary and Jeff will perish, hearkens directly back to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

26 comments:

fauxprof said...

Ah, thank you, Wanders. Although nothing could live up to the books, I really enjoyed the film adaptation (dear Alan Rickman voicing Marvin the Paranoid Android!)

My first thought this morning was also with the dolphins. “Can you believe these two?” “Yeah, who talks like that?”

Nance said...

Today's Boldface Haiku is titled

"Beatnik Coffeehouse Kit: Add Snapping Fingers".

Music...traveled.
Ah, do common ground!
Heartbreak betrayal.
Together parallel.

KitKat said...

Thanks for the “Hitchhiker’s” trailer, Wanders (and, like @fauxprof, I miss Alan Rickman). Sea World-type shows have always disturbed me - how demeaning.

The KM Universal Translator is collapsing. How else to account for this miserable dialogue? And what “heartbreak and betrayal” for Wilbur is Mary referencing? Did he spill the beans about L’Affair Fabiana, or does she mean Iris finally wising up and dumping him? The latter sure doesn’t constitute betrayal. At any rate, it’s past time for Mary and Jeff to be lost at sea.

Regina Wolfe-Parks said...

Thank you Wanders for pointing out the crazy, stilted dialogue of today's strip. I read it and said to myself this morning: "Who the heck (a stronger word than heck) talks like this? (Maybe Androids.)

I'm trying to think of what "betrayal and heartbreak" these two morons experienced. Did Wilbur finally fess up about Fabiana off strip? Iris didn't betray him, they had broken up. Okay, maybe Estelle was betrayed, but only by her blatant stupidity for falling in love with a picture of a "beautiful man" and some cornball poetry from a slimy not even good grifter.

I also thought "what's up with the dolphins?" I wish one would jump into that teeny boat and attack these two androids.

@Nance a great one as usual! Speaking of coffeehouses, it made me think of the Beavis and Butthead episode where they wander into a beatnik coffeehouse and beavis starts drinking espresso and become the "Great Cornholio" and starts talking caffeine induced nonsense (much like Mary and Jeff) and the people there think it's the most profound stuff they've ever heard. I was going to post t, but it's NOT very family friendly.

Chester the Dog said...

I am sure they have lost their reservation at the Bum Boat by now. Do they just go around in circles, blathering on about things they know so little about?

I am more interested in Libby's latest hairball.

Anonymous said...


"Nothing brings people together better than parallel emotional histories." Huh???

Nothing? Not physical attraction, not personality attraction, not delightful senses of humor, not good-naturedness, not shared family goals, not similar interests, not anything else?

STOP THE BANALITY!

BTW, Dr. Pompous should actually envy Wilbur, who's going to get a lot more action that Jeff ever will.

-- Scottie McW.

mr_darcy said...

Mary and Jeff would rather gossip than watch the dolphins. The first step is admitting you have a problem.

MDMaryTed said...

So if nothing brings people together better than parallel emotional histories, why is Mary with Jeff? They both like to gossip? Neither has emotions?

Peggy Olson said...

Regarding Mary and Jeff's current conversation, I quote Marvin from Hitchhiker's Guide: "I think you ought to know I'm feeling very depressed."

Thanks for the dolphin song, Wanders. I'll sing it all weekend.

Carlye said...

@fauxprof, If you can get a copy of the BBC TV series of Hitchhiker's Guide, do so. It was so superior to the movie.

Anonymous said...

Okay, since Dr. Jeff said that he'd like to meet Estelle, he's apparently curious to know what kind of woman would find Wilbur attractive. So one can only assume that Dr. Compassion thinks fat and bald is a show stopper. Well, how about your little girlie, pug nose, Jeff? Maybe you can get one of your plastic surgeon friends to fix that?

fauxprof said...

@Carlye, indeed, yes! I loved the BBC serialization. I saw it when it first aired on PBS. The movie wasn’t as clever, though it had slicker special effects, and, of course, the voice of Alan Rickman. But the books will always be best of all, and I get something more out of each re-read.

Anonymous said...


SATURDAY

"What matters is that we're together . . . here and now. Now kindly remove your arm and hand from my person. I'm not some floozy, Jeff. Let's not spoil it."

-- S. McW.

Christine Lehman said...

I thought the same thing about the BBC version of "Hitchhikers" vs. the movie, but yesterday (even before I saw this post!) I watched the movie again and actually liked it a lot better. Maybe it's best to watch these things long after the hype has died down, so you can see them more objectively.

Anyway, enjoyed hearing the dolphin song again! Maybe Wilbur and Estelle can sing it at the next Charterstone pool party!

KitKat said...

Why is Jeff asking Mary if she would pick him on an online dating site “if you were single”? She IS single. Or did these crazy kids do something secret but legal after one of their Bum Boat dinners?

mr_darcy said...

Dr Jeff thinks Mary isn't single, that the peck on the cheek last time put his brand on her. Maybe after dinner they can rent an online video of an old Ken Kensington play.

meg said...

Dr. Jeff seems to have the Eye of Horus tattooed on his upper chest.
It’s upside down, so perhaps he did it himself, looking in the mirror.

Vince said...

Well, it's Monday, and things are still moving along. Imagine being in a restaurant like the Bum Boat and overhearing a conversation like Mary and Jeff's.

Vince said...

Also, I wonder what kinds of adventurous items can be found on the BB's menu.

Regina Wolfe-Parks said...

Monday: OMG re we STILL talking about Wilbur and Estelle?? KM we get it. These two losers are dating. There is no need to keep yammering about them for two weeks. Besides, how does Mary know they're actually dating? She saw them in the restaurant and assumed that this is her new "not so beautiful man". She never bothered to find out all the (not so juicy) details.

I want to know what food is so "adventurous" that Jeff didn't eat before he met Mary. Was it Salmon Squares? Kelk pudding? Falafel with Tahini sauce?

"People become stagnant unless they're willing to explore"-talking about yourself, Jeff?

KitKat said...

Holy moly, a joint victory lap, which I fear is going to last the entire week. Jeff is as gossipy as Toby.

If these two are so "adventurous," why don't they try a different restaurant? I suppose drinking beer directly out of the bottle is as adventurous as Jeff gets. Say, this would be an opportune time for Mary to describe her "adventure" with that character Ted Miller to Jeff.

Anonymous said...


Oh good, we're still flogging the new romance. I want to see where this goes. I want to see Wilbur parade his new girlfriend in front of Iris while wearing a smirk and thinking, "I can be a boy toy too!" And I definitely want to see the looming Giant Cheeseburger again.

Looks like Mary is enjoying some of the Bum Boat's famous beef wine.

And OMG, Dr. Cory is pounding a brewski straight from the bottle like a regular person, and Mary hasn't insisted that he use a glass! I don't even know these people anymore.

-- S. McW.

LouiseF said...

I predict a Wilbur/Estelle sighting within the next few days. That big picture window ought to (barely)hold the image of Wilbur striding by, maybe even kissing Estelle at the railing of the BB so that Mary can FINALLY be certain of her assumption that they are dating. She and Jeff are in desperate need of new conversational material.

Yahoonski said...

"As different as Wilbur and Estelle are, they may be ready for something new now that they're dating." No matter how many times I read that, it still makes no sense.

Peggy Olson said...

Holy Moly! I looked up "stagnant" in my Funk and Wagnall,and it showed today's image of M&J slugging back booze at the Bum Boat.

Today's comments are hilarious. Thanks, everyone!

mr_darcy said...

Jeff's line about becoming stagnant is a prelude to a proposal. Can't wait for Mary to cut him off at the knees.

I hope I'm not as mean to real people as I am to Worthiverse people.