When we first saw B.O. in the Sunday strip April 24th he was wearing his yellow hat. I think he should trade it in for a yellow helmet. (grin) Is it to late to change his name to Assault Plenty?
Kid’s a southpaw. Who knew? At least he doesn’t appear to have scales on his forearm. That’s something positive to think about. That, and fingers, not claws. I see a lot to be thankful for here.
I like the newly activated role Sam has in the story. Up to the change in the strip’s management, Sam had been given the side door, just like Pat Patton. Good going guys!
BO & Gertie, have created a monster or an athlete. (if he goes pro they are one and the same) the little homely (so some say) fella has great physical agility, accuracy & strength like “The Unit” (Randy Johnson a pro pitcher) he is was very homely. Dave Stewart (another pro pitcher) is was tough to look at also. by the way they are good guys just not so cute.
Sent at the request of JIM DOHERTY on the “Yahoo Dick Tracy Board” :
**"**Re Safeway’s comment below:
“Have we done away with the wrist geenee and going retro with the old two way wrist radio/TV???”
He’s forgetting about the two-way wrist computer introduced during “The Moscow Exchange,” in which Tracy switched positions with Moscow Prosecutor’s Investigator Porfiry Ivanov.
In addition to two-way visual communication (and, presumably, three-way audio communication), and being capable of communication on all police radio frequencies, the wrist computer also linked (and this was before the ’Net) to local, state, and federal law enforcement databases, had a built-in Psychological Stress Evaluator (a lie detector that measures voice stress as an indication of deception), and was able to do certain rudimentary forensic chemical analysis (i.e. soil analysis, on-the-spot, detection of narcotics in suspected substances, etc.). And, I imagine, like the earlier iterations, it also told the time.
I’d recommend that the current version (and I think “wrist communicator,” or simply “communicator,” is probably the best way to refer to it), should also be a cell phone with texting capability, as well as a police band radio/TV, and have connections to the ’Net, as well as being capable of picking up regular TV transmissions, both regular broadcast and cable, via satellite. And it should also be capable of all that the iPad and the Kindle are capable of, so that, for example, books and magazine articles can be downloaded into it.
Finally, in addition to real-time video pictures, it should be capable of both video recording and still photography.
I strongly recommend AGAINST its having any weapons capability. Communicators are for communicating. Weapons are for fighting. There should be a clear line of demarcation. I personally thought that making the wrist communicator a taser was silly, and showed the lack of tactical sense the Kilian/Locher team had.
Syd, feel free to reproduce this at GoComics for Safeway’s perusal.
From: Sydney PhillipsDate: 5/20/2011 9:52:51 PMTo: DickTracy@yahoogroups.comSubject: Re: NO WRIST GEENEE ?
Jim, I’d have to think you’re missing Safeway’s point. The “Wrist Geenee” in not simply a 2 Way Wrist TV armed with a Taser. It’s a tad more than that, and with quite a few non-lethal features that are useful for a Detective.. But then that’s understandable, you ceased ‘reading’ the strip after the Bonnie “age change” in 1994 and the Wrist Geenee wasn’t introduced until some 2 and a half years later in 1997 the Nutsy and Roxie case where the latter stole the device off Tracy’s desk. It was an update on Locher’s Wrist – Disc (1992) which had been an improved version of the Collins’ “thing-a-me-jig”, you just described.
Now I can’t tell you I have every daily strip in the Collins era but I am curious to know your source and date of those ‘detailed’ functions reported in your post. (The strips I have from that period don’t provide that depth of info) But even new poster Yugigrrl seemed very impressed by your description. My ‘source documents’ for my listing (below) are from 1997 strips in March, April and May. With the actual hand over beginning by Diet Smith on March 26, 1997.
And then, I’m having difficulty in finding ‘value’ (or a sound rationale) of your point, on the device not having a ‘weapons capability’. I’m not sure you have made one. You just seem to have stated a personal preference. So why then do police officers carry Handcuffs, Guns and Tasers ? Is it because the have a big utility belts ? Could you put some meat on that ‘opinion’ bone (?) so those of us without law enforcement experience can appreciate your special ‘insight’ (?)
I hold no special brief for the Wrist Geenee, (or for Kilian or Locher), but what their device can do should not be trivialized (as if, without actually saying it, it’s implied that Collins dreamed up a more useful product)
Time doesn’t allow me to give a full listing but count in all those items Collins’ gimmick had and then add these . . . :
1) “It can do virtually everYthing, it’s linked to the Global Positioning Satellite Network” – - "It’s called the Wrist Geenee -Diet Smith.
2) It has Radar, Sonar, Chemical and and DNA Analysis
3) It can pick up phone number dialed a block away.
4) It can project images on a wall
5) Do airport style ‘see through’ visual security checks
6) Decode dial up Safe locks
7) By using thermal imaging it can detect body imagery through house walls and on dark nights
8) Taser ability – with a range of about 20 yards
The best argument against the Wrist Geenee is that it’s too powerful . (Locher’s Space Coupe ?) With that awesome level of capability it makes writing a story a nightmare. Peoples location and and other information can be determined quickly, making TMS’s desire for quick turn around cases a reality. All Tracy and his crew will need is a short attention span armed with those capabilities. Perhaps that’s why Locher used only the communications feature in his solo 5 year RUN - and then, only as if it had been a ‘cell-phone’ on his wrist. Time and time again Tracy failed to use it in an ‘emergency’. Readers knew he had IT but he just couldn’t get the darned thing UP ! In fact, no other member of the Major Crime Squad was seen to use it after Collins left (not even Diet Smith) – who for communications became a cell-phone user !
Night-Gaunt49, I remember June of 1969, when California was supposed to fall into the ocean because (pick one) the asteroid Geographos was going to hit us or the San Andreas fault would open up like a zipper. Either way, my brother Matt was disappointed with that one—he had his surfboard ready for the giant wave that was supposed to take us out.
There are so many songs appropriate for this doomsday—Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again” or Billie Holliday’s “I’ll Be Seeing You (in All the Old Familiar Places)” but this may be the right one:
Sydney Phillips, just giving tghe wrist gizmo those reasonable capabilities is going to make it a powerful device. If it can tap into enough information, you could call up floor plans for buildings, then use GPS to display the locations of every gizmo-equipped person in the area.
How capable is its display? The screen can’t be too big, and that would limit how much you can display on it.
About the Wrist GeeNee Shelley informs me that the capabilities of the wrist GeeNee and other devices the MCS use are under constant discussion. Many of the things listed above are not to far fetched, and have been seen in use in the movies. Some of them are more military, but would still be useful for police action. The old movie “Blue Thunder” comes to mind. Anyone remember all the gadgets that police helicopter had? It was on par with “Air Wolf” and close to an Apache attack helicopter. The recent “Batman” movie had Bruce using sonar imaging using cell phones to locate the Joker. We all remember what Foxx thought of that. Another thing to keep in mind is security for the device. Anything that powerful is going to be a target for the bad guys. The Fifth would be going after the Wrist GeeNee instead of “Thors Hammer”. Should The GeeNee and other similar devices be tied in to a Personal Area Network (PAN)? These are sort of like blue-tooth devices that work by body contact. Someplace on or in your body you carry a key that activates all the devices you have on you. It can be a ring, or a patch. This device sends an electrical signal through your body that acts as a key for other devices. They detect the signal and will then operate normally, but if dropped and picked up by someone else cease to function. Certain functions of the Wrist GeeNee should operate that way. About the separation of communication device and weapon. The main reason this may be a good idea is that if someone points their watch at you and yells FREEZE! what are you going to do? Laugh, most likely. Unless the perpetrator realizes that the Wrist GeeNee is a weapon, they will have no reason to fear it. If, on the other hand, the idea is that no-one knows it is a weapon of last resort…. If Tracy gets to many capabilities with his Wrist GeeNee he may be asked to turn in his yellow trench-coat and hat for a black suit and glasses and go work for the MIB.
Does anyone have ideas for the next generation of the Wrist GeeNee? Steal from MegaMind and add a 3-D holographic imager that disguises you. Or how about, the not so original idea of, teleporting yourself a short distance? We could even create a new Tracy character, an AI that resides in the Wrist GeeNee. Would it be called GNE, or maybe KITT? (grin) I know! Smith Artificial Intelligence Nexus Telecommunicator (SAINT)
Tarry Plaguer, I’d go for some kind of tactical display that showed the outline of an area and the location of all police officers in the area. That would help coordinate SWAT actions and surveillances, and possibly avoid friendly-fire incidents.
If you’re going to project images, how about an image of a cop with his gun drawn? You could let him appear in a doorway and draw fire. (It might not even have to be a totally realistic image.)
Vista Bill Raley and Comet™ over 13 years ago
Good morning all…
margueritem over 13 years ago
Crack biscuits, oh the shame of it!
jonahhex1 over 13 years ago
That baby might be ugly but he already has a future in baseball with that arm….flinging that iron at B.O. is no mean feat for a baby.
jumbobrain over 13 years ago
I really, really like Attitude Plenty. Brilliant.
Tarry Plaguer over 13 years ago
Good Morning All! I had to wait till now to say that.
Karl Hiller over 13 years ago
“There’s only one thing wrong with the Plenty baby… It’s ALIVE…!”
Tarry Plaguer over 13 years ago
When we first saw B.O. in the Sunday strip April 24th he was wearing his yellow hat. I think he should trade it in for a yellow helmet. (grin) Is it to late to change his name to Assault Plenty?
Ray_C over 13 years ago
Kid’s a southpaw. Who knew? At least he doesn’t appear to have scales on his forearm. That’s something positive to think about. That, and fingers, not claws. I see a lot to be thankful for here.
Det.DanDone over 13 years ago
That’s gonna hurt in the morning! (or now)
Araldite over 13 years ago
Next week brings us to the point where the story got cut off on the old Staton & Curtis website. Lots of action next week.
Morrow Cummings over 13 years ago
I like the newly activated role Sam has in the story. Up to the change in the strip’s management, Sam had been given the side door, just like Pat Patton. Good going guys!
johnrussco over 13 years ago
BO & Gertie, have created a monster or an athlete. (if he goes pro they are one and the same) the little homely (so some say) fella has great physical agility, accuracy & strength like “The Unit” (Randy Johnson a pro pitcher) he is was very homely. Dave Stewart (another pro pitcher) is was tough to look at also. by the way they are good guys just not so cute.
MikeCurtis Premium Member over 13 years ago
You can’t make Flakey Biscuits without Sam Catchem.
woodworker318 over 13 years ago
No one has said anything about the reaction after they ate the biscuits with the cocaine in them.
dakota_jones over 13 years ago
Longtime readers and comic historians will remember that when Gertie’s time in prison was up she stayed to help break the prison dope ring!
MikeCurtis Premium Member over 13 years ago
SEINFELD was an excellently written series. I especially liked the peripheral characters like Mickey. Now you know one of my writing templates.
sydney over 13 years ago
Sent at the request of JIM DOHERTY on the “Yahoo Dick Tracy Board” :
**"**Re Safeway’s comment below:
“Have we done away with the wrist geenee and going retro with the old two way wrist radio/TV???”
He’s forgetting about the two-way wrist computer introduced during “The Moscow Exchange,” in which Tracy switched positions with Moscow Prosecutor’s Investigator Porfiry Ivanov.
In addition to two-way visual communication (and, presumably, three-way audio communication), and being capable of communication on all police radio frequencies, the wrist computer also linked (and this was before the ’Net) to local, state, and federal law enforcement databases, had a built-in Psychological Stress Evaluator (a lie detector that measures voice stress as an indication of deception), and was able to do certain rudimentary forensic chemical analysis (i.e. soil analysis, on-the-spot, detection of narcotics in suspected substances, etc.). And, I imagine, like the earlier iterations, it also told the time.
I’d recommend that the current version (and I think “wrist communicator,” or simply “communicator,” is probably the best way to refer to it), should also be a cell phone with texting capability, as well as a police band radio/TV, and have connections to the ’Net, as well as being capable of picking up regular TV transmissions, both regular broadcast and cable, via satellite. And it should also be capable of all that the iPad and the Kindle are capable of, so that, for example, books and magazine articles can be downloaded into it.
Finally, in addition to real-time video pictures, it should be capable of both video recording and still photography.
I strongly recommend AGAINST its having any weapons capability. Communicators are for communicating. Weapons are for fighting. There should be a clear line of demarcation. I personally thought that making the wrist communicator a taser was silly, and showed the lack of tactical sense the Kilian/Locher team had.
Syd, feel free to reproduce this at GoComics for Safeway’s perusal.
JIM DOHERTY**"**
sydney over 13 years ago
RESPONSE :
From: Sydney PhillipsDate: 5/20/2011 9:52:51 PMTo: DickTracy@yahoogroups.comSubject: Re: NO WRIST GEENEE ?
Jim, I’d have to think you’re missing Safeway’s point. The “Wrist Geenee” in not simply a 2 Way Wrist TV armed with a Taser. It’s a tad more than that, and with quite a few non-lethal features that are useful for a Detective.. But then that’s understandable, you ceased ‘reading’ the strip after the Bonnie “age change” in 1994 and the Wrist Geenee wasn’t introduced until some 2 and a half years later in 1997 the Nutsy and Roxie case where the latter stole the device off Tracy’s desk. It was an update on Locher’s Wrist – Disc (1992) which had been an improved version of the Collins’ “thing-a-me-jig”, you just described.
Now I can’t tell you I have every daily strip in the Collins era but I am curious to know your source and date of those ‘detailed’ functions reported in your post. (The strips I have from that period don’t provide that depth of info) But even new poster Yugigrrl seemed very impressed by your description. My ‘source documents’ for my listing (below) are from 1997 strips in March, April and May. With the actual hand over beginning by Diet Smith on March 26, 1997.
And then, I’m having difficulty in finding ‘value’ (or a sound rationale) of your point, on the device not having a ‘weapons capability’. I’m not sure you have made one. You just seem to have stated a personal preference. So why then do police officers carry Handcuffs, Guns and Tasers ? Is it because the have a big utility belts ? Could you put some meat on that ‘opinion’ bone (?) so those of us without law enforcement experience can appreciate your special ‘insight’ (?)
I hold no special brief for the Wrist Geenee, (or for Kilian or Locher), but what their device can do should not be trivialized (as if, without actually saying it, it’s implied that Collins dreamed up a more useful product)
Time doesn’t allow me to give a full listing but count in all those items Collins’ gimmick had and then add these . . . :
1) “It can do virtually everYthing, it’s linked to the Global Positioning Satellite Network” – - "It’s called the Wrist Geenee - Diet Smith.
2) It has Radar, Sonar, Chemical and and DNA Analysis
3) It can pick up phone number dialed a block away.
4) It can project images on a wall
5) Do airport style ‘see through’ visual security checks
6) Decode dial up Safe locks
7) By using thermal imaging it can detect body imagery through house walls and on dark nights
8) Taser ability – with a range of about 20 yards
The best argument against the Wrist Geenee is that it’s too powerful . (Locher’s Space Coupe ?) With that awesome level of capability it makes writing a story a nightmare. Peoples location and and other information can be determined quickly, making TMS’s desire for quick turn around cases a reality. All Tracy and his crew will need is a short attention span armed with those capabilities. Perhaps that’s why Locher used only the communications feature in his solo 5 year RUN - and then, only as if it had been a ‘cell-phone’ on his wrist. Time and time again Tracy failed to use it in an ‘emergency’. Readers knew he had IT but he just couldn’t get the darned thing UP ! In fact, no other member of the Major Crime Squad was seen to use it after Collins left (not even Diet Smith) – who for communications became a cell-phone user !
That was retrograde !
SYDNEY in Trinidad
thejensens over 13 years ago
sign that plenty kid up!!!!!
\He’s got a good arm!!!!
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
Night-Gaunt49, I remember June of 1969, when California was supposed to fall into the ocean because (pick one) the asteroid Geographos was going to hit us or the San Andreas fault would open up like a zipper. Either way, my brother Matt was disappointed with that one—he had his surfboard ready for the giant wave that was supposed to take us out.
There are so many songs appropriate for this doomsday—Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again” or Billie Holliday’s “I’ll Be Seeing You (in All the Old Familiar Places)” but this may be the right one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0fxSiC6pOI
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
Sydney Phillips, just giving tghe wrist gizmo those reasonable capabilities is going to make it a powerful device. If it can tap into enough information, you could call up floor plans for buildings, then use GPS to display the locations of every gizmo-equipped person in the area.
How capable is its display? The screen can’t be too big, and that would limit how much you can display on it.
Tarry Plaguer over 13 years ago
About the Wrist GeeNee Shelley informs me that the capabilities of the wrist GeeNee and other devices the MCS use are under constant discussion. Many of the things listed above are not to far fetched, and have been seen in use in the movies. Some of them are more military, but would still be useful for police action. The old movie “Blue Thunder” comes to mind. Anyone remember all the gadgets that police helicopter had? It was on par with “Air Wolf” and close to an Apache attack helicopter. The recent “Batman” movie had Bruce using sonar imaging using cell phones to locate the Joker. We all remember what Foxx thought of that. Another thing to keep in mind is security for the device. Anything that powerful is going to be a target for the bad guys. The Fifth would be going after the Wrist GeeNee instead of “Thors Hammer”. Should The GeeNee and other similar devices be tied in to a Personal Area Network (PAN)? These are sort of like blue-tooth devices that work by body contact. Someplace on or in your body you carry a key that activates all the devices you have on you. It can be a ring, or a patch. This device sends an electrical signal through your body that acts as a key for other devices. They detect the signal and will then operate normally, but if dropped and picked up by someone else cease to function. Certain functions of the Wrist GeeNee should operate that way. About the separation of communication device and weapon. The main reason this may be a good idea is that if someone points their watch at you and yells FREEZE! what are you going to do? Laugh, most likely. Unless the perpetrator realizes that the Wrist GeeNee is a weapon, they will have no reason to fear it. If, on the other hand, the idea is that no-one knows it is a weapon of last resort…. If Tracy gets to many capabilities with his Wrist GeeNee he may be asked to turn in his yellow trench-coat and hat for a black suit and glasses and go work for the MIB.
Tarry Plaguer over 13 years ago
Does anyone have ideas for the next generation of the Wrist GeeNee? Steal from MegaMind and add a 3-D holographic imager that disguises you. Or how about, the not so original idea of, teleporting yourself a short distance? We could even create a new Tracy character, an AI that resides in the Wrist GeeNee. Would it be called GNE, or maybe KITT? (grin) I know! Smith Artificial Intelligence Nexus Telecommunicator (SAINT)
Bill Thompson over 13 years ago
Tarry Plaguer, I’d go for some kind of tactical display that showed the outline of an area and the location of all police officers in the area. That would help coordinate SWAT actions and surveillances, and possibly avoid friendly-fire incidents.
If you’re going to project images, how about an image of a cop with his gun drawn? You could let him appear in a doorway and draw fire. (It might not even have to be a totally realistic image.)