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06/30/2007: Summer Megaparty: Pokemon, and bad Doritos!

I live to be shocking, so here’s a new article, exploring, recapping and reviewing the very first episode of the Pokémon cartoon series. Special care was taken to put that little squiggly line above the “e” over 200 times in this article, and I hope you appreciate that. The genesis of this one is that I got the first season on DVD and can’t believe how well the series still holds up. It’s written more or less for people who know nothing about Pokémon, so my apologies to anyone who really didn’t need an explanation of what a Pokéball was. But you know what? You’ll live.


Seems like as good a time as any to get this out of the way. I know it’s old news by now, but it just didn’t feel right to not archive the Doritos X-13D Flavor Experiment chips on the site. Basically, it’s a wonderful promotion of an unnamed “mystery flavor,” in which junk food lovers are supposed to suggest names for a chip that was clearly based on a cheeseburger.

It’s pretty unbelievable…they taste just like McDonald’s cheeseburgers. While “beef flavoring” is a listed ingredient, what you’ll really take home from X-13D chips is the strong flavor of pickles, ketchup and mustard. Knowing that, they’re pretty terrible once you take away their fancy clothes. I assume Doritos has no choice but to release the chips with whatever name is decided upon when the promotion ends, but I don’t expect them to last much longer than that. They’re putrid.

Putrid…like a fox. Twenty years from now, when the Internet comes in special edition colors and is capable of cooking steaks for you, upstart nostalgia websites will likely pay tribute to Doritos X-13D chips. These would’ve made an incredible impression as me as a child, but even as an adult, I can appreciate eating from a bag that looks like a leftover prop from Back To The Future Part II. Just wish they didn’t taste like the asshole of a dead bear.


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 134 comments

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Ghosted by dohopoki @ 06/30/2007 6:23 PM EDT


You make it sound so dirty!

Ghosted by Matt @ 06/30/2007 6:27 PM EDT


Yay, Pokemon again! I was so sad a while (few years?) ago when other people around here said they were not interested in Pokemon.
And now, to read the article!

Ghosted by Papa_Taz @ 06/30/2007 6:33 PM EDT


Guess I gota find these things and try them before people realize how bad the ytaste and they go away…

Looking forward to the Poke’ article….

Ghosted by Shuanfu @ 06/30/2007 6:45 PM EDT


New Article! It’s just like old times!

Speaking of which…

http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

Good stuff to read old X-E articles and see what it used to look like. Wow it’s changed…

Ghosted by Cotter @ 06/30/2007 6:45 PM EDT


Each species has its own set of strength and weaknesses, but they’re irrelevant, because everyone knows that you’re supposed to pick Bulbasaur. Frogs with trees growing out of their backs — like a Wuzzle crossbred with Jesus Christ.

Solid. fucking. gold. I will disagree with you on Misty, if only for my own vanity. I’m forever connected with May over at Shrine and I keep bringing back the avatar, though not the sig. I think it’s time I just resigned myself to the fact that I will always be thought of as an over-developed 10yr old girl :P

Pikachu fries her bike and she’s all like “the truth is I don’t even like Pokemon” and “which bag?” when there’s only one bag in front of her. Then Mudkip douses her instead of her target. Now THAT is a great first episode.

Ghosted by K- @ 06/30/2007 6:46 PM EDT


My favorite pokemon is still Meowth, Team Rocket flavor. Even if he was on the good guys’ side, he’d still be a smart-ass.

Awesome note to anyone near my side of Oklahoma, the local movie theater is going to show TransFormers Monday night at 8:00. I will do my best to go then, and take my nephew, who’s birthday is on the 4th. Nice way to celebrate turning 12 years. I hope we can get there early enough to snag good seats, its guaranteed to be crowded.

Ghosted by kingklash @ 06/30/2007 6:50 PM EDT


The only flavor of Doritos I can eat is the original. I highly doubt I would buy “cheeseburger-flavored” Doritos no matter what they called it.
BTW, I just saw the funniest thing. My brother went to some yard sale today and picked up an old souvenir program for “Star trek: The Motion Picture”. The last page of the program carried an ad for OMNI magazine (is that even still around?) which made a quick mention of a (then) future issue that would highlight some behind-the-scenes stuff on The Empire Strikes Back. The funny thing was, and I had never seen this before, was that the ad referred to the movie as “Star Wars II”.

Ghosted by Thomas @ 06/30/2007 6:53 PM EDT


I got my Pokemon Indigo League Season One (part one…those bastards) on Christmas morning. I had succeeded in watching every episode (9 hours worth) by the time we cut the Christmas ham. Then I felt kinda bad and kinda awesome about myself. So what did I do to find the balance between the two? Started watching the Pee Wees Playhouse season 2 boxset that I got. The only qualm I’ve ever had about the Pokemon series is the new Team Rocket: Butch & Cassidy. They suck. Their “remixed” Rocket theme sucks. Their voices suck. They’re not Jesse & James. I hate hate hate them.

Ghosted by Brian @ 06/30/2007 6:57 PM EDT


We never see what happens to the Spearows following this, but I’m taking that to mean that they’re all dead.

If I remember correctly, that initial Spearow evolved into a Fearow and gave Ash and Pikachu shit on an episode where they returned home.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 06/30/2007 7:02 PM EDT


Those Doritos are so bad. My husband and I bought a bag maybe a month ago and as soon as I put it in my mouth I knew it was a McDonald’s cheeseburger. It’s that distinct onion/pickle/ketchup thing, and it’s gross.
All that to say I feel quite validated by your review. We couldn’t even finish the bag.

Ghosted by Jessica Marie @ 06/30/2007 7:03 PM EDT


But what of the other Spearows? Tell me they live!

Ghosted by Matt @ 06/30/2007 7:03 PM EDT


Those chips are better than anti lock breaks!

Ghosted by Scorpion @ 06/30/2007 7:10 PM EDT


I remember when the local UPN affiliate started showing Pokemon back when I was in high school. Immediately hooked. But, like Matt, I gave up on Pokemon once they got past the original 151. I have been really tempted to pick up a copy of either Diamond or Pearl for the DS, though. Then I can get that Pokedex guide that goes with and learn all about the other 300+ that have come along since.

Because, y’know, I have no life.

Ghosted by Brian @ 06/30/2007 7:11 PM EDT


I’ve seen these in stores a few times and have been tempted to grab a bag solely based on my exposure to them from this site. I’ve defeated the urge however and am still currently an X-13D virgin. Call me crazy, but a tortilla chip modeled after a McDonald’s cheeseburger sounds pretty disgusting. I suppose that could be half of the charm, but the looming threat of that aftertaste in my mouth cancels out any potential future glory of remembering, “hey, I remember eating those chips – I vomited!”

I picked up a few DVDs at Best Buy today. Black Snake Moan, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, and Imprint (this is a Masters of Horror short film by Takashi Miike that was banned! from cable – exciting, I know!).

Anyone seen any of these yet? Did I just throw away a few bucks? Oh well, wouldn’t be the first time. Something tells me I should crack open that bottle of whiskey over in the cupboard if I truly want to enjoy these films.

Ahh, who am I kidding? I opened it twenty minutes ago.

Ghosted by Magic Toe @ 06/30/2007 7:14 PM EDT


I gotta disagree on the cheeseburger Doritos. I like them quite a bit. Still prefer Salsa and Taco, but they’re better than those crappy Buffallo Wings one they had a while back. I want to see them attempt pizza soon. Yes, they’re are/have been other pizza flavored chips before, but those sucked. Doritos would do it right.

Pokemon was pretty good for the first couple seasons, but when they kept interchanging Brock and Misty for those other ones, I lost interest quickly. Heck, they’re were even a couple that made me tear up slightly.

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 06/30/2007 7:19 PM EDT


A new article!! WZWEOHOWEJI!!! I must celebrate…with Johnny Depp! Well, I was going anyway, but I’ll pretend it’s an X-E celebration just for you, Matt. I can’t freaking wait until Halloween season – scary movies, costumes, Halloweeny kitsch, etc. etc. are some of my favourite things! If I get this excited about a Pokemon article (I’m not a huge fan of the show, though I watched it occasionally when I was younger), I can only imagine what I’ll be like in October. Rabid, most likely.

Ghosted by Frakkyfire @ 06/30/2007 7:19 PM EDT


I still haven’t played Diamond or Pearl, I really wish I had it now. Sadly, I just don’t have that kind of money, the kind that can buy things.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 06/30/2007 7:20 PM EDT


I’m with you, Matt. At first I was insulted by the whole premise of the X-13D experiment. You want me to BUY a bag of chips that aren’t even NAMED, just so you can try out some crappy flavor on my unwitting tastebuds? Then I was intrigued by the chance to name them and be a part of history. One chip was all it took — so obviously a cheeseburger flavor — and the rest of the bag sat in the kitchen until I threw it away a few days ago. Bleggh.

Ghosted by Shelby @ 06/30/2007 7:21 PM EDT


By the way, if you have a year and a half to kill while it loads, you should check out doritos.com They’ve done a heckuva job with the animations there.

Ghosted by Shelby @ 06/30/2007 7:23 PM EDT


I told ya they tasted like burgers!

Ghosted by phunqsauce @ 06/30/2007 7:26 PM EDT


Like Matt, I got into Pokemon because my younger brother was into it at the time. My parents still didn’t have cable in 1997, so I ended up taping many early episodes for him at college and got hooked. (I wonder if Mom still has those tapes?) I have fond memories of taking him to see the first two movies, and I still have all the Pokemon toys I bought in college (including the collectable mini-Pokemon my ex-boyfriend gave me as a college graduation present).

Also like Matt and many of you, I lost interest when the show went past the initial 151 and I got out of college and no longer had daily access to new episodes. I might end up looking for the Indigo League DVD set myself; some of my favorite times with my brother involved playing “Pokemon” videos or the actual card game or playing with his tons of Pokemon toys.

I’ve been wondering just what was up with those Doritos and why the packaging looks like a reject from a bad mad scientist movie. I’ve sold them for a couple of weeks now at the grocery store where I work. I don’t like Doritos at all and I’m on a diet, so I won’t be trying them any time soon, and from what Matt says, it’s just as well.

Ghosted by starwenn @ 06/30/2007 7:32 PM EDT


I never watched that show past when Ash’s asshole Charizard wouldn’t fight at the tournament.
Did he ever get down with Misty?

Ghosted by Somethin' Funny @ 06/30/2007 7:35 PM EDT


Did he ever get down with Misty?
Yes.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 06/30/2007 7:37 PM EDT


Those “MYSTERY CHIPS” are horrible. Now I have never tasted ass, but I pretty sure it taste just like those chips. So if you tasted ass, X-13D is for you. Pokemon is so 1999. I have moved on to porn, and buddy that never gets old. Know is have the battle.

Ghosted by Mufu @ 06/30/2007 7:42 PM EDT


aw mang i havent tried those new chips but now i want to.

Ghosted by Eddie Lightning Frog @ 06/30/2007 7:42 PM EDT


That last line should be Knowing is half the battle. I’m a little drunk…at the moment.

Ghosted by Mufu @ 06/30/2007 7:44 PM EDT


Wow! A new review. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one on X-E.

Personally, I think your review are some of your best articles. I’d like to see you do more of them, but I suppose they’re a lot of work.

I’ve begun to enjoy some anami, mostly Cowboy Bebop and Full Metal Alchemist. But I’m never been much into Pokemon. After reading the article I may pick up the first season of Pokemon and check it out.

Ghosted by Doug @ 06/30/2007 7:44 PM EDT


Okay, now to comment on the article itself. Perfect review :) I always love the X-E take on stuff, and this was no exception at all; I think my favourite was the ‘motherfucking pimp’ line. I do hope that there are more reviews of later episodes, as it seems to be more interesting than I remember. Or maybe I just like Matt’s comments on it.

On a strange note, did anyone else think that the font Matt used (the futuristic one) looked like the language of the Visitors in V: the Miniseries?

Ghosted by Frakkyfire @ 06/30/2007 7:47 PM EDT


The font is actually a knockoff on the font Disney uses for Space Mountain. ;) But yes, it does look rather V-ish as well.

Ghosted by Matt @ 06/30/2007 7:58 PM EDT


Thanks everybody for leaking the secret of these Doritos, because they sound horrible. I eat my burgers plain anyway, so the condiment combination is totally grossing me out. I don’t want to think about hamburgers when I’m eating Doritos.

Ghosted by Rainbowfeet @ 06/30/2007 8:13 PM EDT


It’s not a male Nidoran, it’s a Nidorino.

*runs*

Ghosted by Person @ 06/30/2007 8:15 PM EDT


It says Nidorino in the article! It always has!

Okay it didn’t, I goofed. I apologize.

Ghosted by Matt @ 06/30/2007 8:17 PM EDT


Your male Nidorino is showing. :O

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 06/30/2007 8:23 PM EDT


Man, reading a Pokemon article written by Matt is almost nostalgic in itself cuz I can remember doing the same thing when I was seriously back in high school.

Heh, I remember going to Otakon ‘97 and seeing all these horrible little yellow rats all over the place and wondering what the flying fuck they were. It wasn’t until shortly before the Pokemon beanies were released at KFC that I caught onto the craze, which was right around fall ‘98 I think. My first boyfriend and I each had a Pocket Pikachu and we’d sit around tapping the fuckers all day and only set them down so we could make out on the couch while his parents were gone.

Ghosted by Mystie @ 06/30/2007 8:33 PM EDT


I’ve never been sedused be Pokemon but I am glad that Matt has taken the time to educate me. Now I can finally hang out with Pokemon fans. I don’t know any but I’m looking.

Matt, are you still rockin’ the Pokemon inspired tattoo or did you add to it to make an X-E collage? I have a Led Zeppelin tattoo that was John Paul Jones symbol. It was cool until that assclown Riverdance came out with that exact symbol. :(

Ghosted by Bill @ 06/30/2007 8:38 PM EDT


Hey Matt, where did you find those sprites for the Pokemon article banner? Some of them are from Pokemon Green (which was revamped for America as Pokemon Blue, but you probably new that), but colored as if from a GBA game. Whatever sprite sheet you pulled that from, I want it too. =D

Ghosted by RageTreb @ 06/30/2007 8:38 PM EDT


Just Googled my way into them, so I honestly have no idea. :) They didn’t come from one sheet, though.

Ghosted by Matt @ 06/30/2007 8:43 PM EDT


Also, as you may have guessed, this thread doubles as the SNT. :)

Ain’t shit going on tonight. I need the perfect movie and the perfect cup of coffee.

Ghosted by Matt @ 06/30/2007 8:58 PM EDT


Go see 1408. Best horror movie I have seen in the theatre since….I don’t know. I am so used to being let down. This was great! A+

Ghosted by Bill @ 06/30/2007 9:07 PM EDT


Awwww man, I wish I had some money to go see Transformers on Monday. Even if I did, I wouldn’t go without my man, though…

Anyway, I didn’t realize there were so many Oklahomans here. I hardly ever see other Oklahomans on the web.

Ghosted by Annette @ 06/30/2007 9:12 PM EDT


I don’t know anything about POKEMON (still a good elementary overview article though)nor have I tried the chips (Mrs. Manimal HATES Doritos) so I guess I am out of action tonight. :(

Ghosted by The Manimal @ 06/30/2007 9:18 PM EDT


Hmm… when I ate the chips I did not taste McDonald’s cheeseburger, but Zapp’s Spicy Creole Tomato Tabasco chips. Now, I don’t know if those chips are available anywhere outside of Louisiana, but they taste exactly like the Doritos. And even though I didn’t like either brand, I was still compelled to eat the entire bag. Something about them…

And Matt, thanks for taking me back to when I was 9 years old and obsessed with Pokemon. I love this site to death, so it’s nice when my born-in-1989 self can join in on the nostalgia.

Ghosted by Nikki @ 06/30/2007 9:21 PM EDT


I was hooked to Pokemon after seeing the episode where Metapod turns into Butterfree. I loved cute little Butterfree and they way he said his name. Buta FRREEEEE!!

Now here I am, 25 years old and I have been playing the crap out of Pokemon Diamond. Today I purchased Pokemon Stadium for Wii. You cannot imagine my glee to see my bad ass Blastoise in it’s full 3d Wii glory The best part is that I get to actually battle other people in the world through the Wii’s internet.

Ghosted by Empare @ 06/30/2007 9:25 PM EDT


Those Doritos were pretty awful. The kind of awful that you must keep shoving them into your face cause the taste of so peculiar. I have never had knowledge in Pokemon, and still do not. But the article did clear up a bit.
I totally posted yesterday during blog hiatus, but it didn’t show. I am still counting it. Glad it’s all back up and running ;)

Ghosted by kb @ 06/30/2007 9:58 PM EDT


OK, update to my first post. I just finished watching Black Snake Moan and it was unexpectedly one of the better movies I’ve seen it quite some time.

I know the recommendation of a stranger on the internet is basically worthless, so I expect most probably won’t see this because I liked it. However, I hope if you were thinking of seeing it before, this positive take will maybe be what pushes you over the edge.

Very good movie. There was a lot more to it than I expected. I suppose it was perfect that I popped it in to the DVD player with very little background information on the movie. I had seen the television commercials a few months ago and that was it.

They marketed it as an exploitation movie… and it is somewhat that… but much more.

Sorry for rambling. I just really enjoyed it.

Ghosted by Magic Toe @ 06/30/2007 10:08 PM EDT


I never got into, or understood, Pokémon and the surrounding craze. It could be that I was in college at the time and more interested in getting drunk than playing RPG’s. Unless, of course, it’s Harry Potter related. I find myself wasting hours doing silly tasks on the Harry Potter games.

JLAJRC: I was actually quite fond of Pizzaria’s. My mother and I were devestated when Keebler stopped producing them. I know they were picked up by another company, but apparently we don’t get them in Kentucky.

Ghosted by iAMYou @ 06/30/2007 10:25 PM EDT


I used to absoutely LOVE Pokemons… Then a friend of mine borrowed the cartridge and beat the game several times, kept it for over a month, lost a box with irreplacable pokemons in it with GameSharking… Needless to say he didn’t get hold of my Pokemon Gold cartridge. Though I never actually beat that game… The depth was overwhelming.

Ghosted by DocDragon @ 06/30/2007 10:29 PM EDT


I back Bill up on the 1408 suggestion…that movie rocked.

I also saw the new Die Hard. Have you seen Terminator 3? It’s a sequel like that: it tries to be like the last one, but just can’t quite get up to it’s levels…and you leave the movie thinking “did they really need to make that movie?” Don’t get me wrong, as it was enjoyable. But like Terminator 3 was enjoyable.

To prep for seeing Transformers on Tuesday we watched the original movie last night. I was surprised that I wasn’t the only one quoting the thing almost word for word ;) ; so much fun!

I was supposed to go to a bonfire (or barn fire…heh, old joke) tonight but decided to stay home; quilt of leaving the new kitty got the best of me I guess….

Hopefully, the SNT will be lively later tonight…

Oh and on the Pokemon front: a friend -who sometimes visits the site- makes the claim that Mewtwo could totally kick Optimus Prime’s ass. Any thoughts on the subject?

Ghosted by Shuanfu @ 06/30/2007 10:34 PM EDT


Here’s something that fits into this site that can get you in the summer vacation retro mood:

Tiny Toon Adventures, how I spent my summer vacation part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYWX6ztisKY

I am trying to avoid eating junk food so I’ll probably never eat the doritos which is kinda bad. I am totally curious. I also can’t afford 88 cents for a “big bag” or a lot more for the bigger bag. That’s mostly the reason.

Happy SNT everybody!!

oh yeah Nikki Welcome aboard, I have a cousin named Nikki her b-day is in ‘88 so that’s cool, her birthday is August 31st so it’s coming up. I remember her b-day the most because if she was born a day later she would of had to wait another year to go to kindergarten. It was wild.

Ghosted by Goob @ 06/30/2007 11:01 PM EDT


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