HBs Mentioned in Glee Commercial

[hardygirl847]

Glee is a popular television show about a high school glee club, for those of you who haven't seen it.

They are currently promoting helping others through their Members Project.

In this particular ad, they are getting books ready to trade with other schools or organizations.

Anyways,  Artie says something like "I was more of a Hardy Boys fan myself." Kurt then replies, "Hardy boys? Please....what's going on there?" and raises an eyebrow.

I'm not 100% sure that is exactly what was said but it's the main part. I wasn't too happy about what they were implying BUT at least they were mentioned, right?

I was trying to find it online but haven't come across it yet.

[MacGyver]

Well, nice find for a Hardy Boys mention anyway. That's always cool. I was looking at IMDB's page for The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and there're some listings of references made to the show (or The Hardy Boys in general) on there, including one on That '70s Show- which seems pretty fitting.  (Apparently, it involved Kelso discovering that the local public library had all the issues of Playboy [which I assure you no public library would ever carry that]- but Eric goes on a quest for the issue that "Nancy Drew" on the TV show appeared in and states that she was portrayed by Pamela Sue Martin.) There's a few other mentions on there but that was the main show I recognized. (And if anyone wasn't aware, Pamela Sue Martin did in fact appear on the cover of Playboy after leaving the TV show- Harriet Adams wasn't real happy about that. I'm not either- I've only read about this online, as I definitely don't read or approve of the magazine and I don't always like That '70s Show- but some aspects of it can be funny for the 1970s nostalgia when they can keep it clean.)

[tomswift2002]

I've only read about this online, as I definitely don't read or approve of the magazine and I don't always like That '70s Show- but some aspects of it can be funny for the 1970s nostalgia when they can keep it clean.)

Well, the cover of that Playboy magazine made its way into The Mysterious Case of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys from 1997.  But it was only the cover, and nothing else, so at least Pamela Sue Martin was covered int he picture.

[MacGyver]

Yeah- I've seen the cover online somewhere before and thankfully she was well covered there. I've heard some about that book you mentioned and most of it bad. Is it a good reference book for The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew or is it as bad as I've heard?

[tomswift2002]

Its pretty bad.  Back in 08 or 09 Simon & Schuster released an "updated" book, that only had a few extra pages of stuff, from what I've heard, talking about the end of the The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories and Nancy Drew Mystery Stories and the introduction of the Undercover Brothers and Girl Detective lines, but it was more about the psychology of why the old series ended and the new ones began, not really a great deal of background info.  Plus the book was somewhere around $50 USD.  If you already own the 90's version, then the new version is not really worth it, unless you find it used somewhere for less than $10.

[MacGyver]

Okay- that's pretty much what I'd surmised. I'm not real concerned with tracking this one down- if I happen to run across it somewhere for cheap- cool. But otherwise...nah.

[Olivia]

I like it when they're referenced

Yeah- I've seen the cover online somewhere before and thankfully she was well covered there. I've heard some about that book you mentioned and most of it bad. Is it a good reference book for The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew or is it as bad as I've heard?

It's about ND/HBs role in pop culture, and how and why they've lasted decade to decade (while giving thorough examples of each time period). I found it to be a very good and interesting read if you like that sort of thing. The general conclusion was ND/HBs are still loved because they stay current, they always keep their values, and then there's the adventure/mystery/extraordinary teens aspect. I didn't pay that much for a new copy ($20 at the very most), but it was a while ago.

Like Captain Santa Claus said, though, it's not a background information source. I never thought so, but maybe it's (unfortunately) mis-advertised somewhere.

[MacGyver]

That makes more sense given the title of the book. I'm sure it would be an interesting read but nothing I didn't really already know. It's cool though if it makes the case for why The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew have endured in popularity for well over 80 years now and why they are still worth reading for those who are not familiar with them. I know why I like these books and I would agree- they have managed to stay current but they have also stayed true to their values. This is a key reason why I get upset about seeing any kind of foul language in the newer series of books.

[hardygirl847]

Sadly, the publishers and "powers that be" want to keep more current. I don't see why HBs or anyone NEEDS foul language to be cool or whatever.

What's the worst they have said? I haven't read many UBs.

[Olivia]

I can't recall. One of the more minor ones was something like: "********?" which is not the worst thing, but it stands out nonetheless. I know there were more specific words in a couple of the books.

I think the most recent case was in the Super Mystery #3 Gold Medal Murder, if I have any kind of a memory.

[hardygirl847]

Okay, I'm not saying that phrase is awesome or anything, but I don't know if I would call it swearing. At school, yes it is inappropriate. But in general terms, it's not the end of the world. "What the heck" is  probably better for HB novels though.

[MacGyver]

It is still considered foul language for some (well, for me anyway.) And I would certainly be happier with "What the heck?" though that's still a euphemism anyway. I suppose I'm glad it's nothing worse, but mild or otherwise, I don't want to see any swearing in Hardy Boys books.

[Olivia]

There was one or two specific words that did shock me a bit, and it was either very close to cursing or straight-out cursing. I seem to be remembering a bit more because I think one was the "D" word.

On TV it's nothing, only because we kind of just watch and gloss over it at times, but reading it in one of these books is seriously not good and out of place. I think I actually stopped for a moment 'cause it was a surprise.

[MacGyver]

I think in this case it's who is using that language. If it was one of the bad guys at least, that would be better because then we would at least be associating bad language with the bad guys- but the good guys don't use foul language. Of course, I'd still rather not have even the bad guys swearing because I really don't need to see those words repeated anywhere and I certainly don't want younger kids to be reading them and repeating them. Sadly as a society in general we've let ourselves become rather desensitized to these kinds of words and don't notice it as much on TV and in movies- but they really shouldn't be acceptable there. I'm certainly not the best with this either (i.e. While I don't curse/swear, I do let some words go by in movies and TV too often), but I do try to avoid coarse language and swearing both in my speech and in what I hear overall.
       I really think the Undercover Brothers in general is a sad chapter in the history of The Hardy Boys- no offense to fans of this series. But from all I've read about the series, it makes me less inclined to want to read them... (even though I do have copies of the books...) And this isn't just about swearing in the books- there's also just it seems kinda sloppy writing in general and the overreaching aims at being hip and relevant to kids which to me just comes off as being too much. And I don't care much for the first person style, but that's just a personal preference. But that actually is something different I must say- and probably is a good style for kids because it puts them in the action and makes them able to identify with the characters and feel that they really are experiencing the book. So it can be a good thing. And the ATAC premise is not necessarily a bad motif either- certainly the target audience of young boys eats up that kind of scenario- I know I would've loved it at the age of 12 or so...(and it's really been already in both the originals, the '70s show and the Casefiles to some degree or another...) -Anyway, I will eventually plow into reading some of these, but with all the negative things I've been hearing on them, I'm almost wondering if it will die out sometime soon- but that makes me sad too because if it does it might be the end of The Hardy Boys series altogether.... sigh- who knows?  Maybe I'm being overly crictical and some are better than others- and maybe better writing is yet to come in the series- there's always hope for the future.

[Olivia]

No worries, I think a lot of us kind of think the same thing.