Tom or Jerry? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

GARFIELDKOOL · 02-02-2005, 03:28 PM

I might be in the minority, but I hated Jerry! He was a pesky trouble maker.
Why was Tom the bad guy? Why did a mouse and a dog gang up on a cat? Tom rules! Jerry can go to hell!

tanquant · 02-03-2005, 02:50 PM

I agree 100%. Most of the time Tom would be minding his own business and Jerry would be the troublemaker.

GARFIELDKOOL · 02-03-2005, 03:10 PM

I'm glad I'm not the only one noticed that.

W.J. Griffin · 02-05-2005, 12:13 AM

I don't know what cartoons YOu guys were watching, but Tom was ALWAYS intended to be the heavy in these shorts. Jerry hardly ever instigated the battles between he and Tom, but Jerry was usually the victor in these escapades (I say "usually'' because the "Tom and Jerry" series, unlike most of the cat-and-mouse chase cartoons that followed {or, for that matter, preceeded}, operated on a 'tit-for-tat' theory in which getting the upper hand over one's opponent was more important than out-and-out destruction, or, to put it another way, sometimes Tom won the battles, too! {this only applies to the MGM 1940-1957 theatrical shorts; everything made after that pretty much sucks!})

dandelion wine · 02-05-2005, 12:28 AM

Awww I always liked Jerry. He could be a little sneak but it seemed to me that Tom was the nastier one. Especially in one story where Jerry was outside freezing his ass off and Tom wouldn't let him in.

It's been years since I saw it, but it creeped me out. Anyway, I'd say that Tom was more of a bad guy than Jerry. Just my opinion.

GARFIELDKOOL · 02-07-2005, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by little insomniac

Awww I always liked Jerry. He could be a little sneak but it seemed to me that Tom was the nastier one. Especially in one story where Jerry was outside freezing his ass off and Tom wouldn't let him in.

It's been years since I saw it, but it creeped me out. Anyway, I'd say that Tom was more of a bad guy than Jerry. Just my opinion.

Jerry deserved it.

tanquant · 02-08-2005, 07:20 PM

[QUOTE=GARFIELDKOOL]Jerry deserved it

Exactly! I didn't dislike Jerry but most of the time Tom would be lying down for a nap and jerry would hit him or pull his whiskers or drink his milk. Even when Tom would be trying to get a girlfriend Jerry would get jelous and sabatoge the evening. Whenever the lady of the house would tell Tom he'd better not be doing something and Jerry would hear them he would make sure that Tom would get in trouble and start a fight or put his tail into the waffle maker. I do admit that Tom did have some mean comebacks. Like holding a gun on Jerry or trying to chop him with an ax.

GARFIELDKOOL · 02-09-2005, 11:37 AM

Let me just say this too. When Spike the dog frequently told Tom that his son had better be clean and other things, Jerry would sabotoge Tom and had Spike thinking he did it. Example, Tom had Jerry underneath som basket, nailing the opening to keep Jerry in. Jerry somehow escaped from the other side, and put Tyke the puppy in there. Spike came home asked Tom where was his boy, Tom didn't know, Spike said if he's underneath the basket, he was going to tear him apart. Tom was confidantly about to reveal that was Jerry underneath until Jerry acknowledged his presence from the fence. That made Tom nervous and reluctantly moved the basket until Spike did himself and little Tyke was under there like he didn't know what was going on. That is all she wrote, history was made and of course, Tom was the "bad guy" in when the episode ended.

spunkygirl · 02-09-2005, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by little insomniac

Awww I always liked Jerry. He could be a little sneak but it seemed to me that Tom was the nastier one. Especially in one story where Jerry was outside freezing his ass off and Tom wouldn't let him in.

It's been years since I saw it, but it creeped me out. Anyway, I'd say that Tom was more of a bad guy than Jerry. Just my opinion.

I like both, but Tom was the instigator most of the time.

Now if Tom did actually get to be the victor more, people would be calling him a bully for picking on a 'lil ol' mouse

Mr. Television · 02-09-2005, 05:20 PM

I prefered Tom.

dandelion wine · 02-09-2005, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GARFIELDKOOL

Jerry deserved it.

dandelion wine · 02-09-2005, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lola Dane

I like both, but Tom was the instigator most of the time.

Now if Tom did actually get to be the victor more, people would be calling him a bully for picking on a 'lil ol' mouse

That's true.

musicradio77 · 02-10-2005, 01:46 AM

My brother is a Tom & Jerry freak. I remembered the show years ago that I love the cartoons so much and so did my brother. He has the DVD of all the Tom & Jerry cartoons. I know what if I can tell it apart. Tom acts like a villan and Jerry was a kind mouse who like to trick Tom out. I chose both.

W.J. Griffin · 02-19-2005, 04:15 AM

One of the more interesting things about Tom and Jerry is the fact that, unlike most animated car-and-mouse chase series made during the Golden Age of Theatrical Animation, Tom and Jerry had very definite complex personalities, making their series a TRUE situation comedy, in that there was little variance in set-up or characterization from film to film.

Tom, for example, was more than just a "mean ol' tomcat"...he could be quite resourceful in his attempts at catching (or, more accurately, KILLING) Jerry (female mouse decoys, Mouse nightclubs, robot missiles, various applications of hypnosis and metaphysical science, etc...not that these ploys actually worked, mind you), and, far from being the face of true evil, Tom was a sympathetic character, capable of moments of joy, sorrow, romance, even paternal feelings. No big dumb alleycat, he!

Jerry, for his part, HAS to be smarter than the average mouse, if for no other reason than to ensure his continued existence. So if Tom sends out a robot drone missile programmed to destroy mice, it is a simple feat for Jerry to reprogram said drone to "cat", sending Tom to the cat infimiary. (in actuality, few cats are a match for Jerry on a mental level, as few cats are as resilliant or as resourceful as Tom.) Jerry, too, possesses complex human emotions (joy, anger, depression, jealousy, usually in relation to Tom), and, more often than not, instigates the action betwen the two. (and, just as often as not, Jerry gets HIS comuppance as well as Tom does.)

So the Tom and Jerry battles, unlike those waged by Herman and Katnip (a poor man's T&J) or even Tweety and Sylvester (which is based on eating vs not being eaten) work on both an emotional and psychological level (Tom ignores Jerry to impress a female, so Jerry thoroughly humiliates Tom in her eyes, or Tom and his homeboys throw a wild party while the mistress of the house is out, so Jerry sets him up for a beatdown from Mammy when she returns home, or Jerry sets Tom up to recieve a beatdown from Killer/Butch/Spike the bulldog, usually after some mishap involving his son Tyke...you know, come to think of it, Jerry IS a li'l troublemaker!! Is my face red! Oh, well...)

02-02-2005, 03:28 PM	#1
GARFIELDKOOL Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 02, 2004 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 7,204	Tom or Jerry? I might be in the minority, but I hated Jerry! He was a pesky trouble maker. Why was Tom the bad guy? Why did a mouse and a dog gang up on a cat? Tom rules! Jerry can go to hell!

02-05-2005, 12:28 AM	#5
dandelion wine ~ Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 20, 2003 Location: Behind the Couch Posts: 34,964	Awww I always liked Jerry. He could be a little sneak but it seemed to me that Tom was the nastier one. Especially in one story where Jerry was outside freezing his ass off and Tom wouldn't let him in. It's been years since I saw it, but it creeped me out. Anyway, I'd say that Tom was more of a bad guy than Jerry. Just my opinion.
	__________________ Fans of Jon-Erik Hexum Merry Christmas!

02-09-2005, 05:20 PM	#10
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,127	I prefered Tom.
	__________________ Sonny

02-10-2005, 01:46 AM	#13
musicradio77 Disney Expert Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 14, 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 6,475	My brother is a Tom & Jerry freak. I remembered the show years ago that I love the cartoons so much and so did my brother. He has the DVD of all the Tom & Jerry cartoons. I know what if I can tell it apart. Tom acts like a villan and Jerry was a kind mouse who like to trick Tom out. I chose both.
	__________________ Musicradio77 Productions

02-03-2005, 02:50 PM	#2
tanquant Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 13, 2003 Posts: 864	I agree 100%. Most of the time Tom would be minding his own business and Jerry would be the troublemaker.

02-03-2005, 03:10 PM	#3
GARFIELDKOOL Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 02, 2004 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 7,204	I'm glad I'm not the only one noticed that.

02-05-2005, 12:13 AM	#4
W.J. Griffin Member Forum Regular Join Date: Aug 29, 2002 Posts: 527	I don't know what cartoons YOu guys were watching, but Tom was ALWAYS intended to be the heavy in these shorts. Jerry hardly ever instigated the battles between he and Tom, but Jerry was usually the victor in these escapades (I say "usually'' because the "Tom and Jerry" series, unlike most of the cat-and-mouse chase cartoons that followed {or, for that matter, preceeded}, operated on a 'tit-for-tat' theory in which getting the upper hand over one's opponent was more important than out-and-out destruction, or, to put it another way, sometimes Tom won the battles, too! {this only applies to the MGM 1940-1957 theatrical shorts; everything made after that pretty much sucks!})

02-08-2005, 07:20 PM	#7
tanquant Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 13, 2003 Posts: 864	[QUOTE=GARFIELDKOOL]Jerry deserved it Exactly! I didn't dislike Jerry but most of the time Tom would be lying down for a nap and jerry would hit him or pull his whiskers or drink his milk. Even when Tom would be trying to get a girlfriend Jerry would get jelous and sabatoge the evening. Whenever the lady of the house would tell Tom he'd better not be doing something and Jerry would hear them he would make sure that Tom would get in trouble and start a fight or put his tail into the waffle maker. I do admit that Tom did have some mean comebacks. Like holding a gun on Jerry or trying to chop him with an ax.

02-09-2005, 11:37 AM	#8
GARFIELDKOOL Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 02, 2004 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 7,204	Let me just say this too. When Spike the dog frequently told Tom that his son had better be clean and other things, Jerry would sabotoge Tom and had Spike thinking he did it. Example, Tom had Jerry underneath som basket, nailing the opening to keep Jerry in. Jerry somehow escaped from the other side, and put Tyke the puppy in there. Spike came home asked Tom where was his boy, Tom didn't know, Spike said if he's underneath the basket, he was going to tear him apart. Tom was confidantly about to reveal that was Jerry underneath until Jerry acknowledged his presence from the fence. That made Tom nervous and reluctantly moved the basket until Spike did himself and little Tyke was under there like he didn't know what was going on. That is all she wrote, history was made and of course, Tom was the "bad guy" in when the episode ended.

02-19-2005, 04:15 AM	#14
W.J. Griffin Member Forum Regular Join Date: Aug 29, 2002 Posts: 527	One of the more interesting things about Tom and Jerry is the fact that, unlike most animated car-and-mouse chase series made during the Golden Age of Theatrical Animation, Tom and Jerry had very definite complex personalities, making their series a TRUE situation comedy, in that there was little variance in set-up or characterization from film to film. Tom, for example, was more than just a "mean ol' tomcat"...he could be quite resourceful in his attempts at catching (or, more accurately, KILLING) Jerry (female mouse decoys, Mouse nightclubs, robot missiles, various applications of hypnosis and metaphysical science, etc...not that these ploys actually worked, mind you), and, far from being the face of true evil, Tom was a sympathetic character, capable of moments of joy, sorrow, romance, even paternal feelings. No big dumb alleycat, he! Jerry, for his part, HAS to be smarter than the average mouse, if for no other reason than to ensure his continued existence. So if Tom sends out a robot drone missile programmed to destroy mice, it is a simple feat for Jerry to reprogram said drone to "cat", sending Tom to the cat infimiary. (in actuality, few cats are a match for Jerry on a mental level, as few cats are as resilliant or as resourceful as Tom.) Jerry, too, possesses complex human emotions (joy, anger, depression, jealousy, usually in relation to Tom), and, more often than not, instigates the action betwen the two. (and, just as often as not, Jerry gets HIS comuppance as well as Tom does.) So the Tom and Jerry battles, unlike those waged by Herman and Katnip (a poor man's T&J) or even Tweety and Sylvester (which is based on eating vs not being eaten) work on both an emotional and psychological level (Tom ignores Jerry to impress a female, so Jerry thoroughly humiliates Tom in her eyes, or Tom and his homeboys throw a wild party while the mistress of the house is out, so Jerry sets him up for a beatdown from Mammy when she returns home, or Jerry sets Tom up to recieve a beatdown from Killer/Butch/Spike the bulldog, usually after some mishap involving his son Tyke...you know, come to think of it, Jerry IS a li'l troublemaker!! Is my face red! Oh, well...)