Of course he can dislike Wilt if he likes--that, I don't mind--but it was completely unnecessary to bash him.

He's entitled to his opinion, but this wasn't the right thread to post it.

Sorry, I thought it was just posted. My bad!


Anyway, I like Wilt. A lot. We need a little more of him, but it's good that they haven't gone overboard since the movie.

Okay, I'm going to go out on the proverbial tree limb here and try to bring the discussion back to it's original topic.

I?ve noticed something, pbl?you always seem to hit the nail on the head, especially where Wilt is concerned. Moving right along?

I agree that Wilt has undergone a major change in character. The series has let him evolve fantastically (kudos to Craig, Lauren and team!) from the pilot episode, and it just goes to show that there are two sides of the coin, story, river, whatever: on the one hand, you have sweet, optimistic help friend Wilt, whom we all met in the pilot; then you have the darker, cleverly hidden side of Wilt. This darker side, where his inner demons hung out, was fantastically explored in season four?s ?pre-GWH? period. This time frame in Wilt?s life, as explored by the show, sort of tipped off viewers that, ?Hey, something?s goin? on here.? (Perhaps this is part of what drew so much attention to GWH?)

And you are correct in that Wilt?s season five appearances show that he is recovering, and doing rather nicely. Although there may be the potential added factor of him not telling someone if he?s hit a road block in his recovery?as we?ve seen from Wilt in the past, it?s not like he?s going to say, ?Hey, I have a problem. Can you help me?? Nonetheless, the recovery process is there and occurring.

I wholeheartedly agree that Wilt is the most adult character of the show. Being slightly more mature for my age group (teen years), I appreciate maturity in others, which in turn makes Wilt appeal to me so much (among several other reasons). Wilt makes a wonderful role model?far better than other characters, both cartoon and live-action, on the air today, it seems?and he?s truly a wonderful person, despite having a ?handicap.? What gets me the most is his optimism. He rarely is unhappy, and it?s very, very infectious. (I appreciate this because I can be a serious black rain cloud!)

One of the big reasons I like Wilt is his voice, as well. I tend to like people who?s voice I enjoy listening to (his may explain why I enjoy watching Patrick Stewart so much!), and Wilt is no exception. Both pitch and accent are very calming and pleasant to listen to. (I love the comparison you used here, just so you know).

It does seem like Wilt?s attitude is something of a classic American antique?sadly, it seems like people have stopped lending a helping hand as often. I find amazing amusement in the fact that when I met a new student here at my high school, I extended my hand and he actually knew how to give a good handshake!

But yes, I enjoy Wilt?s character very much. Of course, if you knew me, you knew that already! ;)

P.S. Please forgive my novel length post?I?m avoiding doing my Dreamweaver MX assignment in computer class.

'Bout time I posted in this thread. :P

Wilt is my favorite character in Foster's for a variety of reasons. I love everything about him, his optimism, his huge white smile, his adorable constant apologizing, his maturity in comparison to a lot of the other IFs (I've never been a huge fan of the more childish, chaos-loving characters like Bloo and Cheese), his kindness, his strengths, his faults, everything. He was always the character who intrigued me the most even before I started watching the show. Somehow, I already knew he would be my favorite. And I was right. I think one of the major reasons I like him so much is because he's so nice and considerate of other's feelings, something that seems harder and harder to find in the real world. We need more people like Wilt - I think the world would become a much better place. But anyway, I also like him because of the slight air of mystery that surrounds him. Sure, we now know what happened to his arm and eye, and why he's so scared of letting people down or stepping on their feelings, but we still don't know much about his life with Jordan outside the basketball court, or what happened to him during all those years between the game against Foul Larry and Wilt's arrival at Foster's. I've always had a tendancy to gravitate towards characters that seem to have that element of mysteriousness to them. It makes me want to learn more, y'know?

Sooo yeah. I love the tall red guy, and I love to see him being loved. I just wish he could get more episodes devoted to him. :(

Ever since this morning, I've wondered this about Wilt.

Part of Wilt, as PBL says, is like a Father-Figure. Maybe Jordan was thinking of his father at the time that Wilt was created, so maybe Wilt was partically created as Jordan's own father, and another part is the basketball coach Jordan wanted, and maybe the "helper friend" we came to know.

All that pretty much falls into place with what Nina said herself in the movie-many children have a conscious reason for creating an Imaginary Friend, but also an SUBconscious one. She gave a specific example of her creating Eduardo to protect her from the bullies and gang-bangers in her neighborhood, but while he did do that, he fulfilled many other roles, too, that turned out to be even more important. He was a playmate, a gentle babysitter for her baby brother, and most of all, through his cowardice and childlike nature, he inadvertently taught HER to be brave and stick up for herself, so she could ultimately become a tough, no-nonsense police officer. In Jordan's case, he wanted someone to show him how to become a better basketball player, but his actual NEED went way beyond simply needing someone who could teach him how to play basketball. He also needed someone who could help him develop his own self-confidence and build his own self-esteem, and to teach him to, in Jordan's own words, "become a better PERSON". That would mean teaching him things like manners, respect and humility, among others. Traditionally the task of teaching such things to young boys fell upon the father, or if he was not present, an uncle or other close male relative, so given that Wilt became the primary male role model in Jordan's life at that point, it can be reasonably assumed that Jordan's real father was not present. Either his father was deceased, or in the case of Mac and Terrence, had simply abandoned his family, or perhaps he had a job which required him to be absent from the home most of the time, like active duty military, or in the South Carolina Low Country, a commercial fisherman/shrimper. Whatever the case was, Jordan had a strong subconscious NEED for an adult male mentor/role model, i.e., a father figure, and that's where Wilt came into the picture. So much of Wilt's behavior reflects that of a father, from that slightly-condescending manner in which he tries to explain to Goo why a badger version of Mr. Herriman won't do in "Bus the Two of Us", to his blatantly fatherly "Alpha" stance in "The Bloo Superdude and The Potato Of Power"-now who among you HASN'T ever had a parent, especially your dad, tell you, "BECAUSE I SAID SO" when you asked why you had to do, or couldn't do, something? You don't usually hear that from your peers, just from adults in charge. I believe that IF the writers were to really show more of Wilt in upcoming episodes, and let his character development really progress naturally, he will become even more "parental", as his inhibitions and hang-ups about disappointing others or going against the grain start to vanish, finally. Even though it was seen through Bloo's interpretation in "TBSDTPOP", and we just got a glimpse in "Nightmare On Wilson Way", I think what we saw there was the REAL Wilt, the Wilt that Jordan and his brother and neighborhood would have known "back in the day", before that game with Foul Larry.

pitbulllady

I think that all IFs are created for a purpose, obviously. Nina explained that fantastically in GWH, like pbl said-- there?s a conscious reason for the IF?s creation, but there?s also a subconscious reason-- Nina created a defender, a babysitter and friend, but also someone who helped her become brave: Eduardo. It would almost be like if I created Wilt-- I would have a friend, but also someone who would help me get my lazy butt off the couch or computer watching TV or writing stories and playing a sport.

There?s definitely an undercurrent of complexity and depth when Wilt is involved in any way, and Jordan is not exempt. He created a coach, true; what he got was that and an amazing friend and LIFE coach. I find it extremely hard to believe that someone could grow up with someone like Wilt and not come off a good person. Wilt trained Jordan well, and not just on the court-- what we saw of Jordan in GWH, you could tell he was humble despite his superstardom and he was very warm. It?s very plausible that Jordan?s father was an absentee figure in his life-- it?s rather doubtful that Jordan would have developed such an intense attachment to Wilt if there was a male figure in his life. In any case, I can very strongly see Jordan creating Wilt as a father-role; I would equate this with me creating a strong female IF after my mother died when I was eight.

I wholeheartedly agree that Wilt is very father-like. He?s extremely patient and helpful, which would be like a father trying his son (or daughter) to ride a bike, throw a curveball, etc. I also agree with the ?Because I SAID SO? line as being highly fatherly-- I?ve heard that line very frequently, often from my father or stepmother. (I will occasionally say this to my friends, but not seriously, as Wilt did in ?The Bloo SuperDude??)

I hope very much that in season 6, the writers put Wilt in more episodes than they did in season 5 and really develop his character. Perhaps placing Wilt in some type of leadership position and letting him grow that way? I would immensely love to see Wilt?s fatherly side come more and more into play, and to see him not be so hung up on making others happy before his own. When I described Wilt to my friend Lauren, I told her that Wilt would bend over backwards for you, even if it killed him, or something to that effect. Hopefully, someday, I?ll be able to tell her that he?s gotten to the point where he?s not so? eager-to-please, for lack of a better word.

If the parental side of Wilt is the real Wilt, as you mentioned, pbl, I?d very much like to see the real him developed and explored. (Obviously, I have high hopes for what I hope to see of season six?)

Can I just second the motion that Wilt be included more in S6 for everyone, and have us move on? I'm pretty sure it's what everyone (on this thread, at the very least) wants.

Wilt definitely needs to be more of a presence in Season Six, and not just as background "filler", either. He needs, as you say, to have some more character development, as it is ashame to have such a complex character and simply waste that.

Wilt DID, in Season Five, reach a point a couple of times where it seemed clear that his obsession with pleasing everyone else to the point of not standing up for himself was beginning to wane. He had no qualms about scaring little kids in "Nightmare On Wilson Way", and was quite proud of that accomplishment, actually, and in "Better Off Ed", he not only stood up to Bloo and refused to go along with his paintball scheme, but criticized it outright, most UNapologetically!

pitbulllady

Not quite, PBL. He did say sorry before he criticized it. =P

"I'm sorry, Bloo, but this is the worst idea you've ever had."

Wilt is anything BUT ?filler!? It?s hard to call a bright red IF with one arm, a blind eye and a huge blue 1 on his chest?not to mention as amazing a personality and backstory??filler.? Ah, but I go on! It?s almost like Wilt?s been languishing in a corner somewhere, but he?s waiting for the opportune season six moment to wow us.

Based on what I saw of season 5, Wilt was quite different from his earlier appearances. In ?Nightmare on Wilson Way,? I?d imagine that him scaring the little kids was just for their amusement, maybe a little of his own amusement as a happy byproduct. I haven?t seen ?Better Off Ed,? but it?s great to hear that he?s standing up to Bloo. There?s hope for him yet.

Not that there wasn?t any to begin with.

Well, he could have said that in the context of ?I?m sorry THAT this the worst idea you?ve ever had.? At least that?s how I interpret the statement; not knowing anything about the scene this line is from, I could be horribly wrong.

*I* did not mean that Wilt was "filler", or a background character who just shows up at random moments when you need to have someone, as you say, standing in a corner somewhere, but that is how he's been used this season. He really hasn't been important to any plot, other than "Nightmare On Wilson Way". In many episodes where he has been seen, he has no speaking lines, or only one, and in many others, he's been completely MIA.

His personality definitely reflected a change, though. I didn't get the impression that any of the trick-or-treaters in "Nightmare On Wilson Way" were amused by Wilt's little trick. The older kids were completely unimpressed, and the younger ones ran away screaming in terror, while Wilt stood there with that big manic grin on his face, lol! It was more for HIS amusement than anything else! He was also clearly disappointed when that fake arm trick failed to get a reaction from the first group of trick-or-treaters, and that in itself is a first-for Wilt to openly show disappointment in someone else. Previously, he would have more or less faked it and concealed how he really felt, lest his demeanor bring someone else down, since keeping others happy was his primary, if not ONLY goal. Now, it's like he's finally starting doing things for WILT, once in awhile, and is letting his feelings show at last, instead of bottling them in. It's like he's finally starting to acknowledge that HE counts, too, instead of always putting everyone else first and himself last. We got a glimpse of that in "Room With a Feud", which shocked a lot of people that Wilt would really go all-out to get something, rather than simply giving up what he wanted to someone else, because he thought of them as somehow more deserving that he was. I really enjoyed that episode because of that, and I've really been wanting to see more of that side of him.

pitbulllady

I relistened to "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles, and I began to wonder: Can you see Wilt as a fan of The Beatles? (At least until the Abbey Road album released) I almost certainly could. :D

Nope, sorry. I just can't see Wilt liking the Beatles at all. They are SO not from his era, and just don't fit him. Now I CAN see him being a big fan of classic R&B, Beach and Funk, and groovin' to some Barry White or gettin' down with some Parliament Funkadelic, though! Wilt just doesn't strike me as someone who'd be a big fan of any of the "British Invasion" music, though Coco, on the other hand, would probably really get into "The White Album"...oh, well, hers is a different thread!

pitbulllady

I think "Parliament Funkadelic" suits Wilt better...Sorry to say, but of all things that Barry White's music comes up...Wilt is not one of them for me.

But still; who knows, maybe Funk isn't the ONLY music genre he likes! :D

Oh, I know that you didn?t mean Wilt was filler; I?m just saying that he is not filler as a general statement. Sorry about the confusion there.

Based on what I?ve read about season five, he wasn?t really a part of anything except ?Nightmare on Wilson Way.? But what we did see in ?Nightmare?? was good-- he?s changing. My memory of the ep is rather fuzzy, but I do recall that whole fake arm dealy got one of two reactions-- none or pure terror. In the case of the latter reaction, Wilt definitely smiled. This could go back to the idea that Wilt is very much a father figure-- I can?t speak for anyone else, but I know my dad scared me and laughed when I jumped. He still does it on occasion, too. What dad doesn?t do that sort of stuff for the amusement of his kids?

In the case of the former reaction, however, I can see the difference between pre- and post-GWH Wilt. As you said, earlier in the series, he would have hidden his disappointment that his trick fell flat and got no reaction. I agree that before GWH, he would have walked off a cliff to make someone happy; now, he?d probably not be so willing. He may even flat-out say no. Earlier in the series, he hardly ever-- "never" may be the word I'm shooting for here-- think of himself: look at this line from ?Camp Keep a Good Mac Down:? If it helps, I?ll starve first. This is no doubt much healthier for him than trying to please the whole world single-handedly. It?s also much healthier for him to show his emotions than keep them inside. Based on what we?ve seen in the past, Wilt was the poster child for the Vulcan philosophy ?The needs of the many outweight the needs of the one? from Star Trek III. (Yeah, I just equated Foster?s with Star Trek. I?m strange like that.) Now, he?s not buying into that concept so much.

I really liked the side of Wilt we got to see in ?Room with a Feud.? I don?t see any real reason that he wouldn?t have any desire to tan someone?s hide-- it?d be just weird if he didn?t, considering the fact that he plays sports so avidly. Putting that bit aside? we?ve seen the give-give-give-give some more side of Wilt. We?ve seen the darker side of Wilt in GWH. Why shouldn?t we see more of the competitive, I?m in it to win it, side of him?

On a similar note, I think that Wilt's scaring little kids doesn't mean much of a change in personality: he's always been fun loving, and kids WANT to be scared on halloween, don't they? I just loved that it showcased his sense of humour. Also, Bloo is his friend, so if I was in his position, I'd word that sentence ("I'm sorry, but that is the worst idea you've ever had!")exactly the same. I often try to make sure that I'm not insulting people before shooting down their ideas, even really stupid ones. Besides, Bloo has a fragile ego.

Good points here, Ub3rD4n. Wilt always has loved having fun, so I suppose that you could argue either way on the subject of "Nightmare..."

I suppose that the "worst idea" line could be interpreted either way, too. And I know what you mean when you say you try to not insult people ideas before shooting them down-- I do it a lot.

As to Bloo's fragile ego... well, that's another thread entirely!

that's exactly what i thought

that too. (mainly becasue i identify most with Wilt and I have VERY diverse musical tastes)

Perhaps a bit off topic here, but I wouldn't say that era is necessarily the single most important factor in determining one's musical tastes. After all, I'm a late 80s/early 90s kid, and most of the bands and musicians I'm into hark back to the 60s and 70s, in many cases even earlier. An awful lot of them are currently dead or doing reunion tours.

I think that Wilt is a reggae lover, myself. He threw in a pretty nice reference to a Bob Marley standard in the episode "Blooooo".

CAUTION: DeviantArt reply by Craig McCracken on Deviation "Wilt Development".

http://comments.deviantart.com/1/76338091/644705214

No. Way. :wiltshock:

Uh, pardon my ignorance but I'm not seeing anything new, here. :terrconf:

THIS is what I'm talking about. =P

Well, '76 is gonna throw off some of my numbers, but I'll adapt.

Mildly off topic here, but I want to know: In Foster's Goes to Europe, we learn that Wilt has some sort of asthma-based allergy (I specifically refer to the part where he's "condensing" his suitcase and is leaving pretty much everything at home. He's pulls out an inhaler and announces, "Allergy medication." Or something to that effect). Any ideas what this allergy may be to?

I'm thinking something along the lines of dust or pollen. I highly doubt that it's fur or something similar, because then Eduardo would trigger a reaction, would he?

Actually, no one is allergic to fur, per se. Most animal allergies are due to reactions to dander, which is protein-rich dried animal saliva combined with skin secretions, in the animal's fur. Since cats wash themselves more than dogs, cats tend to produce the worst allergic reactions, but animals that have lanolin-type skin oils, like sheep and big cats(tigers, lions, etc.)and reindeer, can produce some really bad and even life-threatening asthmatic reactions in sensitive people. That's why I can't wear wool and can no longer keep big cats(yeah, I actually used to). Wilt is around a lot of feline IF's(though I really can't picture Bloppy Pants washing himself like my cats do, lol), with no problems, so he's probably allergic to dust(or dust mites, rather)and pollens, and probably some mold spores. Those are the biggest allergins with most sufferers, myself included. I have to carry one of those inhalers with me everywhere I go, just in case.

Wilt is a couple years younger than I thought, but I was in the ballpark. That means that basically, he and Jordan were together for roughly two years before that ill-fated game, if we're to assume that his "timeline" is the same as the other characters'(note that Mac is still eight, even though the series debuted in 2004, for instance). That would be about right, giving enough time for Wilt to turn his creator's lack of self-confidence around and help him develop his basketball skills to the point where they could take on other teams and begin to win, prior to reigning for a whole year before that game against Foul Larry and his creator.

I have found it rather odd, though, the number of people who have NOT seen Good Wilt Hunting, and upon seeing the designs for Wilt, still assume that he was created that way, with one arm and a messed-up eye, or that his creator abused him.

pitbulllady

Once again, I do the poor choice of words thing-- in my little bit of research into allergies (ahem, reading a National Geographic article a year or so ago), I knew that dander was the allergen as opposed to the fur and meant dander here. Once again, sorry about the confusion. The only reason I was able to rule out dander was for the reason you stated-- because of Wilt?s day-to-day interactions with IF?s with fur.

Switching gears now, it would seem we were both in the ballpark concerning Wilt?s age-- personally, I had pegged him for being created in ?73. (The basis for my math was that he was 31 when the series debuted in 2004. A simple albeit effective system.)

There is an interesting dilemma about Wilt?s appearance-- I can?t speak for everyone, but when I first saw Wilt, I didn?t really ponder too deeply into his lack of an arm and eye. I never really pondered too deeply into it, in fact-- I just accepted it. I dunno, that?s just me.

Yeah, I had figured that he'd have been created around '73-'74, too. I can distinctly remember that decade, and by '76, the Afro hairstyle had pretty much gone out, finis, good-bye. That was very much an early-seventies style. '76 was the Disco Era(ugh), with the immaculate hair and leisure suits, although one aspect DOES point to Wilt-the patriotic Bicentenial fervor that peaked in that year, in which EVERYTHING was red, white and blue. Still, those socks had gone out with the early seventies, too, and they were another reason I'd had Wilt pegged as a "'73 model". One of the things, though, that pointed to that fateful game in GWH as being post-'76 is a Star Wars poster on the wall behind the basketball court, though from the screen cap, it isn't clear if it said "STAR Wars" or "STORE Wars", referencing that earlier Foster's episode. Oh, well...Craig has spoken, though, so '76 it is!

One of the reasons I started watching Foster's in the first place was out of curiosity to find out what had happened to Wilt's arm and eye, after seeing some fan art of him and realizing that his left arm was mostly missing, and his eye was, well..."wonky". I never doubted that SOMETHING traumatic had happened to him, due to the presence of suture scars and the surgical precision of the injuries, and his evasive response to Bloo's comment about "you must play basketball" in the pilot, which seemed to indicate that this was venturing into memory territory that Wilt would rather not tread. I never bought into the "he was imagined that way" theory, and I never really thought that his creator was responsible for that arm and eye. Initially, I figured that Wilt's injuries were the result of some unfortunate accident, perhaps not even connected with his creator at all, but as the series moved on, and it became more and more obvious that Wilt was struggling with more than just PHYSICAL scars, I had to wonder if his injuries hadn't resulted from deliberate violence against him, or a past that included abuse from someone, or if they'd been incurred as a result of something bad HE did. I'd always suspected that Wilt spent some time on his own before arriving at the safe haven of Foster's, and we all know that someone who is forced to cope with life-or-death survival on a daily basis will do whatever it takes to survive, and if that means involving oneself with bad and dangerous situations, so be it. I WAS right in that Wilt DID spend several years on his own, but this was after his arm and eye were injured, and the situation that resulted in those injuries was one of pure selfless heroism, not self-serving at all.

pitbulllady

Well, first off, just because a certain thing has gone out of style, doesn't mean kids don't still think it's cool. Jordan may have just been a bit behind the times. I didn't see any other afroed kids there. Also, regarding Wilt's scars, he probably did get roughed up by standing up to someone or something viscious, I mean, like on how he took on a pack of wild dogs in Phone Home, only without the experience to know to bring the steak.

Wilt's scars, both the ones on the stump of his arm and on his face, are very precise and "clean", not the sort of scars you'd get if you got roughed up by someone or someTHING. Only a surgical procedure will produce scars like that. Obviously, his badly broken arm would have required amputation and the stump would have been sutured/stapled closed, probably after padding the bone end with muscle from some other part of his body, which is standard procedure. It's done to prepare the stump for use of a prosthetic limb later, which in Wilt's case, would have been pretty tough to obtain.

There also were many kids back in Wilt's old 'hood wearing Afros, such as the two older kids that show up and challenge Wilt and Jordan to a game. One has a sweatband around his head, though. Believe me, I KNOW these kids, having lived and taught school in similar environments, and they are VERY fashion-conscious and aware of trends/fads, and if something is yesterday's news, they're the first ones to know and not have anything to do with it. If it's out of style, it's most definitely isn't cool, not to them.

pitbulllady

I remember you mentioning that the Afro had gone out of style by the late 70?s. I don?t know much about the Disco era, except for the jokes my parents crack about it! When I heard ?76, though, I instantly thought of the Bicentennial. I never noticed the Star Wars poster in GWH, but I wasn?t paying attention to the background?I was too caught up in plot and characters! I see this the way you do?if Craig says it?s 1976, it?s 1976.

Aside from the fact that there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING on TV at the time, Wilt was definitely one of the major reasons I started watching Foster?s. He was a very warm, friendly character, which, for reasons beyond my comprehension, caught my attention; however, I never really pondered too deeply into his arm and eye. Like I mentioned earlier, I just accepted it, although they did fascinate in some way. I had always attributed Wilt?s evasive of Bloo?s basketball comment in the pilot to Wilt not wanting to sound like he was bragging, not that he didn?t want to discuss a less-pleasant time period of his life. If I didn?t know anything about GWH, but had to guess where Wilt?s scars came from and why he has only one arm and eye, I?d definitely agree that they were the result of pure selflessness?I doubt that selfishness is in Wilt?s system, except for in ?Room with a Feud.?

Even with what little medical knowledge I have, I never really doubted that Wilt?s scars were from a medical procedure. I figured that his arm would have been amputated?after the trauma he went through, I?d be quite surprised otherwise. I can imagine that giving Wilt a prosthetic limb would be a bit of a challenge?the first thing that comes to my mind is proportions, with cost/method of payment coming in at a close second.

No kidding! Given how long Wilt's arms are, can you imagine the logistics, especially back then, of designing and building a functional prosthetic arm? And like you said, the cost would have been staggering, definitely NOT within the budget of a homeless individual. Now, though, with the amazing breakthroughs in technology in designing prosthetic bionic limbs that can even "feel" and move like the real thing, the possibility of Wilt eventually having a new arm-IF he wants one-is a whole lot better. I'm sure that no matter what the cost, Jordan would be more than willing and able to cover it, so that matter is taken care of now, too. Still, Wilt has adapted so well to no longer having that arm, that it would probably be just as big an adjustment, and probably as physically painful, for him to learn to use a prosthesis as it was for him to learn to cope with no longer having a left arm in the first place.

A lot of folks, though, have assumed that Wilt's badly fractured arm just "fell off" all by itself, and we actually had someone claim that it just disappeared "by magic" right after it got broken-just "POOF", and it was all gone, the scars already in place, and Wilt never felt a thing, lol! That theory was largely based, I think, on the supposition that Wilt's body, and indeed that of all the IF's, weren't really flesh-and-bone, but that they were more like the "Toons" of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I don't think that it's ever been the intentions of the show's creators and makers for us to think that all of the characters are anything BUT living, biological beings that can be hurt or killed by ordinary means. Just that mention on the first DVD of Wilt breaking his toe and having to have his foot x-rayed and put in a cast for six weeks is proof that he DOES indeed have bones that can be broken. Like you said, anyone with even a little medical knowledge would recognize that Wilt's scars were made by surgical procedures, not random injuries or "magic".

pitbulllady

I once tried to figure out how long Wilt?s arms were, using my own arms as a basis for a proportion. I ended up with five and a half feet, based on my blind assumption that Wilt is ten feet, and the fact that I?m five feet five with thirty inch arms (shoulder to fingertips, and that?s a pretty rough estimate). So I imagine that building a prosthetic arm of that length in the late seventies, pushing early eighties, would have been a logistic NIGHTMARE. Even today, it may be a bit of a challenge. The cost to BUILD said prosthetic would be insanely high, and that cost (in order for some sort of profit to be made) would have to be equally or more insane as it gets pushed onto Wilt; as clever and resourceful as he is, I don?t think that he could come up with the money to pull this off. Considering medical advances today, I think that if Wilt wanted a prosthetic?wanted being the key word?Jordan could cover most of, if not all, the bill. Although as long as it took to get used to having only one arm, he would be frustrated with getting used to having two arms again. There?s also the possibility that he may in some small way fear ?regaining? (quote-unquote) his left arm again. (I don?t know if this idea has much merit?I watched Con Air last night, and it had a lot of stuff about some convicts actually fearing their release date and readjusting to society; that may have affected my thoughts.)

Like I said, I have little medical knowledge; however, I do know this: in order for Wilt?s arm to just ?fall off,? you?d have to sever through skin, muscles, tendons, BONE, veins, arteries and a ton of other stuff (my medical terminology prowess is staggering, isn?t it? ;)) to get it to ?fall off.? And I?m willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that it didn?t just POOF! disappear and that he never felt a thing-- just BREAKING his arm the way it was would cause an ungodly amount of pain! I really don?t buy into the idea that IFs? bodies aren?t flesh and blood-- as I recall from ?Beat with a Schtick,? Ed got pretty banged up by the New Guy. It?s kinda hard to get that banged up when you?re not flesh and blood! Sadly, I haven?t had access to the DVDs, so I?ll have to take your word on the X-rays and what not. (I?m so deprived. I need an iTunes account so I can get episodes there instead of catching what I can on TV.) So bearing all this info in mind, I stand by the theory lined out here-- Wilt is a flesh and blood being who was in a pretty bad accident. No magic, no randomness, just an accident.

In that scene in GWH when Larry falls on Wilt's arm, you can actually HEAR the sound of bones crunching, which is really pretty serious stuff for an animated "kids' show" when you think about it. You can SEE that expression of pure agony and shock on his face, so there's no doubt that he felt excruciating pain. I've seen wild animals that had a limb "just fall off" after some injury that left that limb deprived of adequate blood supply, and it leaves a very ragged and uneven stump, usually with a piece of dead bone sticking out-NOT a pretty sight. In contrast, Wilt's remnant left arm has been neatly removed, padded(that's why the end is wider than the corresponding part of his right arm), and sutured-clearly the work of a skilled surgeon. No magic involved, other than the magic of modern(for that time period, anyway)medicine, and maybe the compassion of a medical staff who were caring for a patient that they KNEW would never be able to pay for the surgery and treatment.

Wilt might indeed have some fear of re-adjusting to having a left arm again, even if it is a prosthesis, especially if there was a long period of time between his arm being crushed and him actually receiving medical treatment, since that arm would have really been in bad shape, to the point where Wilt's life would have been in grave danger(no pun intended). Having another "arm" there, even one that was not real, might not just be difficult to learn to use, but could reopen some memories that he'd probably rather not deal with again. Crush injuries, especially to limbs, usually result in "compartment syndrome", massive swelling of the connective tissues, which cuts off blood supply and causes cells to rupture and release toxins. If you've got a strong(and I mean STRONG)stomach, Google-Image search "Necrotizing Fasciitis", and you'll see what I mean. That's what happens when severe crush injuries aren't treated promptly. Put that in the context of the Deep South's climate, especially if this was in the summer, and it's easy to understand why having no arm at all would be preferable to anything that reminded Wilt of that. "Magic"? Don't think so!

pitbulllady

I don?t remember that scene, but I have an extremely active imagination, so (sadly) I can imagine the sound of bones crunching and the look on Wilt?s face-- no doubt something, to quote Cry the Beloved Country author Alan Paton, ?not done lightly? in the world of children?s TV. In my reflection on pondering Wilt?s left arm, I?ve always figured it was attended to by a very skilled surgeon. Medicine is a wonderful thing, isn?t it?

However, I doubt that it?s nothing compared to the emotional healing Wilt went through. Ninety-nine-point-nine times out of one hundred, medial professionals-- doctors, nurses, orderlies, you name it!--are kind, wonderful people (I know my childhood doctor and favorite doctor to boot, a man named Dr. Palekadetti from India, is no exception) with limitless amounts of compassion-- something Wilt definitely would have needed at that point in his life. On top of losing Jordan and the only real home he?s ever know, Wilt lost his eye and his arm-- there?s going to be some emotional turmoil there, and he?ll no doubt need a great deal of help to cope with it all.

One of the predominant images I have of Wilt after receiving a prosthetic, is struggling to readjust his routines. Something like putting one a jacket with one arm would be challenging with only one arm, but Wilt is resourceful and adapted. Readjusting to just being able to put his arm through the sleeve would be frustrating. The re-opening of unpleasant memories brought on by the prosthetic would no doubt put an immense amount of stress and pressure on Wilt.

I DID Google-Image search Necrotizing Fasciitis-- in the words of my Consumer Ed/Home Ec teacher (who?s from Arkansas), oh my mercy. Trying to say this as nicely as possible without making anyone sick to their stomach, I imagine that Wilt being fitted with a prosthetic would bring back memories of his mangled arm and the resulting pain, illness (possibly a complication from a resulting infection?) and misery. I?d always assumed that Wilt was created in the summer-- when Jordan would have more time to play outside and not be stuck in a classroom all day-- and that the game with Foul Larry was during the summer as well. The heat would no doubt encourage the proliferation of bacteria and infection, causing a VERY miserable time for Wilt. (I do wonder-- how much time would have to have passed between his arm being crushed and him getting medical attention before the injury become extremely serious, potentially fatal?)

So I guess this means that we?re ruling magic out completely? ;)

Do you mean summer (Yes, the summer where "people drink lemonade" Lol 8D) of the second year of Wilt's life? Wilt did say he and Jordan were undefeated champions for a whole year. :D

Jeez, I wish I could write a story of Wilt's past, beginning with before his creation...I mean, I already had tons of stuff in mind, and if my mind was a movie theater we'd all see what's in the works of me without me actually having to get it out through pictures and words/stories and stuff...if I wasn't so lazy and the fact that the version I HAD was keel-hauled after Dad reformatted the computer...

Yes, I was referring to that second, possibly third?, summer.

Terrible about your story getting wiped out. :( I know what that feels like.

We can now safely assume that Wilt and Jordan were together for two years. We know now, as per Craig's statement, that Wilt was created in 1976, which would make him 32 now, more or less(depending on what month his "birthday" falls within), and that the game between him and Larry, in which he lost his arm, eye and creator, was 30 years ago, although one does have to take into consideration the uniqueness of "Foster's Time", lol. This means that Wilt and his creator had two years together before that game-a year just to get Jordan to the point where he was capable of taking on other teams, and a year to stay on top.

We have a joke here in South Carolina about the seasons down in Charleston: there are four of 'em, like most other parts of the country, but they're Almost-Summer, Summer, STILL Summer and Shrimp Season. Summers here are horrifically HOT, and muggy, with lots of biting, blood-sucking bugs and flies( and WiltsAKGirl, I hear Alaska has its fair share of "skeeters", too). I've seen minor cuts on animals, that left untreated in our summer climate, became infected to the point that the animal's life was in grave danger within just a couple of days. I've seen wounds on animals become infested with maggots within a few days, and these weren't even serious injuries to start with, just surface cuts or abrasions, nothing like crushed limbs. It doesn't take long in this climate for infection to set in, and that WITH a good blood supply, something that is almost invariably compromised with a crush injury. It would only be a matter of hours before such an injury became life-threatening, if left untreated initially. What blood flow does remain will just carry toxins from dying cells to the rest of the body, causing septicemia, so tough nor not, Wilt would not have had very long before he HAD to either seek medical help, or some Good Samaritan found him and got help for him, with or without his consent. Come to think of it, Wilt's survival from that point on probably has depended on a LOT of "Good Samaritans", besides just Madame Foster. That might also explain another reason why HE is so willing to help others-for him, it's a way to repay that dept.

pitbulllady

Yes, two years sounds like a very reasonable estimate of how long Wilt and Jordan were together. I?m going to try to re-peg Wilt?s age and suggest that he was created sometime in early summer, probably June or July, making him (at this very moment) 31. The subject of, to use your words, pbl, ?Foster?s Time? is certainly a unique conundrum-- like Mac still being eight after fours years and five, going on six, seasons? One way to look at it is that the seasons we?ve seen so far represent a chunk of ?real world time?-- say six months. Ah, but I go on! A year to improve Jordan?s game definitely sounds about right-- Jordan would already have the basic skills, but he?d need to fine-tune them, enter Wilt into the equation.

Sounds like the seasons in Charleston are similar to seasons in Bush Alaska-- Almost Winter (fall), Winter, Still Winter (spring) and Something Vaguely Resembling Summer. (summers up here don?t get too hot, unless you?re inland in places like Fairbanks. And yes, pbl, we do have mosquitoes up here-- they?re not as big as people claim, but there are TONS of them and they?re persistent. Add no-see-ums to the mix and it?s not very fun up here in the summer.) Based on your descriptions, sounds like South Carolina summers are brutal on injuries that break the skin! As I understand it, heat speeds up biological functions-- including those of and the proliferation of the bacteria/viruses (I believe it?s bacteria) that cause infections, so it?s understandable and almost to-be-expected. Somehow, I get the feeling that getting medical attention wouldn?t be very high on Wilt?s priority list following his accident-- his top concern would have been Jordan?s safety. Sadly, I can almost picture him sitting in an alley cradling his arm not wanting to go to the hospital because he KNEW he looked like a train wreck and not wanting to draw attention to himself. Tough as he his, Wilt also seems like he can be extremely stubborn and conscious of how others react to him-- look at the way he handled Bloo and Mac?s reaction to him in the pilot.

I think that a great deal of Wilt?s survival was aided by Good Samaritans. I?ve no doubt that Wilt had a warm, wonderful, caring team of nurses and doctors who took care of him after his accident; I also agree that this may be why he?s so willing to unquestionably help others-- he feels like he?ll never see them again, so it?s his way of thanking them for keeping him alive when he probably felt like he wasn?t going to make it.

We did actually discuss the subject of "Foster's Time" and its implications in this thread here: http://www.fosters-home.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2618.

Basically, it doesn't strike me as being particularly troublesome or remarkable, since I see this as a pretty common technique within animated shows. Characters may be allocated back-stories such as Wilt's, but for all intents and purposes they're more-or-less frozen in the current physical age they were when the series began. I suppose this is more of an issue with Mac, who'd be on the brink of his teens by now if this were indeed the real world, than it is with the imaginary friends.