Basically, because of the Foster's short, techically Bloo is 6 now - making Mac's birthday later than his.

BTW, guys, I think we're onto something with Wilt's "history". :D

I agree that we're really getting onto something for Wilt's history. Wilt's survival would no doubt hinge on other people's helping him-- there's a very very very VERY slim chance that he could take care of himself after he was injured the way he was, and then there's the whole other subject of the mental/emtional healing. This is a really strong theory and it should definitely be developed further. (It's helping me with a companion story to a fic I started working on when I read this thread!)

Cartoon Network is airing pretty much an all-day Foster's marathon today, and I got to watch a lot of the old Season One and Two episodes that I haven't seen in a long time, and one thing that really struck me is how much Wilt's personality has evolved as the seasons of the show have progressed. In the first-season episodes, he was much more talkative, and seemed to have far more self-confidence. He could be a bit of a cut-up at times, doing impersonations like he does in the pilot, or picking on Bloo at bit when he thought Bloo was scared of the lame "Kweatuh Featuh" movie in "Blooooooooo!". He didn't have any problem getting on someone's case when they were out of line, even doling out his own brand of punishment like he does to both Mac and Bloo in "Adopt-Calypse Now". The "I'm sorry's" were there, but were more of a habit, like people who constantly say "you know", for instance, rather than real apologies. There was none of the nervousness and edginess that began to creep into Wilt's personality sometimes around Season Three, when he seemed to become more of a worry-wart, and more and more obsessed with whether others were upset with him or disappointed in him, and the "sorry's" started really taking over his speech, while the longer, more articulate lines became fewer and fewer. It's pretty intriguing how the show's creators have managed to pull off a rather realistic fall into near-madness, pushing this character to the brink of a breakdown, in an animated "kids' show", but if you watch the older episodes, followed by progressively later seasons, you can clearly see what I mean. Most people focus on Bloo's increasingly hedonistic, selfish and jerky personality change, but Wilt's is just as dramatic.

pitbulllady

Go Wilt!
 

What a character Wilt is and he's tall and he's very very good at basketball and he's a great friend at Foster's. :D



http://www.fosters-home.com/clipart/...oupmadbloo.jpg


To have a group picture with Wilt and a good day.

Lol well, here's the FULL sized image if anyone wants it...

http://www.fosters-home.com/clipart/...oupmadbloo.jpg

(You have to click on the thumbnail to get the big one, you see)

Woah...

I was just browsing through the screengrabs for "Let Your Hare Down" and I found this:

http://www.fosters-home.com/screengrabs/5/513-0083.jpg

Is this an accident, or have Wilt's feet been officially altered?

Wow, took someone long enough to notice! 8D I took that cap on purpose...

Muaha, I feel spethial now *beams* Still, it's odd. I mean, I know we've only ever seen Wilt's feet once before, but it's funny to see that hiss feet have been altered even though his suction-cup toes have been official for so long... Mm.

Actually, Antgirl noticed the change in Wilt's footsies and posted about it in the official discussion of that episode, after I(having missed the first showing of "Let Your Hair Down) asked if Wilt had much of a role in the episode. She first posted that he showed his feet(only the second time since the show began, I believe, that we've seen them sans shoes AND socks), then went back and edited to mention that his feet now seemed more like human feet.

I dunno, I kinda liked Wilt's "monkey feet", with that big toe sorta down on the side and sticking out a bit, lol!

pitbulllady

And besides, Eduardo's feet had also been "altered" or "mutated" into something else, so Wilt's feet shouldn't need to worried about...=P

It's not the first time we see Wilt's bare feet.:wiltshock:
The Trouble With Scribbles is the first.

Thought I'd point it out.
"Is that OK?":D

Trust me, every Wilt fangirl has that moment committed to memory...you're just new here, is all. ;)

Like Sparky said, every Wilt fangirl(myself being one of 'em, proudly)has that moment when we first see Wilt's bare feeties in "The Trouble With Scribbles" committed to memory, lol! The thing is, his feet, or more specifically, his TOES, look different in "Let Your Hare Down". In "TTWS", Wilt's feet have an almost-apelike appearance, with his big toe being "divergent"-sticking out to the side-and situated lower down on the inside of his foot, while his toes are long and have those "weird suction-cuppy" tips, just like his fingers. In "LYHD", though, his feet look like ordinary human feet(really BIG human feet, mind you), with short toes and a big toe that is aligned with all the others, and none of his toes seem to have those rounded tips like his fingers.

pitbulllady

I've never noticed his feet changing their looks.:wiltshock:

Yeah, guess the storyboarders didn't visit my site for "Wilt's foot" reference when they were boarding LYHD. Naughty. 8D

Hahaa! Yeah, you'd hope they'd at least check on things like that to have good continuity. If they used the screengrabs, wow, that'd be quite an honor! :w00t: I guess Witl's feet aren't a big enough deal to bother about continuity. Except for the Wilt fangirls. :D You got to admit finding little mistakes like that are kind of cool, though.

The artists and storyboarders do (or did, if they're done making eps) use my screengrabs when putting scenes together, it's often faster than searching their own archives for certain backgrounds and character designs. That's how my site got the attention of CN in the first place.

Keep in mind that Wilt isn't te only one who s a victim of FEET ALTERING MADNESS. Eduardo had been subject to that, too....

Somethin's going around...or they're too lazy to stick with a style of foot.

I still prefer the "ape"like feet...=P

Aah, that would make sense, with them sending you a b-day present a few years back. Wow, that's really cool, I did not know that. :)

Sorry, we're getting off topic now. :-[ We're suppose to be discussing our favorite tall red 30-something basket ball player. :D

Well, lets bring it back.
By the way, Wilt is 10 feet tall.:wiltshock: (coco card)

Umm....like someone said, facts like that are already burned into every Wilt fan's brains. :D

Here?s something that?s been on my mind off and on all day, so I figured I?d throw this out there and see what you guys think.

Today I took the test to get my drivers? license learners? permit. When I was skimming the form you have to fill out to get the temps (assuming you pass the test <crosses fingers that I did>), I saw something that said (to this effect) that people with a visual impairment that required corrective measurements beyond glasses and/or contact lenses could not be issued a license. I think it even specifically mentioned being blind in one eye.

Instantly I thought of Wilt and that got me wondering: because of his wonky eye, would he be ineligible for a drivers? license? I?ve always assumed that his left eye was a glass one, since the pupil rattle around in the eye itself (although in a normal eye, the pupil is an opening in the eye) and that when Wilt blinks, it?s with only his right eye. This being said, I think the DMV would have to deny Wilt a license, despite the fact that he?s certainly old enough to get one. (That, and driving a car with only one arm might be a bit of a challenge?) However, I could be wrong-- this technicality (for want of a better word) may only apply to the State of Madne-- I mean, Alaska. ;)

Honestly...what can I say that hasn't already been said about Wilt? Tall, kind-hearted, basketball-loving, and helpful, polite and apologetic almost to a fault.:D

Laws for drivers' licenses vary from state to state. In South Carolina, as long as you can either read the road signs in that little view-finder thingie, or have something signed by an eye doctor, a one-eyed person can get a license, and indeed, I've known a few folks who were blind in one eye and drove just fine. One of the teachers at the high school is a Vietnam vet who lost an eye AND his left arm, so he's more like Wilt indeed, yet he drives. He has a special car in which the turn signal arm has been moved to the right side of the steering column, so he can operate it. I don't know what the requirements are in Washington state, though, but yeah, you are correct in that Wilt is blind in his left eye, whether or not it's an artificial eye. In "Blooooooo!", while he, Coco, and Ed were hiding from the "Cannonball Ghost" in the dark closet, you can see BOTH of Coco's and Eduardo's eyes in the dark, but only one of Wilt's, so even if it is still his real eye, the pupil does not function to allow in any light at all.

pitbulllady

Wilt is seen driving a both car and semi-truck real easily on "Where there's a Wilt there's a way".:wiltshock:

There was little doubt in my mind that drivers' license laws varied by the state. (Off-topic example: In Alaska, if you kill any big game, i.e. moose, with your car, it belongs to the state. I doubt that y'all have that problem in South Carolina?) I'm pretty sure that being blind in one eye actually means that 20% (one-fifth) of your visual capacity takes a hit-- not quite enough to totally disqualify you from driving I'm sure.

Maybe I was thinking of older cars with a stick shift and a clutch and all those other things that are about as foreign to me as fluent Klingon. (Again with the Star Trek references in a Foster's discussion... 8D)

In South Carolina, if you hit a game animal, such as a deer or a wild turkey, with your car-aside from probably having your car totalled(and I don't even want to know what a moose would do to a vehicle)and possibly winding up in the hospital yourself, the meat is yours if you want it, or anyone else's who happens to come along. I've actually dressed and butchered a deer that was just hit by another driver on the side of the road; he didn't want the meat, so his loss was my gain, and the game warden and a highway patrolman were both standing right there. The game warden loaned me his knife since I can't carry one in my car, lest I get caught with it on school grounds, which is a felony. If no one had come up to collect the meat, the game warden would have taken it to the prison, where it would have been served to prisoners. In Georgia, right next door, if I'd done that, I would have been arrested and locked up for stealing! So yeah, those laws vary a lot, too.

Wilt would have some trouble with a modern stick shift car, since you have to shift gears with your right hand and steer with the left, but he'd probably be able to drive an older column-shift car, like my '51 Studebaker. The gear shifter is on the right side of the steering column, and an experienced driver can hold the steering wheel and shift with the fingers, especially someone with as large a hand as Wilt has! I can shift and steer with my right hand, so I know it wouldn't be an issue for Wilt at all. If you've got a good, smooth shift, it's no problem, and of course, an automatic would be easy for him as well. Also, on the older cars, the dimmer switch is located on the floorboard, and you operate that with your left foot, so the turn signal is the only thing that might prove to be a challenge for Wilt. He'd either have to bump it with his stump of an arm, which would mean leaning way forward, or have it moved to the right side, or have a set up in which that was controlled by a small foot control, too, like the dimmer switch. The teacher here in our district who has lost his left arm and eye used a foot switch for the dimmer(he drives a classic car, though, a '65 Ford Galaxie), and the car is automatic, and has the signal arm on the right side of the column. Wilt's already proven that he can drive, in a DeLorean and a commercial truck, as Mac-a-Lacka pointed out. Wilt just isn't one to sit around bemoaning why he can't do something that other folks would assume would be difficult or impossible for him to do-he just does whatever without worrying about the difficulty! Wilt definitely seems to be someone who responds best when challenged.

pitbulllady

Well, I don't know the Washington State regulations regarding driving with one reliable eye, but I do know you can do so up here. I know one lady (who also happens to be a teacher) who has one eye and the other is always covered up with a patch. She always has some kind of fun sticker on the patch as not to look so "scary" to the kids she teaches. :bloosmirk: And she drives just fine. As for the one arm, I'm sure he'd need a specially made vehicle where all the controls were on one side, if not all embedded into the steering wheel. I don't know of anyone personally who owns such a vehicle, but I've seen them. :D

On a side note, Wilt's stub isn't totally useless. He could hold his notes with it in "Hiccy Burp", and even wiped the sweat off his face without dropping the piece of paper. He could also play the keyboard with it in "Schlock Star". I'm sure he's done other things with his stub that I'm not remembering right now. So he might still be able to flick simple switches and bars with his stub while driving. Although he still may need them specially made so he can reach them without leaning forward too much.

Just so you know, hitting a moose with your car isn?t pretty by ANY stretch of the imagination. It?s never happened to my family or anyone I know, thank God, but I?ve seen pictures.

I?m a little surprised that it would be a modern car that would leave Wilt in a world of driving hurt-- I thought that stick shift was a feature in older cars and rarely seen in newer models. But I?m the same dorkfish who can?t pass a temp drivers? license test, so what does that tell you? :P But based on what you?ve described, a classic car would definitely suit Wilt-- both aesthetically and practically (the latter being my own opinion, so you may wanna ignore that part).

I?ve never really SEEN Wilt driving, but there?s no doubt in my mind that he can do it. Wilt is, as you pointed out now and time and again, a doer-- he goes, he does, he succeeds. And it?s quite clear that he works best under challenge and pressure. Case in point: GWH, for the most part.

Based on what I?ve seen, I suppose Wilt could go after a DL. (Yay Wilt! Don?t flunk the test by 5% like I did! :D ;)) Thank goodness my curiosity?s been satisfied.

Regarding your side note Lynnie? Wilt also waved goodbye to Foofy Woogums and his family in GWH and held a bowl of potato chips in ?Where There?s a Wilt?? with his stubby left arm. Flipping switches would definitely be doable, leaning forward or otherwise. (Just as a weird fan girl note/admission, I love his stubby arm-- it?s cute and it gives him character. xD)

(This post is slightly off topic, Sorry!:D)
I wish that there would ever be a Wilt/Mac oriented episode.:D:)
I kind of like those two as a pair rather then Mac/Bloo,::) I can't even recall many moments on the show itself that revolve around those two.:P:(

Eh, I think it was time for a topic switch anyway, now that us loyal Wilt fans have fairly well established among ourselvs that Wilt can go out for a DL.

A Mac-Wilt based episode would definitely be nice to see-- they both work extremely well together, based on what I've seen of the little screentime they have together-- I remember the opening scene of GWH, when Wilt is teetering on the brink of a psychotic spazz attack, and all the times Wilt was trying to clean Mac's apartment in "Infernal Slumber." I agree that something about Mac and Wilt onscreen really clicks nicely, and I for one would like to see it explored. :D :)

Too bad I can't think of plotline to develop into something for the "Your Own Episodes" thread. Wait-- never mind, think I have something.

I like to think that maybe Mac looks up to Wilt like a substitute big brother, or even a Father, kinda like how Jordan saw him when he was child. I can imagine when Mac gets a little older, and, I dunno, he gets a crush on a girl at school or something, he goes to Wilt for some advice, and he ends up lecturing Mac with "The Talk". Mac and Bloo are pretty cool as a pair, but, I agree, that I'd like to see a Wilt and Mac centric episode, for a change.

Yeah, it does often seem that Wilt and Mac, and sometimes Wilt, Mac and Frankie(not necessarily in that order)are the brains of the whole outfit. It's usually their decisions and actions that sort of control what's going on in many episodes. That teamwork can really be seen in "Let Your Hare Down" quite well. Wilt has this ability to offer a kind of quiet, almost behind-the-scenes guidance to a young person, without coming off as overbearing and bossy, and all the while allowing the kid to figure things out on his own and learn from that, instead of simply providing the answers to the kid right away. It's like Wilt knows a really bright kid like Mac would sort of resent someone just telling him everything, instead of being given a chance to learn on his own. Wilt knows when to step in with real help and when to kinda let things run their course, which I guess ties in with the intuitiveness of his personality. It a lot of ways, he and Mac have very similar personalities, actually.

pitbulllady

Sadly, I can't think of one yet.:(
But if you do, may we see it?:)

EDIT: If there will ever be an episode like this (which I hope there will) it would be obvious that Craig or Lauren saw this.:bloosmirk:

Wilt is definitely big brother/father material. Wilt said in GWH that Jordan's older brother would rub Jordan's younger age and short height in his face a lot (or something to that effect), so Wilt would have provided the love Jordan couldn't get from his flesh-and-blood brother and father, who is (as PBL has discussed) most likely an absentee figure in his son's life-- just like Mac. Like you, I can easily see Mac turning to Wilt for advice he can't get from his father and is unlikely to get from Terrence.

Given that Wilt, Mac and Frankie are among the most level-heaed characters of the show, I suppose it makes sense that they could be considered the brains of the operation. Wilt is quite the opposite of overbearing and bossy, and knows when to step in before things get too out of hand. (I'm sure this was in seen in the series, but I can't think of any examples off hand.) I think that Mac and Wilt DO have similar personalities, and perhaps that's why this duo really tickles my fancy. (That and my personal asthetics-- they simply look nice together as friends. I have no clue why.)

Ah, yes, and I haven't forgotten you, Mac-a-lacka-- yeah, you can see the ep idea, but I won't be posting it here; it'll go in the "Your Own Episodes" thread and there alone. Putting it there and here would more likely than not constitute cross-posting. I'm just trying to not give our friendly neighborhood mods/admins a headache. :)

I noticed in "Where there's a Wilt there's a way" Wilt did appear to give Mac a tiny bit of affection, side-hugging him while telling both Mac and Bloo about the game, and the way Wilt held his stub it seemed that he wouldn't of bothered to do the same for Bloo even if he had his left arm.::):wiltshock:

Gah, I wish my season DVDs would get here soon! This is the sorta stuff I miss the first time! (Watching the Japanese dub certainly doesn't help, especially since I can't speak...)

Building on Vampyre's post that Mac veiws Wilt as a substitute father, much like Jordan did, the opposite is could be true as well: that Wilt sees Mac as a "substitute creator," if you will. Simply, that Wilt sees a lot of Jordan in Mac, and that he naturally, whether conciously or subconsciously, gravitates toward that, leading to little moments like this.

Wilt has lost, and regained, a lot in the course of his life, especially after GWH. While it's highly unlikely that he's going to regain his arm and eye, through the episodes we've seen after GWH's original airing, he's starting to come back to his old self-confidence. (Yes, I'm borrowing some of pbl's thoughts to make this work.) Despite all of that, he's not regained a boy or girl who needs him; he admitted in GWH that he really wanted to be adopted again. If a new little boy or girl is not in his immediate future, Wilt would more likely than not recognize that, but still want to provide love and a father-type role for a young child, especially one whose real father is absent-- a description Mac most definitely fits. :)

Wow, I just developed something that sounded halfway intelligent, depsite being immensely tired and not very analytical. If anyone wants to latch onto this and run with it, go ahead.

Yeah, I doubt Wilt will "regain" his arm or eye; there's no evidence that he, or any other IF, can regenerate lost body parts, and it's a safe bet that if it hasn't happened in 30+ years, it's not gonna happen. Besides, part of Wilt's real strength is that he has learned to cope so well after losing an arm and an eye, and he can do pretty much anything that someone who still has two arms and two eyes is able to do, without complaining or whining. Wilt serves as an inspiration for anyone who is struggling with a disability, and shows that such people are just as capable as anyone else.

It HAS occurred to me that Wilt is more and more of a father figure, or at least a big brother figure, to Mac, and after seeing "Race For Your Life, Mac and Bloo", it really hit me just how much ALIKE Wilt and Mac are in terms of personality. Wilt just needs to "think outside the box" a bit, and perhaps discard the notion that the only way he can really help a child is to be adopted by that child and that child's family. He also needs to really take a long hard look at his impact on Foster's, since he's really one of the stabilizing elements in that home, and if he left, I have a feeling that things would become "off-balance", in terms of the residents' behavior and emotional status, to some extent. You often do not realize just how much one individual like Wilt can affect everyone else around them, until they're gone. It really takes the combined efforts of Wilt, Mac and Frankie to sorta hold things together around that place, to off-set the craziness of individuals like Bloo, or the obsession with rules of Mr. Herriman, and if one of those three were to leave, I don't think it would be benefit that household at all.

pitbulllady

Are you sure magic won’t fix it? (Sorry-- I felt compelled to go there…)

On the much more serious note, unless an IF is a biologically accurate starfish, they’re probably not going to regrow severed limbs, so that‘s outta the picture. Wilt being, well… Wilt, he has adapted amazingly from the loss of his arm and eye-- even to the point of holding a bowl in his left arm while filling the bowl with potato chips in “Where There’s a Wilt…”-- and he did so with his usual infectious optimism. I wholeheartedly agree that Wilt serves as an inspiration to someone with a disability, and that someone with a disability is just as capable as the next person. I would also like to reinforce that: this school year (2007-08), I had the distinct pleasure of being a teacher’s aide for a special education teacher, who had (I believe it was) cerebral palsy. She was very small, shook and walked with something of a limp; however, she was unflaggingly optimistic and friendly-- just like Wilt.

Now that I’ve finally seen “Race for Your Life…” I definitely see the resemblance between Mac and Wilt-- especially in the context of morals vs. the need to win. I can see why Wilt would have the idea that he needs to be adopted to help a child: you never hear Mr. Herriman or Madame Foster or anyone suggest that not being adopted is not a bad thing.

Wilt would no doubt be pretty surprised if he were to closely examine his impact on Foster’s: he is certainly a driving force behind life at the house-- if it’s not mowing the lawn, it’s helping someone, and if not that, then merely keeping the peace. Take that away, and it would throw the entire group dynamic out of whack: You have Bloo and Coco, who provide more than enough insanity, and Eduardo, who’s rather easily impressed upon because of his naivete. Mac and Frankie, to some extent, balance out the aforementioned insanity; however, both would be easily overwhelmed on their own, which is definitely where Wilt enters into the picture, and his well-secured niche in the group dynamic.

Yeah-"Group dynamic"-that's the word I was actually looking for! Wilt is sort of an "adhesive" that holds that together and helps preserve some measure of sanity about the place. Mac does, too, to a certain extent, as does Frankie, but Mac doesn't actually LIVE there, and he's only there for a limited time each day, so with regards to the household it's really Wilt and Frankie who keep the place sane, and neither one could pull it off alone. Mr. Herriman, for all his rules, actually HINDERS at times, since he unintentionally creates conflicts and stress by being so strict and so unyielding, and it's really hard to say that Madame Foster helps much, either, since she can be a "loose cannon" at times herself! Just the presence of someone with Wilt's personality can have a remarkable impact on the structure and function of any group, even if he does not consciously try to affect it, plus Wilt seems to be one of the few individuals who will actually try to keep Bloo in line, and that alone is a reason enough for him to stay!

pitbulllady