- 2 years ago
A spinoff of "The Boys", this superhero show is overflowing with pop culture references. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 pop culture references in the first 5 episodes of “Gen V”.
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00:00 "Just leave me alone, television's Jason Ritter!"
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 pop culture references in the first 5 episodes of Gen V.
00:11 Beware of spoilers for the series so far ahead.
00:15 "Who's David Caruso?"
00:16 "You didn't see Jade?"
00:17 When Sam sees a recently shrunken Emma in his holding cell, he understandably wants proof that she's real.
00:28 "No, I'm real."
00:30 "Prove it."
00:31 "How?"
00:32 "What's the name of the stuffy animal I loved more than anything when I was little?"
00:34 So, he asks her a series of questions to confirm she's a true stranger.
00:39 Emma's most hilarious reply comes when she's tasked with guessing Sam's favorite movie.
00:43 "Well, you're a white guy, so...
00:47 Godfather Star Wars or Shawshank?"
00:49 With one line, she roasts bona fide classics like Star Wars as being cliche number one picks for college dudes.
00:56 Not to be outdone, Sam makes us laugh again by confessing his actual favorite isn't what we expected.
01:02 "Waterworld."
01:03 "Waterworld?"
01:06 "Jesus."
01:08 We're unsure why the wet and critically panned apocalyptic film sits at the top of his movie list.
01:15 But we do know this movie discussion was a funny scene that had the bonus of bringing Sam and Emma a little bit closer together.
01:22 Number 9. Criticizing school commercials.
01:25 "We're a family. A community of supportive faculty and peers who will accept you as the unique, culturally rich change agent that you are."
01:33 Have you ever turned on the TV in the middle of the day and seen an incredibly cheesy ad for a school?
01:38 If you haven't, Gen V has got you covered with a spot-on parody.
01:42 The first episode contains a ridiculously over-the-top ad for Gadolkin University.
01:48 This commercial has the cheesy music, slow panning drone shots, and humble bragging you'd see in a real TV spot.
01:54 "Or maybe you'll be accepted into the Lamplighter School of Crime Fighting,
01:58 which has produced every top 10 ranked student for the past 30 years."
02:02 And while the clip tries to cover up imperfections, hilarious details about the heroes like the Deep still get through.
02:09 The ad ultimately serves as a great send-up of institutions that try a little too hard to convince us they're perfect.
02:16 "So whether you want to walk the mean streets or the red carpet, Gadolkin is a safe space for you to thrive."
02:22 Number 8. Insincere YouTubers.
02:25 While hanging out with a classmate named Justine, Emma discloses the harsh truth about how she gets small.
02:31 "It takes a while, it's not...
02:35 fun.
02:37 It's gross.
02:39 Like I kinda hate myself for it."
02:41 It initially seems like the secret will stay between them.
02:44 Unfortunately, Justine reveals how Emma's powers work in a YouTube video for Clout.
02:50 This betrayal leads to a very heated conversation.
02:53 When Justine later approaches Emma to apologize, it becomes clear that their talk is being filmed.
02:58 "You filming this?"
02:59 "I want everyone to know how sorry I am."
03:04 This sad series of events is clearly meant to take aim at YouTube personalities who try to monopolize tragedy for views.
03:11 Additionally, Justine's insincere attempt to say sorry satirizes the numerous examples of bad apology videos present in our world.
03:19 Overall, this plotline highlights how a single misguided clip can cause someone a lot of pain.
03:25 "I mean it doesn't, I mean honestly I just wanna...
03:29 I just wanna curl up and die, I mean everyone just...
03:33 scared of me."
03:35 Number 7. Superhero movie satires.
03:38 "Packet romance, little hero."
03:41 Gen V proudly continues the franchise tradition of making fun of every superhero movie.
03:47 In any given scene, there's a good chance you'll see a poster for a soup film.
03:51 The well-designed ads even manage to copy details like text.
03:55 Just compare the font for the Nubian Prince movie to the real-life Black Panther poster as one example of what we mean.
04:01 Outside of the designs, the show also doesn't pull its punches on calling out controversial superhero film directors.
04:07 "I went to these huge parties you throw with Bryan Singer in the Hollywood Hills. It was gross."
04:11 The two programs combined might make fun of every single stage of production of the cape genre.
04:17 But we're okay with that if running gags like the satirical Red Thunder movie keep popping up.
04:22 "You don't seem like much of a hero to me."
04:24 "You wouldn't know a hero if they walked in here and blasted you in the face."
04:29 Number 6. Reality TV.
04:31 Shortly after intimate details about Emma's personal life were leaked,
04:35 she receives an offer to lead a reality show.
04:37 "She wants to talk to you about maybe starring in her next reality TV show."
04:42 "Wait, really?"
04:46 At first, media personality Courtney Fortney seems to be interested in the soup's fun YouTube personality.
04:52 But it soon becomes clear that the proposed show would focus on the most painful aspects of Emma's life.
04:57 "It's a rebrand."
04:58 "Oh, it's a complete and total rebrand, right? So Little Cricket's dead, RIP. Now it's Meet Emma.
05:03 Teen making her way at God You, only now she's battling her own sort of internal super villains."
05:09 This awful pitch is an absolutely scathing condemnation of exploitative reality TV
05:14 programs that try to capture people's worst qualities on camera.
05:17 By placing the lovable Emma in this scenario,
05:20 the audience gets to see it from the celebrity side.
05:23 While reality TV stars may not seem all that real,
05:26 she reminds us that famous lives shouldn't just be fodder for cheap entertainment.
05:31 "I mean, it's exploiting me."
05:32 "I think in the real world, everybody uses everyone.
05:36 And I think that this could help you in a million ways."
05:40 Episode 5 takes a bit of a turn as our literal heroes find themselves in an amnesiac-like daze.
05:49 They have to get to the bottom of why none of them can remember key details about the last few days.
05:54 At first, they think a psychic named Rufus is to blame,
05:57 but it's ultimately revealed to be the work of Kate, one of their own.
06:01 "I'm so, so sorry. I really wish it didn't have to be like this. It's you."
06:09 Able to mind-control through touch,
06:11 Kate has secretly compelled them to forget at the behest of Dean Shetty.
06:15 Once we learn of Kate's pact with Shetty, we see Shetty twirl a spoon around an ornate teacup.
06:21 "Helping people is your gift, Kate. That's what makes you so special."
06:27 "No one else can help people get past what's holding them back, like you."
06:32 We don't know about you, but we can't think of mind manipulation and teacups
06:36 without hearkening back to Jordan Peele's horror masterpiece, Get Out.
06:40 "How do you feel now?"
06:41 "I can't move."
06:45 "You can't move."
06:48 "Why can't I move?"
06:50 "You're paralyzed."
06:55 During the whole truth episode, we hear about a story where a super-powered woman
07:00 named Shehemeth was arrested for the murder of her partner.
07:03 "Shehemeth's lover was a handsome, arrogant venture capitalist,
07:07 and now a stain on the floor of his chef's kitchen."
07:10 Her unique skin color, immense strength, and tall stature were all designed to make fun of
07:15 Marvel's She-Hulk. But that's not the only MCU TV star that comes under direct fire.
07:21 In Gen V's first episode, Justine describes the plot of a Vought TV soup show that she
07:26 wants to be a part of. "It's an elevated superhero thing,
07:29 really a meditation on grief told through 70 years of sitcoms. And Zach Braff is directing."
07:36 Both the theme of grief and sitcom style that she mentions are direct references to the MCU
07:41 smash hit WandaVision. Additionally, the real and fictional programs are both directed by sitcom
07:47 star actors. We hope the Marvel characters can laugh at these Vought jokes.
07:51 Number 3. The True Crime Genre
08:00 The superhero known as Tech Knight is absolutely obsessed with getting material for his hard-hitting
08:13 investigative show The Whole Truth. While he tells the public that he's really invested in
08:18 the truth behind the tragedy, it's clear that he only wants to make a sensational program.
08:23 To further hammer this point in, Tech Knight laughs while discussing traumatic events.
08:27 He also pushes witnesses past their breaking point just to get sound bites he can use later.
08:41 Virtually everyone who knows Tech Knight calls him out for being dangerous and morally bankrupt.
08:46 Through him, the audience is pushed to examine their own relationship to big true crime shows.
08:51 Number 2. Sesame Street
09:06 In a scene no one saw coming, a Muppet version of The Deep and television's Jason Ritter suddenly
09:12 appeared on a screen. Although the unlikely duo looked friendly, they lobbed dark words at Sam.
09:18 Deep and Ritter's set is clearly meant to be a parody of the Sesame Street setting.
09:28 To make the Gen-V satire more unsettling, The Deep Muppet came complete with talking gills.
09:34 The chatty anatomy is a great callback to an equally gross season 2 episode of The Boys.
09:39 Additionally, the dark parody pushes Sam to go after one of his old enemies. Once again,
09:44 the franchise managed to use a sharp satire to push the story forward in a hilarious way.
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10:14 Number 1. Referencing the Real Actors' Resumes
10:19 Gadolkin Hughes-Dean loves to brag about the TV shows that her students have gone on to star in.
10:25 While none of the Gen-V leads had major roles on Riverdale,
10:35 the actors behind Marie and Andre have an indirect connection to the drama.
10:39 Both Jaz Sinclair and Chance Perdomo had significant roles on Chilling Adventures of
10:44 Sabrina. That magical show coincidentally crossed over with Riverdale. Beyond this connection,
10:50 Lizzie Broadway's Emma mentions being on a certain drama.
10:54 While the real actress didn't star on that show, she actually did appear on the spin-off
11:04 Chicago PD. These cameos don't even scratch the surface of meta casting gags. Any actor
11:10 who appears on this show should be prepared to have their resume made fun of. What's
11:23 your favorite pop culture reference on Gen-V? Let us know in the comments below.
11:27 Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
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11:39 [Music]
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