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Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 50: ‘The War in Space’ (aka “The Jimmy From NASA Story”)

Published November 10, 2021

So, I’ve had quite the month…

It goes without saying that things have been crazy on the island for a while now, especially with Nate having been jettisoned from the planet and a man literally becoming Gyaos guano. I’m not afraid to say that I’ve run the gamut of emotions over the course of this month; I feared for my life on more than one occasion, I worried about the safety of my friends and coworkers, lost a few nights of sleep over wondering what the Board was planning to do to my mech garage, and then came face to face with a generous helping of trauma from my past.

In other words, just another normal slice of life for your old pal Jimmy. I’ve been through much worse, and frankly, I foresee plenty of boredom in my future now that the excitement is over. For now, at least…

Anyway, now that the unprecedented 50th episode of MIFV is finally in the can, it’s about time for another batch of contractually obligated Jimmy’s Notes. However, I’ll be perfectly honest: the whole “contractual obligation” thing is kind of up in the air at the moment, what with the Board being outed as a conglomerate of megalomaniacal toku villains and all. I’m not sure if I’m necessarily “obligated” to do much of anything right now, much less take orders from the likes of Commander Hell and his retconned rejects. In addition to that small fact, Episode 50 wasn’t a traditional episode by any means, and neither I nor Nate had much of anything in the way of notes or research prepared prior to sitting down to watch The War in Space. (All right, there’s a chance I’d been sitting on the “that’s what she said” joke for a while, but I still don’t regret it…).

So, in lieu of providing the usual patented “Jimmy’s Notes” experience, I’ve instead opted to reflect on the entire incident surrounding the episode itself. After all, I didn’t even expect to be a participant in the episode, and was only roped in thanks to some deus ex teleportation shenanigans. Let me explain…

On the day Nate finally awoke in his orbiting radio station, I was fighting for my life in the bowels of Monster Island, hiding in the darkness and fearing for my very existence. Okay, the bowels were actually the dark corners of my garage, and I might have been playing Space Invaders on mute while fearing for my existence, but make no mistake: I was in very real danger. I knew the Board was after me, and that there was every chance that they would find me before I could enact my plan to rescue Nate. Initially, my scheme involved flying Mechani-Kong Mark II into space to intercept the radio station, but due to a postal error, the nuclear fuel cell I’d ordered off Amazon to help power the mech’s new propulsion system somehow got delivered to a completely different island. The damn thing still hasn’t shown up, actually. I really need to get that claim e-mailed.

But that’s beside the point. There I was, alone in my manly mecha man-cave, desperately hoping that my backup plan would work. I was waiting for a call from my cousin, Timmy, who’d been entrusted with the safekeeping of an old friend of mine, a relic from a past war (in space): the one and only Gohten. After a few decades of hard work, Timmy had managed to get the old airship up and running, even managing to replace the drill in the front (although I’m told that it no longer contains the power to “Death Star” a planet, which is probably for the best). I knew the craft had the ability to both fight and tow KIJU back to terra firma, and that it was the only such ship I could get my hands on with such short notice. Despite the memories it held, I knew that it was the right thing to do. Saving Nate and sticking it to the Board took precedence over any discomfort I might’ve felt while walking its halls and remembering the events that took place there.

The call finally did come, of course. I managed to get the message to Timmy, and he assured me that the Gohten would be ready to launch within a few hours. In traditional Jimmy fashion, everything was working out perfectly. But of course, no sooner had I hung up the phone than a strange light began to surround me, illuminating the massive shapes of the mechas that loomed over me in my garage. Naturally, I assumed that the lights were a result of several days of hard drinking, but as it turns out, I was being teleported up to Nate’s studio! The rest of the story is all in Episode 50 for you to discover for yourselves.

Well, maybe not all of the story…

I feel like I did a pretty good job of hiding it while Nate was secretly recording everything we and the Board were saying, but I’ll be perfectly (TV’s) frank with all of you: the idea of sitting in a screening room and watching The War in Space was both thrilling and a bit terrifying. I know I said something of the sort on the air, but I’d be lying if my confidence wasn’t a bit shaky walking into the theater.

It’s hard to describe for anyone who might not understand exactly what PTSD does to a person, but while I was happy to help Nate and work with both him and Joe to make the experience a bit funnier (for both us and you, our listeners), I’ll admit that the thought of seeing my past trauma play out in front of me nearly left me paralyzed. When you’ve had to live with those kinds of memories for so long, you get used to disguising it with confidence, a generous helping of machismo, a bit of well-placed humor, and (if you’re me) some hardcore handsomeness. But even the thickest barrier of emotional protection can’t protect you forever, and I’ll be honest: there are days when it’s hard. Hard to sleep without the nightmares returning, hard to cover your insecurities with humor, and even hard to be honest about your pain with the people you trust.

With all of that taken into account, I hope you now appreciate the strength it took for me to walk into that theater, sit down, and be as insanely funny as I was throughout the screening. But truth be told, I feel like I handled it well. In fact, I can honestly say that I had a blast throwing riffs at the screen, telling a few stories from the old days, and goofing around with Nate and Joe. They might not know it, but they really made that screening not just bearable, but worth it for me to take part in. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself “cured” of my PTSD (sadly, that’s not how it works), and maybe this is just the Jack Daniel’s talking, but if I had to sit down and watch The War in Space again right now, I’d do it without hesitation.

So yeah, that’s pretty much all I have to say about my experience with Episode 50. I hope all of you had as much fun listening to it as we had putting it together, and that you got at least a chuckle or two out of my hilarious jokes. Also, I’ve been told that my actual voice came through loud and clear during the entire episode, which is quite the relief! Now the entire world has proof that I’m every bit as handsome as I sound. I wouldn’t get too used to it, but who knows… there’s always a chance that you’ll be able to hear me again in a future episode. Anything’s possible!

Thank you all again for checking out MIFV’s 50th episode, and stay tuned for more episodes (and more Jimmy’s Notes) coming soon!

(Also yes, before anyone asks, I really did fix Venus. And yes, I’m also writing my memoir! But I’d rather not talk about it…yet).

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