#jeff hidgens

[in-a-continuous-daydream]

The Dead Working Boys scene was SICK low key scary, their voices made me uneasy

[whyisstarkidfollowingmeshoo]

Workin Boys (2023) by StarKid

[thefakehedgehogaroundhere]

this workin boys scene has been on my mind for far too long

[miss-holloday]

the Hatchetfield plotline has me in a CHOKEHOLD

The new starkid actor who plays the character with a direct link to the musicals title (Jon [Paul], Angela [Lex], Will [Max])

The two characters that fall for each other over the course of the musical (Paulkins, Barneston, Lautski)

That interlude song about a musical that is a part of the Hatchetverse but has nothing to do with what's happening at that point in the show. (Workin' Boys, Santa Clause is Goin' to Highschool, The Barbeque Monologues)

The single dad who thinks he knows what’s best for his kid but is pretty misguided (Bill + Alice Woodward, Tom + Tim Houston, Solomon + Steph Lauter)

The song where everyone in town goes insane (La Dee Dah Dah Day, Feast or Famine, Hatchet Town)

Jeff Blim's commentary on something probably (America's Great Again, Made in America, Just For Once)

And now to interrupt our segment - DAN AND DONNA WITH THE HATCHETFIELD ACTION NEWS

That one CREEPY AF song that comes out of nowhere (Join Us (And Die), Do You Want to Play, The Summoning)

The “smoke club” gesture

That part of the musical where a main character almost dies but then is saved by someone appearing on stage. (Paul + McNamara, Lex + McNamara, Pete + Max)

Then there's that one character who's morality was already questionable but then they give into the eldritch gods without any supernatural coercion (Prof. Hidgens, Linda Monroe, Grace Chastity)

Those precious few seconds where you think everything is going to be alright but the apocalypse lives on

Oh, and Paul Matthews and Emma Perkins finding each other… as they always do

[atoneofconscious]

Onion Headlines in Hatchetfield

[ratseatingmybrain]

WIP WIP WIP WIP WIP WIP WIP

💀 I'm trying to figure out the values 💀

[apothesized-moth]

"[...] Thou shall smite every Male Thereof with the edge of the Sword!"

I haven't drawn in like Four days straight and it was KILLING ME so here you all go.

[idledearest]

Working Boys - A Standing Ovation..

it's done!! Love this kooky old biology professor-- covered in blood. + 30 Seconds timelapse!!

[vilnmelling]

See, the thing about Jeff's characters is that all of them look exactly like Jeff, but none of them look anything like each other.

MacNamara? Yeah, he looks like Jeff.

Man in a hurry? Clearly Jeff.

Professor Hidgens? Yup, that's Jeff.

BUT THESE THREE DON'T LOOK ANYTHING ALIKE

[prof-ramses]

Rewatching Nightmare Time and listing things that aren't appreciated enough (1)

The Hatchetfield Ape-Man

the British accents

Joey staying in character as Konk while muted pre-twist

Hidgens hating the British (seriously, this feels like something we need to talk about more)

"It's hopeless, Ted. You never learned how to yes-and!"

Jeff portraying Chumby as an actual ape-man by putting on a fuzzy vest that matches his hair color

Watcher World

Watcher World has a snack literally called eye candy, I want it.

All of Blinky's park characters, just, they're all so good.

Blinky's sniggles living in pure agony even compared to other sniggles.

The Papa Sniggle glasses.

Quiplash being described as a teen aphrodisiac

Madam Iris gets a distinct mention from the other park characters.

Blinky taking a moment aside from his murder plot to kiss Bill and tell him he loves him.

barker!Blinky being the objectively best Blinky voice.

"And Blinky can't stand this contrived sappy-dappy bullshit!" <- me when I'm watching something and no one's died in a while

James miming the gooey blood gushing from Blinky's wound.

[yourlocalabomination]

I’ve decided to make some last-minute…cuts.

[rockrosethistle]

Workin Boys was literally the only thing that saved Hidgens from being flanderized beyond recognition

(Spoilers for Workin' Boys)

So what I think a lot of people don't give much thought to is how much Professor Hidgens as a character has evolved since tgwdlm, essentially becoming a parody of himself.

Think of Hidgens as a character. What are his defining traits?

Did you think about how he is a doomsday prepper who has been stockpiling supplies for 20 years? Because that's how he's introduced in Guy.

Did you try think about how he has a weird relationship with his Alexa? Or did we forget about that?

In fact, for the majority of TGWDLM, Hidgens' main character trait is that he says weird shit with a Doc Brown voice.

The whole concept of Workin Boys isn't even introduced until the last half hour of the show. That's where he reveals his real motivation: to live out the musical he wrote as a young man.

Actually, no, that's not right. Because his motivation was world peace, and Workin Boy's was just a convenient means to that end.

I won't disregard the fact that Hidgens clearly has an emotional connection to the show, but in Guy, it serves as a punchline rather than a driving force.

So now we have this lovely, morally-grey, multi-layered character that we can work with.

By the time we get to Time Bastard, the fandom is expecting a show stopping number reference, so of course we get that.

But at this point, Hidge is still that multi-layered character. Sure, showstopping number gets a callback, but we also get a callback to his strange relationship with robots. They make up an equal part of him as a character.

By the time we get to Honey Queen, we have lost several aspects of Hidgens altogether. He is no longer a doomsday-believing recluse. He is now active in the community and his only motivation is to get his show funded. He brings it up at every chance he gets, and his loyalties lie with whoever is more likely to make Workin Boys happen.

So how the hell do we come back from this?

Well, at first it seems like we're not going to. Workin' Boys (the short film) comes out, and it looks like we're leaning even harder into this aspect of his personality than before. But then we get hit with something we're not expecting: Hidge gets the Ted Spankoffski treatment.

I'm referring to Ted's backstory in Time Bastard, where we learn that all of his actions actually stem from a single, traumatic moment, which in his eyes forced him to alter his behaviour, so as to not go through the same trauma again.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

The backstory we get from Hidgens certainly puts things in perspective. No, it's not enough to explain why his behaviour has been so laser-focused on this one show, but it's a start.

Then comes the part that changes everything.

It's left up to interpretation whether these ghosts Hidge is seeing are actually there, or just hallucinations, but that doesn't really matter.

Hidgens had been through a horrible experience, so traumatizing that he is still literally being haunted by it decades later. For one reason or another, he believes that the only way he can relieve himself of these ghosts is by bringing honor to the loved ones he's lost and telling their stories.

This reveal recontextualizes everything we know about Hidgens as a character. Suddenly, this isn't a story about some guy who just really wants to put on his musical, this is a story about guilt. Of course it would be the driving factor in his life. Look at him apologizing to his boys. He feels like he is slandering their memories with everything that goes wrong for the show.

This is supported even more with the ending.

Henry Hidgens dies with a smile on his face, believing he's finally achieved his goal: to tell the real story of what happened that night.

It finally makes sense as to why we've lost those parts of him--we've retconned the character by revealing that all that simplification of his goals and traits wasn't flanderization at all, but a steady downward spiral of grief over his loved ones. It wasn't Hidgens getting a little too into being a playwrite, it was him descending into madness caused by the inability to please the part of himself (or the literal ghosts, if that's how you interpret it) that believes he's not doing enough.

And if not for Workin' Boys, he would have remained that one-dimensional character.

[whyisstarkidfollowingmeshoo]

Guys, forget about Professor Hidgens in Workin Boys. Heck! Forget about Aladdin or Sweet Tooth. Even General MacNamara, he's just an effing eagle!

Jeff Blim peaked in hotness back in 2008 as Billy Idol 😂🤭😉

[hatchetfield]

WORKIN' BOYS ( a short film )

[harmonizingsunsets]

Running Gags in Hatchetfield Musicals pt 3 | Becky Barnes Climbing a Tree

[ratseatingmybrain]

Standing Ovation

It didn't turn out the way i actually wanted it to be,

but oh well.