WMG / Jem

Rio knows Jerrica is Jem

Ok. I have a believe that Rio's crush on Jem is a fraud to protect Jerrica Benton from harm. His melted core-like temper is only a short-term one. Ok, about the dairy from "Out of Past" in which Emmett said it took two weeks for Jem to thaw out Rio from a prank she pull using Eric Raymond. In the last scene of "Out of Past" Rio stated that he forgot that one. He said in "Glitter N' Gold", that Rio states that he gets mad, but he stills care.

• Word of God is that at one point Christy Marx actually toyed with the idea that Rio knew all along but didn't go through with it.

"The Last Laugh" video the Misfits saw was Video's April Fool's Day joke. The real "The Last Laugh" video was revealed later.

This explains who was behind the video clips. Now, you could say that the Starlight Girls did it. However, it's more likely that they really put together the real "Last Laugh" video, which wasn't the one we saw.

Rio and Jerrica had a polyamorous relationship.

Rio really didn't know Jem was Jerrica (or else suspected it on a subconscious level but was in deep denial), and that he and Jerrica had a polyamorous relationship. Fandom tends to give him hell and call him a hypocrite considering he hates liars but is "cheating" on Jerrica with Jem, but the problem with calling Rio a cheater is that not once on the show has he ever lied about seeing Jem or about his feelings toward "either" woman. He openly gushes about Jem to Jerrica, but when Jerrica takes issue with it, it's never that he's talking about another woman to her, it's that she feels like she's in Jem's shadow (that was the whole point of "Who Is He Kissing", Jerrica's insecurities about his feelings for her). Rio's also declared his love for both on any number of occasions without any weirdness from anyone. One could argue that Jerrica never called him on the "cheating" because she was afraid she'd inadvertently out herself, but that doesn't explain why Rio felt so comfortable talking about his feelings about Jem to Jerrica. The poly theory also neatly skirts the number one problem with the "Rio knew Jem was Jerrica all along" theories, which is that Rio's Berserk Button is fraud/deception; polyamory is about open, honest communication between partners. It would explain why no one in universe seemed to bring up the fact that he was ostensibly dating two women at once.

Jerrica has Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Jem was an alter that came to subsume her personality.

At some point, the strain of keeping up the Jem persona combined with the pressures of running Starlight Music and the foundation, plus managing her personal relationships and fending off Eric Raymond's schemes eventually grew too much for Jerrica and she cracked, developing DID, with Jem as a full-blown alternate persona. Note that from a certain point towards the end of Season 2, Jerrica starts consistently referring to Jem in the third person even around the Holograms and Synergy and during occasions where it makes no sense to do so (ie no scheduling conflicts), and does so for the entirety of Season 3. You could argue that because she's been lying for so long it's just second nature, but even her own sister refers to Jem as a separate person to her. Alternately, the trauma of losing her mother was what triggered it, the Jem alter was created then, and it grew stronger as Jerrica slowly started losing her mind.

• For the love of God, someone PLEASE write a fic about this! -Mugen Kagemaru

Techrat is a Time Lord.

See here.

Hasbro is gearing up for a Jem revival

After the success of G.I. Joe: Renegades, Transformers: Prime, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic they'd be fools not to... and notice that The Hub started airing G1 Transformers and G.I. Joe a little while before their respective revivals started up. Could there be a pattern? I hope so.

• It would probably be Animesque and deal with Jem's daughter, maybe.
• There's talk of a live-action movie.
  • It's being made, but...
    • It kinda sucked.
• Confirmed! And it's awesome!
• Hasbro also tried back in 2011 with their Unit:E project. Sadly it didn't happen (mostly thanks to production issues with Transformers: Prime (which Unit:E was supposed to launch off the back of).

Eric Raymond is Jerrica's half-brother

There's even a fanfic titled "Eric Benton" that suggests Jerrica and Kimber's father loved someone else before meeting their mother. That was a theory to explain Eric owning half of Starlight music.

• I always thought he gained ownership through illegal means.

Roxy was a former Pokémon Gym Leader.

• White-haired rock star with a toxic personality and tongue to match, and their names sound the same? Makes sense to me!

'The Day The Music Died' was always meant to be the final episode.

• Well, we have Jem pretty much missing, presumed dead, The Misfits have become the only band remaining of the three, and everyone is talking about the events of the episode in the past tense, with only Status Quo Is God restoring everything back to normal. The characters even completely forget The Misfits effectively won in the following episodes. Someone check if Ba Nee is among the Starlight Girls seen during this episode. If she's not there... Who's to say 'A Father Should Be...' WAS the end?
  • There's more to it than that. Albeit just a minor point, but in the beginning of the episode, if you listen carefully, Kimber tells Jerrica that Regine needs to have her look at a few (fashion) designs. As in Regine Cesare, the character that allegedly didn't debut until "Straight From The Heart", two episodes later.

Ashley, Ba Nee, and Krissie performed in the Jem Jam (much to Dominic's dismay).^note His mother, "Lena Lerner" told him that he couldn't perform in the Jem Jam because he "[didn't] have the experience" for this type of concert.

• The two part episode gives each of them their own song. In terms of the toyline, this was meant to represent the fact that these three Starlight Girls were made into dolls, but in the show, this was likely meant to represent them not only performing in the Jem Jam (the whole concert of which we don't see), but also recording those songs on a possible concert album.

Shana (and later Raya) used Simmons drums.

• They were the best known makers of electronic drum kits at the time, plus they have Simmons' trademark hexagon shape.

Rapture was The Stingers' Token Evil Teammate.

• Within the last couple of episodes, both Riot and Minx had elements of compassion and common decency (as well as vulnerability) shine through their selfish veneers, but Rapture never did. Granted, she did care about her bandmates, in addition to herself, but it stops there. She never showed any remorse for any of the people she bamboozled or made fools out of, none of scams came from any real provocation on the other person's part other than her own amusement and it's rather telling that in "Riot's Hope" not even he really bothered to provide much backstory for her other than "she joined us [he and Minx] one day."

Jacqui Benton foresaw her own death.

• "Starlight" was her legacy song to her family for after she died. Both she and Emmet were essentially Too Happy to Live.
  • After that turn and wave before she got on the plane, she knew in that moment. All she was missing was the Dead Anime Mom Hair.

Laura Holloway came from an abusive home.

• Think about it. Of course, losing your parents does make one depressed and angsty, but given how thoroughly depressed she was, how bleak she now viewed life and how quickly she turned to drugs, (plus her stances of "nobody understands me" and "why is everybody always blaming me for everything?") you have to wonder what made her so susceptible to all of these feelings and actions in the first place...

Roxy wasn't totally illiterate.

• She was likely able to "read enough to get by", but by the time of the episode Roxy Rumbles, it started to become a problem.
  • This is very possible, she was able to read from the first grader book fairly fluidly at the end of the episode. so she was probably 'functionally illiterate'

Emmet Benton designed Synergy using Cybertronian technology.

• It's official that Jem takes place in the same universe as the 80s Transformers and GI Joe cartoons. Jerrica discovered Synergy in 1986, by which time the Transformers had been on Earth for a little while and some of their technology (which, by the way, includes advanced holography) had filtered through to humans.
  • This fan comic takes the idea and runs with it.

Emmett Benton was a high-tech drag queen, using the stage name Jem.

Why did Jerrica and Kimber's dad just happen to have a huge selection of women's clothing and a fancy car with a Jem logo hood ornament in the drive-through where Synergy was kept? Why did he keep Synergy a secret from everyone until after his death? Because, like his daughter, he lead a double life as a glamorous larger-than-life woman.

• Alternately, his wife was the original Jem.
  • I'd prefer to go with Emmett being the original Jem.

Jem and the Holograms have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^note Or whatever equivalent exists in the show's universe.

While we may never know just how long they were around (in-universe), there is no doubt that they made a major impact on the music industry. Now, assuming their first album came out in 1985 or 1986, they were likely inducted as soon as the 25 year limit was up, which would have been in 2010 or 2011.

Christy Marx hated the idea of women playing wind instruments.

This could be the reason for the only female horn player, Jetta, to be part of the Evil Group, not to mention being the most evil character in all the show.

Eric Raymond was originally an author.

This would explain why he wants to destroy Jem's career, ever since he helped bankroll his buddy Emmett Benton's crazy Starlight Music idea and helped their bands with becoming huge moneymakers, everybody has been crazy-obsessed with them and spend a lot of their time dancing to Starlight's artists' music, and nobody has had the time to sit down and read a book, specifically one of his books. And even then, when they did sit down and read a book, it was a gossip book about one of Starlight Music's artists. So naturally, his works haven't been selling too well ever since Starlight Music took off.

Pizzaz is Hungarian

• Her last name is Gabor, a common Hungarian name. Given the show takes place in the 80s, she is likely based on Zsa Zsa Gabor and her sisters ^note  the 80s equivalent of Kardashians/Jenners/whatever celebrities were the most famous . Alternatively she could be based on Hungarian scientist Dennis Gabor, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing holography.

Jem and the Holograms is a show in-universe.

The music video breaks seem kinda off with the rest of the show's drama and plots. It's likely that Jem and the Holograms is a in-universe (musical) soap opera co-produced by Starlight Music. The rivalry between the Holograms and Misfits was fabricated for publicity and to promote the show.

Kidd Video are signed to Starlight Music.

They managed to record their first album with Starlight before being taken into the Flipside. Jem was able to assist Kidd Video with escaping the Flipside via Synergy's holographic tricks.

Drake and Megan's biological father was a member of the Benton family, and they are closely related to Jerrica/Jem and Kimber.

Drake has a secondary link to Synergy that we don't see (hint: the links aren't earrings as with Jerrica/Jem). Through this, Synergy helps Drake get out of trouble and also helps Megan with enacting her pranks. As a result, Drake and Josh will eventually become a worser, but also incompetent, threat to the Holograms than the Misfits ever will (mainly because they and Megan know many of Starlight Music's trade secrets), and Drake (assuming Drake Bell and Drake Parker are the same person) also starts a rival band.

The show is actually an adaptation of Danse's heavily-sugarcoated correspondence with her adoptive family

This one's inspired by a theory for LazyTown listed on it's own WMG page. Giselle "Danse" Dvorak is a young dancer who was raised by adoptive parents after her biological father gave her up for adoption. She got a job as a backup dancer with The Holograms after she met them at an awards ceremony, and expected working with them to be a dream job. As soon as she got on the road, she is greeted with an even more tumultuous relationship between the band members, a more distressed Jerrica Benton, and more behavioral and emotional issues the Holograms and Misfits had than in canon. She tries to stop the Holograms from falling apart, but gets hindered by Eric Raymond and the Misfits. However, Eric Raymond's villainy is the end result of a troubled childhood and being diagnosed with a behavioral disorder at a young age, and all three/four Misfits have more darker pasts than in canon, including Pizzazz having been abused by her parents and Stormer struggling with her sexuality. In between thwarting Eric Raymond's schemes, Danse also learns about the Holograms' darker pasts, such as Kimber, much like Stormer, struggling with her sexuality and familial conflicts within the Benton family. She also learns that Jerrica wasn't the original Jem, but the original Jem was a high-tech lip-syncing performer portrayed by both Benton parents, with Emmett as the "body" and Jacqui as the "voice", hence why Emmett kept Synergy and everything else that he created for the Jem project secret from his children. Finally, it's time for Danse to tell about her time on the road with her adoptive family. However, she knows they would absolutely not let her continue working with the Holograms if they knew what was actually going on. So, she begins writing letters that downplay what goes on heavily, with various elements of the show stemming from the way she writes the letters:

• Jem being a Friend to All Children is her trying to make sure her parents believe a very kind spirit is keeping an eye out for her (she already is, but her mood swings, fears and stress often come in the way)
• The music video breaks represent Danse describing concepts for the Holograms or Misfits' videos she learned from the production staff for them.
• Rapture being a New Age con artist is Danse sugarcoating Rapture's desperate attempts to earn extra cash, as she isn't well-paid by Riot.
• Clash and Video's rivalry stems not from being on opposite sides, but from abusive familial relationships - Video and Clash often fought when they visited each other. Danse sugarcoats their rivalry in the letters to make them seem less like blood-sworn enemies and more like goofy rivals.
• The Limp Lizards are actually an all-female Hardcore Punk band. Danse doesn't like the genre and their Dreadful Musician portrayal she gives them in her letters is her making subtle insults towards their music.
• The No Celebrities Were Harmed versions of 80s artists commonly featured are actually Danse hiding encounters with their real equivalents, thinking her family would think claiming she mingled with, say, Prince, was her lying.

Small details like Rio Pacheco's outbursts, the Karma Houdini nature of certain characters and more darker schemes by the Misfits and Eric Raymond are accidental hints about what's actually going on in the band members' lives that Danse subconsciously wrote in.

The Misfits were originally assembled by Eric Raymond out of strangers, but they later became friends and grew into a band that's their own creative force.

In the first couple of episodes the Misfits don't seem to care or know much about each other (Roxy and Stormer didn't even know Pizazz was rich) also during this time their songs project a much more aggressive and negative image than their later songs, many of leaned more into being about independence and inner strength, and some of which were surprisingly tongue-in-cheek (like "Misfits in Hawaii"). Also later, while they aren't exactly touchy-feely with each other on a regular basis it's repeatedly shown and hinted that they do like and care about each other (such their segment of "Our Time is Know" where the other three Misfits pick up a forlorn looking Pizazz at the beach, which ends with the lot of them hugging each other.The most logical in-universe explanation is that Eric Raymond hired the three original Misfits to be members of his new "Bad Girl" image group and possibly had their first several songs written for them with that in mind.After Pizazz's father bought them their own record company the creative control of the Misfits shifted from Eric to the three girls themselves,with Stomer taking on song writing duties leading to the more positive and funny Misfits songs later in the series. Through that the Pizazz, Roxy and Stormer gradually discovered that they do enjoy each other's company and do care about each other as friends.The conflict from "The Bands Break Up" then probably stemmed from Stormer trying to build on that and introducing more quiet, reflective songs to their repertoire, which the other three obviously weren't ready for.2015 film

Rio's dad is Eric Raymond.

Only he was a very nice guy.

Author's Saving Throws for the sequel(s).

Despite being a Box Office Bomb, a sequel can still be made while fixing some of the damages. Feel free to put down what elements from the cartoon and the comics you'd like to add.

• There's more to Synergy than it appears in the movie, it'll project a hologram of a woman resembling Jem's mother. In fact, the actress will play both Synergy and Jem's mother.
• Rio's dad and Emmett were business partners, until Erica fired Emmett after her husband died.
• Ship Tease between Kimber and Stormer.
• Jetta playing Saxophone.

The sequel will involve a Battle of the Bands.

They did show the Misfits in the mid-credit scene after all.

Certain characters were named after bands/songs

It's only logical for a show about music after all:

• Rio-Named After the Duran Duran song/album

• Aja-Named after the Steely Dan song/album

• Clash-Named after the band

• Rapture-Named after the Blondie song

Zarana opened a school in Southern California for disguise and acting.

It is possible this all happens in the same universe as G.I. Joe. The large amount of people able to pull off Latex Perfection so good it can fool close friends and family in the episodes "The Fan" and "One Jem Too Many" is rather strange. Perhaps Zarana decided Cobra wasn't paying enough and decided to open the ultimate acting school. Clash was once if her students. The ones playing the Starlight Girls were little people looking to get work as stunt doubles for child actors, but this scheme would provide some quick money.

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