Pop Culture References of Wizard101: Polaris – Semolina Pilchard

Semolina Pilchard – The European pilchard and Norman Pilcher by way of a lyric quote from the Beatles song “I Am the Walrus”
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/NPC:Semolina_Pilchard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_pilchard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_the_Walrus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Pilcher
https://youtu.be/t1Jm5epJr10

Semolina Pilchard

Thank you to Ashley D. for the Pilchard Sardine portion of the reference.

Semolina needs the Wizard’s help to stop the wailing cries of the Ice Floe Ghosts in Walruskberg Harbor. She knows your wizard is brave bacause you’re flaunting curfew. She’s only out because the wailing of the “ghosts” is driving her crazy.

The European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) is a species of ray-finned fish in the monotypic genus Sardina. The young of the species are among the many fish that are sometimes called sardines. This common species is found in the northeast Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea at depths of 10–100 m (33–328 ft). It reaches up to 27.5 cm (10.8 in) in length and mostly feeds on planktonic crustaceans. This schooling species is a batch spawner where each female lays 50,000–60,000 eggs.

The European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus)

“I Am the Walrus” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 television film Magical Mystery Tour. Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released as the B-side to the single “Hello, Goodbye” and on the Magical Mystery Tour EP and album. In the film, the song underscores a segment in which the band mime to the recording at a deserted airfield.

I Am the Walrus album cover

Lennon wrote the song to confound listeners who had been affording serious scholarly interpretations of the Beatles’ lyrics. He was partly inspired by two LSD trips and Lewis Carroll’s 1871 poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter”. Producer George Martin arranged and added orchestral accompaniment that included violins, cellos, horns, and clarinet. The Mike Sammes Singers, a 16-voice choir of professional studio vocalists, also joined the recording, variously singing nonsense lines and shrill whooping noises.

George Harrison told journalist Lewis Lapham that one of the lines in “I Am the Walrus” incorporated the personal mantra he had received from their meditation teacher, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. According to Pattie Boyd, Harrison’s wife at the time, the words “semolina pilchard” refer to Sergeant Pilcher of the London Drug Squad, who waged a campaign against British rock stars and underground figures during the late 1960s.

Semolina Pilchard
Climbing up the Eiffel tower
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna
Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allen Poe

John Lennon leaves his London flat and heads to court with DS Norman Pilcher, left, on the day after his arrest on charges of possession of drugs in 1968.

Norman Clement Pilcher (June 1, 1935 – March 14, 2021) was a British police officer. After a transfer from the Flying Squad to the Drug Squad in 1967, Norman (“Nobby”) Pilcher became notorious for the vigour with which he pinned possession of drugs charges on pop stars and hippies, and for the dubious methods employed in his undercover operations, which included paying off informers with drugs.

Pilcher was born on June 1, 1935. He became infamous for arresting a number of celebrities during the 1960s on drug charges, including Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones in January 1967; Brian Jones, also from the Stones; Donovan; and two members of the Beatles, George Harrison and John Lennon.

I am he as you are he as you are me
And we are all together
See how they run like pigs from a gun
See how they fly
I’m crying

Sitting on a corn flake
Waiting for the van to come
Corporation T-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday
Man you’ve been a naughty boy
You let your face grow long

I am the egg man
They are the egg men
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’joob

Mister City policeman sitting
Pretty little policemen in a row
See how they fly like Lucy in the sky, see how they run
I’m crying, I’m crying
I’m crying, I’m crying

Yellow matter custard
Dripping from a dead dog’s eye
Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess
Boy, you’ve been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down

I am the egg man
They are the egg men
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’joob

Sitting in an English garden
Waiting for the sun
If the sun don’t come you get a tan
From standing in the English rain

I am the egg man (now good sir)
They are the egg men (a poor man, made tame to fortune’s blows)
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’joob, goo goo goo g’joob (good pity)

Expert, texpert choking smokers
Don’t you think the joker laughs at you (ho ho ho, hee hee hee, hah hah hah)
See how they smile like pigs in a sty, see how they snide
I’m crying

Semolina Pilchard
Climbing up the Eiffel tower
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna
Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allen Poe

I am the egg man
They are the egg men
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’joob, goo goo goo g’joob
Goo goo g’joob, goo goo goo g’joob, goo
Joob, joob, jooba
Jooba, jooba, jooba
Joob, jooba
Joob, jooba

Umpa, umpa, stick it up your jumper (jooba, jooba)
Umpa, umpa, stick it up your jumper
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)
Everybody’s got one (stick it up your jumper)
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)
Everybody’s got one (stick it up your jumper)
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)
Everybody’s got one (stick it up your jumper)
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)
Everybody’s got one (stick it up your jumper)
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)
Everybody’s got one (stick it up your jumper)
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)

Slave
Thou hast slain me
Villain, take my purse
If I ever
Bury my body
The letters which though find’st about me
To Edmund Earl of Gloucester
Seek him out upon the British Party
O untimely death
I know thee well
A serviceable villain, as duteous to the vices of thy mistress
As badness would desire
What, is is he dead?
Sit you down, Father, rest you

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
I Am the Walrus lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

The current list of all the (known) Polaris references can be found here.

Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references but I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.

Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages

Semolina Pilchard image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment

European pilchard image is borrowed from Wikipedia. It is copyright Citron and is shared under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Creative Commons license.

I Am the Walrus cover art is copyright Capitol Records

Detective Pilchard and John Lennon photo is borrowed from The Guardian website and is copyright Express/Getty Images

Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.

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