Cool News
New COAXIAL sponsorship / "Starship Troopers" CGI series news ((request to AUSTIN readers)) / "GvsE" initial impressions !!!
Glen here...
First off, I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Coaxial's new sponsor. Their name is
digitaleyes.net.
DigitalEyes is a small web based video
retailer, specializing in DVD (and some laserdisc) sales. They've been around for a few years,
and are slowly movin' on up towards bigger and better plans. I am flattered they have
approached me to sponsor Coaxial during their evolution.
Within the next few days, you will see HREF="http://www.digitaleyes.net">DigitalEyes' sponsorship banner appear beneath the
Coaxial logo on all Coaxial pages present and past. Feel free to visit them from time to time,
and see what's going on.
IN OTHER NEWS: I have a demo reel from the Starship Troopers CGI series in my
possession . I thought about trying to describe it in a write-up, but would rather grab a few
screen captures from it if at all possible.
It will require a good capturing system: the series is very atmospheric and dark, and we'll
need to be able to get clean "grabs" from the footage in order to properly convey the nuance and
texture of the show.
If there are any readers in Austin who might be able to help me with this mission (in rather
short order), please drop me a line through this
link so we can jump on it ASAP.
The series looks very impressive, although the dramatic potential of the show is still
a question mark, as the reel is somewhat unrefined and hard to gauge. Visually, however, it
seems dark and atmospheric - most of the designs from the theatrical film have been
re-considered.
A few vague nuances of the film's design here and there - most strikingly the use of the same
warrior bugs. But other than that, it's a new slate: think Babylon 5 meets Aliens
and it's a fair (but not entirely accurate) characterization of the general look (the Power Suits are
indeed visible in the background of some shots). The series is visually darker than the movie -
not as evenly "stage" lighted as the film. Even the interiors of the Trooper's starships appear
dark, utilitarian, and a little foreboding. Their new deployment vehicles are extremely cool: a
bizarre hybrid of Harrier jump-jets meet the drop ships from Aliens, these things are
very cool...and mean looking...on screen.
More to come (one way or the other) in the immediate future...
I just saw the first and third episodes of USA's new series GvsE (aka Good -vs-
Evil).
I have received many messages from readers saying "it looks cool", and asking me if I knew
anything about it. I am way too tired to construct a formal review at the moment, but I will say
this:
GvsE is one of the smartest, slickest, sharpest, funniest, coolest series to come
around in a long time. Keep your heads up for this one - it debuts in mid-July on USA cable
network. Brimstone's edge, Fantasy Island's (remake's) wicked sense of humor, mixed with
Tarantinoesque grit and unpredictability - this is one twisted, bizarre, and utterly charming
show.
Many more specifics to follow...
Glen
If you send a message to the above address & bounces back to you,
address!
Or call:
(512) 347-1992
Mail can be sent to:
Glen Oliver
P.O. BOX 160812
Austin, TX 78716-0812
USA
P.O. BOX 160812
Austin, TX 78716-0812
USA
Austin, TX 78716-0812
USA
USA
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I for one am really looking forward to this new series, if it is done right. It seems to have the potential to be a great dramatic series, which in my opinion is one of the very best uses of animation. Series such as Beast Wars: Transformers and War Planets have proven that animation is not just for cheap slap-stick laughs anymore, it can be used as a venue for more serious, dramatic shows. Not that these need to be soap operas, there is plenty of room for humor. I sincerely hope that the creaters of the CGI Starship Troopers tries to aim this series at NOT ONLY a younger audience (who will certinally eat this up) but to a more mature audicene. Beleive it or not it is possible to appeal to both demographics at the same time! I think I've said about all I want to say for now...
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Beast Wars was an OK show, as far as Toy commercials go, but do not mistake it for "serious drama"! Shadow Raiders on the other hand, has had some fairly risky content recently (not so subtle sexual references and all out war) and I wonder if it will be able to continue to sell to the same networks that picked up Beast wars (Remember that ABC practically dumped Reboot because the creators wanted to give one of the characters breasts...). All in all the content in animation hasn't really improved much over the last 10 years (ecxept for the Fox Sit-Toons, which have outclassed the "real" sit coms... badly (despite a drop in Simpsons quality). I still wait for an English language, dramatic series aimed primarily at adults (9pm).
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Okay, Starship Troopers was a kind of cool one hit wonder. Waht the hell would a series possibly be about? They captured the lead alien at the end of the movie?
I don't know... is this something I really want young kids to see? (I mean, I wouldn't let some young kid see that movie to save my life...)
It's just like Austin Powers. The first one is a semi-classic, but it, too, is a one hit wonder. The sequel had some funny moments, but a lot of it felt forced, repetitive, and contrived. If they had never made that sequel, the first one would enjoy possibly a cult status in time. Now, it's going to be lessened. That's just my two cent digression. -
Thanks to a friend who has many, many friends in damn near every part of the world, I was got the chance to see the complete run of Reboot. I'm not sure exactly why ABC removed it, but if it wasn't because of the breast thing, they would've done eventually, anyways.
For any of you familiar with the series, here is basically what happened: During episodes that could probably be near where they dropped it here, the little boy (I forget his name) and the girl (no chance of remembering hers) were competing in these fighting games, much like Mortal Kombat. During the contest, the safety locks were somehow disabled and the boy began getting beat down badly. Near the climax, he even had his eye cut, with a big scar going straight through it. He lost the match, the kids were lost in the game and that was the end of the season.
The next season started with this hulking, buff guy with a dead eye and this hot chick barely wearing any clothes. The jist was that they were lost in all of these games and it had been 20 years since we saw 'em. The rest of the series followed them while they met an evil version of Bob, a gang that was *a lot* like the crew of the original Star Trek, stuck in a western, and in general, a lotta people died.
If my memory is correct, I believe it aired in its entirety in Australia.
-Jose -
So what exactly was wrong with the capsule based drop mechanism? You know, where the MI were equivalent to paratroopers instead of marines? It is good to see that they will at least be MOBILE Infantry.
A more interesting question is whether or not the bugs will be an advanced race capable of spaceflight, or will they simply be stupid bugs whose interstellar travel resembles a dandelion spreading seed more than a superluminal spacecraft building civilization? Will they be capable of building weapon systems or will they rely on plasmatic flatulence?
I don't mean to sound sexist, and I don't think Heinlein meant to be sexist either, but women were not meant to be cap troopers. They were not cap troopers in the books. Heinlein by know means was trying to say women were not to be used in combat, he just believed they were better used in other roles. Pilots, navigators, etc.
Will the social system Heinlein envisioned be reduced to a laughable Facist Dictatorial state, or will it be the modified form of democracy that he described?
And on, and on, and on...
Those who really care know the other examples. Those who don't, didn't read this far anyway.
My rant is completed.
Iaidoka.
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This is in response to laidoka:
Actually, your comment about Heinlein not thinking women should be in the military is kinda off. In an interview shortly before his unfortunate death, a reporter asked him how he felt about women in the military, and his response was something along the lines that he thought it was good. He further added that had he thought about it, he probably WOULD have made Dizzy, from ST, a female. -
Reboot is being shown on the Cartoon Network (which bought a new 3rd Season and the exsisting 1st and 2nd Season), they are considering buying a 4th season.. Yeah! (Goto the Cartoon Network for air times)
Beast Machines to be shown on FOX in the US is a sequal to Beast Wars (syndicated) and is picking up a new head writer (Robert Skir). Go to http://bobskir.com to get all the latest info and even ask him questions.
Beast Wars (aka Beasties), Beast Machines, War Planets (aka Shadow Raiders), and Reboot are all produced by the briliant Canadian company MainFrame goto their web site at http://www.mainframe.ca for some additional info :-)
If you can't tell, I love watching these shows with my Daughter great entertainment for the whole family.
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MEEA LIKE STARSHIP TROOPERS, MEESA CANT WAIT TO SIT IN FRONT OF ME TV AND WATCH IT WITH A BOWL AND A BOWL OF FROSTED FLAKES. IT WAS A DAMN MANLY MOVIE, AND ANYONE WHO SAYS IT WASNT CAN KISS MY GUNGUN ASS
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I read ST when I was about eleven years old and Mr. Heinleins whole concept of citizen responsibility to the state changed a lot of my views of what I should consider as far as my responsibilities. Now, granted, ST was the last of Mr. Heinleins "juvinal" books, but I still think its concepts of state and duty are valid. It was a brilliant read and I can only hope that the new series will incorporate more of it into the show (especially the pills, talk about an opportunity for drama, the rapid deployment of the MI could only be enhanced by such a device). Well, if nothing else, I hope this new series might encourage a new generation to read some of Mr. Heinleins more classic works.
Cheers,
??Pseudo?? -
I agree -- Startship Troopers is a great read, AND for once we seem to have a pretty good adaptation of Heinlein in the works. There are many people who think Heinlein is "unfilmable" -- for most of his works, I agree with them, but I wonder why no one has jumped on those "juveniles"? They have straightforward, exciting plots, interesting lead characters, and the philosophizing is incorporated subtly into the background if it's there at all. I agree that "Stranger in a Strange Land" is unfilmable, but is that any reason not to make "Tunnel in the Sky"? "The Rolling Stones"? "The Door Into Summer"?
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Just mentioning that Reboot season 2 ended with Bob being lost in the Web due to Megabyte's perfidity.
The games with more adult content started really with season 3(the first episode having an Evil Dead type game).
Stranger In a Strange Land has been made as a movie "The Man Who Fell To Earth" back in '76.
I'd like to seen The Rolling Stones or Red Planet being done as a series or feature though.
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if so, then lemmie be the first to say: Yahoo! i see 'em first run up here on YTV. So far, haven't seen that good CGI shows south of the border (Voltron, BTW, BLOWS HARD!) Hoping ST will kickass, though. (Beasties, however, does actually have some *gasp* dramatic potential to thier plotlines. I saw a few where some well-established character died after some long & glorious battle (very much like a Ninja worrior going out in a blaze of glory), a really cool time travel ep, and some other neat stuff. Like Reboot, it got WAY better with age. Haven't seen much of SR, though, mostly on a catch-as-can basis)
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I apologize for my terrible spelling in the previous post. I learned to chat on MUSHes where speed was far more important than accuracy. It's haunted me ever since. I was not by any stretch trying to imply that Heinlein was against women in the military. Definitely not. He went into the reasoning behind no female cap troopers in the book. I have not read the book since just before the movie came out, but as I remember it, the idea was basically that men make better ground pounders. More strength, better endurance, etc. Women in the book were definteily in the service, but they tended to be in more analytical positions. Ships pilot, navigator, drop ship pilots. Roles where sharper reflexes and superior analytical skills were required generally were filled by female recruits. They didn't wear the aromored suits and they didn't drop out of orbit in a ball barely larger than they were. They were very much in the military and very much in combat however. As to Heinlein changing his mind later in life, I don't doubt it in the least. Having read some of his later works, I'm sure he would have cheered the shower scene, and the whole idea of female cap troopers. But it wasn't in the book. That was my point. It changes the whole feel of the story.
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Got a glimpse of this at an anime convention. It's kinda old and unlicensed from what I understand. Just wondering if anyone else has seen it?
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Ehh. . .I have the urge to make a few corrections. There is no fourth season of Reboot (until Mainframe can find a backer, anyway), there was never an evil Bob, and the whole Enzo-and-AndAIa-lost-in-the-Games business was totally set in the third season. Reboot was cancelled from ABC back in '96 thanks to Disney's merger with the network. If you'll remember, they threw off ALL the non-Disney 'toons from the Saturday morning roster.
As for ST, I detested the movie. Utterly hated it beyond reason. I can only hope the series actually has a few decent writers, so we won't end up with another Voltron 3D. -
It's nice to know I'm not the only one who despised STarship Troopers: The movie. Paul Verhoeven should of quit after Robocop, when he still had some artistic integrity left...
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I've lucked into seeing some of the work, and I can tell you that visually it ROX! I can't wait to see it in its entirity. I don't know how the writing is, but I have high hopes - considering all that I've heard from an EXTREMELY reliable source. Everyone who has seen it is excited and quite anxious to get this out to us - or that is the impression that I got. Everyone is going to be pleasantly surprised.
As far as Reboot on the Cartoon Network.. they just got done showing the episodes all youse guys mentioned (Bob 'n' th'Web & Enzo losing his game). Being that this is the first time I've actually paid attention to the storyline, I've wondered where it's going next. The episode that got my attention should be coming up (where the grown-up Enzo appears - and looks just like Bob sporting Enzo's scarred eye). Keep in mind they've re-run the series at least three times by now. Toonami rox all th'way around. But - to the subject at hand - if I had to pick some CGI Cartoon that the look sometimes just rubs me wrong, that would HAFTA be Johnny Quest. I love th'show, don't get me wrong, but some of the CG sequences aren't up to par (imho) and surprise me that they made it to the airwaves. -
...well, I don't remember. I remember one thing him (okay, I forgot which character): "If captured, DON'T LET THEM GIVE YOU TO THE WOMEN!"
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My site has an image from the upcoming Starship Troopers series that might give you an idea what the show might look like. http://www.chud.com/troopers.htm
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So you all read Heinlein when you were teens and you all thought it was just SO great, and the Verhoven movie was just all wrong and therefore sucked, right?
WELL YOU'RE ALL TOOLS, THE LOTTAYA!
I've read Heinlein, too, and I think he Sucks (note the capitol S). Too preachy - he spends FAR too much time trying to tell me how things SHOULD be, rather than just getting on with the telling of the story.
Some of you have noted it, trying to be nice about it and saying it just doesn't translate to film. Well no it DOESN'T translate to film - what it translates to is ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!
SOME OF US didn't mind the film - you know why? Coz it was a Verhoven film, not a Heinlein one, that's why! As for the series, I'll reserve judgement on it, but it starts to preach at me I'M TURNING IT OFF...
So stick that in yer pipe and smoke it! -
Since my memory about it is somewhat better, I'll clarify some of the conceptions/misconceptions about Heinlein's book. First off, "Tangent Z" is completely off. There was NO passage even remotely similar to that anywhere in the book. The difference between men and women, from the book's POV, was that women were, as has been said, better at things requiring reflexes and analysis. Men were better at accomplishing set goals and doing "grunt" work (ie, heavy labor, washing bulkheads, etc.). Women were never specifically told they couldn't enter the MI in the book. They just seemed to gravitate to being starship pilots, scientists, and other stuff requiring more smarts than muscle. Secondly, folks out there seem to have a rather amusing opinion of the social system Heinlein had invented for the book. I could spend all day talking about it, but suffice it to say that it is ignorance to call it facist or a dictatorship, since there was 1) a sizable voting population, and 2) a government that worked almost exactly like ours, save for the citizenship requirements. For more debate on this, email me private-like at JBardin@dis.umsmed.edu so that this Talkback is spared anything other than the buttery wholesomeness of fandom...
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You're the buttery best!
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