Monte Cook's Blog, page 138
March 3, 2011
Gaming Memorabilia
Gaming Memorabilia
I was recently reading about rock and roll memorabilia: Johnny Cash's suit, a lock of Elvis' hair, John Bonham's drum kit, and so on. Collectors are paying a lot of money for this kind of thing, and I can kind of understand. I'm not really a big memorabilia kind of guy, but it would be nice to own a piece of history that meant something to you.
It got me thinking about gaming memorabilia. Is there such a thing? I suppose so. Gary Gygax's d20. Dave Arneson's personal copy of the original Blackmoor. A program book from GenCon 5.
I have a few pieces of what I consider to be memorabilia. I own the green sculpt that was to be used as the model for an umber hulk figure from the D&D cartoon series. I have a handful of really old things with the TSR logo from the early days of the company. That kind of thing.
If I could own anything of this type, I guess I'd enjoy having some of Gary's notes from an early session. Not because I think they'd be usable or informative (I think most DMs keep notes that make sense only to themselves, which is fine), but they'd just be cool to have.
What kind of memorabilia would you like to have? How much would you be willing to pay for it?
I was recently reading about rock and roll memorabilia: Johnny Cash's suit, a lock of Elvis' hair, John Bonham's drum kit, and so on. Collectors are paying a lot of money for this kind of thing, and I can kind of understand. I'm not really a big memorabilia kind of guy, but it would be nice to own a piece of history that meant something to you.
It got me thinking about gaming memorabilia. Is there such a thing? I suppose so. Gary Gygax's d20. Dave Arneson's personal copy of the original Blackmoor. A program book from GenCon 5.
I have a few pieces of what I consider to be memorabilia. I own the green sculpt that was to be used as the model for an umber hulk figure from the D&D cartoon series. I have a handful of really old things with the TSR logo from the early days of the company. That kind of thing.
If I could own anything of this type, I guess I'd enjoy having some of Gary's notes from an early session. Not because I think they'd be usable or informative (I think most DMs keep notes that make sense only to themselves, which is fine), but they'd just be cool to have.
What kind of memorabilia would you like to have? How much would you be willing to pay for it?
March 2, 2011
GM's Day Sale
GM's Day Sale
In honor of all those hardworking, under-appreciated GMs out there, Malhavoc Press is participating in the GM's Day Sale at DrivethruRPG.com and RPGNow.com. Everything we have is 25% off, and that includes those things now in PRINT (actual, high-quality, printed-on-paper print books).
That's right, you get the following books as either a pdf OR a print book:
Complete Book of Eldritch Might
Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved
Legacy of the Dragons
Book of Iron Might
Book of Hallowed Might
Book of Hallowed Might II
Secrets of the Delver's Guild
And better yet, this week you can get them in print for 25% off!
In honor of all those hardworking, under-appreciated GMs out there, Malhavoc Press is participating in the GM's Day Sale at DrivethruRPG.com and RPGNow.com. Everything we have is 25% off, and that includes those things now in PRINT (actual, high-quality, printed-on-paper print books).
That's right, you get the following books as either a pdf OR a print book:
Complete Book of Eldritch Might
Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved
Legacy of the Dragons
Book of Iron Might
Book of Hallowed Might
Book of Hallowed Might II
Secrets of the Delver's Guild
And better yet, this week you can get them in print for 25% off!
February 26, 2011
Desert of Souls
Desert of Souls
I was recently sent a preview copy of Howard Andrew Jones' new book, Desert of Souls. It's Arabian Knights-style fantasy and it's quite good. I enjoyed it very much. The blurb I gave for the back of book was this: Howard Jones wields magic like a subtle blade and action like a mighty cleaver in his scimitars-and-sorcery tale, weaving together Arabian myth, history, and some honest-to-gosh surprises to create a unique story that you'll not soon forget."
I hope you'll check it out.
I was recently sent a preview copy of Howard Andrew Jones' new book, Desert of Souls. It's Arabian Knights-style fantasy and it's quite good. I enjoyed it very much. The blurb I gave for the back of book was this: Howard Jones wields magic like a subtle blade and action like a mighty cleaver in his scimitars-and-sorcery tale, weaving together Arabian myth, history, and some honest-to-gosh surprises to create a unique story that you'll not soon forget."
I hope you'll check it out.
February 22, 2011
Linear Scales
Linear Scales
Life is full of measurements, and if you're like me, you expect them to be linear progressions. If I walk across the room, the first foot of the distance across the room is the same as the last. It's visual, it's logical. If something is going to take 5 minutes to get done, the first minute is the same length as the third, or the fifth. It just makes sense.
But so many things don't work that way. The gas gauge on my car, for example. My gauge is digital, with little bars showing how much gas is in the tank. But I can't judge how much gas the last bar represents based on how long the bar before it lasted, which doesn't seem to have any relation to the bars prior to it.
Or my iPhone's battery life. The difference between having 50% and 60% is not at all the same as the difference between 20% and 30%, for example. (The former is much more life than the latter.) The same is true, but probably even worse, in my laptop.
Now, I understand that usage plays a big part here. With my laptop, 10% battery life while playing a Flash application is very different than 10% battery life in standby mode. But when usage is relatively the same, the measurement of the usage should be the same.
The problem with these nonlinear scales is that they lose a lot of their meaning, at least to someone like me. They don't convey the information I want them to. Which is fine, I suppose, except I can't seem to convince myself of that fact. I look at my phone, and see that I've got 27% battery left before I go to bed. I think, well, last night I went to bed with it at 100%, and woke up to it having about 93%, so I'll be fine*.
Next morning, yep: dead battery.
Would it be so hard to make these kinds of measurements into linear scales? Please?
*These numbers might be slightly off. I don't remember them precisely. I'm just trying to make a general point.
Life is full of measurements, and if you're like me, you expect them to be linear progressions. If I walk across the room, the first foot of the distance across the room is the same as the last. It's visual, it's logical. If something is going to take 5 minutes to get done, the first minute is the same length as the third, or the fifth. It just makes sense.
But so many things don't work that way. The gas gauge on my car, for example. My gauge is digital, with little bars showing how much gas is in the tank. But I can't judge how much gas the last bar represents based on how long the bar before it lasted, which doesn't seem to have any relation to the bars prior to it.
Or my iPhone's battery life. The difference between having 50% and 60% is not at all the same as the difference between 20% and 30%, for example. (The former is much more life than the latter.) The same is true, but probably even worse, in my laptop.
Now, I understand that usage plays a big part here. With my laptop, 10% battery life while playing a Flash application is very different than 10% battery life in standby mode. But when usage is relatively the same, the measurement of the usage should be the same.
The problem with these nonlinear scales is that they lose a lot of their meaning, at least to someone like me. They don't convey the information I want them to. Which is fine, I suppose, except I can't seem to convince myself of that fact. I look at my phone, and see that I've got 27% battery left before I go to bed. I think, well, last night I went to bed with it at 100%, and woke up to it having about 93%, so I'll be fine*.
Next morning, yep: dead battery.
Would it be so hard to make these kinds of measurements into linear scales? Please?
*These numbers might be slightly off. I don't remember them precisely. I'm just trying to make a general point.
February 19, 2011
The Shandler Chronicles
The Shandler Chronicles
A few years back, while still well-ensconced in working on Malhavoc Press game products, I had the opportunity to stretch my fiction-writing muscles in the pages of Game Trade Magazine. I jumped at the chance. I wrote two different ongoing series for them, the Lovecraftian Shandler Chronicles and the Ptolus-themed Saga of the Blade.
The Shandler Chronicles tells the story of private investigator Phillip Shandler. Set in the early 1930s, the story is told in epistolary form, a favorite of mine. Shandler begins to experience some strange events that draw him into the world of the Cthulhu Mythos, and all that it entails. His travails include encounters with various monsters, cultists, the Necronomicon, and even a (short) trip to the Dreamlands. If that sounds like a Call of Cthulhu campaign, well, that was the point, at least originally.
When The Shandler Chronicles began, the idea was to provide support for Chaosium's rpg. Remember, Game Trade Magazine isn't just a game mag, it's a cool catalog for all things gaming. So typing my stories in with products makes a sort of sense. In theory, the story was to (loosely) follow the company's release schedule. That's why the series started out with a foray into the Dreamlands--there was supposed to be a Dreamlands product that came out in that same month.
As things like that often go, however, the product was greatly delayed and my editor quickly tossed out the product tie-in concept. Looking back, this was a good thing for the series. It allowed the serialized story to move along at it's own pace.
My favorite part of the series was when Shandler himself disappears mysteriously, and the fellow he's been writing all these letters to, Thomas, takes over the story as he searches for his missing friend. I got to really play with the epistolary format in that way, with letters from Thomas and others.
As of this writing, I have accepted Game Trade's invitation to return to the saga of Phillip Shandler. The first entry of this new series (33rd in the story overall) appears in the March issue of the magazine. It's a few years later, and our protagonist has recovered from the harrowing events of the past. But now, a strange new case has come along, and for fans of all things Lovecraftian, it involves familiar names like Charles Dexter Ward, Miskatonic University, and Celaeno. I promise you, it will get stranger from there, including appearances by (a very fictionalized) Aleister Crowley, dirigibles, and secret Nazi bases.
You can read the old Shandler series, as well as the new installments, at the Game Trade Magazine website, and the new series in the pages of the magazine each month. The old series is updated with a new installment each week. (Roughly. If it isn't updated, make sure to give the editors over there a poke and tell them how much you enjoy reading it.)
A few years back, while still well-ensconced in working on Malhavoc Press game products, I had the opportunity to stretch my fiction-writing muscles in the pages of Game Trade Magazine. I jumped at the chance. I wrote two different ongoing series for them, the Lovecraftian Shandler Chronicles and the Ptolus-themed Saga of the Blade.
The Shandler Chronicles tells the story of private investigator Phillip Shandler. Set in the early 1930s, the story is told in epistolary form, a favorite of mine. Shandler begins to experience some strange events that draw him into the world of the Cthulhu Mythos, and all that it entails. His travails include encounters with various monsters, cultists, the Necronomicon, and even a (short) trip to the Dreamlands. If that sounds like a Call of Cthulhu campaign, well, that was the point, at least originally.
When The Shandler Chronicles began, the idea was to provide support for Chaosium's rpg. Remember, Game Trade Magazine isn't just a game mag, it's a cool catalog for all things gaming. So typing my stories in with products makes a sort of sense. In theory, the story was to (loosely) follow the company's release schedule. That's why the series started out with a foray into the Dreamlands--there was supposed to be a Dreamlands product that came out in that same month.
As things like that often go, however, the product was greatly delayed and my editor quickly tossed out the product tie-in concept. Looking back, this was a good thing for the series. It allowed the serialized story to move along at it's own pace.
My favorite part of the series was when Shandler himself disappears mysteriously, and the fellow he's been writing all these letters to, Thomas, takes over the story as he searches for his missing friend. I got to really play with the epistolary format in that way, with letters from Thomas and others.
As of this writing, I have accepted Game Trade's invitation to return to the saga of Phillip Shandler. The first entry of this new series (33rd in the story overall) appears in the March issue of the magazine. It's a few years later, and our protagonist has recovered from the harrowing events of the past. But now, a strange new case has come along, and for fans of all things Lovecraftian, it involves familiar names like Charles Dexter Ward, Miskatonic University, and Celaeno. I promise you, it will get stranger from there, including appearances by (a very fictionalized) Aleister Crowley, dirigibles, and secret Nazi bases.
You can read the old Shandler series, as well as the new installments, at the Game Trade Magazine website, and the new series in the pages of the magazine each month. The old series is updated with a new installment each week. (Roughly. If it isn't updated, make sure to give the editors over there a poke and tell them how much you enjoy reading it.)
February 14, 2011
A Small Matter, Really
A Small Matter, Really
It was one of those moments.
I was at Clarion, arguably the premier science fiction and fantasy writer's workshop. It's a grueling six-week long process where you write a short story each week and have it critiqued by your fellow classmates as well as that week's teacher, who is always an established writer or editor in the field.
It was my turn that week to have a story critiqued, and my story was pretty much straight-up science fiction. Black holes. Time travel. Weird future stuff. Aliens. The comments from everyone were extremely positive. When they were done, it was time to hear from that week's instructor.
Greg Bear. One of my heroes since I was young. I'd loved his book, Eon, which opened my eyes to big, cosmic science fiction stories. I'd also adored his smaller works, like Blood Music and his fantasy stuff, like The Infinity Concerto.
He said something very close to this: "I don't know if I have much to say. I wouldn't change a thing. This story is ready. Send it out!"
It was probably the moment that made me realize that maybe I had a shot as a fiction writer.
Now, at that time (Summer, 1999) I had already published a novel, The Glass Prison, set in the Forgotten Realms, published by Wizards of the Coast. I'd had a couple of short stories published in anthologies, such as A Narrowed Gaze in Realms of the Arcane and The Rose Window in Realms of Mystery (later chosen to be in the anthology Best of the Realms). But this was all very game-related stuff, and I had very little confidence in myself that I could make it in the world of original fiction.
To say that I was on cloud nine would be to understate. Clarion instructors rarely say what Greg said (at no other time during my six weeks do I remember that happening). I was elated! Never mind that Greg later that same day dismissed all my game-related writing as nothing more than "good practice." I was elated!
When Clarion was over, like everyone else, I was exhausted mentally and physically. Even after I recovered, I was thrust back into the ongoing big project at work, which of course was nothing but a little thing called Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons. So I guess it's small wonder that I didn't get around to even looking at my Clarion stories for almost a year. When I did, however, the first one I zeroed in on was the story that had got so much praise, and the one Greg had liked so well. At the time, it was called A Very Small Matter, Really. I made a few changes suggested by my classmates, and then sent it out.
When it got rejected, I sent it again.
And again.
And again.
Sometimes, many months would pass before I would hear from the editor I sent it to. In the meantime, I polished some of my other Clarion stories and sent a few of them out as well. I sold one to Amazing Stories magazine. I also wrote published another novel, Of Aged Angels, and sold a few more newer stories. I would go through periods (particularly while working on Malhavoc Press stuff) of being too busy with game design to think about fiction writing or submitting fiction. Sometimes years would pass where I just couldn't fit it into my schedule. But eventually, I'd come around to it again. And when I did, the first thing I would do was submit A Very Small Matter, Really again.
I honed it over the years, and shortened the title to just A Small Matter, Really. All in all, I sent it to ten different editors before I finally found a home for it at Escape Pod. I'm really proud of that, not just because I personally really like podcast fiction--and Escape Pod is the premier source of it on the planet--but because when you take a look at their audience, they're as big or bigger than pretty much any other market buying short science fiction stories.
Escape Pod will be publishing the audio and ebook version of A Small Matter, Really this summer. In a way, as absurd as it is to say, because of the place of importance that that story has held in my heart for so long, it feels like my writing career can finally get started now.
It was one of those moments.
I was at Clarion, arguably the premier science fiction and fantasy writer's workshop. It's a grueling six-week long process where you write a short story each week and have it critiqued by your fellow classmates as well as that week's teacher, who is always an established writer or editor in the field.
It was my turn that week to have a story critiqued, and my story was pretty much straight-up science fiction. Black holes. Time travel. Weird future stuff. Aliens. The comments from everyone were extremely positive. When they were done, it was time to hear from that week's instructor.
Greg Bear. One of my heroes since I was young. I'd loved his book, Eon, which opened my eyes to big, cosmic science fiction stories. I'd also adored his smaller works, like Blood Music and his fantasy stuff, like The Infinity Concerto.
He said something very close to this: "I don't know if I have much to say. I wouldn't change a thing. This story is ready. Send it out!"
It was probably the moment that made me realize that maybe I had a shot as a fiction writer.
Now, at that time (Summer, 1999) I had already published a novel, The Glass Prison, set in the Forgotten Realms, published by Wizards of the Coast. I'd had a couple of short stories published in anthologies, such as A Narrowed Gaze in Realms of the Arcane and The Rose Window in Realms of Mystery (later chosen to be in the anthology Best of the Realms). But this was all very game-related stuff, and I had very little confidence in myself that I could make it in the world of original fiction.
To say that I was on cloud nine would be to understate. Clarion instructors rarely say what Greg said (at no other time during my six weeks do I remember that happening). I was elated! Never mind that Greg later that same day dismissed all my game-related writing as nothing more than "good practice." I was elated!
When Clarion was over, like everyone else, I was exhausted mentally and physically. Even after I recovered, I was thrust back into the ongoing big project at work, which of course was nothing but a little thing called Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons. So I guess it's small wonder that I didn't get around to even looking at my Clarion stories for almost a year. When I did, however, the first one I zeroed in on was the story that had got so much praise, and the one Greg had liked so well. At the time, it was called A Very Small Matter, Really. I made a few changes suggested by my classmates, and then sent it out.
When it got rejected, I sent it again.
And again.
And again.
Sometimes, many months would pass before I would hear from the editor I sent it to. In the meantime, I polished some of my other Clarion stories and sent a few of them out as well. I sold one to Amazing Stories magazine. I also wrote published another novel, Of Aged Angels, and sold a few more newer stories. I would go through periods (particularly while working on Malhavoc Press stuff) of being too busy with game design to think about fiction writing or submitting fiction. Sometimes years would pass where I just couldn't fit it into my schedule. But eventually, I'd come around to it again. And when I did, the first thing I would do was submit A Very Small Matter, Really again.
I honed it over the years, and shortened the title to just A Small Matter, Really. All in all, I sent it to ten different editors before I finally found a home for it at Escape Pod. I'm really proud of that, not just because I personally really like podcast fiction--and Escape Pod is the premier source of it on the planet--but because when you take a look at their audience, they're as big or bigger than pretty much any other market buying short science fiction stories.
Escape Pod will be publishing the audio and ebook version of A Small Matter, Really this summer. In a way, as absurd as it is to say, because of the place of importance that that story has held in my heart for so long, it feels like my writing career can finally get started now.
February 11, 2011
Fiction News
Fiction News
I've lots of news to share regarding fiction I've written. My fantasy short story, The Ghosts of Broken Blades, is being published by Paizo Publishing on their website in four installments. Set in Golarion, the Pathfinder setting, it's about a man with the unique ability to speak with weapons used in battle... a talent which is very likely to get him into serious trouble. As of this writing, they have posted the first two chapters.
Some of you may also remember that I wrote a serialized fiction series in Game Trade Magazine called the Shandler Chronicles. Starting next month, the Shandler Chronicles returns to GTM. It's a few years later, and detective Philip Shandler has recovered from his harrowing ordeals from the last series. But strangeness (of the Lovecraftian variety) seems to follow the poor fellow wherever he goes...
(And you can read the original Shandler Chronicles at the GTM website, a new installment every week or so.)
I also sold a story of mine, A Small Matter, Really, to Escape Pod. Escape Pod produces audio fiction and releases it as free podcasts. This summer look for A Small Matter, Really, the story of love lost, time travel, and, well, saying any more would give too much away.
And don't forget that my fantasy western story, Sundown in Sorrow's Hollow, will appear in Stone Skin Press' anthology The New Hero, later this year as well.
And there's more announcements yet to come!
I've lots of news to share regarding fiction I've written. My fantasy short story, The Ghosts of Broken Blades, is being published by Paizo Publishing on their website in four installments. Set in Golarion, the Pathfinder setting, it's about a man with the unique ability to speak with weapons used in battle... a talent which is very likely to get him into serious trouble. As of this writing, they have posted the first two chapters.
Some of you may also remember that I wrote a serialized fiction series in Game Trade Magazine called the Shandler Chronicles. Starting next month, the Shandler Chronicles returns to GTM. It's a few years later, and detective Philip Shandler has recovered from his harrowing ordeals from the last series. But strangeness (of the Lovecraftian variety) seems to follow the poor fellow wherever he goes...
(And you can read the original Shandler Chronicles at the GTM website, a new installment every week or so.)
I also sold a story of mine, A Small Matter, Really, to Escape Pod. Escape Pod produces audio fiction and releases it as free podcasts. This summer look for A Small Matter, Really, the story of love lost, time travel, and, well, saying any more would give too much away.
And don't forget that my fantasy western story, Sundown in Sorrow's Hollow, will appear in Stone Skin Press' anthology The New Hero, later this year as well.
And there's more announcements yet to come!
February 5, 2011
Stretched Music
Stretched Music
I've been really enjoying "stretched music" lately. Stretched music is a sort of meme that apparently started about a year ago. It's the product of people taking mp3 files and slowing them way down. This turns existing music--no matter the type--into slow, atmospheric pieces. I've listened to music that I wouldn't normally (Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, etc.) stretched into moody, ambient-style background music that I really enjoy.
To get an idea of what it sounds like, try this link to a stretched version of a Justin Bieber song. Or read more about the whole thing here. Last year, a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony stretched to a full 24 hours was played in San Fransisco. I've listened to parts of it, and while it's too slow for me to want to listen at great length, it's still an interesting experience.
When I was a kid, I loved experimenting with my turntable, playing records at the wrong speeds to see what it would sound like. This is like that, but with part more precision, and far more dramatic results. You can create your own stretched music using software called PaulStretch 101. I haven't experimented with this much myself yet, but from listening to stuff created by others on SoundCloud, it seems like the more "poppy" a song is, the better it sounds stretched.
I've been really enjoying "stretched music" lately. Stretched music is a sort of meme that apparently started about a year ago. It's the product of people taking mp3 files and slowing them way down. This turns existing music--no matter the type--into slow, atmospheric pieces. I've listened to music that I wouldn't normally (Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, etc.) stretched into moody, ambient-style background music that I really enjoy.
To get an idea of what it sounds like, try this link to a stretched version of a Justin Bieber song. Or read more about the whole thing here. Last year, a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony stretched to a full 24 hours was played in San Fransisco. I've listened to parts of it, and while it's too slow for me to want to listen at great length, it's still an interesting experience.
When I was a kid, I loved experimenting with my turntable, playing records at the wrong speeds to see what it would sound like. This is like that, but with part more precision, and far more dramatic results. You can create your own stretched music using software called PaulStretch 101. I haven't experimented with this much myself yet, but from listening to stuff created by others on SoundCloud, it seems like the more "poppy" a song is, the better it sounds stretched.
February 2, 2011
Ad Inundation
Ad Inundation
Hulu.com provides us with a good example of how many more commercials we see (or are expected to see--thank you DVRs) today than yesterday.
Looking at "half-hour" programs on the site, for shows from the 50s, we see program lengths of sometimes 29 and a half minutes. That's just 30 seconds of ads for a half hour. Pretty decent, really. Some are shorter, but 28 minutes seems to be about average.
Looking at the same length shows from the 70s, we see program lengths of 25 minutes. That's 5 minutes of ads. OK. That's still 5 minutes of show for every minute of commercials. That's a lot, but OK.
When we look at modern shows, however, we see program lengths of 21 to 22 minutes, and thus 8 to 9 minutes of commercials. That's nearing a 2 to 1 ratio of show content to ad content. That's horrible.
I'm glad that technology allows me to pretty much never watch ads. Even if you just watch an hour of TV here or there, that's still way too much time spent watching advertisements in my opinion.
Hulu.com provides us with a good example of how many more commercials we see (or are expected to see--thank you DVRs) today than yesterday.
Looking at "half-hour" programs on the site, for shows from the 50s, we see program lengths of sometimes 29 and a half minutes. That's just 30 seconds of ads for a half hour. Pretty decent, really. Some are shorter, but 28 minutes seems to be about average.
Looking at the same length shows from the 70s, we see program lengths of 25 minutes. That's 5 minutes of ads. OK. That's still 5 minutes of show for every minute of commercials. That's a lot, but OK.
When we look at modern shows, however, we see program lengths of 21 to 22 minutes, and thus 8 to 9 minutes of commercials. That's nearing a 2 to 1 ratio of show content to ad content. That's horrible.
I'm glad that technology allows me to pretty much never watch ads. Even if you just watch an hour of TV here or there, that's still way too much time spent watching advertisements in my opinion.
January 19, 2011
Battlestar Nostalgica
Battlestar Nostalgica
Over the last couple of weeks, I've watched the entirety of the original Battlestar Galactica series. This is an easy feat, as the show only lasted a single season. While popular, it's ratings never justified the incredibly high cost of the show.
When I was young, I loved this show. Hot on the heels of Star Wars, it scratched the guys-shooting-laser-pistols-and-swooping-about-in-fighter-like-spaceships itch rather nicely. The stories were often (when the show was at its best) epic, the characters larger than life, and the struggles clearly black and white. The bad guys were very bad and the good guys were very good.
If somehow you're not familiar with the series or its more recent remake on the SciFi/SyFy channel, it's about a number of humans fleeing from evil robot cylons based on wiping them out. The humans travel in a fleet of spaceships, lead by a massive warship called the Galactica. The main characters are either warriors who fly in jet-fighter like vipers or various support personnel on the Galactica. Ostensibly, these humans are looking for their lost brethren living on some mysterious planet called Earth.
The show starts out with a movie-like two-part series opener where we see the cylon attack and the assembly of the "rag-tag" fleet. This was actually made into a theatrical movie and released in many markets as such, and it shows. The budget-straining nature of the show is obvious from the start, with great special effects, elaborate sets, and imaginative costumes. (To save money, much of this would be recycled or abandoned for the rest of the series. So sadly, no more cool aliens like the ovians.) The interesting nature of the show was established from the start, mixing a Chariots of the Gods-style mythic backdrop with rootin' tootin' action and character camaraderie. I love, for example, the two young male lead characters, Starbuck and Apollo, and their "hey, old buddy" relationship.
The show was also fairly progressive--for the time--regarding its portrayal of characters of color and female characters. Unlike its antecedent Star Wars, you see plenty of black characters fighting alongside white, and--particularly as the show went on--female warriors fighting alongside their male counterparts. The two black characters with the largest roles, Lt. Boomer and Colonel Tigh, are arguably two of the most noble and stalwart in the series.
What I didn't remember from previous viewings of the show was how many mediocre standalone episodes fill out the series, particularly toward the beginning. Pretty much any of the shows that begin with either Apollo or Starbuck crashing on a planet alone are just... not great. Fortunately, there are plenty of great episodes as well. The show is at its best when the fleet is under attack by the cylons and there's a mix of spaceship dogfights and personal action, like the wonderfully, pulpily-named Gun on Ice Planet Zero or The Living Legend. Occasionally, the show veered too much into its Chariots of the Gods nature when the fleet encounters enigmatic beings of light (and darkness) with almost god-like powers. And, toward the end, the show mistakenly took the fleet away from the cylons and tried to introduce other villains. Thankfully, in the last episode of the series, The Hand of God, we get a rollicking good battle with the cylons. In fact, it's one of the best single episodes of the series.
Some will look back at this show and cringe at the 1970s special effects, the sometimes cheesy dialog, and the occasionally wooden acting. This time, none of those aspects bothered me in the slightest. Maybe it's nostalgia talking, at least in part, but I enjoyed rewatching the series very much. I did have my own cringing moments, however. Throughout the series, the writers insist on using alternate terms for common things, I guess to reinforce that these folks ain't from around here. Most notably, of course, they have their own units of measuring distance and time. They talk about centons rather than minutes, for example. This can be charming--to a point--I suppose, but it becomes annoying when instead of taking a "shower" they take a "turbo-wash" and the toilet is (no, I'm not kidding) a "turbo-flush."
Even worse than that, however, is that the writers just can't seem to figure out what the differences between a "system," a "sector," and a "galaxy." Arguably, they can make their own definitions for the first two, but even then they're not at all consistent. Further, when the Galactica needs to go really fast, it goes to "lightspeed." Wait a minute. It's traveling from planetary system to planetary system on a weekly basis, and it's NOT going at the speed of light? Now, I know there's plenty of physics-bending and science-wrecking in any space opera, but it would have been so easy to get this kind of thing right, and they never do. Even Star Trek is better at it, and, well, that's saying something.
But overall, Battlestar Galactica is great. That's not saying that the remake isn't also great, but the shows are so different than the obvious comparisons really aren't even that interesting to me. The main characters in Battlestar Galactica are just so likable (and the villains so hate-able) that it's easy, watching a number of shows in a row to get absorbed into it and feel like a member of the crew. You really want to be a warrior alongside Starbuck and Apollo, zipping around in your viper and shooting up cylons one minute and hanging around laughing and playing Pyramid the next.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've watched the entirety of the original Battlestar Galactica series. This is an easy feat, as the show only lasted a single season. While popular, it's ratings never justified the incredibly high cost of the show.
When I was young, I loved this show. Hot on the heels of Star Wars, it scratched the guys-shooting-laser-pistols-and-swooping-about-in-fighter-like-spaceships itch rather nicely. The stories were often (when the show was at its best) epic, the characters larger than life, and the struggles clearly black and white. The bad guys were very bad and the good guys were very good.
If somehow you're not familiar with the series or its more recent remake on the SciFi/SyFy channel, it's about a number of humans fleeing from evil robot cylons based on wiping them out. The humans travel in a fleet of spaceships, lead by a massive warship called the Galactica. The main characters are either warriors who fly in jet-fighter like vipers or various support personnel on the Galactica. Ostensibly, these humans are looking for their lost brethren living on some mysterious planet called Earth.
The show starts out with a movie-like two-part series opener where we see the cylon attack and the assembly of the "rag-tag" fleet. This was actually made into a theatrical movie and released in many markets as such, and it shows. The budget-straining nature of the show is obvious from the start, with great special effects, elaborate sets, and imaginative costumes. (To save money, much of this would be recycled or abandoned for the rest of the series. So sadly, no more cool aliens like the ovians.) The interesting nature of the show was established from the start, mixing a Chariots of the Gods-style mythic backdrop with rootin' tootin' action and character camaraderie. I love, for example, the two young male lead characters, Starbuck and Apollo, and their "hey, old buddy" relationship.
The show was also fairly progressive--for the time--regarding its portrayal of characters of color and female characters. Unlike its antecedent Star Wars, you see plenty of black characters fighting alongside white, and--particularly as the show went on--female warriors fighting alongside their male counterparts. The two black characters with the largest roles, Lt. Boomer and Colonel Tigh, are arguably two of the most noble and stalwart in the series.
What I didn't remember from previous viewings of the show was how many mediocre standalone episodes fill out the series, particularly toward the beginning. Pretty much any of the shows that begin with either Apollo or Starbuck crashing on a planet alone are just... not great. Fortunately, there are plenty of great episodes as well. The show is at its best when the fleet is under attack by the cylons and there's a mix of spaceship dogfights and personal action, like the wonderfully, pulpily-named Gun on Ice Planet Zero or The Living Legend. Occasionally, the show veered too much into its Chariots of the Gods nature when the fleet encounters enigmatic beings of light (and darkness) with almost god-like powers. And, toward the end, the show mistakenly took the fleet away from the cylons and tried to introduce other villains. Thankfully, in the last episode of the series, The Hand of God, we get a rollicking good battle with the cylons. In fact, it's one of the best single episodes of the series.
Some will look back at this show and cringe at the 1970s special effects, the sometimes cheesy dialog, and the occasionally wooden acting. This time, none of those aspects bothered me in the slightest. Maybe it's nostalgia talking, at least in part, but I enjoyed rewatching the series very much. I did have my own cringing moments, however. Throughout the series, the writers insist on using alternate terms for common things, I guess to reinforce that these folks ain't from around here. Most notably, of course, they have their own units of measuring distance and time. They talk about centons rather than minutes, for example. This can be charming--to a point--I suppose, but it becomes annoying when instead of taking a "shower" they take a "turbo-wash" and the toilet is (no, I'm not kidding) a "turbo-flush."
Even worse than that, however, is that the writers just can't seem to figure out what the differences between a "system," a "sector," and a "galaxy." Arguably, they can make their own definitions for the first two, but even then they're not at all consistent. Further, when the Galactica needs to go really fast, it goes to "lightspeed." Wait a minute. It's traveling from planetary system to planetary system on a weekly basis, and it's NOT going at the speed of light? Now, I know there's plenty of physics-bending and science-wrecking in any space opera, but it would have been so easy to get this kind of thing right, and they never do. Even Star Trek is better at it, and, well, that's saying something.
But overall, Battlestar Galactica is great. That's not saying that the remake isn't also great, but the shows are so different than the obvious comparisons really aren't even that interesting to me. The main characters in Battlestar Galactica are just so likable (and the villains so hate-able) that it's easy, watching a number of shows in a row to get absorbed into it and feel like a member of the crew. You really want to be a warrior alongside Starbuck and Apollo, zipping around in your viper and shooting up cylons one minute and hanging around laughing and playing Pyramid the next.
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