TBF, Mags, you have been doing a lot of the heavylifting for the quest, so this will be in good hands.
To be clear to everyone, this is just me burning out on imagination of the quest, since my muse has been hitting me over the head a lot with so many different ideas that I just can't find myself too interested in this.
I'll still hang out here, though, since this still does have a sepcial place in my heart.
I'd like to thank you all for making this a wonderful experience while it lasted.
I'd also like to thank @Magoose, @Fluffy_serpent, and @Martin Noctis for doing so much to help prepare and write this quest. I couldn't have done it without you all.
I have a few more Horror Pitches I'm working on, let me know which ones you all find most interesting:
-The Spiral Down: About a woman who contracts a rare disease which slowly twists your body into a spiral shape, breaking your bones and crippling you before killing you, as she desperately tries to find a cure. Very very loosely inspired by Ito's Uzumaki, it's meant to examine the brutality of a terminal illness on the recipient.
-When I Stare: About a veteran whose sister is murdered by a gang of small time drug dealers. He stalks, psychologically and physically torments and eventually brutally murders them one by one as they, and their loved ones are broken down by the horrific experience, eventually the Veteran kills the family of a gang member who reformed, and continues on killing, having become nothing more. This was inspired by reactions to the Last of Us 2. The theme of revenge making us monsters was poorly done there, so I decided I wanted to try it.
-Burden of Succession: When a father dies from a mysterious terminal illness, the daughter who abandoned him returns to be confronted by the daughter who stayed. However it seems that the father may not be dead, and something more sinister may be behind the illness… This is mainly an exploration of the aftermath of grief and fear of hereditary diseases. In truth nothing supernatural is happening, in fact the disease that killed the father is a rare hereditary illness that turns the nervous system into semi-fungal spores that cause hallucinations. The daughters being haunted is actually the literal aftermath of their fathers illness. Eventually they overcome it, but it's hinted the daughter who stayed may be showing early signs of the illness herself.
-Those Beneath Us: When the government cancels a project to build underground housing for the homeless just a week after opening the first rooms, a young woman goes into the abandoned tunnels and housing systems looking for her missing brother. And find the horror below. This is a mix of the British horror Creep and the Australian horror, The Tunnels. I have the ending firmly in my head, the protagonist dies, but one of her friends escapes, wandering the streets she rants at people about the cannibalistic mutants that dwell below, growing in number, but is dismissed as a 'homeless crazy', showing peoples tendencies to ignore the homeless problem and homeless people until it's too late to help either.
Personally, i'd go for this one. From whet it sounds, it adresses an important issue, and combines it with the horror of the unknown and what may lurk beneath us. The ending is also a nice touch, as I've always felt that a true Horro is when you show something that can never be stopped in the end.
Yeah the ending is inspired by the 1950's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, namely the scene where Bennell is screaming at people driving past on the motorway trying to warn them of what's coming and no one stops
Yeah know some have done it but I honestly can't remember the names of most of them. You Might Be The Killer did it but that's more of a horror comedy then a full on slasher movie. And the first half of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a person interviewing him and following him through the beginning of what would be a regular slasher movie. But I don't know if that really counts either.
If we pair those beneath us with a major charity push and investment we can hopefully make a significant difference in the public perception and treatment of the homeless
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan Directed by: Nicholas Meyer
Written by: Jack B. Soward, Harve Bennett
Produced by: Harve Bennett
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Paul Winfield, Kirstie Alley, Ricardo Montalbán
At the exact same time you, George and Steve were wrapping up production of Return of the Jedi to close the Star Wars trilogy, the franchises "greatest rival" of Star Trek had made its debut on the big screen with "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan". Taking place ten years after the end of Phase II (making for a nearly perfect chronological passage despite being just two years after Phase II's production), Wrath of Khan sees Admiral James T. Kirk and the Enterprise crew reunite to stop the rampage of the titular villain, Khan Noonien Singh. Khan, making a return after the episode "The Space Seed" is on a mission of revenge against Kirk and the Federation for his exile. To do so, Khan goes on the hunt for the "Genesis Device", technology created by Kirk's loved ones which Khan shall subvert as the ultimate weapon. It is a film that Paramount continuously hyped as a "Second Star Wars", and while admittedly it does come close to New Hope, Wrath of Khan finds itself short of commercial and cultural impact.
Once again the behind the scenes drama for the Star Trek franchise was a fascinating story that you received via telephone from Mike to Katzenberg. Last time, with the ending of Star Trek Phase II, Paramount had concluded what was considered to be the best show on television until the debut of Zeta Gundam. Such was a double edged sword, making the highest quality of art, but doing so with the finale of Star Trek where they couldn't just greenlight a new season without looking like sellouts. However, sometimes an end is a new beginning, and while Paramount was still divided over how exactly to make another Star Trek Show, Phase II's conclusion presented a golden opportunity for a proper Star Trek film to be released, to cement Star Trek as Paramount's flagship franchise and finally create a true peer for Star Wars.
Unfortunately for Gene Roddenberry, what should have been the shining moment of his career instead became something of a personal embarassment. For when Phase II was airing, Roddenberry having been relieved of primary script writing and taking more of a back seat producer role, had a lot of free time to write the Star Trek film script that he knew Paramount was going to pursue. So after months of labor, he presented his script to Diller and Katzenberg....and it was once more a wacky fantasy-esque time travel plot. This time, the conflict was focused on the Klingons use the Guardian of Forever to travel back in time and prevent JFK's assassination, thus screwing up the timeline into a dark parody dominated by the Klingons due to a ruined humanity never uniting the Federation.
Seriously, what the hell was with Roddenberry and his obsession with goofy ass time travel adventures? Such had already been tried and was a heavily flawed mess with Planet of the Titans, and here it sounded more like a gimmick that would get really dated and didn't really embody much Star Trek. Roddenberry had already made Paramount frustrated with his weak scripts in The God Thing and Planet of the Titans. His third try, "Beyond Time and Space" was considered to be a Strike Three for the studio when taken into consideration Roddenberry's mediocre craft in Phase II Season 1, the harsh reception towards the Phase II pilot which would have been a theatrical release had things gone differently and his difficulties in Phase II. Thus, Paramount sent out calls for script writers for a Star Trek movie and metaphorically kicked Roddenberry to the curb where he'd be "Creative Consultant". He'd be given producer credit, a generous fraction of the film's profits, and had the power to submit ideas and lore notes for the Director, but these were not binding commands and more guidelines for production.
Even though you agreed that the Kennedy time travel plot was bonkers, it still felt kind of sad and wrong for Gene to demoted from being the captain of the franchise so to speak, powerless to influence the first movie for his own creation. It was only the generous money, Parmount's open door offer for a second television series he could produce with greater control, and the influence of his wife Majel that Gene didn't walk out on his own creation, though he was observed to be rather moody and agitated when seen at Paramount, at one point complaining about "Jedi and Gundams".
Such a loss of control made you heavily grateful to your past self for embracing George's call for a new studio and then pushing him to go beyond and be their own distributors. Though its had its fair share of stress and troubles over the year, the freedom and artistic liberties offered by Lucasfilms were core aspects of the studio you could never trade away.
From the rejection of Roddenberry, leadership of the Star Trek film went into a sort of studio hot potato for a number of months with Barry seriously considering going third party like hiring Steve to direct and produce it. Responsibility then fell unto an unlikely hero, recent Paramount hire Harve Bennett, the man behind the Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman. Bennett was given a simple instruction by Katzenberg to make "Star Wars but Star Trek".
To Bennett, fulfilling such a directive required a great villain to be the driving force of the plot. For Star Wars, this was the menacing Darth Vader as the ultimate obstacle to our heroes and the greater Galactic Empire who held a tyranical grip on the galaxy. Star Trek had villanous races to be sure like Klingons and Romulans, but they lacked the menace and screen power of the Empire, nor did the have an truly standout characters that could equal Vader or even Tarkin. Then in watching the Original Series, Bennett believed he found his Vader with the superhuman genius, Doctor Khan Noonien Singh. Khan was Kirk's mirror and one many would say was his greatest challenger, a perfect movie villain. After multiple drafts, Wrath of Khan came into existence and 1981 saw its production.
On a technical level, Wrath of Khan was pretty good. It didn't come close to the ambition and innovation of Empire, but thanks to ILM leadership it did reach a similar quality to New Hope which was a good mark all on its own. However, ILM wasn't the sole VFX house as there was a small group of third party companies who handled the interior sets and ground scenes while ILM did space and scenes focusing on Genesis. Their competence at producing New Hope like effects showed that the rest of Hollywood was perhaps playing catch up and studios could make good movies on their own. Giving the scenes a sense of grandiose was the composition which has been commented by many to be a perfect fusion of the soundtrack from the shows with John Williams' Star Wars pieces; mixing in whimsy, mystery, epic and menace.
Whereas all three Star Wars films were grand operas of the fight between good and evil, Wrath of Khan was more of an intensely personal and character driven story. The first fifteen minutes we sort of catch up with everyone after the events of Phase II, most accumulating well to the change save for Kirk who has a sort of melancholy over his command, longing to get back in the chair and explore the stairs. Later in the film, Kirk has to face his past mistakes and flaws along with the audience seeing him in his most vulnerable state, truly losing control and being at his greatest challenge. Since all save for Kirk and Spock have their character arcs wrapped up, there's no need to divide emotional investment in the ensemble, just focusing the plot on the adventure and letting the actors do what they do best, play to their characters strengths and have damn good chemistry. If one loves the show then the movie is going to be an instant connection from seeing the cast act on a grander and more cinematic setting, everyone equaling their best of acting from Phase II and Star Trek getting the cinematic debut it deserved.
However, while character-driven it did not neglect story at all, with the film interestingly choosing for an intimate action-adventure that one wouldn't normally describe Star Trek. It's perfect for the conflict, with Khan being the harbringer of a Moby Dick inspired story in space in his quest for revenge against Kirk. Here Ricardo Montalbán gave a performance that was perhaps the magnum opus of his career where Khan is elevated from a mere villain of the week into a fearsome rival and the greatest enemy of Kirk.
Were it not for the fact that Zeta came out two months later, you could have sworn Ricardo took a lot of cues from your performance as Scirocco with how he carried himself in a similar screen presence of intimidation, command and charisma. What makes Khan distinct and perhaps better than Scirocco for some is that he's not a being of pure evil, but true humanity at its greatest flaws. While an undeniably great man, he is ruled by emotions which enslave him like the Dark Side, yet his motivations are not pure evil as he carries great burdens and sorrow from the loss of his empire and people to his seeming "betrayal" and abandonment by Kirk where his loved ones were damned on a dying planet. In some ways, Khan is the culmination of Kirk's follies and as such, is the source of his greatest misery.
Ricardo gives an awesome and magical performance which can really only be described as a once in a lifetime moment that many actors would kill for. He chews up every scene he's in deliciously and overpowers the rest of the cast, demanding the audiences attention through his complexity and emotional brilliance. This gives greater weight and magnitude to his actions despite Khan's quest being a nominally small scale conflict and enhancing the tragedy of Genesis and Kirk's sorrows. When you couldn't help but gush on the ride home from a movie double date with Mark and Marilou, Carrie simply smacked your shoulder playfully and said, "Now you know how we feel." to which Mark laughed outrageously.
This did not mean the rest of the cast was slacking however, as once again, everyone gave a damn good performance and the power of the ensemble made the clashes with Khan a spectacular and gripping series of duels with every wit and play being a great cinematic chess match with space battles equaling in emotional intensity to Star Wars' lightsaber fights. Perhaps the standout scene of course goes to Spock's sacrifice which will go down as one of the most beautiful death scenes in film for how Shatner and Nimoy play off of each other, one of the greatest friendships in TV built over 15 years coming to a tragic end. Were it not for Ricardo's nonstop excellence, that scene would have definitely earned Leonard Nimoy an Oscar.
In the end, The Wrath of Khan didn't exactly surpass Star Wars, but it came damn close and was a fine film on its own regard, having enough of a strong identity and great elements to also make it stand separate of Star Wars instead of being a lesser. Yeah, the legions of Star Wars fans might count this as another win, but you think that Star Trek did pretty great for itself and were happy that the film was made.
If it came out at literally any other time, Wrath of Khan would have been a shoe-in for half a billion, maybe even a billion dollar contender. However, it came out in a stacked as hell summer with greats like Wonder Woman, Cannonball Run, Kung Fu Kid and E.T. So many critics and general audiences were calling this the "Greatest Summer in Film" as even the non-Blockbusters were of pretty great quality which ensured that all movie theaters were packed from morning to midnight. Thus, Khan had to "Settle" for $372 million. That being said, it's performance was kind of hampered by above average foreign interest. In spite of its humanist identity, Star Trek, even Phase II never had much luck on a global scale in comparison to Gundam. It did do pretty good in Europe where the British Isles are as obsessed with Trek as their Doctor Who and one of the most popular pieces of American entertainment in Italy, Germany and Turkey. Though that being said, it's kind of lukewarm in Romania, something Paramount blamed on the country being "Addicted to Lucasfilms like narcotics". Europe carried hard for global gross with $80 million in sales. Strange, you would have thought it would fit with Japan, but you guess no mechs or Jedi passed interest.
Fortunately for Paramount, Wrath of Khan did become a billion dollar hit through the power of the VHS which was now increasingly being seen as a second market equal, if not preferable to outright box office gross depending on the film. Of course, one could argue that VHS sales of Wrath of Khan was highly inflated by Trekkie enthusiasm where no true Star Trek fan could be satisfied with merely renting it, and it was their sworn duty to purchase a $30 VHS to add to their treasured collection. Though to be fair, a large number of casual fans felt it was worthy enough for purchase as one of the must have's of a home library. Such was the case when you rented Khan from Blockbuster, and Mary had such a good time that she insisted that you had to buy it for her and the Kermit Box, a request you obliged.
All that being said, it was still a mainstream hit in the United States and wherever Star Trek was popular and in the public eye, it was highly regarded as a great film. Audiences and critics alike hailed it as one of the best character driven stories in cinema and a hallmark of science fiction with near perfect scores all around. Trekkies once again were in high jubilation and near eccstacy over how Star Trek hit another home run with a great film, even if many theaters were flooded with Trekkie tears at the death of Spock. Brags filled with high bravado were loudly proclaimed that Star Trek was the only franchise to do a medium trifecta with masterpieces in film, television and animation. Thus the fandom wars waged eternally as Star Wars fans (Damn you need a great nickname for the fandom) were on the defense, and then found a new ally with the Gundam Gang who launched a counterattack with Zeta.
Good lord could people just relax and let people watch what they liked in peace? No matter how many times you or George said you liked Star Trek on record, there always had to be a definitive winner in the quasi-holy wars of pop culture.
Fandom craziness aside, what was next for Star Wars' great rival? No sooner after the opening weekend did Paramount proudly announce the greenlighting of a sequel with Barry heading over to Lucasfilms to negotiate some sort of box office peace so perhaps Star Trek II could premiere in the Christmas season of '84. Everyone from the cast is more than happy to get back in the saddle with any feelings of fatigue or frustration with their roles dying with Phase II and the film. Most suspiciously, Mike received trusted insider information that Leonard Nimoy signed a contract to appear in the sequel. So either Spock was gonna appear as a force ghost or they were gonna resurrect him?
Star Trek's new adventures in film didn't mean that they were abandoning the silver screen though. In the midst of Gundamania, Paramount announced that in fall of 1983, PTVS would be receiving another Star Trek show, this time a primetime animated series called "Star Trek: Polaris". It'd be staring a new crew and ship of the USS Polaris, though it would be lead by some familiar stars from Phase II with Willard Decker as Captain, Janice Rand as First Officer, and Christine Chapel as the ship's doctor. Such was why they weren't present in Wrath of Khan to not split focus from the core cast and allow them their own spotlight. Polaris was going to be a Filmation production where they hoped to recapture the magic of The Animated Series while providing a show that would rise up to meet Sunrise's excellence. For Paramount, it was to fill in the great hole left by both Miraculous and Gundam's defection to LucasTV while Trekkies got some nice TV stories in addition to the movies. Now, Polaris had a Rocky like challenge to face off against Double Zeta.
Sigh, even your animation studios were now having rivals. Some days it seemed like Hollywood was a sports drama with you in the center.
As the great sir PTerry is... yet to say in this timeline
"The price for being the best is always... having to be the best."
Also, someone quickly pitch a quasi-sports anime, but in a fictional world of ultra-competitive Japanese high-school movie clubs, with the leads being 'highly inspired' by Goose and George, supported by not!Carrie and not!Marcia as the female leads and not!Steve, not!Mike, not!Mark and just for fun not!Sly to round up the plucky underdog team.
The rival teams they overcome can be once the greatest but grown arrogant and stagnant not!WB as the initial one, the honorablu worthy adversaries not!Disney and the double-dealing tricksy almost cheaters of not!Universal, who mirrors the path as the dark heroes.
In senior years we can have the sunrise gang as the adorable kouhais, and the new enemy scummy reprehensible full on heel not!Murdoch Fox.
So, for those who don't know, I am a massive Civ VI fan. I've got all the DLC's and stuff. And also, this is a bit embarrassing, but I used to title my friends after the leaders in Civ VI and actively showed it to them.
And I thought it was so cool, the dork I was...
But my younger cringe gave me an idea that seems far less cringe in comparison. So, inspired by Clone High, Civ VI, and my cringe self, I present to you all...
Animated Show Pitch: Historia High
GENRE: Slice-of-Life / Comedy
SUBGENRE: School Drama / Historical(of sorts)
FORMAT: Animated TV Show
Set Up: Historia High is considered one of the top schools in the United States. From its top-of-the-art technology to its opportunities offered to students from all around the world, parents all over seek to get their children into it. Jadwiga, a transfer student from Poland, finds her world turned upside-down when she and her uncle(who she lives with after her parents died) have to flee their home due to purges by the Communist regime. Depsite this, she is determined to make something of herself in this new land and make her uncle proud of her. Her first step? Becoming a member of Historia High's student council! Which is easier said than done. Follow her as she goes on various adventures in Historia High, including trying to stop Gandhi from spreading his "Holy Herrings Batman" cult, keeping the student council from banning olives from the school menu, and setting up the school's arts and crafts fair.
Animation: Hannah-Barbera Studios
Series Director: Felix Graves
Writer: Felix Graves and Isaac "Ike" Cullen
Average Season Length: 24 Episodes
Jadwiga: The main protagonist of the show, she is a transfer student from Poland whose family left Communist Poland for better lands. She is an outgoing, energetic, pious, and kindly girl, always willing to help others and do her best. At the end of the first season, she rises to become part of the student council.
Theodore Roosevelt: A nerdy asthmatic geek who is constantly bullied, he is Jadwiga's first friend at Historia High(and her secret crush over the course of the show). Over the course of the show, he overcomes his asthma and initial unpopularity and becomes the school's preeminent boxer.
Gandhi: The school's local hippie who protests whatever he views as injustice, he's a promoter of peace, protecting the environment, and free love. He is Teddy's best friend and often attempts to hitch him together with Jadwiga.
Cleopatra: A vain, proud, and beautiful cheerleader, she is part of Victoria's mean girl clique and often a rival with Victoria for Trajan's affections. Despite her mean girl persona, she is actually very insecure and unsure due to past bad experiences and trauma. Although she shows signs of redemption by the first season's finale when she congratulates Jadwiga on joining the student council, she still has a ways to go.
Harald Hardrada: An unrepentant, kleptomaniac delinquent, Harald just can't seem to keep his fingers away from other people's stuff. Despite this, he has a heart of gold(which he probably stole from Montezuma) and is more than willing to help out those he calls his friends. A recurring gag is that people thinks he's a pagan when he's actually a devout Catholic.
Tomyris: A very athletic student despite not being part of the school's many sports teams, she is Gilgamesh's girlfriend and best friend at the same time. Though prone to paranoia and distrust towards strangers, she will forever be loyal to those who deserve her friendship and trust. Given that they earn and keep them, anyways.
Hojo Tokimune: A fellow recent transfer student from Japan and a member of the school's art club, he quickly befriends Jadwiga due to their shared foreign nature and the difficulties of adjusting to life in America. Polite, loyal, and unfailingly eager to show his honor, he has a bit of an obsession with the actor Bruce O'Brian and often talks about his sisters' massive crushes on the American actor(as well as their body pillows).
Victoria: The leaser of the school's mean girl clique, she is a haughty, arrogant girl who thinks she's the center of the world and that she owns it. She bullies Jadwiga the moment the girl joins Historia High, and constantly brags about how she'll win the student council position over Jadwiga(how bitter she is when she doesn't win). She also pines for the handsome Trajan and fights with Cleopatra over him, despite the boy not reciprocating either's affections for him.
Pericles: The president of Historia's Debate Club, he is a stubborn goat who will debate you on anything, double down even if he's wrong, and convince you he's right at the end of it all. Because of this, he's not very popular at Historia High, and he has a bitter rivalry with both Gorgo and Frederick Barbarossa.
Gorgo: One of the school's tennis players and the muscle of Victoria's mean girl clique, she takes crap from no one and dishes it out to those who try. Her bitter rivalry with Pericles is misunderstood to be romantic tension by Gandhi, and his attempts to get them together always result in either tears or laughter. Sometimes both at the same time.
Frederick Barbarossa: One of the school's football jocks and the son of an important military general, he is a proud, vainglorious, and arrogant bully who likes to pick on the weaklings and losers at Historia High and brag about his important father. The only thing that stops him from terrorizing Historia High any further is Gilgamesh's stern disapproval.
Montezuma: A football jock and the son of a rich family, he is Barbarossa's best friend and an eager partaker in his friend's cruel activities. He often has access to the trendiest and newest goods and throws a tantrum whenever someone has something cool that he doesn't.
Catherine De Medici: She is second-in-command in Victoria's mean girl clique, always on top of the latest gossip and fashion and seemingly knowing everyone's darkest secrets. Always has a stash of alcoholic drinks hidden somewhere in the school.
Gilgamesh: An ever-present smile on his face, he is the captain of the football team and the most popular student in all of Historia High. Gilgamesh is genuinely friendly with everyone in the school and is always willing to lend a helping hand. If you dare hurt and insult one of his friends, however...
Pedro II: Intelligent and diligent, he is the president of the student council and helps organize most of the school's big events and projects. He, however, has a constant loathing of his position and waxes on about how he wishes someone else could take the reins from him soon. He'll never et it.
Qin Shi Huang: One of the school's top achieving students, he attends most of the school's arts and crafts clubs and often helps Pedro out with setting up events. He does not like being approached or disturbed, especially when he is working on a project.
Mvemba a Nzinga: A quiet theology major who would much rather talk than fight, he is often bullied by Barbarossa and Montezuma. Surprisingly, his main defender is Philip II, who takes a liking to his fellow theology student.
Philip II: A loud, zealous theology student, he often preaches about the greatness of theology class and is very pushy about his religion to others. Despite his overbearing and sometimes terrible attitude, he is able to form friendships with others as seen with Mvemba and Jadwiga.
Peter: A student whose grandparents fled from the Soviet Union in the 1930's, he has quickly risen the ranks to become part of the student council and Pedro's deputy in school affairs. A lover of all knowledge he can find, he tends to hoard the library to himself, with the school librarian often lamenting how an entire shelf disappears whenever Peter walks in.
Saladin: An honors student and member of the student council, he often serves as a level-headed mediator during heated debates and is well-liked by both students and faculty alike. He can often be found meditating on the Quran's words or enjoying the school's gardens when he's not studying or in class.
Trajan: The scion of a prominent family of politicians(his father is a senator), the handsome, polite Trajan maintains a steady clique of those who wish to have his favor and some of his money. He is often oblivious to girl's crushes on him, and always seems to miss out on Cleopatra and Victoria fighting over him.
Sidney Mayer: Mr. Mayer is the genteel, fun-loving principal school founder and widely beloved for his advancements in computer design.
Victor Strong: The school's gruff and no-nonsense gym teacher.
Magnus Irons: The school's genteel and dapper workshop teacher.
Reyna Hidalgo: The school's cynical "I'm ony here because of tenure" economics teacher.
Liu Liang: The school's quiet fountain-loving grounds keeper.
Amani Zubira: The school's kind and eager student councilor.
Pingala Sharma: The school's knowledgeable and often-always-singing science teacher.
Moksha Singh: The school's humble and stern theology teacher.
Casimir III: An important political refuess and Jadwiga's favorite uncle who she adores and wants to make proud. He takes her to school when he isn't busy with work, and offers her wise advice whenever she needs it.
Tamar: Jadwiga's best friend from Georgia who she had to leave behind after her family fled Poland. Flashbacks often occur of the two interacting, the quiet and reserved Tamar contrasting the eager and outgoing Jadwiga.
Wotjek: A stray black-and-brown bear that Jadwiga adopts after getting it unstuck from a fence.
A/N:
I'd have gotten this out sooner, but the students took forever to write...
Also, the ones pictured are Tamar on the left and Jadwiga on the right. The the best art Icould find of Civ VI leaders being school students... which is not a sentence I ever thought I'd say, but here we are.
So, for those who don't know, I am a massive Civ VI fan. I've got all the DLC's and stuff. And also, this is a bit embarrassing, but I used to title my friends after the leaders in Civ VI and actively showed it to them.
And I thought it was so cool, the dork I was...
But my younger cringe gave me an idea that seems far less cringe in comparison. So, inspired by Clone High, Civ VI, and my cringe self, I present to you all...
Animated Show Pitch: Historia High
GENRE: Slice-of-Life / Comedy
SUBGENRE: School Drama / Historical(of sorts)
FORMAT: Animated TV Show
Set Up: Historia High is considered one of the top schools in the United States. From its top-of-the-art technology to its opportunities offered to students from all around the world, parents all over seek to get their children into it. Jadwiga, a transfer student from Poland, finds her world turned upside-down when she and her uncle(who she lives with after her parents died) have to flee their home due to purges by the Communist regime. Depsite this, she is determined to make something of herself in this new land and make her uncle proud of her. Her first step? Becoming a member of Historia High's student council! Which is easier said than done. Follow her as she goes on various adventures in Historia High, including trying to stop Gandhi from spreading his "Holy Herrings Batman" cult, keeping the student council from banning olives from the school menu, and setting up the school's arts and crafts fair.
Animation: Hannah-Barbera Studios
Series Director: Felix Graves
Writer: Felix Graves and Isaac "Ike" Cullen
Average Season Length: 24 Episodes
Jadwiga: The main protagonist of the show, she is a transfer student from Poland whose family left Communist Poland for better lands. She is an outgoing, energetic, pious, and kindly girl, always willing to help others and do her best. At the end of the first season, she rises to become part of the student council.
Theodore Roosevelt: The school's preeminent boxer, a dabbler in everything masculine and member of the student council, he is Jadwiga's first friend at Historia High(and her secret crush over the course of the show).
Gandhi: The school's local hippie who protests whatever he views as injustice, he's a promoter of peace, protecting the environment, and free love. He is Teddy's best friend and often attempts to hitch him together with Jadwiga.
Cleopatra: A vain, proud, and beautiful cheerleader, she is part of Victoria's mean girl clique and often a rival with Victoria for Trajan's affections. Despite her mean girl persona, she is actually very insecure and unsure due to past bad experiences and trauma. Although she shows signs of redemption by the first season's finale when she congratulates Jadwiga on joining the student council, she still has a ways to go.
Harald Hardrada: An unrepentant, kleptomaniac delinquent, Harald just can't seem to keep his fingers away from other people's stuff. Despite this, he has a heart of gold(which he probably stole from Montezuma) and is more than willing to help out those he calls his friends. A recurring gag is that people thinks he's a pagan when he's actually a devout Catholic.
Tomyris: A very athletic student despite not being part of the school's many sports teams, she is Gilgamesh's girlfriend and best friend at the same time. Though prone to paranoia and distrust towards strangers, she will forever be loyal to those who deserve her friendship and trust. Given that they earn and keep them, anyways.
Hojo Tokimune: A fellow recent transfer student from Japan and a member of the school's art club, he quickly befriends Jadwiga due to their shared foreign nature and the difficulties of adjusting to life in America. Polite, loyal, and unfailingly eager to show his honor, he has a bit of an obsession with the actor Bruce O'Brian and often talks about his sisters' massive crushes on the American actor(as well as their body pillows).
Victoria: The leaser of the school's mean girl clique, she is a haughty, arrogant girl who thinks she's the center of the world and that she owns it. She bullies Jadwiga the moment the girl joins Historia High, and constantly brags about how she'll win the student council position over Jadwiga(how bitter she is when she doesn't win). She also pines for the handsome Trajan and fights with Cleopatra over him, despite the boy not reciprocating either's affections for him.
Pericles: The president of Historia's Debate Club, he is a stubborn goat who will debate you on anything, double down even if he's wrong, and convince you he's right at the end of it all. Because of this, he's not very popular at Historia High, and he has a bitter rivalry with both Gorgo and Frederick Barbarossa.
Gorgo: One of the school's tennis players and the muscle of Victoria's mean girl clique, she takes crap from no one and dishes it out to those who try. Her bitter rivalry with Pericles is misunderstood to be romantic tension by Gandhi, and his attempts to get them together always result in either tears or laughter. Sometimes both at the same time.
Frederick Barbarossa: One of the school's football jocks and the son of an important military general, he is a proud, vainglorious, and arrogant bully who likes to pick on the weaklings and losers at Historia High and brag about his important father. The only thing that stops him from terrorizing Historia High any further is Gilgamesh's stern disapproval.
Montezuma: A football jock and the son of a rich family, he is Barbarossa's best friend and an eager partaker in his friend's cruel activities. He often has access to the trendiest and newest goods and throws a tantrum whenever someone has something cool that he doesn't.
Catherine De Medici: She is second-in-command in Victoria's mean girl clique, always on top of the latest gossip and fashion and seemingly knowing everyone's darkest secrets. Always has a stash of alcoholic drinks hidden somewhere in the school.
Gilgamesh: An ever-present smile on his face, he is the captain of the football team and the most popular student in all of Historia High. Gilgamesh is genuinely friendly with everyone in the school and is always willing to lend a helping hand. If you dare hurt and insult one of his friends, however...
Pedro II: Intelligent and diligent, he is the president of the student council and helps organize most of the school's big events and projects. He, however, has a constant loathing of his position and waxes on about how he wishes someone else could take the reins from him soon. He'll never et it.
Qin Shi Huang: One of the school's top achieving students, he attends most of the school's arts and crafts clubs and often helps Pedro out with setting up events. He does not like being approached or disturbed, especially when he is working on a project.
Mvemba a Nzinga: A quiet theology major who would much rather talk than fight, he is often bullied by Barbarossa and Montezuma. Surprisingly, his main defender is Philip II, who takes a liking to his fellow theology student.
Philip II: A loud, zealous theology student, he often preaches about the greatness of theology class and is very pushy about his religion to others. Despite his overbearing and sometimes terrible attitude, he is able to form friendships with others as seen with Mvemba and Jadwiga.
Peter: A student whose grandparents fled from the Soviet Union in the 1930's, he has quickly risen the ranks to become part of the student council and Pedro's deputy in school affairs. A lover of all knowledge he can find, he tends to hoard the library to himself, with the school librarian often lamenting how an entire shelf disappears whenever Peter walks in.
Saladin: An honors student and member of the student council, he often serves as a level-headed mediator during heated debates and is well-liked by both students and faculty alike. He can often be found meditating on the Quran's words or enjoying the school's gardens when he's not studying or in class.
Trajan: The scion of a prominent family of politicians(his father is a senator), the handsome, polite Trajan maintains a steady clique of those who wish to have his favor and some of his money. He is often oblivious to girl's crushes on him, and always seems to miss out on Cleopatra and Victoria fighting over him.
Sidney Mayer: Mr. Mayer is the genteel, fun-loving principal school founder and widely beloved for his advancements in computer design.
Victor Strong: The school's gruff and no-nonsense gym teacher.
Magnus Irons: The school's genteel and dapper workshop teacher.
Reyna Hidalgo: The school's cynical "I'm ony here because of tenure" economics teacher.
Liu Liang: The school's quiet fountain-loving grounds keeper.
Amani Zubira: The school's kind and eager student councilor.
Pingala Sharma: The school's knowledgeable and often-always-singing science teacher.
Moksha Singh: The school's humble and stern theology teacher.
Casimir III: An important political refuess and Jadwiga's favorite uncle who she adores and wants to make proud. He takes her to school when he isn't busy with work, and offers her wise advice whenever she needs it.
Tamar: Jadwiga's best friend from Georgia who she had to leave behind after her family fled Poland. Flashbacks often occur of the two interacting, the quiet and reserved Tamar contrasting the eager and outgoing Jadwiga.
Wotjek: A stray black-and-brown bear that Jadwiga adopts after getting it unstuck from a fence.
A/N:
I'd have gotten this out sooner, but the students took forever to write...
Also, the ones pictured are Tamar on the left and Jadwiga on the right. The the best art Icould find of Civ VI leaders being school students... which is not a sentence I ever thought I'd say, but here we are.
This is great, and I would watch it, but have you considered being semi-sly with characters' names? Maybe make Theodore Roosevelt be referred to only as Theo by friends and Teddy by the bullies, make him initially less popular and just like historically suffering from asthma and make him do his best to overcome it, by a plot B beyond him being Jadwiga's crush.
I think that making Gadhi one of the main characters during the Cold War when India was chummy with the USSR isn't a perfectly good idea; I think him being a secondary character maybe for a gag character who is very calm in the background during the crazy scenes.
I think that given the nature of this being an American cartoon, Wilfrid Laurier, a Canadian, would work better as Theo's best friend, and given his historical role, he could be an upperclassman who is the current president of the student council.
I also think that for a bit of drama for possible season two one of the mean girls should be Sophia from Germany (never specified which one) give her a catty personality and in season two she turns out to be a russian spy, Catherine the Great (for a civ V refrence)
I think that given the nature of this being an American cartoon, Wilfrid Laurier, a Canadian, would work better as Theo's best friend, and given his historical role, he could be an upperclassman who is the current president of the student council.
I also think that for a bit of drama for possible season two one of the mean girls should be Sophia from Germany (never specified which one) give her a catty personality and in season two she turns out to be a russian spy, Catherine the Great (for a civ V refrence)
Maybe make Theodore Roosevelt be referred to only as Theo by friends and Teddy by the bullies, make him initially less popular and just like historically suffering from asthma and make him do his best to overcome it, by a plot B beyond him being Jadwiga's crush.
Also, someone quickly pitch a quasi-sports anime, but in a fictional world of ultra-competitive Japanese high-school movie clubs, with the leads being 'highly inspired' by Goose and George, supported by not!Carrie and not!Marcia as the female leads and not!Steve, not!Mike, not!Mark and just for fun not!Sly to round up the plucky underdog team.
The rival teams they overcome can be once the greatest but grown arrogant and stagnant not!WB as the initial one, the honorablu worthy adversaries not!Disney and the double-dealing tricksy almost cheaters of not!Universal, who mirrors the path as the dark heroes.
In senior years we can have the sunrise gang as the adorable kouhais, and the new enemy scummy reprehensible full on heel not!Murdoch Fox.
Alright I didn't know and I don't want to but this has given me a great idea for a anime pitch. Of rather than it being a rival sports anime its a SoL comedy about a film club full of a bunch of over exaggerated weirdos and straight up wackos.
I can imagine one scene perfectly of someone does something to "impundge upon the honor of filmmaking" and one member just grabs a boom stick swings it around like a trained bo staff fighter, holds it above his head and lets a an angered "REEEEEEEE" like an demonic boar before leaping out of a (3rd floor) Windows to go dispense his unholy (goose inspired) vengeance upon them....before the entire rest of the club sighs, runs after him drugs him back screaming and struggling like a oiled pig before duct taping him to the ceiling to stop him from getting arrested (again) and continueing on the meeting like usual ignoring him.
All of the other members would naturally be just as crazy or neurotic as him just in different ways. Like the club leader being a diehards perfectionist to the point of forcing the club to keep doing retakes until 6 in the morning (as in doing Tue retakes non stop all night) and the VFX guy treating sunlight like it would melt him like he was a vampire and never leaving his room (when he if physically forced to go outside during Tue day he carries 4 umbrellas to use to block out the sun). And the scriptwriter literally injecting coffee into her veins to keep working on new scripts (the rest of the club desperately tries to stop her). And the teacher in charge of the club isn't even a teacher st the school their s high ranking yakuza member who one of the club members somehow miss identified as being a teacher and dragged infornt of the principal to be the club counticler and the principal was too scared of him to say no and now this deeply confused yakuza member is in the club and is to caught up in it to NOT show up everyday. (the yakuza member was always a "go with the flow" type and got so caught up it that he completely forgot that he in no way has to do this and is fully committed to to use everything at his disposal{incuding his yakuza resoucres} to help theses kids and none of the club meme ever notice that he's NOT a teacher at the school.)
Just a group of like 15-25 neurotic goofballs butting heads with each other and anyone who would DARE get in there way of fulfilling their shared fucking deep ass burning shounen ass Dream of making fucking Art
A while back, I made a Coraline pitch for Disney to be part of it's "Dark Disney" catalogue, especially after the loss of so many of their Renaissance films. I said in that pitch that after making it's writer be our sister Cat, that I'd have her write the book for Coraline, since it was originally a novella written by Neil Gaiman and I wanted her to be writing more books. Well, here it is. I'll also be trying to go for a couple of other pitches for Disney, along with other studios to try and buff up their franchises and just have them doing more stuff, like TV. I'm still collecting potential ideas for them, but I can definitively say that one of the pitches I'll be making is for Oliver and Company. Without further ado, enjoy!
Book Pitch:
Coraline Written by: Catherine Powell
GENRE: Horror/Fantasy SUBGENRE: Dark Fantasy/Supernatural/Children's FORMAT: Novella
SET UP: While exploring her new home, a young girl named Coraline discovers a secret door. Behind the secret door lies an alternate world that parallels her own and although appears better in many ways, is truly a sinister otherworld. She must battle the evil "Other Mother" and the rest of her parallel family as they try to keep her there forever, in order to secure her and her family's safety.
Coraline Jones and her parents move into a large, old house that has been divided into flats. In these flats, Coraline meets her new neighbors; Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, two elderly women retired from the stage, and Mr. Bobo, initially referred to as "the crazy old man upstairs," who claims to be training a jumping mouse circus. The flat next to Coraline however, is empty, and connected by a mysterious door that Coraline finds to be blocked by bricks when she asks her mother to open it.
One day, Coraline finds herself alone in the apartment, and out of curiosity, she opens the door. This time she finds a corridor, which she crawls through. On the other side, she notices she is in a space that looks almost exactly like her apartment. However, she finds the residents of this "other apartment" to be her mother and father, but they now have buttons for eyes. The copy of Coraline's mother introduces herself as Coraline's "Other Mother" and the man as Coraline's "Other Father."
Coraline immediately realizes that this "Other World" is far more interesting than her own. Here, her "parents" pay attention to her, her new button-eyed neighbors Miss Spink and Miss Forcible perform wonderful shows on stage every night in front of anthropomorphic dogs, and Mr. Bobo hosts a real amazing jumping mouse circus (however, those so-called "jumping mice" are actually black rats). She even finds a friend, a mysterious talking black cat that can travel between this world and the real world as he pleases. He is the only one without buttons for eyes.
One night, after Coraline returns to the copy of her flat, the Other Mother offers Coraline the opportunity to stay in the Other World permanently, but in order to do so, Coraline must allow buttons to be sewn over her eyes. Coraline is horrified and escapes through the door to her real home. Upon her return, Coraline finds that her real parents are missing. When they do not return the next day, the black cat wakes her and takes her to a mirror in her hallway, through which she can see her parents trapped inside. They signal to her by writing "Help Us" on the glass, from which Coraline deduces the Other Mother has kidnapped them. She first calls the police, but they do not believe her. Though frightened of returning, Coraline goes back to the Other World to confront the Other Mother and rescue her parents, reminding her of when her father saved her from wasps.
When Coraline finds the Other Mother, she is urged to stay but refuses. As a punishment, the Other Mother locks Coraline in a small space behind a mirror. In this small, dark space, she meets three ghost children. These children refer to the Other Mother as the "Beldam;" each had in the past let her sew buttons over their eyes to stay in this world. They tell Coraline how the Beldam eventually grew bored with them, casting them aside and leaving them to die. They are now trapped because the Beldam has kept their souls. The children tell Coraline that if their souls can be rescued, they will be free.
After the Beldam releases Coraline from behind the mirror, Coraline proposes a game. If she can find the essences of the ghost children's souls and her parents, then she, her parents, and the ghost children may all go free. If she fails, she will finally accept the Beldam's offer, let buttons be sewn into her eyes, and stay in the Other World forever. Coraline searches through the Other World and overcomes the Other Mother's obstacles by using her wits and Miss Spink's lucky adder stone to find the souls' essences. First, she finds the first soul in the toy box, next, she goes into the now abandon theater where she retrieves the second soul from the Other Spink and Forcible, then she goes into a dim cellar where she battles a monstrous grub version of the Other Father, and finally, she goes into the Other Mr. Bobo's flat, where the owner is revealed to be clothes filled with rats. She also concludes that her parents are imprisoned in a snow globe on the mantelpiece. The ghost children warn her that even if Coraline succeeds, the Beldam will not let her go, so Coraline tricks the Other Mother by announcing that she knows where her parents are hidden: in the passageway between the dimensions. The Beldam cannot resist gloating by opening the door to show Coraline that her parents are not there. When the Beldam opens the door, Coraline throws the cat at her, grabs the snow globe, and escapes to the real world with the key, and the cat quickly follows. While escaping, Coraline forces the door shut on the Beldam's hand, severing it. Back in her home, Coraline falls asleep on a chair. She is awoken by her parents who don't have any memory of what happened to them.
That night, Coraline has a dream in which she meets the three ghost children at a picnic. They warn her that her task is still not done: the Beldam will seek revenge and will try to get the key to unlock the door. So, one day, Coraline goes to an old well in the woods to dispose of the key. She pretends to have a picnic with her dolls, with the picnic blanket laid over the entrance to the well. The Beldam's severed hand attempts to seize the key, but steps on the blanket and falls into the well. That morning, Coraline returns to the house, greets her neighbors, and gets ready for school.
Coraline Jones: She is a curious, intelligent, resourceful, and courageous girl. Coraline is often irritated by rain, her "crazy" grown-up neighbors, and not being taken seriously because of her young age. She is described as being "small for her age."
Mel Jones: Coraline's mother. She is very busy most of the time, and sometimes inattentive, but she loves and cares about Coraline.
Charlie Jones: Coraline's father. He cares about Coraline very much and is kind, brave, and helpful. He makes "creative" food creations that Coraline strongly dislikes. He is usually found working at the house in his study. He, like his wife, Mrs. Jones, is usually too busy to spend time with Coraline.
The Cat: A black cat from the real world, who acts as a mentor to Coraline and guides her through her journey. He is unnamed, as he explains that cats do not need names to tell each other apart, but the Other Mother refers to him as "Vermin." Unlike many of the others, he does not have an "Other World" counterpart, as he states that unlike other creatures in the world, cats can "keep themselves together." He moves freely from one world to the other and is capable of talking in the Other World. He has a sarcastic personality, constantly belittling Coraline, but befriends and helps her escape from the Beldam. He is defiant of the Other Mother, but trembles at the thought of being stuck in the Other World forever.
The Beldam/The Other Mother: An evil, inhuman sorceress and the ruler of the Other World. In her first form, she looks similar to Coraline's real mother but taller and thinner, with long black hair that seems to move by itself, black button eyes, paper-white skin, and extremely long, twitchy fingers with long dark red nails. During the course of the story, she grows taller, thinner, and paler, having little physical similarities to Coraline's mother by the end, suggesting she has the ability to metamorphose. She cannot create, but only copy, twist, and change things from the real world when constructing her version of it. She collects children, whom she loves possessively to the point of their eventual destruction, taking their souls so they cannot leave her world and caring for them until they pass away, but wanting to feel their happiness and joy afterwards.
The Other Father: One of the creations of the Beldam, in the image of Mr. Jones, the Other Father is used to help trick Coraline to stay in the Other World. Like her real father, he has a study and sits there during the day and will not talk to Coraline for long. He does not work, he merely occupies the study, and is not permitted to talk to Coraline without the Beldam's influence. He appears to be much more enjoyable than Coraline's real father and always tries to be cheerful and fun in front of Coraline. In reality, the Other Father is sad and somewhat nervous. The Beldam ends up punishing him for revealing too much to Coraline, transforming him into a soft, doughy, grub-like creature, and orders the Other Father to trap Coraline so she cannot win her challenge. He voices his reluctance not to harm her, yet cannot refuse the Beldam's orders.
April Spink and Miriam Forcible: A pair of retired actresses who live in the flat under Coraline's. They own many aging Scotties and talk in theater jargon, often referencing their glory days as actresses. In the Other World, they are youthful and perform continuously in front of anthropomorphic dogs. Later, the Other Spink and Forcible appear to be conjoined twins inside a cocoon-like sac where they have the second soul. As for the dogs, they appear to be bat/dog hybrids.
Mr. Bobo: A retired circus performer living in the flat above Coraline's and is commonly referred to as the "Crazy Old Man Upstairs." He claims to be training mice to perform in a mouse circus, and often brings Coraline messages from them. His Other World counterpart trains rats and is made of rats.
The Ghost Children: The spirits of three children, two girls and one boy, who were the previous victims of Beldam. The boy is described as having a dirty face and red trousers. One of the girls has blonde hair with a circle of glittering silver, a dress with a pattern of spider webs, and butterfly wings coming out of her back. The other has a brown bonnet and brown dress. They were trapped by the Beldam at different times before Coraline and reside in the dark space behind the mirror. After having their souls restored, they go to the afterlife.
So, what's our next move? Do we have any plans for expansion of Lucasfilm Unlimited? Do we start releasing foreign films again? We haven't done that in a while.
I remember that there was a talk about Bruce becoming an enviromentalist, which I support. Do we still think of doing that? Are there other causes we can donate money to? Last time I believe we did this was to help with AIDS.
On another note, I have a new quest right here. I hate to reccoment it on another quest thread, don't know if it's even allowed, but perhaps you'll all enjoy it... I hope.
So, what's our next move? Do we have any plans for expansion of Lucasfilm Unlimited? Do we start releasing foreign films again? We haven't done that in a while.
We released Michel the Brave on turn 97. It wasn't a massive money maker or anything but we did it. We could also go through Sunrises pre buyout library and release some English dubs if we don't have anything better to do. As for expansion there's still some game companies we can pilfer due to the crash.
So, what's our next move? Do we have any plans for expansion of Lucasfilm Unlimited? Do we start releasing foreign films again? We haven't done that in a while.
I remember that there was a talk about Bruce becoming an enviromentalist, which I support. Do we still think of doing that? Are there other causes we can donate money to?
Here's another pitch for today. I'll probably only put one more up today. Admittedly, I've never seen JoJo Rabbit, but I've heard some pretty alright things about it, and y'know what? It has Sam Rockwell in it, so it has to at least be alright? I don't really have much to say about this film or pitch, other than the fact that I decided to do something a little different for this one. I decided to make separate casts for both the 80s and the 90s. I couldn't really decide which would be better and I didn't want to have to come up with new casting if we didn't make it during the 80s, so I tried out this little experiment. I hope you enjoy!
Movie Pitch:
JoJo Rabbit Directed by: Charles Chrichton Written by: John Cleese
GENRE: Comedy SUBGENRE: War/Drama FORMAT: Movie
SET UP: Jojo is a lonely German boy who discovers that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler, Jojo must confront his beliefs as World War II continues to rage on.
During the collapse of Nazi Germany in the city of Falkenheim, ten-year-old Johannes "Jojo" Betzler joins the Deutsches Jungvolk, the junior section of the Hitler Youth. Heavily indoctrinated with Nazi ideals, he has an imaginary friend named Adolf, a buffoonish version of Adolf Hitler. The local Hitler Youth training camp is run by the conflicted Captain Klenzendorf. Though a fanatic, Jojo is nicknamed "Jojo Rabbit" after refusing to kill a rabbit to prove his worthiness. Pepped up by Adolf, he returns to prove himself, throwing a Stielhandgranate by himself that explodes at his feet. His mother Rosie insists to the now-demoted Klenzendorf that Jojo still be included, giving him small tasks like spreading propaganda leaflets.
Alone at home one day, Jojo discovers Elsa Korr, a teenage Jewish girl and his late sister Inge's former friend, hiding behind the walls of Inge's attic bedroom. Jojo is both terrified of and aggressive towards Elsa. The two are left at an impasse, as the revelation of Rosie's hiding of Elsa would lead to the execution of all three of them. Inspired by an offhand rant by Klenzendorf, Jojo continues to interact with her to uncover her "Jew secrets" and make a picture book titled Yoohoo Jew, allowing people to easily recognize her kind. Despite this, he finds himself clashing with innocence, and slowly forming a friendship with her. Elsa is both saddened and amused by Jojo's radical beliefs, using surreal antisemitic tropes to challenge his dogmatism. Jojo slowly becomes infatuated with the strong-willed and kind Elsa, frequently forging love letters from her fiancé Nathan, and begins questioning his beliefs, causing Adolf to scold him over his diminishing patriotism.
Gradually, Rosie is revealed to be part of the German resistance to Nazism, spreading anti-Nazi messages around town. One day while she is out, the Gestapo come to investigate; Klenzendorf arrives and helps Jojo and Elsa deceive the Gestapo regarding Elsa's identity. Later, Jojo finds Rosie has been executed at a gallows in the public square. Devastated, he returns home and tries to stab Elsa before breaking down in tears. Elsa comforts him and also reveals that Jojo's lost father has been working against Hitler from abroad. Jojo's beliefs on Nazism quickly shift, as he sees the regime's inhumanity. With no money, he begins to scavenge food for them both from waste bins around the city.
Following the death of Adolf Hitler, the Allies initiate an offensive on Falkenheim. Weakened, the civilian population including the Jungvolk is pressed into combat service. Jojo hides until it ends with an Allied victory. As a Jungvolk, he is seized by Soviet soldiers alongside Klenzendorf, who comforts him over the death of Rosie, tells him to look after Elsa, and tears off his Jungvolk coat while calling him a Jew so the Soviets do not harm him. After saving Jojo, Klenzendorf is executed by firing squad. Fearing that Elsa will leave him, Jojo tells her Germany won the war. Recognizing her despair, he forges a letter from Nathan, claiming that he and Jojo have figured out a way to smuggle her to Paris. Elsa confesses that Nathan died of tuberculosis the previous year. Jojo tells her he loves her, but she tells him she loves him as a brother. A disheveled Adolf angrily confronts Jojo for siding with Elsa, but Jojo kicks him out a window. Outside, Elsa sees American soldiers and realizes the truth, slapping Jojo in the face for lying. They then dance, now free.
Has anyone made a Mech RPG pitch yet? With Gundams popularity It seems like the perfect time for it. I've never played it before but I could try to write a pitch for Mekton* if anyone else doesn't want to.
* R Talsorian's first game in real life. Got the Idea for it by watching Gundam. And would later get an official Gundam edition in 2000.
Has anyone made a Mech RPG pitch yet? With Gundams popularity It seems like the perfect time for it. I've never played it before but I could try to write a pitch for Mekton* if anyone else doesn't want to.
* R Talsorian's first game in real life. Got the Idea for it by watching Gundam. And would later get an official Gundam edition in 2000.
A Classical Tale - Season 5 Created By: Dave Allister
Directed By: John Lasseter
Animation Studio: DreamWorks Animation
Distribution: Public Broadcasting System
Original Release: June-September 1982
It had been a long and hard year since the last season of Classical Tales. Heck, you could hardly remember much of this year, so hard had the entire production of Return of the Jedi been, but you could still recall how right after the end of the last season, a young director had immediately burst into your office, putting forth his nomination before all the others to direct the next season. Well, say what you will about him, but John Lasseter is not the kind of man who lacks enthusiasm, nor is he afraid to tackle any challenge coming at him with all his energy and creativity.
Not that it helped him much when he realized the subject matter of course, but it's the thought that counts right?
For, as John quick took notice of, the material to work with had the opposite results as the previous season; there was so little of it to work with. Whereas Hindu mythology had the disadvantage of existing continuously for over four thousand years, and still be considered a religion, with different texts, interpretations, and variations of the same story depending on the time, location and age in which it was written...Celtic mythology had barely anything written at all! Not to mention that what was written had been done so in a period long after Christianity had already been established, making many of the texts left a mix of both Celtic and Christian lore.
Not to mention that soon there were more questions than answers when it came to the subject matter in and of itself; were Celtic myths a religion? Was it just a way to express their culture? Were they just fairy tales? What exactly is the meaning of "Celtic" anyways? Is it a race? A culture? joined practices? Where did they come from? Where they just a single group? There were some papers that exposited them existing in Europe, and Rome's surviving writings called the Gauls "Celts" as well, does this mean the French and Gauls were "Celts"? Didi they exist somewhere else?
Just...what the heck is going on here?!
Frankly, this is the kind of issue that no other of your directors had to deal with. Not that it made John regret or even back off from the challenge. With the same will with which he asked for the job of director, he tackled the issue head on, looking on both reference books and trying to find any expert on the subject he could find.
And while he did find many works done on the matter...many of them were very outdated, and most of the authors of such were dead; Ludwig Bieler, one of the authorities on the field had died just a couple of years back. Nora K. Chadwick another of the pioneers of the 20th century, had been dead for over ten years, and still, most of their works was limited by the lack of resources and interest in it.
But it was a start, and from there John managed to learn much of what could still be considered "Celtic"...even if it was at best somewhat rudimentary; Celts were not a race, nor were they a tribe, or a nation. They were a combination of cultural practices, mixed with similar gods that nonetheless seemed to vary from tribe to tribe. An entire group of people hailing from the Bronze Age who came to dominate much of Europe even when they were never politically united. This allowed for each tribe to evolve independently from each other, with Art and archeological evidence found all over Europe; from Spain, to France, and even areas of Turkey...
All of which does not help since said tribes or cultures died out to the many different groups who went on to settle the area afterwards. Heck, you only know that the Gauls were Celts thanks to the Romans writing and the recent discoveries!
But it was a start, and it was enough for John to find his next course of action. For, out of all different tribes, there were still two who at least somewhat remembered and had managed to keep at least some record of their ancient legends; Wales, Scotland and Ireland were the last bastions of Celtic culture, with Ireland showing the best form of preserved Celtic Mythology.
Huh, for all that you know Irish stories, you never thought to connect them to Celtic...how about that.
Well, your ignorance would not last for long. John finally had a lead, and as a man on a mission, he was not satisfied with only the texts and papers he could find on the subject at hand. Celtic mythology was proving itself to be a harder nut to crack then the previous mythologies so far, and if there was anything that John would not take, is being lesser than his peers. Inside of him laid an ambition and determination to move mountains if it meant achieving his goals.
He would only accept excellence in both animation and content, even if he had to go to Ireland itself to learn their myths directly.
Which he actually did...and came back two weeks later with a most eclectic group; Morgan Llywelyn, author of Celtic books and novels. Proinsias Mac Cana, linguistics and Celtic scholar from the University of Dublin. Barry Cunliffe, British archeologist and professor from the University of Oxford...and they were among the most prominent as with them came their own students and junior researchers, all having been talked into and convinced to lend a hand in what John called "The most ambitious Celtic research project" so far.
Dear God John, just what did you do?! How did you convince respected academics to come work on an animated educational program on the other side of the pond?!
It was madness...but it was a beautifully controlled madness. The kind where you know that something great is brewing despite things having gotten a bit out of hand. The entire studio was filled with books, both reference and new publications. Debated were often held about the meaning of a single word, or the overall description of one of the main characters. Comparisons in names, attributes and origins were given each day, with changes happening nearly by the minute as a single letter could change the entire meaning of the word. Frankly, it was fascinating to watch, making sure to come as often as time allowed you to and just soak in the knowledge of masters at debate.
Proinsias even offered to teach you Gaelic, which actually took you some time to master. Just...what kind of language is this?! There's just...no single Gaelic dialogue, but three; Ulster, Connacht, and Munster Gaelic, each with their own pronunciation for names and titles. The grammar varies from region to region, and don't even get you started when it comes to the old myths.
To this day no one knows how to pronounce "Fomorian"...and you've been given around five different ways to do so!
After the initial period however, you got too much to handle to make the constant visits like before. You'd make sure to move through once in a while, giving a quick look before moving on, receiving constant reports about their progress which was quickly forgotten as the production for Return of the Jedi was to begin, and then all flow was cut when you had to move from location to location while also making sure that the theatrical releases were up to par. It was not until you finally returned and took some weeks to decompress that you finally were able to look into what John had been able to do in the meantime.
The results were beyond what you could have imagined, and yet up to par for what you'd learned about John. You'd only just begun thinking on how gorgeous animation could be when properly handled and given the respect, resources, and time it deserved. But Lasseter had a vision of where it could go and how far it could reach with the proper tools to aid it. He'd been working with the Pixar group since he was hired, and had kept up to date with the advances in technology you had been pioneering.
Needless to say, he used this show as a testbed for future animation, and it showed in both how fast and utterly gorgeous it all looked. The new and refined computer techniques from Pixar and the use of CGI for both faster and cleaner animation allowed the team to put more emphasis in the smallest detail, as well as the gorgeous backgrounds of the fantastic lands of ancient lore, the marvelous beasts and landscapes that depicted not only the period of legend of Ireland and Wales, but even the wild forests of Gaul and the "Fairy Mounds" of the Tuatha De Dannan, all to better display the rich lore from the Celtic legends.
From what John told you, they called it "Deep Canvas", which allowed them to build sets in a computer, three-dimensionally. It was almost as if you were going in on a live-action set, and stroke-for-stroke, painting it as if you were painting a regular background. You were actual witness to how they were using it, and you could not even get your mind around just what they were using. From what the Pixar group told you, this technology was somewhat finicky, and incredibly sophisticated, but it managed to save so much time and effort that managed to halve the work of animators by making combinations of both 2D cel animation and CGI.
It was fluid, it was gorgeous, much of what you could see had a touch of the marvelous and incredible. The beings from fairy tales and the monsters of legend. The heroes who were larger than life, yet managed to move and behave in ways not seen before; Cu Chulainn's "Riordan" or "Warp Spasm" in the regular English was fully detailed in all its body horror shape that for a moment you'd feared you'd be called to Congress once more.
Not to mention that for some reason you were reminded of the Hulk when you got to his segment.
Both the size and gravitas of The Dagda and Lugh are captured in perfect detail, just as the Morrigan's own shapeshifting ability have never seem so seamless. Nuada of the silver arm managed to look both imposing and otherworldly with an arm that was both mechanical yet alive, and the Fomorians...there is no other word to describe them than "Lovecraftian" in their design. With impossible anatomies and terrifying personas that just screamed "Inhuman" from the very beginning. The lands of the Fir Bolg and their size, even the fabled four cities of the Tuatha before they arrived in Eire, it all has this otherworldly touch and unique design that brings to mind a truly alien myth that any other so far.
It does not have the elegance of the Greek Gods or the violence of the Norse Pantheon, much less the mysterious Egyptian Tales of light and dark, but it brings to mind a more primal era, a time in between civilization and barbarity, the last embers of a more naturalistic and primal world.
And that's just with the animation side, for the overall story was a thing of beauty itself; all of the researchers aided in making sure there was a coherent beginning and end, though with most of the myths contradicting each, John had to find a way to not repeat the same framing device as the previous season. And he did so by making the Host have his own adventure, while at the same time detailing all the different versions of the story.
So it was that in Season six, all viewers joined the Bard Conor of Dublin, as he travels the Irish lands in the Fifth Century in order to collect all myths and tales of the remaining Celtic lands. His travels take him through all the lands of Ireland as he avoids bandits, tries to solve issues, and provides entertainment, all the while discovering new pieces of lore that are then related to the audience, allowing both sides to complement themselves.
The format made sure to represent as many of the Celtic knowledge available, with the four cycles of Ireland first represented, all tied together to the most iconic and representative myth of each; The "Mythological Cycle" uses the Cath Maige Tuired which focuses on the arrival of the Tuatha de Dannan and their fights against the Fomorians and the Fir Bolg, while form there moving on to expound of the knowledge of the Book of Invasions and the Children of Lir tale to display the fantastic and unreal, as well as to display the origins of Ireland and its people. The "Ulster Cycle" however focuses more on the tales of the Cattle Raid of Cooley which is the equivalent of the Iliad in Greek poetry with near all Irish heroes participating. The "Fenian Cycle" with Fionn mac Cumhaill and his legendary Fianna, along with all their adventures and heroes (and how awesome it is that there's an actual hero being called Finn McCool!) and finally the "King's Cycle", the tales of semi-historical kings and dynasties, as well as the beginning for many of Ireland's civilizations.
You'll admit to be more partial to the tales of Fergus, Ferdian, Medb and Cu Chulainn when they are fully detailed and expounded on. There just this heroic and tragic quality to them, so much that, just like the Iliad, one could just get lost in them. The scenes and battles of Cu Chulainn, evoke the same feeling of passion and battle lust that would have seized Achilles when fighting Troy, and just like the Greek hero, he was doomed to a short life, but filled with glory that no one would be allowed to forget him. His stand and constant fight against the armies of Ulster and Medb will remain immortalized in the series if anything, and his final death, refusing to even fall to die, is one of the most poignant and respectful scenes in the entire series.
At least they didn't show the guts in this version.
They also let you put your song in the ending credits for the episodes involving him, which is something you appreciate. Which, from what you heard, they actually liked.
But that doesn't mean that each cycle did not have their own moment to shine; The Mythological cycle's battles against the Fomorians and the final confrontation between Lugh and Balor was suitably epic, and you're sure that Dave was impressed by it. Morgan Llewelyn herself helped write those episodes, and Dave was seen discussing with her a collaboration for an animated movie based on Lugh. The four sacred treasures of the Danu; The Sword of Light, the Spear of Lugh, the Stone of Destiny, and the Cauldron of Dagda have some of the most beautiful and intricate designs that shine their mystical origins. Finn's saga in the Fenian cycle is basically a call to adventure that highlights the universality of the hero's cycle from beginning to end, while the overall fantasy and hilarious moments to break the monotony and heavy moments (seriously, how do you not laugh when you see Finn sucking his thumb to gain wisdom?).
The King's cycle however was when you had to make some small changes, since most of it was closer to history and less to mythology, John decided to sprinkle in a bit more adventure as Conor the Bard travels through the canal to both Scotland and Wales in order to look for more stories. There, the tales of the Daoine Sidhe are expounded, with all the warning about their cruel and mischievous nature. The tale of Rhiannon and Prince Pwyll, which moves on to four generations through their descendants and is an amazing example of a strong, resilient, and overall motherly woman. Someone that traversed through so much tragedy and injustice, but remained steadfast through it all, gaining her happy ending for both herself and her children.
But for all that there is adventure and adversity, it's the tale of the Children of Lir the one which tugs at your heartstrings, and everyone in the team's as well. It's such a poignant and sad story, yet one that nonetheless needs to be told. A tale as old as the Mythical Cycle, a tale of a father and his children, of the loss when they are cursed to become swans and see all their family die before them, having to move from place to place until finally returning home to die, but even that might have been a blessing in disguise, as they finally could be reunited with their families in the end.
A special section focusing on the many mythical creatures was also added, taking inspiration from old tales, it spoke of the Abhartach, the old Irish Vampire, that was once a warlord that drank blood, until defeated by a warrior with a wooden sword that stabbed him through the heart. Of the Hags and Banshees that haunted their families with wails and screams. Of the Kelpies, the water demons that can turn into horses to kill those who approach them by sinking with them into the water and eating them. Of the Cait Sidhe, the cats from Scottish and Irish myth that stole the souls of those recently dead, and more besides.
You did enjoy the small animated short of that old tale where a farmer looks at a group of Cait Sidhe carrying a coffin while screaming "The Cat King is dead", and when he gets home to tell it to his wife, his own cat stands exclaiming "Old Tom is dead? That means I'm the King!" before leaving and never seeing him again. Frankly, it was the perfect blend of horror and comedy to just make you laugh, yet also look at Ginger for a moment and wonder...
Just what were you hiding...
In the end, the series was an unparalleled success with both critics and the audience. The latter finally getting into their heads that the overall animation did not have to be in kiddie form in order to be educational, while the previous successes of Macross and Zeta Gundam (though the latter really broke all expectations for future works) managed to at the very least moved their previous biases a bit more in the appreciative direction. And just like the audience, they could just not shut up about the animation and the innovative uses of it, making it seem like one was watching a movie rather than a TV show on many occasions.
As for the audience, aside from the overall positive reception in America, with many once more finding a newfound appreciation for the Celtic myths, and a hunger to find out more, there was also another development that took you by surprise. That is, that Proinsias Mac Cana and Barry Cunliffe, both had requested for a way for the show to be aired in their respective countries! Their work on it, and the educational material convincing them that this could be of great help for having children find more pride in their heritage, as well as superb teaching material in schools. Some talks with PBS were necessary of course, but after the first month of airing, you already had the necessary documentation to have your Ardmore Studio help in distributing the episodes to the TV stations in Ireland first, with future orders to move to Wales, Britain and Scotland afterwards.
It was a milestone moment as it became Ardmore most famous distribution, with nearly all TV stations and networks fighting for the rights and licensing in order to show it. Just as it had expected, the overall delivery and animation quality made this a must see for many young kids and adults who would accompany them, and this newfound interest would turn to both Ardmore and Lucasfims for more of what they could offer. Already your small studio in Ireland was receiving more attention and application for work than previously expected. If you want to keep the momentum going you will need to give them something to do, that is if they're not planning something already.
And mike suddenly found a new market where he could expand the previous merchandise that could not be used in America; T- shirts with Celtic iconography, slogans, old Celtic symbols and words in all kinds of paraphernalia. The demand of anything revolving around the series exploded in both Scotland and Wales where just some years back the issue of more autonomy and home rule had been defeated. The show once more reignited said passions, with former Prime Minister James Callaghan leading the charge and not letting the moment go once more.
Though this did create some tension with the British government feeling this as a play from what should be an ally, soon cooler heads prevailed, mostly thanks to the Queen actually just up and telling his government to stop looking for an excuse for their own mistakes. The BBC requested the series to be shown as well, if only to not be the only region in the United Kingdom not showing it, thought with not the same level of success as in Ireland and Scotland.
Not only that, but you've heard that Marvel made sure to take advantage of the opportunity as well, with Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter taking advantage of the Marvel UK imprint to capitalize on the demand for nearly everything and anything having to do with Celtic myths at the moment, and introducing the Mystic Knights of Tyr Na Nog, a new comic set in the Ulster period of myth in Ireland, with knights selected to be the chosen heroes to protect the land of King Conchobar. The run's been an instant hit in Ireland, with talks of expansion already in play.
John's first run has been a success, and he has carried the legacy of both storytelling and innovation with both perfect grace and skill. That he was given his own project with Treasure Planet is certainly a confirmation of his talent and skill, already planning to expand on what he's put into practice in this season, and make it even grander in scope and storytelling.
As for PBS, they have nothing to complain about the show, nor do you think they will for the foreseeable future. Celtic mythology may have been one of the greatest challenges your team had to face, but they managed it with flying colors. Not much is really needed to be said, as all one needs to know is look at the faces of everyone who enjoyed the show to know you've done good.
So, who else is suddenly remembering Cartoon Saloon and their works with The Song of the Sea and The Wolfwalkers and The Book of Kells and thinking this is where they got their first inspiration.
Bonus if the art style, looking like something out of an illuminated manuscript, was used here.
Edit: Cartoon Saloon opened in 1999
Edit 2: At least one of the founders would be a kid right about now.... Definitely could see them seeing this.
