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datcloudboi · 5 months

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List of Films Turning 20 Years Old in 2024

The Alamo (the one with Dennis Quaid)

Alexander ((the Alexander the Great biopic directed by Oliver Stone and starring Colin Farrell)

Alien vs. Predator

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

The Aviator (the Howard Hughes biopic directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leo DiCaprio)

Barbershop 2: Back in Business

Before Sunset

Blade: Trinity

The Bourne Supremacy

The Butterfly Effect

Catwoman

Cellular (an action-thriller starring Kim Basinger and Chris Evans)

The Chronicles of Riddick

Closer

Collateral

Dawn of the Dead (the remake directed by Zack Snyder and written by James Gunn)

The Day After Tomorrow

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Downfall

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Fahrenheit 9/11 (the Michael Moore documentary about how the Bush administration handled the aftermath of September 11, as well as their handling of the Invasion of Iraq)

50 First Dates

Finding Neverland (a biopic about J. M. Barrie, the guy who wrote “Peter Pan”. Barrie was played by Johnny Depp)

Friday Night Lights

Garden State

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hellboy

Hidalgo

Home on the Range (one of Disney's most often forgotten animated movies)

House of Flying Daggers

Howl's Moving Castle

I Heart Huckabees

I, Robot

The Incredibles

Kill Bill Volume 2

King Arthur (the one with Clive Owen)

The Ladykillers (the remake of the 1955 movie of the same name directed by the Coen Brothers)

Layer Cake (the first movie directed by Matthew Vaughn, who would go on to direct “Kick-Ass” and “Kingsman”)

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

The Lion King 1 1/2

The Machinist (the movie where Christian Bale lost like 60 pounds)

The Manchurian Candidate (the remake of the movie of the same name starring Denzel Washington)

Mean Girls

Million Dollar Baby

Miracle

Napoleon Dynamite

National Treasure

The Notebook

Ocean's Twelve

The Passion of the Christ

The Phantom of the Opera

The Place Promised in Our Early Days (the first film directed by Makoto Shinkai)

The Polar Express

Primer ((the time travel movie where you sit in a box for 12 hours and be back in time 12 hours. I think.)

The Punisher (the Thomas Jane one)

Ray (the Ray Charles biopic)

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Saw (the 1st one)

Scooby-Doo 2: Monster Unleashed

Seed of Chucky

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Shaun of the Dead

Shrek 2

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Spanglish

Spider-Man 2

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie

Team America: World Police

The Terminal

13 Going on 30

Troy

Van Helsing

The Village

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whump-collector · 2 years

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Whumpees (actors)

All the actors on this blog (so far):

Search for the name or use this link and add the name you're looking for https://whump-collector.tumblr.com/tagged/

I use the tag compilation for posts with several whumpees.

a: aaron ashmore - aaron tveit - adam palsson - adarsh gourav - aidan turner - alex o'loughlin - alexander dreymon - ali tarik findik - allison scagliotti - andreas pietschmann - andrew j. west

b: ben levin - benedict cumberbatch - brian austin green - burc kümbetlioglu

c: callum turner - channing tatum - charlie cox - charlie hunnam - charlie vickers - chris pine - christian bale - christipher egan - colin farrell - colin morgan - colin o'donoghue

d: dan lewis - daniel craig - daniel sharman - david boreanaz - david dastmalchian - david tennant - david wenham - diego klattenhoff - diego luna - dirk benedict - dominic cooper - drake rodger

e: engin akyürek - eric christian olsen - ewan mcgregor

f: freddie stroma - freddy carter

g: gael garcia bernal - gavin drea - giacomo gianniotti - guy pearce

h: halil ibrahim ceyhan - harold perrineau - henry cavill - henry golding - hisham tawfiq - hugh dancy - hunter doohan

i: iain de caestecker - ian somerhalder - iko uwais

j: jack bannon - jack davenport - jack martin - jack quaid - jake mclaughlin - james mcavoy - james spader - james wolk - jared padalecki - jason isaacs - jay hernandez - jd pardo - jenna ortega - jensen ackles - jeremy allen white - jim sturgess - joe flanigan - joe gilgun - joe keery - joel kinnaman - john cho - john cusack - john reardon - jon bernthal - jonas nay - jonny harris - jordan bridges - joshua jackson - jude law - julian morris

k: karl urban - keegan allen - kevin alejandro - kiefer sutherland - kit harington

l: lee pace - liam hemsworth - lucas till - luke evans - luke mitchell

m: mark hamill - mark waschke - markus brandl - martin henderson - martin shaw - martin wallström - matt barr - matt bomer - matt czuchry - matt lanter - matt smith - max thieriot - megan boone - mel gibson - michael fassbender - michael hurst - michael shanks - michael sheen - michael weatherly - mike farrell - milos bikovic

n: nathan fillion - nathan parsons - nicholas galitzine - nikolaj coster waldau - noah centineo

o: oliver rayon - oscar isaac

p: pablo schreiber - paul bettany - paul hassall - pedro pascal - pio marmai

r: raj yadav - rami malek - richard armitage - richard harmon - richard madden - rish shah - robert downey jr - robert james-collier - robert kazinsky - robin lord taylor - rodger corser - rupert evans - rupert penry jones - russell crowe - ryan guzman - ryan kelley - ryan reynolds

s: sabin tambrea - sam riley - santiago cabrera - scott caan - sean bean - sebastian stan - shawn ashmore - simon baker - stanley tucci - stephen amell - steve burton

t: thomas elms - thomas gibson - tim dekay - tim roth - timothy granaderos - tobey maguire - tolga saritas - tom austen - tom ellis - tom holland - tom payne - tom riley - tom sturridge - torrance coombs

y: yon gonzalez

z: zach mcgowan - zeeko za

#whump #whump community #whump actors #whump collector

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mrfippstuff · 6 months

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Opera Omnia Burst Themes 1/?

With Opera Omnia shutting down, I decided to make a few posts about one of my favorite parts of the game: The Burst Weapons. Not because they were a powerful, much sought after weapon tier that gave big numbers with massive benefits, but because I have a love for Final Fantasy music, and what BTs I wanted was strongly dependent on what song would play when used.

These posts are meant to be more for the sake of archiving what there had been more than anything else, but at the very least I am going to list a large number of great FF songs.

The first listing will be the songs that we had gotten during the game's lifetime.

Final Fantasy I Warrior of Light: Battle Garland: Miniboss Theme

Final Fantasy II Firion: The Rebel Army Leon: The Imperial Army Minwu: Battle Theme A

Final Fantasy III Onion Knight: Battle 2 Cloud of Darkness: This is The Last Battle

Final Fantasy IV Cecil Harvey (Dark Knight): The Red Wings Cecil Harvey (Paladin): Battle 2 Kain Highwind: The Final Battle Rydia: Rydia's Theme Rosa Joanna Farrell: Theme of Love (Remake) Fusoya: The Final Battle (Remake) Golbez: Battle with the Four Fiends Rubicante: Battle with the Four Fiends (Remake) Ceodoe Harvey: Battle 2 (Remake) Ursula: Fabul (Remake) Leonora: Troian Beauty

Final Fantasy V Bartz Klauser: Battle 2 Faris Scherwiz: Pirates Ahoy! Lenna Charlotte Tycoon: Lenna's Theme Dorgann Klauser: Home, Sweet Home Kelgar: Deception Xezat: Castle of Dawn Gilgamesh: Battle on the Big Bridge Exdeath: The Final Battle

Final Fantasy VI Terra Branford: The Decisive Battle Locke Cole: Locke's Theme Sabin Rene Figaro: The Unforgiven Setzer Gabbianni: Setzer's Theme Edgar Roni Figaro: Edgar & Sabin's Theme Celes Chere: Searching For Friends Relm Arrowny: Relm's Theme Mog: Protect the Espers Strago Magus: Strago's Theme Leo Cristophe: Battle Theme Kefka Palazzo: Dancing Mad

Final Fantasy VII Cloud Strife: Fight On! Tifa Lockhart: JENOVA COMPLETE Yuffie Kisaragi: Wutai Vincent Valentine: Chaotic End Aerith Gainsborough: Aerith's Theme Cait Sith: Cait Sith's Theme Jesse Rasberry: Let the Battles Begin! Sephiroth: One-Winged Angel Zack Fair: The Price of Freedom Cissnei: Ecounter Angeal Hewley: Dreams and Honor Reno: Turk's Theme Rufus Shinra: Shinra Inc Kadaj: J-E-N-O-V-A (Advent Children) Weiss: Fight Tune: Weiss the Immaculate

Final Fantasy VIII Squall Leonhart: Force Your Way Laguna Loire: The Man with the Machine Gun Irvine Kinneas: The Stage is Set Quistis Trepe: Don't Be Afraid Selphie Tilmitt: Where I Belong Rinoa Heartilly: Premonition Fujin: Only a Plank Between One and Perdition Ultimecia: The Extreme

Final Fantasy IX Zidane Tribal: Not Alone Vivi Ornitier: Breaking Through the South Gate Garnet Til Alexandros XVII: Alexander Eiko Carol: Eiko's Theme Quina Quen: Quina's Theme Amarant Coral: Amarant's Theme Kuja: Dark Messenger Beatrix: Something to Protect

Final Fantasy X Tidus: Battle Theme Yuna: A Contest of Aeons Auron: This is Your Story Braska: Final Battle Seymour Guado: Battle with Seymour Jecht: Otherworld Paine: Yuripa, Fight! No. 2

#final fantasy #dissidia #opera omnia #music

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 1 year

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“Four Convicts Sent Up For Trial for Rioting,” Kingston Whig-Standard. February 13, 1933. Page 3. ---- All Except One Had Served Previous Terms — One Convict Fainted During Preliminary Hearing ---- Four more convicts of the Kingston Penitentiary, charged with rioting on October 17, were committed for trial by Magistrate J. M. Farrell this morning. Two of them were from the tin and paint shop, one from the carpenter shop, and the fourth from the stone-cutting shop. Evidence was given by guards telling of the actions of the four convicts, all of whom are alleged to have smashed their way into the shop-dome where more than 300 were rioting and damaging property.

Coming into the court-room chained together in pairs, the convicts had no comment to make during the preliminary hearing. It was while Convict Harold Cosh was being tried that he caused a sensation when he suddenly keeled over and almost collapsed. First aid was rendered but Cosh again collapsed and finally when he was committed from trial, he was released from the man at his side and taken out under the escort of guards.

With the exception of Cosh, all the convicts before the court this morning were young men. Convict Cosh, an Englishman with a record of six previous convictions in England, is 32 years of age. He was formerly a radio operator and was convicted in Hamilton in 1930 and given three years for theft.

Convict George Liticoff, aged twenty-two years, was sentenced in Toronto on March 28, 1932, to five years for forgery. It was the first conviction for Liticoff.

Convict Alexander Manson, aged twenty-one years, was given twelve years at Barrie in 1931 for robbery with violence. While in Barrie Jail, Manson attempted to break jail and in the attempt, Jailer Banting was very seriously wounded. He had four previous terms.

Convict Norman Teetzel, aged twenty year, was sentenced in Sandwich in 1931 to ten years for robbery and breaking prison. He had two previous convictions.

Convict Alexander Manson faced preliminary hearing this morning as charges against rioting convicts of the Kingston Penitentiary were resumed before Magistrate J. M. Farrell in County Police Court. Manson was charged with riotously and tumultuously assembling and damaging property at the institution.

Guard Boucher Guard W. W. Boucher gave evidence to the effect that Convict Manson was one of the convicts in the tin and paint shops who had a club on the afternoon of October 17 and threatened the guard.

"Manson came at me," said Guard Boucher "and I tried to take the club from him. He said ‘You try It and I’ll brain you, you ----’.”

Convict Manson declined to make any statement and asked no questions, being committed for on the same charge and Guard Boucher gave evidence in which he told that Convict Teetzel was in the tin and paint shop on October 17.

"Convict Teetzel joined Convicts Jolliffe and Manson," said Guard Boucher. “Convict Teetzel had heavy hardwood roller and was rushing to the door behind Manson. Teetzel was swinging the club and I stepped aside. Teetzel battered at the door with the club and the door was finally broken open. They joined more than 300 rioting convicts in the shop dome."

Teetzel was committed for trial,

Convict Cosh Convict Harold Cosh, aged 32 years, was next before court on a similar charge. Instructor George Burton said that Cosh was engaged in the office of the stone-cutting shop and on October 17, he left his work and joined In the tumult. "He asked me,” said the witness, “if I didn't know the disturbance was to be at three o’clock. 'I thought everyone here knew,' he said. Cosh then went back to the office and broke open the desk, got the accounting book, and started to tear out the pages. He then got the day book and started to tear them. Then he went to the farm desk and tore up some blueprints. The convicts were in absolute control of the shop dome.

At this juncture, a mild sensation occurred when the convict, asked if he wanted to ask any questions, suddenly fainted. Guards rushed to his aid and the convict chained to him also rendered first-aid. The convict revived and declined to make any statement. A minute later as he was committed for trial he again almost collapsed.

Convict Liticoff Convict Oscar Liticoff, 22 years old, was the fourth convict charged with rioting. Liticoff, serving his first term, has been a convict since last March.

Guard Oren Earl was on duty in the carpenter shop on October 17 and Convict Liticoff was employed there. "At three o'clock,” he said, "I heard yelling in the yard. I saw convicts congregating. I asked some convicts to assist me in barricading the door and they did. I looked through the peephole and saw in the shop dome Convict Evans and others breaking locks and using an acetylene torch. Liticoff and others ran to the door and threw off the barricade, Liticoff yelling ‘Come on you ----’. They went through the door as the lock had been broken from the outside and joined the mob in the shop dome."

“Am I charged with damaging?" asked Convict Liticoff.

“Anyone in the mob is' replied Mr. Magistrate Farrell. “Do you wish to make statement now or at your trial?"

“I will wait till the trial,” replied the convict.

"I think you're wise" said Magistrate Farrell as he committed Liticoff for trial.

#kingston ontario #kingston penitentiary #1933 prisoner trials #prison riot #damaging government property #eyewitness testimony #without legal representation #prisoner protest #convict revolt #1932 kp riot #sentenced to the penitentiary #prison guards #great depression in canada #crime and punishment in canada #history of crime and punishment in canada

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filmjunky-99 · 3 years

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s t a r t r e k d e e p s p a c e n i n e created by rick berman, michael piller If Wishes Were Horses [s1ep16]

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letterboxd-loggd · 3 years

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Madame Racketeer (1932) Alexander Hall & Harry Wagstaff Gribble

August 7th 2021

#madame racketeer #1932 #alexander hall #harry wagstaff gribble #alison skipworth #richard bennett #j. farrell macdonald #evalyn knapp #gertrude messinger #robert mcwade #george raft #john breeden #the sporting widow #the countess of auburn #pre-code

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scientific-tricorder · 3 years

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For some Trek positivity, anybody ever notice how the franchise seems to attract actors that are just generally nice, good people? Obviously, not all, but a lot of them. I just want to share some of the nice stuff that I happen to know about off the top of my head.

I mean, in The Original Series, we've got Leonard Nimoy and Nichelle Nichols just being amazing, William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols conspiring to ensure that "Plato's Stepchildren" included their kiss, Leonard Nimoy using his star status to secure equal pay and voice acting roles in TAS for his costars, etc. The Next Generation brought us Jonathan Frakes continually supporting Star Trek and what it stands for, Marina Sirtis, Denise Crosby, and Gates McFadden calling out sexism behind the scenes during and after the show, Patrick Stewart being our communal Shakespearean grandpa, Whoopi Goldberg being amazing, etc. Deep Space Nine had Avery Brooks insisting on providing what stands to this day as one of the best role models of black fatherhood and refusing to sensationalize the filming of "Rejoined", Andrew J. Robinson and Alexander Siddig stuffing in gay stuff where they could and Siddig also just protecting Bashir's character in general, Nana Visitor saving us all from canon Kira/Dukat, etc. Voyager had Kate Mulgrew just leaning in so hard to being the first female captain and an inspiration for women in science, Robert Picardo singing opera for the fans on social media, Robert Duncan McNeill and Garrett Wang making a podcast while rewatching Voyager to share stories from on set, etc. For Enterprise, all I ever hear about Scott Bakula is that he was just such a nice guy on set. And on the modern Trek shows, from what I've seen of the actors, they generally seem like a bunch of Star Trek fans and nerds having fun together while trying to tell a good story for us.

Then, of course, there's all the actors who spoke out for adding openly queer characters to the show, including George Takei, Kate Mulgrew, Patrick Stewart, Jeri Ryan, and Scott Bakula. Also shout out to all the actors coming out of the woodwork (or screaming it from day one in the case of Andy Robinson) recently to say that their characters were explicitly queer, including Gates McFadden, John Billingsley, Jeri Ryan, Terry Farrel, and Alexander Siddig.

And I know there's plenty more I don't know or couldn't remember.

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duckprintspress · 2 years

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Announcing: The Contributors to “He Bears the Cape of Stars” and “She Wears the Midnight Crown”!

36 remarkable authors—18 for He Bears the Cape of Stars, 18 for She Wears the Midnight Crown—have come together for this project. These authors have been toiling away on their stories since February 1st, 2022, and we’re currently work with them on edits to get them publication-ready. We’re delighted to share their work with you!

Contributors to He Bears the Cape of Stars:

Kit Alexander (Archive of Our Own)

Jessica Black (Archive of Our Own | Discord: alocalband#6844 | Tumblr | Twitter)

Era J. M. Couts (Archive of Our Own | Tumblr)

Ma’at James (Twitter)

Stephen G. Krueger (Archive of Our Own | Etsy | Personal Website)

Tris Lawrence (Facebook | Pillowfort | Tumblr | Twitter)

J. S. Lenore (Archive of Our Own | Facebook | Tumblr | Twitter)

Louise Long (Personal Website | Twitter)

M. K. Mads

Maggie Page

Julia Perroni (Twitter)

Alex Ransom

J. D. Rivers (Personal Website | Twitter)

Tevye J. Schmidt

Veronica Sloane (Archive of Our Own | Tumblr)

Elliott Vale (Tumblr | Twitter)

Nina Waters (Archive of Our Own | Tumblr | Twitter)

Charlie Winter (Archive of Our Own | Twitter)

Contributors to She Wears the Midnight Crown:

Willa Blythe (Personal Website | Twitter)

Rebekah D. Cook (Personal Website | Tumblr | Twitter)

N. C. Farrell

B. T. Fish (Twitter)

S. Z. Fletcher (Personal Website | Twitter)

Mare Griffen

Adrian Harley (Twitter)

Rascal Hartley

Lacey Hays (Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter | Royal Road | Wattpad)

D. A. Hernández (Twitter)

Lucy K. R. (Archive of Our Own | Twitter)

Lex T. Lindsay (Goodreads | Linktree | Twitter)

Annabeth Lynch (Facebook | Instagram)

Sebastian Marie (Archive of Our Own)

Alec J. Marsh (Etsy | Instagram | Twitter)

Bunny K. Solomon (Personal Website)

Emma Victoria (Twitter)

Lyn Weaver

You can read about them—in their own words!—see select author portraits, and more, by clicking this link:

#duck prints press #about us #anthology contributor lists #our authors #he bears the cape of stars #she wears the midnight crown

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purlturtle · 2 years

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Fandom: star trek (whichever show you like best. Or do it for all of them, you know, I just think that would be. Long)

Oh, Nonny, thank you for this. Couldn't have happened on a better day! Why? Because ten years ago, I published my very first fic - for Star Trek Voyager! I'd just gone through a really bad break-up, and had marathoned the show and crushed so hard on Kathryn Janeway I wrote a bajillion words of self insert 😅 And people liked it! One person liked it so much she married me!

(I also just wrote a little mini-fic to commemorate this, if you're interested!)

So here's my replies, for Voyager (and also for TNG, my first love, and DS9, which I watched with my wife!)

Favorite character: Kathryn Janeway, Deanna Troi, Jadzia Dax

Least Favorite character: Neelix, Worf, Ezri

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Kathryn/Marie 😁, Troi/Riker, Kira/Dax

Character I find most attractive: see line 1

Character I would marry: see line 1

Character I would be best friends with: William T Riker

a random thought: I love 80s and 90s Star Trek more than modern Star Trek.

An unpopular opinion: see previous line?

My Canon OTP: Troi/Riker

My Non-canon OTP: Beverly/Deanna, Kira/Dax, Kathryn/Beverly, basically all the femslash

Most Badass Character: Kathryn "Punch Through" Janeway

Most Epic Villain: the Borg Queen of course

Pairing I am not a fan of: J/C, but also J/7

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I'm STILL salty that they killed off Jadzia. They screwed over both her character and also Terry Farrell.

Favourite Friendship: Lwxana and Alexander

Character I most identify with: Deanna Troi, hands down

Character I wish I could be: Kathryn Janeway's counselor wife.

#ask meme #ask me #star trek #voy #tng #ds9

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mysticalhearth · 3 years

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Take Me Out - Broadway - March 26, 2003 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Daniel Sunjata (Darren Lemming), Neal Huff (Kippy Sunderstorm), Denis O'Hare (Mason Marzac), Frederick Weller (Shane Mungitt), Kevin T Carroll (Davey Battle), David Eigenberg (Toddy Koovitz) NOTES: Digital; excellent picture and sound, nice closeups Tanz der Vampire - Vienna - October 4, 1997 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Steve Barton (Graf von Krolock), Cornelia Zenz (Sarah Chagal), Aris Sas (Alfred), Gernot Kranner (Professor Abronsius), Eva Maria Marold (Magda), James Sbano (Yone Chagal), Anne Welte (Rebecca Chagal), Nik Breidenbach (Herbert von Krolock), Torsten Flach (Koukol) NOTES: There are English subtitles available for this video in .sub/idx format. Tarzan - Broadway - March 30, 2006 (Preview) (SunsetBlvd79's master) FORMAT: VOB (no smalls) (SD) CAST: Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Jenn Gambatese (Jane Porter), Merle Dandridge (Kala), Shuler Hensley (Kerchak), Chester Gregory (Terk), Tim Jerome (Professor Porter), Donne Keshawarz (Mr. Clayton), Daniel Manche (Young Tarzan) NOTES: Filmed during previews, the show is a little dark at times, but a great Dvd. Crystal clear picture and sound. A Tarzan - Broadway - July 30, 2006 (SunsetBlvd79's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Jenn Gambatese (Jane Porter), Merle Dandridge (Kala), Horace V Rogers (u/s Kerchak), Chester Gregory (Terk), Tim Jerome (Professor Porter), Donne Keshawarz (Mr. Clayton), Daniel Manche (Young Tarzan), Nick Sanchez (u/s Snipes) NOTES: Nice filming, not as dark as other Tarzan Dvd. A Tarzan - Oberhausen - November 21, 2017 (Rumpel's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Anton Zetterholm (Tarzan), Tessa Sunniva van Tol (Jane Porter), Isabel Trinkaus (Kala), Andreas Lichtenberger (Kerchak), Matt Farci (Terk), Japheth Myers (Professor Porter), Rudi Reschke (Mr. Clayton), Simeon Pauls (Young Tarzan) NOTES: HD capture with great sound and no obstructions. The cast is amazing and the changes in the show, compared to Hamburg and Stuttgart, are suitable and refreshing. Tarzan - Scheveningen - June 23, 2007 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Ron Link (Tarzan), Chantal Janzen (Jane Porter), Chaira Borderslee (Kala), Jeroen Phaff (Kerchak) NOTES: No zoom due to directorstape, but soundboard Sound, also some footage from after the show (cleaning etc) Tarzan - Stuttgart - August 21, 2015 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Gian Marco Schiaretti (Tarzan), Merle Hoch (Jane Porter), Willemijn Verkaik (Kala), Jan Ammann (Kerchak), Massimiliano Pironti (Terk), Maik Lohse (Professor Porter), Léon Roeven (Mr. Clayton), Matthis Lernhardt (Young Tarzan) NOTES: Willemijn and Massimiliano's first show. Tarzan - Stuttgart - October 3, 2015 FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: John Vooijs (Tarzan), Merle Hoch (Jane Porter), Willemijn Verkaik (Kala), Jan Ammann (Kerchak), Alessio Impedovo (Terk), Maik Lohse (Professor Porter), Léon Roeven (Mr. Clayton), Miguel Strasser (Young Tarzan) Theory of Relativity - Workshop - April 13, 2013 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Josh Blackstock, Joanna Fraser, Curtis Brown, Jade Repeta, Jenny Weisz, Adrian Zeyl, Dana Jean Phoenix, Carter Easler, Trevor Patt, Beth Robertson, Andrew Perry, Charles Douglas, Natasha Kozak, Katie Kerr, Josh LeClair, Emma Pedersen

They're Playing Our Song - Los Angeles - October 2, 2010 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Jason Alexander (Vernon Gersch), Stephanie J Block (Sonia Walsk) Thoroughly Modern Millie - Broadway - April 13, 2002 (Preview) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Sutton Foster (Millie Dillmount), Gavin Creel (Jimmy Smith), Marc Kudisch (Mr. Trevor Graydon), Harriet Harris (Mrs. Meers), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Muzzy Van Hossmere), Angela Christian (Miss Dorothy Brown), Ken Leung (Ching Ho), Francis Jue (Bun Foo), Anne L Nathan (Miss Flannery) NOTES: Shot from the second row with lots of close-ups. Very clear and steady video with very good sound. The Three Musketeers (Raby, Leigh, Stiles) - North Shore Music Theatre - August 20, 2007 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Aaron Tveit (D'Artagnan), Allison Blackwell (Landlady of the Inn), Anne Tolpegin (Dona Estefania), Heather Koren (Queen Anne), Holly Davis (Cecile), Jeff Edgerton (Bonacieux), Jimmy Smagula (Porthos), John Schiappa (Athos), Kevyn Morrow (Aramis), Kingsley Leggs (Treville), Mark Aldrich (King Louis), Matt Stokes (Cardinal Richelieu), Mick Bleyer (Rochefort), Nick Dalton (Duke of Buckingham), Steven Booth (Planchet), Kate Baldwin (Milady) NOTES: No audience, proshot from the dress rehearsal. Nicely filmed from the North Shore Music Theatre. tick, tick... BOOM! - Korea - 2002 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Joey McIntyre (Jon), Jerry Dixon (Michael), Natascia Diaz (Susan) NOTES: Features 20 minute Joey McIntyre concert after the show tick, tick... BOOM! - Off-Broadway - May 31, 2001 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Raúl Esparza (Jon), Jerry Dixon (Michael), Amy Spanger (Susan) tick, tick... BOOM! - Off-Broadway - September 18, 2001 FORMAT: MKV (HD) CAST: Raúl Esparza (Jon), Jerry Dixon (Michael), Amy Spanger (Susan) tick, tick... BOOM! - Workshop/Concert - November 25, 1991 (Highlights) FORMAT: VOB (no smalls) (SD) CAST: Jonathan Larson (Jon) NOTES: 4 songs. The original Tick Tick Boom before it was adapted into a 3 person show. Tina - The Tina Turner Musical - West End - September, 2019 (hitmewithyourbethshot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Aisha Jawando (alt Tina Turner), Ashley Zhangazha (Ike Turner), Angela Marie Hurst (u/s Zelma Bullock), Edward Bourne (Erwin Bach), Oscar Batterham (Roger Davies), Irene Myrtle Forrester (Gran Georgeanna), Jammy Kasongo (Richard Bullock/Raymond Hill), Cameron Bernard Jones (Craig Hill) Titanic - Australia - November 30, 2006 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (SD) CAST: Hayden Tee (Thomas Andrews), Nick Tate (Captain E. J. Smith), Brendan Higgins (J. Bruce Ismay), Alexander Lewis (Frederick Barrett), Matthew Willis (Harold Bride, Radioman), David Goddard (Henry Etches, 1st Class Steward), Ana Marina (Caroline Neville), Katrina Retallick (Alice Bean), Robert Gard (Isidor Strauss), Joan Carden (Ida Strauss), Belinda Wollaston (Kate McGowen), Cameron Mannix (Bandmaster Wallace Hartley) NOTES: Single camera proshot with soundboard audio. Sometimes listed as 2005, but the production ran from October - December 2006. Titanic - Bad Hersfeld, Germany - August, 2017 (Rumpel's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: David Arnsperger (Thomas Andrews), Alen Hodzovic (Captain E. J. Smith), Veronika Hörmann (Alice Bean), Stefan Grego Schmitz (Edgar Bean), Gabriela Ryffel (Kate McGowen), Anja Backus (Kate Murphy), Christine Rothacker (Kate Mullins) Titanic - Broadway - 1997 (Highlights) (Press Reel's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Michael Cerveris (Thomas Andrews), John Cunningham (Captain E. J. Smith), David Garrison (J. Bruce Ismay), Brian d'Arcy James (Frederick Barrett), Martin Moran (Harold Bride, Radioman), David Elder (Frederick Fleet), Don Stephenson (Charles Clarke), Judy Blazer (Caroline Neville), Victoria Clark (Alice Bean), Bill Buell (Edgar Bean), Theresa McCarthy (Kate Murphy), Erin Hill (Kate Mullins) Titanic - Broadway - November 12, 1997 FORMAT: MKV (HD) CAST: Michael Cerveris (Thomas Andrews), John Cunningham (Captain E. J. Smith), David Garrison (J. Bruce Ismay), Brian d'Arcy James (Frederick Barrett), Judy Blazer (Caroline Neville), Bill Buell (Edgar Bean), Larry Keith (Isidor Strauss), Jody Gelb (Eleanor Widener) NOTES: Camcorder video, mostly wide shot with a few zooms. The only known video of this production. Titanic - First National Tour - September 2, 2000 FORMAT: VOB (no smalls) (SD) CAST: Kevin Gray (Thomas Andrews), William Parry (Captain E. J. Smith), Adam Heller (J. Bruce Ismay), Marcus Chait (Frederick Barrett), Dale Sandish (Harold Bride, Radioman), Timothy J Alex (Frederick Fleet), Christianne Tisdale (Caroline Neville), Liz McConahay (Alice Bean), David Beditz (Edgar Bean), S Marc Jordan (Isidor Strauss), Taina Elg (Ida Strauss), Richard Roland (Jim Farrell), Melissa Bell Chait (Kate McGowen), Kate Suber (Kate Murphy), Jodi Jinks (Kate Mullins), Raymond Sage (3rd Officer Herbert J. Pitman) Titanic - Redondo Beach - March 20, 2001 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Richard Kline (Captain Smith), Eve Cohen (Kate McGowen), Wendi Bergamini (Kate Murphy), Moriah Angeline (Kate Mullins), John Bisom (Jim Farrell), Tracy Perry (Lightoller), Mark Capri (Mr Ismay), Jamie Snyder (Pittman), Elizabeth Loyacano (Caroline Neville), Tony Adelman (Thomas Andrews), Lois Bourgon (Ida Strauss), Bob Lauder Jr. (Isidor Strauss), Kevin Earley (Stoker Frederic Barrett), Richard Israel (Harold Bride), Paul Greene (Charles Clarke), Gibby Brand (Henry Etches),Danny Michaels (Murdoch), Kent Melwig (Frederick Fleet), Douglas Carfrae (Mr Astor), Jill Simonian (Madeleine Astor) Titanic - The Netherlands - 2001 FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Tony Neef (Thomas Andrews), Bert Simhoffer (Captain E. J. Smith), Hugo Haenen (J. Bruce Ismay), Danny de Munk (Frederick Barrett), Dick Cohen (Harold Bride, Radioman), Jon van Eerd (Henry Etches, 1st Class Steward), Annick Boer (Alice Bean), Céline Purcell (Kate McGowen) Titanic - West Palm Beach - February, 2019 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Christopher Pappas (Thomas Andrews), Colton McDonald (Captain E. J. Smith), Kyler O’Brien (J. Bruce Ismay), Chris Santiago (Harold Bride, Radioman), Olivia Henley (Alice Bean), Finnigan Anthony (Edgar Bean), Alli Graves (Kate McGowen), Jonathan Allen (1st Officer William Murdoch), Ethan Spell (2nd Officer Charles Lightoller) NOTES: running time 2'23; complete multicam proshot of West Palm Beach's King's Academy 2019 production. [title of show] - Broadway - July 5, 2008 (Preview) FORMAT: VOB (with smalls) (SD) CAST: Heidi Blickenstaff (Heidi), Hunter Bell (Hunter), Jeff Bowen (Jeff), Larry Pressgrove (Larry), Susan Blackwell (Susan) [title of show] - Broadway - July 6, 2008 (Preview) (SunsetBlvd79's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Heidi Blickenstaff (Heidi), Hunter Bell (Hunter), Jeff Bowen (Jeff), Larry Pressgrove (Larry), Susan Blackwell (Susan) NOTES: Cute little show about making it to Broadway. Heidi was my favorite part of the show. There were some very funny parts to the show, especially if you are a theater buff. There are about 10 mins of total blackouts, which is mostly a chunk in within the first 13 minutes. Depsite that, a nice capture and the audience was very into the show. A- To Kill a Mockingbird - Broadway - July, 2019 (Hollis Mizner's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Jeff Daniels (Atticus Finch), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Scout), Will Pullen (Jem), Manoel Felciano (Horace Gilmer), LaTonya Richardson Jackson (Calpurnia), Aubie Merrylees (u/s Dill), Dakin Matthews (Judge Taylor), Gbenga Akinnagbe (Tom Robinson), Frederick Weller (Bob Ewell), Danny Wolohan (Boo Radley), Erin Wilhelmi (Mayella), Neal Huff (Link Deas), Liv Roth (Miss Stephanie), Phyllis Somerville (Ms. Dubose) NOTES: Very shaky video, never really settles down. Filmed nearly entirely through close-ups, which means a fair bit of the action is missed. Tootsie - Broadway - December, 2019 (theaterfan64's master) FORMAT: MOV (HD) CAST: Santino Fontana (Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels), Lilli Cooper (Julie Nichols), Andy Grotelueschen (Jeff Slater), Sarah Stiles (Sandy Lester), John Behlmann (Max Van Horn), Julie Halston (Rita Marshall), Reg Rogers (Ron Carlisle), Michael McGrath (Stan Fields), Britney Coleman NOTES: Full stage shot of the show during it’s run on Broadway. There is washout, as it’s a full stage shot, but it is very very watchable. About 8 minutes is missing right before the Act 1 finale. Tootsie - Pre-Broadway / Chicago - September 11, 2018 (Preview) (SunsetBlvd79's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Santino Fontana (Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels), Lilli Cooper (Julie Nichols), Andy Grotelueschen (Jeff Slater), Sarah Stiles (Sandy Lester), John Behlmann (Max Van Horn), Julie Halston (Rita Marshall), Reg Rogers (Ron Carlisle), Michael McGrath (Stan Fields), Anthony Wayne, Britney Coleman, Diana Vaden, Drew King, Harris Milgrim, James Moye, Jeff Kready, John Arthur Greene, Katerina Papacostas, Leslie Donna Flesner, Paula Leggett Chase, Shina Ann Morris NOTES: Excellent HD capture of the first PreBroadway preview performance. This is a fun show with terrific performances based on the 1982 movie. Santino gives a wonderful performance and earning early Tony buzz for Best Actor! A+ Translations - National Theatre - July 31, 2018 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Colin Morgan (Owen), Seamus O'Hara (Manus), Ciarán Hinds (Hugh), Dermot Crowley (Jimmy Jack Cassie), Adetomiwa Edun (Lieutenant Yolland), Rufus Wright (Captain Lancey), Michelle Fox (Sarah), Judith Roddy (Maire), Laurence Kinlan (Doalty), Aoife Duffin (Bridget) Travelling Light - National Theatre, London - February 9, 2012 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MKV (HD)|Subtitles CAST: Tom Allwinton, Norma Atallah, Roy Baron NOTES: National Theatre Live 9th February 2012 mkv, 5.46GB Hardcoded English subtitles

Treasure Island - National Theatre - January 22, 2015 (Pro-Shot's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Arthur Darvill (Long John Silver), Patsy Ferran (Jim Hawkins), Oliver Birch (George Badger), Raj Bajaj (Job Anderson) Tuck Everlasting - Broadway - April 4, 2016 (Preview) (SunsetBlvd79's master) FORMAT: VOB (no smalls) (SD) CAST: Sarah Charles Lewis (Winnie Foster), Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Jesse Tuck), Carolee Carmello (Mae Tuck), Michael Park (Angus Tuck), Robert Lenzi (Miles Tuck), Terrence Mann (Man in Yellow Suit), Michael Wartella (Hugo), Fred Applegate (Constable Joe), Pippa Pearthree (Nana), Valerie Wright (Mother) NOTES: Excellent capture of the Broadway transfer from Atlanta. Many changes and direction from the out of town tryout. A Tuck Everlasting - Broadway - April 4, 2016 (Preview) (NYCG8R's master) FORMAT: DVD ISO (SD) CAST: Sarah Charles Lewis (Winnie Foster), Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Jesse Tuck), Carolee Carmello (Mae Tuck), Michael Park (Angus Tuck), Robert Lenzi (Miles Tuck), Terrence Mann (Man in Yellow Suit), Michael Wartella (Hugo), Fred Applegate (Constable Joe), Pippa Pearthree (Nana), Valerie Wright (Mother) NOTES: A more rare recording of the same performance as a more common capture. Single Disc Tuck Everlasting - Pre-Broadway / Atlanta - February 5, 2015 (SunsetBlvd79's master) FORMAT: MP4 (HD) CAST: Sarah Charles Lewis (Winnie Foster), Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Jesse Tuck), Carolee Carmello (Mae Tuck), Michael Park (Angus Tuck), Robert Lenzi (Miles Tuck), Terrence Mann (Man in Yellow Suit), Michael Wartella (Hugo), Fred Applegate (Constable Joe), Pippa Pearthree (Nana), Valerie Wright (Mother) NOTES: Beautiful HD capture of the PreBroadway tryout in Atlanta. This was Carolee's final performance due to leaving for Finding Neverland. Wonderful show, performances and music! A+ Tuck Everlasting - Pre-Broadway / Atlanta - February 6, 2015 (SunsetBlvd79's master) FORMAT: VOB (no smalls) (SD) CAST: Sarah Charles Lewis (Winnie Foster), Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Jesse Tuck), Beth Leavel (Mae Tuck), Michael Park (Angus Tuck), Robert Lenzi (Miles Tuck), Terrence Mann (Man in Yellow Suit), Michael Wartella (Hugo), Fred Applegate (Constable Joe), Pippa Pearthree (Nana), Valerie Wright (Mother) NOTES: Beautiful capture of the Pre-Broadway tryout in Atlanta. This was Beth Leavel's first performance taking over for Carolee in the final few weeks of the run. Great performances and music! A+

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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How Babylon 5 Made Star Trek Better

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There are a few patient zeroes for proving serialized storytelling on TV viable. Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Battlestar Galactica, and the so-called “golden era” of TV aren’t possible without a few under-the-radar precedents. Different critics will point to different examples, but when it comes to science fiction and fantasy shows, that list gets a lot smaller. Some might say Buffy’s interconnected season-long arcs are the most influential, while Trekkies tend to lean heavily on the innovation and risk-taking of Deep Space Nine’s serialization in later seasons. In fact, one prominent DS9 podcast — The Rules of Acquisition — has effectively argued that DS9 created the foundation for all contemporary TV that followed. And then there’s The X-Files.

All of these examples are valid because, clearly, in the late 1990s, there was a vortex swirling that led to a revitalization of TV conventions that was most noticeable in genre shows. Buffy and DS9 probably deserve equal credit, but in terms of its influence on science fiction, and Star Trek in particular, the series that is (sometimes) overlooked is Babylon 5. By July 1994, Babylon was wrapping up its first season, and the future of science fiction on TV would never be the same…

In retrospect, Babylon 5 made Star Trek better in the 1990s. Like Paul McCartney being inspired by the Beach Boys in the ‘60s, Babylon 5 was the scrappy ‘90s sci-fi underdog that, in a roundabout way, inspired the best of Trek to be better. Here’s why…

Did Deep Space Nine rip-off Babylon 5? (Or vice versa?)

If you were watching sci-fi TV in the ‘90s, you probably had at least an argument about whether or not the two TV shows about people living on a space station were ripping off each other. I had an ill-informed one with my dad in 1995. My dad claimed he thought it was clear that Deep Space Nine (which premiered on January 3rd, 1993) had ripped-off Babylon 5 (which premiered on January 26th, 1994), and I claimed the reverse. Neither of us was right, but it’s easy to see why fans we’re so perplexed at the time. Here’s the list:

Both shows featured a cast of humans living with aliens on a space station, trying to work out various peace deals.

Both had no-nonsense female first officers, Kira on DS9, Ivanova on B5 (though in the B5 pilot episode, “The Gathering,” the first officer was Laurel Takashima, played by Tamlyn Tomita, who very recently turned up on Star Trek: Picard.)

In the first season, both had lead characters who were “Commanders” not “Captains.”

Both of these Commanders (Sisko and Sinclair) were veterans of major battles/wars, and their characters were (initially) defined by this experience.

Both space stations were positioned next to a strategic portal through space; the Wormhole in DS9 and a major JumpGate in B5.

And finally, both shows expected the viewer to have watched some, if not all, of the previous episodes in order to know what was going on. Again, in the ‘90s, this was not common for any TV.

So, what’s the deal? Well, as Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski has gone-on record saying many, many times: “Were Pillar and Berman [DS9 creators] aware of B5 at any time? No. Of that, I am also confident. The only question in my mind is to what degree did the development people steer them?”

Babylon 5 had been in development since 1987, but there’s not really any reason to believe that camp Star Trek was super-interested in ripping off a space station show and using it for its own purposes. So, the theory floated by JMS and others is basically this: Because B5 had been pitched to Paramount before landing with Warner Bros, it’s feasible that Paramount Studio executives encouraged the DS9 team to use various elements from the B5 pitch without telling them about the existence of B5. There’s also one rumor that states that Warner and Paramount were planning on launching a joint network in the early ‘90s, and that from a studio-level point-of-view, at some point in time, Babylon 5 and DS9 WERE THE SAME SHOW, even if the people making the shows were unaware of that. That last one is pretty out-there, and also hasn’t been publicly verified, so, there’s a good bet it might not be accurate.

Bottom line: Today, most consider the similarities between B5 and DS9 to be superficial and mostly coincidental. It’s water under the space bridge, Wormhole or Jumpgate. And yet, there are more concrete connections.

The Babylon 5 + Star Trek connections

In front of the camera, Babylon 5 had a few obvious Star Trek connections. The recurring villain Alfred Bester (named after the famous SF novelist) was played by Walter Koenig, best known to Trekkies as Pavel Chekov. Patricia Tallman, who played telepath Lyta Alexander on B5, was a familiar stunt performer on The Next Generation and DS9 (often doubling for Gates McFadden, Nana Visitor, and Terry Farrell ) and also appeared in notable episodes like “Starship Mine.” On top of that, at the height of the rivalry between B5 and Star Trek, Majel Barret — the first lady of Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry’s widow — guest-starred in the 1996 Babylon 5 episode “Point of No Return.” She played a character named Lady Morella, the widow of the Emperor of the planet Centauri Prime. This cameo was a calculated move on the part of B5 creator JMS and Barret. Basically, the goal here was to send a message to all fandoms: Be cool.

Behind-the-scenes, there were a few more big Star Trek connections. Harlan Ellison was a “Creative Consultant” for Babylon 5 and Trekkies obviously know his mega-famous Trek episode, “City on the Edge of Forever.” And, JMS himself was also a big Trekkie. But we’ll get to that.

How Babylon 5 (maybe) made Trek writing better in the ‘90s

Okay. So, there’s no reason to believe that Deep Space Nine ripped-off Babylon 5 in the ‘90s, but that doesn’t mean Deep Space Nine and Voyager weren’t made better by the existence of some friendly competition. Documentaries like What We Left Behind make it clear that DS9 had its own agenda, separate and apart, from, well, pretty much anything. That said, DS9 didn’t start out as a serialized show. Those big story arcs came later. Babylon 5 on the other hand, did start out serialized, which when you consider that most seasons were 22 episodes long, that’s really saying something. DS9 always had ongoing storylines, but the heavy serialization — the types of back-to-back story arcs that happened during the Dominion War — happened years after the show got off the ground. Did Babylon 5 give the writers’ room of DS9 the confidence to go this route? Most would probably say no. And yet, B5’s serialization was its signature. With DS9, the serialization became its signature eventually.

Adam Nimoy, son of Leonard Nimoy, directed the most pivotal episode of Babylon 5, the 1996 season 3 finale, “Z’ ha’dum.” These days, this kind of thing happens all the time — Jonathan Frakes directs episodes of Star Trek: Discovery and The Orville in the same year. But back in 1996, this kind of thing was more shocking. It’s not provable, but with so many Star Trek people working on Babylon 5, it feels unlikely that the writers and producers never watched the show. Because if they had, it seems like they would have been fired-up.

How Babylon 5 saved Star Trek’s special effects in the ‘90s

In the early 1990s, real sci-fi on TV didn’t use CGI. If you wanted to do spaceships, you used models. Even the sci-fi epic seaQuest DSV got away with heavy CGI use because, in essence, the ships were half-hidden underwater. But not Babylon 5. From 1994 onward, everything about the series was CGI. Initially, the VFX company that provided these effects was a company called Foundation Imaging. Because B5 had a budget of roughly a third of a Trek series of that era, CGI effects were the only way to survive. You might not think the CGI on B5 looks that realistic now, but you have to put it in context. Outside of maybe The Last Starfighter, nobody had really dared to do outer space ship VFX with anything other than models. B5 proved it could be done. The series also pioneered virtual sets, a practice that every single sci-fi show benefits from to this day.

But this isn’t an instance of Star Trek noticing someone doing CGI and thinking that it was a good idea. Foundation Imaging literally became a part of the Star Trek franchise in 1996. After 1995, Warner Bros decided to create the CGI for Babylon 5 in-house, which left Foundation Imaging in trouble. Luckily in 1996, the company started doing CGI for Star Trek: Voyager, which led to a longtime association with the Trek franchise. Up until 1996, for spaceship exteriors, Trek almost always used models. But that started to change after Foundation Imaging began working on Voyager. Though another VFX company — Digital Muse — did a bunch of DS9’s effects, Foundation Imaging was eventually needed on DS9 as well. Remember the greatest spaceship battle in all of DS9? Yep, that’s (mostly) Foundation Imaging.

In “Sacrifice of Angels,” the scope of the starship battle was too big for models to be used, and the workload too large for Digital Muse to handle alone. And so, Foundation was responsible for the epic moment in which the USS Defiant breaks through the Dominion lines. For most DS9 fans, this exact scene defines why the series is legit awesome. And, the truth is, if Babylon 5 hadn’t employed Foundation Imaging, if Babylon 5 hadn’t relied on CGI effects, the Defiant might not have flown like that. Everyone knows great VFX can’t save a bad sci-fi movie or TV series. But, in the late 90s, it was also true that bad VFX could prevent great sci-fi from being accepted. If Trek hadn’t slowly made the switch to CGI, it’s hard to believe Voyager would have continued to be exciting. Without Babylon 5 and Foundation, you can forget “Year of Hell.”

How Babylon 5’s creator predicted a Star Trek reboot

In 2005, after the cancelation of Enterprise was announced, JMS and Bryce Zabel co-authored a treatment for a possible reboot of Star Trek. This outline wasn’t done because anyone asked them to. It was done out of love for Star Trek. The basic concept was, at the time, fairly radical — do an entire reboot of Star Trek, in fact, the pitch was called Star Trek: Re-Boot the Universe. The idea was to give a new origin story for Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the TOS crew. JMS used examples from his work in comic books: Fans can accept that this happens in a different universe. Sound familiar?

By 2009, the entire trajectory of Star Trek was redefined by the first J.J. Abrams reboot movie, which, superficially, is what JMS and Zabel pitched. True, the current Star Trek renaissance has gone away from the reboot universe. But, the viability for big-budget, cinematic Star Trek probably couldn’t have happened without the reboots. Again, we can’t prove that the JMS/Zabel pitch inspired Paramount to do their own reboot, but just like there may have been some synergy between DS9 and B5, the basic pitch is just too similar to ignore.

Conclusion

Babylon 5 was a not a Star Trek rip-off, but it did take place in the 23rd Century, and like the classic Trek, featured heroic human starship captains and their alien allies teaming-up to save the galaxy. In a sense, there was a retro-feeling to all of Babylon 5 that probably reminded ‘90s Trekkies more of TOS than of TNG or DS9. Throw Walter Koenig and Harlan Ellison into the mix, and B5 was like a tribute band for Star Trek: The Original Series. These days, fans of The Orville make similar comparisons between that series and the TNG heyday of the ‘90s. The difference, of course, is that B5 was created by J. Michael Straczynski, a guy who cut his teeth literally creating the scripts for your favorite ‘80s cartoons; from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to The Real Ghostbusters. In short, Straczynski was someone who understood what sci-fi TV was in the ‘90s, and he knew its limitations. When he set out to make B5 he clearly did it with a lot of love for Star Trek. JMS hired Star Trek actors for Babylon 5. He attempted to bridge the divide between Trek fandoms and the B5 fandoms. He even dreamed up a way to bring Trek back from the dead after it was seemingly canceled in 2005. J. Michael Straczynski maybe never formally wrote for Star Trek, but without him, and without Babylon 5, the world of Trek would have been much, much darker.

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4aimt-blog · 4 years

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‘Mr. Jones’: Stalin Thriller Is Saddled With Too Many Important Stories to Tell

A good idea for a biopic doesn’t always find its ideal reflection on screen. Look what happened to Leonardo DiCaprio’s J. Edgar (as in Hoover), Hilary Swank’s Amelia (as in Earhart) and Colin Farrell’s Alexander (as in the Great). To that list of stymied ambition, add Mr. Jones, as in Gareth Jones (James Norton), the Welsh journalist whose exposé of Soviet atrocities leading up to World War II pissed off so many higher-ups that he never lived to see the age of 30.

On the surface, director and screenwriter Agnieszka Holland seemed a wise choice to helm Mr. Jones, given her superb handling of such Oscar-nominated wartime dramas as Europa, Europa and In Darkness. This time, however, the Polish filmmaker — herself driven out of Poland by the communists — is saddled with a rookie script by Andrea Chalupa that can’t make up its mind about what story it wants to tell. Is it Jones grappling with the ascendency of Adolph Hitler in 1933 while his colleagues turned a deaf ear? Is it Jones traveling to the Soviet Union in that same year to blow the whistle on the Holodomor — the famine engineered by Joseph Stalin that starved millions in the Ukraine while grain was sold abroad to stuff Soviet coffers? Or is it how these events inspired George Orwell to write 1945’s Animal Farm, an allegorical fable aimed at the toxic core of Stalinist totalitarianism?

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weerd1 · 5 years

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Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1909.19: Missions Reviewed, “Time’s Orphan,” “The Sound of Her Voice,” and “Tears of the Prophets.”

Keiko O’Brien has brought the kids back to DS9 finally, and they plan a long overdue family outing. Traveling to a small Bajoran colony world, they are having a delightful picnic when eight year old Molly finds herself inside a cave and in danger. Miles tries to save her, but she falls into a portal leftover from an extinct civilization and they realize she’s been thrown back in time. The station sends help and they manage to send a transporter beam locked on to her DNA through the portal, but when they beam her back, ten years have passed for her, and Molly is now a feral 18 year old. Back on the station, Bashir prescribes a series of methods to try to reconnect to her, but even her language skills have atrophied after a decade alone. Worf volunteers to help keep an eye on Kiarayoshi (the O’Brien’s son whom of course Kira delivered) as he wants to prove to Jadzia he can be a good father (meeting Alexander certainly has not helped with that).

Molly starts to make some progress, and asks to go home. They take her back to her quarters, but she reacts badly until she sees a picture of them on the colony planet, and they realize she wants back into nature. They take her to a holosuite, which goes well until their time expires, and Molly becomes angry, assaulting several of Quark’s patrons. Starfleet orders the girl to a treatment facility where she won’t be a danger, but O’Brien instead decides to take her and steal a Runabout, returning her to the time portal and destroying it behind her. Odo initially catches them, but lets them go.

They put older Molly back, but she arrives at the same time as her earlier self, and sends the eight-year-old version of herself back through the time portal, erasing her existence, but restoring her family. Worf meanwhile has decided he likes Yoshi despite some problems, and he and Jadzia decide he could be a father.

We waited until late in the season for our “Screw with O’Brien” episode, but indeed here it is. There are a few echoes of the fifth season “Children of Time” here (and in the next episode honestly) but overall this is an effective science fiction plot that serves as an nice analogy for families dealing with sick children, and what it takes to be a parent with the Worf story line. Worf coming at babysitting like it is a Warrior’s task is amusing, and all the more poignant very soon. I am interested in where this time portal came from, as much of it seems a little reminiscent of the Guardian of Forever, though the control interface looks rather pointedly like the TARDIS console from Doctor Who.

“The Sound of Her Voice” starts with Odo citing Quark for installing unsafe barstools and Quark deciding he has to come up with something to distract Odo so he can sell some elicit merchandise.

With Jake watching for “research” purposes, he pushes Odo to celebrate his one month “anniversary” with Kira to provide a distraction allowing him to move his goods. Meanwhile the Defiant is tracking a Starfleet distress signal to a lone survivor, Captain Lisa Cusak, of the USS Olympia (PNW, Represent!) who is on a class J planet, trying to stay alive. As they track her, the establish two way communications and to keep her company, each officer takes a turn talking to her. In their own way she begins to talk them each through problems they have experienced in their personal lives. On DS9, Odo shifts the day of his “anniversary” date, and that means Quark’s client will be there while Odo is on patrol. Without Quark and Jake knowing Odo overhears Quark lament how bad the war has been on him, and how he would like some recognition for helping bring Odo and Kira together. Odo abruptly goes back to his original plan, allowing Quark to operate. Odo tells Kira that he owes Quark one…but just one. The Defiant makes it to the planet and finds that the strange energy field that caused the Olympia to crash in the first place has acted as a time dilation effect, and Captain Cusak actually crashed three years ago, and her oxygen ran out then. Sisko brings her body back to DS9 and they throw an “Irish Wake” for her (which Worf comments seems like a very Klingon ritual) to remember the time they got to know her, and the advice she gave.

O’Brien toasts the fact that one day, it will be one of them not standing in the circle, and they should enjoy each others’ company while they can. The camera flashes to Jadzia Dax.

Holy foreshadowing, Batman. They do, they cut RIGHT to Jadzia when O’Brien laments one of them may die. Dammit, what are you people trying to do to me? Beyond that, I was struck by the similar circumstances between this episode and “Children of Time:” a planet with an strange energy field around it which displaces things in time. Being caught up with season 2 of “Star Trek: Discovery” I am struck how much the character of Captain Cusak (whom we see only as a body, three years deceased) has a personality and wit that reminds me of Tig Notaro’s character of Jett Reno. I just kept imagining her on the planet, similar actually to the situation which the Discovery crew WILL end up saving Reno from following the Klingon War in 2257 (about 117 years before this episode). I am not sure though why NO ONE tried to look up records on the Olympia, even just to see what her crew compliment was to aid in the rescue, and don’t notice the three year discrepancy in timelines. As a bit of reference, since Cusak discusses the Olympia being on an eight year mission and the ship crashed three years earlier, they Oly’s mission would have started roughly the same time the 1701D launched under Jean-Luc Picard, and she would have crashed roughly the same time the Voyager ended up in the Delta Quadrant.

“Tears of the Prophets” opens with Sisko receiving the Christopher Pike medal of valor and with Admiral Ross deciding Starfleet, Qo’Nos, and Romulus will invade Cardassian space, specifically to knock out a new type of weapon platform in the Chin’Toka system. The Romulan senator on scene is initially resistant, but becomes convinced.

Meanwhile Dax and Worf become public about deciding to have a child, and Dukat returns to the Dominion. He has recovered the Pah-Wraith Kosst Amojan (last seen possessing Jake Sisko in the apocalypse Kai Winn cancelled in “The Reckoning”) and will use it to attack the wormhole. When Sisko prepares to leave to invade Cardassia, he receives a vision from the Prophets warning him not to go, but he defaults to his Starfleet duty. While the battle is being hard fought (with the weapons platforms coming online mid-fight) Dukat infiltrates DS9 with the Pah-Wraith to deliver it into the Orb on the station.

In the sanctuary he finds Jadzia Dax, having a rare moment of religious curiosity, and blasts her with the Wraith’s power. The ancient being enters the orb, and the wormhole collapses. When the Defiant returns, Dukat is gone, and Worf arrives just in time to say goodbye to Jadzia; Bashir saved the symbiont, but could not save the host. The Celestial Temple collapsed, his friend dead, and Bajor looking to an Emissary who has suffered such major blows, Sisko decides to return to Earth for a time to clear his head. Kira assumes command of DS9, and when she enters Sisko’s office, is heartbroken to see that Sisko does not know if he will return: Benjamin has taken his baseball with him.

The death of Dax is almost arbitrary and just a senseless tragedy, which I think makes it all the more affecting. You would have expected her warrior’s death, but the almost meaningless happenstance of being in the wrong place when Dukat appears just hurts. Dramatically it is effective; the behind the scenes story about how Rick Berman treated Terry Farrell leading to this death is infuriating. I know Berman kept Trek alive a long time, but damn, am I glad he’s no longer affiliated, and Terry gets to be married to Leonard Nimoy’s son (no, seriously) and appear at conventions alongside Nicole De Boer whom we will meet next season as the new Dax host Ezri. Jadzia was an amazing character, and I will miss her as the show continues, but it is effective and visceral storytelling that brings us Ezri Dax. At least something good came out of Berman’s abuse, and Jadzia, as I rewatch, re-meet, and re-lose her 20 years later will ALWAYS be one of the best things about DS9 and Star Trek in general. And SCREW YOU Kai Winn! This Pah-Wraith being on the lose is YOUR fault. Also, I really like David Birney as the Romulan here, wish we'd seen a little more of him!

NEXT VOYAGE: A broken Sisko receives a distant mysterious vision, and an old friend with a new face appears to help find the “Image in the Sand.”

#star trek #Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #DS9 Rewatch

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