This post originally appeared at The Oak Wheel on May 22, 2014.

“Companions, the creator seeks- not corpses, not herds of believers. Fellow creators, the creator seeks, those who inscribe new values on new tablets. Fellow creators, the creator seeks, and fellow harvesters; for everything about him is ripe for the harvest.” Thus Spake Zarathustra, by Friedrich Nietzsche.

Blue and orange morality, says TV Tropes, is what you have when “characters have a moral framework that is so utterly alien and foreign to human experience that we can’t peg them as good or evil… There might be a logic behind their actions, it’s just that they operate with entirely different sets of values and premises with which to draw their conclusions.”  (more…)

Cracked notes some pretty popular universes have got to be seriously crappy to live in if you’re an average person.

Middle Earth.  Star Trek.  Marvel. Westeros.  Star Wars.  Not exactly idea.

CREATIVE QUESTION: In your fictional universe(s) what’s it like to be an average person?

– Steven Savage

Ancient history has fascinated many people.  Universities offer entire departments of history and classics based on research by historians and archaeologists.  However, there are people who have more fanciful beliefs on what happened before recorded history.  There are those who believe that life here began out there, that ancient astronauts landed here to become the first humans.  Others believe that the ancient astronauts were once worshipped as gods after they provided such cultural leaps as written language and large works of art and engineering*.  While evidence is lacking, the concept of ancient astronauts can be jumping off point for a work of fiction.

Stargate is one such work of fiction.  Released in 1994, the movie established that the Egyptian god Ra was really an alien who needed the body of humans to maintain his immortality.  Getting to Earth involved travelling long distances, using a device the ancient Egyptians referred to as a “stargate”.  Long since buried, the artifact was recovered in the late 20s and became an object of study, which is where the main characters come in.  First, Daniel Jackson, played by James Spader.  Doctor Jackson is a proponent of the ancient astronaut hypothesis, and has studied ancient Egyptian history and languages.  His research leads to him being recruited by a joint United States Air Force and civilian project to decipher hieroglyphs found on a relic.  On the Air Force’s side, Colonel Jonathan “Jack” O’Neil, played by Kurt Russel, has been brought out of his retirement as a failsafe in case the relic is operational.

Doctor Jackson figures out the symbols, realizing that they’re not words, but coordinates that inform the Stargate the location of the other end.  A team is put together to explore what lies on the other side, including Colonel O’Neil and Doctor Jackson, the latter to work out how to return to Earth, the former with orders to plant a bomb to destroy the gate.  On the new world, the team discovers a city of humans, all speaking a variation of ancient Egyptian.  During the search for the coordinates to Earth, Ra appears in his pyramidal spaceship to search for a new body.  The presence of O’Neil’s team encourages a revolution against Ra by the populace, one that ends when O’Neil’s bomb detonates as Ra tried to escape in his spacecraft.  Doctor Jackson remains behind, having married Sha’uri.  The movie ends with O’Neil and Jackson saying their farewells and promising to see each other some time in the future.

Stargate could have ended there, its main plot wrapped up.  There was room for further movies; the idea of turning a popular movie into a TV series wasn’t known at the time.  Other than M*A*S*H, the only other recent example was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which had started airing in March of 1997, with Mortal Kombat coming in 1998.  June of 1997 saw the pilot of Stargate: SG-1 debut.  “Children of the Gods” aired on Showtime, as would the first half of the series’ run.  The bulk of the cast of the movie was replaced, with Richard Dean Anderson playing Colonel Jack O’Neill, “with two l’s” and Michael Shanks playing Daniel Jackson.  “Children of the Gods” starts with the Stargate, inactive but guarded over the three year difference between the movie’s release and the airing of the pilot, coming to life.  Beings similar to Ra and his soldiers march through, killing three of the guards and kidnapping the one woman on the squad.  As a result, Colonel O’Neill is brough back from retirement again, this time by General Hammond instead of General West.  Hammond gets the truth from O’Neill in a quick recap of the movie, including the part where the Colonel sent the bomb to Ra’s spaceship instead of destroying the Stargate itself.  With that news, a message is sent to Jackson, paving a way for a squad to go through the gate.

While Dr. Jackson and Col. O’Neill catch up, the alien who attacked the Air Force team on Earth come through the Stargate on Abydos, the same one the O’Neill’s squad had used.  The alien takes away several of the natives with him, including Daniel’s wife and O’Neill’s adopted son, Skarra**.  Jackson returns to Earth with O’Neill, determined to find his wife.  A briefing by General Hammond introduces the core concept of the TV series, the SG teams.  Each team would be sent through the Stargate to the various viable coordinates discovered, coordinates that Dr. Jackson and Captain Samantha Carter, played by Amanda Tapping, have worked out.  Jackson and Carter hit it off immediately, as the good doctor’s previous research helps her with her theoretical astrophyics.  Together, they work out that many of the coordinates have drifted just from the movement of the galaxy.

With the coordinates of the apparent origin of the new alien, Apophis, teams SG-1 and SG-2 move out.  The new world is unlike Abydos.  Where Abydos was a desert, the new planet is verdant, covered with plants.  SG-1, led by Col. O’Neill, is able to find the people taken by Apophis, not just from Abydos but from many worlds with their own cultures.  Apophis, ultimately, escapes with Daniel’s wife and Skarra having been transformed.  However, Teal’c, played by Christopher Judge and one of Apophis’s guards known as a Jaffa, is impressed by how SG-1 handles itself and believes that they can succeed in defeating the alien and switches sides.

With the pilot over, the hard part comes.  The cast and crew have to deliver a strong story featuring the characters weekly.  Over ten seasons, the longest an American science fiction series has run***, they did just that.  The movie took a look at first contact and the difficulty of communicating, even when the two sides can trace back lingusitic history.  What Stargate SG-1 did was expand the setting, building up Goa’uld and the Jaffa, introducing the Asgard, a species whose appearance was based on the Greys and were responsible for Norse myth, and allowing the technology base on Earth to grow as the series progressed.  During this, two spin-off series came about; Stargate: Atlantis, set in a distant galaxy with a team of explorers and specialists who knew that they may never return back home because of the energy required to maintain a wormhole that far, and Stargate: Universe, set on board the Ancient starship Destiny with a crew who are trying to find their way back to Earth.

Stargate-SG1 built on top of what was shown in Stargate, taking what was discovered and expanding.  The key elements, ancient astronauts and the Stargate’s coordinates, were in the movie and were fully exploited in a way that was consistant with the events in Stargate.  The TV series used its format to expand the setting, adding to the movie without ever taking away from it.

Next week, the May round up on adaptational news.

* For example, the Egyptian pyramids and the Nazca lines in Peru.
** Skaara was played by Alexis Cruz in both the movie and the pilot, making him the only actor who was in both.
*** There are terms and conditions here.  Star Trek had more seasons but over multiple incarnations.  Doctor Who has lasted longer, but is British.  General Hospital was a long running soap opera that pre-dated television, but wasn’t science fiction.  Still, Stargate SG-1 deserves recognition of being able to last as long as it did over two cable stations.

This post originally appeared at The Oak Wheel on May 8th, 2014.

Buckle down and get ready for pictures, because today we’re going to talk about, well, insert title here.

Let me start out by adding my voice to the crowd and state that there are really no laws of writing, just training wheels to take off when you feel you’re ready. And then you try not to crash into a car. So don’t think that I’m telling you that this is the one way to Heaven. This column isn’t called Things That Everyone Should Like, and this article isn’t called The One Right Way for You to Get Things Done either.

(more…)

He wants to interview a lot of creative people in a big marathon!  Here’s the stats

• Looking to fill 30 interview slots for a podcast interview challenge.
• 42 interviews in 42 days.
• While I prefer Google+ for video interviews, I can also do audio only Skype calls if needed.
• Saturday, Sunday (afternoon/Evenings) or Monday is my preferred scheduling days for the interviews in day/afternoon or evenings.
• All scheduled interviews are in EST.
• Email me directly at kurtsasso@gmail.com Subject “42 Interview challenge accepted” listing your industry, available time and available date.

Apologies for the hiatus.  I’m taking this week off to recharge and to get ready for the next batch of reviews.  Lost in Translation should return next week with Stargate SG-1.

Science fiction in comic books wasn’t doing well in Britain of 1977, with titles whithering.  However, with Star Wars on the horizon, a new publication, 2000 AD aimed to change that.  Several characters debuted in the weekly, including Judge Dredd.  Dredd, as created by John Wagner, was meant to be a tough cop along the lines of “Dirty” Harry Callahan on a big bike.  However, artist Carlos Ezquerra took the description of “judge, jury, and executioner” and created a faceless law enforcer, with overtones of the fascism he grew up with in Spain*.  The iconic helmet was inspired by a medieval executioner’s hood.

As the story got re-written to match the artwork, the dystopia of Mega-City One grew.  Despite 2000 AD being a British comic, Mega-City One was placed on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.  The vision of the setting was an outsider’s look at American society through the lens of celebrity and violence.  As the political shift to the right grew in the late 70s, with Margaret Thatcher becoming the UK Prime Minister in 1979 and Ronald Reagan becoming the American president in 1981, Dredd’s world picked up fascist overtones.

With 2000 AD running weekly, and the Judge Dredd Megazine running monthly, many stories were created.  The title was treated as an open sandbox, letting writers tell whatever story they could in the setting, with Dredd himself the element that tied everything together.  The open nature of the title allowed for elements like psychic abilities, the supernatural, and even time travel to be introduced.

In 1995, the first film adaptation came out.  The movie had Sylvester Stallone starring as Dredd.  There were a few issues with the film, leading to a lukewarm reception.  One big problem, though, was that the studio didn’t want to keep Stallone’s face hidden under the helmet.  In the comic, Dredd never removed his helmet; he was a faceless law enforcer.  Removing his helmet meant adding a sense of humanity to the character that was never there.

With the 35th anniversary of Dredd’s creation in 2012, a new movie was released.  Dredd would see Karl Urban in the titular role.  Urban’s previous work includes Lord of the Rings, the JJ Abrams Star Trek, and Doom.  In each of those movies, he portrayed his role well, to the point of channelling DeForest Kelly in Trek as Dr. McCoy.  In Dredd, Urban became the role again, keeping Dredd’s ever-present scowl on his face.

The movie pulled in many elements from Judge Dredd’s long run, some only showing up as minor details, like in the graffiti scrawled on the walls of Peach Trees.  Mega-City One was shown as a huge sprawl, dotted by towering City Blocks like Peach Trees.  The inside of Peach Trees was desolate, almost soulless.  Ma-ma herself was created for the movie, but she appeared first in the Judge Dredd Megazine in an origins story.

The movie went well out of its way to be a proper Judge Dredd story without adapting one straight from 2000 AD.  The problems with the 1995 Judge Dredd were nowhere to be seen.  Being a fan of the character, Urban argued that Dredd would never take off his helmet, even in a scene written where he would.  As mentioned above, at no point did Dredd take off his helmet.  The only time he was seen helmetless was when he was getting dressed; even then, his features were shrouded in shadow.

To include all the aspects of the comic would take far more time than a ninety-six minute movie has to spare.  Still, hints of the larger setting and history appeared.  Judge Anderson and her psychic abilities came straight from the comic, hinting at mutants and the Dark Judges.  The best way to explore the full setting may be a weekly series, giving time to set up arcs and to delve into the setting.  However, Dredd, while scratching the surface of the setting, captured the comic’s feel without having to change who Judge Dredd is.

Next week, Stargate-SG1.

* Spain was ruled by Francisco Franco from 1938 to 1975 as a dictatorship, which coloured Carlos Ezquerra’s view of authority figures.

Fairy tales are a popular sources for adaptations.  Disney grew on the strength of Snow White and Cinderella.  Of late, the trend has become remaking the tales in a darker, grittier version.  TV series like Grimm and Once Upon a Time and movies like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland* have taken classic tales and explored the darker side.  Even Supernatural has explored American mythology on its way to popularity.

Hansel & Gretel, Witch Hunters was meant to cash in on the trend.  Released in 2013, though originally scheduled for early spring 2012, Hansel & Gretel continued the classic fairy tale of two children abandoned in a forest who find a cottage made of candy and must escape the witch who lives inside.  Like most fairy tales, the original story of Hansel and Gretel warns children to be careful, to not succumb to desires, like eating too much candy, and to respect other people’s homes.

The movie tells the tale before the credits, using it as a mini-origins story.  The credits were used to show Hansel and Gretel’s career of hunting witches using animation based on the artwork of the purported period.  When the live action returns, Hansel, played by Jeremy Renner, and Gretel, played by Gemma Arterton, are grown up and have been brought in by the mayor of Augsburg to rid the town of witches and find the children taken by them.  However, the head witch, Muriel, played by Famke Jannsen channeling her inner Morticia Addams, is using the upcoming blood moon to make sure that all dark witches will no longer burn on pyres.  Along the way, the witch hunting siblings run into a fanboy who has a collection of their exploits and a poster of Gretel on his bedroom wall.

Hansel & Gretel, Witch Hunters is well aware of what sort of movie it is.  It doesn’t take itself seriously, yet shows equal amounts of horror, action, comedy, and drama.  The weapons the siblings use add to the over-the-top nature of the film; Gretel carries a double-barrelled, fully automatic crossbow.  The movie becomes Strawberry Fields, from Casino Royale, and Hawkeye, from Marvel’s The Avengers fight the supernatural.  Yet, it works.

The movie is a re-imagining of the fairy tale, continuing the story of Hansel and Gretel past their defeat of the witch of the candy cottage by using her own over agaisnt her.  Hansel & Gretel, Witch Hunters expands the story and the setting, adding twists that both surprise and follow from the characters while still keeping a sense of fun in the mix.  The writing showed an understanding of the fairy tale and an eye on how a pair of orphans could survive while adding little quirks, like the fanboy, that spoke to the desired audience.

Next week, Dredd.

* Yes, Alice isn’t a fairy tale, but does share some characterstics of such a story.

Once again, the review is about another movie still in theatres, so I’ll try to avoid spoilers as much as possible.

March turned out to be movie-filled for me, as I managed to catch several in the theatres.  The first three, The LEGO Movie, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, and Veronica Mars were all adaptations.  The last movie, Muppets Most Wanted, falls into an odd designation.

I’ve reviewed Muppet movies in the past, with The Muppet Movie and The Muppets.  Muppets Most Wanted is a sequel, the eighth of The Muppet Movie as Bunsen Honeydew points out in the movie, and all of them coming from The Muppet Show.  Muppet movies fall under one of three types.  The first type is where the Muppets play themselves.  The best example is The Muppet Movie, where it was sort of how the Muppets came together.  The second type is where the Muppets play characters based on themselves*.  The Great Muppet Caper is a good example of this second type.  The third type is where the Muppets play completely different characters, usually in an adaptation.  Muppet Treasure Island shows that the Muppets can be both themselves and another character in this third type.  Both The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted are of the first type of Muppet movie.  This is where it gets difficult to figure out whether the lastest film is a sequel, an adaptation, or a bizarre hybrid out of Bunsen Honeydew’s labs.

Muppets Most Wanted picks up right where The Muppets ended, with the sets being struck, the props being returned, the extras going home, and even the cameras being put away.  All the cameras, but one, which is still rolling.  The Muppets don’t just break the fourth wall; they shatter it, twist it, and turn it into origami.  After a song about making the sequel, they are convinced by Dominic Badguy**, played by Ricky Gervais, to take The Muppet Show on a world tour.  The origami crane that was once the fourth wall is now a Moebius strip.  Meanwhile, the new number one criminal, Konstantine, who looks very similar to Kermit, has escaped.  And the camera is still rolling.

There is no doubt that the movie is well worth seeing.  Danny Trejo in a song and dance number alone is worth admission.  Psycho Drive-In has a full review of the movie.  The question, though, is Muppets Most Wanted a remake, reboot, or adaptation, or is it just a sequel?  To even try to answer that question, I had to examine the details.  First, Muppets Most Wanted happily calls itself a sequel to The Muppets, which was a reboot of Muppet movies that owed its existance to The Muppet Movie.  At the same time, the latest film couldn’t exist without The Muppet Show.  While the rest of the movies wouldn’t exist, at least in their existing forms, there’s always a possiblility that Muppet movies would happen.  Muppets Most Wanted needs The Muppet Show for the plot.  Indeed, the movie shows the backstage shenanigans that happen when Kermit is removed from managing the show.

Yes, Muppets Most Wanted is an adaptation.  The form is of a documentary of The Muppet Show on tour with a criminal genius using the ensuing chaos for his greatest crime, except for being a documentary.  All the hallmarks of both The Muppet Show and previous Muppet movies – zaniness, camoes, self-deprecating humour, Miss Piggy trying to woo Kermit, severe damage to the fourth wall – are on display.  The Muppets themselves are as people remember.  Thus, Muppets Most Wanted is not only a sequel of The Muppet Movie, but an adaptation of The Muppet Show, one that has raised the bar on expectations of Muppet films to come.

Next week, Miami Vice.

* I know the Muppets are puppets, but bear with me.  Each Muppet has a distinct personality that has been shown for up to fifty years.
** Pronounced Bad-zhee.  It’s French.

Hey gang, if you want to join up with the sites at Crossroads Alpha, here’s what we’re looking for!

Muse Hack
Muse Hack is the blog of Geek Applied – career-building, skill-learning, and community-creation. We’re looking for motivated, engaged authors that want to write on people putting their passions to use; career, education, conventions, fan charities, technology, and more. If you want to write on people getting things done, contact us.

We’re specifically looking for:

• A person willing to put together a weekly roundup of relevant news.
• Coverage of the convention beat, especially conventions with a heavy career and/or charity presence.
• Coverage of training, skills, and development.

Contact Steve Savage

Psycho Drive-In
Psycho Drive-In strives to be the home for intelligent reviews and commentary on television and movies on the fringe of mainstream.

We are always on the lookout for great new writers and prefer distinct individual voices with something to say rather than someone just looking to recap the latest episode of whatever you happen to be watching.

We are looking for reviewers of weekly television programs that veer toward the horror/sci-fi genre, but also includes the best that TV has to offer, as well as people interested in reviewing films that are currently playing in theaters and/or new release home videos. Each writer should ideally maintain a presence on Facebook and/or Twitter – at least – to help spread the word when new items are updated on the site.

We are specifically looking for:
* A person willing to put together a weekly roundup of relevant news.
* Writers interested in launching quality ongoing columns analyzing or surveying specific film or TV works/genres/creators with an eye toward future publication as ebooks – either independently or under the PDI banner.

Contact Paul Brian McCoy

Seventh Sanctum
Seventh Sanctum, the site of random generators, is looking for creative people to share their advice and their secrets! The site supports a legion of random tools for ideas, and now hosts The Codex, an online section for advice for creative people. Be it writing, art, or role-playing games, we’re looking for you to share what you know to help out others.

We’re specifically looking for:

• People who can write on art and visual creativity.
• People who can provide serious, hard advice on writing such as editing, publishing, and more.
• Someone willing to do a weekly roundup of news, interesting links, and of course crazy inspiring stuff.

Contact Steve Savage

Indie Haven
Indie Haven, the site for all the news you’d ever want about Indie Games, is looking for folks eager to delve into the world of games journalism. We have a solid reputation among Indie Developers and this is a close-knit group of writers and editors that will help you get better.

What we’re looking for:

• Reliable reviewers that can turn around a game review in a short amount of time.
• Journalists willing to put together feature stories for the website.
• Livestreamers willing to play some games on our Twitch TV channel.

Contact Jose