I’m going to make this simple because there’s not much to it. If a movie or TV show isn’t being continued in either of those forms but instead is being continued in comic book form. I don’t care about it and I don’t count it as canon.
I don’t know why I have that bias. I love Marvel and DC and other kinds of graphic novels. If it’s an adaption from a comic or graphic novel then I’ll go see it. It might be because it doesn’t feel like it’s done out of love? But just so that the company can hold onto the license of the property. I read one volume of the Firefly comic series and I liked it okay. But I just couldn’t get into the rest of it.
I think it might have to also do with the fact that comic books’ authors change between runs. Without the consistency of a filmmaker that might have made the movie or show, it feels like there’s less of a steady hand on the wheel.
Maybe it has to do with how long the series has been going on for. I love the Star Wars expanded universe novels but that series has been going on for the better part of five decades. Marvel and DC have been going on for even longer. Maybe because the franchise has already been passed hands so many times and proven itself, that shows that I can trust what is happening.
I have a thing I do with really popular shows. I don’t bother watching until I know the ending is good. I did this with Lost and was happy that I missed out on getting invested with that dogshit ending. I didn’t follow my own rules and got my heart broken by Game of Thrones. (Why did you have to do that to Dany, guys? Who the fuck thought Bran being the king was a good idea?).
Any reason to post Emilia Clarke is a good reason
These are just some random thoughts I’ve had about this topic. Thank you for joining me on this journey.
Excuses were made. Lies were told. The group made sure that they covered their tracks and they worked together well enough that their alibi was airtight.
Instead of going to any of their houses, they got on their bikes and started riding. The children rode their bikes as the town fell away from them as they headed along the streets to the northwest. There was a forest that bordered the town on the western side. Towards the north, the land curved upwards. Eventually leading to a large overlook. They had festivals up here sometimes. A fair number of the children of the town had been conceived there as well.
But tonight, a group of theater kids were gathering there. There would be four of them in total. Two girls, two boys. Ages ranging from fifteen to seventeen. The first to arrive was Robin, a tall, willowy young white woman with two toned hair, the left side pink, the right side black. She like to wear long fanciful dresses that she found while thrifting. People would ask her that night how she rode her bike with the dress on and she would simply say bicycle shorts and the conversation would end. The dress she chose for tonight was baby blue and had a great deal of lace on it.
The second was Michael, a young black man that rode with a guitar on his back. He was a bit overweight and dressed much more simply than Robin. T-shirt and jeans. When he got there, Robin was gathering up twigs and leaves for a fire. He helped dragged some larger pieces of wood for them to use throughout the night.
Two arrived at the same time, a slim young Asian man named George who dressed in hoodies and jeans as well. His hair was styled, he had eyeliner and black nail polish on. He was hauling a huge backpack of snacks. The friend he rode up with was a short, plump young white woman with jean shorts, a shock of red hair and wearing a flannel shirt. She had a large bag with all kinds of pins covering it. They brought up social issues as well as a number of indie rock bands. Robin clocked her arrival immediately immediately and went to give her a hug.
“Cheery!” Robin said in greeting. “I missed you.”
“I just saw you a few hours ago at school,” Cheery said.
“That’s long enough for me to miss you.”
Michael had gotten the fire going and they went to sit by it. He pulled out his guitar and started playing quietly. First things first, they discussed theater business. What they could improve, what they thought would be best to do in the show. Who they thought was secretly dating amongst the cast. Who had crushes on who.
Next came the songs. Michael, being a devil on the guitar could play almost anything they shouted out. There were some favorites of course from a variety of shows that they loved, Wicked, Rent and the like. Michael put the guitar away, which meant it was time for s’mores.
“God, I love nights like this,” George said.
“I like looking down at the town from up here,” Robin said. “Leaves all the boring down there.”
“It’s not that boring,” Cheery said.
“Yeah, the last place I lived only had like a movie theater with four screens. Plus the owner was obsessed with Titanic and always dedicated at least one screen to it at all times,” George said.
“How did he stay in business?” Michael asked.
“You would be surprised at how often people would just pop in and go see Titanic. It was actually comforting. Your life might change in all kinds of ways but that theater would still be showing Titanic.”
“God, Kate Winslet was so hot in that movie,” Cheery said.
“She’s still hot,” the rest of her friends chorused.
“Agreed!” Cheery said raising her soda to the sky.
“I know that there’s some things about Ravenwood that I’m going to miss but I have to get out of this town. The city holds my dreams for me,” Robin said.
The others didn’t say anything. They didn’t want to rain on her parade. But for them, they would only go as far as high school. Robin was a lifer. She was going to try and make the theater everything about her. To that end, she had started posting songs and line readings on her Youtube page. They had attracted the usual internet reaction. Some people calling her hot, some people actually talking about her talent and others saying that she was terrible.
“I don’t know if I could leave,” Michael said. “My family’s here.”
“You’re right, son,” a voice said from the woods.
Everyone’s heads turned and they saw a black police officer holding his flashlight emerging from the woods.
“Hi, dad,” Michael said nervously.
“Hi, son for whom I am well pleased and said that he was staying at George’s house,” his father replied.
“To be fair, Mr. Block, he is with me,” George said.
“Not helping, George,” father and son said together.
He sighed and pressed the buttons on his walkie talkie. He said that it was a group of campers on the ridge and it was nothing to worry about. He came and walked to the fire, he pointed at it with his flashlight.
“That should be smaller if you want to stay out of sight,” officer Block said. “You lit a signal fire for the entire town.”
“The beacons are lit,” Robin and Cheery said.
“Gondor calls for aid, yes, yes, Michael’s watched those movies a thousand times. I’m glad that you kids are having fun but you need to make sure that you put that fire out and spread the ashes. I would run you off here if you weren’t as good of kids as I know.”
“Sorry, dad,” Michael said.
“We’ll discuss this with your mother tomorrow, I’m not that angry and I’m not disappointed, just be smarter.”
“It could be in our favor that we are such good kids because we’re really bad at being bad,” George added politely.
“Still not helping,” the two Block men said in unison.
“It’s crazy the way you two do that,” Cheery said.
“Be home for breakfast tomorrow,” officer Block said to his son and started walking back to the woods.
“I love you, dad,” Michael said.
“I love you too,” his father said as he hit the tree line.
The group decided that it was time to turn in and got into their sleeping bags. Of course, that’s not where it ended as the minute there was silence someone would ask if they were sleeping and then they would start chatting again. Whispering secrets. Giggling. Laughing. Loving one another in ways that surpassed romance because they knew that those bonds would last forever.
The night didn’t though and soon the sun woke them up. They got on their bikes and Michael rode to keep his promise. Wondering what the talk would be like when he got home. But for right now, George wanted to race him and the city streets were empty. They pumped their legs, laughing for the sheer joy of it.
Gregory’s walked the line steadily between dive and family restaurant. It was well kept with red wallpaper and split into a restaurant on the right hand side and the bar on the left. They were equal in size given that it was the largest bar in town as opposed to the true dive bar and the higher end bar up on the hill. The walls were a deep red and the floors were a dark brown. In the restaurant there were booths and tables and it served American bar food. That food could also be brought into the bar if you wanted to experience it standing up for the most part. Unsurprisingly the bar on the left hand side was far stickier than the right no matter how much they cleaned.
A young woman stepped into the room wearing a short dark blue dress and black heels. She had tanned skin and her hair was long, curly and blonde. She stopped at the hostess’ stand and then made a left into the bar. The reaction was one of wonder as the woman walked into the bar. She was stunning. People got a good look at her and if they were sensible went back to their drinks. Three men started talking about which one of them would approach her when she walked across the bar to man sitting in one of the booths. The man was looking at his phone.
“Hi,” she said to him and he looked up from his phone.
He was a handsome young man about her age of twenty-six with stubble dotting his face and his hair a light brown. He looked at her through a pair of thick glasses. He was dressed simply in a buttoned down shirt and jeans.
“Oh, hello,” he said.
“I was wondering if you wanted to share a drink?” she said.
The man looked at her and went to run his hand through his hair. He had been sitting with his right side facing her so when he brought up his left hand up, she saw the flash of a gold ring on his hand.
“Uh, I’m willing to have one platonically,” he said. “I’m married.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m just new in town and I thought you looked cute. I’ll leave you be.”
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I’m more than willing to make a new friend.”
She slid into the booth opposite him. The waitress, a young white woman named Samantha walked up to her and the blonde woman ordered a Manhattan.
“So, what’s your name?” the man asked her.
“Bianca,” she replied. “Yours?”
“David,” he said and offered his hand for a friendly shake.
The two shook jovially and Bianca let out a sigh.
“Of course the first guy I hit on as a single lady would be married,” Bianca sighed.
“I want to say that I’m flattered but I’m so married and happy that nothing would ever happen,” David said.
“Is your wife at home?”
“Yeah, she’s getting off of work a bit later than me plus she’s pregnant so it takes a bit of time for her to get here.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your date night.”
“Well, it’s not interrupted yet, I wouldn’t even call it a date night. We don’t have kids yet, so it’s just us being social while we still can.”
“I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“We’re often joined by friends who happen to come to the bar. Let me just call her.”
David’s wife was getting changed when she got the call from him. She had been staring at her stomach in the mirror, running her hands over it. She smiled at the prospect of her future daughter. Her black hair was tied in a loose ponytail. She had started dressing even more so for comfort than before. She unabashedly stuck her feet into a pair dark blue crocs to finish getting ready.
She looked at her phone and saw the call coming in from her husband.
“Hey, honey, I’ll be there in a little bit, just gotta waddle my way down the street,” she said.
“Hey, Marissa,” David replied. “I made a new friend named Bianca. She just wants to make sure that she’s good to hang out with us.”
“Why would she worry about that?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ll be there in a bit. I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
She started her waddle and as she did, she got a text from her friend, Ajanta.
Ajanta Looks like David is stepping out on you.
She knew that Ajanta was half joking. She had always liked David but she had always been protective of Marissa. She had included a picture that it seemed like Ajanta had taken in secret. Marissa had to note that Bianca was hot as hell. She also knew her husband.
Marissa: Yeah, I know. He told me that they were having a drink together. Want to join us?
Ajanta: Sure, I’m already here and I want to see what her deal is.
Marissa shrugged and kept walking.
David saw Marissa come into the bar and him and Bianca stood up when they saw her. Ajanta joined up with her as she stepped in, giving her a quick hug and the two walked to the table. Ajanta was an Indian woman with long black hair and an athletic figure.
“Hello,” Marissa said to Bianca. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too, please sit down,” Bianca said. “Wait, I’m sorry, it makes more sense for me to get in first so that you can look at your husband.”
“Oh, I’d like that to do that.”
“Let me get in the booth and you can get off your feet. Those are cute crocs.”
“Thanks,” Marissa said noting that she sounded sincere when she said it.
Bianca pushed farther into the booth and Marissa slid in next to her. Ajanta followed on the opposite side before David sat next to her. They ordered their drinks and Marissa ordered food. Some mozzarella sticks and chicken wings.
“How far along are you?” Bianca asked.
“I’m about six months,” Marissa answered.
“Entering the home stretch.”
“My stretch marks be stretching.”
“So, Bianca,” Ajanta intercut. “What brings you to town?”
“I just moved here,” Bianca responded. “I, uh, got divorced.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s fine. He was… he was cheating on me.”
“Sounds like a scumbag,” Marissa said.
“He was. He kept some pretty garbage opinions hidden for a long time. Along with his affairs.”
“Multiple?” Ajanta asked.
“Yeah,” Bianca sighed.
“Where did he find the time?”
“Oh, that was the other thing, he had quit his job and was pretending to work and taking money from his parents.”
“What a loser.”
“Yeah, I know how to pick ’em.”
“You can’t tell what a dude is going to be like after years,” David said. “You just try and hope for the best.”
“Thanks,” Bianca said.
“What’re you going to do while you’re here?” Ajanta asked.
“I’m a lawyer, I got a job at one of the local firms. But I’ve been talking about myself for a while. What about the rest of you?”
They started talking about their various professions for a long time and the drinks started flowing among them. Marissa kept to her water but chomped down on her food when it arrived. By the time she was done, everyone else was a little bit tipsy. David got up and left for the bathroom. The women watched him leave.
“I have to admit something to you,” Bianca slurred.
“What’s up?” Marissa asked.
“I have to admit that I talked to your husband because I wanted to hit on him.”
“I knew it!” Ajanta said pointing.
“I’m sorry. But he was like I’m so in love with my wife. I just wanted to be honest because you’ve been so nice to me. And now that I know he’s married, it’s hands off.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Marissa said. “I know he’s hot to trot.”
“Yeah,” Ajanta said. “I thought you were scummy too. I sent Marissa a text, being all like, look at this Jezabel with your husband. But you’re so sweet.”
“My name’s not Jezabel, it’s Bianca,” Bianca said.
“Sorry.”
“But you don’t have to worry about that. I get it. A lot of people think that I’m making moves on their men.”
“It’s probably because of how hot you are.”
“You are very beautiful,” Marissa said. “You’ve raised the average hotness of this town by several points.”
“You two are so pretty too,” Bianca said. “Like your tummy is the only fat part of you.”
“Thanks, I do yoga and go for runs. Well, I used to do those things but the little one gets in the way. When I’m healed up do you want to join me?”
“I can?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“We can be friends? Even though I hit on your husband?”
“Sure, you haven’t been weird and I feel like the fact your inhibitions are down and your main focus is telling me that you’re not going to hit on my man means a lot.”
“Yeah, let’s be friends,” Ajanta said.
“I’m so happy. Thank you,” Bianca said.
The three women tried to hug each other but the table got in the way. When David got back, he saw the strange tableau before him. He offered to take a picture of the girls and picked up his phone off the table. The girls smiled as he snapped several pics of them.
At that point, they decided to call it a night as it was getting late. Marissa and David walked their friends back to the house and then Marissa drove them home. She sang along to “Shiny, Happy People” on her way home.
Charlie had a window in his office. He noticed the snow falling and thought that he would give it an hour and see if it stopped. By the three hour mark, it still hadn’t. He was a small man, bald and potbellied. He rose out of his chair and into the small hallway of his office into the main area of his store.
His store was fragrant and beautiful. It sold scented candles of all kind. The walls were a light pink and the carpet was a deep blue. Gentle music was playing over the speakers. There was artwork made by his wife and children on the wall, framed of course. His two employees, Riley and Caroline, didn’t stop working.
“Riley, Caroline,” he said and they turned their heads to look at him. “I don’t want to drive home in this shit and if I don’t want to do it, I don’t feel like you should have to do it either. Go home for the day. You’ll get paid for the rest of the day.”
“Thanks, boss,” Riley said.
“I don’t drive in,” Caroline said.
“Well, you deserve a day off either way. Get out of here,” Charlie said. “I’ll close up. Riley, I’m sorry that I didn’t do this earlier. You have much farther than I have to go.”
“Don’t worry about it, boss.”
“Get going and I would appreciate a text that you got home safe.”
“Will do, boss.”
“You can call me, Charlie.”
“You got it, boss.”
Charlie rolled his eyes and went to the cash register to start cashing it out. Riley and Caroline went into the employee area and gathered their things. They walked out into the parking lot of the strip mall. Caroline helped him clean off his car and then Charlie’s.
“Do you need a ride home?” Riley asked Caroline.
“I’m good,” Caroline said. “Safe travels.”
Riley gave her a two finger salute and got into his car. He pulled out slowly as Charlie came through the door. Charlie waved at him and got into his car. Riley started home going slowly. It normally took him about thirty minutes on the back roads but this would be probably around forty to fifty. But as his father always said, go slow in snow, get home in one go. He thought that his dad was really trying to push for that rhyme.
Thinking about his dad’s words made him think about Charlie. His dad liked Charlie and told him to respect the man. Riley did respect him and it was the reason that he called him boss. He was the boss. He was a man of honor and dignity. He stood up for his employees when the shittier customers gave them the stick.
His wife was beautiful, tall and willowy. She had modeled in her youth and had only stopped when she found something else that interested in her. One of Riley’s coworkers had decided to make a pass at her because he thought that he was God’s gift to women. Charlie’s wife laughed in his face. She called her husband and told him what had happened. Charlie had laughed as well. They kept laughing until the coworker quit in tears.
The store was a pet project of Charlie who three loves in his lives. His wife and children and in a far second, candles. He made most of them himself. It’s what kept bringing people back. He paid Riley enough that he didn’t need a second job. He gave them health insurance. At times he felt like he was wasting his life but why break up a good thing?
The areas outside of the strip mall was mostly farmland. He kept driving, watching horses wander back into their stable. There was no one on the road. It was only eleven a.m. He thought about the people in their office buildings that stupidly didn’t work for Charlie. The roads were already starting to get bad. It would be miserable later that night.
He got to an intersection with a four way stop. A man was walking down the street and came to the stop sign. Riley figured that he could let the man go. It was worse walking through this than driving. He thought that up until the man slip and fell. It was a particularly nasty fall, the man was on his legs and then they went to their left and he hit the ground.
The man got up but then fell once more. He then just kind of laid down. Riley thought driving away but then he wondered when someone would come along. He thought about it for a few seconds and then put his car in park.
He went to the man.
“Hello there,” he said. “Do you need some help?”
“I’m fine, my arm just hurts a little bit,” the man said.
“Can I help you up?”
“I’m fine.”
“Please, sir.”
The man relented and Riley helped him to his feet. The two of them walked over to Riley’s car. The man pulled back his hood. He was old with a well kept beard and whitening hair. He was wearing a large windbreaker coat.
“Thank you,” the man said.
“No problem,” Riley said. “The name’s Riley. What’s yours?”
“Morgan.”
“Good to meet you, Morgan. Can I take you somewhere to get checked out?”
“I’m fine.”
“You said your arm hurt and not to be a little ageist, you’re older. I’m worrying you…” “I’m not having a heart attack. I had one of those and I know it’s not that.”
“Sir, please. The urgent care is just up the road and I’ll take you home.”
“Fine.”
The two of them drove into the snow. They got to the other strip mall and Riley helped Morgan out of the car. He shook him off but was still holding his arm. The urgent care was thankfully open. A young Indian woman in scrubs was sitting at the front desk.
“Wow, I was just about to leave. That is providence,” she said. “How can I help you?”
“This man is having arm pains and he fell out in the snow,” Riley said.
“Are you…”
“I’m not having a heart attack!” Morgan growled.
“Fine, fine. Come in the back, let me check you out. Would you like your son to come with you?” the doctor asked.
“He’s not my son,” Morgan said.
“Just a good Samaritan,” Riley added.
“Let’s get you checked out, I’m doctor Indara Patel.”
“You can go, Riley,” Morgan said.
“I’ll wait. Gotta make sure you get home or I’ll worry,” Riley said flopping into a chair.
Riley pulled out his phone and texted his boyfriend. It was starting to get serious but he still hadn’t met his family. His name was Keith and he was really getting into with him.
Riley: Hey, I think that we should cancel tonight. The snow is really bad.
Keith: Yeah, I think that’s best.
Riley walked back out to his car and got a book from his bag. He started reading and made it through a fair amount of his book before Morgan came out wearing a sling. He seemed unhappy.
“His arm is broken, I’ve given him some pain medication and an order to take it easy,” Dr. Patel said to Riley.
“Got it,” Riley said as if that meant anything to him.
“Thank you, miss,” Morgan said sincerely.
“No problem. I can close up shop with a sound heart,” she said. “You boys get home safe.”
Riley lead Morgan out to the car and opened the door for him. He asked Morgan his address and Morgan told him. He noticed that Morgan stopped and looked at the pride bumper sticker on the back of his car and hesitated for a moment. He climbed in and Riley started putting the address into his GPS.
“Do you have a charging cable? My phone’s dead. I have to let my son know what’s going on,” Morgan said.
“Yeah, here,” Riley said and handed it to him.
“Thanks.”
They drove in silence for about three blocks.
“I know what that sticker on the back of your car means,” Morgan said.
“Oh, do you want me to let you out?” Riley asked.
“No, it’s fine. My son’s gay.”
“And you’re cool with it?”
“I don’t fully get it but I don’t have to. He’s happy and I love him. I call that a win.”
“That’s pretty good.”
“How did your parents take it?”
“My dad gave my mom a twenty when I came out. They were accepting after that.”
“Ha, he sounds fun.”
“Hm.”
They lapsed into silence.
“My son brought me to one of those parades one year. Told me to wear a ‘Free Dad Hugs’ shirts. So many of them came up to me. They wept. They cried in my arms. I’ve never been more furious in my life. What poor excuse for a parent lets their child think they don’t care about them? For that? Idiots,” Morgan said.
“Testify,” Riley added.
“My son’s mother didn’t accept him. It was the one thing bad about her. I still miss her. I wish she could have gotten around it. She missed a lot of good times with him.”
“Hm.”
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m dating a great guy.”
“Good. You’re a good person, helping someone you don’t know.”
“I couldn’t leave you. It’d be horrible. I’d be like one of those parents.”
“Exactly.”
Riley drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and then told Siri to play some Johnny Cash. Morgan nodded approvingly.
“My phone has a bit of a charge, I’m going to call my son,” Morgan said.
“Go ahead,” Riley said.
Morgan put the phone to his ear. The son on the other end picked up immediately. Riley only heard one side of the conversation and it went like this:
“Hello? Yeah, I’m fine. I just had a bit of a slip. My arm is busted. I’ll be fine. I was out walking. A nice young man picked me up. Took me to the urgent care. Nice doctor. Said she ask for his number but turns out he’s gay. Yeah, yeah. He’s going to take me home. Should be about thirty minutes. You don’t have to do that. I can manage. Fine. I’ll see you in a bit. I love you. See you soon.”
He hung up the phone.
“My son is going to meet us at my house,” Morgan said.
“Good, I’ll know when he gets near. Using my gaydar. We don’t tell you that’s what it’s actually for. Identifying when we’re near to each other. Straight people don’t actually have it,” Riley said.
Morgan let out a coughing laugh. Riley noticed his phone was buzzing. He saw it was Keith. He answered it on speaker phone.
“Hello?” Riley asked.
“Hey!” Keith said. Morgan looked down at the phone.
“My dad fell when he was out walking, I’m heading over to his house. He broke his arm,” Keith gasped.
“That sucks,” Riley said.
“Yeah, some guy is driving him home. I’d kiss him, if I wasn’t already dating you,” Keith said.
Riley glanced at Morgan, a smile spreading across his face.
“I mean, you can kiss him if you want. He’s doing something really nice,” Riley said chuckling a little bit.
“He is,” Keith said. “Why did he need to go for a walk! I would have brought him anything he needed. Ugh, I love him but he’s so stubborn sometimes.”
Morgan looked at the phone and raised an eyebrow. Riley realized that he was walking a tightrope walk.
“Let’s not be too harsh on him. Everything you told me about him shows that he’s a good guy,” Riley said quickly.
“He is, he’s the best man I know. He’s my hero. He just needs to know that sometimes he shouldn’t go out in a blizzard,” Keith said.
Morgan nodded his head back and forth seemingly agreeing.
“You know you never told me your dad’s name. What is it?” Riley said.
“Morgan,” Keith said.
“Cool name.”
“It is. Alright, I have to pay attention to the road. I’ll see you later. I might have to stay over his house a few times to make sure that he’s okay.”
“Hey, do what you have to do. No worries on my end.”
“Okay great. I’ll see you when I can.”
“See you.”
Keith hung up and Morgan and Riley started laughing.
“I thought I wasn’t going to make it through that,” Morgan said wiping at his eyes.
“That was so funny,” Riley said.
They came to a stop at a stoplight. Morgan turned in his seat.
“Nice to meet you,” he said and offered his hand.
“An absolute pleasure to meet you, sir,” Riley said.
“Call me Morgan.”
“Now that you’ve asked, I will.”
“Do you want to stay at my house when Keith gets there?”
“That would be great. How funny would it be if when he comes through the door, I just come out of the kitchen or something.”
“That’d be great.”
They got to Morgan’s house and Riley helped him into the house. The two of them sat playing chess and drinking cocoa while they waited. Morgan was much friendlier now and was sharing stories about Keith. It was timing perfection where Riley was getting them more cocoa and he heard the door open.
The look on Keith’s face when he walked into the living room with three cups of cocoa was one that Riley would hold onto for the rest of his life. During their wedding years later, Morgan would tell this story again with tears in his eyes. He would toast the man that was a stranger and now he called son.
In the above link, you can find a story that Ryan Coogler’s production company is in possible works to make an Animorphs TV show. They did it before and it was not that great. The andalites just shoved each other around instead of fighting with their tails. They barely morphed throughout the series because it took too much money to handle the animals. Let’s take some time and I’ll talk to you about what I want in the series.
Animated
I like real animals as much as the next guy but c’mon, it would be very expensive and dangerous to have the Animorphs’ battle morphs on set at the same time. They are in no particular order tiger, bear, gorilla, wolf and red tailed hawk. Along with whatever nonsense they’re going to do for the andalites. That’s going to be no small task in live action, I mean look at these things:
The solution, I think is turning it into animation. We’ve had some great serious animation like with Invincible and Primal and I think that this would make it easier to do some of the major sci-fi things and animal violence without involving real animals.
I’m not sure what kind of style I would do it in, maybe a more realistic one. Considering the anti-war messages, I think having some starkness to it would be better. People have mentioned Invincible and I think that’s the best option. Realistic but then body horror during the morphing. I would love to see everyone’s reactions to the things that we had to see in our mind’s eyes when we were kids reading these books. Behold that time Jake’s tiger morph nearly got eaten by fire ants. Behold that time Marco’s gorilla morph had skin ripped off from the ice that he landed on in the arctic in book 25. Those are just the ones off the top of my head.
2. Make every book a two part episode
I’m not talking two hour long episodes but instead the way they split up the original Justice League cartoon episodes. We’re sticking with that this is in animation and hopefully less to produce. Plus, it would make sure that there’s enough time for the entire book to get covered. Such as with book 6 where Jake gets a yeerk in his ear after a mission. There’s a part in the book, where Ax realizes what’s going on before anyone else and whips his tail up against Jake’s throat screaming <YEERK!>. Boom, episode end.
The next episode starts with Jake being locked in the shed that he would spend the rest of the book in. There’s not much in these books but you do need to give them room to breath. Which brings me to my next point…
3. Make room for more characterization
There’s not much downtime in an Animorphs book. You know enough about the kids that I can give you their personality traits. They would also always have a little adventure in the beginning as in one of the books they go to the circus and free the animals because Cassie hated the circus.
It would be great to get some little best friend moments between the two friendships, Jake and Marco and Rachel and Cassie respectively. Have some moments where we see Tobias going about his day as a hawk and maybe when he can get the chance to morph again, showing him getting used to being a human. Going on little adventures with Ax possibly. Hanging at the mall, which brings me into another point…
4. Place in its time period of the mid to late 90s
It’s going to be difficult to keep the secret of the Animorphs in the modern age. Sure, you could explain away kids morphing by saying it’s AI but that’s only going to last for so long. Plus, if they don’t have access to a whole bunch of other things like Uber and cell phones, it can help hype up the tension. Plus, there aren’t many good things that came out of the late nineties or early aughts. Give them something.
5. Keep the enemies mysterious
On Battlestar Galactica, we got three and a half seasons of the Cylons being an overarching and mysterious threat to the colonists. Then we started getting plot lines on the basestar, which were okay but for me never had the same impact as the human storylines. It did however showcase their eventual change throughout the series into what they would become in the end. A completely different entity. I don’t need to know what Visser Three gets up to in his spare time. The Yeerks should not get the same characterization as the children. Let them just be a threat.
In conclusion, I’m excited by the idea but it’s going to take a lot to make me think this is viable. Animorphs is a tough nut to crack off of the page. I wouldn’t be surprised if this didn’t make it past the planning stages.
A bit of a primer for this scene is that Petyr Baelish is trying to play the Lannisters, here represented by Cersei. He mentions the fact that Cersei is sleeping with her twin brother, Jaime and that he can use that knowledge to harm them. Thus, him telling her that knowledge is power. What follows is Cersei demonstrating that it’s hard to tell people what you know when a guard cuts your throat.
My God, the writing was strong back in the early seasons. But of course those are just words on a page. You need talent to bring them to life. Aiden Gillan brings slimy heat to Petyr but of course, it’s Lena Headey that’s the MVP of this scene. She moves from overwhelmingly powerful to flippantly violent. The way she laughs as she says “I’ve changed my mind”. She then instructs her guards to close their eyes.
Maybe it’s the tone of her voice or just everything we’ve just seen, but we know that they’ve closed those eyes without having to take away from them being random faceless guards. I don’t remember if this scene is in the books but if it was, I would have something in there about Petyr knowing that the guards had obeyed her without having to see their faces.
It’s not just the absolute loyalty that the guards have whether through fear or pay, but the pettiness. Her playing these guards like they’re her toys. And the fact that she turned on a dime from a normal conversation to getting ready to spill someone’s blood in the middle of the palace. Because she knows no one will say a god damn thing.
In the later seasons as she made mistake after mistake and then more mistakes trying to fix those first mistakes, it’s hard to remember this Cersei. The one that seemed to be confident and capable. But that’s generally what I think makes villains interesting as they realize that their plans were always stupid and doomed to fail. Kind of like Randall Flagg from Stephen King’s novels. At the end of the Stand, he wasn’t that much. Same as Cersei who couldn’t stop what was coming. Of course that ending sucked but… you have to take what you get.
Lorelei had been driving around with the bumper sticker from WeRateDogs on the back of her car for the last two years. She wasn’t a dog owner but she was a fan of dogs. She would go to the parks and watch people walking their dogs. Wishing she had the room or time for one. Not right now. Not until she got her promotion and had more control over her time. Soon. Soon.
She pulled up to the light and sat there. She knew this light and that she was going to be there for a long time. At least it was a nice day. Bright and clear. There weren’t too many folks on the road.
With a rev of an enormous engine, a pick up truck pulled behind her. It then revved again and pulled up next to her. She heard the sonorous sound of the horn and glanced over.
The man sitting in the car next to her was white, bald and wearing wraparound sunglasses. He was smiling a wide smile. She didn’t know what to make of the man. She wondered if he was about to say something to her whether sexual or racist. He kept smiling though.
“Say hi to your dog for me?” he called. “How about you do it yourself.”
He lifted up his hand and Lorelei nearly died. He held a chihuahua in his hand that was small and black and brown. The eyes were bugging out. It was shaking in the hand of its owner. She couldn’t tell if he was scared or just shaking like most chihuahuas do.
“Oh my God, look at that sweet angel,” Lorelei cooed. “What’s their name?”
“Apple pie!” the man called back friendly.
The light finally turned green.
“You two have a wonderful day,” Lorelei called after him as the man lowered Apple Pie back to their seat.
He gave her a friendly wave and drove through the light. Lorelei continued with her day as well, feeling a little bit happier. A little bit brighter having seen such a beautiful little one. Such is the power of the dog.
I’m sure if I was better versed in fantasy I would know that there are several books like this with the same concept. Villains having to do the right thing because the heroes don’t realize they’re dooming the world. But the one I ended up coming across was Villains by Necessity by Eve Forward.
From the cover, you know this book is going to rock. Our concept is simple, a wizard Mizzamir and his band of heroes saved the world by killing a great evil. Mizzamir has also started using his powers to forcefully remove the want to do evil from people. Because of that, nights are growing shorter and lighter. The world is “whiting out” as it were but no one can think that because everything is so much better.
Enter two of our villains Sam and Arcie, a human assassin and depressed dwarf thief, respectively. They get captured and Arcie gives Sam a contract to kill Mizzamir, this motivates Sam to break free and the two of them go on the run. They run into a druid named Kaylana who explains how the world is ending and the way that they can save it, by opening something called the Black Gate. It’ll release evil back into the world and balance it out.
What proceeds is a well written, funny and altogether great story. They encounter a sorceress who just loves being evil but has some real pathos about her, a silent black knight and a centaur bard who doesn’t know much about what’s going on but he is a double agent for the heroes.
It’s just such a bummer that this book didn’t get off the ground and become a series or that Eve didn’t write more than three books(I just found this out, I never actually looked it up until now). Because she’s an excellent writer. The book flows with wonderful character moments, it’s funny(there’s a moment where they encounter a village of Smurflike creatures and do what we all want to do and cuts a tree down so that they get crushed) and she utilizes the concept to its utmost. Just because evil is gone doesn’t mean people are better. And shows that forcing people to change isn’t this great and good thing. That there is a truly horrific cost for all of it. And just because “evil” is gone, doesn’t mean that people are better. There’s an exceptionally well written scene where Sam is out and about at night and hears a woman being sexually assaulted, which he steps in to save her from. This could easily just be a save the cat moment but it then rolls into Sam discovering a power that becomes a major plot point.
Mizzamir is a great villain because he’s not over the top but he’s so sure that he’s right. He looks upon the villains with pity that reeks of hypocrisy and snobbiness. The rest of his crew are more overtly antagonistic towards the villains and seek to harm them. They make for two distinct and interesting antagonists that feel like viable threats.
My main complaint honestly is that some things are not delved into as much as I would like. My sister has told me that she doesn’t need things like that and that it’s a personal issue of mine. Maybe it is but if the main complaint I have for a book is that I want more of it, then it’s something special.
It’s available on kindle and audible so read it if you can. A paperback version will run you about 86 bucks because it was only a first pressing. I got it for about forty back in 2004. I don’t regret spending that at all. Read it and enjoy it my friends.
I don’t know why this book popped into my head. My thoughts often come at random and without any guidance. I think one of those thoughts was: Brian from the book Hatchet would make a great Animorph. That’s not what I’m going to be talking about in this article but it’s important to tell people where you came from.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen was a book that resonated with me for some reason. I read it and wanted so badly to be living in the woods by myself with my wits keeping me from starving. As an adult, my heart breaks for that poor boy. He was only about thirteen(same age as the Animorphs) and he had so much happen to him. It’s the same thing like being Batman or Spider-Man, the life itself seems super fun. You don’t consider the implications that that life comes from unbearable loss.
For those that don’t know the book, Brian is given the titular hatchet by his mother because he’s flying out in a small Cessna plane to visit his father on an oil rig. During the flight, the pilot has a heart attack and dies leaving Brian alone. He crashes the plane in the L-shaped lake and swims to shore. The only thing he has are his clothes and his hatchet. He then has to survive in the wilderness and let me see how many trials I can think of that he had to go through: nausea from “gut cherries”, learning how to fish, creating fire, dealing with swarms of mosquitoes, bears, a tornado, nearly drowning in the lake when previously mentioned tornado drags the ship out of the lake and having to dive deep into the water to get his dropped hatchet. Let me head to wikipedia and check… oh I thought the skunk was only in Brian’s Winter but he has to deal with that, along with a bull moose, a pack of wolves and porcupine.
In the original ending, he gets rescued at the end of summer. In the new canonical ending, he has to survive through a Canadian winter because many fans pointed out to the author, that’s the true test. I had read the sequel, the River, which I didn’t like that much. I thought that the premise wasn’t that strong. It had nothing to do with the writing, Gary Paulsen is a master of the form. I’m reading through Brian’s Return and it still brought that same spark as when I read the original.
I’m trying to figure out why that spark hit. Maybe like your first kiss, your first love and all other things, nothing hits like that first one. Well, I think when it comes to kissing it comes down to your first good kiss. There are terrible kisses and you get to decide which ones truly count.
I think that if I didn’t love this book I wouldn’t have fallen in love with some of the other books that I’ve loved down the line. The Lord of the Rings, with its similar breathtaking descriptions of beautifully wild scenery. Animorphs, the idea of young people having to overcome adversity that they never should have to face.
And finally, my favorite book, Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. Both books feature men in the wilderness though Inman has to deal with the press of humanity despite his best efforts. They also harken back to an older time and a deep respect for the native Americans while subtly noting the terrible things this country has done to them. They’re also just plain beautifully written. I wish I was as good as either of those men.
I read that book more than thirty years ago. I’m older now. I go for walks in the woods. I own a hatchet though I’ve never used it the way Brian has and probably never will. But when I’m in those woods, Brian walks with me. I don’t know if Gary Paulsen knew how important this book would be for me and others who have read that book. I hope he did.
RIP Gary, I hope on the other side you’re in a canoe floating down a river. The blue sky over your head endlessly and a smile on your face. From the deepest part of my heart, thank you.
