Since we started talking about science fiction and fantasy musicals yesterday, I thought it might be fun to spend the next few days going over the past and future of this strange sub-genre of nerd culture.
There is of course, no more well-known example of the species than everyone’s favorite midnight sing-along show, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. While people put the movie down, the plot is actually pretty solid when compared to most musicals, and the songs are pretty damn good as well. Of course it’s the midnight shout-alongs that are the source of the movie’s fame and fortune, and if you haven’t ever seen it with a live audience and/or stage show, you should give it a try. It’s a unique experience, and the idea of aliens from a hedonistic other planet is one that I think still has some possibilities left to explore.
Here’s some cast members from Buffy doing their own interpretations of some of the (admittedly weaker) songs from the show:
It isn’t just basement dwellers, hyper productive CEOs, and information age hipsters who are creating online projects these days. Famous people from traditional media are also trying their hand at creating something new and different. Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy and Firefly, is turning his hand to the online world, with his newest effort: Doctor Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog. Here’s what we know so far:
It’s the story of a low-rent supervillain (Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible), the hero who keeps beating him up (Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer), and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to (Felicia Day as Penny).
Did I mention it’s a musical?
This isn’t the first time Joss has delved into the waters of genre musicals. The Buffy episode “Once More With Feeling” was an amazing mix of plot and song. More than that, the sudden outburst of singing is actually explained in the context of the show.
It’s also the last truly great episode of the series; the perfect shark:
Here’s Neil Patrick Harris Singing:
via the newborn DoctorHorrible.net
There’s some interesting ideas here, even if they couldn’t imagine how much materials would change between now and then.
Here’s another take on the future from the same period, although they’re only trying to predict the 1980s:
At Shinjuku’s Kamiigusa train station
Gundam is an odd duck, even for an anime series. The “classic” world and characters that began it all aren’t what drives the engine anymore. Instead, each series is a different “alternate reality” reboot that remixes the archetypes and plotlines of the original series, usually centering around a troubled teenager given control of a powerful robot, and a fascist empire bent on controlling the destiny of humanity.
The statue here is of Gundam NT-1, the mobile suit that started it all. Perhaps someone will uncover it 2,000 years from now and end up totally perplexed at what exactly it was we were worshipping…
Comic books are a strange beast from a writers point of view, given that they are primarily a visual playground. “Well written comics” is a bit of an oxymoron, because the right images can overcome the writing. Jack Kirby is sort of like that… his ideas were so big they overcame the stiffness of the prose.
So someone has finally gone and created an online comic book that is truly the fusion of the web and the “stop and go” frames that have defined the medium.
It’s kind of hard to explain so check it out.
It just may blow your mind.
There may be other stuff like this on the web, but if not, I think someone just reinvented something…
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