Blast from the Past #592: August 28, 2002: Re: FW: TMNT New Mixes and Storyboards, designs, idea, August 29, 2002: Re: Le's talk, and August 30, 2002: "Notes From The Underground" part 1 second try, and "The Shredder Strikes" part 2 (Episode 11)

Subj: Re: FW: TMNT New Mixes
Date: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 11:19:40 PM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine

Lloyd,

It may be due to repeated playing sapping my will, but this theme song is sounding slightly less lame to me. I find it disappointing that we only have two options. I still think this one has a lot of extraneous sound (for no apparent reason) and it's not very hummable/singable/memorable. I'd like to hear some compelling reasons why this one is better for our purposes than the other.

--Peter

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Subj: Storyboards, designs, idea
Date: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 11:29:43 PM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine

Lloyd,

I looked over the remaining boards for Episode 3, and they look very good... just two small comments:

1.) Pg. 259: Where it says "Leo starts to swing the laser", it should be "Don" instead.

2.) Pgs. 291, 291A, 292, 293: The scene where Stockman jumps into the elevator and escapes doesn't really work for me, in this sense -- the Turtles are trying to escape the lab themselves, yet they don't even try to use the elevator. Why?

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I also got faxes of the following designs (and thanks to you and/or Chuck for adding the show # info -- it will help!): 

Turtles in disguise: They look fine to me -- no comments.

Guardian: Better -- I think the slimmer look works. I'm not sure about the Guardian symbol -- it looks a bit too much like one of the throwing knives from BLADE. Is there a story behind this design (i.e. do the shapes symbolize something)? Now I'm wondering what this new look for the Guardian would be like if we swapped dark for light and vice versa -- in other words, make the jacket dark/black and the inner garb light/white. (I prefer version 1, by the way... although for certain "effects" shots it might be neat to do the shadowed look of version 2.)

Foot Tech Ninja: I like this guy, and I think the addition of the belt thing brings it closer to a Foot "style", which I think is a good thing. Gary questioned whether we should add some stuff to the belt, like a utility belt or some kind of mechanisms for the cloaking device, but my idea was that that stuff was built into the armor pieces and the three-point chest strap. I think adding any stuff to the belt would detract from the sleekness of the figure.

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Okay, now for the wacky stuff... I was thinking today about the "sole survivor" in the underground city, and what his motivations should be. How about something like this: Millennia ago, when the civilization which created that city was in full flower, they determined that a cataclysm was in the offing, and through years of feverish effort they devised a technological solution to what they saw as their imminent demise. Through this new technology they were able to reduce each citizen to an "energy/data essence" which could be stored in a small space and used at some future date -- perhaps when the cataclysm's effects had subsided -- to somehow restore all of those people to their physical selves. But to accomplish this, they needed a "Watcher" -- someone who could survive the lonely centuries while making sure the machines which stored the "energy/data essences" continued to function properly. To this end they genetically engineered an individual (our "sole survivor") and placed themselves -- or their essences -- in his care.

But what they never anticipated was that over the long years, the Watcher would begin to deteriorate... mentally as well as physically. And there would come a time when the Watcher discovered that regular infusions of the "energy/data essences" restored and invigorated him. Unfortunately, whenever he did this infusing, it would be the end of the individual whose "energy/data essence" he was using. And when the Turtles encounter him, he has gone through almost all of those essences.

Now, I haven't thought this through completely, but it might work out that the monsters (the misshapen remnants of the Foot genetic experiments) could be the salvation of what remains of this ancient civilization, in that they offer themselves up for "joining" with the remaining "energy/data essences".

It also just occurred to me that it might be cool if when the turtles get to the underground city, they realize -- perhaps because Don has some kind of tracking/mapping device which records the distances they've traveled and in what direction(s) they've gone -- that they have traveled UNDER the Atlantic Ocean! This could be a subtle hint that perhaps this vanished civilization might have been... fabled Atlantis.

--Peter

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Subj: Re: Le's talk
Date: Thursday, August 29, 2002 9:35:39 PM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine

In a message dated 8/29/02 7:14:09 PM, Lloyd writes:

<< Hi Peter -

Curses!  You somehow eluded my grasp today!

Please let's hook up tomorrow to review some important stuff.  Also, we sent
out some outlines.  I hope you get a chance to review at least show 11,
which is breathing down my neck even as I type these words!

If there's someplace particular I should try and get a hold of you tomorrow,
lemme know.  Otherwise: tomorrow at 12:30.  Be there.  Aloha!

Thanks,

MaGarret! (sp?) >>

Lloyd,

Sorry we didn't connect today... I'll try to be around for your call or I'll try to call you. Tonight I'm going to try to look at the two outlines I got today.

I did want to tell you that I got the sketches of Angel and the interior of the Purple Dragon's den with the steel cage, and I don't have anything to say about Angel -- Gary may have some comments. The Purple Dragon's den looked good, but I wonder if it looked a little bit too regular and clean -- for example, all of those track lights of almost the same size make it look kind of like a theatre.

--Peter

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Subj: "Notes From The Underground" part 1 second try, and "The Shredder Strikes" part 2 (Episode 11)
Date: Friday, August 30, 2002 1:37:28 AM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine

Lloyd,

I read both of these -- "Notes From The Underground" part 1 second try, and "The Shredder Strikes" part 2 (Episode 11) -- and here are my comments:

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"Notes From The Underground" part 1 second try:

1.) In Act One, I was surprised to see the crystals acting like power vampires (sucking power out of batteries and TVs and such). I thought they were supposed to be power suppliers (so they can activate/power the underground transport vehicle/train we talked about months back).

2.) Also in Act One, when the alarms sounds OUTSIDE the lair, it should make no noise OUTSIDE the lair, only INSIDE the lair (why would the Turtles want to draw attention by having an alarm that went off OUTSIDE?), so why would the monster notice/destroy it?

3.) In act four, I found the bit with Don setting up a video loop of the Turtles lying on the floor to confuse whoever's watching the cameras really silly and unbelievable. Given the circumstances, there's no time to do this, and besides, it says here the smoke from the destroyed laser grid is blocking the security camera... why don't they just use that cover to do what they must do to escape?

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"The Shredder Strikes"  part 2 (Episode 11):

1.) In Act Two, on page 3 -- when Splinter is trying to locate the Turtles, shouldn't he try the Shell Phone (Shell Cell?) first? Also, it seems like he is a bit too ready to head out to follow them. I wonder if it might be better (and give us a couple of fun "bits") if first he calls Casey and then April to try to get their help, but they don't hear their 'phones ringing because April's exercising with her iPod headphones in, and Casey's doing a tune-up on his bike and is revving the engine. Just a thought.

2.) In Act Two, on page 4, I think the "Terminator 2" - like imagery could be very cool, but I would suggest that as he walks out of the flames, we see that the Shredder's belt/sash is in flames, and he casually rips it off and tosses it without breaking his stride.
Also -- just after this scene, what is it that the Turtles "... look on stunned..." at? The way it reads, it would SEEM that they're all stunned by this view of the Shredder walking through the flames... but how can that be when just a moment ago they were described as ending up on three different sides of the building (in fact, I believe Raph has yet to pop his head up from the Dumpster he's fallen into).

3.) In Act Three, on page 7, let's remember that the Battle Shell is not IN the lair, but in the parking area in the warehouse. Also, I think it's a bit much for it to fire off a couple of rockets -- maybe it just deploys the rocket launchers and then retracts them again.

4.) In Act Four, on page 9, we see Mikey getting back into the thick of things, fighting the Shredder and the Foot soldiers. I thought he had just sprained his ankle, and could only hobble?

Also in Act Four, on page 10, the scene where Splinter (as far as I can visualize the scene as written) leaps on top of the water tower and "... leaps back pushing with all his might in a mighty kick..." doesn't make much sense to me, because if Splinter is in mid-air when he gives this mighty kick, the laws of physics (every action having an equal and opposite reaction) would seem to (a) reduce the effect his kick has on the water tower by about half, and (b) send him flying (over the edge of the roof?). In any event, I don't see Splinter as possessing the kind of power needed to knock over an (admittedly already weakened) water tower in this fashion. 

Hence, I make this suggestion: Move the water tower to a position where it is near a wall. Splinter could get behind the water tower up against this wall, and use that wall to brace himself as he pushes/kicks out at the water tower to try to make it fall. Perhaps he pushes with all his might, yet just... can't... do... it... and then a sleek shape drops down beside him in the shadows behind the water tower. It's the GUARDIAN who earlier spoke to Leo! Without saying a word to Splinter, he adds his considerable strength to Splinter's effort and the result is that the water tower topples... and even as it does, the Guardian leaps away into the darkness, leaving Splinter to wonder...

That's it for now. Talk to you later!

--Peter