The Adventures of Sherlock Hound

This week, I had the chance to grab a DVD of the first season of “The Adventures of Sherlock Hound” (as is the English reference), an animated series made by Mr. Hayao ‘Spirited Away and other great Animes’ Miyazaki in the 1980s. The title Sherlock Hound is fitting, because all sentient beings in this series are dogs (well, Moriarty looks more like a wolf to me, but still…).

The series takes its freedom with the stories written by Doyle (like “The Blue Carbuncle” or “The Speckled Band”) and almost overuses Moriarty and his two henchmen (they’re essentially guilty of every crime in the series), but apart from that, it’s a highly enjoyable series which has aged well - something which can’t be said for all animated series made in the 1980s. It also has the most badass Mrs. Hudson I’ve ever seen in a Sherlock Holmes series. Honestly, the episode “The White Cliffs of Dover” has her spring across a garden wall with an axe to save a crashed aerialist and later on chase a plane in two cars (jumping from one into the other at full speed when the first car runs out of gas) with Watson holding on for his dear life. Before she lost her husband and became a landlady, she was piloting herself, too. She is a good deal younger than you usually see her portrayed, too, and capable of actually charming Moriarty when he has her kidnapped.

Even though the series was produced for children, it also doesn’t omit the dangerous parts. There are several episodes where bullets start to fly and usually the main characters survive through a mixture of agility and luck. Yet, the series also keeps a light tone and is enjoyable even if you watch it from episode 1 to episode 13 in one day as I did. The cases are logical and can be solved with the information you are given, so there’s never a feeling of being kept in the dark, either.

I’m also still amazed at how well the feelings of the characters are shown, since putting human emotions on dog faces isn’t all that easy. Yet there’s never a doubt as to what the characters feel.

From today’s point of view, the series also has a great Steampunk style to it, from Sherlock’s car over the regular use of steamboats and trains to Moriarty’s flying contraption and his steam tank (there is no better way to describe this monster of a ride). There are zeppelins, balloons, and dirigibles, interesting machinery, and a lot of fun situations that arise because of them. It also has a great intro music and a nice casting.

All in all, it’s a great series to watch, no matter whether you’re a kid with interest in Sherlock Holmes or an adult looking for something to fill a relaxing half an hour (or day).

Problem with Prequels

No, this is not just about the Star Wars prequels (even though they will play a role). It’s a general post about the problem with making prequels to movies, TV series, or other stories. I might do another post on an idea for better Star Wars prequels, too, but this one is a general ‘why prequels rarely are a good idea’ post.

The main problem with prequels is, obviously, that the audience knows what will happen afterwards. We’ve already seen the X-Men movies before the Wolverine one. We know who must survive (because they turn up later). We’ve already seen the original trilogy years before “The Phantom Menace” came out. We know what will happen to Anakin Skywalker in the end. One of the most interesting parts of a movie - who will make it to the end - just isn’t there in a prequel. We know who needs to survive the Wolverine origin movie. We know who will survive the rise of the Empire in the Star Wars prequels - and who will not, like basically all Jedi who are not Yoda or Obi-Wan.

You can still make prequels, of course, but you must realize what problems you will be facing. You have to make sure you don’t make things too straightforward (or invent stupid new stuff for no apparent reason). You have to make sure not to bore or annoy people with ‘how it all happened.’

Let’s turn to Star Wars for a moment, shall we? There is no question that the prequels failed in a lot of ways. As a such, the question how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader and the question how the Emperor gained absolute power are interesting. They promise a new story in a universe the audience is already familiar with. Where the prequels failed was not the premise. Where they failed was the actual execution. Where they failed were new characters and parts of the story. I’ll do a post with a possible alternative story for the prequels later, so I won’t go in depth here.

They failed in making us care about Anakin. They failed in drawing a succinct picture of the Jedi Order or the Republic. They failed in keeping characters the way we know them to be later in life. They introduced too many new characters at once. They tried to do too much (such as introducing the whole political level). They got a little too carried away with things nobody needed (like the pod race, seriously). They failed to make Jar Jar Binks disappear after the first movie. Is a little accident too much to ask for?

Instead, they took out a bad character good for at least three movies in the first one. Darth Maul should never have died in “The Phantom Menace.” He was too interesting a character to start with. And, no, his latter resurrection in the “Clone Wars” series doesn’t count.

Then there’s the long gap between “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones.” Yes, a few years for Anakin to learn the ropes of the whole Jedi business are perfectly fine, but if you feel you must introduce the love interest in the first movie, don’t put that much time between them. Padmé is a good deal older than her boyfriend/eventual husband. Less time would have been better. If you’re going for a trilogy, don’t try to introduce all and everyone in the first movie, either.

If you look at the Wolverine origin movie, you can also see quite some little things. They might not be as glaring as with Star Wars (although naked Hugh Jackman jumping into a waterfall might have clouded my thoughts here), but they still are there. A walking Professor X wasn’t all that necessary. The extra-heavy bones Wolverine has because of the metal are only a topic once or twice. Either make them relevant for the story or forget about them - and since they’re not relevant later, just leave them out.

What I liked, however, was how they twisted expectations for the end of the movie. From the beginning, you expect the final fight to be between Wolverine and Sabretooth, between the half-brothers who, let’s be honest, can’t really kill each other, because they’re both healing so damn fast. It would have been a great fight, too, but having them both going up against Proto-Deadpool instead was better. Still, the final villain was a little bit pulled out of the hat at the last moment.

“Enterprise” failed to convey the feeling of the original “Star Trek” series. Each of the sequels were different, too, but they stayed within what the fans knew and liked, adding zeitgeist to the formula. “Enterprise” did not.

Sure, making a sequel is a lot easier than making a prequel, because you actually have free reign. Yes, you have established characters, but who says you need to use them? And even if you do, can’t they develop some new sides?

You can’t give a prequel character abilities which they didn’t have in the original story, unless you can give a damn good reason for them losing that ability later. You can’t make them stronger in the prequels than they were in the original story, unless you  have a good reason for their declining strength (like old age or a sickness).

Then why make prequels? Perhaps because you feel you need to give the characters more background. Perhaps because you can’t go forward. After seeing the first trailer for “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them,” I’m pretty sure the movie will enhance the Harry Potter Universe. But then, it’s not about what an established character did before, it’s about a guy who wrote a book used as textbook at Hogwarts. Much easier to do.

You should think very carefully about whether or not you want to make a prequel. You should think twice before writing the script and three more times before starting to film it. Then you have a chance to make a good prequel.

Penny Dreadful

Yesterday, I got my hands on the first season of “Penny Dreadful.” Today, I started watching the episodes and simply couldn’t stop until I had seen all eight of them. They were even better, because they didn’t feel or look like your average ‘turn of the century’ series done at the moment. There’s series like “Ripper Street” which are great on their own, but especially that one never really caught me. “Penny Dreadful” does a lot of things in a different way and that is what makes it so great.

Years ago, when “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” came out (the movie which put Sean Connery off acting), there was a good base to it, but the realisation was bad. The comic series it’s based on, also called “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and done by Alan Moore, is a very good, very tight, and very well structured series. It introduces characters well. It gives the characters a good background and a believable set of traits. It makes the story run well and it takes its time. Which is precisely where the movie failed - badly. Fact is, if you want to bring together a group of characters from several novels (or other backgrounds), you need time to bring them all together. You can’t do a total of three or so minutes for every character as they do in the movie. But you can do a total of almost one episode per character in a series, which is what “Penny Dreadful” does.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a lot of horror stories were written and published, usually in the form of a penny dreadful, a weekly or monthly magazine filled with stories, cheap, printed like a newspaper, available for everyone. They in turn inspired authors to write more of that type, to take those scares to the ‘better’ market. “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” and “The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” bring together the three most important pieces of what Stephen King called the ‘Tarot’ of horror in his book “Danse Macabre.” The vampire, the creature, and the werewolf (because that is, deep down, what the story of Dr. Jekyll and his other self comes down to). Even though the series holds back on the werewolf for a long time, it brings together all three of the archetypes, including the demonic as well.

Then there’s the topic of life, of elongating life. It shows, of course, with Dr. Frankenstein, but also with the vampires (ever-lasting existence), with Dorian Grey (and his deal with the devil to stay young), and with Brona (who is on the verge of death and doesn’t want to die).

“Penny Dreadful” takes it slow with all those topics. It paces itself very well. We are introduced to the characters, to their stories, to their backgrounds. We are introduced to Victorian London (filmed in Dublin), to Victorian society with all its facets (including the dirties sides). We are pushed bit by bit into things, learning slowly what is going on actually.

The ending(s) of the story is(are) surprising enough, proving the old proverb of being careful of what you wish for (to Lord Malcolm). Things get turned upside down in the end, cards get shuffled, fates get dealt anew for most characters. The series leaves us hanging with very important questions: does Isabella desire to be normal, to be rid of everything dark about her? And if she does not, will she become what fate has chosen her to be? But there are similar questions attached to the other characters. What will become of Victor and his first ‘son?’ What will become of Ethan, now that he has shown his dark side in England? What will the master do, now that his bargaining chip is gone? (One question which bothered me during most of the series is where the hell the vampire masters get those masses of slaves from. Another was why all of those develop white hair, especially why all of the woman grow long, flowing, pure-white locks.)

I really enjoyed watching the first season of “Penny Dreadful” and I’m now looking forward to season two which has already been confirmed. I will also watch the episodes again at my leisure. The series is a rare gem and deserves to be treasured.

Weekend Plans

I haven’t done any ‘what will I do this weekend’ posts for a long time now - I have pretty much neglected all my blogs for quite some time. I’ve stopped getting overly annoyed about things after my burn-out some years ago and I was getting tired of basically doing the same kind of post once a week, just to tell you what I was reading/watching/playing - especially as my plans and my reality often differ. However, I think I might take up my posts about plans for the weekend again.

So, what am I going to do this weekend?

I’ve several stories that need more writing, my old enemy, the ending, is at it again. It’s true, I find it easy to start a story, I get though the middle well enough, but I have a hard time with the end. Perhaps, subconsciously, I don’t want the story to end, as I like writing. Consciously, I often am not sure where to end, since I usually think further ahead than necessary, make up much more of my characters’ fate than I need. I should finish some smut stories I’ve been writing (first time I got past the beginning of vampire stories in a long time), most of them merely need a few more scenes. There’s a couple of Loki stories which only miss a chapter or two, same goes for the retelling of a fairy tale I did a while ago. I’ll be occupied for more than just a weekend with all of that, though.

I’ll probably be reading in “The Shadows of Sherlock Holmes,” an anthology edited by David Stuart Davies I bought ages ago. It includes a lot of detective stories written at the same time as Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and overshadowed by them. I have been cross-reading it before, but now I want to read all of the stories.

I’ll definitely be watching the last episode of “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” this weekend, as I just downloaded it from iTunes. In addition, I think of tackling either Season 4 of “Doctor Who” (new series), the one and only season of “Dracula,” and/or the second half of the second season of “Sleepy Hollow.” I’ve still got a lot of catching up to do.

I’ll also be playing some stuff, hopefully. I want to finish some TMs, namely “Sweet Kingdom,” “The Musketeers - Victoria’s Quest,” and “Fairy Kingdom.” I’ve also got quite some HOGs that need finishing, at least “Midnight Mysteries: Ghostwriting” and “”Revived Legends: Titan’s Revenge” deserve to be finished soon, since I got far with those already. I also want to go back to some adventures I was playing, like the remakes of “Gabriel Knight - Sins of the fathers” and “Grim Fandango.”

I’m sure I won’t get to finish all I planned. I’ll definitely watch “One of Us” tomorrow or during the weekend. I might start on “Sleepy Hollow,” since it’s only seven episodes and the other two series I want to watch are longer (10/14 episodes). I might get somewhere with my games, too. I should also play the second episode of “Tales from the Borderlands” this weekend, since it just came out and I have really been waiting for it. So much to do and little weekend.