Batman without Batman

So I wanted the Gotham TV show pilot. It was good. Yeah, and that's the thing, it was just good. Not great, not bad, just good. It setup an interesting city with interesting characters and a lot of potential plotlines. Plus even as the Marvel fan that I am, I did get just a bit giddy when they not really introduced not quite villains.

But the main issue was that, well, its a Batman story without Batman. The pilot starts off with Bruce Wayne's parents getting killed, so we have a good twenty-ish years before Batman can really be Batman. And all of the Super Villains are now the pre-Super not so Villainous Villains who I guess we will see turn into the Super Villains we all know and love.

I was sort of hoping Gotham was going to be more like the comic series Gotham Central, which followed the Gotham Police in a world with crazy super villains and super heroes who are doing all sorts of wild and usually technically illegal things. It was interesting to see how Police in such a different world react and think of things. But instead we see how police deal with things... pre-Super Villains, which I assume will get so bad that Super Villains will be formed and require Super Heroes to save the world.

I don't know, I mean I will still keep watching the show because it does seem interesting. It just leaves me with an overall feeling of 'Good, not Great'. Which is, well, better than being bad, right?

Oh, and don't even get me started on how awesome that Agents of Shield season premiere was!

Saley Sale

From now until the 27th of September the 3rd episode of the Fable Star Series, Legacy, will be on sale for both the US (67% off) and UK (52% off) stores.

Links:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MWBXMNC
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MWBXMNC


Now if you are wondering why there is a difference in the percentages of the sale based on region. Well it turns out that in the UK there is this thing called a VAT tax on eBooks, and it is added on top of whatever price I want to set for those books. Which of course means no end of headaches trying to adjust the prices so that the books are roughly the same in all regions. Its moments like these that I wish everyone just used the same currency, lets call it Earthlingos and be done with it already!

Cyborgy Caliphaty Who?

Huh, it has been a while hasn't it? Ah, well you know I have been quite busy with all of the cyborg octopi and cyborg mantis men... or women. Researching the specifics of praying mantis genders is actually on one hand very interesting and just as equaling terrifyingly strange. Seriously, praying mantises are some messed up bunch of bugs.

As I am writing episode 4 of the Tales of a Fable Star series, I am forced to look back at some of the story lines and species in the earlier episodes. And I have to say I keep thinking "Oh, I should have made that guy a cyborg." But alas that sort of thing just wouldn't fit the universe... that I made up in my head. Hm.

Speaking of research, as (spoilers) a part of the fourth episode will be featuring a Space Caliphate I have been doing a lot of research on the subject and found some pretty interesting things. Well, I suppose they are interesting to me, not sure how many other people will find minor cultural differences and various customs all that interesting. But darn it I just found it so fascinating that you don't see Muslims giving each other noogies is because they believe that their spirit is located at the top of their head and you are DEFINITELY not supposed to touch it. See? Told you no one but me would find it fascinating.

Ah, oh so Doctor Who has returned and is getting.... kind of interesting? I don't know. I mean, without saying too much, I am not entirely sure about this new season. I liked the start, the new Doctor was interesting and mean and dark and just very new and not really like any of the others. But the third episode was just... I don't want to say fraking terrible, but... It was pretty close to the worst episode I had ever seen. And that is saying a lot, I mean in relaunched Doctor Who series they have had some pretty out there and strange and even stupid things happened, that I have actually liked or at least think was better than this. And it isn't so much a result of a low budget, like some of those episodes seemed to be, but it actually might be because they have too much of a budget. You could clearly tell that they heavily upgraded their cameras, heck it even seems like they but a bunch of new ones, and a lot of graphics and special effects seem to be upgraded due to them having more money.

But thats the thing, when Doctor Who had a low budget they had to sell it to people through the story, through really really good writing. So that even if you are looking at terrible CGI, or what has got to be a bunch of tin cans or something, the writing and acting was so well done that the story out shined any issues with the graphics. But in this third episode, it seemed like it was the other way around. The graphics were great, the props were very well done, the make-up looked like a very experienced team of experts was involved, but the story was HEAVILY lacking.

I hope it was just this episode and isn't the setting of trend for what this new season will be like. Because I really liked Doctor Who for the imaginative stories and spot on acting, not the special effects. I just hope someone involved will realize that and not go too far.

Well, that was a rather long rant. Hm, back to cyborging the octopi!

Doctors and Whos

The new season of Doctor Who started not too long ago, with a new Doctor, a new outlook, and a FAR higher budget. I like it, kinda. I mean, it is still pretty early in the season but I don't think it is bad or anything. I like the new Doctor and how... kinda not nice he is. Sets a new tone for the character, he is all prickly and kinda crazy, and just might let you die while not being ultra-positive.

That said, I am not sure I liked the last episode. And while I won't get too spoilery, it is no secret that it features Daleks (It is in the episode title). My issue with it isn't the general plot, or why they do what they do to what they do it to, or any of the things I have heard people have issues with it. My issue is that it features Daleks! I mean, didn't the doctor kill them all? Multiple times? Like, over and over again? The ones from the prison, the ones made from humans by the emperor, the ones who captured their creator and wanted to blow up the universe, the ones who were attacking Gallifrey, the ones who were in New York and the ones who were made by the ones in New York. Seriously, every single time a Dalek shows up the Doctor is there to kill them all, not take them prisoner or disable them or anything, he kills every single one of them! So where did these guys come from? How did they escape the bits at Gallifrey, or any of the other mass-killings that the doctor has launched upon them? Ah but then they did have that whole Dalek Parliament thing a while back (Don't even get me started on how much the Daleks shouldn't have any form of Democracy!) and he didn't kill all of them, so maybe those were related. Of course, that begs the question of why he didn't kill them. Ah, rant off, back to writing!

Repeat

So I am working on the 4th Episode of Tales of a Fable Star. And when working on the beginning of a new episode I always wonder how much information from the last few episodes I should repeat. I mean in theory some people might not start with the first episode and read them in order, there might be someone who buys this one as the first one and would be rather confused if I didn't repeat some information that people who have been reading along in order would already know. But I never know how much I should repeat because I know for those who have been reading it in order it can be somewhat tiresome and a put off (I know I for one don't like rereading things I already know).

Which means I need to strike up a balance, a perfect balance between retelling to setup the story for those who are reading this one as the first one or maybe even for those who might forget some things from the last one, and keeping new and fresh content moving along at a pace that people who are already familiar with everything won't get bored with. It isn't easy because, perhaps you have already noticed, I like to talk...or type or whatever. I like giving detail and explaining things, and so sometimes I may go off on a tangent about something even if it is something that I have already gone on a tangent about. Hm, it is a question of just how much information should be repeated and how much of a 'you will figure it out as you go' factor a writer has to use.