OK, I'll start, then. (I've looked through the list for a thread and can't see one, so that's the reason for starting this one. If it's in the wrong thread, or I've missed the "real" discussion, hopefully someone will set me straight. or an admin will move it to the right spot. Wil?)
I'm excited about this project!! I'm going to back the Kickstarter (well, after payday! I just *wish* I had 5 grand.). I really, really want it to succeed. The few clips they've put up are looking cool, the Aslan makeup is pretty good for a zero budget, the clip of the
Beowulf zooming past looks brill.
For my money, the two most important things are plot and characterisation. Everything else is window-dressing. Plot and pacing failed
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and not even the classic characters could save it. In contrast, everything gelled in
Wrath of Khan, and the addition of a really strong bad guy character kicked it into high gear.
In
Starter Traveller, the characters all look good - interesting & quirky, with actors who look like they know how to bring them to life.
The killer will be the plot, of course. No comments are possible until we see the finished product, 'natch. But with 40 years worth of background to choose from, it shouldn't be impossible. It's just like planning out a game scenario!!! Just a little more... scripted.
I'm also hoping we see some real Aslan weaponry. A deftly-used dewclaw, a thrown
akhaeh that hits a guard in the head and returns, a spinning hook-trip-stab move with a
Yurletya... that's what I'm talking about.
As for the producers, the reason I mentioned Ken at all was that, over the years, I've read various comments about him - good and bad. I've never met him, nor worked with him, so I can't comment from personal experience. All I know is this: when GDW had folded and Traveller was dead, he managed to get a "dream team" together and resurrect the game, all without the traditional bricks-and-mortar premises. Which is more than most of us merely talk-talk-talk people can manage (yes, me included). So I figure he must have some fairly mad admin and liaison skills. Just look at the pic at the end of the T4 rulebook: simply to get all those "names" together in the one place at the one time - and all looking at the camera at the same moment! - is an impressive feat of logistics. He was than able to marshal all that talent, and more, to produce a pretty sizeable chunk of work. Sorta the exact qualities you need in a producer, don't you think?
Anyway, I don't want to talk about that anymore. I want to talk about the
project. And solicit other's thoughts, as well.
I, for my part, will be supporting this project. I wish them all the best as they attempt to do something incredibly Difficult (11+) if not Formidable (15+): to get a TV show off the ground. *Any* TV show.
I wish them every success.
