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little-smartass · 3 years

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THE VAMPIRE LESTAT COVER ALBUM - the legendary Vampire Lestat is back and bigger and badder than ever, this time bringing a whole album of song covers ranging from classic bangers to newer fresh takes on chart hits! get your copy now, complete with a transcript of the artist's commentary on each song!

(songs I think Lestat would cover and release as an album in an attempt to re-kickstart his career and/or make some sort of dramatic statement to Louis. tracklist and "artist commentary" under the cut)

Survival - Muse

“And I’ll reveal my strength, to the whole human race, yes I am prepared, to stay alive, and I won’t forgive, and vengeance is mine, and I won’t give in, because I choose to thrive! Yeah I’m gonna win!”

Oh, I wish this song had been around back on that opening night at the Cow Palace - how apt that would have been! What a fucking anthem! They would have been rioting all night. I mean, they already were, but, like, because of the music. Not because vampires were being immolated in the middle of the crowd. Different kind of riot.

The Bitch Is Back - Elton John

“I’m a bitch, I’m a bitch, oh the bitch is back, stone cold sober as a matter of fact, I can bitch, I can bitch, ‘cause I’m better than you, it’s the way that I move, the things that I do!”

One day I want to have this play as I walk into Night Island. I’ll time it perfectly so that I throw off my coat - my denim jacket, or- oh, no, a fur! Maximum drama! - just as the chorus starts. Armand will know that I’m coming of course, but I think that’ll just make it even better. And I have good memories to this song... [muffled question] Sorry, gentlemen don’t kiss and tell, bébé. [laughter]

Everybody Loves Me - OneRepublic

"Oh my, feels just like I don’t try, look so good I might die, all I know is everybody loves me, head down, swaying to my own sound, flashes in my face now, all I know is everybody loves me”

Look, do I even need to explain this one? Didn’t think so.

Bad Reputation - Joan Jett

"I don't give a damn ‘bout my reputation, I've never been afraid of any deviation, and I don't really care if you think I'm strange, I ain't gonna change - and I'm never gonna care bout my bad reputation"

This one's fairly self-explanatory again. It could have been my personal anthem when I was mortal quite honestly. And it's an awful lot of fun to jump about and headbang to, don't you think? That's a new thing I've found out about, headbanging. People have been hopping about to music looking like fools for centuries but now there's a name for it. Fantastic.

bad guy - Billie Eilish

"I’m that bad type, make your mama sad time, make your girlfriend mad type, might seduce your dad time… I’m the bad guy. Duh.”

Creepy? Check. Sexy? Check. Tongue-in-cheek? Check check. This song was great and a lot of fun to cover.

Lover to Lover - Florence + the Machine

“I believe there’s no salvation for me now, no space among the clouds, and I feel I’m heading down, but that’s alright, that’s alright, that’s alright”

I don’t know, this one just felt very relevant. Also the piano was great to do. You might have noticed that I’ve picked a lot of songs with piano, and that’s because I bullied the studio into getting me a goooooorgeous grand piano for the recording space and I wanted to use it as much as possible!

Feeling Good - Muse

“Stars when you shine, you know how I feel, scent of the pine, you know how I feel, oh freedom is mine, and I know how I feel”

I just really like this song - I’ve done a cover of an excellent cover! Can- can you put emojis in this? Do people still use emojis? Well imagine I’ve put the shrug one. Wait, isn’t there- Daniel, Daniel, come here, isn’t there a shrug emoji made up of keyboard- [muffled words] yes! The shrug one! Yes, put that in the transcription. [ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ] I just like this song.

The Man - The Killers

“I got gas in the tank, I got money in the bank, I got news for you baby, you're looking at the man, I got skin in the game, I got a household name, I got news for you baby, you're looking at the man”

I feel like this one speaks for itself too. Can you put that shrug emoji thing in here again? [ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ] Yes!

J'ai Pas Envie - MIKA

J'ai pas envie, de faire comme si, comme les maris, qui disent oui, j'ai pas envie, j'ai pas envie, j'ai pas envie d'te faire plaisir, j'ai pas envie, j'ai pas envie, si tu m'aimes viens me le dire"

Look, I'm not going to translate the whole song for you, because it has all this clever wordplay you just totally lose in english… but the gist of it is that these two lovers are… at odds a lot. It's… it's maybe a little spiteful [laughter] but in a fun way! It's a fun song! Louis won't even be mad about it, it's MIKA.

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy - Queen

"When I'm not with you, think of you always (I miss those long hot summer nights), when I'm not with you, think of me always, always"

[Long pause] God, I miss Freddie.

Let 'Em Talk - Kesha

Ah, full disclosure - I put this song in purely because of the expression Louis made when I played it in the car and it got to the line “can suck my dick” and she did that popping noise… it was incredible, and I just knew I had to cover it so I could see his expression when I said that. I can’t wait to play it to him. [laughter]

So What - P!nk

"So so what, I'm still a rockstar, I got my rock moves, and I don't need you, and guess what? I'm having more fun, and now that we're done, I'm gonna show you tonight, I'm alright, I'm just fine, (and you're a tool, so)"

I'm actually a big fan of nineties and noughties female stars - all that grrrrrrrl power, it's great fun, you know? I'd say this one is fairly self-explanatory, because I am still a rockstar! This is my new album! Fuck you EMP and your sniffy little article calling me "washed up"!

Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons

"But it was not your fault but mine, and it was your heart on the line, I really fucked it up this time, didn't I my dear?"

This one could be self-deprecating, but it's also very vindictively angry at the same time, and that's a combination I definitely get. Like, oh, it's my fault, isn't it? It's my fucking fault again, what a surprise. Perhaps "learn from your mother or you'll spend your days biting your own neck" is a little on the nose… [muffled words] you've read my books, right? [muffled words] Good, good.

Missy - The Airbourne Toxic Event

"But I swear there's still some good in me, I think if you'd stuck around you'd see, all the botched attempts at integrity I once had"

Oh, I was feeling philosophical when I picked this one. No, philosophical isn't the right word… melancholy? Do people still use that word? "I swear I swear I swear I'll never get sad" is both furiously defiant and yet so self-defeatingly ironic. [Exasperated noise] Enough of that. Next!

Please Don't Leave Me - P!nk

"I don't know if I can yell any louder, how many times have I kicked you out of here, or said something insulting? I can be so mean when I wanna be, I am capable of nearly anything, when my heart is broken… (please, please don't leave me)"

Oh, we’re… we’re getting to this section now. [clearing throat] Well, I have to make up for that sucking dick line, don’t I? Get a bit vulnerable. Oh God, why did I decide to do this bit? [muffled words] [bad chicago accent] But why buy the cow? Because you love him, you really do. [sigh, laughter]

Next To Me - Imagine Dragons

"Oh, I always let you down, shattered on the ground, still I find you there, next to me, and oh, the stupid things I do, I'm far from good it's true, still I find you, next to me"

Why did I- I don’t remember putting so many of these ones in.

Run To You - Pentatonix

"I've been settling scores, I've been fighting so long, but I've lost your war, and our kingdom is gone... how shall I win back your heart which was mine? I have broken bones and tattered clothes, I've run out of time"

[Sigh] [clears throat] Yeah. I think we can move onto the next one.

Love of My Life - Queen

“Love of my life, don't leave me, you've stolen my love, you now desert me, love of my life, can't you see? Bring it back, bring it back, don't take it away from me, because you don't know, what it means to me”

I play this one sometimes on my baby grand when we've had a fight, and it's impossible for him to stay angry. He's a sucker for this sort of… formality in romance. God, I wish I'd realised that earlier. If I'd written him a letter in fancy copperplate script with scented paper and enclosed rose petals politely requesting him to bend me over his desk back in the day, it might not have taken two centuries of mutual blue balls for us to figure our shit out. Ah well, live and learn… as it were. [muffled words] Look, I did a whole bunch of vulnerable songs! Now I get to make sex jokes! [laughter] oh fuck off.

#Lestat de lioncourt #loustat #vampire chronicles #dead disasters #my mixes

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britesparc · 3 years

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Weekend Top Ten #497

Top Ten PC Games No One Talks About Anymore

Blimey, Quake is rather good, isn’t it? Have you heard about it? I really hope so, because it’s only twenty-five years old. I mean, Jesus. What’s up with that? Quake is meant to be the future. It’s full of true-3D polygonal texture-mapping and real-time dynamic light-sourcing. Fancy it being a quarter of a century old. That’s ridiculous. “Old” is for things like, I dunno, Space Invaders or The Godfather or I Wanna Hold Your Hand. Stuff that our parents heard about before we were born. It’s not – it’s absolutely not – used to describe something that people bought 3D accelerator cards for. It’s not used to describe a game that popularised online gaming.

But old it is, getting silver anniversary cards and everything. No longer the angry, hungry young tiger, devouring its ancestors and growling at upstart rivals like Duke Nukem 3D – sure, you’ve got non-linear levels, interactive scenery, and toilet humour, but we’ve got grenades that bounce with real physics – Quake is now an aged beast of the forest, resplendent, battle-scarred, weary with gravitas. Quake is the game that shaped the now, but it does not represent the future anymore. In fact, arguably its greatest rival – Unreal – is the game with the lasting, living legacy, its progeny building the next generation of gaming with one of the most popular and impressive engines around, the framework underpinning everything from Gears to Jedi to Fortnite. Quake blew us all away, but arguably it ceded the conflict, secure in its status as one of the most important and influential games of all time. Quake II got plaudits for actually having a proper story and an engrossing single-player campaign (and coloured lighting!), and its immediate descendants such as Half-Life changed the nature of what FPS games could do, but in a funny way it feels like Quake has long since retired. A sleeping titan. It got old.

So it’s great that they rereleased it on modern systems! The version of Quake released last month is basically the game I remember, but tarted up a little around the edges, with texture filtering and dynamic shadows and other stuff that I couldn’t manage on my Pentium 75 back in the day. It plays great – it’s slick as anything, and you go tearing round the levels like a Ferrari with a nail gun, blasting dudes and ducking back around a corner before you get hit with a pineapple in the face. It’s the first game I’ve played in a long, long time that evokes the feel of classic PC first-person shooters of that era – which, y’know, kinda makes sense as it is a first-person shooter of that era. But that style of fast-paced run-and-gun, circle-strafing gameplay has gone out of fashion now, with FPS games usually favouring slow, methodical, tactical combat, or larger-scale open-world warfare usually involving vehicles. Whether it’s a straight-up no-frills blaster like Quake, or a game that takes you on more of a linear, narrative journey, like Quake II, or even just a multiplayer-focused arena shooter, like Quake III Arena, it does feel like a dying artform, like a style of gameplay that could do with a resurgence (and, to be fair, there are games on the horizon that look like they’re harking back to the era, so that’s cool).

But it’s not just first-person shooters like Quake that I feel have slipped from gaming’s shared consciousness. Maybe it’s my age (it’s definitely my age) but there seems to be quite a lot of games that were a big deal twenty or so years ago that are utterly forgotten now, whereas some – Doom, Duke Nukem, Command & Conquer, Age of Empires – are often namechecked or rebooted (even before the full-on 2016 reboot, Doom must have been one of the most re-released games of the last thirty years). But there are lots of others where sometimes I feel like I’m the only one that remembers it. And that’s where this list comes in: inspired by the excellent re-release of the Quake franchise, here are some other great PC games of that general era that I feel still need shouting about, even if I’m the only one doing the shouting. Maybe they don’t all need a full-on remaster or whatever, but it’d still be nice if they got a bit of modern gaming love.

No One Lives Forever (2000): coming at a time when most FPS games were still Doom-style blasters with little in the way of real plot, NOLF was different: stylish and funny, genuinely well-written (as in the dialogue), with interesting objective-based missions and a cool female protagonist. It skirted similar ground to Bond and the then-white-hot Austin Powers franchise. Two games were made and then, as far as I’m aware, it evaporated into a mess of tangled rights, hence no sequels or remakes. A shame, because it was great.

MDK (1997): the next game from the people who made the multimedia phenomenon that was Earthworm Jim, MDK was a really cool slice of sci-fi style, all sleek level design and intriguing features. It had a supremely bonkers plot which bled through into a game with a sense of humour, but mostly it was the run-and-gun gameplay and innovative use of a scoped weapon – possibly (don’t quote me on this) the first sniper rifle in a videogame. An even wackier sequel followed, but despite its cult status, that was it.

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Klingon Honor Guard (1998): it’s probably fair to say that Star Trek has not had as many great videogames as Star Wars, perhaps because Trek’s historically straightlaced earnestness just didn’t translate as well as bashing someone up the chops with a laser sword. Honor Guard shook things up by casting you as a Klingon, showering levels with pink blood and going Full Worf. It was the first game to licence the Unreal engine, and had a cool level where you walked along the outside of a ship like in First Contact. Also: shout out to the Voyager game, Elite Force (2000), which was another really good FPS set in the world of Trek, with intriguing gameplay wrinkles as you fought the Borg. It also let you wander round the titular starship between levels. Trek deserves more quality action games like these.

Earth 2150 (2000): the nineties on PC really saw RTS games come down to those who liked Command & Conquer or those who liked Warcraft, but as the decade drew to a close other titles chased the wargame crown (including Total Annihilation, which would have made this list, except I feel like the Supreme Commander franchise is a sequel in all but name). 2150 was notable for its Starcraft-like mix of three factions with contrasting play styles, and its use of 3D graphics and the ability to design and build weapons of war that could lay waste to armies and bases with spectacular results. I think the genre has ossified into something more hardcore, and this was probably an inflex point where idiots like me could still get a handle on things.

Midtown Madness (1999): Microsoft has a history of building up great racing franchises and then abandoning them, but their “Madness” line of games in the late nineties/early noughties was terrific and much-missed. Back when tooling round actual 3D cities was still new and exciting, this was a no-holds-barred arcade racer, with some gorgeous shiny chrome effects on the cars, and very nippy handling. It was great fun smashing up VW Beetles and the like. It was surpassed, I guess, by Project Gotham on the Xbox, and sadly the whole franchise was then forgotten, despite the ascendent Forza franchise mostly shunning city driving.

Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (1998): part tactical war game, part puzzler, Commandos was famous for its gorgeously intricate graphics and its difficulty – I mean, it was way too hard for me. But its beautiful top-down design and its slow, methodical gameplay was compelling, as you evaded Nazis and solved missions with a team of unique units with special skills. Sequels followed, and western spin-off Desperados, but there’s not been a true follow-up for quite some time, despite promises; and few games have echoed its style or look.

The Pandora Directive (1996): okay, so really this is just a placeholder for an entire subgenre of game that appears to have been forgotten: interactive movies. I know, there are flirtations with this from time to time; and many of these games featured obtuse puzzles and relatively little gameplay strung between FMV scenes. Pandora was great though; a first-person 3D game with loads of old-school adventure aspects, as well as FMV, it was a noir-tinged detective story but set in the future. The Tex Murphy series (of which this was the fourth instalment) has had sequels – the most recent one was sadly cancelled only this year – but many other games of a similar ilk, such as Phantasmagoria and even Wing Commander – have fallen by the wayside. With in-engine graphics now allowing the fluidity and expression of cinematic renders of old, shooting movie inserts doesn’t seem like it’s worthwhile; but I still always loved a point-and-click game that featured digitised actors milling about. Toonstruck, anyone?

Marathon (1994): before Halo there was… Marathon! Back when I used to lug my Pentium round my mate’s house so we could play different games on different machines side-by-side, he’d bang on about this Mac-first series of games, like Doom but better, with an intricate plot and complex levels. And y’know what? He was actually onto something. There’s a style and an earnestness to the Marathon franchise, along with many concepts that would be refined in Halo years later. With Bungie now seemingly committed to Destiny, and Halo in Microsoft’s hands, I’m not sure what could possibly become of this, their forgotten FPS forebear, especially as it shares so much DNA with its offspring.

Outlaws (1997): LucasArts are famous for two things, really: their Star Wars games and their adventures. But they made loads of other stuff too – including this intriguing Western shoot-em-up. Back when Western games were rarer than Western movies (which were rare at the time), this quirky and difficult cowboy-em-up saw you rounding up outlaws in typical oater locations such as saloons, trains, and mines. It had great music and a really intriguing set of weapons, including (don’t quote me on this) the first sniper rifle in a game. Sadly Outlaws’ success could be described as “cult” and it never got a proper sequel. and, weirdly, despite the success of Red Dead Redemption, we’ve never had a bit Western-themed FPS again. Which is really odd.

Soldier of Fortune (2000): I pondered whether to include this one, as if I’m honest I’m not sure I want this licence brought back. But I can’t deny the game was a huge deal and has seemingly been forgotten. A relatively gritty and realistic combat game with a huge variety of excellent real-world weaponry, its big hook was its incredibly detailed damage modelling, that could see you blowing limbs off enemies, or splitting open heads, or disembowelling them. Whilst its OTT violence made headlines, the granularity of its systems meant you could be more tactical, shooting weapons out of hands. But really its biggest controversy should be its association with a big old gun magazine.

There are many, many other games that nearly made the list - I almost had a Top Ten of just FPS games, for instance. Little Big Adventure was here, till a sequel was announced the other day. Hexen and Heretic I think still have a place in FPS history. Toonstruck, although without a sequel, was only really a cult hit at the time, and I feel the people who’d love it already know about it. I do tend to overthink these things, y’know.

So maybe not all of these could make a comeback, but all the same I don’t think they should be forgotten, and it does make we wonder what games will fall by the wayside twenty or more years from now. That game about the big green space marine dude in a mask – what was that called again…?

#top ten #games #pc games #fps #shooter #strategy #1990s #2000s

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kindofa-bitch · 4 years

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gonna make some y2k pngs when i hit 2k.... reply to this post if you have any special requests or ideas from the late nineties/early noughties !!

#alfredo speaks #aesthetic pngs #moodboard pngs #png #transparent png #png requests #png blog

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mrclinical · 5 years

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Let it Snow (2019)

Directed by Luke Snellin

Rating: 54/100

Late nineties and early noughties teen-comedies on the whole were appalling. There must of been a yearning for highschool/college melodrama during the period - a yearning for hope of love, or reassurance that popularity is not all it’s cracked up to be. Despite the cliched gags, routine humiliation and stereotypes that these films pedalled for laughs, what they almost always got right were their soundtracks. Luke Snellin follows the convention, bringing us a vaguely festive teenage romance bolstered by blockbuster hits and wokeness. The film features several different romantic narratives, as the teenage ensemble wrestle with their sexuality, the “friend zone”, rejection, the prospect of college and family illness, under falling snow and the peripheral twinkle of fairy lights. Oh and lest we forget,Joan Crusak who wheels around the small town in a tin foil hat offering a mix of narration and agony aunt advice.

Like many festive movies, Let it Snow is first and foremost about reconciliation, aligning our priorities in life with that is really meaningful and casting off our superficial worries and prejudices to allow love, tradition and family to sweep us off our feet. Snellin’s handling of the different interlocking narratives is handled with varying proficiency and effect. Tobin (Mitchell Hope) and Angie (Kiernan Shipka) are best friends who have a shared interest in movies and classic vinyl. The two characters are clearly made for each other, if only Angie would give up her interest in nice guy super-jock JP (Matthew Noszka). Snellin nails the prism of the friendzone, an environment of repressed anger and self-loathing. Then there is Dorrie’s narrative, played by the superb Liv Hewson, a character who in a less sensible and crass film would be reduced to her best friend Addie’s (Odeya Rush) well-meaning sidekick and emotional rock, but in Snellin’s picture gets her own starring role, in a lesbian love story which deals with the repression of identity involved with conforming within the matrix of high school and home life. Snellin doesn’t exactly explore these concepts in great depth, but sort of dips in and out in the breezy way that holiday films deal with dysfunction in relationships. For Let it Snow is reaching for that feel-good vibe. The kind which will brings repeat viewing to Netflix like last year’s gushingly irksome A Christmas Prince. For, this is a film about teenagers for teenagers, who I am sure will identify with a handful of these characters and feel aggrieved at the unnecessary criticism the film has received from older and sniffier critics.

The problem for me is that the film gets bogged down too much in needless melodrama, further dragged down by sluggish writing. The emotional core of this movie lies within the narrative that I found too queasy to stomach: that of Julie (Isabela Merced) and Stuart (Shameik Moore). Julie is a smart kid who is uber self-aware, who must make a decision between attending Columbia University or staying home to attend her sick mother (the kind of sickness that is encapsulated in a sad cough or flappy hands). Julie finds herself face-to-face with famous musician Stuart, who initially arrogantly palms off her social advances, only to be swept up by her cut-through-bullshit witticisms and spends the day frolicking around snowy suburbia with her and falling hopelessly in love. Think of a lite edition of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, with less stirring dialogue, scenery, sensuality or sensitivity. Or Prime Minister Hugh Grant in Love Actually and sweary Martine McCutcheon without the magic of Richard Curtis. It is a tale of two worlds colliding and finding unity, but it never really rings true. A handsome savoir swooping in with his fiscal clout to support a family in dire need of it. A lonely man with his riches but nobody to share it with except the corporate bots who surround him and fan his ego. Two people who fall so quickly in love that it is hard to believe that any of it is anything but fanciful hogwash conjured up in a thirteen year old girl’s dream. Netflix loves a little romantic up-punching after all, and so does its audience.

Although certain aspects of the film seem too glossy to be genuine and the narrative seems a little too cheesy to take in one sitting without resorting to heavy eye-rolling and audible sighing, Snellin’s movie does host some quaint little quirks which are entertaining in their own way, the centrepiece being an impromptu duet between Tobin and Angie of Waterboy’s hit “Whole of the Moon” played on a wheezing church organ. It might sound awful, but it is a sweet touch. The narratives eventually flow into one another culminating in a celebratory and cobbled together waffle house party bash. The whole affair is a little to wholesome for my liking, but I’m sure it will prove a hit for the streaming platform.

#netflix #film #review #movie #let it snow #joan crusak #christmas #luke snellin #richard linklater #richard curtis #love actually

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Star Trek: The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Planet of the Week Storytelling

https://ift.tt/3hF2eED

It’s 1964, a couple of years since President John F. Kennedy announced that the USA was going to land on the moon. It was also the year that saw ground-breaking science fiction anthology series The Twilight Zone come to an end. The series had become a household name by telling self-contained, high concept stories written by leaders in the genre. Not just the endlessly talented Rod Serling, but names like Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, and Ray Bradbury. It also starred up-and-coming acting talent such as William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and George Takei.

As well as bringing talent to the field, The Twilight Zone was also notable for using science fiction allegory as a way to talk about political and social issues that advertisers and censors would otherwise not touch with a ten-foot pole.

In steps Gene Roddenberry, with a concept he describes as “a wagon train to the stars.” His opening pitch is “Action – Adventure – Science Fiction. The first such concept with strong central lead characters plus other continuing regulars.” In other words, fitting neatly into the niche left by The Twilight Zone, while bringing with it the marketability of a recurring cast.

The heroes of this series, the crew of the S.S. Yorktown, would visit alien planets, but not too alien, as Roddenberry himself points out:

“The “Parallel Worlds” concept is the key…

…to the STAR TREK format. It means simply that our stories deal with plant and animal life, plus people, quite similar to that on earth. Social evolution will also have interesting points of similarity with ours. There will be differences, of course, ranging from the subtle to the boldly dramatic, out of which comes much of our colour and excitement. (And, of course, none of this prevents an occasional “far out” tale thrown in for surprise and change of pace.)”

At which point Rodenberry probably noticed he liked the sound of that split infinitive. The purpose of the “Parallel Worlds concept” was to make “production practical by permitting action adventure science fiction at a practical budget figure via the use of available “earth” casting, sets, locations, costuming, and so on” but also to “keep even the most imaginative stories within the general audience’s frame of reference.”

An excerpt from Gene Roddenberry’s “planet of the week” pitch

In that opening pitch, which you can find at the Ex Astris Scientia fan site here, Roddenberry drops a number of potential story pitches. Some of them, like “President Capone,” would eventually find their way into episodes of the series. Others, like “Kongo,” which promised a race-switched portrayal of “the Ole Plantation days,” perhaps thankfully never materialized.

The idea of visiting a different planet every week allowed the show to keep telling “Twilight Zone-ish” anthology stories, while maintaining a recurring cast, in the same way a detective show could feature a different murder every week. It also meant, at a time when syndication was an important part of any show’s income, that episodes could be shown in pretty much any order without confusing the audience.

The series was successful, then less successful, then cancelled to the upset of a collection of vocal hardcore fans.

It spawned imitators. Blake’s 7 and Space: 1999 were darker, weirder, and more British than Star Trek, and more tied into their own long-term narratives, but both still featured plenty of stories where the characters arrive at a planet and encounter weird stuff. Battlestar Galactica, while trying very hard to be Star Wars, was also no stranger to the planet of the week.

Roddenberry tried to relaunch Star Trek a few times. First as Star Trek: Phase II, then an unrelated series called Starship, then a movie, until eventually striking gold with Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The Next Generation

After an, admittedly, rocky start, The Next Generation took the Star Trek concept further than ever before, and over seven series elevated “planet of the week” to almost a philosophy procedural. Over time, it did things the original Star Trek could never do, introducing character arcs and long-term storylines, such as the Borg, or Data’s growing humanity.

Even in the show’s Writers’ Bible, we can see how the Star Trek concept has been refined. It specifically lays out “We are not buying stories which cast our people and our vessel in the role of “galaxy policemen” and “We are not in the business of toppling cultures that we do not approve of.” It also narrows the focus. No more “Earth where Rome never fell” stories, instead, saying “Plots involving a whole civilization rarely work. What does work is to deal with specific characters from another culture and their interactions with our own continuing characters.”

Star Trek: The Next Generation “The Masterpiece Society”

In its planet-of-the-week stories it hit some of the old stand-bys, such as The Planet Where There Is No Crime But The Only Sentence Is Death, or Racist African Stereotype Planet, in admittedly not classic episodes, but also gave us stories such as “The Masterpiece Society,” which not only gave us a look at a hypothetical world where everybody does the job they are born for, but also asks uncomfortable questions about how the Enterprise should interact with these cultures, a theme we see prop up again in “First Contact” (not the movie) and “Who Watches the Watchers?“

It also gave us “The Outcast,” an episode that, while it’s dated extremely poorly, was at least trying to address the prejudices of the time (and may have done so more successfully if Frakes had got his wish of the gender-neutral alien love interest being played by a male actor).

Star Trek: The Next Generation was an enormous success, and success breeds imitators.

The Planet of the Week’s Golden Age

Red Dwarf started out as an entirely different sort of beast to Star Trek, replacing military and scientific heroes with chicken soup machine repairmen, and space adventures with bunk bed comedy that just so happened to be set aboard a spaceship. But as the series developed they would encounter waxwork museum planets, psi-moons that replicated your inner psyche, planets like ours but everything runs backwards (later remade as Tenet), and a world where everyone was Arnold Rimmer.

The mid-nineties to early noughties were a golden age for planet of the week TV.

Star Trek: The Next Generation itself would inspire several spin-offs, including Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (which we’ll come to later).

The movie Stargate was spun-off into the TV series Stargate: SG-1, using the film’s premise to make a planet of the week series that a) saved money on expensive spaceship footage – until they decided they wanted to do that anyway – and b) handily explained why all the alien cultures looked extremely human. That series itself would eventually spin off two other series and a handful of TV movies.

Farscape took the Planet of the Week setup and decided to get real weird with it, taking full advantage of the creativity of the Jim Henson Creature Workshop to give us aliens that were far more than a funny-looking forehead, and storylines that were far more complex and messy than the clean cut Star Trek universe would typically allow. At the same time, while planets of the week weren’t a rarity, Farscape’s episodes would frequently bleed together into overarching single plotlines. Sliders, meanwhile, would abandon spaceships entirely, taking Roddenberry’s original “parallel worlds” pitch to its logical extreme.

Even Gene Roddenberry’s unused ideas were being mined for potential ideas, with Gene Rodenberry’s Andromeda giving us a series about a Definitely Not The Federation Starship getting thrust into the future to discover the Definitely Not The Federation has fallen and the galaxy is in disarray (an idea that might sound extremely familiar to modern Star Trek fans).

But while space shows were in a boom, two shows in particular were already adding twists to the formula that could spell doom for the Planet of the Week.

Bringing the Strange New Worlds to You!

As The Next Generation was getting ready to end on a high, two series were closing in on a way to replicate its success. There is some debate about how much these two creative teams arrived at the same solutions in parallel, or if there was some cross-pollination, but either way, the thinking was the same.

Q’s Return on Star Trek: Picard Season 2 will Follow “Significant Trauma”

By Joseph Baxter

Star Trek Picard Season 2 Teaser Trailer: All the Easter Eggs & References

By Ryan Britt

The most expensive thing about planet of the week shows was, basically, the planet. You could creatively reuse props and costumes, but each world needed its own backdrops, scenery, alien makeup, and more. What if you could do Planet of the Week but without the planet?

And so we saw Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5 emerge. Instead of a spaceship, the setting was a space station, and instead of visiting a different planet every week, the adventure would come to them in the form of alien visitors and clashes among the native alien populations of the station.

The station brought with it other implications as well. No longer would the characters be able to fly away at the end of the episode, never thinking again about the chaos they left in their wake. These characters would have to live with the consequences of their actions, with the effects returning on them again and again.

Both Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5 started out with storylines that seemed like fairly straight forward Star Trek-style fare, but over time these long-term plotlines would build up. Both space stations soon found themselves facing a mysterious new threat, and the outbreak of a galaxy-wide war.

As the necessity for one-and-done storylines fell out of vogue, writers felt more freedom to produce these ongoing storylines.

These series, alongside Space: Above and Beyond paved the way for yet more serialised storytelling in the form of a new, rebooted Battlestar Galactica. This version was no Star Wars knock-off, and had no interest in planets of the week. While it was set on a fleet of ships, Battlestar Galactica was less interested in the planets those ships were flying by than in the relationships between the people aboard those ships, and their battle with the pursuing Cylons.

The cast of Babylon 5

At the same time, a feeling was spreading that bobbly forehead aliens looked a bit silly, and stories became decidedly human centric. Firefly straddled the gap between episodic and serialized, in much the way Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer had done before it, but every character in it was human, and every planet (or often, moon) they visited was a human colony, more often-than-not, a desert one with a decidedly Wild West aesthetic.

Star Trek: Enterprise became the first Star Trek since the original to get canceled, and the first not to have a successor series immediately lined up.

By 2010, the only series about spaceships visiting alien planets was Stargate: Universe, and even that show was more interested in the inter-character drama among the ship’s crew than in the planets they were popping in on along the way.

Even J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek movies were less interested in strange new worlds, than in preventing attacks on Earth. Star Trek Into Darkness climaxes with Spock having a fist fight with someone on the roof of a rubbish truck in a really quite modern-looking San Francisco.

For a while, spaceships just weren’t something you found on TV. In 2014, the only space TV show on air, Ascension, turned out to actually be about a bunch of people who only thought they were on a spaceship, but were actually in a massive simulator.

Space Gets Cool Again

Then Abrams got the job that, frankly, judging from his Star Trek movies, was the one he had wanted in the first place. He got to make the new Star Wars movie. It came quickly in the wake of the heavily Farscape-aesthetic wielding Guardians of the Galaxy (Ben Browder, Farscape’s John Crichton, would later say “When I met James Gunn, I introduced myself and he said ‘I know who you are.’ And I said ‘Yeah, I thought you did because I saw your movie, bro.’”)

Around the mid-2010s, there seems to be a tipping point, where people finally have their fill of the post-apocalyptic and are suddenly very keen to get back to space.

In TV land James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse novels were being adapted into a TV series in an attempt to create the fabled “Game of Thrones in space.” That was quickly joined by the more cheap and cheerful space-bounty-hunter series, Killjoys, and space reformed-mercenary series, Dark Matter.

But with the exception of The Expanse’s protomolocule, we had yet to see many aliens on TV, with less interest in exploring alien worlds than in space crimes and interplanetary/stellar scale politics and warfare.

In 2017, when Star Trek, finally, returned to the small screen, we were given a series that involved less traveling to previously unexplored alien worlds, instead giving us a long-term plotline about the Federation’s war with the Klingons.

And yet old-style Trek stories were starting to make a comeback. Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville was marketed as a space spoof akin to a live action Space Family Guy, or something in the mould of Galaxy Quest. What viewers actually got was a remarkably faithful homage to the Star Trek of the nineties. Over two seasons it’s given us planets where the female gender is outlawed, where everything is decided by social-media vote (an extremely “successful white male comedian who’s worried about getting cancelled” form of social commentary), and a planet where everyone born under a certain star sign is put in camps. It’s a series that might not quite reach the heights of the stories it’s aspiring to be like, but it is clear about the sort of stories it wants to tell.

At the same time, planet of the week stories were coming from another unexpected direction, in the form of Rick & Morty. From its Purge Planet episode (that directly references Star Trek’s own ‘Red Time’, to the culture of civilized facehuggers, one thing Rick & Morty excels at is taking a big idea, playing with for the length of a story, and then putting it back in its box.

So while Star Trek: Discovery was followed up by the equally plot-arc-heavy (although extremely welcome) Star Trek: Picard, perhaps it wasn’t surprising that the third new Star Trek spin-off was an animated series written by Rick & Morty writer Mike McMahan.

Despite being a comedic take on the franchise, Star Trek: Lower Decks still feels more like “old” Star Trek than its franchise-mates. It features a big orchestral theme tune and an opening credit sequence with the ship flying past various planets. Its plots involve rescuing ancient cryogenically frozen colony ships, space zombies, extremely crystal-themed planets, and massive alien trials that actually turn out to be surprise parties.

Star Trek: Discovery, meanwhile, seems to have been taking the long way round to its planet of the week roots. Its second season gave us a look at the culture of Commander Sarus’ home planet (along with some very dodgy prime directive violations) and a planet of humans abducted from Earth’s World War III. Its third season saw the Discovery thrust into the future to discover the Federation has fallen and the galaxy is in disarray, allowing us the peculiar pleasure of seeing a Planet of the Week episode where the planet in question was Earth. Now that Michael Burnham is a Captain, and the ship is reunited with the remnants of the Federation, we may actually see some actual exploring next season.

Even Star Wars, which has never really been at home in this particular sub-genre, has given us The Mandalorian. Despite the ongoing plot, every episode of the Star Wars series features the Mandalorian (I refuse to remember his actual name) riding into town on a new planet with a drastically different biome and inhabitants, having an adventure, and then riding off perpendicular to the sunset.

And now we come full circle. Because as well as its own sideways edging towards Planet of the Week stories, Star Trek: Discovery has also introduced Captain Pike, the Captain of the USS Enterprise introduced in Star Trek’s original pilot. He, his first officer “Number One”, a new Spock (the third, if you’re counting) and their much shinier looking Enterprise NCC-1701-No-Bloody-A-B-C-or-D proved so popular with fans that they have been given their own series.

The description of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds sounds… familiar.

Executive producer Henry Alonso Myers describes it as “We want to do Star Trek in the classic mode; Star Trek in the way Star Trek stories were always told. It’s a ship and it’s traveling to strange new worlds and we are going to tell big ideas science fiction adventures in an episodic mode. So we have room to meet new aliens, see new ships, visit new cultures.”

It sounds like a pretty good idea.

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The post Star Trek: The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Planet of the Week Storytelling appeared first on Den of Geek.

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hadarlaskey · 4 years

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How Japanese pop culture has shaped Western entertainment

When Spirited Away won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2001, a Japanese animation studio became world-famous almost overnight. Overseen by Disney, Studio Ghibli’s bold, immersive worlds were repackaged for new audiences, complete with dubs recorded with Hollywood stars such as Kirsten Dunst and Christian Bale. While the argument about Ghibli’s dubs versus subs still rages on in cinephile circles, Japanese films, manga and art have continued to grow in popularity over the past few decades, aided by the age of the internet and increased availability of foreign language cinema.

While fans of Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi and Akira Kurosawa once had to perform impressive feats of detective work to track down their films outside of Asia, it’s become easier than ever to discover Japanese cinema thanks to streaming services and new Blu-ray editions of classic titles, while manga series such as Dragon Ball and Naruto have become wildly popular in the west thanks to anime adaptations. Of course, Japan also leads the world in video gaming, with Pokemon a mainstay of the nineties and noughties and Animal Crossing: New Horizons becoming a monster hit this year as the world looked to (virtually) escape lockdown.

One of the most popular exports from Japan has always been martial arts – from Kurosawa’s legendary samurai films to Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo and Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond manga series. As well as creating high demand for karate and jujitsu classes, this has inspired plenty of western entertainment, including Frank Miller’s 1983 comic series Rōnin, Edward Zwick’s 2003 drama The Last Samurai, and the smash hit Mortal Kombat video game series. Now – exclusively on PlayStation 4 – comes Ghost of Tsushima, which draws on the rich history of Japan’s esteemed samurai warriors as well as the legendary cinematic work of Kurosawa and Takashi Miike.

Set in the late 13th century, the game focuses on samurai Jin Sakai, one of the few survivors of his clan in the war against the invading Mongol army. Determined to protect his homeland from the offensive forces led by ruthless general Khotun Khan, Jin realises he must forge his own path if he is to prove victorious.

In order to create an authentic video game vision of feudal Japan, the Sucker Punch Productions team spoke to Japanese historians and samurai experts, as well as sending a team out on location to record native birdsong. They found inspiration in their favourite films, comics and games, from Kurosawa’s iconic epics Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, to 1984 martial arts beat ‘em up Kareteka. The game even gives players the option to switch to Japanese dialogue with English subtitles rather than English audio, and features a “Kurosawa mode” which plunges the game into black and white, and changes the audio to mimic the ‘50s sound of the director’s most iconic films.

The release of Ghost of Tsushima will help to introduce new audiences to Kurosawa’s work, from his Shakespeare-inspired Throne of Blood and Ran to The Hidden Fortress and Seven Samurai. And if you’re interested in the history of the samurai within Japanese cinema, there’s still plenty to discover. Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp recommends Hiroshi Inagaki’s Samurai trilogy, depicting the life of master swordsman Musashi Miyamoto, and Masaki Kobayashi’s Kwaidan – an anthology of four ghost stories from Japanese folklore.

If manga is more your thing, comic artist Chie Kutsuwada has some pointers: there’s Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima about a vengeful samurai setting out on a journey with his infant son to seek revenge for his wife’s murder, and Phoenix by Osamu Tezuka – a saga built around the legendary firebird which explores Japanese history and mythology. Of course, plenty of manga has been adapted into films too – Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura was turned into a bloody epic by Takeshi Miike in 2017, telling the wild story of a cursed samurai who is hired as a bodyguard by a teenage girl seeking justice for her father’s death.

Released exclusively on PlayStation 4 on Friday 17 July, Ghost of Tsushima promises to be one hell of a journey. Whether you’re a total newcomer to the world of the samurai or already own every Kurosawa epic on Blu-ray, it’s a prime opportunity to immerse yourself in the fascinating history of Japan’s elite warrior class.

Ghost of Tsushima launches Friday 17 exclusively on PlayStation 4.

The post How Japanese pop culture has shaped Western entertainment appeared first on Little White Lies.

source https://lwlies.com/articles/japanese-pop-culture-ghost-of-tsushima/

#movie

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shorthaircutsmodels · 4 years

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zenthisoror · 7 years

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Also, speaking of horror stories, because I am so keyed up right now after that play there is no way I am sleeping I heard a story on my mixed race forum today that left me pretty speechless with horror.

I know hafus have many complexes and insecurities fed into them by peer pressure and the perceived homogeneous ethnic population of Japan (hmmm). Many of them stem from stereotypes of foreigners, most typically Western Caucasian foreigners, and one such stereotype, with biological backing, is that Western Caucasians have a very specific and pungent BO and typically sweat more than the Japanese, due to a specific gene that also corresponds to wet earwax which is a very unusual phenotype in Japan and therefore considered a 'white foreigner' trait.

Cue Caucasian-hafu hitting puberty and being bullied for 'smelling' and 'sweating' in ways that their junjapa counterparts don't (they don't have BO) on top of all the usual growing pains.

Can you imagine being labelled the stinky kid, or even if you're not, blamed for somebody else's stink because you're half-white and stereotyped to have that BO gene?

Today's horror story? One hafu girl back in the eighties took a hot iron to her own armpits to DIY solve her problems.

A hot iron.

Why????

To fit in.

But not only that, more stories came up of mums in the here now, with nineties and noughties kids, taking their kids to have surgery down on their armpits to reduce...I don't even know...cut into the sweat glands there in some way? I didn't even know this was a procedure people got done.

And their kids asked for it. Their hafu kids asked for and researched for themselves armpit gland surgery just to fit in with their peers and to stop feeling so wrong and self consciously un-Japanese (as told by their peers) in their bodies.

Just. Damn.

#tw: self injury #tw: self harm #tw: racism #racism #mixed race #hafu #what the hell

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filmbyq4u · 7 years

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And Some Wine For The Ladies

With only two days to go until Wonder Woman hits the cinemas, it is a good time to reflect on the paucity of heroine roles in cinema. Whereas on the small screen there are an ever increasing number of strong female characters, from the kick-ass to the cerebral to the Machiavellian, on the big screen female characters continue to support their male leads. There has always been the, frankly poor, argument of female leads not being able to open films. While it may be true that there are not many women who headline films, making them must-see events, it was not always so. Before the sixties, there is a whole pantheon of female actors who headlined films, from Lillian Gish to Claudette Colbert, Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Fonda. As films became more actions driven, less dialogue heavy, the men came ever more to the fore. Whereas before, cinema was still pretty much like television, with the dialogue being paramount, it was, perversely, the rise of television that created the need for something bigger. To give people a reason to leave their homes and invest in seeing a story that is projected on a massive screen, there needed to be more than a film that would look just as impressive on a small screen. There needed to be a spectacle. For a short while, there was a resurgence of the musical, but as great as dancing is, musicals are an aural experience as much as a visual one. Cinema needed something else. The blockbuster was born. The thing with those early seventies blockbusters is that they were very much old school hero films. Jaws, Towering Inferno, Airport and its sequels, these were films that centred around a man overcoming overwhelming odds or situations to save the day. With this model proving so effective, the everyman blockbuster was set to dominate. In the following decades, there were variations; muscles and martial arts in the eighties, muscles and technology in the nineties, back to muscles and martial arts in the noughties and then the era of superheroes began. There have of course been many superhero films over the years, though, surprisingly on the big screen at least, few have captured the imagination. One would think that comics would be perfect for translating to screen, after all, they have ready-made storyboards and heroes and villains galore. Unfortunately, the lurid costumes that work so well on a two-dimensional page do not work so well when brought into the real world.

Though the camp television incarnations of Batman and Flash Gordon worked and even the earnest Hulk of Bill Bixby is fondly remembered, on the small screen. It took Richard Donner's 1978 Superman to get costumes characters any credibility on the big screen. Still, it was not until Tim Burton's Batman in '89 and Jon Favreau's 2008 Iron Man that the genre really began to gather apace. With the genre being such huge business, the two main comic book players, Marvel and DC, have been vying for top billing in the world of superheroes. The battle has thus far been overwhelmingly dominated and won by Marvel. The DC output, up to this point, has been underwhelming, with only elements of the films under their banner garnering positive feedback. Up until now, DC have never looked like matching Marvel. Their films have been bloated and humourless, the best version of the Batman was unrelated to their output and they have never managed to capitalise on their superior television output. Wonder Woman could be - someone would say needs to be - the turning point in their fortunes. Wonder Woman is not only looking like a - if early word is anything to go by - good film, it is looking perfectly timed as well. Both studios have been trying to release a film with a female lead. Both had poor efforts before with Marvel's anti-heroine, Elektra, best forgotten by any Frank Miller's Daredevil fan and DC's truly risible Catwoman, a film of almost indescribable awfulness. After these outputs, both believed that the cinema-going public did not want to see a female superhero.

Both studios have been trying to release a film with a female lead. Both had poor efforts before with Marvel's anti-heroine, Elektra, best forgotten by any Frank Miller's Daredevil fan and DC's truly risible Catwoman, a film of almost indescribable awfulness. After these outputs, both believed that the cinema-going public did not want to see a female superhero. They were wrong. People, as ever, did not want to see awful films. Marvel, their cinematic universe chugging along successfully, saw no reason to disrupt it with a female lead superhero film, shelving indefinitely a Black Widow/Scarlett Johansson vehicle that had been mooted. They were already ticking a box - ethnic - with Black Panther slated for 2019. DC could not boast the same.

Their films, even though they made money, failed to excite the fans or critics. Their headliner, Batman vs. Superman, failed to bring any excitement to the ailing DC universe. The only glimmer of hope in the film was Wonder Woman. Gal Gadot, the actor portraying Wonder Woman, was, even before she had donned the costume, having to fight a backlash. She was too skinny, she's not an Amazon, she's got a funny accent - the comic book loving, keyboard critics were not pleased. They were calmed a little by the cameo in B vs. S. Now we are on the brink of the first credible female led superhero film. It not only has a female lead, it is also directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins, and the word on the street is the wait was worth it. I for one cannot wait to see it. Marvel, DC have stolen a march on you for once in the superhero stakes, what have you got?

#film #superhero #story #blockbuster

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morganbelarus · 7 years

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Here’s What The Cast Of American Pie Look Like Today

There are few comedies that have endured in their popularity as much as American Pie. The 1999 R-rated classic spawned a franchise that kept us laughing into the noughties, and even now after the cast reunited in 2012 for American Reunion. We’ve never looked at pies the same way since its release…

Shockingly, when American Pie was first released, it received mixed reviews. It was described a the time as “really awful and “not worthy of guilty pleasure status.” But little did the critics know that one of cinema’s best-loved franchises was about to take off! Whether Jim Levenstein stole your heart on his desperate quest to lose his virginity, or if you had a soft spot for the mischievous Steve Stifler, we all have a favourite American Pie character. The franchise was relatable and that’s what made it so popular. But, what about the cast behind the iconic characters? Are they still as popular as the movie that made them famous? Lets take a look…

1. Jason Biggs – “Jim Levenstein”

Jason Biggs was the stand-out star of the franchise. Nothing ever went right for him in American Pie, but things appear to be going well for Jason Biggs, the man behind the character, who you will recognise from the hit Netflix series, Orange Is The New Black.

2. Chris Klein – “Chris Ostreicher”

Chris Klein certainly hasn’t lost his looks. The actor, who was engaged to Katie Holmes shortly before she married Tom Cruise, is certainly still as handsome as ever!

3. Thomas Ian Nicholas – “Kevin Meyers”

4. Eddie Kaye Thomas – “Paul Finch”

5. Alyson Hannigan – “Michelle Flaherty”

Growing up is hard, and, when you’re in your late teens, there’s a lot of milestones you’re expected to hit. Aside from losing your virginity, most people have indulged in one too many drinks by this point, and American Pie made light of this awkward phrase we’ve all gone through. It doesn’t matter how old we get, we never forget the years we spent at high school. If you’re anything like me, you probably saw some of your own real-life friends in American Pie’s characters. That’s why it’s so nostalgic to watch the movie all these years later.

6. Natasha Lyonne – “Jessica”

7. Tara Reid – “Vicky Lathum”

8. Seann William Scott – “Steve Stifler”

9. Mena Suvari – “Heather”

Now that we are slowly but surely approaching the 2020s (the horror!) the nineties seems like a lifetime ago. However, when you watch American Pie, you’re immediately transported back to that bizarre decade where the Spice Girls ruled and a lot of fashion mistakes were made. A trip down memory lane with the cast of American Pie wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the movie’s soundtrack. Even if you were born in the early nineties like me, you’ll recognise all those classic bands you’ve not listened to in years – like Blink 182 and Fatboy Slim.

10. Shannon Elizabeth – “Nadia”

11. Eugene Levy – “Jim’s Dad”

12. Jennifer Coolidge – “Stifler’s Mom”

13. Chris Owen – “Chuck Sherman” aka “The Sherminator”

My favourite character was Steve Stifler; Seann William Scott perfectly reprises the role in American Reunion, refusing to let the glory days die. His antics had me splitting my sides as a teen, and they still make me chuckle to this day. Eighteen years since the first movie was released, the cast have certainly grown up, but they’re all still very much recognisable. It’s only fitting to end with a recipe for the most famous movie pie in history…

More From this publisher : HERE

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Here’s What The Cast Of American Pie Look Like Today was originally posted by 16 MP Just news

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hazelwilliamsblog · 5 years

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Olfactory Hall of Fame: The Greatest Men’s Fragrances Ever Created

A man’s taste in fragrance is a lot like his taste in music – a subjective affair influenced by everything from where and when he grew up to who he hangs out with. Much like some men prefer Grunge over Grime, some fragrance lovers are going to prefer Gucci Guilty over Givenchy Gentleman.

But in the same way that every decade throws up a few classic albums everyone seems to appreciate, each decade of fragrance has gifted its own olfactory Sgt. Pepper, Parklife or Purple Rain.

Many have achieved hallowed status by being truly groundbreaking, while some have done it a la Ed Sheeran and earned their place in the fragrance hall of fame through sheer number of sales. Others, like Dior’s Eau Sauvage and Hermes’ Terre d’Hermes, have achieved classic status simply because they’re so damned good (think of them as the Prince and Bowie of the men’s grooming world).

The fact that certain scents rise to the top in this way is a godsend for fragrance lovers because it makes wading through the thousands on offer that much easier, narrowing down the field and making it easy to populate your fragrance wardrobe with sure-fire winners. To find the right one for you (or as a gift for someone else) all you have to do is rifle through the back catalogue of greatest hits below.

Old favourites

Fragrances are often judged by their longevity on the skin. In reality, however, it’s their longevity on the shelf that marks them out as winners. A company has to have very deep pockets to keep unsuccessful scents in production so there’s a reason fragrances like Mäurer & Wirtz‘s 4711 (a superbly light and fresh citrus cologne that’s over 200 years old) and Aqua di Parma’s Colonia, launched in 1916, are still exciting nostrils today. The latter, a sprightly blend of Mediterranean citrus fruits and herbs, with a warm, woody base, is one of the most versatile summer scents on the market and one that every man should own at least once in his life.

Other pre-1960s fragrances regarded as true classics include Caron’s Pour un Homme de Caron, an aromatic lavender-based fragrance from 1934, which counts Tom Ford as a fan; Houbigant Fougère Royale, whose genre-defining, foliage-like greenness laid the foundation for modern men’s perfumery; and Guerlain’s Mouchoir de Monsieur, a dandyish spicy-floral fragrance often touted as the first fragrance aimed specifically at men, which dates back 1904. Wear any of these classics and you instantly signal your scent smarts to the world.

And let’s not forget good ol’ Old Spice. Though no longer popular with anyone under 50 (at least not outside of the US) it remains one of the most enduring men’s fragrances of all time. Give it a sniff next time you’re shopping and you’ll see why – its spicy-floral fusion of cinnamon, carnation, vanilla and musk has an old-world charm akin to that found in an Ealing comedy.

Stalwarts of the sixties

The modern men’s fragrance industry as we know it didn’t really come into its own until the sixties, when rising incomes gave men more spending power and advertising hit its stride, so it’s no surprise that some of the fragrance world’s most enduring classics come from this decade.

Dior Eau Sauvage Eau de Toilette >

Dior’s Eau Sauvage – a superbly crisp, versatile scent combining fresh notes and sensual ones – remains one of the greatest citrus-based scents ever created. It was the first fragrance to use a (then new) synthetic ingredient called hedione, which scientists have since discovered stimulates a part of the female brain associated with the release of sex hormones. Great for both night and day, it’s a real workhorse of a fragrance.

Guerlain Vetiver Eau de Toilette >

Guerlain’s iconic Vetiver is a must-try too. A grass native to India, vetiver gives fragrances an earthy-but-sweet “green” quality and is a mainstay of men’s perfumery, but few scents have used it as deftly as this perfect-for-evening classic.

Aramis Eau de Toilette >

The legendary Aramis, meanwhile, broke new ground as the first prestige men’s fragrance to be sold in department stores. Its rich, heady combination of leather, jasmine sandalwood and amber means it smells as exotic and as distinctive today as it did when in launched in 1964, though it remains a scent that better suits older guys who are self-assured enough not to allow it to wear them.

Olfactory action heroes

Paco Rabanne Pour Homme Eau de Toilette

With hyper masculinity back in vogue the 1970s was awash with herbaceous, barber-shoppy fougère fragrances (fougère means “fern” in French). Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, launched in 1973, helped modernise the category, blending herbaceous notes of rosemary and sage with geranium, clove, oak moss and tobacco. Though it smells dated to modern noses, it’s an undisputed classic crying out for rediscovery.

Givenchy Gentleman Eau de Toilette

Givenchy Gentleman also launched in the middle of the decade and remains one of the best patchouli-based fragrances there is – few modern perfumes can match its muscular, sexy-as-hell earthiness.

Eighties wonders

You only have to see an old episode of Top Of The Pops from 1984 to know that everything was from hairstyles to shoulder pads were big in the 1980s – and the decade’s best fragrances were no different.

If big, ballsy statement scents that people can smell before they see you are your bag then Creed’s Green Irish Tweed (a sophisticated but ferociously powerful evocation of the greenery of the Emerald Isle) is worth a sniff, as is Dior’s brilliantly quirky Fahrenheit (a fusion mandarin, violet leaves, patchouli and leather that some how smells like creosote) and the bombastic Joop! Homme (a sweet, floral fragrance with jasmine, honeysuckle and vanilla that took men’s fragrances into a whole new, less traditionally “masculine”, direction).

Calvin Klein’s iconic Obsession For Men, meanwhile, may have fallen out of fashion but is also a great option if you like upfront spicy, sexy fragrances with heaps of “nuzzle factor”.

Fresh thinking for the Nineties

If you’re a fan of light, fresh or “marine” fragrances, or are looking for something perfect for the office, then the 1990s is the decade to look to for inspiration. As is often the case with fashion trends, for every action there is an opposite reaction, so the heavy, bombastic scents of the eighties were swept away in the nineties by a wave of uber-light citrus and marine fragrances that were understated and minimalist.

The trend was heralded by Davidoff’s best-selling Cool Water at the very end of the eighties – a classic which popularised the use of calone: a synthetic ingredient which lent a sea spray freshness to fragrances. Other enduring launches from this period include Acqua di Gio Pour Homme, one of the most successful and versatile fragrances of all time; Issey Miyake’s ode to olfactory minimalism, L’eau d’Issey Pour Homme; and 1994’s iconic CK One, which established a blueprint for the gender-neutral fragrances currently gripping the industry.

Also emerging from this decade was Boss Bottled. Though its status as a “great” fragrance is disputed, it deserves a namecheck based sales alone. A fantastically wearable concoction of fresh, fruity notes and warm woody ones, it’s sold well over 60 million bottles to date and remains a global best seller 20 years after its release. Think of it as the Coldplay of eau de toilettes.

Noughties No-brainers

The noughties is often seen as a bit of nondescript decade, but it threw up a number of fragrances lauded for their originality and wearability. Hermes’ Terre d’Hermes – a spicy and woody fragrance with mineral and flint notes – is a true contemporary classic, loved by pretty much anyone who sniffs it. Dior Homme, launched a year earlier, redefined notions of masculinity by taking a floral scent and making it feel inherently masculine and sexy.

Chanel’s fresh and spicy Allure Homme Sport from 2004, meanwhile, is arguably the best “sport” fragrance ever created and is a testament to the skill of master perfumer Jacques Polge, who managed to create a fresh scent that also has bags of sex appeal.

And then there’s YSL’s M7, created under the auspices of the fashion house’s then creative director, Tom Ford. It may be less well known with the public than it is with connoisseurs, but it’s widely regarded as one of the most influential (not to mention sexiest) fragrances of modern times – effectively kick-starting the oud wood trend that is still going strong today.

Future classics

What about right now? What hits of today could become classics of tomorrow? Paco Rabanne’s wildly successful 1 Million, Dior’s Johnny Depp-fronted Sauvage, and Chanel’s Bleu de Chanel might yet claim their place in the fragrance hall of fame, like Boss Bottled, thanks to stratospheric sales alone.

Elsewhere, Tom Ford’s sunshine-in-a bottle Neroli Portofino and his perennially popular Oud Wood, Creed’s Aventus, and Dunhill’s acclaimed interpretation of modern masculinity, ICON, probably deserve a place on artistic merit.

As is the case with music, though, it often takes years (or decades) for a fragrance to garner the approbation it needs to be considered a bona fide classic. Is that brand new Dolce & Gabbana number you’re wearing right now a Springsteen… or a Steps? Only time will tell.

The post Olfactory Hall of Fame: The Greatest Men’s Fragrances Ever Created appeared first on Ape to Gentleman.

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Edinburgh Playhouse is a former cinema in Edinburgh, Scotland which now hosts touring musicals and music concerts. Its capacity is 3,059, making it one of the UK’s largest theatres in terms of audience capacity.

The Edinburgh Playhouse has a number of quality theatre productions showing throughout the year. Find out what’s on right now and book your tickets here from ATG official bookings!

Tue 28 – NOV 2017 Sat 2 DEC 2017 Beautiful – The Carole King Musical Long before she was Carole King, the chart-topping music legend, she was an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent.

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical tells the inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history.

Along the way, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation, with countless classics such as (You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman, Take Good Care of my Baby, You’ve Got a Friend, So Far Away, It Might As Well Rain Until September, Up on the Roof, Locomotion, You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling, On Broadway and We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.

Tue 12 – DEC 2017 Sun 7 JAN 2018 Shrek the Musical Following a record-breaking UK and Ireland Tour, the smash hit blockbuster is back – and larger than life! Based on the story and characters from the Oscar®-winning DreamWorks Animation film, this hilarious and spectacular production turns the world of fairytales upside down in an all-singing, all-dancing, must-see musical comedy.

Join Shrek, (Steffan Harri) and his loyal steed Donkey as they set off on a quest to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona (Laura Main) from her tower, guarded by a fire breathing love-sick dragon. Add the vertically challenged Lord Farquaad, a gang of fairytale misfits, and a biscuit with attitude, and you’ve got an irresistible mix of adventure, laughter and romance, guaranteed to delight audiences of all ages!

[The producers cannot guarantee the appearance of any particular artists subject to holiday, illness or events beyond the producers’ control]

Fri 12 JAN 2018 A Country Night in Nashville A Country Night In Nashville recreates the scene of a buzzing Honky Tonk in downtown Nashville, perfectly capturing the energy and atmosphere of an evening in the home of Country Music.

Prepare to be transported on a musical journey through the history of Country, featuring songs from its biggest stars both past and present. Hits from Johnny Cash to Alan Jackson, Dolly to the Dixie Chicks, Willie Nelson to Kacey Musgraves, are showcased by the amazing vocals of Dominic Halpin, Shelly Quarmby and their fabulous backing band, the Hurricanes.

With songs including Ring Of Fire, Crazy, Sweet Home Alabama, Don’t Rock The Jukebox, Need you Now, 9-5, Don’t Worry Baby to name just a few, this incredible celebration of Country music is a night not to be missed.

Sat 13 JAN 2018 Showaddywaddy The Greatest Rock & Roll Band In The World’ is a bold statement but Showaddywaddy has lived up to that title as they recently celebrated their 40th anniversary.

Formed in the 1970s in Leicester from several local bands, they have sold more than 20 million records and have toured the world.

Their live show is dynamic and uplifting featuring all of their biggest hits, many of which reached number one in the pop charts of Europe. Under The Moon of Love, Three Steps to Heaven, Hey Rock & Roll, When, Blue Moon, Pretty Little Angel Eyes and many, many more. So come and join the Dancing Party… You’ve Got What It Takes!

Mon 15 – Sat 20 JAN 2018 Flashdance Flashdance – The Musical is the inspiring and unforgettable story of Alex a determined welder who dreams of becoming a professional dancer. When a romance complicates her ambitions, she harnesses it to drive her dream of attending Shipley Dance Academy.

Prepare to be blown away by an astonishing musical spectacle with phenomenal choreography to this iconic score including the smash hits Maniac, Gloria, I Love Rock & Roll and of course the sensational title track Flashdance… What a Feeling. Sparks will fly and you’ll dance like you’ve never danced before! Age guidance: 11+

Mon 29 JAN 2018 The Simon and Garfunkel Story Direct from it’s success in London’s Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, a SOLD OUT Worldwide tour and standing ovations at every performance, The Simon & Garfunkel Story is back! Using huge projection photos and original film footage, this 50th Anniversary Celebration also features a full live band performing all the hits including ‘Mrs Robinson’, ‘Cecilia’, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, ‘Homeward Bound’ and many more. Get your tickets fast as this is an evening not to be missed!

Wed 31 JAN 2018 Someone Like You – The Adele Songbook Touring UK theatres for the very first time, Someone Like You (The Adele Songbook) is an immaculate celebration of one of our generation’s finest singer-songwriters.

Hand-picked by Adele herself on Graham Norton’s BBC ADELE Special, the outstanding Katie Markham has the show-stopping voice and captivating charisma to deliver all your favourite Adele hits in an enthralling concert performance.

The show faithfully recreates the magic of the three record-breaking albums 19, 21 and 25 – including Chasing Pavements, Make You Feel My Love, Set Fire To The Rain, Someone Like You, Hello, Rolling In The Deep and the multi-million seller Skyfall. Someone Like You will take you on a soul-stirring journey from break up to make up!

Thu 1 FEB 2018 Whitney – Queen of the Night A stunning celebration of the music and life of one of the greatest singers of our time. This award winning production features a sensational line-up of musicians and artistes, and together with a powerhouse and breath-taking performance in the spirit of Whitney, deliver a show that exceeds expectation on every level.

Taking us on a magical rollercoaster ride through three decades of classic hit’s that include, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, One Moment In Time, I’m Every Woman, My Love is Your Love, So Emotional Baby, Run to You, Saving All My Love, I will Always Love You, and many more, this show beautifully remembers the most highly awarded female artiste in the world ever!

Whitney’s one true legacy was her music which touched most of us at some time in our lives. Share her life and get ready for the greatest love of all in Queen of the Night!

Fri 2 FEB 2018 One Night of Queen n 2000, Gary Mullen won ITV’s “Stars In Their Eyes” Live Grand Final, with the largest number of votes ever received in the shows history. The record of 864,838 votes was more than twice that of the runner-up. Gary began touring on his own and in 2002 formed a band The Works, to pay tribute to rock legends Queen. Since May 2002, Gary Mullen and the Works have performed throughout the UK, USA, Europe, South Africa and New Zealand to sell-out audiences. The outfit have also twice rocked the prestigious BBC Proms in the Park, in front of a very enthusiastic crowd of 40,000. One Night of Queen is a spectacular live concert, recreating the look, sound, pomp and showmanship of arguably the greatest rock band of all time. This show will ROCK you!

One Night of Queen have been touring for 13 years.

Sat 3 FEB 2018 Fastlove – A Tribute to George Michael Get ready for an unforgettable evening with a global superstar, as he puts the Boom Boom into your heart in the all new production for 2017 – Fastlove: A Tribute to George Michael.

The show is packed with crowd pleasing anthems. From Wham! classics of the ‘new pop’ revival to the chart topping success of the eighties album Faith. All the awesome tunes of the nineties & noughties including the irresistible Flawless.

This is a spellbinding experience you don’t want to miss. You’ll be getting up (to get down) to all your favourite songs: Careless Whisper, Freedom, Faith, Father Figure, One More Try, Outside, Jesus To A Child, I Want Your Sex, Kissing A Fool, and many more.

Relive the passion, the flare, and the unique sensitivity of George Michael in this incredible concert sensation. As the great man said: you gotta have faith… So book your tickets now!

Sun 4 FEB 2018 Soul Unlimited: Heatwave, Odyssey, Jaki Graham & Gwen Dickey

Tue 6 – Sat 10 FEB 2018 Tanguera Tanguera is the story of Giselle, a young woman who arrives on the sultry streets of Buenos Aires and meets Lorenzo the dockworker. He falls in love with her at first sight but, like so many immigrants at that time, Giselle struggles to make a life for herself in this new world and she falls into the hands of the local crook Gaudencio. Her only chance of survival is to dance in his nightclub and we watch as she is transformed into a tanguera tango dancer; someone who seduces men with her dance and sells her body.

Experience the passion, drama and breath-taking dancing in this adrenaline fuelled journey through the sizzling world of the tango. Written and produced by Diego Romay, who was inspired by Matthew Bourne’s Car Man, this award-winning show includes choreography by Argentine dance superstar Mora Godoy and a cast of over 30 talented dancers.

Be prepared join with them on the hot streets of Buenos Aires at the turn of the 20th Century, for an evening of fast and fiery Argentine Tango full of jealousy, love and passion. Can Lorenzo save Giselle or will she be forever Gaudencio’s tanguera?

Please note the show has adult themes and has a minimum age recommendation of 12+.

Mon 12 – Sat 17 FEB 2018 This Is Elvis It’s 1968 – the major musical event of the year is the first live TV special for Elvis Presley in what will come to be known as ‘The ’68 Comeback Special’. Drawing phenomenal ratings, this event re-establishes Elvis as the major entertainment star of the decade, and twelve months later Elvis stars at the International Hotel in Vegas, performing live for the first time in seven years, and securing his place in history as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll! This production celebrates 50 years since the TV phenomenon and is testament that his songs live on and the King still rules!

This Is Elvis recreates all the drama leading up to the comeback as well as staging the monumental concert. It then proceeds with The King to his Vegas debut. Featuring Elvis’s greatest hits including… Trouble, Heartbreak Hotel, Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, Love Me Tender, All Shook Up, Jailhouse Rock, One Night, It’s Now or Never, Are you Lonesome Tonight?, Can’t Help Falling in Love, In The Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, American Trilogy, Just Can’t Help Believing and many more…

Sun 18 FEB 2018 Icons of the 80s – Go West, Nik Kershaw & Cutting Crew Legendary stars join forces in one concert

Entertainers is proud to bring together your favourite eighties artists all on one stage! The latest line-up includes Go West, Nik Kershaw and Cutting Crew together in one unique concert.

The eighties are back and these legendary stars have joined forces for a truly incredible, once in a lifetime, concert experience. They’re the biggest names in the business and to see them perform together will be an unforgettable event.

With millions of albums sales and hits like We Close Our Eyes, Call Me, King Of Wishful Thinking, Wouldn’t It Be Good, The Riddle, I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, I’ve Been In Love Before and the classic (I Just) Died In Your Arms, this authentic 80s triple header is not to be missed.

Go West It has been over 30 years since Go West had their first hit single We Close Our Eyes. Other hits followed including Call Me, Goodbye Girl and Don’t Look Down, Faithful and the smash hit theme song in the film Pretty Woman King of Wishful Thinking.

Nik Kershaw Nik Kershaw first achieved chart success in 1984 with Wouldn’t It Be Good?, followed by other classics such as Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me and The Riddle. A prolific writer for other artists, Nik also penned the number one single The One and Only for Chesney Hawkes.

Cutting Crew Originally formed in the mid-80s, this Grammy nominated, Anglo-Canadian rock band will always be remembered for their classic song (I Just) Died In Your Arms, which helped define the musical sounds of the club scene during the 80s and is still played widely today. Over twenty years later, with millions of album sales, original singer/songwriter Nick Van Eede has signed new recording publishing deals and is back on the road promoting his awesome new material.

Tue 20 – Sat 24 FEB 2018 The Sound of Music One of the greatest musicals of all time returns to the stage in this magnificent five star production to enchant the young and the young at heart.

This wonderfully lavish staging tells the true story of the world-famous singing family, from their romantic beginnings and search for happiness, to their thrilling escape to freedom at the start of WWII.

The unforgettable score features some of the most memorable songs ever performed on stage, including Edelweiss, My Favorite Things, Do-Re-Mi, Climb Ev’ry Mountain, So Long Farewell, and of course, The Sound of Music.

Sun 25 FEB 2018 ABBA Mania It is just over 40 years since ABBA won Eurovision and now it’s your chance to thank ABBA for the music!

ABBA Mania is now accepted as the world’s number one touring ABBA tribute production.

Featuring a special concert presentation, which celebrates the music of ABBA in a respectful and enjoyable way, reviving special memories of when ABBA ruled the airwaves.

ABBA Mania brings ABBA fans old and new a night not to be missed. If you’re looking for an excuse to party, reminisce or simply be entertained by the best music ever, then ABBA Mania is for you!

So dig out those platforms, dust down those flares, join in and enjoy all of your favourites including: Mamma Mia, Voulez Vous, Dancing Queen, Winner Takes It All, Super Trouper and many more.

Tue 27 FEB- Sat 3 MAR The Rat Pack – Live From Las Vegas The Pack is back and this time, they are bringing Ella Fitzgerald!

The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas sends you back in time to the glamorous, golden era of 1950s Las Vegas, when Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Junior and Dean Martin joined forces and become the hottest ticket in town at the famous Sands Hotel.

Join us in reimagining a night at the Sands with Frank, Sammy and Dean plus very special guest Ella Fitzgerald, the sensational Burelli Sisters and a stunning big band.

Hit follows hit including pack favourites The Lady is a Tramp, Mr Bojangles, That’s Amore, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, What Kind of Fool Am I, Volare, My Way, Everybody Loves Somebody, Night and Day, S’Wonderful, Mack The Knife and many more.

If you wish you’d swung with the hardest partying pack in town, now’s your chance!

Mon 5 – Sat 10 MAR 2018 Blood Brothers Written by Willy Russell, the legendary Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving tale of twins who, separated at birth, grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with fateful consequences.

Few musicals have received quite such acclaim as the multi-award winning Blood Brothers. Bill Kenwright’s production surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End, one of only three musicals ever to achieve that milestone. It has been affectionately christened the ‘Standing Ovation Musical’, as inevitably it “brings the audience cheering to its feet and roaring its approval” (The Daily Mail).

Lyn Paul returns to the iconic role she has played many times in the West End, in fact she was the show’s final Mrs Johnstone when it closed at The Phoenix Theatre in 2012. Lyn also starred in Bill Kenwright’s tour of Cabaret with Will Young in 2013 and rose to fame as a member of the pop group New Seekers whose numerous number one hits include ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing’ which sold over 20 million copies.

The superb score includes Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True.

Mon 12 – Sat 17 MAR 2018 Hairspray The smash hit musical comedy Hairspray is coming to venues across the UK with a production guaranteed to have you dancing the night away!

It’s Baltimore, 1962 where Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, is on a mission to follow her dreams and dance her way onto national TV. Tracy’s audition makes her a local star and soon she is using her new-found fame to fight for equality, bagging local heartthrob Link Larkin along the way!

Featuring the hit songs Welcome To The 60s, You Can’t Stop The Beat, The Nicest Kids in Town and many more.

Don’t miss this irresistible feel-good show that will have you smiling for days – let your hair down and book now!

Tue 20 MAR 2018 Russian State Ballet of Siberia’s Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare’s tale of primal passion and timeless tragedy is brought to life by Prokofiev’s soaring score, set in bustling Renaissance Verona and with an emotionally charged choreography that befits the world’s greatest love story. From the grandeur of the masked ball to the intimacy of the lovers’ balcony, this star-crossed story of duels, bitter family feuds and love that cannot be, is unmissable.

Wed 21 MAR 2018 Russian State Ballet of Siberia’s Cinderella The world’s favourite rags to riches fairy-tale where dreams can come true is a magical mix of Prokofiev’s energetic score, lively choreography and colourful costumes. Whilst her mad/bad stepmother and her ill-mannered daughters prepare for the Royal Ball, graceful Cinderella can only dream of dancing with the dashing Prince. Later that evening, her rags become a glittering gown and she is swept magically to the Ball. From that very moment the Prince is smitten, midnight strikes and one lost crystal slipper later, he must now embark on a journey to find his lost love….

Formed in 1981, the Russian State Ballet of Siberia has quickly established itself as one of Russia’s leading ballet companies and has built an international reputation for delivering performances of outstanding quality and unusual depth. The soloists and corps de ballet are superb, and never fail to delight audiences with their breathtaking physical ability and dazzling costumes.

Sergei Bobrov Artistic Director Anatoly Tchepurnoi Music Director and Chief Conductor

Thu 22 MAR 2018 Russian State Ballet of Siberia’s Snow Maiden Protected from the outside world by Father Frost, the exquisite Snow Maiden plays innocently amongst the dancing snowflakes in the enchanted Land of Frost. Based on a traditional folk-tale, set in the snow covered landscape of rural Russia, this seasonal sparkler follows the Snow Maiden as she dances into the human world. Captivated by the colourful village and the people who live there, she ventures too far and is swept up by feelings of love, temptation and betrayal. When finally she surrenders herself completely and warms to love, her heart melts in a tragic embrace.

Sergei Bobrov Artistic Director Anatoly Tchepurnoi Music Director and Chief Conductor

Fri 23 – Sat 24 MAR 2018 Russian State Ballet of Siberia’s Swan Lake The greatest romantic ballet of all time is brought to life by Tchaikovsky’s haunting and unforgettable score. From the impressive splendour of the Palace ballroom to the moon-lit lake where swans glide in perfect formation, this compelling tale of tragic romance has it all. From Odile, the temptress in black tulle as she seduces the Prince by spinning with captivating precision to the spellbound purity of the swan queen, Odette as she flutters with emotional intensity, the dual role of Odette/Odile is one of ballet’s most unmissable technical challenges.

Sun 25 MAR 2018 Girls Night Oot! Join the girls on a hen night that you won’t forget with a smash hit retro soundtrack… Songs from 60’s,70’s, 80’s, 90’s and Now!

To prepare for a marriage all a girl needs are her friends and a guid old hen night! Banterous, Balshy and Bootyliciously good fun, songs include Hot Stuff, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, I’m Every Woman and many more!

Starring Donna Hazelton (Chicago), Natalie Tulloch (The Steamie), Lauren Ellis-Steele (Wicked) and Alison Rona Cleland (Legally Blonde).

Thu 29 MAR 2018 Ellen Kent’s La Traviata Opera & Ballet International proudly presents an Ellen Kent production with international soloists, highly-praised chorus and full orchestra Verdi La Traviata Starring Maria Tonina and Alyona Kistenyova The love story that gripped Paris

Fri 30 – Sat 31 MAR 2018 Ellen Kent: Madama Butterfly One of the world’s most popular operas, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly tells the heart-breaking story of the beautiful young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American naval lieutenant – with dramatic results. Highlights include the melodic Humming Chorus, the moving aria One Fine Day and the unforgettable Love Duet.

Tue 3 – Sat 7 APR 2018 Crazy For You High energy, high kicking and gloriously glamorous, the acclaimed Watermill Theatre production of Crazy for You is the ultimate feel-good musical. Strictly Come Dancing winner Tom Chambers and West End & TV star Claire Sweeney appear in this multi-award winning, romantic comedy, with Charlotte Wakefield as ‘Polly’ (Sound of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), it features a fabulous score from the Gershwin brothers’ songbook.

Tue 10 APR 2018 Russell Brand – Re:Birth Following a series of sold-out preview shows, Russell Brand is coming to a venue near you as part of his new stand-up tour of the UK and Ireland.

Wed 11 APR 2018 Motown’s Greatest Hits: How Sweet It Is The ultimate celebration of the sweet sound of MOTOWN is back!

This stunning 100% live show combine’s first class music together with slick choreography, and an amazing band. Truly outstanding, the best MOTOWN experience you will ever have!…

Thu 12 APR 2018 Roy Orbison – In Dreams – The Hologram UK Tour Roy Orbison wrote and performed a catalogue of hit songs including Oh Pretty Woman, Only The Lonely, I Drove All Night, Dream Baby, Crying, You Got It, Blue Bayou, Running Scared, In Dreams, It’s Over and many more….

Fri 13 APR 2018 The Chicago Blues Brothers Back with a brand new production for 2017 with an all new elaborate stage set the Chicago Blues Brothers are taking you back to 1980 to finish the concert at the Palace ballroom hotel. This show is a powerhouse two-hour song-fest with over 40 hits performed live on stage in the concert that never finished.

Infectious, dazzling, riotous, exuberant and spirited, the legacy of Jake and Elwood has been jump-started for a new generation with an energy that’s impossible to resist. The Chicago Blues Brothers are on a mission once again – in a high-octane, on-stage party you can’t afford to miss….

Sat 14 APR 2018 That’ll Be the Day The UK’s premier Rock & Roll production That’ll Be The Day returns with another brand new show!

Highly acclaimed for its stunning LIVE entertainment value, That’ll Be The Day is an outstanding celebration for all true fans of the golden era of popular music.

This latest production features a fantastic new-line-up of smash hits spanning the 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s, plus more side-splitting comic sketches, all performed live on-stage!

Mon 16 – Tue 17 APR 2018 Gary Barlow Gary Barlow will embark on a solo tour of the UK kicking off in April 2018, playing 33 dates in 24 intimate venues. The tour will see Gary play intimate venues across the UK and Ireland including some never visited before. The last time Gary played a string of venues this size, demand was so high he could have sold certain venues out six times over!

Wed 18 APR 2018 My Dad Wrote A Porno Live Hear the hilarious My Dad Wrote A Porno live as the team behind the smash hit podcast take their sell-out show ON TOUR….

Thu 19 – Sun 22 APR 2018 Fat Friends – The Musical Starring Scotland’s favourite musical star Elaine C Smith, the hit TV show Fat Friends from award-winning national treasure Kay Mellor (creator of Band of Gold, The Syndicate and In The Club) is bursting onto the stage in a brand new musical, with original music by Nick Lloyd Webber.

An All-Star cast joins Elaine, including West End favourite and winner of the BBC’s I’d Do Anything, Jodie Prenger, star of Emmerdale and Wicked Natalie Anderson and Coronation Street legend Kevin Kennedy. Fat Friends The Musical is a feel-good night out for every body and is set to be a HUGE hit!

Thu 26 APR 2018 Sheridan Smith Cuffe & Taylor By Arrangement Of Coda Presents…Sheridan In Concert. BAFTA and Olivier Award winning performer Sheridan Smith embarks on her debut UK tour, following the release of her brand new self-titled album, Sheridan. Previously starring in Funny Girl and Legally Blonde, Sheridan is no stranger to the Stage. Touring some of the UK’s most prestigious theatres through April 2018; the tour will be coming to us on 26 April 2018.

Fri 27 – Sat 28 APR 2018 Faulty Towers Dining Experience This globe-trotting show featuring Basil, Sybil and Manuel continues its London West End residency throughout 2014, as it continues also to tour the UK. This is the same show that swings a sold-out sign at shows from Canada to Sydney Opera House….

Thu 3 MAY 2018 Jason Manford – Muddle Class He’s back! It’s been a busy few years for Jason Manford since his last smash-hit stand up show but fans of his Absolute Radio show will know this nationally acclaimed comedian hasn’t changed a bit. Muddle Class promises to feature a wealth of new material about Jason growing up ‘working class’ then finding, over the years, that part of him has become ‘middle class’ – causing much confusion! Delivered with Jason’s amiable charm and captivating wit, this is a show not to be missed….

Fri 4 MAY 2018 The Carpenters Story This highly acclaimed concert-style production continues to captivate audiences across the UK with its spectacular re-creation of the classic songbook that made The Carpenters a legend in the world of popular music….

Sat 5 MAY 2018 The Illegal Eagles The World’s Official No.1 Eagles tribute returns in 2018 for another outstanding show promising more of their trademark musical prowess, acute attention to detail, and incredible showmanship.

This phenomenal group of musicians have been touring for over two decades and remain true Eagles fanatics! Their longevity and continued international acclaim are due in no small part to their extraordinary mastery of the Eagles’ distinctive sound….

Tue 8 MAY 2018 – 9 JUN 2018 Wicked (UK Tour) Winner of over 100 international awards, Wicked has been casting its magical spell across the world for over a decade and continues to break records at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it is already the 15th longest running show in West End theatre history.

An ingenious and witty re-imagining of the stories and characters created by L. Frank Baum in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, Wicked tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two young women who first meet as sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

This multi record-breaking production, acclaimed as ‘the ultimate Broadway experience for theatre audiences all over the UK’ (Northern Echo), flies back for a return engagement complete with all the spectacle and magic that make this spellbinding show an unforgettable experience for audiences of all ages.

Cast includes Amy Ross (Elphaba), Helen Woolf (Glinda), Aaron Sidwell (Fiyero), Steven Pinder (The Wizard and Doctor Dillamond), Kim Ismay (Madame Morrible), Emily Shaw (Nessarose) and Iddon Jones (Boq).

Tue 12 – Sat 16 JUN 2018 Titanic The Musical n the final hours of 14th April 1912 the RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, collided with an iceberg and ‘the unsinkable ship’ slowly sank. It was one of the most tragic disasters of the 20th Century. 1517 men, women and children lost their lives.

Based on real people aboard the most legendary ship in the world, Titanic The Musical is a stunning and stirring production focusing on the hopes, dreams and aspirations of her passengers who each boarded with stories and personal ambitions of their own. All innocently unaware of the fate awaiting them, the Third Class immigrants dream of a better life in America, the Second Class imagine they too can join the lifestyles of the rich and famous, whilst the millionaire Barons of the First Class anticipate legacies lasting forever.

With music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone (Woman of the Year and 1776), the pair have collectively won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, an Olivier Award and three Tony Awards. The original Broadway production of Titanic The Musical won five Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. This brilliant new production direct from London won sweeping critical acclaim across the board.

Tue 19 – Sat 23 JUN 2018 Summer Holiday In 1963 Cliff Richard and the Shadows took off on a joyous jaunt across Europe in a Routemaster bus in the film Summer Holiday.

Now this iconic film is a feel-good stage musical with Don and his fellow London Transport bus mechanics journeying through Paris, the Alps, Italy and then Greece, along the way picking up a girl group in a clapped-out Morris Minor and a young American pop star on the run from her domineering mother!

This hit-filled musical includes classics such as In the Country, Summer Holiday, Travellin’ Light, Bachelor Boy, Move It, Living Doll, The Young Ones and On the Beach.

Star casting to be announced soon!

Fri 29 JUN 2018 The Waterboys

Mon 2 – Sat 7 JUL 2018 An Officer and a Gentleman The Musical The world premiere of a brand new musical that will simply sweep you off your feet! An Officer and a Gentleman is based on the Oscar-winning film starring Richard Gere. Its feel-good soundtrack includes the hit song from the movie Up Where We Belong along with many 80s classic anthems including Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Material Girl, Don’t Cry Out Loud and Alone.

Zack Mayo is in training to become a US Navy Pilot. When he rolls into boot camp with a bit too much of a swagger, drill Sergeant Foley doesn’t make life easy for him. When he falls for local girl Paula Pokrifki and tragedy befalls his friend and fellow candidate, Zack realises the importance of love and friendship and finds the courage to be himself and win the heart of the woman he loves. It’s only then he can truly become an Officer and a Gentleman.

With direction by Nikolai Foster (Artistic Director Curve, Annie, Calamity Jane), choreography by Kate Prince (Into The Hoods, ZooNation) and musical supervision by Tony Award-winning Sarah Travis (Sweeney Todd, Sister Act), this inspiring, breathtakingly romantic musical celebrates triumph over adversity and features one of the most iconic romantic scenes ever portrayed on screen. Let Love Lift You Up where you belong!

Tue 10 – Sat 14 JUL 2018 THE BAND: Take That’s New Musical Written by award winning writer Tim Firth, The Band is a beautiful story for anyone who grew up with a boyband and how those songs became the soundtrack to their lives.

For five 16 year old girls in 1992, the band is everything. 25 years on, we are reunited with this group of friends as they try once more to fulfil their dream of meeting their heroes.

Featuring the music of Take That, Britain’s most successful boyband of all time, whose songs include Never Forget, Back For Good, A Million Love Songs, Greatest Day, The Flood, Relight My Fire, Shine & Rule the World and starring the winners from the BBC’s Let it Shine, Five to Five.

The Band is now the fastest selling musical theatre tour of all time. Don’t miss your chance to see this breathtaking brand new production first before it hits London’s West End.

Sun 9 SEP 2018 Dave Gorman – With Great PowerPoint Comes Great ResponsibilityPoint Dave Gorman, the man behind Dave TV’s hit show Modern Life Is Goodish as well as Are You Dave Gorman? and Googlewhack Adventure, is back on the road with a brand new live show, With Great PowerPoint Comes Great ResponsibilityPoint.

As the title suggests, he’s bringing his laptop and projector screen with him so expect the ‘King of Powerpoint comedy’ (Guardian) to have more detailed analysis of those parts of life you’ve never stopped to think about before. Hey, not all heroes wear capes. With support from Nick Doody.

Wed 26 – Sun 30 SEP 2018 Kevin Bridges – The Brand New Tour Scotland’s biggest comedy export, Kevin Bridges, is back with his hotly anticipated 2018 tour: Brand New.

Bridges broke box office records when his 2015 tour A Whole Different Story went on sale at the end of 2014, winning awards from Ticketmaster and Ents24 for the Fastest Selling Ticket of the year. The tour saw him sell over 500,000 tickets across 145 dates, including an incredible 16 nights at The Hydro in Glasgow. The Hydro was the perfect place for him to record his most recent DVD, which went onto sell over 300,000 copies; his biggest selling DVD. Now Kevin embarks on his biggest tour to date. Don’t miss his brand new tour.

Tue 2 – Sat 6 OCT 2018 Madagascar – A Musical Adventure Join Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the hip hip Hippo and, of course, those hilarious, plotting penguins as they bound onto your stage in the musical adventure of a lifetime. Based on the smash DreamWorks animated motion picture, Madagascar – A Musical Adventure follows all of your favorite crack-a-lackin’ friends as they escape from their home in New York’s Central Park Zoo and find themselves on an unexpected journey to the madcap world of King Julien’s Madagascar….

Mon 10 DEC 2018 – Sat 5 JAN 2019 Kinky Boots Winner of every major Best Musical award, including the 2016 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, ‘London’s hottest musical’ (Smooth Radio) Kinky Boots is touring the UK in 2018!

With songs by Grammy and Tony winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper, direction and choreography by Jerry Mitchell (Legally Blonde, Hairspray) and book by Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein (La Cage Aux Folles), this ‘dazzling, fabulously sassy and uplifting’ (Time Out) musical celebrates a joyous story of Brit grit to high-heeled hit, as it takes you from the factory floor of Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan!

Don’t miss the ‘freshest, most fabulous, feel-good musical of the decade’ (The Hollywood News) as it embarks on its first ever UK tour! It’s the ultimate fun night out for you and your loved ones, so book now and experience the energy, joy and laughter of this dazzling show.

http://ift.tt/2k6b9Tz London Theatre 1

#IFTTT #London Theatre 1

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javleech-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on Jav Leech

New Post has been published on https://javleech.com/why-the-spirit-of-flash-gaming-must-by-no-means-die/

Why the spirit of Flash gaming must by no means die

From around 2009 to 2011 I edited a Flash gaming weblog referred to as Flytrap for AOL. A belated effort to expand the enterprize’s then-vast downloadable video games business, Flytrap was a tawdry, clumsy little component, all celebrity plugs and clunky-to-put in force gallery modules plus a bizarre dollop of tabloid sleaze. We had each day knock-knock jokes, FarmVille diaries and a section entitled “Hot Manly Action”, although no outright softcore content, thank god. I failed to assume an excessive amount of my work on Flytrap on the time – it becomes just there to fill gaps among articles on Real Games like Dead Space 2 or Uncharted. In hindsight, even though, it is clean that I had my heart inside the wrong vicinity. Games like Uncharted may be the industry’s obvious peaks, however, the ocean they’re poking out of – the bubbling innovative firmament with out which this art form could be actually impoverished – is Adobe Flash.

For many players nowadays, of direction, Flash is trash – a rickety plug-in for advergames and obnoxious video pop-united states that have been progressively sidelined by way of the major browser organizations. Just study the famous outcry, or lack thereof, over the assertion that Adobe will discontinue aid in 2020. It’s worth, then, a short refresher on what Flash has meant and way. For starters, Flash once intended YouTube. The video service that now draws around 400 hours of amassed viewing time a minute began existence as a Flash app in 2005 (the first-ever YouTube upload, a video of a co-founder’s trip to the zoo, continues to be to be had these days and a peculiar artifact indeed). Flash also intended FarmVille, the greatest of Facebook’s bucolic time-wasters, and Candy Crush Saga, which made its debut on King.Com in 2010. In fact, there was a length while Flash supposed so-referred to as “rich” – this is to say, lively and/or interactive – browser experiences complete forestall.

Icebreaker Nitrome has usually stood out among Flash sport developer thanks to its glowing, Nintendo-esque 2D art. In a charming hour-long GDC presentation from this February, Kongregate.Com’s director of premium video games John Cooney estimates that in 2009, ninety-nine in line with the scent of computer systems with net connections had Flash established. It’s easy, then, to look why so many up-and-coming coders opted for Flash inside the noughties. The mounting base of the most a hit console ever is chook feed by evaluation, and for a time, the Flash scene changed into reachable in a manner even dedicated middleware equipment and improvement groups on PC couldn’t rival. There have been no publishers to assuage – when you owned the development tools, all you needed to do become add your game to a domain. As Matthew Annal, co-founder with Heather Stancliffe of venerable Flash developer Nitrome, recollects: “When I installation Nitrome I desired to make unique games and even though I toyed with J2ME for cellular, Flash became surely the simplest space at the time in which you may make small scale original video games and discover enough audience to show a profit.”

The primordial model of the software program, FutureSplash Animator, wasn’t honestly designed for sport-making in any respect – created through Jonathan Gay in 1996 following an unwell-fated attempt to break into pen computing, its key characteristic turned into the guide for community-based animations run with a simple scripting language. Over time, but, Gay, his studio FutureWave Software and parent employer Macromedia added greater alternatives, culminating inside the debut of a “right” recreation toolset, ActionScript, in 2000. The toolset grew alongside the upward thrust of Flash animation and gaming portals like Newgrounds and Miniclip – its critical update perhaps being ActionScript 3.0, which offered full integration with ECMAScript, a programming language specification that is, in the shape of JavaScript, foundational to the sector huge net.

Nitrome dealing with director Matthew Annal on a career in Flash gaming In the start, there wasn’t a lot of competition, as maximum games were hobby initiatives that might be quite terrible. This made it easy for us to make our mark however additionally gave Flash as a platform a stigma that it was not an actual video games platform. To a diploma that feeling by no means fully left, though given the volume and best of many games on mobile/PC and even console down load shops, these days I think it changed into just showing the manner that matters could end up.

As a few years handed, Flash games were given more expert and early portals like Miniclip, Kongregate & Newgrounds gave way to many extras. There became unexpectedly lots extra money in it and from that also comes more competition.

Facebook got here onto the scene and all at once there has been lots cash there, and all of the speech was of entering into that marketplace and making it wealthy. This brought about Flash getting used for much bigger, extra informal video games than it generally had earlier than, and in-app purchases had been all of sudden a monetization model that far outperformed ads. In hindsight, all of it appears like what caused the cellular version we have these days.

Of direction Facebook video games kind of dwindled away, and at Nitrome we are glad we hadn’t jumped on that specific bandwagon. All seemed properly in the international of Flash games after which Apple brought out the iPhone.

The iPhone had a large effect on Flash video games, and not simply due to Steve Jobs’s refusal to allow the Flash player on iDevices. People all of sudden started spending greater in their time on their mobiles and much less on their browser on their computer. Year on year, Flash game audiences commenced to decline and as advert networks noticed the shift to cellular they too were increasingly transferring their consciousness there.

Flash games were never worthwhile on the same stage as mobile video games nowadays, and we noticed, separately, video games studios both close their doors or pass into different areas – normally, like Nitrome, to cell however often to PC or console too. It helped that at the equal time Flash started out to say no that mobile sprung up in conjunction with downloadable stores on a console.

The latest declaration may be the final nail in the coffin for Flash, but the community that got here from it in a whole lot of approaches keeps to thrive on other platforms and the use of other gear. Flash games portals at the moment are app shops, and the Flash improvement tool is now Unity or Game Maker, however, the spirit is an awful lot the equal. “Initially I sort of stumbled into Flash, however, got I bet ‘serious’ about it proper after ActionScript3 came out,” Adam Saltsman, author of Canabalt and the drawing close Overland informed me when I emailed for his mind at the software’s retirement. “ECMA is a fun and sloppy trendy for a scripting language – see all of the shenanigans you can do in JavaScript, as an example – and ActionScript3 gave you bitmap-stage/pixel-stage get right of entry to for each imported belongings and display/output. And it becomes… Nominally go-platform. And ran inside the browser. And in case you didn’t use huge song documents, the game sizes had been quite small – Canabalt became some hundred kilobytes perhaps. So for someone seeking out a type of sandbox for doing speedy development or iterative improvement, and looking to proportion games with online communities and solicit comments and gauge reactions, it turned into kind of a dream come proper.”

spider There are intercourse games after which there are intercourse video games. Anna Anthropy’s Lesbian Spider Queens of Mars is an arch exploration of masochism, featured on Adult Swim’s dependably adventurous recreation channel in 2011. It helped, of course, that the Flash toolset became so low priced. “Eventually they made the AS3 compiler without cost, so in case you have been programming-minded you could literally make Flash games absolutely at no cost. No revenue share in case your budget is just too big or some thing placing over you. This type of atmosphere I suppose helped produce numerous first-rate 1/3 celebration libraries (like Box2D, as an example).” Saltsman himself could release a free ActionScript development library, Flixel, in 2009, which has been used for hundreds of games.

Early Flash gaming was rife with copyright theft and reduce-throat business processes – it turned into not unusual for pirates to ask for bribes to eliminate games from portals that ranked higher on Google than the developer’s own website. Website advertizements have been extra profitable than they may be now, however licensing offers were also an awful lot much less beneficent. Across 2005-2007, but, the arrival of professionally-run systems Mochi Media and Kongregate plus the Flash Game License market helped stabilize the marketplace, sparking what Cooney styles a “renaissance”. By the top of the decade, the largest Flash games may want to attract upwards of $one hundred,000 in licensing prices, and an extensive minority of Flash recreation builders had been capable of work complete-time. There have been greater ways to earn money, too, consisting of the capacity to make payments within apps – the beginnings of the loose-to-play craze, and a formative have an impact on cell gaming, to which many Flash recreation studios would finally gravitate.

It changed into an excellent time, all advised, to be going for walks a Flash gaming blog. Among my favorites from that length are the primary actual-time physics puzzlers, or “puzzlers” – games like Crash the Castle, in which you release boulders at stacks of masonry to squish Monty Python-esque nobles, or Nitrome’s pleasant Ice-Breaker, in that you have to slice up the extent to free frozen Vikings. There have been the viral sensations, like the famously stupid limb-simulator QWOP or Adult Swim’s joyous Robot Unicorn Attack, and construct-and-proportion games like Line Rider, where you would pencil in a path for others to skate down. There were point-and-click on extravaganzas like Samorost from Czech developer Amanita Design, a fungal fairy tale with lush heritage art. There were philosophical platformers like Coma, a tour of a pastoral dreamscape with a few fantastically considered audio. There has been a stunning amount of video games with political and social issues, from Molleindustria’s powerful investigations of the quick meals industry through geopolitical sims like Oil God to a small avalanche of interactive satires about Israeli profession of the Gaza Strip.

Mcdonalds Molleindustria’s The McDonalds Game takes you via every degree inside the creation of a Big Mac. As that listing of weird bedfellows suggests, there has been a lousy lot of experimentation and sharing, with noticeably few overarching publisher or platform-holder preoccupations to fear about. “The Flash dev network has always been exquisite,” notes Matthew Annal. “Everyone wants to assist each different and display of new strategies. There became always someone looking to do matters that had been no longer designed for the platform. Way again earlier than Adobe added 3D there have been many 3-d hints going from SNES-style mode 7 to proper 3-d texture-mapped items. Whenever we had a trouble at Nitrome the solution was constantly on line someplace, or someone become inclined to assist. Many events sprung up across the platform, too, and it became constantly superb to meet with these compatible human beings. I assume a large part of this turned into there was never a cause to not get on with other studios. It never virtually felt like we have been in finishing touch for anything, so everyone desired desirable things for other devs.”

Many of latest higher-known “indie” builders cut their tooth on Flash. Ed McMillen labored on dozens of Flash titles before hitting the huge time with Super Meatboy and The Binding Of Isaac: I particularly love Time Cfuk, a room-based totally platformer with a time travel element which payments itself variously as about “finding logic in irrelevance” and “verbal exchange with folks who you don’t like”. Other standouts include the self-explanatory text journey Don’t Shit Your Pants, whose developers might go onto make cult hit roguelike Rogue Legacy, and Terry Cavanagh’s Don’t Look Back, a descent to the underworld.

CONTINUE? Xbox One backward compatibility of Xbox 360 games changed into Microsoft’s large surprise at E3 2015, and when you consider that debuting the feature… Pokémon Go guidelines, tricks, and cheats guide to help you trap ’em all Pokémon Go, the region-based totally loose-to-play recreation that has taken the iOS and Android app stores through a storm, permits gamers… Some Flash video games, such as The Behemoth’s Alien Hominid or Thatgamecompany’s Flow, have made their manner to different systems; others were updated to run on HTML5, lengthy trumpeted as Flash’s successor. But unfortunately, a huge wide variety of those titles are vulnerable to being misplaced forever. Last yr, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Firefox announced or implemented plans to dam Flash on their browsers. Apple specifically has constantly been keen to pull the cause on Flash, regarding it as technically deficient, a security legal responsibility and a danger to its own app commercial enterprise: in 2010, Steve Jobs penned a legendary 1700 phrase takedown, commenting that “the cell technology is ready low power gadgets, touch interfaces and open internet requirements – all regions wherein Flash falls short” (Adobe retaliated with some fairly cheeky adverts).

Qwop Charming novelties like QWOP cashed in on the popularity of aggregators like Digg, Fark, and Stumbleupon. Most Flash developers could agree that as a bit of technology, Flash has had its stand downs. “Linux assist became a disaster,” Saltsman says. “There have been like, three unique weird ways of manufacturing desktop apps out of your net plugins; games could be decompiled very without difficulty (I wager this become a pro and a con in a few methods); it became notably un-robust in terms of conventional game loops (with out 0.33 party libraries, I imply); the sloppiness of the language became very fun however may also hugely ambush you on the worst times; performance might be unpredictable and extremely black-field-y, and so on.” These are negligible downsides when set against the ethic of journey, freedom, and camaraderie that grew up around Flash, however – characteristics which can be usually well worth striving for, at the same time as the app itself fades into obscurity.

“I’m now not sure it will likely be remembered as such,” says Anna, “But in my thoughts Flash paved the manner for both current indie video games and unfastened-for-all-fashion app shops. I guess the legacy of Flash is likely that it brought about the self-published indie motion we see nowadays.”

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lavleech-blog · 7 years

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Why the spirit of Flash gaming must by no means die

New Post has been published on https://javleech.com/why-the-spirit-of-flash-gaming-must-by-no-means-die/

Why the spirit of Flash gaming must by no means die

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