So, 29 years after the original series ended, the new series is finally here..finally, I mean, its not like there haven't been numerous announcements that the series would return before, but this time round, something has actually materialised.
Although "series 2" of MCoG was first officially shown in France during Christmas 2012, its only now, near Christmas 2013, that the English dub has finally surfaced, and, unusually for a series which has been so eagerly anticipated, it is being shown on an obscure satellite TV channel called "Kix!".
Contrary to what people were saying prior to its release, this series is NOT a reboot or a redo of the original, but is instead a fully fledged sequel, using the same characters, and chronicles their further adventures after the ending of the first series.
Thus far, five episodes have aired on Kix!, and, at the time of writing this, the first two episodes are available to view on their website (HERE ), but the entire series is planned to have 26 episodes.
The storyline takes place roughly one year after the original series ended. Esteban, Tao and Zia took off in the Great Golden Condor in search of the remaining six cities of gold, while Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro decided to return to Spain, having salvaged a fortune in gold from the city they found (which was subsequently destroyed).
The series prologue however shows that when Mendoza et al returned home, they had their fortunes confiscated and were thrown in prison by a mysterious robed and hooded man, who is also seeking the location of the remaining cities of gold.
The robed man sets an elaborate trap to lure Esteban and Zia back to Spain, using Mendoza as bait, after he discovers that they have come into possession of an ancient map which shows the location of the remaining cities.
After mounting a daring rescue, Esteban and company manage to decode the map, and set course for China.
As it stands, the series looks set to take place entirely in China, other than for the first two episodes which serve to move the story on from where it originally finished.
Stylistically, there series has not changed, even though the animators are now using cel-shaded animation in place of traditional (and more expensive) ink and paint, they still manage to recreate the characters exactly how they looked back in 1983.
That said, the use of computer aided animation has allowed some of the on screen effects to be updated, for example, the Great Golden Condor now looks more realistic (or as realistic as a giant flying machine made of gold and shaped like a condor can look), as the animators have included moving feathers to the wingtips, and a pair of jet exhausts to the tail.
One notable but odd change is made in the form of close ups of swords showing they have rounded, non lethal tips, but yet spears, arrowheads and knives are shown still with nice pointy stabby ends, and even at one point a man shoots at Esteban with a musket but misses, so the original series' "peril" is still present in this series, although they seem to be attempting to sanitise it.
Some slight changes in dialogue have occurred as well, for example, in the first series, Tao would refer to his people as "the people of Hiva", whereas now their original name of "the people of Mu" is used instead.
So, thus far, im quite impressed with the series, and am looking forward to the remaining episodes. It still, well, thus far anyways, manages to keep the blend of historical, sci-fi, fantasy and adventure without allowing one aspect to overpower the rest, like the original did....keep it up!
Showing posts with label 1983. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1983. Show all posts
Monday, 18 November 2013
Sunday, 6 October 2013
Aint War Hell? - The Day After (ABC 1983)
The Day After is a 1983 American TV movie starring Steve Guttenberg, John Lithgow, Bibi Besch and a whole list of others Ive never heard of.
Again this film depicts the events leading up to, during, and after a global nuclear war circa the early 1980s, concentrating on the lives of a small group of people who live in and around the area of Kansas City.
Like both "The War Game" and "Threads", the build up to the war itself takes place off screen, this time round, the war is caused by a Soviet build up of troops in East Berlin, which quickly degenerates into a Soviet invasion of Western Europe, leading to open conflict worldwide, and eventually the launch of ICBMs.
The characters followed throughout the main plot are as follows:-
Dr Oakes - a fairly affluent doctor at one of Kansas Citys main hospitals. At the time that the first Soviet missiles destroy the main bulk of the city, he is on his way to give a lecture at the university of Missouri but gets stuck on the road after the EMP effects of the first missiles knock his car out of commission. He returns to the hospital and spends several weeks struggling to treat survivors, before finally succumbing to the effects of radiation sickness. A poignant scene is where at the end of the film, he manages to return home to find his house has become a smoking crater, and the only remains of his family is his wife's smashed wristwatch.
The Dahlberg family - Farmers from rural Kansas. The Dahlbergs farm is surrounded by missile silos, and on the day of the war they are preparing for their eldest daughters wedding. When the war breaks out, they take shelter in their cellar, and are eventually joined by Stephen Klein.
Stephen Klein - A medical student on his way home when the war started. Stephen finds himself caught in the open as the bombs start falling and takes cover inside which saves his life. He makes his way on foot back to the city but stumbles across the Dahlberg house on his way there, where he becomes like a surrogate son to them. At the end of the film, Stephen is suffering from the early stages of radiation sickness but has formed a relationship of sorts with the Dahlbergs eldest daughter.
Professor Huxley - A teacher at the university of Missouri. Professor Huxley provides most of the films "science bits", as well as several healthy doses of cynicism throughout, especially over mankinds chances of long term survival.
The film is marked by several very harrowing scenes, including people being vaporised by the initial nuclear blast, piles of dead human and animal corpses, people descending into savagery and all the usual stuff youd expect form this type of film.
One bit that jumps out for me though, it one scene where, shortly after the war has ended, people gather in the ruins of a church near the Dahlbergs home to listen to a sermon given by a scarred and burned priest, who cannot even bring himself to complete it due to the absolute obvious fact that its words, in which he attempts to extoll gods glory by stating that the faithful will be protected, whilst standing in the burnt out rubble of his church surrounded by wounded and dying parishioners in a country which is now lying in ruins and packed stalked by death.
A caption at the end of the film states that the film is a work of fiction, but is based on fact, and that the film makers intentionally toned down the effects of a nuclear conflict in order to make the story more beleviable, and that they hoped it would give those in positions of power something to think about.
Oddly enough, it did, as President Reagan was said to have viewed the film and bore it in mind when he pursued nuclear disarmament talks in the late 1980s.
As for my opinion on this film, id have to say that its a pretty good one, although it sacrifices the harsh realities of "Threads" in order to make the film more viewable to family audiences.
If you want to watch this movie, click HERE
Again this film depicts the events leading up to, during, and after a global nuclear war circa the early 1980s, concentrating on the lives of a small group of people who live in and around the area of Kansas City.
Like both "The War Game" and "Threads", the build up to the war itself takes place off screen, this time round, the war is caused by a Soviet build up of troops in East Berlin, which quickly degenerates into a Soviet invasion of Western Europe, leading to open conflict worldwide, and eventually the launch of ICBMs.
The characters followed throughout the main plot are as follows:-
Dr Oakes - a fairly affluent doctor at one of Kansas Citys main hospitals. At the time that the first Soviet missiles destroy the main bulk of the city, he is on his way to give a lecture at the university of Missouri but gets stuck on the road after the EMP effects of the first missiles knock his car out of commission. He returns to the hospital and spends several weeks struggling to treat survivors, before finally succumbing to the effects of radiation sickness. A poignant scene is where at the end of the film, he manages to return home to find his house has become a smoking crater, and the only remains of his family is his wife's smashed wristwatch.
The Dahlberg family - Farmers from rural Kansas. The Dahlbergs farm is surrounded by missile silos, and on the day of the war they are preparing for their eldest daughters wedding. When the war breaks out, they take shelter in their cellar, and are eventually joined by Stephen Klein.
Stephen Klein - A medical student on his way home when the war started. Stephen finds himself caught in the open as the bombs start falling and takes cover inside which saves his life. He makes his way on foot back to the city but stumbles across the Dahlberg house on his way there, where he becomes like a surrogate son to them. At the end of the film, Stephen is suffering from the early stages of radiation sickness but has formed a relationship of sorts with the Dahlbergs eldest daughter.
Professor Huxley - A teacher at the university of Missouri. Professor Huxley provides most of the films "science bits", as well as several healthy doses of cynicism throughout, especially over mankinds chances of long term survival.
The film is marked by several very harrowing scenes, including people being vaporised by the initial nuclear blast, piles of dead human and animal corpses, people descending into savagery and all the usual stuff youd expect form this type of film.
One bit that jumps out for me though, it one scene where, shortly after the war has ended, people gather in the ruins of a church near the Dahlbergs home to listen to a sermon given by a scarred and burned priest, who cannot even bring himself to complete it due to the absolute obvious fact that its words, in which he attempts to extoll gods glory by stating that the faithful will be protected, whilst standing in the burnt out rubble of his church surrounded by wounded and dying parishioners in a country which is now lying in ruins and packed stalked by death.
A caption at the end of the film states that the film is a work of fiction, but is based on fact, and that the film makers intentionally toned down the effects of a nuclear conflict in order to make the story more beleviable, and that they hoped it would give those in positions of power something to think about.
Oddly enough, it did, as President Reagan was said to have viewed the film and bore it in mind when he pursued nuclear disarmament talks in the late 1980s.
As for my opinion on this film, id have to say that its a pretty good one, although it sacrifices the harsh realities of "Threads" in order to make the film more viewable to family audiences.
If you want to watch this movie, click HERE
Thursday, 22 November 2012
"The Machine Gunners" BBC 1983
The Machine Gunners was a BBC childrens drama serial which first aired in 1983, based on Robert Westalls 1975 novel of the same name.
The series (and book) tells the story of a group of children living in the fictional town of Garmouth (based on Tynemouth) in the North East of England during World War 2, or more specifically winter 1940 to summer 1941. As the north east was one of the most heavily industrialised areas of Britain at the time, it became one of the primary targets for the German bombing campaign.
I first saw this serial (and read the book) as part of my GCSE English studies. We were doing a section about how different accents and dialects affect the use of language and our teacher had chosen this book as one of the examples a different and somewhat unfamiliar dialect than the one we were used to.
Being a bit of a fan of war stories the book/series stuck in my mind and I was quite pleased to find the series had been uploaded to youtube., as it -like so many childrens drama serials from the late 70s and early 80s- has never been released on video or DVD.
Starring a cast of people you will have never heard of before or since, the story itself is a kind of "coming of age" type affair, with the children learning over time about responsibility and such, all while dealing with such childhood experiences such as bullying, playground rivalries.
The key points of the story revolve around the character of Charlie "Chas" McGill, who one day while out looking to find stuff to expand his "war souvenir" collection (mainly consisting of pieces of shrapnel, bomb fins, spent cartridges etc, a common hobby during WW2 for many boys) at the site of a burnt out building, he is chased away by an ARP warden while trying to steal parts from the burnt out engine of a German plane.
After fleeing into the woods, he cant believe his luck as he comes across the almost intact remains of a Luftwaffe Heinkel HE-111 medium bomber which had been shot down the night before. As he pokes around the wreckage, he finds an intact, and fully operational MG-15 machine gun as well as over 2000 rounds of live ammunition,but has to return later with his friend Cyril "cemetery" Jones to retrieve it as the weapon is attached to the planes airframe, requiring the use of a hacksaw to remove it.
Chas and his friends eventually build a fortress on the nearby coastline and use the machine gun to shoot at incoming German aircraft - with dubious results - in an effort to "do their bit" for the war effort.
Things don't stay rosy for long though after they find an injured German airman and decide to hold him hostage within their fortress, and when their machine gun breaks they are forced to strike a bargain with him in order to get it fixed, all the while avoiding detection by the local police who know of the machine guns existence and are aware of the possibility that a German may be at loose in the area.
The series can be watched by clicking here.
The series (and book) tells the story of a group of children living in the fictional town of Garmouth (based on Tynemouth) in the North East of England during World War 2, or more specifically winter 1940 to summer 1941. As the north east was one of the most heavily industrialised areas of Britain at the time, it became one of the primary targets for the German bombing campaign.
I first saw this serial (and read the book) as part of my GCSE English studies. We were doing a section about how different accents and dialects affect the use of language and our teacher had chosen this book as one of the examples a different and somewhat unfamiliar dialect than the one we were used to.
Being a bit of a fan of war stories the book/series stuck in my mind and I was quite pleased to find the series had been uploaded to youtube., as it -like so many childrens drama serials from the late 70s and early 80s- has never been released on video or DVD.
Starring a cast of people you will have never heard of before or since, the story itself is a kind of "coming of age" type affair, with the children learning over time about responsibility and such, all while dealing with such childhood experiences such as bullying, playground rivalries.
The key points of the story revolve around the character of Charlie "Chas" McGill, who one day while out looking to find stuff to expand his "war souvenir" collection (mainly consisting of pieces of shrapnel, bomb fins, spent cartridges etc, a common hobby during WW2 for many boys) at the site of a burnt out building, he is chased away by an ARP warden while trying to steal parts from the burnt out engine of a German plane.
After fleeing into the woods, he cant believe his luck as he comes across the almost intact remains of a Luftwaffe Heinkel HE-111 medium bomber which had been shot down the night before. As he pokes around the wreckage, he finds an intact, and fully operational MG-15 machine gun as well as over 2000 rounds of live ammunition,but has to return later with his friend Cyril "cemetery" Jones to retrieve it as the weapon is attached to the planes airframe, requiring the use of a hacksaw to remove it.
Chas and his friends eventually build a fortress on the nearby coastline and use the machine gun to shoot at incoming German aircraft - with dubious results - in an effort to "do their bit" for the war effort.
Things don't stay rosy for long though after they find an injured German airman and decide to hold him hostage within their fortress, and when their machine gun breaks they are forced to strike a bargain with him in order to get it fixed, all the while avoiding detection by the local police who know of the machine guns existence and are aware of the possibility that a German may be at loose in the area.
The series can be watched by clicking here.
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