Aside from Wednesday pretty much everyday for the last 2 weeks I have walked 4-8 miles. Need to start getting back on the cross trainer, but walking on the varied terrain is a lot more fun.
Good the songs are going well. For some reason I have the temptation to buy a flute or harmonica.
Oddly enough, I’ve managed a little nod to a couple of existing songs within the lyric. Not namechecks, but just a sort of tip of the hat.
The songs I’ve alluded to are:
Crying In The Rain (Everly Brothers)
Waiting For A Girl Like You (Foreigner)
Not that I expect to insert any more little references like this. It’s not that kind of song, I’m not trying to write anything like Queen’s “Soul Brother” (which namechecked about a dozen of their old hits). It’s just that the way I’ve made the allusions works in context.
I honestly can’t say I have heard of that Queen song. Although there is a vast lot of Queen songs I have yet to listen to. Outside of all of their well known hits I have only heard a couple of their full albums.
By the way I came across these Spiral Zone things.
http://thefwoosh.com/2014/08/spiral-zone-thats-not-an-action-figure-thats-a-doll
http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_line/spiral_zone
http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_review/1986/act_3_sentinel_bear
“Soul Brother” was the B-side to “Under Pressure” back in 1981. It didn’t appear on any of their original albums. I have it from a couple of sources, one CD of miscellaneous rarities bought in Switzerland and a compilation of non-album B-sides put together for me by a friend.
In other words, it’s not a song that most people are likely to have ever heard of, let alone heard. And don’t worry, you’re not missing out by not knowing it.
Which albums of theirs have you heard? My recommendations would be:
Innuendo (1991)
A Night At The Opera (1975)
A Day At The Races (1976)
Made In Heaven (1995)
The Works (1984)
Queen II (1974)
By the way I came across these Spiral Zone things.
Hmm, curious. Have you had a look at any actual episodes yet?
I’ve only got two more episodes of C.O.P.S. left to watch on veoh - it’s not the whole series that’s been uploaded (unless someone else has put up more somewhere), there’s only 20 episodes and one fragment of one. Still, it’s been interesting viewing. Apart from the end credits, I don’t think I ever saw Dr BadVibes, Nightshade or Miss Demeanor as a kid.
I believe it was The Miracle. The other might have been Innuendo.
I haven’t had chance to watch any Spiral Zone episodes yet.
Oddly enough in the few episodes I seen Dr BadVibes, Nightshade and Miss Demeanor were in them. Nightshade was in the episode I recorded off CITV.
I was flicking through ‘Tomart’s Encyclopaedia of Action Figures’ and in the section detailing Defenders of the Earth the Author made a mistake calling Flash’s son Gordon instead of Rick.
The Miracle has I Want It All, Breakthru and Scandal.
Innuendo has These Are The Days Of Our Lives, The Show Must Go On and I’m Going Slightly Mad.
And those are just the hits!
Oddly enough in the few episodes I seen Dr BadVibes, Nightshade and Miss Demeanor were in them. Nightshade was in the episode I recorded off CITV.
Of course Kenneth Williams - I mean Dr BadVibes - has probably appeared in a lot more episodes than any of the other villains (except I guess Big Boss himself) out of the ones I’ve seen now, but in the small handful I saw a a kid (which probably wasn’t even into double figures), he and the two women never figured.
Interestingly in the episodes I’ve watched on veoh, aside from Bulletproof (the only character to appear in every episode), the character with the most appearances was Mainframe. She doesn’t always have a massive presence in the action sequences, but she has enough, it’s clear that she’s the most intelligent member of the team, she’s a really good strong female role model.
Compared to the only other woman on the team, Mirage, who’s described as suited to undercover work, but who has only been seen in about two episodes, and one of them was more in a damsel-in-distress capacity.
I was flicking through ‘Tomart’s Encyclopaedia of Action Figures’ and in the section detailing Defenders of the Earth the Author made a mistake calling Flash’s son Gordon instead of Rick.
D’oh!
I must get a coupe, Queen Albums again at some point, I am not sure what happened to The Miracle CD. It was just a copied disc, I probably loaned it to someone and they never returned it.
I would like to see some C.O.P.S. again. I remember Mainframe wasn’t she blonde with a baseball cap. If I recall correctly her and Hardtop where the last members recruited to the team at the end of the movie/ second episode.
I finished watching Avatar. What an amazing series. I love it. 
I powered through all of season three on Sunday and this morning. All 21 episodes.
Just so you know Avatar is basically what the Thundercats 2011 series tried to be but failed at miserably.
Such a great cartoon. I think I will buy the official DVD. I would even be tempted to track down some of the figures…the only thing that’s putting me off is Mattel didn’t make any female characters which leaves out one of the main three characters of the show and one of my favourites.
Queen were, and still are, one of the very best. Freddie’s voice was almost without equal.
I would like to see some C.O.P.S. again. I remember Mainframe wasn’t she blonde with a baseball cap. If I recall correctly her and Hardtop where the last members recruited to the team at the end of the movie/ second episode.
That’s right. They were the rookies, and weren’t initially admitted to the team until they foiled Big Boss’s plans at the end of the two-part pilot (thereby earning their places). Although they were two of the three who were around from the beginning, along with Longarm, who according to wikipedia is second in command of the team, but I’ve seen no evidence for any direct hierarchical structure within their ranks. First among equals, perhaps.
Reminds me of an argument I had with someone about the heirarchy within Visionaries. Some say Ectar was Leoric’s no2, and that’s true to a point, but only really concerning matters within the city of New Valarak. As far as the Spectral Knights are concerned, I think the staffs, before they were charged with magic, served as marks of authority - within a group, the one staff-holder was the leader (Leoric and Darkstorm initially, and also Witterquick was the only one with a staff in his group). Witterquick and Cryotek are leaders of their cities, Arzon is the son of a leader (well, Witterquick may be the son of a leader, but in a scene cut from the episode for time, he’s addressed with the title prince, which Cryotek uses to refer to Leoric in another episode). So that would put all of them above Ectar (although possibly not Arzon). I’d be more inclined to say Witterquick is second in command, if you look at episodes where Leoric is in some way incapacitated, “The Power Of The Wise” and “Lion Hunt”, he’s the one taking the lead, and, in the latter, giving the orders and keeping the others in check. Also, in “Feryl Steps Out”, Feryl says to Leoric, “I’ll never be like you or Witterquick”. Hardly conclusive proof, but the circumstantial evidence all seems to point in one direction.
I liked Cryotek but I think he would be a bit to head strong to lead the Spectral Knights. I think I would have Arzon or Whiterquick as the second in command. Ectar was a good character but I think he is a character that is very skilled and qualified but is more used to getting the job done that he has been ordered to do rather than ordering others. He reminds me of Ultra Magnus from Transformers.
Cryotek was probably my 1st/second favourite character in the series.
I just remembered Cryotek came from an ice kingdom in the north.
Also the fact that you like ‘Visionaries’ is more reason that you should give ‘Avatar’ a chance.
My point exactly, I think it’s Witterquick, and I was presenting the pointers. Certainly, the stories I wrote made that assumption, there’s one subplot in one of them, “Shape Of The Mind”, where Ectar and Witterquick have a little Spock-McCoy discussion, they are worried about whether Leoric is fit to lead the Spectral Knights after the opening events of the story, and it’s clear that if they did have to relieve Leoric of his leadership, then Ectar would be in charge of New Valarak, while Witterquick would be in charge of the Spectral Knights.
One point in Cryotek’s favour is he’s the eldest of the Spectral Knights, so experience would count for something, but on the other hand, he might have too much temper to be an effective leader. Arzon, on the other hand, is the exact opposite - a very calm and intelligent head, but on very young shoulders. Witterquick is somewhere in between, maybe about 5yrs younger than Leoric, quick to arrive at a decision, and quite practical (hence my giving him a military background).
A few years ago, a group of us made an estimate of the characters’ ages; assuming that humans on Prysmos have about the same lifespan as we do, our estimates go roughly:
Feryl - 22
Galadria - 26
Arzon - 27-8
Witterquick - 32-3
Ectar - 36-7
Leoric - 39
Cryotek - 43-4
Ectar was a good character but I think he is a character that is very skilled and qualified but is more used to getting the job done that he has been ordered to do rather than ordering others. He reminds me of Ultra Magnus from Transformers.
You’re not the first person to make that analogy. When someone was explaining the Transformers hierarchy to me, his description of Ultra Magnus as being a second in command but only in a certain area, I thought of Ectar.
Cryotek was probably my 1st/second favourite character in the series.
I just remembered Cryotek came from an ice kingdom in the north.
Northalia, yes. Witterquick comes from the grassy plains in the south, and it’s believed that Galadria hails from a nearby oceanside city, mentioned in the series as Androsia, and by the sound of things quite some way from Cryotek’s home, I suspect it’s near to Witterquick’s home because after Cryotek, Witterquick is the knight that Galadria is closest to.
Also the fact that you like ‘Visionaries’ is more reason that you should give ‘Avatar’ a chance.
Any episodes on youtube or similar? With a title that’s the same as a big hit movie from 2010, I don’t want to go on a wild goose chase wading through the wrong thing.
You can watch them or download them here.
http://kissanime.com/Anime/Avatar-The-Last-Airbender-Season-1
Thanks, I’ve just bookmarked it. I’ll have a look when I’m feeling more with it.
One point that I forgot to mention on the hierarchy front, partly because it’s not really relevance, is the closeness of certain Spectral Knights’ magical powers to Leoric’s - it’s not relevant because the argument that Witterquick has the closest totem (cheetah to lion) is the same as that Arzon has the closest staff (knowledge to wisdom). Using either argument as the case for one makes the equivalent argument for the other just as valid, no more, no less.
Like I said, my money’s on Witterquick anyway, for other reasons I’ve already gone into.
Well, I got a bit more done on that song yesterday; apart from reshaping the chorus lyrics to fit the change of melody (again), I have only one line to come up with from scratch now. Getting there!
Wait until you are really feeling like watching it and you will enjoy it more.
It takes a few episodes before it really gets going but I personally really enjoyed it. I would recommend at least giving it enough of a chance and watching the first season. The second season is even better. The third season is also very good but seems a little rushed but an amazing ending.
Well I suppose Leoric and Cryotek’s are also close as in the sense that the polar bear and the lion are both very powerful animals. But Witterquick is definitely the closest and best suited second in command.
I also like your idea that Ectar is in charge of New Valarak while Witterquik leads the Spectral Knights. Ultra Magnus was also in charge of Autobot City/Metroplex on Earth. BTW have you ever seen Transformers The Movie, the animated one from 86? It is well worth a watch.
That’s good you are working on your song, I haven’t had chance to work on any of my art in weeks. Well I did try to do a bit the other week but it didn’t go right so I scrapped it.
Will do.
I was trying to remember something else from about 20yrs ago, where I only ever caught the last few minutes of a handful of episodes. But what I could remember was enough. I googled “good alien called Marsala”, and got a wikipedia link to a show called “Exosquad” - which title did ring a bell. So too did one of the other character names, Nara Burns. From the description, that too might be worth checking out properly at some point. My memories of this show are less than my memories of Spiral Zone, but again I still managed to retain something.
Well I suppose Leoric and Cryotek’s are also close as in the sense that the polar bear and the lion are both very powerful animals. But Witterquick is definitely the closest and best suited second in command.
I also like your idea that Ectar is in charge of New Valarak while Witterquik leads the Spectral Knights. Ultra Magnus was also in charge of Autobot City/Metroplex on Earth.
If you watch the episodes “The Overthrow Of Merklynn” and “Honor Among Thieves”, when Leoric is dealing with New Valarak business, Ectar is definitely second in command there. It makes sense, after all, Witterquick, Arzon, Cryotek and Galadria aren’t from New Valarak, so in domestic matters they would take a back seat; only Leoric, Ectar and Feryl originated there.
Some people have argued that just because they were the original team, that Ectar and Feryl would be second AND THIRD in command of the Spectral Knights - not automatically. Apart from anything else, Feryl is the rookie of the bunch, not an authority figure. And, to go into this in detail, what did the staffs mean before they were charged with magic? A symbol of authority is the best answer. For one thing, there’s a scene in “The Dark Hand Of Treachery” where Reekon is complaining that the reason he and Mortdredd are doing a menial task is because they haven’t got staffs. Secondly, the original three Spectral Knights and Darkling Lords each had only one knight with a staff, the leader on both occasions. It’s therefore a fair assumption that Witterquick, the only knight in his original group with a staff, was the leader of that group too.
BTW have you ever seen Transformers The Movie, the animated one from 86? It is well worth a watch.
I have seen it - I remember Andrew asked me to get it for him on DVD, not long before I got a DVD player of my own back in 2004. He brought his laptop over and we watched it; we’d already seen his old VHS copy of it back in 2002, this cemented it in my memory better.
That’s good you are working on your song, I haven’t had chance to work on any of my art in weeks. Well I did try to do a bit the other week but it didn’t go right so I scrapped it.
I’m hoping to get it finished in time for my performance next tuesday. Just an informal do for some mentally ill people, me and Ben do this every so often; I can’t remember if I’ve told you the songs I’ve been practising for this one:
Bryan Adams - One Night Love Affair
Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock
The Connells - '74-'75
The Beatles - Yesterday
The Kinks - Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
Queen - I Want It All
You mentioned the Bryan Adams song but I didn’t know about the others.
I recall seeing a couple episodes of Exosquad on Channel 4 in the mid 90’s. I heard it’s very good but I haven’t seen it in a long time. I remember seeing a couple of the Exo suit toys in a couple toys shops but I never got any of them. They looked cool but I didn’t know or watch the show enough to really want one.
Various Robotech toys were repackaged and sold as Exosquad toys.
In the movie Ultra Magnus is not keen on taking leadership and tells Prime he is just a soldier. Magnus was always one of my favourite characters as he was the first large Transformer I ever owned.
Oddly enough I never seen Transformers the movie until October/November 2000 when I was 15. I had heard of a movie from a friend years before but never seen it. It was just by chance one day I was in £-Poundstretchers with my Mum and Dad one Saturday and as I was walking past the video isle I had a quick look and I seen the movie. I picked it up and had a quick read of the back and I knew I had never seen it before. I still had a love for Transformers and other cartoons etc so I decided to take the video and see what it was. Two of my friends had said they were not coming round that night so I was all excited to watch it but they ended up turning up unexpected and stayed for ages until after midnight. But as soon as they left I watched Transformers. Loved it. 
For a moment there I thought you meant you weren’t familiar with the songs, I was in a state of shock!
I recall seeing a couple episodes of Exosquad on Channel 4 in the mid 90’s.
I’m guessing that’ll be Sunday mornings on channel 4, same as me. I only ever caught the last few minutes of some episodes. I very much doubt I’d recognise the bits I saw if I did see them again. I think my memories of this show are less than my childhood memories of Spiral Zone!
I heard it’s very good but I haven’t seen it in a long time. I remember seeing a couple of the Exo suit toys in a couple toys shops but I never got any of them. They looked cool but I didn’t know or watch the show enough to really want one.
Various Robotech toys were repackaged and sold as Exosquad toys.
I never saw anything of the toyline, but at that point I don’t think I’d have been looking anyway. Interestingly, looking at the cast, my eyebrows raised when I recognised the name of Robby “Prince Valiant” Benson!
In the movie Ultra Magnus is not keen on taking leadership and tells Prime he is just a soldier. Magnus was always one of my favourite characters as he was the first large Transformer I ever owned.
There’s an episode where Cryotek says he’s not the take-charge/life-of-the-party type (which Witterquick is shown to be at the beginning of that episode).
There’s a lot of episodes of Visionaries where characters work in pairs, which gives a lot of scope for character exploration. Sometimes one seems more senior than the other, sometimes the other way round, sometimes equal.
Oddly enough I never seen Transformers the movie until October/November 2000 when I was 15.
I saw it first in 2002 when I was 20 - that was the first I ever saw of Transformers in any way, shape or form. Because Transformers was on ITV, and apart from the odd glance at a newspaper, I never knew the ITV listings properly until they were included in the Radio Times in the early 1990s, I missed out on quite a bit of ITV (notable exception, Knightmare!), I missed Transformers completely when I was growing up. I was aware of it, I knew kids who had the toys, and had seen the title sequence at the end of a video tape, (which as I think I’ve said before was also my first, and misleadingly unfavourable, introduction to Visionaries), but I never saw anything of it until 2002.
I had heard of a movie from a friend years before but never seen it. It was just by chance one day I was in £-Poundstretchers with my Mum and Dad one Saturday and as I was walking past the video isle I had a quick look and I seen the movie. I picked it up and had a quick read of the back and I knew I had never seen it before. I still had a love for Transformers and other cartoons etc so I decided to take the video and see what it was. Two of my friends had said they were not coming round that night so I was all excited to watch it but they ended up turning up unexpected and stayed for ages until after midnight. But as soon as they left I watched Transformers. Loved it.
I’ll bet your parents were thrilled at your staying up until 0200 or thereabouts! Well, I guess it was a saturday . . .
And of course there’s a few recognisable names in the Transformers voice cast!
That’s true LOL but they knew how much I really wanted to see it. They knew I was annoyed at them turning up and spoiling my plans when they only came out because whatever they had planned got cancelled etc.
Aside from getting some videos and renting some and when a friend would bring a tape over that was the only time I ever seen Transformers as they were not on ITV when I was old enough to watch Thundercats etc.
Oddly enough a lot of the Transformers VHS tapes I had came from £-Poundstretchers in the mid 90’s. I can think of 7 0r 8 that I got there. I also got a couple from Woolworths. And some ex-rental copies from the market. There used to be sellers at the Sunday Market selling lots of ex-rental tapes. So many great and interesting titles were got there.
I recall that episode of Cryotek not being comfortable at the party. Is that the one later on where he turns a bit evil. Of course I seen this episode on DVD of him turning evil but I am pretty sure that was the first episode I ever seen of Visionaries on TV.
Speaking of the title sequences at the end of videos that is how I found out about Robotix. Robotix was just a movie but was also broadcast as a series of 8-10 minute episodes. I had rented the tape from the local video shop in 89-90 a couple times but then it vanished and I could not remember the name of it. It must have been 94 or 95 I got ‘The Return Of Optimus Prime’ (from 3-Poundstretchers) VHS and at the end it showed other cartoons and one was Robotix. I instantly recognised the two main hero and villain robots. One of the other cartoons show was Big Foot and the Muscle Machines. I also seen the tape of it in £-Poundstretchers but it didn’t interest me enough to buy it.
It’s no fun being a consolation prize, I know that from experience too.
Aside from getting some videos and renting some and when a friend would bring a tape over that was the only time I ever seen Transformers as they were not on ITV when I was old enough to watch Thundercats etc.
I guess you wouldn’t have been! Under the circumstances, it’s a wonder you have any memories at all of Visionaries!
Oddly enough a lot of the Transformers VHS tapes I had came from £-Poundstretchers in the mid 90’s. I can think of 7 0r 8 that I got there. I also got a couple from Woolworths. And some ex-rental copies from the market. There used to be sellers at the Sunday Market selling lots of ex-rental tapes. So many great and interesting titles were got there.
I think I’ve told you before about having a couple of VHS tapes of Visionaries, one of them the first two episodes (annoyingly not part 3 of this opening 3-parter!), given to me by a friend, the other “The Power Of The Wise” and “Horn Of Unicorn, Claw Of Dragon” - which I got in a shop one time. There were two tapes available, the other being “The Price Of Freedom” and “Feryl Steps Out”, and mum said I could get one. I decided to get the one I did because I knew those episodes were good. The other two episodes, I hadn’t seen. And I was really tempted to see these two episodes for the first time and I’d have loved to get both, but beggars can’t be choosers, and I knew how good the other two were, so I played safe. I didn’t regret it. Certainly, when I saw those other two episodes for the first time, in 2001, I still didn’t regret that decision. “The Price Of Freedom” is good, but “Feryl Steps Out” is a bit iffy on a few levels.
I recall that episode of Cryotek not being comfortable at the party. Is that the one later on where he turns a bit evil. Of course I seen this episode on DVD of him turning evil but I am pretty sure that was the first episode I ever seen of Visionaries on TV.
That was about the last episode I saw for the first time (although technically I read a transcript of it before I saw "Quest For The Dragon’s Eye).
Yes, it is the one where Cryotek turns slightly evil, “Sorcery Squared”, in which he gains Cravex’s totem, as well as stealing first Cindarr’s power staff, and then Witterquick’s. Witterquick’s attempt to stop Cryotek early on in that episode was a rare tactical error on his part, he needed open ground to have a chance of building up enough momentum to knock him down - as he did to the equally strong Cindarr in the first episode.
Well I was about 3 or 4 I seen Visionaries on TV. Sorcery Squared the end of one episode by chance and the Sun Imps episode which I had a bit of recorded but taped over so I only had the last 2 seconds. My cousin who is a couple years older than me though told me about a lot of the cartoons and helped introduce me to some of them. I still recall us watching Sorcery Squared.
Well it was something they were interested in that I wasn’t. I believe they were going out to see some band and drink but I had no interest in the band and didn’t and still don’t drink so I decided to stay home and as luck would have it that day I found the tape and had plans for that night.
My friendship and hanging out with them pretty much finished after High School. We still speak if we see each other in town etc.
Dawn Of The Sun Imps, as I may have said before, is an episode that lives or dies by audience response to the eponymous guest characters. I hated the Sun Imps as a kid and still do to this day, but that aside, I guess it holds water otherwise. A passable episode, albeit memorable for all the wrong reasons. It’s unfortunate that it’s the series finale, and is marked as such by references to several previous episodes. The Trail Of Three Wizards would have been much better suited to closing the series; although that episode is for my money the one that fell most short of its potential. It could have been the best episode of the whole series, as it is, the sheer volume of plot holes make it one of the very weakest. Shame.
I’m teetotal as well - at least, 99% of the time. If I’ve god a bad cold, I’ll occasionally put a tiny measure of whisky in my hot chocolate of an evening.