Questions and Answers

I believe that was the reason for Highlander III: The Apology.

The original BSG was fun but not for the reasons of the new BSG. The old one was great for the banter between Apolo, Starbuck and Boomer. Some of the later episodes suffered from hurried production times and lack of budget but still as long as you remember to be a bit generous about the special effects it is still fun to watch. The new one has not suffered a lack of anything and is therefore in a whole different league.

The only pre 80s movie I can think of off the top of my head which has effects that still stand up decently are 2001: A Space Odessy. The style is old fashioned but the effects are still good because you don't notice them. Of course the plot seemed very slow and boring when I watched it recently, but still a classic.

Sequels are always hard to do. I can think of only 2 that were as good (or better) than the original. Star Trek 2:The Wrath of Kahn and The Empire Strikes Back.

Yup. I think the new BSG was the first show since Farscape that I made it a point to see every single episode as it aired. Damn fine show! I think Starbuck is my favorite character in both versions.

( I didn't know about Firefly until Dragoncon 2007 so I had to Netflix those )

Godfather 2 was excellent.

Ever watch Blake's Seven? British space opera kinda/sorta a little bit like a noir version of Robin Hood. With space ships.

I don't think I ever have, but..... I just Googled it. Looks pretty rad. Have to look for it on the Web tomorrow.

Being British I saw all of Blakes 7 when it aired on UK TV originally. It was a pretty ground breaking series with good characters, though it lost alot after the end of series 2 when two of the lead characters left the show as well as the loss of one of the cool spaceship they were travelling round in.

On the subject of sequals the Colour of Money was another that matches its original (The Sting) and Aliens I think is possibly better than the original.

The Color of Money is a sequel but not to The Sting. I think it was to Cool Hand Luke.

Dracula's Daughter was in many ways superior to the Lugosi film.

You're right it wasn't The Sting it was actually The Huster. I got one word right out of the two.

Duh! Right! The Hustler. Thanks!

First, hopefully all the Highlander fans got the director's cut of the original movie with the restored scenes. It adds a lot. The director's cut of II improved the original as you mentioned by eliminating the alien foolishness. Not great but watchable.

I think the original Highlander movie is awesome if dated - compare the slow-moving swordfights with some of the awesome bladework by Adrian Paul in the TV series, for example - but there's still a lot to like. It practically invented the "immortal flashback" technique so often used today. There's a lot of pathos, such as when Heather dies, there's the soundtrack, and the cinematography is still exceptional - the sweeping camera shots, the night scenes of lightning and water - reminds me a lot of Bladerunner, actually.

The series had some really good episodes too...while I acknowledge the cheesiness in spots, there were some really good stories and actors in there, including Roger Daltrey from The Who, for example.

Yeah, it is still a fun movie. But I think it would be a hard sell to show it to an adult today who had never watched it in their youth.

As for the TV series I am sad to admit I was a huge fan. Adrian Paul was badass.

I enjoyed the show, a lot. My brother met Adrian Paul once, said he was a very nice guy.

Ah, but be still my heart in thinking of Elizabeth Ward Gracen aka Amanda.

Re: sequels that were as good as, or better than, the original.

2010: The Odyssey Continues - The effects were better, the pacing was quicker, and it had actual characters interacting. John Lithgow making his first spacewalk still gives me the chills.

Terminator 2 - It's the only one I watch again and again. (I might watch Salvation again, at some point.)

Re: Highlander

I'm a big fan of the show. Big fan. I don't include the movies based on the show in my hatred of the Highlander movies, though The Source was an abominable pile of shite for other reasons.

When I was in Paris this past summer, I had to visit the spot on the Seine where Duncan's houseboat was moored. And when I stopped over in NYC on my way back from Europe, I managed to catch a shot of the Silverlight building, where the original film's climactic fight scene was supposed to have been. If I were really geeky, I might head up to Reena's Vancouver and wander the streets trying to recognize spots from the show, though.

In my Vampire: the Dark Ages game, I'd considered allowing the Highlander rules to be allowed. But I'm not sure that I want to deal with adding all of the other stuff from that universe to mine... Watchers were cool, but if they existed they'd be looking at long-lived Vampires too, and that would complicate things immensely. Still, I love that someone worked out rules for the show as just a fan page.

My VTM game evolved into a VTM/Amber/Highlander/whateverimmortalebeingyoucanthinkof game...as long as the roleplaying was good who cared?

Aiden wrote: I don't think I ever have, but..... I just Googled it. Looks pretty rad. Have to look for it on the Web tomorrow.

Found Blake 7 online. Had to download a DiVX player to watch it. Like the Logan's Run kinda feel of the first episode. How cool would it be to work in the prop shop for a show like that?

Blake's 7 was pretty cool show. I watched the occasional episode when I was younger but a few years ago I watched the whole run. It does loose something in the final season and their are a few bum episodes in the run, but on the whole I liked it. There were rumours of a 'Next Gen' sequel series but it's been a while since I saw any update on it.

The wife and the in-laws are all about Blake's 7. I couldn't really get past the early Dr. Who special effects to enjoy the story. It's a shame, too. When she told me the story, it sounded interesting.

Some questions stolen from the Amber list:

Are there planets sharing a solar system with Amber?

If so, are they the same "set" as Earth's solar system or different ones?

Are there mythologies associated with such planets? Do they behave by ordinary laws of physics?

If they believe in the results of Tarot card readings, especially with a variable number of major arcana, why not believe in astrology?

Also since several characters talk about earning money 'finding' things and Karlsen has a business, does Amber work on paper money? Or gold, silver, copper? I don't remember if they use coins or bills in the books.

Yeah, but the Tarots work, at least the ones the Amberite Royals use.

I would assume that Amber uses a series of coins, but also use a paper currency or letters of credit for larger amounts. Actually, that could be rather fun deciding what kinds of coins Amber uses...!

Penny. Half-pence. Crown. Galleon. Unicorn. Scepter. Ducat. Sovereign. Etc.

My suspicion is that traditional gold and silver are quite inflated. For example, a 1-ounce gold coin today would be worth 1600-ish bucks - call it 400 beers at a bar for comparison. I doubt you could get 400 beers for 1 ounce of gold in Amber. In my Amber, let's say 10. Makes gold worth 40 times less than on Earth, roughly, because it's much easier to come by from shadow. Money tends to flow toward the center. So an ounce of gold might be worth about 40 bucks in today's parlance. An ounce of silver, about 1 of today's dollars.

I'd be interested to hear the GM's info on how his Amber's money functions, rough worth of gold and silver, etc.

Yeah, well until it comes up in game or I take a class in money, you might have to wait a long time. Lets just say I think the money system lacks much inflation and methinks the economy of Amber probably resembles that of the late Renaissance (in very general terms).

Any thoughts on Amber's Solar System or lack of same?

Look! Pretty lights in the sky!