Monday, May 28, 2012

Blast from the Past #541: March 10, 2007: Re: Mortu vs. Mortu, Re: TMNT149 Outline, and Re: TMNT147 First Draft, March 12, 2007: Re: TMNT148 Outline




Subj: Re: Mortu vs. Mortu
Date: Saturday, March 10, 2007 11:51:30 AM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine

In a message dated 3/8/07 3:27:11 PM, Lloyd writes:

Hey Pete –
 
 Here’s a (pretty silly, but possibly fun) question for you:
 
 Given the future world of TMNT: Fast Forward, do you think there’s a legitimate reason why Mortu would still be walking around in a human-shaped exoskeleton?  At first blush, it seems like he has no reason to do that any longer.  On the other (production-practical) side, he is much more recognizable in his human guise.
 
 Let me know your thoughts.
 
 Hope all is well!
 
 Lloyd

Lloyd,


It might just be that it is convenient for him -- it allows him to more easily interact with the world of larger humanoid aliens. Plus we are used to him looking like that!


-- Pete

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Subj: Re: TMNT149 Outline
Date: Saturday, March 10, 2007 12:17:54 PM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine

notes on EP. 149 outline 


1.) Why are there two homing devices placed (one on Raph, one on the ship)? Is one not enough?
Even though later on the tracking device on Raph is apparently used by the Shredder to track our heroes on the planet, wouldn't it also serve to track their ship in space?


2.) Re: the following:

"As an exclamation mark, another rocket is incoming!  This one will obliterate the ship.  The turtles hustle into spacesuits (as do Stockman and Cody) putting their weapon belts on the outside of the suit and then the six of them barely make it out of the spaceship before the rocket comes down and explodes."

This is a minor point, but I wonder if it might both (a) save us a few seconds and (b) serve up a little bit of verisimilitude if, instead of everybody putting on their space suits NOW, they actually do it when they are first fired upon by the other ship -- it could be a "survival protocol" common to space travelers, whereby if there is a chance your ship's hull might be breached, you have a better chance of living through it if you are already in your space suit.


-- Pete

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Subj: Re: TMNT147 First Draft
Date: Saturday, March 10, 2007 12:37:35 PM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine

notes on Ep. 147 first draft


1.) Re: the following:

"DONATELLO
Hold on!  I’m gonna shake him loose!"

Don doesn't say "gonna"/


2.) Re: the following:

"DONATELLO
Guys!  You might wanna sit down…"

Don also doesn't say "wanna".


3.) Re: the following:

"EXT. JERSEY FIRE PITS – LATER
ON DARIUS waking up in a waft of smoke on a chunk of charred rock…he’s stranded, alone, drifting on a sea of MAGMA.  Then, suddenly, a melted metal hand reaches out of the magma and grabs him – and slowly blends into him!"

Hmmm... this is pushing the believability envelope a bit. But it's interesting.


-- Pete

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Subj: Re: TMNT148 Outline
Date: Monday, March 12, 2007 2:11:48 PM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine

notes on Ep. 148 outline


1.) Re: the following:

"IN THE LAB - Biggles is strapped onto a table, quipping that he just needs “a little off the top level cache.” But as the techies move into position… JAMMERHEAD AND THE STREET PHANTOMS phase into the lab and knock out the techies! Jammerhead attaches a device to Biggles that <zaps> him with an intense jolt of electricity, opening up Biggles’s metal body to expose his primary control circuits! "

It's unclear to me here if Biggles is aware that Jammerhead and his goons have invaded the lab. Not sure if it even matters, story-wise... but maybe it does.


2.) Re: the following:

"EXT. TIMES SQUARE - DAY. All of the city’s luminaries have gathered for this event, and Times Square has never looked better. The Turtles arrive in style, pouring out of Cody’s limo into the VIP section of the grandstand. Bishop snorts, “They’ll call anyone a VIP these days.” Raph and Mikey act like they’re in the stands at a ball game, ordering hot dogs and such while Splinter and Serling hobnob with the stars. Leo and Cody agree that Biggles is a blowhard and a bit of a goofball, but his mechanical heart’s in the right place. On cue, the MAYOR introduces NNY’s Finest…"

Bishop's line here smacks of out-of-character verbal slapstick. It sounds more like a Serling line.
By the way -- have we ever seen NYC's mayor in FAST FORWARD before? I wonder if he (or she... or it) should be someone "interesting" (i.e. someone with some past connection to the Turtles or our supporting cast).


3.) Re: the following:

"Suddenly, Biggles eyes go PURPLE and he leaps over to the VIP section yelling “J’accused” and pointing his baton squarely at the Turtles! He declares that they are all under arrest for “crimes against the city, the nation, and good taste!” (Mikey: “I confess! Once, I jumped a turnstile, but that was 100 years ago, and  I was being chased by Foot Ninja!”) Raph cracks that if Biggles wanted to use the guys for a “demonstration” he would’ve gotten into character, but when the weapons come out, it’s obvious this is no joke. Cody tries to talk Biggles down – surely this is some sort of mistake, but Biggles isn’t hearing it – he points to the massive screens in Times Square and transmits the “charges” for all to see – footage of the Turtles as bad guys – blowing up small moons, heisting from banks, robbing old alien ladies, stealing candy from babies – oh the horror! He’s going to take the guys in and run them straight to Rykers Island!


Opting out of any incarceration – wrongful or otherwise, the guys make a break for it as the Peacekeepers descend on them. A small skirmish ensues as the guys “borrow” a few of the Peacekeeper platforms and use them to book out of Times Square with Cody and Splinter, battling back Peacekeepers and Biggles (without hurting them, of course!) For his part, Biggles acts with the most confidence and control we’ve ever seen, really “getting his hands dirty” as he chases down the Turtles, smashing things up and blasting away at the guys! 


Biggles calls out that Cody is an accessory after the fact, and puts out an APB (Seen on all the video screens in the city!) that O’Neiltech and its assets are now frozen. He is sending a “special detail” to claim Cody’s penthouse – the headquarters of the “nefarious Turtle gang…”"

The wide-ranging police powers Biggles demonstrates here strike me as right on the edge of fascism and martial law, and as such quite out of the spirit of our civilized 22nd century NYC. And that lead me to this suggestion -- maybe this ceremony is not just to polish Biggles' badge, but to do that AND announce that, due to his sterling service AND a perceived need to strengthen the city's defenses against crime, Biggles has been granted various new police powers... powers which he then proceeds to use to the fullest measure (and beyond!) when he launches his attack on the Turtles and Cody.
If we did take this tack, it would then probably be a good idea to have these "special powers" rescinded at the end of the episode.


4.) Re: the following:

"EXT. UPTOWN – CONTINUOUS – Biggles continues his relentless pursuit of the 
Turtles, Splinter, and Cody. He’s a complete robo-badass here, leaping across the hoods of flying cars (ala that battle in Minority Report) and deploying weapons we didn’t even know he had!  (All of a non-lethal variety… so far!) Eventually, hunter seeker pods shoot from his chest that disable the platform piloted by the Turtles. They are forced to abandon ship as Biggles lands on their platform, slicing it in half!"

Um... this is getting more than a little ridiculous. When was Biggles reconfigured as "Super Terminator"? Slicing s ship in half?! How the heck does he do THAT?!
If it is REALLY necessary to have Biggles turn into a super battle bot, perhaps it could be implied/suggested that when Jammerhead invades Biggles mind (back in the O'Neil Tech labs), he also installs some "hardware upgrades"... which could include this weaponry that we have never seen Biggles use before.


5.) Re: the following:

"EXT. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM – CONTINUOUS - A battle ensues along the outside of this striking building (now 100 stories of spiraling goodness!)"

That's a funny image. It does make me wonder, though -- adding that many stories to an inverted spiral would lead to what I think would be a pretty unstable, wobbly, top-heavy structure... so I wonder if it would need some outer-edge supports. Unless, of course, it was reinforced with Donatellium...


6.) Re: the following:

"Leo and Splinter are concerned to see a painful looking TECHNO BOT roll in. Biggles proudly explains that the machine can simply extract information from any built-in hard drive…and reformat it if necessary. Leo points out that they don’t HAVE built in hard drives, and Biggles smirks (with a TIK) as he leaves the room, “Of course not, Jammerhead…of course not.” The robot moves in…ELECTRICITY ZAPPING between its implements…"

Might be fun/creepy if, when Leo points out to Biggles that as living creatures, they don't have hard drives, Biggles responds with an evil look/grin and says something like "No... yours are soft... squishy... inferior!"
I'm not really sure what is going on with Biggles' line “Of course not, Jammerhead…of course not.” Seems odd.


7.) Re: the following:

"The spaz out buys Don the moment he needs to slip past Biggles and leap for the Master Control. Jammerhead yells for Biggles to stop Don, and the Constable <fires> a blast—


-- Hitting Don just as he reaches the Master Control!  Don falls in a heap…


Jammerhead looms over him-- he’s gonna finish the Turtle right here in PK HQ, and no one will stop him!  <THWAKK!> BIGGLES pastes Jammerhead one with his baton, “No one but me, you degenerate hooligan!”


With his faculties again his, Biggles goes to town on Jammerhead, with a little help from Don – and they shut down the hacker for good. "

It is unclear from the way the action is described here, but I have to assume that Don actually manages to hit the "reboot" button on the "Master Control" before he "falls in a heap"... yes? Otherwise, the following action makes no sense.


-- Pete

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