Sunday, October 23, 2011

Blast from the Past #426: September 2, 2004: Re: FW: Premise for 95 ("Outbreak") and September 3, 2004: Re: FW: Premise for 95 and Re: Stuff



Subj: Re: FW: Premise for 95 ("Outbreak")
Date: Thursday, September 2, 2004 12:22:54 PM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine

Lloyd,


Here are my notes on the Ep. 95 premise.


1.) Re: the following:

"Having gathered anything they want to salvage, the turtles move out … only to find themselves facing a mutated cockroach twice the size of a man and very dangerous.


This is the creature that attacked/absconded with the utility worker earlier.


The turtles fight well …


… but Don gets severely racked by sharp “claws” of the roach and is “infected” … although we don’t know it yet (this will lead to infection and eventually mutation over the course of the rest of the season)."

As I suggested in a previous email about this idea, I would like it to be Raph who gets infected/mutated, as it would be a cool way to tie in with the current Mirage comic book.


2.) Re: the following:

"The turtles return with their “treasures” from the old lair and start to fix up the new lair (the castle-esque structure near the reservoir in Central Park)."

I really think that a total break from the old lair and its contents is in order here. After all, didn't Karai tell her minions to destroy everything in the old lair when they invaded it? Why would they leave anything salvageable? I think we're also missing some potential storytelling opportunities where we show how the Turtles find new stuff for their new home.


3.) Re: the following:

"Down in the sewers, the downed giant cockroach twitches and then gets up and moves away.


It comes upon another of its kind and another.  These two new “brethren” see the wounds of the giant cockroach that the turtles fought and then leap upon it in utter savagery as we fade away …"

Other than showing how nasty these cockroaches are, is there any reason for this scene? It seems somehow oddly out of place, unless it is there for a specific reason, i.e. to set something up for later.


-- Pete

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Subj: Re: FW: Premise for 95 ("Outbreak")
Date: Friday, September 3, 2004 11:25:39 AM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine


In a message dated 9/2/04 12:46:24 PM, Lloyd Goldfine writes:

Hi Pete –
  
 I wanted to ask you to reconsider your note about making it be Raph that gets infected rather than Don.  I think it’d be much more interesting to have Donatello be the turtle we turn in to a raging beast.  It’s so completely against his nature, so unlike anything we could ever do with him under normal circumstances.  It’s that much more of a surprise.  Also, if we make it Raph and not Don, then Don is handily available to solve the problem  - - we kind of lose the drama of the fact that the person who the Turtles would normally turn to now is the problem!
  
 No one loves tying stuff back to the comic more than I do, but in this case, dramatically, making Don the monster would work better.
  
 Anyway, that my two cents!
  
 Lemme know,
  
 Lloyd

Lloyd,


I'm not married to the idea of making it Raph instead of Don -- my main issue is to connect it to the comic and to use the design Jim came up with. Okay, I confess -- I want an action figure that looks like that!


To address your comments:


-- I agree that becoming a raging beast is very un-Donlike. However, it's also very un-Mikeylike. Maybe it should be Mikey who becomes the raging beast -- that might be just as shocking (or more so). Actually, it's very un-Splintelrike too! Hmmm....


-- I also agree that if it were Raph and not Don who turns into the raging beast, the others would likely turn to Don to find a cure. BUT... what if they did, and -- he couldn't find one? I think we could get wuite a bit of emotional content out of a situation where the Turtle with all the answers comes up short when it counts the most. That could be a real learning experience for Don.


As I said, I'm not married to my idea. I think it would work well either way.


-- Pete




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Subj: Re: Stuff
Date: Friday, September 3, 2004 2:31:28 PM
From: Peter Laird
To:   Lloyd Goldfine


In a message dated 9/2/04 1:02:38 PM, Lloyd Goldfine writes:

Hey Pete!
  
 Me again!  A couple of quick thingies:
  
The audio on the interview you watched was an UNMIXED rough cut.  All audio will be fixed, music will be added, etc., just like the other videos.>>

Cool. I was also expecting to see that early San Diego photo of me and Stan, which I had scanned and sent to 4Kids, but it wasn't in there, as far as I can tell. No biggie.

<< Re: episode 85, you did not comment on the new Turtles’ lair.  I know that there isn’t much info in the outline as yet, but I do think having the new lair below Belvedere Castle in Central Park is a pretty sweet spot.  We’re thinking that there is an old, abandoned waterworks station down there (along the lines we discussed)>>

I have no problem with the concept of the new lair, though I have yet to see any artwork for/of it.

<< Re: the mutated creatures in 95, do you have any specific ideas or creatures you’d like to see?  I was a bit disappointed by the cockroaches.  I don’t see them as scary enough.  But regardless, we’ll need more than one type of mutant if this is really gonna be an outbreak, so any ideas are welcome!>>

What if the cockroach had the (now messed-up, weird looking) head of the guy who was dragged into the tunnels in the beginning of the show (the city worker)? I don't have a lot of ideas for mutants, but it might be fun to play with different types of bugs -- cockroaches and spiders get the most attention, usually, but what about silverfish, sow bugs, ants, ticks (ew!), and earwigs, to name a few? And combinations of bugs with mammals might be fun -- rats, squirrels, dogs, cats, and even humans. How about a cop's horse? Then we have birds and fish and reptiles...


Maybe there is an overall goal for these mutants, and the goal could be gaining intelligence, which they are doing by assimilating various life forms (the top of the line subjects being luckless humans, of course)? Actually, I just had a thought -- did we destroy the underground city of the Y'Lyntians? Because if we didn't, it might be cool to have these weird mutants eventually migrate there and repopulate it. Or maybe we could bring back Garbageman (!!!) who wants to try to use these mutants to be his new band of slaves.


-- Pete

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