OK, this is a joint project by Trace & the other Trace (who is really sick at the moment, get well soon hon). We aim to get both a synopsis and a review done for each webisode, however my tendency towards procrastination may derail that plan ;-)
Here be spoilers, if you haven't seen it yet then now is the time to leave...
This webisode opens with Ashley still trailing Alexei, the Tentacle Boy, through the train tunnel where John Druitt leans down from a station platform to talk to the boy. Meanwhile a train comes along causing Ashley to have to move and consequently loses sight of her quarry.
We cross to Will's apartment where he is having a shower with his lousy water system. Someone flushes his toilet and gives him a super hot shower. This causes Will to get snarky and yell "OK, who the hell just used my can?" Cue faint one - A big hairy hand opens the shower curtain and Will gives a little girly yelp and faints!
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
A car pulls up to the Sanctuary gates and a hairy hand emerges to punch in the security code and then drives in when the gate opens.
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
A station guard walks down some steps to a train platform, he is filling in a form on a clipboard. He spots Druitt leaning on a support post and tells him the station is closed and "what the hell is going on". The guard approaches Druitt and as he does so he spots Alexei standing behind the post and says "You know what? I don't want to know".
The guard turns around and heads back to the stairs puling out his radio and starts to put a call in about the incident. Close up on the guard and we see a flash of light and Druitt stabs him in the neck (I think) with his cane sword.
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
Pan across a dingy street in the Old City looking uphill to a church like structure, part of Sanctuary. Cut to Will startling awake in bed and saying "I'm so sick of it". He doesn't recognise where he is and gets out of bed (only wearing boxers) and looks about the room. He picks up several photos of Helen from earlier years. One on the Crimean Peninsula and one with boxer Joe Louis.
Helen enters the room and says "Good you're awake" but Will doesn't think that he is awake and goes back to bed. Helen assures him that he is awake and while Will is explaining why he can't possibly be awake, Sasquatch enters with a tea tray and Will faints again.
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
The train guard is chained to a post with his feet off the ground and he can't speak, he is making choking sounds. Druitt is making friends with Alexei,he encourages him to fulfill his desires but that Alexei must help him find an "old friend". Alexei then kills the guard.
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
Meanwhile back with Will, he again startles awake in bed. This time Helen is sitting nearby drinking a cup of tea and remarks to him upon his awakening "My manservant seems to have a profound impact on you".
Helen explains that Sasquatch chose to stay with her after she remove several bullets from him and she added him to her staff. Will is having a difficult time adjusting to the fact that Sasquatch is real and demands his clothes back so that he can leave. Helen responds "As you wish, but outside that door are creatures that make my butler seem like a house cat by comparison. Sanctuary For All is not an empty motto." and then offers him a scone.
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
In a dark rail tunnel two train guards walk the tracks with their torches (flashlights) trying to raise the missing guard on the radio. As they talk, Ashley drops down silently from above with the guards none the wiser. She moves to the side to hide and observe. The guards then spot the body of the other guard just ahead, laying on the tracks.
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
Next we find Will and Helen descending in a huge old elevator. Will asks Helen what kind of a doctor is she. Helen evades with "It depends on the patient of course".
The elevator stops and Helen and Will exit with Helen telling Will "I specialise in teratology among other things" and "Combined with healthy doses of cryptozoology and xenobiology as well. When the need arises". They walk along in an old laboratory, a strange mix of old and new. Will is looking all around as he continues to question Helen.
They arrive in a very large circular room with many rooms/cages running off from it. Will approaches one of the enclosures which is fill with water and has a mermaid residing in it. There are other monsters there as well, including a two faced man (one in front and one in back).
Will seems to be having a difficult time coming to terms with the existence of the creatures. Will asks Helen if any of the creatures are running about free to which Helen replies "Don’t be ridiculous" and then adds with a smile "Exercise time isn’t for another two hours".
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
Helen and Will enter a parlour with Helen explaining that Sanctuary was established to find and help the unfortunate creatures of this world and that she thinks that Will could play a vital role there.
Helen expands a little more about Sanctuary trying to convince Will to join with her. She says she his potential when he was talking to Tolson at the hospital.
She ends with an impassioned plea for Will to "Open your eyes! Good doctors come and go. But the really great ones have always seen beyond the boundaries of science. Beyond the known. The great ones dare to believe in the unbelievable."
The scene fades out with With a scene of the river separating Old City from the New city. It's a dark and moody setting with partial moonlight from a stormy sky.
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
Back in the rail tunnel there are flares and a marked off crime scene around the body of the train guard. From the side, in the dark, Helen and Will observe the scene. Helen says that her quarry must be close.
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
Cut to another tunnel, which Helen and Will enter through a hatch.
Will wants to know how Helen knew to come to the Old City and not uptown. Helen gives an evasive "I have my sources" which seems to annoy Will as he sarcastically requests Helen to please be more cryptic because he was starting to feel in the loop here and they wouldn't want that.
Helen explains that the subject is unused to human contact and would seek solitude in the catacombs. She pauses and then adds "plus I have a Police scanner".
Helen stops as she sees a playbill and picks it up. It is from Drury Lane for a performance of Twelfth Night, a limited engagement by order of Queen Victoria. Helen turns the leaflet over and finds "A5 S1" written there.
Will asks how Helen knew that the victim was the work of her subject. Ashley then walks in and answers because she had been tracking him all night. Helen quips "With very little success I'm afraid". Ashley replies that it was because someone else was down there. Someone tall who moved faster than her, which she didn't think was possible.
Helen reacts sharply to this and asks what he looked like. As they are talking Will spots some movement and moves away from them. As Ashley is explaining what the man looked like, Will discovers Alexei and calls out to Helen and Ashley and then tries to talk to Alexei.
Alexei lashes out at Will with his tentacle and Ashley shoves Will out of the way and rolls back to her feet and draws her pistol on Alexei. Helen shouts out to stop because they need him alive. They all approach Alexei with Helen trying to talk to him.
Alexei lashes out at Ashley which she dodges and will yells out to Alexei and moves off to the side trying to distract him. Helen then shoots Alexei with a tranquilliser dart.
Will asks Ashley if she is OK to which she replies I'm fine. Helen cutts in with "Far from it. This chaos was completely avoidable". Ashley then quite testily tells Helen to give her a break, she's been in the dark tunnels all night avoiding cops and ghouls and whatever and she doesn't need a lecture.
Will at this stage breaks in with a comment about the two of them knowing each other. Where upon Helen formally introduces Ashley to Will as her daughter.
S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S~S
The End
Catch ya later,
Trace
30 May 2007
29 May 2007
MON 28 - Sanctuary continues to Impress
(Yes, I know it's Tuesday and I'm late but it's all the other Trace's fault!! Next webisode day, we'll just plan this post for Tuesday not Monday)
I've just discovered my new Monday night relaxation, watching Sanctuary :-) Monday is the day of the week I hate, yep, me and Garfield. It's the day that rudely curtails my weekend and lately is also a very, very long work day.
I now have my schedule set, I don't care what happens at work, the latest I'm staying is 6pm, barring a huge traffic jam I should be home by 7.15pm. Get home, boot up the computer, put the kettle on, log in to the Sanctuary site and download my next webisode then go and make some dinner.
By the time dinner is ready so is my next webisode. Plonk myself down on the lounge with dinner and watch Sanctuary. Ahhhhhhh a great way to wind down!
I've changed my mind, I'll post this now and wait for RealmOfX to drag herself out of her sickbed to help finish our collaborative webisode synopsis. Gee RoX, just because you're busy transcribing and sick is Noooooooo reason you can't get your wheezey a*** online to help me :D (waits for retaliatory IM).
Anyway RoX and I have decided to collaborate to get a few writing endeavours completed and posted, it seems we are both incapable of doing it by ourselves! Luckily we have a similar writing style and we put this method to great use way back in our X-Files days. So stay tuned for more on Sanctuary and hope that my procrastination does not jinx the intentions.
Catch ya later,
Trace
I've just discovered my new Monday night relaxation, watching Sanctuary :-) Monday is the day of the week I hate, yep, me and Garfield. It's the day that rudely curtails my weekend and lately is also a very, very long work day.
I now have my schedule set, I don't care what happens at work, the latest I'm staying is 6pm, barring a huge traffic jam I should be home by 7.15pm. Get home, boot up the computer, put the kettle on, log in to the Sanctuary site and download my next webisode then go and make some dinner.
By the time dinner is ready so is my next webisode. Plonk myself down on the lounge with dinner and watch Sanctuary. Ahhhhhhh a great way to wind down!
I've changed my mind, I'll post this now and wait for RealmOfX to drag herself out of her sickbed to help finish our collaborative webisode synopsis. Gee RoX, just because you're busy transcribing and sick is Noooooooo reason you can't get your wheezey a*** online to help me :D (waits for retaliatory IM).
Anyway RoX and I have decided to collaborate to get a few writing endeavours completed and posted, it seems we are both incapable of doing it by ourselves! Luckily we have a similar writing style and we put this method to great use way back in our X-Files days. So stay tuned for more on Sanctuary and hope that my procrastination does not jinx the intentions.
Catch ya later,
Trace
25 May 2007
FRI 25 - Sanctuary heads to London MCM Expo
Well the weekend is here and that means that it is only a couple of days to the next Sanctuary webisode. Yippee!! The folks at Sanctuary have released a small preview which I have posted above, I can't wait for Monday!
The London Movie Comic Media Expo is on this weekend and Amanda Tapping and Damian Kindler will be there representing Sanctuary. They'll be available for autographs and discussions about Sanctuary. Apparently the Expo attendees will also get to see Webisode 2 of Sanctuary, lucky buggers. Slice of SciFi have an article about the Expo and Sanctuary.
I wish I could go but unfortunately it's just a tad too far for a weekend jaunt for me. There is also going to be a small contingent of Sanctuary fans attending so we should be getting various reports and pictures posted on the net sometime next week.
It's been a long week and so I'm gonna crash early tonight. Weeee party hard Friday - NOT. Then tomorrow I hope to catch up with the next episodes of Afterworld, even though I'm still peeved at their lousy distribution philosophy.
Catch ya later,
Trace
The London Movie Comic Media Expo is on this weekend and Amanda Tapping and Damian Kindler will be there representing Sanctuary. They'll be available for autographs and discussions about Sanctuary. Apparently the Expo attendees will also get to see Webisode 2 of Sanctuary, lucky buggers. Slice of SciFi have an article about the Expo and Sanctuary.
I wish I could go but unfortunately it's just a tad too far for a weekend jaunt for me. There is also going to be a small contingent of Sanctuary fans attending so we should be getting various reports and pictures posted on the net sometime next week.
It's been a long week and so I'm gonna crash early tonight. Weeee party hard Friday - NOT. Then tomorrow I hope to catch up with the next episodes of Afterworld, even though I'm still peeved at their lousy distribution philosophy.
Catch ya later,
Trace
THU 24 - Afterworld, where'd you go??
OK, I understand when doing something new that sometimes problems occur but seriously a little info to the people you are trying to build into an audience would be helpful!
I think the folks making Afterworld could be shooting themselves in the foot. First they gradually release the first 10 episodes of their new animation project catching quite a few people's attention. Then they promise starting May 14 they will deliver the remaining episodes one a day. They never turned up and no word was heard for quite a while.
Now we have an update saying that there were problems but now they are solved and go to their website to get the eps (previously they had a group at YouTube). I get to the website and it's only available to the US!! Well that sucks majorly. Don't tell me that they are going to follow the outdated and unnecessary model of restrictive distribution. If so, matey's you can shove it!
A little bit of helpful information would go a very long way in helping people understand this sudden reversal of access. Hey, I live in Australia and according to the website we will be next on the release. In AUGUST!!! I signed up for the email notification and did not even receive an acknowledgement of being put on the list. Dudes, this ain't the way to succeed! I'm not the only one a tad peeved, I noticed a few unfriendly blog entries when I was searching for info on what was happening. I managed to find the next 10 episodes on Bud.TV but I haven't had time to watch them yet. I'm not sure if I'm going to bother at this stage if I can't get confirmation that they will be continuing distribution to the WHOLE internet in the next few weeks.
It's about time that people realised that Aussies, Kiwis, Brits and Europeans are sick to death of not being able to see things at the same time as the US. AND we are ready to revolt over being charged up to double for the privilege of waiting. We've had a gutful of your restrictive trade practices. Be progressive and move to a new system or suffer the consequences and be left behind.
One peeved Trace, signing off.
I think the folks making Afterworld could be shooting themselves in the foot. First they gradually release the first 10 episodes of their new animation project catching quite a few people's attention. Then they promise starting May 14 they will deliver the remaining episodes one a day. They never turned up and no word was heard for quite a while.
Now we have an update saying that there were problems but now they are solved and go to their website to get the eps (previously they had a group at YouTube). I get to the website and it's only available to the US!! Well that sucks majorly. Don't tell me that they are going to follow the outdated and unnecessary model of restrictive distribution. If so, matey's you can shove it!
A little bit of helpful information would go a very long way in helping people understand this sudden reversal of access. Hey, I live in Australia and according to the website we will be next on the release. In AUGUST!!! I signed up for the email notification and did not even receive an acknowledgement of being put on the list. Dudes, this ain't the way to succeed! I'm not the only one a tad peeved, I noticed a few unfriendly blog entries when I was searching for info on what was happening. I managed to find the next 10 episodes on Bud.TV but I haven't had time to watch them yet. I'm not sure if I'm going to bother at this stage if I can't get confirmation that they will be continuing distribution to the WHOLE internet in the next few weeks.
It's about time that people realised that Aussies, Kiwis, Brits and Europeans are sick to death of not being able to see things at the same time as the US. AND we are ready to revolt over being charged up to double for the privilege of waiting. We've had a gutful of your restrictive trade practices. Be progressive and move to a new system or suffer the consequences and be left behind.
One peeved Trace, signing off.
24 May 2007
WED 23 - Gadget Geek - Comfy chairs... or Not
Ooops, I just remembered that I was going to check out the new episodes of Afterworld. I'll put a sticky note on my monitor for tomorrow!!
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
Catch ya later,
Trace
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
The Trey Gaming chair, multiple configurations are great if you are limited for space. Check it out at Gearlog
Solar System Chair - uh, no thanks. Check it out at GizModo
Ergonomics to the extreme. Check it out at Aving.net
Catch ya later,
Trace
22 May 2007
TUE 22 - Another Sanctuary convert
I had one of my nieces over after university today and she watched Sanctuary and loved it! I think we have another Aussie customer, she was going home to check out the download limits of her ISP. I didn't watch it with her but I was listening to it as I finished off some paperwork and I found that I really enjoyed the sound track, both the music and the sound effects. I think that Ian Browne did a wonderful job on the music and Title Theme, very moody and fit well with the visuals.
Is it Monday yet? No? Rats!
I came across another article on Sanctuary at Softimage and they have some good shots of some graphics that I hadn't seen before, just click on the photos to enlarge. They also have a link, down at the bottom of the article, to a video interview of Ron Martin (Visual Effects Director) which I haven't seen before. It's about 7 minutes long and well worth viewing.
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
Catch ya later,
Trace
Is it Monday yet? No? Rats!
I came across another article on Sanctuary at Softimage and they have some good shots of some graphics that I hadn't seen before, just click on the photos to enlarge. They also have a link, down at the bottom of the article, to a video interview of Ron Martin (Visual Effects Director) which I haven't seen before. It's about 7 minutes long and well worth viewing.
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
- Shades of Fantastic Voyage! A new form of diode propulsion that could allow microrobots to explore human bodies has been discovered. Check it out at NewScientistTech
- Plasma shield may stun and disorientate enemies. Check it out at NewScientistTech
- Lease an Exoskeleton. Check it out at MedGadget
Catch ya later,
Trace
21 May 2007
MON 21 - Another week to go
Saturday I logged into the chat that the good folks at SanctuaryFans.com had set up with several people from Sanctuary. When I heard that they had 5 guests I wasn't sure if it would be any good due to the limitations of structured chats. It turns out that my concerns were totally unwarranted as I had a bloody great time for 2 hours!!
The guests were Damian Kindler (creator & Executive Producer), Martin Wood (director & Executive Producer), Robin Dunne (plays Will Zimmerman), Emilie Ullerup (plays Ashley) and Ron Martin (Visual Effects Producer). Wow, this crew is a zany bunch and very entertaining. The hour chat was stretched into 2 hours and zipped along, often with 3 or more conversations going at the same time. I'm not sure about the okra references but I'm sure RoX will be able to bring me up to speed on that. I expect to see websites dedicated to Robin and Emilie really soon, and I'm interested to learn more about them as actors and their characters.
There have been lots of articles and blog entries about Sanctuary recently but here are two that I really enjoyed. Over at Sanctuaryfans.com they have an interview with Ron Martin that is heavy on the tech talk (which I love) and is definitely worth checking out here. You can listen to it or read the transcript.
Then over at VFXworld they have a feature article on Sanctuary and include some great video footage of comparisons between green screen shooting and the final product (just click on the pictures). Definitely worth checking out the article.
So, another week to wait for the next installment. I'm not sure what their intentions are for the future but I do understand why they are spreading out the first 2 hour pilot. They are really just feeling their way and testing what the audience is, what they want and what the consensus is on the so called "net attention span". It's all new ground but the people at Sanctuary are proving to be very responsive to the fans.
I'm really looking forward to the next webisode!!
Catch ya later,
Trace
The guests were Damian Kindler (creator & Executive Producer), Martin Wood (director & Executive Producer), Robin Dunne (plays Will Zimmerman), Emilie Ullerup (plays Ashley) and Ron Martin (Visual Effects Producer). Wow, this crew is a zany bunch and very entertaining. The hour chat was stretched into 2 hours and zipped along, often with 3 or more conversations going at the same time. I'm not sure about the okra references but I'm sure RoX will be able to bring me up to speed on that. I expect to see websites dedicated to Robin and Emilie really soon, and I'm interested to learn more about them as actors and their characters.
There have been lots of articles and blog entries about Sanctuary recently but here are two that I really enjoyed. Over at Sanctuaryfans.com they have an interview with Ron Martin that is heavy on the tech talk (which I love) and is definitely worth checking out here. You can listen to it or read the transcript.
Then over at VFXworld they have a feature article on Sanctuary and include some great video footage of comparisons between green screen shooting and the final product (just click on the pictures). Definitely worth checking out the article.
So, another week to wait for the next installment. I'm not sure what their intentions are for the future but I do understand why they are spreading out the first 2 hour pilot. They are really just feeling their way and testing what the audience is, what they want and what the consensus is on the so called "net attention span". It's all new ground but the people at Sanctuary are proving to be very responsive to the fans.
I'm really looking forward to the next webisode!!
Catch ya later,
Trace
18 May 2007
FRI 18 - Gadget Geek - USB Fun
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
Catch ya later,
Trace
- So it's not really fun but rather practical a USB flash drive that is also a dual hub. Comes in a range of memory sizes 128MB, 256MB, 512MB , 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB. Check it out at RealTechNews
- A Rollup USB Drum Kit? Check it out at MobileMag
- A plug 'n play microscope, this digital microscope has a 200X magnification. Check it out at ThinkGeek
Catch ya later,
Trace
17 May 2007
Who is Helen Magnus?
It looks like the Sanctuary people have got the bugs ironed out and people have their accounts fixed and their customer service is swinging into action. Good work people, it seems that as a problem arises someone is tasked with fixing it and it happens ASAP. Yesterday I made a comment on their customer service and today I had word that they are indeed contacting people with problems and solving them. Again good work.
Also they have released a better quality free version of Webisode 1 which I have linked to at the top of my blog. This is a definite improvement over the darker original one but I still recommend that you purchase the HD version to enjoy it to the fullest.
Sanctuary has caught my interest on many levels so I think I'll just work my way through them one by one.
Firstly, may I say that 17 minutes is not long enough! :-) I can however deal with it when I know there are more webisodes coming, unlike my cohort RealmOfX. RoX isn't the most patient of people and is having difficulty with the waiting. LOL Sunshine, off you go and start practising your patience, AGAIN and stop picking on my lousy grammar ;-)
So who is Helen Magnus? What makes her tick?
We were treated to a few glimpses of her in the first webisode of Sanctuary, which give us a few clues but many more questions. We first see Helen Magnus, as she confronts John Druitt in Victorian England in 1888.
It is obvious that she knows that Druitt is killing people and that she knows about his mysterious power. She is confident with a gun and confident in confronting him. She cares and she wants to help, emotions cross her face as she tries to talk him down but she is not deterred in her mission to stop him. Helen appears to accept John's seeming capitulation and relaxes minutely but as he kills Molly, Helen does not hesitate and shoots at him.
At this point in time, I think, Helen is in her late 30's, she is very confident, a doctor and can handle a gun. How long has she been involved with Sanctuary by now? She doesn't seem at all fazed by Druitt's apparent transdimensional jumping (that's what I'm calling it for now). I'm thinking that Helen must have been a fairly confident woman to actually become a doctor in those times but I am curious to see how her environment has shaped her and what basic qualities she has.
We next see Helen in the present day, hiding in an alley and watching while the police attend to a disturbance in an apartment block. When the shots and screams from the apartment are heard, we see Helen flinch and show her concern and agitation but she doesn't move out of the alley to help. Why? Because she knows she would not be able to help? Or because she wants to stay below the Police's radar? Is this her long years of experience with Sanctuary showing? Why was she there in the first place? Did she know there was trouble or was she tracking down rumours of a new "monster" and stumbled across the trouble?
Next time we seen Helen Magnus we jump to a brief hospital scene and we see Helen and a nurse observing from another room as Dr Will Zimmerman is talking to the suspected killer Larry Tolson. Helen and the nurse are quite at ease both with each other and with observing the questioning of a suspected killer. Helen Magnus is wearing a lab coat, is she a doctor at the hospital? She is obviously known to the nurse and has the authority to be there or they would not be observing and talking so easily together.
Helen enters the hospital morgue and the doctor there knows it is her without looking up, suggesting that they are extremely familiar with each other. They do not see the need to stop and talk but continue working while organising lunch together for the following week. Helen was obviously expected but is she a hospital employee or is she a consultant for special cases? And why is Helen working on the body with very little light and no mask / protective gear?
On to the final scene, Helen's first contact with Will. It is great to see the subtle nuances here as Helen gently prods Will to think in other directions and consider other possibilities. A ittle intellectual pushing and prodding with a touch of mystery and Helen leaves Will. I'm assuming she is hoping to get him to a point where he would be a candidate to introduce to Sanctuary.
So at the end of the first webisode we do not know who Helen Magnus is but we have been given some intriguing clues and many questions that I want answered. I am seriously looking forward to the next installment!!
Catch ya later,
Trace
Also they have released a better quality free version of Webisode 1 which I have linked to at the top of my blog. This is a definite improvement over the darker original one but I still recommend that you purchase the HD version to enjoy it to the fullest.
Sanctuary has caught my interest on many levels so I think I'll just work my way through them one by one.
Firstly, may I say that 17 minutes is not long enough! :-) I can however deal with it when I know there are more webisodes coming, unlike my cohort RealmOfX. RoX isn't the most patient of people and is having difficulty with the waiting. LOL Sunshine, off you go and start practising your patience, AGAIN and stop picking on my lousy grammar ;-)
So who is Helen Magnus? What makes her tick?
We were treated to a few glimpses of her in the first webisode of Sanctuary, which give us a few clues but many more questions. We first see Helen Magnus, as she confronts John Druitt in Victorian England in 1888.
It is obvious that she knows that Druitt is killing people and that she knows about his mysterious power. She is confident with a gun and confident in confronting him. She cares and she wants to help, emotions cross her face as she tries to talk him down but she is not deterred in her mission to stop him. Helen appears to accept John's seeming capitulation and relaxes minutely but as he kills Molly, Helen does not hesitate and shoots at him.
At this point in time, I think, Helen is in her late 30's, she is very confident, a doctor and can handle a gun. How long has she been involved with Sanctuary by now? She doesn't seem at all fazed by Druitt's apparent transdimensional jumping (that's what I'm calling it for now). I'm thinking that Helen must have been a fairly confident woman to actually become a doctor in those times but I am curious to see how her environment has shaped her and what basic qualities she has.
We next see Helen in the present day, hiding in an alley and watching while the police attend to a disturbance in an apartment block. When the shots and screams from the apartment are heard, we see Helen flinch and show her concern and agitation but she doesn't move out of the alley to help. Why? Because she knows she would not be able to help? Or because she wants to stay below the Police's radar? Is this her long years of experience with Sanctuary showing? Why was she there in the first place? Did she know there was trouble or was she tracking down rumours of a new "monster" and stumbled across the trouble?
Next time we seen Helen Magnus we jump to a brief hospital scene and we see Helen and a nurse observing from another room as Dr Will Zimmerman is talking to the suspected killer Larry Tolson. Helen and the nurse are quite at ease both with each other and with observing the questioning of a suspected killer. Helen Magnus is wearing a lab coat, is she a doctor at the hospital? She is obviously known to the nurse and has the authority to be there or they would not be observing and talking so easily together.
Helen enters the hospital morgue and the doctor there knows it is her without looking up, suggesting that they are extremely familiar with each other. They do not see the need to stop and talk but continue working while organising lunch together for the following week. Helen was obviously expected but is she a hospital employee or is she a consultant for special cases? And why is Helen working on the body with very little light and no mask / protective gear?
On to the final scene, Helen's first contact with Will. It is great to see the subtle nuances here as Helen gently prods Will to think in other directions and consider other possibilities. A ittle intellectual pushing and prodding with a touch of mystery and Helen leaves Will. I'm assuming she is hoping to get him to a point where he would be a candidate to introduce to Sanctuary.
So at the end of the first webisode we do not know who Helen Magnus is but we have been given some intriguing clues and many questions that I want answered. I am seriously looking forward to the next installment!!
Catch ya later,
Trace
16 May 2007
WED 16 - Sanctuary Webisode 1, great debut
Whew, I barely had time to download the HD webisode and watch it, work hit another crisis and I've hardly had time to myself the last three days.
I loved the acting, I loved the characters, Victorian London was great, a surprise power for "Jack", overall a nice little setup piece that has whet my appetite for more. Much, much more. We didn't get to see much of Ashley but that will come soon. We had a good introduction to the normal world of Will Zimmerman and I can't wait to see how he is drawn into the world of Sanctuary. We saw little pieces of Helen in different environments and I can't wait to see how this complex character is unveiled. I was seriously impressed with Christopher Heyerdahl as John Druitt and can't wait to see him interact with both Helen and Ashley. I can't wait seems to be a continuing theme here :-)
Kudos to the director Martin Wood, I really do admire your work. Wonderful and interesting camera angles and your vision of Sanctuary has me enthralled. You also have all the actors working well together.
Kudos to the whole Sanctuary crew, from Damian on down. I was most impressed with Webisode 1 and I really was worried that I had built my expectations too high but that worry soon faded. Now my next date to anxiously await is May 28 and Webisode 2.
I sat down and compared the free YouTube version, at Sanctuaryfans.com, to the HD one and as RoX would say - chalk 'n cheese. If you can afford it, I say go for the paid version as it is well worth it. There were some problems with the site as they got hit with lots of people downloading and they had a few problems to iron out with servers and the shopping cart. Lucky for me I had no trouble getting my download but for some people like RoX, they bought the bundle of 4 webisodes and then there was nothing to download. I hear that they have fixed the problem but some people still do not have their accounts fixed yet but they have been given access to download.
Here's a big tip for the Sanctuary webmaster - get your website customer service sorted out real quickly or it will cost you customers. You need to have an easily found support service for your Shopping Cart and even if you cannot fix the problem immediately, you do need to at least acknowledge receipt of the problem. Common courtesy goes a very long way.
Overall, only minor teething problems for an otherwise excellent debut of my new favourite show. I'm looking forward to lots more in the ever expanding world of Sanctuary, my new reality.
Catch ya later,
Trace
I loved the acting, I loved the characters, Victorian London was great, a surprise power for "Jack", overall a nice little setup piece that has whet my appetite for more. Much, much more. We didn't get to see much of Ashley but that will come soon. We had a good introduction to the normal world of Will Zimmerman and I can't wait to see how he is drawn into the world of Sanctuary. We saw little pieces of Helen in different environments and I can't wait to see how this complex character is unveiled. I was seriously impressed with Christopher Heyerdahl as John Druitt and can't wait to see him interact with both Helen and Ashley. I can't wait seems to be a continuing theme here :-)
Kudos to the director Martin Wood, I really do admire your work. Wonderful and interesting camera angles and your vision of Sanctuary has me enthralled. You also have all the actors working well together.
Kudos to the whole Sanctuary crew, from Damian on down. I was most impressed with Webisode 1 and I really was worried that I had built my expectations too high but that worry soon faded. Now my next date to anxiously await is May 28 and Webisode 2.
I sat down and compared the free YouTube version, at Sanctuaryfans.com, to the HD one and as RoX would say - chalk 'n cheese. If you can afford it, I say go for the paid version as it is well worth it. There were some problems with the site as they got hit with lots of people downloading and they had a few problems to iron out with servers and the shopping cart. Lucky for me I had no trouble getting my download but for some people like RoX, they bought the bundle of 4 webisodes and then there was nothing to download. I hear that they have fixed the problem but some people still do not have their accounts fixed yet but they have been given access to download.
Here's a big tip for the Sanctuary webmaster - get your website customer service sorted out real quickly or it will cost you customers. You need to have an easily found support service for your Shopping Cart and even if you cannot fix the problem immediately, you do need to at least acknowledge receipt of the problem. Common courtesy goes a very long way.
Overall, only minor teething problems for an otherwise excellent debut of my new favourite show. I'm looking forward to lots more in the ever expanding world of Sanctuary, my new reality.
Catch ya later,
Trace
13 May 2007
SUN 13 - One more sleep!!
I feel like a little kid, are we there yet? Nope, it's tomorrow, just one more sleep to go :-)
Just to whet your appetite (as if anything more was needed) the folks over at Sanctuaryfans.com have a preview snippet of David Hewlett's character Larry and Will. It is just a small section of dialogue but it does seem that we will be getting to see some great stuff from David in a very different role from that which we have previously seen him.
So far I have been very impressed with the glimpses that we have seen from the Sanctuary folks. I hope I haven't got my hopes set too high, I don't think I have but we'll just have to wait a little while longer to see.
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
Catch ya later,
Trace
Just to whet your appetite (as if anything more was needed) the folks over at Sanctuaryfans.com have a preview snippet of David Hewlett's character Larry and Will. It is just a small section of dialogue but it does seem that we will be getting to see some great stuff from David in a very different role from that which we have previously seen him.
So far I have been very impressed with the glimpses that we have seen from the Sanctuary folks. I hope I haven't got my hopes set too high, I don't think I have but we'll just have to wait a little while longer to see.
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
- Caffeine overload, just what I need to get me through those long nights when everything goes wrong at work. A D cell battery like container filled with Chocolate Espresso Beans, Chargers indeed! Check it out at ThinkGeek
- Need a late Mother's Day present? Try these LED roses. Check it out at UberReview
- The "Red Rectangle" Nebula from the Hubble Telescope. Check it out at NASA
Catch ya later,
Trace
12 May 2007
SAT 12 - The New Reality approaches
I can't believe it, we're almost there!! Sanctuary premieres this Monday - W00t!!!! Yep, I'm a happy little vegemite.
Damian Kindler was interviewed on SciFi Talk in a podcast by Tony Tellado. The interview was quite long, 30 minutes, and very interesting as both Tony and Damian are very enthusiastic about all aspects of this new show. There are a few very slight spoilers but it is definitely worth listening to. For those of you with limited bandwidth there is a transcript of the interview at the Sanctuary thread on Gateworld forums or you can find it at the official fansite Sanctuaryfans.com.
I'm wondering how the Sanctuary bods are going to set up the pricing and downloading from the official site? I know quite a few people that do not have credit cards but do have PayPal accounts. Hopefully they will have a broad spectrum of payment possibilities to enable people all over the world to purchase the show. I'm also wondering which sites they will be distributing the free versions for distribution - YouTube and what others? It will be interesting to see the accompanying hit counters too.
I wonder if they'll have any "ratings" type info collected on their viewers to maybe help them target their audience? At least how many downloads per webisode per country type stuff. Enquiring minds would like to know :-)
Anyway starting at 00:01 Monday Vancouver time I'll be haunting their website and impatiently refreshing my screen, credit card in hand, until the first webisode makes an appearance. I hope their servers are set up to handle the traffic.
I'm doing a lot of wondering aren't I? and of course, waiting, waiting, waiting...
Catch ya later,
Trace
Damian Kindler was interviewed on SciFi Talk in a podcast by Tony Tellado. The interview was quite long, 30 minutes, and very interesting as both Tony and Damian are very enthusiastic about all aspects of this new show. There are a few very slight spoilers but it is definitely worth listening to. For those of you with limited bandwidth there is a transcript of the interview at the Sanctuary thread on Gateworld forums or you can find it at the official fansite Sanctuaryfans.com.
I'm wondering how the Sanctuary bods are going to set up the pricing and downloading from the official site? I know quite a few people that do not have credit cards but do have PayPal accounts. Hopefully they will have a broad spectrum of payment possibilities to enable people all over the world to purchase the show. I'm also wondering which sites they will be distributing the free versions for distribution - YouTube and what others? It will be interesting to see the accompanying hit counters too.
I wonder if they'll have any "ratings" type info collected on their viewers to maybe help them target their audience? At least how many downloads per webisode per country type stuff. Enquiring minds would like to know :-)
Anyway starting at 00:01 Monday Vancouver time I'll be haunting their website and impatiently refreshing my screen, credit card in hand, until the first webisode makes an appearance. I hope their servers are set up to handle the traffic.
I'm doing a lot of wondering aren't I? and of course, waiting, waiting, waiting...
Catch ya later,
Trace
10 May 2007
THU 10 - Gadget Geek - Enviroment Friendly
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
Catch ya later,
Trace
- A house spins to face the sun. Check it out at GizModo
- One wind turbine can provide power for 4,000 homes. Check it out at TreeHugger
- Soda can home solar heater. Check it out at GizModo
Catch ya later,
Trace
09 May 2007
WED 09 - Gadget Geek - Water Sports
OK, I'm getting slack with my blogging so I'm going to aim to post 5 days a week. On days that I don't have a commentary on something then I'll just post a themed geek list.
Hmmmm, I wonder how long this will last until procrastination sets in again?
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
Catch ya later,
Trace
Hmmmm, I wonder how long this will last until procrastination sets in again?
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
- For the serious swimmers amongst us, The Lap Track. It stores best lap time, average lap time, average speed, total distance and total calories burned. Check it out at UberGizmo
- Anyone for Poolside Golf? Practice your chipping in the pool. Hmmmm I wonder what happens on a windy day? A moving target?. Check it out at OhGizmo
- I want one! The SkiBob is like a miniature jet ski that can pull you along on the surface or under water at a brisk 12.5mph. Check it out at GizModo
Catch ya later,
Trace
08 May 2007
TUE 08 - Bits and Pieces
On the Sanctuary front -
Spiderman 3 smashes box office records (yes that's plural). It will be interesting to see how Spidey continues to sell with Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadman's Chest coming a close second with an opening weekend of $135,634,554. So, when is Shrek 3 coming out???
Figures obtained from Box Office Mojo
ALL TIME: Worldwide Openings $381,660,892
ALL TIME: Opening Weekends $151,116,516
ALL TIME: Past Weekend Records $151,116,516
ALL TIME: 3-day Openings $151,116,516
ALL TIME: Foreign Openings $230,544,376
Any Lost fans out there? I must admit that I'm a sort of fan. I never got into the first season while it was on TV but I have found that if I wait till they bring it out on DVD then I'll watch it straight through over 2 or 3 days and enjoy it quite well. Since I started my Quickflix membership (DVD rental through the mail) I have started watching a few series this way - Smallville, Bones, 4400 and 24, and I'm enjoying them without the dumb interruptions of commercial TV and logos that block the action.
Lost producers have announced the end of Lost in 2010. Over the next three seasons all questions will be answered with each season being a shortened length of 16 episodes each. Each new shortened season is slated to be shown in one continous block in the US from February through May. The end is in sight!!
Catch ya later,
Trace
- Amanda Tapping has recorded a very brief message for fans over at the official Sanctuary fans site SanctuaryFans.com
- Only 6 days to go to the Sanctuary premiere!!
Spiderman 3 smashes box office records (yes that's plural). It will be interesting to see how Spidey continues to sell with Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadman's Chest coming a close second with an opening weekend of $135,634,554. So, when is Shrek 3 coming out???
Figures obtained from Box Office Mojo
ALL TIME: Worldwide Openings $381,660,892
ALL TIME: Opening Weekends $151,116,516
ALL TIME: Past Weekend Records $151,116,516
ALL TIME: 3-day Openings $151,116,516
ALL TIME: Foreign Openings $230,544,376
Any Lost fans out there? I must admit that I'm a sort of fan. I never got into the first season while it was on TV but I have found that if I wait till they bring it out on DVD then I'll watch it straight through over 2 or 3 days and enjoy it quite well. Since I started my Quickflix membership (DVD rental through the mail) I have started watching a few series this way - Smallville, Bones, 4400 and 24, and I'm enjoying them without the dumb interruptions of commercial TV and logos that block the action.
Lost producers have announced the end of Lost in 2010. Over the next three seasons all questions will be answered with each season being a shortened length of 16 episodes each. Each new shortened season is slated to be shown in one continous block in the US from February through May. The end is in sight!!
Catch ya later,
Trace
07 May 2007
MON 07 - Afterworld
I ran across this web series Afterworld the other day on YouTube and it caught my eye. Starting on May 14 a new episode will be released daily, each running approximately 2.5 minutes and apparently there are 130 in all.
"AFTERWORLD - A new web series about a man who wakes to find all technology dead and the human race missing.....
Follow Russell Shoemaker's harrowing 3000-mile journey home to Seattle from New York in hopes of finding his wife and daughter still alive. His journey is one of survival as he encounters a society rebuilding itself in this post-apocalyptic world. Russell Shoemaker becomes a symbol of hope, a reluctant hero in search of what matters most. This is one man's odyssey of self-reliance, innovation and optimism."
What really caught my eye was the style of the show, very reminiscent of the 1960's show The Marvel Superheroes where there was limited animation. It was great to my young eyes back in the day, it brought to life the comic books I'd borrow from my uncle to read (mainly because they used the artwork from the comics). Afterworld, however, is done with a lot more style and slightly more animation and way better sound and much better graphics. So far they are up to episode 10 and I think I'll go give it another viewing to see if I really like it or not. AfterWorld caught my attention now let's see if it can keep it.
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
Catch ya later,
Trace
"AFTERWORLD - A new web series about a man who wakes to find all technology dead and the human race missing.....
Follow Russell Shoemaker's harrowing 3000-mile journey home to Seattle from New York in hopes of finding his wife and daughter still alive. His journey is one of survival as he encounters a society rebuilding itself in this post-apocalyptic world. Russell Shoemaker becomes a symbol of hope, a reluctant hero in search of what matters most. This is one man's odyssey of self-reliance, innovation and optimism."
What really caught my eye was the style of the show, very reminiscent of the 1960's show The Marvel Superheroes where there was limited animation. It was great to my young eyes back in the day, it brought to life the comic books I'd borrow from my uncle to read (mainly because they used the artwork from the comics). Afterworld, however, is done with a lot more style and slightly more animation and way better sound and much better graphics. So far they are up to episode 10 and I think I'll go give it another viewing to see if I really like it or not. AfterWorld caught my attention now let's see if it can keep it.
Hey everyone! It is just one more week until Sanctuary debuts on the internet. I can't wait!
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
- A look at Europe's first commercially operating power station using solar power and steam. Check it out at BBC News
- eek! It's a giant spider. No, it's a rescue Bot!! Check it out at Electro Plankton
- A great gift idea - a digital photo keychain. It has a 1.4" LCD, 8MB of memory and can store up to 56 photos. Check it out at SkyMall
Catch ya later,
Trace
04 May 2007
FRI 04 - Sanctuary Roundup
News of Sanctuary is popping up all over the net as the premiere date draws closer. Most recently on Slice of SciFi Podcast #107 and AintItCoolNews. Apparently it also got a mention in an interview with Joseph Mallozzi (Stargate Exec) but i haven't had a chance to snag that interview yet (I may have to con RealmOfX into doing a transcript for me).
RoX did a transcript of the Slice of SciFi Sanctuary news item and it can be found over at Sanctuaryfans.com, but I do recommend checking out the complete podcast if you are into scifi. I really like Slice of SciFi as they cover a broad range of things in the scifi and entertainment area and produce a great weekly show comprising news items, what's coming in the near future and a 15 minute interview with the guest of the week. The show is always entertaining and I do highly recommend it.
RoX and I were discussing how we were going to watch Sanctuary. RoX has her TV hooked up to her LAN and has chosen to watch in wide screen comfort with surround sound. Whilst I have a pretty decent setup at my computer and may just watch it there, 21 inch screen, 5.1 speaker system and very comfy chair. Though I may wait to get all parts of the pilot and join them together and then watch it on my 76cm widescreen TV. I hear other people have been downloading to their iPods and playing it back on their TV's. I'm sure that whatever choice people make for viewing Sanctuary that we are all in for a real treat!
Roll on May 14 :-)
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
Catch ya later,
Trace
RoX did a transcript of the Slice of SciFi Sanctuary news item and it can be found over at Sanctuaryfans.com, but I do recommend checking out the complete podcast if you are into scifi. I really like Slice of SciFi as they cover a broad range of things in the scifi and entertainment area and produce a great weekly show comprising news items, what's coming in the near future and a 15 minute interview with the guest of the week. The show is always entertaining and I do highly recommend it.
RoX and I were discussing how we were going to watch Sanctuary. RoX has her TV hooked up to her LAN and has chosen to watch in wide screen comfort with surround sound. Whilst I have a pretty decent setup at my computer and may just watch it there, 21 inch screen, 5.1 speaker system and very comfy chair. Though I may wait to get all parts of the pilot and join them together and then watch it on my 76cm widescreen TV. I hear other people have been downloading to their iPods and playing it back on their TV's. I'm sure that whatever choice people make for viewing Sanctuary that we are all in for a real treat!
Roll on May 14 :-)
The geek in me came across a few interesting things recently :
- The 6th season of Angel is to continue in comic book form from Dark Horse. Check it out at Slice of SciFi
- DocuPen scanner, a breakthrough in portable scanning devices. I sure could have used one of these at University. Check it out at PopGadget
- Desktop arcade machine, definitely fits my nostalgia mood. Check it out at Gizmodo
Catch ya later,
Trace
01 May 2007
TUE 01 - Very Impressed
The Sanctuary preview is great! I'm even more looking forward to the premiere now. So far most of the green screen elements have been excellent but I must admit there were two things that screamed "game" to me and that was the mermaid type creature and one of the cars (the dark one), every thing else was quite believable. Now I'm not saying that they were bad, far from it, just that they had a different "look" to them. Of course I must mention that I'm used to picking things apart visually as I digitally restore photos and comics in my spare time and I look at things in minute detail.
So apart from those two very minor things, everything else was great. I really liked visually the bit on the old London street, excellent graphics and the lighting / mood was terrific. The opening scene was tops too in the old part of town with Helen and Will, the rain and the background visuals were excellent.
And speaking of excellent - Amanda Tapping!!! WOW! I am soooooooo looking forward to seeing how Damian and Amanda bring the character of Helen Magnus to life. I think we are in for a real treat here with a very multi layer character. Amanda was incredible with the few scenes we saw her in, a new look, a new accent and a new character with lots of potential to demonstrate just how good an actress she really is.
At the moment I'm thinking "bugger!". The webisodes are only around 15 minutes long and will come out every few weeks. How on earth are we going to manage to wait!!
In this day and age of instant gratification I think some people will find it hard to adjust to the delivery style whilst others are going to be kicked back to the dim dark days of the old time serials where each episode is highly anticipated and then treasured once viewed.
Roll on May 14!
The preview can be found at the Sanctuary website and also check out the Welcome message from Amanda Tapping. For those of you with limited web access or slow computers you can view the lower quality YouTube preview right here.
Catch ya later,
Trace
So apart from those two very minor things, everything else was great. I really liked visually the bit on the old London street, excellent graphics and the lighting / mood was terrific. The opening scene was tops too in the old part of town with Helen and Will, the rain and the background visuals were excellent.
And speaking of excellent - Amanda Tapping!!! WOW! I am soooooooo looking forward to seeing how Damian and Amanda bring the character of Helen Magnus to life. I think we are in for a real treat here with a very multi layer character. Amanda was incredible with the few scenes we saw her in, a new look, a new accent and a new character with lots of potential to demonstrate just how good an actress she really is.
At the moment I'm thinking "bugger!". The webisodes are only around 15 minutes long and will come out every few weeks. How on earth are we going to manage to wait!!
In this day and age of instant gratification I think some people will find it hard to adjust to the delivery style whilst others are going to be kicked back to the dim dark days of the old time serials where each episode is highly anticipated and then treasured once viewed.
Roll on May 14!
The preview can be found at the Sanctuary website and also check out the Welcome message from Amanda Tapping. For those of you with limited web access or slow computers you can view the lower quality YouTube preview right here.
Catch ya later,
Trace
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
