Television
Prepare Your Child for a Lifetime of SF
Monday, May 04, 2009
So I'll assume that after reading my previous article “How to Get Your Girlfriend to Want to WANT to Watch SciFi” you've already conquered that hurdle, and are now moving on with your family. Next up for SF assimilation is your unwitting offspring – they'll thank you for it when they're older.
There's only one thing you need to bear in mind when choosing TV for your spawn to watch:
Sound.
Wait, I'll say it again:
SOUND.
No matter how developed the urchin is, he or she will be instantly attracted by good sound design and great theme songs. To this end, here's three ways to get things off to a good start, catering for the most 'antsy-in-the-pantsy' child you could present:
1. Star Wars
You should probably stick to the first one (IV: A New Hope), as the other 'episodes' have a lot more graphic stuff, that you might not like your beautiful young person imitating – notably, Salacious Crumb happily picking away at C3PO's eyes... I still wake up at night, terrified that my son will have found his way into our room, cackling quietly... Of course, if your child is a little older, you can provide some more of Ben Burtt's (Star Wars sound designer) work in the Indiana Jones films and Willow. On a side note, it can be fun to stand by the TV and read the 'crawler' whilst pointing to the words – gotta get that literacy education in where you can.
2. Haim Saban & Shuki Levy
These guys are the unsung legends of eighties and nineties kids TV, moving between writing music and producing shows. Depending on your taste, and quite how much violence you're prepared for your child to see, there's a lot to choose from:
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (the animated series, not the weird Troma film)
Dino-Riders
He-Man
Inspector Gadget
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
MASK
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (and its spin-offs)
Samurai Pizza Cats
Ulysses 31
The Real Ghostbusters
StarCom
Mysterious Cities of Gold
Saban has made himself a bona fide, honest-to-god BILLIONAIRE from these and other shows, and as much as it's popular to hate on big business... well, I think he deserves most of that cash. Many of these are available cheaply on DVD – go get 'em.
3. Transformers: The Movie
No, silly! Not Michael Bay's boring 2007 Transformers – the awesome eighties Transformers, complete with ecological messages, Frank Welker and Stadium Rock soundtrack! Nothing will bring a tear to your eye quite like hearing your kid sing along to Lion's version of the theme song:
“TRANSFORMERRRRRRRRS!
[in robot voice] ROBOTS IN DISGUISE!”
...yes. My two year old boy does the robot voice. Envy me.
Shall we watch some Star Trek?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
This is the enviable question I was asked the other day by my fiancé. From previous experience, I know it's very hard to convert the 'non-believers', but she is eating up the Trek like no tomorrow.
Now I know the stereotype of us all being cellar-dwelling fat losers, who'd rather play World of Warcraft than interact with the real world, but I also know that's false. So for those of you with partners, here's how I got my girlfriend to “want to WANT to watch Star Trek”.
First off, you need a plan. Don't do anything until you have a plan. It will likely change during execution, but that's where the fun is. Look at it like a game of Chess. I knew from the outset that she had relatively good taste in TV and Film (High School Musical notwithstanding...), but Amy (for that is her name) simply wasn't interested in Trek, so I needed to find an 'in'. A way to make her see Trek differently. This was provided by Babylon 5.
Here are my tips for sharing the SF passion:
- Be prepared for it to take some time before you get to where you want to be. Also, be prepared to watch a lot of 'America's Next Top Model' in return for your partner submitting to boring old SF.
- If they are totally against the idea of Trek, or whichever show you really would like to share with them – I mean if they absolutely hate it – start somewhere else. Hammering away at them to watch your show will only annoy them, and make your job harder.
- Pay attention to the shows he or she likes. If your fella likes watching Football on a Sunday afternoon, make a mental list of 'sporty' episodes – come on, you've got every episode memorised anyway, haven't you?
- If your significant other is a fan of a particular actor, that's a great way to start. Most SF shows have guest appearances, and whilst it may mean they see episodes out of order, who cares? At least they're watching, right?
- Make it easy. If you have the DVDs, keep them as close to the TV as you can, so that when there's a free 45 minutes, you can suggest “Hey – you wanna watch that one with (insert actor name) in?” The best way is to have a media-centre setup, so that you don't even need to get the DVDs out – if it's always on tap, they're much more likely to have a bash.
- Don't be offended if they develop the hots for one of the actors. My girlfriend is going through her 'Riker phase' right now, after enjoying an 18 month relationship with Sheridan, Sinclair and Garibaldi, a brief fling with Fox Mulder, and a one-night-stand with young Obi Wan Kenobi. As I write this, she yells “More Riker! More beardless Riker!!” from the next room. Honestly.
I'd love to hear about your successes (and failures – call it morbid fascination), so drop me a line in the comments below.
Coming Soon: How to indoctrinate your two year old into Science Fiction!
Johnny Rico wants YOU to help in the war on Child Abuse!
Monday, March 16, 2009
As you will come to learn, I'm a big Paul Verhoeven fan. Huge. Massive. So it'll come as no surprise that when I saw Johnny Rico, the Roughneck from Starship Troopers, spreading the message of real life US organisation ChildHelp, I had to look into it further.
I'd like to think that everybody knows exactly how awesome Starship Troopers is, but we all have to start somewhere, right? So for those of you in the cheap seats:
Earth is under attack from afar by 'The Bugs'. A group of friends join the Mobile Infantry, and ass-kicking/romantic entanglements ensue -
or for the more cerebral:
A wry look at the state of world media, politics and warfare, using the device of an interplanetary battle to highlight and satirise the insanity of modern military institutions...
Yes – it can be read on a couple of different levels. I wanted to know how this all came about - Derrek Hofrichter from ChildHelp and Casper Van Dien himself were on hand to talk to us about how the videos came into being, and who came up with the inspired idea:
SR
Who initially came up with the idea of using the Johnny Rico character to voice the ChildHelp message?
DH
The idea came about as part of a few group brainstorming meetings we had here at ChildHelp when we were trying to think up new ways to raise awareness of child abuse, especially to demographics that we historically didn't have much, if any, outreach to. I am a huge Starship Troopers fan and Casper has been a very active ChildHelp Celebrity Ambassador for a number of years, so the idea of using Casper as Johnny Rico had been in my head for awhile. The timing was also right in that Starship Troopers 3 had just released and was doing quite well in DVD sales. After that, it was a matter of talking to Casper about it and he immediately jumped on board. Besides being a recognizable character with a cult-like following, there are a number of other reasons why it works. The Rico character is someone who has seen the worst of what the universe has to offer, and here he is saying that the most horrible thing he has encountered is child abusers. While the PSA's are cool and it is fun to see Casper reprise that role, they also have a very serious message that there is a war that our children are fighting every day…one with a lot of casualties. Here in the states, four children die every day because of abuse and neglect.
SR
Casper, when you made the first Starship Troopers, did you have any idea that twelve years later, it would be so much of a phenomenon that it could be used to promote causes like ChildHelp?
CVD
My wife Catherine Oxenberg and I have been involved with Childhelp for over 5 years. I never would have even thought of linking the two. When they asked me to do a PSA as Johnny Rico for ChildHelp, I said… "But it is an 'R' film?" They said… "No offence Casper, but child abuse is a much harder rating". They made me look at it differently. Our goal with these PSA's is to hopefully get the enthusiastic Sci-Fi fans to put their support and passion into fighting for the children out there who need a voice. Four children die every day in the US from abuse and neglect. Three million reports of child abuse are made every year in the United States. Enough is enough. Everyone needs to do their part. Call the Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD [the equivalent in the UK is ChildLine on 0800 1111 or the NSPCC on 0808 800500] or go to the Website: http://www.childhelp.org/home
SR
Derrek, your last PSAs were by Texas Senator Carlos Uresti - What made you decide to use something so different to promote ChildHelp in 2009? Were you looking for the highest profile property you could work with, or were you intentionally aiming for a different demographic?
DH
It was an intentional aim at a different demographic. The advantage of using the internet to raise awareness is you can come up with different strategies for different groups, as opposed to running more traditional PSA's on TV or radio that need to be more mainstream. With the tens of thousands of new videos uploaded to the internet every day, it is more than likely that your video will just get lost in the mix. So you really have to think differently and come up with something unique, which of course won't appeal to everyone. When targeting a specific demographic, it's possible to have a much deeper impact and conversation than with a broader but shallower PSA – we need both, but this has the advantage of making longer-lasting impressions and bringing in new supporters. Casper's PSA's are the first of a few different ones we have in the works, each of which will appeal to different audiences. For example, we just recently filmed a PSA with NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal which should be released sometime in the spring, and Casper actually directed that PSA for us. 2009 is the 50th Anniversary for our organization, and we view it as a great opportunity to raise as much awareness to child abuse as possible… especially through the use of more 'outside the box' means. When you have celebrities like Casper who are so passionate about the issue and so eager to be involved and to make a difference, it makes raising awareness much more possible.
SR
News of the new PSAs is all over the internet, especially high profile Film & TV sites like AintItCoolNews and Yahoo! (and now SciFi.co.uk) - were you expecting such a massive buzz?
DH
Of course the hope is always for that kind of response and with the elements involved you know there is a potential for it, but the downside to launching an internet awareness campaign is that you really don't know for sure what will happen. Combined with the uncertainty of wondering if it will catch on or not, as a charity we do not have an advertising budget to promote it other than to send out a press release with links to the videos. Casper and the production crew involved were generous enough to donate all their time and resources into making the videos, so we were going to be happy with whatever attention it received. The fact that it has generated so much buzz and awareness is absolutely wonderful and our Web traffic has sky-rocketed with first time visitors.
SR
Obviously, eliminating child abuse is something most people around the world feel very strongly about. It must be incredibly gratifying to be able to make such a big contribution to the campaign - do you think that more could be done by others such as yourself, Casper, who have high profile jobs?
CVD
ChildHelp has some wonderful "Celebrity Ambassadors" Cheryl Ladd, Jane Seymour and most recently I directed Shaq in another PSA for ChildHelp. He is HUGE and his heart is in the right place. He is the perfect symbol in the fight to stop child abuse. It is a Battle. And we will win. Hopefully more will Join Up and do their part.
SR
Derrek - How much input did ChildHelp have into the content of the PSAs - or to put it a different way - did you have to make any trade-offs between 'artistic' merits and your core message?
DH
In addition to Casper, we were really blessed to have such an all star cast work on this project, including Dennis and Robert Skotak who have won Oscars for their visual effects work on Terminator 2, Aliens and The Abyss; John Murlowski, who filmed Starship Troopers 3; and Kevin VanHook, who has worked on many blockbusters including I, Robot and Daredevil. Everyone involved is very passionate about the subject matter and it was always a question of how can we use the Starship Troopers theme to best spread awareness of the issue and the collaboration between all the entities involved really made it unnecessary to consider trade-offs. There was never any question of watering down the core message or trading it off in any way. Even though we were working with some of the top production experts in the industry, they listened to everything ChildHelp had to say and made it happen as it was the core message that was most important. We are also very thankful to Sony for giving us license to use the character and movie for this purpose.
SR
Having performed in many genre films Casper, do you feel that 'crossover' projects like the ChildHelp PSAs signal a new acceptance of Sci-Fi/Horror, as both an art-form, and a valid outlet for serious expression?
CVD
I think for some it is a touchy subject. Child abuse is serious. We need to do EVERYTHING we can to educate and spread the word so that we can save a child today, tomorrow and put and end to the Horrifying statistics that plague our society. I believe that every art form is an expression that helps us to broaden our vision and open us up to becoming more compassionate and aware.
SR
Personally, I think the new PSAs are a fantastic idea, not only because I love any excuse to see characters from Starship Troopers, but because using such popular characters and settings helps immensely to reduce the stigma of child abuse - in effect, removing any taboo, and helping victims of abuse feel more confident seeking help. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what the response would be to a similar campaign in the UK. Do you think the current campaign might be considered 'U.S. Only', or do you think the sensibilities of other countries simply haven't been tested yet?
DH
Unfortunately, the problem of child abuse is global and found in every economic and social level. It has definitely been a taboo subject in the U.S. up until pretty recently, and is even more so in some other countries. Using popular characters and settings can go along way towards reducing stigmas and reaching larger audiences than would normally tune into the message. I don't think the PSA's need to be considered U.S. only, insofar as the Starship Trooper franchise has done quite well around the world and has many fans, especially in the UK. Our organization used to be named Childhelp USA, but dropped the "USA" part a few years ago because we wanted to reach out and help prevent and treat child abuse around the world, and if this PSA can be impactful outside the U.S., then we would welcome the chance to share it.
SR
Finally (and on a less serious note), Casper - are there any plans for Starship Troopers 4 yet - if so, would you be interested in reprising the role of Johnny Rico?
CVD
Sci-Fi Channel needs to be involved in either a Starship Troopers 4 or a TV series and then I would sign up in a heart beat. That would breathe life into it. It would have to be a darker world than Battlestar Galactica or Stargate... but it would be a blast. Maybe you can put in a good word. Maybe the fans can get behind that too!
"COME ON ALL YOU APES........ YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!!!"
Now before I thank Derrek and Casper for their time, and give some thoughts on the validity of the PSAs, I'd just like to touch upon that last part of the interview...
Yes. You read correctly. Get that petition started now, guys and gals! A Starship Troopers TV series would rock my world – and yours – AND CASPER VAN DIEN WANTS TO DO IT! Holy god, we need this to go somewhere!
Battlestar Galactica +
Space: Above & Beyond +
The Colonial Marines from Aliens =
100 different kinds of Starship Troopers flavoured awesomeness!
... but back to the point.
I think it's great that SciFi fans are now being considered as a demographic, rather than a blip - our opinions count for something, and our spending power matters. Kudos to ChildHelp and Casper Van Dien for recognising this. I'm still not sure that UK audiences would accept anything similar, although the Dr Who spots for Children in Need and Comic Relief worked out quite well...
Having trawled through lots of other sites covering the new PSAs, I found many not taking them seriously, laughing it off as some kind of everyday promotional guff. To those guys, I say “What the hell?” Whether you liked Casper Van Dien's performance or not, whether you recognise the brilliance of the original film, or whether you like the sequels or not – is it really such a bad thing that a property most of us love can be used to promote a serious message? I think not. Sure, the first film was a very subversive piece of movie-making, but it's out there now, in the public domain, and it can be taken so many different ways it defies explanation – trust me, I tried to write an essay on it and failed. I wish ChildHelp, Casper, and his wife Catherine the very best of luck -
and HERE'S TO STARSHIP TROOPERS THE SERIES!
