Season Four Conclusion – A Long-expected Goodbye!

PODCAST:

S4 Conclusion – A Long-expected Goodbye!*

SHOW NOTES:

So concludes another season of our podcast “No Deodorant In Outer Space” (NDIOS). This time around was a lot of fun. The inclusion of new guests with fresh perspectives really added to the catalog of thoughts, while at the same time it was comforting to catch up with old favorites as well (including my former co-hosts). For me, the season was a successful adventure that allowed me to pursue more stories with more people. Our discussions were just as eye-opening and maddening as before, and probably four times as enjoyable!

In taking on the helm by myself I was able to avoid most of the burn out and fatigue that was causing some strains in the previous iteration of the podcast. That said, and because of the way I chose to produce this unwieldy ship, I found myself becoming increasingly burdened and buried by the various administrative functions I felt were important to keep things afloat. It was a familiar place and the same one I found myself at by the end of Season Three. However, I had tried to streamline the process by recording an entire season worth of episodes ahead of time and held off the start until that was complete. This allowed me to release the podcast on a clockwork schedule with almost no hiccups along the way. Unfortunately, I did not account for the fact that life would get busier, as it often does, and that the postponed editing and administrative work would soon consume more and more of my free time once things got going. I was determined to keep things dutifully on schedule. For the podcast, I did. Inevitably, my writing aspirations took more and more of a backseat (as before).

I must therefore, again, bid you all farewell. There are no more NDIOS podcasts recorded. This journey has taken me the better part of two years: one spent lining up guests, reading, watching, and reviewing the material and recording the episodes; and the other spent editing and administering the show on a timely schedule. I enjoyed it all immensely! Thank you to everyone for participating and putting up with my neurotic personality while I produced our discussions. My guests were all great and the material was exciting to cover (even when it wasn’t!).

To anyone who listened I would also sincerely thank you for checking us out or continuing to listen to this crazy experiment. I hope it was as funny as it was informative (perhaps, sometimes, neither?!)–at the least I hope it served as a background distraction while you folded your laundry or tended to some yard work or avoided other chores that would have been a much better use of your time. Occasionally, life needs these indulgent distractions!

The future is dark and the stars are infinite. I do not know if the podcast will ever return or in what manner it might. I have had many thoughts on the subject, but nothing definitive. What I do know, is that I still cherish the medium and listen to many other (probably better) podcasts myself. Continue to support these efforts, its wonderful to have so many options to peak our curiosities and entertain us. Keep reading, keep watching, keep discussing, keep learning, and keep laughing!

With that I’ll say… Goodnight!**

-Ryan

**FYI: This episode recording is in small part an inspiration, tribute, and parody of the farewell speech made by the immortal character, Bilbo Baggins, for his 111th birthday party in the opening chapter, “A Long-expected Party,” of The Fellowship of the Ring as written by one of my most favorite authors: J.R.R. Tolkien.

 

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

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Review: “Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather (2006)” by Vadim Jean (Michelle Dockery)

PODCAST:

S4E12M – Hogfather (BBC miniseries)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we take our final curve around the Disc this holiday with former co-host, Richard Mehl a/ka/ Rick, and his wife, Discworld fan, Heather Mehl! 

Right out from under the flapping fins of the giant space faring sea turtle we were reminded by Rick just how problematic and conspiratorial he feels about BBC adaptations. Heather couldn’t disagree more and this episode got increasingly bonkers as it gained momentum coming to a conclusion as zany as its subject. Ryan rolled with the dips and dives holding steadfast and predictably milquetoast in his appreciation for visual works coming out of Britain.  

Despite any misgivings, there was a general consensus that even with, perhaps, a more limited budget and means, this miniseries managed to squeeze in a generous amount of the plethora of satirical detail typical to a Discworld book (Some even mentioned the possibility of repeat viewings for the future!). So, please, kindly enjoy this rip-roaring discussion that should at least bring as much eye-rolling and smirking as it did derision and malcontent.*

-Ryan

*Note: For podcast context, these episodes were recorded chronologically prior to the “Second Variety” and “Screamers” episodes Rick was on this season which were released before this one.

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

“Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather (2006)” by Vadim Jean (Michelle Dockery)

Ryan: 4 Stars “…a lovingly crafted live-action adaptation of an excellent book, which takes the time to incorporate and translate all the nuances of Pratchett’s multi-faceted satire and philosophical humor into a visual medium…”

Rick: -27 Stars “…I thought it was distorted, filtered, sanitized for the capitalist world, sort of paying tribute to the overlords, the producers, the BBC; and I can’t believe Terry Pratchett allowed this version of his story to be broadcast…”

Heather: 4 Stars “…a surprising amount of detail for what they were trying to encompass in the movie…”

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

In this episode we talked about how the author was involved with the production of the miniseries. The screenplay credits him with having it “Mucked About By” him. In addition to that he made an on screen cameo with a character he named “Joshua Isme” who works for a store titled “Toys Is Me.”

The 45 minute documentary about the making of “Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather” entitled “The Whole Hog,” can be seen here”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfkM5Z1ncJ4. As part of promotional efforts for the release of this first live action adaption of a Discworld book the character of Death was enlisted to do a parody video which helped viewers get more familiar with the author’s fantasy world setting. These 13 videos were comprise the “Twelve Days of Hogswatch” which can be viewed at this playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1WfvgLecJE&list=PLs0Ii_i8714OCtpVhB3of-49EIm_Gcorq.

Lastly, the other podcast mentioned by Ryan was an episode of “The Sewers of Paris” with guest Scott Flashheart called “How to be Awesome (Ep. 133-Terry Pratchett)”: http://www.mattbaume.com/sewers-shownotes/2017/9/27/scott.

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Review: “Hogfather” – Terry Pratchett

PODCAST:

S4E12B – Hogfather (book)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we close out the year with a satirical and ponderous fantasy holiday classic! Joining me on this third time round the Disc is former co-host, Richard Mehl a/ka/ Rick, and his witty wife, Heather Mehl, who’s no stranger to this series herself! 

Ryan focused the discussion heavily on the central themes explored by the author concerning myths and beliefs and what they mean to humanity. Heather preferred a lighter more entertaining read of this many-layered work and enjoyed the sharp agency and proactive nature of the female protagonist. While Rick struggled with the protagonist’s motivations, he did enjoy poignant moments of reflection among the lower class members of society on the Disc.  

Overall, Heather, found this novel in keeping with the general high-standard she has experienced while reading other books in the series. Ryan and Rick agreed with their more limited knowledge of Discworld. Like others in the series, no prior read is necessary, and this one is definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for a way into the famous Discworld books.*

-Ryan

*Note: For podcast context, these episodes were recorded chronologically prior to the “Second Variety” and “Screamers” episodes Rick was on this season which were released before this one.

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

“Hogfather (1996)” by Terry Pratchett

Ryan: 5 Stars “…Densely wrapped satire cleverly tucked in around a holiday plot loaf of good cheer, and baked with a robust premise which is both refreshingly poignant and wildly genius—it’s an important Hogswatch on the Disc this season—mind the bells—Glingleglingleglingle!!!…”

Rick: 4 Stars “…like being on a wild and crazy sleigh ride through this sort of kaleidoscopic nether land of Discworld…”

Heather: 5 Stars “…having read more than the both of you put together, of his books, I would say it was very typical…”

(Click the links to read full written reviews on Goodreads.com)

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

In this episode we discussed how the author was reluctant to have his Discworld books adapted for film because he wanted to retain control over the quality and also the merchandising rights. In 2006 Hogfather became the first live action adaptation followed by The Colour of Magic in 2008 and Going Postal in 2010 (both covered previously on this podcast in episodes S2E2 and S1E8 respectively). However, prior to all these there were two animated mini series released in 1997 for Wyrd Sisters and Soul Music preceded by a 1996 short entitled “Welcome to Discworld.” All three feature the voice talent of an actor frequently mentioned on this podcast in the role of Death: Christopher Lee.

Among things that the author did license were a nifty and collectible 3-D “Unseen University Cut-Out Book” in 2006 and “Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather The Illustrated Screenplay” in 2009. Even though he considered his fantasy world un-mapable he did eventually help create some with the “Discworld Map” in 1995, “The Compleat Ankh-Morpork” city guide in 2014, and “The Compleat Discworld Atlas: Of General & Descriptive Geography Which Together With New Maps and Gazetteer Forms a Compleat Guide to Our World & All It Encompasses“ in 2015. As an aside, we’ve mentioned before that there are fan-created reading maps for readers to show various ways into the impressive catalog of stories which encompass this series. If you’re looking to explore, but don’t know where to start here is a an io9 article titled “How To Read Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Series, In One Handy Chart” by Risa Mira on that subject: https://io9.gizmodo.com/how-to-read-terry-pratchetts-discworld-series-in-one-h-1567312812 and an updated graphic here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld#/media/File:Discworld_Reading_Order_Guide_3.0_(cropped).jpg.

Pratchett himself enjoyed video games and licensed off parts of Discworld over the years for such use. The earliest iteration was a faithful adaptation of “The Colour of Magic” in 1986 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colour_of_Magic_(video_game)) that came in the form of a text adventure computer game (Here’s a YouTube video walk-through: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw54uOykjN4). In 2006 this work was adapted again for mobile play as an isometric action game (Here is a link for a short synopsis and screenshots for Moby games: https://www.mobygames.com/game/discworld-the-colour-of-magic and one for Pocketgammer: https://www.pocketgamer.com/articles/001084/discworld-the-colour-of-magic/).

A series of point-and-click adventure games followed with Eric Idle as Rincewind in the 1995 “Discworld (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_(video_game)) and in 1997 “Discworld II: Missing Presumed…” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_II:_Missing_Presumed…!%3F). Another adventure game focused on a private investigator from the Disc was released in 1999 called “Discworld Noir” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_Noir).

That all said, the earliest of earliest Discworld games was a text based multi-user dungeon game designed by fans and released in 1991: Discworld MUD (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_MUD). This game still exists and you can play it here on its official website: http://discworld.starturtle.net/lpc/. Also, in a random retro shout-out on the show Rick mentioned one of the very earliest text adventure games that existed, the cult classic, “Zork” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zork)!

For more info on Discworld games you can check out an FAQ at the L-Space Web (A Terry Pratchett/Discworld website): http://www.lspace.org/games/discworld/faq.html#part1.2. When interviewed somewhat recently the author’s daughter remarked about the possibility of some of the old games being re-released for retro enjoyment, but the prospects looked murky. Check out that article “The Original Discworld Games Are Stuck In Limbo” by Alex Walker for Kotaku here: https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/05/the-original-discworld-games-are-stuck-in-ip-limbo/.

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During the episode we mentioned different documentaries that Pratchett was involved with at the end of his life concerning Alzheimer’s and assisted death. Those are as follows:

• “Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer’s” a two-part BBC documentary in 2009: 
  • • Part One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmejLjxFmCQ; and 
    • Part Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTgqocgY5Ww;
• “Shaking Hands with Death” his 2010 BBC Richard Dimbleby lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90b1MBwnEHM; and
• “Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die” a 2011 BBC Scotland documentary: https://vimeo.com/229120539.

Lastly, we talked at length about Death’s speech to his adopted granddaughter Susan about the importance of myth and fantasy and believing in “the little lies” to be human, in order “to be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.” A clip of this speech from the television adaptation we will be reviewing in the next episode can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUt6sPXQQus.

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Review: “The Last Unicorn” – Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

PODCAST:

S4E9M – The Last Unicorn (movie)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we visit and revisit this cult classic animated film directed by an iconic duo of americana animation (cultivated mainly in Japan), featuring a star-studded cast of voice talent, and spots of dated folksy music with vocals by members of the band “America.” Kaelin O’Reilly, a book reviewer (Kaelin Reads YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3r-oumDi_CsMoFH4-vTqSA) joins me again as we cover this important 80’s esque cartoon fairytale, that as of yet, doesn’t have anything to do with the Disney company.

We both enjoyed delving into the history of these directors and recounting their many and varied forays into animation which peppered our respective childhoods. The attention to detail that was paid to creating unique characters impressed us and contributed to making their efforts memorable along with the voice talent which was well cast. 

Neither of us were over the moon about the music and felt that the songs were done well enough to carry the movie, but lacked something that might have launched this film into the big leagues of all time classics (Kaelin, in particular, felt that sometimes these were done off-key). The book was preferred by both, but Kaelin expressed favorite parts in each while Ryan noted that the author, who served as the screenwriter, took out some noted bits of the book that had felt unnecessary without losing anything of the narrative. 

While Kaelin felt the movie was slow at times, overall she enjoyed the nostalgic revisit to this cartoon style. For Ryan this brought him back to the directors’ soulful versions of the Tolkien cannon which was equally nostalgic for him.

Enjoy this sometimes overlooked fantasy fairy tale of old school animation!

-Ryan

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

“The Last Unicorn (1982)” by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass (Mia Farrow) (animated film) 

Ryan: 3 Stars “…A folksy take on an american fantasy classic, which manages to capture the tone of the original work. Bonus: includes an all-star cast of voice talent who all seem to get it…”

Kaelin: 3 1/2 Stars “…Fun and whimsical film that sticks closely to the novel, features many recognizable voices and good humor and adventure. The songs are cheesy and the singers off-key, but the animation is great…”

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

During the episode we talked about Rick Goldschmidt who is dedicated to preserving the legacy of Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass. Here is an audio interview with the historian on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PsdwZk2uNRo. He has also established and collaborates on websites that sell collectibles from the beloved films which these two directors made their mark. There is http://miserbros.com/ which is “Home of merchandise related to the Animagic of RANKIN/BASS,” and also http://www.rankinbass.com/ which is “The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: Preserving the history of Rankin/Bass Productions.”

Ryan also mentioned a video interview of Arthur Rankin, Jr. at the Museum of Television & Radio in 2003 hosted on the Miser Bros Press YouTube Channel which can be see here: 

• Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuFH0CgOpcI;
• Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZe6OhmPnx8;
• Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COto1-Ur1S4;
• Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uY2J6VbGDs; and
• Part 5: https://youtu.be/UNbU4t4V1Dc.

 

We also briefly talked about the actor and comedian, Brother Theodore, who did the voice of Ruhk (Mommy Fortuna’s assistant and carnival barker) in the movie. Ryan recognized the voice and noted the he also played the infamous character Gollum in Rankin/Bass Productions foray into J.R.R Tolkien‘s world of Middle-earth for both “The Hobbit” and “The Return of the King.”

Kaelin mentioned that he was a character in the 1989 comedy horror film “The ‘Burbs” which was directed by previously covered director Joe Dante and starred Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, and Carrie Fisher (among others). Here is an article by M.V. Moorhead for Topless Robot recounting some of Brother Theodore’s more memorable moments with video clips: https://www.toplessrobot.com/2013/10/top_ten_coolest_manifestations_of_brother_theodore.php. Below is the clip from “The ‘Burbs”:

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Review: “The Last Unicorn” – Peter S. Beagle

PODCAST:

S4E9B – The Last Unicorn (book)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we discuss a beloved classic of american fantasy literature as well as some unfortunate and lengthy legal travails undertaken by its author. I am joined again by my cousin, Kaelin O’Reilly, a book reviewer (Kaelin Reads YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3r-oumDi_CsMoFH4-vTqSA) for her second appearance on the podcast. This is our first recorded duo episode for NDIOS, but the second to be released (podcast time doesn’t adhere to the normal rules of the space time continuum). 

Both of us enjoyed the author’s noted lyrical quality of prose and appreciated the depth of dimension found in the main and secondary characters. The bumbling well intentioned wizard was a favorite. Kaelin brought out some quotes demonstrating the author’s writing as well as his skill in light-touch worldbuilding. He manages to create a secondary world that hints at our own but is very much different with an effective brand of low-magic based in wonder, and absurdist humor that is contrasted by real world consequence. 

After an utterly epic book synopsis that went on far too long, Ryan noted that the ending was particularly unique and powerful and Kaelin identified aspects of feminism coming through. Ryan admitted to be influenced by the highly esteemed praise and love for this piece of literature, but found that there was simply nothing else he wanted from it that might cause it to fall short of a perfect rating. Kaelin said that the more she discussed the story the more she discovered new layers of meaning to enjoy, which pushed her rating higher than it was at the start of the show (an occurrence not so uncommon on NDIOS). 

All around a good book discussion was had by all.**

-Ryan

**CORRECTION: During the podcast Ryan incorrectly stated that Peter S. Beagle wrote the screenplay for the 1978 animated film “The Hobbit,” and possibly the 1980 animated film “The Return of the King,” which were both directed by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass. The screenwriter for both of those films is credited as Romeo Muller who also worked on other famous screenplays for the duo directors. Kaelin had it right when she stated that Peter S. Beagle worked on the screenplay for the 1978 animated movie “The Lord of the Rings,” which was directed by Ralph Bakshi. In actuality, Beagle is given co-writing credit on that screenplay with Chris Conkling who is named first. (Updated 9/17/19)

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

“The Last Unicorn (1968)” by Peter S. Beagle (book) 

Ryan: 5 Stars “…Magical prose that flows in lyrical quality and somber notes in deft creation of a profound myth that is familiar and yet completely unique. Hope and regret and joy and sadness–a complete and wondrous tale…”

Kaelin: 3.75 Stars “…it’s filled with pretty round characters that are interesting and very different, and it’s an adventure story but it also has a really good touch of humor in it as well…a really good fantasy fairy tale…”

(Click the links to read full written reviews on Goodreads.com)

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

During the episode Ryan and Kaelin briefly mentioned working together on a short comedic film called “Shut-Eye” written and directed by her brother and past NDIOS guest Mike O’Reilly which is available on Mike’s YouTube Channel and can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxzJP1cjrjk. Kaelin has her own BookTube channel there where she has done some video blogs on books she has read: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3r-oumDi_CsMoFH4-vTqSA. She is currently more active with her bookish interests on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/KaelinO.

The author for this book has influenced many other authors over the years including fantasy writer Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle) who interviewed Peter S. Beagle at the 2018 SFWA Nebula Award conference. That interview is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shesTIgpibc. On the podcast we discussed how this author wrote screenplays including co-writing the uniquely animated and story-stunted version of “The Lord of the Rings” released in 1978 and directed by Ralph Bakshi. On a side note, Peter S. Beagle’s absurdist humor and playful nod at classic fantasy and fairy tale tropes in this work reminded Ryan of Harvard Lampoon‘s parody effort at LOTR called: Bored of the Rings.

During the bio portion of the Podcast the author’s various legal struggles were talked about. There are a few websites tracking this over various blog posts including a Snopes article which were used for research. These can be found here:

• http://fansagainstfraud.com/;
• http://file770.com/tag/connor-cochran/;
• http://supportpeterbeagle.com/wordpress2/; and 
• https://www.snopes.com/news/2017/04/28/peter-s-beagle-lawsuit/.

 

We also stated that over the years the author has either wrote more tales set in the same universe as this story or about the subject of unicorns. There are at least two which can be found free online. If you want to read these check out the story “Two Hearts” which acts as a Coda to this book at: http://www.peterbeagle.com/works/shorts/two_hearts.htm; and a story about the bumbling wizard, Shmendrick, that was featured in Fantasy Magazine called “The Woman Who Married the Moon” here: http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/new/new-fiction/the-woman-who-married-the-man-in-the-moon/. Two more stories about the wizard (“The Green-Eyed Boy” and “Schmendrick Alone”) and three stories about different kinds of unicorns (Chinese in “The Story of Kao Yu,” Persian in “My Son Heydari and the Karkadann,” and North American in “Olfert Dapper’s Day”) unrelated to this narrative are collected in the author’s anthology “The Overneath,” which was reviewed by Gary K. Wolfe for science fiction industry magazine “Locus” here: https://locusmag.com/2018/01/gary-k-wolfe-reviews-the-overneath-by-peter-s-beagle/. In addition to these, we talked about the early manuscript version of this novel which was released at least a couple times in special editions with commentary from the author as “The Last Unicorn The Lost Version” or “The Last Unicorn The Lost Journey“.

Lastly, both Ryan and Kaelin mentioned being fans of the bumbling wizard character in the book. Ryan compared him to the likable and often perplexed superhero protagonist of the 1980’s science fiction comedy/drama series “The Greatest American Hero.” Watch the opening of that show to get a quick sense of how the two would compare:

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.