Archive for June, 2007

Beneath Monkey Island, Part 03

Based on the Monkey Island games by Lucas Arts, containing characters created by Ron Gilbert.

Excerpted from “The Memoirs of Carl, the Swordmaster of Jambalaya Island: The Monkey Island years”

“And so begins an epic voyage to the far off distant land of Monkey Island. Who knows what dangers we could encounter? And no, we are not stopping for a toilet break!”

Starring:
Tom Negrette as Guybrush Threepwood
Matthew Smith as Carl and LeChuck
Stanley Brain as Number Two and Valora DeCazador

Written and produced by Matthew Smith

“Chica Bonita” by Shaggy
“You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi

 

 Beneath Monkey Island, Part 03 [6:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (864)

Lost Cause I - There’s No Hope!, Part 01

‘The Saga Begins…’

A long time ago in a galaxy basically just around the corner in the grand scheme of things, it is a period of civil war. During the mighty battle, rebel spies manage to steal the secret plan to the empire’s ultimate weapon: the Dud Star, an intergalactic fast food restaurant complete with warp drive and shiny new seats. When they ask you if you want fries with that, I highly recommend you say ‘yes please’.

Starring:
Lawrence Aitchison as Narrator, Emperor, Nearly Dead Rebel
Matthew Smith as Darth Vapour
Stanley Brain as Number Two

Written and produced by Matthew Smith

 

 Lost Cause I - There's No Hope!, Part 01 [5:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (558)

A while ago, when the Tierra de los Muertos 3D movie project was still in full swing, I asked Sallim if he could knock a few Tierra based wallpapers together. Being the slacker that I am at times, I never got around to putting them on Nightlight Productions. Until now, that is. Here’s the first one that he did, and incidently one of my favourites. Death listening to his ipod shuffle.

That’s right, an ipod shuffle. Remember those? That might give you an idea as to how old this wallpaper is!

site note: The latest podcast installment for Nightlight will be making it’s appearance within the next 24 hours. Those who are waiting for the continuation of Beneath Monkey Island, it’s in sight: you’ll have to wait until next week. Hopefully the debut of LeChuck will be worth the wait!

Like quite a large amount of people on the web, I watched Heroes with somewhat an avid amount of attention. Every episode made me interested enough to tune into the next, which is exactly what a television series wants, but I couldn’t help but feel that it turned out to be more of a soap opera show then it should have been. I mean, really, these people have super powers. What would be the first thing you’d do if you had super powers?

Me? I’d go for the cool costume. I’d start making a name for myself. I’d right the wrongs. I’d live for a sigh, I’d die for a kiss. I suppose a few of the characters, Peter most notably, tried to do this (sans costume, of course). But really they kind of took the fun out of it.

Oh, and come on, you’re meant to be superheroes! Over the entire course of the season, no one seemed even inclined to pick up a dumpster and throw it at someone, and there was Nikki clearly possessing the power to do so. Plus if you’re mutating genes, is it such a stretch that some of these people wouldn’t look entirely human?

So here’s my idea for a super hero. Tim Kring, feel free to take notes.

He’s called the Sandman, or alternatively (because Spiderman fans might have something to say about that), the Sleepwalker. Pretty much he’s a character that only has the powers to fight evil when he’s asleep - as a result he isn’t even aware of the fact. He’d wear a sleep mask, and a blanket tied around his shoulders as a cape. He’s got a theme song already lined up, courtesy of the band ‘America’ (I understand you’ve been running from a man that goes by the name of the Sandman). So in a way, he’s a bit like Isaac, as in he needs a catalyst in order to access his powers. Maybe over the course of the season he would actually work out that he has superpowers. Heck, he can even have a dark, sinister side - after all, it is dangerous to wake a sleepwalker.

You’ve got to admit, it’s one superpower that hasn’t been done yet…

Don S. Davis is best known for playing Major General/Lieutenant General George S. Hammond in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, and earlier for playing Major Garland Briggs on the television series Twin Peaks. He is a character actor, former theatre professor, painter, stuntman, and was a captain in the U. S. Army in the 1960s.

This interview was recorded on 29th April, 2007 at the FSF Stargate Convention.

 

 Bulbcast 01: Don S. Davis interview [10:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (490)

Normally, China and Nightlight Productions have quite a friendly relationship. I’ve never declared war on them. They’ve never tried to impose unfair trade tariffs on me. All in all our relationship has been quite amicable - I’ve occasionally escaped with the ‘ris-kay’ joke that could be seen as racist in radio shows, approaching gong territory, definitely be seen as cheap and requiring change from a dollar…

Those days are over. China has banned Nightlight Productions.

This is probably something that I shouldn’t take personally. It was possibly a bit of a misunderstanding, maybe Nightlight unintentionally broke an international agreement that it wasn’t aware of. Maybe it was innocently talking about a certain never-to-be-released album by Guns N Roses in the forums, and China took it the wrong way.

But it’s typical really, isn’t it. Easy to offend, ban first, read forum threads completely later. So what if Nightlight started acting in the same way? From now on, no chinese food from the local takeaway shop. Not even sweet and sour pork. No more products that are made in China. The whales? I’ve suddenly become all defensive for them, heck, I think I might even write a protest song. Right after I finish penning the one that’ll get Paris Hilton out of prison.

It’s not all bad though - Nightlight has now joined an illustrious group of rejected websites, including google.com, the wikipedia, homestarrunner, plus what is sure to be thousands of porn sites. So as always, there’s a silver lining.

But the relationship that Nightlight had with China is, I must regretfully say, forever tainted. Me no rikey, China. Me no rikey.

Tierra de los Muertos, Part 01

Welcome one and all to Tierra de los Muertos, the Land of the Dead: a place of transition between the living world and the underworld, a place where souls exist and work together to repay those sins they committed while alive. This is the story of three such souls, and one terribly lost mortal, in the quest for redemption, treasure, and the Gates of the Afterlife!

Starring:
Lawrence Aitchison as Miguel Huesos
Matthew Smith as Tomas ‘Red’ Encion
Stanley Brain as Number Two
Stuart Moncrieff as Death
Casey Scott as Avegail Cervantes

Written and produced by Matthew Smith

 

 Tierra de los Muertos, Part 01 [6:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (631)

Yes, Nightlight is currently working to a ‘release plan’. Just so that you, the listening public, aren’t entirely in the dark…

There will be four releases a month. At the moment it will consist of one new part (at present that being Beneath Monkey Island), two ‘classic’ parts (that means that Tierra de los Muertos and Lost Cause will be rehashed in podcast format. They’re in higher audio quality anyway, so they’re worth getting), and one other ‘thing’.

At the moment, the other ‘thing’ is going to be celebrity interviews. I’ve got a couple in the can already, and I’m hopeful about some more in the future (I’m not going to drop names though, in case they don’t eventuate).

Essentially, it’s going to be a variety of things, new and old, something for hopefully everyone.

And hey, the website is being updated. Thank the Holy Zebra for small blessings, okay?

When I walked out of Spiderman 3, I quite liked the movie. I enjoyed the action, I enjoyed the drama, we seemed to make a good team, the ol’ movie and audience.

But then I talked to a friend about it. And I thought about it. The more I thought about it, the weirder it seems that I’d like the movie. Sure, there were likable parts, but there were also parts that weren’t so good, and a couple which made it into the ‘weird and disturbing’ category (almost exclusively inhabited by an emo dance scene). It could really have done with a few reels missing. I was getting uncomfortable in my seat at times, I felt like going out and doing some banking!

Then there were all the things that didn’t make sense. There were plenty. I’m just going to list a few, but feel free to chime in with your own in the comments, and I’ll edit this. Because some of this needs to be said.

1. If Sandman was so intent on getting money for his daughter, why didn’t he turn around and sue the scientific mob who had the experiment going and are essentially responsible for him becoming a pile of sand? If someone can break into a house, injure themselves, and sue the homeowners, then surely Sandman has grounds for a legal case. You can’t get an erection when you’re made of sand. It isn’t going to work. There’s something to start you, sandy!
2. Didn’t Peter Parker’s neighbours get suspicious when they saw Spiderman jumping out of the window at regular intervals? Because really, they can’t miss it all the time. Wouldn’t at least one of them think ‘hey, that Spiderman sure hangs around at Peter Parker’s place a lot…’
3. Why did the black space goo decide to target Peter Parker specifically? Why did it hang around his apartment for a few days before making its move? Was it taking in the sites of the city, seeing the statue of liberty, watching daytime television, taking the subway…
4. Did Green Goblin Jr. have a plan to get at Spiderman beyond messing with his love life in a rather lame fashion? After provoking Spiderman and getting the snot beaten out of him (again), that was pretty much it. And what was the deal with the ‘amnesia’ storyline if it was just buying time? The better option was to write him out near the start of the movie with a bit of jail time and come back later, scars and all, but willing to work with Peter for the sake of Mary Jane. While he was in there, he could meet the Sandman. They could plot a breakout together.

Better movie? I think so.