There and back again; a Neverending Tale. Neverending Nights

[Rath Darkblade]

One of the people in line says "I heard this is run by Peter and Grayson, these two losers from Neverwinter."

So ... who has Grayson married, again? I think I lost track.

Er ... Grayson's talking about "that thing you can do with a banana"? What the *heck* is he talking about? Or is that an in-joke?

Alan the Astounding! Back again!

Alan thinks that Peter and Grayson are friends-with-benefits? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Alan the Astounding channels Seinfeld? I presume pretty soon that Grayson's going to kill him.

Alan was going to turn Grayson and Peter into newts. Would they have gotten better? *snerk*

So where's Pawl?

Heh. The fact that Peter uses the word "claustrophobic" concerns Grayson, does it?

Peter & Yvette get together ... and go off on a dangerous mission without telling the others. Nice to see Peter founds his courage!

Thanks, Tawm! It's been a very fun ride.

[Tawmis]

One of the people in line says "I heard this is run by Peter and Grayson, these two losers from Neverwinter."

Yeah - I had originally (back when I first did this) wanted to record a scene with a long line waiting outside the tavern. And forgot to do it. This time I did it.
And what I did is I used lines from all these people who voiced characters and just stacked them on top of each other to make a cluttered "crowd" sound (so, for example, if you listen close you can hear Jules say, "He's so dreamy" which was a line she'd said about Peter previously - you can hear Al Lowe a few times - and others). Once I had a sufficient amount of noise - I recorded some lines over it, making it a little louder than the other voices to intentionally be heard. That line was one of them. There's also another line, if you listen, that lets you know Alan is there before he appears - my voice, pitched up, can be heard saying, "Did anyone see that rude halfling in green robes pushing his way through?" (or something along those lines).

So ... who has Grayson married, again? I think I lost track.

First marriage. He'd been dating Ruth, when he broke up with her, because she went a little crazy and threatened his "Mr. Snuggles" (I believe it was called).

Er ... Grayson's talking about "that thing you can do with a banana"? What the *heck* is he talking about? Or is that an in-joke?

This goes back to Episode 05. When we were writing the episode, we wanted a random name for the town. A little spun a globe and put our finger on it till it stopped. It stopped on "Galana" (which is apparently a river in Kenya, or something). So while writing it, I started humming, "There's this girl, from Galana, the things she could do with a banana" to the beat of Copacabana. We ended up writing it into the episode as a throw away line - but I ended up going back and referencing it a few times in the series.

Alan the Astounding! Back again!
Alan thinks that Peter and Grayson are friends-with-benefits? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Alan the Astounding channels Seinfeld? I presume pretty soon that Grayson's going to kill him.
Alan was going to turn Grayson and Peter into newts. Would they have gotten better? *snerk*

Yes. It was surprising - the line Grayson says about "There's someone I never thought I'd see again" was a reference to we never see Chad (who voiced Alan). Chad got busy with life, which is why his role - which was to originally be Andrea/Ruth's side kick during her "evil" phase - was supposed to be Alan (she finds him passed out and hires him). However, because of Chad's schedule - we ended up creating a new character, who was similar and had ties to Alan the Astounding, and made Daniel the Destructive and had our friend Mario voice him.

So where's Pawl?

Grayson answers that. He mentions Pawl is back at the mountain (in Episode 63, where they go to the Forge of Eternal Flame, he says if they win he will return there and lead his people back to the mountain).

Peter & Yvette get together ... and go off on a dangerous mission without telling the others. Nice to see Peter founds his courage!
Thanks, Tawm! It's been a very fun ride.

Annette, but yes. The idea was to leave it open in the event we did do more. I already had an opening written. It would start, similar to how the show Supernatural has a scene (because I love referencing things I love - and other than like one season, I pretty much thoroughly enjoyed Supernatural's long run). It would be where Pawl the Dorf would come find Grayson and say, “I need to talk to you in private” and Grayson would reply (with Ruth next to him), “Anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of her.” And Pawl the Dorf replies, “Peter’s on a … hunting trip and he hasn’t been home in a few days.” Grayson would turn and say, “Ruth, excuse us.” And then the following season kicks off. The Supernatural scene reference. Pawl and Grayson would go off to find Peter, while Peter & Anette, were out trying to help the goblins.

That, unfortunately, never came to be.

[Rath Darkblade]

So ... who has Grayson married, again? I think I lost track.

First marriage. He'd been dating Ruth, when he broke up with her, because she went a little crazy and threatened his "Mr. Snuggles" (I believe it was called).

Oh my. This wasn't a reference to Lorena Bobbitt, was it?

So where's Pawl?

Grayson answers that. He mentions Pawl is back at the mountain (in Episode 63, where they go to the Forge of Eternal Flame, he says if they win he will return there and lead his people back to the mountain).

OK, I think I missed that.

[Tawmis]

So ... who has Grayson married, again? I think I lost track.

First marriage. He'd been dating Ruth, when he broke up with her, because she went a little crazy and threatened his "Mr. Snuggles" (I believe it was called).

Oh my. This wasn't a reference to Lorena Bobbitt, was it?

No, Fatal Attraction reference (where the crazy woman cooks the pet rabbit).

So where's Pawl?

Grayson answers that. He mentions Pawl is back at the mountain (in Episode 63, where they go to the Forge of Eternal Flame, he says if they win he will return there and lead his people back to the mountain).

OK, I think I missed that.

It's right around here in Episode 65.

[Tawmis]

All too often the music that Travis Richards provided for us, beginning in Season 2, was often mixed at a low volume to ensure the voice actor lines are clearly heard. I thought it would be great to now use footage from Neverending Nights to highlight his music and remove the speaking lines.
This video is for the villain of the first two seasons - Andrea the Assassin.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm ... the music has a very 90s-adventure "feel". (Not very surprising, since I think this was made in the late 90s? And here I am, finally seeing it for the first time, about 20 years later).

[Tawmis]

Hmm ... the music has a very 90s-adventure "feel". (Not very surprising, since I think this was made in the late 90s? And here I am, finally seeing it for the first time, about 20 years later).

Well, the game itself Neverwinter Nights didn't come out until 2002. So it was post 90s.
The original version of our show began in 2004. We finished the original 65 episodes in 2013.
In 2015, I went back - starting with the first episode, and redid the filming, cleaned up the audio, and just finished the HD 65th episode in 2021. (I can't believe it's been six years - even for the remakes!)

But all of that said - going back to the music - Travis was recruited in Season 2, which would have been around 2005 or 2006.

But we wanted that over the top dramatic type fantasy music that Travis did - that's what we were going for.

I have about 40 songs he'd done for us that I will be releasing music videos for, just using footage from the show, to highlight the often overlooked music.

[Rath Darkblade]

Whoops! NWN is more recent than I thought.

When I say '90s-adventure "feel"', I meant that it reminded me of music from 'fantasy' or 'adventure' movies, like Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Labyrinth, Conan -- stuff like that.

[goatmeal]

Whoops! NWN is more recent than I thought.

When I say '90s-adventure "feel"', I meant that it reminded me of music from 'fantasy' or 'adventure' movies, like Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Labyrinth, Conan -- stuff like that.

Those movies were from the '80s*.

*Well, except for BTTF3 (May 1990)

[Rath Darkblade]

Not necessarily. There was a Conan the Barbarian made in 2011, and an Indiana Jones film (The Crystal Skull) made in 2008.

At any rate, film music (at least the theme music) hardly ever changes. The same iconic IJ music from the 80s was still used in the 2000s. Of course, music used in various scenes (or incidental music) changes from film to film, but the exciting "Indiana Jones theme" is iconic and never changes.

Maybe I'm thinking about 80s movies because that was the era when I was growing up, and first introduced to adventure films and fantasy films.

[goatmeal]

Fair enough.

Most of my music collection is movie scores, and you are spot on: the late '70s through the '80s really set the tone for the last 40–45 years.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm. So what happened to movie music before the 70s? *curious* My knowledge of such things is selective, it's true, but as far as I know:

The late 30s, 40s and 50s.
This period was the golden age of film noir - big bands, mournful saxophones, clarinets, that sort of thing. Alfred Hitchcock's films, and film adaptations of novels by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, feature heavily. (Think "The Maltese Falcon", "The Big Sleep", and other classics).

If you're not into film noir (which I am), the same period also saw the rise of the Biblical motion picture, so HUGE epics like Ben Hur and the Ten Commandments, with sweeping orchestrations and cinematography, and casts of thousands.

The same period is also famous for adventure films, like "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (with Errol Flynn), or "Mutiny on the Bounty" (with Charles Laughton).

The 60s.
This decade saw the rise of both spaghetti westerns (especially with Clint Eastwood) and screwball comedies (think "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World").

The 70s.
This decade is famous for the Blaxploitation movement (1971-6); the "Shaft" films (1972 and 1973) are particularly memorable from that decade. "Blazing Saddles" (1974) also comes from the same time, but it is much less a Blaxploitation film and more a fun parody of spaghetti westerns.

I'm not sure what happened to movie music after Blaxploitation ended. Can you fill me in, please? Oh, and am I right with the above? Just wondering.

[goatmeal]

I'd venture a guess that the '70s are known more for the dawn of the "Big Budget Blockbuster" (mid-to-late '70s) than for the subgenre of Blaxploitation movies.

The blockbusters tended to focus on large orchestral scores with recurring leit motifs, like Star Wars, Jaws, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, Superman, etc. (and yes, I know they are all John Williams-scored films)...

Not to say that scores prior to that _didn't_ have these elements (as you so astutely mentioned above); it's just that the more jazzy scores of the '60s or avant guard sci-fi scores of early '70s simply went out of style, I suppose.

Plus, like you, the era I grew-up in informed my musical tastes; hence my focus on scores from the late '70s through the early '90s.

[Rath Darkblade]

I'd venture a guess that the '70s are known more for the dawn of the "Big Budget Blockbuster" (mid-to-late '70s) than for the subgenre of Blaxploitation movies.

The blockbusters tended to focus on large orchestral scores with recurring leit motifs, like Star Wars, Jaws, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, Superman, etc. (and yes, I know they are all John Williams-scored films)...

Oh, right! But ... what about Star Trek films in the 70s and 80s? IIRC, there was just one ST film in the 70s (the original), but there were at least 5 in the 80s, no?

Of course, the 80s saw "Big Budget Blockbusters" explode all over the place! More Jaws, more Dirty Harry, and even more John Williams scores -- Indiana Jones and ET, to name just two. (Stephen Spielberg + John Williams == Blockbuster).

More blockbuster franchises of that 80s include Back to the Future, Rambo, Rocky, Predator, Terminator, and a slew of others ...

By the way -- I'm not sure why, but the "hero" films (often played by Stallone or Schwarzenegger) always amused me, especially after the Simpsons character McBain made so much fun out of them. For instance:

McBain: *holds up tiny pistol* "I can't avenge my partner's death with this pea-shooter!"

Police Chief: "I don't want to hear it, McBain! That cannon of yours is against regulations! In this department, we do this by the book!"

McBain: *lifts enormous pistol, shoots book -- and demolishes part of the wall * "Bye, book."

[DeadPoolX]

But ... what about Star Trek films in the 70s and 80s? IIRC, there was just one ST film in the 70s (the original), but there were at least 5 in the 80s, no?

All of the Star Trek films from the Prime Timeline:
The Motion Picture* - 1979
The Wrath of Khan - 1982
The Search for Spock - 1984
The Voyage Home - 1986
The Final Frontier** - 1989
The Undiscovered Country*** - 1991
Generations**** - 1994
First Contact - 1996
Insurrection - 1998
Nemesis - 2002

All of the Star Trek films from the Kelvin Timeline (aka "the new crappy films from JJ Abrams"):
Star Trek***** - 2009
Into Darkness - 2013
Beyond - 2016

The movies I like the best are TWoK, TVH, TUC, and FC. I think many, if not most, Star Trek fans feel the same way.

* Yes, the first ST movie was in fact named "The Motion Picture."
** This might be where Space Quest 6 got its parody title from.
*** The last ST movie to have the entire TOS cast in it.
**** Designed to bridge the gap between TOS and TNG, a few of the TOS cast is in it, but it's mostly the TNG crew.
***** If possible, this shows even less creatively in naming than the very first ST movie did back in 1979. Also, Spock from the Prime Timeline makes an appearance, which is ridiculous, regardless of how they justify it in the film itself.