5M Stargate?

[Ginga]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Nope. Still got the stuff. Nan (who I considered a very close friend) basically told me to go to hell over politics a few years ago, so dealing with 5MSG is frankly not a big priority, but it's on the list.

Wow, this helped me figure out who Nan was. I had no idea. Interestingly, she's friends with one of my best friends, and every time I see her, I think of what happened between you both.

I hope one day you're able to revisit 5MSG, though. Replace those bad feelings and think of how happy it would make Ginga to read some Stargate fivers! Still no? Oh, all right...

[Zeke]

Hmm. After my site searches kept turning up 5MSG pages, it occurred to me that the index page might still be around, and indeed it is. The format is a little weird -- the episode titles look like links but aren't. You have to click on the little icons of the writers' names.

I still ought to get it probablyproperly linked up with the main site, but here's a way to get at the fivers in the meantime. Enjoy! I assume. I've never watched the show.

[Nate the Great]

Whoa. That's a blast from the past.

PNQ: Am I the only one who winces a bit reading their old fivers?

I mean, the "me" when I wrote those was a different person than the "me" now. Of course I'd write the fivers differently if I was doing it today. Maybe one day I can rewrite them for the forum here.

[Zeke]

Oh man. I know what you mean so hard. You have NO IDEA how bad I cringe at my old stuff (and I have both more and older stuff than anybody). I've heard the same from others like Sa'ar and Wowbagger. It's pretty universal for artists of any kind -- your early work looks silly, pretentious, or both when you look back.

But the fans never think so! They always like the early stuff more than you do. That's why so many bands are stuck endlessly playing their first couple of big hits until they come to despise them. Mercifully, there's no real fiver-writing equivalent of that... mostly. I was complaining to Wowbagger the other day that "Ludicrous Speed" just embarrasses me now, but I know I could never get away with ditching it...

[evay]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I was complaining to Wowbagger the other day that "Ludicrous Speed" just embarrasses me now, but I know I could never get away with ditching it...

why would it embarrass you? It references Spaceballs. That's still a hilarious movie.

[Zeke]

See? Exactly what I'm talking about. I couldn't ditch the stupid thing if I tried. It's not just you -- everyone I've raised the question with has reacted with shock.

That said, I would actually be more comfortable with Ludicrous Speed if it weren't a Spaceballs reference (it's only an indirect one anyway). The line between homage and theft is thin, and I worry about readers placing me on the wrong side of it.

[ED: I think I'm failing to emphasize the important part here. Making and/or stealing a silly joke is one thing -- doing so in every single fiver is another.]

[Flying Gremlin]

I should really change my signature to professional thread necromancer.

Anyway, I saw this thread and I just wanted to respond to this:

Originally Posted by Zeke

[ED: I think I'm failing to emphasize the important part here. Making and/or stealing a silly joke is one thing -- doing so in every single fiver is another.]

First off, it's not in every single fiver. Most of the two-part or continuing stories have differing jokes - Enterprise heads off at Dolorous Speed.

Second, to point out the obvious, Spaceballs is a parody of Star Wars specifically and science fiction in general. But it is also a homage to all of these, as is most parodies, and this site is a homage as well. I think Mel Brooks would approve of the homage to his movie.

And third, thank you for never doing a Spaceballs fiver.