The Original 5MV (*5*MV!) Inspiration

[Wowbagger]

Q: Ahh. Time for the site-related questions, then. What made you think of Five-Minute Voyager? Was it peyote?

No. Once, when my Grade 10 English class was studying Twelfth Night, I saw something called "Five-Minute Twelfth Night" on the teacher's desk. I only got to read the first two scenes before she pulled it away (refusing to tell me where the heck it had come from), but they were funny enough to make me think there was real potential in that idea. The notion sort of sank into my mind for a while, re-emerging three years later in the summer of 2000. Voyager's sixth season had just ended, and I and the folks at Deltachat were looking for amusements to kill the time; on a lark, I decided to try this five-minute thing on "Caretaker." It was well-received, so I did "Unimatrix Zero I," and things just snowballed from there.

I just recently saw a book called, The Five-Minute Classics in the bookstore, including all sorts of very brief narratives that spoof other works. It was marked as the sequel to the book, The Five-Minute Shakespeare. I was wondering if anyone else had seen this and knows whether it's related.

Good night.

[Chancellor Valium]

Four Minute Voyager? When have they be--
Oh, 5MV....You might want to correct that before Zeke eats you :wink:

[Wowbagger]

What are you talking about? Was there a typo somewhere in there?

[Xeroc]

Originally Posted by Wowbagger

What are you talking about? Was there a typo somewhere in there?

FMV? That's Four-Minute Voyager!

[Zeke]

Hmm. If you can find a copy of this thing, Wowbagger, send me the first two scenes of the "Twelfth Night" parody. I doubt it's the same thing -- I'm pretty sure the one I saw was done by a student -- but it could be.

FMV is actually Full Motion Video. Common videogame term. That's why I avoid it.

[Xeroc]

Originally Posted by Zeke

FMV is actually Full Motion Video. Common videogame term. That's why I avoid it.

Oh, well, yes, but, I assumed he already knew that. :wink:

[Nan]

Originally Posted by Xeroc

FMV? That's Four-Minute Voyager!

One would think that would be 4MV.

Eww. That looks wrong. WRONG.

[Wowbagger]

Oh, the desire to grovel and repent! overwhelms. Fortunately, my overwhelming pride prevents me from doing that. Instead, (* briefly consults www.wowbagger.com*) I must point out to all of you that you are, collectively, faineantly megapodal wannabe assistants. So there!

Seriously, I'll go for a bike ride and hunt it. It's been a while since a saw 5MC, and I've only heard of 5MS, but I'll let you know. Perhaps the author got the idea from you. Wouldn't that be amusing?

[MmeBlueberry]

Amazon reveals the following:

The 5-Minute Iliad and Other Instant Classics

The excerpt isn't done in 5MV's style (narrative instead), but it's the introductory section, so it's possible that some of the works actually are done that way. There's no Shakespeare in it, and I couldn't come up with anything called Five-Minute Shakespeare.

[NAHTMMM]

Now, there is a 60-Minute Shakespeare (part of a series)...

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by MmeBlueberry

Amazon reveals the following:

The 5-Minute Iliad and Other Instant Classics

I'm familiar with that book -- it comes up whenever I indulge in narcissistic self-Googling. I don't think it's related to the "original fiver," though.