5MV Update History

maintained by Zeke

JUNE 2005

June 1

I have good and bad news about 5MV on LJ. The good news: I've recruited SaRa, whom some of you will remember from VVSP, to make a cool new LJ design for us. (She's gone through at least ten blog layouts since I've known her, all of them awesome.) The bad news: remember that anonymous donation of 12 months of paid status? While we now have room for 15 usericons instead of three, I can't seem to use the extra ones. I can only post as myself, commodore_zeke, not as the community. Do any experienced LJers know a way around this?

And for those who couldn't care less about LiveJournals, here's a preview from the long-awaited Five-Minute "Azati Prime"!

Archer: (over the comm) Farewell, my crew. I would say you've been like a family to me, but I don't want any shipboard couples to feel incestuous. I leave you with the last thing my father said to me: "Tell your sister... you were right." You were right too, crew. And I want you to tell your sisters that. Goodbye.
Reed: I'll miss him. He could make me look smarter just by standing in the room.
T'Pol: Save it for the eulogies, Mr. Reed. The funeral is at 1330. Cacologies will also be accepted.

[Comments]

June 2

Hmmmm. For a concept that got so much interest at the forums, I sure haven't heard from many people about ordering signed fivers. I'll give it a little longer and see what happens.

Here's a preview from Five-Minute "Damage"....

Phlox: All right, young lady, care to explain why I'm detecting all this Trellium-D inside you?
T'Pol: (sigh) Fine, I'll tell you. I was experimenting with the emotions Trellium-D releases in Vulcans.
Phlox: Well, your lack of brains will lead to a craving for them if you don't stop right now. Zombies! Remember? Geez!
T'Pol: Agreed. I will stay out of Cargo Bay 2 from now on.
Phlox: And all the other bays! I'd better not hear about you licking that shuttlepod, missy!

[Comments]

June 3

Completing our trilogy of "sneak peek" updates, here's a preview from Five-Minute "The Forgotten."

Tucker: The thing is, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor... your daughter died to help us save Earth. The part she saved was probably Australia. No, that's a little big... maybe Madagascar? (sigh) This is no good. Computer, stop recording.
Computer: At least you can commit. Archer just pauses me all the time.
Commander Sue: (over the comm) Tactical alert! Battlestations!
Tucker: Guess you can't call it Reed Alert, huh?
Commander Sue: Malcolm said that if I did, he'd Sue.

Why isn't Reed the one calling tactical alert? You'll just have to wait for the full fiver to find out. You won't be waiting long, but there's one thing that has to come first: the conclusion of Voyager Week. Which will be tomorrow -- and this time I didn't speak that word until I knew for a fact I'd be able to come through. Be here tomorrow for new fivers, Voyagers 7, and surprises! (And pies of all sizes.)

[Comments]

June 4

And here it is! Welcome to the conclusion of Voyager Week, with the following new content, all of which is by me....

• Five-Minute "Mortal Coil" (one of my favourite episodes, and the reason the VW conclusion was originally aimed for Christmas).
• Five-Minute "Message in a Bottle" (another of my favourites).
• The conclusion of Voyagers: "Fury Game."
• And finally, the first fanfic-based fiver outside of VVSP: Five-Minute "The Best of Both Girls, Part 1"! For those who don't know, The Best of Both Girls is a fanfic epic by Jim Wright. Begun in the hiatus between Seasons 3 and 4, it proposed a slightly different outcome to the "Scorpion" cliffhanger: Janeway becoming the Borg Queen. It's great fun, well worth a read. About a year ago I told Jim I was working on a wedding present for him (did you hear he got married?) -- this is what it was going to be, and now is. Look for the ensuing parts of BoBG in the weeks to come.

(Oh, one more thing: forumgoer NeoMatrix is getting married today. Congrats, Neo!)

[Comments]

June 5

This is just a fill-in update to slide us back onto a midnight update schedule. Tomorrow: "Azati Prime." (So now would be a good time to refresh your memory of the Season 3 fivers -- the new ones are continuity-heavy.)

June 6

Just barely less than a year after its immediate predecessor, it's finally, finally here: Five-Minute "Azati Prime"! Archer will give you a quick recap in the first scene, but for the full picture, it's a good idea to reread the Season 3 fivers from about "Chosen Realm" on.

The four-day conclusion of Enterprise "Week" has begun -- be back tomorrow for "Damage"!

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June 7

Continuing the four-day ENT S3 wrapup, here's Five-Minute "Damage". All the thrills and chills of yesterday's fiver with only half the formatting errors!

[Comments]

June 8

The mini-arc concludes with Five-Minute "The Forgotten" -- and has an episode's title ever fit its fiver so well?

Don't go away! Tomorrow we have "Zero Hour," the very last ENT fiver of Season 3, along with an announcement and -- if I have time -- a bonus feature. And on Friday, another subsite will be front and centre. Which one? Well, the date will be June 10....

[Comments]

June 9

Lo, there shall be an ending! The most successful season in 5MV history -- and the one I'm proudest of -- concludes today with Five-Minute "Zero Hour".

And now I'm wiped out, so the bonus feature and announcement will have to come later. But not tomorrow -- that's another subsite's day. Be here.

[Comments]

June 10

The subsite in question is of course Five-Minute Deep Space Nine, which turns two today. I'm in an insane rush right now, so I don't have time to gush over the content, just to tell you where to find it; fortunately, it speaks quite well for itself. Here it is:

• Five-Minute "Image in the Sand" and "Shadows and Symbols," by Derek;
• Five-Minute "The Sword of Kahless," by husband-and-wife writing team Derek and MmeBlueberry (who has sole credit on the fiver page for the moment because I haven't coded for multiple authors yet);
• Five-Minute "Duet," by Marc Richard;
• A new TJI article by Derek called Lofton to rap, G;
• And most exciting of all -- a comic adaption by Derek of his own Five-Minute "In the Hands of the Prophets," one of the six fivers with which he launched this subsite!

[Comments]

June 11

After those two major events, we're taking a quick breather today. Tomorrow we're back with another one -- a three-day subsite launch event! Don't miss it.

Meanwhile, you'll never guess what the Reeves-Stevenses are up to now....

June 12

Welcome to the launch of Five-Minute Doctor Who as a formal subsite! This move was indicated by two things: great enthusiasm on the part of Scooter, our new section head, and the need to broaden 5MV's range to include more current shows now that Enterprise is no more. I have high hopes for this subsite -- we've already got two strong contributors (Scooter and SCMoll), several interested guest writers, and a pretty decent supply of Whovians in the audience, judging by a popular thread at the forums.

To launch 5MDW ("when there's trouble you call DW"... sorry), we're doing a three-day event, each day covering three Doctors. Since we're going in Doctoral order, the first three are covered today, as follows:

• First Doctor: "The Ark"
• Second Doctor: "The Power of the Daleks"
• Third Doctor: "Spearhead From Space"

(Note: The marvelous SaRa, who's currently redesigning our LiveJournal, made us the 5MDW subsite banner on short notice. Thanks a million, SR!)

(Note 2: In the About section, you'll find new FAQs for 5MDW and Scooter.)

[Comments]

June 13

The 5MDW launch continues today, and since we're going in Doctoral order (medical order?), today it's Doctors 4 to 6. We have....

• Fourth Doctor: "The Hand of Fear," an Elvis-fest by first-time guest writer Curt Rozeboom.
• Fourth Doctor: "Full Circle," the first part of the E-Space trilogy and the first fiver in a while from SCMoll.
• Fourth Doctor: "Logopolis," the cliffhanger between Doctors 4 and 5, by Scooter.
• Fifth Doctor: Um, we have one, but I checked too late and found I couldn't get at the file. That'll have to come tomorrow.
• Sixth Doctor: "Vengeance on Varos," by Scooter.

[Comments]

June 14

Today is almost the conclusion of the 5MDW launch, featuring the following fivers....

• Fifth Doctor: "Castrovalva," the SCMoll fiver I couldn't find a copy of yesterday.
• Seventh Doctor: "Survival," by Scooter.
• Eighth Doctor: Nothing, since he was only in the movie, and we already have that one.
• Ninth (Current) Doctor: "The Unquiet Dead," Scooter's first crack at the new show, and....
• Ninth Doctor: "Dalek," SCMoll's first crack. Longtime readers will be stunned that I'm letting him live after some of the stuff he pulls in this one....

Be here -- and spread the word.

(By the way, since the DW event does mostly end today, I hereby welcome Scooter, the newest member of the 5MV family. Congratulations on your new subsite; may you and it both prosper.)

* Not Thursday. I forgot what day of the week yesterday was.

[Comments]

June 15

Welcome to our long-awaited fifth anniversary, which will be celebrated with an event we call....

(long pause)

Feel that suspense, eh?

(further pause)

....Cliffhanger Week. This will be a week (or more!) of cliffhangers. Drama! Suspense! Shock! It begins as follows....

• First we have a DS9 fiver -- and we shall have at least one DS9 fiver every day till this is over, because that series had so freakin' many multiparters and cliffhangers. To start us off, it's the first part of the Season 2 three-parter, "The Homecoming" by Marc.
• Also in the "first part of a three-parter" category is a new OC fiver from me: "The Showdown," this season's third-last episode.
• How 'bout a two-parter? Here's the prolific and unpronounceable Kristina Runyeon-Odeberg with "Birthright I."
• Finally, what 5MV event would be complete without a panel discussion? Here's Cliffhangers, Part 1, by me.

However, the most important part of today's update is a big honkin' article: FiveMinute.net v4.0. Read it -- it explains a lot of changes.

Enjoy, and be back tomorrow!

(P.S.: Please do not inform me of any errors of any kind. You could probably fill several threads with them, and I'm aware of them all. As the article explains, this is a work in progress.)

[Comments]

June 16

Today the cliffhangers from last week continue -- some are resolved and some go on further. (Get used to that pattern.) Here's what we've got....

• DS9's "The Circle" by Derek.
• The OC's "The O. Sea" by me.
• Next Gen's "Birthright II" by Kristina.

In addition, here's today's sitework progress: I've finally coded for multiple authors at the two subsites that needed such a subroutine (DS9 and B5), I've fixed a few particularly glaring problems readers caught yesterday, and I've uploaded the rest of SaRa's fill-in graphics, which can be seen on most of the new subsites. (Remember, these are temporary.)

Be here tomorrow for Day 3!

[Comments]

June 17

Here's our content for Day 3 of Cliffhanger Week....

• DS9's "The Siege" by Kira, wrapping up the trilogy.
• The OC's "The Dearly Beloved," the shocking season finale, by me.
• The beginning of another TNG two-parter: Next Gen's "Gambit I" by Derek.
• And finally, Cliffhangers, Part 2, by Derek.

Be here tomorrow for Day 4, which for a change will not be distributed DS9/OC/TNG!

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June 18

Day 4 is upon us, with the following content....

• DS9's "The Search I" by Marc.
• TNG's "Gambit II" by Derek.
• And B5's "The Fall of Night," by newly minted section head Sa'ar Chasm.

Day 5 tomorrow. There's always a Day 5 tomorrow.

(Note: My apologies to all whose browsers were fried by the "Gambit I" link yesterday. It was a PHP problem, since corrected.)

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June 19

Here's the content for Day 5....

• DS9's "The Search II" by Marc.
• Doctor Who's "Aliens of London" (a title that makes me think of "Werewolves of London" and then in turn of "Bad Moon Rising"), by Scooter.
• And Cliffhangers, Part 3, by Kira.

Tomorrow, Day 6, which will bring a new twist or two.

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June 20

Kira here with the slightly belated material for Day 6....

• Scooter's conclusion to his Doctor Who two-parter, "World War III"
• And the start of a DS9 pair, "Improbable Cause", by Zeke.

Stay tuned for Day 7 tomorrow, or possibly later today.

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June 21

Zeke again, but still pressed for time, so I'll have to be quick. Hopefully I'll have time for a more leisurely update tomorrow. The Day 7 content:

• Derek concludes one of my favourite DS9 two-parters with "The Die is Cast."
• Scooter gives us his first Smallville fiver: the Season 1 cliffhanger, "Tempest." (Temporary page.)
• And the Cliffhangers saga continues with Part 4 by yours truly.

Day 8 tomorrow. (What? Yes, we called this a "Week." What's your point?)

[Comments]

June 22

Welcome to Day 8! (Ooo I need your love babe... eight days a week....)

• Derek begins yet another DS9 two-parter with "In Purgatory's Shadow." This episode's well-timed since it follows up directly on the last two-parter we did, despite coming two seasons later.
• Scooter concludes his Smallville two-parter with the Season 2 premiere, "Vortex." (Temporary page again. 5MSV isn't PHP'd yet.)
• And from me, here's an OC episode from early Season 1, "The Escape." (The people Ryan's apostropheing at in the last scene are the members of TWOP's OC forum, almost all of whom despise Marissa for some reason.)

Day 9 tomorrow, and there's no day-nyin' it.

[Comments]

June 23

Welcome to Day 9, a day of two Treks.

• Derek concludes his Season 5 pair with "By Inferno's Light."
• IJD GAF, the only staffer whose material hasn't yet appeared in CW, makes a strong start today. First he has a fiver for "Shore Leave," one of our two unbelievably flimsy excuses to include TOS in this event; in this case it's on the grounds that this episode had a sequel in the animated series. This fiver is also notable for making a reference to another fiver which isn't on the site yet or even finished, but which many readers nonetheless know well -- can you spot it?
• IJD's other contribution today is, of course, Part 5 of the Cliffhangers saga.

Day 10 tomorrow, but don't worry, no one will be playing the day-ten' game.

[Comments]

June 24

Welcome to Day 10 -- and it's a big one. There are just two fivers, but they're major. Major like 2nd fret on the A string and 3rd fret on the E strings. (Gee!)

• First up we have Kira with her first assault on a series she's come to adore: the new Battlestar Galactica. Her fiver for the 2003 miniseries that launched the show is not just a cliffhanger but a double cliffhanger -- and you'll have to wait and see what I mean by that.
• Second is IJD with something he's been sitting on for a LONG time. For at least a year now he's been planning fivers for the Starcraft games -- and now the first few are ready to go. We're launching the series today with Episode I: The Terran Campaign.

Since these two are so big, we're giving DS9 a break today. Be here tomorrow for the next DS9 and plenty more stuff. We're now entering the home stretch of CW... or are we?

(Note: Neither of these fivers is in its final location yet. The comment about "don't tell me about little pedantic stuff" thus goes double today.)

[Comments]

June 25

Welcome to Day 11. If you stick an R in the middle, that kinda looks like Daryll. But would anyone get it these days if I made an "other brother Daryll" reference?

• Today's DS9 fiver is the only one from a non-staffer in this event: "A Time to Stand" by Andy Taylor. You may remember Andy from his Final Chapter fivers or, more recently, "Disharmony," his contribution to the Five-Minute Angel launch. He's been waiting an absurdly long time to see this one published -- sorry, Andy.
• Next, IJD continues his series of Starcraft fivers with Episode II: The Zerg Campaign.
• Finally, today we have Marc's chapter of Cliffhangers: Part 6. Can you figure out what theme he picked? (The other four of us couldn't -- he had to tell us.)

Day 12 tomorrow, so soundproof the guest room. Those twelve drummers drumming need their practice.

[Comments]

June 26

Welcome to Day 12, featuring the beginning of a new Features feature! Read on.

• The Occupation Arc, kicked off by Andy yesterday, continues with "Rocks and Shoals" by Marc.
• Next, IJD completes his initial Starcraft trilogy with Episode III: The Protoss Campaign.
• And now the new feature. With five years under our belts -- or 4772 years in internet time -- we've decided we've earned a little nostalgia. Today is the first of a five-article series called First Fiver Retrospectives, in which each of us on staff will revisit his or her first fiver in some way. Longtime readers may remember when these first fivers were published; newer readers may be seeing them for the first time. We begin today with our newest member, Derek Dean, whose first fiver was Star Trek: Generations.

Be back tomorrow for Day 13 -- unless I hear from a lot of triskaidekaphobes, in which case we'll call it Day 14.

[Comments]

June 27

Welcome to lucky Day 13, which also happens to be my little brother's first day of not being 13. Cool.

• Next in the Occupation Arc: "Sons and Daughters," by IJD GAF.
• Sa'ar Chasm is back with his second B5 fiver of this event: "Movements of Fire and Shadow."
• The first of a number of Top 10 lists in CW is here today courtesy of Derek Dean: The Top 10 Most Feared Cliffhangers of the DS9 Crew.
• Finally, for our second First Fiver Retrospective, we have our second newest member -- IJD GAF, whose first fiver was "Relativity." You'll have to have been here a very long time to recognize the name "The Newbie," but those who haven't should still be able to figure out what's going on.

Tomorrow's update includes a new comic fiver, so don't miss Day 14!

[Comments]

June 28

Welcome to Day 14, home of the Fortnightburger.

• As promised, today's centrepiece is a new comic fiver: Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries, by Kira, of Kira, and for Kira. (This is why I said the fiver was a double cliffhanger.) Yep, that's right -- we now have three people making comic fivers. And each comic fiver is worth about three months' output from Sev Trek. Put that in your pipe and sev it!
• Next up is "Descent I" by me. This one has a story to it: I originally wrote it for the 5MNG anniversary event last year, but it was juuuuust barely too late to publish without extending the event. Kira persuaded me to save it for Cliffhanger Week, and so for nine months I've been going nuts waiting to get this thing out. (Bet that sounds familiar to any moms reading....) Hope you find it's worth the wait.
• And let's not forget the Occupation Arc. Today we've got -- wait a sec. Where's the file? ...Okay, let's do forget the Occupation Arc for today. Move along. Nothing to see here.
• Finally, the third most-longevitious staffer is of course Marc Richard, so here's his First Fiver Retrospective. (The fiver, still one of my all-time favourites of his, is "One.")

Be here tomorrow for Day 15, when Cliffhanger Week enters its third week!

[Comments]

June 29

It's Day 15, so welcome to Week 3 of Cliffhanger Week! (Wait...)

• First up is the conclusion of my TNG fiver: "Descent II" by me. By the way, I forgot to mention yesterday that both parts draw on past TNG fivers such as Marc's "I, Borg", Derek's "Brothers", and my "The Best of Both Worlds." You'll get more out of "Descent" if you reread them.
• And let's not forget the Occupation Arc. Today we've got -- wait a sec. Where's the file? No, wait, here it is! It was hidden "Behind the Lines." This one is Derek's contribution to the arc, and the last of the seven (!) DS9 fivers he wrote for this event. (His S7 two-parter from the subsite anniversary earlier this month was transferred over from CW.)
• I just realized I owe Marc and IJD an apology. I completely forgot that they both have several months on Kira in terms of official involvement with 5MV. I'm just in the habit of listing us in that order -- Zeke, Kira, Marc, IJD, Derek. Anyway, right day or wrong, here's Kira's First Fiver Retrospective, looking back on "Concerning Flight." (True story: In the first draft, Kira herself was the one thrown out the airlock in the last scene. I made her change it because I have a policy of saving "meta" stuff like author cameos for very special occasions. Little did I know that Kira's first fiver would eventually be a special occasion.)

Be here tomorrow for Day 16 or I'll put a hex on you.

[Comments]

June 30

And on the 16th day, he rested. Well, not exactly; I'll explain in a sec. But first, here's what we have today:

• IJD's back! He's not done with Starcraft yet, folks -- today he starts on the second trilogy, Brood War. (Angel would win at that one easily.) It begins today with Episode IV: The Protoss Campaign.
• Remember how I said we had two unbelievably flimsy excuses to include TOS in this event? Here's the other one: Five-Minute "For the World is Hollow...." by Nic Corelli. Yep, you heard me. The episode's title is so long we feel justified splitting it in half.

Which is Day 17, incidentally. Be there or be 289.

[Comments]

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