Re: The elimanation of humankind in the kat planet.

From: chance <chance_at_unix.infoserve.net>
Date: Sun, 21 Jan 1996 09:32:33 -0800


>But would they have meant to have the SWAT Kats live on another planet from
>the start? Dear lord, help me, I'm wacko!

That looks as though it was the inference from the design team, but when
Lance tried to make
it a "definite" with 'When Strikes Mutilor' it was shot down by the execs
(Buzz, I think...but it
could've been Margot McDonough I guess). From talking to Christian Tremblay
anyway, it
seems as though they really hadn't thought it through that far, and didn't
seem to figure anybody
would try and work out where/when/why the katworld would be in relation to
20th Century
Earth. Usually, when I ask them background questions or something specific
about the
characters, the answer is usually a form of "me and my brother are the
artists...we usually leave
the details to them...(design team/writers)". It's true, the Tremblays are
the inspiration behind the
whole thing and contributed the design elements and story concepts from the
"oh...it'll be _cool_.."
point of view, leaving all the details to the rest of the crew...sorta like
"conductors of the orchestra", or
"the big picture men". They lead the band, but they don't play every
instrument.

For instance, if you were going to come up with a furry-story along the
lines of Kats, would your
first thought be how to relate it to reality, or would you concentrate on
the characters/setups/themes
necessary to carry the book/series through its conclusion. Later chapters
might attempt an
explanation if one was deemed necessary at a later date, but "SwatKats"
never got to any of those
'chapters' - it was killed off during the prologue! The best way to do
things from my point of
view is not to close doors behind you story-wise; you can allude to certain
things, make it appear
as though something is true, but always leave it a little ambiguous so you
can backtrack or head
off in a new direction if you have another story idea that you may think
better than the first. It's
cheating after a fashion, I suppose - but series TV does it all the time.
In "Mutilor", they could've
really satisfied both the writer and executive points of view while still
leaving the viewer something
to think about in terms of what the writer had intended - "blowing them out
of their seats". Perhaps
have the scene setup so that the anthropomorphic dude takes his helmet off,
but the profile is
only revealed in silhouette up against the background of some portion of the
American Flag.
This would have the desired effect on the audience while always leaving the
question in their minds as
to whether "appears" actually "is".

_____________________________________________________
"Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed
 antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters,
 through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in
 the winter of 1925. Endurance, Fidelity, Intelligence." -- "Balto"
_____________________________________________________


Received on Sun Jan 21 1996 - 13:12:15 PST

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