Display MoreWow, we've had as many cartoon parties as the Catholics have had Popes Leo! August's music party was a smashing success and we're working on a followup (check the calender below)... but this time, we're trying something a little different! It's a long forgotten aspect of gaming in the early 90s, but it used to be that you could learn about new games you might want to by through VHS tapes you would order in the mail. We're going to look at one from Japan and one from the United States! And in between we've got a couple of odds and ends to check off, to… so come for the old video catalogs, stay for the time-travelling Terminator action!
The Simpsons - Another Simpsons Clip Show (Season 6 Episode 3): Why are we starting off with a Simpsoms clip show, one of the worst kinds of shows? Because a sound clip from this one actually appears in Wing Commander IV! It's hidden in in the game's executable and plays when you active the secret 'crazy credits'. You can download the clip here.
Apogee of Fear: Back in 2008, Richard Garriott went to space… and he made the first horror movie in space in the process! Let's take a few minutes to check out how that turned out.
T2-3D: Battle Across Time: A few (dozen?) movie clubs back we watched The Birdcage in honor of the fact that it was filmed next to Wing Commander III. Well, so was the footage for the Terminator 2 ride at Universal! So we've got an HD recreation of the ride experience to try out.
Sega Video Magazine - April 1994: In Japan, Sony sent out a sometimes-monthly VHS tape to promote upcoming games. They're hosted by Sonic and even if you don't speak Japanese you're going to love half an hour of retro-tinged pixel and early 3D art flashing before your eyes. And watch for Wing Commander Sega CD in the mix!
Compute! Entertainment Software Showcase 1990: This one is an absolute classic. Compute!, famously a booster of the original Wing Commander, put out a commercial VHS with game demos on it in 1990… and it's full of absolute classics from Origin, Sierra, Lucasarts, Electronic Arts and more. This one is going to pull at your nostalgia strings!
The Simpsons episode is available to stream via Disney+, so we'll watch it first. We've put the rest of the videos in a YouTube playlist to make the rest of the process easier. We've also uploaded a zip of all the videos in case you'd like to arrange them some other way yourself. This download includes the Simpsons episode. You can get that here.
So JOIN US on Saturday, September19th at noon Eastern when we'll do a little window shopping! Of course, you can freel free to drop in and out (or just stop by to talk Wing Commander).
How do we watch the shows together?
It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Saturday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the shows in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should download their own copies from the CIC and we will count down to play them one at a time together starting with the short at noon EST on Saturday. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!
Will there be custom certificates made for the attendees this time?
Yes.
You can find certificates 1-10 here.
Are any of these music videos actual cartoons?
Honestly, who knows.
I love these events but want to do better long term planning. Do you have any others coming up?
We do! Here's the upcoming schedule. And if you have any idea for a future lineup, please feel free to suggest it on the forums!
- Marathon 15 - The Cartoons of Ellen Guon - October 17
- Marathon 16 - Star Trek Marathon 4 - November 20
- Marathon 17 - Music Videos: The Next Generation - December 18
- Marathon 18 - Day of the Titans - January 15
