Questions from a recent fan

[jmshearer]

Here's a little side project of mine I've been putting off for quite a while now. Since November of last year, actually.

See, back then, I wrote a blog post ( jmshearersthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/11/fanboys-one-question-mystery-science.html?zx=6c2fe1943ebedea1 ) about two questions I'd like to ask the Mystery Science Theater cast and crew if I ever got the chance, and at the time, I hinted that I also had one or two for the folks involved with this web series. So, here I am, nearly a year later, finally getting around to committing my questions to the forum.

My inspiration was having read Rygar's "Remembrances of a Senior Writer" thread for the second or third time.

Forgive me if this seems a bit forward, perhaps, but I'm curious, and I'm sure others are as well.

The really great thing about the Internet and forums like this is that, at least in theory, I have access to everybody who worked on this project, but even with that in mind, I think I'll start with the question I'd direct mostly at those who were involved with the series the longest:

In my quick look into this, it seems hard to miss that there's a good dozen, and perhaps even closer to thirteen, years between the first and last episodes of the Web Series. That's a long time, especially on the Internet. I can't help but wonder, how did you manage to keep with it over all those years, especially with all the other things that were obviously going on in your lives?

The followup to that is directed at everybody who was involved with writing the series:

What brought you all together for this thing, anyway? I would think being fans would be a big part of not only starting the web series, but also keeping at it for 12 years. Was there something else to it as well?

Thanks for your time. I appreciate it, and look forward to any replies I might get.

[Rygar]

First of all, this isn't forward at all. I love talking BOH and the Web Series, so feel free to ask whatever questions you want.

I don't know how much the other senior writers check the board, but I can offer my two cents.

As I mentioned, I was a reader of the Web Series before I joined on and later took over. So for me, not only did I have a love for the characters (and a passionate nostalgia for the show), but I also felt a sense of duty and responsibility; I'd been entrusted with this series, and I wanted to do right by it. Of course, if we hadn't ended Season Four on a semi-cliffhanger, it might have been easier to not bother with Season Five, but I felt really bad that we'd put it off for so long, and I am very glad we made it happen.

As for how I kept working on the Web Series through college, medical school, and most of residency -- stubbornness.

I honestly don't know how DJ, Claudia, Fero, and DN got together at the beginning, but I imagine it was through old-fashioned Internet networking. I know DJ did some SWAT Kats fanfiction before moving on to BOH, and that might have been how some of them got together.

As I've mentioned earlier, I basically nagged DJ until she let me join up After that point, Ed Scott (the previous webmaster) left, and by Googling, I found another webmaster named Jen Glauser who was with us very briefly (I *think* she officially joined ...). Koosh and WS posted on this board a lot and sent me ideas, which was how I got acquainted with them before asking them to join the team. There have always been discussion and disagreements behind the scenes, which is why having a hierarchy helped. I didn't have to say "this is what I want to do, so we're doing it" that often, but it kept us from debating endlessly and circularly.

-Rygar

[Kooshmeister]

I'd been a member of the forum on and off for a couple of years, mostly posting in the RPG forum. During the hiatus between Season 4 and Season 5, I sent Rygar a few story ideas, all of which he seemed to like, and was eventually graciously invited to become a writer. Originally, I was just going to be a guest writer, and was told to pick one of the ideas I'd come up with and floated to Rygar.

The initial story I came up with was overstuffed, due to me attempting to cram every idea I had into this one script. However due to a shortage of hands I was offered the position of a senior writer, and I took it, and consequently was given more scripts in which to develop my various ideas. I confess that outside of my own plotlines I had little to do with the main thrust of the season (especially the Aldebaran stuff) as it just didn't interest me. But what I did get to do, I am very proud of, and I'm forever grateful to Rygar and the other writers for giving me a chance to write for them.

[jmshearer]

First off, let me apologize for the delay in getting back to this thread. My life off the Internet always seems to got crazy when I start on these little independent projects.

Thanks for taking the time to write answers. They've been quite enlightening.

To both of you: It would seem that what I've heard about persistence getting one into the writing business proves true. And in this case, being long-time readers was also a big help.

And between reading Rygar's post and what I've seen of Kooshmeister's other work, I recall another question that didn't quite make the cut before. Interestingly enough, though, this one's been mostly answered already:

Why Bucky O'Hare specifically, as opposed to Swat Kats, for example?

Thanks again for your time. This is proving every bit as interesting as I thought.

[Kooshmeister]

Aug 12, 2011 1:03:07 GMT -5 jmshearer said:

Why Bucky O'Hare specifically, as opposed to Swat Kats, for example?

I'm unsure if I understand your question. Are you asking why there is a web series for Bucky and not for SWAT Kats?

I can't speak for everyone but my personal theory is that it has (or had) a more unified and centralized fandom than SK due to its being smaller. Most people accepted the Web Series' content for the most part whereas in SK everyone and their brother has their own ideas about this or that and in general it doesn't seem like that fandom can come together and form one single "official" web series of its own for this reason. Too many cooks spoiling the broth and so forth.

Now if that wasn't what you meant and you're asking me why the Web Series' originator(s) chose BOH specifically over SK, I can't answer that. You'd need to ask DJ Clawson.

[Rygar]

Aug 12, 2011 1:03:07 GMT -5 jmshearer said:

Why Bucky O'Hare specifically, as opposed to Swat Kats, for example?

I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid, but only a few of them stuck with me enough that I remember just how much I liked them. I wouldn't have written fanfic for just anything, but I did/would have for those three.

The first was Bionic Six, which came out when I was younger, so I remember it a bit more hazily.

The second is the SatAM Sonic The Hedgehog series, which I actually did write a little fanfic of. Never posted it anywhere.

The third, of course, is Bucky O'Hare. Why Bucky? Well, why are any of us here? Everyone's got their favorite something!

-Rygar

[jmshearer]

I must apologize for my delayed response here. Life offline has kept me busy enough lately that I'd almost forgotten about this thread until I saw the board listed as a recent traffic source for my blog. It bugs me that I have to say that twice in a row in my own thread, and the worst part is, I don't know how to make up for that.

But, I'd better get to the subject of the thread at present. I like both answers I see.

Koosh: That's certainly one consideration that was in the back of my mind when I posted that last question. Thinking back now, I'd have to say the biggest thing driving the question for me was a curiosity about if there was something beyond Bucky O'Hare being the biggest overlap in interests amongst the group who worked on the Web Series. I like your theory about BoH having the tighter fandom when compared to Swat Kats, which I used as an example because I'd seen it used here before, or Sonic SatAM, as Rygar suggested in his reply. I know that fandom was big and fragmented when I was a part of it in high school, and it's only gotten worse since then.

Rygar: I hear you there! I'm the same way, really, only a good deal of my fan fiction went into the Sonic SatAM and MST3K fandoms, the latter of which has largely been lost to time and the web, far as I can tell. But that's some interesting insight into this.

For now, though, my fanboy curiosity is sated. Thank you both, Rygar and Kooshmeister, for taking the time to do this and for having patience with me in doing so. It's very much appreciated.