#alan is good at handling members and fans

[banqanas]

WAIT I JUST REMEMBERED ALAN WILL BE THERE WITH PKCZ DURING EXPO TOO!!!!!!!!! ALANNNNNN 😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏

me, looking at abema the whole day: do i want to get the abema ppv ticket for ldh live expo......i want to see fanta and b happy and the neo exile kids but i still feel very complicated with rmpg...........do i want it....do. I. want. IT.......DO I WANT IT...???!?!?!??!?!

Sekai san: tomorrow is EXPO

me: Sekai san has spoken i will watch ldh live expo

[vonlipvig]

Hello jules, it's me anonymous suzerain chatter and now returning as a fan of Not for broadcast. I just watched their latest DLC the time loop two or three days ago and i was shocked i didn't watch this last month when it was still relevant. Like i was super late but hey i found a new favorite like Adrien Blimey, he is so cool like even Peter is being replaced by a douche bag of a politician along with Julia on a coalition government like the way he chews on the politicians in a short amount of time so good and how he also tears apart about doctor magnus and his machine on using to general population and other dark stuffs he doesn't hold back. And my god it was such a curse to see the Nowverse of Not For broadcast like Jeremy Donaldson in the modern era along with Megan wolfe saying hashtag and subscribe. My stomach can't handle the pain i got when i saw them. And the crew member. I think he is a fantastic addition to the Timeloop casts. And it was so cursed that an alternate version of Megan wolfe kissed the crew member and Jeremy Donaldson on the lips. Like oh my god... this is wrong, What's this? Nope you two are best friends. Besties. Jeremy is with Jenny while Megan wolfe is for... I honestly dunno. But the almost ending where Boseman called every single guest to help Doctor magnus and the other professor woman to matchmake and confess their feelings to each other. And Alan James fucking brilliant addition to the chaotic guests. Also can i say how much i freaking hate Jeff Algebra?! Like brother ugh... what's that this man ranting about? Just stop. Take the temporary restraining order and never show your face and personality ever again. But anyway it was a fun DLC and I'm loving it.

Hi anon! How have you been?

Oh my god YES, the Timeloop DLC was so good, it was truly everything I could have asked for as a fan. Not gonna lie, I think seeing THE Adrien Atkinson-Blimey was like, the most surprising thing to me, I was NOT expecting that! He was always that background character you'd hear about during the intro speeches, getting into increasingly wild situations, but I never thought we'd actually see him, and in Incisors, of all things! Goes to show that there are other serious people working for Channel 1, lmao.

YES, wasn't the Nowverse so fun? I'm too bisexual so I gotta say it, but the trio absolutely SLAYED, they looked so hot there lmao. But yeah, poor guys having to do the whole 'like and subscribe' spiel, especially Jeremy, he's not meant to know what technology like that is like!

Oh, Colin is an icon, but we knew that already #colinsprongfan. I loved that he had his time to shine during this DLC, he really deserved it (and of course, it's totally hilarious that he's immune to the multiverse, cause of course lmao). But GOD YES MEGAN KISSING THE GUYS WAS SO CURSEDDDDD SHE'S A LESBIANNNNNN SHE'S FOR THE GIRLSSSSS (and oh, a JeremyJenny shipper? I see you're a person of culture, anon).

And yessss, the ending was so fun and sweet to me. I lovedddd the whole matchmaking shenanigans, Alan was absolutely amazing there with the kiss assist lmao. And oh god GEOFF YOU ALMOST RUINED EVERYTHINGGGGG LET'S KILL HIMMMMMM (but ok, he was funny, he gets to live for now...).

But yeah, it was sososo good. Everyone go play Not For Broadcast and the Timeloop DLC NOW.

[gumnut-logic]

Where There Be Dragons (Bit 4)

Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3 | Bit 4

Another bit of this slowly building AU :D Thanks to @janetm74​ @tsarinatorment​ and @scribbles97​ for their amazing support with whatever this is ::hugs you all madly::

I’ve had an amazing response to this attempt at Steampunk. Thank you so much for all your encouragement. I don’t know where it is going and at the moment, it seems to just be scenes between family members, but there is a voyage ahead with adventure to be had.

I hope you enjoy what I come up with :D

-o-o-o-

Sally Tracy loved her grandsons, but honestly a good percentage of the time they were idiots.

She pulled out her pocket watch. Under the waves there was very little indication of time, and most certainly within this metal behemoth a lack of good healthy sunshine, so perhaps their excuses for working until time on end were at least partly valid. But honestly, all five men were workaholics and to their detriment.

Five.

She sucked in a breath, but kept walking down the hall towards the hangar.

Young Alan smiled at her in her mind’s eye and yet again she found herself blinking rapidly.

She shoved the watch back into her skirts and pulled out a handkerchief. She knew how to handle herself. This was far from her first experience with abrupt grief.

That thought brought her beloved Grant to mind, followed by her lovely Lucy dressed in her favourite skirts and that beautiful parasol Jefferson had gifted her.

She stopped in the hallway, grabbed at the metal wall and fought to control herself. Alan had not been declared deceased as yet. There was still a chance and it would be poor form for her to show grief for a grandson not dead.

Miracles happened.

They had happened before.

She shook herself. If Gordon could do it, so could his little brother. The Tracy sons were strong and resilient. They had proved it time and time again.

While she was only a Tracy by marriage, she should not be expected to be any less.

Wiping her eyes, she fanned a little coolness to breeze away any flush to her face. She needed to be strong for her boys.

Especially the idiot ones working themselves to death.

Spinning the wheel that sealed the door between the hangar and the rest of the ship, she lifted her skirts and entered to the expected sound of hammering.

She raised her voice. “Virgil Tracy, I called you for dinner half an hour ago.”

Something heavy clattered to the metal floor as the hammering came to a sudden stop. There was a scuffle, a clanking of metal tools and a pair of legs appeared under the bulk of Thunderbird Four followed by the rest of her grimy grandson.

She shook her head in exasperation. “Just look at you. You are filthy.”

He wilted in guilt, shoving off his goggles. “I’m sorry, Grandma.”

Sally sighed. Virgil was kindness itself. Gentle, artistic and sensitive, but he was also the grottiest of them all. Gordon was excessively untidy, but Virgil could manifest grease and grime out of thin air.

She might have blamed it on his mechromancy, but it didn’t need sparks to occur.

“Up you get. You need to clean up and eat something, young man.” She held out a hand, but then reconsidered it due to the condition of his. Thunderbird Four was definitely cleaner than he.

But then something amongst the grease caught her eye. “What is that?” As Virgil stood up, she grabbed his right hand where a smudge of blood betrayed a gouge at the base of his thumb.

“Oh, I slipped.”

“Obviously.” She glared at him. “And you’ve left it to collect all the germs it can find. I thought I taught you better than that. Did you want an infection?”

“No, Grandma.”

“You are coming with me to the infirmary and we are going to clean this. Then you are going to wash up and present yourself at the dinner table like the polite young man I know you are.”

“Yes, Grandma.” He hung his head.

It only caused her to frown more. She reached over and touched a finger to his chin, gently nudging him to look her. “Honey, you have to look after yourself.”

A sigh. “I know, Grandma. It’s just…I need to know the ‘birds are at their best…”

“You need to do something.” It was obvious.

He let out a breath. “Yes.” His dark eyes sparkled in the overhead lighting.

They were all as bad as each other. Ten days, Scott said. They were going to be confined with very little to do for most of that time. They hadn’t even left yet and already they were showing signs of strain.

“John will get us there. As soon as it is dark enough, we will leave New York, head south and find your brother.” She touched a hand to his chest. “And then we will face this together.”

He didn’t comment on that, but his eyes lowered and his other hand, just as dirty as the one she was holding, pressed her fingers tight to the cotton of his shirt.

Leaving black smudges.

She let out a breath. “C’mon, dear, let’s get you cleaned up.” She led him back to the door she had so recently come through, and still holding his injured hand in hers, freed her other hand to unlock the mechanism again. With a yank, she pulled it open.

Only to discover a naked metal woman in the hallway.

“Eos!” Because it could be no other.

Beside her, Virgil startled and hid his face with a groan.

The automaton straightened in alarm. “Mrs Tracy!”

“What exactly do you think you are doing parading around the ship naked?!”

“Umm…”

“Have you no shame? There are five…four impressionable young men aboard.”

“Impressionable?”

Virgil groaned again, still holding a grotty hand to his face. “Eos, why?”

“John said I should speak to you about fabric.”

She glanced at her grandson. It would be a considerable challenge to assist Eos with any request if Virgil was unable to look at her. “Eos, go to my rooms and we will find some suitable attire for you. Please wait there while I attend to Virgil.”

Artificial eyes blinked at her. “Yes, Mrs Tracy.” And the little wench tottered off.

Virgil was still clutching his face.

“She’s gone, dear.” Sally couldn’t help but smile as his blush became very apparent under the grime. A tilt of her head. “You know you are going to find it very hard to be a medic if you can’t look at the female half of the species.”

“Grandma!”

A chuckle. “You are adorable when you’re embarrassed, honey.” She still had his injured hand captive. “Now let’s see to this.” And she gave him a gentle tug through the door.

He peered timidly up and down the hall, wary that the naked metal woman would appear again.

Oh, yes, she loved her grandsons, but yes, some of the time they were idiots.

-o-o-o-

Next

[petitprincess1]

Now that we are talking about Nightfur, I don't like that she call herself the "Villainous news blog" but she doesn't post everything! only what makes Alan look good. When the scandal happened she only told A.I.'s side of the story, and now with the 5 episodes taking so long, she is making excuses. And the worst part is that the fans believe everything she says. Her blog should be called "Villainous convenient news blog" instead.

One more because I forgot to mention this and it's important. I won't be that harsh toward her, but yes. The way she handled the scandal was awful. I even talked to her about it and, unfortunately, I was still a fan at that time. I just believed her. Here are the dms if you don't believe me:

I'm blocked by her, so I can't ask anyway and I'm sure she would say no, for obvious reasons. She's right about there being two sides to every story...she just conveniently only told one. Night showed a tweet from Ami/Lemonteaflower that basically was her saying that, in a photo, she didn't recognize the people "posing" as the Ai crew. ...Here's the thing: Ami had been working on the show since 2017, making thumbnails and comics, probably a little earlier than that, and three people that spoke out (Benji, Diego, and Sebastián) had been there...since 2017.

Either that girl has not walked into that building once or she's lying. Plus, what really is weird is that she was a storyboarder and now she is "on hiatus". ...Why? It can't be because she's working on the show, considering other crew members, including Alan, post. Not to mention the instas. How can crew member just go "on hiatus"?

If you wanna know the other side of the story, here are some links:

https://unpopularopinionvillainous.tumblr.com/post/618306917953126400/alright-so-what-im-gonna-show-you-and-will

https://unpopularopinionvillainous.tumblr.com/post/620448024975622144/more-proof-that-alan-doesnt-really-pay-his

https://petitprincess1.tumblr.com/post/620555679475892224/i-made-a-blog-called-unpopularopinionvillainous

The last one is more important than the other two. It's super important to read them because it sheds a completely different light on everything. Please dont spam or attack Nightfur or anyone mentioned. It won't do anything, but cause distress. If you want someone to attack, then do it to me

[tcm]

Andy Griffith: An Underrated Movie Star By Susan King

Andy Griffith was one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. He didn’t make the impact of his peers Marlon Brando, James Dean and Paul Newman when they all burst onto the scene in the 1950s, but Griffith demonstrated he was an actor of depth, complexity and, at times, brilliance during his 50-plus year career. His depth is especially on display in his greatest role as Lonesome Rhodes, the odious hard-living, hard-loving Arkansas drifter who becomes a television sensation in Elia Kazan’s A FACE IN THE CROWD (’57).

A dark social commentary about power and the media, A FACE IN THE CROWD is as prescient today as it was 63 years ago. It wasn’t a hit upon release but has grown in reputation over the years. And, it’s head scratching to believe that Griffith wasn’t nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance.

Perhaps he’s not uttered in the same breath as a Brando because Griffith achieved his greatest success on the small screen. He starred as the gentle widower Sheriff Andy Taylor in the beloved 1960-68 sitcom The Andy Griffith Show and as the folksy but brilliant and often cantankerous attorney Ben Matlock in the 1986-95 legal eagle series Matlock. Despite his popular, genial and understated turn as Andy Taylor (who many kids thought was the best father around), Griffith didn’t even earn an Emmy nomination.

Griffith originally wanted to be a singer or a preacher but ended up teaching at a local high school after graduating from college. But the lure of performing was too great, and he left the chalkboard behind to become a comic monologist. And he was funny. Check out his most famous routine, “What It Was, Was Football” from a 1954 The Ed Sullivan Show on YouTube. He’s so believable as the backwoods rube, audiences undoubtedly thought that was Griffith’s real character.

The year of 1955 was life-changing for Griffith. He became an overnight sensation after he was cast in the lead role as the naïve Air Force Private Will Stockdale in the live TV comedy No Time for Sergeants. He’s so mirthful as the good old boy that members of the crew can be heard laughing. Later that year, he made his Broadway debut in the stage version of No Time for Sergeants earning rave reviews and a Tony nomination. It was while he was the toast of Broadway that he was approached by Oscar-winning screenwriter Budd Schulberg (ON THE WATERFRONT, ‘54) about playing Lonesome Rhodes.

Griffith told me in a 2005 L.A. Times interview that Schulberg and his mother came to see the play and soon after Griffith met the writer at a bar. Ironically, Schulberg didn’t think Griffith could handle such a ruthless character. “We were sitting there talking and drinking,” Griffith recalled. “He told me, ‘you can’t play this role.’ I had never read the script or his short story on which it was based at that time, but I just kind of envisioned the character. I said, ‘I can’t provide it to you…but I can play it.’”

Kazan also had his doubts, but quickly changed his mind when Griffith did an impression of evangelist Oral Roberts “healing” the filmmaker. “At that moment, he and Budd could see that I had a little wild side – that is, I can create a wild side. So Gadge [Kazan’s nickname] used that. He used that part of me to find the emotions of evil, the various thousands of moods that this man had.”

Kazan and Schulberg, Griffith noted, “were trying to make the social commentary that the medium and the people who control it can control the thoughts of the country and how dangerous that can be,” Griffith said. The director told Griffith to drink some whiskey for this film’s conclusion when Rhodes is unveiled as a phony and a demagogue. “They brought me a bottle of Jack Daniels Black Label,” he said. “I would shoot a little bit and drink a little bit. I thought I was great. Gadge pulled the plug around 3 o’clock. The next day he said, ‘Andy, we have to shoot most of that over again. Today, just smell the cork!’”

The 1958 film version of NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS and another 1958 service comedy, ONIONHEAD just didn’t work and bombed with both critics and audiences. “I basically struck out in Hollywood,” Griffith told me in 1993. He returned to Broadway, earning another Tony nomination for the musical version of Destry Rides Again. Griffith admitted, though, the show wasn’t very good. So, he decided to do television. The pilot for The Andy Griffith Show, which also starred Ron Howard as his young son Opie, Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee and Don Knotts as the ultra-nervous deputy Barney Fife, aired on the popular The Danny Thomas Show. The show was quickly snapped up by CBS to develop into a series.

Knotts, who won five Emmys as Fife, wasn’t in the pilot. Knotts, who appeared with Griffith in NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS, called him and said, “Don’t you need a deputy?” “I was supposed to have been the comic, the funny one,” said Griffith. “It might not have lasted even half of season that way, but when Don came on, I realized by the second episode, he should be funny, and I should play straight to him. “

Despite the fact the series was the no. 1 show, Griffith wanted to stretch his acting muscles and the series ended in 1968. But Hollywood still didn’t know what to do with him. He signed a three-picture deal with Universal, but the first film ANGEL IN MY POCKET (’69) had a devil of a time trying to find an audience and the critics were not impressed. He struck out again and returned to the small screen. In between series work, TV movies and guest spots, Griffith appeared on the big screen, most notably in the sweet nostalgic comedy HEARTS OF THE WEST (’75) with Jeff Bridges and Alan Arkin.

He finally earned an Emmy nomination in 1981 for the TV movie MURDER IN TEXAS, in which he got the opportunity to show his dramatic chops as a wealthy Texan who thinks his daughter’s new husband isn’t exactly who he appears to be. His turn in Matlock gave him a renewed popularity. Griffith was doing guest spot on TV and had just released a hymns and spirituals CD when I interviewed him in 2005. Two years later, Griffith was perfectly cast in WAITRESS (2007) as Joe, the elderly and curmudgeonly owner of a small café who had a generous and kind heart. The role fit him like a comfortable glove.

Baby boomers felt they had lost a big part of their childhood when Griffith died in 2012 at the age of 86. Ron Howard summed up what so many of his fans were feeling: “His pursuit of excellence and the joy he took in creating served generations and shaped my life. I’m forever grateful. RIP Andy.”

[ripjaws]

Ben 10 Survey Results!

Huge thank you to everyone who submitted a response, it was really fun looking through them all and I was genuinely surprised by the results of some of the questions.

Hopefully this will work under a read more because it's quite long and I don't want people to have to scroll a hundred years to get past it.

If anyone has any questions or anything please feel free to ask! :)

Thanks again!

General

Q1. How would you describe your gender?

36% - Female 25.3% - Male 24% - Non-binary 8% - Prefer not to say 4% - Agender 2.7% - Genderfluid

Q2. How would you describe your sexuality?

32% - Bisexual 20% - Heterosexual 20 % - Asexual 8% - Lesbian 6.7% - Prefer not to say 5.4% - Pansexual 4% - Gay 1.3% - Demisexual 1.3% - Questioning 1.3% - Polysexual

Q3. Current age

48% - 20-24 39% - 15-19 13.3% - 25-30 1.3% - Older than 30 1.3% - Younger than 15

Q4. Age when you first became interested in Ben 10

86.7% - Younger than 15 9.3% - 15-19 2.7% - 20-24 1.3% - 25-30

Episodes and season

Q1. Which series did you watch first?

88% - Original Series 9.3% - Alien Force 1.3% - Omniverse 1.3% - Reboot

Q2. Rank the series in order of preference

[IMAGE ID: Five separate groups of five vertical bar charts. The individual columns for each group are coloured in the same order and corresponds to what ranking they recieved on that question of the survey. According to the key at the top of the image the order is; blue = 1, red = 2, orange = 3, green = 4 & purple = 5. The Y axis of the graph goes from zero to thirty in intervals of ten.

The first group is labelled ‘Original Series’ and shows that it got twenty votes in blue, seventeen votes in red, sixteen votes in orange, ten votes in green & twelve votes in purple.

The second group is labelled ‘Alien Force’ and shows that it got nine votes in blue, eighteen votes in red, twenty-one votes in orange, twenty-two votes in green & five votes in purple.

The third group is labelled ‘Ultimate Alien’ and shows that it got thirteen votes in blue, ten votes in red, fourteen votes in orange, twenty-two votes in green & sixteen votes in purple.

The fourth group is labelled ‘Omniverse’ and shows that it got eighteen votes in blue, fifteen votes in red, seventeen votes in orange, fifteen votes in green & ten votes in purple.

The fifth and final group is labelled ‘Reboot’ and shows that it got fifteen votes in blue, fifteen votes in red, seven votes in orange, six votes in green & thirty-two votes in purple. END IMAGE ID]

Q3. Favourite season (Original Series)

40% - Season 1 18.7% - Season 2 18.7% - Season 3 17.3% - Season 4 5.3% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched

Most popular episodes were Ken 10 (S4E10) & Kevin 11 (S1E7)

Q4. Favourite season (Alien Force)

52% - Season 2 28% - Season 1 16% - Season 3 4% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched

Most popular episodes were Alone Together (S2E2) & Save the Last Dance (S2E4)

Q5. Favourite Season (Ultimate Alien)

36% - Season 1 25.3% - Season 3 20% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 18.7% - Season 2

Most popular episodes were Forge of Creation (S1E16) & Duped (S1E2)

Q6. Favourite Season (Omniverse)

18.7% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 18.7% - Season 2 16% - Season 5 12% - Season 6 10.7% - Season 1 9.3% - Season 8 8% - Season 4 5.3% - Season 3 1.3% - Season 7

Most popular episodes were And Then There Were None (S6E1) & And Then There Was Ben (S6S2)

Q7. Favourite Season (Reboot)

60% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 17.3% - Season 4 10.7% - Season 3 6.7% - Season 1 5.3% - Season 2

Most popular episodes were Omni-tricked (S1E37) & Innervasion (S2E36)

Q8. Which live action movie did you prefer?

40% - Alien Swarm 22.7% - Race Against time 22.7% - Didn’t like either 14.7% - Haven’t watched either

Characters and aliens

Q1. Favourite main character

45.3% - Ben Tennyson 28% - Kevin Levin 17.3% - Rook Blonko 9.3% - Gwen Tennyson

Some ‘Why’ responses:

Ben -

I know it's a really basic pick but I enjoy Ben alot as a character. Even though I feel like he took an extremely sharp turn into immaturity in the final season of Alien Force onward (from what I've heard it was due to ratings), it still fit well after a bit of time of adjustment. Him being rash and selfish at times while still having a good heart feels...very human. I'm a huge fan of flawed protagonists and Ben is a prime example of such, imo! Plus I hradcanon that he has autism and it's a big comfort for me :)

I love his potential as a character and the way he hands having such power and responsibility thrust upon him. Ben has done so much for the people in his life and the universe, and I absolutely adore him.

I think of him like a kind person who tries his best to the right thing, he's pretty chill and optimist and in my mind he's a chaotic bi and i can relate to that

Kevin -

I like that he's always been an antihero in the original series. And in the reboot I really like the direction the showrunners are taking his character. He has a different backstory, motivations and I'm really enjoying his character development. It's a fresh take on his story and they're treating it with care, which I really appreciate. His Antitrix aliens also have some really incredible designs.

Cool powers, uncommon character in children's media, especially as a primary character often cast in a good light (ex con, high school dropout, masculine, not emotionally mature). His character development is some of the best in the series.

Gods, we could be here forever... Okay, short version- 1) I can relate to him on a mental health level, especially in the OG series we seemed to have similar issues and to handle them in similar ways 2) there's a lot of depth and variance to his character, he's angry and aggressive and dangerous but also a dork, a sweetheart, and very affectionate once he lets his walls down, he loves cars and supernatural romance, violence and magical girls, he'll rescue an aggressive dog for no reason other than it needed help but also he might consider how much he could get for selling you, he's a complex character and he's allowed to be in a way the Tennysons can't because of how firmly they sit in the Hero seat 3) for all of this, we never really know all that much about him and his experiences, at least in comparison to what we know is there- we never learn about his time traveling the galaxy, we haven't heard anything about his time stuck in time, it's only in the reboot we're getting trustworthy information about his background and even then it's rare tidbits- he's ripe for exploring in fic, headcanon, and so-on 4) his powers in the OG series, his status as mutant or alien or both who knows anymore leaves a lot of doors open to play and to look at the world through different angles 5) dude has turned into six different monstrous chimera forms over the course of the franchise and honestly you have to support that sort've shit in media otherwise they might stop

Rook -

Alien catboy with a glorious voice and have you seen those arms??? And he's so polite while also being hilarious when he gets a little rude/snarky and his character development is amazing!!

While I would normally say Ben himself, Rook is his only friend that hasn't tried to kill him. Additionally, he provides Ben with guidance as well as support the Gwen and Kevin are fickle about.

Having an actual alien joining the cast and serving at Ben's foil worked well to me.

Gwen -

Smart, talented, funny, snarky, confident, and super cute. Jock-prep-nerd energy all in one. Deserves the world. Criminally ignored by the majority of the fandom. Knows karate and judo?? College at 16?? Icon.

Angel, can do no wrong, was capable of so much more than the show let her do, potential to be the most powerful member of the team if they'd just let her go a lil feral sometimes :/

She was a good voice of reason most of the time. Her powers were really interesting and overall I think she had a lot of wasted potential having to be sidelined since the series was about Ben ultimately

Q2. Favourite minor characters

40 votes - Paradox

22 votes - Max Tennyson

18 votes - Tetrax

17 votes - Argit

16 votes - Julie Yamamoto

15 votes - Azmuth

12 votes - Ester

10 votes - Looma Red Wind

9 votes - Glitch

9 votes - Kai Green

7 votes - Alan Albright

6 votes - Jimmy Jones

4 votes - Cooper Daniels

3 votes - Eunice

3 votes - Helen Wheels

2 votes - Elena Validus

2 votes - Manny Armstrong

1 vote - Cash Murray

1 vote - Driba

Other votes went to Penny Bennyson, Kenny Tennyson/Spanner, Lucy Mann, Rook Shar, Eddie Grandsmith, Myaxx and Pakmar.

Q3. Ship or Zed

64% - Ship 36% - Zed

Q4. Favourite main antagonist 

20% - Albedo 13.3% - Kevin 11 12% - Vilgax 10.7% - Charmcaster 10.7% - Zs’Skayr 9.3% - Malware 5.3% - Forever Knights 5.3% - Eon 4% - Highbreed & DNAliens 4% - Aggregor 1.3% - Servantis & Rooters 1.3% - Khyber 1.3% - Dagon & the Esoterica

Some ‘Why’ responses for top 3:

Albedo -

When I first saw him during the airing of Good Copy, Bad Copy, I was scared that Albedo might be a one-and-done evil clone that doesn't get much development. These fears went away, and I was pleased to find out about his backstory and motives, just a sour soul in an unpleasant situation. Even in Ultimate Alien with his reappearance episode, he tries to work on his own to cope in a horrid human world. He isn't necessarily malicious until Ben gets in his way, he just wants to return to his own body and leave, even stating that he wasn't going to fight Ben anymore while he had temporarily returned to his Galvan form. I know DJW stated in some interview that Albedo could never be redeemed, but I believe there's some hope if he gets help. And I'm a sucker for those redemption arcs :)

Tragic frog man that could have been helped but nobody helped him and he doubled down on his hatred which led to him getting stuck in a cycle of revenge and punishment and it's the tragedy of how much better things could have been for him if someone just helped him that I love so much!!

Kevin 11 -

He’s very dangerous and has a terrifying power to absorb electricity and living DNA to have the same powers of who he absorbed it from and even turn himself into a mutant with all those powers combined leading to destructive power 

Kevin was a good antagonist and a good protagonist, although i feel the transition was rushed. Anti-hero kevin in the reboot is great!

Vilgax -

He was always the endgame villian for Ben, despite how many battles they've had, despite countless losses, he always tried to stay one step ahead, and plan everything.

"Speak with care, Psyphon. Your counsel is valuable...not irreplaceable."

Q5. Favourite minor villains 

38 votes - Animo 20 votes - Hex 18 votes - Michael Morningstar/Darkstar 14 votes - SixSix 13 votes - Zombozo 9 votes - Vreedle family 9 votes - Vulkanus 8 votes - Rojo 5 votes - Inspector 13 5 votes - Billy Billions 5 votes - Will Harangue 4 votes - Fistrick 4 votes - Nyancy Chan 3 votes - Lord Decibel 3 votes - Simian 3 votes - Subdora 3 votes - Viktor 2 votes - Addwaitya 2 votes - Fistina 2 votes - Kraab 2 votes - Psyphon 2 votes - Steam Smythe 2 votes - Sunder 1 vote - Liam 1 vote - Ssserpent

Other votes went to Maurice & Sydney, Bugg Brothers, Alternate evil Bens, and the Mummy.

Q6. Favourite canon relationship

66.7% - Gwen & Kevin 13.3% - Max Tennyson & Verdona 5.3% - Ben & Kai 4% - Rook & Rayona 1.3% - Julie & Herve 1.3% - Max & Xylene

Q7. Favourite non-canon ship

36% - I don’t have one 30.7% - Ben & Rook 6.7% - Ben & Kevin 4% - Ben & Julie

Other responses included Ben & Rex, Kai & Julie, Looma & Attea, Alan & Cooper, Ben & Looma, Kevin & Manny, Gwen & Cooper, Ben & Ester, Max & Phil, Azmuth & Paradox, Cooper & Elena, Kai & Ester, Ben & Zak Saturday, Ben & Eddie, Ben & Albedo, Ben & Kevin & Gwen, Kenny & Devlin, OC & canon, and Ben & a therapist. 

Q8. Favourite alien introduced in the Original Series

18.7% - XLR8 17.3% - Upgrade 13.3% - Ghostfreak 10.7% - Diamondhead 9.3% - Heatblast 8% - Wildmutt 6.7% - Ditto 2.7% - Blitzwolfer 2.7% - Snare-oh 2.7% - Grey Matter 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Four Arms

Q9. Least favourite alien introduced in the Original Series

22.7% - Eye Guy 18.7% - Spitter 8% - Articguana 8% - Frankenstrike 6.7% - Upchuck 6.7% - Stinkfly 5.3% - Buzzshock 5.3% - Snare-oh 4% - Four Arms 2.7% - Blitzwolfer 2.7% - Ditto 2.7% - Wildmutt 2.7% - Grey Matter 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Diamondhead 1.3% - Ghostfreak

Q10. Favourite alien introduced in Alien Force

46.7% - Big Chill 17.3% - Rath 8% - Goop 6.7% - Lodestar 5.3% - Swampfire 4% - Chromastone 4% - Spidermonkey 2.7% - Alien X 2.7% - Echo Echo 1.3% - Humungousaur 1.3% - Jetray

Q11. Least favourite alien introduced in Alien Force

18.7% - Lodestar 17.3% - Brainstorm 13.3% - Alien X 10.7% - Humungousaur 10.7% - Spidermonkey 8% - Jetray 8% - Chromastone 5.3% - Goop 5.3% - Echo Echo 2.7% - Rath

Q12. Favourite alien introduced in Ultimate Alien

18.7% - Juryrigg 16% - AmpFibian 14.7% - Clockwork 12% - NRG 8% - Armodrillo 8% - Shocksquatch 8% - Terraspin 8% - Water Hazard 2.7% - Chamalien 2.7% - Fasttrack 1.3% - Eatle

Q13. Least favourite alien introduced in Ultimate Alien

30.7% - Fasttrack 18.7% - Eatle 13.3% - Juryrigg 9.3% - Chamalien 8% - Shocksquatch 6.7% - Terraspin 5.3% - Water Hazard 4% - Clockwork 1.3% - AmpFibian 1.3% - Armodrillo 1.3% - NRG

Q14. Favourite Ultimate Form

38.7% - Echo Echo 24% - Big Chill 10.7% - Swampfire 9.3% - Way Big 8% - Wildmutt 6.7% - Spidermonkey 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Humungousaur

Q15. Favourite alien introduced in Omniverse

29.3% - Feedback 13.3% - Pesky Dust 12% - Gravattack 9.3% - Ball Weevil 8% - Bullfrag 6.7% - Whampire 5.3% - Bloxx 4% - Atomix 4% - Walkatrout 2.7% - Gutrot 1.3% - Crashhopper 1.3% - Kickin Hawk 1.3% - Toepick 1.3% - The Worst

Q16. Least favourite alien introduced in Omniverse

24% - The Worst 14.7% - Bloxx 12% - Mole-Stache 8% - Bullfrag 6.7% - Astrodactyl 6.7% - Kickin Hawk 5.3% - Atomix 5.3% - Gutrot 4% - Crashhopper 4% - Walkatrout 2.7% - Toepick 1.3% - Ball Weevil

Q17. Favourite alternate Ben timeline

29.3% - No watch Ben 24% - Gwen 10 17.3% - Ben 10,000 8% - Mad Ben 6.7% - Dimension 23 6.7% - Eon 4% - Nega Ben 2.7% - Benzarro 1.3% - Bad Ben

Misc.

Q1. Favourite watch design

37.3% - Original Series 29.3% - Omniverse 17.3% - Alien Force 9.3% - Ultimatrix 6.7% - Reboot

Q2. Favourite alternate watch design

29.3% - Biomnitrix 20% - Gwen 10 18.7% - Negatrix 17.3% - Antitrix 8% - Power Watch 6.7% - Hero Watch

Q3. Favourite planet visited

32% - Anur Transyl 20% - Revonnah 13.3% - Mykdl’dy 10.7% - Galvan Prime 9.3% - Vilgaxia 6.7% - Piscciss 5.3% - Petropia 2.7% - Khoros

Q4. Favourite locations

34 votes - Undertown 23 votes - Ledgerdomain 23 votes - Null Void 22 votes - Bellwood 19 votes - Friedkin University 18 votes - Mr. Smoothy 16 votes - Forge of Creation 15 votes - Los Soledad 7 votes - Burger Shack 7 votes - Plumber Headquarters 4 votes - Incarcecon 2 votes - Mt. Rushmore Plumber base 2 votes - The Perplexahedron 1 vote - Plumber Academy

Q5. Favourite Vehicle

33.3% - Kevin’s car (Original) 25.3% - Rustbucket 18.7% - Proto-TRUK 13.3% - DX Mark 10 5.3% - Kevin’s car (Omniverse) 4% - Glitch

Q6. Favourite Kevin mutation

40% - Original series 20% - Ken 10 future 12% - Ultimate Alien 8% - Omniverse 8% - Alien Force 6.7% - Omniverse flashback 5.3% - Reboot

Q7. Favourite Omniverse redesign

66.7% - Ben 26.6% - Kevin 6.7% - Gwen

Q8. Least favourite Omniverse redesign

76% - Gwen 18.7% - Kevin 5.3% - Ben

Thoughts

(Putting every single response here would make this insanely long so I’ve just put the most detailed/most echoed responses & include all sides of opinions when possible.)

Q1. Thoughts on the Osmosians retcon?

Okay, first up, do you know how much work I had already put into building shit surrounding those fuckers by the time of the retcons? I had been working on this crap since AF season 2! But no, they gotta go ruin that in one fell swoop, thank you, much appreciated. Second up, I wibble on it? Like, working with mutants is fun and interesting and I've done plenty of shit with them as well, but in the end I'm always going to be a pro-Ossys person. Mostly the retcons left more questions than they gave answers (how, if Osmosians never existed, did everybody and their mother know Kevin was an Osmosian? why, if Osmosians never existed, did none of the people not-involved in this whole disaster with Servantis's mindfuckery look at Aggregor being reported as an Osmosian and go 'wtf that's not a thing'? do they really mean to tell me that not only did Kevin never bother to look into his heritage, but neither did research-happy Gwen? or am I expected to believe the Rooters made enough fake information and put it out publicly that they fooled literally everyone? and if they did then why? when it would've done the same thing with less effort if they'd just, let Kevin be a mutant with a Plumber father who died) and I feel like they didn't really give enough to justify them. One of those cases of 'making your work less interesting to make it more 'accurate''. Personally, I forever keep working on Osmosians (where's the line where it just starts becoming your shit, I think I may be heading there) and I love on mutants and I flip between or combine the two as needed for whatever story I want to tell.

While the fake memories plot isn't great I think it's for the best because the original series meant for Kevin to be a mutant while UAF changed it to alien. I like him better as a mutant human. Too much alien connections in UAF.

I could scream for hours. Easily one of the worst decisions they ever made. Omniverse picks and chooses what canon to follow from AFUA + the original run and throws it in without care or concern to what it means for the timeline. Retconning something and keeping the effect it had is just bad writing. Kevin coming to terms with not being human and that’s okay was important to me when I was a kid. Knowing that he’s just been on an unending series of brainwashed nonsense all his life deprives him of his agency. I hate this decision more than several dozen essays could ever convey.

I wasn't mad about it. Mainly because I liked the idea of Kevin being a mutant than an alien. Alien Force really was pushing that aspect even with Gwen. To the point where she called her powers 'not spells' because of her heritage. Stupid that the rooters and fake memories were a thing, but necessary.

I was never a big fan of the Rooters Arc, but this doesn't bother me too much. It makes UA a little weird with Aggragor, but again, it doesn't really bother me, as most of Omniverse didn't explore Kevin (While UA Did), and was mostly about Ben.

Osmosians were such a cool idea, and it would've allowed for more exploration into what Mike Morningstar was as well, but just writing them off as mutates is so boring. As well as it makes Aggregors whole part not really make sense, like who is he then.

While well executed, it was unnecessary. You could have had the same story line where Kevin was used to mutate other kids and still had him an Alien. You could have had it where it was another alien species that used Osmosians to morph other species to theirs; a call back to the DNAliens if you want.

Q2. Thoughts on how the Ultimate Kevin situation was dealt with in UA?

Terrible. They wanted to go far. They wanted to go dark. But they didn't think their viewership could handle it so they dialed it back. I will always be curious to know what they would have written if they didn't have those constraints. Because the final product was a mess of contrasting tone and unsure footing about how far to go with questioning our hero's moral compass. They wanted to push Ben to see what he would do and apparently, we got that he would kill Kevin and maybe Gwen if she got in the way of saving the universe.... but not really because he didn't. And then the gang is happy all back together like none of it ever happened. They wanted to explore dark themes but have it leave no consequences on the characters. Also... it was so ableist and awful and Kevin deserved better than how Ben and Max (and the writers) treated him.

If they did everything the same but the argument was 'we need to capture him and lock him away' instead of 'we need to kill him'? I would be fine. It's the fact that they slipped so quickly into murder, into murder by his 16-yo bestfriend, that gets me. Like, there's apparently no space between 'recklessly risk our safety trying to talk him down' and 'Ol' Yeller his ass' and that just does not sit right with me.

Ben should have looked for alternate solutions before jumping on the "Let's kill Kevin" train. I understand why he did (this took place immediately post-Aggregor so Ben was still traumatized about having lost so many people and because he failed and "let" Kevin get turned into Ultimate Kevin, he felt as though every person Kevin hurt would be on him) but I wish he hadn't.

Pretty good actually. I like Gwen's emotions becoming a hindrance to the job, I like Ben putting on his big boy pants and I like Kevin going up to Aggregor and saying "y'know, I was a big boy villain once and I'm tried of just getting kicked around" (obviously paraphrasing)

Other than the scenario being overplayed, I think Ben was right. Kevin was eventually going to end up killing Gwen and he'd already put others in the hospital. He needed to be stopped.

Ben jumping straight to murder, yikes. Kevin dismissing Gwen to hang out with Ben almost as soon as he turned back to normal, yikes. Otherwise, it was an interesting plotline.

Really bad. Really shows how awful max and the plumbers really are. I mean , the guy saved the universe and now he clearly needs help but all they wanted to do was kill him.

it really felt like Ben just wanted to murder Kevin because he saved the universe that one time and Ben couldn't stand someone else being the hero for once

The worst, Max straight away wanting to put him down makes u wonder how long he's been waiting for that kind of opportunity.

I'm fine with it, maybe they could have spent some time dealing with the consequences of Kevin's actions, possibly even the ramifications it had on Ben and Kevin's friendship, but overall I'm ok with it.

Q3. Thoughts on the Plumbers

Plumbers ain't shit. Individuals can be acceptable or not but the organization as a whole has too much power, not enough oversight, utilizes child labor, uses a deathtrap of a hellscape dimension as a penal colony, has been shown onscreen sentencing people to imprisonment in said dimension without a trial, and I'm sorry the fact that a Plumber official could walk into a base with his team, assault several members of staff, attempt to kidnap a boy, admit to having and planning to continue to run illegal experiments on him and others, admit to having altered the memories of other Plumber officials, all in front of the entire base, and nothing was done until he tried to kill the golden child Ben 10 and failed, got his ass kicked by one of his victims, and in a place where presumably there were security cameras? And that the response was, again, to sentence him and his team without trial, take all the evidence, and peace out without so much as looking at nonetheless apologizing to his victims? Yeah, that don't fly. Doesn't sound like an organization that has it's shit together. Either the Plumbers don't have their shit together or the higher ups were in on it until it became something that could actually damage their reputation, and either way I Do Not Approve.

They're pretty cool. I know everyone's talking about how Plumbers are space cops and therefore absolutely corrupt and bad but this is a fictional universe in which corruption in organized forces isn't a necessity. Plumbers don't function the same way real cops do, they don't follow they same chain of command, they don't have the same motivations and they definitely don't have the same biases. Plumbers perform an essential function in the Ben 10 universe, which is to capture and contain aliens who aim to hurt anyone (or those who Ben defeats).

My knowledge of the Plumbers' unfortunately doesn't go beyond UA. They're not my favorite thing ever. Some of my least favorite episodes were the ones where the Plumbers or Plumbers' kids are involved, except for the episode "Everybody Talks About the Weather". The way Alan is introduced is really cool and very X Files-esque, and it ties into the DNAlien plot very well. But throughout the series I stopped caring about the Plumbers in general and I think that concept was given too much attention.

They don't do what they're meant to. They act like heros yet I don't think I've ever seen them do anything heroic. The DNAliens situation, the aggregor situation, dagon etc etc. Where were they??? Why did they leave the fate of the universe in the hands of a 16 year-old boy? Ben has the omnitrix sure , but he's still just one guy, how much can he fight? They showed up every once in a while but that's it. They were useless.

Of course the Plumbers have their problems, but looking at most characters we've met that were plumbers seem to be pretty good people. Max, Patelliday and Rook (and even Kevin, technically) are great examples of Plumbers, Servantis being a bad example of one.

Honestly liked it when it was disbanded. It’s cool they introduced Rook but like there’s so much wrong with how they run most things. My favorite version of the plumbers was tbh the first live action movie. Where it was just a bunch of old people watching out for Ben cause they actually cared about the people they protected (in this case Ben).

Q4. Thoughts on Grandpa Max

(The responses to this one were way more divided than I thought they would be omg)

He said Kevin was a mad dog that needed to put down. He's terrible. Military. Secretive. Kept his kids out of the loop and probably told the grandkids not to tell them about a huge and extremely dangerous part of their lives. Thus creating a gap between them and their parents that didn't need to be there. Child endangerment. Other than that....? He's important to Ben and Gwen so I tolerate him and he had some good life lessons to share. Also legendary adult figure in a kids cartoon who had relationships with multiple aliens.

He’s incredible, he worked in the Air Force, was going to be one of the first people on the moon (But he refused because he joined the Plumbers) had children with an Energy Being, he has a few grandchildren, and not to mention knows how to still kick butt despite him being in his 60s and was there to help Ben grow

He’s a complicated old man. Love him to bits in the original run and I love him in AF! He’s a utilitarian doing what needs to be done and suffering the consequences when need be. He does what he thinks is going to lead to the best possible outcome for the most people in any situation.

Needs to get knocked off his pedestal more often, both in and out of canon. He's got good traits, they're very nice, but there's other shit that gets glossed over, ignored, brushed aside, too easily forgiven, and just. They really needed a character who served double duty being a counterforce to him. Somebody to go 'wtf is wrong with you?' or 'yeah, no'. Ideally this would've been Patilidae, but no. We couldn't be so lucky.

Conflicted. Was he grooming Ben for plumber work, or just trying to support him in a situation he knew would be dangerous? It’s not made very clear...

I think he's got some sort of narcissistic personality disorder. I just can't forgive him for making Ben carry the burden of the Omnitrix at the age of 10 without ever explaining anything, and for not letting Ben and Gwen know he was alive after the Null Void grenade incident in AF. He clearly could have, if Helen could reach Gwen so easily. I think he views Ben more as an asset than a grandson at this point and that's really sad.

I love him! The progression from family hero to questionable old man felt kinda natural, like learning about a family member as you grow older and realizing they aren't perfect

He's awesome. He was a good role model for Ben and he was very supportive to both his grandkids. I hate that they made him mute in Omniverse and changed his design so drastically. I loved Max in every season from the original till Ultimate Alien. After that, he was pretty much just a prop.

Q5. And finally, give me your most controversial Ben 10 opinion!

It seems to be the worst thing to say that Ben isn't perfect and that Kai isn't demonic. And it's pretty standard for the women of color characters in every fandom to get the most hate so to me all the hate towards Kai when her personality is so close to Ben's AND she's also more hated than the ex-villain and the actual villains that tried to kill Ben multiple times just seems- hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. But really, and really I've needed to say this for a long time but I'm afraid of being strangled. Some fans will denounce incest/pedo shippers and people that interact with them and then reblog from a proud Bwen shipper with no self-awareness. Please I have the tags blacklisted are you safe to interact with and you just don't know? Or you're just saying you hate Bwen shippers to give yourself an out for reblogging their content????? Or are you all closeted incest shippers trying to maintain a public image???? I'm at my limit.

I do not think the reboot should have existed tbh :,D I know that it has a ton of fans and all due respect to them, but from what I've seen of it I don't think it was worth tossing away four interconnected series' worth of development and starting from scratch to end up with what we have now. I would be fine with it existing if we got an Omniverse continuation alongside it, but CN screwed OV over by the decisions they made near the end of it's run. So it's probably impossible it would return, even moreso because of the reboot already airing, and it would probably confuse younger audiences that don't know about Omniverse if two Ben 10's were running separately. I just really miss Omniverse, it had more potential and the reboot placed the final nail in for it to ever return.

The Ben 10 reboot is fun and meant more for kids rather than the ones watching for nostalgia. I didn’t like how Gwevin were sidelined and downplayed to make Ben look better. Sometimes it felt like Gwen was a bit naggy towards the two of them. I didn’t like how the fact that she was the only female lead how she had sometimes act like a parent or that they put Gwen and Kevin together just because. Their relationship felt forced and awkward a lot of the time. Omniverse’s designs while controversial were fun and unique but I didn’t like what they did with Gwevin, especially Gwen.

Kevin is totally smart enough to figure out an Omnitrix with the blueprints in front of him, we see him do amazing shit with technology- including the Omnitrix- in the OG series, people just don't notice he's as brilliant as Gwen because the show never made it as big a point that he and Ben were so very smart like it did with her before the reboot, so now they're being forced to acknowledge that Kevin might have two braincells to rub together and they're pushing against the supposed 'change'.

idk if it's controversial but there should've been way more episodes of just gwen & kevin & rook without ben or ben having a very minor role in the episode. just more time for those three to shine and show off how capable they are without ben always having to come in to save the day at the end

Gwen and Kevin aren't good friends to Ben. I mean they were initially, but once he got famous and they didn't, they stopped putting more than a half-assed effort to help him. They also don't really consider his feelings nor really care about the toll heroing takes on him.

The Reboot has the best jokes in the entire franchise and I don't why people give it so much crap.

Kai Green is an abuser and I refuse to find anything redeemable about her character. "Worthy to wield Excalibur," my entire ass. And Ben and Julie's breakup was good for them both, as people, and just as much her fault as it was his.

Ben 10 is an incredibly flawed show and people need to stop getting butt hurt when the blatant misogyny, and copoganda in the show get pointed out or when any even minority critiques Ben's character.

Ben is the worst character in Ben 10 and the whole franchise would be better off without him.

Azmuth is fine for the most part and malware was not exactly the most understanding person

I think Ben should've stayed single. Every episode where romance (or the girl Ben was dating) was the focus of the episode was pretty boring to me, personally.

Ben's parents were right to try to stop him from being a hero, so were Gwen's.

Ultimate alien force season 2 and 3 were amazing.( not comparing the OS since obviously that's the best, or omniverse since I haven't watched all the episodes of that)

Pierce deserved to die for being a boring character. I just wish his death had actual consequences.

The reboot is a genuine improvement over the original continuity in MANY ways!

Oh geez, um, Kai was a good character, just her and ben were obviously toxic. Not everyone needs to like Ben and she isn't an abuser, they just don't get along and that's fine but by God, why did the writers have to force them in a relationship? That's all I could really think of on the spot. Oh! And that the first two season of AF were a watered down version of Ben and the plot focused more on Gwen and Kevin than it did Ben. He felt like a side character and I'm not mad about that, but I don't understand why people praise that characterization of ben when I remember more about gwen and Kevin then Ben. Dude, I've been watching the show for the past week and I can name more about kevin and gwen because they're memorable.

Azmuth's hot af, but y'all aren't ready for that conversation...

----

If you’ve made it this far then thank you!

Again huge thank you to everyone who submitted a response and if you have any questions/comments please feel free to leave them in the replies/send me an ask/dm/whatever ^^

[kbox-in-the-box]

My interview with Parker Stevenson about “Probe” on ABC in 1988:

Parker Stevenson and Ashley Crow, in a promotional photo for Probe on ABC in 1988.

Probe is one of the best short-lived genre TV series you've never heard of.

It ran for seven episodes, from March 7 through April 14 of 1988, on ABC.

It was the joint creation of legendary science fiction author Isaac Asimov and William Link, the latter of whom also co-created (with Richard Levinson) such critically and commercially successful mysteries as Columbo and Murder, She Wrote.

It costarred Parker Stevenson of The Hardy Boys as eccentric scientist Austin James, and Ashley Crow — who would later play Sandra Bennet on NBC’s Heroes — as his exasperated secretary, and potential love interest, Michelle “Mickey” Castle.

And it remains Stevenson’s favorite, of all the shows he’s worked on, so back in 2015, I decided to contact him about it. In spite of his hectic schedule, as both an actor and a professional photographer, he was gracious enough to answer my questions via email.

Q: I recall you saying in an interview at the time that you’d decided you were done with series television, until Probe changed your mind. Given that stance, how did you come to be involved in this show?

A: Having recently worked for ABC and Universal on The Hardy Boys, they came back to me with the offer for Isaac Asimov’s Probe. The chance to be in an ongoing TV series overseen by Isaac Asimov was too hard to resist. In truth, I was lucky to get the offer.

Q: In another interview, I believe you alluded to becoming a more avid reader as you got older. Were you already acquainted with Isaac Asimov’s works by the time you started working on this show? Likewise, were you a fan of any of William Link’s other shows, such as Columbo?

A: I knew of [Asimov] as one of the great minds of the 20th Century, but had read little of his actual writings. That changed when I committed to being on the show. I was very aware of William Link’s other shows. He was a major force in TV programming at the time. But it was Michael Wagner who I worked the most closely with. He was a really gifted writer, and I hoped to continue working with Michael after Probe ended, but he died too early, and that was a great loss.

Q: You’ve mentioned identifying with the character of Austin James to a certain extent. Which of his traits were you able to connect with most easily, and which did you find the most fun to portray?

A: Too much of Austin James was me, which isn’t exactly a good thing. What made it easy but uncomfortable to play him is that I have the same degree of limited attention span, obsession with “why,” idiosyncrasy, and I’m mostly a loner. I also talk way too fast.

Q: Your onscreen partner was Ashley Crow as Mickey Castle, and your characters had a very casual yet engaging chemistry. What was it like working with her?

A: Ashley was relatively new to series television, and she was a breath of fresh air, which I’m sure is why she was cast. It was easy, easy, so easy working with her, and that’s not always the case.

Q: You’ve alluded in several interviews to staying in touch with your Hardy Boys costar Shaun Cassidy. Given your expressed fondness for Probe, are there any members of its cast or crew that you’ve remained in contact with?

A: Yes, I have gotten to see the director of the pilot, Alan Levy, sporadically over the years, and the director Rob Bowman, who I worked with many times on Baywatch, and who went on to work on The X-Files and, more recently, Castle. Both are talented filmmakers and good men.

Q: Like many television shows in the 1980s, Probe had a bit of a “ship-tease” between its male and female leads. Do you know if there were any plans to go any further in hinting at a possible romance between Austin and Mickey? Furthermore, what would have been your preference for how their relationship would have been handled?

A: No one ever mentioned consummating any relationship between Austin or Mickey, but it would have been a mistake, as it was at the time on Remington Steele. The effort to create some quick ratings numbers never plays out in the end, when the relationship loses its flirtatious energy.

Q: Probe tackled a number of heady topics and concepts, from artificial intelligence to the morality of animal experimentation. Were there any scientific subjects that you might have enjoyed seeing featured in an episode of the show?

A: I always thought Asimov’s perspective on the question of how societal pressures and conventions and/or the advertising industry’s marketing affect our choices, thinking and behavior would have been really interesting to see play out.

Q: Which are your most and least favorite episodes of the show, both to work on and to watch later on?

A: My favorite episode on Probe was one called “Metamorphic Anthropoidic Prototype Over You.” It starred an orangutan named Sunshine. I swear she was smarter than all of us put together. I loved the season of episodes we made because they were all so different, each from each other, and from any other show on at the time.

Q: If I remember correctly, you touted the long hours you put in on set, something like 10 hours at a stretch on some days. Were those typical hours for a TV show at the time, or were there specific demands to producing Probe that forced you to burn the midnight oil? Moreover, what were the biggest challenges to producing a show like Probe?

A: 10 hours a day was standard, but 12, 14, 16 and even 18 often occurred, especially on Fridays, when the union specified turnaround could be protected. That is all fine if you love what you are doing. What was unusual at the time was the fact that the show was filmed on location in Phoenix to save money. I guess it was the start of what would be called “runaway” production leaving the state of California.

Q: Given the number of 1980s entertainment franchises that have been successfully revived, do you know if anyone has considered bringing back Probe? The dynamic between Austin and Mickey seems to have inspired Mulder and Scully on The X-Files, which has itself influenced countless other shows.

A: I haven’t heard any talk about resurrecting Probe, but if it was, I would beg to be part of it.

Q: What fates do you imagine might have befallen the show’s characters by now, 27 years later?

A: Mickey would most likely be happily married with grown kids and living in Connecticut, while Austin would probably be in hiding like Howard Hughes in the desert somewhere.

Q: Are there any questions that I haven’t asked that you’d like to answer? In short, is there anything that I’ve left out here?

A: Why was working on Probe so fun? Because it was ahead of its time and smarter than the average show.

My thanks again to Parker Stevenson for sharing his informative insights on a show that surely deserved more of a chance.

[maryellencarter]

SO! A week or two ago I got the DVDs for both seasons of "Justice League: The Animated Series", which I hadn't seen in ten years and remembered loving a lot. Spoiler: I still love it a lot. I put off watching it for a while because I was scared I wouldn't, but then I watched it pretty much straight through without even stopping to liveblog.

So. THOUGHTS! ^_^ Any of y'all who've ever shared a fandom with me know I'm always around for one particular character. In this case, that's J'onn J'onzz, the big green guy, whose official comics codename (sensibly not used on the show) is Martian Manhunter.

(There's a bit in one of the tie-in comics where a parent is telling their kid "don't be scared, honey, he won't hurt you, that's the uhh... Martian Maneater..." which has never ceased to amuse me.)

Anyway, we all know I have a tendency to give reviews in the vein of "Good story but no werewolves", and it must be granted that I never did bother watching Justice League Unlimited because Carl Lumbly (J'onn's voice actor, Minnesota born and raised with Jamaican parents, which is apparently how you get a Martian accent I couldn't place to anywhere on Earth) wasn't a regular anymore. But y'know, it's a really good ensemble team too, even if I like Tim Daly's Superman (from Superman: The Animated Series in the same animated universe) a lot better than George Newbern's. Or, well, I did. I haven't heard *him* in ten years either. Anyway! Off topic.

SO ANYWAY. Obviously, spoilers hereabouts, although it's what, fifteen, twenty years old by now? But if you care about spoilers for somewhat elderly TV, you might not be following me anyhow.

So the meta premise, just in case anybody was unfamiliar, is thuswise: First there was Batman: The Animated Series, in which Mark Hamill was the best Joker while not being an asshole as a person, because he is a competent actor and not a dickwad. Then there was Superman: The Animated Series, which I remember as being a delight and I want to watch it again too someday. Then, because apparently if you have Batman and Superman the next step is the entire Justice League, there was this.

The actual premise is, that during an alien invasion of Earth, Superman and Batman rescue a prisoner, J'onn J'onzz, the last survivor of the Martian society the invader aliens wiped out. (J'onn and Clark get little bits of bonding over the last-of-their-kinds thing but I've always wanted more. In a fandom auction I once donated $60 for a fic on the topic, but life happened and I do not hold it against the person. Still a little sad though. It's not something I've ever quite been able to write myself.) J'onn has a whole grab-bag of superpowers including telepathy, with which he summons additional heroes The Flash (speedster, this one is twentyish goofball Wally West), Green Lantern (specifically John Stewart, a black ex-Marine), Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl (a winged humanoid-alien woman with an energy mace). Together, they fight crime! Mostly.

Specific episodes: I'm going to use "episode" to refer to the runtime covered by a single title so I don't have to say "two-parter" or "three-parter" every single time, because this show had literally only one single-part episode out of the whole 52 episodes.

* Secret Origins, three-parter: In which the Justice League is formed and repels the invasion of Earth by the aliens who wiped out J'onn's people. A very strong start, good character intros. I will never be over the very small worldbuilding fact that J'onn is rescued by Superman and Batman, and has seen nobody else on Earth yet but invader aliens (these are what used to be called the White Martians but the show does not use this name either which I think was a wise choice), so when he shapeshifts from his more alien "natural" Martian form to the look which will be his default for the series, he chooses a briefs-and-cape look because based on the two examples he's seeing, that's what Earth people wear. It's not explicitly called out, but it's a great way to make it a little less... comic-booky that you have no less than three extra-beefy guys with almost identical costume silhouettes here.

I think the arc between Batman and J'onn is one of my favorite parts of this, the way Batman starts out being like "I still don't trust him" and winds up trusting him enough that it's their teamwork which saves the world this go-round. Also, speaking as a fan who likes me some whump, can we talk about the scene where J'onn is being mindprobed with all those tentacles under his skin? I have so fucking many feels about that scene, okay. God, that whole climactic sequence is so damn good. And his tiny lil smile at the end of the last episode! I do love me some microexpressions, nonetheless that they are animated. (I can't draw so I am constantly boggled by just the skill it has to take to draw a character so on-model that varying one line by a few pixels Says Things.)

* In Blackest Night, two-parter: The one where the extremely Kirby-designed cop robots frame Green Lantern into believing he blew up an inhabited planet. Introduces several alien members of the Green Lantern Corps. Flash trying and failing to act as GL's lawyer is fairly embarrassment-squicky to me; many of the things anybody does with Flash on this show are fairly embarrassment-squicky, although he does get some great moments. René Auberjonois does two voices, as a spherical Green Lantern and as the "witness" who helps frame GL. The climactic scene is great -- sometimes the Green Lantern ditty just doesn't work, but between the sound design and the animation and Phil Lamarr's voice acting, this scene blows me away every time. I feel like this one could have been shorter though.

* The Enemy Below, two-parter: In which (blond) Aquaman guest-stars, J'onn takes on the first of many roles where he acts as bait by impersonating a villain's target, and the thing where Aquaman cuts off his own hand to escape a manacle is very tastefully handled for a kids' show. I probably would have found that scene way too suspenseful and traumatic as a kid but I was an extremely sensitive small child. Opinions on this episode: I don't really have many. This universe's Aquaman is a *dick* who appears to live by the rule that you must always fight a superhero when you meet one on the street before explaining your business. I always squee when somebody turns out to be J'onn, because I've usually forgotten. (He usually is people and not animals or, like Odo more than once, a bag. I wonder if he has some conservation of mass thing going on or if it's just easier to animate when you keep your same basic arrangement of limbs.)

* Injustice for All, two-parter: Lex Luthor, dying of kryptonite poisoning, puts together the Injustice Gang to try to destroy the Justice League. He didn't invite the Joker, but Hulk expy and heavy hitter Solomon Grundy is also voiced by Mark Hamill, so the Joker naturally turns up around the point where Luthor captures Batman, commentating on Luthor's misguidedness in keeping Bats alive and generally providing a running peanut gallery. Clancy Brown and Mark Hamill are both always fun, so this one is pretty entertaining.

* Paradise Lost: Wonder Woman backstory-ish episode. A sorcerer turns the other Amazons to stone, then blackmails Diana into stealing four artifacts for him, which he assembles into a key to free the god Hades from Tartarus. Notable mainly for the extreme mangling of Greek mythic cosmology into an aggressively Christian shape. Not good. It does have J'onn and Flash teamed for a bit, which is interesting, and J'onn gets to one-punch a giant magic brass cobra, but that's about all there is to speak for it. It looks like the writer also did my very least favorite two-parter of the whole series, unless this is some sort of Alan Smithee situation, because the name is Joseph Kuhr and I have a half-memory I can't catch that there is *something* more than coincidence in the whole, you know. "Joe-Kuhr" thing?

* War World: Apparently this one was pretty nearly universally hated. I do not hate it, because the concept "Superman and J'onn are accidentally blown across the galaxy together and sold to an alien gladiatorial arena" is something I am 110% down for, but I wanted a lot more interaction between them and possibly a lot more fic. I can't decide if I actually want to ship them, but they're obviously very close and I want to see more than snippets of that, dammit.

That's halfway through season one. Imma go sleep. more later.

[taekooktimeline]

“Essentially say that gay people just don’t exist in South Korea is not only really homophobic it’s really insulting who live this life and those who support their friends and family members.”

1 - I agree 200% with the statement above. Honestly, I feel kinda sad seen how much people are so ignorant about the LGBT community and it’s history. Like, there are studies that says that doesn’t matter how much a society is homophobic, LGBT people will STILL exist in it and it will be in the same proportion of societies that accepts it. And it doesn’t matter if they decide to come out of the closet or not, THEY ARE STILL GOING TO EXIST.

2 - Like, in my country people are relatively more open about sexuality and about coming out and I still know people that aren’t out of the closet, and that’s ok because individuality exists either!

3 - It doesn’t take much to understand this like... who doesn’t know Oscar Wilde’s and Alan Turing’s history and context, for example?

4 - And honestly, it’s not a surprise kpop fans want to believe so bad that they are all straight, (even when this is statistically totally impossible), considering they are mostly straight girls who feels attraction towards them... But it would be good if some of them were at least a little more thoughtful I would say...🙃

5 - If people don’t like a shipp/or shipping that’s totally okay, but saying LGBT people don’t exists is SO out of reality.

6 - Imagine an LGBT idol/ any famous person from SK seeing people like this, that explains why it’s so much more interesting to keep their private life just private. Because they just wanna live and be happy like any other normal person. And it’s a shame cause people from SK could have much more representation in the mainstream media... And we all know that representation is very important in any form. ❤️

Please, don’t bother about answering this, I just got kind mad and had to make some comments. LOL.

And thank you for being so patient with this project!

Hi Anon! I know you said don’t worry about writing back but I have to it was really nice to wake up to a positive message🥺Like you, I’m also frustrated with the ignorance of lgbtq throughout history. Ancient Rome .. Sparta .. Japanese samurai and Japanese Buddhist monks all have historical notes related to this (and interestingly enough for Japanese Buddhist monks, heterosexual activity was considered a worse offense than homosexual activities, which was called a lapse in self control). The shift in Japanese acceptance of homosexuality was based on the Meiji Restoration + WESTERN cultural influence .. so I continue to be confused how people hold the west to such a pinnacle when you factor in things like that, or the acceptance rate of lgbtq in America in 2020. Not only that, the American FBI and the NVC, have noted since 2013 there has been a rise in crimes against lgbtq in America, especially to transgender and non-binary.

So for people to say the west is great, simply because gay marriage is legalized , and Korea is supposedly such a Stone Age country .. is just a level of ignorance that frustrates me. Lgbtq will exist, whether they’re out or not. And When the stats and various polls, research and natives say a country is getting progressive, and the numbers show it, I’m not following how this is looking at it with blinders on. The reality is they are getting better but again, you’ll never convince 100% of a population. It’s not possible. There ARE still homophobic people there (and as I previously mentioned, the COVID outbreak in itaewon is an example .. I didn’t sweep that under the rug in my argument as anon seems to have ignored..). I personally saw this was a big step, the Itaewon case received INTERNATIONAL attention and not only did people within Korea try to make President Moon say something (because yes while there is hate there are also those who defend), but people from the international community condemned South Korea’s handling of this issue and treatment of LGBTQ individuals. But the reality is, unfortunately there are homophobic people everywhere. Progression takes time. Plus, to that person who said watch YouTube videos.. there are also plenty of YouTube videos that have gone around South Korea interviewing people of all ages about this issue and they have recognized their own barriers and resilience to overcome them (e.g. saying that everyone has the right to love, recognizing that they don’t understand it but they come from a different generation and people are free to love how they want.) Granted these people also don’t make up an entire society, but it goes to show that there are two sides to every coin.

Like you said .. it’s not hard to understand homosexuality has existed in all centuries. Michaelangelo had a lover! And you’re absolutely right about representation. Normalization happens through representation, and a positive in that regard is seeing an increase in BL dramas, with Korea releasing two last year. Especially since Where Your Eyes Linger was considered amongst Korean fans one of the first BL dramas that wasn’t reliant on overt stereotypes of the gay community.

lgbtq people are going to exist regardless. It doesn’t matter what country or family they’re born into. I think Kpop is extremely toxic, and I agree it would be nice if people would be more considerate instead of being hell bent on painting lgbtq people out of the equation entirely. people think that individuals can just turn attraction on or off or that just because they’re South Korean means lgbtq don’t exist is merely perpetuating a narrative that is so engrained in society everywhere - not just South Korea - and is incredibly damaging. That Quora answer .. and the “western box” BS .. ahh I’m frustrated 😌

Ahhh as you can tell by me ranting in my answer to your positive commentary, this topic is something I’m quite passionate about hahaha😅I’m glad to read someone whose equally as passionate! 🥰 i really enjoyed reading your commentary and I’m sorry this ended up so long! And thank you for reading the blog 🥰💜I’m hoping we can get back to cute and more fun, fluffy topics now! I get sidetracked when I say I won’t anymore 🤣

Sara: Thank you for jumping in the conversation! I agree with your points 😌 The “western box” anon is quite infuriating.

[loreweaver-universe]

And that’s...the show.

What a clever way to get Lake off the train.  On multiple levels!  Not only was it clever in-character, but her escape came from her accepting her nature at long last--which was what would have brought her own number down to zero.  That’s such an excellent way to end her journey--truly, she was the same as a passenger the whole time.

That was a good finale.  Not the action-packed ending that season 1 got, but it didn’t need to be, really.  It was different from Tulip’s journey in ways where a bigger action sequence than what we got wouldn’t have been appropriate.  In fact, the fight with Sieve feels kind of like an afterthought--it wasn’t obviously, it tied off an important loose end and gave Alan Dracula something to do in the final two episodes, but it didn’t really feel like a proper focus of the episode.

Showing off One-One’s weird blue-and-orange morality system was really cool.  Watching him actually get trapped in logic loops was fascinating, and I think he was used VERY well here.

Alan Dracula was a fun sideshow character, but often felt like he was just there for the animators and writers to play around with, rather than an essential part of the team like Atticus and One-One were in season 1.

Jesse was a good deuteragonist!  Shut up, Tumblr spellcheck, that’s a word.  Jesse’s journey was simple--come to terms with the fact that he and his friends were bullies, and it was very deftly done.  The fact that the train reorders its cars and constructs them for individual passengers’ journeys makes it interesting that his final obstacle was confronting the Apex--the train even works other passengers into its plans.  Which, ironically, makes the Apex more denizen than passenger.  Anyways, Jesse’s journey was simple and well-handled, which is good because he wasn’t actually who the story was about.

That would be Lake.  Mirror Tulip.  Horseradish, as I’ve been tagging her since season 1.  The Chrome Car was my second-favorite episode of season 1, due to excellent character drama, excellent horror, and excellent writing all around.  I remember wishing very much that Lake had joined Tulip on her journey--clearly, the people writing the show wanted to keep telling her story, too, because we got a whole season of it.  Lake’s journey of self-discovery and self-actualization was a really fascinating one.  Watching her slowly come out of her prickly shell until she was finally ready to accept herself for who she was was an excellent journey.  I really do think it’s SUCH good writing that she basically got her own number down to zero right when she got One-One to let her off the train.

Mace and Sieve turned out to be excellent villains, as well--Mace more than Sieve, really, but Mace got more focus and had more presence, and rightfully so.  My favorite episode of the season focuses on him and Tulip, after all.  What an excellent bastard.

All in all, a good season, but not quite as strong as the first one.  That’s not a low bar to fail, though.  Excellent work all around, and I’m delighted with the ending.

The final episode just wasn’t as strong an ending as season one’s though, and wasn’t the best episode in season 2 by a couple places.  The Tape Car was creepier and focused on horror, which I liked a lot, and The Wasteland was just fantastic.  It also has to compete with some VERY strong episodes in season 1--which, again, is not a low bar to fail.  All in all, I’d place The Number Car at my new #3 for season 2, between The Lucky Cat Car (which was very funny, but didn’t have the emotional or dramatic stuff The Number Car did) and The Tape Car (which I’ve already covered), as well as my new #7 overall, between The Lucky Cat Car and The Cat’s Car, which did drama and horror VERY well.

That’s it for Infinity Train, at least until we maybe get a third season!  In a couple days, I’m going to make a post on my Patreon asking for show suggestions for what to replace Infinity Train with in the main slots, and then we’ll have the poll to replace it a few days after that.  I’ll keep you posted as to what the results of that are!  In the meantime, up next is going to be this month’s Patron Picks--as usual, I’ll be doing Paranoia Agent, Baccano, and then A Place Further Than the Universe.  After that, we’ll be getting back to She-Ra for a solid while--I’ll be starting Season 2, so stay tuned for that!

Streamwise, I streamed the first part of my blind playthrough of Transistor yesterday (which you can view here) and will be starting what I think will be the rest of the game shortly.  If you want to tune into that live, head on over to my Twitch channel and give me a follow!  That should be happening within the hour.

As always, thank you all for tuning in, and thank you very much to the 62 patrons who make it possible for me to do this for a living!  I’ll see you next time!

IN OTHER NEWS:

I recently completed my blind playthrough of Transistor!  You can see the full playlist of those streams by clicking here!

I recently completed my playthrough of Final Fantasy VII Remake!  You can see the full playlist of those streams by clicking here!

I recently completed my playthrough of the second story campaign in Fire Emblem: Three Houses!   You can view all the streams of the Golden Deer and Black Eagles routes I have done by clicking here!

If you’d like to help me pay my rent, buy me some food, or help with my bills and medicine, please use my direct donation link!  If you’d like to support me per liveblog completed every month, please pledge to my Patreon! Becoming a patron not only allows you to vote on what shows I do whenever I choose a new one, but also grants access to the community Minecraft server to $5 patrons or higher!

You should also go pledge to Gio’s Patreon–our Discord server maintenance tech, creator of Rubybot, and community Minecraft server overlord deserves far more than I can afford to pledge to him by myself.

If you’d like more of me and my content:

My Episode Lists master page, where you can find every show and liveblog I’ve done!

My Discord server, where you can come hang out with me and other fans, check out member liveblogs, and join community gaming guilds!

My Twitch channel, where I stream variety games every so often!

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My ask blog, where you can send me questions and comments!

My Twitter, where I make announcements about liveblogs and streams!

It’s your kindness and support that lets me do this stuff, and I wouldn’t be where I am without all of you to do it for.  Thank you all so much for your support, and for tuning in every episode!

OTHER PEOPLE YOU MAY ENJOY:

I may have been one of the earlier Steven Universe liveblogs, but a whole community of livebloggers has sprung up over the last five years!   I linked to a bunch individually for a few wrap-ups, but honestly, this end-slate is already eight billion miles long, so I’m just gonna link to my links page.  Click here if you want recommendations of other livebloggers, or other neat people, or webcomics and podcasts that I recommend.

[darkestwolfx]

Inferno - Re-Review #49

Is this it’s first TV appearance? Yes, it is. The episode that never aired (in the UK) - even in the Series 2 re-runs, due to the Grenfell Tower fire. Now, it is finally being given its long awaited slot- Oh, no, hold fire.

We still can’t (or it’s been decided not to) air ‘Inferno’ in the UK because of the case being in court, being held off by the current situation. I do completely understand that - I’m not unsympathetic in anyway, but - for us fans - this is a gem of an episode that is being swept under the carpet, which is why I’m reviewing it in this series anyway, because it really does deserve it’s place in the lineup in my opinion. (And I’m a little OCD and on’t want it out of order too much so I’m doing it now not later. If they air it after ‘The Long Reach’ I’ll be annoyed)!

Anyhow, this is the first of two reviews for today and we get to start with a lovely tall tower. Now, when has that ever been a good idea? This episode bears similarities to ‘Towering Inferno’ and ‘City of Fire’ (TOS).

This is another one of our ‘Joker’s’ Club - Current members;

Light-fingered Fred

Ms Baker

Langstrom Fischler

Francois Lemaire

Mr Yost

Professor Harold

Feel free to suggest others and I will add them to the Hall of Shame. (Ned is saved because he’s actually nice and he has the best intentions, he just can’t achieve them. I like Ned okay? He doesn’t deserve to be in this club).

Today anyhow, this show of stupidity is all in the interest of breaking a record - because one man can’t handle the fact that someone built a building taller than his. That would be Mr Yost - I think his place in the above hall is aptly given.

“This is the Crystal Spire! The World’s first StarScraper. I designed it to be the world’s tallest structure, then they built a bigger one in Dubai. Tonight, ’m going to raise the  entire building by seven record shattering metres. Trust me, the lifting process is 100% safe.”

Do you know what else they said that about? Moving The Empire State Building in TOS’ ‘Terror In New York City’. We all know how that one ended.

It did look pretty for a moment there, before you know, all the fires burst out and everything.

“Your job is to make sure those electrojacks hold. If they fail, fire will be the lest of our problems.”

Yeah... we’d have another Empire State incident on our hands and no one wants that. Big Ben’s probably going to fall into the Thames one day as it already is, we don’t need the ‘grand’ Crystal Spire joining it.

“Please, please, save my building!”

Idiot.

“I think you mean save those people!”

I like her already. She can stay.

Cue acting faces;

Put on your best shocked and worried expressions!

I think this lot nailed it.

Bravely going where no firefighters have gone before! Putting out fires to save lives, and accidentally getting trapped beneath about eight tonnes of rubble. Not so hooray..

I wonder if Conrad’s brother is one of these firefighters? That would have been a nice touch. Slough isn’t London, but isn’t too far away. It’s not outside the realms of possibility.

“We can’t do this alone. International Rescue, come in. It’s McCready. That offer still good?”

“Absolutely Chief. We’re on our way.”

Oh the annoying title cards are back interrupting the flow. Someone obviously ‘forgot’ to do an extra bit of animating... again.

Nice little throwback to ‘Move and You’re Dead’ here. Not that Alan’s won anything at this point.

“Make me look cool.”

“We haven’t got all day.”

“Oh, and really heroic.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“And make sure you show how totally good looking I am.”

I feel like this is what Virgil does when he starts painting - he just half listen and answers quickly and shortly.

Alan is such a poser. Has he ever played Musical Statues do you think? The point is staying still. So I think not. In fairness though, he probably never had a normal styled birthday party.

“Erherm... International Rescue, we have a situation. Virgil, Alan, we need you both in Thunderbird Two.”

“Alan, you can move now!”

John honestly looks very confused and amused.

Cue everyone gasping over the arrival of Thunderbird Two. It is a pretty cool sigyht.

“That is one tall tower.”

“Crystal Spire. One thousand,one hundred and twenty five metres, ground to tip.It’s supposed to be some sort of architectural masterpiece.”

“It probably looks a lot better when it’s not on fire. Chief McCready, this International Rescue.”

“Meet me up on the 47th floor and be prepare for some heavy lifting.”

“I was made for heavy lifting.”

Boasting. He does kind of have rights though. He was made for heavy lifting.

“No way in. But as dad always said. If you can’t find a door...”

“...Make one!”

Cue badass leap to the other side.

Cue near dangerous, deadly fall to the possible other side.

This episode has it all and we’re halfway there!

“How’s it looking?”

“Remember that time you supercharged the barbecue?”

“Yeessh..”

“Bad?”

“My eyebrows have only just grown back.”

I should have guessed Virgil would have music on board, but really that sounded like something Gordon and Alan would listen to and it definitely made me life.

“Ooops, sorry, wrong playlist!”

Cue secondary fire exploding through the building.

“Thunderbird Two, you okay up there?”

“Yeah. (Nothing a respray won’t fix).”

Goodness Alan, you are never going to be allowed to pilot Two again.

Speaking of pilots, are you okay there, Virgil, you know, just holding that lift above your head to stop it crushing you?

“I’m sure Brains won’t mind too much.”

I think that means Brains is going to go crazy. Wait until he sees Thunderbird Two. Actually correction, wait until Virgil sees Thunderbird Two!

And here we have another of the best ever entrances to a rescue;

“We’re here to rescue you!”

“Uh, that’s usually my line.”

“Sorry.”

Still doesn’t top Scott and Ned though - in my opinion.

“What’s the evacuation plan?”

“Good question. Thunderbird Two, what’s the evacuation plan?”

“Well Thunderbird Two can’t get close enough. And we can’t really risk breaking the glass with so many people inside. Suppose a really big trampoline’s out the question?”

Yes, Alan, it is! Seriously, have you seen how much the prices have risen since Lockdown? I’m not forking out for one. I mean, I don’t really need or want one, I was just saying.

Look at that face. This episode was literally just like Expressions of Virgil central.

“Everyone’s looking at me, Alan.”

“I don’t know, we could always... take off the top?”

“Take off the top of the building?!”

“Brilliant idea! Let’s do it.”

“Ok Alan, we’ll give it a try.”

“Ditch the fire fighting module and come back for us.”

And show the camera how badly you’ve scratched up Virgil’s Thunderbird. Yeah, he’s gonna’ go bonkers.

“How’s the view?”

“Breathtaking.”

Quite literally if you aren’t careful, Virgil.

We know logically they’ll catch each other, but these shots still get me. They’re pretty cool.

“Thanks Tracy.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re a team remember?”

Now Virgil’s doing a Gordon, and doing a George of the Jungle impression!

“Ah! What did you do? What did you do to my Crystal Spire!”

Don’t you mean ‘what did you do?’ After all, it was Mr Yost who moved it, and lit it up, and set it on fire...

“Second tallest..?”

That man is obsessed. Let’s move on. He annoys me (although not as much as Fischler, it must be said).

“If you ever feel like a break from flying, there’s always a spot for you on my team.”

“Well, I do have some vacation time coming- Alan! What did you do to my ship?”

“Uh, it’s not as bad as it looks! All it needs is a spot of paint.”

”Paint: that reminds me... Come on, Alan, we’ve gotta get back and finish your portrait.”

“Just promise you won’t make me look too short! Or hairy! Or give me goofy teeth!”

You’re giving him ideas, Alan.

“Virgil? Virge? Oh man!”

Yeah, already said way too much, and Virgil ignoring you is probably not boding well.

And there’s just about time for the finished painting (as the Grand MAX left it) to end this Review.

P.S. Virgil definitely has more artistic talent than MAX, sorry MAX! Although in fairness to him, I’m not quite sure that’s the result he was aiming for.

[gumnut-logic]

Two Birds with One Stone (Bit 6 and The End)

Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3 | Bit 4 | Bit 5 | Bit 6

I finished it! Yay! Still @godsliltippy​ ‘s fault. I’m just happy to have this one off my plate because yesterday I wrote 2000 words of a new fic! I’m incurable, I have to say ::headdesk:: Like I have so many waiting to be finished ::wails::

But lookie! I finished one ::distracts all with this single finished fic waving it around with glee::

Many thank to @tsarinatorment​ @scribbles97​ and @janetm74​ for all their support through this fic and of course to Tippy for sparking it in the first place with this glorious piece of art!

I can actually archive something cos it is finished! Yay!

I hope you enjoy it...cos it is finished! It’s a miracle!

-o-o-o-

“A combine harvester?!”

“Totally cool sounding, don’t you think? I’m adding it to my list.”

Virgil stared at his brother. “You have a list? Of what?”

“Dramatic stuff. Near misses. Things worth bragging about at the bar.”

Virgil blinked, fortunately with both eyes this time, since the swelling was starting to go down.

He was sitting up in bed, surrounded by flowers. Grandma had gone all out this time with two boys in the hospital. Fortunately, they wouldn’t be in much longer.

Alan had dragged in one of Virgil’s sketchbooks and to Virgil’s surprise, he had found the energy to draw for a little while, though his head wouldn’t take much.

And his head was more than one problem.

He was missing half his hair.

And he looked stupid.

Worse, there was a jagged slice in his scalp where apparently a piece of that combine harvester had made it through his helmet and nearly sliced him in half.

The thought was downright alarming and he shunted it to the back of his mind with not a little terror.

He would examine it later.

Later.

But the problem at the moment, apart from the bandages that conveniently hid the issue temporarily, he only had half a head of hair and it looked stupid.

He had to appreciate that Gordon hadn’t laughed. In fact, none of his brothers had laughed at him. He couldn’t fault them for that.

Though there was a sparkle in Gordon’s eye that foretold at least one comment in the future, even if it was fond and caring.

Besides…

He kept waking up to find Gordon sitting on the end of his bed.

It was done with nonchalance and a smile, but Virgil was beginning to suspect an underlying cause. Not that he couldn’t acknowledge that he was happy to see his little brother and sharing a room with him in hospital was actually a boon to the medical process, but honestly, Virgil was beginning to worry.

“Don’t you have a list?”

Of course, a fish without a pond tended to be a bored fish.

“No, not really.”

“You don’t count successful rescues?”

“John and Scott keep records. I don’t like to dwell.”

His little brother shrugged. “I get that.”

There was silence for a while and Virgil let himself settle back into his pillow. Dosing was a rare pleasure.

“So, you don’t take advantage of being a hero even a tiny bit?”

Virgil blinked and frowned. “What?”

Gordon rolled over holding his injured arm and settled so he could see Virgil clearly. “You know, leverage a little heroism to start a conversation? Get one up on the stiffs at parties?”

He stared at his brother. “Are you having trouble at Penny’s charity functions?”

“Nooo.”

Okay, that meant yes. “You should talk to her, Gords.” He shrugged. “Need a wingman? I could come with.” Though he had to admit, he could see where Gordon was coming from. Some of those attendees were definitely stiffs who had never lifted a finger to help anyone but themselves in their entire lives.

“I can handle it.”

Okay, Virgil was definitely filching an invite to the next one. Could even drag in Scott. Big bro would torch the social scene. He wasn’t a fan, but he could play...to every other man’s detriment.

Or Virgil could ask John. Having a genius brother in orbit who had a daughter who had been told off several times already for influencing the stock market was an advantage.

“Virgil, stop the plotting. It is fine. I’ve got this. I just flex a little muscle, mention a few scars and spin a few tales. Joe WallStreet, or whatever they call it in London, doesn’t stand a chance.”

He eyed his brother. The urge to step in was strong.

Gordon smirked. “It is fine. Besides, you won’t be going anywhere anytime soon with that hairstyle.”

It was an obvious subject change, but it still earned Gordon a blistering glare. “Shut up.”

A snort and Gordon capitulated. “Don’t worry, bro, it’s cool. Shave the other side, get yourself some tatts and no one will ever question you on a rescue ever again.” The second snort was almost a giggle.

If only he could reach Gordon, clap him up the head.

There must have been something in his expression because Gordon burst out laughing, rolling on the bed, holding his arm to his side.

“You’re an ass.”

“And you, my dear artist bro, are entertaining.”

“Shove it.”

But at least Gordon was smiling.

Virgil would take that any day.

-o-o-o-

Gordon was up and about long before Virgil and took to disappearing from time to time into the depths of the hospital, often with one brother or the other and on several occasions, with Penelope.

Virgil didn’t get out much. He still had headaches and occasional dizzy spells, a lead on from a massive concussion and was the reason why they were still in hospital. Virgil had no doubt Gordon could probably have gone home, but was hanging about just because Virgil couldn’t.

If it pinned Gordon under medical observation and not in the ocean after such a serious injury, Virgil wasn’t going to argue. But it was frustrating that he himself wasn’t very mobile and he was sick of staring at the ceiling tiles.

They always bugged him as his artistic brain always constructed designs out of them and they always lacked symmetry.

Grandma, Alan, John, Scott and even Kayo were regular visitors. The Tracy clan had parked themselves in a nearby hotel, no doubt fueling both news agencies and the local economy.

Virgil just wanted to go home.

And Scott was out of sorts.

Scott was always out of sorts when a member of the family was injured, but this was different. And it was bugging Virgil.

Between his own injuries and the inability to pin his brother down due to interruptions and the lack of alone time, whatever it was that was bugging Scott was festering.

Topeka hospital was a familiar place to all of them. It had been their local major hospital for much of their formative years and considering the tornado seasons and IR responses, a regular delivery point for rescuees. There was a rooftop garden that had been sat in on several occasions in the past and it was with some conniving that Virgil spoke to Kayo to arrange for a corner of it to be secured so Virgil could go and sit up there for a bit of fresh air and privacy with his big brother.

He had no doubt that Scott knew he was being railroaded, but the lack of protest just emphasised how troubled his big brother was.

The sounds of the city below were no longer familiar and Virgil found himself longing for the ocean and the quiet of Tracy Island. It was evening, the sun having just set and the sky was a welcome sight after being confined to ceiling tiles for a few days, but the stars were dim, hidden by light pollution and a touch of smog.

It made him even more homesick.

“You okay, Virg?”

Scott had pushed him up here in a hoverchair. Virgil still needed it due to the dizzy spells and it ticked him off to no end. “Just homesick.”

Hi brother sighed. “Won’t be long. A couple of days and I’ll take you down to the beach and you can lay on the sand and stare at the stars to your heart’s content.”

Virgil shot him a glare. “I’m not John.”

“But you miss the stars anyway.”

Virgil grumbled. “I’m just used to seeing them.” He waved at hand at the sky. “It’s not the same.”

“Uh huh.” Scott was smiling in that condescending big brother knows better way he was so good at.

“Shut up.”

Scott didn’t stop grinning, he just dragged the ‘chair backwards until it nestled beside a park bench and then sat himself down beside Virgil.

They sat in silence for a while and Virgil let the soundscape seep into him. It was quieter up here than inside the hospital. There was a breeze with the scent of farmland under that pervasive smell of the city and cooling concrete. The breeze spoke of a possible storm in the distance. Virgil hoped it wasn’t a supercell. He had had enough of tornadoes for some time.

He missed the scent of the sea.

A sigh. He was being pathetic and falling into the doldrums over nothing. He was getting better. He would be home soon.

And screw it, he would plant his butt on a beach and drag Scott with him just to piss him off.

“You okay?”

Huh? Scott was peering at him, that worry ever persistent in the darkness of his eyes.

“It is you who I’m worried about.” So, it was defensive, big deal. Needed to start the conversation somehow.

“Me? I’m not the one who took on a combine harvester and nearly lost.”

“It wasn’t exactly a choice, you know.”

“I know.” It was quiet and Virgil knew he had hit the nail on the head.

“Talk to me, Scott.”

“About what?”

Virgil flat-eyed glared at him. “About whatever has been bugging you the last few days.”

“I would have thought that was obvious with two brothers in the hospital.” Definitely defensive.

“No. This is more.”

“What? There are degrees? I don’t need analysis, Virg.”

Virgil pressed his lips together. “You’re hurting. You’re not talking. What other recourse do I have?”

“Do you need one?”

“Of course, I do! You’re you! Whatever this is, it’s weighing on you and I hate to see you in pain.”

“I’m not in pain. It’s you who was injured.”

“If you’re trying to tell me that doesn’t affect you, you’re either lying through your teeth or I should be even more worried because you’ve obviously suffered brain damage of some kind and are no longer the Scott Tracy I know. Perhaps I should check you for a holographic disguise.”

Scott let out an annoyed scoff and shot to his feet, his actions agitated. “Virg, it’s nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

“Goddamnit, Virgil-“

“Talk to me!” And yelling apparently hurt his head, because it throbbed in protest. He grit his teeth and glared up at his brother. Please, Scott, for both our sakes.

“It was close, okay? Too damned close.”

Virgil swallowed. He knew that. “Not the first time.”

“So, I should be used to it by now?” Despite the darkness, Scott was lit up with internal fire.

“No.”

But he had finally triggered the avalanche and Scott spilled it all over him.

“Do you have any idea how close this was? Millimetres and you wouldn’t be here anymore, Virg.”

“Again, not the first time.”

“But it was so senseless!” Scott’s hands shot out palm up, desperate for understanding. “You weren’t even in the middle of a rescue. The sky just opened up, stabbed down a twister and threw a chunk of farm machinery at you. It lasted mere seconds and it nearly took both of you. Why? If you had landed a few metres further away, if you had been a few seconds later in arrival, hell, the margin for error was astronomical, yet, it still happened. I nearly lost you and Gordy for no damned reason whatsoever!”

“You need a reason?”

“Goddamned, I do! If I’m going to lose a brother, at least it should be for a reason. A sacrifice made for the good of all.”

“You know it doesn’t work that way.” Virgil’s heart was thudding in his chest.

“Well, it should. We do so much, sacrifice so much already, I don’t think it is too much to ask. We’ve already lost...” Scott shoved his face into his hands and parked himself back on the park bench. “Why the hell do you ask me these things?”

Ever so quiet. “Because they need to be asked.”

“I hate it.”

“I know.”

“I nearly lost you for nothing.”

“We were there for a reason. We both went in knowing the danger, you know that.”

“Doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

“I’d be worried if it did.” Virgil sighed. “We survived, Scott. Thanks to you. You were fast enough.”

The grunt and groan that made it out between his brother’s fingers was pain itself.

The hoverchair made it awkward, but Virgil reached out and snagged his big brother with an arm and hauled him in the best he could. Scott, of course, protested, but Virgil’s arms were not injured and he was always smug that he had at least one thing racked up on the achievement scale that beat his almighty big brother and that was strength.

So, Scott was dragged into a hug whether he wanted it or not.

“Still here.”

Scott grumbled something unintelligible.

“Gords is adding it to his story list to tell at Penny’s parties.”

“He’s what?”

Distraction achieved.

“Wanna drop by Penny’s next charity dinner and play wingman to Gords? You get to take a few stiffs down a peg or million. Apparently, a few asses need a big brother kicking. We can break out Johnny and Eos for extra fun, if you like.”

“Who’s been messing with Gordon?” There it was. Exactly the trigger point needed.

“The Joe Wallstreets seem to think they are better than a fish Tracy.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh. Want to help me educate them? Though admittedly Gords was doing quite well on his own, higher education is always a good thing.”

Scott was staring at him in the darkness. It was obvious his brother knew exactly what Virgil was doing.

“I’ll be there.”

“Great. It will be good PR for whatever charity Penny is supporting. With a bit of luck we can play it to her advantage as well.”

Scott was still staring at him.

“What?”

Ever so quiet. “What would I do without you?”

Virgil swallowed, desperately ignoring all the implications and the reverse of that question. “Here’s hoping we never find out.”

Scott sighed and let his head drop onto Virgil’s shoulder.

Virgil just tugged him a little tighter and returned to trying to see the stars.

-o-o-o-

FIN.

[ppnightshade]

My Top 5 favorite shows of the decade (2010-2020)

Since I was a child, I had seen a lot of shows, some of them a bit boring for me, and others really memorial

To start a freshly new year, and some big changes in my Tumblr, I decided to start making this top 5 as a special post (even though I should have done it days before, but I was lazy xD). Of course (and to clarify), it will be my personal opinion and perspective; and in addition, it will be for the shows I’ve been attracted the most  It will be short, and not that deep as a real review, but you know, I’m doing this for fun (yay) 

So Let’s Start!

5.- Aggretsuko (2018)

To start this top, I decided to put this anime. Some friends recommended this to me just after season 2 aired. At first, I thought it would have been a boring office show and by seeing how cute were the characters (because Sanrio), I was like: “is that an adult show?”

Boy, I was wrong

Even if the seasons were so short, these have really well made episodes. In contrast to the shorts, it actually had a really interesting plot and a more enjoyable time (11 min episodes instead of the normal 1 min shorts) 

The anime shows how Retsuko’s life relates on every adult’s life. Starting as a worker that see things so optimistic, but learn in the hard way that life is tough. Especially when working by just a bunch of money. But when night fells, things are a bit different...

If there is one thing that made Retsuko so special, it’s her way to release her anger. The way she rages it’s so special. It’s not the typical guy who destroys things. She releases her anger by doing what she like: singing in a karaoke

It has good comedy, has some adorable characters that finally got some personality (if we take in mind that the shorts just show them as randoms with no background history) and lovely songs. Also, the love topics it’s something that it’s well handled. The story of Retsuko with Haida and Tadano, both different, but really enjoyable and cute to see Still waiting to see what season 3 will bring to us, but sure enough, it will bring some more raging of our favorite red panda...

4.- Slugterra (2012)

Ok, this show may be a bit old, but believe me. This was my childhood. Basically, it was a show where a gang leaded by Eli Shane, have to defend the 99 caverns from Dr.Black and his evil men, with the help of Slugs, small creatures that are the main ammunition for everyone (it’s a short summarize I know)

As you guess, it’s the typical battle between the good and the evil

Well, this cartoon was a masterpiece for me. An attractive story that can catch you in just 3-4 episodes, an animation that it’s so vibrant and some incredible backgrounds to watch. Every cavern has it’s own look. Including the slugs

Talking about them, there are different kinds of slugs, each of them with an unique ability. I think that I can agree with everyone that Burpy is the main slug. The most representative of all the slugs in Slugterra. But aside from him, every slug has it’s own personality (even their own names). They are like pets for Eli, and it shows the connection he had with them. Catching them it’s like catching pokemons.

The characters are also a good point of this show. Eli, the young leader, an adventurer and a guy who follows always the good steps of his father; Trixie, the extrovert girl that it’s always there with her camera; Kord, the troll mechanic, but that deep inside, he is a cutiepie; and Pronto, that guy who always keeps exagerating his stories, but it’s always there to keep the team united. All of them are really memorable, and enjoyable to watch

All 5 seasons and their movies managed to filled all the plot holes the show had. The reasons of why Black became a villain, the legacy and mistery of the Shadow Clan, and more. In addition, it even had a game in the app store. Isn’t that amazing?

This was the show of my childhood, and deserved to be in this top 

3.- OK:KO Let’s be heroes (2017)

A really underrated show, OK:KO Let’s be Heroes is a show that got a lot of hate for no reason. But for me, this show was one of the best things CN had after a long time of bad reboots and shows

This cartoon is developed in a video game world, in the year 201X. Here we got the story of a small kid, KO, whose biggest dream is to become one of the greatest heroes of the plaza, just like the another guys out there. While having his adventures, he is always with the company of this two colleagues, Rad, a young alien, and Enid, a ninja witch

What to say about it? For me, it’s a show that got good over time. For example, you can compare the animation from the pilot and season 3 episodes, and you’ll see how much it improved from that point. In addition, it’s a really stylish animation that matches with the fights that the show have (and believe me, there is a lot) and some good soundtracks to enjoy the enviroment. And believe me, these are so good that you want to listen them again and again (Happened to me with Ernesto’s Jam)

It sure not have one of the best comedies, but it sure have some positive messages and plot lines. The path that KO follows to become a greater hero, shows a big example of resiliance and effort. And talking about plot lines, we got the stories of POINT and Professor Venemous. They started as simple characters and organizations that didn’t look like much, but as the story continued, it shows a big relation with KO’s past and some other heroes backstories

It’s sad that CN ended up killing this show, not promotioning it, and even not giving it so much time to air (you only found the show in a horrible time, like 1am in my country). Even if this cartoon managed to tied up some loose ends, it didn’t tie them all. It had the potential for more, but CN lost a great opportunity

But in the end, KO will live in our hearts, as our little hero...

2.- The Amazing World of Gumball (2011)

Oh man, this cartoon. The once called a “kids show” but ended up being something more. 

A cartoon that shows the crazy and incredible adventures of Gumball in the city of Elmore. A unique world, where everyone have a special design, or different animation. Examples are Alan, Clayton or Ocho

Here we have Gumball’s family, his brother Darwin, his sister Anais, and his parents, Nicole and Richard Watterson. A special family, that always get involved in crazy things, but in the end, there is good chemestry in all the members. 

What to say about it? Over it’s 6 seasons, it managed to gave us some good laughs. Most of the jokes are so clever (there are even hints of black humor) and in addition, there are episodes that made satire of some special topics (”The Copycats” and “The Shippening”). Also, it does not only gives us laughs, but also talk about real life; for example, the SJWs, the censorship of videogames, depression and even the reality of politics. This is the funny reason why we are always asking ourselves: “Is this a kids show?”

Also, remarking this one more time, the special thing about TAWOG is that it does not have one single animation. It includes, 2D, 3D, 8-bit, Stop Motion; in short, a variety of them to enjoy. A compilation of characters with a unique animation and personality, made all Elmore people so interesting and memorable. 

While it’s sad that TAWOG ended up in a cliffhanger, most of the fans are still waiting for a movie. Let’s be honest, this show deserved an opportunity to close the loose ends it had left. And what a better way to do it than a movie? (Not to mention that even Ben himself had made a Tweet about this)

We’ll see if time is our friend now...

1.- Penn Zero: Part Time Hero (2014)

And to end this personal top, this special show. Also known as the “AU show” for some fans; this was, in my opinion, the best show I’ve ever seen in the whole decade

First of all, a brief explanation of this masterpiece. It's basically a show where our protagonist, Penn Zero, works as a Part Time Hero, and everyday he goes to different dimesions with the objective of stopping the plans of the Part Time Villains, Rippen and Larry; with the help of his friends Sashi, the Part Time Sidekick and Boone, the Part Time Wiseman

What does Penn Zero got that attracked me the most? First of all, the worlds. There is always a special detail that made each world unique. Like, a world with dinosaurs and cowboys, or a prehistoric world where the heroes work as agents. Also, each world have a nice background, that really fits with the theme of the missions. For example, we got the cereal world, where the cliffs have the figure of milk boxes

Then, the dynamic each team follows. As you can guest, this is a good vs evil show, but with something unique. They are not exactly heroes and villains, it’s just a part-time job they take. And of course, they get payed (I think? xD). Well, the thing is, even though they love to destroy each other in their missions, in real life, they are just chill and normal people... well, kinda. We can see how Rippen always loves to give Penn bad scores as revenge for defeating him everyday. 

Even though the show only had 2 seasons, it managed to explain well all the plot planified. Showing the backstory of Rippen and his ambitions of becoming a full-time villain, and the story of Penn in an attempt to recover his parents from “The Most Dangerous World Imaginable” (his main objective) 

The animation is a really fluent, and even though it doesn’t have a lot of songs like the other shows I mentioned before, you can enjoy the few it had. Well developed characters, great humor; and best of all, you can imagine any AU you want, and it will fits with all the 5 main characters

It’s kinda sad that Penn Zero only got 2 seasons, this last one, aired in just 18 days (just imagine that the fandom waited 2 years for new episodes, and in few days, the show just dissapeared). Disney wasted a lot of potential on this, but believe me, this show was one truly underrated, but amazing in every aspect

And that’s it. I hope you enjoy this small top 5 I made. I’ll probably make another one, but, we’ll see. Thank you for reading until this part if you manage to get here c: 

[go-redgirl]

Trump Extends Social-Distancing Guidelines to April 30, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — Siding with public health experts’ dire projections, President Donald Trump on Monday defended his decision to extend restrictive social distancing guidelines through the end of April, while bracing the nation for a coronavirus death toll that could exceed 100,000 people. “The worst that could happen is you do it too early and all of a sudden it comes back,” Trump said during a nearly hour-long call-in interview with “Fox & Friends” as members of his coronavirus task force fanned out across other media outlets to warn the virus’ spread was only just beginning. The comments came a day after Trump made a dramatic course reversal and announced that he would not be moving to ease the guidelines and get the economy back up and running by Easter, as he said last week he hoped to do.

In the face of stark projections from his team and searing images of overwhelmed hospitals in his native New York City, Trump instead extended to April 30 the social distancing guidelines, which had been set to expire Monday. Many states and local governments already have stiffer controls in place on mobility and gatherings.

Trump’s impulse to reopen the country, driven by pleas from business leaders, met a sober reality check from health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, who on Sunday said the U.S. could experience between 100,000-200,000 deaths and millions of infections from the pandemic.

That warning hardened a recognition in Washington that the struggle against the coronavirus will not be resolved quickly even as Trump expressed a longing for normalcy.

“It would not have been a good idea to pull back at a time when you really need to be pressing your foot on the pedal as opposed to on the brakes,” Fauci said on CNN on Monday, describing how he and Dr. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus task force coordinator, had convinced Trump to reconsider.

“We showed him the data. He looked at the data. He got it right away,” Fauci said. “It was a pretty clear picture. Dr. Debbie Birx and I went in to the Oval Office and leaned over the desk and said, ‘Here are the data. Take a look.’ He just shook his head and said, ��I guess we got to do it.’”

Americans are now being asked to prepare for at least another 30 days of severe economic and social disruption, with schools and businesses closed and public life upended. One in 3 Americans remain under state or local government orders to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus, and employment claims have already skyrocketed.

Trump also spoke with the nation’s governors on Monday, as did other members of his administration. Birx told the governors that it’s “several weeks away from the peak of the curve for the United States.” Trump said that modeling projected substantially more deaths if the nation did not incorporate social distancing.

“I thought that was a very important study they did and it sure solved a lot of problems in my own mind and maybe in your minds,” Trump said in an audio that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland voiced appreciation for the $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill that Trump signed into law last week and the president’s acknowledgement that states will need more help, but he also emphasized that governors are “still frustrated” about a scarcity of medical supplies.

The federal guidelines that Trump elected to continue recommend against group gatherings larger than 10 and urge older people and anyone with existing health problems to stay home. People are urged to work at home when possible and avoid restaurants, bars, nonessential travel and shopping trips.

Reflecting the extended restrictions, congressional officials on Monday said curbs on visitors to the U.S. Capitol would last an additional month, through April. All tours in the Capitol Visitor Center are halted and only lawmakers, aides, credentialed visitors and journalists will be allowed in the Capitol and congressional office buildings.

For more than a week, Trump had been bombarded by calls from outside business leaders who urged him to begin reopening the nation’s economy, at least in places with low infection rates, and warned of catastrophic consequences that could damage his reelection chances if it remained shuttered for much longer.

Trump told “Fox & Friends” that “nobody” was “more worried” about the economic impact on the country than he was. But he said, “We want to do something where we have the least death.”

Trump, who has largely avoided talk of potential death and infection rates, cited projection models Sunday that said 2.2 million people or more could have died had social distancing measures not been put in place. And he said the country would be doing well if it “can hold” the number of deaths “down to 100,000.”

In addition to the numbers, Trump said he was moved by harrowing scenes from New York, particularly hard-hit Elmhurst Hospital in his native Queens. He described the images he’d seen on television with “body bags all over, in hallways. I’ve been watching them bring in trailer trucks — freezer trucks... because they can’t handle the bodies, there are so many of them.... I’ve seen things that I’ve never seen before.”

But experts warn that those scenes could play out across the country, as the virus spreads. Birx and Fauci said even areas that have so far been spared must prepare for the eventuality that they, too, will become hot spots, with undetected cases likely in existence now.

“It’s critical that even if you don’t see it, it could be circulating in your community,” Birx told “CBS This Morning” on Monday.

Fauci said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that smaller U.S. cities are now ripe for the kind of acceleration that has occurred in New York.

“If you look throughout the country there are a number of smaller cities that are sort of percolating along,” Fauci said. “It looks like it’s low level, it starts to accelerate, then it goes way up.”

The U.S. had more than 140,000 COVID-19 cases reported by Monday morning, with more than 2,500 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins.

Most people who contract COVID-19 have mild or moderate symptoms, which can include fever and cough but also milder cases of pneumonia, sometimes requiring hospitalization. The risk of death is greater for older adults and people with other health problems. Hospitals in the most afflicted areas are straining to handle patients and some are short of critical supplies.

In the “Fox & Friends” interview, Trump also said his administration was considering providing hazard pay for medical professionals who are on the front lines of the pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin agreed, telling Fox Business Network in a separate interview that the idea “makes a lot of sense” and is “definitely something we’ll put in the next bill.” Some lawmakers have said a fourth economic relief package eventually will be needed.

For weeks, Trump had minimized the gravity of the pandemic, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday accused Trump of “denial” in the crisis and called it “deadly.”

Asked whether she believes that attitude cost American lives, Pelosi told CNN: “Yes, I am. I’m saying that.”

Trump lashed back on Fox Monday morning.

“She’s a sick puppy in my opinion,” Trump said. “I think it’s a disgrace to her country, her family”

__ Associated Press writers Alan Suderman in Richmond, Virginia, and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

[allinmycorner]

Phil Collins gave an amazing performance and I enjoyed his concert immensely. But I did have run away when my CEO and some coworkers were discussing the show so I didn’t find out who got eliminated.

But I have watched the show, which saw former contestant Leah Remini joining the judging panel as part of ABC’s “Cast from the Past” Week. She wasn’t the only returning face, though. Jana Kramer and Marie Osmond were both in the audience and a past winner came to give a contestant a pep talk. 

In the end, both Carrie Ann and Bruno agreed to save Karamo over Lamar, which was the right call. Though he wasn’t needed, Len said he agreed with the decision. 

Let’s review the night, shall we? 

Lamar and Peta: He went out on a high note at least. His Viennese waltz was probably his best dance. It probably was also the best he was going to get. But he can still be proud of how far he made it. See you at the finale, Lamar! 

Ally and Sasha: Ally continues to dominate the dance floor. “Proud Mary” isn’t an easy song to dance to and then to emulate Tina Turner on top of it? She did well and Sasha gave her a harder routine knowing she could handle it. I can’t wait to see how she tops herself next week. 

Hannah and Alan: Hannah bounced back after last week and delivered a powerful paso. She worked on not smiling too much though she transformed it into a smirk that went well with her routine. 

Kel and Witney: Kel also bounced back as well. And how cute was his little daughter? I wish we had seen more of the All That cast members in the audience cheering on as Kel owned the dance floor again. 

Lauren and Gleb: She was so happy to head back home to Nashville! And she ran into Bobby Bones there, who cheered her on. The judges loved her foxtrot but I wasn’t wowed by it. I felt she’s brought more in her past couple routines than this one but clearly the judges felt otherwise. 

Sailor and Val: The Brinkley-Cooks are apparently friends with the Willis family! Rumer Willis stopped by to give Sailor a pep talk and Sailor called her like an older cousin. Rumer’s pep talk worked and Sailor delivered a very good cha-cha. She continues to get better and more comfortable on the dancefloor. Watch out, Ally, Hannah and Lauren--Sailor is coming for you! (I am disappointed their team name isn’t TeamSailorV, but Sailor probably isn’t an anime fan). 

James and Emma: Aww, you guys! James is going to be a dad again--he and his wife are having their sixth child. And how touching was it when he was talking about their miscarriages? But he was able to put the joy he’s feeling into his quickstep, though he fell out of sync with Emma. If he takes the judges’ advice to dance as a unit with her, then he should return to the top of the leader board in no time. 

Karamo and Jenna: Karamo finally got a higher score from Len! He and Jenna worked hard on their tango and he did well with it. There are still some things he needs to work on to advance to the next level--which the judges have pointed out--but they all chose to save him, so they believe he can do it. 

Kate and Pasha: I worried a bit if Kate would handle a serious song as he two best numbers so far had been ones that really allowed her comedic personality to shine through. But she made it work for the tango as well. She also handled the dance brilliantly. I can’t wait to see what she does next! 

Sean and Lindsay: This was probably Sean’s best dance. He was still a bit clunky on the dance floor but he handled the paso better than his past dances. I guess this upcoming week will prove if my theory that Lamar was his main saving grace will prove true. 

Coming up: Disney Week! This always a favorite and a fun time! I can’t wait to see who does what and which couple gets to promote Frozen II. Hopefully someone also gets to promote Jungle Cruise. 

In the spirit of Disney Week - See ya real soon! 

[foreverlesliecheung]

1999 - COUNTDOWN WITH YOU

Leslie had once said, "My career is the only thing that worries me. I am a very enterprising man and put all my focus on my career. They know I have done my best for my career. And after all these years, Leslie Cheung still stands here and does all these things for them. I am still commercially successful and get good responses from them. All this is due to my performance in my career. That is all they need to know, and my personal life is purely a matter of privacy."

Now, Before and Then

Three hundred and sixty five days of the last year of the second millenium passed quickly in Leslie's life. On 18 January 1999, "A Time To Remember" premiered in Hong Kong. Although a copy of this visually beautiful film was dubbed in Cantonese, the dialogue of the version of the film that was screened in Hong Kong was still a mix of English and Mandarin. This last year of the millenium was still a year of hard work for Leslie. His career was the most important thing in his life. Leslie recalled his early days as a new performer when a radio host talked about the lack of respect that new singers displayed, and asked Leslie's opinion. Leslie said that those new singers were definitely luckier than he was. Their success had come without having to put in too much effort, and they did not show as much respect as his generation did to the older singers. But Leslie said that he had once been a "newbie" too. "Give them a chance, they are still young," Leslie commented. When probed on another topic, Leslie didn't deny when the host called him a narcissist. "Yes, I am. But an artist should be narcissistic."

Host: "Does narcissism equal treasuring oneself?"

Leslie : "Not always. Many narcissistic persons take drugs. It can be very different. A narcissistic person would like his appearance to always be perfect. But it doesn't mean that he values his inner self, and it might have something to do with arrogance. Some people might be too narcissistic, regarding themselves as the most beautiful, to ignore everything. They don't care what others think. If they never introspect, they might think they are still beautiful even when taking drugs, and it is very dangerous."

Leslie had witnessed many examples of the lives of senior artists, whose experience kept his eyes open. "Actually their true stories enlightened me. I have seen many artists, who could have made a lot of money from their fame and lived a happy life when they got old. But for some reason or other, they didn't practice discipline or value themselves, and wasted themselves on gambling or just dissipated away. They led miserable lives when they got old. It is a real pity. That would be the last thing I want."

Leslie's family background had a great influence on him. "A lot of people know my background. My father was a renowned tailor, but the whole family finally fell apart, which made me feel I should value myself more."

Host: "GorGor, it seems that you like to use the word 'introspect' when chatting."

Leslie: "Actually introspection means a lot to a person's progress. Besides it, one should also have confidence in what he is doing. Otherwise, he will hesitate in his cause. I don't mean that I regret what I did before. But one should look into the future while summarizing the past."

Leslie considered himself a lucky man in terms of his love life. There wasn't any problem at all in this aspect. He made it clear that his career was the most important aspect, and that his personal life was purely a matter of privacy.

Host: "But you sang the song 'The Moon Represents My Heart' on stage."

Leslie: "That was exaggerated by the media. That song was primarily sung for my mother, because I knew that it would be the last time she would go to my concert. It was the last night of my concert. As I said at that time, a friend in need is a friend indeed. This very best friend helped me when I was in trouble. There are a lot that make perfection still more perfect, but how many people can provide timely help?"

Host: "Actually the timing is important too. You won't need people's help now."

Leslie: "That's for sure. I might not cherish it as deeply as before. But at that time, we were both young, and had been close friends for many years. The feelings were really warm when got help from him." Host: "Is it great to have no trouble in this matter?"

Leslie: "Really great. As I mentioned before, I am a career man. My good friend, he is now my investment consultant."

Host: "Is he helpful to you?"

Leslie: "Yes, because as an artist, I have no idea how to handle money. And he makes appropriate investments with what I earn, which is very helpful to me."

His sincere friendship reminded him of what Nat Chan (Lolanto) had said about his relationship with Alan Tam, "I treat all people I've known over 15 years as true friends." Leslie said, "Why is he so close to Alan? I think it is because they met each other when they were still nobodies. I really appreciate Nat on this matter. I think he is a friend worth making and would be a real friend. It is their fate that they become good friends. I would like to be his friend. If Nat treats me as a good friend, I also hope that we can be friends. In the past when Nat said something unpleasant about me, I would ask myself why he did that. But I also know, if my friend did the same thing for me, I would cherish him very much." In the 80's Nat Chan had made very unpleasant comments about him, it was almost like putting a curse on Leslie. But Leslie still wanted to be a friend of his nonetheless. He gave Nat a pair of goldfish.

When the host asked if he had any regrets in his life, Leslie answered immediately, that how dare he say the word regret! It would spoil his blissful state of being. He had adopted a positive attitude: because he is healthy, kindhearted and successful in his career. He believed that in this world, having good health and happiness is the most important thing. He also believed it is also important that one should be fair. That people, won't treat you bad as long as you treat them well.

Rush Rush

Chitose Shima and her team rushed the production of the book that she finally entitled, "All About Leslie" as Leslie and Anita Mui were to act together in a new movie. Its temporary title was "Ruined Scenery", which was to be directed by Stanley Kwan in early May.The film shoot was to be held in Europe so Chitose Shima had no choice but to hold the autograph signing event within the month of April. She got back to Hong Kong in early February of 1999 to show the layout of the book to Leslie. She stayed at the Hotel Hong Kong in Kowloon. Upon arriving in Hong Kong by the night flight, she called Leslie. The next day at 3 o'clock in the afternoon Leslie showed up with a cellular phone in one hand and a car key in the other hand. He looked very casual, wearing an off-white T shirt and worn-out blue jeans. In addition, a bit of his hair was tousled at the top, maybe because he had not smoothed out his hair! When he found Ms. Shima, he came toward her with his big smile and open arms. After their quick exchange of recent happenings, Leslie gave a quick look around the lobby and the coffee shop. He paid attention to many details, and he remembered the old atmosphere and appearance of the coffee hop. Ms. Shima was impressed with the fact that Leslie was familiar with the details of the hotels in Hong Kong. Then Ms. Shima showed Leslie the draft copy of the cover page. And it happened that Leslie actually blushed when his picture was seen and admired by the waitresses these. It was then that Ms. Shima realized that Leslie was actually rather shy, despite the fact that he had been in showbiz for more than 20 years! He then invited Ms. Shima to his house the day after, as he wanted to hold a party for them.

At that time, a group of Leslie's old fans from Hong Kong complained about him as they felt Leslie showed more favouritism towards the Japanese market and fans. Leslie held a private gathering exclusively with the Japan Fan Club members. There were more than 300 fans from the club, and each of them paid a large fee to attend this gathering with Leslie. Leslie also put three of his concert costumes up for auction so the Japanese bid on them. His Hong Kong fans were dismayed with this. They wanted Leslie to consider his Hong Kong fans who had been loyally with him since the 80's.

On her second night in Hong Kong, Ms. Shima visited Leslie's house. As soon as she rang the doorbell, Leslie showed up at the front door, wearing a shiny blue shirt and a pair of slim pants made of a soft material. Ms. Shima was charmed by his good looks and thought to herself, "How wonderful this man is!" The party had already started and there were several guests, they were involved in the photo book. They put the 200-paged draft layout on the floor of the living room. Leslie looked at the pictures carefully, starting with the first page and the rest of the guests followed suit after Leslie. Leslie reacted differently depending on the pictures; at times he was a bit embarrassed, shaking his head or frowning. Then finally he gave his approval to all of them except for two photos, both of which Leslie would not use at all. They are so similar to the pictures in "Stark Impressions" so it looked as if he had not grown up at all in the 10 years between. When they finished checking all the photos, Daffy Tong joined them. Leslie was standing between Daffy and Ms. Shima, and he introduced them to each other.

After finishing checking the draft of the book, Leslie invited his guests to the dining table. A female chef, who was a long-time friend of Leslie and a chef of a very famous restaurant in Hong Kong created all the delicacies for the dinner. After dinner Leslie brought out some bottles of his treasured red wine from his wine cellar and poured some into their glasses. In Leslie's living room there was a large black sofa set and a white sofa bed for his nap, and by the pillar was a small antique chair. With a wine glass in hand he sat himself down on the small chair. He looked so cute in that antique chair.

At first, the photo book was supposed to be published only in Japan since photo books and magazines were customarily sold by the street venders in Hong Kong. Leslie did not want it to turn into a cheap book. Also, Leslie was extremely afraid of the emergence of a pirated edition. He was therefore very much against having his book printed by the publishing companies in Hong Kong. Leslie was aware that there would be complaints by his older Hong Kong fans if his photo book was only published in Japan, so he agreed to sell the book in Hong Kong as well. They chose one book store and asked them to sell only 300 copies. Leslie would autograph all of them.

That night Leslie told Ms. Shima that he was very interested in designing interiors, and in making small items. He was eager to make those items and design some souvenirs like mugs, cups and spoons with his signature in English. Leslie had a dream to open an interior decor and bedding shop in Japan in the future. He also said that once he started drawing rough sketches on his design notebook, and he enjoyed it so much that he forgot the passage of time. After this, Ms. Shima went back to Japan to prepare the book's production.

Moonlight in Japan

Leslie appeared at "Planet Hollywood" in Hong Kong on 8 March 1999, at 2:00 pm as he was invited to present an award in an event organized by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. Right after he presented the award, he was surrounded by reporters who were anxious to hold interviews with him. He was overheard saying, "Sorry, I have to leave. I am in a hurry". So he didn't stay long and left by the back door. He was in a hurry heading to the airport, leaving for Japan.

Leslie arrived in Japan on 8 March for the promotion of his new movie, "Moonlight Express" which would be held on 10 March. His co-star Takako Tokiwa said, "Amongst everybody, everything, even amongst every being that exists in this earth, the person whom I respect most is Leslie Cheung. Up till now, I have never met a person who has always shown such a deep affection for others as Leslie. Leslie is like a brother to me. He has a caring heart for others, paying particular attention to them even in minor details. Although I think nobody is perfect in this world, he is considered as a "near-to-perfect" person to me. He holds such an extraordinary perception about life, regardless of whether it is in handling different matters or in treating other people. He is such a special person. I hope that being a woman, I can possess his character. And he is indeed the most ideal type of husband who I am looking for!"

The film company had secured sponsorship of over HK$10 million, which included credit card, airline, travel agent and jewellery companies. In line with the "Moonlight Express" screening, the film company was to launch premium items like the movie photobook, mousepad, postcards, the making-of the film, bookmarks, etc. Two version of the movie photobook would be published, there would be a Japanese version as well as international version. An article, written by Leslie regarding the shooting of the movie would be part of the photobook. There would be pictures from shots that we would not see in the movie. It was reported that more than 200 reporters attended the press conference on 10 March at the Park Hyatt Hotel, and 70 media have registered for interviews with Leslie. The press conferences for "Moonlight Express" continued in Hong Kong on 26 March 1999.

Future Plans

Dressed in a grey sweatshirt, Leslie attended the Spring Dinner of the Mandarin Movie Co. Ltd. CTN interviewed him. Leslie disclosed that he had formally declined TVB's offer to play the role of Wong Chong Yang in "The Condor Heroes". He also said he would not renew his contract with Rock Records, which had already expired, but would sign up with another record company. Further details were to be announced in April and his new album would be released in the Summer. Also, he would take part in two movies that year, he would star in one and be the director in the other. As to the movie he was going to direct, he said it would be a love story about three couples of different ages (old, middle-aged and young). When asked about who would star in the movie, he said he had not decided yet but one of the lead actresses must have a "classical" look. Someone suggested Shu Qi but Leslie said he would not consider her as her Cantonese was not perfect, and the movie would be in synchronized-sound. He thought that Karen Mok might be suitable. However, he very much hoped to have Josephine Siu Fong Fong as one of the actresses, but Siu had announced her retirement for health reasons. Filming of the movie was to start in Autumn that year. Rumour also had it that he and Tong Leung were to play the role of Nin Choi San in the forthcoming musical "A Chinese Ghost Story". Leslie said it was not true and he would not take part in Lee Chun's production of "A Chinese Ghost Story". During an interview in Korea, he had mentioned that the role he loved most was Ning Choi San from "A Chinese Ghost Story". He said that this character was very lovely because he could love a ghost unconditionally, and was even willing to risk his life to save her. He further added that if everybody in this world was like Ning Choi San, the world would be a peaceful one.

A Time to Talk

Leslie and Brigitte Lin were invited to be the guest speakers at a talk on the movie "Ashes of Time" at the University of Hong Kong on 29 March 1999. The talk was supposed to start at 5 p.m. but at 4 p.m. there were already some 30-40 people lining up outside the auditorium, obviously attracted by the two superstars. The talk was held in a lecture hall able hold about 500 people, and it was almost full on the day. Leslie and Brigitte arrived shortly after 5 p.m. and they were greeted with thunderous applause. The talk was moderated by a Mr. Abbott, Chairman of the Department of Comparative Literature. Leslie said Abbott was an old acquaintance but later Abbott corrected it as "more than that". He was Leslie's ex brother-in-law, and they hadn't seen each other for thirty years! So the lady interpreter commented that it was really a family reunion. The talk was conducted in English and Chinese (with English translation) as Abbott did not speak fluent Chinese, and there was also a foreign lady on the stage. The guests were free to speak whatever language they felt comfortable with. Leslie was fluent in both languages and he switched smoothly from one language to another throughout the talk, while Brigitte only spoke in Chinese. The talk was divided basically into three parts, the first part was on the general state of Hong Kong cinemas, the second part was on their experience working with Wong Kar Wai, and the third part was a question and answer (Q&A) session.

After a brief introduction of the two guests, the talk began. As a start they were asked to talk about their experiences and also the difficulties now faced by the film industry. Brigitte was asked to begin the talk but she was a little shy, and asked Leslie to speak first. Leslie then talked about the reasons attributable to the slump in local film industry, most of which we have read or seen before in magazine reports or TV interviews. For example, he said the film industry is 'almost dead' and that copyright piracy, though a main factor, is not the only factor attributable to the slump. Some movie makers who only had money making on their mind, and didn't care about making good movies, should be blamed. Hong Kong people now preferred to see Hollywood movies, which in comparison were more serious in terms of production. Commenting on some of the problems , he recounted how he considered sound dubbing in movies "uncivilised". Lamenting on the negative impacts on actors, he related how many of his fellow workers had become taxi drivers or worked as masons. But he believed the good ones were still around and he hoped there would be a rebound in the near future.

On the question of going to Hollywood he said it was not that easy, they have a big union. He then talked about Chow Yun Fat. He said that he was quite disappointed with Chow's movies in Hollywood. "He's a superstar here and the 'hope of Asia', said Leslie, referring to the fact that a high calibre actor like Chow deserved something more, at least a better script. Leslie also didn't agree to the reports he heard stating that Steven Spielberg was going to make a "Geisha" movie next year which had the main cast for the role of "Geisha", a clearly Japanese character, played by a Korean actor. Further he said the Hollywood people very often got mixed up the Asian races.

The moderator then asked Brigitte about her experience in Taiwan cinema world, and how she would compare the industry in these two places. Brigitte did not seem to be too familiar with Taiwan cinemas even though she came from Taiwan, and then asked Leslie if he had anything to add. Leslie made a weird expression and then said," Me? Taiwan cinemas?". Then he did help to contribute something from his experience with Taiwanese TV programmes. He thought Taiwanese people were too "square" and often stuck to the rules whereas Hong Kong people were more flexible. He also reminded Brigitte about the cases of violence in the 80s at the time where the industry was booming, when superstars like Brigitte were captured from the studios at gun point by the triads, to make movies for them.

The moderator asked Leslie whether he thought Hong Kong cinema had a future? He was asked to speak in English. He said, "Yes, we still stand a chance as Hong Kong people are very hardworking and talented. There are also some idealistic people who want to create miracles. Though financiers are going away or will not invest in big projects, except for Jackie Chan's movies, we still have some people here with fantastic ideas. We have good actors and actresses, so we still stand a chance." Brigitte was also optimistic about the future and hoped the situation would improve.

During the second part, the moderator began by asking Leslie, "I want to ask you an academic question". Leslie made a frightened expression. "What are your experiences working with Wong Kar Wai? Since you were both in the movie "Ashes of Time", all of us would actually like to know if you understand the film?" There was a burst of laughter. Leslie began by saying, "Working with Wong Kar Wai is really a painful experience. This guy is so talented. He had so many ideas that he'd never let you know. Each time he would give you wonderful guidelines. Afterwards you go to meetings with him, try to work with him, but right away he would switch his ideas. He's more or less like a painter. He's got plenty of good material in front of him, including us, we are the good material. He picked up the brush and started his first stroke, and after that maybe he would dump it away and then we would have to wait till the next right stroke comes. Maybe you would have to wait for 3 to 4 months. I mean this is a very selfish way of making a movie." Brigitte nodded her head and said "I agree, that's true". Leslie continued, "Especially at this moment, nobody can afford to waste a single day for shooting. It's so expensive, like spending a hundred thousand a day because there are, say, 40 members in a crew, a lot of people working with us, drivers, the lunch-box people, dinners and lot of stars around. Yes, this is how I feel. He's talented but nobody knows exactly what he wants. You don't know what you did. Only until the final day comes, that is the premiere. That's how he works. He would start the whole thing, suddenly he finds that this it is not exactly what he wants, another day another new scene. So it's very hard to handle this guy".

At this point, Leslie reminded Brigitte again about Wong's initial project in which Brigitte and Joey Wong were the only cast for the film. Brigitte was asked to play Devil East and Joey plays Poison West, and Brigitte said, "Probably yes." Leslie feigned a fainting spell. Leslie went on saying, "Abbott asked me if I understand this movie. Are you kidding? Of course not, how are we supposed to understand it?" Leslie was obviously joking with his audience, everybody was so amused and clapped their hands.

The last part was a Q&A session. Due to the limited time, only 3 students were able to ask their questions. The moderator emphasized, "No personal questions." The first question was about Peter Chan's Hollywood movie, "Love Letter". The student said this was clearly not a stereotyped Kung Fu movie. Leslie considered it a good start. The second question was on what type of movie they felt could stimulate the market again. Leslie said any movie with 'heart' would do, "If you want to make a kung fu movie, then make a good one. If you think movies reminiscent of the sixties is the trend today, then do it in a serious manner!" He said movie makers have to do serious research and pay attention to every detail. The student then asked Leslie if he had acted in movie with 'heart'. He said he would consider "Farewell My Concubine" as one. The last question was about Wong Kar Wai's movie. The student asked Leslie which movie he thought was Wong's best. On this matter, Brigitte responded immediately, "Happy Together"! She said Leslie's performance was excellent and it was a pity that he couldn't have more time for shooting, if not it could have been a much better film. She wanted to see more of his performance. Leslie also said that his first pick is, "Happy Together". "Wong Kar Wai was daring, to be the first one to talk about the gay issue. He is also very clever in telling the story that gay couples are no different from any other couple. As I said before, if you speak with your 'heart' about what love is then it works", said Leslie. The talk came to an end after this Q&A Session which lasted for about 80 minutes. Leslie and Brigitte Lin were each given a souvenir book. The foreign lady went to Leslie's side to thank him and he kissed her on the cheek. As the students began to leave, some took the opportunity to ask Leslie for his autograph, one even brought a big poster, and it began to look like his "mini autograph" session. Brigitte left the lecture hall while Leslie was busy signing autograph for fans. After some 10 ten minutes, Leslie joined the rest and took a group photo before leaving. He was accompanied by the foreign lady and followed by his fans to the parking space.

Hong Kong Entertainment Industry in Crisis

On 1 April 1999, Moonlight Express screened in Hong Kong for the first time. Wong Yuk Man used to be a lecturer on journalism in one of the universities in Hong Kong. He was now a host of a radio programme. His voice was on the air, "Isn't it said that a star should be outstanding of acting and singing and having a handsome face? Gor Gor has unassailable singing and acting skills, besides, he has a handsome face, which is attractive to both female and male. He is a real super star! His face doesn't age as years go by, instead, becomes more and more mature and attractive, as does his voice." Wong had a wide knowledge of history and politics, he was very bold with his words, making criticisms of many political issues. To a large extent there were people who did not like him. That day he continued with his comments, "Anyway, despite being a super star who is so handsome and successful, Leslie Cheung still has the complaint of being unable to live a peace life and enjoying his career. For, his privacy has no security, and the entertainment circle in Hong Kong is under such bad circumstances that he can not enjoy his career. Leslie yearns for those pure days when media and performer can be friends, and experience hard times together. If even Leslie Cheung has such kind of complaints, it says nothing of those 'Paper actors' covered full of negative reports! The media are also responsible for the recovery of entertainment circle!" And all this while, Leslie was by his side, waiting to be interviewed by Wong for the Commercial Radio program.

Wong: How about the box office receipts for "Moonlight Express"?

Leslie: The film was released on April 1st, and pirate VCD was released one day after, the final box-office returns came out to be 6 million HK dollars, I'm lost for words".

Wong: It's lucky to have Japanese investors, otherwise the film would lose money.

Leslie: Yes, Japan has no pirated VCD market, they can benefit from the release of the Video tape, so they are satisfied with this cooperation.

Wong: Never expect to benefit from shooting a film in Hong Kong! What an irony!

Leslie: Entertainment circle will surely die if the pirated VCD problem cannot be solved.

Wong: The entertainment circle is experiencing hard times.

Leslie: Yeah, and the actors are facing a life-and-death struggle. So, I'd rather not accept shooting invitations. If I do, then I hope it will be like the cooperation at this time, Jacob Cheung's work, I do my best everyday with sincerity, only when the film is about to finished do we sit down discuss the assignment and payment. Under such a circumstance, we can't be so calculating.

Wong: I agree with Jackie Chan's coming back to Hong Kong to shoot a film every year to excite the film industry. And Andy Lau's discounting his price of shooting a film.

Leslie: It’s so hard to find a film investor in Hong Kong, they care too much about the cast instead of the standard of the making of the film. They always ask: "No, super stars, who'll buy tickets to see the film?" Well, the cost of making a film is totally about 10-15 million, cut down the payment for the cast, how much will be left? Besides, when there is a theme for the film, they'll say: "Very creative but, will not get good box office." What else can I say? Instead some Japan and Korea investor would like to investigate.

Wong: How about your new directing work?

Leslie: Though the responses of the Hong Kong investors are not so satisfying, I think I'll still shoot it. I want to shoot it with my heart, not take it as a business matter.

Wong: How about singing career?

Leslie: Just one album every year or every half year, maybe a concert next year.

Wong: The economy will recover next year, a good time to give concerts.

Leslie: I care nothing about the economic circumstance, just do it.

Wong: Cheung Kwok Wing is a man of intention. In fact, not every concert can gain money, sometimes he also loss, but he never stops so as to cheer up the market.

Wong: Are you busy recently?

Leslie: (smile) If some performer tells you she/he has been busy recently, she/he must be cheating.

Wong: Have you ever thought of going to Hollywood?

Leslie: Never! I think their way of thinking is different from ours, and so is their cultural background. Even our stars are called 'Kings of Asian Cinema', they still have that limited frame in their mind. Every time they invite a Chinese actor to shoot a film, the characters background will be either be that of a Chinatown hatchet-man or someone wearing a cheongsam being a prostitute!

Wong: Jackie Chan's 'Rush Hour' is somewhat a breakthrough.

Leslie: Chow Yun Fat is going to cooperate with Jodie Foster to shoot "Anna and The King", I feel it is so wrong! Since the original film was "The King and Anna", now it becomes "Anna and the King"!

Wong: Primary and secondary exchanged!

Leslie: The leading roles in Hollywood's films are all men, but this time its changed. In fact Chinese films are no worse than foreign ones, why they do look down upon us? "Farewell My Concubine" had won the Cannes Film Award, and Maggie Cheung, Gong Li, Josephine Siu had their names raised to the world. Things turned out to be that, if we shoot a film from the heart, the quality can compare with foreign ones! Previously I didn't like Zhang Yi Mou so much, since his films are all about tearing off the scar of China's past. Although he won a lot of awards, I think it's a way to gain admission or acceptance, that is, by bringing shame on China. Recently though, I've come to appreciate him a lot. Because, the person in charge of Cannes Film Festival had commented that his new film ("Not One Less") "is not shocking enough", "doesn't tear off the scar of China", and he'd rather withdraw from the festival.

Wong: Japanese director Hei Ze Ming needn't get fame by bring shame on his fellow country man.

Leslie: In fact, it is a 'calculated' move to win foreign film festival awards: children and war are two favorite elements of the foreign film review circle, that's why "It's a Beautiful Life" can be the winner of the Oscar.

Wong: Find a favorite element first, then organize story according to this element. Hong Kong films in past days were just not seeking to make progress, for it was too easy to earn money, neither director nor actor put their heart into shooting it and making it better, they thought of nothing but the benefit, and now comes the retribution!

Leslie: Yes! The pirated version is an element of the fall of the film industry, but the fatal reality is that the Hong Kong film industry makes no progress, only indiscriminate shooting, earn easy money! After the success of "A Better Tomorrow", how many films will shoot the same plot? "A Chinese Ghost Story" had good box office, how many films will copy from it? Thus I admire Tsui Hark a lot, he'd rather bring forth new ideas, and lead the trend.

Wong: They never thought of the future in those days.

Leslie: A star of my grade passably has chances to choose the script, I have to consider a lot of other elements, such as human relationships... I clearly know that some of the scripts are not worth shooting, but since it is shot or invested in by a friend, "It would be ungracious not to accept the invitation", so I have to shoot it. And no matter if the box office is good or bad, its all attributed to the actor.

Wong: How can the film industry have a hope under such circumstances?

Leslie: The media should also examine their mistakes. They do not help to achieve the film industry's rejuvenation, but they hit it when it's down, continuously giving negative reports on actors. Days ago reporters come to interview me, took hours talking about film and music, well, at last a 18 year old female reporter asked me: "Someone saw you kiss a boy in the street of Japan, right?" I really felt it was a senseless question: anyone who has brain will know that if I did such a thing in public, it would be beneath my dignity. Anyway, the headline of the next day magazines is: "Leslie Cheung kissed a boy in the street of Japan", and all the topics we talked about the day before that question was gone without a trace. Sometimes I'm puzzled, I was so friendly and cooperative to the media when shooting "Moonlight Express" in Japan, I accepted any interviews and photo shoots requests without saying "No". Finally for the audience's phone call during the 'Fat Woman Show', I became the headline for entertainment magazine. Well the interviews that the reporter went to Japan to do were all in vain, I feel it was an insult to the reporters. The interviews that they put their heart in to do becomes nothing, but the rumors and gossips become so wild spread!

Wong: No readers will take those kind of rumors for granted.

Leslie: It's meaningless to argue this with those reporters, so I'd rather not accept any interviews. Every one wants to live a peaceful life and enjoy their career, well we performers can neither live peaceful lives nor enjoy our careers. They take pictures secretly from behind doors from morning till night, which affects our daily life so seriously that we cannot live in peace; and the depression and pirated products makes us unable to enjoy our career. Does the media intend to make us extinct? To be honest, I can't bear to be so bullied, at the worst I will leave Hong Kong!

Wong: Reporting should have been a respectful career... in the old days the relationship between reporters and actors was friendly, but now they have become enemies!

Leslie: In fact, in the old days, reporters knew a lot about the private lives and secrets of the stars, but they knew what to write and what not to write. So the relationship was good, some of them could even become friends. But the reporters nowadays, as soon as they hear some groundless news about a star, they impatiently expose it to public, and destroy the relationship themselves. In fact, do these so-called news items have anything important to say? Readers read entertainment magazines because they like a certain star, those who do not like stars will not have any interest to look at these entertainment magazines at all. Well the magazines nowadays only like to report negative news, who will have interest to read them if it is always like that? Another thing which makes my angry: Well, if you want to gossip, just do it. Why do you insist on describing us stars as 'sneaking' around or being 'stealthy'? In fact, reporting about a "massage" or something else is nothing special at all! What is the worth of being made an issue of? I'm not a person who will act 'sneakily'. So, please stop describing me as someone who 'evades the camera' or 'pulls a long face'!

Wong: ( Laughs) Because this kind of description will be more of a plot!

On that night Wong and Leslie didn't achieve something significant to pass from the crisis.

Three films starring Leslie were shown at the 23rd Hong Kong International Film Festival. They were: "Nomad" (1982), shown on 6 April at 3:00 p.m.; "Teenage Dreamers" (1982), shown on 14 April at 7:15 p.m.; and "The Young Concubine" (RTHK's series) made in 1980, shown on 2 April at 9:00 p.m. all at Hong Kong Science Museum Lecture Hall.

Leslie eagerly wanted to be a film director but not many people in Hong Kong's show business supported him. When Leslie consulted with some directors who were his friends, they all said, "You had better be an actor as long as possible!" But he was not so interested in acting any more. Those who make the movies are not the actors, but the directors! After all, an actor is only one of the chessmen on the board. For the Hong Kong movie world, the movie industry was in its twilight years. Leslie didn't think it would recover its past glory. Even though they were making movies, the pirated edition would come out very quickly. The police were reluctant to control them for fear of confrontation with the Mafia. Though the quality of the sound and pictures were often very poor, people in Hong Kong were contented with these pirated versions and wouldn't come to the movie theatres any more. They did not care much about the movies. That is why the situation of the cinema world in Hong Kong had been deteriorating, and they could not make good movies. It became a vicious circle. They did not notice that they were standing in the way of their own promotion. Even if some of them did realized it, they would not do anything. Leslie thought the movie world in Hong Kong was going downhill gradually, so he didn't have much hope in Hong Kong.

A Time to Sign

The book "All About Leslie" was supposed to be released on 15 April, so the books were delivered to the sales distributor agencies on 12 April. However on 7 April, the printing company had directly delivered 300 books to a bookstore in Hong Kong called "Page One" by air. There was a decision for the release date of book in Hong Kong to be on April 23, but one bookstore started selling the book on 8 April. Therefore "The Sun", a new newspaper group in Hong Kong, got hold of one book. On the next day, 9 April, without prior permission The Sun published the contents of the book with 10 big colored pictures. They also reprinted excerpts from the article in the book, a specious report focusing only on Mr. Tong and worse still changing the context completely! Ms. Shima was shocked when she heard the news about The Sun. Her friend went to The Sun's office immediately to demand an official apology but in vain. Because of this incident, Leslie was shocked and said that he would not accept any Hong Kong media interviews from then on, nor would he do anything for them! He didn't want to do the autograph event in Hong Kong as he felt the media would make bad stories about it. Afterwards, when Leslie had calmed down a bit, Ms. Shima and her team convinced him that this event was not for the media but for his fans in Hong Kong. He realized that it would be very disappointing for his innocent fans, who had been looking forward to the event, if he canceled it because of his anger against The Sun. Leslie finally agreed to do the event as scheduled, but he insisted that the media should be not allowed into the event hall nor would he be giving any interviews at all. This also affected the autograph event in Tokyo. Leslie would not give any interviews or press conferences.

On 16 April, the eve of the autograph event in Japan, Leslie flew into Narita Airport on a JAL flight which landed in the evening. Leslie would not receive his fee as he wanted to help the publisher. He treated it as his trip with Daffy Tong to Japan, since spring was the best season to visit there. Thirty minutes prior to Leslie's arrival, Ms. Shima made sure that the pick-up wagon had already arrived at the parking area. Then she went back to the arrival hall but to her great surprise, a lot of people were jostling in the lobby, though there had not been so many people there one hour before.

As soon as Leslie appeared at the end of the arrival gate, the crowds let off a loud cheer. Leslie whose haircut was shorter when compared to that of last February responded to the applause of fans with his charming smile. As always, standing in front of his fans, Leslie emanated a sparkling aura! Perhaps it was the consciousness that he was being watched and loved by a lot of people, which made him so brilliantly attractive. Ms. Shima was waiting for him at the end of the barricade.

Leslie said, "How are you?" and they shook hands. When they started walking, the situation changed dramatically. The fans who were standing along the barricade suddenly rushed towards them. They were being held up, surrounded by a lot of people. Some fans gave presents to Leslie, and some of them went as far as to touch Leslie's body. Then the security guards who had been standing at a distance, watching them, hurried over to help them and pushed their way through the crowd to ensure their passage through. Leslie and Ms. Shima walked with hurried steps through the aisle, whisking away the stretched-out hands of fans, and blinking their eyes as cameras flashed in front of them. When they finally got into the car, Leslie drew a deep sigh of relief and took his seat but the car couldn't depart yet, as Mr Tong, who came out a bit later than Leslie, still had not come to the car. Leslie looked out of the window anxiously asking, "Is he all right?" Just then he heard voices outside saying "Oh, he is Mr. Tong, isn't he?" "Yes!! Mr. Tong!!" "Oh, really?" Under the covetous stares of the fans, Mr Tong was slowly putting the baggage into the trunk of the car. Leslie yelled out from the car, "Hurry up!! Get in the car!" but Mr Tong was doing his job at his own leisurely pace as usual. The fans seemed to be a bit hesitant to crowd around him for they were watching him from a distance. When Mr Tong finally got in the car, Leslie heaved a sigh to relief and said, "OK, let's go!".

Two cars, airport taxies filled with passengers all of whom were women, were following them all the way from Narita. The driver of Ms. Shima's car stepped on the accelerator and began to drive the car in a zigzag manner on the narrow street. At this point Leslie gradually became displeased, and spoke less and less. He was enraged at the cars pursuing them persistently. He also lost his temper at the driver, who could not shake off the cars. Leslie, in the rear seat, was irritated and complained angrily, "What a pest they are!" "You have to do something about them, driver!!" Then Mr Tong, trying to pacify Leslie, said, "Well, it cannot be helped. Don't be so irritated!". They were afraid that the taxies might follow them to the hotel!

Finally one of Ms. Shima's staff got out. She blocked the taxies way by standing in the middle of the street. She then shouted at the taxi driver and the female passengers inside the taxi: "Stop following us! It troubles us very much. If you don't stop doing this, we will call the police!" All the women in the car lowered their faces, and only the driver was smiling awkwardly in embarrassment. They stopped following Ms. Shima's car.

When he knew that there was no car chasing them any longer, Leslie became cheerful again. His mood changed dramatically, and he said with a gentle voice, "I feel sorry for her getting off the car in such a place! I wonder if she can come back easily" Then he said innocently, "I feel hungry after getting mad! Let's eat something!" When Ms. Shima asked them what they wanted to eat, Mr Tong answered, "Crab Tempura! (Deep-fried crabs)" It was already after 10 o'clock at night, almost all the restaurants were about to close! Then Leslie said, "Well then, let's go to Izakaya! (Japanese pub)". Leslie seemed to be fond of the small Izakaya they visited that night very much. He said many times, "This is a very nice shop! I like a shop like this!” He drank sake (Japanese rice wine) out of a masu (a square wooden box) very well, and ate Yakitori (Japanese style grilled chicken) and so on.

Leslie and Daffy stayed in Four Season hotel in Bunkyo district. It was a small hotel which has a privacy oriented policy and the Victorian style. There is no public transportation facility to the area except for cars.

On 16 April night, at the Yaesu Book Centre at the Tokyo International Forum, where the autograph event was to be held, fans battled with the guards and the clerks. Each time they attempted to queue up, the authorities dispersed them by saying "Please line up at 5 o'clock in the morning of the event day! It is not allowed to queue up here until then." When the Tokyo International Forum was closed at night time, fans who had been queuing there moved out of the site and stood on the street.

During the night, the queue kept getting longer. At 10 a.m. on 17 April, Ms. Shima had breakfast with Leslie at the Four Seasons Hotel coffee shop on the first floor. Leslie was seated at the terrace facing the garden and he began to take photos of the garden, terrace and the coffee shop with his camera. He asked Ms. Shima, "How is the Tokyo Forum?" and she answered "I heard the number of people has already reached 1,000 at 6 o'clock this morning." Then he murmured, "Oh, is that so" and he wrote his signature in the air as if confirming once more what he was going to do. Ms. Shima asked him, "Is it really all right with you to pen 1000 signatures?" He said, "I woke up early this morning and had a good workout at the gym so my condition is perfect. Don't worry!"

At first, Leslie was supposed to sign 300 autographs. They thought the number was very appropriate. Leslie said he would sign his signature on the book while shaking hands and having a few words with the fans, like the typical autograph event in the book store when a new book is published. It would take 20~30 seconds per person. If he would work without any break, 300 people would be the maximum number he would be able to deal within 2 hours. But in fact, this event became a big scale event which was later called, "The unprecedented autograph event for the newly published book".

Finally, the autograph event was held in the Glass Hall of The Tokyo Forum. They divided the crowd of 1,000 people into 3 groups; each group numbering about 330 people. The event was held in 3 sessions, with a break in between each session. When Leslie showed up in front of the 350 fans that were waiting for him in breathless anticipation, the room was filled with an indescribable mood and sound. Leslie looked tense for a second; maybe because he felt the extraordinary atmosphere in the room. He was a bit nervous. He made a short greeting in front of the fans before the event in Japanese.

Ms. Shima had hired a conference room under the Glass Hall as a waiting room. During the interval, Leslie came back to the room via the rear stairs. During the first interval, Leslie was very cheerful. He was eating snacks and fruits on the table, drinking coffee, chatting and laughing a lot. He then sat on the floor and began to do many kinds of stretching exercises such as bending forward with his legs apart, stretching his body with his hands held up high to his head, or turning his neck. He was also reading fan letters written in English or Cantonese. When the signal for the start of the second session came from the event hall, he stood up saying "OK!", and ran upstairs with dancing steps. At the second break, he looked a bit tired. He seldom spoke and ate nothing.

He said that he was afraid he might become sleepy if he had a full stomach but he was still reading fan mail. Beside Leslie, the staff was picking out the photos and postcards that had been put into the envelopes by fans who wanted Leslie to autograph them later. While reading the letters, Leslie sometimes asked Ms. Shima some questions about Japanese stars, as his fans wrote something about them to him. Ms. Shima was surprised that Leslie would read these fan letters very carefully, and always tried to find out what his fans were asking of him. It was scheduled for Leslie to attend a photo exhibition after the autograph event. If Leslie had showed up unexpectedly, it would be a great surprise for the fans there.

Leslie kept signing his autograph with a smile till the end of the event. He then left the hall waving his hand to the applause of all of the fans, but as soon as he came into the waiting room, Leslie collapsed onto a chair. He didn't move, but he wearily leaned on the back of the chair for a while. When the staff thanked him for his strenuous effort, he responded with a tired blink of his eyes. He looked totally exhausted. He said, "I want to go back to the hotel, right now!" He couldn't attend the photo exhibition. Ms. Shima still had a lot of things to do at the venue so she told Leslie that she would come later and saw him off.

After his condition had recovered, Leslie and Mr. Tong exercised in the gym in the hotel. Leslie had regained his cheerfulness, looked totally different from two hours before. Ms. Shima felt relieved and said, "You are hungry, aren't you? Let's have a bite to eat!" Mr Tong immediately said, "Well then, crab tempura!!" Hearing Mr Tong mention "tempura", Leslie smiled and said teasingly, "You are really crazy about tempura!"

They went to the oldest tempura restaurant in Ginza by taxi. Mr Tong said he thought he had been to this restaurant before. As for Leslie, it was his first time at the restaurant. Mr Tong knew a lot about Japan since he had visited Tokyo many times with his family or friends. He was much more familiar with Tokyo than Leslie.

"All About Leslie" would be released in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan on 20 April 1999. An autograph session in Hong Kong was held on Saturday, 24 April 1999 at the Page One Bookstore, Festival Walk. It would open at 10:30 a.m. The person in charge said that they only got 300 copies of this autobiography.

Leslie's Life

He said forgetting to zip his pants up at concerts would be quite embarrassing but after staging more than 100 concerts he would not regard it as the most embarrassing thing. Instead he remembered a recent occasion when he was going to attend a gathering, he named a few persons he did not want to see at this gathering while talking casually to his friends. These people finally turned up and his friend told everything Leslie said in front of these people! He felt very embarrassed indeed!

Leslie was thinking about moving abroad in about 5 years. Hong Kong was not the place to enjoy the rest of his life. He had failed when he had immigrated to Canada, so maybe he would move to England . He thought he is not the type to live in the countryside. For vacations, his favourite places were New York and Paris. He could learn about new trends in these two places. If it was just for a vacation with a group of friends, he thought Hawaii could be a good choice with beaches and plenty of sunshine. As for Asian countries, he liked Japan and Thailand, where he could enjoy the luxuries that he couldn't find in Hong Kong. Choosing a place for vacation depended on the number of friends coming with him, and also the mood at that time when he was choosing.

He kept watching movies to learn. He watched "Sixth Sense" and he thought "Sixth Sense" was not a particularly good movie, except for the ending. He was rather disappointed after seeing Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" as he expected something more than that. Anyway he realized he couldn't expect every one Kubricks' movie to be a classic.

Leslie had a very good concept of economics. He had a strong principle that he was willing to spend money if necessary, but he would not waste money at all. Moreover this principle was applied to not only himself but also to the business counterparts. According to his principal, he would get the sales royalty from the books or the CDs, as that was a business stipulation but as for the autograph event, it was not a business but a result of the discussion between friends. Leslie did not want partners or friends to incur unnecessary expense. He tried to lighten the partner's burden as much as possible depending on the partner's situation.

His decision was supported by his ability for quick calculation and his very good economic concept. However, seen from a different point of view, it might be said that his policy was "Get money from those who have a lot!" Leslie wanted to be paid more if he was forced to do something he doesn't like to do. He would not demand too much from those who did not have much money, but if they had a lot, he wanted to be well paid!

The interviewer of Esquire Magazine asked Leslie about a recent event that had touched him deeply. He said, "I really want to think about it carefully as I don't want to give a routine answer. Can we go to the next question first?" The interviewer was rather impressed by his sincerity. Later he said he was deeply touched by, and was grateful to, Madam Pak Suet Sin, his childhood idol who had been so nice to a junior like him. He told her he had never been to the Chi Lin Temple and the Big Buddha in Lantau Island, and asked if she could help to make the arrangements because she had good connections. On the next day, she made all the arrangements for him! She even accompanied him on the visit, and took pictures for him. Chi Lin Temple, famous for its architecture modeled on Tang Dynasty, was not yet opened to the public. Visits could only be made by special arrangement.

He cited two incidents where he had said something for fun but was misunderstood. He thought that people took his jokes too seriously. Leslie said he would mind his words in future, since people often misunderstood what he said. "I have to compromise as I am not living alone on a desert island."

Even as "The Best Artist of Asia", Leslie didn't change his working attitude a bit. The more successful he became, the more he missed the days between 1977 to 1983, the days when he was just start his career, when he experienced some hard times. "Not every beginner is as lucky as Nicholas.

I had my moments of confusion too. But I still value those days of hardship, because success is built on frustration and hardships. Now everybody says Leslie Cheung has good attitude and is punctual. Actually all these can be traced back to those old days; my conduct is a result of the past."

Chow Kai Sang, the son of the late Hong Kong famous movie star Chow Gut, a pianist and musical composer commented about Leslie, "From the time he was young to when he became a grown up, Leslie loved "sticking" to people; in movie studio, he always wanted to hug everybody and "stick" his face to theirs, just like a cat !"

One night while Leslie was driving home, he saw a woman grieving in sorrow in a quiet place in Kadoorie Avenue. He was afraid that something would happen to this woman and he stopped his car. He walked towards her and asked her, "Can I help you?" She was very depressed after she was divorced. She did not know who he was as she did not look up but found his voice familiar. She was in a bad mood and was breathing hard. She did not want anyone to bother her and therefore she asked him to leave her alone. However, Leslie did not leave but waited patiently by her side though she told him to go away several times. He said, "I know you need someone to talk to right now." She said, "I'm sick, it's not that easy for you to help me, please go". She said she could get the smell of wine from him. From his tone, she detected that he was unhappy too. She said the way he talked to her was very different from her friends so she was quite sure that he was not happy. Since she felt that they had something in common, she did not reject him any more and started a conversation with him. Her name was Jacqueline. She said Leslie fully understood how she felt and shared her feelings. She told him about her illness. They also talked about genuineness and affection that few people emphasized today. They talked until dawn. She said Leslie was really a very nice person. He always thought of others first, though he himself was not happy and yet he still would not forget to help her. His unselfishness impressed her very much. Leslie might not know he had saved her life. She listened to his advice to see a doctor for further treatment. She praised him over and over again or his kindness. After that night Leslie called her several times asking about her health and whether there was any improvement. When he was on overseas trip and whenever somebody mentioned the name 'Jacqueline', he would remember her and call her to see how she was. She said she was only somebody that he had met on the street and talked for a few hours, yet he treated her so nicely. Jacqueline would remember every word Leslie taught her the other night on genuineness and affection. She also learnt from him to save as many lives as she could.

Moonlight in Vancouver

Leslie went to Vancouver on June 16, and the movie "Moonlight Express" would show at the theater Capital 6, downtown at 7.00 p.m. Leslie arrived at 6.45 pm. Everybody was attracted by him and shouted out " Leslie!". After a while, Michelle Yeoh came with Alison Chan, the Hong Kong Chief Secretary. In the theatre Leslie sat in the first row. Many people were taking pictures. A fan called out "Leslie!" He turned back and she asked," Can I take one picture?" He smiled and nodded, and then she did it! Leslie talked to a person next to him for a while, and Alison Chan gave a speech about the Hong Kong movie industry. Michelle Yeoh, Daniel Lee and Leslie were presented some gifts. When Leslie got to the stage, everybody shouted again, "Leslie, Gor Gor!" Leslie waved and smiled to them. Leslie left when the show began.

Leslie visited one of his sisters who lived in Vancouver at that time. She recommended a book to him, "Memoirs of a Geisha" written by Arthur Golden. Leslie liked the book, as he felt Arthur Golden was able to depict the emotions and feelings of Asians. He felt that it was rare thing as usually Western authors did not have a good understanding of the Asians. He heard that Maggie Cheung would take part in the film based on this book. This made he think of the roles played by Asian actors/actresses which are very often limited to some odd characters.

APEX

Many in the media had declared that Leslie had just decided to sign a two year contract with Universal Record. One media person started to write bad reports, claiming that he was slowing down, and that his contracted payment was not as big as that of his contract with Rock Records. But everybody knew that Leslie was still on top!

He has always dreaming of having his own production house, and this dream came true that year. Leslie together with his old partner Alvin Leong named their production house APEX, meaning top of the pyramid. Alvin Leong was grateful to Leslie, and he learnt a lot of things from Leslie who was fond of conversation. Leslie took the initiative to talk to Alvin and invited him to dinners, taught him how to open up himself and to communicate with other singers. Alvin took his advice and practiced conversing with the other singers. Alvin believed that different skills should be applied when communicating with different singers. With Leslie, Alvin would know everything by only looking at the expression in his eyes. For other artists like Hacken Lee and Faye Wong, Alvin would apply another treatment.

With APEX, Leslie could have full control of the quality and style of his own music. It did not mean the previous record companies were not good to him, but commercial considerations meant that differences were sometimes inevitable. It meant being one step ahead for his musical career. APEX would be responsible for the music production whereas Universal Record would take care of publicity and distribution. Leslie was happy with such an arrangement, which suited him best. "Same as making movies, if I am not working happily with the team why should I take up the job? When I come across a good project like "The Kid", payment is not my prime concern. I don't mind staying with Erikson (the little boy) on set, eventhough I am not part of the scene. I was there because I think Erikson needed me around."

The Managing Director of Universal Records, Mr. Chan Siu-po, was also the Managing Drirector of Cinepoly in 80s. He wrote a book called "Will You Remember Leslie Cheung?" in 1989, in which he gave so much credit on Leslie and expressed the 'friendly' relationship between them. Chan Siu-po was an experienced person in showbiz, and in terms of Leslie the thought that came to his mind, which he got from a lyric of song "Vincent" written by Don Mclean, was that the world was never meant for the one as beautiful as Leslie!

The contract signing ceremony between Leslie and Universal Record was held on Saturday, 3 July 1999 at 3.00 p.m. at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Fans from all over the world would witness this ceremony simultaneously on the internet at the Universe Records homepage on that day.

Leslie was wearing a white top (a semi-casual suit jacket), and black pants with black socks and black shoes. He was very happy and in a good mood. The interview finally lasted for 4 hours, and the questions asked by different media organisations were almost identical and boring (except those from Korea and Japan, who really brought up some new issues). Leslie said that he would be putting more efforts into the MTVs for his new album. When a Korean reporter started her interview with Leslie, he said, "Wow, we have met before, at least 3 or 4 times". Leslie patiently answered every single (often repeated) question again and again, and kept the most attractive smile on his face from the first second to the last. And he asked politely whether he could take his shoes off. The reporter said, "Of course, no problem, no body is taking photos now". But they forgot that the whole show was broadcasted on line. Then Leslie took his shoes off, and leant his body against the couch with his feet on it too, as if he was at home since he was too tired after the endless interviews. Of course the reporter questioned him about having duet with Alan Tam. It seemed that he had to say yes, or otherwise he would be considered as a "stingy" or "intolerant" person when compared with Alan's 'professional answer' about this issue. But Leslie’s answer was very smart. He said that he didn't mind singing together with Alan Tam, and would do so whenever Mr. Alan Tam had interest in cooperating with him. Obviously he passed the hot ball back to Alan, and protected himself from being censured.

Countdown With You

The title of new album was "Countdown With You", counting down to the millenium 2000. There were some special songs on the album like: "Four Seasons", "Left Right Hands", "Little Star" and "Countdown With You" itself.

Leslie said the lyrics of "Four Seasons" were very positive. From the lyrics though you can judge that the person has been apart with his lover, the one he loves deeply, but in fact he has very positive opinion towards life and love, as it says in the lyrics, "I'm so lucky to meet you in this world by chance, enlighten the illusionary life?" It means that even though you are apart from your lover, anyway you have had the chance to meet him or her in this world, you feel that you have not spent the past time in vain: it's worth it. Leslie thought this point was very important. He thought that at the moment of the end of the century like this, many people are very passive, always considering if they owe others something so Leslie wanted to thank Lam Chi Keung, the lyric writer. It had been a long time since Leslie had sung Lam's song, there had been no cooperation for such a long time. "This time, when I got the lyrics by him, Waa! So wonderful! "Undle Lam", Haha. I feel so lucky to have the chance to cooperate with some outstanding lyrics writers, such as Lam Tsik. This time the wonderful cooperation of the composer and lyrics writer made me comfortable singing these songs.

Let's go back to "Four Seasons", it's a quite ordinary song indeed, but it plays an important role in the whole album. It's an important cut because of the penetrating lyrics. In fact, you can feel what the song wants to reveal from the arrangement and the melody, well, Lam Chi Keung's lyrics matches the feeling exactly! The tone of the song " Four Seasons" reminded Leslie of a Korean movie "Christmas in August", to which he gave a lot of credit. The film is about a man who has an incurable disease, how he faces death, and his opinion of love.

"Loneliness is Harmful" is a song that Leslie composed himself. The lyric-writer was Lam Tsik, and music arrangement was by C.Y.Kong. The song was a fast one, something which challenged Leslie because many people had said that Leslie was not good at composing fast songs. His previous hit songs such as "Red Face White Hair", "A Man of Intention" were all slow songs, which gave the impression that Leslie would always have success composing slow songs, but he lacked "fast numbers". Leslie did not want to be looked upon like that, so he composed some fast songs. He hummed the melody out and gave it to Alex San, his very closed friend. When Alex helped Leslie to write down the melody, Leslie told him that the song was a fast one. Then Alex would brief C.Y. Kong about Leslie's opinion, and he would be the one to finally make the arrangement of his song. This song was sung at the end of the "Countdown With You" album. Leslie added some accent when singing the last few words of the first two lines. He felt that it was "so cool" how C.Y had arranged the song, that he needed to put something in. Lam Tsik also did good job writing the lyrics, so it was not difficult for Leslie to sing. He liked the song a lot!

About the song "Little Star", that was on the soundtrack of "The Kid", Leslie composed this song mainly because many people have proposed the idea of him composing a theme song for the film that he was shooting. The director had heard some of the songs that Leslie composed, such as the theme songs for his previous films, and he thought that they really matched the films. So he decided to ask Leslie to compose the theme song for this film. Leslie had thought of composing a song similar to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", to "tag the melody into my song". But it would involve concerns over the copyright of the original song, so maybe he would have to buy the copyright at the price of HK $500,000. So the producer, Alvin, suggested that Leslie help it along. "The Kid" was shot about a child, describing the love between a kid and his foster father. So Leslie thought about the content of the song, and how it should have something to do with kids. People said it sounded childish and innocent, in fact Leslie had told the man who arranged the song that it was to have the feeling of a child singing it while he was arranging.

The song "Countdown With You" always reminded Leslie with a young male fan of his who died from cancer. He had gone to the hospital and talked with him. This young fan had to count the number of the days he had left to live, and it touched Leslie and always reminded him to cherish every second of his life.

The interview with Leslie about the "Countdown With You" album was broadcasted by Commercial Radio FM903 from Monday, 1 November 1999 from 9:00 pm till 11:00 p.m. for 2 consecutive weeks (Monday till Friday). There would be a series of interviews with Leslie (these were pre-recorded interviews) for which they gave different titles: 'Professional GorGor', 'Serious GorGor', 'Funny GorGor', 'Kindhearted GorGor', etc. The host was Vani.

TV Programme in Korea

Leslie was in Korea on 21 till 23 July 1999. He arrived in Korea on schedule at 2:40 p.m, and then went to the hotel and changed clothes. From there, he went to the KBS broadcasting station to film a TV program hosted by Lee So Ra, who had a very jazzy voice and was an acclaimed singer in Korea. He seldom appeared on TV programs for interviews these days, so it was a great honour for the TV station. Leslie was in a white suit. The TV program was scheduled to be broadcasted on 24 July.

Lee So Ra: Tonight I think I will write in my diary--something that I haven't been doing for a while. I will write this: "Tonight I saw Leslie Cheung (Jang Kok Yung- in Korean)" (Cheers from the audience were heard). "Let us invite Leslie".

Music played and Leslie came down waving his hand toward the audience. He kissed the hostess cheek and sat down.

Lee So Ra (clearly flustered) to the translator because she couldn't speak Cantonese: "Tell him that I really want to thank him."

Leslie listened to the translator and answered "Thank you" in Korean (gamsahamnida)!

Lee So Ra: "If I had known (he was going to kiss me) I should have had my hair pulled back! Please tell him, thank you so much for coming to my show 'Propose', since we know that Leslie rarely shows up in Hong Kong TV shows."

Translator: "She is very happy. She has heard it is very difficult to do an interview with you, so she is very grateful that you are here".

Leslie: "Well... Korea... I have many fans who like me. And each time I am here I have wanted to come and do a program, but time was always limited. But this time I can specifically be here".

Lee So Ra: "Can you explain to him that after "A Better Tomorrow" probably 50% of Korean guys started to part their hair in the middle like him.

Translator: "Did you know after "A Better Tomorrow" many guys started parting their hair in the middle like you?"

Leslie laughed: "Well, I want to say thank you. Thank them, and I know they may like my hairstyle and copy it. But I have down lots of movie parts with different styles. And even in my concerts I have done different things... like I have worn high heels... definitely, don't copy me".

Lee So Ra: "Wow... it seems that there are some things that suits some people. In Korea, he has a lot of female fans. Can he say something to them?"

Translator: "In Korea you have many female fans. Could you say something to them?"

Leslie lets out a sigh like laugh and looks a bit uncomfortable with this question, like not knowing how to reply: "I want to thank my female fans for all your support all these years. And I hope I will make very good movies and songs for you."

Lots of applause and screams.

Lee So Ra: "Recently I saw "Happy Together" and I really became a fan of Leslie. His acting was simply brilliant. (Leslie seemed to know that the Lee was complimenting him, he smiled). This new movie, which he just mentioned, what kind of a movie is it?"

Translator: "This new movie, what kind of movie is it?"

Leslie: "I heard her saying "Happy Together"? OK, the new movie is about a girl from Japan who meets a policeman in Hong Kong and falls in love."

Lee So Ra: "So it's a love story."

Leslie interrupted and continues: "In this film, since I am a cop, there are lots kung fu, lots of action and gun fire. It is similar to "A Better Tomorrow" type of film."

Lee So Ran: "Then what is his favorite scene in the movie? He's a cop right?"

Translator: "In this film what is your favorite part?"

Leslie: "In the past few years the movies I have made "Farewell...", "Happy Together". It has been sometime since I have made an action film. I found I really enjoyed the action. It made me feel like I can still kick some butt!" (still can fight!), My favorite part is the action. It is like I mentioned before. There is a scene where I am betrayed by a fellow cop and I have to go on the run. I have to dodge bullets, and jump from a high place. I like this type of action. I did much of the stunts myself!

Lee So Ra: "Okay, we should bear that in mind when we watch the movie. Leslie has acted as different characters in each of his movies and each of them seem to show the real part of Leslie. All of the parts seem to suit and fit him very well. Out of all the characters, which most closely resembles the real Leslie Cheung?"

Translator: "Out of all your movies what/which is most like you?"

Leslie: "Not very much. Being an actor there are no parts that are exactly like me. I have made so many movies. But if I had to choose one I guess, the closest... just a little would be 'Days of Being Wild'."

Lee So Ra: "Oh, I see.. "Days of Being Wild" was the first movie I saw directed by Wong Kar Wai. He was also very impressive in that movie, especially the dancing scene."

Lots of applause and Leslie's playfully requested Lee to dance with him.

Translator: "In 'Days of Being Wild', she wants to know about the dancing sequence."

Leslie: "Ask her to dance it for me?" (Lots of laughter and screaming) "Or better yet... what if I dance with her?" (More screaming and laughter) "Does she know how to dance the cha cha?"

Translator: "No. She does not."

Leslie: "Let's move the chairs. I don't want her to kick it. It is very easy really." (He repeats this line in English)

Leslie takes the hand of the translator and she looked like she was going to faint... she was so hot. She starts to fan herself.

Leslie: "That leg..." (and he shows her the movements and sings the tune for her)

Lee So Ra: (surprised and taken back): "Oh dear.. what am I going to do? Tell him that if I knew how to dance I would have become a dance singer!"

Leslie leads her to dance... he was so smooth and charming! He eyed Lee So Ra, who is sweating and baffled - in a playful manner.

Lee So Ra: "Oh my... Let us sit down and calm ourselves down. Please tell him that."

As Lee goes and gets the stair, the audience chants: "One more time! One more time!"

Translator: "Can we continue to sit down here?"

Leslie: "Why doesn't she want to stand?"

Audience starts to chant something.

Leslie: "I prefer to stand."

Lee So Ra: "What? What do you guys want?"

Leslie says he prefers to stand and asks why the hostess wants to sit down.

Lee So Ra (after lauging): "Tell him that I can't stand for a long time."

Translator: "She says that standing is very difficult."

Leslie: "Why?"

Translator: "Standing is very hard, very hard to move."

Leslie looked behind her at her legs: "Are you going to tell me she has something fake back there? (Lots of laughter)

Lee So Ra: "It's difficult to stand!" (to the audience): "You have never seen me dancing in this show, have you? I don't enjoy such unexpected happenings. But today I am very happy that Leslie kissed on my cheek twice and that I had a chance to dance some steps with him, although I'm a terrible dancer. Tell him it was an honor and that I thank him deeply."

Translator: "In her life she danced twice. And she is very happy to have danced with you."

Leslie: "Thank you." And Leslie told Lee So Ra "I love you" in Korean.

Lee So Ra: "Tell him that I would accept everything!"

Translator: "She will try to accept this."

Leslie: "Here I am the boy... I am coming here to love you! How about I sing a song for her too?" Leslie looked straight into the Lee's eyes when he said he'll sing.

Translator: "Really now? What song?"

Leslie: "A Thousand Dreams of you".

Lee So Ra: "Oh... Okay, so he answered to a different question. Can you ask him again? Umm... actually I would like him to read this first. We prepared a special '101 propose stories' (a selected propose sent by the people) written in English. And we would like to make a special request for Leslie to read this. What do you think?" Applause from audiences.

Translator: "She wants to know if you can read this first."

Leslie read a card that the interviewer hands him. He said: "Okay".

Lee So Ra hands over the message and tells Leslie "just a moment", signals the session team and says: "Leslie Cheung's 101 propose stories."

Leslie: "I need a boyfriend who will let me cry when I feel like crying, someone said that a good friend is a friend who buys warm cookie after crying" ... Music starts...

Leslie then sang "A Thousand Dream of You" in a very charming way.

This show of Lee So Ra was very popular in Korea. Sometime later Lee So Ra stepped down due to personal reasons. On her final show they showed highlights of her shows and Leslie, who was the only Hong Kong artist who appeared on her show, was also included.

After the TV interview, Leslie went to TGI Friday's near KBS to have dinner. Some Korean fans were there and saw him through a glass door, and tried to see him in person. After dinner he took some pictures with the people from the restaurant. After one and half hour Leslie turned up with the guys who were the TV station staff.

On 22 July at between 3:30-4:30 p.m., Leslie who was dressed in black suit attended a press conference at a hotel in Seoul. Then around 7:20 p.m., he attended the Moonlight Express preview. Before the preview, Leslie and Takako Tokiwa made an appearance on stage and gave their thanks to around an 800 strong audience. All fans had to line up for a long time to get Leslie's autograph , which was limited for a few people only. As it rained, it was somewhat inconvenient to line up. Leslie had changed his clothes to more casual ones. On her turn, a fan said, "Nice to meet you" and submitted the paper she prepared to get his autograph. Then Leslie wrote his name on it in Korean. The fan said "Thank you", Leslie nodded to her.

When the movie premiere started, Ms. Tokiwa was first to greet the audience. She said it was second time that she had visited Korea. She had been to Korea when she was a student. At that time she saw a picture of Leslie for the first time, so she came to know Leslie. And after that it was Leslie's turn. All in the audience shouted out his name after Leslie greeted them. As the preview place was so dark Leslie asked, "Turn on all the lights, I want to see the audience." Leslie continued, "I know "A Better Tomorrow" was very popular in Korea. This movie "Moonlight Express" is somewhat similar to "A Better Tomorrow", so I hope all of you in the audience like this movie." And then he said, "Hope you all enjoy this movie, tonight". Leslie said good bye to the audience "Thank you Korea!" and Ms. Tokiwa also said goodbye to the audience. Then they went out of the preview venue.

A female reporter said that she was Leslie's neighborhood when she lived in Vancouver. She did a short interview in English for an entertainment TV show. Leslie looked happy to meet his ex-neighborhood and enjoyed the interview. Leslie said, "I know why my fans love me, its because they knew I had given my heart to my movies, and my performances." He looked extremely young and fresh in the interview.

Hiroshima

On 19 August at 3:00 p.m. Leslie arrived at Kansai Airport. He would perform at a charity concert in Hiroshima two days later. On 20 August he attended the rehearsal. Eight singers would perform at the concert: 1 from Korea, 1 from Mongolia, 2 from Japan, 1 from Singapore (Dick Lee), 1 from U.S. (Stevie Wonder) and Leslie Cheung from Hong Kong.

On 21 August the concert got started 6:00 p.m. at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Most of audiences were Leslie fans. The host and staff of the concert were surprised that a lot of Leslie fans came from many parts of Japan, even though Leslie would only perform 2 songs at the concert. The concert was almost 3 hours long, and Leslie's appearance was for only about 20 minutes. On the opening, Leslie appeared in a white suit and a black shirt to be introduced. A lot of fans gave shouts of joy when Leslie appeared on the stage. Another all guests wore black clothes.

Leslie's white garb was so impressive among them. He didn't smile so much, and looked cool. When next he appeared, it was about one and a half hours later. The music of "A Thousand Dreams of You" started but Leslie was not seen on the stage yet. And then, he appeared there while singing. He changed clothes, he had on a see-through black shirt, charcoal grey shining wide pants, and a colorful short jacket. Leslie looked very different from the opening. His eyes shone, his walking style charmed the audiences, his dancing made the audience satisfied, he looked sexy, relaxed and enjoyed singing. Moving fully on the stage, his performance was really fascinating. Every fan was excited, screaming "Leslie!" and waving many light sticks. The host introduced Leslie as a great star, both as an actor and a singer, recently well known for the movie "Moonlight Express ".

Leslie was then interviewed by the host. He talked about his impressions of Hiroshima. And he said he was very happy because he could see many fans there. And he said he had visited the Peace Memorial Museum. Then the Singaporean Dick Lee joined them. Dick said he composed the song for Leslie's famous movie "He's a Woman, She's a Man", but there had been no opportunity to perform it together until now. The 2nd song was "Chase", and Dick Lee played piano. During the last of the concert, the Japanese chorus was singing the medley with children. Leslie and other the singers appeared on stage holding a big balloon, skipping and hand in hand with children. Leslie looked so cute. Then Leslie and the other singers were in the line, holding the score in a traditional style, they sang the theme song of the concert "Sun of Peace". Leslie and fans enjoyed the time together.

On 22 August at 1:37pm, Leslie left Hiroshima for Tokyo. Over 50 fans were at the station to say good-bye and thanks to Leslie.

Left Right Love Destiny

On 30 August, Leslie attended the press conference to announce the nominations for the upcoming Asia Pacific Film Award Presentation in Hong Kong. "Moonlight Express" was one of the five movies nominated for best picture. Leslie disclosed that he had plans to star in four movies, the directors included Derek Yee and Fruit Chan. He was still considering whether to accept the offer from Raymond Wong to star in his coming Chinese New Year movie. He not so keen in those CNY movies since most of them were not very satisfactory in terms of script and production.

On 1 September Leslie attended two movie premieres. The first one, held in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, was a Chinese opera movie and the other was a Hollywood movie directed by Peter Chan. Many fans waited for him at the Cultural Centre and shouted his name on his arrival. Leslie has his hair cut relatively short and it was a new hair style. Instead of gelling up his hair, he let it fall down on his forehead which made him look 20 something!

A few local magazines reported that Leslie had had some problems with the top officials of UMG. Reports also said that he was not happy that he had been asked to do publicity for Alan Tam's album, such as to appear in Alan's show (he did not attend the show due to the Hiroshima concert but agreed to record a few words of congratulations and prepare a birthday gift for Alan Tam beforehand). It also said that he complained about UMG, and that he was being neglected after joining the company and all the publicity he was asked to do was not for his own album but for Alan Tam. Leslie denied all those rumours: saying that UMG had been very nice to him and his birthday wish was 'to stay away from rumours'. Leslie did in fact do a duet with Alan Tam: "Illusion" and "Love in Fog" which were Alan's hits in 80s. According to Chan Siu-po, manager of UMG, the company was making arrangements with TVB for a music special starring Leslie, to be shot in Paris. Special guest star would be Cecilia Cheung. As to how he would celebrate his birthday on the 12th, Leslie said he would be out of town shooting his new MTVs in Paris on that day.

Leslie's "Countdown With You" album, his first with Universal soon led the best selling album list in Hong Kong. Universal collaborated with TVB to make a drama musical "Left Right Love Destiny", that told the story about the love affair between investment banker Sam (played by Leslie), Carol Sham (his girlfriend, played by Chingmy Yau Suk Ching) and Jane (Carol's cousin, played by talented newcomer Cecilia Cheung). "Left Right Love Destiny" was unofficially directed by Leslie, who also wrote the story. This drama musical was also supported by the short appearances of Eric Tsang, Sandra Ng, Alan Tam and Anita Mui. "At present I put a lot of time and effort in music production and making movies. I think I can apply some theories in music to film-making and vice versa, said Leslie. For "Left Right Love Destiny", Leslie paid special attention to the rhythm and flow of the story. Same as recording a song, he would use his own style to guide his audience to a particular scene. "I think music and movies are complementary of each other, like my left and right hands", Leslie added.

Leslie thought that since he had just joint a new record company, he had to do some promotion. He never did any promotion during his stint with the Rock Record company because the attached term of their agreement was that Leslie would not have any promotion. Later some friends of Leslie said that among those 100 people who buy his CD, 90 of them will take it as a product, so he should not be so low profile. Leslie agreed with their advice. Ten years before, when he shot the Music Drama "Sunset in Paris", he invited Maggie Cheung and Cherrie Chung as the actresses and John Woo as director. This time he chose a new actress Ceci (Cecilia Cheung), and his friend Dou Dou (Yau Suk Ching).

Paris, September 1999. All those who have worked with Leslie have said that he is a nice guy, and he is praised for his kindness and attentiveness. His crew in this musical drama regarded him not only the "gorgor" but a "father". On the way to a far away location shoot, everybody felt tired because of the tight schedule and wanted to take a nap during the ride. Leslie's assistant was busy using the computer to input some data, thereby making some annoying "beep beep" sounds. Since he was GorGor's assistant no one dared to ask him to keep silent. Leslie therefore said, "Why don't you enjoy the beautiful scenery of Paris, please save your typing for Shen Zhen." Everybody laughed on hearing this and of course they felt grateful to Leslie. On another night, when they passed by the gas station, Leslie bought everybody hot dogs as a midnight snack. It really impressed the crew.

Leslie managed to find a "Spider", a luxurious sport car for use in the drama. The "Spider" was Leslie's favourite car. He enjoyed the speed and fun each time he was driving a manual transmission car. Ceci skillfully manoeuvred the UD$30 million worth red Renault Spider, and she said she inherited her driving skill from her mother. Leslie did not like driving too fast. What he was looking for was comfort instead of speed. After some instructions Leslie and Ceci drove the car away and disappeared on the road. Worst case scenario was that they didn't have any cellphones and money with them. The crew therefore lost contact with them, and got very worried. After 30 minutes, Leslie appeared in a red car followed by Ceci driving the Spider. Knowing that they lost their way, Leslie was lucky to find a nice guy who kindly guided their way back to their meeting place. Ceci was so afraid that when she saw the crew again she was so happy, and burst in tears.

On 12 September the crew celebrated Leslie's 43rd birthday. They bought him a birthday cake, and then Leslie treated them to dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in Paris. The owner of the restaurant, a madam gave a bottle of a red wine as a gift to Leslie. And indeed Leslie was famous in France. At every break during the shoot, there were always people who wanted to take photo with him.

The shooting process continued in Hong Kong, and Leslie used his "Wei Ni Zhong Qing" restaurant as one of shooting location. Alan Tam happened to visit Leslie at a shooting location. The title sequence at the beginning of the music drama shows the words, "Product of Leslie Cheung". TVB had never let an artist be both director and playwright at the same time. So TVB did not add in the credits that Leslie was the director, but everybody should have known it at heart. Leslie was happier when he heard that Cathay Airlines was showing his TV drama. There are so many TV dramas every year but they chose his! Maybe they thought this one was somehow special and therefore to be welcomed, or maybe they considered it their masterpiece!

The music drama was the last work of Chingmy Yau, second runner up of Miss Hong Kong 1987. She left the entertainment world to marry with a businessman. On the contrary, Cecilia Cheung had just begun her steps in the entertainment world. So it was like an 'relay race', passing the relay stick from a senior to a junior.

Various Activities

On 27 September Leslie participated in the recording of a special song dedicated to the Taiwan earthquake victims in a fund raising program organised by TVB. Chan Po Chu made some fried rice for the donators. Leslie gave HK$250,000 for the rice. In another charity show Leslie and Maggie Cheung, and also Tony Leung Kar Fai, showed up on the TV screen. They played badminton with groups of youngsters.

Leslie arrived in Singapore on 1 October 1999 at 5.00 p.m. He was received by a group of about 20 fans. Some fans presented him with bouquets of flowers. He had to rush off to the hotel to make some shots for the Media Corp All Star Charity Show. However, while waiting for his transport, he did stop to sign autographs for fans. Leslie looked tired, probably from the tight schedule which he had due to the filming of his MTVs. But he smiled, sang "Little Star", the Mandarin version of "Left Right Hand" and "We Journey Together".

The TVB magazine, "TVB Weekly" (Issue No. 124), featured Leslie and Cecilia Cheung in one of the parts of the musical drama on the cover. The music drama was screened by TVB on October 10. Then Leslie attended the press conference held by RTHK on the occasion of "Welcoming the Millenium". Leslie's "Monica" was nominated as one of the 50 songs which could represent this century. Audiences could vote for their favourite song, and the song which got the 10 highest votes would be performed. In the history of Cantonese songs, everybody must vividly remember Leslie Cheung's "Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Monica! Sui Neng Doi Thai Nei Tik Wai." Many people were and would be attracted by the fact that so many fans were hysterical when Leslie performed the song.

And "Monica" was voted as "The Song of the Century" by RTHK. At 9:00 p.m. of a night in October, Commercial Radio was broadcasting Anita Mui's concert live. Leslie was her guest star and one song he sang that night was "Monica".

On 14 October "The Kid" premiered. Two days before at 8 p.m., "The Kid" was screened at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre to raise funds for the charity Against Child Abuse Ltd. Tickets were priced at HK$100, $250 and $1000.

On Saturday, October 23, Leslie held fascinating promotion activities for his new album at the HMV record megastore in Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Leslie stood on a scaffold at about 4th floor level, outside the HMV in Tsim Sha Tsui, to sign on a huge poster that was itself about 3 to 4-stories long hanging outside the HMV building. Then Leslie officiated the first screening of a "HMV video" on the first floor at HMV and approximately 100 fans were permitted to attend the event (all permits to attend the event had been given out to the first 100 purchasers of the new album in the morning of 13 October.

An article in Ming Pao reported that Leslie gave a debut performance singing Cantonese opera (the famous suicide scene in Tang Dinasty's opera Di Nu Hua) with Lisa Wang in a TVB tribute to the late great Yam Kim Fai. It was apparently a really wonderful performance. When hearing that Leslie would sing Chinese operatic song, Chan Po-chu volunteered to help him. Leslie sang so well and so touchingly, that everybody clapped every time he started singing! Although he was a pop singer, he sang cantonese opera with the feeling and atmosphere. His fans were amazed by his performance and were sure that he was a genius. Many people said Liza Wang's performance was not too perfect, perhaps she was feeling a little panicky.

In Japan Leslie once again was voted as "The Best Actor". Leslie won this title for a straight 10 years. He was also No. 1 Winner of "All Time Best Hong Kong Actor in Japanese's Heart" voted on by 15,000 members! New City Hong Kong named his song "Left Right Hand" as Best Song in its awards. And his album "Countdown With You" was voted one of "Top Best Selling Albums of the Year" by IFPI.

On 14 November 1999 Leslie and Stephen Chow were given prizes at a ceremony by a French wine concern for being "wine experts." After the presentation, Leslie humbly stated that he didn't know too much about red wines.

Suzie Wong

During another interview with his good friend Suzie Wong, for Commercial Radio, Leslie spoke about death and heaven. When they also talked about the residences he had lived in ever since he entered showbiz, Leslie was asked which one his ideal home was. He said, his dream home had not come into being yet. It should be something in the air, a place where no stranger would knock on the door and he would not be disturbed.

Leslie and Suzie also talked about their friend who had great taste, the late Danny Chan.

Suzie: Yes, that's where our friendship began... Tell me this fact. Was it Danny Chan or Leslie Cheung that first used Louis Vuitton bags. This was such a controversy in those days.

Leslie: Definitely Danny!

Suzie: Definitely Danny! Haha... he had an abundant.

Leslie: He was full of water (money).

Suzie: Let me tell you something. As kids we played together, one time I remember we caught a taxi together. Danny carried many LV bags with him. One of them was a brief case; he opened it up and showed us a pile of one thousand dollar notes. He told us to look at the money...

Leslie: Did you ask him if was only to look at or could you have it?

Suzie: Hahaha... so I really opened my eyes wide to look at this pile of a thousand dollar notes. He told us that there was $20,000. He was going to use the money to buy a watch. I thought to myself, wah... $20,000 that was my annual income.

Leslie: He was silly. Why did he need to buy a watch? His father owns a watch company.

Suzie: Well, maybe he wanted to buy a watch that his father's company doesn't have. So he took $20,000 to buy the watch.

Leslie: Do you miss him?

Suzie: Of course I miss him.

Leslie: I miss him too. In fact, this friend is worth missing.

Suzie: Because he likes clowning around.

Leslie: He is quite unpredictable; I'm talking about his character. We're not talking behind Danny's back, but I just think that he is quite unpredictable. He has never hurt anyone, he just liked to do whatever he likes. He is always in his own world.

Suzie: He was also quite like you. Enjoyed inviting friends out to dinner. He liked to arrange the place so it was nice and pretty, so I'd think we'll have many people companying us. But it was in fact just the two of us dinning.

Leslie: You'd be considered as a house friend, meaning you have been into his house. Isn't it incredibly beautiful!

Suzie: His house is beautiful.

Leslie: Very beautiful. If you talk about taste and style in wardrobe, if Danny was still here those awards...

Suzie: Yeah, those people should step aside...

Leslie: Move over! Move over...

Suzie: That time he lived at Elizabeth Apartments. The outside looked very plain and bare, but when you went inside...

Leslie: Wow! How come it looks like this!

Suzie: Wow, so beautiful!

Leslie: It looks like one of Tam Ka Ming's movies, and William Cheung is art director. Every house was the same.

31 December 1999

On the last night of the 20th century, Leslie together with Jackie Chan, Alan Tam, Christy Chung and Chow Yun Fat, accompanied Hong Kong leader Tung Chee Hwa and Hong Kong citizens welcome the first second of 21th century. They appeared on television screens in every corner of the world. They were at the Hong Kong Jockey Club (Happy Valley Race Trace). Leslie wore a red suit by Gucci, sang "Countdown With You" at the event, which they titled "Millenium Extravaganza". When he was asked to say something by the TV reporter, Leslie wished happiness and health to everybody.

Since 1977, it had been 22 years that Leslie had been in show business. To him, from the point of starting as a 'nobody' to becoming a 'somebody' who had almost everything, Leslie truly treasured more of what he had, all his belongings which were not easy to acquire. He had to work hard every time, so he really appreciated his treasures very much. But Leslie had only a very small wish, "I hope from now on every person that works with me would cherish the time we work together, and feel happy and interested to work with me. At least when people mention me, they would say from their heart, "No, GorGor is not difficult to get along with at all. At least nobody can criticize me on my work. In this business, I would like to have a good reputation. To others, Leslie Cheung should be a person who is never late for work, always on time and someone who does all the needed preparation in advance." Lately, Leslie had a mind to make some changes and work behind the scenes. "I have made some MTVs, and I did some behind-the-scenes work in my last music mini movie shown on TVB, involving myself in the script writing, directing and starring in it."

No matter what his position, he was always on time, because that stood for his professionalism and respect for his work. Further he said, "Everyone will have his time of bewilderment. When I've done a thankless and demanding job, when I am caught in a dilemma, then I will feel bewildered. But, I am not a person who easily gives up." (He repeated once again). These 22 years we have indeed witnessed that he is indeed did not easily give up on anything.

Credits to original and read more here: http://xoomer.virgilio.it/nadiagui/biography03.htm