Good News/Sad News

Hi. It’s been one of those weeks, so please bear with me.

Let me start with the good news: The new Times episode, “Servant Problem,” is now online! You can access it via Ye Website here. I hope you’ll enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording it.

Please excuse me if I’m not more enthused about the debut of a new episode. I’m really quite proud of it, writing-wise. But the release comes on the heels of the sad news, a tragedy that struck our circle of friends earlier this week.

A very dear friend, Jim Childs -- that's him in the photo above -- died suddenly early on Tuesday morning, and we said goodbye to him tonight.

Jim was a big, friendly bear of a guy, a true sweetheart. He and his wife, Betsy (my wife’s best friend since childhood), were a perfect match. They both loved movies, comic books and all the other geeky things that are shared by… well, practically anyone who associates with our ilk. And he, like Betsy, loved dogs, especially Dalmatians. But he was just as good with our two mongrels, and they clearly enjoyed his company, too. Just like we all did.

I have a lot of memories of Jim, but my fondest one is of the time he backhanded my wife, Cindy.

I guess I should explain.

A couple of years ago, for a Superman-themed show at a convention, we made a video spoof of the classic ‘50s Superman series. Jim – a passionate Supes fan – played Clark Kent, and it’s hard to imagine anyone having such a good time not taking himself seriously in the least. Whether he was in the gray suit or the baggy Superman costume, he took his lines and ran with them. It shows in his performance. And his “flying” was superb. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d bet that his energy helped all of us enjoy those few days of shooting in mid-autumn a lot more. (I hope Steve Wilson, who wrote it, and Lew Aide, the video director, will load the thing on YouTube. If they do, I’ll post the link. DC and Viacom legal be damned; it’s a parody, and a great one.)

Anyway, I believe I was talking about how cool it was when Jim belted my wife.

There’s a scene in which Clark (Jim) and Lois (played by Cindy) are arguing over the fact that she’s reported in the Daily Planet that Superman can be killed by Kryptonite. (At least that’s how I recall it, but screw my memory, I’m in mourning.) Clark ain’t happy about it. Lois contends it’s factual, so it’s news. At this point, Clark tells her, “News, huh? I’ll show you news,” and SWACK-O!, knocks her out of the frame, accompanied by the sound effect of bowling pins going down.

I never laughed so hard at anything in one of our shows in my life. Neither had Cindy. The very idea of Clark – much less Jim -- ever doing something like that made the gag work beautifully. To her credit, Cindy took the hit like a pro, too. (No, I haven’t tried this at home.) It was just one of many elements that made the whole video one of the coolest things to work on. But without Jim as our jovial anchor, it simply wouldn’t have been as good, or as much fun.

Here's another photo of Jim in costume from the video. If you think it looks ridiculous, he'd be proud. But aside from his warm handshakes and big, big hugs, I think this is how I will always remember him. This is the friend I will miss. I guess that makes me Superman’s Pal -- one of many during his time among us.

Be sure to tell George Reeves the backhand story, Jim. He’ll love it -- and you, I’m sure -- as much as we do.

-- L.

Hey! Who Asked About Us at Balticon? Was It You?

Hi.

I wasn't able to make it to this year's edition of Balticon, the Baltimore-Washington area's premier s-f blowout, but through the generosity of one of my partners-in-crime (yes, you, Sharon Van Blarcom, thank you!), a bunch of Times lanyards and fliers did make the show, as did the show's biggest supporter, my wife Cindy, as she was producing a live gig there for the Prometheus bunch.

So Cindy gets home from the con last night, and she tells me that:
- Out of the 125 or so Times lanyards I gave Sharon on Friday, five were left;
- There were "a few" Times fliers left for the flier table;
- One person remarked that the concept was one he hadn't heard of before for superhero stories; and
- Someone we didn't know at all actually asked Steve Wilson, "When's the next SuperHuman Times episode coming on?"

Figures that the cons I miss are the ones where people talk about the show.

Anyway, if you took a lanyard/flier/both at Balticon, and/or were curious enough to hit the website or MySpace page for more information: Welcome! And in case you were the one who asked: the next episode, "Servant Problem," should hit the 'net in a few short weeks (and I'm overestimating because I want to help Steve maintain his rep as a miracle worker; he's probably already finished it).

Next: I'm set on finishing a one-shot by July 4th, followed by a vacation in August, then proceeding to the next multi-parter -- one I've been waiting to write literally since the beginning of Times.

Hope your summer's just as much fun, and that you'll spend part of it listening to our show.

-- L.

Yup. Still Here. Still Writing.

(Originally posted on January 20, 2007)

Howdy.

A friend of mine recently told me on good authority that people were actually reading this blog, and that it might be wise/nice to update it once in a while, even if nothing special was happening with the series.

Well, I did promise a "behind-the-scenes" perspective on the show, even if it is just my own. So, in that vein, here's what I've been up to since the last post:

"Risk Management" - The second story of the series, a three-parter, goes into the studio this month. We're hoping to post it in March.

"Dashing" - I'm in the middle of writing this one, another three-parter. Part One's done, and the wife likes it, so that's a good sign. I have to start Part Two after having taken a few weeks off for holiday recuperation and home improvements. With luck, this will hit during the summer months. Since it's a riff on Bond movies, that would be appropriate.

I'm also putting the finishing touches on the outline of what I think will be the fourth and final story of Season 1, "Servant Problem." I want this two-parter to be a lot of fun for whoever ends up acting in it, because I want it to have the feel of a 1930s screwball comedy. With superhumans.

And on top of that, I came up with two stories for what I hope will be future seasons. Both are love stories of different kinds. I don't know which one I'll attempt first, but when an idea hits, I always try to flesh it out immediately, so I can come back to it later with a lot of the initial details already worked out. But it's usually rolling through my head while I'm working on other stories.

It's just that I started this whole thing with ideas for about 15 stories. Now I have more than 20, I think.

When you figure that the Prometheus gang is also working on The Arbiter Chronicles and its series of folk tales, and we're going to try and post the Times episodes on a quarterly schedule, that translates into requiring about five years to tell all the stories I want to tell (Steve and the gang willing).

Two of my all-time favorite shows -- The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Twilight Zone -- each ran for five years. If we could attain that goal, we'd be in good company.

But first, I have to write the episodes. And plug the hell out of them. (I'm trying to find good comic-book venues for online ads, ideal conventions for program book ad/flier placement, etc. Any suggestions?) And in between all of this, I'll update you as to what's going on. I hope to have much to report.

Thanks for reading, and listening. Back to work.

-- LW