Here’s How We “Role”, Yo

Hi.

I’m pleased to report that, shortly after last week’s entry here, Prometheus' grand poobah, Steve Wilson, emailed me his casting picks for the next season of SuperHuman Times. Nobody’s been officially asked if they'll do it yet, but no one’s turned him down, so that’s a good sign. Right?

“Excited” doesn’t begin to describe how I felt when I read his choices. Over the years, I have considered my scripts to be a foundation upon which the directors and casts put up the walls and décor with their suggestions and performances. (One cast completely reworked the ending of one of my plays and it was much better as a result.) I’ve found this to be much healthier than getting all artsy and possessive about the damn stories. Anyway, assuming everyone wants to play this season, it should be a lot of fun. Some folks who usually assay supporting roles in shows like The Arbiter Chronicles will get a shot at leads, and we’ll have some Prometheus actors who have never done Times before. I hope they’ll have fun recording it, and I hope you’ll find their work fun to hear.

This season should be especially challenging for the actors because I went out of my way to write scripts that don’t necessarily take place in America or have American characters. One script, “No Good Deed”, is set in England and has all English and German characters. Another, “Flight Risk”, has a central character in Arizona who’s a transplanted Iranian. How come? The Times Universe (Microverse?) was just getting kind of homogenous (Nataliya Tzone’s Roma heritage aside) and I wanted to tell stories of people with different backgrounds. I’m sure the actors will just love me for that when they try to deliver the required accents to Steve’s satisfaction. (He’s directing again, thank God.)

And I have been drafted for a supporting role in one of the stories, “Print the Legend” -- the two-parter based on “The Hot Property”, the graphic novel script that started me down this lonely road. I won’t say anymore about my part right now, but if you recall Paul Frees’s voice for The Thing in the old Fantastic Four cartoons, that’s the kind of voice I’ll be going for. (You’ll guess who I’m playing if you read the GN script, I guarantee it.)

And while all that’s going on, I’m renovating the Times website. Again. I’ll probably wait until next week to relaunch it so I have something to write about here. Til then, thanks for listening, and reading.

-- L.

PS: While you’re waiting for Times, be sure to stop by the Prometheus site and listen to Steve Wilson’s readings of his fiction. His latest one, Peace Lord of the Red Planet, is underway now. To me, it has the flavor of the John Carter of Mars stories and a Twilight Zone episode called “Execution”, in that both have men getting plucked out of their time, as does this. But despite that similarity, this is clearly in Steve’s voice (written and audible) and, like his other works, is filled with fascinating characters and plenty of (sometimes political) ideas you may or may not agree with (to paraphrase from Frasier, “He’s a Libertarian; we’ve decided to find it charming”), but he expresses them in an entertaining way that even a bleeding heart liberal like me can enjoy the story.

Okay, Steve, there’s your unsolicited plug, now where’s my show?

The "New Fall Season" is Coming, and (I Think) We're in It!

Hi.

What can I say? Still no word on when the next run of SuperHuman Times episodes will begin. I guess this is a good thing in that, rather than being a “summer replacement”, we’re being moved up to the regular “fall premiere” line-up. At least, that's what I'm assuming... we'll stay hopeful for the purpose of our discussion.

Remember before cable and FiOS – I can see 2/3 of the people reading this already heading for the door with a click and a groan – when the fall was a big deal for TV watchers? When the then-big three would roll out their new shows with lots of fanfare all summer long, and TV Guide would be as big as a digest-sized phone book? And the big fall preview specials with the stars touting the new shows? And the jingles?

Some from the '60s and '70s are still running through my head – “This fall, NBC has it all.” “This is the place to be, on ABC.” Strange that I can’t think of any from CBS, and we watched it a lot, too.

As an aside, to the surprise of everyone who’s ever known me, of all the fall season hype I watched as a kid, I NEVER saw THIS one until today, and I can't think of a more appropriate place to show it, seeing as it influenced me to write stuff like Times:



If the DVDs of this series ever come out in my lifetime, this BETTER be included. Now back to my show…

Most of the shows the networks debuted in September were gone the next year (not after two episodes, as is the case these days), but after three months of reruns, you were ready for ANY new stuff. We don’t have that kind of desperation now, thanks to the proliferation of cable channels and on-demand technology. There just isn't that much electricity in the fall generated between TV networks and their audiences. I miss that, but only a little.

Just because I’m a little nostalgic, I'm not complaining. TV overall is much better now in terms of variety and programming (scripted, not reality). I love being able to watch Penn & Teller: Bullshit during the summer and Dexter at my leisure. Still, the fall was, for kids in my era, a special time, when the drudgery of going back to school was offset by the new season.

So forgive me if I’m not terribly disappointed that Prometheus didn’t get around to putting Times on over the summer. As far as my deluded little mind goes, it's part of the new fall season now, and that’s exciting. For me, anyway. Hope you’ll think so, too.

(If not, I’ll talk Steve Wilson into dressing up as Robin while I dress as Batman and we’ll make a video introducing the year’s podcast line-up. That’ll get you excited. If you’re a shut-in.)

-- L.

A Multimedia Cavalcade (with Guest Stars, Kind of)

Hi.

Still no news to report vis a vis when we'll be hearing new SuperHuman Times episodes. Believe me, if anyone were reading this blog, I'd be just as eager to hear the new stuff as you are. It's no secret that one of my semi-flexible laws is to never be in the Prometheus studio when Steve Wilson records an episode (unless I'm in it), so I usually don't hear the final product until just before it's posted. I'm especially curious to hear how the two Dunbar episodes turn out -- and who ends up playing him -- seeing as he was the first Times character. I'll keep you posted as things develop.

In the meantime, I'm mulling over attending a unique fan show in the Baltimore area, specifically Aberdeen. The Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention will be held there in two weeks, and they have a pretty good line-up of older actors whose TV shows and movies I grew up on. We're talking actors like Lee Meriwether (Time Tunnel, the '66 Batman movie, Barnaby Jones), Celeste Holm (All About Eve and countless other classics), and Johnny Whitaker (Family Affair, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters).

But my main reason for going would be to meet one of my favorite character actors, Bob Hastings. If you're elderly (in your 40s) like me, you remember him from TV shows like McHale's Navy (where he played Lt. Carpenter opposite Joe Flynn's Capt. Binghamton), movies like The Poseidon Adventure (where he played the New Year's emcee -- I can hear you now, "Oh, yeah, THAT guy!"), soaps like General Hospital (I never watched it but I understand he was on there for a long time), and animated shows like the '90s Batman (where he voiced Commissioner Gordon). He also did quite a bit of radio during his career, including Archie Andrews (yep, based on the comic), X Minus One, and many others. That, plus the opportunity to see groups performing old radio scripts live, make this show a real temptation. If I go, I'll take photos and slap 'em up here.

I love character actors. Utility infielders like Hastings can always get work playing anything, yet when audiences see them, it's like seeing an old friend on stage or on the screen, one you know will turn in a good performance, even if the rest of the cast/production stinks. We have our share of those in Prometheus, actors who voice everything from superheroes to aliens. Their voices may always carry familiar elements in any incarnation, but you're glad to hear them. Listen to enough of The Arbiter Chronicles and you'll hear exactly what I mean. We have our share of Bob Hastingses, and I'm sure glad many of them are working on Times.

In closing, we move from radio to video, but it's comics-related, so the transition works: If you're into comics, you probably have a favorite comic shop staffed by a bunch of good folks who you think would make a great cast in a sitcom. Well, the folks at Zeus Comics in Dallas TX took that idea and ran with it. The result is their new web series, The Variants, and if you like comics, comic shops -- heck, if you just like a well-written, well-performed, and truly funny video series -- this is for you. They're clearly having a blast making it, which means you'll have a blast watching it. Can't wait to see the next episode!

Wonder if it'll get posted before the next Times does...

-- L.

Beginnings & Endings

Hi.

Well, preproduction on the next series of Times episodes continues. I think it’s a foregone conclusion that there will be no “summer” run, as I’d hoped. I never intended to lead you astray, and I hope you’ll forgive me and stay tuned when the episodes hit this fall.

Until then, I offer something that I hope will engage you: the very first SuperHuman Times script – for the SuperHuman Times graphic novel, "The Hot Property.". I’ve posted it on the Times web page, so you can download it as a PDF right here, right now.

There are three reasons behind my making this script available:
1) I want to have something legitimately Times-related “out here” while the shows are in production (branding, you see; it's a marketing thing);
2) all of the characters in the “The Hot Property” will appear in various episodes of the podcast in this run, and you may find it entertaining to compare the characters from the 2005 script to the way they’re portrayed in the new shows;
3) someday, if you get a kick out of this and let me know, I may post the Times radio scripts, too.

I think I mentioned this before, but if you're wondering why SuperHuman Times became a series of radio dramas instead of a series of graphic novels, the answer is easy: I can't draw. Used to, but can't anymore, even with a computer. Want proof?

The image at right would have been the cover to the "True North" online comic. It took me about a month to do in Adobe Illustrator and, as you can see, it's not a tough composition -- for an artist. If it took that long to do this, it would have taken me a few years to render Malvolio Nacht's attack. Thankfully, Steve Wilson offered me a spot in the Prometheus line-up, so this is all you'll see from my poison(ed) pen in terms of images. I'll leave those to your imagination. It draws faster and better than I ever will.

Enjoy reading "The Hot Property" – and, eventually, hearing the voices that came from it.

-- L.

Keep up with the Times here!

***
In Memoriam: The ‘80s were a special time for me. They were my 20s. In your 20s, all things are possible. You’re young enough to start pursuing your dreams (in my case, scriptwriting, which brought me here; so much for my 20s) and, even though you’re an adult, you haven’t been out of your teens that long, so you can sit through movies about teenagers and still empathize with the characters. That’s why I enjoyed John Hughes’s movies with young actors so much when they came out. I knew kids who acted and talked like they did. (We were a TV generation. Parents taught us how to talk; sitcoms taught us how to talk back.) Hughes’s kids were all believable on some level (even Ferris). That’s what made his movies so much fun to watch, and that’s why I wanted to mark his passing this week. Thanks for making my 20s a little more fun, John. Can’t wait to see if your movies do the same for my son 11 years from now.

If I Write It, Will They Read (or Listen)?

Hi.

While we all wait for the return of SuperHuman Times, I thought I might do something unusual.

Write. For the hell of it. Here.

If you've read past entries, you may already think I've been doing that -- talking about podcasts one minute and pets the next, that kind of thing. All over the map. But I think for the most part I've used this to push the show the way I wanted to.

The problem -- for me, anyway -- is the amount of time between entries. Makes me crazy when I visit someone's website or blog and discover that they haven't updated it after a couple of weeks/months/eons.

So I've made a late-year resolution: I'm going to try and post something here at least once a week. And to try and make it at least vaguely relevant to the show. Both will make me feel like I'm not wasting my time and yours.

Part of that will include maintaining the delusion that someone's out there reading all this stuff (and, more importantly, listening to the show). I know one or two friends have kept up with it, but it would be nice to get an audience of some kind for the series. I'm kicking around different promotional ideas to get the word out, ranging from program book ads at comic conventions ($$) to YouTube audio ads (free, but a tech challenge for me). But demands of the real world keep getting in the way.

Still, I look at some of my former work colleagues who have gone on to better things writing-wise -- despite their real-world obligations -- and wonder if it's too late, if I'll ever write anything good enough for anyone else to deem it worth reading/listening to...

Then I remember meeting the Apollo astronauts, and that a long time ago, we went to the Moon. And that anything is possible.

But since I stink at the science and math required to send people to the Moon (in addition to most sci/math), I'd better stick to writing.

Here.

For the hell of it.

Later. Promise.

-- L.

In Which Lance Meets and Talks to Men Who Flew to the Moon (Without Sounding Stupid)

Hi.

We interrupt the usual plugs to relate a not entirely unrelated story from real life.

As you know, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Apollo was a big deal when I was growing up, not just because it was the pinnacle of the Space Age, but because my dad worked as a Purchasing Agent for Westinghouse Electronics at that time, contributing to a variety of government projects – including the camera that went with the lunar module Eagle and sent back the now historic (and now beautifully restored) video of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the Moon. I still remember watching that event with my family, and how proud my mom and I were that Dad was able to play a role in history, even a tiny one. I’m pretty sure it was the highlight of his 41 years at Westinghouse.

So when the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum announced that Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins and Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean would be on hand there today to sign their new books, there was no way I was gonna miss it, and no way that Cindy would let me miss it. So we piled into the car, met my best pal and fellow Space Ager John Weber at the nearest Metro station (accompanied by the just-released Bill Conti soundtrack of The Right Stuff) and trained in to DC.

Just to give you a thumbnail of our itinerary, so you can fully appreciate what it took to get there on time for the signing (like you care):
8:45: Arrive at Air & Space.
10:00 Air & Space opens.
10:00-11:00: Stand in line, buy the astronauts’ books.
11:00-12:15: Stand in another line to get them signed.
12:15: As we get within one family away from the signing table, Buzz, Mike, and Alan decide to take their break.
12:16: I mutter something, then realize these guys are pushing 80 and shut up. 12:45: Buzz, Mike, and Alan return and we’re moving again and…



Briefly, it was wonderful. All three were as nice as anyone could be in a room teeming with literally thousands of admirers (what you can see at right is just at the table; the lines wound and stretched back to the main entrance hall).

And I accomplished my main objective: When I met Aldrin, I briefly recounted my father’s connection to his mission and told him something I’ve always wanted to tell the astronauts on that flight: Thank you for taking my dad to the moon with you.



Immediately, Aldrin says (and I’m paraphrasing), “Don’t tell Alan, but when he went up, he aimed that camera into the Sun.” If you know anything about ‘70s-era video tech, you know what that kind of move did to a video camera on Earth. Imagine doing it without the natural scrim of an atmosphere. Ow!

Okay, my story was good, but Aldrin’s was better!

I also told Michael Collins my dad’s story and also mentioned how nice it was to see him, because – although Neil Armstrong is notoriously spotlight-averse except for anniversaries like this one – we rarely see him that much either. I mean, he’s important! He’s the bus driver! So it was a real kick for me to meet him, and he clearly appreciated my enthusiasm, and everyone else’s.

I did not mention the camera incident to Alan Bean, but I did tell him how much I enjoyed his paintings, and what an honor it was to meet him. He was charming and gracious enough to extend his hand for a shake before I departed.

From left: Bean, Collins, & Aldrin

Cindy got all of this on video. I may post it if the audio quality is good enough. And Greg took some damn fine stills for a 9-year-old kid (including a portrait of me with John in line at the museum). He doesn’t really understand why we were going nuts for these guys who were as old as his grandpa, but someday, he will.

All in all, a pretty good day. Or, as John and I said while waiting on line, “We choose to stand in the line not because it is easy, but because it is hard.”

Now, to cap off the evening, I am, at this moment, watching the museum’s annual John Glenn Lecture – featuring Aldrin, Collins, and – damn him for not coming to the museum today – Armstrong and mission director Chris Kraft as this year’s speakers. It’s in the museum’s IMAX theatre, where they just screened the restored moonwalk footage. Oooooh, ahhhhhh!

So, what, if anything, does all this have to do with SuperHuman Times?

Well, let’s not get into the debate about politics vs. science, whether we ever needed to go to the Moon in the first place, whether we ever need to return to the Moon or on to Mars. The Apollo missions taught us something that everyone can value: all things are truly possible. And at this point in our nation's history, I think we need something to remind us of that.

Plus, it gives me hope that we’ll hear the new Times episodes very soon… even if it’s on the radios of our flying cars.

-- L.

Next Times: The Teaser PR

Hi.

Well, there's an announcement about the coming Times episodes on Wizard World, and since I wrote it, it must be official. (And since the TOPIC LINE IS MISSPELLED, you can tell I'm pretty excited about this. Idiot.)
You can read it there, or below. Either way, rejoice and enjoy. And gaze upon the new logo (yes, ANOTHER one) while you're at it.
-- L.



Prometheus Radio Theatre has announced that SuperHuman Times -- the anthology podcast series following the everyday lives of superhumans and humans -- will return for a new season this summer with five new stories, all of which can be downloaded for free from the Prometheus website or via free subscription to iTunes.

SuperHuman Times is named for a national magazine in a superhuman-filled, present-day Earth where, following the mysterious exile of the world’s deadliest supervillain from the planet and a resulting drop in super-crime, superhuman heroes and criminals are now trying to find new lives among the humans they once protected. Or threatened.

“The series returns following a very busy year for Prometheus Radio Theatre,” said SuperHuman Times creator/writer Lance Woods. “Prometheus followed last year’s Times run with the huge, six-part season finale to its flagship series, The Arbiter Chronicles, after which they took a long, much-needed rest. During that time, our listeners made it clear that they were eager for more Times tales. . As we head back into the studio rejuvenated, we hope that those listeners, and new listeners just discovering SuperHuman Times, will continue to enjoy what’s been called ‘The Coolest Comic Book You’ll Ever Hear.’”

The next season of SuperHuman Times includes:

● Once Upon a Times: SuperHuman Times reporter Kevin Dunbar is sent on an assignment to find an elusive superhuman his publisher encountered during his own reporting days – and ends up going back 40 years to uncover the surprising origins of his magazine.

● No Good Deed: A researcher who’s desperate to test his revolutionary serum on a human subject gets advice from an unexpected volunteer: a dying ex-supercriminal.

● Unfinished Business: Sorceress Nataliya Tzone and her gifted daughters Violeta and Nicoleta (introduced in the first-season story Risk Management) return for a tale in which an old family friend begs Nataliya to violate a personal code to help him contact the dead in order to perfect a flawed military weapon he created with her missing husband … and she refuses.

● Flight Risk: A retired superhuman flight instructor is recruited by the government to observe a student who’s suspected of being a potential assassin how to fly, but is forced to act when he inadvertently places the assassin’s intended target in even greater danger.

● Print the Legend: Dunbar's back for a two-part mystery-romance set at a comic-book convention, where he meets a beautiful artist who harbors an unusual family secret, helps a superhuman friend investigate a suspicious book deal, and becomes a murder suspect when a superhuman he wrote unflattering things about turns up dead.

Each episode will run approximately 30 minutes. Please note that the release order of these episodes is subject to change.

For more information and free podcasts:
http://www.PrometheusRadioTheatre.com

For more information about SuperHuman Times:
http://www.superhumantimes.com
http://myspace/superhumantimes.com

Based in Elkridge, Maryland, PROMETHEUS RADIO THEATRE began performing radio drama at Science Fiction conventions in 2000. Its flagship series, THE ARBITER CHRONICLES — which follows the adventures of four young midshipmen and their shipmates in a space navy of the far future — has earned thousands of regular listeners via podcast and live performances (often with celebrity guest stars), and has sought to reach new audiences, the versatile troupe has earned an equally strong following for its ongoing series of folk tales. The troupe’s work has earned it the prestigious Mark Time Award Silver Medal in 2003 and the Parsec Award for Best Audio Drama (Long Form) in 2007.

LANCE WOODS has been writing since age 5 and won’t stop. He has had two comedy-thrillers — “Breeding Will Tell” and “Murder Case” — successfully produced by the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, and has written & directed numerous stage shows for the Cheap Treks comedy troupe. He counts Neil Simon, William Goldman, James L. Brooks, and Rod Serling among his writing heroes. He, his wife, and young son live in a situation comedy format outside of Baltimore. SuperHuman Times © & ™ by Lance Woods. All Rights Reserved. Audio Productions © & ™ by Prometheus Radio Theatre. All Rights Reserved.

Memories of Treks, Cheap & Otherwise

Hi.

Aside from a new graphic that I just posted on the web page, nothing truly newsworthy to report, but I’ve been watching some stuff on TV and it made me want to share some thoughts with anyone who might be following this blog, the show, and its origins.

Not long ago, we bought the Blu-rays of what I consider to be the three best Star Trek movies ever made, namely II, III, and IV – or, as I refer to them, the Holy Trinity. If you’re into old Trek and haven’t picked them up yet (and you have a Blu-ray player, of course), I highly recommend the box set of them . The visual effects look stellar (well, okay, there’s some FX masking in a few shots in III, but it doesn’t ruin the overall film) and the stories hold up quite well. All of the extras from the films’ last DVD releases are intact, plus there are a few new hi-def extras on each one. (No offense to Nick Meyer, but I suggest skipping the “tribute” to Ricardo Montalban on II. It’s just Meyer talking about Montalban in 1080i. For about five uninterrupted minutes. No clips from “Space Seed” or any of Montalban’s old movies. Just Nick sitting and talking. Next!)

Anyway, I watched II and III yesterday, and the memories attached to them overwhelmed me. Not just the usual ones you’d associate with watching a movie you first saw many years ago – which friends were with you, where you first saw it, that kind of thing – but memories associated with how I and a bunch of my best friends had the time of our lives systematically ridiculing these and so many other films and TV shows on convention stages for a decade.

I refer to the moron squad we called Cheap Treks (1987-1997), and I mention it because it played an important role in how my overall writing developed and, consequently, how SuperHuman Times came to be. In fact, if it weren’t for a horrible onstage spoof of Star Trek III, you might not be hearing the show at all.

See, Cheap Treks came into being after Dave Keefer (playing Scotty) and I (playing Kirk for what would be the first of many times) took part in an abominable parody of III in 1986 that caused us to look at each other after wards and say, “We could do better than this.” (This was also how we started the Boogie Knights four years earlier, only with filksinging; Dave was always suckering me into such things – thankfully.)

Anyway, back to ’86: The only things that made this show tolerable for us were 1) the Cole Porter musical score (yes, this was a musical; no, we could not sing); and 2) the fact that the director – the late and much-missed Marion McChesney – gave us permission to experiment during rehearsals. And we did. Hell, we didn’t just throw in an ad-lib or two, we ran amuck, and the audience loved it. If I can find the show tape and can finesse the quality, I really should put the Scotty rant that Dave came up with on YouTube. I remember him reciting it for me the first time as he drove us to a rehearsal. My God, that’s still funny.

BUT, what does all this geezing have to do with SuperHuman Times?

Well, like I said, the next year, Dave and I began Cheap Treks with our Trek IV parody, “Live Long and Thanks for All the Fish”. It, and all the shows that followed, were terrific exercise grounds for me as a writer and, when summoned, as an actor. Remember, I was still in my 20s, when I still believed the All Things Are Possible, like my becoming a professional scriptwriter. And having convention stages to play on allowed me to try writing different types of shows, experiment with verbal and visual gags, play with timing, and, basically, figure out what a given audience would let me get away with. It also gave me and my pals a chance to put on what I humbly submit were some of the best and most elaborate spoofs – no, that's a disservice; by the time it ended, we were doing plays -- to grace any convention stage (and I’m not just talking about the ones I wrote or co-wrote). To this day, it’s hard to watch the Trek films – and a host of other things, from the original Star Wars trilogy to Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera to Dragnet – without reciting the lines we wrote/made up on the fly. And that cumulative experience has guided me in every “serious” writing project since – including (FINALLY, the point) SuperHuman Times.

“But Lance,” you’re asking, if you’ve read this far, “you said something about how we might not be hearing the show at all if it weren’t for that godawful Trek III spoof in 1986…”

True enough. Here’s why. While I was playing Kirk, I met a very twisted and talented young man who essayed the role of David Marcus, the Admiral’s son. Like Dave and myself, he ran with every opportunity to make the show better for us and, more importantly, for the audience. A prime example of this can be found in his offstage death scene, which he used to (successfully) knock me off guard on stage during the performance and bring down the house. I knew he was a farceur to be reckoned with and, if you’ve heard Prometheus Radio Theatre’s Planet of Dark Shadows, you know I was right.

His name? Steve Wilson, master of Prometheus and he whose whim allows SuperHuman Times to have a home. Being incurable parodists, our paths probably would have crossed and entwined eventually beyond that show, but I want to think that SOMETHING good came out of that Cole Porter show, so it may as well be our friendship. And, oh yeah, Cheap Treks.

Thanks, Steve, Dave, et al for the writing lessons. And a great ride.

-- L.

Cheap Treks' first class picture from Shore Leave 1987: "Live Long & Thanks for All the Fish", featuring a few names you may recognize from Prometheus productions.
Back, L/R: Paul Balze, Steve Wilson, Sharon Palmer, Dan Coggins, me, David Keefer, Barb Helfer, Eric Burch
Front , L/R: Chuck Coates, Alan Chafin, John Scheeler, Winchell Chung
Yes, we often took liberties with the costumes -- like Spock's mohawk -- which I'll go into some other time.