[What would you have changed?]

Let's see what I can come up with off the top of my head.

• Put a heavier focus on Kongu Inika's constantly-on telepathy (and the difficulty of dealing with it)
• Mixed-gender elements. Maybe having some elements more likely to be male, or more likely to be female, or more likely to be neither, MAYBE, but none 100%.
• Have the Hordika to "go bad" be Onewa, Nuju, or Matau (my preferences in that order)
• Have the Mask of Light story last a full year, somehow, replacing the Kal story.
• Malum was banished for nearly killing Strakk, and then Strakk was banished for nearly killing Ackar. Nothing interesting was done with Strakk in that moment, and it feels like a missed opportunity.
• Give the Toa of the Green on the Mangai team no weapon, because he quickly grows a wooden weapon in the shape of whatever he needs whenever he needs it. (Back when the Mangai canonization was happening, I recommended that, but no one seemed to notice lol. I still think about that sometimes).

[The biggest disappointments in Bionicle?]

This is not the biggest disappointment. This is not the most consequential disappointment. But it's the one that I keep thinking about.

When the Inika transformed into Inika, their masks acted way differently than anything we'd really seen before. Three (hewkii, jaller, and nuparu) got masks that gave them super strong physical abilities. Matoro got a mask that allowed him to "fly" long distances as a scout.

Kongu and Hahli though? Kongu got telepathy he couldn't turn off. Hahli got a mask that made her head hurt.

In a real world analogy...Kongu was schizophrenic, and Hahli had chronic migraines.

It's been a while since I've read through the books, so I don't remember how it played out for Hahli, but I DO remember how it played out for Kongu: early on, it looked like dealing with voices constantly would become an integral part to his character, but then it kind of got...handwaved away, I guess.

Obviously, my disappointment is only in hindsight, but my biggest disappointment was that this wasn't explored. You had two characters who were clearly not neurotypical stuck on a team that had won the lottery. I feel like having two characters deal with that in any way would have been good for kids at the time who might have been dealing with stuff like that, or helped them understand someone else dealing with it. I doubt lego would have allowed that in a million years, which might be why it wasn't explored (I remember the dismissal of Kongu's problems to be very sudden, like Greg suddenly realizing he couldn't write about that), but it still feels like a massive story loss 14 years later.

[What inspired you to purchase Premier Membership?]

I honestly lived more on BZP than the real world back in 2009-2011. It made more sense to me to have a "more advanced" account.

Also I was, like, 13, so that reasoning made sense.

I still think it was a good move. I'm glad I supported this site with money, it deserved it.

[Why Do You Still Hang Around?]

This site, and the people on it, were hugely influential on my development as a person. I come back every couple months because it feels like coming home in some ways. Plus, the site has this vague, hard-to-describe, "Old internet" feel that I don't really see anywhere anymore...I like it.

Plus the people are still cool. It's interesting to see a username pop up here that I remember from 10 years ago.

[Greg Farshtey might do contests to approve new Bionicle canon]

I absolutely love the fact that we are maybe going to get more MOCs canonized...some of the best character's appearances are from fan mocs.

However...this announcement gave me some strong flashbacks to about 6 years ago, with the Toa Mangai canonizations. I loved that too, but there was a lot of backlash.

I'll be paying attention to see what happens with this.

[Matoran Extinction]

if my memory serves correctly: specific matoran had the potential to become toa if needed. These matoran were often seen as eccentric or different somehow, such as Krakua (again, top of my head, refer to bs01). So, not all.

[Is it worth buying Axonn and Brutaka twice to make Botar?]

Assuming infinite funds: yup.

 

Not assuming infinite funds: you're better off filling in gaps elsewhere in your collection before you buy doubles.

[What famous movie celebrity actors would you like to play a Bionicle c]

All I want is a film where Nicholas Cage voices Lessovik. I don't care if it's only 30 seconds long, he was made to play that role.

[Well Greg Thanks alot.]

 

That being said...from a lore perspective, I like it. They decided to build a PLANET SIZE ROBOT, and have everyone inside refer to them as "the great beings". Step back for a second. We've heard that term our whole lives a lot of us, it's normalized. Do you realize the kind of people that would self-label themselves Great Beings? that's fascinating. I would have loved to have seen that. I would have loved to have seen the interesting dynamics that would have occurred because, at the end of the day, they are normal people who believe they had the right to change everything. I love it.

Have to point out, that's not what happened. They had the name Great Beings before they built the robot, and they didn't pick it--- the Agori just started calling them that. It's mentioned in the serials that one of the GBs, Angonce, always believed the name was curse, since it made them think more highly of themselves.

 

Ah, my mistake. I still think that that is super interesting, though, I still have no problem with this lore decision.

[Well Greg Thanks alot.]

Having the Great Beings just be the normal people of the planet is exactly the kind of thing that would (and should) exist in a lego line. "Normal people created the Mata Nui robot, and the kids buying our sets are normal people! Maybe they'll think they get to be a great being!" Frankly, given the fact that, at it's core, Bionicle is a lego line, this should surprise no one.

 

That being said...from a lore perspective, I like it. They decided to build a PLANET SIZE ROBOT, and have everyone inside refer to them as "the great beings". Step back for a second. We've heard that term our whole lives a lot of us, it's normalized. Do you realize the kind of people that would self-label themselves Great Beings? that's fascinating. I would have loved to have seen that. I would have loved to have seen the interesting dynamics that would have occurred because, at the end of the day, they are normal people who believe they had the right to change everything. I love it.

 

I think it also made Velika scarier...It would have been laughable if a single glatorian managed to kill Tren Krom, Karzahni, and almost Artahka and Helryx. But Velika did, purely out of his knowledge. Not only that: he did it with a severely weakened po-matoran body. That's terrifying.

 

Basically...I'm in the minority of people who is 100% on board with the facts that have been drip-fed to us by Greg. I think it makes Bionicle something unique.

[Ever used your Bionicle sets to do other things rather than playing?]

I used Hahli Mahri and Lesovikk as aquarium decoration for a while.

 

I didn't know about the lime green joints problem until later.

 

I only feel regret.

[Your dream cinematic Bionicle movie]

My dream cinematic Bionicle movie?

 

2006.

 

In all seriousness, I've put an uncomfortable amount of thought into this over the last few years...I think the Bionicle story would work best from a cinematic standpoint if you jettison Bara Magna, and treat the three arcs as three miniseries. Call the first one unity, call the second one duty, call the third destiny (think about it: 2001-2002 focused most on the unity of the Toa, 2004-2005 was about the toa's Duty to the matoran, and 2006-2008 was about accepting the toa's destiny).

 

I also think there is a potential in adapting it to be set on earth, with a science-fantasy theme. Sure, it isn't strictly Bionicle as we know it, but I feel like it would translate to a wide audience incredibly easily like that. Translating the characters into what they would be in human society leads to some interesting thematic stuff, especially the Piraka and Inika...

[How do you justify still playing with toys?]

Everyone can have a thing or hobby that transcends age...lots of adults play DnD, or build models, or play videogames...I don't think Bionicle is any different.

[The Awkwardness of the Toa Metru?]

The pin weapon connections were pretty awkward. However, my memories of the Metru are not affected by that since I decided to ignore the instructions and had them hold their weapons the "traditional" way.

 

As noted before, at the time, they were pretty mind blowing. We all forget that knees and elbows used to be non-existant.

 

Also those masks are probably some of the best we got in Bionicle's entire run, IMO.

[On the Topic of the Future of Member Titles]

This is going to likely expose my ignorance of the other ranks.

 

If the current highest is "destiny fullfilled"...maybe have turaga-related ranks? Could be a fun easter egg at least for when you reach that high. Or the idea of bara magna ranks also works. Or gen2 ranks!

[My musical project, The Chronicler, is here! (use headphones for b]

Followed.

 

This is real nice...I like the mix of rhythms during the main section (the cymbols being strict 4/4 halfnotes while the synth is triplets). This really fits with the whole bionicle feel. Can't wait for more!

[BBC Contest #73 Final Poll!]

I thought about the manas, because WOW is that amazing...But I decided to go with 2, due to the fact that I could see them releasing that exact set as-is during G1's prime.

[Skakdi of Light]

I think that those two elements were tightly controlled by the OoMN and BoM, if I remember correctly. To my knowledge, there were av matoran, kra matoran (Which i believe was the agreed-upon name), the makuta, and maybe Umbra who exibited those powers, but otherwise shadow and light were not an element present in other species, at least not (for lack of a better phrase) "In the wild".

 

...now...that does lead to the interesting question of "did the OoMN hide away light skakdi like they did av-matoran", which is actually a really cool thought...

[BZP chat?]

BZP could have one. Could have basics, like being inaccessable to members under 13, as a safety feature (I know there's an obvious work-around). Also a basic wordfilter like the old days.

[What would you like G3 to be about?]

What JMSOG as an irrational human being wants:

 

I want a complex story out of the gate. Bionicle will in any form from now on have two audiences: kids, and people in their 20s. People in their 20s, in the end, crave story complexity. Kids crave story accessability. I think lego has an opportunity to address both audiences.

 

For Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures existed at the same time. A less extreme version can exist, and I think it would benifit lego on a sales front if they do it right. Gen1 proved Bionicle is capable of this.

 

What JMSOG as a realistic human being wants:

 

I want them to go in with a long term plan. Gen2 changed "style" twice, and jumped from the animations from JtO. gen1 had MAJOR tone changes, and some retcons. I think longer-term planning than lego is accustomed to could serve Bionicle, and Lego, well.

 

These are both probably more abstract than what the topic wanted.

[What defines G2 for you?]

The potential.

 

Even though it may not have been the best method of storytelling, focusing on delivering the story in a way that could be easily accessed by a phone or tablet was genius. That's exactly how to get the attention of a kid in 2015. That could have built an audience as dedicated as us old gen1ers. And there was the potential for depth and richness...as someone mentioned, that heartwarming moment where two-kua stared at awe at the story of the toa was a moment we never had in gen1. This had the potential to become something special. And, with an entire wave consisting of skeletons, therefore confronting the topic of death head-on...the potential for more mature themes to be present. One of the best parts of gen1 is that Greg and the writers knew that we would be able to handle heavy and complex ideas, and it made me excited that G2 seemed ready to do the same.

 

No matter what you think about g2 as a whole, you cannot deny the potential future it had.

[Bionicle Concludes Again]

I went into G2 highly critical. And, while I don't think it's story quite stood up to g1, I don't think that's it's fault. We forget that G1 had 10 or 11 years to build up an audience and lore, and to learn from it's own set design mistakes. We judged a theme in it's infancy against the matured monolith that was G1.

 

with that in mind...I shouldn't have been as critical as I was at G2's begining. They did a good job. It's likely that g1 will still be the line with the strongest legacy, but I hope g2 stays strong in people's minds.

 

There's absolutely no need to bash G2, guys.

[Watch Journey to One on Netflix]

SPOILERS

Disclaimer: I am not as well versed in the gen2 story as I am gen1. I have only seen the flash animations, and have yet to get my hands on the books. So this might be a lot from a gen1 perspective.

 

 

I think here the shear amount of changes to the original characters really shined through, especially on Pohatu and Kopaka. Interesting choice, then, to make the second episode focus on Pohatu so heavily. In his case, he's a completely different character from gen1, and I like him. He was one of the stronger portrayals for sure. And of course, the necessary joke of "even Pohatu doesn't like Ketar" XD

Kopaka I'm not a huge fan of here. I felt like they weren't completely sure what to do with him, in comparison to the others. "That's bad" should be the new "I didn't slip".

Lewa, though, they nailed. This is the Lewa we deserved on screen 12 years ago. Same with Tahu and Gali, they did a good job I think. Onua...What I saw was solid, but he deserved more screentime I think.

I was suprised by how much I liked Umarak. The shadow-teleport power was really cool to watch, and a nice concept. His characterization I thought was solid as well. Nice choice to not make him a minion of Makuta, but a sort of freelance hunter. With a little more time to flesh out his character through other means, I'm getting the potential of a Piraka/Baraki vibe off of him.

Episode one felt a little rushed, but I liked a lot of the character moments. Lewa and Pohatu's segments I thought were especially strong. Episode two, though, really was the Bionicle episode that I've wanted to see. Again, interesting risk on potentially alienating the wide gen1 fanbase by focusing on the character that they decided to change the most. But it paid off...the character that they replaced to gen1 pohatu with was INCREDIBLY well characterized, perhaps (for me) the best of the 6. His voice acting was great, I understood his "stony" realism and animosity towards Ketar...Despite Lewa being my childhood hero, I kept wanting to see more of Pohatu.

I liked the prologue. They definitly took a lot of guidance from Vakama's intros in movies 1-3, and definitly sent home the fact that Narmoto is meant to be him. He filled that role fantastically.

...so, this review ended up being a summary of how it reminded me of gen1. Overall, though, I loved it. I'm probably gonna watch it several more times.

[what was the best bionicle movie and why]

We've acknowledged time and time again the weaknesses of the 2005 story...BUT...I recently rewatched all 4...and I have to say that adult me thought that WoS was the best from a MOVIE standpoint...clearly, from a bionicle standpoint, there are problems.

[Solis Magna System Found by Hubble Telescope]

We're missing the correct response to this.

 

We should do one of two things:

 

1: Advocate for the star system to be named after some Bionicle reference, optimally Solis Magna but that is unlikely.

 

2: There are those "star registry" things where you can pay to name a star...we gotta get on that.

 

Behold, the golden oportunity to immortilize Bionicle in the stars themselves.