Sir Kohran

I'll have an active account here as long as some form of BZPower exists, but I doubt my activity will be what it was.

Thanks for posting an update. I really liked the project, and was gutted when the downtime began and it disappeared. At this point it's been about a year to the day since I sent in my audition. Well, when the time comes, I'll be happy to record another one, and I hope others will too.

I wouldn't care. As has been stated, it wouldn't be in a form we'd recognise. The style of Hero Factory indicates where Lego's ambitions now lie. The designs of even the mid-2000s are behind them. The dreamy part of me would like to see the line return in the style of 2001, but obviously there's no possibility of it. Anyone who remembers the time when the word 'Tohunga' wasn't a relic is now an adult or near enough. There wouldn't be an audience for it. I'm content with the present situation.

Thinking back to the MNOLG, the Turaga (particularly Nokama) were always portrayed as kind, thoughtful and dignified. They never came across as suspicious to me. Yes there were clearly things they weren't telling, but we all have secrets of our own, don't we? Also, if the Turaga were 'the bad guys', where would that leave Makuta?

I'd go for 'Lee-wuh'. I just can't read an 'e' as an 'ay' sound. Strangely enough, in Bionicle's earliest days, I remember pronouncing it as 'Leh-wuh' (the first sound resembling the word 'let'). I don't remember exactly when I changed to the above.

Makes you wonder exactly what 'humanitarian aid' consists of...

Wow, that's quite a story, and quite an ordeal for a lot of people apparently. And at the same time all I had to worry about was whether you'd instantly respond to my audition It's very fortunate no-one died; best of luck for the future.

I'm interested in Makuta's role. I'll record something as soon as I get to grips with this Audacity thing

'One day maybe you will love again, love that never dies...' - The Verve (One Day) That was an inspiring entry Omi; one of the best I've read out of all the BZPower blogs. Very thought-provoking. Anyway, best of luck with the next girl. Plenty more fish in the sea (very annoying expression, but I think it's appropriate).

I have no problem with violence. As you pointed out, there was a great deal of violence in 2001. And in fact it seemed to decrease - by 2003, fights consisted of little cracks of heat in the ground. Frankly it was pathetic, particularly when you consider all the great action movies being released in that year (LOTR, Pirates, etc.). One of the few good points about 2005 was a return to genuine fighting and violence when necessary. Let's face it. These Toa are in a war - a brutal, tough war against cruel, almost always merciless villains who have no problem with murder when it suits them. The Toa have to be violent to survive. I actively support violence. I don't really know what to make of projectiles. On the one hand, they've always been there - as you correctly pointed out, the Tohunga way back in 2001 hurled discs, and even before, the Slizers, Bionicle's ancestors, also fought with arrays of discs. And let's not forget the bows and arrows of the Castle line or the rifles of the Western theme and the Adventurers. That said though, I'm a little put off by the 'machine guns' of the Mahri - the relentless hail of missiles is definitely a step-up from the old days of single shots. What I'm worried about, however, is gore. That's the point where violence stops being action and becomes gratuitous; where you stop with violence as a mere depiction and it becomes glorification. No Lego or Bionicle set to date has ever featured gore (maybe implied, but never graphically). Whilst the infamous Pridak incident turned out to be false, a lot of people (including Greg) did take it seriously at the time - so to me at least such a thing does not seem impossible anymore. Whilst it has not happened yet and there has been no sign of anything more, the possibility does worry me. I hope Lego stays away from this area. Anyway, thanks for writing this; this is one of the best entries in a while.