Azani

My point exactly; it would, however, be nice if it were distanced from its reputation as a failed toy, in order to allow its story to be discovered by new fans. Are you saying that Bionicle would be too valuable for Lego to sell, and yet not valuable enough for anyone else to be interested in purchasing it? I'd appreciate if you could clarify what you're trying to say for me.

Would you consider Miserix to be evil, in the core universe?

I myself am not familiar with the people on these forums who think that Krika and Icarax are "good guys", but if their only evidence for their goodness is that they were against Teridax, who isn't good, then that doesn't even begin to defend their idea. It's entirely possible to be against a force which is evil, and still be evil yourself.

One would expect, though, that Metru Nui would have been readily abandoned if the 2004 sets had failed to sell well. A least one revenue-producing product of 2004, whether it was the books, the film, or the sets, must have been profitable enough for Lego to release an entire years worth of books, sets, and a film which were also set in Metru Nui.

BIONICLE could have used any of those ideas without toys. I'm not arguing against that. However, its foundation as a toy line is the reason it used those ideas the way it did. Because so many of its basic conventions, such as the ones which you mentioned, are often found in a wide variety of successful media, I don't believe that Bionicle would suffer or be forced to change any of its qualities that make it unique if it were primarily a book series, or movie series, or television series. That's the point that I was trying to make. This is all, of course, hypothetical; Lego hasn't announced any intentions to license or sell the Bionicle brand. However, do you think that there is a chance that Lego would consider selling it even if the company was not in financial trouble, if offered the right price?

And exactly because of that I think it was a bad move to make a Bionicle film at that time. I really did not have that feeling of a conclusion to a buildup the movie was apparently meant to serve. Well, keep in mind that these are your personal feelings about it. You may wish it wasn't made, 'cause you... find the comics more enjoyable or something, but do remember that a lot of people love this movie and are happy it was made. That's all. I'd sure hope so. Heck, I started a thread about just that. I always did have the feeling that the Visorak/Toa Hordika storyline was inserted in to a point in the story where a bridge wasn't really necessary, as though the administrative higher-ups at Lego made the decision solely based off of how the Metru Nui sets sold, and the story team had to somehow fit in makeshift story because of that. There was nothing wrong with the 2005 story, but a few aspects of it appeared to be a bit forced. Keetongu, anyone?

I'm not at all suggesting that Bionicle be resold without supplementary products, including but not limited to toys. Due to its popularity and success over a variety of media, the Star Wars films have given rise to a lot of Star Wars toys; the only difference between the two in terms of marketing strategies is that Star Wars was planned with films to be the main focal point and source of revenue, and diversified from there, while Bionicle planned for toys to be the main focal point and source of revenue, and diversified from there. It's entirely feasible that, in the hands of a company which is established in working in a variety of media, that Bionicle could be a series of films, or books, or television episodes with toys that were supplementary to the other media. However, Aanchir, I disagree that a line of toys, supplementary or vital to its existence, is necessary for Bionicle to be exciting and innovative. The concept of collectability is by no means unique to toys, and in fact most collectible items are not toys or items to be played with. Today, certain books, comic books, cars, paintings, baseball cards, other sports memorabilia, and many other items are collectible. Not one of those items have their roots in toys, and many have been collectible since long before 2001. Many of these items also sell better and are more marketable now than they were before they were considered collectible. It's a well-accepted convention in the world of visual design that audiences desire brightly colored characters and environments in science-fiction or fantasy settings, and that rule has formed the basis for much of the visual style of those genres since the usage of colored film became widespread. Our mental image of science-fantasy movies or television contains vivid colors almost by default. Even before then, vividly colored landscapes, costumes, and characters were extremely common in comic books and pulp magazines as far back as the late nineteenth century. When the tone of the work is more somber or threatening in tone, then the color palette will often be darkened and mellowed out to match that; not only is the standard for most science-fantasy, but it was used by Bionicle in 2006, 2007, and 2008 to indicate the more dangerous and somber tone of the story during those years. The same can be said for the novel designs of tools or weapons that was and remains eye-catching to the toy-buying public; moviegoers, television watchers, and comic book readers desire the same innovation in tool/weapon design, and have for many decades. And one needs to go back nearly two thousand years, when much of the literature which we today consider to be “classical” was composed in Greece and Rome, to record the start of our cultural interest in the natural elements and character who can control them. That last one is pretty old. In terms of short characters, do you really think that Bionicle would not make use of characters of sub-human height if it had not begun as a toyline? Elves, dwarves, goblins, gremlins, fairies, and countless species of aliens have been shorter than humans in very well known literature for centuries.

Lego has nothing to gain from letting another company take control of the Bionicle franchise, except money. If Lego was interested in selling the franchise or licensing it out to a book publisher or a film/ television studio, they would still receive payment for it. Isn't that the only reason why any company ever sells a franchise that is no longer profitable to them?

I'm actually almost blown away by the degree of realism which you were able to achieve with that render. The texturing on her entire body looks extremely tangible, particularly on her forearms and thighs. I think that I recognize your name; were you ever involved with Bionicle: Next Generation?

I do. Its not "the Bionicle story" without it. And whoever said they'd have to turn all the story of 2004 into just one movie? Or one really short movie?Lord of the Rings managed to do it. Game of Thrones is doing it even better. I didn't watch the movie now, I watched it when it came out. I was 10 years old then, and found the story very shallow and the characters quite unrelatable. A good screenplay writer, director and producer would've been able to turn the disk hun and the Morbuzak, and perhaps the entire event of 2004, into a very exciting and story driven movie that leaves out or changes certain parts but manages to tell the entire story anyway. None of the movies are that. You don't think that two films would be too expensive for Lego to promote one year's worth of toys? Lego didn't have incentive to make two 2004 films because the films existed only to promote Lego's toys. There weren't nearly enough toys in 2004 alone to warrant Lego making another film. And, as Nick said above, I don't think that a second film would necessarily add much to the story of 2004.

Have there, by any chance, been any more updates on the status of the commission?

Basically this, yeah. I get it that lego is trying to make themes for everybody by focusing on select elements to sell each, but I wish they'd compromise. I wish they would blend all the best elements of their great themes all together as you've described them to create one new ULTIMATE theme that could easily be seen as being on par with Bionicle. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they seem unwilling to try that hard in this day and age. Maybe someday, to market pieces made with their new plastic or something. What the LEGO Group's "ultimate" theme would be is something that people's opinions would differ on, though. Within the BIONICLE community, a lot of people seem to be in agreement that BIONICLE hit that magical combination of factors to achieve true greatness, but a lot of people just don't like constraction themes. I can definitely see where some of these people are coming from. Constraction is a completely different animal from LEGO System. It's great for character design, but not so great at fleshing out a universe in physical form. Constraction parts are inherently specialized, and using traditional factors for gauging the value of a LEGO set such as piece count or price-per-piece, constraction sets rarely measure up to their System brethren. There's also a perception by some people that BIONICLE's super-serious tone was out-of-touch with its inherent nature as a toy, and I can see where those kinds of people are coming from. It had some jokes, but it wasn't characterized by the classic humor that has been such a big part of other LEGO media endeavors (like the video games, LEGO Star Wars TV specials, or The LEGO Movie). BIONICLE had some strong values attached to its story, but they were fairly typical action/adventure story fare. "Unity, Duty, and Destiny" are not novel concepts. They're buzzwords, and the same sort of themes that could be seen in the shallow morals of a lot of 80s merchandise-driven cartoons with pitifully low production values. Is it any surprise that many older fans might see BIONICLE the same way they see He-Man or classic Transformers and My Little Pony? Especially since it often seemed to be trying to conceal its foundations as a LEGO toy? If these more System-focused LEGO fans still want to see deep, original, story-driven themes, a theme like LEGO Ninjago could be right up their alley. It certainly appeals to a broad audience and has managed to tell some very powerful stories, with environments and characters as diverse as BIONICLE's were back in the day. So for a lot of people, "the ultimate LEGO story theme" might already be here. That's the unfortunate part about Bionicle's status. I don't think that its storyline worked too well to promote its toyline, because it's too complex and deals with themes which are too dark for the majority of the toy buying public. Older fans of serious science fiction and fantasy are often repelled from Bionicle because it is associated with a toy and was, until recently, mainly a toy. If it's to continue to survive, then it either needs to fully embrace being a toy or fully embrace being a serious science-fantasy story for teens and adults. Regardless of how the public views it, it's still a great story; however, it's status as a toy is a serious limit to the number of people who could be interested in it.

Yeah that's the one although it did not include Hafu Did you buy the mask on its own, without the rest of the Power Pack? Or maybe you purchased in with each of the other components of the Power Pack, excepting the Hafu figure?EDIT: Is this what you have: http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEGO-Bionicle-Mask-Chrome-HAU-Free-Shipping-/151237540190?pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item233675b95e ? Yup thar she blows..shame I payed more for mine :/ It's the first one that I've ever seen on ebay. Again,the Power pack wasn't a very common set, so the chrome Hau is probably fairly rare. If you were ever to sell it, you should be able to sell it for at least $20, since that is what the seller was asking for on ebay.

I don't mean it like that, I mean I don't really care about the Krana not his collection of Krana, it great that he got all those krana but to me I just don't care about those because I just don't find those as something I would collect Sorry; I must have misunderstood you. I just have a really high sense of appreciation for someone who takes the time to collect anything like that.

The way in which the "appearance" of the Toa Mata in the Lego movie isn't my greatest Bionicle disappointment; nonetheless, the fact that Lego didn't need to put the Toa Mata in the film at all, but decided to do so in a not-so-appreciatory way surprised me when I saw The Lego Movie. The only qualm that I have with it was that I just didn't expect it to be that way.

You're sounding a bit rude when you say that you "don't care" about Hachiroku's krana. Since there are 48 types of krana and only 36 types of Great Kanohi and Kanohi Nuva, his krana collection probably took longer to complete than his Kanohi collection.

Yeah that's the one although it did not include Hafu Did you buy the mask on its own, without the rest of the Power Pack? Or maybe you purchased in with each of the other components of the Power Pack, excepting the Hafu figure? EDIT: Is this what you have: http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEGO-Bionicle-Mask-Chrome-HAU-Free-Shipping-/151237540190?pt=Building_Toys_US&hash=item233675b95e ?

Oh yes. I felt as though I had been really heartlessly cheated out of a decent appearance, having heard that the Toa Mata would briefly "appear" in the Lego movie, and then attending the film and seeing that a still image of them from 2001 was on the screen for less than half of a second. And that that was their only appearance in the film. That might be the biggest disappointment for me. I may be in a minority here, but I was actually content with that. As much as I would have loved seeing a BIONICLE set tower over those minifigures, that was good enough for me. I definitely understand that the Lego Movie may not have been as lucrative if any Bionicle characters were given roles, even supporting roles. After all, Lego hasn't made any new Bionicle sets in four years, and has no plans to make more. Also, Bionicle was always an unconventional Lego product, and many people who are fans of Lego's systems lines aren't neccesarily fans of their constraction lines. Many systems fans may not even know that Lego makes action figures; it's helpful to remember that Hero Factory wasn't featured at all in The Lego Movie either. It's actually not the brevity of the Toa Mata's "appearance" in the Lego Movie that annoyed me; rather it was the rumor that they would be appearing, and seeing that half od a second of a still image was the entirety of the appearance that Lego had planned for them. However, I'm relieved that The Lego Movie didn't turn them into mindless "heroes", smashing things for Emmett and his crew. I would have rather had the Toa make no appearance at all.

I really like the way that your story is going so far; it's clear that you have a very thorough and wide-ranging base of knowledge on the MU. Keep it up!

Oh yes. I felt as though I had been really heartlessly cheated out of a decent appearance, having heard that the Toa Mata would briefly "appear" in the Lego movie, and then attending the film and seeing that a still image of them from 2001 was on the screen for less than half of a second. And that that was their only appearance in the film. That might be the biggest disappointment for me.

Would it be correct to assume that the Karzahni plant was made from antidermis, since it was created by Teridax? If so, it would have been made up of the same substance as all other rahi. And there was definitely at least one species of rahi as large as the Karzahni, assuming that the Karzahni was roughly the size of the Morbuzakh. This image from LoMN illustrates that: http://biosector01.com/wiki/images/0/0a/LoMN_Dweller_in_the_Deep.PNG Unless there was a limit to the size of the rahi that could be revived, could we say that the Karzahni plant is definitely revived also?

There was certainly a chrome Hau made in 2001. However, the Rua was shaped like a Miru in-story,yet shaped like a Hau in the set; a bit confusing, though this page on BS01 should help:http://www.biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Rua\ Simply put, the chrome Hau was designed and promoted as the set version of the Rua, while the in-story version of the Rua remained a chrome Miru. Tahukan, I'm going to guess that this is the mask that you have: http://biosector01.com/wiki/images/d/d3/Power_Pack_Rua.png Is that the one, from the Power Pack?

The Bohrok Va cards are also nice; however, do you plan to do cards for the Toa Mata or Toa Nuva also? Since you've made cards representing all of the Bohrok Va, in addition to cards for each type of Bohrok and the queens of the swarms, it would balance out the group to have some good guys.

Has Lego heard about your achievements in Matoran linguistics? Somebody from the company has to see this one, at the very least.

I've been thinking that Turaga Dume isn't being impersonated by anyone in this epic. Remember, Geardirector, this epic takes place in an alternate universe with Matoran of Radiation living underneath Metru Nui. The chances of Teridax impersonating Turaga Dume at the time of the events of this epic are very small. There is a strong indication that the culture of Metru Nui is anti-Nu-Matoran in its general beliefs and theories. The exclamation of the Onu-Matoran in chapter three who tells Whenua that the Nu-Matoran were "savages" and that the skirmish was "a massacre", along with Jaller's hope in chapter four that the Toa Metru will "devastate" the Nu-Matoran implies a bias that is deepluy integrated into the culture of Metru Nui. Not many epics start off as well as this one has, and even fewer keep the quality of the plot strong for ten chapters. I honestly think that this is one of the best epics that I have ever read on BZPower. It moves at a pace which is well suited to an epic, and incorporates a strong conflict with characters who are fleshed out well on both sides. I'll certainly remember it, and I'll check back frequently.