PeabodySam

Frosam sounds like a ship name for Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee. No offense.

None taken.  Believe me, I found that out the hard way a long time ago during a Google search.

This blog post is two years old, and therefore rather out-of-date as far as the Frosam rewrite is concerned.  For example, I've since opted to rename the title character "Rosamu" after receiving some encouragement from Jacks and other readers.  In addition to avoiding aforementioned connotations, this new name was crafted to fit Tolkien's Matoran Dictionary.  Therefore, it sound more like an actual BIONICLE name than "Frosam" ever did.  Certainly helps that it apparently follows the naming scheme of Onepu, Taipu, Nuparu, Mamru, and other such Onu-Matoran.

So, I guess this comment serves as an update to this blog post which was originally supposed to be an update.  Two years and not a single word from me regarding this story (on this website, at least)?  Still, I am working on it... slowly.  I've written up to chapter 8 of what is currently projected to be approximately 16-20 chapters.

Not that anybody cares... after all, the first blog comment I get in two years is nothing more than pointing out the similarities between a name and a ship...

Now, don't get me wrong - this isn't asking if Dino Attack RPG itself was worth it. Despite it all, I still consider it my pride and joy here on BZPower, and I wouldn't trade anything for the great memories and loads of fun we had with it.

This is more about our efforts to get Dino Attack RPG known through TV Tropes as a way of leaving behind a lasting legacy. What started off as a fun side project to see just how overdosed on tropes the RPG really is has since evolved into an ongoing effort to try to get our writing more publicized outside those few who visit BZP's LEGO RPG forum.

And instead, we've become a mockery.

Sure, these are only two posts in two topics on two forums. But when these two posts are all we've heard about Dino Attack RPG's reception among those who discovered it via TV Tropes, it's all too easy to assume the worst and feel discouraged. This was supposed to be something we did for fun, and instead it's appearing to be our downfall.

Was it better to languish in obscurity or to go down in infamy?

For the most part, I find that there's a good reason why the majority of reviewers praise or criticize a movie. If most reviewers gave positive reviews to a movie, I can expect that to be a good movie. If most reviewers gave negative reviews to a movie, I can expect that to be a bad movie. If a movie has mixed reviews, then it's a case where I would need to see the movie to understand my feelings for it.

Reviews are like book cover. A positive review is like an amazing book cover that gets you hyped up, a negative review is like a dull book cover that leaves you uninterested, and a mixed review is the kind of book cover that leaves you thinking, "Well, it might be good, or it might be bad... can't really tell..."

And this is where I say the overly-cliched phrase: "You can't judge a book by its cover". And the reason I made the comparison between reviews and book covers is because "You can't judge a movie by its review".

Critics hated Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991) to the point where Spielberg himself considers it an embarrassment (they even made a reference to this in the LEGO Studios Backlot game; the Director, modeled after Spielberg, says "It'll be worse than Hook!"). Completely unaware of this fact, I went to see the film and found it rather enjoyable. It was no masterpiece, but I liked the concept, the characterization, and the musical score by John Williams. I thought it was a pretty good movie, and I was shocked when I saw the 22% approval rating on RT.

Most of BZPower, or at least the vocal section of BZPower, says that The Legend Reborn is a terrible film, an embarrassment to BIONICLE, full of corniness and kiddiness, and the number one cause of teen suicide. When I hear these people, I shake my head in disbelief. Every time I watch that film, I feel like it is the best of the four BIONICLE films, with actually less corniness and kiddiness than the others. The only major problems I have with the film are its lack of villain characterization and its lack of Nathan Furst (curse you, John D'Andrea!). So, once again I enjoy a film that the majority hates.

On the other hand, according to RT, 62% of critics gave David Lynch's Dune (1984) a positive review, meaning more people liked it than hated it. And I despise that movie with every fiber of my being. It was a horrible adaptation of a great book, with poor storytelling that had many unnecessary changes and cuts. The whole movie was the definition of a mess. My father, who also loved the book, shares my opinion on this movie. Apparently, I only agree with 38% of "professional" reviewers.

Also, one must remember that not everyone is going to have the same taste. If this was the case, every film with positive reviews would have a 100% rating on RT, and every film with negative reviews would have a 0% rating on RT. But that's not the case. Most well-received films have ratings between 75% and 90%, and most poorly-received films have ratings between 20% and 40%. There is always somebody who will dislike a movie with mostly positive reviews, and there is always somebody who will like a movie with mostly negative reviews. That "somebody" could very well be you.

Reviewers are more like guidelines than actual rules. They suggest that you will probably like/dislike something, but they may not be right, so sometimes the best way to determine what you like is to go to the theater or rental store and see it yourself.

However, getting back to The Legend Reborn, reviewers can also have a negative impact and can actually sway your opinion even if you disagree with them. For example, when I first saw The Legend Reborn, I was absolutely sure that it wiped the floor with the original trilogy (and this is coming from someone who did not hate the original trilogy). As BZPower's views of the movie became increasingly negative, it rubbed off on me, and my views went from being "Wow, this is the best BIONICLE movie by far!" to "Okay, I guess it's a bit better than Legends of Metru Nui...".

I also think it is a good thing that I did not read reviews when I saw Hook. Self-fulfilling prophesy is a horrible disease. If you walk into the movie theater thinking to yourself, "I read reviews and they say that this movie is going to suck", chances are you'll be predicting a bad movie, and as a result you will have a higher chance of disliking this film because you predict it to be bad. It will create a sense of negative bias that would not exist if you did not read the reviews. If I had first seen Hook knowing full well that critics hated it, I probably would have viewed it as a bad film.

Basically, reviewers can help, but you may not always agree with them and you cannot let them sway your feelings.

(I apologize if this post comes through multiple times; I've been having server problems today with BZPower) (Primis: No worries, it only went through once. )

I actually thought of this.

You know, a while ago, I was actually considering writing a BIONICLE/Slizers/Rock Raiders crossover. It would have been about the Core War and the Shattering that followed. Think about it. With both Spherus Magna and Planet Slizer, we had a planet with various elemental regions that descends into civil war, then suddenly the planet shatters. All you have to do is make a few minor alterations (i.e. the EP weakens the planet's structure enough that the meteor's strike is enough to destroy it), and you've got a single storyline!

As for the Rock Raiders... well, the Rock Monsters, Ice Monsters, and Lava Monsters were all intelligent at one point, weren't they? And they had a civilization, didn't they? Then at one point, they reverted to primal beasts, correct? And "Planet U" was a barren, desert planet, right? The Vorox were intelligent at one point, weren't they? And they had a civilization, didn't they? Then at one point, they reverted to primal beasts, correct? And Bara Magna was a barren, desert planet, right?

So, basically, we've got Slizers, Agori, Glatorian, Skrall, Bone Hunters, Ice Monsters, Lava Monsters, and Great Beings all thriving on Spherus Magna, while deep underground the Rock Monsters have their own civilization. Then, Energized Protodermis is discovered, the Slizers lead the planet into a civil war, but the war and the Energized Protodermis weakens Spherus Magna's structure, and then a meteor strikes the unstable planet, shattering it. The Lava Monsters and Ice Monsters are trapped on Bara Magna during the shattering; the Lava Monsters live underground with their Rock Monster brethren, while the Ice Monsters live underground to escape the heat, and like the Vorox, as a result of the Shattering they all revert to primal state. In the northern mountains of Bara Magna, the Slizers and Elemental Lords continue their battle. In Earth year 1999, a spaceship is caught in orbit of Bara Magna, and its miners name the planet "Planet U". Ten years later, the Kanohi Ignika crash-lands on the planet.

What do you think?

An eye exam? I hope your eye studied hard...

Oh, and... Merry Platypus!

Well said, Primis. It's still a shock that BIONICLE is just going to end so soon after the 2009 "reboot", but as you said, it's better to end something before it fails. And the fact that the BIONICLE story will be continuing for at least an extra year does show what BIONICLE has become in LEGO's eyes: more than simply just a money-maker.

Now, now, this is an overreaction, no need to worry people, no need to panic, we should all just calm down, it's just a waffl-

... wait... A waffle shortage? Forget everything I've said! This is the perfect time to panic!

*starts running around in circles screaming in a perfect imitation of Primis's emote*

Deadlines.

Set a date XX/XX/XX in the near future, and tell yourself, "I've got to (write the next Two Worlds chapter/review that comedy/review that epic/review that other epic that luckily is only so far one chapter long/review that short story/review... ah, forget it/reply to the Official Rock Raiders Topic now that Onuki's back) by XX/XX/XX." Pretend then that this is an important project for school, for your job, etc., and that if you don't finish it by the deadline, you'll get bad grades, a salary deduction, etc. (just be sure to remind yourself that you're pretending and not actually in such a situation). Do whatever you can and whatever it takes to meet this deadline.

Also, as aforementioned, listening to proper music helps too.

Guaranteed to work!

NOTE: This strategy is not guaranteed to work, and just because it worked for finish Vakama's Secret does not guarantee that it will work on everything else. Nonetheless, this is not false advertising because I am in fact advertising truthfully in this fine print, and if you don't read the fine print that's your problem. Side effects may include dizziness, drowsiness, and the ability to think you can see the future, but you really can't. Do not take "Do whatever you can and whatever it takes" too literally, or we'll come to take you away. Ha-haa! Homework and work still come first. And lots more fine print. Isn't this print just so fine? And it isn't polite to point.

... we hope.

The previous film incarnation of Dune had some pretty well-known names in the cast and crew... and look at how that turned out. On the other hand, the five-hour Sci-Fi mini-series incarnation was excellently done, but I can't seem to recall any famous actors or crew members from that version. So big names aren't everything.

Let's hope they don't mess this film version up. Yes, the five-hour version is great, but given the short-term attention spans of most huma - ooh, that thing has numbers on it! Sorry. But as I was saying, not many people want to watch something for five hours, so if these guys can manage to efficiently and properly adapt Dune into a two, two-and-a-half, three-at-the-most hour film, that would be good for those people.

Let's hope they don't make this checklist when making this new Dune adaptation...

1. Is the Weirding Way a camera that shoots particles out of it whenever you make a sound effect with your mouth? Check...

2. Does rain fall from the sky on Arrakis at the end of the movie despite everything that it will mess up? Check...

3. Do we spoil all the secrets, mysteries, and plot in the beginning segment of the film? Check...

4. Do we have actors whose acting is quite stale and emotionless in this film? Check...

5. Do we just skip over a bunch of important events? Check...

6. Do we shave our actresses and give our actors ridiculous eyebrows and warts? Check...

7. Do we have special effects bad for our time? Check...

8. Do we confuse both those who have never read Dune and those who have? Check...

Yeah... as long as they don't use the above checklist, I hope this film will be better than the last. Not sure if it will be better than the mini-series, but then again, five hours gives you more leeway than two to three hours.

Wait, you saw it in theaters? How?

 

Heh, that is strange. I'm starting to wonder if Fred Tatasciore's a saboteur?

 

It's a shame they're both so short, BIONICLE and 9 both have enough story potential for a full-length, two-hour film. Better safe than sorry, I guess...

On the weekend of September 12-13, several select movie theaters were having a single showing of BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn, and since I happened to live not all that far from one of them, I got tickets and went. Honestly, it's literally just a DVD player (literally!) hooked up to the theater's big screen and surround sound. I guess although the screen quality wasn't as good as other big-screen showings, it was still an... experience... to see BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn on a big screen with surround sound.

Although the fact that most of the other viewers in the theater were a bunch of little kids kind of bugged me.

You mean Fred Tatasciore is responsible for making both films short and cutting his lines... though sabotage? omg cal te polise!!11!!1!1

Well, I don't know... while BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn did a surprising amount in just 70 minutes, I feel like it could have used extended to 2 hours to expand on things that were just barely touched upon in the movie... such as Tuma, or the Skrall in general. I suppose that's what I don't like about the movie's depiction of the Skrall - while Empire of the Skrall makes the Skrall's actions believable and explained, the movie just depicts them as a bunch of generic bad guys who want to take over Bara Magna "cause that's what friends bad guys do!", and Tuma is thus reduced to a stereotypical villain who doesn't even appear for most of the film. So perhaps they should have extended BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn to make the Skrall more believable and to give Tuma more lines.

At least Tinsletown didn't give Tuma the treatment Mirimax gave Sidorak... I'd almost rather have an overconfident stereotype (Tuma) than an ignorant coward (Sidorak).

I just saw BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn in theaters. And it was awesome.

There were a couple of things that bothered me though.

1. It's far too short, only 70 minutes long.
2. Fred Tatasciore's character, Tuma, barely had any lines.

Normally, I don't participate in this kind of stuff, but "the brick is a lie" and "Still Browsing" made this too good to resist... I know you said that it doesn't have to be BIONICLE-related, but if you're doing this for BIONICLE.com, there's so many great BIONICLE/BZPower-related things that I just thought I'd point out a few:

• "You Kohlii-head, windfly to the Key to Nongu because that's what friends do! Now, beware my stinger tail!" (A collection of cheesy lines)
• "brakelatabasalata feed me " (Rather self-explanatory)
• "BURN STUFF!" (The stereotyped Tahu in BZPower's comedies)
• "The over-used pie joke is a lie..." (The over-used pie joke in BZPower's comedies, plus "The cake is a lie...")
• "92% blah blah blah. If you are 2% that don't blah blah blah, copy and paste into your sig." (Rather self-explanatory)
• "Carapar died to save your weapons!" ("RIP" sigs for Carapar)
• "Mutran died to save your swamp-filled cave!" ("RIP" sigs for Mutran)
• "Brutaka died to save your... oh, wait, never mind, he's not dead yet..." (A fake "RIP" sig by bonesiii back in 2008)
• "They're coming to take Vezon away, ha-haa!" (Spoof of "They're coming to take me away, ha-haa!" by Napoleon XIV)
• "I knew it! WOO-HOO! Name's Kiina, blah blah blah, WOO-HOO!" (Kiina's rather cringe-worthy "WOO-HOO")
• "i love bionicle" (Rather self-explanatory; you know, many spam topics make great memes)
• "Thok plans to steal the Mask of Light!" (S@H typo back in 2006 that had everybody on BZPower confused)
• "Listen again to the legends of the Bionicles. In the times before times, the Toas saved the Matorans and Turagas..." (Reference to the incorrect 'Bionicles')
• "Lewa's in trouble! Quick, call Onua!" (Self-explanatory)
• "BIONICLE was ruined the day GregF came up with 'Teridax'." (Some peoples' opinions of Teridax's name)
• "Tohu is not pleased." (Self-explanatory)
• "Trust in Hapori Dume!" (Self-explanatory)
• "Board Message: The server is too busy to complete your request." (Self-explanatory)
• "Play it again, Va." (An old Board Message)
• "Try bubble wrap. It's sooooothing!" (An old Board Message)
• "Must... have... MORE!" (What you'd hear every time you grabbed a new sheet of bubble wrap)
• "In BIONICLE, 'I can't answer that' or 'Follow the story and find out' usually translates to 'Yes'." (GregF's response to usually-correct theories)
• "My Matoran, these Three Virtues are what all true Toa strive for!" (Sorry, I know, it's horrible and cliche...)
• "Mata Nui x Virus / Matoran Universe + Ignika - Makuta + Teridax = The Plan!" (Putting the Plan into mathematical terms)
• "Remember that the Weighted Companion Nuva Cube cannot speak." (Weighted Companion Cube, anybody?)
• "Tuyet, I'm HOME!" (What GregF should've done instead of "Hi, dear, I'm home!")
• "Isn't it obvious? The traitor in BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn is Ahkmou!" (The 'big mystery' around TLR's traitor and a traitor in years past)
• ">> Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... <<" (No, don't actually click it; the spoiler tag itself is the suggestion)

EDIT: How about something completely unrelated to BIONICLE, then?

"Onward! The monkeys await! We must defeat the cows!"

Well said, Primis. Well said. As Sam (yes, Sam from Two Worlds) once put it:

"On my way out," muttered the Agent. "Apparently, the Dino Attack team managed to convince the LEGOLAND government that our presence was not required. But what are you doing down here? You're both outdated - the Agents and the Power Miners currently - "

 

"Don't even compare the Rock Raiders to the Power Miners," Sam narrowed his eyes. "Those guys are nothing compared to us, so if you're leaving, go on and get out before I set this here Alpha Team agent loose on you!"

The Power Miners can't hold a candle to the classic and epic Rock Raiders, which did not only have a better storyline, but a better set design and color scheme!

Lucky. Yesterday was April 21... and for us, it was pouring rain.

Of the two, I like the Yin Yang one better. But the Weighted Companion Nuva Cube is too good to resist... the only problem is that, unlike Yin Yang, there isn't anything beside the UDD symbol underneath to define it as a BIONICLE-style Weighted Companion Cube. Perhaps it were photoshoped so that the designs of the Nuva Cube were on the faces of the cube, then it could be better for this purpose. For now... it's just an excellent Weighted Companion Cube wallpaper.

Whoa, Primis, you hit the bullseye in this Blog entry. For I share, more or less, the exact same views on this matter.

What I really hate about the movie-making business is that whenever they make a movie that is at least semi-successful, they immediately decide to make it into a cash cow and make a sequel out of it. And, 90% of the time, the sequel is Kane-Ra Dung compared to the original. I can list at least a dozen of these sequels of the top of my head, and quite frankly most of them are Disney. "Jungle Book 2"... "Stich: The Movie"... "Shrek 2"... "Lady and the Tramp 2"... "Balto 2: Wolf Quest" (oh, man, I hated that movie)... "The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea"... the list just can go on forever, and this is only talking about kids' films that I've seen. If I started talking about the teenage/adult sequels that were unnecessary... *shudders*

And then, there are series such as "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Indiana Jones", and "Back to the Future". The first movie is the idealistic "perfect movie". They make a sequel(s), which is great but not quite as good or original as the first. For example, "Curse of the Black Pearl" was the refreshing and awesome pirate movie we've been waiting for. "Dead Man's Chest" and "At World's End" are very enjoyable and epic, but there's just... something missing from them that made "Curse of the Black Pearl" absolutely awesome and perfect. They're still great movies, but not as great as the first.

BIONICLE, however, is a bit arguable. While the universe we've been introduced to the past eight years has been quite amazing, it does get a bit tiring after a while, like a comedy that just keeps on trying to add chapters and add chapters that gradually lose substance (*coughtsftmoloriginaleditioncough*). That's why I kind of find Bara Magna to be a big relief. It's still BIONICLE, because it's in the BIONICLE universe and will be involving Mata Nui, but at the same time it's almost like a whole new series, a whole new start, to get us back awake after falling asleep. So, if the primary storyline was still in the Matoran Universe this year... I might have been asking myself, "Is BIONICLE getting any better than all those cash cow series?"

As you can see, I almost wholly agree with you on this blog entry. Thank you for making this!

I was actually suspecting that the explanation would be something like this. Only, I thought that the Bara Magna inhabitants were 100% organic but wore lots of armor, similar to knights and such. I supose that wasn't far-off from 85% organic and 15% mechanical.

Just a question, though, about the extent of the 15%. Looking at my Vorox sitting here on my desk, he looks pretty much like the mostly-robotic biomechanical creatures we've known since 2001. Would the 15% mechanical anatomy be an "exoskeleton" that covers his body, making him look more robotic? Or are there parts of the set that simply don't look organic but storyline-wise truly are?

Don't worry, Prime. I have procrastination problems too! Well, technically it's a mixture of procrastination and writer's block if it involves Vakama's Secret or The Search for the Mask of Light - Revised...

But the good thing about procrastination is that, no matter how long it takes for you to do something, you end up doing it eventually. Remember how long it took for you to review some chapters of The Story of Frosam? And remember how it would take me forever to get around to writing new chapters? Well, we ended up doing it eventually... and hopefully, you'll be able to update your RPG, post the new TRRMB-R chapter, and review the new TSFTMOL-R chapters.

Of course, worse comes to worse, I'll just find some way into tricking you into saying "Eep", and then you'll be forced to get over your procrastination by a certain TRRMB-R character...

LIFE ON MARS FOREVER! Take that, Mars Mission! XD

Yeah, to get to the main point of this blog entry, it's so true. I can't help it if one day I'm just browsing Brickshelf, checking out new folders as usual, when suddenly my eye falls upon a folder name: "2009_PIX_LOL" (note: this folder name probably does not actually exist). One hand races to cover my eyes, the other races to press Alt+Left, but it's too late; the damage is done, and I have seen the thumbnail above the name "2009_PIX_LOL", and I know what at least one of next year's sets are.

That's the sets. Then there's the storyline. I'm just hanging out on BZPower in mid-November, waiting for my comic to arrive, when suddenly my eyes fall upon a member whose signiture is "RIP MATORO WE'LL MISS YOU!" Although I had been suspecting Matoro's death, I hadn't received the comic yet, so it had not been confirmed. And yet, just like that, the surprise was ruined. It was only luck that I read the respective Federation of Fear chapters minutes before seeing the "RIP BOTAR!" or "RIP CARAPAR" signatures...

Then, let's take a look at several years ago, before I was introduced to BS01, BZPower, or even Brickshelf. I'm waiting for my upcoming LEGO Mania Magazine, thinking to myself, Well, it's too bad BIONICLE ended last year. The comics and sets were cool. At last, the day comes where I check the mailbox and find the now-somewhat-familiar polybag, inside of which is a LEGO Mania Magazine. I bring it inside the house, open it, and find to my surprise that, along with the Mania magazine, a BIONICLE comics with Tahu confronting something on the front cover falls out. Intruiged, I pick up the comic and open it. What I find inside is amazing - despite my belief that BIONICLE had come to an end the year before, BIONICLE was continuing this year! And with these awesome new villains - buglike critters called the Bohrok and their accomplices the Bohrok Va, and the mask-like Krana they carried with them... it was just so exciting to sit there, finding out all this surprising new information when LEGO wanted me to!

Nowadays, I try to avoid looking at anything that will spoil anything for me, but it's just not the same, because as I mentioned in paragraph #2, I can't help it if my eyes skim Brickshelf and come across a leaked image! Just like that, the surprise is gone!

So, if we're going to destroy the Internet... count me in!

Intersting... I didn't realize the book I read was abridged and altered... after all, I'd think that it would say on the cover that it was abridged... At least, I don't remember seeing anything on it hinting that it was not the full version...

Well, even though it was supposedly abridged, I still enjoyed reading the book, and I think I can handle a few bad puns (especially since I'm notoriously known for making them...), so I might like the movie... I might also want to think about picking up an unabridged original edition of the book...

Really, hmm? I was a bit worried when I saw the poster - as soon as I saw the teenage girl, I threw my hands in the air and muttered, "When are they ever going to actually make a good book-to-movie adaptation?" Not that I have anything against teenage girls... it's just that there were no major female characters in the original book.

Then, later I was hearing about how it wasn't exactly a book-to-movie adaptaion, but rather a movie based on an idea that the book might be nonfiction, and that three people try to follow the footsteps of Dr. Hardwigg, Harry, and Hans. I wasn't quite sure what to think; it might've been good, but it might still be a cheesy knock-off of the book.

Still, since you say it was very good, I might consider watching it in theaters (if I'm unsure about a movie, I usually wait until it's on DVD or cable)...

Yes, I checked, and my approximation was correct - only ten pages of the 152 page RPG were saved in the method in this topic.

Still, I hope that you're right, in that for the most part the Alpha Team RPG and other important-but-dead topics will not be deleted, and it will be limited to pointless or spam or flame topics, which there are a lot of unfortunately...

I've got a problem. I tried to do this, in both html and Microsoft Word formats, to the Alpha Team: Mission Deep Freeze RPG, which is about 150 pages long. When I downloaded using the steps you had given, only a portion of the topic - maybe the first 10 pages - were backed up. So then I just gave up and backed up about 75 pages worth of posts in the old-fashioned copy-and-paste format.

Is there any way to download more than just the first 10 pages?

"Status: Plan to be updated Monday.

Although, whenever I set a date to update, it's usually delayed."

Aye, that happens to me all the time... don't ye hate when it happens?

It be good to finally hear some news about yer stories. I be getting a bit anxious, but now that ye have told us of the trade routes, our anxiety can end soon!

So, it seems to be that, of all yer hidden treasures, only Rock Raiders Meet BIONICLE - Revised will be updated soon. Everything else be raided by those disastardly Writers Block Imperials or else already stolen by those Lost Document Cannibals! Oh, well, I can wait. Every pirate knows that he has to be patient... those who move too quickly, soon find Davy Jones's locker firsthand...

Good to hear from ye!

(about the pirate accent, well, um, it's Talk like a Pirate Week!)