Retrograde 5 Superhero-style cereal cards (regurgitated)

 

Another set of character cards again using visuals made 20 years ago for my doomed Retrograde 5 project (see March '26 post below for the sorry details) this time based on the format of Weetabix's two DC Comics promotions of 1979 (the Superman and the Amazing World of Batman & Wonderwoman ranges). I recall having the complete sets of those at the time, keeping them safe in a Golden Virginia tobacco tin that my Grandad gave me.

As with the Asterix-style range the character visuals for these Retrograde 5 cards were generated in 2006 using Hero Machine Classic but this set is limited to the crew of the eponymous spacecraft and their key enemies. Many of the cards feature alternative versions of the visuals made for the other set, and include some different characters, but were subject to the same old-to-new tech kerfuffle described in my previous post.

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Click here to view the full set of 15 characters.

Retrograde 5 Asterix-style cereal cards (reconstituted)

 

Here's a range of character cards based on the format of the Weetabix Asterix: His Friends and Foes promotion from 1975. The characters are from an idea I had for animated sitcom in the early 2000s. 

Retrograde 5 was to be a kind of British Futurama, pitched as This Life set aboard Deep Space 9, focusing on the lives and loves of a team of time-raiders rather than lawyers and a homage to camp sci-fi of yesteryear - particularly Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and the 1980 Flash Gordon. There was some interest from a couple of production companies but, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was never green lit.

The character visuals were generated in 2006 using an online tool called Hero Machine (the first version, later referred to as Hero Machine Classic) which, being Flash-based, no longer functions. Unless you have access to something like an ancient Apple Mac G4, which I do, managed to boot up and ran the program offline to make some tweaks. 

Getting the files to a modern computer was another challenge as Hero Machine Classic had no image export function. You design your character and then take a screen shot when happy with it. On a 1999 Power Mac screenshots were saved as now obsolete PICT files, which bizarrely do open in some modern vector based applications even though the PICT files are bitmap rather than vector images. 

As the G4's cd-drive no longer works, burning the files to disc to bounce over to my PC wasn't an option. This obstacle was overcome by compressing the collected PICT files into an exe file using that trusty relic DropStuff and copying them to floppy discs (max capacity 1.4MB!) using an external drive.

The joys of old tech. Kind of fitting considering Retrograde 5 was envisioned to be set in a nostalgia-obsessed future!

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Click here to view the full set of 21 characters.

Unfiltered 'War Between Land And Sea' promotion (maybe)

Another playful range of character cards using the format of the classic Weetabix 1977 Doctor Who promotion... this time for The War Between The Land And The Sea. I found it hard to get excited about this spin-off and approached it with low expectations, but when I did get around to watching quite enjoyed it.

As with the Ghost Light set (see October '24 blog post) the style is slightly updated and stills used. Again, the character figures have a heavy white outline similar to the style used on the Star Trek The Motion Picture promotional cards. 

The show's title graphic is the version that appears to be planned for overseas broadcast, a very different style of typography to that used here in the UK. I like its 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea vibe.

These mock-ups serve to quench my 'if only' sense of curiosity. I hope you enjoy them too. The visuals shown here are out-takes, see the link below for the full finished set.

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Click here to view the full set of 15 characters.

Cold Lazarus: Dennis Potter's swansong due a blu-ray release?

We're fast approaching the 30th anniversary of Dennis Potter's final teleplays Karaoke and Cold Lazarus. Out-of-print in physical format since a belated solitary bare bones DVD release in 2010, surely this ambitious swansong is due the blu-ray treatment?

"They're speaking my lines..."

Transmitted across April and May 1996 each episode of mystery drama Karaoke was screened first on BBC1 then repeated the following night on Channel 4 and vice versa for its sci-fi sequel Cold Lazarus. Karaoke was set in the then present-day London whilst its protagonist's cryogenically-frozen head is revived four centuries later in Cold Lazarus, initially to enable the scientific study of his memories, ultimately so these memories can be plundered for mass entertainment via virtual reality headsets.

"Finally, privacy has a true market value!"

The BBC repeat of the first episode of Cold Lazarus happened to be broadcast later the same evening as the premiere of the UK/US-produced Doctor Who TV Movie and perhaps affords us a contrasting glimpse of how solely British-produced Doctor Who might have looked had it returned to TV in the 1990s.

"Print and radio tell. Stage and film show. Cyberspace embodies."

A chunk of the budget for Cold Lazarus went on the creation of the 'live wall', a huge fluid screen upon which protagonist Daniel Feeld's memories are projected. The special effects for this hold up well, the rippling depiction of his mind's eye still utterly mesmerising.

"No biography."

Whilst Potter and lead actor Albert Finney are no longer with us, many cast and crew are. Director Renny Rye recently participated in a short 'Remembers..' intro prior to a screening of Karaoke on BBC4 last year. This 15 minute programme in which the director reminisces on how the project came about is the only one on the subject as far as I'm aware, and serves as a taster for what we could be offered if a blu-ray were released.

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The 2010 DVD editions of Karaoke and Cold Lazarus are only obtainable for extortionate prices online. Both serials however are currently available on demand via the All4 app, albeit with typically intrusive adverts.

Renny Rye Remembers Karaoke is currently available on iPlayer.

Silva Screen Records released the soundtrack on cassette and CD in 1996, which includes the songs featured in Karaoke as well as Christopher Gunning's sublime score for both series.

Uncapped Capital City promotion from 1989 (potentially)

 

I posted some Capital City Weetabix style character cards to my non-sci-fi blog earlier this year, but the full set (see link below) does ultimately have a tenuous connection to Doctor Who so I thought I'd mention it here too.

Capital City is a largely forgotten ITV drama about the lives and loves of a group of dealers working at a merchant bank in London. Running for two series between September 1989 and December 1990 it was much enjoyed at the time, by me at least... a fondness boosted by seeing a couple of scenes being filmed in the square behind the Bishopsgate offices where I was working.

In reality Capital City was promoted through a range of newspaper and billboard advertisements, but these mischievous cereal card mock ups satisfy a sense of 'what if' curiosity whilst serving as a slice of fun nostalgia too.

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The full set of 18 characters is here: Capital City cards: full set

Spherical... but not a sphere

I was recently asked to devise some custom Lego kits for an adventure and activities centre in Medway. For the 3-D models I started by creating a rough prototype using physical bricks and parts, then fine-tuned the design using Bricklink Studio which can also be used to generate photo-realistic renders, building instructions and parts inventories. Finally I drew on my old graphics skills to create mock-ups for how the packaging could look.

My favourite model so far is the zorb, which has somehow ended up looking more like a cryogenic sleep chamber from the Alien franchise than the inflatable human-sized hamster ball it's inspired by. Initial feedback has been positive regardless.

Zorb model overhead render

Shelved Cold Lazarus cereal promotion (possibly)

Another light-hearted set of character cards using the format of the classic Weetabix 1977 Doctor Who promotion... this time for Dennis Potter's 1996 science fiction drama Cold Lazarus which I have had a recurring obsession with since its initial broadcast.

As with the Ghost Light set last year (see October '24 blog post) the style is slightly updated and stills used. Again, many of the character figures have a heavy white outline similar to the style used on the Star Trek The Motion Picture promotional cards. Considering the story centres on a frozen head, maybe Ready Brek (bought by Weetabix in 1990) should be the cereal and instead of the white outline a warming orange glow perhaps be more fitting?

Whilst the character blurbs on the profile side of the cards are straight up, the instructions regarding game play at the foot of the figures either relate to their character's key actions in the drama or are dialogue spoken by them. I've tried to capture the wit contained in Potter's screenplay, of which there is a surprising abundance despite the serious subject matter and the circumstances under which he was writing.

With regards a game it could reflect the revived head's quest to prove it has volition. This might be a bit much for breakfast time though.

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Click here to view the full set of 30 characters

Unbaked Ghost Light cereal promotion (probably)

 

A wise (and modest) man once said that if what you want isn't out there, then make it yourself. Or something to that effect.

Inspired by this, here is an affectionately tongue-in-cheek set of character cards for the Doctor Who serial Ghost Light, my favourite of the McCoy era, using the format of the classic Weetabix 1977 promotion.

As Ghost Light was televised in 1989 the style is slightly updated, whilst staying faithful to the original layout. Photographic stills are used, mainly because the drawing skills that got me into art college have long been lost due to decades of Mac-monkeydom. The character figures have a heavy white outline similar to the style used on the Star Trek The Motion Picture promotional cards also released by Weetabix in 1979.

These could use some more work but I've had to drastically reduce my daily screen time due to eyesight issues following a deadline-induced case of Bell's Palsy last year. No more going-to-press days for now, nor the 'staring at a screen for 12 hour hours straight' that this inevitably often entailed. I guess the near thirty years of tight turnarounds and tricky clients finally caught up with me.

With regards to a game the cards would be part of, this would of course focus on thwarting the sinister plans of the evolution-obsessed visitors. Just don't get sent to Java!

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Click here to view the complete set of 18 characters.

Imagined Doctor Who merchandise

Here's some tongue-in-cheek packaging mock-ups for imagined Doctor Who playsets. These were inspired by the far wittier and accomplished art of Andrew-Mark Thompson.

Often appearing near the bottom of results tables in DWM polls regarding favoured Doctor Who serials, the seventh Doctor story Paradise Towers also attracts a cult of affectionate devotees.

Seemingly inspired by the J.G. Ballard novel High Rise, Paradise Towers is an entertaining piece of dystopian pantomime featuring some memorable robotic creatures which form the focus of these imagined toy sets...

#1: Deluxe Pool Playset
(Click to enlarge)

#2: Robotic Cleaner Playset
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#3: Kroagnon Head Boppers
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