EPISODE 64: "Beyond SOPA"

SOPA and PIPA are dead for now, and even the ESA has dropped it's support. This episode isn't about that... this is about what happens next...

ALSO! The "RetroThinker" story takes a surprising turn, and a bit of "tweaking" to the show-format is announced. Spoiler-ish discussion of all that and more after the jump.



Believe it or not, when I recorded the voiceover audio for this I had no idea that the SOPA/PIPA/ESA thing would tumble as quickly and as soon as it did, though I'm obviously happy for the serendipity. I hope I don't come off like a "downer," but I thought it was important in the midst of all the "fight the power!" mythmaking to acknowledge that the entertainment lobby DOES have a point about digital piracy being out of control and that at some point the same kind of mutual give-and-take sanity that prevailed in the downloadable-music fiasco has to prevail in downloadable-everything-else.

As to the ongoing saga of poor RetroThinker... well, if you think his situation seems unusual now; you won't believe what's in store for him next episode. I was a little nervous about this character/arc (still am, really) because it's a bit less of outright comedy as the AntiThinker or Ninja stuff, but so far I'm happy with how it's come together and very happy that people seem to have taken to him - for now, anyway...

Now, about the format business. Fun fact: Most of the live-action footage that you've seen since "Ninjamageddon" was shot over a few weeks in late October with some pickups in November; which has a lot (but not all) to do with why the change announced here (i.e. the bulk of the story/comedy stuff happening at the END of most episodes with just a setup teaser at the very beginning) is happening now instead of awhile ago - the footage had already been edited and finalized for "bookend"-style breakdowns. Now that I've "caught up" (Episode 65 will feature the absolute last of that "pre-shot" footage) I can start writing/shooting/cutting with an eye to "back-loaded" serious-part/silly-part divides.

ANYWAY! Next episode's topic will be of the educational variety; while the "story" segment will feature the return of a character not "seen" since before "War of The Thinkers" and a plot-turn that I have a feeling will be fairly divisive. So stay tuned for that...