Comments on: The 3 Biggest Problems with Prequels… And How to Fix Them

By: TheBrummell

TheBrummell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:02:11 +0000

Gab: I’d love to see an origins story for Thing from _The Addams Family_.

Nice, and I would definately watch that movie. But your comment made me think I’d like to see the origin story (or, simply a story that happened before rather than necessarily the beginning) for the Thing from _The Thing_.

Some other planet exterminated? A last survivor escaping from something even more horrible? A strange accident on a far-travelling starship? The possibilities are endless.

By: Hazel

Hazel — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:35:40 +0000

I saw the StarTrek prequel last night, and I have to admit that I liked it a lot. So did the friend I saw it with. I think that this is probably a good sign, because I know next to nothing about the StarTrek universe and my friend is a closet Trekkie.

My friend tells me there were numerous shout-outs to the TV series, but nothing felt forced to me, which is another danger of prequels – the people who are already fans like the in-jokes, but everyone else is left feeling confused and/or bored.

By: Gab

Gab — Wed, 06 May 2009 05:55:46 +0000

Of course!

By: mlawski

mlawski — Wed, 06 May 2009 04:14:14 +0000

@Gab: Ooh, you are onto something! My first thought was Cousin Itt, but then again I think a story about how Gomez and Mortician met and fell in love would be hilarious and romantic…in the usual macabre Addams Family way, of course.

By: Gab

Gab — Wed, 06 May 2009 02:18:21 +0000

I’d love to see an origins story for Thing from _The Addams Family_.

By: Trevor Seigler

Trevor Seigler — Wed, 06 May 2009 02:15:23 +0000

One other thing about prequels: you often have to do a lot of work to connect them to the already-existing work, and sometimes you don’t pull it off. One of the plot holes in the original Star Wars (in relation to its prequels) could be the fact that, even though Obi Wan has lived with the droids through previous adventures, he has no memory of them by the time Luke and R2D2 seek him out. Granted, the argument could be made that Obi Wan either plays dumb in order to lure Luke into the force (kinda like the whole “your father was killed by Vader” routine), or he simply forgot (he’s an old man, after all). Plus, the droids’ memories have been wiped before (memory wiping seems to be a big issue in the SW universe, because both Organa at the end of Revenge of the Sith and Owen in New Hope tell whoever’s responsible to wipe their memories. Is nothing sacred?). So you can explain that away pretty easily, I guess. But the absence of any mention of Qui Gonn (I feel like I’m spelling it wrong, but I’m too lazy to verify that) in the original trilogy leads me to believe that on some level, Lucas made shit up as he went along for the prequels to flesh out the story (he reportedly wrote the entire series, prequels and all, back in the seventies, but had to make the fourth because it was more action-packed and less explanatory than the eventual prequel trilogy).

By: Austin

Austin — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:30:18 +0000

“It was spring here, too, last week – Sunday afternoon I walked down the steps off Columbus Circle into Central Park, and the odor of piss rose up from the rest rooms, and I knew a year had passed. And down in your old neighborhood, darling, the bag ladies were sleeping outside again on the steps of the St Marks Dispensary, and the whores were in hot pants, and the Polish men standing in front of your building in those dark suits & hats, as if they were waiting for a cortege to begin. EVeryone thought spring had come! And then it dropped thirty degrees in one afternoon, snowed the next morning, Bob was mugged on Ninth Street, and we are right back to a New York winter.”

By: sarielthrawn

sarielthrawn — Tue, 05 May 2009 06:42:58 +0000

I just got back from watching Wolverine.

It was okay but a tad bit boring. There were large bits of the movie where I just wasn’t interested.

The biggest problem is, as I see it, the foregone conclusion.

But with a prequel you have to realise that it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey (this reminds me of the Aristocrats joke).

This journey was boring. But Wolverine is still cool.

Bring on James T. Kirk.

By: Wade

Wade — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:08:26 +0000

Thanks to this article, it just occurred to me how many prequels we’re getting this month. Wolverine, Star Trek, Angels and Demons, and even Terminator Salvation are all prequels to certain degrees.

Terminator Salvation I’m counting as a prequel because, narratively, it takes place BEFORE John Connor sent Kyle Reese back in time to protect Sarah Connor. Except it takes place AFTER said events. Time travel….

But yeah, 4 prequels this month alone, and NO prequels for the rest of the summer. You’d think they’d have planned this or something.

By: sarielthrawn

sarielthrawn — Tue, 05 May 2009 01:10:39 +0000

I read this yesterday and last night I dreamt of a Watchmen prequel callED “911: THE WATCHMEN (NOT ABOUT 9/11).” That was the full title.

It was about the Comedian and it starred Andrew Dice Clay.

Thanks mlawski. I just wish I could remember some plot points. All I remember is teenagers with guitars.