ReBoot

I never did take the chance to give my full thoughts on Pitch #1; and what better time than the present?

Where to start... I suppose I'll go by page...

*THE IDEA*

To state as simply as possible, this story just makes sense. Moreso than certain other pitches do, in my personal opinion. Megabyte took over, as we can plainly see, and the User gotticked off and installed some bad-ass Operating System to deal with him - and it did. However, as with many new, high-end operating systems *coughVISTAcough*, they tend to just lock up and/or take away functions which were previously available with the old one. Granted, such issues are eventually dealt with and they're forgotten, but in their early stages, it is almost like having freedom taken away.

- And that's what this story is all about; weighing the concepts of security and freedom against one another. It takes a realistic computer-world concept, and 'Reboot-izes' it. That's what so many people loved about the old Reboot series (or at least, that's what I loved about it); it took real computer terms and concepts, and turned them into a logical, coherent story. 2.0 keeps that certain spirit of the franchise, and I for one cherish that fact.

And the added fact that the story is picking up exactly where Season 4 left off, with Megabyte announcing the Hunt? While I doubt it'll last long, that only solidifies my anticipation for further information on this pitch's story.

*THE CHARACTERS*

Bob - Hoo-boy... Bob, Bob, Bob... For the record here, I don't have all that much of a problem with 'Gorilla Bob'. Yes, it's different. And? Did we not come to cherish what happened to the original Enzo, the yo-yo slingin' kid-guardian, when he became Matrix, the gun-slingin' renegade-guardian? What about when they turned cute little AndrAIa into a smokin' hottie? No, no objections there. So why should such a transformation for Bob be so unacceptable? His GlitchBob form was far more farfetched than this one, I feel. Magic? Come, now... I think we all need to realize that things change - sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better.

Yes, the staff is supposedly 'fixing' this 'problem', but I feel that people could have gotten used to the idea if they weren't so quick to bash.

A note on his actual character, based on what I've seen in the preview frames... is he actually KNOWINGLY fighting against Dot? I blatantly saw Bob looking through a monitor, at her and Enzo tagging a wall (an act which confuses me in itself, but I'll get to that later). Enzo's face is hidden, but Dot is standing there, face revealed, proud as ever. Bob then states that he wants to 'finish this, once and for all'. Is there something we missed? Because if so, then Bravo - to actually have Bob AGAINST Dot, that would be one VERY bold step towards breaking away from the other pitches, and I commend you for that. I realize it sounds insane, but I, personally, was never all too big a Dot/Bob shipper. Don't ask... >_>

Dot - Tiny anime girl? No no, my good sir. I agree that the initial concept art for Dot was pretty far off, and further skewed by the mixed words of the writers (word-count limits FTL). However, with a somewhat more 'mature' look in the recently-posted example comic pages, I feel that Dot is already on the path to 2.0 art perfection. The skirt, I admit, I'm not to wild about - Dot was always more of a 'I wear the pants' character, but I suppose I might be able to see them pulling this off (the artwork, not the skirt >_>).

Now, back to Dot assisting Enzo with tagging. May I ask what the use is? Dot has gone from Command.Com to graffitti artist's assistant? If there is an explanation for this, I really would like to hear it. Dot has always been the brains, not really a (literal) bodyguard type of character. As per usual, however, if something is planned that I'm not aware of, then I await to hear it.

Enzo - Granted, if this is still the 'backup' copy of little Enzo, who came around at the end of Season 3, I'm all for this new scarf'ed design. However, I would have to point out the discrepancy (sp?) with his sweatshirt - note how it reads '01'? Hardly unrealistic, if you were to ask me. In the show, the original Enzo was only 10 by the time he got lost in the games. Then later, Turbo tells Matrix that at that time, he should only be about 11. That being taken into account, let's move on to the second Enzo; the backup. When Season 4 ended, that Enzo was still only 01, but that was after an unknown amount of time had passed before Season 4 even began, not even counting the amount of time passed during. Now remember, when Matrix got back to Mainframe, at 11, it was throroughly destroyed; Megabyte had taken over. Now, with Serenity taking over, Oldframe is in shambles as well - this would suggest that a similar amount of time had passed since The Hunt began - at least enough to get backup Enzo to 11.

If anyone has been able to follow my absurd logic, then I applaud you.

With the other Enzo artwork, which I personally nicknamed 'Frog Enzo', I'm pretty certain just about everyone is with me in saying that scarf Enzo is far more visually appealing.

Uncle Bill - Having previously seen the very first artwork of this character, once again, in the preview frames, I must admit, it's not what I had first expected. Uncle Bill, the shining face of Serenity, is apparantly a brute - even moreso than Gorilla Bob; and that's saying something. Not to say that this is a bad thing - it certainly wouldn't make sense to have a frigile old sprite like Phong, in charge of this sprawling Operation System. One has to be tough in order to be a true leader, and I have to say, Uncle Bill is just one big pile of tough. Kudos to whoever designed him. I do, however, have one gripe - he seems a liiiiittle too happy. Maybe it's the eyes, I don't know, but he seems like he really IS the kind-hearted character that he makes himself out to be - which I suppose is the whole point, so... where was I going with this again?

Carnivore - I have to say, I'm WILD about the idea of this character. If Uncle Bill is the face of Serenity, Carnivore is the fist. Apparantly he's an even bigger physical threat than Control, Alt and Delete, and the very idea of that makes me all giddy inside. I've always had an affinity for beastly enforcer-type enemies. Much like the nameless (or so I assume) assistant of Cutter Becket of Pirates of the Carribean, who gets tentacle-raped by Jones near the end, I LOVE such characters. Calm, tactful, merciless killers. Fantastico. I only wish I could see what he looks like (I've submitted my artwork, which can be found in my blog, but supposedly there's something wrong with it).

I've had a few ideas of possible ways he could be connected to Uncle Bill (rather than just being in his employ). 1. Uncle Bill is merely a shell, and Carnivore is physically living inside of him. 2. Carnivore is living inside of Uncle Bill, unbeknownst to him, like a parasite. 3. Carnivore is Uncle Bill's split alter ego, who comes about whenever need be. 4. Uncle Bill can physically transform into Carnivore on command.

Pretty much all of those ideas are strictly fan-based, but hey, what do you want for nothin'; rubba' biscut?

The System Keys - Think Hack & Slash, only actually evil, and not stupid. Also, give each of them their own, personalized way of going about dealing with opposition. I have to say, much like with Carnivore, I love the idea of Control, Alt and Delete. The three enforcers of Serenity, below only Uncle Bill and Carnivore themselves. Having seen the separate designs for each of the three, I'm personally looking forward to their official artwork - particularly the tall, thin one with the dectective's hat.

I'm not sure, but does anyone else get the feeling that one of the System Keys is going to end up betraying Serenity in some way; whether that be through joining the Rebooters, or through their own agenda?

*THE WORLD*

Oldframe, vs the spreading influence of Serenity. Not bad imagery, with the flowing white tentatcle/sheet things; but I wouldn't mind a specific explanation of what they are. Clearly they're being used by Uncle Bill to effectively take control of the system, but what ARE they?

About one specific picture... the sphere, with the demonic white sheet covering it. Is that supposed to be a view of Mainframe from the Net? Because that's really the only way we'd be able to see Mainframe as a sphere. The system itself is a cylindrical island; generally only portals, which show systems while in the Net, are spheres. That's really my only gripe here. Everything else looks fantastic to me.

*THE SCRIPT*

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a rabid 2.0 supporter. This script, in fact, is one of the major reasons for that. Dramatic, action-packed, portrays the pursuit of the System Keys VERY well. Even the illustrated preview looks beautifully done; more or less exactly how I envisioned it - running past large, run-down buildings, and gigantic screens with Uncle Bill's face on them - almost Samurai Jack style, if you think about it, and that only makes it all the more awesome.

HOWEVER, I still have one big gripe here; one which few people ever mention. When Enzo's spam-can bag is hit, the cans explode, shooting spam shrapnel in all directions. A few people are hit, and there are casualties. 'A man holds his dead wife in his arms'??? I'm sorry, what? Out of just about everything in this pitch, that's what sounds too over-the top to me. The fact that the word 'dead' was even used, considering it being the Reboot universe, has nothing to do with it - it's the fact that it happened; and so early into the story at that. In Reboot, characters generally only get deleted (and dramatically, at that, usually with a 'NOOOO!' at some point or another) when it's important to the story. Having some innocent bystander's wife die tragically, and then running from the scene, never to see it again, hardly seems like a very Reboot thing to do; nevermind a very WORTHWHILE thing to do. Unless it's important to the story, why would you want the reader to focus in on that, of all things?

Eh - that aside, I still love the script, as well as the overall story.

*THE SECOND PITCH*

When will version 2 of 2.0 hit us? Who knows? What I do know, however, is that I am entirely enamoured with this pitch, and that none of the other ones come close to making me feel the same way. Sure, you could say I'm too into it, or that I'm biased with my opinions, but you know what? Who isn't, nowadays?

Point is, I love 2.0, and I'm hoping it pulls through with the win in the end. Supporters, show your love, because remember, you can fight the system.