New ROJ Episode 5 Notes

NEW RETURN OF JETMAN

"Five Against Infinity"
(Episode 5)
Production Notes
by Christopher Elam
© 2008-2012 Christopher Elam

 

New ROJ Episode 5 - "Five Against Infinity" wrapped principal writing on June 6, 2008. By this point, the delays in getting episodes completed and posted reached a near-comical level, so I won't even mention precisely how long this one took. Long enough, that's for sure.

This particular episode was one that worried me for a long time as possibly not being up to par. While it still has its weaknesses, I tend to feel I managed to whip it into reasonable shape. It contains a couple of sequences that are among my favorites in the entire ROJ canon.

• The appearance of Okayama is a nod to the Toho film FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD (1965), in which that area was one of the locations mentioned by name.
  
  
  
• The gathering of the original Jetman members (minus Shinsei Hinotori/"Gai Yuki") in a significant dialogue scene is something that had been a long time in coming. In fact, neither Raita Oishi nor Kaori Tendo had spoken a line of dialogue since ROJ Ep. 2! That story was also where the characters lost their powers, as is mentioned later.
  
  
  
• "We've been terribly worried, especially after what happened to you, Ako." - This line, and several subsequent lines in this sequence, are callbacks to New ROJ Ep. 4's plot point of Jeff Kensaki/Jetman Killer kidnapping Ako.
  
  
  
• The removal of shoes and donning of slippers before entering a house is a Japanese custom that I (surprisingly) hadn't really acknowledged previously.
  
  
  
• Ryu's ominous statements tie in with what he has apparently learned from Mr. Hoshi, whom he met at the conclusion of New ROJ Ep. 3. No more details will be forthcoming in this installment, but I will say cryptically that there are hints sprinkled throughout regarding both the full nature of Nemesis' plan and the mystery of Mr. Hoshi.
  
  
  
• The "Jetman poker game," complete with idiosyncratic twists (cocktail swords?), was one of the very first new concepts I developed for New Return of Jetman back in 2005.
  
  
  
• "Think long, think wrong" was an admonition I first learned from my father regarding playing pool.
  
  
  
• The very first time we meet Gai Yuki in JETMAN Ep. 2 (discounting his cameo in the first episode, natch), he's playing cards - and cheating to boot!
  
  
  
• The sequence with Gohan, Reiko, and Reiko's double was another scene born early in the development process, but the emotions behind it evolved from that initial germ of an idea. I credit the influence of a good friend in shaping how it plays out. The concept is a logical outgrowth of the simmering tension and Reiko's power, but it's still not something that I think a lot of people would expect.
  
  
  
• As originally conceived, the Gohan/Reiko interlude would have included a flashback of the new Jetman interacting as young children. This was a fascinating idea, but it proved unworkable in execution for several reasons and was scrapped.
  
  
  
• One of the interesting things in the development of the Paradox Army was no real consideration was given as to how they might get along with one another. As has been mentioned before, both Dirk and Hellvira were created as essentially ciphers for the original GMB/ROJ project, while Silver Raven was a latecomer who replaced Grey Shrike in the lineup. Because of the nature of the stories, the nuances of each of their personalities came about independently. This was why it was so pleasantly surprising that having them in the same room was the source of much scene-stealing joy. It wasn't something I could have predicted, but it makes for an exciting dynamic among the minions.
  
  
  
• The Jet Copters are my homage to Batman's Whirly Bat vehicle. I have no idea why I found this so appealing.
  
  
  
• Nemesis' magnificent complex is named Future City because Lewis informed me that this was the name of one of the character's bases back when he was an armored super guy. I liked the name so much that I figured I could get some mileage out of it. Something like my version of Future City probably couldn't exist in the real Jigoku-dani, but between the Omniversal Prism and literary license, I think I'm allowed to go stray from reality.
  
  
  
• "A suspension bridge?" - Yes, a suspension bridge. Another reason for the Prism remodeling the area. Suspension bridges as the setting for Japanese superhero battles are almost disturbingly common. A good example would be the BIOMAN film which I have referenced in the past.
  
  
  
• During the editing process, there was one truly unfortunate continuity error that cropped up because of the lengthy writing time for this story. Namely, the heroes never transformed on-screen! They went from being in their civilian identities to Jetman without explanation. One hasty rewrite to a portion of a scene later, this somewhat glaring gaffe was fixed.
  
  
  
• Good ol' 6-Yark-6. His presence adds nothing to the story except an incidental weird element. But then, isn't that enough? He was a villainous counterpart to 7-Zark-7 that I created for my BATTLE OF THE PLANETS fan stories when I was 12 years old. Those of you who've been reading for awhile may recall that that same BOTP material also featured the character who inspired the creation of Green Wyvern.
  
  
  
• It is worth noting mainly because of the way it points out how random things get incorporated into the narrative for no good reason, but the monorail came about because I had been reading about Micronauts toys at the same time I was writing that portion of the story. And you see, the Micronauts line had a monorail and...
  
  
  
• "I dirtied Seven Force's pristine finish for nothing!" - As I do not believe it has been covered already, this line seems to be a good opportunity to mention that Silver Raven's "neat freak" tendencies were derived from an offhand suggestion by the peerless Igadevil. Too bad the poor guy doesn't even remember that anymore.
  
  
  
• Jetman's helmet cams were an element from the TV series that would pop up every now and then. One of the more fascinating aspects was that there were individual screens for each member, and they would also occasionally display their real faces during battle. It was a nice method of giving the lead actors face time while their stunt doubles did the dirty work.
  
  
  
• Michiru's arrival and the resurfacing of Shinsei's self-doubts gave me the chance to explore their relationship just a little. I'm honestly not completely happy with the result, but I think it's at least a solid OK.
  
  
  
• "It's teleportation," Raven deadpanned. "It's nothing new." - This particular line is an homage to the English dubbing of Toho's 1974 film ESPY, a movie that I dearly love for reasons I cannot quite explain.
  
  
  
• After the opening sequence, I would imagine most readers have gathered there is more to the original Jetman's "death" than is made explicit in the story. Still, it does add some tension and (hopefully) mystery. The revelation also gave me the chance to incorporate an off-screen cameo by Aya Odagiri.
  
  
  
• The term "car hire" is not used as often in the United States, but that is precisely why I chose it.
  
  
  
• The inclusion of a robot battle in this story was very much up in the air for quite some time. I ended up feeling the tale needed the extra "oomph" such a sequence might provide. Plus, it did allow us to revisit Seven Force's Robo Mode, for what may be the last time. But I am getting slightly ahead of myself.
  
  
  
• "Septua Shock", formed from the Latin septua ("seven") was one of my more creative attempts at incorporating "seven" terms into the arsenal of Silver Raven's mecha.
  
  
  
• The "flux capacitor" business was a bit of whimsy where I decided to tweak myself for the rampant pseudo-scientific jargon that overflows these stories. I make no apologies, because I love that nonsense. The crazy part is that it's NOT an intentional reference to BACK TO THE FUTURE. Honest!
  
  
  
• The brief return of the Succubus Girls was a last minute addition to the climactic skirmish.
  
  
  
• As originally plotted, Black Condor intentionally shattered the Omniversal Prism. I wasn't happy with this when it came time to commit the story to record, because it implied (quite rightly!) that Ken was more than just a little reckless in his handling of the situation. As written, he's still perhaps a shade unwise, but it's a lot more understandable under the circumstances.
  
  
  
• "What the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..." - This parting shot from Green Wyvern is rather juvenile, yes, but also perfectly in character.
  
  
  
• The closing with Nemesis is meant mainly to give a true sense of the gravity of the situation. If the mastermind of everything (as implied in the opening) has been caught off-guard, well, what can we expect?
  

  Only perhaps the strangest ROJ story of all, that's all.
  

 

© Christopher Elam.