A Critical Analysis of the Captain N Fandom (Part 3)
Mark Moore
Written: Wednesday, April 24, 2002, 9:30 AM - 12:25 PM, 7:00 PM - 7:56
PM; Wednesday, May 22, 2002, 10:22 PM - 11:46 PM
During Christmas Break, I rewrote Season 8 episodes that had been lost
in my hard drive crash. On Thursday, December 30, 2000, I also
received the first set of tapes of "Jem" episodes from a friend. I
started watching them that night. Even though I went to bed, I woke up
to start watching ABC's New Year's coverage.
Message board post (Consider me gone from this board...) by Eric42
(19100 means 2000):
Posted by Eric42 on January 05, 19100 at 22:50:33 in 207.65.99.182:
Damnit, I am just tired of the way some children act. This Hung Lo
person needs to get a life. I am tired of the pure idoticy that people
can show at times. People forgeing messages under Mark Moore's name,
people constantly bashing him and his stories despite that it's been a
long time since he has done anything (thankfully)... This has gone way
out of hand. The time of bashing has pasted and has been done. Now,
people are thinking that they are the cool one and are funny just
because they assume a new name (like this Hung Lo person) and continue
with the bashing crap. Consider me gone from this board. If anyone
wants to talk about Captain N, come on over to CNN. Otherwise, stay
here and remain the bakas that you are.
Hung Lo no kasutare.
On Tuesday, January 18, 2000, Season 8 began with my episode,
"Interlude". It was a quiet, relaxing episode that basically berved to
tie up loose ends from Season 7, kind of like "Five Faces of Darkness"
did for "The Transformers: The Movie" - but with no action. At least
one fan on the message board didn't like it and asked why the episode
was written.
On the same day, I put up episode 2, "To Rescue the Band". It was the
only Season 8 episode to survive the hard drive crash, because I had
copied it onto a floppy disk a while earlier to take to school and
e-mail to a friend. It was a crossover with the 1980s cartoon series,
"Kidd Video". The same reviewer didn't even mention this episode in
his reviews. I had worked hard on this episode, and I thought it was
pretty good. It involved the N Team rescuing the rock band Kidd Video
from the Flipside.
On the same day (a record for me), I put up episode 3, "Get N or Get
Out". Oh, man, I just now realized the pun! Um, anyway, it was short
(like Season 3 short), and it dealt with the Nintendo 64 being
released, the N Team trying out the new games, Stacey receiving a
Power Glove (not the N64 glove) as a new weapon, and the Mushroom
World being updated to 64-bit polygon graphics. That's it. The
reviewer thought the subject didn't merit an episode.
Message board post (New Season) by Mercenary:
Posted by Mercenary on January 20, 19100 at 04:19:14 in
209.179.140.215:
OK Everyone, the time has come. It's time to bash Mark's new
season(that is if anyone still reads them).
OK, so far, it's CRAP. let's see, here's a list:
1.Lana gets US citizenship, big deal.
2.Lana buys Kristen's house back for them and gets them all cars
because of the 'Star Bright Project'
3.Kevin's still stuck in 6th on the LesbiaN Team leadership.
4.VGM starts up again, ooh, they haven't played for a year. BIG DEAL!
5.The N64 debuts
6.Mushroom Kingdom is now, get this, 3D Polygon. Whoa, this is way too
much for me.
7.Stacey get the secound prototype of the power glove. Stacey of all
people! The fickin' lezbo valley girl gets the most powerful weapon in
all of Videoland(or at least it's made out to be).
PS:Oh, and Mark, Kevin had better get a kick-ass weapon outa this deal
cause, other wise it's bull.
To recap, Mark's a moron(had to say it), who couldn't write a good
story if you pointed a gun at his head, who makes everyone in the
story lezbos. To put it straight(no pun intended), he's basically the
same way he's always been. But, I do have to give him credit, he
hasn't made anyone lezbo in this season, yet.
Other wise it's crap. Also, has anyone checked out the Season 8 page
besides me? After all the crap Mark's put in his stories, and after he
changes the stories once he gets them...HOW IN THE WORLD DID HE GET
PEOPLE TO WRITE FOR HIM?
I believe that I must end my ranting here('cause I could go on all
night)and leave you with this. If you want stories that stay true to
Captain N and the N Team, check out The Captain N Network, cause it's
much better than Mark's stuff.
See you when I gotta blow off steam again, until then. Remember, don't
go near Mark's stories unless you are wearing a Level 4 Bio-Hazard
suit.
On Wednesday, January 26, 2000, I put up episode 4, "The First Date".
It was a funny episode dealing with Lana and Stacey's first date. They
kiss at the end. It also reveals that Stacey has a younger sister,
Ashley, although she doesn't make an appearance. More seriously, it
reveals that Stacey's father is an alcoholic, and Stacey talks about
how frustrating it is. People didn't like this episode.
On Wednesday, February 2, 2000, I put up a new section on my site. It
announced the creation of a Captain N spin-off series called "Dazzle".
This series was heavily-influenced by "Jem". It involved the male
character forming a band called Steve! and the female character
forming a band called Dazzle. The series premiere, "The Band Breaks
Up", went online on Wednesday, February 15, 2000. Fans didn't like it.
They thought it was dumb, because it had nothing to do with video
games. That was the point of the series. I was tired of doing video
game-based stories. I was very much into "Jem" again by this point,
and I thought I could continue my Captain N continuation with stories
about rock bands.
Message board post (New Spinoff) by Mercenary:
Posted by Mercenary on February 07, 19100 at 05:26:38 in
209.179.140.17:
GIMME A BREAK! MARK, CAN YOU GET ANYMORE PATHETIC?
(In case you haven't heard the spin off is called Dazzle)
Here's the story line, the band VGM breaks up, the guys make a new
band named Steve(WTF?) and the girls make a band called Dazzle(better
than Steve at least)
Mark, WTF is goin' on in that pea-sized thing in your head called a
brain?
If you got an opinion, let me know.
PS There has gotta be some way to Geocities to shut down this site.
Message board post (We are the Captain N Returners) by The Captain N
Returners:
Posted by The Captain N Returners on February 07, 19100 at 06:50:30 in
209.215.52.212:
We are the Captain N Returners. We stand for the perseveration of
Captain N and the pushing forward the fandom surrounding Captain N.
We do not fight. The final price is not worth it. We aren't rebels. We
do not like what has been going on within the boundries of the Captain
N fandom. Do we accept it? No. Can we do something about it? Yes. Will
we do something about it? Yes.
We ARE doing something and all fans should be prepared. For it will
come when it is least expected. Some will like it yet others will
attempt to rebel. But in the end, we will persevere what is right
about Captain N. We don't care what anyone else thinks about our
attempts. It will be done.
We are the Captain N Returners. We stand for the perseveration of
Captain N.
Message board post (The Decline of CNN Civlization) by Michael Lee
Rohm:
Posted by DISCO DUCK on February 08, 19100 at 23:21:08 in
209.208.27.93:
I view the shutdown of CNN with both amusement and sadness. Sure, it's
funny when people get so upset that they throw a tantrum (and no, I am
NOT referring to Roll, but to Eric.) and you get to snicker in their
face. Unfortunately, I had little to nothing to do with it, but that's
another story.
It's sad because everyone seems to take themselves, Captain N and
everything else so damned seriously. When Mark started up with his
lesbian stuff, people didn't just say, "I am out of here," but instead
formed "Captain N Defenders" and now the "Reformers" or "Returners" or
whatever the hell they're called and behaved as if they were on some
holy quest decreed by God Himself. Come on, it's a friggin' cartoon
show, for goodness sakes. Let's look realistically at the situation.
There are dozens of sites devoted to X-Files fanfic, for example.
There needn't be all of this petty crap, trying to have Mark's site
shutdown, whining about how horribly he has "mangled" the N Team,
etc.. if you don't like it, go out, do something better and beat your
competitor. It's the American way. Whining, trying to get it closed
down, etc.. is just cowardly.
A lot of problems in this world could really be solved if people did
not take things (AND themselves) so goddamned seriously. Do you think
I mean every word I write on here? Hah, sure!
I will be going in for surgery next week, so I may be swimming in
these N Oceans for a bit, but I will miss the fun for a few weeks
(although I will have my laptop, and apparently my hospital room will
have Internet access), so unless I quack my final quack on the
operating table, I will be back soon enough. I am sure you're all
eagar. ;)
Gonna dance myself to nothing,
DISCO, DISCO DUCK
On Thursday, February 16, 2000, I put up Season 8 episode 6, "The
Quack Heard Round the World". It was written primarily by me with
heavey contributions by Mike Rohm and lesser contributions by Mandi
Paugh, Kelly Harris, Laurie Kelley, and Cynthia Chan (the only new
writer in this episode). This episode was basically a big joke that
originated on the message board. Mike called himself "Disco Duck",
named after the 1970s song by Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots.
It was another episode that involved my friends and I coming to
Videoland. Our group was given a name in this episode: the M Team.
Clever, huh? I got the idea from Matt referring to me as Captain M in
Season 5's "Rogue Squadron". Anyway, the M Team now consisted of me,
Mike, Mandi, and newcomers Kelly Harris, Laurie Kelley, and Cynthia
Chan. Yes, we all inserted ourserves into this story.
The plot of this episode is that the original 3 M Team members search
for 3 new members, then we go to Videoland. I inserted lyrics from
"Disco Duck" throughout the story. Once in Videoland, we and the N
Team go to a disco club called the Sandbar (which comes from the song
"Bitchin' Camaro" by the Dead Milkmen). While there, Dr. Wily e-mails
Mike Rohm and informs the M Team of his latest evil invention (we
never find out what it is). Mike then transforms into Disco Duck (who
looks like Howard the Duck) and informs us about how Magina DeSpell
(from "DuckTales") kidnapped him a while ago, Mike stole a magical
amulet and read an incantation, and he became a superhero. We go to
Skull Castle. After Dr. Wily is tortured with disco music ("Do What
You Wanna Do" by T-Connection), Mike unleases the Quack Heard Round
the World, and Skull Castle is destroyed.
This episode wasn't meant to be taken seriously at all. Fans didn't
like it. However, there was one fan that got really angry at me over
it.
This girl is named Beth, and she went by the nickname "Roll
Light-Hibiki". She really loves the Rockman (Japanese version of Mega
Man) games. She disagrees with Mandi Paugh over the nature of robots
and believes that robots can feel pain, love, etc. A few years
earlier, before I had officially met her, Beth had e-mailed me and
actually told me to remove my link to The Mega Man Home Page, because
"Mandi is obviously not a Mega Man fan, and she says horrible things
about him". I had written back to her and defended Mandi. She hadn't
replied to me.
Beth started calling me a "pervert" when I declared that Lana and
Zelda were romantically involved. She criticized me on the Truly
Outrageous! Jem mailing list for disagreeing with Christy Marx (the
"Jem" series' developer, head writer, and later story editor) over
characters' ages. I had actually determined Jerrica Benton's exact
date of birth, but it turned out to be younger than Christy said that
Jerrica was. One of the sources that I had used was an episode not
written by Christy, so of course the age I had come up with was
different than what Christy had intended. Beth accused me of thinking
that I "know more" about "Jem" than Christy. She also criticized me
for asking Christy about "every fucking detail" of the show.
Since Mandi and I made statements regarding Mega Man and Captain N
that Beth didn't agree with, Beth said that "Mandi thinks she owns
Mega Man" and "Mark thinks he owns Captain N". Mandi and I have both
always stated on our websites that our interpretations of Mega Man and
Captain N are only our opinions. Beth said that the statements were
"hidden" in less-viewed areas on our sites.
One day, Beth posted to my message board. She said that Mandi and I
should get married, because Mandi thinks she owns Mega Man, and I
think I own Captain N.
I shot back in "The Quack Heard Round the World" by calling her a
"jerk" for making that post. I referred to her by her Internet
nickname, "Roll Light-Hibiki".
That got Beth really angry at me. She demanded that I remove the line
from the episode. She told me that "Roll Light-Hibiki" is a character
in her Rockman fanfics, and "Roll Light-Hibiki is a trademark of
Roll-Chan Productions". She also claimed that I had slandered her.
Okay, let's walk through this:
1) The correct term isn't "slander". It's "libel".
2) It wasn't libel. I was simply returning an insult. If anything,
Beth had commited libel against me and Mandi first.
3) When I called "Roll Light-Hibiki" a "jerk" in my fanfic, I wasn't
referring to her character. I was referring to Beth by using her
Internet nickname. So what if she has a character with the same name?
4) Beth told me that it would be all right if I used her real name in
my fanfic instead. I asked her for her full name. She didn't reply.
5) Roll-Chan Productions isn't a real company. It's just Beth and her
website.
6) I haven't read her fanfics, but I'm guessing that Roll Right-Hibiki
is no more than a thinly-disguised (or slightly altered) version of
Roll Light, a character from the Mega Man games.
7) Beth claimed that Hibiki is her boyfriend's last name. I've been
told that this isn't a real name. "Hibiki", I believe, is the Japanese
word for "light".
We'll return to Beth later. Let's more on to the next episode.
On Wednesday, March 8, 2000, I put up episode 7, "Virtual Boy". It
dealt with a new supercomputer called Virtual Boy that's destroyed on
Doom's world. The episode ended eerily with the possibility of a
coming invasion. One reviewer said I should've just written the
invasion story then and gotten it over with, because no one was
reading my fanfics.
Message board post (Let us pause in a moment of silence...) by Neil
Coleman:
Posted by Dr. Arcade on March 17, 19100 at 03:44:09 in 206.141.200.162
:
I'm sure many of you have already discovered
the fate of CNN. As of 9:00 P.M. tonight,
the forum was taken down. Let us remember
the good times we had there and reflect on
where we all go from now.
I stuck with it until the very end and
I don't regret a minute of it.
Yes there were problems with it,
and yes we couldn't come to
some kind of agreement to decide its fate.
And yes those who created and maintained
it no longer have the desire to continue it.
But it was the first attempt to create an
alternative Captain N site. The
first and best effort to try to
do the same as a certain someone's CN site,
minus the **obvious** elements on this
sort of scale. I ask myself how
things would be different if CNN had NEVER been
started. We're all a little older, a little
wiser, and a little more experienced because
of it. Now we all should carry those memories
proudly, whether we actively participated
in CNN's time on the net or just watched from
the sidelines.
For those of us who still want to
be active Captain N fans, I suggest
we continue to visit support great sites
such as Game World, the MeAjur Komera Waddi,
and many others. And we should seek out
new Captain N forums such as Cynthia Chan's
new Fan Mania Forum. And of course
we should be on the lookout for future
sites like the upcomming Universal Cafe.
However we all go about this we should
all try our best to cooperate and work TOGETHER
instead of against each other
(Anyone remember Quest for the Potient of Power?).
If we do, we just might succeed in
not only preserving the Captain N legacy
but taking it to a new level for future
generations to enjoy.
Not so sound sappy, but let's not
grieve for the loss of CNN. Let's
keep those memories close to our heart
as we, the N-Fans stand united, facing
an unknown CN:TGM future. And most
of all, let us always remember why
we became N-Fans in the first place.
As long as we never forget that
and as long as we continue
to remember the true essence
of that which is CN, Captain N shall
live on forever.
A sentimental,
-Dr. Arcade
P.S. Let's enjoy the moment and
not spoil it.
On Wednesday, March 29, 2000, I put up episode 9, "Get Down with
Satan" Part 1. It was a funny episode that dealt with Mike Vincent
accidentally selling his soul to "Satan" for pizza, and the rest of
the N Team has to figure out a way to save Mike from being sent to
Hell. One reviewer that criticized the episode didn't even seem to pay
close attention to it. He asked what Satan was doing in Videoland. The
episode actually took place on Earth.
On the same day, I also put up Dazzle's episode 2, "Our First Album".
It involved the two bands competing in album sales.
After that, Season 8 went on hiatus. I was getting bored with writing
Captain N stories. I was busy with other fandoms.
Message board post (Would you like to take a survey?) by Mercenary:
Posted by Mercenary on April 06, 19100 at 02:24:58 in 209.179.141.18:
Out of curiosity and sheer boredom, I asked myself a question. How
would I wanted Mark Moore turned into an gooey mess on the floor.
Personally, I want him sucked into Unreal Tournament and have him
blown to pieces by a Flak Cannon. What's yours?
Someone posted to the message board under my name and "apologized" for
my fanfics. Here is Webster Swenson's response (Thank You, Mark):
Posted by Webster S. Swenson on April 24, 19100 at 06:06:38 in
209.252.117.57:
In Reply to: Important Announcement! posted by Mark Moore on April 24,
19100 at 04:38:47:
: I have seen the error of my ways. I realize that I was only writing
lesbian stuff so I could get off on it and that was wrong. I'm sorry
for ruining Captain N for everyone and I'll stop writing now that
Geocities deleted my fanfic site.Again,I'm sorry.
::hugs Mark::
Hey, hon, if that is you, there.
But, from the Buffalo IP (I got the same one when I traced it, Sparty)
I'd almost guess that it's Roll.
But, if it is Mark, please read on. This message is for you... and
only for you.
I'm sorry to hear about Geocities deleting your site. I can't say that
I liked your stories but it really is too bad that that happened to
you.
Mark, I also wish to say that you did not ruin Captain N for anyone.
You kept it alive. Without your site Captain N would have died off
long before another site got off the ground. You, Mark, did not
destroy Captain N, you saved it.
Thank you for writing all this time, Mark. Thank you for creating a
site, a message board, a chat room, a new series for N-fans to read.
Although, for the past few seasons of your series you have caused more
controversy and disgust than would be likable you did this after there
were other sites founded firmly enough in the ground to allow other
places for N-fans to go. And, although I doubt it was your point, the
controversy you caused helped tighten the N-fans, although into
factions.
Mark, you have done far more help towards the Captain N fandom than
you could ever do harm. Thank you for all that you have done.
Thank you, Mark Moore.
In late April or early May of 2000, my e-mail address
(johnny...@yahoo.com) was deleted. Thus, so was The Captain N Fan
Fiction Home Page on GeoCities. I posted to my message board about
this, and Beth admitted that she was responsible for it. She had
e-mailed Yahoo! about "The Quack Heard Round the World", and they had
actually deleted my account.
Message board response post (Re: Fanfic site) by Beth:
Posted by Roll Light-Hibiki on May 02, 19100 at 09:48:20 in
4.48.172.87 :
In Reply to: Fanfic site posted by Mark Moore on May 02, 19100 at
01:22:49:
: Okay, whoever got my site suspended and, thus, my Yahoo! mail
account deactivated, I hate you.
That would be me and the fans of my site.
Yes,I admit it.
I'll do it again if you don't remove my character from your fic.I no
longer care if you write porn but I do care about Slander and
trademark infringement.
Just remove the name and I'll leave you alone.
If you must,replace it with "The Evil Roll" or "The Evil One" - Roll
Light-Hibiki is copyrighted and you need my permission to use it.
Do this and I'll leave you be.
On Friday, June 9, 2000, while I was taking a shower outside in my
backyard, I started thinking up the new members for a team in a new
spin-off series, "The N64 Team". I started writing the section for my
website on Saturday, June 10, 2000, at 11:20 AM. I came up with Samus
Aran from Metroid, Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, Arlene Sanders from
Doom (the novels, not the games), Joanna Dark from Perfect Dark, and
Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield from Resident Evil.
I had created this series for a few reasons:
1) New characters to explore.
2) A new feel.
3) To move the story ahead to the present time (2000).
Basically, I wanted to create a series that I would enjoy writing. I
had burned myself out on Captain N with Seasons 7 and 8. I wanted
something new, gritty, and exciting.
I uploaded the series premiere, "Start", on Friday, July 7, 2000. It
involved Samus getting bored with playing music, leaving Dazzle, and
forming a new team of bounty hunters. Their first mission is to locate
the legendary Fountain of Youth (on Lara's Earth in Videoland). They
find it, drink the water, and become younger.
When I had put "Start" up, it was originally the first episode of
Season 1. On Wednesday, November 1, 2000, I did away with the seasons
division for two reasons:
1) I can't write / get enough episodes to fill up multiple seasons.
2) I had recently learned that Nintendo would stop making new games
for the N64 in about 6 to 8 months, so there wouldn't be enough new
games to fill up multiple seasons.
So, I decided that this series would consist of a smaller number of
longer stories, similar to Mandi Paugh's "Mega Man--The Series".
On Saturday, December 23, 2000, Season 8 finally resumed with episode
10, "Get Down with Satan" Part 2. I also put up a two-part episode
called "Super Mario 64", written by someone else.
Those were the last Season 8 episodes to go up. Season 8 had taken up
all of 2000, and it still wasn't finished.
Season 8 (so far) consisted of 7 writers (including myself) writing 12
episodes. Three more episodes are still listed as yet to air,
including one by an eighth writer.
Season 8 authors: Mark Moore, Kelly Lea Harris, Michael Lee Rohm,
Miranda Leigh Paugh, Laurie Allyson Kelley, Cynthia Chan, Nick
Koustenis.
After that, it all went downhill.