Hey, maybe that explains how Captain Picard got his own Shard of the Dark Crystal to use as a paperweight. Maybe that's how Armus from "Skin of Evil" was created -- his people used their own Crystal to separate out their evil side! It all fits!!
The Dark Crystal Prequel Series Coming To Netflix
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Hey, maybe that explains how Captain Picard got his own Shard of the Dark Crystal to use as a paperweight. Maybe that's how Armus from "Skin of Evil" was created -- his people used their own Crystal to separate out their evil side! It all fits!!
Cool - never knew they had a shard on-set.
In episode 4,
I've realized that every episode title is a quote from the movie.
the recorded voice of the rock creature Lore sounded like Frank Oz, but the only name given for it in the credits was Damien Farrell. Oh, well. Anyway, what a clever idea -- a rock monster with a built in Edison-cylinder playback arm. I just wonder if the young viewers watching this are familiar enough with the concept of phonograph records to understand how it's making the sound. (Where's the speaker cone, though?)
Hannah John-Kamen's and Shazad Latif's Gelfling characters finally showed up -- it's a bit awkward to introduce them for the first time and instantly treat them as major characters.
Hannah John-Kamen's and Shazad Latif's Gelfling characters finally showed up -- it's a bit awkward to introduce them for the first time and instantly treat them as major characters.
I've realized that every episode title is a quote from the movie.
Oh, damn, I don't think I even noticed he ever had a crystal paperweight on his desk, although it's been years since I've watched of the early TNG episodes (which that photograph appears to be) aside for a few here and there for the 50th anniversary.Hey, maybe that explains how Captain Picard got his own Shard of the Dark Crystal to use as a paperweight. Maybe that's how Armus from "Skin of Evil" was created -- his people used their own Crystal to separate out their evil side! It all fits!!
Yeah, I also thought Lore was Frank Oz so I was disappointed (but unsurprised considering his strict retirement) that it wasn't him. Damien Farrell performs a few of the other puppet characters, too, so I don't think it's some pseudonym (and he does have an IMDb profile).
I thought the cylinder playback arm was very cool, but it's a shame that it wasn't further utilized
I thought the cylinder playback arm was very cool, but it's a shame that it wasn't further utilized
Hey, maybe that explains how Captain Picard got his own Shard of the Dark Crystal to use as a paperweight. Maybe that's how Armus from "Skin of Evil" was created -- his people used their own Crystal to separate out their evil side! It all fits!!
And Picard is a historian and archeologist....
I've seen a couple things say that this is 50 years before that movie, so they'd have to do some pretty massive time jumps to make it to the movie.
I think they're considered canon, but I'm not sure exactly what the canonacity of that kind of stuff is for The Dark Crystal franchise. There have actually been two comic book sequels to the movie. The first sequel miniseries, Power of the Dark Crystal is based on the script for the movie sequel that never got made, but as far as I know the second one, Beneath the Dark Crystal, is entirely new.
OK, now I really want to see one of the Star Trek ships visit Thra.Hey, maybe that explains how Captain Picard got his own Shard of the Dark Crystal to use as a paperweight. Maybe that's how Armus from "Skin of Evil" was created -- his people used their own Crystal to separate out their evil side! It all fits!!
That seems way too little. I thought it was hundreds of years before. It's hard to believe the state of the world we saw in the movie had only been that way for less than a century.
Then again, now that I think about it, the genocide of the Gelflings would've had to end no more than maybe 15-20 years before the movie, depending on how old Jen and Kira were. But still, a lot of things aren't in place yet. For instance, there don't seem to be any Garthim, and there are a number of Skeksis characters here who'd have to die off before the movie.
Speaking of which, I wonder about the absence of the Garthim Master SkekUng from the movie, who will replace Benedict Wong's General at some point and become the new General and eventual Emperor. Granted, there are some Skeksis who don't seem to reside in the castle, like the Hunter, but it's unclear just how many there are at this point.
We could have Aughra vs. Ardra! Or a team-up of Kira and Kira!
Phlox would love the place. Trees that walk. Rocks that sing. plants that fly. And probably 30,000 different healing properties all around the world.
According to the origin stories, there were originally 18 Skeksis when the split happened. Two died that day when a fight broke out (well, actually, a Skeksis murdered a Mystic and it was himself that died at the same time. Another Skeksis killed a fellow Skeksis in rage and a Mystic died at the same time...thus they decided to sperate, plus it seems around that time they decided they wouldn't murder each other since there were so few of them)
The remaining 16 lived on for a long time. But by the time the film starts, there are only ten, and two die in the film.
According to the origin stories, there were originally 18 Skeksis when the split happened. Two died that day when a fight broke out (well, actually, a Skeksis murdered a Mystic and it was himself that died at the same time. Another Skeksis killed a fellow Skeksis in rage and a Mystic died at the same time...thus they decided to sperate, plus it seems around that time they decided they wouldn't murder each other since there were so few of them)
The remaining 16 lived on for a long time. But by the time the film starts, there are only ten, and two die in the film.
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Awkwafina's the Collector, the Hunter, and the aforementioned General die by the end of the season. Plus, we learn of one more in episode 7, the Conqueror-turn-Heretic, who remained alive by the end of the season (which was a surprise to me considering I thought the Hunter was going to kill him). We know that the new General, the Slave-Master, and the Treasurer show up at some point (in time for the film). Considering how things are left off at the end of the season, I expect at least the new General and the Slave-Master to show up in the second season if it happens.
If I've done my count correctly, there are two uncounted for:
1-2. The two who died early on.
3. The first Emperor
4. The Scientist
5. The Chamberlain
6. The Scroll-Keeper
7. The Ritual-Master
8. The Ornamentalist
9. The Gourmand
10. The Conquer who later becomes the Heretic
11. The Hunter (dead)
12. The Collector (dead)
13. The first General (dead)
14. The new General who later becomes Emperor (only in the film so far)
15. The Slave-Master (only in the film so far)
16. The Treasurer (only in the film so far)
If I've done my count correctly, there are two uncounted for:
1-2. The two who died early on.
3. The first Emperor
4. The Scientist
5. The Chamberlain
6. The Scroll-Keeper
7. The Ritual-Master
8. The Ornamentalist
9. The Gourmand
10. The Conquer who later becomes the Heretic
11. The Hunter (dead)
12. The Collector (dead)
13. The first General (dead)
14. The new General who later becomes Emperor (only in the film so far)
15. The Slave-Master (only in the film so far)
16. The Treasurer (only in the film so far)
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I think it's safe to say that there's a gap of at least a generation, but I don't see that as a massive barrier. I mean half the characters are immortal, and for the other half, they're all puppets anyway so it's not like they have to worry about cast members being too old or too young.
The war was supposed to have lasted the best part of a century IIRC, so if they intend to show it's conclusion then they pretty much have to pick up the pace a bit.
They could quite easily jump ahead decades at the start of season 2 without too much trouble. Age up the surviving old characters so they're now the wizened old leaders, maybe recast some of the actors into new, younger roles.
Hmm. Going to the Dark Crystal Wiki, the number of Skeksis seems to have increased to 19. The two that died at the beginning (SkekHak, who tossed his Mystic counterpart down the Crystal shaft....they both died in fire) and (SkekYi, who choked the Mystic counterpart, and suffocated to death as well) don't have titles since they died on basically the first day. Though SkekHak's counterpart was supposedly "The Carpenter", thus its possible the Skeksis would have been "The Architect".
One not on your list is "The Mariner" (SkekSa). Her (a Skeksis that uses female pronouns) counterpart is "The Swimmer"
(The Conquer/Heretic is new., though it is possible that "The Mariner" was shifted to become this character. since the personality might fit.)
Also missing is "the Satirist" (SkekLi), who's Mystic counterpart was "The Storyteller".
Though somehow there is also "the Spy Master" (SkekEer), who may or may not be real, as this is the only one of the Skeksis to not have a listed counterpart.
As for the timeline: I suspect this story may be set around two hundred years before the events of the film. Gives the world plenty of time to decay and plenty of time for the relatively few Skeksis and eventual Gartham to hunt down the Gelflings to the point of extinction.
One not on your list is "The Mariner" (SkekSa). Her (a Skeksis that uses female pronouns) counterpart is "The Swimmer"
(The Conquer/Heretic is new., though it is possible that "The Mariner" was shifted to become this character. since the personality might fit.)
Also missing is "the Satirist" (SkekLi), who's Mystic counterpart was "The Storyteller".
Though somehow there is also "the Spy Master" (SkekEer), who may or may not be real, as this is the only one of the Skeksis to not have a listed counterpart.
As for the timeline: I suspect this story may be set around two hundred years before the events of the film. Gives the world plenty of time to decay and plenty of time for the relatively few Skeksis and eventual Gartham to hunt down the Gelflings to the point of extinction.
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I just watched the making of documentary, The Crystal Calls, and I'm simply swept away by the level work that went into this series. It's a beautiful testament to the incredible work that went behind in creating this magnificent series, from the director and the writers to the puppeteers and voice actors to the designers of the set, costumes, and puppets. I wept with tears of joy seeing the dedication in making Jim Henson's dreams come true. I think he would be very happy to see how expansive the world of puppetry has become now.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention that there's a brief post-credits scene that's a direct tribute to Jim Henson.
For those who haven't seen the whole season, here's my list from the spoiler code (but with the spoilers removed):
1-2. The two who died early on.
3. The first Emperor
4. The Scientist
5. The Chamberlain
6. The Scroll-Keeper
7. The Ritual-Master
8. The Ornamentalist
9. The Gourmand
10. The Conquer who later becomes the Heretic
11. The Hunter
12. The Collector
13. The first General
14. The new General who later becomes Emperor (only in the film so far)
15. The Slave-Master (only in the film so far)
16. The Treasurer (only in the film so far)
Edited to add: I forgot to mention that there's a brief post-credits scene that's a direct tribute to Jim Henson.
Where in the lore do they come from? The comics, the novels, and/or The World of the Dark Crystal, or somewhere else?
For those who haven't seen the whole season, here's my list from the spoiler code (but with the spoilers removed):
1-2. The two who died early on.
3. The first Emperor
4. The Scientist
5. The Chamberlain
6. The Scroll-Keeper
7. The Ritual-Master
8. The Ornamentalist
9. The Gourmand
10. The Conquer who later becomes the Heretic
11. The Hunter
12. The Collector
13. The first General
14. The new General who later becomes Emperor (only in the film so far)
15. The Slave-Master (only in the film so far)
16. The Treasurer (only in the film so far)
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The Mariner and the Spy Master appear to be from the Legends of the Dark Crystal manga, which introduced some of the characters used in this new Netflix series
The Satirist is from Song of the Dark Crystal, which is suppose to be part of a set of novels attached to the new series.
We didn't see much of the two water-based tribes this season, so perhaps in the possible second season we'll see The Mariner show up along with developing those tribes.
Cheer-inducing moment from episode 5:
"Prove the strength of your spoon by my side."
Although it was a short-lived moment of triumph...
A bit odd, incidentally, that they skipped over the rescue of Gurjin by his sister and the other two. They were sneaking into the castle to free him, and then they were all rescuing Rian from the Chamberlain. Is security in the castle that bad that we don't even need to be shown how they freed a prisoner? Well, I guess they have suffered some notable attrition in their Gelfling guard contingent lately, including the captain.
Although it was a short-lived moment of triumph...
A bit odd, incidentally, that they skipped over the rescue of Gurjin by his sister and the other two. They were sneaking into the castle to free him, and then they were all rescuing Rian from the Chamberlain. Is security in the castle that bad that we don't even need to be shown how they freed a prisoner? Well, I guess they have suffered some notable attrition in their Gelfling guard contingent lately, including the captain.
It's true. Hup is the secret hero of this series! 
For me, the best evidence that we're a ways off from the movie is the scene where Jen & Kira come across the old Gelfling ruins. At first I assumed it was one of the settlements we see in the series, but there's a certain symbol on that throne Kira sits on briefly that makes me think otherwise. That plus of course the carved relief of the prophecy and the splitting of the crystal leads me to think that place was built *after* what we've seen on the show so far. So I'd say we're looking at a two generation gap at least, if not more.
That said, it can't be all that much more though, since I think they said it's been almost 1000 trine since the split and that happened at the last great conjunction and there's only 1000 year between them. So it'd say a little under a century at most, half a century at least.
For what it's worth, I watched the movie on bluray the other day and the little trivia notes feature mentions that the symbols on the floor of the crystal chamber represented each of the original beings before the split. Unless I miscounted, that means there was 22 of them in the beginning.
That said, it can't be all that much more though, since I think they said it's been almost 1000 trine since the split and that happened at the last great conjunction and there's only 1000 year between them. So it'd say a little under a century at most, half a century at least.
For what it's worth, I watched the movie on bluray the other day and the little trivia notes feature mentions that the symbols on the floor of the crystal chamber represented each of the original beings before the split. Unless I miscounted, that means there was 22 of them in the beginning.
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