Tales From The Loop - Amazon Prime

I was intrigued to see Tales from the Loop reccomendation on my Amazon watch list so I had to give it a go.  

I had seen the haunting images of artist Simon Stålenhag on the internet many years ago and was not aware that these had been turned into 3 narrative coffee table art books in the same vein as the wonderful Terran Trade Authority Spaceship books of my youth.

Tales From The Loop

Things From The Flood

The Electric State

I was coming at the series completely blind having only having seen the imagery which according to Ståhlenhag was inspired by two of my favourite futurists Syd Mead and Ralph McQuarrie.

Tales from the Loop is an 8 episode series set in a late 1970s / 80s that never was.  Each story focuses on a single character and their tale of living in a community dominated by a secret underground government research facility.  Without plot spoiling here is how I rate each episode and my overall thoughts on the series.

• Episode 1 - Loop.  The story of a girl (Abby Ryder Fortson) intrigued by the secret work her mother does at the Loop searches for answers with unfortunate consequences.  A confusing but haunting 3 out of 5.
  
  
• Episode 2 - Transpose.  Two boys Danny (Tyler Barnhardt) and Jakob (Daniel Zolghadri) discover a machine in the woods which allows them to trade places.  A classic tale of envy which has life changing ramifications for them both. A predictabaly dark 4 out of 5.
  
  
• Episode 3 - Stasis.  May (Nicole Law) is a genius tinkering teen unhappy with the direction her life is going in. She discovers a mysterious capsule on the seashore and manages to get it to work with surprising effects.  A genuinely original take on a much used trope, 5 out of 5.
  
  
• Episode 4 - Echo Sphere.  This episode tells the story of the twilight years of Loop Architect Russ (Jonathan Pryce) and the relationship he has with his grandson.  A slow, beautifully acted but sad 3 out of 5.
  
  
• Episode 5 - Control - As Danny's family come to terms with his coma, his father Ed (Dan Bakkedahl) tries desperately to protect his family from a mysterious intruder and keep his marriage together.  The stories begin to intertwine and truth unravels.  A teasingly good 4 out of 5.
  
• Episode 6 - Parallel - Security Guard Gaddis (Ato Essandoh) has fallen in love with a man in a photo he found in an abandoned hover tractor.  When he fixes the tractor he discovers the truth about both the man and himself.  Inventive whatiffery with a rare hopeful ending (at last!!). 4 out of 5.
  
  
• Episode 7 - Enemies - Russ's son George is marooned on a mysterious island by his friends where he survives as best he can against a terrifying inhabitant.  A naibiting and suspenseful 4 out of 5.
     
• Epsiode 8 - Home - Cole (Duncan Joiner), the youngest of Loretta and George's children struggles to cope with the loss of both his grandfather and his brother.  When Jakob tells him the truth he goes in search of his brother only to lose everything in the process.  Jodie Foster directed episode which tries to tie up the episode into a single arc.  A melancholic 4 out 5. 

What I Liked

This is a rare example of character focussed storytelling in a genre which typically obsesses over the what and the why things happen.  Every epsiode is a cautionary tale about what could happen when technology is misused but more importantly focusses on how this affects the lives of the characters and what is going on inside their heads.  The central premise of each episode is usually a well established trope, with the notable exception of the Echo Sphere.  The series succeeds in taking that trope and heading off in a new direction with dystopian consequences.

I loved the way that the characters are gradually dripped into the series until we get to see their tale.  Jakob's love May is introduced in episode 2 and her story is Episode 3, we meet Danny's family in episode 2 also and his father Ed's story turns up at Episode 5.   

What I didn't

The slow pace is just too slow in places.  I understand that the show is based on Simon Stålenhag's artwork which often looks like time is standing still.  I get that the visual dictionary is those haunting swedish landscapes full of vintage anachronistic flavour.  TV is a different way of telling those stories with a different pace and I think that the cinematography lingered too long to the detriment of the story.

This is a minor gripe really and as a whole I will score the series a 4 out of 5.  It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea and you need to be in a contemplative mood to really enjoy it,  If they make a second series I hope they keep writing those intertwined stories but just up the pace a little.

The Roleplaying Game

The Tales from the Loop RPG has been around for a few years now and is reasonably well established.  In fact I almost bought it at Dragonmeet 2019, perhaps I will pick it up and begin to write my own tales in a dystopian 80s that never was.

Tales From The Loop RPG

Our Friends The Machines

Tales From The Flood

Shameless Plug

You can watch the entire series on Amazon Prime.  If you are not a member you can take advantage of the Free 30 Day Trial.

Prog 7 - Mitterand Maisons

A continuing series of session reports from my current Judge Dredd game using Starblazer Adventures rules.

The judges head off to Mitterand Maisons.  Holmes calls her stoolie Vinny the Spiv and leaves a voice message

"Hey Vinny, it's Holmes, tell me what you know about the career perp Pepe Le Peu and any rumours about some missing Nitro 9."

Two hours later the patrol arrives at Mitterand Mansions level 300 Plaza 4a, a wideopen rec platform dominated by a 3/4 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower, a famous landmark which stands in the center of Paris or as it is now know Euro City.

Judge Dredd World Map Showing all the Mega Cities

Judges Wallace and Que spot a couple of suspicious looking characters around the side of the block, but before they can investigate a strange figure leaps in front of them and proceeds to grab their attention.

Original Background art by Neil Miller  (http://www.neilmillervfx.com)

He is dressed in a stripy black and white outfit with a white painted face and a black beret. He appears to be mute and is trying to tell the Judges something. After a few minutes the judges realise that this is in fact a mime and he is trapped behind an imaginary glass wall.

Annoyed with the delay Judge Steel attempts to arrest the mime for Obstruction of Justice (Code 1203: 6 months to 3 years).  He is reminded by Judge Hiro that, under local cultural laws, miming is in fact legal as long as you have the required Comedic Association of Mime Performers (CAMP) license.  The mime promptly shows his CAMP ID card.

The patrol enters the block and takes the lift down to level 258.  When the doors open they are greeted by a fetid smell.  This level is in some disrepair with moss covering the walls upto waist height and a steady drip, drip, drip of water comes from exposed ceiling pipework running the length of the corridor.  What was once a fine carpet is now a soggy mess of puddles.  Traversing the corridor towards apartment 33 their footsteps make unmistakable crunching sounds as they crush hundreds of tiny snails who seem to have taken up residence.  Many of them gathering around balls of synthi-lettuce which appear to have been strategically placed at intervals along the hallway.  Clearly someone is running a snail farm Illegal Experiments (Code:1602 10 Years to Life).

Hiro fails to breach the door with the standard issue judge boot and Wallace shoots out the lock.  The element of surprise long gone, the well trained Judges rush the room and instinctively assume firing positions covering every corner.  The room is spotlessly clean unlike the exterior and the only signs of habitation are an overly ripe synthi-camembert in the fridge with a huge bite taken out of it.  Holmes pulls out her hand-held DNA scanner and fires off an ID request to BARNEY.

The Judges are puzzled, there doesn't seem to be anything of note in fact the apartment doesn't look lived in at all.  It has all the usual furnishings and a large vid screen which has been left in standby mode. They decide to engage in a bit of old school house to house enquiries with the occupants of the neighbouring apartments.

Apartment #31 is occupied by a child who says that his mum is out shopping and that he is not allowed to open the door to strangers.  Steele threatens the child with summary detention in Juvenile Hall and the child breaks down wailing in tears.

Apartments #32, #34 and #35 do not answer.

Hiro and Wallace knock at #30, the sounds of a raucous group of at least 3 individuals can be heard along with the unmistakeable ratatattat of automatic gunfire.  Hiro shoutsthe magic words:

"Judge Inspection, open up citizens"

A juve in his late teens opens the door sheepishly and the judges enter.  Inside are two other male juves of similar ages sitting on the couch surrounded by a plethora of synthi-soda cans, bags of recycled-carbo-chips and sump candy wrappers.  They are both wearing game-gloves and Tri-D glasses.  An out of focus image of a block war ridden street shimmers a rainbow of colours on the vid screen with the words GAME PAUSED in the centre.  One of the more popular virtual vid games BLOCK MANIA is now in its 35th edition and is often prescribed to treat those unfortunate sufferers of Future Shock Syndrome.

The Juves are Franc, Percy and Emil La Rue.  They say they know Mr Le Peu but he's some kind of gangster so they keep away from him.  He always has people coming to see him, but he's not been around for some days now.  They tell the Judges that the other apartments are empty but Mr Le Peu's younger brother used to live at #32. They thank the boys for being good citizens and remind them to "Stay out of Trouble".

Assault on Apartment 32

Assuming a standard breaching position on either side of the door, Hiro shoots out the lock on apartment #32.  Wallace kicks the door in and Steele is first into the room.  This apartment has been stripped to it's bare plascrete bones and in its place stand various military flight cases emblazoned with IDs linking them to Citi-Def units throughout the Eurozone.  Two of the cases are marked Explosive Ordnance Nitro-9 but are empty. 

The only signs of domestic life are the stacks of unfolded pizza boxes and the functioning Vid screen on the wall which is showing an image of the interior of apartment #33.  A cable dangles from the TV to a small radio transmitter with a flashing red light.  The Judges seal the door to the apartment with crime tape and call for a Tek Judge squad to bag the evidence.  They decide to head down to the security station near the entrance to Plaza 4A.

Reviewing the corridor cam footage from the last week and there is a significant amount of traffic to apartment 258-33 including a visit from Nigel Faraway's right hand man Tom Vampire a few days ago.  When Le Peu answers the door to visitors he invariably crosses the corridor to #34 and returns with a pizza box which he gives to the caller.  They shake hands, the guest leaves and Le Peu retuns to his apartment.

Their focus is interrupted by a call from Sector Control.  There has been a report of an abduction at Thatcher Towers, apartment 202-47, occupant Iona Skye.

Judges Holmes, Hiro and Steele head to Thatcher Towers and arrive on foot 7 minutes later.  The security station is bustling with concerned residents including a couple of Iona skye's elderley neighbours.  Betty Corker and Stanley Unwins.  The CCTV shows 4 well built perps dressed in black wearing balaclavas come out of the lift on floor 202 and progressively disable the CCTV cameras as they move down the length of the corridor.  The final footage shows one perp reaching up for the camera and the other 3 standing outside apartment 202-47.  This wanton Criminal Damage (Code: 901 2 to 6 Years) will not go unpunished and supplement the much more serious charges of Kidnap (Code: 302 30 Years to Life).

Heading up to the scene of the abduction it is clear that Iona Skye put up a struggle, there are several pieces of broken furniture and smashed bottles of urine.  Judge Steele's attention is drawn to an old fashioned picture frame lying on the floor.  He picks the photo out of the smashed frame reading the handwritten message on the back.

"Beautiful Bertha, we couldn't have done it without you.  May 2134"

There was no sign of the black clad oldienappers leaving Thatcher Towers but Betty Corker mentioned that she spotted them carrying a large orange sack past the lift.  The only thing past the lift is an emergency stairwell.  It is possible that they changed clothes and left via another floor.

Holmes and Hiro head for the security station whilst Steele investigates the stairwell.

NEXT PROG -> Royal Rumble at Le Teeny Eiffel Tower

Back Issues

• Prog 1 - Another Day in Mega City One
• Prog 2 - Super Duper Loops and Loopy Droops
• Prog 3 - Juve Punks, a Vampire and Meg Way Carnage
• Prog 4 - Pre Race Rumbles, Narcs and Pizza
• Prog 5 - Ed, Edd, Eddy and ED209 
• Prog 6 -Vive La Resistance

5 Essential Tools if You Own an FDM 3D Printer

I've owned an FDM 3D Printer for over two years and, as a mad keen tabletop gamer, I think that they are an absolute necessity particularly if you are like me and also love making scenery to go along with your game.

My Printer is a cheap as chips Geetech CTC i3 Pro B (Prusa i3 clone) Buy one from Amazon

I've compiled this list of 5 items I have purchased during the last 2 years which I wish I had purchased along with my printer.

Side Cutters An absolute essential if you are printing models with support structures. A pair of side cutters makes the onerous task of support removal a doddle. They also come in extremely handy when you are changing the filament in your printer snipping off any bent sections so you know you are inserting a clean straight length of PLA or ABS into your hot end.  I recommend a pair as you will always need one by your printer and one at your craft station when you are assembling your models. You don't need to spend a lot of money on side cutters but believe you me your world will change when you have them.
Electric Nail File In addition to ensuring that you and your significant other have a great manicure and pedicure, the electric nail fire is an awesome way to sand those pesky printing ridges away from your models. You can use a portable rotary tool like a dremel, but the advantages of the electric nail file are that the business end is very light, it only contains the motor, and the power supply end is mains powered so no charging neccessary. The power supply also contains a speed control giving you far more control than the limited speeds offered by the alternatives.  PLA has a tendency to melt rather than sand particularly if you are going full bore.  Having access to slower speeds is essential.
Nozzle Cleaning Kit Absolutely essential for cleaning out those inevitable nozzle jams and useful when changing filament.  Most come with a selection of replacement nozzles because they don't last for ever, am I right? My kit also came with a pair of non-magnetic tweezers which are incredibly useful if you ever need to do any maintenance on your printer as you will most definitely be handling some pretty small metal parts like screws and washers which can be tricky to get into small tight spaces. A spanner comes in handy for swapping those nozzles when they finally wear out.
Modelling Filler Putty Even the best sander will never truly get rid of those printing ridges and having a good sandable modelling filler is a must if you want really smooth PLA models. I use this PLASMO putty from Revell as it is designed for use with plastic model kits so has excellent adhesion to plastic.  It is exceptionally fine and has a super smooth surface when sanded. The only quibble I have is that it is a bit smelly as it contains a fast drying alcohol based medium.  The upside is that it's super fast drying unlike Milliput which can take 24 hrs to really set properly.  It has a creamy consistency so goes on nice and smooth getting into all those valleys between the ridge lines when smeared using a tongue depressor dipped in water.  Frankly, I wish I had had this on some of my earlier prints which look pretty ropey compared to my post putty prints.
More Filament Of course once you get a 3D Printer you can guarantee that you will be creating models left, right and center.  Nobody wants to be running out of filament so make sure you have a good stock in. I always recommend going with a vibrant colour if you are printing for modelling purposes for two main reasons. The filament tends to be cheaper the more lurid the colour.  Prices for White, Black, Grey and Transparent filament are off the charts lately thanks to the worldwide PLA shortage. The vibrant colour makes the proces of post processing and painting much easier.  You can see much more clearly where you need to apply more putty or where you need to do a bit more sanding to get a flat surface. There are plenty of manufacturers out there but I have personally had great results with Verbatim.

Disclaimer

Clicking on the Amazon affiliate links to the products above, and making a purchase, directly helps supports this channel and helps me to keep up with the running costs of my hobby and producing content for my readers.

Happy printing.

Jessie's Prints Episode 5 - Judge Dredd Movie Prop Badge

This week, I are mostly been printing... 

Judge Dredd's Badge - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:114711

This may seem a bit random, but I am also hard at work typing up my session reports from a Judge Dredd game I ran over 2 years ago. Never let it be said that I don't finish things. I just got to find all of my scribblings...

Life is about Discovering New Things

Today I discovered that there is a range of colourshifting metallic miniature paints called Turbo Dork!!

My particular favourites are:

Afterburner	Forest Flux
Ground is Lava	Shell Shocked

If anyone wants to donate a pot for me to test please feel free to contact me via the comments below.