WinxTalk Podcast #10
Dec. 13th, 2006 04:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsThis week's podcast's quite a doozy, as the main feature is an email interview between me and Lori Francz. And I'm not just simply reading both ends of the interview, because I'm test driving a TTS engine for Lori's responses (so don't come emailing me or Lori that her responses sound stilted). It's a whopping 27 minutes long (6.21 MB), a few minutes longer than my previous longest podcast, the one where I mostly read people's rants about W.i.t.c.h. and its ratings problems.
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Today, we've got an email interview by a Winx superfan, a few late reviews, plus news from the Winx world, on WinxTalk Podacst #10 with your host SpiderBraids.
This week on the podcast, it's an email interview with possibly the biggest Winx Club superfan in New York state. Lori Francz is the founder of the winx_club community at LiveJournal, and she let me do an email interview with her. And so, here we go.
Q: How did you get into Winx Club?
A: I got into Winx thanks to a friend of mine. We're both doll collectors and we shared a few doll lines that we liked. He got a job with Mattel and told me he worked on something called Winx Club. I believe he designed the logos for a few of the dolls. I looked at the prototype images online after Toy Fair and I was hooked. I've always wanted more short-haired dolls and there were two! Tecna immediately caught my eye, because her hair is almost like mine. If I part mine differently, I can do her hair. I loved Musa, too, since she had shorter hair than usual and she was so cute. Icy also looked awesome. You could totally tell she was the baddie. I visited winxclub.com (it had a different look back then!) and read up on the characters and the plot. It sounded great, so I made the LJ community and waited for the show to air and the dolls to appear in stores. I've been a Winx lover ever since!
Q: So, I take it that you like short-haired girls. It must have sucked for you to see Musa change her pigtails. I mean, my first reaction was to recall her quote from last season's premiere.
(NOISE)
[Stella: "One small change can make a world of difference. Musa?"
Musa: "I am not going to change my pigtails: They were all the rage at Wizardpalooza!"]
(NOISE)
A: I love short-haired girls. There are a lot of us in the world and that's not always reflected in cartoons or if there are girls with short hair, they're more often background characters. I almost took it as a personal offense that they lengthened Musa's hair.
Q: Of course, there are a few questions that I have to ask: Who are your favorite characters, and what are your favorite eppies?
Favorite characters:
1) Darcy: She was my #1 from episode 2 on. I love her voice, her powers (though I'm sad she hasn't used her "Darcy sense" since), her intelligence, her attitude, her look.
2) Stormy: Stormy was my third favorite witch for a time, but she moved into second place thanks to her badass and totally random at times attitude.
3) Icy: I like Icy best when she's not being stereotypical. She's got my second fave voice after Darcy and her look is fantastic!
4) Mirta: Everyone loves Mirta. She's adorable. She's sweet, kind, helpful, caring, lovable. She's everything Flora could be if you just added a little bit of mystery to her. Because Mirta's extremely intriguing thanks to her unusual status as a witch who also takes fairy classes.
5) Diaspro: As a woman scorned, I can totally understand how she feels. I still despise my last ex more than anyone on the planet.
6) Tecna: Loved Tecna until the whole OOC Timmy thing in season 1. Didn't much care for her in season 2 because she barely did anything. But now she's one of the only Winx girls who has truly shone in season 3. Her new voice is awesome and she seems to have grown a lot as a person.
7) Stella: I still have hope that she'll return to her best. She's got the funniest lines of any character on the show and she uses them frequently. When she's good, she's very, very good, but when she's bad, she's horrid.
8) Musa: Hated her manner of speaking in season 1, though I was interested in her at the end of the season. That little "huh?" scene with Riven got to me somehow. Made me like her. In season 2, she rocked it. But now, she's gotten really unlikable with that icky new hair and her bad attitude. Still, like Stella, I have hopes that she returns to her former glory.
9) Bloom: Bloom has grown on me a lot over the seasons. She and Tecna are currently my fave Winx girls. Sometimes I just really love Bloom for no reason at all. She's just kinda one of those characters.
10) Chimera: Rounding out my list is Chimera, the new bad girl. She's gorgeous, sexy, selfish and adds an element previously unseen: the knowledge that there's another fairy school out there. I can't fully judge her because we haven't seen the entire season yet, but I adore her so far. Her line to Flora just totally won me over.
The rest: Ms. Griffin and the witch teachers, Codatorta, Amentia, Sponsus, Discorda, Zing, Chatta, Katy, Spika (the cat fairy), Lucy, Amaryl, W and my fave minor Specialists, and of course, the myriad minor fairies.
And I'm probably forgetting at least one or two.
Fave eps:
I don't have time to describe why I like them, but I specified my top three.
-The Day of the Rose (#3)
-Spelled
-Witch Trap
-Royal Heartbreak
-Senior Witches Go to Earth
-Army of Decay (#1)
-Rescuing the Pixies
-Gangs of Gardenia
-Magic in My Heart (#2)
-Shadows in Bloom
-The Princess' Ball
-Royal Behavior
Q: And at the other end of the spectrum?
A: I don't really have characters I dislike. I liked just about everyone. I guess I'd say Darkar if I had to choose. I'm also not a huge fan of Lockette.
As for eps I dislike:
-Secret Guardian
-Junior League
-Pushing the Envelope
-The Wrong Righters: I've often said I don't know what 4Kids was thinking, but if you're gonna bash them, I'm gonna bash Rainbow for even having this lame excuse for an episode in the first place. The entire main joke won't be understood by the target audience. That's just stupid.
And I think Pretty Pretty Princess was the one I didn't care much for this season. There are others I find mediocre, but those are the ones I outright dislike.
Q: Couples! Many of us know that you gag over Flora/Helia (and not in a good way either), and to some extent Tecna/Timmy. But at the other end of the spectrum, which canon couple do you like the best?
A: Stella and Brandon are hands down the best canon couple. They're the most realistic and believable. I want them to succeed despite the fact that Brandon's status would (most likely) cause an uproar in the royal community.
Q: So this season, the Winx are getting another power-up, the Enchantix. The fact that we have been ensured (somewhat) that Enchantix will carry past this season (assuimg that there is a next season beyond the movie... I'm hoping there is) already makes it trump the Charmix, which has not been used at all this season. (And personally, I think Bloom should get some more Charmix use, since she has not used it on her own once yet, despite being the first to get hers.) What other thoughts do you have on the Enchantix?
A: I really love the look of the Enchantix. I think it takes Winx a step away from regular magical girl shows. Their previous outfits (with the exception of Tec's) were pretty stereotypical magical girl stuff, but these Enchantix outfits are more like those of traditional fairies. Some might compare them to the Disney Fairies, but they're quite different. The Disney Fairies are even more traditional in that their clothes are made from leaves, acorns, etc. The Winx still retain the fashion element, but now are mixing it with the more traditional style.
I also like that they have to work harder to earn this power up.
Q: So, the news has come out that there will be a Winx movie after this season, and it'll be done entirely in CG. Your thoughts?
A: "I like the movie-style animation. It looks good for being all 3D. It could have totally sucked ass and it doesn't. Sure, I'd rather have the normal style, but we've known for a long time it was going to be 3D.
Looking through the gallery, I'm pretty excited! Musa, Tecna and Flora all look especially darling in CG and that pic of sad Bloom is just awesome.
This looks way better than Bratz. Bratz is pretty much crap. I was afraid they were going to look like that, but this is way nicer. If it HAS to be entirely 3D, and I was always under the assumption that it does, this is the way to go."
More of the interview after the news, with a few thorny issues.
(News sting)
And now, news from the Winx world.
In ratings news, "Royal Behavior" scored a mere 0.4 and 3 share on November 25th, while co-stable Monster Allergy fared only slightly better with a 0.5 and 3 share, easily its worst ratings for the season. A viewer's choice rerun of "Save The First Dance" made a slight recovery for Winx with a 0.6 and 4 share the next week.
According to the TV.com forums, the line-up for the viewer's choice month is "Save the First Dance", "Miss Magix", the season 1 finale "Fire and Ice", the season 2 premiere "Back to School", and "Magic In My Heart".
The interview has already alluded to this, but an article has come out on an Italian website showing exclusive pictures from the new Winx movie, and unlike the "hybrid" look of the TV series, the movie will be all-CG. This change has prompted some criticism, although it does have some defenders. You can find the link at Michael Grant's news page at michaelsfavorites.com.
And that's news from the Winx world.
(News sting)
Now, more of the Lori interview.
Q: On to some thorny issues. It's well-documented by now that there are two different versions of Winx. When did you become aware that there were differences, and when did it become an issue with you?
A: I honestly don't remember when I first realized there were all these cuts and stuff. It might have been after "Grounded" aired and someone posted pics of Riven carrying Musa. I can't say that it's ever been a true issue with me. Sometimes it's frustrating, but as one of those people who is only watching Winx thanks to 4Kids, I'm not going to complain too much. I'd rather see it cut than not see it at all. Plus, I still think we have the best voices of all the versions. The only time the different versions are ever an issue is when someone's putting down 4Kids and not respecting the fact that without them, a lot of people would be Winxless. My community has a decided 4Kids version majority and I've never let a lot of bashing fly due to that. It really is difficult to endure sometimes though, because I haven't met an uncut version watcher yet that doesn't have at least a little bit of a high and mighty attitude. I think that's bleeping ridiculous. Just because we don't live in one of those countries doesn't mean we're inferior fans.
Q: Thorny issue number 2: It's almost exactly one year to the week that you mostly closed off your LJ community to outsiders. What prompted you to do this?
A: I never wanted it closed. I wanted to keep it open to everyone. Then came the bleeptards. I used to just ban them from posting, but since the community was open, they could see the posts that continued on. After a particularly nasty fight with one stupid bleep, I discovered that one girl who had dramatically left the community because I allowed adult stuff to be posted (even though it's completely easy to avoid) was still watching the community. She badmouthed me to the bleep I was arguing with and it was then that I decided to lock it up. Banned people shouldn't get to enjoy the community they were too stupid to behave in. I've got rules, many of which have been added thanks to the idiots that have caused problems, and they need to be followed. I haven't had a problem in quite some time, so maybe the group is finally settling into what I intended it to be: a community where older fans can enjoy the Winx fandom and not have to worry about censoring themselves around younger brats.
Q: Not as thorny as the last two questions, but... I don't know if anyone's said this at the community since I'm an outsider, but I keep hearing people who say that the current season is the final season, since the show talks about how Enchantix is the final step to becoming a full-fledged fairy, and we know that there's a movie coming up, 'following the adventures and solving the mysteries of the Winx Club fairies, particularly Bloom's origins.' (quote from Rainbow via Mike) You've said that it would be stupid to end after the movie, but has anyone at the community considered the possiblity of the show effectively ending two years early? I mean, what could the show possibly do for two years once they've all become full-fledged fairies and all their mysteries have been solved? You can only go so far with class scenes and shopping and romance and stuff...
A: The discussion on the community hasn't gone much past the basic "We don't want it to end so early! It would be stupid." I dunno. Just because they've completed the final step doesn't mean they know everything. Layla not knowing how to use her healing powers kinda proves that. The fourth year could be further instruction for Enchantix powers and more regular instruction for those that don't get said Enchantix.
I'm sure the writers would think of some way to make something interesting happen along with Enchantix training. Kinda like Harry Potter. The kids are always learning, but plenty of other stuff happens, too.
Q: Now, to light stuff: If nothing else, 4K makes great vocal songs for Winx (well, as long as they have female vocals, since the male-vocaled "Hero" really bites). Which one's your favorite?
A: You really have to ask? Mean Girls!
[Mean Girls: apologies for the low quality... I couldn't find a good clean high quality copy for some reason, so I went to the 4K Winx site, and recorded it from the "high-bandwidth" version of the Mean Girls vid. Not nicked from Mike, honest!]
I like Feels Like Magic and Searchin', too. Oh, and Tecna's rap.
[Tecna's rap]
Musa's song from Magic in My Heart would be my second favorite.
[a short clip of Francis giving tissues to the pixies while Musa is playing her song: "Your friend is really amazing, isn't she?"]
And I like Wings, too.
Q: Two opposite ends of the spectrum now: Winx moments that made you go "Hell yeah!" and moments that angried up your blood.
A: Hell yeahs would be Diaspro's return in this past episode, Stormy scratching Riven and throwing Bloom, Darcy breaking up with Riven and the first appearance of Dark Bloom. My most memorable angry moment was when Bloom got all self-righteous in Junior League.
Q: Totally random question about preferences: Stella and Musa arguing battle plans...
[Clip from the original where Stella suggests sitting in the cafeteria and waiting for the Trix: "My way of doing things is as good as anyone's"]
...or Stella and Musa arguing top-fives?
[Clip from the dub where Stella protests Musa's musical opinion by sitting in the cafeteria: "I resent that you always think your musical opinion is like superior to everyone else's"]
Terrible voice acting notwithstanding, that is...
A: I like the top five argument. It lightens the mood and seems more in character. No matter what Musa's status, Stella would always think her opinion was right and would thus argue with Musa. But battle plans? Stella? She's not exactly strategic.
Q: Those in the Winx fandom who know you even the slightest know that you equate yourself with Darcy. But if you had to equate yourself with one of the Winx girls, which would you pick?
A: Of the Winx, it's hard to choose. I can be logical to the point of coldness like Tecna. I got a perfect score on the now defunct logic section of the G.R.E. I'm not into technology though. I'm into my own personal style of fashion, but not interested in mainstream styles, so I'm not much like Stella, though I have been known to whip out a good line or two and I have a decent intuition. I'm not sporty or worried about sucking at friendships like Layla, but I do like to show up boys and I'm a bit of a feminist. I'm definitely not into hip hop or music in general like Musa. I'm an absolute music snob. I do love to dance like both Musa and Layla though. I'm really not much like Flora at all. I'm a good leader like Bloom and I can be quite loyal, but I have a stronger sense of self than she does. If I had to pick one, I'd pick Tecna, since my logic overrides a lot of my other personality aspects sometimes.
I do relate most to Darcy though. She's what I would be if I let myself go.
Q: One of Winx's biggest assets is its looks. So, who would you say has the best casual outfit, best fairy outfit, best Charmix, and best Enchantix?
A:
Best casual outfit: Darcy and Mirta.
For the fairies, I have a lot of casual faves.
Bloom: Her pink sweater with the jeans and cream-colored boots. I can't remember if she ever wore it on the show.
Stella: Her green dress and her orange ruffled top outfit (from "Gangs of Gardenia").
Flora: Her yellow top with the purple flower on it and the jean capris.
Musa: Her main second (and now third) season casual outfit and I really love her dress from "Gangs of Gardenia."
Tecna: Her main 2nd and 3rd season casual outfit.
Layla: Her darker outfit from "Gangs of Gardenia."
Best fairy outfit: My favorite is actually Francine's. She's one of the minor fairies. Of the main fairies, I'd pick Layla's.
Best Charmix: Musa hands down.
Best Enchantix: I'm torn between Tecna, Stella and Bloom. I'll have to see them in action on the show to really decide.
I also really love Diaspro in her casual and fairy outfits. She'd probably be second after Francine when it comes to fairy outfits.
Q: One last question... if Rainbow, seeing how popular Winx is, decided to keep it going by centering on a whole new set of fairies once Bloom and co. graduate, would you keep watching? Make that two, actually: Do you think Rainbow would even consider the idea?
A: "I'd watch Winx in any form. Seeing as I'm extremely interested in the background characters, a new set of girls wouldn't bother me. However, I've got to say that no, I don't think they'd consider the idea.
And that was an email interview with Lori Francz. The responses at Lori's end were voiced by the VoiceText speech engine by NeoSpeech. Try it out at www.neospeech.com.
Now, moving on to bonus late reviews. And we mean, VERY late reviews. Lori takes on "Mirror of Truth" and "Mission to Tides" from about a month ago. We begin with "Mirror of Truth".
(NOISE)
This episode finished off the Stella’s a monster storyline, introduced the Enchantix and some new characters, and introduced the Tides mission. That’s a lot for one episode, but it didn’t feel really... monumental or anything. It felt more like filler. Weird.
Stella and Brandon cemented themselves as the strongest and most realistic of the show’s relationships, but Tecna and Timmy and Bloom amd Sky put in good moments, too.
Tecna and Musa had some good strong moments during the griffin fight. Good to see characters other than Bloom and Stella fighting tough. But when will Flora get to do so? I’m still waiting for her turn. She’s been less annoying this season, so I like her more, but she still needs to actually do something.
(NOISE)
Yeah, and I'd like to see the Solar Ivy she mentioned in the episode before this one. That aside...
(NOISE)
Layla’s moping was getting a bit obnoxious. She needs to learn to trust other people. I thought we covered this before, but it looks like she’s still got a long way to go. Actually, this just occurred to me, but where were the pixies? It's sad that I'm already forgetting the pixies exist.
The highlight of the ep for me was seeing all the different students, both new and old. I want to know more about Galatea, Nova and a lot of the other girls we saw. I want more background character info! I know the show's not about them, but they intrigue me.
Enchantix sounds like it’s going to be very interesting! It’s going to be quite exciting to see just who the girls have to save and what they have to sacrifice to earn this final step. Bloom’s also got a big problem there. I wonder if she’ll be the last to get her Enchantix. I hope the girls get them at different occasions, well-spaced out throughout the season, instead of lumped together in a couple episodes.
I'm glad we finally cemented this Sparx thing, too. I know some people have been wondering if it happened when Bloom was a baby (around 17 years ago) or a longer time ago and Bloom was somehow moved around in time. I think there was confusion over the time frame, especially in Season 1. Now it's been cleared up. Makes me wonder if we'll see the witch coven, because if that was only 17 years ago, they could still exist.
(NOISE)
On to "Mission to Tides", and since Lori's got love for the witches, she's not being as kind to this episode as the last one.
(NOISE)
I was happy to see the pixies weren’t forgotten and actually did something this week. Kiko, too!
Tecna once again shone with her taking a bit of a leadership role, both with her invention and with her plan to figure out Baltor’s weakness.
I was thrilled to see Nova again. She's so cute!
Baltor and Bloom’s connection is slightly revealed, but just enough to make you want to know more. In my opinion, it was seriously stupid for the Winx girls, five juniors in school, to take on a villain like Baltor. They knew nothing about him, but still thought they could win without damage. WRONG! I’m glad Layla went blind. Those girls could use a dose of humility.
The poor witches had some ups and downs this week. While I do love the rivalry between the three girls being more prominent than in past seasons, it’s not being explored as much as it could be.
The witches weren’t fighting up to their usual level. They totally got screwed over by the writers and were acting out of character. I still think Icy should have challenged Bloom using her new power. Why did they introduce it if she wasn’t going to use it against the Winx girls? She had the perfect opportunity for a good fight and some good lines!
(NOISE)
Yeah, good lines such as these:
[Bloom: "That's not the dragonfire: THIS is the dragonfire!"]
[Dark Bloom: "Don't forget, Stella: I can fight fire with fire!"]
Okay, those are Bloom's lines, but still. Instead, I'm being reminded of the showdown that wasn't, from the season 1 finale, where one of the moments Lori expected to see was a battle between Icy's ice dragon from a previous episode and Bloom's dragon from one episode ago. It's not quite the same, but still...
Anyways, back to the review.
(NOISE)
Then Icy got knocked down and for some unexplained reason, couldn’t return to the air until later in the episode. Darcy and Stormy turned into an amusing but seriously out of place slapstick routine, and Darcy should definitely have sensed Layla behind her. That was extremely out of character for her. Also, Icy just stood there instead of flying or at least trying to dodge the convergence blast. That was weak. The writers seem to be taking a page or two from the stereotypical bumbling villain book. Not good. The witches are excellent villains because they’re not stereotypical. When they’re written this way, it makes them look awful compared to their past performances. If anything, they should be stronger, not weaker and stupider. Come on, writers. Give us our old witches back!
All in all, a good episode, but not without its flaws.
(NOISE)
Moral of the story: Viewers love good villains. So don't dumb them down just so the good guys win. Know what the villains are capable of, and make the good guys actually WORK for the win, okay?
And that's it for this edition. Drop off your comments and suggestions at my blog at spiderbraids.livejournal.com or the Yahoo! Winx group at tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/winx. We'll see you in two weeks. Thanks for listening.
Behind the scenes:
Originally I was going to use the Acapela Group site for my TTS portion. However, on the day I decided to start "recording" the interview, for some reason it wouldn't generate the audio (even though it had been working just a few days before). So, I had to find another TTS site in a hurry, and I found NeoSpeech. All I'm going to say is: Don't sue me, NeoSpeech! (My podcast is non-commercial)
There was much more in the emails I used to conduct the interview. One part that wasn't part of the interview was an exchange about the attitude towards edits and stuff. I may put this in a separate post later. Suffice to say though, just because it's uncut doesn't mean it's better.
Another topic that was skimmed over was how TV.com generally seems to disagree with the new look. Lori says they can go screw themselves. Me, I'm waiting to see what it looks like animated first.
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Transcript
Today, we've got an email interview by a Winx superfan, a few late reviews, plus news from the Winx world, on WinxTalk Podacst #10 with your host SpiderBraids.
This week on the podcast, it's an email interview with possibly the biggest Winx Club superfan in New York state. Lori Francz is the founder of the winx_club community at LiveJournal, and she let me do an email interview with her. And so, here we go.
Q: How did you get into Winx Club?
A: I got into Winx thanks to a friend of mine. We're both doll collectors and we shared a few doll lines that we liked. He got a job with Mattel and told me he worked on something called Winx Club. I believe he designed the logos for a few of the dolls. I looked at the prototype images online after Toy Fair and I was hooked. I've always wanted more short-haired dolls and there were two! Tecna immediately caught my eye, because her hair is almost like mine. If I part mine differently, I can do her hair. I loved Musa, too, since she had shorter hair than usual and she was so cute. Icy also looked awesome. You could totally tell she was the baddie. I visited winxclub.com (it had a different look back then!) and read up on the characters and the plot. It sounded great, so I made the LJ community and waited for the show to air and the dolls to appear in stores. I've been a Winx lover ever since!
Q: So, I take it that you like short-haired girls. It must have sucked for you to see Musa change her pigtails. I mean, my first reaction was to recall her quote from last season's premiere.
(NOISE)
[Stella: "One small change can make a world of difference. Musa?"
Musa: "I am not going to change my pigtails: They were all the rage at Wizardpalooza!"]
(NOISE)
A: I love short-haired girls. There are a lot of us in the world and that's not always reflected in cartoons or if there are girls with short hair, they're more often background characters. I almost took it as a personal offense that they lengthened Musa's hair.
Q: Of course, there are a few questions that I have to ask: Who are your favorite characters, and what are your favorite eppies?
Favorite characters:
1) Darcy: She was my #1 from episode 2 on. I love her voice, her powers (though I'm sad she hasn't used her "Darcy sense" since), her intelligence, her attitude, her look.
2) Stormy: Stormy was my third favorite witch for a time, but she moved into second place thanks to her badass and totally random at times attitude.
3) Icy: I like Icy best when she's not being stereotypical. She's got my second fave voice after Darcy and her look is fantastic!
4) Mirta: Everyone loves Mirta. She's adorable. She's sweet, kind, helpful, caring, lovable. She's everything Flora could be if you just added a little bit of mystery to her. Because Mirta's extremely intriguing thanks to her unusual status as a witch who also takes fairy classes.
5) Diaspro: As a woman scorned, I can totally understand how she feels. I still despise my last ex more than anyone on the planet.
6) Tecna: Loved Tecna until the whole OOC Timmy thing in season 1. Didn't much care for her in season 2 because she barely did anything. But now she's one of the only Winx girls who has truly shone in season 3. Her new voice is awesome and she seems to have grown a lot as a person.
7) Stella: I still have hope that she'll return to her best. She's got the funniest lines of any character on the show and she uses them frequently. When she's good, she's very, very good, but when she's bad, she's horrid.
8) Musa: Hated her manner of speaking in season 1, though I was interested in her at the end of the season. That little "huh?" scene with Riven got to me somehow. Made me like her. In season 2, she rocked it. But now, she's gotten really unlikable with that icky new hair and her bad attitude. Still, like Stella, I have hopes that she returns to her former glory.
9) Bloom: Bloom has grown on me a lot over the seasons. She and Tecna are currently my fave Winx girls. Sometimes I just really love Bloom for no reason at all. She's just kinda one of those characters.
10) Chimera: Rounding out my list is Chimera, the new bad girl. She's gorgeous, sexy, selfish and adds an element previously unseen: the knowledge that there's another fairy school out there. I can't fully judge her because we haven't seen the entire season yet, but I adore her so far. Her line to Flora just totally won me over.
The rest: Ms. Griffin and the witch teachers, Codatorta, Amentia, Sponsus, Discorda, Zing, Chatta, Katy, Spika (the cat fairy), Lucy, Amaryl, W and my fave minor Specialists, and of course, the myriad minor fairies.
And I'm probably forgetting at least one or two.
Fave eps:
I don't have time to describe why I like them, but I specified my top three.
-The Day of the Rose (#3)
-Spelled
-Witch Trap
-Royal Heartbreak
-Senior Witches Go to Earth
-Army of Decay (#1)
-Rescuing the Pixies
-Gangs of Gardenia
-Magic in My Heart (#2)
-Shadows in Bloom
-The Princess' Ball
-Royal Behavior
Q: And at the other end of the spectrum?
A: I don't really have characters I dislike. I liked just about everyone. I guess I'd say Darkar if I had to choose. I'm also not a huge fan of Lockette.
As for eps I dislike:
-Secret Guardian
-Junior League
-Pushing the Envelope
-The Wrong Righters: I've often said I don't know what 4Kids was thinking, but if you're gonna bash them, I'm gonna bash Rainbow for even having this lame excuse for an episode in the first place. The entire main joke won't be understood by the target audience. That's just stupid.
And I think Pretty Pretty Princess was the one I didn't care much for this season. There are others I find mediocre, but those are the ones I outright dislike.
Q: Couples! Many of us know that you gag over Flora/Helia (and not in a good way either), and to some extent Tecna/Timmy. But at the other end of the spectrum, which canon couple do you like the best?
A: Stella and Brandon are hands down the best canon couple. They're the most realistic and believable. I want them to succeed despite the fact that Brandon's status would (most likely) cause an uproar in the royal community.
Q: So this season, the Winx are getting another power-up, the Enchantix. The fact that we have been ensured (somewhat) that Enchantix will carry past this season (assuimg that there is a next season beyond the movie... I'm hoping there is) already makes it trump the Charmix, which has not been used at all this season. (And personally, I think Bloom should get some more Charmix use, since she has not used it on her own once yet, despite being the first to get hers.) What other thoughts do you have on the Enchantix?
A: I really love the look of the Enchantix. I think it takes Winx a step away from regular magical girl shows. Their previous outfits (with the exception of Tec's) were pretty stereotypical magical girl stuff, but these Enchantix outfits are more like those of traditional fairies. Some might compare them to the Disney Fairies, but they're quite different. The Disney Fairies are even more traditional in that their clothes are made from leaves, acorns, etc. The Winx still retain the fashion element, but now are mixing it with the more traditional style.
I also like that they have to work harder to earn this power up.
Q: So, the news has come out that there will be a Winx movie after this season, and it'll be done entirely in CG. Your thoughts?
A: "I like the movie-style animation. It looks good for being all 3D. It could have totally sucked ass and it doesn't. Sure, I'd rather have the normal style, but we've known for a long time it was going to be 3D.
Looking through the gallery, I'm pretty excited! Musa, Tecna and Flora all look especially darling in CG and that pic of sad Bloom is just awesome.
This looks way better than Bratz. Bratz is pretty much crap. I was afraid they were going to look like that, but this is way nicer. If it HAS to be entirely 3D, and I was always under the assumption that it does, this is the way to go."
More of the interview after the news, with a few thorny issues.
(News sting)
And now, news from the Winx world.
In ratings news, "Royal Behavior" scored a mere 0.4 and 3 share on November 25th, while co-stable Monster Allergy fared only slightly better with a 0.5 and 3 share, easily its worst ratings for the season. A viewer's choice rerun of "Save The First Dance" made a slight recovery for Winx with a 0.6 and 4 share the next week.
According to the TV.com forums, the line-up for the viewer's choice month is "Save the First Dance", "Miss Magix", the season 1 finale "Fire and Ice", the season 2 premiere "Back to School", and "Magic In My Heart".
The interview has already alluded to this, but an article has come out on an Italian website showing exclusive pictures from the new Winx movie, and unlike the "hybrid" look of the TV series, the movie will be all-CG. This change has prompted some criticism, although it does have some defenders. You can find the link at Michael Grant's news page at michaelsfavorites.com.
And that's news from the Winx world.
(News sting)
Now, more of the Lori interview.
Q: On to some thorny issues. It's well-documented by now that there are two different versions of Winx. When did you become aware that there were differences, and when did it become an issue with you?
A: I honestly don't remember when I first realized there were all these cuts and stuff. It might have been after "Grounded" aired and someone posted pics of Riven carrying Musa. I can't say that it's ever been a true issue with me. Sometimes it's frustrating, but as one of those people who is only watching Winx thanks to 4Kids, I'm not going to complain too much. I'd rather see it cut than not see it at all. Plus, I still think we have the best voices of all the versions. The only time the different versions are ever an issue is when someone's putting down 4Kids and not respecting the fact that without them, a lot of people would be Winxless. My community has a decided 4Kids version majority and I've never let a lot of bashing fly due to that. It really is difficult to endure sometimes though, because I haven't met an uncut version watcher yet that doesn't have at least a little bit of a high and mighty attitude. I think that's bleeping ridiculous. Just because we don't live in one of those countries doesn't mean we're inferior fans.
Q: Thorny issue number 2: It's almost exactly one year to the week that you mostly closed off your LJ community to outsiders. What prompted you to do this?
A: I never wanted it closed. I wanted to keep it open to everyone. Then came the bleeptards. I used to just ban them from posting, but since the community was open, they could see the posts that continued on. After a particularly nasty fight with one stupid bleep, I discovered that one girl who had dramatically left the community because I allowed adult stuff to be posted (even though it's completely easy to avoid) was still watching the community. She badmouthed me to the bleep I was arguing with and it was then that I decided to lock it up. Banned people shouldn't get to enjoy the community they were too stupid to behave in. I've got rules, many of which have been added thanks to the idiots that have caused problems, and they need to be followed. I haven't had a problem in quite some time, so maybe the group is finally settling into what I intended it to be: a community where older fans can enjoy the Winx fandom and not have to worry about censoring themselves around younger brats.
Q: Not as thorny as the last two questions, but... I don't know if anyone's said this at the community since I'm an outsider, but I keep hearing people who say that the current season is the final season, since the show talks about how Enchantix is the final step to becoming a full-fledged fairy, and we know that there's a movie coming up, 'following the adventures and solving the mysteries of the Winx Club fairies, particularly Bloom's origins.' (quote from Rainbow via Mike) You've said that it would be stupid to end after the movie, but has anyone at the community considered the possiblity of the show effectively ending two years early? I mean, what could the show possibly do for two years once they've all become full-fledged fairies and all their mysteries have been solved? You can only go so far with class scenes and shopping and romance and stuff...
A: The discussion on the community hasn't gone much past the basic "We don't want it to end so early! It would be stupid." I dunno. Just because they've completed the final step doesn't mean they know everything. Layla not knowing how to use her healing powers kinda proves that. The fourth year could be further instruction for Enchantix powers and more regular instruction for those that don't get said Enchantix.
I'm sure the writers would think of some way to make something interesting happen along with Enchantix training. Kinda like Harry Potter. The kids are always learning, but plenty of other stuff happens, too.
Q: Now, to light stuff: If nothing else, 4K makes great vocal songs for Winx (well, as long as they have female vocals, since the male-vocaled "Hero" really bites). Which one's your favorite?
A: You really have to ask? Mean Girls!
[Mean Girls: apologies for the low quality... I couldn't find a good clean high quality copy for some reason, so I went to the 4K Winx site, and recorded it from the "high-bandwidth" version of the Mean Girls vid. Not nicked from Mike, honest!]
I like Feels Like Magic and Searchin', too. Oh, and Tecna's rap.
[Tecna's rap]
Musa's song from Magic in My Heart would be my second favorite.
[a short clip of Francis giving tissues to the pixies while Musa is playing her song: "Your friend is really amazing, isn't she?"]
And I like Wings, too.
Q: Two opposite ends of the spectrum now: Winx moments that made you go "Hell yeah!" and moments that angried up your blood.
A: Hell yeahs would be Diaspro's return in this past episode, Stormy scratching Riven and throwing Bloom, Darcy breaking up with Riven and the first appearance of Dark Bloom. My most memorable angry moment was when Bloom got all self-righteous in Junior League.
Q: Totally random question about preferences: Stella and Musa arguing battle plans...
[Clip from the original where Stella suggests sitting in the cafeteria and waiting for the Trix: "My way of doing things is as good as anyone's"]
...or Stella and Musa arguing top-fives?
[Clip from the dub where Stella protests Musa's musical opinion by sitting in the cafeteria: "I resent that you always think your musical opinion is like superior to everyone else's"]
Terrible voice acting notwithstanding, that is...
A: I like the top five argument. It lightens the mood and seems more in character. No matter what Musa's status, Stella would always think her opinion was right and would thus argue with Musa. But battle plans? Stella? She's not exactly strategic.
Q: Those in the Winx fandom who know you even the slightest know that you equate yourself with Darcy. But if you had to equate yourself with one of the Winx girls, which would you pick?
A: Of the Winx, it's hard to choose. I can be logical to the point of coldness like Tecna. I got a perfect score on the now defunct logic section of the G.R.E. I'm not into technology though. I'm into my own personal style of fashion, but not interested in mainstream styles, so I'm not much like Stella, though I have been known to whip out a good line or two and I have a decent intuition. I'm not sporty or worried about sucking at friendships like Layla, but I do like to show up boys and I'm a bit of a feminist. I'm definitely not into hip hop or music in general like Musa. I'm an absolute music snob. I do love to dance like both Musa and Layla though. I'm really not much like Flora at all. I'm a good leader like Bloom and I can be quite loyal, but I have a stronger sense of self than she does. If I had to pick one, I'd pick Tecna, since my logic overrides a lot of my other personality aspects sometimes.
I do relate most to Darcy though. She's what I would be if I let myself go.
Q: One of Winx's biggest assets is its looks. So, who would you say has the best casual outfit, best fairy outfit, best Charmix, and best Enchantix?
A:
Best casual outfit: Darcy and Mirta.
For the fairies, I have a lot of casual faves.
Bloom: Her pink sweater with the jeans and cream-colored boots. I can't remember if she ever wore it on the show.
Stella: Her green dress and her orange ruffled top outfit (from "Gangs of Gardenia").
Flora: Her yellow top with the purple flower on it and the jean capris.
Musa: Her main second (and now third) season casual outfit and I really love her dress from "Gangs of Gardenia."
Tecna: Her main 2nd and 3rd season casual outfit.
Layla: Her darker outfit from "Gangs of Gardenia."
Best fairy outfit: My favorite is actually Francine's. She's one of the minor fairies. Of the main fairies, I'd pick Layla's.
Best Charmix: Musa hands down.
Best Enchantix: I'm torn between Tecna, Stella and Bloom. I'll have to see them in action on the show to really decide.
I also really love Diaspro in her casual and fairy outfits. She'd probably be second after Francine when it comes to fairy outfits.
Q: One last question... if Rainbow, seeing how popular Winx is, decided to keep it going by centering on a whole new set of fairies once Bloom and co. graduate, would you keep watching? Make that two, actually: Do you think Rainbow would even consider the idea?
A: "I'd watch Winx in any form. Seeing as I'm extremely interested in the background characters, a new set of girls wouldn't bother me. However, I've got to say that no, I don't think they'd consider the idea.
And that was an email interview with Lori Francz. The responses at Lori's end were voiced by the VoiceText speech engine by NeoSpeech. Try it out at www.neospeech.com.
Now, moving on to bonus late reviews. And we mean, VERY late reviews. Lori takes on "Mirror of Truth" and "Mission to Tides" from about a month ago. We begin with "Mirror of Truth".
(NOISE)
This episode finished off the Stella’s a monster storyline, introduced the Enchantix and some new characters, and introduced the Tides mission. That’s a lot for one episode, but it didn’t feel really... monumental or anything. It felt more like filler. Weird.
Stella and Brandon cemented themselves as the strongest and most realistic of the show’s relationships, but Tecna and Timmy and Bloom amd Sky put in good moments, too.
Tecna and Musa had some good strong moments during the griffin fight. Good to see characters other than Bloom and Stella fighting tough. But when will Flora get to do so? I’m still waiting for her turn. She’s been less annoying this season, so I like her more, but she still needs to actually do something.
(NOISE)
Yeah, and I'd like to see the Solar Ivy she mentioned in the episode before this one. That aside...
(NOISE)
Layla’s moping was getting a bit obnoxious. She needs to learn to trust other people. I thought we covered this before, but it looks like she’s still got a long way to go. Actually, this just occurred to me, but where were the pixies? It's sad that I'm already forgetting the pixies exist.
The highlight of the ep for me was seeing all the different students, both new and old. I want to know more about Galatea, Nova and a lot of the other girls we saw. I want more background character info! I know the show's not about them, but they intrigue me.
Enchantix sounds like it’s going to be very interesting! It’s going to be quite exciting to see just who the girls have to save and what they have to sacrifice to earn this final step. Bloom’s also got a big problem there. I wonder if she’ll be the last to get her Enchantix. I hope the girls get them at different occasions, well-spaced out throughout the season, instead of lumped together in a couple episodes.
I'm glad we finally cemented this Sparx thing, too. I know some people have been wondering if it happened when Bloom was a baby (around 17 years ago) or a longer time ago and Bloom was somehow moved around in time. I think there was confusion over the time frame, especially in Season 1. Now it's been cleared up. Makes me wonder if we'll see the witch coven, because if that was only 17 years ago, they could still exist.
(NOISE)
On to "Mission to Tides", and since Lori's got love for the witches, she's not being as kind to this episode as the last one.
(NOISE)
I was happy to see the pixies weren’t forgotten and actually did something this week. Kiko, too!
Tecna once again shone with her taking a bit of a leadership role, both with her invention and with her plan to figure out Baltor’s weakness.
I was thrilled to see Nova again. She's so cute!
Baltor and Bloom’s connection is slightly revealed, but just enough to make you want to know more. In my opinion, it was seriously stupid for the Winx girls, five juniors in school, to take on a villain like Baltor. They knew nothing about him, but still thought they could win without damage. WRONG! I’m glad Layla went blind. Those girls could use a dose of humility.
The poor witches had some ups and downs this week. While I do love the rivalry between the three girls being more prominent than in past seasons, it’s not being explored as much as it could be.
The witches weren’t fighting up to their usual level. They totally got screwed over by the writers and were acting out of character. I still think Icy should have challenged Bloom using her new power. Why did they introduce it if she wasn’t going to use it against the Winx girls? She had the perfect opportunity for a good fight and some good lines!
(NOISE)
Yeah, good lines such as these:
[Bloom: "That's not the dragonfire: THIS is the dragonfire!"]
[Dark Bloom: "Don't forget, Stella: I can fight fire with fire!"]
Okay, those are Bloom's lines, but still. Instead, I'm being reminded of the showdown that wasn't, from the season 1 finale, where one of the moments Lori expected to see was a battle between Icy's ice dragon from a previous episode and Bloom's dragon from one episode ago. It's not quite the same, but still...
Anyways, back to the review.
(NOISE)
Then Icy got knocked down and for some unexplained reason, couldn’t return to the air until later in the episode. Darcy and Stormy turned into an amusing but seriously out of place slapstick routine, and Darcy should definitely have sensed Layla behind her. That was extremely out of character for her. Also, Icy just stood there instead of flying or at least trying to dodge the convergence blast. That was weak. The writers seem to be taking a page or two from the stereotypical bumbling villain book. Not good. The witches are excellent villains because they’re not stereotypical. When they’re written this way, it makes them look awful compared to their past performances. If anything, they should be stronger, not weaker and stupider. Come on, writers. Give us our old witches back!
All in all, a good episode, but not without its flaws.
(NOISE)
Moral of the story: Viewers love good villains. So don't dumb them down just so the good guys win. Know what the villains are capable of, and make the good guys actually WORK for the win, okay?
And that's it for this edition. Drop off your comments and suggestions at my blog at spiderbraids.livejournal.com or the Yahoo! Winx group at tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/winx. We'll see you in two weeks. Thanks for listening.
Behind the scenes:
Originally I was going to use the Acapela Group site for my TTS portion. However, on the day I decided to start "recording" the interview, for some reason it wouldn't generate the audio (even though it had been working just a few days before). So, I had to find another TTS site in a hurry, and I found NeoSpeech. All I'm going to say is: Don't sue me, NeoSpeech! (My podcast is non-commercial)
There was much more in the emails I used to conduct the interview. One part that wasn't part of the interview was an exchange about the attitude towards edits and stuff. I may put this in a separate post later. Suffice to say though, just because it's uncut doesn't mean it's better.
Another topic that was skimmed over was how TV.com generally seems to disagree with the new look. Lori says they can go screw themselves. Me, I'm waiting to see what it looks like animated first.
