RWRTTN: The Time I Rewrote The Pilot Of A Popular Web Series - Part 1
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For the conscious viewer, hope fades. In the age of limitless information and bountiful entertainment, we are unfortunately plagued by those willfully ignorant, the uninspired, and the petulant ilk that continually enable the unskilled and unworthy. The art of tact, poise, and style have faded as well—and it is a damn shame. Because for the hopeful, viewers who refuse to shut their minds off when sat in front of a screen, they are denied countless opportunities—opportunities to explore alongside creators as they attempt to solve their creations and to explore fictional worlds of wonder and intrigue…
To those who don’t know me, I can be quite dramatic when it comes to creative writing. And to those who’ve already gotten acquainted with me through previous posts on this newsletter, then you already know where this shit is going.
See, once upon a time there was a small indie company named Rooster Teeth. They would go on to become an early trailblazer in the world of online entertainment with Red vs. Blue. However, I first came to know them back in high school thanks to a friend and a little video of theirs—a short animation of a silver-eyed girl in a crimson hood laying waste to werewolves with a gun-scythe.
“Hey, man,” I probably said to my friend. “What’s this little red riding hood cartoon called?”
“RWBY,” he would’ve replied.
“Ruh-wubby? What kind of name is that?”
“It’s an acronym. R-W-B-Y. Pronounced ‘Ruby’. This thing’s gonna be made into a series.”
“Oh,” I said with a faint smile. “Hopefully, that turns out well.”
I was a cautious optimist in high school. Little did I know then that life finds a way to break those with good faith in what would otherwise be a simple pleasure.
Now, as a preface, I want to make it clear that I’m not mad. I’m just disappointed. And I could go into great detail about all of the reasons why RWBY frustrates me. In fact, I had aspirations for writing something like a while back after I’d given up on the series after the fourth volume (they call seasons “volumes”, it’s dumber when you know about the probable reason why they called it that). However, a combination of family drama, academic journeying, and chronic thinky pain over the years would always hinder me from reaching my full potential. Thankfully, there’s this pretty cool YouTube video (feature-length, mind you) that explains everything problemed with the series better than I ever could. It’s a really great time and I highly recommend watching it in full before continuing on with my ranting (see below). Don’t worry about making me feel bad, I will wait.
To those intimidated by the length of the aforementioned video essay, allow me to welcome you back to this browser tab by saying that I sense and resent your long-man-bad sentiments. Go back and learn yourself some RWBY. I said that I’d wait.
But yeah, there it is. The show is disappointing to watch, frustrating to learn about its production, and absolutely baffling to know its current popularity. And over time, all of those emotions have gradually mutated into feelings of shame, disgust, and madness especially with each new season.
Keep in mind that all of those emotions swelling inside me are completely divorced from the way that I feel about their success from a business standpoint. Like I and Olivia Rodrigo have said before, good for you (Rooster Teeth as a whole). But, honestly, how do they continually ignore and choose to continually fail to learn from its shortcomings in the past?
I don’t know the answer to that question. Instead, I’ve got another petty passion project to present because I think that I can write a better pilot episode than the showrunners. I’ll let y’all be the judge of that. It isn’t like I’ve got anything to lose.
Despite my tone for the majority of this post, I don’t mean any of this in any sort of vengeful pettiness. I would reluctantly call myself a fan not because of what it is but what I believe it can be. So, hopefully, after reflecting on this script that I wrote a while back, I’ll be able to discover something interesting from all of this pondering. At the very least, one of y’all might find some enjoyment from me playing make believe during a time in my life. With that it mind, I reiterate, this doesn’t count as harassment if those being criticized eat their slice of humble pie and accept the fact that their shit does indeed stink. So, if they won’t swallow their pride, I will blend it and feed it to them intravenously—with love and admiration, of course.
So here’s what I did…
Remember when I said that I was gonna do my best to maintain my current posting schedule despite grad school starting last week? That was a hot meme, wasn’t it?
I only have myself to blame for the late post. No excuses, I will do better and have the next portion of this piece ready by Friday.
Anyway, return next week for Part 2 of this limited essay series where I focus on the production process of my rewrite with RWBY’s pilot episode. Thank you so much for reading and take care.
Interested in reading more? Click here for part two of this essay series.
Thank you for reading this edition of The Morning Owl. If you liked what you saw here, it would be please leave a like, subscribe, leave a comment, and share this degenerate’s blog to other sentient folk with internet access. Until we meet again, drink plenty of water and take care.