Wobblevision
| Related terms: | Fannish Dolls, Ken Dolls |
| See also: | Plastic Incarnations, Fanart |
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Wobblevision is the practice of acting out episodes of a series using small plastic dolls. It was invented by Emma Peel for the Blake's 7 fandom circa 2001. Posed dolls and props are photographed and then the photos are put together with short captions to recount the episode. The makers attempt to emulate, and even exceed, the dodgy production values and occasionally wooden acting of the original series.[1]
A 2003 example is here.
Subsequently, live-action Wobblevision evolved, in which fans take the part of the dolls, and strive to act just as plastic-y. This became a popular activity at conventions such as Redemption. Casting is done at random and no props are allowed other than those the participants happen to be carrying. The final episode of Blake's 7 was completed at Redemption 2009,[2] and the radio play, A Sevenfold Crown, was recreated at Redemption 2011.[3]
The complete Blake's 7 in Wobblevision format (a mix of doll & live action) was hosted at Emma's Avoniverse website, now defunct. It is currently archived at Louise and Simon's Blakes 7 Fan Site.[4] From that site: "WOBBLEVISION(tm) GIVES ALL THE GREAT EFFECTS AND PLOT OF A GENUINE BLAKES 7 EPISODE WITH TWICE THE BUDGET! WE GUARANTEE - GENUINE CARDBOARD SETS - LOW BUDGET COSTUMES- CONTINUITY FLAWS - WILD VARIATIONS IN PICTURE QUALITY AS WE SPLICE IN SHOTS OF DIFFERENT QUALITY - POOR SPECIAL EFFECTS THAT LOOK LIKE THEY’RE DONE WITH MODELS - MIS-CASTING - WOODEN (PLASTIC?) ACTING - STORYLINES STOLEN FROM OTHER SHOWS - THE SAME SHOTS OF SHIPS IN SPACE IN EVERY SINGLE EPISODE." [5]
Other Fandoms
A live-action Wobblevision for Sherlock was organised by Kalypso in June 2012, and recreated 'The Reichenbach Fall'. A similar idea, independently created in Supernatural fandom, is The Plastic Winchester Theater, which uses customised Ken Dolls.[6] THEATRE OF COOLTY, a Homestuck fanfic written in the style of a play script, received an animation with dolls by Naked Bee which received high praise.[7][8]
References
- ^ Louise and Simon's Blakes 7 Fan Site: Wobblevision, Archived version (accessed 12 September 2012)
- ^ Redemption_con: Blake's 7 Wobblevision comes to an end, Archived version (accessed 12 September 2012)
- ^ Redemption_con: Sevenfold Crown Wobblevision, Archived version (accessed 12 September 2012)
- ^ Louise and Simon's Blakes 7 Fan Site: Wobblevision: Contents, Archived version (accessed 12 September 2012)
- ^ Blakes7 - www.blakes-7.co.uk - Louise and Simon's Blake's 7 Fan Site, Archived version
- ^ spn-plastic: Plastic!Winchester Theater Master List, Archived version (accessed 13 September 2012)
- ^ Theatre of Coolty (The Movie)" - I have no idea to describe what this is, just watch it., Archived version. A recommendation post to the Homestuck subreddit made by u/MrCheese with comments by others. Posted 2017. (Accessed 27 June 2022)
- ^ Every Homestuck should watch this weekly..., Archived version. Recommendation post on Tumblr by dukeofriven, with followup comments by others. Posted 21 December 2017. (Accessed 27 June 2022)