Fun Facts and Trivia; Episodes 1-3

This is a new feature of this blog; a little background and some trivia from the Yorickian Universe! This installment will cover episodes 1 to 3. Enjoy!

Before you start: Suspension of Disbelief was first discussed by Coleridge. It’s a very useful practice of putting your brain on hold so you can enjoy entertainment that would be impossible in the “real” world. Personally, I think the world of the Anachronauts IS the “real” world, but that’s just me. For most other people, disbelief must be completely suspended before entering the World of the Anachronauts.

A Little Background to the Series: It's really funny how things evolve. The original concept, back in 2016, was to be called "Elizabethan Robot Theatre" and Bertie was going to be the main character, doing 15-second Shakespeare parodies! The first one was going to be Hamlet, with the laser-beam eyes of the skull of Yorick wreaking havoc on the stage being the central action. I found a skull of appropriate size and...the rest is history. Yorick's charismatic personality proved to be much larger than "life" and the story was completely rewritten around him and his struggles to be a pirate. He and his crew were featured in four short films; those story lines were eventually extensively expanded and new story arcs and characters added and developed, evolving into this web series!

Things that pop up in episodes 1-3, in alphabetical order:

5.1 (which seems to crop up quite a bit): Hamlet Act 5 Scene 1: wherein Yorick is described in glowing terms as a clever but menial fool. As we now know, he is so much more than that.

Area 5.1 TV Show: an obvious tip-of-the-hat to an amazing vintage TV show and an infamous site in Nevada, the “5.1” also refers to Hamlet, Act 5, scene 1 (see above). [actually in episode 5 - got ahead of myself!😕]

Frankenskull or The Modern Coeus: See the novel “Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus” (and the 1931 film based on it: classic scenery chewing and lovely black-and-white scariness…and, of course, Mr. Karloff). Coeus was a titan, like Prometheus. He represented the world of the inquisitive mind and the intellect, so it seemed entirely appropriate to use him here. Coeus rules!


Ontological Pretzel: Okay, so Yorick is a picture in motion (aka “motion picture”) who just invented pictures in motion. I could use the chicken-and-egg analogy, but I’m a vegan.

 
Shoes by Herculaneum: If you don’t get this one, you’ve probably never watched any old Hercules movies. Footwear in these epics was always by a company called “Pompeii”. Herculaneum also fell prey to Vesuvius.

 
Talking Heads isn’t about the band (though they were great),but refers to TV shows with “experts” prattling on and on in their given fields.

If you have any questions for Yorick or are wondering about any facets of the Yorickian universe, drop him a line in the "contact" form at the bottom of the left menu! Your question may be featured in an upcoming installment!