Peter Chung Has Ruined Aeon Flux -- Star Wars-Style!

[Karkull]

Peter Chung -- and the rest of the Aeon Flux creative team -- have ruined the series for me.

Allow me to explain: back in the day, Aeon Flux was one of my favorite shows. It's combination of trippy surrealism and abstract philosophical thought intrigued me. I loved it all, from Aeon's S&M leanings to Trevor Goodchild's monologues. Well, imagine my dismay to find out that the episodes as seen on the new Aeon Flux: The Complete Animated Collection have been altered. This is from an insert found in the DVD collection:

Four of the full-length episodes -- "Utopia or Deuteranopia?," "The Demiurge," "Reraizure," and "End Sinister" -- have had selected dialogue rewritten to bring characterization into better continuity with the series as a whole. Denise Poirier and John Lee returned to the studio to record Aeon's and Trevor's new lines, while the character of Clavius, the ex-leader of Bregna, has been recast and re-recorded (by a special guest performer).

Well, let me be the first to tell you, the new dialogue is awful and arbitrary, and the newly-recorded vocal tracks stick out like a sore thumb. Now, I freely admit to being a hardcore geek for this show -- I had many of Trevor Goodchild's speeches memorized when I was a kid -- but it just ticks me off that Chung felt a need to pull a "Star Wars Special Edition" on his fans. He also made additional alterations as well in regards to the animation, and I would hazard to say that he completely changed the ending of "The Purge" by doing so.

It doesn't help that "The Demiurge" and "End Sinister" are two of my favorite episodes; I finally had to turn it off in disgust.

[Martianinvader]

Catching a fly with your eyelashes is gross....why would they make it the entire cover?

[Hades]

OH SHUT UP!!! A creator has every right to improve what they felt needed improvement. Lucas did the same thing with Star Wars. Just enjoy the darn things and be happy!!

[Adam Tyner]

OH SHUT UP!!!You can disagree without being rude.

[Super Leviathan]

At the very Least, This lets me know that Beavis and Butthead isn't te ONLY MTV cartoon that's getting retroactive tinkering.

I also hear that the Aeon Flux DVD doesn't contain all of her Liquid Television Shorts.

To Elaborate, On one of the Aeon FLux Reviews, One of Her LTV shorts (Night) is not rpesent and apparently Another Short called "Mirror" is in its place. Either Peter Chung renamed Night to Mirror or it was disincluded from whatever reason.

[Karkull]

I also hear that the Aeon Flux DVD doesn't contain all of her Liquid Television Shorts. What a crock.Actually, I think it does.

OH SHUT UP!!! A creator has every right to improve what they felt needed improvement. Lucas did the same thing with Star Wars. Just enjoy the darn things and be happy!!That is a question for the ages, my belligerent friend. I believe there comes a point when the artist needs to let go, lest their neurotic reworking of their material destroys its original meaning.

[Nin-Nin69]

You can always hunt down the out of print versions of AF.

[FredNash]

A creator has every right to improve what they felt needed improvement. Probably, but we don't want the creator's impoved version, we want the original version, if only for completeness' sake. I wouldn't mind having 'update' versions, but the originals should be there too.

That's the argument that most opponents of the Star Wars changes have always put forward also.

In any case, it should not be billed as the original series if it's been modified, it should at least tell you there's new content.

[Hades]

You can disagree without being rude.Sorry, I've just heard enough whining about how Lucas changed Star Wars to make it better and fit into the newer movies. Fact is, if Lucas feels like a change was necessary, it WAS necessary. If Chung went around and changed things, he obviously felt it WAS necessary. Sure, I love the original versions of Star Wars as much as anyone else, but Lucas added to it to make it better. I didn't see anyone complain about the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions. How about the Director's Cut to Sin City? There is no difference there.

As for Aeon Flux, did you guys ever consider that perhaps there might have been things lost to the original audio? Or something that wouldn't transfer to DVD?

[JohnCrichton]

I just have to say real quick that Lucas should get his butt kicked up and down the galaxy for what he did to the Star Wars movies.

Sure, if he's gotta... go do it, but the films weren't just his anymore. It was the first movie I ever saw in a threatre and the fans deserve genuine copies of the original on DVD.

As for Aeon Flux I was a fan against my will. I just couldn't turn away from the show or stay away from it when it was on. The visiuals and nearly every story disturbed me, but I couldn't not watch it.

Did the changes have that jarring an affect on the story? Was it really as bad as seeing Greedo shoot first? I mean, they don't change it so that Aeon never assasinates anyone do they?

When they start editting out Trevor Goodchild to insert Hayden Christiansen.... then I'll understand your rage.

[Lord Dalek]

I didn't see anyone complain about the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions. How about the Director's Cut to Sin City? There is no difference there. There's more than enough people who did complain about your examples ("WHERE THE #$%^ IS BOMBADIL?!?"). You are making gross generalizations and you should stop now.

As for your problem Karkul, I feel your pain. At some point you become so accustomed to previous versions of works that any change (be it Aeon Flux dialogue or the revised Matrix color scheme or Star Wars or...) seems to stick out like a sore thumb. However if you watch the new version enough you get used to it, maybe to the point where you forget the original. For example I actually prefer the Star Wars special editions because the only exposere I got to the original films was badly cropped smeary vhs tapes, and said tapes were hidden in my attic for years and years.

[Lord Dalek]

Probably, but we don't want the creator's impoved version, we want the original version, if only for completeness' sake. I wouldn't mind having 'update' versions, but the originals should be there too.
And they are (albeit oop) so that arguement is beyond moot in this case.

[Simpler Simon]

Well, let me be the first to tell you, the new dialogue is awful and arbitrary, and the newly-recorded vocal tracks stick out like a sore thumb.
Would you still have the same problem if the new stuff was good? Granted most new additions automatically suck because we're so used to the originals, but if the changes were objectively superior (the thought of rewritten characterization intrigues me, because early episodes of shows often suffer from this), what then?

For example, I have no problem with the added shockwave to the exploding Death Star in Star Wars, the redubbing of Boba Fett lines by Temura Morrison, and Ian McDarmid replacing Clive Revile in ESB. They're not the originals, and it sucks were not getting the originals, but they make sense in a way that bring the whole saga together.

[JohnCrichton]

Originally Posted by Hades
I didn't see anyone complain about the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions. How about the Director's Cut to Sin City? There is no difference there.

The difference is that the fans have a choice. They can get the Extended or the original. Star Wars fans have not been given the choice on DVD.

Just sayin'.....

[Beyond Batman]

Unfortunately, it boils down to being Peter Chung's vision, his creation, and his movies. He can do what he wants. Some creators aren't as sentimental as their fans, regarding altering original creations. I'm just happy Chung didn't include a CGI Jar Jar Binks.

[Nin-Nin69]

Sure, I love the original versions of Star Wars as much as anyone else, but Lucas added to it to make it better. I didn't see anyone complain about the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions. How about the Director's Cut to Sin City? There is no difference there.
That's where you are wrong. You have a choice to buy the original or the extended versions of either LotR or Sin City. You don't have the choice for the Star Wars Trilogy or Aeon Flux. That is the #1 reason people are upset about this. Lucas can make all of the changes he wants as long as I can get the version the fan base enjoyed and I originally saw. Same goes with Chung. However my only obstical around Chung is the out of print DVD's. The closest you can get to Lucas is VCD's and those are garbage.