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Month: December 2017

5-11-14 and Monday: Chronologizing Voltron Legendary Defender

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Greg Tyler

In “Yearning for a Year: Attempting a Chronology of Voltron Legendary Defender” (Link), I attempted in vain to figure out a year in which the Voltron Legendary Defender story takes place. In the weeks that followed, while I re-watched the earliest episodes of the program, I discovered two clues that, when used together, seem to yield a yearned-for year.

Clue #1: 5-11-14

In “The New Alliance” — the first portion of “The Rise of Voltron” — Galaxy Garrison cadets Lance, Pidge, and Hunk are on Earth in a flight simulator. Lance verbally records a log entry that begins with:

Galaxy Garrison flight log five eleven fourteen.

The Netflix and Amazon captions for this line are: “Galaxy Garrison flight log 5-11-14.” “5-11-14” resembles an Earth date, and it is reasonable to assume that it is an Earth date. In the various Star Trek productions, a Starfleet officer often begins a verbal recording of a log entry by stating the date. In most Star Trek programs, the date is a stardate: a “space-y” date that has no obvious correlation to an Earth date. In the television program Star Trek Enterprise, Earth dates are used.

If one assumes that “5-11-14” is an Earth date, then which specific date is it?

According to Wikipedia’s “Date format by country” page (Link), two widely used date formats are “month-day-year,” used primarily by civilians in the United States of America, and “day-month-year,” used just about everywhere outside the USA — and within the USA in contexts such as the military.

If “5-11-14” is a date in one of the aforementioned formats, then possible dates are:

Format Date
month-day-year May 11 of some year ending in 14
day-month-year 5 November of some year ending in 14

Unfortunately, with no additional information, there is no way to tell which date format is more likely, or more importantly, to which century the year ending in 14 might belong. Fortunately another episode provides a useful clue.

Clue #2: Monday

In “Some Assembly Required,” which takes place a short time after the Paladins’ first battle against the Galra, Hunk remarks that:

Monday night, I was on Earth. Now, I’ve flown through space, fought some evil alien named Zarkon, [and] eaten goo in some weird castle.

In “The New Alliance,” Hunk’s last night on Earth begins on the same day as the cadets’ use of the flight simulator. If the log entry’s “5-11-14” is an Earth date, then it must occur on a Monday.

I wrote a simple computer program that examines the day of the week of all “May 11” and “05 November” dates with years ending in “14” that are both (1) in the future relative to 2016 (when Voltron Legendary Defender premiered) and (2) before the year 2500, which seems “too futuristic,” since humans in Voltron Legendary Defender have still not achieved faster-than-light space travel, a capability known for millennia to Alteans and Galra. Given these constraints, the computer program output all “May 11, ’14” and “05 November ’14” dates that fall on a Monday.

The computer program output the following candidate dates:

—– Assumes 5-11-14 is month 5, day of month 11, year ’14 —–
May 11, 2314
—– Assumes 5-11-14 is day-of-month 5, month 11, year ’14 —–
Nov 05, 2114

Which date is it? It is the opinion of this author that 2114 is “too soon” in the future to be a candidate. Although it is probably technically feasible that real-world humans could send a crew of astronauts to Kerberos by 2114, less than a century in our future, humans have not even returned to Earth’s own moon, much less ventured beyond it, since 1972, nearly a half-century ago. It seems unlikely that humanity would have the resolve even to plan to send people to Kerberos by 2114. 2314 gives humanity a couple extra centuries to get its astronautical act together.

Based on this information, a reasonable Earth date for the future Paladins’ last night on Earth is May 11, 2314.

Revisiting “Reunion”

As I mentioned in “Yearning for a Year,” in the episode “Reunion,” Pidge discovers the false grave marker of her brother Matt Holt. The marker displays two apparent dates: “0010.05.25” and “0014.04.28”. Pidge realizes that Matt’s date of birth — presumably the lower-valued “0010.05.25” — is incorrect, but she does not question the feasibility of Matt’s date of death, presumably the higher-valued “0014.04.28”.

If “0014.04.28” is an Earth date in “year-month-day” format, then “0014” resembles a year ending in “14” — probably 2314. As for why the century portion of the year is “00”, it is likely that this was necessary so that Matt’s incorrect date of birth would correctly translate to a quantum frequency that specified Matt’s true location.

If these assumptions are correct, then Matt Holt’s false date of death is April 28, 2314 — just two weeks before Pidge departed Earth and began her search for Matt and their father. It is little wonder that Pidge is so devastated by her brother’s apparent death. Despite her efforts to find him, he had died before she had even left Earth — but not long before.

Conclusion

We might never know for certain when the narrative of Voltron Legendary Defender “really” takes place. It is possible that the television program will never provide a single, full Earth date. It is not known with certainty whether Lance’s “5-11-14” is even an Earth date.

It is also possible that the Voltron Legendary Defender creators pulled “5-11-14” and “Monday” from the ether, with little concern for how or if this information could resolve to a real date. This is okay if true, because the creators’ primary goal is to create an entertaining television program, not to create a fictional universe that is 100% internally consistent.

Whatever the case, unless subsequent discoveries of evidence indicate otherwise, I’ll stand by my conjectural date of May 11, 2314, as the day before Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk leave Earth in a mysterious, flying blue lion.

Posted in Special Features, Voltron, Voltron: Legendary Defender

Voltron’s in a Winter Wonderland (Let’s Voltron Holiday Carol Video)

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Greg Tyler

On December 13, 2017, shortly after Marc Morrell and I recorded the (not yet released) 4th-anniversary episode of Let’s Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast (Link), I had the idea of celebrating the holidays Voltron-style, by creating a holiday carol video. One week later, Marc and I have just released the video on the Let’s Voltron YouTube channel (Link)!

Voltron’s in a Winter Wonderland

(Inspired by “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”)

I wrote the lyrics, edited the video using screen caps from Voltron Legendary Defender, and added some visual effects. More on this later.

Cast

Five fellow Voltron fans sang the lyrics while doing their best impressions of characters from Voltron Legendary Defender.

  • Shamus Kelley – Lance, Zarkon, Slav
  • Mel Meiko – Allura, Haggar, Shay
  • Marc Morrell – Matt, Voltron, Laika, Galra commander
  • Greg Tyler – Shiro, Keith, Hunk, Lotor, Coran, Kolivan
  • Zilla – Pidge, Bi-Boh-Bi

Lyrics

(Allura) The princess sings
(Allura) Are you listening?
(Coran) I’m youngish
(Coran) though I’m glistening
(Pidge) The Castle’s in space
(Lance) with Lance’s hot face
(Hunk) Voltron’s in a winter wonderland.

(Keith) Gone away
(Keith) is Galra Keith
(Kolivan) Blade of Marmora
(Kolivan) stuck in its sheath
(Bi-Boh-Bi) Bi-boh-bi boh-bi
(Slav) in this reality
(Allura) Voltron’s in a winter wonderland

(Galra commander) On the cruiser
(Galra commander) we can build a Kuron
(Galra commander) We’ll pretend that
(Galra commander) he’s the real Shiro
(Galra commander) He’ll say, “Do you trust me?”
(Galra commander) They’ll say, “Yeah, man!”
(Shiro) ‘Cause I look just like their beloved hero.

(Zarkon) I’ll be your boss
(Zarkon) at Central Command
(Lotor) I’ll pursue
(Lotor) my plans which are grand
(Haggar) I’ll cast evil spells
(Haggar) and ring Paladin death knells
(Laika) Yup-yup yup yup yup-yup yup-yup-yup.

(Hunk) In deep space
(Hunk) we all can have a snow fight
(Pidge) They’re not snowballs,
(Pidge) they’re Olkari spores.
(Shay) I have never seen
(Shay) a single snow fight
(Matt) You know, I really ought to
(Matt) find some mistletoe

(Allura) Our Lions
(Allura) contain quintessence
(Lance) But I still
(Lance) want holiday presents
(Shiro) We’ll fight as a team
(Allura) To restore Alfor’s dream
(Allura) Voltron’s in a winter wonderland

(Pidge) With family, there’s nothing
(Pidge) we can’t withstand
(Allura) Voltron’s in a winter wonderland
(Voltron) Yes, I am in a winter wonderland

The Snowflakes

The snowflakes were a visual effect that I made using Adobe After Effects, following this tutorial video: Link

Rather than use just any old snowflake, I decided to create one that was Voltron-themed, even though it’s impossible to notice this in the finished video. Here is a close-up of the snowflake:

I made the snowflake from a drawing that I made a few years ago:

That drawing was based on a logo that was featured on much of the 1980s Voltron: Defender of the Universe merchandise that pertained to Vehicle Team Voltron. (Yes, I had to work Vehicle Team Voltron into this video somehow!)

Happy holidays to fellow Voltron fans across the universe!

Posted in Fan Art, Let's Voltron Podcast, News, Special Features, TV, Voltron, Voltron: Legendary Defender

Ship Shapes: Romantic Relationships in Voltron Fan Art and Fan Fiction

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Greg Tyler

Updated December 6, 2017, with information from a recent New York Times article about shipping.

Since Voltron: Defender of the Universe premiered in 1984, there has been Voltron fan art and fan fiction. Perhaps surprisingly to a casual Voltron fan, much of Voltron fan art and fan fiction concerns romantic relationships.

Fans of Voltron: Defender of the Universe have created relationship-based fan art and fan fiction for a small number of pairings, the most popular of which seems to be between Keith and Princess Allura. Such stories commonly were, and to a lesser extent still are, called “K/A” for “Keith/Allura.” In the TV program, a Keith/Allura romance was only subtly implied, most notably in the final episode, “Fleet of Doom.” In that story, Haggar releases Keith and Allura from an alternate dimension. She tells them to let their love guide them home. When they return to the real world, Keith holds Allura’s hands, and they smile at each other. Voltron: Defender of the Universe fan art and fan fiction also explore other romantic pairings, including but not limited to Sven and Romelle — the couple that was most overtly suggested in the TV program — as well as Lotor and Allura, and Lance and Allura.

Voltron: The Third Dimension does not seem to have inspired much in the way of fan art or fan fiction.

Voltron Force inspired relationship-based fan art and fan fiction, much of which explores a Keith/Allura relationship. Voltron Force was subtle but direct in suggesting a Keith/Allura romance. In “Gary,” Keith says, “if it’s what Allura wants, then it’s what I want.” Afterward, Allura smiles, eyebrows raised. In “Crossed Signals,” the pair hold hands, and in front of the other members and cadets of the Voltron Force, Allura puts her hands on Keith’s right shoulder and gives him a loving look. In “Deceive and Conquer,” the recently crowned Queen Allura suggests, in front of the rest of the Voltron Force, that Keith, who in this show is of Arusian heritage, become king. It’s clear to the rest of the Force that Keith and Allura are a couple. Later Keith smiles and has an arm around Allura. In the final episode, “Black,” when Allura first sees Keith, it’s clear from the look on her face that she is in love with him.

Voltron Legendary Defender has inspired a new wave of fan art and fan fiction. The scale of this wave of fan creativity is unprecedented in Voltron fandom. A sizable amount of this program’s fan art and fan fiction concerns romantic and/or physical relationships — commonly abbreviated as ships. Fans who support ships are commonly called shippers. Many shippers name ships after the people are in the ship. Ships explored in Voltron Legendary Defender fan art and fan fiction include, but are by no means limited to, the ones listed below. More comprehensive ship lists are available online.

Characters Ship Name
Shiro, Keith Sheith
Shiro, Lance Shance
Shiro, Keith, Lance Shklance
Keith, Lance Klance
Keith, Allura Kallura
Hunk, Lance Hance
Lance, Lotor Lancelot

As reported in December 4, 2017, article in the New York Times (Link), the most popular ship in all of Tumblr in 2017 was “Klance” (Keith/Lance). According to Tumblr (Link), “Sheith” was a still impressive #12.

Voltron Legendary Defender ships have been a source of strife among some shippers. A small subset of shippers have demanded that the creators of Voltron Legendary Defender make their favorite ships “canon” — that is, overtly depict the ship in the television program. A tiny number of shippers have even attacked or threatened other shippers who prefer different ships, or the show’s creators if their favorite ships are not made canon. As a very small but very vocal subset of shippers actively attack other people, as of this writing (December 2017, between the releases of the fourth and fifth seasons), the Voltron Legendary Defender TV program has not depicted a romance among any of the show’s prominent characters. In essence, a militant shipper lashes out at others for not imagining what he or she is imagining. Even if one or more ships were to become “canon” in the show, it wouldn’t make anyone’s imagination any less valid than anyone else’s imagination.

Relationship-based Voltron fan art and fan fiction have existed since the 1980s, and today they are more prominent than ever. As long as their creators and consumers treat others with kindness, fan art and fan fiction are fun ways to celebrate and share enthusiasm for Voltron.

This author supports fellow fans’ enthusiasm and creativity. It is the opinion of this author that all fan-imagined romantic and physical relationships are equally valid, as long as they are consensual and lawful.

Posted in Fan Art, Lion Force Voltron, Special Features, Vehicle Team Voltron, Voltron, Voltron Force, Voltron: Defender of the Universe, Voltron: Legendary Defender

Images of Playmates Toys Voltron 84 Legendary Lions Toys

Posted on December 2, 2017 by Greg Tyler

ToyWiz.com has released official product photography of the upcoming Voltron 84 Classic Legendary Lions. ToyWiz has opened pre-orders for the toys, which have estimated shipping dates of January 2018.

The toys look amazing. I will be all over these when they are released!

Classic Legendary Black Lion

Classic Legendary Red Lion

Classic Legendary Green Lion

Classic Legendary Blue Lion

Classic Legendary Yellow Lion

All Classic Legendary Lions in Packages

Product photography of the assembled Voltron robot has not yet been seen online.

These toys will be mine. Oh yes. They will be mine.

Posted in Lion Force Voltron, Merchandise, News, Toys, Voltron, Voltron: Defender of the Universe

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    Collage of images from the first pilot episode of VOLTRON: DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE
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    Voltron News
  • A Guide to Vehicle Team Voltron Pilots and Vehicles
  • Interview: Shannon Muir – Animation Professional, and Mapmaker for Uncharted Regions of the Universe
  • WEP’s Voltron Force Lion Models
  • The Five-Minute Rule: Vehicle Team Voltron (Voltron: Defender of the Universe)
  • “Go Together” T-shirt to Benefit Heart to Heart International
  • The Nexus Perplexes (Voltron Force)
  • Voltron Classic Lions Being Re-Released — GameStop Exclusive
  • Who is N-7? (Voltron Legendary Defender)

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