The Home Stretch

Hello, all you armchair Imagineers out there. Season Nine really has been a roller coaster of a season, hasn't it? I mean be honest, yeah...there have been a bit too many post-merge drop outs (which are always a real drag) but in the end, that still doesn't change the fact at all that the end game for this season really is as competitive as it comes. Season Nine has been filled with players who really want to play the game, even the ones who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Every single person who played the game this time around really contributed something of interest, rather it was MickeyMania becoming a powerhouse and then being the first elimination, to Eskimokyle looking to be an early strong competitor and then vanishing into thin air. These players might not have lasted long, but they had an impact and a presence on the season all their own.

Now we come to five people. AdvBlueDude, Disneyson1, Hack2112, Imagineer2017, and Thrill. Two of them on Outcast Island, three of them in the main game. Imagineer and AdvBlueDude have worked together really well this season on a couple projects on Outcast Island, but other than that nobody in the three people left in the main game really has any sort of big interaction with each other. Hack is the last man standing on what once was Team Coats, and Imagineer and AdvBlueDude have spent a considerable chunk of their game time on Outcast Island. Now on Outcast Island, Disneyson and Thrill have worked closely together in the past, even so much as to me thinking in particular occasions that Disneyson was almost protecting Thrill. The two of them must now face off for a slot in the finals. It really is anyone's game. I'm going to split this blog into two sections. The first section will be my thoughts and scores from Project Nine, and the second part will be analyzing each member of the Final Five and weighing in on what their chances are and what they'll have to do to win...

I'll start with Thrill's solo project. Since I can't grade on Group Work, I'll just give him a grade out of 40...

Creativity: 9/10. I really like the idea of basing a whole land on a film series. If you guys would have gone with the Main Street musical, let me just say I would have LOOOVED that. Anyways, I've always thought Thunder Mesa was one of the best example of storytelling encompassing a land that has ever been attempted, so it's only a natural fit for a film franchise.

Realism: 9/10. I think the best part of your project was just how much sense it made to have a backstory filled movie and then a "Phantom Manor" movie. There's SO much backstory about Phantom Manor that I really feel like if you just jumped into that with the first film, people would be lost. Plus, you KNOW Phantom Manor would definitely be a sequel people would WANT to go see.

Detail: 7/10. You had a lot of detail for the set-up, but seemed to kind of rush it a bit with the description of the Phantom film.

Presentation: 8/10. Basic, but very effective.

Total: 33/40

Comments: This was a really good idea. I'll admit that from the get-go with this project, I was hoping someone would do Thunder Mountain. While you didn't exactly do that, you did something that was even more creative and original. I'd like to have seen a bit more detail on what you planned to do with the Phantom movie, and possible sequels beyond that, but overall I thought this was really strong, especially for a solo project. Nice work!

And now for the final project from Team Davis...

Creativity: 7/10. I kind of agree with Hack on this one. "Company scandal" isn't exactly an original premise these days. It seems like every other TV show that comes out is about that to some extent or another.

Realism: 8/10. I REALLY like the titles Alien Encounter: Corruption and Alien Encounter: Chaos. Seem like two perfect films. I mean, I didn't really like the whole corruption thing to begin with, but this storyline was handled really well overall. Alien Encounter is DEFINITELY a franchise I could see Disney looking into.

Detail: 9/10. Nice work as always. All the necessary elements are there and then some.

Presentation: 6/10. You guys got sloppy here. First of all there's no title or team name which is always a bad thing. Secondly, you named your main character but then forgot to go back and take out all the times he's refereed to as just (character).

Group Work: 7/10. Personally, I think Hack had some VERY valid points that were kind of just glossed over. I understand you guys were already working on Alien Encounter...but it was only the SECOND day of the project and you had over a week. I definitely think there should have been stronger communication here instead of just writing Hack off. I understand that might not have been your intentions, but in doing so you guys essentially alienated an entire fifth of your team.

Total: 37/50

I know this isn't as good of as score as you guys hoped to get. Just know for next season, the opinion from EVERYONE on your team matters. I think this project was fine, but I also thought it was a bit predictable, kind of bent my rules since Alien Encounter isn't even there anymore (though out of all the Yesterland attractions, I could easily see AE having the greatest chance at a "re-boot".) and like I said, the whole "oh my god, it's a big corporation, and it's...CORRUPT." Just had me face-palming. I DID like the casting of Andrew Garfield as your main character.

That concludes the first half of this blog. The second half I'll take an individual look at the Final Five and analyze how they got this far in the first place and what their chances are to take the whole thing. Look for that some time this weekend.