QTV

Welcome to Quinten Television!

We proudly present Quinten's very first effort to produce a television program.  Before we get into tonight's feature, let's look a little into the live, in-person, non-internet version.

Wasn't that awesome?  I know, a little bit difficult to follow the multiple points of view.  It's also easy to be overwhelmed by the special effects.  And the sound effects were simply amazing.  The first time I watched Quinten perform this little drama, I wasn't sure what I had seen.  I was taking pictures (which you can see below), so that probably distracted me.  I asked him to do it again while I took a video.  This time I was paying close attention.  I still had no idea what had just happened.  The form was so revolutionary that I simply could not process it.  So I asked for his interpretation.

Here is the story, as told to me by Quinten.

"It's an Optimus Prime's foot." (the blue thing)  He is about to go through the Ground Bridge.  (The brown thing is a mistake, which cannot be erased in crayon.)  [The Ground Bridge is a teleportation device used in the t.v. show.]

"It's the Ground Bridge.  That it turned into the space world.  It go in the space world."  [Pretty sure he means an alien planet.]

"Optimus Prime and Ratchet come out of the Ground Bridge."  The big one is Optimus Prime, of course.

"Optimus Prime and Ratchet look at the space world."  They are clearly nonplussed.  Or maybe angry.  Hungry?  Anyway...

"It's the space world, Cybertron."  Home planet of the Transformers, long abandoned after the war to end all wars.

"And they block the wall and then they look something."  I think he means they are hiding behind the wall while spying on someone, or something.  [Incidentally, Quinten is still working on writing the number 6 correctly.  You must admit, it is one of the tougher numbers.]

"And that is the Cybertron.  It's something that it's really really dangerous, that it has Transformer blood."  I could be wrong, but maybe the entire planet becomes a giant, pumpkin-headed robot that is very, very sad.

I think it's safe to say that the Q in QTV stands for "Quality" as much as for "Quinten."  And that is just at the first glance.  When we look a little deeper, we see some remarkable insight into a difficult part of my life with this story.  Let's review:

1)  Optimus and Ratchet represent Bravery and Curiosity, respectively.  The story begins, as did my youth, with bravery dwarfing everything else, including communication with others, represented by the old-fashioned telephone that Quinten claimed was a "mistake".

Watch closely as I deconstruct your life.

2)  The Land Bridge represents opportunity.  It is beautiful but opaque, giving no clue as to where it will end up.  Taking opportunity, like using the Land Bridge, takes energy, or resources.  Leaving my home country cost me relationships and comfort, as well as money.  But it was irresistible.

3)  Optimus and Ratchet step out of the Land Bridge.  Bravery and Curiosity are well paired at this stage of my life, leaving all that was known behind.  The past life is still in the picture, though it has been left behind, like the hum of the engines that echoes in your ears long after disembarking from the plane that has carried you to an exotic new land.

I love a good story!

4)  Now the relationship between the travelling companions changes.  As the alien becomes recognizable, then familiar, the role of Bravery diminishes.  Curiosity grows as he takes in knowledge and understanding.  A new balance is reached.

5)  Eventually the New World begins to show another face.  In the maze of details a pattern begins to emerge.  The continents, mountains, rivers and seas that loom so large as they are crossed, take the form of bones, muscles, sinew and skin.

It's getting a little scary.

6)  Bravery and Curiosity cower, and try to observe from a safe distance.  The emerging countenance does not offer adventure or revelry, and certainly not comfort.  It is hungry, and will devour all of Bravery and Curiosity, only to demand more.

7)  Loneliness on a planetary scale.  Every question, every stare, every careless collision as you walk down the street is a scream in my face, "Alone!"  Every attempt at love is like biting into a beautiful, perfect dinner roll and getting a mouthful of sweet, sticky, red bean paste.  Everyone who really knew me, everyone with the same blood in their veins, everyone that made me comfortable just by being there, all far, far away.  A distance that I foolishly chose for myself when Bravery and Curiosity stepped into Adventure.

See how empty your life was before me?  Like a paper television set.

Of course, I was rescued from Planet Lonely when I met Horyon.*  But this time left a big impression on me, perhaps enough for a genetic memory to manifest itself in Quinten's latest project.  Or maybe Quinten tapped into a story template so universal that we can all find bits of our life in it if we look hard enough.  It might even be a piece of The Truth, with two capital Ts.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this.  Maybe I'm having too much fun.  Maybe some day Quinten will read this and say, "Dad, you're a goofball."

I can live with that.  On a side note, Quinten did construct a 3D model for the guys over in CGI to use when they produce his show for the network.

"I'm not drunk.  I'm just holding this bar up."

 And a paper ice cream cone stand.

Maxine taught him the ice cream stuff from one of her books, and he latched right on to it.

*She can't turn into a car, or any other vehicle, and in fact doesn't even really like to drive.