Christy Marx
Christy Marx developed the Bucky O'Hare series for animation, as well as acting as story editor and writing many of the episodes. Her credits extend far beyond Bucky O'Hare -- visit her Web site for more information.
Christy graciously agreed to an e-mail interview for the site. Check it out!
How exactly were you involved with the production of Bucky O'Hare? What all did you do for the show?
Christy Marx: I developed the series for animation, was story editor and wrote several episodes. My job as developer was to take the source material provided by Neal Adams and Hasbro, write a series bible, come up with an overall direction for the series, and write a pilot episode to set up the series. As story editor, I choose writers for the show, develop the ideas with the producers and writers, then edit (revising or rewriting) the outlines and scripts.
What did you have in the way of source material around which to build the show's universe (er, aniverse)? Did you read the comic book?
CM: I read the comics, of course. More pertinent was information on the line of toys that Hasbro was releasing, since I had to make sure to cover those characters and vehicles in the show.
What are your thoughts on everyone's favorite tagalong boy genius, Willy DuWitt?
CM: You need Willy to give the viewers the human point of view. He's our wish-fulfillment character who gets to explore an amazing and wonderful new world. He also provides a different perspective for the characters in the Aniverse, allowing us to use in-jokes from our world that are unknown there.
Was Mimi LaFleur's crew ever sketched out, like Bucky's and Dogstar's were?
CM: Not that I recall.
Was there any particular reason the chairman changed from a pig to a "walrus" mid-season, or was it just for the spy plot?
CM: I have no recollection of it. This was a lot of years ago.
When working on "The Artificers of Aldebaran," what ideas did you have for the way magic worked in the aniverse?
CM: We tried to blend something mystical with quantum physics. I love combining genres that would otherwise seem to be at odds with one another. Take a quark particle and imbue it with a life-force and you've got a quark demon. Bottle that quark-demon and you've got “technology.”
What type of climate does Aldebaran have -- arid, temperate, desert, jungle?
CM: I didn't worry about that. But I figure it's a normal planet, so it probably has all of those. (Editor's note: Did Aldebaran just get referred to as a normal planet?)
Did you or the other writers ever think about how males are treated in Aldebaran society and whether they have powers?
CM: We never got around to that.
Who was your favorite character on the show, and why?
CM: Jenny, partly because I love competent female characters, partly because I love cats, partly because she has the whole mystical thing going for her.
Did the show ever get fan mail?
CM: Animation writers almost *never* get to see fan mail. If it exists, it doesn't reach us. I have gotten some very nice email, however.
Do you know why the TV series failed, for lack of a better word?
CM: Usually it's related to how well the toys sell.
If you could have worked on a second season, what would you have liked to see happen?
CM: I don't remember whether we had worked out any ideas for a second season. More of the same, I guess, while trying to flesh out more of the characters' backgrounds and worlds. I would have wanted more of Mimi LaFloo. She was fun.
Do you have any particularly fond memories of working on the show?
CM: It was all fun. I got to work with great people -- Neal, the people at Sunbow, my writers -- on a great project. Imagine getting to do that and get paid, too. ;)
It's been said that Neal Adams asked you for hour-long scripts for the show, which he then pared down to half an hour. Is this true, and if so, what effect do you think it had on the episodes?
CM: No, it was always a half-hour show. I don't remember getting such a request. Maybe he wanted to do something like that at one time, but we only wrote 22-minute scripts.
Neal Adams and Continuity Studios recently created a short 3D online video for Bucky O'Hare and seem intent on reviving the franchise. Do you know anything about this, and if so, can you share any details?
CM: No, this is the first I've heard of it. I wish him luck!
