Wing Commander Cartoon Party IV: The Prices of Freedom

It's time for another Saturday Wing Commander cartoon marathon… with real cartoons, this time! These marathons, currently scheduled monthly, celebrate Wing Commander-related media that doesn't quite fit with the Friday night movie club. This Saturday, November 15, we'll be bringing you another themed morning of '90s media and great Wing Commander conversation. This time we'll be taking a look at the management of the real life Cold War… and then the start of a pretty compelling sci fi version!

Pandora's Box, Episode 2: To the Brink of Eternity (1992): Pandora's Box is a 1992 BBC series by documentarian Adam Curtis which looked at various sociopolitical issues facing the world at the time (most of which are still relevant today). The second episode, To the Brink of Eternity, looks at how the United States has managed nuclear security through the Cold War. It's a fascinating show but we're watching because the original Wing Commander makes a surprise appearance!

Exosquad (1993, s1e1 through 5): Sometimes called the first "American anime", Exosquad was a 1993-94 syndicated cartoon from Universal which embraced complete serialization at a time when that was unheard of even for adult series'. Over two seasons, Exosquad tells the story of a near future war for the solar system that on its own should be pretty appealing to Wing Commander fans. Of special interest, though, is that the creative team that made Exoquad went on to create Wing Commander Academy for the same studio. And you're going to see a lot of similarities in aesthetic and writing! The first arc, Fall of the Human Empire, is five episodes and it's going to leave you wanting more.

So JOIN US on Saturday, November 15th at noon Eastern when we'll enjoy them all together! Previous marathons, we've had big fun wearing pajamas and eating cereal… so we recommend you plan to do the same again!

We've also uploaded a zip of both together locally that you can grab in advance. You can get that here. You can also find the complete Exosquad series on the Internet Archive. Pandora's Box is available on YouTube here.

How do we watch the shows together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Saturday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the shows in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should download their own copies from the CIC and we will count down to play them one at a time together starting with the short at noon EST on Saturday. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!

Will there be custom certificates made for the attendees this time?

Yes.

Hey you're actually watching cartoons this time so the name makes sense!

Shut up.

I love these events but want to do better long term planning. Do you have any others coming up?

We do! Here's the upcoming schedule:

• Marathon 5 - Wing Commander Combat Information Center Family Day! - December 20
• Marathon 6 - I'd Rather Be Playing Wing Commander - January 17
• Marathon 7 - The Worst Parts of a Lot of Things - February 14