This was originally going to be a two-part episode, but, due to lack of enough interesting material to put in, it was only one part.
I wrote most of this episode on my sister's computer in Chicago while visiting her for Christmas. The only thing I wrote at home was most of the first scene.
I started writing this episode on Saturday, November 15, 1997, at 8:00 PM. I finished the final draft on Thursday, January 8, 1998, at 9:52 PM.
My 14-year-old niece, Jennifer, came up with Romeo's Remote Control.
Kevin finally gets back his digital watch, which he sold in "THREE MEN AND A DRAGON".
Honest Dave's Bullwhip Shop comes from "IN SEARCH OF THE KING".
Romeo's victory stance and exclamation of "Yah!" is based on a scene from "RETURN TO CASTLEVANIA".
Lana's comment that she has some experience with boomerangs is a reference to Mega Man--The Series' "The Mega Magic Trilogy" Part 1 by Mandi Paugh. See Chapter 7.
Stacey interrupting Kevin was inspired by a scene in an episode of "California Dreams".
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CAPTAIN N
"That boy ain't right" comes from the animated series "King of the Hill".
Rick likes the Temptations and Cocoa Puffs.
KOOPA TROUBLE!
Kevin's reply to Dr. Wily about paying was inspired by their dialogue in "A TALE OF TWO DOGS".
Simon and King Hippo's favorite pub on Castlevania is the Pub de León.
FEAR OF ACTION
David Hartline e-mailed me the idea for this episode a few hours before I put up the notice on my page that I had stopped accepting new episodes, so I let this episode in.
GREAT ORBS OF FIRE
This was originally going to be a two-part episode, but, due to Part 2 going nine minutes over, I had Alison Hynes expand the episode into a trilogy.
Alison Hynes was originally credited as Shara Hynes. It wasn't until after Season 4 had ended that I learned her first name was Alison. She gave me her permission to use her real name, saying she was going to ask me to change it to Alison earlier, but didn't want to bother me with updating the episodes.
I got an account on Tripod so I could put Part 1 up, since my site had been erased from ProHosting.
THRILLER NIGHT
This episode came about when Mandi Ohlin was writing "The N-Files". She was messing with the dates and realized that Halloween fell on a Saturday in 1992. She e-mailed me on Saturday, February 7, 1998, and asked if I had anything special planned. I got to work on it on the 28th at 3:10 PM, and I finished it on March 9 at 7:00 PM. Thank you, Mandi!
This episode was inspired by the episode "THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME MASTER".
Mike's line about he being cool and Michael Jackson being scary was inspired by a line my friend, Mike Rohm, said in the behind-the-scenes special of our "Back to the Future IV" movie.
Mike's laugh about the disco ball was inspired by Mike Rohm's laugh.
Simon's line, "Why, Fred's Freaky Flannels, of course!", was inspired by his line in "THREE MEN AND A DRAGON": "Why, dragon flies, of course!"
Kevin's line to Mike, "You did it again, didn't you?", is Harry's line to Marv in the movie "Home Alone".
Mike putting wrapped ice cubes in the kids' bags was something Mike Rohm had told me he considered doing on Halloween. He never did, though.
The caramel-covered onion bit is something Matt mentioned when I was telling him about the episode at school.
Mike's scary stories bit was invented by Mike Rohm in 9th grade (1992-1993). I put in what I can remember.
Most of the monsters from Castlevania were in "THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME MASTER". Mr. Bones was in "MR. AND MRS. MOTHER BRAIN".
Simon goes to Earth for the first time.
PRINCESS FOR A DAY
This was originally considered as an idea for a "mini-book" in the Captain N book series, back when I was writing what is now known as the "CHANGES" miniseries.
This episode was inspired by the episode "THE LOST CITY OF KONGOLAND".
I wrote this episode entirely in Chicago, directly after finishing typing the last scene of "THE WEAPON OF CHOICE".
Lana thinking of Rap music as an oxymoron is something Mike Rohm had told to me earlier.
The bit about Kevin having a gift for stating the obvious comes from Mega Man--The Series' "The Mega Magic Trilogy" Part 1 by Mandi Paugh. See Chapter 7.
Lana's line about having too many responsibilities was inspired by her line in version 1 of "HOW'S BAYOU".
Lana's green-and-pink bathing suit comes from "THE BIG GAME".
The just in bailey bit is a reference to the "Justin Bailey" code in Metroid.
Kevin snapping his fingers while trying to think of Lana's last name was inspired by a scene in an episode of "Saved by the Bell: The College Years".
Lana's last name, Deschain, is a reference to Roland Deschain, The Last Gunslinger, from Stephen King's Dark Tower series.
I was considering both the last names Deschain and Harkinian for Lana. (I thought Lana could be, like, Zelda's distant cousin.) While walking outside by a supermarket in Chicago, I asked my 14-year-old niece, Jennifer, to pick which name she liked best. She picked Deschain, so that's the one I used.
The Dennis Leary bit is in the episode, because I heard his song, 'Asshole'.
The first draft contained a scene where Mike told Stacey she had to go to Castlevania for the grand opening ceremony of a new blood bank. I had to remove the scene to shorten the episode.
The bit about the irrigation system comes from an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". Anyone know which episode?
The episode originally had a kiss between Lana and Kristen in the final scene, which I had put in as a time-filler. Later, when I timed it at home, I found out the episode had actually run over, so I took out the kiss.
Most of the people that had filled out the survey I had up were in favor of having the kiss in the episode, but I had to take it out for time.
The episode is still over twenty minutes.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE
Terzes is an anagram for Setzer, the author's 'Net name.
THE WORLD WARRIOR
Steve wrote this episode after dropping his original episode idea - "CAPTAIN N THE MUSICAL MAN".
This was originally going to be a two-part episode, but, due to Steve Cronen having so many ideas, I let him expand it into a three-parter.
The episode was originally supposed to have Stacey kiss Ryu on the cheek before he goes into the arena for the first battle, but I took it out due to the fact that I didn't want Stacey kissing anyone other than Kevin.
MAN'S BEST FRIEND
No one else's episode was ready to put up, so I quickly wrote this episode in five hours and fifty-nine minutes, finishing the first draft at 11:59 PM the night before I put the episode up.
This episode took me the least amount of time to write. I started writing the first draft on Friday, May 8, 1998, at 4:00 PM. I finished the first draft at 11:59 PM. I finished the final draft the next day at 3:35 PM.
Even though I started writing this episode on May 8, I had actually planned it out on Saturday, February 21, 1998, at 10:00 AM.
Simon's red sweater was established in "SIMON THE APE-MAN".
Simon's lodge, mentioned in "METROID SWEET METROID", is finally shown here.
Whipper-snappin'?
Simon's whip picking the lock is a reference to "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MEGAMAN".
Simon's castle, which he got in "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MEGAMAN", is finally shown here.
METAL THREAT
Charley Smart got the idea to write this episode while playing Metal Gear. A lot of Part 1 was written during insomnia in the middle of the night.
Charley considered "Operation: Intrude" as a subtitle for Part 1, but he kind of dropped it.
This was originally going to be a two-part episode, but, due to Charley Smart having so many great ideas, I let him expand it into a three-parter.
Charley didn't write a concert scene for the end of Part 3, so I did, based on an idea he had for it. That's why I get writing credit for Part 3.
BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER
The title for this episode comes from Mandi Paugh's subtitle for Mega Man 5, the game on which this episode is based.
KEVIN GOES TO HOLLYWOOD
This was originally going to be a two-part episode, but, due to the fact that I had so many funny ideas to put in, I expanded it into a three-parter.
I started planning out this episode on Friday, November 28, 1997, at 7:00 PM. I finished the final draft of Part 3 on Saturday, June 27, 1998, at 6:54 PM.
The scene in Rick's house on the alternate Earth was inspired by a similar scene in "Back to the Future, Part II".
Kevin whistling and saying "Cool it, guys!" comes from "GAMEBOY".
Kevin's line, "Uh, not exactly", comes from "THE BIG GAME".
Mandi Paugh wanted say over how she behaves in the story (with good reason), so she wrote most of her own dialogue and got writing credit for Parts 2 & 3.
Matt playing with the magnets is something I actually saw him doing.
The "Ohmanohmanohmanohman..." comes from a story called "Captain Nintendo" that appeared in an issue of Nintendo Power.
Originally, Eric Vartanian was in this story, but, due to me no longer liking him, I replaced him with Andres on the day "ROGUE SQUADRON" PART 3 went up.
Matt and I really did the sliding thing in the elevator.
Matt and Mike's belief that the N Teamsters are actors I hired comes from a scene in "Back to the Future, Part IV: Disco Inferno", me and Mike's movie.
Lana's comment about not getting fooled again is a reference to "THE BIG GAME".
Matt actually said that line about Mountain Dew being close enough because it's from the makers of Pepsi.
Matt actually commented "Guilty, guilty, guilty" when I mentioned "O.J." to him.
Mike taught me the line "¿Te gusta jugar con queso?" when I met him in the hallway in high school on the way to Spanish class.
The drawing Matt did was of Riff, who is introduced in Season 5. Go to the Fan Art section to see the drawing.
Matt actually told me his line about not dancing when I mentioned the scene to him.
Matt came up with the joke about Tony Gil.
Lana's line, "Kevin, what are you saying?!", comes from "HAVING A BALL".
Kevin's line, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!", comes from "THE FRACTURED FANTASY OF CAPTAIN N".
Mandi's line, "Eck. Get Deluxe Paint.", comes from one of her e-mails to me.
Matt's logos.sys file says his line to Simon in Part 3.
Matt and I really sang that silly song, and Matt really said "Right!" like that in the office.
Matt actually said his comments about Cletus' HTML.
Mandi's comments about HTML editors come from one of her e-mails to me.
Rick's line, "It's done! I fixed it!", was inspired by the Professor's similar line in the lost pilot episode of "Gilligan's Island".
Lana and Mandi's lines about magic were inspired by lines in "Highlander 2: The Quickening".
Matt came up with his line, "Why didn't you tell me this was real?!"
Matt's Gameboy lines come from "GAMEBOY".
The beginning of my conversation with Kristen comes from the series premiere of "Hi, Honey, I'm Home".
JOHN 20:25
The Biblical quote is: "So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, 'Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.'" This is from the New International Version.
I started planning out this episode on Saturday, March 21, 1998, at 8:00 PM. I then started writing this episode. I finished the final draft on Thursday, June 4, 1998, at 12:00 PM.
I was originally gonna have Lana citing awful passages from the Bible and making fun of them, but I took some advice from Mandi Paugh and gave up on that, for fear of misinterpretting them. Plus, I thought it best to not expose Lana to that book.
The episode originally wasn't going to have the Mike / Santa plot. I added it in because the episode wasn't long enough, and for some comedy that people wouldn't yell at me for.
Barry's physical appearance is based on Richard, a friend of mine and Victor Athey's from 1994-1996.
Wanda Richfield's physical appearance is based on Dr. Brenda Willis, my English I and Creative Writing teacher from CFCC.
Mike's dad was named after Biff Tannen in the "Back to the Future" films.
Rick's dad's name comes from The N-Files by Mandi Ohlin. She got it from Rick's fake middle name in "THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CAPTAIN N".
Lana's mention of Christmas on Hyrule is my attempt to explain Link's comment in "DOPPELGANGER" and the cross on his shield.
Mike's Merry Christmas line to Barry was told to Mike Rohm and I by Mike's friend, Ricky Porter, in 7th or 8th grade. I wrote it down as best as I can remember.
Lana's version of grace was spoken by Frannie in "The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition" by Stephen King.
Matt Slater came up with Lana's inition reaction to the crucifix.
Cheryl's line to Kevin about him losing his faith was inspired by a line in an episode of "The X-Files".
Yes, people in New Orleans really call a Catholic a Catlick.
The term "the Sacred Wafer" comes from "Dracula".
Romeo's comments about the guy, girl, and snake come from "Beavis and Butt-head Do America".
Romeo's line, "This dude can write!", was suggested to me by Matt Slater when I told him about the scene at school.
Kevin's comments on the Bible were inspired by Dr. Bashir's comments on the Bajoran texts in an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".
Matt Slater came up with the Marvel Comics copyright bit.
Some of Cheryl's lines in her conversation with Lana come from Mandi Paugh's e-mails to me.
Cheryl's line, "Intolerence based on appearance or beliefs is wrong", was inspired by one of Mike Rohm's lines on his old Church of Rage website.
THE FIRST VIDEOLAND WAR
Working title: "RECORD OF VIDEOLAND WAR"
The origin of the semi-automatic Lana used in "CHANGES" PART 4: "THE SECOND SIEGE" is revealed in this story.
EPISODES THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT IN
A Kid Icarus episode by daezemon. He hadn't even started working on it when the end of the season was approaching. So, I moved the episode to Season 6, since Season 5 already had a lot of episodes lined up.
Aly Handman's two-part Rick episode. She didn't have it done when the end of the season was approaching, so I moved it to Season 5.
Torin Miller's Mike Vincent F-Zero episode. He didn't have it done when the end of the season was approaching, so I moved it to Season 5.
Nicholas Pinto's Romeo episode. He had written and rewritten it several times on paper, and it wasn't turning out good, so he canceled it. This is the summary I had up for it: Romeo's younger sister, Kelly, is brought to Videoland, and the two try to get along.
"DARK MIRROR" by Mark Moore. The summary I had up: "The N Team encounters their Mirror Image Opposites again." I never even started writing this episode, because I couldn't think of any way for this to happen now that the Mirror Warp is gone, so I canceled the episode.
"VALIANT HEROES" by Mark Moore. The TV series N Team was supposed to meet the comic book N-Team by crossing over to the comic book universe. I never listed this episode, because I decided not to write it, due to not knowing enough about the comic book Videoland and fear of making mistakes.
A Bionic Commando episode by Charley Smart. This episode was only listed as a possibility. He decided not to write it.
A Contra episode by Eric Vartanian. This episode was only listed as a possibility. He never had the time to start writing it.
"DUKE'S DAY" by Michelle Sinnock. This was originally going to be my episode, but I gave it to Michelle because she just loves Duke! It wasn't done in time for Season 4, so I moved it to Season 5 for her. It was the last episode to be moved, only 3 days before "APOCALYPSE: A CAPTAIN N MOVIE" went up.
"CAPTAIN N THE MUSICAL MAN" by Stebe Cronen. The band was going to try playing real songs, but all Steve put in were songs by the Beatles and the Monkeys. He felt it wasn't going anywhere, so he dropped it and asked if he could write "THE WORLD WARRIOR" instead. I, of course, accepted.