Release Date: April 08th, 2020
Why in the world would I make a video about Awesome Possum? I asked myself the same question. Initially, it was going to be a brief look at the game along with the lawsuit. I had known about the lawsuit for awhile now, but it was such a silly case that never went anywhere. I figured it would be a short episode. But after interviewing Richard Seaborne, the games creator, it really opened up a bigger story. The context surrounding the game was interesting: Climate change, Atari Games looking for a mascot, etc.
I thought it would be fun to include some fun facts about Opossums in this episode as well. The Lakeside Nature Center in Kansas City was kind enough to speak with me and let me shoot footage of one of their opossums. Her name is Peggy and she only has 3 legs! She is a permanent resident of the Lakeside Nature Center and was great on camera.
Sources
Books
- Hothouse Earth: The Greenhouse Effect and Gaia by Michael Syzmanski
Interviews
- Richard Seaborne Interview via E-mail, April 13th 2020
Magazines
- Electronic Games, December 1993, pg. 122
- Electronic Games, March 1994, pg. 44
- Mean Machine, February 1994, pg. 54-55
- Sega Visions, December-January 1994, pg. 96
Newspapers
- “Cartoon punches Earth’s Villains” by Michael Syzmanski, The Sacramento Bee, September 14th, 1990
- “Clarks Summit man loses claim to ‘Awesome Possum’ character” by Frank Scholz, The Tribune, July 15th, 1997
- “Comic Book ‘Zen’ Is No Extraterrestrial Wimp”, Los Angeles Times, December 08th, 1989
- “PBS’ ambitious ‘Race’ series lacks sense of urgency” by Connie Koenenn, The Palm Beach Post, October 07th, 1990