From Almaak to Zotax: all the planets in the LEGO galaxies...

[jamesster]

Also I just realized how stupid my sentence about swamps sounded! I meant that it may be more of a swampy planet or kind of wild and only tamed into some areas like the town Jim and Viva visited.

Ah, I get what you're saying now. Yeah, that does seem likely. Plus, on page 15 where a sort of overview of the planet is shown, it seems to be mostly green/brown in color, supporting the idea.

[PeabodySam]

Yes indeed! I'm glad you've made your way here. :) Judging from the Constructopedia Wiki I can see that we have slightly different perspectives on the LEGO Universe, but I'm always excited to find anyone who is as interested in the minutiae of it as I am.

Ah, excellent! Glad to see a familiar face here!

You're right about Constructopedia Wiki; while meant to be an reference for LEGO canon, it also has a tiny bit of fanon to connect the dots and is ultimately intended to reflect my own personal views on how the LEGO Universe works... and these views which would likely get me kicked out of any "serious" encyclopedia of LEGO storyline! That's why I've declared it to be a solo project, rather than a collaborative work like this one. But I'm always glad to see someone else interested in the field of documenting LEGO canon, and I'm happy to contribute my own knowledge to the project!

An earlier version of the list did speculate Jupiter as the home of the Jovian blockodiles, but after reading of the planet Jovan II in the Space Police Logs I figured that was most likely the intended planet of origin for the cosmic storms and blockodiles.

I'm more inclined to believe that "Jovian" refers to Jupiter, especially given that this is one of the official definitions of the word, which is Latin in root. Jovan, on the other hand, is more Serbian. I cannot recall the source of the Jovian cosmic storms, but Jovian blockodiles were mentioned in Alien Conquest, not Space Police, so I'm not sure if that would be an intended cross-theme reference... it seems a little too obscure to me.

Neptune: what's your source for the incident with Captain McReynolds here? I know Greg Hyland did a comic with Star Justice and the Star Skulls, but I haven't been able to find more than a few panels. Was it the comic, or a website, or did the set box have character information?

It was mentioned somewhere online... either a LEGO Club news article, or possibly mentioned in the My LEGO Network: LEGO Factory campaign. Most likely the former, since I seem to recall an interview with Cpt. McReynolds. Alas, as the Wayback Machine is notoriously unreliable, I cannot confirm for now.

Pluto is not technically a planet. ;)

Heh, touche. But then again, neither is Magma Moon, eh?

Gallant 5 and Ninjago were already on the list.

Ah, must've missed them somehow.

I'd definitely like to go into more detail on the separate splanet shards of Crux and Bara Magna, but I don't have the sources handy. If you do and you'd be willing to write the entries, please feel free!

As my fellow LEGO Universe Wiki staff member jamesster said, the LEGO Universe Wiki is a good place to find quick info on the chunks of Planet Crux... provided, of course, that the page is not total crud (we're working on it, okay?). Regarding the LUP Worlds, I do seem to recall them being referred to as World Builder Planets, not planet chunks, which leads me to believe that they are not part of Nimbus System.

As for Bara Magna, it was basically a barren desert wasteland with mountains and an ice cap to the north, as well as a few scattered villages; you can read more about it here. The Aqua Magna moon was covered completely by ocean and home to some marine life, while the Bota Magna moon was covered with lush jungles and inhabited by cybernetic dinosaurs (I'm not kidding!).

Thank's for the clarification on Kazak--your initial post had me running for my copy of Unknown Galaxy. :) Kazak's citadel is on the recently-conquered Robus in the comic, but it doesn't say where he had been based before...I certainly wouldn't put it past him to name a planet after himself. Let me know if you find anything in Brickjournal...is this the issue with the Marsden interview I've been hearing about? I'd really like to track that one down.

I had been putting off adding the Swamp Planet to the list until I had read the comic, as I thought the planet might be named there. Do you have a copy of Kidnappers from Swamp Planet? I'd love to hear more about it; no one seems to have it. :(

Most of what I know about Jim Spaceborn comes from the only issue of BrickJournal that I actually own, where there was an interview with the comics' creator. As I said, the mention of Kazak as Kazak's homeworld might be from that interview, but as my LEGO library is in another castle inaccessible for another week or so, you'll have to wait for confirmation.

As for the Swamp Planet, I've seen the second book referred to as having something to do with the "Castle of the Darkmen", and a few pages included in the aforementioned article show a giant squid-creature living in a body of water on the planet... and that's about all that I know about the book, sadly.

Oh thank goodness; Exo-Force has been driving me nuts. What's the source for that? Now if only they'd come out and say the same about Legends of Chima...

It was mentioned on another forum by "Swiftone", the writer of the Knights' Kingdom and Exo-Force storylines. I'd give you the direct quote... except the forums are down following a recent hacking incident, so again I'm afraid you'll have to wait.

Ogel is the final world in Lego Island 2: The Brickster's Revenge.

OGEL Island, sometimes simply called OGEL, is not to be confused with the planet Ogel from the Captain Indigo comics. Besides, it's barely large enough to qualify as an asteroid; I'm not sure if it is considered a planet.

I'm staff over at the LU wiki (as is PeabodySam), and I've never heard anything about plans to have Crux re-form in all the research I've done. I can't even see how the developers could have worked that into the game, as many of the mechanics and story elements of the game simply wouldn't have worked if the planet re-formed - for example, the player property worlds, which are specifically small planet chunks players can claim as their own. It would especially be an issue with the first property in the game, which is heavily tied into the story of the entire intro level and ending boss fight, if the planet had ever re-formed in the story the developers would have been forced to entirely re-work the first hour and a half of the game - and they had already done that once with the launch of free-to-play! Not to mention Crux Prime (the biggest chunk of Crux), which would also have to be heavily reworked if Crux re-formed, as the entire southwest end of the level had its focus on the edge of the planet chunk and the steep cliffs dropping off into a sea of Maelstrom energy swirling underneath it...

While I don't think it would have ever been integrated into gameplay, Doc Overbuild did speak of plans to locate the position of every planet chunk in order to one day bring these chunks back together and reform Crux; remember the mission to go build a scanner on your property? However, he also suggested that this would be a long-term goal, so it could be a long time before Crux is reformed, and so it's better just to think of it in chunks rather than a whole.

I think Zonia could possiblybe classified as Earth. It's hard tying together everything properly with other information we already know but as the crew of Spearhead are human, Zonia may be another name for Earth or it's just that the main base of the Classic Space organization (better known as the Federation in the Neo Classic Space community).

I'm not sure if Zonia would necessarily be Earth just because it's the homeworld of a human crew. As I mention below, Major White of the Futuron doesn't seem to be aware of Earth's existence. The castle planet Ashlar also shows that there are multiple planets that humans are native to, just as another example.

Also, just as a side note, according to LEGO Universe, the Classic Space organization's canon name is the Classic Space Command.

I saw that you wrote that Earth is also known as "Terra", do you have an idea of where that name came from? It's interesting to know.

From the Futuron comic Lost in Space? Captain Black of Classic Space Command introduces himself as from Terra, and a footnote clarifies that "Terra" is another name for Earth. Interestingly, Major White of the Futuron asks which galaxy Terra is located in; he doesn't seem away that Earth is in the Milky Way, which you would think that human astronauts would know!

[jamesster]

As my fellow LEGO Universe Wiki staff member jamesster said, the LEGO Universe Wiki is a good place to find quick info on the chunks of Planet Crux... provided, of course, that the page is not total crud (we're working on it, okay?). Regarding the LUP Worlds, I do seem to recall them being referred to as World Builder Planets, not planet chunks, which leads me to believe that they are not part of Nimbus System.

Good catch, I didn't think of that - I just checked my video walkthrough, and the loading screens for the LUP worlds do indeed call them the World Builder Planets.

Most of what I know about Jim Spaceborn comes from the only issue of BrickJournal that I actually own, where there was an interview with the comics' creator. As I said, the mention of Kazak as Kazak's homeworld might be from that interview, but as my LEGO library is in another castle inaccessible for another week or so, you'll have to wait for confirmation.

I just checked the digital version of the magazine, and I don't see anything in the interview suggesting that Kazak is Kazak's homeworld.

While I don't think it would have ever been integrated into gameplay, Doc Overbuild did speak of plans to locate the position of every planet chunk in order to one day bring these chunks back together and reform Crux; remember the mission to go build a scanner on your property? However, he also suggested that this would be a long-term goal, so it could be a long time before Crux is reformed, and so it's better just to think of it in chunks rather than a whole.

Ah, I forgot about that. Perhaps they planned on having the story wrap up there when the game closed down eventually... And then the end came far sooner than expected?

[TalonCard]

I went ahead and double checked what I said earlier, The LEGO Book does not call "Galaxy City" Futuron, though I have a nudge that it was called Futuron before, but until good evidence can be found, it's better to assume there is no such thing.

I noticed that as well...I even checked both editions to be sure. I think I found the reason for the confusion, though: in the Space Police Logs PeabodySam was kind enough to provide, the Classic Space statue is said to be in "Futuron Park".

I don't think anyone caught "Planet Selva Galaxy" in January-February 2013 LEGO Club Magazine from Galaxy Squad. According to the Magazine a "Swarm of Strange Bugs" have been infiltrating this planet/galaxy. They have consumed several planets and are being held back by Galaxy SQuad Elite teams. I believe this is a galaxy according to the description and may be named after one giant planet but we can't know for sure.

I have Selva listed as a planet already, and I'm assuming that the name of the galaxy it is in is also Selva. It is darn confusing--it's Ice Planet 2002/Krysto all over again. I think it's reasonable to assume that Selva is also home to the planets introduced in the Bug Battle game, but I'm interested in hearing everyone's thoughts on that.

Some people think these men could be Blacktron/early version of Blacktron because of the black suits and the ships having the color scheme of Blacktron I (I like to think of it that way myself) but their uniforms sport a logo that looks more like a castle crest.

I've gone back and forth on whether they're related. Judging from the Frand Masden interview in Brickjournal, any resemblance is a coincidence as he was unaware of any stage of Blacktron's development. But it's really tempting to classify them as "Blacktron: Generation Zero", given the similarities. Blacktron's logo seems to change every time the theme gets redeveloped anyway... It's certainly not hard to imagine that Kazak fled the Unknown Galaxy for the center of the galaxies, where he landed on the planet Blacktron...

You should add more to the planet Commercia is on. "Everything seems to be for sale here!"...

For the planet Robus there should be more description.

You're right; it ought to be brought up to the level Holox is now, at least. I'll be adding some detail in the next update.

I still have no idea why I can't find a copy of "Invaders from the Swamp Planet"! I wonder what happened to it, I really need to get myself a copy... and I'd also like to know what issue the interview of Frank Madsen is in. I've had dreams of seeing that...

I'm starting to wonder if it was ever published at all; no one seems to have it. Of course, I was also thinking the same thing about "The Robber Baron" until Jamesster was awesome enough to post pictures and scans, so maybe it'll turn up one day.

BTW, I got the digital version of the Brickjournal issue (thanks for posting the issue number, Jamesster), and it's definitely worth the $4--lots of pictures from the cancelled Spaceborn comics and some (scant) plot details, plus a description of a pre-Jim Spaceborn storybook using pictures of actual LEGO models--if only LEGO would release all this from their vaults!

You're right about Constructopedia Wiki; while meant to be an reference for LEGO canon, it also has a tiny bit of fanon to connect the dots and is ultimately intended to reflect my own personal views on how the LEGO Universe works... and these views which would likely get me kicked out of any "serious" encyclopedia of LEGO storyline! That's why I've declared it to be a solo project, rather than a collaborative work like this one. But I'm always glad to see someone else interested in the field of documenting LEGO canon, and I'm happy to contribute my own knowledge to the project!

It's nice to see a sort of core group forming around this thread--there really aren't that many people interested in the various official storylines. For my own sanity, I tend to group the LEGO Universe into three intersecting universes: the Maniac's fantasies, the LEGO Island world, and the general world of LEGO themes--but it's interesting to see them put together like that. Are you still updating Constructopedia?

I'm more inclined to believe that "Jovian" refers to Jupiter, especially given that this is one of the official definitions of the word, which is Latin in root. Jovan, on the other hand, is more Serbian. I cannot recall the source of the Jovian cosmic storms, but Jovian blockodiles were mentioned in Alien Conquest, not Space Police, so I'm not sure if that would be an intended cross-theme reference... it seems a little too obscure to me.

I'm beginning to think you may be right--perhaps I was influenced by the Star Wars Expanded Universe, which, IIRC, used to refer to things from the Jovan system as "Jovian". The Jovian cosmic storms were also referenced in the Space Police Logs, which is part of what led me to group all three references together.

EDIT: I went back to check the Logs:

"Weather tampering, 04:19 a.m., Jovan II. Caught Kranxx messing with weather-domination capsule above the Jovian cosmic storm."

So at least in the instance of the Cosmic Storm, "Jovian" does refer to something from Jovan II. It's possible that the Blockodile is from Jupiter, but it's probably equally reasonable to assume it's from Jovan II.

It was mentioned somewhere online... either a LEGO Club news article, or possibly mentioned in the My LEGO Network: LEGO Factory campaign. Most likely the former, since I seem to recall an interview with Cpt. McReynolds. Alas, as the Wayback Machine is notoriously unreliable, I cannot confirm for now.

Let me know if the link turns up...I'll make a note to look for it the next time I hit the Wayback Machine. (I hear you about it being unreliable--it took me forever and a day to squeeze all the information I could out of the old Adventurers websites for the timeline I'm working on.)

As for the Swamp Planet, I've seen the second book referred to as having something to do with the "Castle of the Darkmen", and a few pages included in the aforementioned article show a giant squid-creature living in a body of water on the planet... and that's about all that I know about the book, sadly.

Strangely, the article seems to call the second Jim Spaceborn book "Castle of the Darkmen" rather than "Kidnappers from Swamp Planet". I'll put Swamp Planet in the next update; I'd like to see a copy of the book to get everything in context, but that's not looking likely at this point.

It was mentioned on another forum by "Swiftone", the writer of the Knights' Kingdom and Exo-Force storylines. I'd give you the direct quote... except the forums are down following a recent hacking incident, so again I'm afraid you'll have to wait.

Thanks! I'm patient. :)

I'm not sure if Zonia would necessarily be Earth just because it's the homeworld of a human crew. As I mention below, Major White of the Futuron doesn't seem to be aware of Earth's existence. The castle planet Ashlar also shows that there are multiple planets that humans are native to, just as another example.

I agree; I would tend to think of Zonia as an early space colony that later overshadowed Earth in terms of galactic influence.

Also, just as a side note, according to LEGO Universe, the Classic Space organization's canon name is the Classic Space Command.

Not real fond of the name (why would they call themselves "Classic" Space Command), but it is good to know they have an official name.

Here's a question for you guys: I found a TECHNIC planet in

, but I don't think it's actually named. Do you think it's the planet TECHNIC itself (it certainly seems to be labled as such), or Cyber World from the Cyber Slammers theme?

TC

Edited February 27, 2013 by TalonCard

[jamesster]

Hm... Well, the Cybermaster planet does seems to resemble Cyber World more with the whole cyber city thing, while the planet TECHNIC is a vast desert. But there is the whole "TECHNIC" word spelled out on its surface, though, so I dunno. I'd say it's more likely Cyber World. Perhaps somebody who owns the Cybermaster kit could provide more info?

Edited February 27, 2013 by jamesster

[Oky]

TalonCard found a YouTube channel that has all or most of the German audio dramas from the 90's that we talked about earlier in this thread and asked me to translate them, so here's my summary of the first Time Cruisers episode which has some useful information:

Lego Time Cruisers: Episode 1 - Test Flight TC13

It's the year 3777. Prof. Cyber has invented three time machines with the help Tim and Robbie Robot (his first invention): the Flybo, the Navigator, and the Scooty (for very short time travels). They finished building them 5 months ago and are just putting on the finishing touches, but they haven't tested them yet because the professor's boss, the Minister of Past and Future, forbids it. His reason for this is that "a trip to the past is dangerous and, above all, useless". And so, with increasing frustration, they just keep perfecting the machines.

However, while the professor is performing improvement #203 on the time machine, the minister calls them to inform them that there has been a "small incident" at the large factory where they produce a medicine for heart diseases (the incident being that it burned down) and that he needs the professor's help since this was the only factory it was being produced in due to cutting costs and they can't produce it naturally anymore because the plant they would need for it, digitalis purpurea, has been extinct for centuries. And so, prof. Cyber and Tim plan to retrieve the plant from the past. The prof calls this mission TC13 as a reference to Apollo 13, with the "TC" standing for "Tim & Cyber" or "Time Cruiser".

The next morning, they take off in the Flybo and travel to the year 1986 which is the Lego Town era. They attempt to land at the airport but cause too much commotion as they nearly collide with the Patriot Jet, so they decide to keep flying. They pass a big fire truck and the Eagle Stunt Flyer. As they fly over the Metro PD station, the policemen mistake them for a UFO and force them to land. They are brought in for questioning, and after the policemen don't believe them that they are time travelers, they get thrown in jail on the prison island. They escape by blasting one of the guards with their time cannon, a device that sends objects into the null-time (a sort of hub zone through which the time cruisers have to travel to get from time to time) for a short time, and pretend to have kidnapped him and would only return him in exchange for their freedom. They travel to the year 2000 where they come upon a race track. Once there, Tim's annoying talking pet monkey Ali, who stowed away on the ship, jumps off onto a salvage crane and drives onto the race track, but they manage to save him, inadvertently causing most of the racers to crash and the one in the last position to win the race.

Afterwards they return to the null-time and lie down to rest. During his sleep, Tim accidentally presses a button and causes the Flybo to crash in the Aquazone. They watch as some Aquasharks trap their vessel in algae and retrieve a crystal, until the Aquanauts come to help them. They bring them to their HQ where they have a pleasant conversation with their leader. Unfortunately it is never specified if Aquazone is on the Earth's ocean floor or that of another planet, or what time it is set in, but the leader did mention that he has heard of Flybos being constructed several decades ago, so it is set some time after Time Cruisers.

After they take off again they find out that the gizmo that determines which time they travel to isn't working, so they crash land again. They find themselves in front of a pitch black mountain called the Mountain of Mutants on the planet Spyrius. A UFO flies by as the Spyrius Robo-Guardian moves towards them, but an Explorien ship comes in to fight off the robot until they can make another time jump. This time they land in the Wild West in front of Fort Legoredo where the cavalry and the sheriff fight off a raid by bandits. Ali starts hitting the gizmo with a hammer, seemingly fixing it, so they attempt another jump, but the fix was only temporary, so they crash once more in the year 1199. The ship is critically damaged. They meet king Richard the Lionheart and his knights (who I'm guessing are supposed to be the Royal Knights) and save them from a dragon attack by shooting it with their time cannon. Therefore, they are treated as honored guests at the castle. Oddly enough, the king believes them that they are time travelers and gives them the materials they need to repair their cruiser as well as the plant they were looking for from Zerlin the Wizard's herb garden. Finally, they return safely to the present.

So yeah, lots of interesting info regarding the Lego timeline in the first episode already. Unfortunately not many details on Aquazone, but if I had to guess, it's the Earth's ocean in the distant future. I'll post summaries of the other two episodes once I've listened to them.

[jamesster]

I've been looking for info on those audio dramas for ages - especially the Time Cruisers ones. Thanks! Interesting that the sort of home time period for Time Cruisers is late into the 3000s, I always placed them as being from the same time period as typical LEGO Town stuff.

[TalonCard]

Oky, you're my hero. :) This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping for! Would you mind if I put edited versions of these summaries in the timeline I'm working on?

I've been looking for info on those audio dramas for ages - especially the Time Cruisers ones. Thanks! Interesting that the sort of home time period for Time Cruisers is late into the 3000s, I always placed them as being from the same time period as typical LEGO Town stuff.

So did the American storyline, which stated that Dr. Cyber was a NASA scientist when he performed his first experiments with the Hypno Disc, which sent him into the past...Oky, does the story leave open any possibility that Cyber traveled to the year 3777 before the events of the story?

(Of course, with time travel, it's equally possible that Dr. Cyber eventually traveled back in time to become a NASA scientist, and perform the first Hypno Disc experiments...wibbly wobbly, timey wimey paradox....)

King Richard is the Royal King's name in the UK Bricks 'n Pieces magazine, so that checks out. (The same issue explains that he is not the same King Richard as the historical king of England.) This gives me a definite year to start dating the other Castle themes! (It also makes sense that Richard would believe the Time Cruiser's story--Captain Indigo traveled to the castle time period a lot.

I just want to check and make sure that 1986 isn't a typo, as it would seem to make more sense that those sets would be in 1996.

TC

[Oky]

Interesting that the sort of home time period for Time Cruisers is late into the 3000s, I always placed them as being from the same time period as typical LEGO Town stuff.

Yeah, I always knew it was set in the future, but 3777 does seem a little far off, especially since they visit the Lego Spaceport and water sports center in their own time in the next episode. I can see jetskis still existing in the 37th century, but space shuttles? Aren't they a little outdated by that point? Granted, this was made in the 90s where they had no idea that space shuttles would be decommissioned so soon, but still. Anyway, here's my summary of the second episode:

Lego Time Cruisers: Episode 2 - Operation Cybercom

Two weeks after their first time travel adventure, Tim and prof. Cyber have finished repairing their time cruiser and decide to take the rest of the day off. They got tickets to see the launch of a new space shuttle, so they have a helicopter pick them up and fly them to the spaceport, leaving Robbie the Robot to look after the lab. After the shuttle launch, they have some pizza and go to the water sports center to have some fun. While Tim and Ali ride the jetskis, the professor receives a call from the police, saying that there has been an incident at the lab.

They return to the lab to find it completely in chaos. The professor deducts that the chaos might have been caused by the take-off of a time cruiser and they notice that the Time Cruiser Navigator (the Hypno Cruiser) and Robbie Robot are missing, so they come to the conclusion that Robbie must have taken the Navigator to go on a time travel. And so, even though the professor is usually annoyed by his bumbling robot assistant, they decide to go find him, an operation that Tim calls Operaition Cybercom ("Cyber" for prof. Cyber and "com" for companion).

They take off in the Flybo immediately. The professor tries locating the Navigator by rewiring some of the instruments on the Flybo, but this only causes them to land in the Lego Town era again, right on some train tracks. They almost get run over by a train since the ship wont fly anymore, but they escape by driving down the tracks until prof. Cyber can fix it and make another time jump. They arrive in the Pirate era, in front of Shipwreck Island, but before the pirates can attack them, they escape into the null-time again. The professor then tries another attempt to locate Robbie, but only causes them to crash into the Aquazone again.

While watching some Aquasharks, Tim remembers that Robbie said something about wanting to get in contact with robots from other planets, so they repair the ship and travel to the dark, dead planet Spyrius. It turns out that the Mountain of Mutants is the big rock on the Spyrius Lunar Launch Site. There, they see the Robo-Guardian and Recon Robot throwing Robbie Robot back and forth between each other like a football. They distract the giant robots by flying straight at them, but the Robo-Guardians head detaches and starts attacking them. However, the Explorien Starship comes in to help them again. In midst of the ensuing battle between the Exploriens and Spyrians, Robbie manages to climb up the headless Robo-Guardian who is guarding the Time Cruiser Navigator and disable its swinging arms. With their Robo-Guardian defeated, the Spyrians retreat, so the battle was won, but one of the Guardian's falling arms hits Robbie and destroys him.

While they recover Robbie's broken body, the chief of the Exploriens, Doctor Science, approaches them and offers his help. He says that he knows prof. Cyber from their history books as he is one of the most important scientists in history, and that the Exploriens have been sending information about them and the Spyrians back to the past with a new data transmitter they developed which explains how the professor knows so much about the future. The Explorien take Robbie's remains back their base and fix him up back to his old shape. They even programmed his faults back into him on request of the professor as that's the Robbie he knows and loves. In return, prof. Cyber offers the Exploriens to take them on a trip in one of his time cruisers sometime so that they can explore the past which they gladly accept. And so, the gang return to the present with both time cruisers (Tim's first time driving a time cruiser himself). From that day forth, the professor was much more appreciative of his robotic lab assistant.

So not a lot of info regarding the Lego timeline this time around, but it's pretty neat that the climax takes place on Spyrius, and we now know that Lego Space takes place many years after Time Cruisers and that there are still operating space shuttles and jetskis in 3777. There were also some interesting comments about the Spyrius technology. For example, the weapons on the Saucer Centurion are shrink rays and the box on the Recon Robot is apparently a paralysis chamber, a prison that paralyzes any living being that is put in it, but doesn't work on robots.

[Oky]

Oky, you're my hero. :) This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping for! Would you mind if I put edited versions of these summaries in the timeline I'm working on?

My pleasure! And no, of course I don't mind.

So did the American storyline, which stated that Dr. Cyber was a NASA scientist when he performed his first experiments with the Hypno Disc, which sent him into the past...Oky, does the story leave open any possibility that Cyber traveled to the year 3777 before the events of the story?

Well, it doesn't say anything about what happened before they built the time cruisers, but it is specifically said that this is their first time travel, so I don't think that's the case. But yeah, I guess he could have created a time paradox later on (I got the reference by the way ). Where did the American story come from anyway?

King Richard is the Royal King's name in the UK Bricks 'n Pieces magazine, so that checks out. (The same issue explains that he is not the same King Richard as the historical king of England.)

Really? That's odd, seeing as he is specifically called Richard Lionheart in this story, and the year 1199 is the last year of the real king Richard's rule. But I guess none of the minifigs Lego makes are supposed to represent real people. As for believing the time travel story, he just chalked it up to magic, which he knows exists since his friend is a wizard.

And no, 1986 is not a typo. I'm 90% sure that's what he says.

[TalonCard]

Yeah, I always knew it was set in the future, but 3777 does seem a little far off, especially since they visit the Lego Spaceport and water sports center in their own time in the next episode. I can see jetskis still existing in the 37th century, but space shuttles? Aren't they a little outdated by that point? Granted, this was made in the 90s where they had no idea that space shuttles would be decommissioned so soon, but still.

Maybe it's not so far fetched that NASA would still be around too. Does it state that they're still in the year 3777 in the second episode? Maybe they relocated to 1996 in between episodes...

Alternatively, the Clutch Powers movie and the Captain Indigo comics both seem to show a "future" Earth that's little different from the time in which those stories were produced. Maybe this is just a thing in the LEGO Universe: Town is always retro. :p

Anyway, here's my summary of the second episode:

I feel like Christmas came early, and there's a big LEGO set under the tree...

So not a lot of info regarding the Lego timeline this time around, but it's pretty neat that the climax takes place on Spyrius, and we now know that Lego Space takes place many years after Time Cruisers and that there are still operating space shuttles and jetskis in 3777.

Bricks 'n Pieces magazine describes an Explorien mission in the year 3200, so it's possible that LEGO Space takes place before and during Time Cruisers...

Where did the American story come from anyway?

The July-August 1996 LEGO Mania Magazine. You can check out the scans here; the way the site is makes it hard to link directly to specific issues.

Really? That's odd, seeing as he is specifically called Richard the Lionheart in this story, and the year 1199 is the last year of the real king Richard's rule. But I guess none of the minifigs Lego makes are supposed to represent real people.

Really! :) The magazine story starts with the King saying "Tonight I'm going to tell you a true story about another King who was also called Richard the Lionheart..."

Also, the name "Doctor Science" is so ridiculous that it's actually awesome. I wish I could go back in time and change my Eurobricks name to "Doctor Science"...

TC

[Oky]

Maybe it's not so far fetched that NASA would still be around too. Does it state that they're still in the year 3777 in the second episode?

Yes, it does say it's 3777. So I guess NASA does still exist, especially seeing as they still have space shuttles and stuff too. And in the episode, Dr. Cyber does say that he was asked to be one of the scientists to board the shuttle which they watched launch (and which is headed to an orbiting space station), but he turned down the offer to keep working on his time cruisers. Forgot to mention that part. And yeah, you're probably right about Lego Town.

Bricks 'n Pieces magazine describes an Explorien mission in the year 3200, so it's possible that LEGO Space takes place before and during Time Cruisers...

Yeah, I guess that is possible. After all, mankind had to explore space first before they could colonize it and form all those factions.

The July-August 1996 LEGO Mania Magazine. You can check out the scans here; the way the site is makes it hard to link directly to specific issues.

Ah, thanks. That's indeed a confusing backstory. Maybe he returned from the past somehow (back to 3777) before constructing the time cruisers with Tim? Dr. Cyber specifically says that he invented and built the time cruisers in the time cruiser lab together with Tim and Robbie Robot. And maybe he received his professor title between the events of the magazine and the audio dramas.

Also, the concept of putting on hats in order to travel to the time from which they're from is completely absent from the audio dramas as well. They just punch in a year on that gizmo that constantly keeps breaking and simply take the hats with them in order to blend in better in the time zones they travel to (although they never actually use them).

I guess this all comes down to poor coordination between the European and American Lego staff.

Also, the name "Doctor Science" is so ridiculous that it's actually awesome. I wish I could go back in time and change my Eurobricks name to "Doctor Science"...

I know, right? Sadly the new EB doesn't allow you to change your username anymore (before you could do it if you had 500 posts), but you could always ask an admin to change it for you if you really want to.

I feel like Christmas came early, and there's a big LEGO set under the tree...

Hohoho! And since you've been so good this year, here's the summary of the third episode!

Lego Time Cruisers: Episode 2 - SOS from the Past

It's March 12, 3777, at 11:58 pm and 37.5 seconds (thanks to Robbie Robot for this incredibly detailed time!) and the gang is still working in the Lab. A few minutes after midnight (so on March 13) Dr. Cyber finally finishes building his latest invention, the time transcendental receptor machine, a sort of radio that can pick up signals from other time zones which he invented after being unable to locate Robbie Robot's signal during Operation Cybercom. They test it out, and the first thing they hear is a desperate call for help. So, they decide to home in on the signal by traveling to two time zones in order to find the location and time of the signal's origin.

The next morning they take off in the Flybo once again, but decide to take Robbie Robot with them this time. They choose a random time to gather the first half of the information, which turns out to be the year 1602, the Pirates era. They land in the ocean and see the Islander islands as well as the Armada Flagship delivering a prisoner to an Imperial Outpost. They decide to stop at Volcano Island as this seemed like a perfect place for the professor to set up his machine. They've heard of the island from history books and, out of curiosity, enter the secret cave where they find a 250 year-old skeleton and a treasure chest full of gold. They leave the treasure and climb up the volcano. There, the professor sets up his machine and homes in on the signal while Tim watches the ocean for pirates. Sure enough, soon a large pirate ship sails straight towards them and starts firing its cannons at them. Tim and his monkey return fire using a catapult and lava rocks. After a while, the pirates surrender and Captain Roger Redbeard comes onto the island with a rowboat to talk to them. He asks if they were pirates too and what country they were from. They tell him that they are time travelers and that country borders don't exist anymore in the time they're from, although it could be said that they are from Europe. Redbeard doesn't believe them of course and tells them that his ancestors are from Spain. He then accuses them of attempting to steal his treasure. When they tell him that they're not interested in the treasure as it would only be "useless ballast" for them and that it was probably pirated treasure anyway, Redbeard believes them to be gods of the ocean and lets them go. As the Armada Flagship comes to fight the pirates, the gang returns to the null-time.

Next, they travel to sometime in the 20th century (a more detailed date is not given unfortunately as the time cruiser already starts landing while Dr. Cyber is still adding and subtracting years to the timer). They find themselves flying over Paradisa, and although it's nice and peaceful, they decide to keep flying as there are too many people there. They find the Gator Landing and believe the hut to be abandoned, so they set up their machine there. But just as Dr. Cyber gathers the last piece of information, a seaplane lands by the hut and the pilot gets out to meet them. It turns out that this was a rendezvous spot for smugglers, and the pilot mistakes them for the people who were supposed to deliver him the goods (the pilot greets them with "Hello friends" but goes on to speak German, so perhaps this is an indication that Paradisa and the rest of the leisure sets are set in America or another English speaking country). He tells them that his smuggler friends, Frank and Benny, are on their way, too, on different vehicles to put off the police. Dr. Cyber and Tim play along until luckily a police elite commando arrives to arrest the smugglers. In order to avoid getting arrested again, the gang quickly escape in their time cruiser.

Using the information they gathered, the professor is able to determine the origin of the SOS, so they travel to that time and place. They arive at the Main Street of Legoredo City in the Wild West at night and spot a large shed next to the General Store where they decide to hide their time cruiser. While inside the shed, they hear voices coming through the walls from inside the general store. There are three men holding a young boy and girl captive. Robbie Robot and Ali the monkey make so much noise that the men send the boy, Johnny, out to investigate, who claims that the noise came from rats in the shed and pretends to go drive them away. When he meets Dr. Cyber and Tim, he tells them that his parents own the general store, but they left town to go to a funeral and left the kids to look after the store. Soon after they left, the three men entered the store, took Johnny and his sister Lucy hostage, and started digging a tunnel underground in order to rob the bank next door. He then reveals that he's a young inventor and that he built a radio in order to secretly call for help. The men call him back, and so Dr. Cyber and Tim go to the sheriff and together, they devise a plan to stop the bandits.

The next day, Dr. Cyber and Tim pose as delivery men transporting new money to the bank (which they switched for rocks). When the three bandits, Luke, Jack, and Ken, come in to steal the money, they are surprised to find that the crates are filled with rocks, and Dr.Cyber blasts Jack and Ken with the null-time cannon, only leaving Luke. After Ali throws the rocks at him and his weapon has no effect on Robbie, Luke surrenders. The sheriff arrests him and the other two as soon as they reappear a few minutes later, and Johnny's parents return later that day, so it's a happy end. After another brief accidental detour to the Aquazone, the gang returns to their own time. There, they discover that Johnny left his radio inside their time cruiser as a gift for his heroes from the future. They also find that Robbie Robot has fallen asleep due to the exhaustion from their adventure, despite claiming earlier that robots don't need sleep.

So another nice bunch of info right here. Hopefully it will be of use to some of you. What I found odd is that Dr. Cyber said that they were from Europe. How can he work at NASA and live in Europe? Perhaps he was referring to the fact that he or his ancestors originally came to America from Europe.

[Aanchir]

Really? That's odd, seeing as he is specifically called Richard the Lionheart in this story, and the year 1199 is the last year of the real king Richard's rule. But I guess none of the minifigs Lego makes are supposed to represent real people. As for believing the time travel story, he just chalked it up to magic, which he knows exists since his friend is a wizard.

The Royal Knights king is called Richard the Lion Heart in some set names from certain countries, actually. Specifically, in British catalogs, set 6008 is called King Richard the Lion Heart. In Dutch catalogs, this same set is called Koning Leeuwenhart (King Lionheart).

I realized when looking this up that I never uploaded my Castle set name spreadsheet to my Brickshelf, so you can find that here. Not especially relevant to this topic (my Space set name spreadsheet would probably apply more), but it does reinforce one thing for certain: character names, place names, and even faction/subtheme names were NOT consistent between countries a lot of the time. Even in the late 90s, the Insectoids theme had different names and roles for the characters depending on region, and even the home planet of the Insectoids was named differently in certain regions (Otopia rather than Zotax).

[TalonCard]

Yes, it does say it's 3777. So I guess NASA does still exist, especially seeing as they still have space shuttles and stuff too. And in the episode, Dr. Cyber does say that he was asked to be one of the scientists to board the shuttle which they watched launch (and which is headed to an orbiting space station), but he turned down the offer to keep working on his time cruisers. Forgot to mention that part. And yeah, you're probably right about Lego Town.

Just out of curiosity, how specific is the reference to "space shuttles"? Do they mention Launch Command, booster rockets, and the like? Or is it possible that the term space shuttle is just being used to describe a general sort of 36th century spacecraft?

But yeah, at this point the only depiction of a "futuristic" Earth city is in a Mindstorms promo CD-ROM, making it the exception rather than the rule. At some point after the 21st century the people of LEGO Earth decided to go back to the way their ancestors had lived in the 80s/90s/2010s. It doesn't seem to make sense, but at least it's consistent...and I can stop fretting about the placement of the Clutch Powers movie.

Ah, thanks. That's indeed a confusing backstory. Maybe he returned from the past somehow (back to 3777) before constructing the time cruisers with Tim? Dr. Cyber specifically says that he invented and built the time cruisers in the time cruiser lab together with Tim and Robbie Robot. And maybe he received his professor title between the events of the magazine and the audio dramas.

You know, the Mania Magazine only says that "Dr. Cyber was a rocker scientist for NASA. One day, while experimenting with the Hypno Disk, he suddenly blasted into the past!" This would seem to predate the invention of the time machines...so maybe he was experimenting on his own, got blasted into the past, worked for NASA before returning to 3777, and then decided to build time cruiser machines with Tim and company?

The Time Cruisers board game also seems to support the notion that time travel is possible using only the Hypno Disk, plus most of the English language sources indicate that Tim and Cyber built their time machines out of parts they found in other time zones...so some degree of time travel had to have been going on even before they built the machines.

So Cyber's personal timeline could look something like this:

Cyber discovers an ancient map revealing the secrets of time travel. (Bricks 'n Pieces, UK catalog) (Perhaps the map had the location of the Hypno Disk?)

Cyber experiments with Hypno Disk, is blasted back in time. (Mania Magazine) (To the days of NASA?)

Cyber becomes a NASA rocket scientist. (Mania Magazine) (Dr. Cyber returns to his present?)

No one believes Cyber has discovered time travel, so Cyber sends a group of Time Cruisers into the past to collect artifacts. (Time Cruisers board game.)

Tim and Doctor Cyber begin constructing time machines in their lab, but the Minister of Past and Future forbids any expeditions in these vehicles. (Time Cruisers #1: Testflight TC 13)

Of course, LEGO has also provided an alternate explanation for the Time Cruisers weirdness, but I'm not at all fond of it...

Also, the concept of putting on hats in order to travel to the time from which they're from is completely absent from the audio dramas as well. They just punch in a year on that gizmo that constantly keeps breaking and simply take the hats with them in order to blend in better in the time zones they travel to (although they never actually use them).

I guess this all comes down to poor coordination between the European and American Lego staff.

Well, as Aanchir points out, it wasn't expected that character and set names would be consistent from country to country back in the 90s. Adventurers is arguably the theme that started a trend toward greater consistancy, but even their names and backstories varied wildly during the first few years of the theme.

I'm guessing that the names Cyber and Tim came from the LEGO team that developed the theme, since they're surprisingly consistant in Europe and the US, but everything else was up for grabs. All the background information isn't easily compatible, but it's all pretty cool.

The gizmo/hat thing can be easily explained, though--given that the gizmo keeps malfunctioning, perhaps Cyber ultimately replaced it with telepathic hats? ;) Do these audio dramas mention the Hypno Disk at all, by the way?

Hohoho! And since you've been so good this year, here's the summary of the third episode!

Yay! My thoughts:

Given that the Time Cruisers sat idle for five months and this last episode is set in March of 3777, it seems likely that much of the backstory--Cyber's map discovery, Hypno Disk experiments, the board games, and the construction of the time machines--took place in 3776 or earlier.

1602 is a problematic date for the Pirates theme. For one thing, it's pretty darn early--most pirate stories take place in the 1650-1680 or 1717-1726 golden ages of piracy. (A lot of pirate fiction extends the latter period to the entirety of the 18th century.) But it's doubly inconsistent in the LEGO world: the American Pirate set boxes and Netherlands catalog explicitly place the Pirate sets in the 18th century, while the German audio dramas released by the same company the year before were set in 1642 and 1645. I'm inclined to think that the gizmo may have been off by at least a couple of decades. ;)

Is Captain Red Beard actually referred to as "Roger Redbeard" in this story? He was called Captain Roger in most of Europe, but Red Beard in the US. This would be the first time I've seen them used together.

The lack of country borders is an interesting element of 3777 Earth--it's nice to see that there has been some social changes even if the day-to-day technology remains largely the same...

Redbeard's ancestors being from Spain is a fascinating bit of new information. In the American storyline for the Pirates, it explained that the soldiers were finding buried Spanish gold coins belonging to the pirate's ancestors. This new information is consistant with that, and itthis changes my view of the Pirates slightly, as I had previously assumed that their ancestors were pirates themselves. Red Beard may have a legitimate claim to the treasure after all...

It's kind of hilarious to see Paradisa contrasted with the world of smugglers.

The Wild West city is called "Gold City Junction" in the US and "Silver City" in the UK. Legoredo City is more accurate because there are no less than three signs in the city set itself that say "Legoredo". It is evidently intended to be the same city that has been a feature of the original LEGOLAND since the 1970s.

A radio in the Wild West setting is anachronistic, but I'm guessing the kid who built it is supposed to be a kid genious...

It's interesting that the writers of these audio dramas seem to feel it was neccesary to include a trip to nearly every LEGO theme in every story...

I realized when looking this up that I never uploaded my Castle set name spreadsheet to my Brickshelf, so you can find that here.

Thanks for posting that! It'll be really useful for reference purposes; a lot of the set names have vanished into obscurity now that the US names seem to have become standard. Are you a Castle fan? I'd been thinking about starting a similar story/locations thread for Castle...

TC

Edited March 5, 2013 by TalonCard

[Oky]

Just out of curiosity, how specific is the reference to "space shuttles"? Do they mention Launch Command, booster rockets, and the like? Or is it possible that the term space shuttle is just being used to describe a general sort of 36th century spacecraft?

Yes, they do. In fact, throughout the entirety of the shuttle launch, the professor explains to Tim how it works, with the rocket boosters and everything. So no, it's definitely no futuristic spacecraft.

The Time Cruisers board game also seems to support the notion that time travel is possible using only the Hypno Disk, plus most of the English language sources indicate that Tim and Cyber built their time machines out of parts they found in other time zones...so some degree of time travel had to have been going on even before they built the machines.

True, I believe the time cruisers were only built as a means of traveling more comfortably and more controlled through the time zones. Like in the boardgame, the hypno disks on their own only send you to a random point in time.

So Cyber's personal timeline could look something like this: SNIP

Yeah, I guess that would make sense. Again, unless there is some weird time paradox/alternate timeline thing going on.

Of course, LEGO has also provided an alternate explanation for the Time Cruisers weirdness, but I'm not at all fond of it...

Me neither, but perhaps it is only referring to the American version of it, rendering the European version as the truly canon one?

Well, as Aanchir points out, it wasn't expected that character and set names would be consistent from country to country back in the 90s. Adventurers is arguably the theme that started a trend toward greater consistancy, but even their names and backstories varied wildly during the first few years of the theme.

Yeah, I know. After listening to the Adventurers audio drama, I'd argue that Adventurers was far more inconsistent, but I digress.

Do these audio dramas mention the Hypno Disk at all, by the way?

No, they don't, which is kind of odd.

1602 is a problematic date for the Pirates theme. For one thing, it's pretty darn early--most pirate stories take place in the 1650-1680 or 1717-1726 golden ages of piracy. (A lot of pirate fiction extends the latter period to the entirety of the 18th century.) But it's doubly inconsistent in the LEGO world: the American Pirate set boxes and Netherlands catalog explicitly place the Pirate sets in the 18th century, while the German audio dramas released by the same company the year before were set in 1642 and 1645. I'm inclined to think that the gizmo may have been off by at least a couple of decades. ;)

Actually, it is Captain Roger who reveals that it is the year 1602. Maybe he had a few too many bottles of rum before he talked to them.

Is Captain Red Beard actually referred to as "Roger Redbeard" in this story? He was called Captain Roger in most of Europe, but Red Beard in the US. This would be the first time I've seen them used together.

Actually, no. He does introduce himself as Captain Roger, but I figured I'd include Redbeard for clarity. After all, Brickipedia calls him Captain Roger Redbeard, which could indeed be his full name.

It's kind of hilarious to see Paradisa contrasted with the world of smugglers.

Yeah, kinda reminds me of a certain mafia game.

The Wild West city is called "Gold City Junction" in the US and "Silver City" in the UK. Legoredo City is more accurate because there are no less than three signs in the city set itself that say "Legoredo". It is evidently intended to be the same city that has been a feature of the original LEGOLAND since the 1970s.

Interesting. Yes, it does make more sense that the city is named after what's on all the signs.

A radio in the Wild West setting is anachronistic, but I'm guessing the kid who built it is supposed to be a kid genious...

Yeah, I guess so, and since he gave the radio to the time travelers, history wasn't altered. I guess he never sold his invention, whether deliberately or not.

It's interesting that the writers of these audio dramas seem to feel it was neccesary to include a trip to nearly every LEGO theme in every story...

Indeed, especially since some of them are kind of pointless. Especially that last trip to the Aquazone was very redundant as it only happened because Dr. Cyber accidentally hit a button with his elbow and they left that time zone almost immediately (although not without throwing some Aquasharks set names out there). I guess one has to keep in mind that these audio dramas, just like everything else Lego produces, is made to advertise their products, and with Time Cruisers they had the opportunity to advertise every theme that was currently out, so that's what they did. Something I didn't mention is that a big chunk of these audio dramas consists of the characters describing the things they see and saying how marvelous they are. It makes sense for time travelers to be amazed at things from other time periods, but at the same time you can tell that they were just trying to sell those sets to the kids who were listening. And since a different story was included with each of the three larger sets, I guess they wanted to make sure to mention every theme in each story for the people who only bought one or two of the sets.

[TalonCard]

True, true. I can't help but think that Time Cruisers would be a more interesting theme nowadays, since there are so many more LEGO time periods to visit. (And LEGO sets to sell! )

TC

[Oky]

Yeah, I really hope they do a remake of the theme like they have done with Adventurers, Insectoids, and so many other themes/subthemes from the 90s! As you said, there's lots of new potential for it, and if they design the sets to be more appealing this time, it could be a real hit! I thought the theme was a great idea back then and I think it would be a great idea now.

Heck, this could be an interesting idea for a MOC project - Neo Time Cruisers!

EDIT: I have expressed my thoughts on a possible remake here.

[TalonCard]

The new Galaxy Squad mood video recounts all the planets from the Bug Battle game, and also states that the name of the galaxy the bugs are invading is the "Planet X" galaxy, also described as the "Outer Galaxy"...

TC

Edited March 22, 2013 by TalonCard

[TalonCard]

A two-page spread on the LEGO Galactic Adventures show in the Summer 1993 Brick Kicks magazine has revealed some more interesting planets: Mutania, Robot Planet, and Swamp Planet. (Maybe the same as the Jim Spaceborn Swamp Planet?!).

It's a shame that these old LEGO shows aren't better documented--they seem to have some interesting bits of lore...

TC

[TalonCard]

Added the planet Rasm from the French LEGO Magazine LEGO AS. (Scans can be found here, thanks to Runamuck for pointing those out to me...)

TC

[TalonCard]

Added Egibe from the Dutch LEGO Newsletter De LEGO Kraant.

TC

[TalonCard]

Added some fascinating information about Holox/Armeron from the World Club Magazine...

TC

Edited January 1, 2014 by TalonCard

[TalonCard]

The recent LEGO Play Book builds a bit more on the background for the Alien Conquest homeworld(s). It picks up the Pluuvian Brain Beast bit and runs with it, listing the origin of at least one of the aliens as the Plutonic Nebula, and names a planet Pluton IV. This calls the planet Pluuvia's existence into question--I'm pretty sure it was only conjecture on my part, will have to double check.

TC

[TalonCard]

Added a certain planet from The LEGO Movie--but don't check the list if you haven't seen it; it is a spoiler.

TC

[Oky]

Added a certain planet from The LEGO Movie--but don't check the list if you haven't seen it; it is a spoiler.

The canonicity of that planet is highly dubious since everything in that movie seems to be fanon anyway. And if you consider the theory that The Lego Movie is a movie within the Lego universe itself it becomes even more complicated. On the other hand, it would finally explain how Duplo would fit into the Lego universe, so I don't mind if you include it.