TSR The Dreams in Gary's Basement

[M.T. Black]

Some years ago, there was a documentary about D&D crowdfunded called "The Dreams in Gary's Basement." After many delays, it was finally released this year. I did not back the original project, but I've been eagerly awaiting its wider release, but there has been no sign of it. I've even attempted to reach out to the producers but with no response.

Does anyone know how I can watch this movie?

 

[CellarHeroes]

Pat had a screening at last year's Gary Con, where it seemed he was still looking for feedback.
Although, it does look like backers are just now starting to receive their physical copies. Maybe you'll be able to see it soon.

 

[Count_Zero]

Yeah - I got my copy in the mail just a week or so before Christmas.

 

[Mistwell]

Yeah - I got my copy in the mail just a week or so before Christmas.

So how is it?

 

[Alzrius]

So how is it?

It's pretty good! Not too much new info there, for those who're knowledgeable about the history of the game, but there are some notable tidbits.

For instance, Frank Mentzer (IIRC it was Frank) mentions that Lorraine Williams liked to brag how, when she was president of student government back in college (I can't recall which college, but it was in California) she helped coordinate a concert, only to find that the guest musicians were using illegal drugs, at which point she shut down the entire thing.

The musicians in question were Jimi Hendrix and company.

According to Mentzer, Williams was quite proud of this, keeping a poster of Hendrix as a "trophy" over her having "fired" him. While the film states that the documentarians couldn't confirm the incident with Hendrix, there were multiple other TSR alums who verified that Williams kept trophies of people she fired.

 

[Mistwell]

It's pretty good! Not too much info there, for those who're knowledgeable about the history of the game, but there are some notable tidbits.

For instance, Frank Mentzer (IIRC it was Frank) mentions that Lorraine Williams liked to brag how, when she was president of student government back in college (I can't recall which college, but it was in California) she helped coordinate a concert, only to find that the guest musicians were using illegal drugs, at which point she shut down the entire thing.

The musicians in question were Jimi Hendrix and company.

According to Mentzer, Williams was quite proud of this, keeping a poster of Hendrix as a "trophy" over her having "fired" him. While the film states that the documentarians couldn't confirm the incident with Hendrix, there were multiple other TSR alums who verified that Williams kept trophies of people she fired.

I've seen people try and rehab the image of Williams but truly she continues to sound like Dolores Umbridge.

 

[the Jester]

It's pretty good! Not too much new info there, for those who're knowledgeable about the history of the game, but there are some notable tidbits.

For instance, Frank Mentzer (IIRC it was Frank) mentions that Lorraine Williams liked to brag how, when she was president of student government back in college (I can't recall which college, but it was in California) she helped coordinate a concert, only to find that the guest musicians were using illegal drugs, at which point she shut down the entire thing.

The musicians in question were Jimi Hendrix and company.

According to Mentzer, Williams was quite proud of this, keeping a poster of Hendrix as a "trophy" over her having "fired" him. While the film states that the documentarians couldn't confirm the incident with Hendrix, there were multiple other TSR alums who verified that Williams kept trophies of people she fired.

There has been a definite movement to re-evaluate Williams over the last, I dunno, maybe decade, with people defending her as not as bad as we think; but stories like this make me think she was even worse than I thought.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I've seen people try and rehab the image of Williams but truly she continues to sound like Dolores Umbridge.

There has been a definite movement to re-evaluate Williams over the last, I dunno, maybe decade, with people defending her as not as bad as we think; but stories like this make me think she was even worse than I thought.

I don't think anyone is trying to rehab her, only to put things into proper context. And I'd be cautious before making a decision one way or the other because you have to realize who is doing the talking about her. Stories like this came from a person who has a personal vendetta against her, right? I mean, if you (general you) was talking with Gary, all you'd hear is how much of a devil she was and how great Gary is, and then you end up making comments on the internet 40 years later defending Gary as if he were a saint and calling Lorraine the devil...

But the truth is much more complex. According to sources, nearly every TSR employee preferred working for her over Gary. I think that speaks volumes. And Gary did some pretty awful things in how he treated people himself.

I'm always skeptical of one-sided stories.

 

[Parmandur]

And I'd be cautious before making a decision one way or the other because you have to realize who is doing the talking about her

Yeah, I'd take Mentzer's recollections with a boulder of salt.

Not to say thar Williams is a Saint or anything. The stories about the TSR layoffs collected by Ben Riggs do, however, make it seem that she really hated that experience and was genuinely distraught to have to cut people.

 

[Mistwell]

I don't think anyone is trying to rehab her, only to put things into proper context. And I'd be cautious before making a decision one way or the other because you have to realize who is doing the talking about her. Stories like this came from a person who has a personal vendetta against her, right? I mean, if you (general you) was talking with Gary, all you'd hear is how much of a devil she was and how great Gary is, and then you end up making comments on the internet 40 years later defending Gary as if he were a saint and calling Lorraine the devil...

But the truth is much more complex. According to sources, nearly every TSR employee preferred working for her over Gary. I think that speaks volumes. And Gary did some pretty awful things in how he treated people himself.

I'm always skeptical of one-sided stories.

Yeah, I'd take Mentzer's recollections with a boulder of salt.

Not to say thar Williams is a Saint or anything. The stories about the TSR layoffs collected by Ben Riggs do, however, make it seem that she really hated that experience and was genuinely distraught to have to cut people.

First, as for the claim nobody is trying to rehab her image, I think some people are in fact trying to rehab her image. If you think this OP isn't accurately described as that, I'd sure like to know what your argument is beyond some sort of minor linguistic quibble. He's outright calling her a hero. Not just "not a villain" but she's the hero of that story (using that very word, "hero"). That to me is quite accurately described as trying to rehabilitate her image. An image which originally was top of the pile as the head of TSR, then took a deep hit once she left, and he's trying to restore that image to the top of the pile again as a hero. That's a rehabilitation of image cycle in a nutshell.

Second, "multiple TSR alums verified she kept trophies of people she fired" isn't enough evidence to at least consider that she might have done that?

Right now it seems to me the evidence she didn't do these things is "she's a woman and the men did some bad things too." That's, to me, not really anything beyond "be cautious." OK, that's wise to be cautious. But how many people saying she did something specific and bad is enough before people are all least going to feel free to discuss she might in fact have done that bad thing, regardless of other people being bad?