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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PHATsakk43" data-source="post: 9652879" data-attributes="member: 7041071">Way too much is made over the Buck Rogers stuff, IMHO. Buck Rogers was sunk cost two or three years in the rear view when the whole thing went belly up. As for Ms. Williams ethics in the “coup” I’d suggest reading the story in The Game Wizards first. The podcast is great for the drama of last minutes of EGG as a TSR board member, but it isn’t as clear as to the whole story. Williams was brought in by EGG. She only came on board with her cash infusion based on getting some part of the company. Granted, EGG was hoping to use her for cash and her brother for this unrealized mission of getting a film out (which seems like it was mostly a coke fueled mix of Hail Mary and hubris). Let’s face it, the “heirs of the Buck Rogers IP” aren’t really A list people. Or even really B list even. They had money—ultimately enough to buy TSR—but the total number put up by Ms. Williams for everything was under a million dollars. No small sum, but not necessarily a huge fortune either. She was vested, saw the dysfunctional state of the management, and also saw an opportunity. It’s not like the Blume’s were going to get a better offer from anyone else. No one who really wanted the company had the liquidity to pay the Blumes off for their shares. Gary couldn’t. TSR couldn’t. TSR couldn’t even get its bank to lend it enough to pay them off. And TSR was effectively going bankrupt—especially with the liabilities it had accumulated, particularly those created by the other remaining major shareholder who wasn’t named Blume. EGG had played Diplomacy for years. He thought he had counted all the shares. He set up the gambit and lost. Then after a brief period wandering in the wilderness, he came back to sell his version of things. Williams basically faded completely after TSR went bankrupt and never really given her story. I posted the thank you to Williams in the Encyclopedia Magica which is one of the only places where I can ever remember seeing her name in anything D&D related, but again, it doesn’t look like it was there as simply praising the benevolence of the Dear Leader, but meaningfully that she provided direction on the project scope.</blockquote>

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