screenshot from Bregna 2415 (resized, autoleveled) [dead link]
In the '90s, MTV, between the "shitty music video" era and the "spring breakers" era, briefly hosted some trippy animation. Aeon Flux emerged then, under the direction of Peter Chung, who was 30 at the time, with all imaginative pistons firing. Shortly thereafter MTV released the three seasons on VHS tape, and in 2005 Chung remastered the tapes and re-released them on DVD. To the annoyance of some fans, he added new dialog to four of the shows. He claimed this was to bring the characterizations of Aeon Flux and Trevor Goodchild "into better continuity with the series as a whole." New dialog was also written for the character "Clavius," former leader of Bregna. Three of the episodes he altered ("The Demiurge," this one, "Reraizure," and "End Sinister") were directed by Howard E. Baker, a fourth, "Utopia or Deuteranopia," was directed by Chung himself. Here are some belated notes on the changes to:
| Reraizure | |
| VHS | DVD |
| No opening title | Opening title: Trevor's interrogation of a Monican agent leads inevitably to his favorite subject... Aeon Flux... |
| Aeon [in Bregnan uniform, surprises Muriel in prison corridor]: Stay calm. The guard drag is dress-up. I'm not going to hurt you. Muriel: I'm desperate. Keep away from me. Aeon: Let's pass like ships. |
Aeon [in Bregnan uniform, surprises Muriel in prison corridor]: I don't care who you are or what you're up to but you're in my way so just let me pass. Muriel: Keep away from me. I'm desperate. Aeon: Desperate to live or to die? Your choice. |
| Rordy: Appearances can be deceptive. Aeon: No kidding. [Both laugh sarcastically] |
Rordy: Appearances can be deceptive. Aeon: No kidding. [Laughs edited out] |
| Rordy: Did you see a woman? 23, short hair, very pale, would have been wearing a grey prison uniform. | Rordy: Did you see a woman? Short hair, very pale, would have been wearing a grey prison uniform. |
| [Rordy removes Narghile from water pipe] Aeon: What is it? |
[Rordy removes Narghile from water pipe] Aeon: You caught that? |
| Rordy: It's called a Narghile. I collect them. Aeon: Are you serious? Narghile? Do you have the bliss pellets? |
Rordy: It's called a Narghile. I collect them. Aeon: You collect... [under breath] Could have met you earlier. Do you have the bliss pellets? |
| Rordy [yelling at Narghile in jar]: You little bastard! What have you done to my Muriel? [Aeon seduces Rordy] |
Rordy [yelling at Narghile in jar]: You little bastard! What have you done to my Muriel? Aeon [begins seducing Rordy]: What has it done to you? Is getting rid of them really so hard? First thing you do is stop thinking about them. |
| [Aeon studies orbital platform through telescope] Rordy: Muriel took each of the Narghiles up there. Aeon: Why didn't you just destroy them here? Rordy: How? You can't kill them. I was collecting them to blast into the sun. Now I don't know what I'll do. Aeon: All right. I'll do it. |
[Aeon studies orbital platform through telescope] Rordy: Muriel took each of the Narghiles up there. Aeon: That was her idea? Not to destroy them? Rordy: How? You can't kill them. I was collecting them to blast into the sun. Aeon: The sun... Rordy: Now I don't know what I'll do. Aeon: Sounds good. I'll do it. |
| Trevor: That's the funny thing about memory, isn't it? We are not what we remember of ourselves; we are what people say we are. They project upon us their convictions. We are nothing but blank screens. | Trevor: We are not what we remember of ourselves; we can undo only what others have already forgotten. Learn from your mistakes, so that one day you can repeat them precisely. Stop, erase. |
other comparisons: Utopia or Deuteranopia / The Demiurge / End Sinister
Update: This is my own comparison and transcription, based on review of the VHS and DVD versions of this episode. After posting (sigh) I found this tumblr post [dead link]. I made a few tweaks to my chart based on that transcription.
screenshot from Bregna 2415 (resized) [dead link]