Ten Years of Tomb Raider: A GameTap Retrospective
Ten Years of Tomb Raider: A GameTap Retrospective, a 9 part documentary produced by online video game service GameTap, presents a partial history of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider franchise, from the creation of the original game for the PC and PlayStation, to her status as a feminist icon and the making of the latest Tomb Raider game, Tomb Raider: Anniversary.
The Episodes
- Episode 1: Anniversary
- A look at the remaking of the original Tomb Raider game including interviews with series creator Toby Gard and the development team at Crystal Dynamics.
- Episode 2: Not Just a Video Game
- Lara Croft was almost a he, and was originally South American explorer "Lara Cruz". This episode chronicles the genesis of the character and the path Tomb Raider took to make it onto store shelves.
- Episode 3: Buried Alive
- The success of the franchise took a toll on the development team who were forced to work at constantly producing new games for the series. This episode tells of how they tried to kill off Lara Croft in Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation.
- Episode 4: Reanimation
- The episode chronicles the journey from failure with what was meant to be Lara's big break, Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness to a comeback with Tomb Raider: Legend.
- Episode 5: Pop Goes Tomb Raider
- Lara Croft has become more than a video game character, this episode chronicles her appearances in print, merchandise and film as well as her status in popular culture.
- Episode 6: Pixelated and Debated
- Lara Croft's status as feminist icon or adolescent fantasy is debated.
- Episode 7: Lara Lovers
- A look at the fans, including fanfiction author Katie Fleming, various lookalikes, fan-artists and even a couple brought together by Tomb Raider.
- Episode 8: A Tale of 5 Laras
- All five Lara Croft live action models are reunited for the first time for an FHM photo shoot. The past models recount their experiences.
- Episode 9: Being Lara Croft
- 1000 models wanted to be her, but Eidos chose Karima Adebibe to be the latest real life Lara Croft. She shares what it is like to go from Topshop salesgirl to Lara Croft, and explains her extensive training ranging from firearms to elocution.
Controversy
The choice of Katie Fleming to represent the Tomb Raider fan fiction community in Episode 7 has caused a certain amount of controversy [1]. A number of members of the Tomb Raider community felt that Fleming's inclusion was a blatant slight of more accomplished writers who are active members in the community.
Tomb Raider Forums [2], Turner Broadcasting and Eidos Interactive both played an enormous part in publicising the documentary series.
