This is a short list of the Guardsmen-related media that have been mentioned in the books or this wiki.
Blue Lagoon: (1980) Based on the true story of two young Guardsmen (female Protector, male Handler) who were the only survivors of a shipwreck in 1878. Mostly noted in history as they did not actually bond, despite sexual relations and bearing a child, until after they were rescued 12 years later.
Lord of the Rings: "Pippin was long limbed and curly furred with the boundless energy of the pup he still was, though this energy often raced ahead of his large paws and wagging tail sending him tumbling into the brambles." – The Fellowship of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkin. When casting began for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings there was much debate over Pippin’s Protector form. It was difficult enough to find full grown Protectors to work in film productions, and an adolescent one had never been used. A dog puppy that would be needed for the film would be difficult to train and would age quickly requiring several different dogs to be used over the 18-month shoot. There was early CG testing done, as well as puppets built. Some draft scripts omitted Pippin’s Protector status altogether. After a global search, fourteen year old New Zealander Protector Robert Davis was cast. He worked closely with Billy Boyd to maintain Pippin’s personality and character even in his shifted form. While nearly an adult by the time pickups for Return of the King were filmed, he had previously provided the first non-human motion capture footage as well as quantities of continuity information to be used in CGI and puppets. Currently working for the New Zealand Department of Conservation, he remains close to many member for the Fellowship, particularly Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan who attended his bonding ceremony. He returned to work on the Hobbit, providing motion capture for the Wargs. On occasion, he attends fan gatherings and conventions in New Zealand.
Saving Private Ryan: (1998) In an attempt for historical accuracy, Steven Spielberg insisted that all Protectors present during the D-Day landings were to be portrayed by actual protectors. This made for the largest non-wartime gathering of protectors with 257, mostly retired, cast from around Europe. This broke the record held by the 1993 production of Gettysburg which had 193 on set.
Law & Order: With nearly a thousand combined episodes the Law & Order franchise has been called the New York Protectors’ retirement fund. While no lead character has been a Guardsman there has been a steady stream of police units, criminals, victims, as well as contracted consultants.
Supernatural: A show about a bonded pair of brothers (Handler Sam Winchester and Protector Dean Winchester) who are supernatural "hunters". One of the longest continually running science fiction and fantasy shows, its lead character of Dean Winchester is portrayed as a German Shepard Protector. Over the 13 season Dean’s protector form has been mostly portrayed by a rotating cast of stunt dogs with serious fans claiming to recognize the different dogs and having favorites. During the first season, Protector James Trever, based in Vancouver Canada, played Dean Winchester while his Handler recovered from a compound fracture of his leg. He has returned once or twice a season after that for episodes when close-up acting was required beyond what could be acquired from a regular dog. While his primary job is urban search and rescue, he does make it to the Asylum and Jus in Bello conventions if possible.
The Handler of Verona
one of Shakespeare's comedies about a May/December bonding.
Fortuna
Georeges Bizet's famous opera (written in 1873) about the tragic life of a young Italian Protector in the mid-1850s. Despite being poorly received when first performed, it has since rivaled his
Carmen in popularity and staying power. Has been turned into several movies and is also the source for many novelizations over the past century.
Lee Duncan: A World War One veteran, Lee Duncan was the first and one of the few Protector cinema stars. Making 28 films between 1922 and 1931 he only appeared in human form in his final work, The Lightning Warrior. In all other films he played a standard dog. At the time it was often reported that he was a standard dog and that the studios were only claiming he was a protector for the publicity. There has been much debate over the years as to his sudden retirement ranging from failed contract negotiations, to sex scandals, to pressure from the Guardsmen Institute of the Americas. One of his lasting contributions was the first ever color footage of a Protector going through a full shift. There are no surviving notes as to why this was filmed but it is currently housed in the Warner Brothers Film vault.
"The fur would get in the equipment." – Orson Scott Card when asked about the lack of Guardsmen in his work.
It has long been noted the almost complete lack of Guardsmen in space and technology focused science fiction. Many reasons have been put forward for this, including the general lack of romantic or sexual relationships compared to other genres, the lack of Guardsmen participating in the sciences, and simple prejudice and ignorance concerning guardsmen in general.
In Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man the story "Black Dust" features a Protector who has been sent to Mars to sniff out the last of the Martians. He is resentful of his handler who volunteered him for this mission when he wanted to stay on Earth. He finds the Martians who tell him that they can break his bond but he will need to live on Mars forever.
In Theodore Sturgeon’s short story "Faces of the Moon" an alien race visiting Earth believes Protectors to be lost members of their species and reveal that they can shift their forms at will. The believe that humans are keeping them captive and declare war.
Guardsmen featured regularly as plot devices or one off supporting characters in The X-Files with the Guardsmen Institute of the Americas portrayed as a shadow agency. The ninth episode of the first season, "Pack", Mulder theorizes that a series of crimes has been commented by two Protectors whom have managed to shake millions of years of evolution and bond to each other instead of a Handler. In the second season episode, "Delay", Mickle Loon who is in his 40’s claims to be a Protector. He insists that alien abduction as a child triggered off a latent Guardsmen gene, but regular abductions and experimentation through his life has prevented him from bonding but also kept him alive. He refuses to shift for Mulder and Scully and is later found dead from an apparent suicide. It later seasons it is hinted by the Cigarette Smoking Man that Mulder’s missing sister Samantha was a Protector whom had not yet gone through her first shift.
In early development of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the station security is run by a Bajoran Protector. Bajoran Protectors do not need to bond until they are much older but he is attracted to an ex resistance fighter. Due to the complexities and questions about the idea of alien Protectors, the character became the shape shifter Odo who is pining for Major Kira. A nod is given to the original idea in the pilot episode when Odo becomes a purple wolfhound type creature to tackle a criminal trying to escape. The Deep Space Nine episode "The Siege of AR-558" is the first time Protectors are shown as members of Starfleet, their membership having never been established in the original series or The Next Generation. It should be noted this is one of the only time Starfleet personnel are shown in an extended ground combat situation as opposed to ship to ship battles or quick skirmishes.
In the Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Mockingjay it is mentioned that Wiress and Beetee were a Protector/Handler pair as were Chaff and Seeder from District 11. Katniss was told that it was not uncommon for victors to bond with other victors. There was some controversy when this information was omitted from the films.
Within the Harry Potter series there is no mention of Guardsmen in the Wizarding world until The Order of the Phoenix, where several members of the Order are shown to be Guardsmen. When asked about their lack of appearance at Hogwarts, J.K. Rowling explained that wizarding Guardsmen in England have their own school just as most countries have separate training institutions. The school is called Alphamare. It is located in Dorset and was established shortly after Hogwarts. It is much smaller than Hogwarts having at the most twenty students as Guardsmen bloodlines are not strong in wizarding England. It provides much of the same curriculum with students taking OWLs and NEWTs. Young wizarding guardsmen are kept heavily isolated to prevent accidental bonding with Muggles which could result in magic being revealed to the Muggle Guardsmen organizations.
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