Ground Patrol Mor’ris – Major Tom from Space Oddity retroactively given the surname Morris
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/NPC:Ground_Patrol_Mor%27ris
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Oddity
https://simonbird.bandcamp.com/album/ground-control-to-major-tom-morris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYYRH4apXDo
Ground Patrol Mor’ris is a member of a Light Brigade patrol unit sent to recon a house with unusually high Shadow activity. Wizards rescue him during the quest House Oddity.
“Space Oddity” is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips and Mercury Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album, David Bowie. Produced by Gus Dudgeon and recorded at Trident Studios in London, it is a tale about a fictional astronaut named Major Tom; its title and subject matter were partly inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Bowie’s feelings of alienation at that point in his career. Its sound departed from the music hall of his debut album to psychedelic folk inspired by the Bee Gees; it was one of the most musically complex compositions he had written up to that point.
Rush-released as a single to capitalize on the Apollo 11 Moon landing, it received critical praise and was used by the BBC as background music during its coverage of the event. It initially sold poorly but soon reached number five in the UK, becoming Bowie’s first and only chart hit for another three years. Reissues by RCA Records became Bowie’s first US hit in 1972, and his first UK number-one in 1975. He re-recorded an acoustic version in 1979. Several promotional videos were produced for the song, including a 1972 one filmed by Mick Rock. It was a mainstay during Bowie’s concerts until 1990, after which it was played sporadically until 2002. Bowie revisited the Major Tom character in later singles, notably the sequel song “Ashes to Ashes” (1980).
A range of artists have covered “Space Oddity” and others have released songs that reference Major Tom. A 2013 cover by the astronaut Chris Hadfield gained widespread attention; its music video was the first filmed in space. The song has appeared in numerous films and television series, including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013). In 2019, Tony Visconti remixed Bowie’s original recording to mark its 50th anniversary, with a new music video directed by Tim Pope. In later decades, “Space Oddity” is considered one of Bowie’s finest recordings and remains one of his most popular songs. It has appeared in numerous “best-of” lists, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
“Space Oddity” tells the story of an astronaut named Major Tom, the first of Bowie’s famous characters. Major Tom is informed by Ground Control that a malfunction has occurred in his spacecraft; but the astronaut does not get the message. He remains in space “sitting in a tin can, far above the world”, preparing for his lonely death. In 1969, Bowie compared Major Tom’s fate to the ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey, saying: “At the end of the song Major Tom is completely emotionless and expresses no view at all about where he’s at. He’s fragmenting … at the end of the song his mind is completely blown – he’s everything then.” The authors David Buckley and Peter Doggett comment on the unusual vocabulary in the lyrics, such as “Ground Control” rather than “Mission Control”, “space ship” rather than “rocket”, “engines on” rather than “ignition”, and the “unmilitary combination” of rank and first name for the character.
In 2016, Sam Burton and Simon Bird released a tribute album to David Bowie entitled Ground Control to Major Tom Morris, retroactively giving a surname to David Bowie’s character from the song.
The current list of all the (known) Empyrea references can be found here.
Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references but I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.
Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages
Ground Patrol Mor’ris image is from Wizard101, and copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.
Space Oddity cover art is borrowed from Amazon.com and is copyright RCA Records.
David Bowie as Major Tom is borrowed from MozartCultures.com and has no attribution
Cover art for Ground Control to Major Tom Morris is borrowed from bandcamp.com and is copyright Sam Burton and Simon Bird
Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.
Vulcan Stev's Database 