The Letters to the Editor department is intended to be a forum for our readers to express their own opinions and ideas. While we appreciate the many complimentary letters we receive each day, you won't find them on this page. Instead, you will find letters that go beyond or even contradict what we have written, letters that offer a different perspective and provide a different view of science fiction. If you would like to submit a letter, please use our feedback form or send a message to scifiweekly@scifi.com.
-- Craig E. Engler, Editor
Can't Vote For Babylon 5
'm probably fighting a losing battle here, but I want to make some comments about this year's Hugo nominations, particularly the Dramatic Presentation Award. Here we have four movies and one episode of Babylon 5. I love Babylon 5, and if it were nominated as a series I'd vote for it in an instant, but unfortunately the Hugo rules only allow single episodes of TV shows to be nominated. Sadly, the episode nominated, "Sleeping in Light," is not the best episode of the show's fifth season, but I have the feeling that voters will select it as a token to the whole series. Again, if Babylon 5 was nominated as a series, I'd vote for it, but in good conscience I cannot vote for this rather mediocre episode, especially in light of its competition, particularly Dark City, a genuine masterpiece. So before voters mark their ballots for the Dramatic Presentation Award, I hope they carefully consider all the nominees and vote for the one that is truly the best, not just the sentimental favorite.
And just a side note: For all those naysayers who've been trashing modern SF in recent letter columns, just take a look at the Hugo nominees and you'll discover some very exciting, original fiction indeed. SF is definitely not dead.
Norman Cook
unclescrooge@hotmail.com
TNT Is Mishandling Crusade
've been closely following the progress of Crusade, the much-anticipated spin-off to J. Michael Straczynski's Babylon 5. Quite frankly, I'm frustrated and mystified at TNT's handling of this series.
First of all, most B5 fans are well aware of the creative struggle between Straczynski and TNT that culminated in a virtual cancellation of the series. I won't go into the details, but why TNT would want to tinker with a creative formula that has kicked Star Trek's ass for the last five years, is beyond me. Straczynski refused to cave in (thankfully), so only 13 episodes are being produced for now. If TNT decides to go forward later, the window of opportunity may have passed, since the various actors and crewpersons associated with the show may have moved on.
Second, TNT decides to put B5 "on hiatus" for several weeks, at the very time when TV advertising is most advantageous! Imagine watching B5 and seeing a commercial for Crusade! How could you ask for more bang for the buck? All that remains is to advertise during wrestling or some failed series picked up by TNT. Does TNT think those demographics are the prime marketing targets? Is it possible TNT has launched a thinly veiled pogrom against B5 and Crusade, just so they can get rid of that pesky Straczynski?
I have the greatest admiration for the accomplishments of Ted Turner (for his business acumen, not his politics) and for TNT. And I realize that making money should be the first priority of any business enterprise (Ayn Rand fans, take note). But when will Hollywood (and the other media) learn that the way to make money in science fiction is to let the storytellers ply their trade unencumbered? Let the marketers market the product, not create it.
Chris Snider
chris@op9.com
So What If Starship Troopers Is Violent?
es, Starship Troopers the motion picture was violent and missed the points that Robert A. Heinlein so perfectly presented on the changes that society needs to make to cure the many ills that now face humankind. Yes, the motion picture completely ignored one of the best points of the novel, the powered armor. Yes, video games are just as violent, if not more so than the motion picture. Yes, Saturday morning cartoons are violent, and 'toons have been for the last 50 years. How many times has any 'toon character from Tom & Jerry to Taz to Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny been blown up, dismembered, beheaded, crushed, smashed, etc.?
Now, why shouldn't there be a 'toon about one of the best SF novels of the past 50 years? Sure, there are bound to be violent scenes, but the violence is most certainly to be directed against bugs, and there's bound to be some violence directed against the humans in the story, but is it really any different than an old WWII movie or thousands of existing 'toons?
Hopefully the Starship Troopers 'toon will do a better job than the motion picture at presenting Heinlein's very positive points from the book, like the idea that all of humankind can work together, and that the general decay in society can be reversed. A world where punishment fits the crime. A world where the "Bread and Circuses" attitude is no longer the normal way politics work. A world that actually has a positive attitude. I personally will make it a point to set my VCR to record the Starship Troopers 'toons so I can watch them. I hope with the lack of the need for a prop budget, the 'toon will follow a little more faithfully the novel. Maybe the 'toon will have just one positive point, that humankind as a whole can concentrate on "saving the world" rather than on destroying itself.
Brian Thompson
machine1@spamcop.net
Starship Troopers Does Glorify War
egarding Starship Troopers: it might be wrong for children, but so probably are other children's shows. However, I disagree with Dave Kopp about the nature of Starship Troopers. It is the book, not the movie or TV show, that is glorifying war. It's probably the best pro-army propaganda
book I've ever read. The movie at least gave it a satirical twist. I'm
sure that the TV series further diffuses the issue.
If Heinlein had said what he intended in that story, I haven't read that
(and a reference would be nice). From what I did read, I feel that
Heinlein did feel that the world he created was "right." He probably put
his love for the navy into that book, and he comments somewhere (as I
remember reading) about voting rights in that world extending beyond
what is understood from the book--again, convincing me that he meant
that society to be a good one.
Eyal Teler
teler@cs.huji.ac.il
Starship Troopers Was Juvenile
obert Heinlein turning in his grave? Given that Starship Troopers was originally submitted as a juvenile novel (and "promoted" by the publishers into the adult league), I'm sure he saw just how "boyish" bug killing really is...
Julian Suddaby
julian@sudds.demon.co.uk
Reread Starship Troopers
nyone who thinks Starship Troopers is "against war and its atrocities" should reread it. Carefully, this time.
James Baird
baird@olypen.com
Heinlein Would Love A Kids Show
ontrary to Dave Kopp's letter "Heinlein Is Turning In His Grave," Robert Heinlein would love a series [based on Starship Troopers] that taught children about the glories of war. Heinlein graduated from Annapolis in 1929 and was medical'd out a few years later; like many "soldiers" who never saw action, Heinlein had no problem with war. He didn't gush over it the way Ernest Hemingway did, but he was quite serious in his argument that military service would be an appropriate test for citizenship.
If you want a book against war, look for something written by
someone who was there, like Joe Haldeman's The Forever War.
Chip Hitchcock
hitch@ptc.com
Good Anime Can Have Bad Editing
nyone who can call anime juvenile obviously has not watched enough of it. If you had seen Neon Genesis Evangelion or Grave of the Fireflies you would not say that anime is juvenile. Granted, some anime is targeted at young audiences (i.e. Sailor Moon and Ranma 1/2), but even these had elements that were edited out of American releases which would have been inappropriate for children.
You should pick up some good fan-subbed anime that hasn't been edited to death and watch it.
Karen Tranghese
ktra0007@postoffice.uri.edu
Good Anime Is Not Prolific
ach week I read the pro anime arguments in the letters section with a bit of amusement. The anime fans (I am one too, by the way) pontificate "The Japanese have learned that cartoons can be for adults too!" as if Japan is some sort of Shangri-La of animation excellence that invented the cartoons-for-adults concept.
Ever heard of The Flintstones? Ever actually watched it? I mean really watched? A prime-time animated series for the whole family with messages on multiple levels. How about The Simpsons? A series with humor on a level no mere child can hope to comprehend. Ever heard of Tex Avery? If you're a hentai addict fanboy, probably not.
In Japan they suffer from a glut of anime, reams of poor original video animation releases and sad J-pop video disco robot action shows with plots as thin as rice paper. Every so often a gem like Akira will surface. After that it's giant robots piloted by psychic teens with furry critter sidekicks, tentacle sex and gratuitous slow-pan nude babes in showers. Oh, and don't forget lesbian space vixens.
I don't consider the gratuitous sex and violence that permeates much of anime to be an indicator of it's maturity, rather it's a contraindication of it. Like American action shows and movies, the sex and violence is often there merely to titillate and cover up the absence of any redeeming story value. It's the crutch of the incompetent and immature.
I'm not saying there is no good anime. There is. But it is not as prolific as the anime fanatics would have you believe.
Ian Kennedy
ianken_ms@msn.com
Farscape Is Fantastic
must whole-heartedly disagree with Len Fleischer in his viewpoint of Farscape. I think that it is a very entertaining and fresh approach. I missed the first episode due to being out of town. However, when I caught the second, I was amazed and have made it a point to watch/record every episode since. After seeing the second episode, I attended a SF convention with a fellow illustrator and we both agreed that Farscape is fantastic. Also, everyone that we talked to about the show during the convention had something positive to say about it. I've since seen the pilot episode and will admit it was rather slow but the "getting to know you" beginnings always are. I encourage Len and anyone else to give it another chance. My hat is off to the creators of Farscape and I sincerely hope that it has a long and successful life.
Brett Tadlock
btadlock@geocities.com
Ben Browder Should Look Lost
recently read a review where the reviewer said about the new show Farscape that the human character played by Ben Browder was the weak link of the show because he looks uncomfortable in his science fiction surroundings. Well duh! He is supposed to be a human shot a couple of million miles away from home, isn't he? How would you act if by some weird occurrence this happened to you? Would you instantly feel at home? I think not.
The character of Crichton is the human link to the audience, the one who would react the same way we would probably react. And he's a science fiction fan to boot. If he instantly adapted to his surroundings, where would the show be? He needs to be confused most of the time.
Tim Colley
tim_colley@hotmail.com
Choose The Matrix
just saw the Matrix and all I can do is quote Neo: "Whoa." Sure, I've seen many of the elements before: A chosen one, what is and
isn't reality, man versus machine. And I say, "So what?"
Hell, I knew exactly what was going to happen in the final scene before it happened and I was still thrilled by it.
Good SF, at the very least, entertains. Excellent SF makes
you think. What makes one thing good and the other excellent is really up
to each viewer's personal preference.
I'd recommend to anyone to go see The Matrix and choose for themselves.
Ricky Cruz
RCRUZ01@compuserve.com
