Site of the Week -- April 3, 2000
he rumor that much-criticized character Jar Jar Binks would resurface in Star Wars: Episode II was greeted by fandom with a chorus of
groans and jeers. The digitally inserted creature's Stepin Fetchit dialog
and inane form of heroism have made him one of the least favorite SF
characters ever, and that inimical sentiment is proudly displayed on the
Jar Jar Sucks.com Web site.
Jar Jar has a peculiar power to incite detractors. The site consists largely
of vox populi comments, some surprisingly vicious. Even reasoned
discussions of why the character damages Episode I can end with a
sudden demand that he die a gruesome death. These comments are balanced with
equally earnest pleas from Jar Jar's defenders.
Others vent their disdain by creating multimedia and still images
that depict a variety of calamities befalling the misfit alien. Some of
these are funny, some are well-executed, and many underscore the fact that
this site is not for kids.
The running commentary by the site's maintainers can be funny too, an ironic reflection on the people who get that worked up about a digital puppet. Still, this
much-visited site has a gaping hole where a simple, all-points run-down of
the character's flaws and ramifications might be. So far, this soapbox is
being used primarily as a place from which to lob tomatoes at an easy
target.
-- Mark Wilson
Site of the Week -- March 27, 2000
ans tired of critics who routinely pan beloved movies and shows should check out the SixSiders weekly radio show for honest, from-the-trenches discussion of speculative fiction.
Located in California, but broadcasting worldwide thanks to the
Internet, the SixSiders are seven fans who take on issues near and dear to geek hearts. These are the big issues, like who's being cast to play Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider movie, why Supernova was so bad and what the future of Star Trek will be.
Their opinions sometimes differ from the norm--they gave Mission to
Mars ratings firmly in the mid-range while the press generally panned it--but their unjaded perspective is often refreshing.
While the discussions usually focus on movies and television, they
occasionally delve into roleplaying and computer games. Some shows are
more balanced than others, but all are done from a pro-genre
outlook that proudly proclaims that "geeks are people, too."
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- March 20, 2000
oughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, a new computer-animated series
adapted from the film Starship Troopers and the Robert A. Heinlein novel
on which it was based, hasn't garnered much attention since it debuted last
summer. But far from being forgotten, the show--available in certain cities
and early mornings on the SCI FI Channel--is lavishly celebrated by the
extensive and beautifully designed Roughneck Chronicles. This
"officially unofficial" site provides more and better information about
Roughnecks than some official sites do for better-known franchises.
Roughneck Chronicles takes its audience into the Starship
Troopers universe, where humans have banded together to combat a variety
of "bug" threats and help societies enslaved by the evil creatures. The
site's centerpiece is a jazzy applet-driven section called Order of Battle,
which features stats, images and RealVideo clips. Though memory-intensive,
Order of Battle is a compact and creative way to dig deeper into the show's
people, places and technology.
Roughneck Chronicles also features behind-the-scenes articles,
interviews with the creators, up-to-date news and daily airing
schedules for the U.S. and the U.K., as well as a detailed episode guide and
a lively fan forum. Roughneck Chronicles is a blueprint for how to
pay tribute to a show you love.
-- Mark Wilson
