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.
-- Editor
Losing Star Wars' Human Touch
Editor's Note: The rumor that Kenny Baker will be dropped in favor of a computer-generated R2-D2 has turned out to be just that, a rumor. But Alex Schor's letter brings up many good points about acting and the film industry.
have to protest on behalf of Kenny Baker, the actor who portrayed R2-D2 through four Star Wars films, at being so pointlessly dismissed in favor of a computer-generated model in Episode II, as the newsgroups are currently reporting. I do not consider myself a religious Star Wars fan, but it's distressing to see how easily an actor can be replaced with modern technology.
I know nothing about whether it costs less to have a CGI actor than an actual one in this case, but I do know that substituting something concrete with an artificial construct is dehumanizing. This is an old argument, and George Lucas would probably say that R2-D2 isn't human; but he should know the character is nothing without his human qualities--qualities that Baker contributed.
Furthermore, disclosing that the character will now be CGI will have audiences--myself included--looking for the artifice when the film comes out. We'll be in on the joke, but I for one will not be laughing. CGI may be photorealistic, but it isn't perfect. In my opinion, Lucas is so enchanted with the technology and the degree of control it gives him that he's sacrificing the humanity of his films--a fact that was painfully obvious in Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Kenny Baker is just another casualty.
I rue the day when films feature all digitally constructed performers with not a trace of soul. One of those films may be Episode III, if things keep heading in the same direction. Moviegoers and Star Wars fans should feel more than just sympathy for Baker; they should feel angry that yet another enduring icon of a once-entertaining film series will be reduced to pixels on a Mac.
Alex Schor
Schor1970@aol.com
Who Needs Scanty Costumes?
just read the two letters published in Issue No. 175 regarding the Witchblade movie on TNT, and I strongly disagree with them. I have read a little of the Witchblade comic and while I enjoy how Sara Pezzini is drawn in the comic, I was pleasantly surprised by the daring of the filmmakers! They did something many people in Hollywood these days seem incapable of doing: present a strong female lead heroine without resorting to too many special effects or titillation.
Granted, the movie was not perfect. There were early scenes where the actors seemed to mumble their lines to the point of indecipherability, and the dialogue of the mysterious Nottingham was too murky, even if the film is a set-up for a future TV series. And yes, there were a lot of similarities to other genre shows/movies like The Matrix, Forever Knight, Highlander, The Crow, etc., but I would hardly call similarities "flaws."
The depiction of a female lead as a tough and tortured soul seeking answers and justice was refreshing. Yancy Butler's character had depth, passion, sharpness and strength, yet also vulnerability and an understated speaks-for-itself sexuality/beauty. Her acting was first rate, as was that of her co-stars, especially the ones playing her superior and her nemesis. The lighting and camera effects held the eye's attention, the musical score provided the right blended background feel of toughness, mystery, sadness and even the occasional humor. Even the look of the Witchblade itself was realistic and believable. And not once did the makers of the film resort to any over-the-top effects or scanty costumes (although Yancy Butler's clothing in the nightclub and the flashback of her dressed in backless-armor were appealing, without being lurid).
If the film indeed becomes a series, it will have one very intrigued viewer here!
Adam R. Goss
argF91@hotmail.com
Witchblade: Pain And Shame
must disagree with your review of Witchblade. The movie is nothing but a cold, superficial, damning rendition of the comic book. In the comic book, the Witchblade is a living alien thing, capable of covering Sara's body in stunning, slightly erotic forms. The TV special effects plain sucked. The action sequences were nothing more than Matrix rip-offs in strobe light form, leaving me not awed but with a headache. The speaking was bad and the characters would kill your brain cells. The movie brought shame on the Top Cow name.
Chris Stefanovich
steffie38@excite.com
Pursuing Teensy-Weensy Information
il McCarthy writes in "Quantum computers: The secret is out":
"Which is exactly how quantum bits work: by temporarily excluding the
flow of light, matter, and information across their boundaries, permitting the 'unobserved' contents to remain in a physically indeterminate state until certain conditions are met and the qbit value 'collapses' into a definite one or zero."
"And before the collapse, the qbits, in a very literal sense, can
both store and perform computations on all 32 states."
Perhaps I am missing something here. How can you store data or perform
computations without collapsing the qbits? The first statement seems
to contradict the second. If qbits collapse unless you exclude the flow
of light, matter and information across their boundaries, then how do you
store information in the qbits to compute without collapsing the qbits?
Tom Golstch
tom_golstch@hotmail.com
Wil McCarthy replies:
The simplest explanation for this is unfortunately also the zaniest: the
Many Universes explanation. I.e., the qbits in a 5-qbit computer contain
all 32 possible permutations of 0 and 1 because they occupy 32 sets of
overlapping and otherwise identical universes. In 31 of these universes,
they contain the wrong answer. In the 32nd, they contain the correct
answer. The collapse of the probability density function (or "wave") can
then be interpreted as a shifting of the observer into one of the target
universes. Since the oft-abused Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum
mechanics permits the observer to bias the outcome of the collapse, it is
possible (demonstrably!) to select, in a statistical majority of cases, only
the universe in which the correct answer is obtained. This is an analog of
the two-slit experiment, in which a remote experimenter can force an
electron to behave in a wavelike or particle-like manner simply by opening
or closing one of the slits. The most cogent explanations of this
phenomenon are fictional; see Greg Egan's novel Quarantine, or his short story "The Infinite Assassin."
It is important to note that the qbits are not isolated from each other,
just from the world at large.
So Is Wormtongue A Fallen Cherub?
was reading SCI FI Wire's news brief about the rumored casting of the role of Sauron in the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie, and I noticed that Sauron is described as being a wizard. Actually, Sauron is not a wizard but a fallen angelic spirit. Originally, The Lord of the Rings's "arch villain" was a member of the order of spirits called the Maiar, who dwelled in the Blessed Realm with Eru Lluvatar (the supreme being) before the creation of Middle Earth. This is more than you wanted to know perhaps, but I thought I'd give you a thorough explanation.
Lisa Williams
ads_lisa@dayton.lib.oh.us
Apples, Oranges and Gagh
s a long-time fan of Star Trek and also a fan of Babylon 5, I read Connie Colvin's Issue No. 175 letter "No Torch Outshines A Vorlon's" with interest. I wonder what compels people to try and compare the series. There is no comparison. Star Trek in all its incarnations is as rich and varied as Babylon 5 is focused and driven to a destined conclusion. To say that newer Trek series do not convey passion is to admit that you never saw "The Inner Light" (Star Trek: The Next Generation)--an episode that gives me goosebumps no matter how many times I watch it.
Imagine you've lived many years of your life. Then imagine that somehow you are transported to an alternate life, an alternate reality. Your life as you know it becomes nothing but a vividly remembered dream as you learn to live your new existence. You fall in love with your wife, you raise a family and grow to be very old and revered in your home town. Suddenly, when you feel that life is complete and nearing its end, you are transported back into the dream life you left so many years ago ...only to find that it was real after all. You have only been "gone" 20 minutes or so and yet you lived an entire lifetime elsewhere in that short period. Everything you have loved for years is as gone as your previous life was while you were elsewhere.
Newer Star Trek lacks passion? I don't think so. When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Odo finally revealed his feelings to Kira, I cheered him on out loud! When Kira had to say goodbye to Odo, possibly forever, I cried. When Star Trek: Voyager's Doctor couldn't bring himself to admit his true feelings to Seven, I felt almost as sad. Each of these episodes is every bit as passionate as "City on the Edge of Forever."
Babylon 5? Passionate and intriguing, intense and personal, Babylon 5 is all these things. So is Star Trek, past, present and future.
Diane Catanzaro
catanz@mail.com
Explore Strange New Worlds
read the letters that people write every week and they all have the same theme: Star Trek is now dead or almost dead. I love almost all sci-fi ... British and American. I think that Star Trek is great today. I love what episodes I have seen of Star Trek: Voyager. I loved Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I am so tired of people saying that the show is different from what Gene Roddenberry wanted. Times are different. I think that most Trekkies just try to compare the new shows to the original show, which is impossible. The new shows follow a different vision. Gene was great, but his time is gone. It is time we embraced the new Star Trek before we kill it.
Earl Stewart
kjaime@webtv.com
Explore Strange Old Worlds
was just reading in SCI FI Wire that Rendevous with Rama will soon be in production. We finally have a fine book like Dune coming up and it is only right to have one of the premier sci-fi series make it to the screen as well. With the help of modern special effects, I can't wait to see how they depict the biots, ocotospiders, avians, and the world of Rama itself.
Ted Horton
olebear53@hotmail.com
Answering The Forbidden Question
ot having seen The Cell--and based on its reviews I don't think I will--
the film to which Chris Pitney is referring in his Issue No. 175 letter "In Search Of ... Human Pets" is likely to be Fantastic
Planet, a French film from 1973.
I think the story is very good but the animation is limited. Maltin's
Movie Guide describes it as "worthwhile, but static and aloof." Believe it
or not, I first saw it at a drive-in when I was a projectionist, on a
double-bill with a long-forgotten David Carradine/Richard Lynch actioner. I
am sure the theatre booker was not familiar with the film he purchased, as it
was totally unlike any other films we were running. Perhaps its being
featured in The Cell will result in renewed interest in it.
Galen Strickland
e_c_gordon@hotmail.com
