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Gellar's Buffy Kicks Butt
pparently,
your editorial department was hurting for letters this week. Why else print the
inflammatory
letter ("The
First Buffy Babe is Best") insulting the acting ability
of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar. Either Noah hasn't
watched the TV series or his taste hasn't matured since he first saw the
original movie.
Ms. Gellar is remarkably talented and has headed an ensemble cast which
is backed by some of the most incredible writers, directors and crew to ever
produce anything on television.
I personally cannot imagine any other actress bringing Buffy to the
screen--Sarah has made the character her own. Besides that, it's not her
refusal to do a big-screen version of Buffy that would prevent a second
movie from becoming a reality, but rather the lack of time and resources
of Buffy's creator, Joss Whedon. One man can only do so much ... and with
the success of Buffy on television and its
spin-off series, Angel, why should he be trying to do more?
Joss has stated for the record that, in his mind, a Buffy movie
comes out once a week. I, for one, am glad of it and will stay glued to my
set until Joss decides otherwise.
Lisa Pett
cpett@columbus.rr.com
Give Andromeda Time to Grow
'd like to
respond to those who so quickly want to trash the new sci-fi series Andromeda.
Obviously it is not perfect. The special effects seem to be on the cheap side (when
compared to shows like Babylon 5), and the new characters are going to take
some time to develop and get used to. Unfortunately, many are comparing
Andromeda to one version of Star Trek or another, calling
it a weak sister.
It seems the name Roddenberry conjures up numerous
stereotypes and expectations of many viewers. If anything, the comment
has been made, and I tend to agree, that this show is more on the level
with Blakes 7. The younger Star Trek fans will no doubt
have never seen this classic, and will no doubt complain about the
cheap-looking sets and bad special effects. All I can say is, give it time.
All good things need a chance to develop and find their niche. One good
thing about the Roddenberry name in this case is it seems to buy time
for the show to grow. For that alone all sci-fi fans should be thankful.
Brad LaForme
ai035@hwcn.org
The 6th Day Delivers a Surprise
his past
weekend, after much anticipation and planning, a friend and I set out to the local
multiplex to see Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but instead
found a huge line and an uncanny sellout rate of four showings ahead. I've not
seen anything like this since Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. So we
decided to see the The 6th Day instead. I expected this to be another
"Action Arnold" flick, full of saucy smart comments and tons of special
effects, and sadly, a watered-down version of Total Recall or some
other movie he'd starred in. But to my surprise, I enjoyed it. The 6th
Day had a really great story behind it, tons of action and special
effects, as well as enough saucy comments to make Joss Whedon blush! All
in all, I think everyone in the movie left the theater very pleased. On the
way out I noticed how everyone who had been in the movie were carrying
conversations. On the way out, people we didn't even know were talking to
us, saying things like, "wouldn't it be scary if they can do that the future?"
or "I wonder how close to the truth this movie is?"
I just want to say it's a good movie, and it's kind of scary in the sense that
Planet Of The Apes or Soylent Green were in their time. The
6th Day is a must see for any sci-fi fan. You'll be more blown away by the
story and concept--the special effects won't be what you'll talk about afterwards.
Theodore Wilczynski
toysoldiers2001@yahoo
Sci-Fi TV Needs Our Support
have
to take exception to three letters in your November 20, 2000 issue. First I
find Andromeda immensely entertaining. I believe they are slowly but
surely building an exciting universe to play around in. I must admit that the
production values are far from being Star Trek quality. That being said,
the quality improves on a weekly basis. The stories are interesting
and thought-provoking. I urge everyone to give it a try.
I do not know how much of Andromeda Jon Sumner has watched--not much judging
by his letter
("Andromeda
is Out of Uniform")--but he surely has missed the reason that the crew is not
in uniform and that there is dissension within the crew. I won't ruin it for everybody,
but there is a perfectly logical reason for the prior points. Watching the pilot
easily explains it.
Noah's attack on Sarah Michelle Gellar
("The First
Buffy Babe is Best") is unwarranted. He seems to equate the fact
that she is popular with the male teenage crowd with a lack of talent. Her beauty
does not detract at all from her acting ability. She brings dignity and a seriousness
to a role that could easily be overwhelmed by cheesiness.
Alain Fournier
alainbm@yahoo.com
Indie SF Is the Way To Go
egarding
Stewart Tame's letter,
"Novelists
Are Not Screenwriters", I agree to a certain extent. However, I would
like to point out that it seems to me that most screenwriters are not GOOD screenwriters.
Plot holes big enough to fly the Enterprise through (original, B, C, D, E or
extra-crispy), poor characterization, and bland dialogue are the norm. Studios
are looking for the biggest explosions, the pithiest and most quotable one-liners.
They DO NOT care about the genre except that people seem to want it and they can make
lots of money with it.
Maybe the big studios want nothing to do with true science-fiction. Maybe that's
true of the general public. This, of course, means that studio number-crunchers
will not back true SF. So be it. There must be independents around that can finance
a well-written, modestly-budgeted SF movie. This is where the true SF writer comes
into play--not transferring existing material to the new medium, but creating a new
work that will both match the medium and the budget.
As much as I enjoy thrill-rides like Armageddon and the like, I would love
to see a movie that captures the sheer wonderment of 2001. I believe it can be
done. But only by those that care to tell a true SF story.
Kevin V. Fifield
mortar_music@hotmail.com
Uniforms Are Not Required
o all those critics of Andromeda: LIGHTEN UP! Give the series a chance. The first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation was pretty poor, too. To Mr. John Sumner, ("Andromeda is Out of Uniform") I have no idea as to your background, but you need to read some more about the military, particularly 20th century mercenary organizations, such as the Wild Geese, or the 5th and 6th Commandos in the Congo during the 1960's. Those organizations had no standard uniforms, and some serious discipline problems, but they hung together and were mostly successful. I find the conflict between Dylan Hunt and his crew to be one of the better parts of a good show. In fact, I found the total camaraderie and teamwork of Star Trek: The Next Generation to get somewhat tiresome. It is unrealistic that at least some people would not pursue their own agendas, even in a military styled organization like Star Fleet.
Pat Baker
pbseller62@iwon.com
Jeri Ryan is Still Under-rated
just wanted to point out that I recently watched an episode of Star Trek: Voyager where Seven-of-Nine was forced to let the Doctor use her body, due to the fact that they had been captured by aliens that had a thing against Holograms. Anyway, I must note the episode was a classic. Jeri Ryan had all the Doc's moves, actions and expressions down to a T. At one point, I stopped noticing Seven-of-Nine and saw the Doc in her place. Usually, Seven is so cold and course, it was odd to see her so giddy and wide-eyed. I've seen Jeri perform on The Sentinal before and I look forward to seeing her in Dracula 2000, but I feel she is an extremely talented and under-rated actress. Not only the character of Seven, but Jeri Ryan herself are what brought life back to Voyager and it will be sad when the final episode of the final season happens. Hopefully we will see Ms. Ryan doing more projects in the near and distant future!
Tony Wallace
just5ive@yahoo
Give Chakotay His Own Voyage
r. Beltran is right. His character doesn't get enough to do. He's like Worf, confined to a desk job. Chakotay's manliness has been co-opted by B'lanna and Janeway. Between Janeway's super-competence and B'lanna's Klingon character cornering the Exotic Warrior angle, what's Chakotay to do? (Not that I object to strong female characters. It just doesn't leave enough for Chokotay to do.) The writers don't utilize his Native American background enough. Dammit, if you're going to have a character with ancient, pagan beliefs on board a 23rd century Starship, milk that archaic background for all its worth! How about a show retelling the Voyager saga using Native American motifs. (A Chakotay bedtime story to the kids?) Even a Holodeck Goes Amok episode with a Mythic Evil Escaping would be worthwhile. Lets say Chakotay uses the Holodeck to flesh out a spiritual adversary for a vision quest. Suppose the adversary escapes. Then Chakotay can really show off his chops as he applies the knowledge of his ancestors in dealing with a threat only he can lead Voyager out of. (Which would give him a chance to lead for once.)
Its probably too late to revamp Chakotay's character at this point, but what if Chakotay became more mysterious and enigmatic? It would be neat if his mystical intuitive side reasserted itself and conflicted with the by-the-book, logical scientific approach of the Voyager crew. Like, he receives a series of prophetic dreams that compel him to do something that would apparently put Voyager in danger but turns out to be the right thing to do. (Like get them home quicker?) This could even be the basis of a two-part story arc. Maybe people disagree with my ideas, but I'd really like to hear other readers' suggestions in this letter column. Mr. Beltran, like the rest of the Voyager Cast Not Named Janeway or Seven-of-Nine, are talented actors getting shafted. Star Trek is supposed to be an ensemble show.
Gary Gin
garygin@peoplepc.com
Sorbo Rises to the Challenge
'd like to register a vote for Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. The first couple of episodes were kind of lame, mainly due to Kevin Sorbo's acting: seemed like he was still playing good ol' Herc. As one of the watchers said at the time, "Where is the fire? Where is the steel? Where is the PASSION?"
But subsequent episodes are much improved, dealing with important plot issues and revealing more and more about the characters, back story, and background universe. Kevin seems to have caught fire in the role. His whole facial expression has changed as Dylan makes tough decisions about which of his ideals he has to discard in order to preserve other ideals and achieve his goals. Sorbo is at last showing the fire, the steel, and the passion. Either he's been taking acting lessons, the directors have learned how to direct him, or the writers have learned how to write for him.
As for the disobedient, disrespectful crew, well ... that's part of Dylan's burden. Dylan Hunt is not only defying the universe, he has to convert his own crew.
Think of it as being like the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where Capt. Picard has to save his ship with the aid of half a dozen small children.
Steve Block
ironhand@stlnet.com
Gellar and Swanson Vie For Buffy
was intrigued by Noah's argument ("The First Buffy Babe is Best") that Kristy Swanson is more than qualified to reprise the role of Buffy in a future feature film. Despite the passion of Noah's argument, Swanson would a far worse choice than Sarah Michelle Gellar for the following reasons.
First, Swanson has not starred in any feature films, major or independent, in the past decade. I don't think she has even had a cameo role on a TV series in this time. Thus, Buffy creator Joss Whedon would be justified in viewing Swanson as a major risk since she has been out of practice for so long. On the other hand, Sarah Michelle Gellar has starred in several movie roles in recent years as well as playing Buffy for five seasons going. These roles include the helpless blonde bimbo in I Know What You Did Last Summer and a manipulative, cold-blooded vixen in Cruel Intentions. This demonstrates Gellar's willingness to play roles that are not minor variations on Buffy. It would be ludicrous to pick Swanson for a Buffy feature given the evidence.
Secondly, Gellar has played Buffy so long that she appreciates the character's nuances and complexity. This fits into Whedon's original vision of Buffy as a heroine who is the antithesis of the blonde bimbo stereotype. Hence, like Spider-Man before her, Buffy is a seemingly frail teen with more than enough power to defeat fearsome foes ranging from snake demons to legendary vampires like Dracula. At the same time, Gellar injects genuine humanity into the Slayer. Buffy's demon hunting is complicated by the normal trials of life. Some are annoying like intense college studies and bratty little sisters. Others are tragic like Buffy learning her mother had a possible malignant brain tumor in the episode "Shadow." Gellar did an excellent job conveying the helplessness one feels when her loved one has a life-threatening condition she cannot cure. It is Gellar's remarkable emotional range on Buffy that attracted adults like myself who usually avoid teen TV dramas.
By contrast, Swanson portrayed the film version of Buffy as another dumb blonde stereotype. Hence, Whedon would have to spend precious time and money teaching Swanson how to be the butt-kicking, cunning, and complicated Slayer that Buffy has become on TV. It would be wiser and simpler for Whedon to stick with the more seasoned Gellar.
Finally, Gellar has played Buffy for so long that she is now synonymous with the role. Having Swanson portray the character would be as misguided as picking Jack Nicholson to play Capt. Kirk in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Besides, Noah represents a tiny minority who think the original Buffy movie was good. The majority of Buffy fans loathe the film and anyone associated with it. From a financial perspective, it would be economic suicide for Swanson to star in the new Buffy film if most people prefer Gellar.
In short, Sarah Michelle Gellar is best choice for a Buffy the Vampire Slayer feature film. With support of top-notch co-stars and writers, Gellar transformed Buffy from a risky venture into the most durable, innovative supernatural TV drama since The X-Files. This quality and her movie experience would make her a boon for any big screen treatment of the hit show.
Frederick D. Weaver
Duane106@olg.com
Farscape Should Show Zhaan the Door
think it would be a good idea if at some time in the near future, the writers of Farscape would do the show a favor and write Zhaan out of the cast.
During Season One, Zhaan was a strong character worthy of the talents of Ms. Hey. During Season Two, however, we have seen this character become inconsistent--from cool competence one minute to screaming hysterics the next. Apparently, the writers are more interested in Chiana creating a character with depth while allowing Zhaan to become more shallow and meaningless.
Let's give Zhaan a hearty send off and delete this character from the already-burdensome mix of interesting characters on Farscape.
It will only help the show if Zhaan leaves.
Tom Francis
tomf@neca.com
Finding Empowerment Beneath the FX
recently saw the sci-fi b-movie classic Attack Of The 50-Foot Woman. The film may have been one of many that took advantage of the fascinations that people had with the questions of extra-terrestrial existence and the consequences of unchecked radiation, but those factors played secondary roles to the star's personal transformation from victim to tormentor. Talk about gaining empowerment and confidence via strange circumstances. A warning to all mashers to beware the anger of a woman scorned.
Julian Gift
lira@trinidad.net
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