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Voyager Will Not Be Missed
have been a Star Trek fan for nearly 25 years, but I do not enjoy Star Trek: Voyager, and I have been trying to figure out why.
The first problem is the disdain I feel for Janeway as played by Kate Mulgrew. Maybe it's the goofy hairdo, or maybe it's the way she walks, but this is not a captain I have been able to get used to (it took a while to adjust to Picard and a long while to admire Sisko, but eventually it did happen). I would have
preferred LCDR Shelby if we just had to have a female skipper.
The second
problem was the writers' refusal to explore the inevitable conflict that
would result from confining a Starfleet crew on one ship with the terrorists
that they were hunting. This could have been a wonderful source of tension;
travelling across the Gamma quadrant with hostile aliens in front of you and
potential mutiny behind. Another problem was the writers' tendency to
completely resolve everything in one hour. I don't care how dire the combat
situation was at 45 minutes to the hour, you KNEW that in 10 minutes, Voyager would emerge
triumphant from the battle and miraculously, all the damage was repaired by
the start of the next episode. (Why does Starfleet continue to build those
huge Spacedocks? After years of near constant battle, Voyager seems in
remarkably good condition.)
My final complaint is that the crew is so one-dimensional--they never seemed to change. Supposedly, Tom Paris was
released from prison to serve on Voyager, but he must have been convicted of
jay-walking because this guy screamed "BOY SCOUT"! Torres was part Klingon,
but the only evidence of this is the makeup on her face. Contrast this with
the evolution we saw in Worf or Data or Dax or even Jake Sisko!
Voyager has too many basic flaws to ever be considered great
television. I will not miss it.
Garrett Reynolds
atlanta_garrett@yahoo.com
Star Trek is Losing Its Luster
ven as a long-term Trek fan, I have to agree that the franchise needs to look at the direction it is going.
There is now a plethora of really good SF shows on both Free-to-Air and
Pay T.V. that have more of an action base to them that makes them attractive to
younger viewers and oldies like me. The newer shows have evolving and
continuing story lines and characters that Star Trek fails to take advantage
of except in very minor ways.
Like it or not, Star Trek is starting to look like episodic soap, which
would be a great shame to such an otherwise great premise.
Steve Boyce
sboyce@goconnect.net
Star Trek and D&D Divide Fans
umors of my having a life are greatly exaggerated. I thank Ms. Erp for the compliment though. Of course, if word of this gets out, my reputation in local fan circles could be ruined ...
I was intrigued by Kevin Riley's letter about the proposed Director's Cut
of Dungeons & Dragons. I have a hard time imagining what could be added to
the movie that would change my opinion of it significantly (I currently
consider it the Flash Gordon of fantasy films), but it might be worth
renting just to see what was changed.
I was also fascinated by Elizabeth Walsh's comments that Star Trek:
Insurrection was "wonderful" and that people who say the storyline is thin
should "come up with something better." I wasn't aware that one had to be
a professional writer in order to view ST: Insurrection--they forgot to ask to see our
Screenwriter's Guild cards when my wife and I went to see it. By the same
argument, how can Ms. Walsh really think the movie is "wonderful" when she
hasn't (I'm presuming here) directed, written, and/or starred in a movie of
her own? When it comes to entertainment, one doesn't necessarily have to be
a practitioner of said entertainment in order to have an opinion on it.
Challenging people who state their opinion that the storyline of ST:I is
"thin" to do better strikes me as just so much sour grapes. If you want to
annoy them just innocently ask, "What do you mean by 'thin'?", or "'Thin'
compared to what?" You might get some interesting answers ...
And, just
for the record, I thought ST:I was no better or worse than an average episode of the TV
series--not particularly good, not particularly bad, and ultimately not
particularly memorable.
Stewart Tame
sbt@ans.net
Fans Wonder About Women
hy is What Women Want being reviewed by a science fiction website for? I guess it doesn't seem any stranger than some of the SCI FI Channel's programming choices.
Stu Lewis
slewis@foremostgraphics.com
Reader Seeks the Sound of Music
am looking for the source of the music played over the credits at the end of THX 1138. It is choral music, and sounds like a piece of an old mass. Does anyone know the name and/or composer of the piece from which this was lifted?
J. Harris
jharris@trilithic.com
SC FI's Dune is Worth Rewatching
'm sure that Science Fiction Weekly hasn't lacked for letters regarding the recent SCI FI
version of Dune. I'm probably considered a "pedestrian" by hard-core
Herbert and/or Lynch fans--I read the first book, watched Lynch's movie
version and not only sat through, but thoroughly enjoyed the television
version.
Why are people quibbling about hair color, costumes, or whether Paul was alone in his room when attacked? Talk about getting petty with the details.
Face it, the SCI FI Channel produced a version that was not only
understandable to those unfamiliar with the story, but one that could be
enjoyed by a lot of people who are. Let's give credit where credit is due,
huh?
If the detail hounds want to fret, let them worry about the upcoming Lord
of the Rings films, and whether Aragorn had black hair or brown!
Me, I'd rather watch Dune again. (Yes, the TV version!)
Lisa Pett
cpett@columbus.rr.com
Dune Had Too Many Pretty Faces
taped the entire Dune miniseries before sitting down to watch it. (I can't abide commercials and fast-forward through them). It's a good thing I did this, because if I had sat down to watch it, I may not have gotten through part 1, let alone felt like continuing to the end.
As it was, I did watch the entire series and it improved over the viewing of parts 2 and 3, but not tremendously.
I've read the entire Dune series and perhaps should go back and read them all again. I saw the first Lynch film, with great anticipation, then disappointment, as this epic story was scrunched into 2 hours. It should have been four, which is not without precedent (i.e., Gone With the Wind). When the Lynch version was re-run on TV with cut footage added back in, and with a male voice as the narrator, it improved greatly, and is still my current favorite film version, carefully archived on VHS.
Problems with the new SCI FI Channel version include the following: casting and character development, and with the state of the art special effects available now, these could have been better as well.
Casting: Everyone was too pretty, beautiful, or handsome. I felt like I was watching a film full of models, male and female, rather than actors and actresses. There is character in imperfection and flaws. While I don't care for the high melodrama of some more vintage films, the people were interesting characters, both because of the development of the characters, and their looks--rugged, craggy, imperfect. The Lynch film did much better here.
Character development: Much better in the Lynch version. As far as SCI FI's version, to be fair to these "too beautiful" actors/actresses, I somehow feel it was direction, rather than their acting skills, that failed to develop the characters enough for me to care what happened to any of them in the story, which would have been why I might have turned it off and not continued watching it had I not taped it and could cut down on the time watching by fast-forwarding through commercials. A more recent example of good character development that made a mediocre story a delight to watch was Stephen King's The Stand. The characters, hosts of them, were wonderful, and I loved seeing how each of them played out their roles, even though the good vs. evil story was predictable and tiresome.
Special effects: The special effects were better in the Lynch version, however more archaic they may have been, and they also fit with the story better.
I truly love the science fiction genre, particularly sci-fi that uplifts and creates a vision for the future of humanity. We are desperately in need of this on this planet, at this time, as well as film for pure entertainment. I am very disappointed in the SCI FI Channel in general, because many of the criticisms about Dune, above, are present throughout many of the new shows and films. Special effects are wonderful, I love them when they're well done, but they can't carry a film or series when the characters are so poorly developed. I don't care what happens to them. And if I don't care what happens to them, the TV gets turned off, and I go back to my books. You have a ready and willing watcher here, SCI FI, please give me something worth watching...
Sorry to be so brutal, but this is how I feel.
Niara Isley
gaiatrib@cwo.com
Dune Miniseries Lacks Nobility
fter reading the many letters regarding the Dune miniseries, I was
pleased to find that many people agree with me that it was a huge
disappointment. Although I felt the costumes of the Fremen were an
improvement, the rest of the miniseries must have had Frank Herbert turning
in his grave. I went out and bought the David Lynch version.
Two of the
main reasons I didn't care for the miniseries were mentioned. One--costumes reminded me more of a Flash Gordon episode than the Dune novel,
and two--Paul was portrayed as an angry brat. But no one mentioned
the lack of nobility, and that was my primary concern. House Atreides was
acutely aware of its own nobility, as was the Paddasha Emperor's House.
This sense of nobility was correctly portrayed in the David Lynch version,
but was abandoned in this new miniseries. The biggest departure from
nobility, in my opinion, came at the meeting that dealt with how to handle
the Harkonnen problem. Paul slouched at the table looking bored and then disgustedly threw in a comment. His Father, the Duke, made no comment and his fathers men praised the idea. A
noble born would have been taught to sit properly and would never have made
himself look better then his father. In the book Paul THOUGHT about the
mistakes his father made, but never voiced them. In the end, I taped the
miniseries, but will probably never watch it again. I'll stick with David
Lynch.
Cynthia L. Perna
alethia@cfaith.com
SCI FI Faithful to Herbert's Dune
he recent miniseries on the SCI FI Channel of Frank Herbert's Dune is
lingering in my mind. This rendition was more faithful to the books than the movie with Sting and Patrick Stewart several years ago, but still lacking. I don't find fault with the producers or directors, though. Perhaps it is an indication of Herbert's genius that his novel can't be adequately depicted on film whether shown on a large screen or a small one. Still, I
enjoyed the series very much and hope there will be others to follow, if
Herbert would allow it. Dune remains one of the most complex and compelling
book I've read and one I return to every few years. Perhaps someday I'll
understand all of it, but even with two movies and years of re-reading,
there are parts that still are as elusive as the future and are beyond my
grasp.
Barbara Mercado
104123.2552@compuserve.com
Books and Films Deserve Equal Affection
have read the recent comments about the Dune mini-series. First, I want
to state that I have not read the books and can only comment on the movie
and the miniseries.
That being said, I think both have merit. Both address points of the story that the other missed. I came away from the movie wanting more depth. I came away from them miniseries seeking some of the commentary and information that was in the movie. In both versions,
different characters shine out and you wish you could combine the best
actors from both.
The point that I want to make is no movie can ever take the place of a
book or comic book. The power of the written word enables us to use our God-given minds to make the story real to us. Our version of the story will be similar to someone else's, but not exactly the same. At this point in time mankind cannot capture everything from a book and put it on screen. Maybe in the future that will happen. Until then, we can judge films only on
production, story adaptation, acting, and other things.
Let's hold adaptations up to the highest critical standards to ensure
the best can be made, but let's also realize you just cannot duplicate the
power of the written word. Enjoy movies and take the time to learn the
techniques involved and the devices used. We take classes in literature to
better appreciate books, lets do the same with movies. Herbert was a great
writer from what I can gather from the adaptations and commentary. Celebrate
and appreciate his work but let's do the same for the film makers who
deserve it.
Geoff Gentry
ggentry@triad.rr.com
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