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.
-- Scott Edelman, Editor-in-Chief
Send us your letters!
Got a gripe about something going on in the science fiction world? Want to call attention to an overlooked genre gem? Do you disagree with one of our reviews? Would you like to tell the editor of Science Fiction Weekly what a great job he does? Write a letter to the editor and send it in! You'll have the satisfaction of knowing that your letter will be read by thousands of SF fans. Doubtless, fame and fortune will follow (fame and fortune not guaranteed).
A Little Knight Music is Enough
ust a small correction here, Kasey Myers ("A Medieval Purist Defends Knight"). The Society for Creative Anachronisms (SCA) is a wonderful group which I, myself, participate in. I love the SCA, but let me remind you that the SCA does not live out medieval times as they were, but rather as the member would have liked them to be. We don't live out all the disease, the dominating of women, or the slavery. Calling yourself a medieval purist because you are in the SCA is an exaggeration. The SCA does, however, have a lot in common with the movie, and I can see why the movie appeals to people in the SCA. Both the SCA and the movie took some of the elements from medieval times that they liked and left out the ones they didn't, or tinkered with the way things were to make it more enjoyable.
The only thing I have against the movie is the music. Don't get me wrong--I love the music, I just don't think it was appropriate for the movie whether they want to call it a period piece or not. They may not have been trying for a period movie, but I find it hard to believe they were not at least trying to capture a bit of a medieval feel.
Noah Vale
whiskeyandwinearemyonlyfriends@yahoo.com
Matrix Energy Found in Tasty Wheat
o continue the controversy ("The Answer to the Matrix is Paste," "Matrix Slaves May Be Storage Units" and "The Matrix Uses Human Pentiums") behind the Matrix "human-battery" dilemma: I think it is all a matter of "tasty wheat." Try to imagine why the AI machines do what they do. In 200 years, the human population would be overwhelming. A new source of food would be needed. Genetics geniuses develop this food from bacteria using human feces as a culture or fertilizer, making "tasty wheat"--the same substance which Morpheus' crew enjoyed so much. Thus, huge sewer systems are created to channel the waste from hundreds of miles around to the "tasty wheat" center. (That's the only reason I can come up with why the sewers are so huge in the movie.) Because it is such a nasty job making human waste into food--(I can hear Charlton Heston shouting, "Soylent Green is what?!")--humans turn the job over to the AIs. (Because the sewers lead to areas controlled by the AIs--the "tasty wheat" center--Morpheus and the crew use them to get close to the machines and tap into the Matrix.)
Two things could happen next: either the machines are disgusted by the job they are given and lash out at their human oppressors, or the humans have a nuclear war on their own, thus "scorching the sky." Either way, the AIs have lost their abundant source of solar energy. Because the AIs are nature-minded and have a primary duty toward agriculture--seen in the movie by their "fields of human beings" and the way they imitate natural creatures like spiders and squids--it is unlikely that they would conceive
of using all-poluting fossil fuels as an energy source. Also, nuclear power helped "scorch the sky," so that's out, too. What's left? Well, they have all this "tasty wheat" lying around. All they need is a way to convert that into energy. Then they realize: Tasty wheat goes into humans, converts to energy, feces comes out of humans, feces becomes tasty wheat ... a renewable energy source! Start planting humans! In order to help the human body convert as much energy as possible and yet remain immobile, the AIs create the Matrix to stimulate their brains. (The Matrix is not "control" like Morpheus thinks, but rather "stimulation.") Of course, all the excess energy they gather from this process would be used toward their real goal: finding a way to cleanse the sky and return to their happy solar power days. Sound implausible? Watch the movie now with all this in mind, and tell me it doesn't work ...
Michael Kroll
aradyn@hotmail.com
Both Matrix and Knight Disappoint
f ever a subject has been done to death it has to be The Matrix. There is an old saying, that if you have to explain something too much it shows how many problems it has. The movie has so many plotholes you could drive a "real" truck through it. I, as well as others, have been quickly rebuked when we point out the problems, so I won't go into those again. Please, get over it. Wait until the sequels come out and hope that the writers/directors finally explain all of the unanswered questions they made in the first film.
As for A Knight's Tale, what a waste of a movie. No historical facts or language, I was expecting them to start saying "Whoa ... cool ... " at any moment. This film was so predictable and full of cliches that it became a joke. I love the music they used but it just doesn't work in a medieval setting. Does anybody remember the awful soundtrack for an otherwise good film Ladyhawke? This was worse. The problem is that this movie will start a trend of more films like this, soon we will have A Mummy's Tale set in Egyptian town of Santa Barbara or A Caveman's Tale written in the style of New York gangsters, a la The Sopranos.
Evan Wardwell
EWardwell@email.msn.com
SCI FI Should Save Conflict
arth: Final Conflict versus Fan: Final Conflict. Who will prevail? I am amazed and disheartened to read that yet another long-time cast fan favorite, Leni Parker, will not be returning for the final season of Earth: Final Conflict as Da'an.
What is Earth: Final Conflict? What is it known for? Androgynous blue-suited bald aliens, what else! Conflict and E:FC, two words that have become interchangeable. If it were not for the fact that I miss this show and cast, it would be laughable to compare the producers' annual revamp to cast and story direction with the fans' approval factor. How can two entities be so at odds with each other? This not a courtship but rather a divorceship. Baffling!
Will the current producers and fans ever find harmony? Though this would be a wonderful outcome, I am afraid E:FC's time has run its course for both sides.
Will fans be eagerly waiting for October and the new season? Yes! All those inspiring E:FC episodes from Season 1 will begin! You remember those episodes, the ones where the interaction between Boone and Da'an were breath taking, mystical if not down right magical. You were hooked!
Attention Mr. Diller and USA Networks: one Alienated Fan Base looking for one Alien Fan-Loving Producer. Ex-E:FC cast members available and looking for work! I am making light of a sad situation, but it would be great to read an article at Sci Fi Wire announcing a new original SCI FI Channel series, debuting July 2002, staring none other than Leni Parker, Anita La Selva, Kevin Kilner, Lisa Howard, Von Flores and Richard Chevolleau.
Till that time, if it ever should come, I can't wait for the little blue Taelon to announce: This is SCI FI! You are in Prime! All right!
Ben Rogers
rogersbl@ix.netcom.com
Buffy's Move is Depressing
our interview with Marti Noxon was great. Among other interesting items, you dove right to the heart of the problems inherent in having two shows supposedly connected by a shared history and characters airing on two different networks--a connection that's already strained by Joss Whedon's determination that the shows must "stand alone." Apparently the only way Mr. Whedon can think of to achieve that is to practically ignore their common background. Ms. Noxon's remarks that Buffy's move to UPN would probably mean not only that there will be no more crossovers between the two shows, but that even the tenuous association they now share will lessen, is not good news for the fans. In fact, for this fan at least, it's downright depressing.
Aside from that, I enjoyed reading the interview. Thank you.
Debbie Nockels
Debnockels@aol.com
Andromeda Caught With Zipper Down
et me start off by saying I am a fan of Andromeda. I think the first season was uniformly good. It certainly had fewer true clunkers then the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation--even if they played the time paradox card at least one time too many ("Dark Angel, Demon Bright" and "The Banks of the Lethe").
The season finale ("Its Hour Come 'Round At Last") was an action-packed episode, and I particularly liked the Butch and Sundance dialog between Harper and Tyr. But it was a bit of a bust for two reasons. First: What kind of threat are the Magog really? They don't appear very smart, they don't use weapons
and their idea of tactics is to rush forward and get killed. Even if they like their food alive, how about a stun gun? Only one Magog carried a weapon and he appeared to be of a higher caste then the other Magog. The second reason is--you can see the zippers. The Magog costumes were very very badly done. I know there had to be a lot of them, but come on--in at least three scenes the viewer could easily pick out the zippers on the backs of the Magog.
Despite that, I am looking forward to the conclusion of the episode next season.
Patrick Baker
bakerpat62@yahoo.com
Chris Carter Chose Life for X-Files
don't know if this letter will ever be posted, but I just had to say something about this season, TV-wise. Almost every show ended with a death ... and one ended with a new life. The X-Files. So, here is, simply enough, as simple as I can be at this hour, a letter to Chris Carter in thanks.
In 1993, when The X-Files debuted, I was 15 and sci-fi was my life. Still is. Maybe it's because my first film, at three weeks, was Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Whatever the reason, I never really found a solid show that reflected the kind of smart scifi/horror exemplified by the likes of Bradbury and Asimov. So I watched the Golden Girls instead (laugh if you must).
Then one day, that summer (of 1993), my sister turned to me and said, "There is this new show coming on this fall--about aliens and stuff. I know you wanna watch that. That's your kinda stuff." (Not verbatim). And I thought, "It'll probably be a cheesy show, just like the others that came and went." But, from that first episode, right up until Sunday's finale, I was there. I have been there and I have been eternally grateful ever since.
Because of The X-Files, I discovered I wasn't the only sci-fi freak in the world. Because of The X-Files, I didn't have to worry about unsolicited and exploitative alien (and human) sex. Because of The X-Files, I made friends and I learned to value my friendships. Because of The X-Files, I discovered that the world isn't such a boring calamitous effort after all. Carter, if this letter makes any sense at all, it just leads up to one thing, in the same way The X-Files has lead up to one thing ...and to that I say Thank you--thank you very much.
E.M. Sena
genius_ebe@yahoo.com
Voyager Finale Fails Fan
ust to let you know that this is coming from a Star Trek fan who has watched all the series of Star Trek. My comment and opinion will be on the finale of Star Trek: Voyager. Let me begin that at the end of the episode the whole crew coming back to Earth, is definitely a boring, happy ending--but not realistic from my point of view. It is my belief that they should have left it the way it was, that 20 crew member's died, Seven of Nine didn't make it, and it took them another 16 years to make it back to Earth, that is much better.
Furthermore, they should have just expanded and enriched the original future, expand more on flashbacks or memories on the last 16 years that they didn't show. It may sound sad and depressing, but at least it added an element of tragedy.
Michael Binz
edpmzen@hotmail.com
Star Trek's "Endgame" Casts Shadows
fter having watched "Endgame," I came to realize just how difficult to write quality science fiction shows it really must be. So far, by my estimation, the only one to get it right is Babylon 5 (with the exception of the Byron storyline). The difference: You didn't always root for all of the characters. All of the Star Trek characters are a likable bunch that you never wanted to see them get killed or hurt, but how many people wanted Londo to die for what he did to the Narn's? Mr. Bester? Finally, you loved to hate Walter Koenig! B5 has been accused of being a rip-off of J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings, and there are similarities, but I would rather watch a story that I care about what happens then watch 40 minutes of garbage. All the special effects in the world couldn't make Star Wars: The Phantom Menace a great story and B5 never had those special effects. What it had was superior writing and acting. I guess the Shadows put it right when they ask "What do you want?" The answer:
More shows like Babylon 5.
John Cahill
mithrandir@pb.net
Voyager Finale Finds Fans Frowning
am writing to say how very, very disappointed I was in the Star Trek: Voyager ending. While there are many things the show could have done better over the seven year run--including adding more permanent aliens into the cast, having more ongoing relationships between characters and wrestling with
more serious issues--I am a Voyager fan, especially a Captain Janeway fan. As the first regular cast female, Captain Janeway walked a fine line. She could not get involved with her first officer as it would diminish her role as captain. I wish the writers would have developed her friendship with Tuvok and used it as dialog for insights into Janeway, but they didn't. Her mothering of Seven of Nine was sometimes over the top, but still believable.
I am disappointed in the final episode because it takes Janeway completely out of character. Here is a woman who followed the prime directive to the point of stranding her crew, who agonized over her decision (one of the best shows) and who knows the danger of time changes from the second best show--"Year of Hell, part II" and who also complained about time travel giving her a headache! The idea that Admiral Janeway would alter the time line--placing everyone, everywhere in danger because of the ripples of time altering lives throughout the universe--is an insult to the character. If she really did want to go back in time and change things then why wouldn't she go all the way back and stop the crew from being stranded in the first place? The idea that she is concerned with 22 deaths--when she has lost many more since the first contact with The Caretaker--is again silly. And we are supposed to believe that Captain Kim knows the dangerous and illegal plan and says, "Okay?"
Finally, my son argued that Voyager's ending is simply a re-make of the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. There are many ways in which it is very similar. What is different is that Janeway, unlike Picard, did care about her crew and would have more reaction to getting home then sitting and saying "Take us home." These people have had one thought for seven years and no one even gets out of their seats at the news they are back in Earth's solar system?
Next Generation had the Riker romance, but, hey, there was no ongoing Seven romance--just
a forced plot for the final episode. And unlike DS9 that has a great ending as far as wrapping up--on Voyager we did not get a conclusion to what would happen to former Maquis members--remember that was mentioned at the start of the seventh season--and we have no reunion for Niomi, didn't even get to see Voyager's other Vulcan, and I could go on and on, but I will stop with one final comment on the next Star Trek.
Why does the commercial for Enterprise skip Sisco? Is it racist? Some will think so. After all, he was a far better captain than Picard. Think about it. (p.s. I will watch Enterprise because I am a Trekker forever.)
Gloria Hoffner
gloriah@phillynews.com
Voyager Needs a Continuing Comic
as it just me, or were you (the readers/fans-at-large) kind of disappointed with Star Trek: Voyager's series finale, "Endgame?" I really expected a little more. I thought the finale was average at best, with a few bright spots and the ending cut shorter than a neutered housecat. I wanted to be happy that Voyager made it home. I really did. However, I didn't feel anything. It didn't feel like a finale. It felt like a weekly episode. I still expect to see what happened after Voyager made it back to Earth next week, even though I know it's impossible. Not only did I want to see Voyager come home, I wanted to see "The Great Maquis Trial," that we all knew was inevitable, once they got back. If it were up to me, part 1 would have been the return home of Voyager and part 2 would have been the trial. Sure, they would have been sent free, but it would have been interesting to see how
Janeway saved them from prison. So, if anybody from Wildstorm Comics is reading this, you now have a premise for your next comic.
Adam Boudreaux
TrekAdamG@webtv.net
New Enterprise Should Use Trek Name
uring the series-ending Star Trek: Voyager episode, "Endgame," I saw a short promo for the upcoming new series "Enterprise," supposedly a prequel to the original Trek series. It has been reported online, and confirmed by the promo that the new series will not use the series-spanning name Star Trek.
I contend that not using the Star Trek name to promote an obviously Trek-derived show is a mistake, because, if the name had been used, (1) newer converts to the shows will be attracted to the previous shows (and thus be likely to connect the new show to its predecessors), (2) connecting the new show by its name to the previous legacy will generate more profits to all of the products connected with all of the shows under the Trek mantle, and (3) using the Trek name will show the public that Paramount, Rick Berman and the rest of Star Trek's staff are still proud of Star Trek's history and accomplishments.
I also noticed that the promo mentioned all of the previous lead captains except Sisko. Is that just an oversight on the part of the promo's producers, or was it a reflection that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was the least successful of all of the previous shows? I know that Sisko never commanded an Enterprise, and that may be used as an excuse for the mistake, but Janeway never commanded an Enterprise either, and her name was used in the promo. Comments, Mr. Berman?
Henrik Harbin
kirneh1@home.com
Back to the top.
