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.
— Scott Edelman, Editor-in-Chief
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illow is the best choice as Buffy replacement, according to Tom Vallejos ("Willow Is Best as Buffy Replacement"). But it cannot be, for three unavoidable reasons. 1) Willow is not nor ever will be a genuine Vampire Slayer. 2) Willow was never intended to be more than an excellent supporting character. 3) The core of the show has to revolve around a Slayer, not a Wiccan, or the Initiative or Dawn the former Key. Those might all be interesting stories, but they would all reduce the Slayer to a secondary character. Therefore, unless the writers were to bring in an entirely new Slayer—who would of course have no history within the show and no fan base—only Faith can fill Buffy's shoes.
Another point Tom raises is, would Willow work with Faith? Perhaps the more relevant question is, would Faith give a damn? Faith is a bona fide Slayer, and she doesn't need anyone to hold her hand, or tell her how to behave. With Faith as Sunnydale's resident Slayer, the Scooby Gang would have a whole new set of problems, and be forced to make some tough decisions. How this changes them, and Faith, would make for fascinating viewing.
As things stand, the show has just about exhausted every permutation of the existing cast, and if it is to progress after the departure of Sarah Michelle Gellar, the mixture needs stirring up. Preferably with a splash of darkness called Faith.
Nathan Brazil
nathanbrazil@freeuk.com
fter watching the 70-minute premiere episode of Birds of Prey, my faith in successfully transforming the Batman mythos from the comic book to the screen has been shaken. The BoP premiere was a sorry excuse for good TV ... let alone a comic book. It wasn't the acting that made it bad, it was the writing and directing. The choreography was slow and awkward. The Huntress was an obnoxious brat, unlike the quiet comic-book version. Her costume looked like a poor excuse for lingerie. The flashback scenes of Catwoman were horrible ... she looked like a ragamuffin with the disheveled costume and the messy hair sticking out of the back. And don't even get me started on The Joker!
The only thing reasonably good about the episode was Mia Sara's presentation of the Harley Quinn character. I just don't understand why these know-nothing Hollywood producers stick their noses in
places they don't belong. Why did they feel they needed to change anything at all? The comic-book version of the Huntress and the subsequent Birds of Prey was decent, and probably would have made a good transition to the screen. Hollywood needs help in the comic-book area.
Steve Guglich
hive@strato.net
ear Mr. Edelman, You have my condolences ("Finding Solace in Science Fiction"). My father was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base for many years, so I grew up in your next-door neighbor county, Prince Georges.
It's interesting that you mention SF as a way of keeping sane. Science fiction was my main reading material and mysteries secondary when I was young. Some time in my 30s, I switched to reading mostly mysteries. When I noticed, I started wondering why. I realized that in mysteries (steering clear of Mean Streets, of course), somebody cares enough to find out who did it, no matter how villainous the victim, and justice is usually done.
On the other hand, almost all of the TV shows I watch and movies I see are SF or fantasy.
Good luck! I hope they catch the killer.
Ann E. Nichols
mycateats@hotmail.com
cott, well said ("Finding Solace in Science Fiction"). Art, whatever its medium or genre, has always challenged madness and always will. During the Siege of Leningrad (1941-44) one and a half million Leningraders would starve to death or be killed by the Nazis surrounding the city, but its symphony orchestra would not be deterred. Though the musicians and the audience were freezing and starving and cannon boomed close by and the Russian winter blew in through bomb-shattered windows, the show went on! At all costs, the people would have what allowed
them to escape reality, if only briefly.
Science fiction goes one step further, in that it compels us to imagine ourselves, for better or for worse, in another reality far removed from our own and often, the further away the better.
For a long, long time, I worked creating science fiction and that was an escape in itself. Science fiction flexes the imagination, toughens the backbone and, I'd like to think, reminds us that the better we make the present, the better chance we have of coping with the future.
Life does go on. Science fiction is the hope that it always will.
Kevin Ahearn
KEVTOMA@aol.com
have been reading about this Superman thing for a while and had been getting this strange feeling about it ("Superman Is Not the American Way", "Superman Must Be Shown Respect"). I love superhero stories and the
Superman story. So, I was excited about the prospect of a new movie, but felt strange about redoing the Superman stories. I think Kevin Ahearn ("Warner's Kryptonite Weakens Superman") hit the nail on the head with his submission on this page.
Superman does not need a new image, it is already a great one. If you want to make a new Superman movie wait a few years and once the cast of Smallville grows up you will have a major hit with well-established actors as the characters.
James Green
jamesgreenzz@hotmail.com
hen I read Nathan Brazil's letter on Superman ("Superman Is Not the American Way"), I stared at my monitor for a
few moments unsure I was seeing what I was seeing. Superman not American? Hah! How untrue! I'm not sure if I should laugh or start frothing at the mouth.
Sure, Superman is an alien, born on the planet Krypton, which exploded. He came to Earth as a refugee, fleeing the disaster which befell his home. If you don't want to accept that he was a refugee, look at him as an immigrant. OK, he was a baby at the time, but America has gladly taken in millions of people over the past 226 years who were in the same situation.
Superman is an immigrant in a land of immigrants. Just because he came from another [planet] does not change that fact. As a matter of fact, with the exception of Native Americans, we are all either immigrants or descendents of immigrants.
Without immigrants, America would never have become what it is today, and while he is a fictional character, Superman embodies the best of America. He grew up in Smallville, then moved to Metropolis as a man to fight for truth, justice and the American Way.
When originally created, Superman fought against the Nazis, so comparing the Man Of Steel with the misguided leaders of the Third Reich is ludicrous, to say the least.
If Superman's history has faults and if his future is in question, then he still mirrors America, for our country has made mistakes in the past and we're all worried about the future.
Still, we are proud of our country! We are also proud of Superman.
Keith Kitchen
BoyoKlaatu@aol.com
or me, the thrill in science fiction is the the new idea or new interpretation of something. For example, I remember as a teen my first encounter with the concept of parallel worlds in a short story about a person who moved between them by finding a particular coin in his change. The idea jazzed me.
Last night, I'm glad I watched Dead Zone and taped Firefly, because I just loved the concept that a spiritual experience could be two people connecting through time. I haven't seen TV provide mind candy like that in a while.
If previous Dead Zone episodes are anything to judge by, the show will not likely become a constant source of these moments, but I savor the episode. Bravo!
Barbara Goldstein
psifidoll@attbi.com
am trying to find the two books that I had read in the early '80s and was wondering if I could get some help.
The first is about a war between man and dogs. It takes place in the future, at a castle. Man and wolf and bird are fighting dogs and bats. In the end, the men win because discover explosives in a ruined city.
The other is about prisoners who are sent to a planet for their crimes. The planet is the prison. One of the group has powers of a chameleon. I don't remember the rest of the group, but the story is about their survival on the planet.
Thanks for your help.
Tom Northcutt
TLNVOLS@aol.com
have to comment on the cancellation of Farscape by our friends at the SCI FI Channel ([although I] never have understood just what a "skiffy" is anyway). While it seems they were searching desperately for a new story arc to continue the series, and seemed unduly fixated on characters that were written out of Barbarella (played by actors that would have trouble doing spots for used-car lots), the basic concept was sound and could have survived.
The declining ratings still would have placed Farscape among the top five or 10 programs being broadcast by the channel. So, as someone once said: "follow the money." Old horror movies and trash like Crossing Over cost little or nothing. The bean counters have struck again and in their arrogance seem to think we will just sit back and settle for whatever they decide to air.
That being said, attention programmers: I have something like 149 other channels on my system—throwing away viewers to save a few bucks does not seem [like] a wise idea.
Carl Pommerening
PommereningC@MSN.com
omeone in the last [Letters column] mentioned Shatner ("Shatner Serves Up Saturday Scares"), and that reminded me of something I thought of long ago, and I thought I'd bring up.
As we all remember, Star Trek V was a disaster. However, I have a couple of comments to make.
One, Shatner was not to blame for that. First of all, he was one writer of three, and he was more the director than anything else, and all a director is responsible for is directing. Right?
I read an article from a sci-fi mag that explained much of what happened—how the budget was severely slashed, as well as the original script. Because of the reduced budget, the last scene of him and what was supposed to be a thousand rock gargoyles pouring out of the hole in the ground ready to
pounce on our heroes was totally written out, as well as "Kirk's last stand," with him on the hilltop firing two phasers at the masses of gargoyles following him up. The spectacular views of the false god's imitation heaven and the angels that were to change into flying devils swooping down at them was reduced to a lousy blue light. There were other things written out because of the "bean counters," and what they were left with was a sorry, watered-down version of what, in my opinion, could've been possibly a half-descent picture. They didn't even go with Industrial Light & Magic. They went with some cheap special-effects company, and it showed.
The reason I bring this up was not just to defend Shatner, but to bring up an idea I think might actually help that picture, and this is my second thought. If [George] Lucas can re-make Star Wars with new digital animation, why can't Paramount? They couldn't possibly screw it up any more than the budgeters already have, and it might just work.
This thought has been bugging me for years and I just thought I'd talk about it somewhere where it could be appreciated, discussed, possibly debated and so on. It has just annoyed me that the blame for its failure was placed squarely on Shatner's head, and he was only one of a whole staff working on it. It's like blaming one baseball player for a losing game just because he missed one little catch. There are at many other players on a team, and no one player can lose a game, no matter what.
Eric Anchor
DragonRider64@aol.com
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