Letters to the Editor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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 comments form or send a message to scifiweekly@scifi.com.

-- Craig E. Engler, Editor

Stretching the truth beyond redemption

"French actor Perez can't possibly live up to Lee's strong performance in the first film, or to the drama created by Lee's accidental death. Even if he could get past that, the new film's makers sink any chance he has by giving him badly written dialogue." (Issue 29, On Screen)

SFW is so intelligently written that it is unusual for me to find reason to disagree. However, the above quote is ludicrous. Brandon Lee was an attractive guy, but to credit him with a "strong performance" is to stretch the truth beyond hope of redemption. Subtract the drama created by his death, and you have a shallow music video trying be the next BladeRunner. Further, in what way was The Crow an SF film? Just because it sprang out of a comic book does not make it SF. Overall, SFW is excellent. Keep up the good work.

Chas Warren
armitage@rand.nidlink.com

Editor: Of course that's just our reviewer's opinion, and we don't expect every reader to agree with it. As to The Crow not being SF...you caught us out, Chas. Due to the number of requests we receive for not-quite-SF shows and movies like The Crow or Forever Knight, we sometimes bend our own rules and review them anyway. Especially during a slow week.

You didn't go far enough

I just read your critique of the new animated "Flash Gordon" and I am okay with it. But I would go further on the analysis and try to see a level up. The American animation producers have to struggle just to find a place in the very narrow Saturday morning schedule. It is no wonder that they have to "subdue" in quality to obtain a product that might have a chance to be accepted for that time slot. The producers are at the mercy of the networks' bureaucrats (usually a nitwit with no guts). It is no wonder that in those conditions, the truly innovative cartoons don't come from United States but from Japan, Canada and Europe, where animation is still seen as an art form and not as a "product."

There is also a cultural problem: In the United States, the cartoons are still made like the "G.I. Joe" stories 30 years ago -- the villains are totally evil, the goods are totally saints, there are no in-betweens except as background characters, there is no blood and especially no realism (if a guy punches another guy, the first guy doesn't sense the pressure on his knuckles and the other guy is thrown 20 blocks away instead of the more sensible 20 inches).

Marc Nadeau
nadeaum@grics.qc.ca

Editor: Astute observations, Marc. However, there is some excellent U.S. animation being produced, such as the recent Batman animated series and the forthcoming Superman series. Surely Flash Gordon deserves the same treatment.

Winner sets the record straight

I'm writing to say how much I enjoyed the coverage of the Reader Appreciation Awards in the latest issue, especially since I'm one of the recipients. However, the comments you choose to quote from me -- about losing to Maureen (McHugh) in the short story category by one vote -- while true, aren't all I said. I seem to remember thanking everyone who voted for me, and making that comment about losing to Maureen as a joke. Anyway, I just don't want all your readers who did vote for me to get the wrong idea. I very much appreciated their support, and since they did select me as Best New Writer, I will do my best to live up to their expectations.

Michael Burstein
mab@world.std.com

Editor: Sorry Michael. We chose that quote to illustrate your good-natured, joking manner, but apparently it didn't come across as intended. Our apologies.

Check your facts

As the coordinator of the Hugos, I wish to point out that I very much resent your saying in the first paragraph of your coverage that "many of the presenters weren't sure exactly when to present what award to which recipient" without verifying the facts behind this assertion. In point of fact, only two presenters made any comments to this effect at all. All presenters were told both when they were asked to present and in letters confirming their acceptance, which awards they were presenting. They were also reminded at the pre-ceremony reception to verify which awards they were presenting, which information was readily available in the ceremony program book. I would have hoped that you would have found more positive things to say about the ceremony, and would have been more careful with your use of the word "many."

Janice Gelb, Chair
L.A.con III Hugo Ceremony
janice.gelb@eng.sun.com

Editor: Well, we consider two out of only a handful of presenters to be "many." However, these problems were indeed minor compared to one of the best Hugo ceremonies in recent years, and all of the volunteers who worked on the ceremony are to be congratulated for a job well done.

Elsie, not Betsy

L.A.con III's Special Guest who was memorialized by Robert Silverberg's eulogy was Elsie Wollheim, not Betsy. Betsy is Don and Elsie Wollheim's daughter, she is very much alive, is the current head of DAW Books, and was in attendance at the ceremony. Please correct your article.

Craig Miller
Program Division, L.A.con III
cfmiller@primenet.com

Editor: Thanks for pointing out our error, Craig. It was corrected immediately after receiving your note. We'd also like to thank all of our other readers who wrote in to tell us of our mistake.

Print the URLs please

It would be nice if you actually printed the address of the Sci-Fi Site of the Week. I often don't have the time to browse when I call up Science Fiction Weekly, so I end up having to click on the name of the site, add it to my bookmarks and go back. It would be nice just to be able to print the page and call up the Web site at a later time. Thanks!

Carma Spence
cspence@smtplink.coh.org

Editor: Excellent idea, Carma. Consider it done.

Site Index | Request a Review | Feedback