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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ohn Doe's season finale was an unexpected treat. It took the show in a bold new direction and left viewers with many intriguing questions.
[Warning: Spoilers ahead.]
Which one of Doe's friends was the head (or at least a "higher up") of the Phoenix? We know it couldn't have been Karen, she's too young and this wouldn't have been realistic. It couldn't have been Frank because minorities are rarely, if ever, cast as main bad guys. (If you're thinking of Apophis from Stargate, played by black actor Peter Williams, remember that he was the victim of a Goa'uld and thus not personally responsible for any injustices because he was not in control of himself). Finally, it was highly unlikely that it was Avery because of her emotionally difficult past, making her a sympathetic character and potential lover. That left Digger.
What was interesting about this was not that Digger was the lead bad guy, but that his actions were genuinely villainous (he slit the throat of one of the subjects, was ultimately responsible for numerous murders and kidnappings and orchestrated a relationship with Doe that was based on deceit). Because it's a Fox TV show, I was expecting the Phoenix to be a moderately ruthless but ultimately well-intentioned secret organization, like a toned down version of [Star Trek:] Deep Space Nine's Section 31. That could still be the case, but unless they're fanatical utilitarians their monstrous behavior would be exceptionally difficult to justify.
The finale was intriguing because of the effects this will ultimately have on the characters and the storyline. Was the main secret organization really dealt a serious blow? How will being setup by Digger emotionally impact Doe? Is Doe really uniting with someone from his past? Where will the new set locations be? Even asking these questions moves the show in a positive new direction. This will almost definitely liberate it from much of the monotony that has plagued the last half of the first season. I am eager to learn where the show will go (e.g., Doe hunts nukes at the Vatican or joins the NSA) and also how Doe will evolve (e.g., Doe becomes an emotional recluse or clings to his friends) as a result of these experiences.
This was not to say that the episode was perfect. There were the typical oversights that viewers have come to tolerate, like the main bad guy wearing the same hat (even if he didn't know that he was photographed in that hat, if he was so worried about being identified then he'd change clothes), or the fugitive, while in handcuffs, not being in a room with a locked interrogation door surrounded by armed guards, or the hokey device they used to enable Doe to find the Phoenix. However, in relation to the delightful recklessness of a captivating story, and to constructively advancing the show's mystery, these nitpicks become insignificant.
The finale was unexpected, bold and entirely welcome. It took the viewers, and the show, out of its comfort zone. I applaud the writers and producers for taking such a risk, and I'm enthusiastically awaiting the season's premier.
Peter Boghossian
pete@boghossian.com
n his recent letter, Matt Frey ("Tomorrow Has Limited Alternatives") acknowledges that "Multiculturalism promotes cultural relativism, the idea that the values and beliefs of all cultures
should be held in equal regard and not be assumed to be inferior just because they are different from our own." But then he asks, "Aside from multiculturalism, under what current social model would this [e.g., a Star Trek Federation] be possible?"
Uh, how about the one operating in the real world today?
America has a language from England, an alphabet from Rome and a number system from India by way of Arabia. The dominant religions come from the Middle East, much of our philosophy comes from Greece.
In other words, in the Real America—as opposed to the rarified and artificed world of academic political science—we have a free marketplace of ideas. People can debate which ideas are best, and they don't let their biological origins stand in the way. They can do that. It's called a free
society.
Multiculturalism, in contrast, assumes that all ideas from all cultures are equal—regardless of what people think and feel. Thus, if Star Trek's Federation is indeed to function on the Multicultural Social Model, the bloodthirstiness of Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians should be held to be equal to the (reputed) compassion of Humans, and the rapacious materialist greed of the Ferengi should be equated with the serene logic of Vulcans ... right?
In a real interstellar Federation, I hope that free individuals in all societies, regardless of their species, would exercise their minds and hearts to discern which ideas and which values are optimal. That would seem to be a better key to a happier future than simply to "pretend" that all
ideas are equal.
Joe Schembrie
joeschem@hotmail.com
ike so many other fans, I'm writing on behalf of the now-canceled ABC show Miracles. At ABC, the show was never given a chance—it was the object of constant preemptions and little ad support, and the network really never seemed to know what a treasure it had.
I'm now working with thousands of other fans to try to give the show a second chance at life. Your coverage could mean the world to us. Won't you help?
I thought it might help if I gave you a few reasons on why I love this show:
1. Miracles is intelligent. This show has good, solid writing and is very character-driven. Its dark, suspenseful background makes it an instant don't-miss show.
2. Miracles is unique, exciting stuff. This show stands out from any other show currently on the air. It's instantly watchable, scary, exciting and fun, and it forces us to look at darkness a little more closely. Everything about the show is cinematic.
3. The storyline is very compelling. The show makes us want to keep watching, to find out what happens next. We, as fans, are still trying to figure out if Paul and Alva are related in some way, what Evvie's role is in all this and just why is the ghost of Tommy popping up all the time? Every episode is rich with little symbolisms that you have to pay attention to, and makes the story so much better when you know the meanings of those symbols.
4. The actors! The actors are great. Skeet Ulrich and Angus MacFadyen are terrific together and Marisa Ramirez is really proving herself outside the soap opera genre. We want our stars!
5. Interesting issues on "big picture" stuff—life, religion, etc.
Please consider our pleas, and write about our efforts. We're accomplishing great things! Please make Miracles happen.
Kristin Di
digi0006@tc.umn.edu
ear Scott: Loved your essay ("Mammoth, Thrilling and Wrong"). As the former editor of F&SF and Pulphouse, and as a short-fiction writer with more than 100 short stories in print in a variety of professional markets (not to mention in 14 different languages), I was just as offended as you were by Chabon's opening essay. ...
... until I realized that I wasn't his audience.
I read all over a wide variety of fields: SF, mystery, romance and yes—literary mainstream. Chabon's essay is for the literary mainstream only—those folks who read the prescribed Literary Novels (The National Book Award Winners; the New York Times Recommended Reading List) and the short stories that appear in the Atlantic and the New Yorker and nothing else.
As Chabon said, these poor people have been reading a sub-sub-sub-sub-genre of literature, rather like reading only the Nurse Novel (his example), and forgetting that other literary forms exist. He did set up a straw man, but the straw man was for his target audience, which ain't you and me.
Obviously, it ain't him either, or he wouldn't have known about Karen Joy Fowler or Kelly Link or the handful of other SF/F writers who graced the pages of his anthology.
I think his disservice to his target audience comes in his unwillingness to admit that he reads genre fiction. (And he clearly does—or Crichton wouldn't be there as well as King.) Pointing these literary mainstream readers to Asimov's or Scifi.com or Ellery Queen's would be a service to them, one that Chabon, in an attempt to keep his reputation (I would guess), fails to provide.
Still, I think his opening essay has value, especially for all those young writers out there who are taught in their college creative writing classes that there is only one "legitimate" form of short story—and anything with a plot isn't it. I hope this volume finds its way into some of their hands.
Conversely, I hope that the SF field pays attention to this anthology in putting together end-of-the-year best lists and award lists. Sometimes SF is as guilty of contemplating its navel as the literary mainstream is.
Thanks, though, for writing the essay I wanted to write. I got done with Chabon's introduction and felt one-half pleased (I loved that Nurse Novel analogy) and half-angry (for the same reasons you listed). And it did put me off the volume. I picked up the book three weeks ago, read the introduction, and set the book down. Only on Sunday night did I pick up the book again and this time, begin with the stories. They're quite entertaining, and worth the look.
Best,
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
krisrusch@sff.net
ust read your editorial ("Mammoth, Thrilling and Wrong")—nice piece, and I tend to agree with most of it relating to Chabon's intro. I'm reviewing the book for Roger at SF Site. I think the problem can be alternately summarized as follows:
Good writers are rarely good teachers (because good teachers are rare indeed). I view editors as a very specific kind of teacher, or editorship as a form of instruction. One therefore expects a broader dialogue with the community than Chabon seems to be revealing in his melancholy introduction.
I do tend to agree with him on one point: plotting, or, rather, his complaint that there is not enough of it in fiction, in general, today. Terry Windling mentions something similar in her intro to the 12th edition of Year's Best Fantasy & Horror:
It's one thing when a master storyteller chooses to subvert the traditional narrative process ... but in too many lesser [stories] one is left with the impression that young writers are avoiding plotting and pacing because they simply don't know how to do it.
Matthew Peckham
mattpeckham@yahoo.com
arscape couldn't have ended any other way. If it would have been wrapped up all nice and happy, it would have completely ruined the show. Throughout its glorious four-season run, Farscape has been blessed with some of the best writers in the businesses. They have the capability to run us through more emotions than should be allowed within a one-hour span. They have taken risks that never fall short of amazing.
[Warning: Spoilers ahead.]
Point in case, the season-three finale, when they "killed off" main character Aeryn Sun. How many of us Scapers went ballistic for six weeks, wondering if they had actually written her off the show, and if they hadn't, trying to predict how they could bring her back? Those writers were always one step ahead, and one step from going off the deep end, and taking all of us with them.
Would I like to see the show continue? Sure, who doesn't? If I had it my way, then we would have at least gotten the two more seasons that we were promised. But if it had to end, as all good things do, then I wouldn't have had it any other way. Yeah, at first it made me mad, but now, looking back, it was the ideal ending: a rollercoaster ride through a reality we sci-fi geeks thrive in, and an ending that leaves us with the glimmer of hope that even though we've been left behind, Moya's journey continues. The Farscape universe wasn't meant to be perfect and happy. It was meant to be chaotic and frustrating, always teetering on the edge of madness; the wildest ride in the universe.
Meg Marquardt
Address withheld
have been a fan of Farscape since the beginning of the first season. I would stay home on Friday nights to watch what would happen to the crew each week a new episode was on. So by the end of the series, I knew there would be a turn and ending that would shock and dismay everybody. I read the letters here all the time and I just have to say this about the ending:
[Warning: Spoilers ahead.]
It was a great ending to a great show. I loved seeing D'Argo screaming as they were pulverized. It was the type of ending I had hoped for. But at the screen going dark, the words "to be continued" let me down. I feel that if it was ended without "to be continued," it would have been a much better ending.
Let the future movie, series or any other project bring back John and Aeryn to this universe.
It was a great series and hopefully it will return in some form.
William Sorace
wcsoss@gwtc.net
was looking at the scifi-newsletter and saw a reference to John Carter ("John Carter Should Visit Hollywood")—duh!—talk about the potential for a super-great movie. I am 52 [years old] and grew up on Tarzan, John Carter and the Venus series. These books could, indeed, be as big or bigger than Star Wars, if they were done the way I saw them in my 10-year-old mind. I have not read the books in 40 years but the mention of them makes me remember how great they are.
Paul Harman
pharman@simflex.com
Assistant Editor Brian Murphy responds:
Be careful what you wish for! It appears that Hollywood has its eye on Burroughs' famous series, John Carter of Mars, as reported in Sci Fi Wire over a year ago. Check back with SCI FI.com for more information on this feature.
Best,
Brian
s a loyal fan of Roswell, I was unhappy in the conclusion. I would like to see a TV movie with the same actors. Max and Liz, Michael and Maria should get married. How about four to six years later [after the finale], they have graduated from college, etc.
I would like to see this come to a real conclusion. The love match has been a big part of this series. I don't know who to write to or who to send my concerns to, [but] I was disappointed when this series was canceled.
Donna M. Parisher
parisher@peninsula.wednet.edu
must take exception with your review of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
The review of Home Movies was completely off base. I have watched that show on several occasions and I never laughed out loud. The animation is complete crap. I have seen better stuff on flash Web sites. The stories aren't compelling and if I want to watch Wonder Years, why would I settle for a poorly animated show covering the same subject matter?
As for Harvey Birdman, you seem to miss all the fun about this show. It is a spoof of crime/lawyer shows and juxtaposes real-life issues onto cartoon characters. The writing is witty and the episode in which Shaggy and Scooby Doo get busted for pot is hilarious! The comedic timing is impeccable, had you paid attention to the series of testimonials various villains gave about Quest's fitness as a father, ending with the Robot Spy beeping! Priceless!
Now onto Aqua Teen Hunger Force. ... When I first saw this show, I was not too impressed ... then I saw the episodes with the Mooninites and the Depressed Doll ("Dumber Doll") and was hooked. Again you seem to miss the funny aspects of this show. While the animation isn't great, in comparison to Home Movies, it is stupendous.
Now for the most egregious error you made in your review. Sealab 2021 is hilarious. Again, instead of reviewing the series, you reviewed only one episode and made your judgements on that alone. Had you watched more, you may have seen just how funny it truly is. The "I, Robot" episode was killer as was "All That Jazz." If you don't like this sort of subversive referential humor, perhaps you would be better suited to reviewing Pokéman cartoons instead.
Kurt V.
k_vanderbilt@yahoo.com
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