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
Your review was too harsh
would like to say that your reviewer of Star Trek's latest venture was good, also true, but a little harsh. I did go to see ID4 and thought for effects and action pacing it was a great film. The story line did leave a little to be desired. Star Trek: First Contact to me did meet the expectations that fans of the series wanted to see on film. We wanted the feel of the first film and the magic of infinite possibilities with coming films. For myself, I hope they discover or go on a discovery of the origin of the 'Q' and their connection to that elder race of beings that Kirk and his crew bumped into when he had that duel.
Neil Erskine
nerskine@sygma.post.net
Editor: Well, I liked the movie quite a bit, but Tasha (who reviewed First Contact for us) felt it wasn't as good as it could have been. I suppose she's right, but then again, I'm a sucker for the Borg.
Didn't like First Contact
found the latest Star Trek movie to be really, really bad. In fact, both Next Generation movies are on my never-see-again list. The story line was trite and unbelievable. I'm sure warp drive coolant can be broken open with a blow by Data's hand. Sure, all the Borg just beamed aboard without anyone knowing it. Sure, the Enterprise can jump around time at a whim. Sure, the scientist inventing the warp drive is an alcoholic. Sure, a rocket can blast off 50 feet from spectators and not kill everyone. Sure, Picard suddenly becomes obsessed in killing the Borg. Sure, the Borg wait until their cube is destroyed before they go back in time. Sure, the hive can rewire and make all that stuff in one or two hours. Sure, the Borg can neutralize phasers so they stop working. Sure, Star Fleet would not use the Enterprise instead of just releaving Picard. Sure, they are almost going to destroy the Enterprise again.
The one real surprise of the movie is that the Enterprise didn't go bang. I really hate bad science fiction and this movie must have Roddenberry rolling over in his grave.
Dave Watson
dsw@frank.mtsu.edu
Editor: Well...I thought it was okay. To be fair to Tasha (our First Contact reviewer) she had only rated it 3 out of 5, but after some discussion among the staff we made it a 4.
Disagrees with First Contact review
have to disagree with the review of Star Trek: First Contact. It doesn't deserve such a good review. Star Trek has never been about science fiction but more about character. I saw a lot of Picard ranting and raving and losing a few hundred crewpeople while he got his revenge. The best part of the whole movie revolved around the Zefrem Cochrane character, while all of Trek history was rewritten to get there. The movie also left a lot of unanswered questions that seem fairly important. For example, we are left at the end of the movie thinking that the Borg are all destroyed but somehow I just don't think that is true. After all, the Borg Queen was on the ship that was destroyed during the TV series, but somehow she managed to escape or reincarnate herself or whatever. Also how come no one else from DS9 was on the Defiant? When has that ever happened before that Worf was in command without at least one other major character on board with him. Please! One more thing. You have to admire Jonathan Frakes for his directorial debut on the big screen. The plot sucked but his directing was okay.
Jennifer Reichow
ai820@freenet.hamilton.on.ca
Editor: See the above letters for more. I have to agree with you about Frakes, and about a lot of the plot holes. But I don't think the movie at all necessitated the demise of the Borg, and, well...I liked it.
Amazing did it first...well, second
his is a note concerning the movie "The Cold Equations." I have read the short story and I enjoyed it tremendously. A few years ago there was a series on TV called Amazing Stories. One of the episodes was "The Cold Equations." That episode followed the story line exactly as it was written and was very well performed. I would like to see this new movie, but I am hesitant that I may be disappointed after reading the short story and seeing the Amazing Stories' episode.
Ed Mousselli
Ed_Mousselli@occshost.nlm.nih.gov
Editor: Sounds like a good episode of Amazing Stories. I personally haven't seen the new movie, but I'm looking forward to it.
It was not Marvel
n Brooks Peck's review of the Mars Attacks! Web page (the site of the week), there is a startling error in the very first sentence that really shows a lack of research. The comic book version of Mars Attacks! was not published by Marvel Comics. It was (and still is) published by Topps Comics (yes, a division of the trading card company that originally released the Mars Attacks! cards many years ago). Why has the term "Marvel Comics" become synonymous with the term "comic books"? And it's not just your review who has made this error. In a recent review of Superman's wedding, a local newspaper reported Marvel as being the publisher. Several weeks ago a young man walked into my comics store and asked for the Predator series published by Marvel. Predator is published by Dark Horse, but he only wanted Marvel. Marvel is not the only publisher out there, but such mistakes as the one in the review only go to further that idea to the uninformed.
Superman has always been published by DC. Predator has always been published by Dark Horse. And Mars Attacks! has always been published by Topps Comics.
Heath Fitts
nsfit8322@alpha.nsula.edu
Editor: Rather than a lack of research, it was a simple typo on our part. It's since been fixed thanks to the fact that you pointed out our error.
Battleground or battlefield?
One of your letters to the editor asked about the Battlefield Earth TV project. My understanding is this project is not based on the L. Ron Hubbard series but on a pilot done by Gene Roddenberry that happens
to have the same name.
George Harrington
gharring@com1.med.usf.edu
Editor: There's a movie based on the Hubbard books in the works (John Travolta is attached to the project) called Battlefield Earth and a television series based on a Roddenberry idea called Battleground Earth also in the works. It can get confusing.
