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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am an avid SCI FI watcher. While I don't particularly care for some things that come on SCI FI, overall I love most of your shows and movies. I am a movie buff, and, in general, my all-time favorites are sci-fi and adventure. I'm that kind of girl.
I want to start by saying Vin Diesel and David Twohy did an outstanding job on the Chronicles of Riddick. I don't know what all the fuss is about. I genuinely believe you have to be a person who loves and has a passion for movies before you can truly appreciate them. I am 36, and I have been a movie buff since I was about 8 years old. So I have grown to love and appreciate movies on a broad spectrum, but I have some favorites. As I said previously, I believe their job on this film was uncanny, and I have not seen the director's cut on DVD yet. If the theater version was as off-the-wall as it was, I believe the director's cut will totally blow your socks off.
I believe they achieved the job of getting people away from the cares of life and the things that go on in life, even if for only two hours, and people need that. This movie takes you to a place you've never been before. A place or position in which people only dream of being. I say, "My hat's off to you," Mr. Twohy and Mr. Diesel, for an outstanding job. I anxiously await the future of the Riddick Chronicles. A true movie critic!
Jade Love
xaml2(at)gtcom.net
hanks for the review of Clifford Simak's City. I do wish to note that the Old Earth Books edition is nine stories long—the last City story, "Epilog," has been included for the first time in years (it's not in the recent SFBC edition). Also, from 1976 is Simak's foreword to the stories.
I'd also like to note that the OEB edition of Way Station is graced with the best cover to appear on the book.
Lastly, the books will not be found in B&N or Borders. Not my decision.
Again, thanks.
Michael Walsh
mjw(at)press.jhu.edu
ow! Mission: Impossible [aired] on the SCI FI Channel. I can't wait till SCI FI gets around to running other great science-fiction films, like High Noon or Citizen Kane.
Is it just me, or does anyone else have the impression that most of the programming on the SCI FI Channel is put on by people who don't actually like science fiction?
Richard S. Drake
rsdrake(at)nwark.com
have to strongly disagree with Jonathan Heisey-Grove's assessment ("Star Trek Is a DVD Bargain") that Star Trek on DVD is cheaper than Star Trek on VHS and we should stop complaining.
Sure things are better. On VHS you got two episodes for $25 ($12.50 an episode); then they released it on DVD in the same format (two episodes per disk, no extras) for $20 ($10 an episode). So the $100 price that a season of Star Trek goes for brings the price down to just under $4 an episode. It's still a lot of money. If you collected all seasons of all series you'd spend $2,400.
The thing you have to remember is TV series are not paid for the way movies are. The DVD sales can be the only thing that saves a movie from being a complete loss. TV series, on the other hand, are paid for 100 percent by the sponsors (ultimately, us). Any money made on DVD sales is pure gravy. Oh, sure, you have some costs on the DVD packaging, and the extras aren't free, but come on!
The buying public has let the studios know that they are willing to pay $30 to $50 for a season set of a TV series. Paramount is blatantly selling Star Trek for double that price because they know the fans will pay anything to get their hands on their favorite TV series, and I don't think that's the correct attitude to have, especially toward fans who have stuck with you for nearly 40 years. I would like to see them correct this by offering a huge rebate to everyone who bought a complete set of each series.
Troy Truax
troytruax(at)hotmail.com
ell, Jonathan ("Star Trek Is a DVD Bargain"), I can do the math. 1 + 1 is still, ahhhhhhh ... 2! However, that doesn't change the fact that Star Trek, in particular, and sci-fi series, in general, cost twice that of other boxed sets.
Just because Time-Life put out a costly VHS product long before it was mainstream doesn't mean that gouging the consumer is right. I'm all for a free market, and I'm choosing to freely not drop what I consider big cash on these sets.
Cheers!
Chuck Craig
chuckcraig1(at)yahoo.com
just read Scott Edelman's editorial ("The Year of Living Forgetfully") and I have to agree. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was a truly great movie this year and currently number one on my top-10 list of favorites. (I know, I know—how lame am I for having a list?) I watched the movie about a month after my relationship with my girlfriend ended, and it felt like somebody had written a story just for me. Toss in Kaufman's oddball style and Gondry's visuals, and how could I resist? I can only hope somebody remembers this masterpiece when Oscar time comes around. ...
Tony Kay
deceptar(at)shaw.ca
y husband and I have very few television programs on our Must-See list. One of the shows is Lost. Rather than answer our questions, each episode carries us deeper into the mystery. While we enjoy each and every show, our constant fear is that we will be left hanging in the end, with no resolution to anything. So, the powers that be, please consider your faithful audience right up front—don't leave us in suspense.
And, a response to the letter from Dearryl Rabb ("Enterprise Needs to Live Long") regarding Star Trek Enterprise and [Stargate] SG-1: As Stargate SG-1 is another of our Must-See programs, you will be disappointed to know that the SCI FI Channel has chosen to pit the SG-1 team against Enterprise in the same time spot beginning in January. Sorry, it's no contest. We'll see you at the SGC.
Elaine Byrne
fifthsg1member(at)yahoo.com
hame on you, SCI FI! I am appalled that my favorite station on this planet is not broadcasting one single itty-bitty HD show! I have recently bought my $1,200 51-inch Toshiba projection monitor. (Granted, it was a post-Thanksgiving early-bird buy, but to Keith Kitchen, who said they cost $6,000, puh-leeze! Average [cost] now is like $1,200 to $2,000 for projection TVs.) And only six hours after after my DirecTV hookup, I was starved for more HD. In searching for stations to now watch, I find that only a sprinkle of stations offer HD programming. I will now become an avid watcher of these programs, just because of the clear sharp digital picture they offer (and really ... who can't get into Law & Order on NBC). And I am sorry to say, but we obviously know those who haven't gone to HD yet, because once you go HD, there's no going back to regular TV!
It's the difference between commuting on the highway and teleportation stations. And if you don't know what a tele-station is, then we obviously see who is still getting caught in traffic jams.
Tre [last name withheld]
tre926(at)yahoo.com
fter reading Tom Sobieski's short letter ("Space Is Lost in Space") on the disappearance of Fox's short-lived Space: Above And Beyond, I sat back and thought for a moment. In an era where nearly every series has appeared, or is about to appear, on DVD, one has to wonder why this show has been buried.
I remember Space far better than other science-fiction series, even though it only ran for one complete season. To be perfectly honest, it deserved cancellation. While excellent in concept, it was poorly executed and haphazardly written.
Some of the operational concepts were ludicrous. The main body of characters were allegedly trained to be Marine pilots on a spacegoing aircraft carrier/battleship. Fine and dandy. Yet time and time again, these "pilots" were sent into ground-pounder territory. Ask any military officer and they might agree that it would be a good idea to send pilots out into the field to get a "feel" for what a ground-poundin' boots-in-the-mud soldier has to endure, but he would also flinch at the potential waste of the money that went into training those pilots.
Pilots fight from the fighter they strap on their backs, not from the trenches. An expert marksman knows he doesn't belong in the cockpit of a fighter, and a fighter pilot knows he doesn't belong in knife-range of his enemy. This constant disruption hurt the series badly.
The series also suffered lack of direction. In numerous attempts to please the parent network and to remain on the air, the show changed course several times, first by bringing in cyborg-like nemeses as well as the main villain, then by taking on an X-Files-type approach to insinuate that the government knew it was getting into a war before it did.
If there are people who want to own this series, by all means, it should be released onto DVD. I'm still wondering where The Invaders is. It ran a season and a half and has a major cult audience, but this rarely-seen gem has yet to be released on VHS, much less DVD.
It all comes down to money. If there's money to be made, the show will be released. Otherwise, it won't.
Simple as that.
Keith Kitchen
boyoklaatu1(at)aol.com
attlestar Galactica! I've read some reviews about the new pilot and miniseries (most reviews canned it badly). Knowing that many reviews don't agree with my opinions, I purchased the Region 4 DVD pilot of Battlestar Galactica and watched it yesterday. [It was] great!
Too many people expect too much from their films. This was enough make me buy the old series DVD set today (which I intended on doing anyway). Now I can't wait for the new series to be released on DVD in Australia. Keith Kitchen's letter ("New Galactica Shinier Than Old") in Science Fiction Weekly this week expressed my thoughts similarly. We don't get SCI FI Channel here (even though I have pay TV), but it would be good to see these shows that you guys are showing (e.g., Stargate Atlantis and, of course, Battlestar Galactica). Keep up the interesting news and articles for all the sci-fi fans out there.
Dave Dunn
davedunn64(at)msn.com
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