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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n response to Megan Lantz ("SF Goes Down Like Fine Wine"): Lost and Ghost Whisperer are not SF! Unless you're referring to the tag "speculative fiction," and even then ...
And as for Firefly ... it was just a western in space. Moreover, it was a bad western in space. Did you read the interview with [Joss Whedon]? In response to the question of whether the spaceship had FTL capability, Mr. Whedon responded with "I don't think so." Excuse me. He doesn't think so? The man created that piece-of-crap show—if he doesn't know the answer, who the heck does? The esteemed Mr. Whedon then goes on to threaten the interviewer with, "If you ask me any more science questions, I'm going to cry." Where's the S in that F? As for the movie, if it was a raspberry to anyone, it was to the fools who shelled out 10 bucks to see that drivel. The show was canceled because it was a piece of crap—only in Hollywood would it be considered a good idea to shovel money into making a larger-budgeted piece of crap.
Try reading some good SF, sometime, rather than being spoon-fed that pap you mistakenly refer to as SF. Maybe then you'll get it.
David Kaan
[address withheld by request]
he recent letter from Dave Clack ("Fantasy Can't Compete With Sci-Fi") reminded me of what happened with my mother, who for some years declared Harry Potter to be nonsense. Stuff
that she just did not like, even though she'd never read it. Then, one day, she overheard part of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that I'd acquired as an audio book. Intrigued, she borrowed it, and is now an avid fan of J.K. Rowling.
As Dave rightly said, science fiction and fantasy are two different forms of literature, but they are close cousins. I wonder if he and others who just can't get fantasy works have simply not yet found the right books for them. I would suggest that run-of-the-mill fantasy series which never end, mentioning no names, should be avoided. But books which treat magic as a form of science that remains largely unknown might do the trick. The first thing that springs to mind is a well-known classic, Roger Zelazny's Amber series, beginning with Nine Princes in Amber. Another strong contender would be Philip Pullman's series His Dark Materials.
It's got to be worth a go, 'cause there's a lot of really fine work out there, which is fantasy but doesn't rely on fellows with furry feet hippity-hopping though the magic forest. Put in straight science-fiction terms: For every Buck Rogers in the 21st Century, there's a
John Carter of Mars.
Lulli Doppler
lulli(at)minx.co.uk
agree with Robert Lloyd ("Singer Should Make the Big Trek"), Bryan Singer could make a great Star Trek movie. But ... the best Trek films were those done under the watchful eye of Harvey Bennet, and to make a truly great film, he would have to go back to the roots like Wrath of Khan. To be really great, such a film would almost have to be set in the original ST universe.
Stephen LaFevers
stevelafevers(at)centurytel.net
ooray for the SCI FI Channel! Night Stalker was one of my "must-see" TV shows this fall. I was really scared by the last episode that aired and disappointed that ABC did not show the second part.
I'm one of the many fans who are glad that the last three episodes will air. However, it's a shame that we need to wait until summer 2006. By that time, the second part of the two-parter will be forgotten. If only SCI FI could air them now, it would be much fresher in our minds.
At least we will get to see the last three [episodes]. If only SCI FI could produce new episodes starting in January 2006—and start airing the repeats now. That would be great TV programming.
Shalimar Ali
Shalimarali(at)yahoo.com
t was a real pleasure seeing A.M. Dellamonica's review of Ridley Scott's Legend in issue #452. I always felt that the film deserved more respect than it got upon its initial release. However, I was somewhat surprised to find out that the review apparently refers to the version originally released to theaters. The current DVD release of the film contains its director's cut, which is far closer to Scott's original vision of the film, and in my opinion—much better. The most noticeable difference is the replacement of the Tangerine Dream electronic-pop score with the original classic score by Jerry Goldsmith. It also includes around 25 minutes of additional footage which, while maintaining the simple (and admittedly, even simplistic) premise of the movie, also gives far more depth to the characters and surroundings.
Also, since Dellamonica mentioned Labyrinth in the review, it's also worth noting that the two films shared the same cinematographer, Alex Thomson. Thomson was probably the leading man when it came to direction of photography in fantasy films in the early '80s: His beautiful work was also featured in John Boorman's Excalibur.
Raz Greenberg
razgrn(at)yahoo.com
hreshold was never given a fair chance. At least three out of five people I spoke to had never heard of the show. Is there anything we can do to get CBS to change their mind? First they put it in a poor timeslot, when most people go out, and then they move it with no warning. They show it one time only, and that is the end. Was this a political issue? Does the head of CBS hate sci-fi? Surface and Invasion were advertised constantly, for weeks prior to airing. I never saw one advertisement for Threshold. I found it using a TiVo wish list. Please, can someone help me make sense of this?
Bishop Valerie
mshihtzu(at)hotmail.com
ing Kong has always been a classic tragedy, and Peter Jackson has earned his next Oscar nomination for bringing this timeless story back to life today. Andy Serkis as the CGI Kong and Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow, eternally one of science fiction's most bravely compassionate heroines, break out hearts with one of our most tragic love stories. An abundantly intense portrayal of the greedy Carl Denham by Jack Black, who delivers the last best line, "It was beauty that killed the beast," at the unhappy end also ignites Mr. Jackson's new triumph. King Kong continues to be a gravely realistic example of how the displacement of a being so unique can ultimately lead to a fatefully grim end. Several classics have followed with their significant depictions. But King Kong remains, as it always has, the most profound impact on the human consciousness in its own right. This is destined to rival four other Best Picture nominees at the Oscars, and I am already anticipating the next classic by Mr. Jackson. King Kong may have met his misfortune a third time in the cinema, but his larger-than-life presence is now immortalized more than ever.
I would like to wish everyone at Science Fiction Weekly a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Michael Anthony Basil
mike.basil(at)sympatico.ca
ear Editor—I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no science fiction, that all that's left of what used to be are tired remakes, lame reimaginings, derivative novels and endless series. Papa says, 'If you see it in Science Fiction Weekly, it's so.' Please tell me the truth, is there science fiction?"
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is science fiction. It exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no science fiction! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in science fiction! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch all dreary movies exploiting what science fiction had once been, but even if you did not see science fiction in its purest original form, what would that prove? Nobody sees science fiction as if it were a thing. It is something you feel, a power that makes you think, wonder and imagine. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn or space aliens in your kitchen? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No science fiction! Thank God! Science fiction lives, and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, science fiction will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
Kevin Ahearn
maryannahearn1(at)aol.com
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