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 feedback form or send a message to scifiweekly@scifi.com.
-- Craig E. Engler, Editor
Why Can't We All Agree?
must whole-heartedly agree with James Thomas' Issue No. 128 letter "Diversity is One of SF's Strengths." This has been a topic that has bothered me for years whenever trying to discuss SF with anyone.
One of the main principles in SF is keeping an open mind to new ideas, no matter how much they may rub us the wrong way. Any literature scholar or film student can tell you about the many different kinds of storytelling, the different genres and sub-genres and gray areas in fiction. Why should this approach not apply to science fiction? SF is like a color spectrum or color wheel, all related but distinct. You have hardcore tech SF, military SF, space opera, SF comedy/parody, softcore SF, anime/manga, comics, philosophical SF, and even styles that cross over into other classes like fantasy, science-fantasy, historical fiction, etc. And there's also nothing wrong with interest in tie-ins to SF (games and merchandise that serve as physical souvenirs of these imaginary worlds that exist only on tape, film, paper, computer screens and our imaginations).
It's perfectly all right to not like certain genres; you can't please everyone. But to denounce someone's preference for a style of SF just because one doesn't like it only indicates a problem with that person, not with the genre or the person who likes it. Remember the Vulcan philosophy from Star Trek: infinite diversity in infinite combinations. I think it's an idea that Roddenberry, Clarke, Asimov, Lucas, Tolkien, Card, Adams and Kirby would all agree on, so why can't we?
Adam R. Goss
argF91@hotmail.com
First Wave's Intolerance Is For Aliens
his letter is in response to Mark Kasprovic's Issue No. 127 letter "First Wave Fuels Intolerance." Mr. Kasprovic stated that First Wave, at least its promotionals,
promotes racism. He also apparently has equated racism and xenophobia, although I think he
may have even intimated that xenophobia is the greater evil of the two. Of course, there actually
are no aliens around to discriminate against, should we be so inspired, but that appears besides
this man's point.
Whatever the motivations to cast such severe accusations about so forcefully, I think it's safe to
say they are not rooted in any actual television viewing. The quest of a lone man, framed for the
murder of his own wife (and another man), to expose and hopefully thwart the efforts of a
nefarious syndicate of creatures from another planet whose goal is no less than the domination of
the human race itself seems hardly fuel for hatred of our fellow man. I would like to see a
description of the scenes where the "blade" of the main character's efforts against and hatred for
the aliens who killed his wife and who carelessly carry out experiments detrimental to so many
other humans has also been turned against a human minority member character.
Minorities have even been included in the cast. Joshua, an alien character who sympathizes with
Cade--the main character--is one of the more powerful and increasingly important characters.
The plot device that drives the show is an ancient lost text written not by a founding father but by
none other than Nostradamus. I believe the show is filmed in Canada and is itself an import to
our country.
This is not to say this show is above reproach; these producers make the inclusion of Seven of Nine on
Star Trek: Voyager seem sincere and innocent. At least once a week the American version needs a blurry
spot over some female body part or another. However, to claim it is a show with a racist agenda
without any supporting arguments seems careless--and I was surprised and disappointed to see it
printed here at Science Fiction Weekly.
Robert Wolfe
cmcdunah@rcn.com
Editor's Note: Mark Kasprovic supported his arguments with quotes from the show. And, whether we agree with him or not, we think he has a right to express his opinions, as do any of our letter writers.
SF Characters Are Already Everyman
'd like to comment on Susan Stein's Issue No. 128 letter "WASPs Overrun SF Television."
As an Italian American, I could care less the backgrounds of the characters. I think it is really not important to the genre, as long as the shows are well written and performed. These characters are usually archetypes, who are supposed to represent the "every man"--the stories being largely analogies of the human condition.
Do we really need to have a Hanukkah episode of Farscape? I think not, because then we'll have to have the Christmas episode, the Kwanza episodes, ad infinitum. I'm actually more concerned with the lack of Asian characters in SF, but that's another kettle of fish. I can see it now, "Space Samurai vs. Radioactive Rabbis" or "Intergalactic Italians Against the Polish Moonmen!"
Come on, do we really need to have characters that appeal to every demographic strata of America? Do we really need to bog ourselves down with such concessions, in exchange for the substance of good writing and acting?
Speaking of Asians, the Japanese have created an animated SF series called Cowboy Bebop, which features a Jewish main character, named Spiegel.
The next thing you know, we'll have Hermaphrodite Midget S&M Lesbians complaining that there are no "alternative lifestyle" main characters in SF. Where will it end?
August Ragone
kaijupro@sirius.com
Author Seeks Feedback
just want to thank the magazine and Clinton Lawrence for the wonderful
review of my collection The Pure Product (Issue No. 127). You'd be amazed how little
feedback most writers get on their fiction, especially on their short
stories, so to hear that the work is coming across to someone is
heartening. I sincerely appreciate it and hope your readers, if they
should try the book, will feel free to drop me a line, whatever they
have to say.
And to add my two cents to a long-past debate, I liked both The Blair
Witch Project and The Sixth Sense. Is this possible?
John Kessel
tenshi@unity.ncsu.edu
Smith Improved Skylark For The Book
n the Science Fiction Weekly review of The Skylark of Space (Issue No. 128) there is this
comment:
"The whiff of social Darwinism exuded by some
pre-World War II science fiction is overpowering
in Skylark."
Actually, things were much worse before the paperback edition. When the opportunity of a paperback
edition was presented to Smith he took the
time to "revise" the text. Not the story, just the
text. The orginal magazine version was
actually written about a decade prior to
publication, allowing Smith to collect,
so the story goes, a vast collection of
rejection slips.
The Amazing Stories text and the three
subsequent hardcovers (Buffalo Book Co: 1946,
Hadley: 1947, FFF: 1950) also feature
the "collaboration" of one Mrs. Lee Hawkins Garby,
if memory serves correctly, who disappears from the paperback edition as a collaborator.
In any event, with the experience of the Lensmen
series behind him, he took the time to make use
of the writing skills he had acquired in the
nearly 40 years since first writing Skylark to take
care of various "infelicities" and the like.
Having read the original magazine version and
over the years the various hardcover editions,
I believe that he did improve the book.
And yes, I've been discussing reprinting the
Skylarks also. The Smith Estate is reasonably
pleased with the success of my Lensmen reprints.
Unlike the Lensmen series, where there is a uniform edition to reproduce, the Skylarks will have to be
completely reset.
Michael J. Walsh
Old Earth Books
mwalsh@mail.press.jhu.edu
Are The Critics Watching Voyager?
fter reading all the letters calling for the ending of Star Trek: Voyager, you would think the
show couldn't survive another day let alone another season. Yet, Star Trek had one of its highest
ratings ever on the premiere for this season. This leads me to ask the following question: Are the people who criticize and call for the cancelation truly representative of the public and SF fans in general?
If numbers were the determining factor, I would say that they are not.
Bruce Douglass
BrucemDouglass@mailexcite.com
Voyager Is Full Of Broken Promises
kay, I've seen enough. I'm done watching Star Trek: Voyager. I just cannot fathom what
the writers and producers of this show are thinking.
The Cardinal Rule for any "starship" based show has to be that the viewers
like the ship's captain, and either want to be that person, or want to work
with that person. I just can't imagine that with Captain Janeway. She is
a
petty, vindictive, spiteful control freak. She routinely "orders" her
first
officer to do personal things such as have dinner with her, or even to eat
dessert, then relieves him of command every time he disagrees with her. In
a real environment, she would be removed from command for such things.
Now, I'm not a violent man. I haven't struck anyone for any reason in over
20 years. But about the third time Janeway gave me that "I'm soooo
disappointed with you" speech, I'd be obliged to smack the crap out of her.
I've spent the last five years hoping that one of the crew would do just
that.
The story of the Voyager series is the story of broken promises, moronic
plots, missed opportunities and discarded premises. For example, in the
beginning of the show there was a lot of talk about relationships and the
possibility of being a "generational" ship. But in five years, we've been
given no meaningful relationships, no real character development, and only
one child who amazingly went from baby to nine years old in the space of three
years. We are treated to episodes with a promising plot, only to have the
show waste 10 minutes of screen time on something pointless, then wrap up
what could have been interesting in a closing "Captain's Log" entry.
Close down the series. Fire the staff. Start over with new people for the
next series. And try to learn from the mistakes you've made on this one.
Please.
Brett Shaff
BrettShaff@DynaMark.com
Stigmata Is Blatantly Blasphemous
have not seen Stigmata, and I never will. Why make such a movie in
the first place? Maybe because Satan and/or ordinary demons just don't cut
it anymore. Now Jesus has to be that demon. Come on people, that is utter crap
that Jesus would forcibly posses somebody like that (and an unbeliever at
that!) and cause so much damage just for show! I for one
view the belief of the stigmata as Catholic Voodoo just like the pope's
supposed holiness. But this movie fringes on, if not completely steps over
into, Satanism. At the very least it's the most blatantly blasphemous movie
ever made.
I am not one to ever force a religious belief onto anyone, and I have just
recently found myself leaning toward the seperation of church and state,
but I feel the producers have sold their souls to the devil in the name of
Hollywood.
Brian Prince
debtfree@fwi.com
Save The Babylon 5 Game
was shocked over your treatment of Sierra's cancellation of the Babylon 5
[computer] game (News of the Week, Issue No. 128).
Sierra's action has generated a huge online response and this news
deserved more than one sentence. Also, a link to www.firstones.com should
have been part of the story so that people would know there is a very
active movement to save the game.
Brian Pitts
brianpitts@worldnet.att.net
Is Browder Still A Weak Link?
egarding John Platt's review of Farscape in Issue No. 100, Platt said Ben Browder was the weak link in the show, but hoped that he would grow into the role. Just wondering if he has changed his original opinion about Browder?
Personally speaking, I can't imagine anyone else playing this role (certainly not Gil Gerard). I think the discomfort Platt noticed in the first episode was not Browder's, but rather Crichton's own confusion after being thrown into this alien universe. I think Browder is one of the best SF actors to come onto the small screen in many years. And I have no doubt he would be equally good in any non-SF role as well.
Cynthia Zaffuto
czhicks@earthlink.net
Stop Ripping On Farscape
am unhappy with how people have been ripping on Farscape. It is one
of the more interesting shows on TV and one of the seven I make time to
watch.
I enjoy the growth that all the characters are going through as they
continue to work together: Sun's slowly discovering the use of her mind
to solve problems instead of a pulse rifle, Zhaan's discoveries now and
then that there really are no peaceable solutions for everything (indeed
a touchy subject, but violence is a diplomatic tool no matter how
blunt). I enjoy the "organic technology" of a living ship with Pilot,
and being in Silicon Valley I know there already is work on "wet ware,"
so it is coming. I enjoy the dizzying effect that technology has on
Crichton as he tries to gain a footing in a world way ahead of him, yet
by using common sense and some ingenuity manages to hold his own. And
of course, his Majesty Rygel XVI coming to terms with how people really live and
forced to face his own weaknesses, as well the mysteries in D'argo's
life. These are some really rich characters!
I think that producers David Kemper and Rockne S. O'Bannon along with their cast have done a great
job of creating an interesting universe that explores relationships
between very different people with very different cultures (not unlike
our own little world).
Scott Auge
scottauge@sauge.com
The X-Files Has Died
hether or not the rumor about David Duchovny being replaced is true, it really doesn't matter now.
The once innovative The X-Files has become a joke. After two seasons of a half-hearted, mediocre mythology and arrogant, grandiose episodes like "Post-Modern Prometheus" and "Triangle," not to mention the uninspiring film, the real truth of the matter is that many of the fans who've watched from the beginning simply do not care anymore. We're tired of all the broken promises, the victimization of the Scully character, and most of all we're fed up with the constant in-jokes.
While X-Files loyalists will continue to defend the show until they're blue in the face, the rest of us will forever cherish the reruns back when the show was truly The X-Files and not the Adventures Of Lois & Clark/Moonlighting mishmash it has become.
Melody C. Arneil
arneil@idt.net
Austin Powers Is Most Certainly SF
n his Issue No. 128 letter "Some Of Your SF Isn't SF At All" Michael Polischuk complained that Austin
Powers isn't really science fiction, and in defending your coverage of it
you say it's only "marginally" science fiction. I have to disagree.
The main plot point is that a man is cryogenically frozen and wakes up
to find the future isn't what he expected. His character development
concerns his attempts to adjust to the new world. If that's not science
fiction I don't know what is. In addition you've got robots, rocket
ships, and sharks with lasers on their heads.
In the second film you get another robot, time travel, a clone, and a
giant laser mounted on the moon. These aren't just gimmicks, they are
story elements essential to the plot. Sure they are silly movies, but to
say something isn't really SF just because it's silly seems snobbish to
me. The science involved isn't "hard" by any means, but it's not any
worse than that in many episodes of Star Trek or The X-files.
Dominic Lopez
dominic_lopez@yahoo.com
