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
The Pokémon Truth Is Out There
have to object to Brian Guthrie's Issue No. 136 letter "Exposing The Pokémon Conspiracy." This marketing was created not by Nintendo, nor was it incorporated from the inception of Pokémon (which was a video game long before it became a 1997 animated TV series in Japan) whose craze has already cooled off in its land of creation. I was in Tokyo during the heights of Pokémon success, and it was not as crazy as it is here. Last year there was little in the way of Pokémon-Fever, and the only merchandise consisted of plush Pokémon dolls and other knickknacks, tame in comparison to other anime franchises and merchandise. In fact, Ultraman, Beast Wars, and Microman (aka "Micronauts") products dwarfed Pokémon by a long-shot.
In fact, when selling Pokémon to the U.S., Nintendo never took the U.S. market seriously until the series became a phenomenon through the TV broadcast--afterwards Nintendo, who sold its licensing for next to nothing, tried to muscle those licensors to cough up more dinero to make up for their own lack of vision.
So, who created the "Gotta Catch 'Em All" tagline? Try the American company which imported the show, and added a number of things to the series and franchise--such as the "Poke-Rap." Another brazen coup by the Hollywood Money Making Machine.
August Ragone
kaijupro@sirius.com
Pokémon Is Really Cockfighting
've been watching the Pokémon craze for some time now. About Pokémon: The First Movie, would you take your children to a movie about dog pit fighting or Japanese cockfighting? Shocked by that? That's all Pokémon is after all. It's Japanese cockfighting repackaged into a form designed to get money from parents. Think about it. That's why it seems so vaguely familiar to parents and also vaguely disturbing at the same time. It's why parents look at this craze and know something's wrong, yet can't put their finger on it. If you think not, then you need to take another look at the structure of the Pokémon genre.
Karen Tewart
tewart@westol.com
Mulder And Scully Can't Always Win
n response to Joe Erhardt's Issue No. 136 letter, "The X-Files Has Broken All Its Rules," I believe that there is a reason for Chris Carter's handling of Mulder and Scully. He's trying to show that there are things out there even the heroes can't stop. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm tired of TV heroes that seem to be able to always win. Real life isn't like that. While they should win sometimes, I think that when they do finally win, it will be when it is important, like finally stopping the conspiracy and the oncoming invasion.
As for the comments on the mixing of religion and SF, leaving the viewer not knowing what to believe, I think that is the point. He wants you to consider that everything we know is wrong. To quote Yoda, "You must unlearn what you have learned."
I, for one, enjoyed the season opener. I know that the last few seasons have just been a lot of rehashes of old stories, and to tell the truth, I really do not watch the show unless the episode concerns the major conspiracy. So I am very tired of the old stories, overused characters, and hackneyed plotlines. However, I think there are a lot of surprises left in this series and look forward to this season with hopeful exuberance. I also look forward to [Mulder and Scully] actually kissing. That forehead crap in part three really ticked me off.
Tom Colarusso
melodyc@sunlink.net
Let's See Jerry O'Connell As Kirk
'd like to see Paramount go boldly backward in some future--hopefully near future--Star Trek movies. For one thing, now that they've proven to themselves that Star Trek TV series don't have to be about the Enterprise, I'd like to see a movie about Captain Sulu and his starship. I'd also like to see a movie about Kirk in his days as an ensign or lieutenant. And I'd like to see Jerry O'Connell in that role.
Ben Kloepper
meowlin@juno.com
Profit Motives Are Ruining SF
think that authors and producers are going a bit too far with SF now. I like Star Wars, I am a huge fan, I was out there on May 19th standing in the line like most of us. But I am tired of the Star Wars novels. They do nothing but dilute the wonderful universe that George Lucas built. Some of them are interesting, and it is nice to see how an author can take characters to new places, but enough is enough. Star Wars novels are now getting as bad as Star Trek novels. The plots are predictable, there is always some new enemy that the Republic didn't know about, or my personal favorite, the empire returns yet again. How many times can we read this?
The same can be said of Hollywood producers and some directors. They are so worried about money now that they destroy the stories. They put in high dollar special effects that wow the eye, but dull the brain. Put in a huge star and enough special effects, and you can make millions, even though the story was the same as another film you saw the year before, just with different character names and sets. I think SF and fantasy need to be more story driven now instead of special effects. And when you write a novel or a screenplay, at least get the science behind it right, or if you are borrowing from another story, try to get that right as well.
Travis White
whitets@jmu.edu
Voyager Needs Another Spy
he "foil" that Captain Janeway needs is someone like Seska. If they could find a character on board Voyager who is another Seska-type person (Cardassian in disguise, or one of their sympathizers) it would add to the show dramatically. This character would remain hidden in disguise for a number of episodes, revealed only to the viewers. Of course they all would be in for a big surprise when they return to the Alpha Quadrant and learn that the Federation and Cardassians joined forces to defeat the Dominion.
Ed Chambers
heritage@jersey.net
Voyager Complaints Are Nonsense
am getting tired of all the hypocrisy and nonsense in the letters complaining about Star Trek: Voyager. Let's look at the major complaints:
1) "By constantly traveling in the Delta quadrant, Voyager has no aliens to tie the show together." This is quite a hypocritical view. Original Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation were replete with one-time alien contacts, and in fact their very missions were to explore and find new life forms! Yet I hear no complaints about that (how many times did Kirk deal with the Horta, or the Tribbles, in some of Trekdom's favorite episodes?). And conversely Voyager encounters the Borg and Starfleet itself in plenty of episodes to keep them linked to the bigger picture of the Star Trek universe!
2) "The Maquis and Starfleet crews of Voyager should be conspiring constantly against each other." Nonsense! These critics don't recognize the most basic human psychology, especially the well-documented Survivor's Syndrome, in which enemies routinely unite in the face of a common adversity that makes their former conflict seem pointless. Stranded in the Delta quadrant is a classic example of such an adversity, and the writers have rightly realized this.
3) "Janeway is an overbearing, self-righteous captain." Well, I don't agree at all. In my view, Mulgrew expertly plays a bold, decisive captain doing her best to hold together a crew under constant stress, whose obvious compassion in dealing with crewmembers like Seven is blatantly overlooked by these critics, and who has no more flaws than Kirk (I don't see these critics knocking Kirk for his rashness in the same letters).
Overall, the show has some lame episodes, of course, but the overall vision and many individual episodes are great additions to the Star Trek universe.
P. Yancey
yancey@bmi.net
No More Star Trek For A Decade
fter reading Mike Ajlouny's Issue No. 136 letter, "People Will Watch More Star Trek" I felt compelled to write this letter.
While I think Star Trek: Voyager--a show that has pretty much proven itself a failure, save for maybe the likes of Seven of Nine and the EMH whose characters are beautifully acted by Jeri Ryan and Rob Picardo respectively--needs to be eliminated from the Star Trek franchise as a whole, and that a new series needs to take its place, doing so now would further force Star Trek's face into the ground. I submit that this new series debut 10 or 15 years from now, after Voyager actually runs aground, i.e., after being a) canceled or b) having its more than mediocre run ended.
Maybe in the early days of Star Trek we dreamed of more, but there is simply too much Star Trek out there. We have five television series, nine movies, countless video
games, books, comics, and a plethora of toys, knickknacks, and junk...is this enough? Or are we just being gluttons? I hate to say this, but it looks like more and more people are just getting sick of all the Star Trek that is being dished out. And then again, there are those that want to fatten up on it. Star Trek is being overused and is in need of a long rest.
Joseph Beaudoin, Jr.
JoeBeaud2@aol.com
