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he original Battlestar Galactica was so bad and so lacking in magic that almost anything would be an improvement ("Galactica's Magic Is No More"). Certainly the cardboard characters whose viewpoint changed with every episode will be gone and I am sure that no one will Miss Muffet.
Let us face it: this show was created for one reason and one reason only—ABC wanted a rip off of Star Wars in the worst way—and that is exactly how they got it.
Carl Thompson
carlt3050@msn.com
ust a note of complaint about the TV networks' scheduling for the new season. Why, with all the timeslots available, are Enterprise (UPN) and
Smallville (The WB) on opposite each other?
With all the garbage sitcoms on both stations, couldn't something better have been done?
Bill Rogers
wilrog@yahoo.com
am interested in gathering support for a collaboration between the author Terry Pratchett and director Terry Gilliam, either in a feature film, a series of two-hour specials or hourly programs.
Pratchett's Discworld series and other contributions are abundant with possibilities, and I can't think of a more perfectly matched director, in Gilliam, (Python, Fifth Element, Time Bandits, etc.).
I have read rumors of a collaboration on the net, and just wish to lend my enthusiastic support, as well as encourage others to do the same.
Sincerely,
Jay Clark
jayadair@yahoo.com
have been waiting all summer to see how The Powers That Be that run Enterprise would continue last season's arc. I was pleasantly surprised that the energy of the last episodes of the previous season was carried on and given new momentum. In a series such as this, a story arc as opposed to one-episode storylines is almost required to hold interest and tie the universe together. The first [two] seasons were sadly lacking in this regard.
Speaking of the "The Powers That Be," those guys at Mutant Enemy may be wondering about the choice to eliminate Cordelia from Angel. If the Web fan commentary is any indication, the move seems terribly unpopular. It sure was with me. I found and watched Angel first and have watched Buffy in reruns. Diluting the show with Buffy retreads at the expense of the second-billed character doesn't give me warm fuzzies. Not to mention the shabby treatment of the actress. Hope they wise up and correct this. In her defense, Charisma [Carpenter's] character was written so badly last season that it seemed that they wanted her to be less popular and less missed. Way to break a perfectly good toy!
Doug Dale
ddale@coda-continuum.com
'm detecting a whiff of sanctimony in the responses of some to the Enterprise season premiere ("Nudity Not Necessary for Trek", "Enterprise Is Going Nowhere Fast").
Maybe I'm one of the few who's old enough (barely!) to remember the original series, but I recall that one of the things I liked about the series, in addition to the great SF, was the abundance of beautiful babes in skimpy uniforms or otherwise scantily attired. There was plenty of T&A in the original Trek, probably as much as they could get away with back then. Face it, fans, you can show more on TV today and that's why you're seeing more on Enterprise. Frankly, I don't see the problem.
Beyond the eye candy, I like the way the series is progressing. I'm willing to give things time to develop. Remember that this is supposed to be about the beginning of the Federation. I don't expect warp-speed story arcs at this point.
Let's not take things so seriously!
Michael M. Gerardi
mmgerardi@earthlink.net
egarding the Enterprise premiere ("Nudity Not Necessary for Trek", "Enterprise Is Going Nowhere Fast"):
1. Nudity—Jolene Blalock is a hotty. Most sci-fi viewers are guys, therefore a little titillation can be expected. If you think this is beyond the scope of Star Trek, check out the skirts (and panty shots) in the 1960s series.
2. Don't be too hard on the creators of this series. What they are trying to show is a bunch of people who have the technology but don't know what the heck they're doing in the universe as a whole. As Q pointed out in the Star Trek: The Next Generation, they still have plenty of room to grow, even at that point. At this point, Starfleet is well-intentioned, organized, but very naive. "Boldly going" is not the same as "wisely going." Have some patience. Watch First Contact again. They've got a long ways to go to even get to Kirk's level.
Thanks for your time!
Bob Tillman
bobltillman@msn.com
must agree with some of what Ms. Hoffner ("Enterprise Is Going Nowhere Fast") said about Enterprise's troubles, but I think there is a reason for the crew's troubles relating with the rest of the "locals" (i.e., the other races). Most of what people learn comes from trial and error, and I believe these are the "trials" of the human race, and I have no doubt we, as a race, will make many errors as we move out into space. I also agree about Hoshi, to which I blame the writers for, but Archer and Tripp seem to get along just fine most of the time. Even Mr. Reed is a bit less stuffy than when he started the mission.
I do agree, also, that the upcoming war with the Xindi is among the not-so-good ideas the scriptwriters have come up with. I've said it in the past and I'll say it again: The war should have been with the one race the original series' Star Trek crew mentioned in their first season—the Romulans. I also agree, as I have also mentioned in the past, with D.C. ("Nudity Not Necessary for Trek") about nudity being totally unnecessary.
If I may say one thing about Ms. Hoffner's comment about T'Pol; she may be a Vulcan female on the screen, but she's still an all-too-human actress. If she dressed in plain, bland clothes and had no feminine look at all, it may be realistic, but, as Uhura once noted, "This isn't reality. This is fantasy." And T'Pol would be very hard to accept as a woman if she didn't look any different than the men. I will say one thing, though: The skin-tight suits are also totally unnecessary.
Eric Anchor
DragonRider64@aol.com
echo the comments made in the Letter to The Editor by D.C. Jeanes "Nudity Not Necessary for Trek." I was appalled the way the producers included the "soft-porn" scene at the end of the episode "Xindi." Looking back over the years of all the different Star Trek series, Star Trek has always had a sense of "sexy," but stopped short of sex. Gene Roddenberry quite often had the women dressed in somewhat-revealing outfits, but everything was covered. Enterprise has crossed that line several times. Enterprise seems to be testing the waters of going further and looking to pull in the R-rated crowd. Please try to remember that this program is in the early hours of prime time, while families are watching TV together or kids are watching unsupervised. The producers should concentrate on pulling in viewers by having superior stories and not with "eye candy." This is not good storytelling, it is just plain bad taste. This season has such potential for exciting action and special effects, please concentrate on those and leave the nudity alone.
I have been a loyal Star Trek fan since the original series in the '60s, and will continue to be so, but I will not hesitate to drop Enterprise from my "must watch" list if this experiment in bad taste continues.
Best,
Gary Magid
spamagid@comcast.net
n response to Gloria Hoffner's comments regarding Enterprise going nowhere fast ("Enterprise Is Going Nowhere Fast"), the new Star Trek is not much of a departure from the original as far as sexy outfits or angry crewmembers out to get revenge. In fact, most original Trek episodes had some form of these aspects in every show. The only difference is that Enterprise has a main female character, therefore
she is in more scenes than the typical females from the original. (Which, by the way, were comprised of miniskirt-wearing female crewmembers and scantily clad female aliens/characters as a staple.)
The new Star Trek is based from a time where humans on Earth are still struggling with peace amongst themselves, which explains why the Vulcans do not believe they belong out in space encountering new lifeforms. "Morality" is very subjective depending on the culture and time in history. The new storyline focuses on a pre-emptive attack against the Earth from an unknown source. Anger is an expected emotion from a character, especially when you consider that a close family member was killed in that attack. Every Star Trek series has had storylines that are similar to other episodes which gives me greater consternation than worrying about timeline
continuity. (This is a TV show with not much basis on physics as we currently understand them.)
I, as well as many loyal viewers, like the new Trek, even if it seems different from what has come before. If you want old Star Trek, watch them on SCI FI; I do. If you want something different, watch Enterprise.
Mark S. Martel
ttoffunk@mindspring.com
irst of all, I would like to thank Brian Murphy for the Red Dwarf Web site he recommended to me ("Red Dwarf Shoots to the Silver Screen").
I wanted to dedicate this letter to a very important element of science fiction: Love stories. No Whoniversal fans could forget the first female companion to get to kiss Doctor Who in 1996: Dr. Grace Holloway, who was portrayed by actress Daphne Ashbrook (who also once played an alien love interest for Dr. Julian Bashir in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).
And speaking of DS9, Kira and Odo have always been my vote for the best Trek romance. Ever since love stories of the original series from Zefram Cochrane and the Companion ("Metamorphosis") to Miranda Jones and Kolos ("Is There In Truth No Beauty?"), Gene Roddenberry's legacy has expressed that no diversity can stand in the way of true love. There is always a chance worth taking.
With human love stories like Mulder and Scully of The X-Files and simian love stories like Cornelius and Zira from The Planet Of The Apes, science fiction is probably the most dimensional genre in this poignant area of storytelling. I may arguably choose John Carpenter's Starman (which earned Jeff Bridges an Oscar nomination) as my favorite love story in science fiction.
Though I agree that the most likely favorite for most science-fiction fans is Lois & Clark. And incidentally, a certain romance for Red Dwarf, namely Lister and Kochanski, should be an integral resolution for the impending movie.
Michael Anthony Basil
mike.basil@sympatico.ca
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