parks@noao.UUCP (Jay Parks) (06/20/85)
Someone asked for constructive criticism, instead of just carping. OK,
here's my suggestions. It isn't that tough and I expect there are a lot
of even better fixes out there. What I hate is a scriptwriter that
assumes the audience is a bunch of morons who won't notice the
difference (or worse -- a director that cuts up a good script).
Section 1: the spaceship moon of SPACE 1999
a: Does it have to be the moon? Why not some asteroid that was
converted into a colonization-ship for interstellar travel. You could
then add cryogenic sleep chambers, so that the crew goes to sleep between
possible stellar systems. Its the same result back on earth, anyway. At
least a couple of times Alpha contacted earth to find that hundreds of
years had passed, back home.
b: The hokey gizmo. (Oh no! Don't activate the Plot Device!) An
invention we made, too dangerous to test on earth. It was originally
intended to do _______ (fill in the blank), but instead proved to
generate massive, unpredictable space warps. Sure, this is hokey, but
it's better than what they did.
c: Escapees from a cosmic disaster. Assume the sun is soon to nova, and
we know when. Stanley Schmidt did this in an ongoing series in Analog.
He provided a total conversion drive, and moved the WHOLE EARTH (the
oceans were fuel). Next to that, moving the moon is a piece of cake.
d: Niven described several ways to move planets (in All the Myriad
Ways?). The only question is: why would we want to move the moon at
all. I still think you need a cosmic disaster as above.
----
Of course, this doesn't solve the real problem (as I see it) of
Space 1999. The problem was that it was a fantasy series in a science
fiction setting. They were always fighting space dragons, or getting
wisdom from the centers of black holes, or ending with some sort of
metaphysical gobbledygook (especially in the first season). If they are
going to use metaphysics, they shouldn't try and make it science
fiction.
SECTION 2: My most despised scene in STAR WARS III
You know the one I'm talking about: Vader Wimps Out. They should
have never taken off his mask. Instead, at the end, he should have been
dragged to the shuttle. Luke is about to take off the mask, but Vader
stops him. Vader reaches out, and says "We . . . we could have ruled
the galaxy as father and son . . ." then dies.
(Sorry, that didn't really belong here.)
SECTION 3: CattleCar Badactica (Uh sorry)
In my opinion, there were several huge holes that became more and
more apparent as the show continued (first series).
Humans had been described as being nearly eliminated, but we found
them EVERYWHERE.
The villains were not too believable. Three robots to run a fighter,
instead of one computer? Not logical. Also, why do they insist on
exterminating THESE humans, when there are loads everywhere.
They kept on going farther and farther into nowhere, but never got
any closer to anywhere.
There were particularly hokey parts, like the fires in space, or the
confusion of galactic distances (did the darn thing travel faster than
light-speed?). These could be fixed by changing the buzzwords, by any
competent science advisor.
Well, this is tough. The problems were built into the concept.
Without re-writing the origin of the show, I would make the following
changes:
a: Have them get closer to earth. Every few shows, there should be some
real hint that tells you for sure that things are changing. From the
start, they should have planned to arrive at earth at the end of the
second or third season.
b: The nature of the villains should have been changed. I would suggest
making the cylons close neighbors of the galacticans. In a final
battle, the two civilizations wiped each other out (except for TWO
rag-tag fleets). It's a grudge match, sort of like the middle east. (Yes,
I realize that I have just thrown the current politics of that area out
the window. No flames please, I was intending a VAST OVERSIMPLIFICATION.)
Now, when we come across remenants of humanity everywhere, we also come
across remenants of cylon and other alien life everywhere (but none of
those cultures has progressed to interstellar travel yet).
c: Make the cylons aliens, for gosh sakes. If they are robots, then say
that they were constructed by the GALACTICANS! That could lead to all
sorts of interesting intrigue, the invention that went wrong.
That's my creative criticism for the moment. What do you think?
Jay Parksdavest@daemon.UUCP (Dave Stewart) (06/22/85)
Battlestar Galactica: Star Wars meets Prime Time. In article <419@carina.noao.UUCP> parks@noao.UUCP (Jay Parks) writes: >SECTION 3: CattleCar Badactica (Uh sorry) >a: Have them get closer to earth. The eternal optimism of the network executive: We sure hope this show catches on and gets renewed for lots of years so it doesn't make sense to undermine the concept which motivates the characters (ie, they can't find Earth, be wiped out, defeat the Cylons, etc). This attitude prevales until the show is canceled. >b: The nature of the villains should have been changed. It makes the good guys seem really good to make the bad guys seem rather cardboard, inhuman monsters. How simple to make them machines! No need for messy things like character development - just gun 'em down. An 80's (70's?) Ponderosa. Also, the "two ragtag fleets" don't provide enough certain peril for the colonists (underdog vs vast odds concept that helped Star Wars). What bothered me was that the undefended ships in the colonial fleet never got blasted! >c: Make the cylons aliens, for gosh sakes. Might have worked, but see above. Good suggestions, but BG suffered from being bridled with too many network formulas. -- David C. Stewart uucp: tektronix!davest Small Systems Support Group csnet: davest@TEKTRONIX Tektronix, Inc. phone: (503) 627-5418
sas@leadsv.UUCP (Scott Stewart) (06/28/85)
INTERESTING
jeffh@brl-tgr.ARPA (Jeff Hanes ) (07/01/85)
> SECTION 3: CattleCar Badactica (Uh sorry) > > c: Make the cylons aliens, for gosh sakes. I recall reading the tie-in to the original show (I have forgotten the author). In it, the cylons *were* aliens, though a rather peculiar sort. > SECTION 2: My most despised scene in STAR WARS III > > You know the one I'm talking about: Vader Wimps Out. They should > have never taken off his mask ... Ah yes, with this event all of my childhood hopes and aspirations were dashed to the ground. Darth was my hero, my role model. I was one of the millions of high school students (I have since outgrown that affliction) who watched enthralled as this impressive figure ruthlessly eliminated his foes ... until that skinny, upstart farm-boy shot him out of the air (vacuum?). Later, of course, I realized that the Darth we saw in "Star Wars" was not the true Darth Vader. In "Star Wars" he occasionally shows emotion; he actually seems to *care* about what those puny humans (Darth is above humanity, of course) are doing around him. In "Empire" we see the true Darth; cold, implacable, secure in the knowledge that his schemes will succeed, using those puny humans as tools to further said schemes. Of course, his plans *do* succeed (except for losing that annoying farm-boy), and all is well with the galaxy. Then came "Return of the Jedi." More of the real Darth (how nicely he manipulated that puppet emperor). Then the dastardly farm-boy shows up. Darth not only loses the duel (everyone has an occasional off-day), but he loses his ideals, and thus, his integrity ... I went home thoroughly dejected. How *could* Lucas have done this to the hero of these films? It wasn't supposed to be a tragedy. I guess we all need an occasional story of lost hope and demolished dreams. How *should* "Return of the Jedi" have ended? Well- that insipid farm-boy should have given in to Darth's superior abilities. the rebels should have been decimated (in the original, Latin sense), and forced to begin anew (thus paving the way for a third movie trilogy -- and further triumphs for Darth Vader). most important -- the ewoks should have been thoroughly eradicated ... just on general principles. PS- sorry about the delay in this response; i've been on vacation. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The Fantum Straynger <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Nothing is a lie if you define your terms properly USnail: 508 Wheel Rd. UUCP: {seismo,decvax,unc}!brl-bmd!jeffh Bel Air, MD 21014 ARPA: <brl-bmd!jeffh@seismo.ARPA>