tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post113934108573910319..comments2024-03-20T03:12:56.498-05:00Comments on Lou Anders: I wonder if this ever happens next door...Lou Andershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00694362734492222851noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1139683434548830032006-02-11T12:43:00.000-06:002006-02-11T12:43:00.000-06:00Absolutely. I think the most clever example of thi...Absolutely. I think the most clever example of this "filling in the gap" that you mention is the President's ship, which, while every other vessel resembles a spacecraft, is built to look like Air Force One, right down to the size of the windows and the rows of seating. It communicates so much about what we take as rote about our own Executive office, without a single word of dialogue. It may be one of the cleverest, subtlest pieces of set design ever.Lou Andershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00694362734492222851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1139643974448600932006-02-11T01:46:00.000-06:002006-02-11T01:46:00.000-06:00Viewed as an example of parallel evolution, the wo...Viewed as an example of parallel evolution, the world of <I>BSG</I> is of course absurd. I think one reason the show feels more realistic than other SF shows is that, by closely mimicking contemporary society, it benefits from all the automatic gap-filling that we as audience members do. We don't have to wonder, "How does such-and-such aspect of their society work?"; we're safe in assuming that it's just like our society. <BR/><BR/>And this works because in many ways, <I>BSG</I> isn't exploring fundamentally SFnal questions like the impact of technology on human experience, or dealing with the truly alien. <I>BSG</I> is about the stresses faced by people during wartime, and that's something we can identify with without too much difficulty these days.Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00799259633965559067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1139621088114411922006-02-10T19:24:00.000-06:002006-02-10T19:24:00.000-06:00I might concede, and put it on a par with an ER or...I might concede, and put it on a par with an <I>ER</I> or a <I>West Wing</I>. However, I do think <I>BSG</I> has raised the bar considerably. Oddly, it's done so by being so recognizably contemporary. Ironic, in that what makes the show seem so realistic is the infusion of telephones, neckties, contemporary politics. Yet the idea of a parallel human culture developing an identical match to a 20th century telephone is pretty absurd!Lou Andershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00694362734492222851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1139599116288771042006-02-10T13:18:00.000-06:002006-02-10T13:18:00.000-06:00I enjoy BSG, but I wouldn't put it up there with t...I enjoy <I>BSG</I>, but I wouldn't put it up there with the HBO series that I've seen. Part of it may be that the creators don't have as much time to spend on each episode as HBO apparently offers, but I'm not sure if all the time in the world would have made the "if we all pull together we can build a stealth fighter" episode a good one. <BR/><BR/>(I personally think <I>The Shield</I> is the best written show on basic cable.)Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00799259633965559067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1139589430636190052006-02-10T10:37:00.000-06:002006-02-10T10:37:00.000-06:00This is my pet peeve, that the perception of our g...This is my pet peeve, that the perception of our genre television SF generates may put people off discovering the literary variety. Don't know. <BR/><BR/>I would put the new <I>Battlestar Galactica</I> on a par with an HBO series, although their [spoiler] sidestepping President Roselyn's death is a step back. While I love the character, HBO's willingness to sacrifice members of their ensemble is laudable.Lou Andershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00694362734492222851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1139562406612731852006-02-10T03:06:00.000-06:002006-02-10T03:06:00.000-06:00To be fair, most television SF hasn't been the sor...To be fair, most television SF hasn't been the sort of thing you could recommend whole-heartedly.Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00799259633965559067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1139413630576972722006-02-08T09:47:00.000-06:002006-02-08T09:47:00.000-06:00A very good friend of mine read an interview with ...A very good friend of mine read an interview with Samuel Delany that I published. She thought he was brilliant and rushed out to B&N to get some of his books, but didn't buy any, as they all took place on "other planets."<BR/><BR/>To her credit, she later read Jeff Ryman's <I>The Child Garden</I>, and, upon enjoying it, has now ventured off planet a few times.Lou Andershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00694362734492222851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1139409928959118792006-02-08T08:45:00.000-06:002006-02-08T08:45:00.000-06:00I usually run into: "Science fiction? No, not real...I usually run into: "Science fiction? No, not really. UFOs don't interest me." Yeah.Tim Akershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01749644135364065658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11303103.post-1139390844700926842006-02-08T03:27:00.000-06:002006-02-08T03:27:00.000-06:00Very sad. That conversation really happened?To quo...Very sad. That conversation really happened?<BR/><BR/>To quote Eric Idle's "The Galaxy Song":<BR/><I>"So pray that there's intelligent life somewhere else in space, <BR/>cos' it's bugger all down here on Earth!"</I><BR/>:-/A.R.Yngvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03972668378286177600noreply@blogger.com