Posted on 02/20/2005 6:43:05 PM PST by pabianice
"Timing is everything." We've all heard that one and it's true. Example: "Star Trek: Enterprise."
Paramount and UPN announced on February 2 that the show was being canceled at the end of this year's run in May. "Enterprise" had hit an all time low, with just a 2.5 rating the week before the announcement. UPN's decision to have placed it on Friday nights in the 'death slot' against the monster SciFi Friday lineup of "Stargate SG-1," "Stargate Atlantis," and a white-hot reincarnation of "Battlestar Galactica" almost certainly played a major part in the ratings drop for "Enterprise." However, weak to terrible writing until this season was also a big factor.
Well, the cancellation is official ... just in time for the new creative team headed by Manny Coto ("Odyssey 5") to have kicked in, and the change in the show is startling. The most recent shows have been fast, sharp, and nasty, breaking with the "I'm OK, You're OK" pablum spooned-out starting with Roddenberry's lobotomized "The Next Generation." This past week's "Enterprise" had espionage, danger, and an explanation of that 39-year-old riddle: why did the Klingons in the original "Star Trek" look so human when compared to later versions.
Now that the show has been canceled it is coming into its own with tight writing and interesting stories. Well, maybe Coto can find another show worthy of his talents. Paramount really screwed the pooch with they way they mishandled "Enterprise."
Ridicule of Science Fiction and SF fandom is just a psychological security blanket..
Truth is, they can't handle the possibilities that such ideas may actually BE "possibilities"...
That there may be life on other planets..
That that life may actually be intelligent..
That it may be more advanced than Earth..
They fear the possibility that Earth is no more than an infant in galactic society, barely able to leave the orbit of it's own planet..
They fear the possibility that our planet's civilization could be crushed, enslaved, eliminated by some outside force greater than our own..
Without their ridicule, they would be cowering in their closets, afraid to come out into the light..
Let them be, Poor, Pathetic Things...
Actually, I suspect that Ann Coulter is the product of very tall, beautiful, and of course very well dressed human women along with, perhaps... 1/32 Ferrengi genome.
Basketball great Reggie Miller also bears a slight resemblance....
Nothing surprises me anymore.
I think its rather cool myself... I love that idea.
Two very good short stories ... another of my favorites is "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut. It was made into a movie that reallllly stretched it out, but I like the spareness of the short story.
Speaking of terrific SF work by a Freeper, no less, check out anything by E.E. Knight. :-)
I *loved* Inner Light. My absolute favorite.
You just named every one of my favorites.
One TOS episode that I remember well was Balance of Terror (The Enemy Below in space) - it opened with a wedding in the ship's chapel. The atheists hadn't struck yet.
There WAS one other I saw which was good--it's about wach character having an element of a machine that appears in their dreams. The scene I recall has the main characters in that hologram deck (they set way too many eps on that set) describing what they saw in their dream, and when put together it made the alien device. Very cool.
But as I said, whenever I gave the show a chance on my own, I always turned it off in minutes.
maybe it is more that people are tired of utopian Science Fiction... and would rather have well written science fiction instead. Like FireFly, FarScape and Battlestar Galactica
Ronald D. Moore used to have a personal bulletin board over on AOL during his DS9 days. He would visit there every few days and answer everyone's questions and give inside info on the show. I was very impressed, especially when he emailed me a personal response to a question I had about one of the producers. I miss DS9! (Didn't like the way it ended, at all.)
Current, the Sci-fi in Xbox games is better than what's on TV or movies.
Starwars: Knights Of the Old Republic did the Starwars universe better than Lucas ever has.
Halo's story and universe are just awesome- it's epic in a way that movies and TV can't seem to touch lately.
I seem to remember Ronald Moore having a presence on the Compuserve SF forum. Remember old "HOM-9", Ray? :-) Lots of current writers frequented there and interacted quite freely: David Gerrold, J. Michael Straczynski, Mike Okuda, Mike ... uh ... blanked on his name, but a really nice guy. I check out David's website from time to time, and we reconnect every once in a while.
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