On Oct 7, 3:37 pm, Anson Macdonald 
wrote:
> Andrew Swallow wrote:
> > Christina Wilson wrote:
> >> Hank Arnold (MVP) wrote:
> >>> Captain Infinity wrote:
> >>>> In "The 22 Most Awful Moments in Science Fiction"
> >>>> At Something Awful
> >>>>http://www.somethingawful.com/d/most-awful/most-awful-scifi.php
>
> >> I'm confused--does the writer like any Science Fiction?
>
> >> Christina
>
> > Yes.  The writer also likes a joke.
>
> > Andrew Swallow
>
> If the list annoys us, it is perhaps there is some truth in the writer's
> skewerings.  A couple of examples:
>
> #22: The Abyss is a favorite of mine, but I know some folks who, like
> the writer, hate the film because they think the ending doesn't match
> the rest of the film.  My opinion, I have to admit, is heavily
> influenced by Orson Scott Card's wonderful novelization of the film.  He
> fills out the back story of the main characters and keeps the aliens in
> the story foreground throughout (as opposed to how the film appears to
> show them: a couple of "close encounters" and a deus ex
machina finale).
>   He also explains the motivations of the aliens well. None of this
> appears in the film, of course, because it wasn't in the script (all of
> the aformentioned was invented by Mr. Card) nor is it the kind of
> material that conveys well visually.
>
> By the way, James Cameron gave Orson Scott Card full access and support
> while Mr. Card was writing the novelization based on the script, and
> endorsed the novelization.
>
> #12: I suspect the writer hasn't watched B5 all the way through.  Sure,
> B5 had plenty of flaws, but what kept us coming back was the grand story
> arc.  One might also remember that those of us who are "rabid" fans of
> B5 have had unprecedented access to the creator of the show on-line, and
> this has certainly colored our perceptions of the show, generally favorably.

Well, also if a person tunes in to watch a show one time, it is hit or
miss. An episode could be a weaker one, or maybe one where there is a
lot of reference to other events the first time viewer isn't up to
speed on. Or a show that is a real turn on things. (One person I kept
asking to watch B5 finally agreed, she tuned in the week
"Intersections in Real Time" aired and asked "Why do you watch a show
that's so depressing all the time?" She finally decided to give it
another try, and it was when "Sleeping in Light" aired.) Some other
people too, it was hard to "get in at the next stop" for some folks I
guess. For another example, I had a friend who was into Marital arts
in a big way and the show that really had him digging things was
"TKO."

> #7 "Laws of Robotics were made to be broken."  I think the
writer missed
> the point here.  Asimov chose a clumsy name for his "Three Laws of
> Robotics," and he since he failed to foresee the advancements in
> computers he devised the fantasy of the "positronic brain."
Where Asimov
> hit the nail on the head what that his robot stories managed to predict
> the crucial importance of carefully-written and thoroughly tested &
> de-bugged software as we become so heavily dependent on automation.  The
> more we ask machines to make judgment calls for us, the more important
> such speculation becomes.

I agree, and also the idea that he laws, as written, portended
seriously bad things if attention was not paid.
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