To: 
From: "Steve Oostrom" 
Reply-To: trekcreative{at}yahoogroups.com

>---I'm wondering if Farscape is just a little too "far out"
for your taste.
My impression of your work is that it's more cerebral, straight-laced
sci-fi set in the Star Trek universe, very much your vision---with very
little silliness allowed. It's good stuff, for those of that mindset (I
wouldn't have a link to it on my site if I didn't think so), but not what
I'd call "fun." This impression could be wrong---I've probably
only read about 2-3% of your material---but I doubt it.

>Characters actually seem to change on Farscape. Storylines develop. The
plots are convoluted but interesting, and the heroes have plenty of
flaws---very unlike Voyager. Those who say there's no comparison between
the two series are dead-on. They may be playing the same game, but Star
Trek: Voyager isn't even in Farscape's league.

>The verdict's still out on Enterprise, but right now... it isn't either

Perhaps you're right.  The only way I can watch "Farscape" is to
buy the DVD's, since it never was carried on any station I have access to. 
So far, the DVD's part-way through the second season, and I've watched most
of the first-season episodes.  My impression of the show is based on a
limited sample of the show.  I can see how the characters are developing
and the continuing storylines, which I think become more involved in the
second season than in the first.  The point is that in certain situations,
there is a kind of "sameness in plots" in science fiction shows,
especially when the characters are interacting with characters and
situations off the ship.  Any of those worlds could be dropped into another
series and the same sort of story could happen.  It's the same with
Andromeda and even Stargate SG-1. How the characters interact with the
worlds they visit could vary, but not always by a lot.  It was that my
mind, "Mad DNA Scientist" just seemed so like Voyager that if
somebody had pitched that idea to the "Voyager" producers, they
might have bought it.  When watching that episode and comparing it to the
others I have seen, that one just stood out as not being quite like a
typical "Farscape" episode.

As for the "Star Trek: Athena" stories being "cerebral,
straight-laced sci-fi set in the Star Trek universe," you're probably
right about that. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by
"silliness?"  If this means lack of humour, then that's because I
find humour hard to write, and I seem to be limited to throwing in the
occasional one-liner.  If it means silly plots and silly situations, then
I'm not so sure I can do that.  If it means weird or bizarre, I can try
those if I can come up with a story that would work. I have heard that the
characters seem a little "straight-laced" and "stiff,"
and at times, they seem too formal and give the impression that they are
not really enjoying their time on the ship. This is something that I have
tried to work on, by including scenes where the characters can be more
casual and comfortable.

I'll keep watching "Farscape," although there is a lot of stuff
coming out on DVD that I have never seen (I just got the second season of
"Babylon 5" for example), and I'll see how many more
"Voyager-like" plots they come up with.

Steve
The Universe Unbounded.

Visit "Star Trek: Athena" at http://ussathena.iwarp.com


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