Newsgroups: bit.listserv.i-amiga
Date:         Thu, 7 Jan 1993 14:35:42 -0600
From:         flasar@WUGCRC.WUSTL.EDU
Subject:      RE: Re[4]: DeepSpace9

Well, folks, I'm gonna break some of the suspense.  DeepSpace 9 is sent via
satellite to local affiliates.  If you have a satellite system, you can down
load this and  record it.  It comes with national commercials already installed,
with little blank spaces for local blurbs.  At our Amiga club meeting last
night, we showed, on a large screen, Deep Space 9 from a tape.  The quality
was a bit uneven, largely due to the unstable equipment, but, on the whole, I
have to say that it's a rousing success.  It met and exceeded my expectations.
   Star Trek has always been a bit too 'clean' for my taste.  The redeeming
virtue of the series has been the consistency of the vision, the memorable
characters, the evolution of quality and complexity of plot, described
universe, technology, etc.  But on the whole, too flashy, not gritty enough,
such as, for example, Alien was.
    Deep Space 9 has rough edges, the characters are somewhat rude, sly,
a little 'off', a little more human.  The station itself is more like a
dumpy seaport in a Navy town, more of a lived-in feel.  Do I need to say that
the special effects are superlative?  Isn't that taken for granted?  What a
joy, now I have two hours of decent sci-fi to watch a week.
   I  haven't seen Space Rangers yet, but I had a bad feeling about it.  that's
because I have a bad feeling about most tv anyway.  Storytelling by committee
and demographics is not story-telling, it's pandering.  I would be very pleased
if Space Rangers proved the exception to the rule, but I don't think so.
   i also have serious problems with Babylon V.  There's a teaser that's been
sent around to Amiga clubs.  Maybe it's designed to appeal to Amigans qua
computer wonks, as opposed to sci-fi fans.  if so, that would explain the
heavy emphasis on special effects.  Special effects were nice, very exciting.
But when they turned to the plot and characters, I winced.  One of the major
characters was some ham wearing, i'm not kidding, a Bozo the clown haircut.
The dramatic moments cited detailed only a primitive level of char-
acter motivation.  It's hard to be too specific here, I'm dealing more with a
feeling, so I'll try to use a broader stroke.
    Star Trek was the product of one write - Gene Roddenberry.  yes, there were
plenty of scripts written by others, but Roddenberry was the keeper of the
universe.  though he got input, and he sought advice and suggestions, he had
the final say, unprecedented control over the development in all phases, inclu-
ding the Next Generation series.  He established a canon, a set of rules that
when followed allowed for consistency of detail and character, which offers
both explicability and familiarity - both essential for the success of a story.
    More importantly, the best of the Star Trek series excited the intellect,
provided novel ways of portraying conflict, evoked the genres, devices and
concepts described by science fiction writers over the previous 60 years.  and
that's because Roddenberry was a sci-fi fan, and sci-fi writers wrote scripts
for the series.  If you want to have a sci-fi series, you have to respect the
genre, you have to respect the audience.  Star Trek succeeded because, more
often then not, they did know their audience.  The worst moments came when
they got stuck in ruts, for example the 'nazi planet, cowboy planet, gangster
planet, ad nauseum episodes.  is it any doubt that this was the result of low
budgeting and building plots around whatever could be dredged out of costuming?
    The props, the ideas, the gestalt of science fiction can only be effectively
used by those familiar with the medium.  I remember some years ago, when I was
trying to earn a living by selling Great Books of the Western World.  I loved
the series, thought everybody oughta have 'em.  In 1.5 years, I sold two sets,
even though i plodded around 6 days/week, talked my head off, made lots of
friends, but I just couldn't get people to close.
    On the other hand, my manager, a grizzled boozy sales veteran around 50
years old, whose life was such a complete mess that he had to sleep in his
office because his entire salary went to pay alimony for two of his divorced
families, sold 3 or more sets EVERY DAY!!!!  This guy thought Plato was two
words you used when you asked for a 'plate o' beans'.  The only reading he did
was the racing form and his paycheck.  How did he do it?  One day he told me.
"Selling is selling.  If you can sell, you can sell socks, boats, cars, books,
houses or manure.  It's all the same.  the whole point is to get them to buy,
and that has nothing to do with what you're selling".
    Well, that's what teevee is.  It's selling.  And what they're sellingis
not the show but the products in the commercials.  The show itself is sold to
the networks (syndicated or otherwise), and it's sold with a view for how much
it will allow the networks to sell products.  When it comes down to these
issues, bottomline as it were, plot, character and story are irrelevant, if it
will sell.  We all know this.  But selling is measured in terms of audience
share.  And audience share is, like polling and electioneering, defined by
how many people 'vote' for your show by watching it, and you try to get people
to watch it by calling in the pollsters, and seeing what to put into the show
to appeal to what social group you want to attract.  And then you get a show
that's written by committee, not by sci-fi writers.  A show that's designed to
suck in viewers.
    Sci-fi readers are a critical lot.  Most sci-fi shows don't make it because
they're lame, because they're simply crass attempts to pull people into the
tent.
    Deep Space 9 has kept the integrity of the Star Trek canon, and is thus
very successful and will 'live long and prosper'.  I only hope that Babylon
V has the same respect for it's audience.  i hope they have some decent sci-fi
names around to help.  This field is not for amateurs.
    Dan Flasar
    Washington U School of Medicine
    St. Louis, MO

PS:  I think this had something to do with the Amiga, didn't it?
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU