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Copyright 1994, Cyberspace Vanguard Magazine
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|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| C Y B E R S P A C E |
| V A N G U A R D |
| News and Views of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Universe |
================================================================
| cn577@cleveland.freenet.edu Cyberspace Vanguard@1:157/564 |
| PO Box 25704, Garfield Hts., OH 44125 USA |
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| TJ Goldstein, Editor Sarah Alexander, Administrator |
| tlg4@po.cwru.edu aa746@po.cwru.edu |
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Volume 2 January 21, 1994 Issue 1
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
--!1!-- Ramblings of a Deranged Editor (and a few deranged readers ...)
--!2!-- Getting Away From It All: Taber MacCallum and Life Inside
Biosphere 2
--!3!-- Virtually There: Writing the Screenplay for DOUBLE DRAGON
--!4!-- Either Here or There: Mike Resnick on Terrestrial Looks at
Extraterrestrial Societies
--!5!-- Past, Present, and Future Filk
--!6!-- Computer Mediated Communication and Science Fiction Media Fans
--!7!-- Reviews by Evelyn C. Leeper
--!8!-- The Infamous Reply Cards and What You Said
--!9!-- SF Calendar: What's Coming Up in the Near Future
--!10!-- Shoelaces of Truth: The News, The Whole News, and Nothing but the
News
--!11!-- Spoilers Ahoy! (And season 2 of the TWILIGHT ZONE Episode Guide)
--!12!-- Contests and Awards
--!13!-- Conventions and Readings
--!14!-- Publications, Lists and the like
--!15!-- Administrivia
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REPOSTING information: CYBERSPACE VANGUARD may be reposted IN ITS ENTIRETY
anywhere and everywhere without further permission, but we would appreciate
knowing where it's going so we can keep track. All rights revert to the
authors upon publication, however, so we insist on being contacted for
permission to repost individual articles. News items may be reposted
without further permission, but must include our contact information.
CYBERSPACE VANGUARD: News and Views of the Science Fiction and Fantasy
Universe is registered with the United States Copyright Office.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!1!-- Ramblings of a Deranged Editor (and a few deranged readers ...)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A little over a year ago, recovering from pneumonia, I took a couple
of interviews I had sitting around from a local newszine that had gone on
indefinite hiatus and some news I found on the net, put it together into a
newsletter, and dropped it on a couple of newsgroups. Everyone I knew
(including me, really) thought that would be the end of it. In the year
since then, CYBERSPACE VANGUARD has grown into a full scale newsmagazine,
with interviews and articles, real news from on and off the net, and
hundreds of subscribers in more than 30 countries. Frankly, nobody is more
surprised than I am.
Oh, that's not to say we're fully grown, of course. I still have to
do much more of the writing than I'd like (after all, I like to sleep too),
we don't yet have full news coverage of all the areas people want to see,
and publicity people at studios and publishers are still completely
mystified when confronted with a magazine that, when you come right down to
it, doesn't exist in a tangible form. (Thankfully, they do accept the
ASCII printouts we send them.) But we've come a long way from that
"Preview Issue" we sent out all those months ago, which I now find painful
to read.
So, what it boils down to is that I'd like to take a screenful or so
to thank all of you who have been and continue to be so patient and
supportive as we experience our growing pains, and invite you to stick with
us for what looks like it will be an equally spectacular year!
There, now that wasn't so bad, was it?
First off this issue, we picked the brains of TABER MACCALLUM, one of
the eight men and women who inhabited the controversial BIOSPHERE 2, a
precursor to long-term space stations and colonies, where everything was
generated in-house, from the food they ate to the air they breathed, to
give you a feeling for what it was like to live inside.
Then, from the ideal world to a world where even the police don't go
out at night, we take you to a conversation with PETER GOULD and MICHAEL
DAVIS, who wrote the screenplay for the upcoming DOUBLE DRAGON movie -- as
opposed to the new Saturday morning cartoon, which has just debuted. (They
sure move fast from television to movies these days, don't they?) And,
speaking of writers, we've got a brief interview with Hugo-winning author
and editor MIKE RESNICK, one of the more prolific writers in the genre.
Finally, we've got a couple of scholarly pieces to enlighten both
experienced and neo-fans alike. Filker JOE ELLIS explains just what filk
music is and what significance it has to the fields of science fiction and
fantasy, and SUSAN CLERC checks in to tell us just where we net-connected
fans stand in relation to the rest of fandom. In other words, just who are
we, anyway?
And of course there's the news, columns, and spoilers -- including
lots'o'stuff on the upcoming BABYLON 5 and the next installment of the
TWILIGHT ZONE Episode Guide.
Which brings us to the letters from you, our readers. Oh, and a
comment: After we introduced this feature, the number of letters dropped
significantly (though Reply Cards kept coming in, of course). Let us know
what you think! We'd be happy to withhold names and addresses, if you
like. We welcome letters of comment on both the format and content of the
magazine, especially from those of you who are OFF the net. They can be
sent to any of the addresses above.
WHY SO MUCH MEDIA?
I've been reading CV for a couple of issues now, and overall I really
like it, but I've been wondering about one thing: Why so much media and so
little on books and magazines?
---- Jerry Pention
[A few months ago, we started looking for writers to contribute foreign
news. One respondent asked for a sample issue, then proceeded to complain
because the issue carried almost nothing but news from the United States.
Put simply, we print what we can. Personally, I'm smart enough to know I
don't read enough. If any of you out there would like to help out, we'd
love to hear from you -- and that goes for any area where you feel that we
might be lacking. This is your magazine too! ---- TJ]
THE HEART OF THE HIGHLANDER
Thank you for your interview with ADRIAN PAUL in the last issue. Do
you have an address where I can send him a letter?
---- Tina Madigan
[Fan mail for the HIGHLANDER series is generally handled through SSA Public
Relations, at 15060 Ventura Blvd., Suite 360, Sherman Oaks, CA 91430. For
more information on writing in support of the show, have a peek at Debbie
Douglass's column in the news section. ---- TJ]
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--!2!-- Getting Away From It All: Taber MacCallum and Life Inside
Biosphere 2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
by TJ Goldstein
On September 26, 1991, four men and four women in jumpsuits entered a
building with glass walls and (except for a small medical emergency) didn't
come out again for two years. They were the "Biospherians," or the first
crew of Biosphere 2, the brainchild of philecologist Edward Bass and the
product of Space Biospheres Ventures (SBV). Biosphere 2 was an experiment
in "closed systems," basically a system that is "materially closed." That
means that no matter, including oxygen, goes in or out. All food has to be
produced inside, as does a breathable atmosphere.
Taber MacCallum, a member of that first crew, isn't employed by or
representing SBV anymore -- he is now the president of Paragon Space
Development Corporation -- but he does travel the country with an
entertaining and frank talk about his experiences in the Biosphere. We
caught up with him at Case Western Reserve University in the fall.
Biosphere 2 can be thought of as having 4 main sections: the living
quarters (including the lab, command center, and library); agriculture,
where the food was grown; wilderness (ocean, marsh, desert and rain forest),
which was 2-3 times the size of the agriculture section; and the basement,
where the mechanical workings of Biosphere 2 were located, and which came
to be known as the technosphere.
Given the different areas, it was inevitable that life inside was a
study in contrasts. What a tourist can see from the outside are idyllic
settings, where one can dive among living coral or enjoy a walk in a
tropical rainforest, but below is a setting more typical of an industrial
plant, albeit a pollution free one.
Water based heat exchanges outside the Biosphere helped to keep it
cool, but maintenance of the Biosphere's air handlers was critical.
Capable of cycling and cooling the entire atmosphere of the Biosphere in 90
seconds, they were all that kept the facility from acting like the huge
solar oven that it is. If the air systems were to cut out completely,
within 30 minutes the temperature inside would have killed all the plants.
On a sunny day in summer, the entire facility uses about 2 megawatts of
power.
Although Biosphere 2 was built with private money and the interior
clearly is not open to the public (though the outside of the facility is
open to tourism at $12.95(US) per adult), the state of Arizona classified it
as a public building, requiring it to meet all the applicable building
codes. That means, among other things, that it has a sprinkler system, and
that all overhead glass is safety class. (Emergency exits are accomplished
by breaking the vertical panes of non-safety glass along the floor.)
Mr. MacCallum feels that "closed system" technology sits where
aircraft were after the Wright Brothers first flew at Kitty Hawk -- it's
been proven it can be done, and now other companies besides Space
Biospheres Ventures are beginning to try their hands at it, bringing in a
variety of approaches.
The technology is not inaccessible, in that "there is no proprietary
or patented technology required to build closed systems and closed systems
themselves cannot be patented." Mr. MacCallum does have a word of advice
for those who would try it, however. "The 'know-how' to build closed
systems is available. I would not recommend starting from scratch and
making all the mistakes that we did."
But why would anybody want to try it? What is it good for? At the
moment the probable applications for Biosphere 2 are all scientific.
Besides the obvious use for space exploration, it lends itself to
ecological and nutrient modeling in a way that cannot be accomplished
with either laboratory experiments or observations in the wild.
Unlike NASA closed system experiments, where stability is maintained
by choosing only a small variety of plants, the crew of Biosphere 2
engaged in "species packing," trying to get as many species of plants into
the Biosphere as possible. While this gave them a nice diversity, it did
mean they had to devote a good deal of time to actually cutting back
species that did TOO well, such as morning glory and Bermuda grass, which
thrived so well in the Biosphere environment that they became "invasive
species."
SBV imported plants, animals, and even milk tankers full of ocean
water (for microbial content). One of the delays at the Arizona border
involved a misunderstanding when a driver was thought to say his truck was
full of "mangoes" instead of "mangroves." Mangoes are illegal in Arizona,
so you can imagine the hassle of trying to bring in seeds from Israel,
plants from ... you get the picture. They did, however, give up on trying
to have tons of rain forest soil shipped in, electing to "make" it
themselves, working hard for the right consistency and content.
Not all of the residents of the Biosphere were brought in
intentionally, however. The inside and outside of Biosphere 2 were built
concurrently, which allowed insects and other creatures which would do well
in that environment to find their way in, a welcome addition to the
diversity.
To feed the 8 crew members required 156 man-hours per week, which was,
curiously, roughly what a similar Soviet experiment had found. Every day
each crew member would go into the agriculture section and do a few hours of
farming to help provide their mostly vegetarian diet. Another crop that did
exceedingly well was hyacinth beans, which became the crew's major source of
vegetable protein. Papayas and bananas were the crew's main sweeteners, and
if he never sees a beet or a sweet potato again, for Taber MacCallum it will
be too soon. Often, if more food became ripe than they could eat before it
went bad, they would freeze daily portions for later use.
That's not to say that it was entirely a vegetarian diet. Goats
provided milk, cheese, yogurt, and occasional meat, eating the parts of the
greens that were inedible for humans. The ratio of calories per man-hour
spent on feeding, stall cleaning, and veterinary care was small -- and "in
a system for space, animals would not be economical" -- but the variety
it put into the diet gave a much needed boost to morale, so no-one would
say it was too much trouble.
Pork, on the other hand, was a different story. "We started out with
some pigs, but they needed a daily complement of starchy vegetables, which
put them in direct competition with us. So we ate the pigs."
Although plants were of course the principle means of moderating the
atmosphere, the agriculture section was planned with regard only for what
food crops would be best suited to the climate and most useful to the crew,
leaving atmosphere modulation to the wilderness areas.
The crops made up a nutrient-dense, low fat diet, to the point that
the crew not only dropped to 8% body fat, towards the end they were
actually in danger of a fat deficiency.
Although Mr. MacCallum lost 60 pounds during his stint in the
Biosphere, it was not entirely due to the low fat nature of the diet. Due
to a greater than expected light loss (55%) the crops were not as abundant
as they had hoped, and their daily intake was at first 1800 calories, and
later only 2200 calories. (The light loss also led to brand new plant
diseases and rare pests.)
"So what it came to was that by 4 in the afternoon you were wiped out.
You wound up really planning your day. If you had a big job to do you
didn't do it early because it would ruin you for the rest of the day.
Instead of budgeting money, you budgeted energy. You didn't go up and down
the stairs more times than you absolutely had to."
Since hunger seemed to be a common theme, the question then becomes
"Why not make more farmland?"
The answer is a pragmatic one. "The eyes of the world were of course
very much upon us, and we worried about the message we would be sending if
we cut down part of the wilderness for farmland." As it was, they only
grew 80% of the food they ate. The other 20% was made up by stocks of food
already grown and stored when the mission began and by seed stock for
plants that failed to thrive in the Biosphere.
They took turns cooking, with one person cooking dinner and then the
following breakfast and lunch. "You tried never to cook a bad meal,
because you'd really hear about it."
To avoid getting depressed about lack of food, once a month they would
have a "feast," purposely putting more food on the table than they could
possibly eat, and once every 3 months they had coffee. "And you can
imagine what a cup of coffee's like after 3 months without it!"
They celebrated the traditional holidays, such as Thanksgiving and
Christmas, but the holidays they really marked were the solstices and
equinoxes, because it directly affected their food supply. "When the
spring equinox came around we knew we were going to get more hours of
sunlight, and THAT was something to celebrate." The shorter winter days
were hard, and it's easy to imagine the dread early farming tribes would
have felt at the fall equinox.
Inside the Biosphere, the biomes experienced seasons, some of them
being put into a dormant state in the summer, when less photosynthesis was
needed. When that happened, the dead grasses were harvested, dried, and
stored downstairs in the basement to prevent them from decomposing and
releasing more carbon dioxide into the air.
Getting the biomes to go dormant was a non-trivial problem, however.
Condensate on the windows was a constant presence, providing both a
source of clean drinking water and problem. In some of the larger areas,
it would rain unpredictably. (Large open buildings, like Houston's
Astrodome, often have the problem of their own weather.) This was
particularly a problem in the desert, which never completely dried up. It
was originally designed as a "fog desert," where there is plenty of
moisture but no rainfall, because they knew it would be humid inside the
Biosphere. Because of the rainfall problem, however, it is now more of a
coastal sagebrush.
Not all of the crew's time was spent on scientific pursuits. Contact
with OTHER PEOPLE was crucial, and a popular diversion was "going to the
electronic cafe," connecting by videophone with other "cafes" around the
world.
For his part, Taber spent most of his free time with electronic mail.
"It's amazing what you can do with e-mail and fax machines," he said. "I
bought land, built a house, started a small aerospace company ..." (He's
not kidding. Paragon Space Development Corporation was started during his
time inside with another Biospherian and people on the outside.)
The office itself is essentially paperless, which is no big deal
today, but was something to behold when it was envisioned in the mid-
eighties. "Remember, when I went in, the Cold War was still going full-
tilt."
Although the whole idea was that nothing would go in or out, after the
first year, samples were sent out and some spare parts were brought in.
"It's not that we couldn't have made it through without the spare parts.
We'd have been limping along, but we'd have made it. It's just that lots
of research opportunities would have been lost, and we didn't want to give
them up in the name of idealism. It would have defeated the whole
purpose." The samples that went out where small enough to have no effect
on the ecosystem as a whole.
Strategic decisions were made on the outside, but tactical decisions
about how to carry it out were made on the inside. One major decision made
on the outside was that no food would be brought in. If there wasn't
enough to sustain the crew, they would have to come out.
Other decisions were not as simple. Not too far into the planning of
the mission, it became obvious that they were going to need some way to
take carbon dioxide out of the air, which led to the addition of a carbon
dioxide "scrubber." "That's the infamous 'secret scrubber' that caused so
much controversy. It really kills me how they could call it a secret,
considering that I had 150 people working on it and several reporters wrote
later that they had been shown it. The only thing secret about it was that
*SBV* didn't think it was necessary to issue a press release."
But even with the scrubber to remove CO2 from the air, there were
problems. The natural atmosphere at sea level is just under 21% oxygen.
Nineteen percent is considered to be the lower limit before function
becomes impaired. Given that, when Mr. MacCallum discovered that the
atmosphere was losing .25% oxygen per month, it was a serious problem.
No solutions, however, were readily obvious. A loss in oxygen would
normally be accompanied by a rise in carbon dioxide, but this wasn't the
case, even though the soil was actually putting out MORE carbon dioxide
than expected as organic material in it decayed. Eventually calculations
pointed to missing oxygen to the tune of 25-30 TONS. Certainly NOT a
trivial amount.
After studying the C12/C13 ratio in the plants, they realized that
tons of CARBON was missing too, and no natural process could account for
it.
Finally, consulting with scientists on the outside, they were directed
towards an obscure scholarly paper on the absorption of carbon dioxide by
concrete. Incredulous, they compared concrete from inside and outside the
Biosphere. Sure enough, that was the problem. Heavy amounts of organic
carbon were present in the soil, leading to increased use of oxygen as
carbon dioxide, which was then taken out of the system by absorption into
the concrete, and was thus not available for reclamation.
Although people living at high altitudes often have to deal with
decreased oxygen and don't have a problem once they adjust, few of the
bodily changes they experience were seen in the crew. "We were breathing
the atmosphere of 10,000 feet, but some of our parameters were still at
3,000 feet."
But although they had solved the mystery, there was no easy solution
in sight. Finally the crew issued an ultimatum: pump in oxygen or we're
out of here.
So the concrete sits, slowly absorbing carbon dioxide from the air,
the carbonated layer getting thicker. It leaves SBV with only two options:
rip out all the soil and begin again with a low organic carbon variety, or
resolve to pump in O2 for the next 10 - 15 years until the extra carbon in
the soil has been expended. For now, at least, O2 will be pumped in.
There were other physiological problems as well. The day the mission
ended, Taber went out with friends and stocked his refrigerator. "That
night I opened my refrigerator and looked at all that food ... and
realized that I had no idea where any of this food comes from. For the
past two years I had known exactly where every bit of food I'd eaten had
come from, what hadn't been sprayed on it, what had happened to it since it
left the field. But this stuff ...
"If people knew just how much pesticides were in their bodies, they'd
be terrified." Many pesticides are stored along with body fat, and when
they slimmed down the chemicals re-entered their bloodstreams. With their
non-fat diet, there was no way for their bodies to get rid of it.
Despite all the problems, overall the mission was a success. An
engineering criteria for success was if less than 50% of the plants died
and the biosphere remained habitable for two years. "We were prepared for
a 50% species loss."
Taber MacCallum's criteria for success was not whether the Biosphere
"worked". i.e. the Biosphere remained habitable for the humans as well as
the majority of plants and other animals, but rather, no matter what
happened, that they understood why whatever happened occurred. "If we can
learn from this type of an endeavor then it is a success. We understand why
the oxygen was depleted and food production was low. Those were the two
major problems in the Biosphere. So I think is was a success."
So would he do it again? The answer is a hesitant "no. Not the way
it is right now. Maybe if it was redesigned and there was a heavier
emphasis on psychology."
The crew consisted of 8 people who were chosen not for their
compatibility or current relationships but for their familiarity with
Biosphere's systems, both mechanical and ecological. Any relationships
that existed before the mission began survived and no new ones were created,
but there was definitely friction.
"One of the things that happened after 6 months is that everyone
started calling up any old girlfriends and boyfriends that they might have
parted with on bad terms. "You get this urge to clean up all your bad karma
on the outside because you're generating enough on the inside!
"In an ICE -- an isolated, confined environment -- everybody finds
your buttons, and you find theirs. The difference is that you can't just
get away, and you can't stop the situation."
Mr. MacCallum says he wishes they had their own councilor, like the
crew of the Enterprise. "Some of us set up with outside psychologists. I
think if you don't you have to go crazy." Despite the problems, however,
he still calls it "a great opportunity for personal growth."
So what happens to the Biosphere now that the mission is over?
Changes are currently being made, and another crew will have a chance for
"a great opportunity for personal growth" starting March 6, 1994.
[Editor's note: Taber MacCallum is available for talks to Universities,
student groups, etc. You can contact him at HCR 01 Box 2366, Oracle AZ,
85623 or 1-800-TO-ORBIT (1-800-866-7248).]
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--!3!-- Virtually There: Writing the Screenplay for DOUBLE DRAGON
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the movie LAWNMOWER MAN hit the theaters, lots of critics with
very little exposure to Virtual Reality hailed it as a VR triumph. Not
everyone was satisfied with it, however. Two of the disgruntled were
Michael Davis and Peter Gould, who later (as in last year) went on to write
the screenplay for the upcoming film DOUBLE DRAGON.
Peter has done award-winning short films, garnering the City Golden
Eagle, the Select Festival Award, and the Nissan Focus award, and has been
directing music videos and direct-to-video projects for children. He has
also been writing screenplays, including one with Michael called SCARY TALES
AND TUNES, but this is the first to be translated to a big-budget film. His
student film "Dirty Little Secret," about a man with a foot fetish who ends
up working in a ladies shoe department, is, according to Michael, "an
industry favorite." Peter is also an instructor in film production at USC.
Michael was a storyboard artist for films like TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA
TURTLES, TREMORS, and MEDICINE MAN, and has been doing some directing,
including THE AMAZING LIVE SEA MONKEYS for CBS. He also directed the
"CHEERS: Last Call" show that preceded the last episode, but he seems most
excited about a short film he directed for none other than Steven Spielberg.
A takeoff on IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, it was a "happy birthday" tribute to
Steve Ross, head of Time Warner, and featured people like Clint Eastwood and
Barbra Streisand. DOUBLE DRAGON is also the biggest notch in his career.
Virtual reality plays a large part in the plot of DOUBLE DRAGON, which
is set in New Angeles. It's Los Angeles after the earthquake people feared
was happening his past week has sent half of the city under the Pacific
Ocean, and the gang problem is so bad that the police have agreed to patrol
the streets by day and leave them to the gangs by night. "So what this let
us do is that because the streets are so dangerous, kids, teenagers, NOBODY
goes out at night. There's a curfew. So we figured in a society like this,
where kids couldn't go out at night, teenagers couldn't party on Saturday
night, where would they go? So we came up with the idea of these virtual
reality clubs. They would go to these rock and roll clubs through virtual
reality. That's the only safe way to party."
"In this movie, people just take virtual reality for granted,"
Michael adds. "It's not the coolest, latest thing. it's been around for a
while to the extent that Gilbert Gottfried plays a used VR gear salesman.
He's got basically a used car lot except with used VR gear that he's trying
to sell the boys in the film."
Peter liked the way they could turn the present on its ear. "You
know the car that was owned by the little old lady from Pasadena that only
has 10000 miles on it and it's a good deal because she only drove it to
church? Well, he's got a VR suit that was driven by a little old lady who
went to VIRTUAL church. It's only got 999 user hours logged on it. Kind
of like the odometer on a car. And he doesn't turn it back, either."
The plot revolves around two young boys, Jimmy and Billy Lee, who
have half of the Double Dragon medallion (surprise, surprise) and have to
keep it from falling into the hands of the villain, played by TERMINATOR
2's Robert Patric. Patric's character has the other half, which gives him
the magical ability to step into other people's bodies, and if he gets the
boy's half he will become all-powerful. Peter explains how virtual reality
fits in: "In the story the VR sequence actually is a key sequence because
in the film there's a sort of a 'good guy' gang called the Power Core, that
fights all the nasty gangs, and the boys have to contact their leader,
Marion DeLario, played by Alisa Milano, but they don't know how to find her.
It's a Power Core secret. But the way that the Power Core communicates with
the kids to get them to not join the other gangs is by beaming pirate
signals into the VR clubs. They end up going to a VR club and they see this
pirate signal that's sent by Marion. Her head is projected 8 ft tall and
they notice in the background a certain piece of geography that tells them
where the headquarters is. So it helps propel the boys forward. They end
up with this used VR gear salesman, J.W. Worthington, sort of like Hal
Worthington of VR salesman, and of course the boys are broke and they're on
the run, so they con the guy into giving them a test drive, and they get the
information that they need."
Michael explains what the pair was after when they put the VR aspect
into the film. "We were kind of disappointed with the way they used it in
LAWNMOWER MAN. They just weren't clever with it. Like, we intercut
between reality and virtual reality, which is very funny. They boys might
be dancing with girls in the clubs, but then we cut wide and they're
dancing around this empty warehouse. We liked the humor of the
juxtaposition. Peter did this thing where Billy falls down a level in the
warehouse in reality, and since he's now lower in reality, in virtual
reality now his head is coming up through the floor.
"The other thing is that Jimmy, some of his attributes and insecurities
in reality sort of come through in virtual reality. As he's putting on his
VR suit he's using this breath spray in reality, but of course in virtual
reality, it just looks like his hand is just holding air and spraying
nothing into his mouth. So Billy says 'why are you spraying breath mint
into your mouth? That doesn't matter in here. They can't tell if your
breath is bad.' He says 'It matters to me. I'll know.'"
Peter mentions that there was another reason for playing with VR:
playing out their fantasies. "One other thing that I think would be great
in reality is that they have this overhead display so when they look around
the club and they zero in on this girl there's this display above that runs
by all her vital statistics, is she dating anybody, who she's been seeing.
Frankly, I'm newly divorced. I think it would be great to be able to look
around a club and know who's available and who's not.
"So we're excited. We talked a little about LAWNMOWER MAN. They
didn't really show kind of the impact of virtual reality on our society,
how it might be used in our society as a form of entertainment, how it
might be used as another form of travel, or whatever. What we've done is,
since the film takes place in the future, is show how VR is going to be
like going to the movies, or watching television, or going on a cruise,
whatever. By making it more reality based. By taking something that's
fantasy based right now and making it accessible by having the boys boy it
at a sort of used car lot."
"Since we wrote this we've seen a whole spate of virtual reality
projects," Michael adds, "and I think what sets this apart is that we're
having a lot of fun with the project. I think it's going to be a really fun
sequence. We're also excited that they got Gilbert Gottfried to play the
salesman."
They came into the project after it was already well into development.
Their agent sent the production people a copy of THE SENSOR, the action-
adventure script that they had written together. "The producers, Sunil
Shaw, Ash Shaw, Alan Schechter, Tom Kornalski, liked the writing of it, and
they met with us, and then we came back with some new ideas for DOUBLE
DRAGON, and then they hired us. We had to do like five drafts of the
script in five weeks. It was a whirlwind experience."
Michael agrees. "It was very exciting because it went right into
production. We knew it was going to get made."
The film had already had a script, but the production people weren't
happy with it. "They basically told us to start from scratch," Peter says.
The production company was running short on time because their option
on the material was about to expire, which contributed to the rush to put
things together. "We got to be in on the production meetings and hear all
about the economics and the logistical issues. It wasn't all pie-in-the-
sky."
Merchandising is often a large part of the planning, but there was no
pressure to reshape things. "A lot of these movies get made and the
marketing kind of drives the thing, but we were never under any pressure to
alter things so they would make a good toy, or to change things so they
would fit with the animated show. It shows that the producers really had a
lot of faith in what they were doing and they didn't feel they had to cater
to those aspects. I think it makes a better movie because you can
concentrate on getting a better story and you're not writing something you
can merchandise."
"I don't know if you're familiar with the movie SUPER MARIO BROS, but
it felt to me like they were trying to cram in every element of the video
game willy nilly. They didn't really let the story take flight on its own,
and I think that we really have."
That's not to say that you won't see any elements of the Double Dragon
game in the film. After all, the producers were planning to capitalize on
the $350 million worth of sales the game has done, making it second most
popular game in the world. "When we first heard about the project we went
out and played the arcade game, which is kind of alike a Streetfighter type
of game, where the two brothers work together to fight the street thugs."
Peter adds, "These guys don't know how to work together at the
beginning and as the movie goes on they begin to learn what's best in both
of them. And that came about because we played the video game and Michael
was holding down the villains while I kicked them. We really got a lot of
aggression out. We tried to construct some of the scenes in the movie to
feel like the video game. Eventually the Robert Patric character rounds up
all the gangs to work for him. He's searching for the boys because they
have the other half of the medallion. So there's this one scene where the
boys think 'It's daytime. We made it. The cops are going to be out.' But
what's happened is that because the villain has rounded up all the gangs,
he's sent them out during the daytime. This is like a really big deal.
They come after the boys and the gangs are behind every trashcan, on
rooftops, coming out of manhole covers, they're coming from all different
directions, and that's really how the game is, but we wanted to motivate
that."
They were sensitive to the issue of gangs in LA, though, so to make
them a bit less frightening than the real gangs, each one has a theme,
such as the clowns (complete with whiteface), the Postmen, the Dudes, etc.
"We wanted to have a sort of stylized reality."
Last year's SUPER MARIO BROS. was far from a box-office smash, but the
pair feel that DOUBLE DRAGON can't help but do better. "If nothing else it
should do pretty well in Japan because Alisa Milano has a great career
there. They love her. They also love science fiction, so it should do very
well." They won't give a figure on the budget, but they will say that
"they're spending some money. It'll look good."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!4!-- Either Here or There: Mike Resnick on Terrestrial Looks at
Extraterrestrial Societies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Resnick claims to have one of the genre's largest collections of
active pseudonyms, making his prolific reputation even more astounding.
Last spring at Marcon, he took some time to talk to us and at the time, he
said that in the last three years, he'd done 40 novels and 80 short
stories, won a couple of Hugos, and had 7 Hugo nominations and 5 Nebula
nominations, and in the past two years had edited 17 anthologies. He'd had
two bestsellers, SANTIAGO and IVORY, and had written 51 books. He's best
known for his KIRIN YAGA series, named for the Kikuyu words for Mountain of
Light.
On top of all that he maintains an impressive list of interests.
"Africa, of course, is one of them, Theodore Roosevelt is one of my
passions. I've done a number of stories about him and I've read his
collected works over the last few years, that's 20 odd books. I'm very
interested in horse racing. I did a weekly column on it for 17 years. I
don't bet, but I'll read almost every publication that comes out on it, and
for years, my wife and I were among the leading collie breeders in the
country, and even though we're not active, I read an enormous amount on
collies and canine genetics. My favorite authors, in no particular order,
are Barry Malsberg, C.L. Moore, Cyril M. Kornbluth, Olaf Stapleton, Alfred
Bester, (Oh I'll give you a couple of live ones), James White, and RA
Lafferty."
But let's go back to the beginning. What makes a man with such
diverse interests decide to be a writer? "I can't recall ever having not
thought I was going to be a writer. My mother was a writer. I grew up
thinking most people were writers, even if they had other jobs, and I was
always interested in any job that would let me sleep 'till noon and dress
like a bum. I've been a full time freelancer for 20-odd years now. I'd
never go back to working in an office."
Not surprisingly, science fiction is not the only field that has seen
his attention over the years. Back in the 1960's, he edited men's
magazines and tabloids just to learn the craft. "Editing anthologies came
about because I was having lunch one day with Martin Greenberg who is
responsible for most of the anthologies you see on the stands. This was at
the Boston Worldcon in 1969. He was an old friend, and he asked me what I
was working on. I told him I had just finished an alternate Teddy
Roosevelt story, which later got nominated for a Hugo. And about 10
seconds later he said, 'great. Let's sell the book.'
"I said 'What book? I'm talking about a story.'
"He says, 'Oh no, Alternate Presidents. You just gave me the idea.
I'll do it, you edit it.'
"I looked at him like he was crazy and I said, 'Well, sure. If you
can sell it, I'll edit it.' Three hours later he had sold it, and he has
been selling books and I have been editing them ever since. Gardner
[Dozois] does one, and has sold a couple of reprints, and I sold a couple
reprint collections on my own, or anthologies, but all the original
anthologies I've done, Marty has sold, and either he has asked me to edit
or the publishing company has asked me to edit, and as I say, it's been 17
of them in the last 2 years. They've been incredibly successful. My
anthologies put four stories on the Hugo ballot this year (1993) from 3 of
the different books, and 3 of my 'discoveries' -- writers I bought first
stories from -- made the Campbell ballot. So we're very pleased with it."
He has also edited ALTERNATE WARRIORS and ALTERNATE KENNEDYS in that bunch.
It's an old story, and one that many aspiring writers dream of and
experience writers often quote: Writer talks to Right Person, usually by
chance, and before long, Career is launched. But how often does that
really happen? "Probably not as much as people hope it does and more than
they think it does."
There's an old saying that most editors are frustrated writers. "I
much prefer writing to editing, but editing is the way that I found I could
repay the field. You can't pay back, as they say. Everybody that ever
helped me doesn't need my help. So you pay forward. You help out new
writers, and that's what I've been doing."
But while he has been writing for all of his adult life, the first
Hugo nomination was in 1989, for the first KIRIN YAGA story. "I'm your
typical 25 year overnight success. I was flabbergasted. I was so
uncertain of that story when I handed it in, I thought it was going to get
rejected. And it was an ASSIGNED story. It wasn't a story to a prozine,
it was a story Orson Scott Card had asked for an anthology. I never had
thought of doing any other story set in that milieu, and it turns out I've
done seven of them. There will be ten when it's done, and it's already the
most honored series in science fiction history. It's won 2 Hugos, it's got
6 Hugo nominations, and it's won Japanese, French, English awards. It's
befuddling to me, but I'm very pleased with it."
So he sticks with it. "Most of my recent stuff, and especially the
award nominated stuff, has been African in conception and origin. I seem
to get more story material there than anywhere else." He makes the trip to
the continent twice every 3 years, and has been to Kenya three times, to
Tanzania, Nimibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Egypt, and Malawe. As
opposed to going the tourist route, he and his wife hire a private guide,
and "go off the beaten track. But the time I get the safari set up I know
what I want to see and I have some notion of what I want to write about,
and we've plotted out a trip that encompasses that. Which doesn't mean
that we don't go to the game parks and have a good time too, but I always
go with a private guide who goes where WE want to, and who speaks the
language and can introduce us to various contacts there."
Do you write because you go there or go there because you write about
it? "Oh, a little of each. I love being there. If it was up to me, I'd
live there. Unfortunately, I have a wife and it's up to her, and we don't
live there. But she loves going too. There are certain basic assumptions
that I think every writer holds. One is that if we can reach the stars
we're going to colonize them. Second, if we colonize enough of them, we're
going to come into contact with alien culture. And Africa gives 51
beautiful and very distinct and separate examples of the effects of
colonization on both the colonizers and the colonized. Also, since any
alien you do is merely a distorted reflection of the human condition, the
closer to home you can find your source the better, and I can't find any
society that's more alien than those I've found in Africa."
For the last couple of years, though, he's been working on learning
how to do things for Hollywood. "They're making a movie out of SANTIAGO,
which is probably the best selling book I've ever done, and I've scripted
that. In fact, I was re-writing the script earlier today. I've been
rewriting it endlessly, it seems. But theoretically they're supposed to
film it this fall. Underline theoretically, because this is Hollywood. It
could be 38 years from now." An independent production from Gary Kurtz, Ed
Albert, and Peter Krunenberg, it's being financed by German, French and
British money. Filming will take place in Berlin with a mostly American
cast and crew. "Don't hold your breath, but when it comes out, you'll now.
The first time we were talking about it, it was going to come out three
years ago, so who knows?"
Not that this is his first movie. He's done six or seven, but "None
that I care to talk about. I wrote a bunch of scripts for Herschel Gordon
Lewis back in the late '60's. The golden turkey awards consider him the
second worst director of all time and I think the scripts had something to
do with that. It was really 12 hours and out. I would give him a script
on Monday and 10 days later it was in theaters." He won't give any titles,
but says that SANTIAGO has taught him that "writing scripts for a big
budget major Hollywood film is NOTHING like that. I had to unlearn a lot
of things."
So with all those irons in the fire, where are his standards? When is
a piece of work good enough? "At the most basic level, I aim for making it
as good as I can, and for selling it. As good as I can means that I can't
make it better in any respect whatsoever. It's perfect. And I usually
feel that way when I hand a book or a story in -- that it's impossible for
anybody to change a word. It's perfect. Then I see the galleys 4 or 5
months later and I say 'well, we can change this, we can knock that line
out, we can kill this character,' and I make it perfect again in galleys.
Then the book comes out and I'll see a couple of things that I'll wish I
had changed. Then I'll read it 4 or 5 years later and I'll wince that I
could let anything that poor get out of the house. I feel that way even
about my award stuff and the bestsellers. And I suppose that the day I
stop wincing I'm as good as I'm going to get and I should go do something
else for a living."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!5!-- Past, Present, and Future Filk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Joe Ellis
Where is filk going?
Well, first we need to know what "filk" is, and where it has been.
There are many definitions of filk. Most commonly heard is "Filk is
what filkers sing at a filksing." While this has wide acceptance within
the filk community, it has little meaning to anyone who actually NEEDS a
definition for the word. In more specific and less circular terms, filk is
the music of science, science fiction, and fantasy.
Filk has a long and colorful history. The word itself dates back to
the 1950's, when it first appeared as a typo in the headline of an article
by Lee Jacobs about "The Influence of Science Fiction on Modern American
Folk Music." However, the roots of filk can be traced back even farther in
time, to both 'traditional' folk songs and major vocal and instrumental
works by such renowned composers as Mussorgsky (Night on Bald Mountain,
Pictures at an Exhibition), Brahms (The Erlking), Wagner (The entire 'Ring'
cycle), and Greig (Hall of the Mountain King). When the temper of the
Classical and Romantic eras in music turned towards the creative aural
picture-painting of the Impressionistic period, composers began to search
legends and folk tales for suitable source material. They found a rich,
imaginative source there in the fantasy of their time. Filk has very deep
and obvious roots in this 'legitimate' music, as well as folk music!
Much of this interest (among professional composers) in fantastic
themes died out with the dawn of the twentieth century. The 'name'
composers of that era were more interested in experimenting with micro-
tunings, atonality, minimalism, and the strange harmonies and rhythms of the
new style called "jazz". The rich lode of fantasy-based material was all
but ignored, and folk music became the only repository of these themes.
However, with the rise of fandom came an interest in music based on the same
concepts found in the stories. In the 1950's, fen began writing lyrics
based on the stories of their favorite authors and setting them to existing
songs, and a few were even writing completely original works. Most of these
people came from a folk background, and had a large number of traditional
songs in their repertoire. Those that weren't guitarists (or didn't play
something equally portable) were quickly converted, taking advantage of the
availability of relatively cheap instruments that could be easily carried.
This was pretty much the situation in filk until the 1970's.
What happened then? There were a number of changes that served to
bring far more people into the "filkfold". First, it became possible to buy
relatively inexpensive and portable recording gear of reasonable quality.
This made it possible to do both 'live' and 'studio' recordings of
filksongs, and remove filk from the exclusive realm of the convention. Fen
were no longer content to hear their favorite songs only in a live setting,
and the technology made it possible to carry their favorite performances
with them... and not incidentally, to play them for others who were NOT
attending conventions. Second, there was an influx of VERY talented
newcomers into filk, and, combined with the existing "old guard", there was
an increased variety in both the voices and style of material available.
Third, we saw the introduction of the first truly portable electronic
keyboards. While they have, as yet, not penetrated the filk circles in
substantial numbers, there is a growing minority of filkers who choose
keyboards over guitars as their accompaniment, and they have even seen use
as background instruments in recordings by otherwise 'traditional' filkers.
One thing that is destined to have a great impact on the future of
filk is the advent of affordable and portable digital recording technology.
Now, we have the capability to make crystal-clear recordings in relatively
inexpensive home studios, and to turn out a product that meets broadcast
standards. Filk is beginning to feel the stirrings of what is possible
with this technology, and some recordings have already been released on
compact disc. This trend is sure to continue, as recording equipment costs
come down, and the cost of CD pressing becomes more reasonable.
The "formal" aspect of filk has also re-awakened, and can be found in
recorded music, in live theater, and on the movie screen. Recordings such
as "War of the Worlds" by Jeff Wayne and "Lord of the Rings" by Johann
de Meij echo the concepts of oratorios or pure music meant for the concert
hall. Productions such as "Cats", "Phantom of the Opera", "Into The
Woods", "Return to the Forbidden Planet", "Little Shop of Horrors", and
even "The Rocky Horror Show" have brought the concepts of music and songs
of fantasy and science fiction to the stage, while movie versions of those
shows and classic film and TV scores for the "Star Wars" films, "Star
Trek", "Alien Nation", "The Neverending Story", and Disney's "The Little
Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin" (among others!) have done
the same for the mass market. It is significant to note the Academy Award
winners for "Best Song" and "Best Score" in this list!
Oddly enough, while some of the above-mentioned works have won awards
such as the Sudler Prize, Tony Awards, and Academy Awards, fandom has
largely ignored the resurgence of interest in music with fantastic themes.
While the Hugo awards recognize nearly every area of professional and
fannish endeavor, and even the Worldcon Masquerade receives attention on a
par with the Hugos, there is no award comparable in scope or prestige for
achievement of musical excellence in the field of science fiction. For a
group that prides itself on its eclecticism, totally ignoring this single
aspect of the performing arts seems rather strange.
Why is this? Well, the reasoning usually follows one of two paths.
First, there is the traditional resistance to giving another Hugo, for
ANY reason. Most often, this relates to the claim that "It takes too long
already!" This seems a remarkably specious argument. If we were talking
about another award for yet a further subdivision-by-length-of-text story,
then there might be some validity to this, but this would be a long-overdue
recognition of a COMPLETELY neglected art form. I cannot believe that
another 10 minutes would be that badly begrudged. The other argument
presented by some would claim a 'dilution' of the 'value' of a Hugo.
Again, the reasoning escapes me. This would not be a duplication or
subdivision of an already existing award, but a recognition of the
contributions of the only art form that currently has NO category in which
it could be nominated. Even dance and stage presentations could currently
be recognized under "Dramatic Presentations", but no means exists for the
recognition of musical composition in ANY form.
The second path usually follows the line that "Filk doesn't deserve an
award because it isn't good enough." Even if someone were to propose an
award SPECIFICALLY for filk, rather than for music with SF thematic content
which could INCLUDE filk, as well as mainstream music, this is simply no
longer true. However, this is where the very egalitarian nature of a
filksing works against it. Those fen who limit their exposure of filk to
what they hear at a convention severely handicap their judgment in this
matter. Filk in an open circle has no 'editor', no one to winnow the grain
from the chaff. Keep in mind Sturgeon's Law: "90% of everything is crap."
Now, think about those piles of rejected manuscripts at every publisher
that never see the light of day. The difference between the perception of
filk and the perception of SF as a whole lies in the fact that at a
filksing, no one selects who may sing and who may not. NO other aspect of
fandom is as democratic, and as open to new performers, as is filk.
Because of this, many of the best talents don't perform as often, and the
public perception of the general quality of filk can be degraded. However,
if you listen to the recordings, you will find a far different story.
Here, you will find the best of the songs and the singers. Even in an
informal, "recorded live" setting, you can hear the life and urgency you
only get when a performer has a passionate belief in their music.
Even if fandom chooses to continue its neglect, though, filk will
continue to flourish and grow. Much like a dandelion, it can be trampled,
ignored, even poisoned, but will return undaunted and stronger than ever.
The growing interest of professional musicians in the field, the interest
in scholarly research into various aspects of filk, even the attention of
as prestigious a publication as the Wall Street Journal (Leisure & Arts
section, 'Songs of Tomorrow Today', by Tessa DeCarlo, Nov. 1, 1993) all
indicate the burgeoning of a potentially powerful new force in music.
So, where is filk going? It has already been to space. Filk songs by
filk artists have been used as wake-up calls to shuttle astronauts. Ron
McNair was supposed to record a soprano saxophone track for Jarre's
"Rendezvous" on the ill-fated last flight of the Challenger. Neil Diamond
wrote and recorded "Heartlight", and John Denver, "Flying for Me". The
musical mainstream is on the verge of discovering that people have been
writing songs like these for well over 40 years. There really IS "only one
way to go from here," and "the only way to go from here is up!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!6!-- Computer Mediated Communication and Science Fiction Media Fans
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Susan Clerc
Science fiction media fans have taken to Internet enthusiastically, as
the existence of several on-line discussion groups dedicated to television
series attests. STREK-L, rec.arts.startrek.misc, rec.arts.drwho,
blake7@lysator.liu.se, and rec.arts.sf.tv are just a few of the many
mailing lists and newsgroups fans use to exchange information and opinions
about their favorite television shows. The content of these groups is
essentially the same. The difference is chiefly in the way you get
messages. Once you subscribe to a mailing list, by sending a message to a
"listserv" or the listowner, all messages posted to the list come to you
automatically. To read messages posted to newsgroups, however, you must go
to them by using a news reader program. Newsgroups provide greater
anonymity than mailing lists because there is no record analogous to a
subscriber list for who monitors them. These discussion groups are opening
fandom up to new people as well as providing a new way for fans to connect
with each other.
Science fiction media fans existed as a subculture long before the
term computer-mediated communication (CMC) came into common use. Two
recent books, TEXTUAL POACHERS by Henry Jenkins (Routledge, 1992) and
ENTERPRISING WOMEN by Camille Bacon-Smith (University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1992), describe fandom as a vibrant and complex, if somewhat loosely
organized, community with a highly developed communication network. This
network has long held the geographically dispersed community together and
forms the basis of close personal friendships between fans, which in turn
form the basis of fandom. Among the components of the network are
conventions, fan clubs, and several print formats including newsletters;
fan fiction; extensive private correspondence; letterzines (essentially
magazines consisting of letters and available by subscription); and apas
(Amateur Press Associations composed of a fixed number of people who are
all required to maintain a minimum level of activity to continue receiving
the publication. Each member writes his or her contribution, makes enough
copies for all the members, and sends them, with postage money, to an
editor who collates, staples, and mails the apas to each member.
Turnaround time can very from monthly to quarterly to whenever the editor
gets around to it.) The line between format types is often more blurred in
practice than these definitions indicate.
How are CMC and traditional methods of communication interacting? A
survey posted to the mailing lists and newsgroups mentioned above revealed
three basic types of fan netters who will, with great originality, be
called groups 1, 2, and 3.
For people in group 1, 27% of the survey respondents, the net is their
only contact with other fans; they do not participate in any other fan
activities such as attending conventions or joining fan clubs. Before the
advent of CMC these were the main entry points for new fans seeking others
of their ilk, therefore it is likely that many people in group 1 would
never have had any outlet for their fannish predilections without it. It's
easy to see the comparative merits of CMC over in-person meetings -- CMC is
free, easy, and convenient, and there is little risk of being told to "get
a life" by friends or family if your only dip into fandom is reading a
newsgroup. On-line discussion groups provide all the fannishness many in
group 1 want. Some, however, will eventually move into group 2.
For people in group 2, 43% of those who answered the survey, the net
is the gateway to more active participation in fandom. Through contacts
made on-line, they move into attending conventions, joining fan clubs, and
reading or writing fan fiction. These are the most popular fan activities,
engaged in by 46%, 42%, and 41% of respondents respectively. One
respondent reported that he would ordinarily not have gone to a fan club
meeting because he didn't know anybody there, but he met some people on-
line and went with them. Another said that she began reading fan fiction
after seeing addresses posted to a list. These examples are typical of the
way CMC is pulling new fans into the community.
The remaining 30% form group 3, people who have been participating in
fan activities longer than they have been on-line. For them, CMC is
primarily a faster way of keeping in touch with old friends and getting
news. This latter function is of CMC is also the main attraction for those
in group 1.
The one use of CMC that all three groups share, aside from reading
newsgroups and mailing lists, is private correspondence. Virtually 100% of
those who replied to the survey correspond with other fans through e-mail
(only 2 individuals said they didn't), compared to 26.5% who use snail mail
for this. More than half (54%) write to seven or more people, and a
further 24% to four to six. Asked how many of those people they knew before
they started talking on-line, 21% reported that they knew none, 41% knew
fewer than half. Needless to say, the international scope of CMC connects
fans around the world, allowing people who will never see each other, and
who would never have connected at all without the medium, to talk to each
other and proving the adage "Internet is a way of being annoyed by people
you otherwise never would have met." Some correspondents do eventually meet
in person, though; 37% have met some or all of their e-friends, usually at
conventions.
Mailing lists and newsgroups duplicate in almost every way the
traditional print formats fans use. Fans exchange information, argue over
interpretations, write stories, and so on, in both CMC and print. CMC is
faster, however, and this is a factor almost every respondent praised. It
is also the possible downfall of print formats. One woman said she dropped
her subscription to a newsletter because so much of the content was merely
recapped from GEnie and stale by the time she read it in print. Another fan
said he found the discussions on-line more stimulating because the fast
feedback and ease of reply meant more people participated and the
discussions were more "interactive" than in print newsletters and
letterzines.
The speed and global reach of CMC also makes it possible for fans to
mobilize quickly and perhaps influence the directions their favorite shows
take. When the NBC series QUANTUM LEAP was canceled, a massive mailing
campaign was organized through on-line groups. In the past, this sort of
campaign would have depended on telephone calls to individuals who would
pass the word on, and announcements in newsletters and fanzines. CMC
combines the speed of telephoning with the simultaneous multiparty address
of mass mailing.
CMC can also allow fans a direct channel to people in charge of their
favorite series. The creator of BABYLON 5, J. Michael Straczynski, is very
active on the B5 newsgroup, and Jim Mallon, one of the Brains behind
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATRE 3000, occasionally drops in to that show's
newsgroup. There is always the hope, or perhaps suspicion, that someone
with influence is lurking and will answer fans' wishes for plot
developments.
With all these features in CMC's favor, why would anyone stick with
print? There seem to be three key reasons -- intimacy, access, and a taste
for paper.
As was explained earlier, personal relationships are the glue that
holds fandom together. One respondent, while appreciative of the speed and
ease of CMC groups as well as their tendency to stick to the topic, missed
the intimacy of her apa. Since everyone in the apa knows everyone else,
there is more personal revelation and a greater sense of community. At
least one respondent referred to a mailing list as a community, but on the
whole it's very hard to develop a sense of closeness when over 200 people
might subscribe and the vast majority only "lurk," or read messages without
ever posting one of their own. With newsgroups, there is no way at all of
knowing who might stumble in. Even among frequent contributors the
turnover rate is high because people lose net access when they graduate or
change jobs.
This brings us to the second reason print remains important: access.
The post office is available to everyone, Internet is not. Although fans
who are students or work at large institutions usually have free accounts,
most people have to pay fees to commercial services to get on-line. Before
they do that, they have to buy the necessary hardware, not a small
investment by any means. Aside from cost, snail mail has the advantages of
being steady and secure. You might lose your Internet access when you
graduate, but the United States Postal Service will find you one way or
another and you can be reasonably sure that no one you don't know about
will read your mail. For all these reasons, there will always be a number
of fans without Internet access.
People who are not connected can still get the news, though; 67% of
the respondents who belong to a fan club or group said they relay
information from the net to members who do not have net access. The
percentage for the reverse process, relaying messages from unconnected
fans to the net, is 45%. This seems to indicate that people receive news
but are denied voice without their own access. This has caused some
scholars to fear that if CMC becomes the dominant means of communication
within the community, dissenting voices will be silenced. It is true that
strongly worded opinions backed by a vocal minority sometimes appear to be
the majority view, especially if those with opposing views remain silent
rather than risk starting a "flame war." But fandom is too fragmented, in
both CMC and print, for any one source to eliminate all others. In
addition, topics are perpetually recycled and the high turnover rate of
participants, especially in CMC, means new people have a chance to state
their views. On STREK-L, for example, the subject of women's roles has come
up at least three times in as many years, each time with different
participants and reactions. If a public forum becomes too hostile, fans
either take their discussions to private e-mail or switch attention to
another list (most people monitor more than one). There is also an
impulse to move away from large groups into more intimate ones. This is
evident on-line in the frequent spin-offs from rec.arts.sf.tv, most
recently alt.tv.X-files. E-mail also allows the formation of small
distribution groups without the technical support required for larger lists
and newsgroups. All of these strategies militate against homogenization.
The issues of aesthetics and convenience emerge primarily in
respondents' comments about fan fiction and apas. Apas often contain more
thoughtful and longer articles than are usually found on mailing lists and
newsgroups where the speed discourages writers from taking as much time to
mull over an issue and frame a reply. Several of those who replied to the
survey also said they preferred print for things they wanted to save
because it was easier to find what they were looking for in print than on a
disk. In addition, some people expressed the feeling that e-text is more
ephemeral; anything found on-line that was worth keeping was printed out
and filed, according to these respondents. This included some fan fiction.
Stories, mostly by new writers, are available on-line through a variety of
sources, including three alt.creative newsgroups. A few respondents liked
what they had read and hoped that more fan fiction would be available on-
line soon. Others derided the quality of the stories compared to printed
fan fiction that goes through an editing process and questioned the wisdom
of violating copyright in such public fora, as well as the possibility of
stories being altered and redistributed without their authors' knowledge.
One major advantage of on-line fan fiction is that it is free for many,
unlike its print counterpart. On the other hand, computer art cannot match
the often stunning covers and interior art media fanzines are noted for.
Paper is also easier to transport; to paraphrase one reply, try reading
alt.startrek.creative on the bus to work.
CMC and the traditional methods of communication within fandom both
complement and duplicate each other. As long as each medium retains
features the other lacks, fans will continue to use both.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!7!-- Reviews by Evelyn C. Leeper
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
PASSION PLAY by Sean Stewart
Ace, ISBN 0-441-65241-7, 1993, US$4.50
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1993 Evelyn C. Leeper
I find science fictional looks at religion intriguing, and in that
category I would include future theocracies. PASSION PLAY is about a near-
future America that is a theocracy, having been taken over by the
Redemptionists. The "reds" (as they are somewhat confusingly called) have
taken over the entertainment media as well, and everything is now
instructive or uplifting. The Reds seem to have some idea of art, though
movies and such financed by religious groups now don't seem to show much
evidence of this, and it is during the production of a version of FAUST
that the murder which forms the core of the book's plot occurs. The story
is told in the first person by an independent investigator (who has some
semi-psychic powers which are never explained).
Reading the book, I felt like a stone skipping over the surface of a
lake. There's too much "stuff" in this short book to have any of it
examined in depth. The Redemptionist government, the religious structure
(what happened to all the non-Christians in the new United States?), new
uses of the media (along with a distrust in technology approaching the neo-
Luddite level - how do these contradictory ideas get resolved?), puritanism
(along with drugs and sex) all these are touched on, but never examined or
even made consistent. And wrapping all this around a murder mystery
confuses the issue. There's too much the reader is trying to figure out
about the background to give him or her a fair chance at figuring out the
crime. (Yes, I know a murder mystery is not necessarily a puzzle. Still,
it does seem as though the science fiction nature of this merely mystifies
the reader further.)
PASSION PLAY suffers from a super-abundance of aspects. I rarely find
myself complaining that a book is too short, but Stewart needed either to
lengthen the book or cut back on the various changes introduced. (It's
also possible that an "expository lump" explaining some of what was going
on might have made the rest less confusing.) PASSION PLAY is an intriguing
novel, but ultimately disappointing. (In fairness, I should note that many
people have liked it more than I, and it did win the Aurora Award for Best
Canadian Science Fiction Novel in English. But my reaction was that it
showed a lot of promise, but didn't deliver on it.)
Title: Passion Play Publisher: Ace
Author: Sean Stewart Comments: paperback, US$4.50
City: New York Order Info: ISBN 0-441-65241-7
Date: December 1993 Pages: 194pp
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!8!-- The Infamous Reply Cards and What You Said
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Linda E. Smit
It's not easy to answer the question "Do you believe in ghosts, aliens,
or other phenomena?" My first article for this set of reply cards was a
ridiculously biased representation, so I trashed it. My second try was so
carefully PC, that I trashed it, too. So here's the third try.
This topic -- or vague combination of topics as our readers helpfully
pointed out -- is one of the most unprovable "I'll have to experience it
myself" concepts we know. I'll admit that my bias runs toward belief since
I've personally encountered ghosts and some unexplained phenomena.
Perhaps the best way to illustrate the amazing answers we received is
to show you the way the answers were separated. Quite a few folks decided
to answer the first question in three parts. Eight people believed in
ghosts while twenty-three did not. But only two people said "no" to aliens
while thirty-one said "yes". And after the confusion of "other Phenomena,"
we found ten believers and four non-believers. Of the folks in the all-or-
nothing category, thirty-three said "Yes!", seventeen said "No!", sixteen
felt there was no absolute answer, and one person had no opinion.
The second question was easier. Seventy-eight folks said they'd not
experienced ghosts, aliens or other phenomena -- though many wished they
would. Sixteen of our readers said they'd had some contact or experience
that they couldn't explain. And, although we received several good tellings
of these encounters, we only have the space to print one.
The following tale was sent to us along with this disclaimer: "In
short, if it appears in Weekly World News or on In Search Of..., the answer
is no. Not an emphatic, unalterable, bullheaded 'No', but a pessimistic,
skeptical, conservative 'No.'"
This reader has the same healthy dose of skepticism many of our readers
share. But he tells a wonderful story.
After finishing my first year at Georgetown University, I lost the
campus housing lottery for the following year. I went down to
Washington in the middle of the summer to look for apartments, and was
able to stay on campus with my former RA, Tom. I met my housemate for
the next year, Peter, and we spent a dismal two days hunting for
housing, tracking down leads, visiting apartments, all in Washington's
usual ultrahumidity. We had finished looking for the day and came back
to the dorm to crash. Tom mentioned that we had received a phone call
to see an apartment at 9pm that night, and that the apartment was a easy
walk from campus. It was about 8:30, and we were pretty exhausted, but
desparate enough to keep going.
Tom described a short cut to the rental location as "just over a
trestle behing parking lot 3, it come out right next to that street,
you'll make it with time to spare". When we left the dorm, the sun was
still up, but as we walked across campus to the edge of the back parking
lot, the sun must dipped below the horizon because it got dark very
quickly. Tom had mentioned something of a path leading into the woods
behind campus, and we looked around until we found a likely path. It
didn't appear that frequently used, but, as I said, we were in a hurry.
After going into the woods for a few minutes we became aware of the
darkness and started kidding with each other just to lighten the
atmosphere a bit. I remarked to Peter that the woods were probably as
thick as in Vietnam during the War, and that perhaps we should keep our
eyes peeled for snipers. That didn't help the mood, however.
The path had started out wide, but seemed to narrow. At best,
things had been dusk grey, but now it was nearly pitch black, a
combination of a moonless sky and a relatively thick tree canopy. I
wasn't too worried until Peter asked me, "Are you sure you know where
you are going? I don't have my contacts in an can't see to well".
Peter was behind me, with his hand on my back so that we would keep on
the same path. "Sure.", I replied, but I had been more feeling the path
as a hardness bordered by a grassy edge than seeing the path for the
last few minutes. I thought he could see the path.
Suddenly, we both stopped. I stopped because I thought I saw a
vague form in front of me, greyish, misty, about 5 foot, five inches
with very low detail. It may have been anything, but given that the
mind tries to fit what it sees to reasonable patterns, it seemed to me
that it was a person, a man, dressed in a grey cape with hood, somewhat
hunched over. If that was the case, we would have been standing within
a foot of each other. A lot went through my head at once. I'm not sure
what was more alarming: 1) I am standing in a densely wooded area in
Washington DC, the murder capital of the nation, at night, one foot from
someone; 2) Peter stopped precisely when I did, suggesting that he also
saw something and that this wasn't just some trick of light that had
fooled me; 3) The possibility that I had just come face to face with a
ghost or similar phenomena.
I hesistated for a moment, and then decided to take an aggressive
approach. After all, there were two of us, and I would rather have
knocked someone else off balance and then straightened things out later.
If it was a person, they might have been just as suprised by us. This
may sound like I am over-rationalizing in retrospect, but it also
occurred to me at the time that if I did not continue forward, I would
be admitting to myself that I believed in ghosts, and might never find
out what had occured in the woods. I was also concerned about running
backwards along the path, as I was not sure that both Peter and I would
find our ways back (particularly with an unknown behind us). These
thought occurred simultaneously, and jumbled. The net result was to
propel myself forward as fast a possible. Peter remained directly
behind me and we continued to run forward for a unknown distance, still
apparently on the path.
Our flight ended when I hit a wall. Actually, it was very
difficult to describe in complete darkness: it felt like a wire fence
with a big hole in it, arching like a cave mouth. The fence was
encrusted with vegetation and we figured it was a wire fence with ivy
overgrowth. According to Peter's watch it was 9 pm, and we decided to
chuck the idea of finding the house (no apartment is worth this). From
that position, we were able to see the red blinking air-craft warning
lights on the tallest building on campus, Healy Tower, through the
canopy. We promptly decided to make that our target and to get back
ASAP. We must have been more scared than we admitted to each other
because we tore through the woods in a straight line, irrespective of
thorn bushes, trees, nettles, and so on. We ran until we had gotten
back to the dorm (not looking to good now). Luckily for Tom, he wasn't
home.
As we picked thorns from our clothes, we were silent for a bit.
Finally Peter asked me, "Back in the woods -- why did you stop so
sharply?". I said that I had seen something, and he agreed that he had
as well. I asked Peter to write down what he had seen, before he told
me, and I did the same. Then we swapped papers, unfolded them, and the
accounts matched, more-or-less, the above: we both sensed the presence
of a relatively short man, a foot from my face. We were thouroughly
weirded out. Neither of us able to explain or remember what it looked
like as we ran through the space where the figure had been since it
happened so quickly. We sat around trying to come up with explanations,
but fell short.
We both described the luminescence, but cannot account for the
light except by some far-fetched explanations. It was a moonless night,
in moderately dense woods. No parking lights or exterior lights would
have penetrated to cast light on a bush or something of that nature.
There are the old standby excuses, such as "swamp gas" or bioluminescent
fungi, but this is weak. It may very well be something along those
lines, and we may have both interpreted limited visual information the
same erroneous way.
The next day, we decided to try the path again, this time in the
middle of the day, but carrying heavy maglite flashlights, just for
security. We were unable to figure out where we had seen the image, but
we did manage to figure out what the fence was.
Apparently, there was a railroad bridge across a steep gorge (the
trestle to which Tom had refered). The metal framework still extends
across the gorge, but many of the wooden cross-slats are missing or
damaged, such that crossing the trestle would not be a good idea,
particularly at night. The fence was a regular wire fence, designed to
keep people away from bridge. There was a large gap in the fence, the
"cave mouth" we had felt the night before. As predicted, it was
overgrown with vines and other plants. Tossing a rock down the gorge it
took too long to hit, the fall would have been 80 or so feet.
I know that's a long answer to a short question, but you figure out
how to classify the response. Did I see a ghost or just a whaff of
swamp gas? Maybe it was just an alien.
Who knows? Many of our readers want to believe, but want some
kind of proof to do so. Maybe the best way to describe the majority
of the answers we received is with one of the responses I liked best:
"In other words, I neither believe nor disbelieve, and prefer to keep
an open mind..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!9!-- SF Calendar: What's Coming Up in the Near Future
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
....................
Upcoming BOOKS
....................
[We'd like to also feature books from some of the smaller publishers. If
you have a favorite small publisher you think we should know about, please
feel free to send us the address.]
January 1994:
BANTAM: STAR WARS: TRUCE AT BAKURA - Kathy Tyers
DEL REY: WORLDWAR: IN THE BALANCE - Harry Turtledove, THE SPOILS OF WAR
(Third book of THE DAMNED) - Alan Dean Foster, THE GOBLIN MIRROR - C. J.
Cherryh, HOSTILE TAKEOVER (Fourth book of THE BLACK HOLE TRAVEL AGENCY) -
Jack McKinney
------------
February 1994:
DEL REY: THE WITCH DOCTOR (Third book of A WIZARD IN RHYME) - Christopher
Stasheff, SHADOW OF THE WELL OF SOULS (Second book of WATCHERS AT THE WELL)
- Jack Chalker (SF), WE OPEN ON VENUS (Second book of STARSHIP TROUPERS) -
Christopher Stasheff, THE WIZARD KING (Fourth book of A CAITHAN CRUSADE) -
Julie Dean Smith, THE IMPERIUM GAME - K. D. Wentworth
------------
March 1994:
KNOPF: DIAMOND MASK (Second book in THE GALACTIC MILIEU trilogy) -
Julian May
DEL REY: OUT OF THIS WORLD (First book in the THREE WORLDS trilogy) by
Lawrence Watt-Evans, A GUIDE TO THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE, SECOND EDITION,
REVISED & EXPANDED - Bill Slavicsek, THE TALISMANS OF SHANNARA (Fourth book
of THE HERITAGE OF SHANNARA) - Terry Brooks, THE PRINCE OF ILL-LUCK - Susan
Dexter, FIRE IN A FARAWAY PLACE (Sequel to A SMALL COLONIAL WAR) - Robert
Frezza
....................
Upcoming MOVIES
....................
This is not really the "Upcoming Movies" list that Bryan D. Jones
(bdj@engr.uark.edu) puts out over Usenet every week or so. It's actually a
pared down version that he was kind enough to let us print. We thank him
and remind you that if you have any updates or corrections, please send
them on to him.
All dates are US wide release dates. -Bryan D. Jones (bdj@engr.uark.edu)
Jan 14: Body Snatchers
Jan 21: Fantastic Four
Mar 30: Thumbelina, Into the Mouth of Madness, Wolf
May 6: Prison Colony
Spring: Blankman, Cartooned, The Lion King (animated, was King of the
Jungle), The Muppet Treasure Island, Thumbelina
July 1: True Lies
Jul 15: Exit to Eden
July : Angels in the Outfield
August: Tall Tale, Time Cop
Summer: Aliens vs. Predator: The Hunt, Clear and Present Danger, The
Flintstones, Getting Even With Dad,
Autumn: Pagemaster, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Interview with The Vampire
Nov 4: Frankenstein
Decemb: Godzilla (American), Spiderman, Batman III, Star Trek VII
Winter: With Honors
1994 : Ed Wood, The Lawnmowerman 2, The Mask, Tremors II
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!10!-- Shoelaces of Truth: The News, The Whole News, and Nothing but the
News
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Dedicated to Mark Twain's principle that "A lie can travel halfway around
the world while the truth puts on its shoes."]
....................
BABYLON 5 NEWS
....................
by David Strauss
"It was the Dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, ten years after the
Earth/Minbari War. The Babylon Project was a dream given form, its goal:
to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could
work out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call, home away from
home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs and wanderers. Humans and
aliens wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning
metal...all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it's our
last, best hope for peace.
"This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations.
"The year is 2258.
"The name of the place...is Babylon 5."
With that opening, the first season of BABYLON 5 will begin in
syndication the last week of January. More than five years of planning,
hoping and hard work will finally hit the airwaves over the Prime Time
Entertainment Network, and America will finally begin to untangle the
complicated web of intrigue, adventure, and science fiction that is
BABYLON 5.
The pilot for BABYLON 5 aired last February, and received very high
ratings, coming in fourth in syndicated ratings for the week, behind only
Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and Next Generation. This summer, RON THORNTON
and Foundation Imaging won an Emmy for the Amiga-generated special effects.
Several things about B5 are attempts to set it apart from every other
attempt at science fiction that American TV has put forth. Importantly, the
creator and executive producer of B5, J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI (or JMS, as he
is known on-line), has constantly made himself available to the on-line
community for praise, criticism, and discussion of the show and its
development. (For JMS' description of the broad scope of the series, see
CYBERSPACE VANGUARD, Volume 1, Number 3.) Through his presence on GEnie, the
B5 discussion area has grown from one small topic to two entire categories.
His presence on the Usenet newsgroup alt.tv.babylon-5 has contributed to the
fact that over five thousand messages have been posted since its inception.
Not bad for one two-hour movie! In fact, several concerns voiced by on- line
viewers of the pilot have led to changes in the show since the series began
shooting. For instance, those who saw the pilot will note that such effects
as the "privacy mode" will not appear in the series, and that the
Japanese-influenced alien sector has a completely new design.
Besides the various production-oriented changes, there have been
several cast changes made since the pilot. The characters who appear in the
pilot are profiled in CV 1:3, and JMS has talked about the new characters
on-line. Among them are:
Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova (CLAUDIA CHRISTIAN) - Introduced in the
first episode. On a classified mission, Laurel has been reassigned out on
the Rim. An ethnic Russian with a wry, formal, stiff-necked and sometimes
very passionate streak that runs through her. Full of a certain rough-hewn
mysticism, a sense of absolute fatality and doom punctuated by moments of
great belief in humanity. Very much a commanding presence, a little quirky
when she wants to be, a shade on the pessimistic side.
Dr. Stephen Franklin (RICHARD BIGGS) - Introduced in the second
episode. Dr. Kyle is now working with the Earth Alliance President on the
issue of alien migration to Earth, a growing problem to some, a benefit to
others. Younger, in his mid-to late thirties, dedicated, sharp and
intense. Self-assured, confident almost to a fault. He comes largely out
of an experimental background, so his bedside manner isn't all it should
be. He's often impatient. His character is the newest addition to the B5
team of characters, and this will lead to a fair amount of conflict.
Talia Winters (ANDREA THOMPSON) - The New B5 telepath, replacing Lyta
Alexander. What this means in the story is that the only two people to
have ANY direct contact with a Vorlon have now been transferred back to
Earth. Is the Earth Alliance working on something sinister behind the
scenes? Winters will have problems with Ivanova, both personal and
professional.
Maya Hernandez (SILVANA GALLARDO) - Introduced a few episodes in. An
older Hispanic doctor, added to balance out Franklin's personality. She's
one of many who work under Franklin, since he is medical chief of staff of
several medlabs in different locations throughout B5.
Catherine Sakai (JULIE NICKSON) - Introduced in the middle of the
first season. After having gone his separate ways with Caroline (she
wanted him to leave his job, and he wouldn't), Sinclair renews a long-
standing relationship with Sakai. She works for an Earth Corp. surveying
asteroids and planets for mineralogical exploitation, making sure they're
uninhabited, and finding items that might present the greatest possibility
for profit. She is captain and owner of a survey ship, the Skydancer.
Vir Cotto (STEPHEN FURST) - male Centauri who works with Londo;
younger, softer, rounder, sometimes indolent. Introduced in the first
episode.
Na'Toth (CAITLIN BROWN) - G'Kar's second in command, female, dedicated
almost wholly toward personal advancement, lean and hard.
Lennier (BILL MUMY) - Delenn's aide/attache. Introduced in the middle
of the first season. Only recently out of a very monastic existence. A
quiet, restrained, almost monk-like character, fairly innocent in his way.
There will be other characters that will recur from time to time,
including n'grath, a very non-humanoid alien resembling a large insect.
(If you're tired of alien forehead disease, you've come to the right
place!)
One of the most endearing things to me is the fact that JMS has shown
no reluctance in calling B5 a science fiction show. Read the article with
CHRIS CARTER on THE X FILES in the last issue, or any interview with DONALD
BELLISARIO on QUANTUM LEAP, or even WILLIAM SHATNER's discussions of his
new TEKWAR series, and they all try to distance themselves from SF. JMS
doesn't. Instead of getting a bunch of writers who write drama and getting
them to adapt their style to SF, JMS has gone out and gotten some of the
best writers in the SF field and given them carte blanche to write the way
they want. Among the writers who have penned scripts for the first season
of B5 so far are LARRY DITILLIO, MARC SCOTT ZICREE, CHRISTY MARX, D.C.
FONTANA, DAVID GERROLD, and HARLAN ELLISON.
Not only high quality writers but high quality actors will be
appearing in the first season of B5. Such actors as: W. MORGAN SHEPHERD
(MAX HEADROOM), DAVID MCCALLUM (THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.), CLIVE REVELL
(Tony-Award winning member of the RSC), JUDSON SCOTT (STAR TREK II),
CHRISTOPHER NEAME (LICENSE TO KILL), NANCY LEE GRAHN (SANTA BARBARA),
DANICA MCKELLER (THE WONDER YEARS), TRISTAN ROGERS (GENERAL HOSPITAL),
WILLIAM SANDERSON (BLADE RUNNER), TOM BOOKER (LIFEFORCE), ROBIN CURTIS
(STAR TREK III), DAVID WARNER (TIME AFTER TIME), and of course WALTER
KOENIG (STAR TREK) will appear in just the first half of the first season,
it should be noted. (PATRICK MCGOOHAN, who strongly dislikes doing American
television, has expressed an interest in appearing, but so far his schedule
has been difficult to work around.)
With all of this info, however, it must be noted that there are those
that disliked the pilot a great deal. All I can say is that if this
describes you, give the show a chance. Unlike recent two-hour premieres for
shows like STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, it was truly a pilot. The entire
universe had to be created and introduced in 94 minutes of screen time, and
as a result the pilot was not everything it could have been. However,
recently at LosCon in California, a standing-room only crowd got to see a
preview of the first episode, "Midnight on the Firing Line."
Viewers of the first episode at LosCon had a lot of comments, far too
many to be included here. But almost unanimously, they were full of praise
for the first episode, even by those who did not like the pilot. For
example, one viewer said, "In the most general terms, I think it's pretty
clear that the show was a good order of magnitude better than the pilot, in
nearly all respects. Joe has been promising better acting/directing/flow;
the main flaw of the pilot. Well, IMHO and judging from the audience
response during and after the movie, he delivered. AND HOW."
As that viewer noted, one of the major complaints by many over the
pilot was the acting and direction. Comments at LosCon were very weighted
in praising the improvement over the pilot.
There was also a lot of praise for the improvement of the various
actors, especially MICHAEL O'HARE, now that he has had time to settle into
the role: "They must have taken the Michael O'Hare that was in the pilot and
replaced him with an exact look-alike with the same name. Compared to the
pilot, his performance was notably better. No more Captain Wooden ..."
A lot of praise was saved for the CGI special effects:
Some of the most strident praise, however, was saved for the show's
depiction of realism in space. Have you ever screamed at the television set
when you heard fighters woosh by in space? Have you ever found yourself
quoting Newton's First Law at the screen? So has JMS, and it shows. Several
science professionals were very complimentary on this point: "The fighter
drop sequence and the following scenes were good; not just in terms of
effects and so forth, but in terms of realism. At one point when the
fighters are manuvering, someone sitting behind me yelled 'My God, someone
on that show has read a PHYSICS textbook!' ... Ships in space don't go
'woosh' as they go by; they've handled this so well that several of the
comments during the Q&A session afterwards were entirely complimentary on
this subject..."
Overall, the presentation simply left the viewers with a strong
feeling of what JMS has been trying to portray all along. One viewer even
felt that B5 will start to be compared to STAR WARS, rather than its
television competition. "It just felt a lot more like a MOVIE, which is I
think what Joe is shooting for. Movies seem to be grander, perhaps tuned
more closely to their intelligent audience. Joe and the gang have hit the
ground running this time. This show has the potential to blow the lid off
of television. Prepare to be impressed."
JMS concluded his preview tape with a speech by Sinclair about why man
must go into space and how humanity has become fearful of tomorrow. It's
clear that he has much more ambitious plans than to just tell a story for
the next five years, and that he has a vision for the future.
Perhaps it is this vision that is the guiding force behind B5. JMS is
a man of hope, and it is his hope that we will see in B5. Hope that
humanity will survive and reach the stars, together. Because, as JMS has
said, if we don't go together, then we won't go at all. As you tune in to
watch B5 each week remember these words, which JMS posted a few months ago.
I have them printed out, hung over my monitor, where I'll see them every
day:
"I'll spot you ALL of our shortcomings, our penchant for war and for
destruction, our faults and our fractures, our shortsightedness and our
venality, our violence and our cupidity...I'll grant you all that and
more...but look at what we have achieved. We've fought diseases, broken
records, written symphonies, struggled and labored and evolved and learned
and thrown ourselves into the wind, carried up until we've walked on the
moon.
"We've pierced the veil of atmosphere and hurled our artifacts to take
snapshots of Jupiter and the sleepy side of Saturn. Any race that can
produce Einstein and Buddy Holly, Aristophenes and Lao Tsu, Ghandi and
Marilyn Monroe has *got* to have something going for it, something with far
greater potential than snagging a quarter-pounder at McDonald's after work.
"We've always found ourselves in command of forces greater than
ourselves. The first person to create fire, to propel an arrow into a
bear's hide, to peer through a telescope, to set off gunpowder, to split an
atom, to shake molecules until they stayed coherent and steady and gave
birth to the laser...all of these must have stopped, and worried, and
wondered if this was such a great idea, if perhaps this was too much power.
Would we foolishly burn down our own fields and starve when winter came?
Would the bomb ignite the atmosphere and turn a green world into a smoking
cinder?
"We have had the bomb since the 40s. Except for two tragic cases,
they have never been used. This is the *first time* in the long history of
our species that we have had a weapon for this long, and not used it.
"I operate from the central thesis that we are better than we think
and nobler than we know; that even when outgunned and outnumbered and
utterly without hope, there is something stubborn, and noble, and strong
about our species that carried us through millions of years of evolution to
stand at the threshold of the stars. And if there is anything that I is
apt to humble us, it is when we reach for the stars, and find that our view
of ourselves as the center of the universe is no longer valid. It will put
much of our ego into perspective.
"Leave behind our humanity? Not a chance. Because it's that core of
humanity, WITH all its flaws and fractures and fallibilities, that brought
us this far, and will take us the rest of the way on the journey that will
be carried on by our inheritors. To go to the stars will require of us the
same naked courage and determination and resolve that has always
characterized humankind. That is the very key to our survival. Fortune
favors the bold. Check your Darwin for the latest communiques on this one.
"We've risen to every challenge that nature, or our fellow, has ever
posed to us, and I believe that will be no different now, ten years from
now or two hundred years from now...here, or out on the fringe."
To quote Laurel Takashima in the pilot, BABYLON 5 is now open for
business.
[Editor's note: Collectors beware: A hand-painted bust of G'Kar has been
STOLEN from the BABYLON 5 offices. Please keep this in mind and if you
happen to see it for sale at a convention or by a private collector, please
call Warner Bros. and do not support this kind of activity.
....................
HIGHLANDER NEWS
....................
by Debbie Douglass
Filming has finally begun in Montreal for HIGHLANDER 3: THE MAGICIAN.
Starring CHRISTOPHER LAMBERT, MARIO VAN PEBBLES, and DEBRA UNGER, it takes
place after the original film but before HIGLANDER 2. Van Peebles plays the
Magician, who also has certain powers as a swordmaker. After MacLeod has
won the Prize, an expedition uncovers three immortals who have been trapped
in a mountain in China since long before the Gathering. Now there are four
Immortals, when as we all know, there can be only one. WILLIAM PANZER is on
on the writing of the script. SEAN CONNERY has no connection whatseoever
with the film, and neither does AXL ROSE, whose name has come up in
connection with the film but who had never actually been approached about
appearing in it.
According to VARIETY, there was a little trouble on the set when
Lambert walked off the set, insisting that his salary be placed in escrow.
He was gone for only one day, and all is reportedly settled.
For those who can't wait for another glimpse of Christopher Lambert, he
can be seen in "Gunmen," directed by DERAN SARAFIAN. It also stars MARIO VAN
PEEBLES, DENIS LEARY, PATRICK STEWART, KADEEM HARDISON and SALLY KIRKLAND.
It's due out in the theaters sometime this month. The Soundtrack just came
out. Description: An action oriented caper comedy, co-stars Mario Van
Peebles and Christopher Lambert as a pair of tough guys with little in
common except their desire to find $400 million worth of tainted drug money.
Van Peebles is a New Yorker motivated in part by revenge, and Lambert is an
illiterate, bumbling smuggler who just wants his dead brother's share of the
loot. Their arch enemies are played with panache by Patrick Stewart and
Denis Leary.
As for HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES, the second half of the season has begun
filming in Paris.
At the beginning of the season, many letters were received from fans
disgruntled about the removal of ALEXANDRA VANDERNOOT and the reduction of
STAN KIRSH'S part. There were also comments that with the character of
Tessa gone, the show is somewhat "testosterone loaded." To balance these
negative comments, it is requested that positive feedback and letters in
support of the show be sent to Keith Samples, C/O Rysher Entertainment, 3400
Riverside, Burbank, CT, 91505 to help convince stations to keep, or to pick
up, the show, as the case may be.
....................
STAR TREK NEWS
....................
by TJ Goldstein
As most people know, this, the seventh season of STAR TREK: THE NEXT
GENERATION will definitely be the last. As we go into the final stretch you
can look for appearances by WIL WHEATON (Wesley), DWIGHT SCHULTZ (Barclay),
and JOHN DELANCIE (Q), who will be in the series finale. (What goes around
comes around, I guess.) MICHELLE FORBES (Ensign Ro) will NOT be returning.
Before you get out your pens for that letter writing campaign, however,
keep in mind that this is a planned end to the show, as the cast will be
going on to do movies. The end of the television series is one of the only
things definite, however, along with the fact that filming will begin in
April (mere days after filming on the final episode is completed) and that
it will be in the theaters in late 1994. (Old) rumors have it that theaters
have already booked the film, so it HAS to be ready.
Probably the most indefinite part of the movie is the script, which
hasn't been finished yet -- so don't believe anybody who tells you they have
it, or the storyline, for that matter, though the most reliable rumors point
to the Dominion as the villains -- though the title falls a close second. As
it stands right now it will probably be STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: THE
MOVIE. Right. According to reports, they have chosen a director, however,
in DAVID CARSON, who has directed lots of ST episodes, including
"Yesterday's Enterprise" and "The Emissary." For those who are curious
about the appearance of the members of the original cast, at least some
members will be "involved," according to Producer RICK BERMAN in
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, but there is no word how. LEONARD NIMOY has been
quoted in the print media as saying he would appear if and only if there was
something substantial for him to do. A walk-on is definitely out, if you
can believe that.
As for ST:TNG's replacement, it's STAR TREK: VOYAGER, and the details
are a bit sketchy there as well. According to print reports such as
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, the show will involve a Federation ship that is
mysteriously thrown to another section of the universe without any obvious
means of getting back. (And yes, the comparisons to GILLIGAN'S ISLAND were
quick to appear on the boards.) Nobody has been cast yet, but the
characters will include: a Vulcan, a female human/Klingon mix, a member of
a colony of Native Americans who left Earth in the twenty-first or twenty-
second century, and, surprise, surprise, a holographic character. Producer
RICK BERMAN told EW that the hologram is "really hard to explain, but will
be great when you see it." Considering that just the past few years have
brought Al on QUANTUM LEAP, Selma on TIME TRAX, and Rimmer on RED DWARF,
it's going to be tough to come up with something truly original.
About a year ago, Chris-Craft was reportedly forming a new network in
order to carry the Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN), which includes
BABYLON 5 and TIME TRAX and is put out by Lorimar, the television branch of
Warner Bros. (Got that so far?) But wait, you say, didn't I hear something
about Chris-Craft getting together with Paramount? Well, yes, you did.
According to newspaper reports, Chris-Craft is getting together with
Paramount to provide 4 hours of programming a week to be anchored by STAR
TREK: VOYAGER. Together, the two companies own 15 stations. In the
meantime, these reports come one month after reports emerged (in the hard
copy press) that Warner was going to be starting a new network to be headed
by former Fox Broadcasting President Jamie Kellner. Warner is not commenting
on either network.
WILLIAM SHATNER'S TEK WAR, based on his novels, will be premiering this
week on ACTION PAK (see OTHER TV NEWS). Shatner wrote the starring role for
himself, but reportedly "decided he'd rather be behind the camera" so the
role will be played by GREG EVIGAN. Shatner will be appearing as the owner
of the Cosmos Agency. And yes, those who caught the behind the camera
reference, Shatner DID direct the film. There will be a series of four
television "films," with the possibility of a weekly 1-hour series, which
was what allegedly made Shatner decide not to star. TEK WAR is set in the
future, where Tek is a drug, and Jake Cardigan, police officer, is caught
dealing it.
In other ST news, one of Full Moon's two theatrical releases for this
year (as opposed to their usual direct-to-video), OBLIVION, has two STAR
TREK connections, with GEORGE TAKEI starring and a script by PETER DAVID.
(David is also working on a new Trek novel, Q SQUARED.) Others in the cast
include JULIE NEWMAR, MEG FOSTER, CAREL STRUYKEN, JACKIE SWANSON, RICHARD
JOSEPH PAUL, and JIMMY SKAGGS. It's due in the theaters in August 1994.
....................
OTHER TV NEWS
....................
ABC has extended LOIS & CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN to a full 22
episodes for this season. The network seems to be supporting the show, even
re-running the pilot on two consecutive Wednesdays with 20 minutes of extra
footage. (There is some question, actually, as to whether it was really
"extra" footage. When the pilot originally aired, it was only one hour and
40 minutes long, including commercials. The other 20 minutes was taken up
by a "Making of ..." type special.) The move to Wednesday did boost L&C's
ratings somewhat, and the show has not only been holding its own against
SEAQUEST DSV, on a significant number of weeks it's been beating it. DEAN
CAIN, with a bit of a cavalier attitude, told TV GUIDE that he thought Lois
and Clark should jump into bed together.
THE X-FILES has been picked up not only for the rest of this season, but has
already been assured a place in next year's line up. Though it started
quietly, it has been steadily picking up an audience. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
rated it the Best Cult TV Show of 1993 in their year-end wrap up.
The Cleveland PLAIN DEALER ran an interview with STEVEN SPIELBERG under the
lead "If you're disappointed with SEAQUEST DSV, you're not the only one."
According to SQ publicist VIC HEUTSCHY, however, Spielberg's comments about
being disappointed with the show and not having spent enough time on it
because he was too busy with SCHINDLER'S LIST were taken out of context and
misrepresented him. Rumors of mass firings are (according to Heutschy)
untrue, though there have been some ADDITIONS, including DAVID BURKE and
PATRICK HASBORG (Executive Producers), and BOB ENGLES (Co-Executive
Producer).
Several new shows are on tap for the second half of the TV year:
VIPER has already debuted to somewhat ... "mixed" reviews. From the
producers of THE ROCKETEER and THE FLASH tv series, DANNY BILSON and PAUL
DEMEO, it is about a car, designed by a wheelchair-bound scientist to fight
an organization called The Outfit, which equips it's theives with high tech
cars (naturally they're all expert drivers). The Viper has the ability to
morph itself from (as far as we can tell) red to gray, and has no guns.
(The designer was paralyzed by a bullet.) To drive the car, the cops have
captured one of the bad guys (after he racked up his own car), erased his
memory, and convinced him that he's really a cop. The pilot deals with him
and his memory. When the project is shut down, they steal the car and now
fight crime as vigilantes. TV Guide's JEFF JARVIS notes that if you think
the lack of weaponry on the car means it's a kinder, gentler cop show, think
again. "The car is the only one who's not heavily armed." (Jarvis hated
it, but we feel it's only fair to point out that he hated BABYLON 5 too.)
ACTION PAK is where you'll find WILLIAM SHATNER'S heavily hyped TEK WAR
series. The show is something like the old CLIFFHANGERS, but it is unclear
as to whether they will be continuing stories or isolated movies. There are
five separate "shows," including TEK WAR, HERCULES from SAM RAIMI, and
FASTLANE, a comedy from JOHN LANDIS that starts with the discovery of an
abandoned spacecraft.
WEIRD SCIENCE will be hitting the television airwaves after almost 10
years. The 1985 movie was about two teenage boys who use a computer to
create a woman who basically has the power to grant them anything they want
-- the ideal woman. This version, starring JOHN MALLORY and MICHAEL
MANNASSERI, was helped to the small screen by the success of none other than
BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD, according to Executive Producer BOB WEISS in comments
made to TV GUIDE.
EARTH II, reportedly in the works from STEVEN SPIELBERG, will NOT hit
the airwaves this season. Set in the future, is is only "in development"
and no information is available. No word on whether it will be related in
any way to the 1975 movie of the same name, about a space colony.
PRISONERS OF GRAVITY has been picked up for another 12 episodes. The
series, which features science fiction, fantasy, and comics interviews, can
be seen on PBS in the United States as well as throughout Ontario, Canada.
(Episode titles and approximate dates are in Spoilers Ahoy.)
The Science Fiction Channel has announced that they will stop showing
DR. WHO, reportedly at the specific request of the BBC. (Take that any way
you like.)
....................
MOVIE NEWS
....................
JACK NICHOLSON and MICHELLE PFIEFFER will be starring in WOLF, about a man
who turns into a wolf, presumably another twist on the werewolf. Look for
it in March from Columbia.
Also in March is INTO THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, from JOHN CARPENTER. From New
Line, it's a thriller about an insurance agent who tries to find a missing
horror writer and finds out that what the guy writes is more than just his
imagination.
JEAN CLAUDE VAN DAMME will be starring in TIME COP from Universal, due out
in August.
According to a source at the National Association of Theater Owners, 20th
Century Fox is considering doing a live-action version of the X-MEN.
According to convention reports, MGM has optioned HARLAN ELLISON'S novella
MEPHISTO IN ONYX.
Talk of a fourth ALIEN movie, known among fans as ALIEN VS. PREDATOR, has
been around since the third installment hit the theaters, but now it has
been confirmed in print media reports that a fourth film is in the planning
stages. According to UPI, the 20th Century Fox film will "find the
enormous, insect-like creatures landing on Earth to do combat with
guardians of the planet's well-being." Nobody is saying what will be done
about the fact that Ripley, played by SIGOURNEY WEAVER, was killed in
ALIEN3.
WES CRAVEN is working on a movie based on the DR. STRANGE comic to be
distributed through Savoy Pictures.
The 1973 film THEATRE OF BLOOD is will remade. The new film is under
development by director CHRIS COLUMBUS, and will be distributed by MGM.
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA (BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA) has been named to the board of
directors at MGM.
Just after our last issue we received the sad news of the death of RIVER
PHOENIX. Phoenix, probably best known in this community for his role as
the young Indy in INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, was known for being
an advocate of clean living and a vegetarian, but according to the Los
Angeles County Coroner's Office his collapse outside of the Viper Club
(partially owned by JOHNNY DEPP) last Halloween night was due to a
combination of cocaine and morphine. Other contributing factors were
traces of marijuana and the prescription medications Valium and ephidrine.
Phoenix, who was considered by many to be someone to watch in terms of
Hollywood stardom, was also known for his role as front man for his own
rock band. He was performing at the Viper Club the night of his death.
Phoenix was slated to begin shooting INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE and was
in the process of shooting DARK BLOOD. Production has been stopped, as the
producers felt that it could not be finished without recasting and
reshooting. His part in INTERVIEW has been recast with CHRISTIAN SLATER,
who has said that he would donate his salary to a favorite charity of
Phoenix's. His recent film SILENT TONGUE premiered at the American Indian
Film Festival, where opening night was dedicated to him.
Phoenix was only 23 years old.
You may remember that PIERCE BROSNAN (LAWNMOWER MAN) was approached about
replacing ROGER MOORE as JAMES BOND some years ago, but because of
conflicts stemming from his REMINGTON STEELE contract, he wasn't able to.
Current rumors are saying he's up for it again, but in interviews for his
role alongside ROBIN WILLIAMS in MRS. DOUBTFIRE, he's said "I've heard
rumors, and a lot of people think that I have been approached, but I
haven't been. If it is true, I wouldn't mind sitting down to talk about
it."
Puppets and sets from THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS have been auctioned at
Sotheby's Animation Art auction. Included are seven sets and around 60
puppets, including two 18 inch Jack Skellington's, (with one head each) and
a 8x6x7 foot set of the town hall interior, including several puppets.
The release of ROBOCOP 3 has reminded a lot of people of the dismal failure
of ROBOCOP 2, the first sequel to the well loved film. Even NANCY ALLEN,
who played Murphy's partner Officer Lewis in the three films felt that the
second film was "heartless." According to UPI, it didn't appear that she
had any kind words for the film's director, IRVIN KERSHNER. "I didn't have
a good relationship with the director. We didn't connect. He hated me, is
the truth of it," she said. (For those who feel that this might be sour
grapes, you might recall that similar gripes were voiced around Kershner's
direction of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.) Allen does feel that the third film
has recovered the "heart" of the first one.
Despite rumors to the contrary, SEAN CONNERY (INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST
CRUSADE) does NOT have cancer. A spokeswoman for the actor told UPI
that the "undisclosed throat condition" everyone assumed was the disease
was actually "a pre-existing benign throat condition known as dysplasia...a
series of abnormal cells...not, in Mr. Connery's case, cancer." He has
undergone six weeks of radiation therapy and is "perfectly fine."
STEVEN SPIELBERG is the chairman of the Starbright Pediatric Network, the
sister organization of the Starlight Foundation, which grants wishes to
seriously ill children at the rate of 12,000 a month. Starbright has just
acquired the former Merv Griffin Studios (and also formerly KABC-TV) as a
gift from Coca-Cola Co. and plans to begin broadcasting next year. The
network will use satellites and computers to broadcast programming designed
to entertain, inform, and improve the experience of ill children into
hospital pediatric wards. According to UPI, Spielberg said, "We are going
to use this incredible technology to shrink the world and create a
oneness." The studio is embarking on a $37 million fundraising effort to
see it through the first five years of operation. Spielberg is currently
developing a film version of CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST. CHRISTINA RICCI
(ADDAMS FAMILY) will be appearing in the film.
BATMAN III update: Word is that the Boston Globe announced auditions for
actors looking to play Robin in the next BATMAN movie. Interestingly, no
mention was made of any requirements that the respondents be male. ROBIN
WILLIAMS has been quoted in Entertainment Weekly Magazine as saying that if
they come up with a good script, he would be willing to appear in BATMAN
III. TIM BURTON will NOT be directing. That chore will be taking over by
JOEL SCHUMACHER. The interesting thing about all this is that it could all
be academic, because MICHAEL KEATON has not yet committed himself to the
film.
MCA Inc., part of Matsushita and the owner of Universal, plans to build a
Universal Studios theme park in Osaka, Japan. The park, similar to those
in California and Florida, will be approximately 140 acres, and is expected
to open in 1999. While Euro Disney has not performed to expectations,
Tokyo Disneyland, about 3 hours away from Osaka, has done extremely well
for the past 10 years, which probably had something to do with MCA's
decision.
....................
WRITTEN SF
....................
Imagine, for a moment, a movie based on THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
produced by former Monkee and creator of ELEPHANT PARTS, MICHAEL NESMITH.
Author DOUGLAS ADAMS is reportedly seeking stories of how popular the series
of books is as part of an attempt to woo a distributor for just such a
project. According to Ansible number 78, Adams says that he will be
"thoroughly involved" in the project.
Also according to ANSIBLE, the National Student SF Association is going to
hold a demonstration protesting the British government's decision that sf
"is not a 'core activity' for a student's union (i.e. no more funding)."
For more information, contact Gareth Rees, 29 St Stephen's Place,
Cambridge, CB3 0JE.
According to Patrick Neilsen Hayden of Tor Books, Orson Scott Card's
upcoming novel PASTWATCH is about future observers who can see the lives of
people in the past. In particular, the main character uses the ability to
travel backwards into an old woman's life to see why she is so sad. Hayden
said that for a while the novel was to be called THE REDEMPTION OF
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. It will be out in paperback from Tor around 1995,
about a year after the hardcover version hits from Don Grant.
Don't brag about your graffiti to RAY BRADBURY. Incensed over graffiti
artists appearing to lecture UCLA classes, he suggests an anti-graffiti
day, where everyone in his home city of Los Angeles grabs a half-pint of
paint and covers over the graffiti on his or her wall or storefront. He
told UPI that he'd be "glad to show up as No. 1 painter for a day." (In
other places where this has been tried, it's taken a bit of perseverance,
but it's actually worked, albeit on a smaller scale.)
ANTHONY BURGESS, author of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and more than 50 other
novels, Has died at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer. Burgess
also wrote more than 15 non-fiction works, was a linguist and composer, and
was well respected for his reviews and articles. Born in Manchester,
England, he also served in the Colonial Service in Malaya and Borneo.
COLLECTOR ALERT: Vic Ghidalia, the anthologist responsible for lots of sf
anthologies around the '70's (such as THE LITTLE MONSTERS, DEVIL'S
GENERATION,
and THE VENUS FACTOR, the first sf anthology by women about women) is
selling
his very extensive book collection. He has lots of quality sf and "dark
fantasy" from the 1930's through the 1950's and books from specialty and
smaller
publishers such as Arkham and others, and plenty of MUST HAVES. He was
lucky
enough to get first crack at a dealer's personal collection several years
ago,
and he's got lots of things like Ray Bradbury's first novel, Lovecraft, and
plenty of other things. Lots of first editions. He's also got lots of
contemporary stuff. (He was also saying that the older books are quality
bound
as well, and are beautiful just to look at.) Since he's got literally
hundreds
of books, he can't really catalogue them all. (He's not really a computer
person.) So, what he's doing is taking "want lists." If there's that novel
that you've always tried to find, let him know and he'll see if he has it.
Or,
send him authors and he'll tailor a list for you.
You can send your list to Vic Ghidalia, 480 Riverdale Ave., Yonkers, NY
10705, or, if you're lazy, just send them to the editor at tlg4@po.cwru.edu
with your Snail Mail address and I'll forward them to him. If you write to
him, please tell him where you heard about it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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provided as part of a free service in connection with distribution of Sf-
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NOMINATING BALLOT FOR THE 1994 HUGO AWARDS AND JOHN W. CAMPBELL AWARD This
ballot must be postmarked by MARCH 31, 1994, and received by APRIL 6, 1994
Mail to: 1994 Hugo Awards
Seth Goldberg, Voting Administrator
P.O. Box 271986
Concord CA 94527-1986
U.S.A.
Name:______________________________________________
Address:___________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Signature:_________________________________________
Please check one:
__ I am a member of Conadian; my membership number is_______________
__ I am not a member of Conadian but was a member of ConFrancisco;
my ConFrancisco membership number is _____________________
__ I enclose $110 US/$150 CDN for an attending membership in Conadian.
(If you select this option, your ballot must be postmarked by January 31,
1994.) Cheques payable to Conadian.
__ I enclose $25 US/$30 CDN for a supporting membership in Conadian. (If
you select this option, your ballot must be postmarked by January 31, 1994.)
Cheques payable to Conadian.
If you wish to pay for your membership with your credit card, please provide
the following information:
__ Visa __ MasterCard
Card Number: ________________________________
Expiration Date: ____________________________
Please read these instructions carefully before casting your ballot.
ELIGIBILITY TO NOMINATE
You may nominate for the Hugo and Campbell Awards if you either: a) were an
attending or supporting member of ConFrancisco (the 1993 World Science
Fiction Convention) or b) become an attending or supporting member of
Conadian (the 1994 World Science Fiction Convention) by January 31, 1994.
You may purchase a membership in Conadian by completing the appropriate
information on this ballot and enclosing a check for the membership fee. If
you are already a ConFrancisco or Conadian member, do not send any money
with your ballot. Just fill in your name, address, and (if you have it)
your membership number so that we can verify your membership. Please print
or type.
DEADLINE
Ballots must be postmarked by March 31, 1994, and received by April 6, 1994,
to ensure that they will be counted. Please mail as early as possible.
Overseas members should send their nominations airmail. Mail your ballot to:
1994 Hugo Awards, Seth Goldberg, Voting Administrator, P.O. Box 271986,
Concord, California, 94527-1986, U.S.A. Within Canada, you may mail your
ballot to the Conadian main office: Conadian, Attn: Hugo Awards, P.O. Box
2430, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 4A7. However we cannot guarantee that last-
minute ballots sent to this address will be received in time to be counted.
WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU USE AN ENVELOPE; stapled mail will usually be
mutilated or rejected by the post office. Taping the ballot shut is
permissible in U.S. domestic mail only. You can fax your ballot to (707)
746-5195. Do not E-mail your ballot. Please be sure to fill in the previous
page and mail all four pages. We cannot count your ballot if you do not do
this. For faxed ballots, it is not necessary to send the instruction page
or a cover sheet.
HOW TO NOMINATE
You may nominate up to five persons or works in each category. However, you
are permitted (and even encouraged) to make fewer nominations or none at all
if you are not familiar with the works that fall into that category. The
nominations are equally weighted: the order in which you list them has no
effect on the outcome. Don't bother to nominate "No Award" (unless that's
the title of a story or magazine you want to vote for). "No Award" will
appear automatically in every category on the final ballot. Please include
source information whenever possible. This is not mandatory, but makes it
easier for us to identify the work you intend to nominate. For the fiction
categories, Dramatic Presentation, Non-Fiction Book, and Original Artwork,
space has been provided for this. In the continuing categories
(Professional Editor and after) there's less room, but if your nominee is
not well-known we'd appreciate your writing in a source where his or her
1993 work in that category may be found. Please type or print clearly. We
cannot be responsible for what you may inadvertently nominate if your
writing is not clear. The five top vote getters in each category (more in
case of ties, fewer if not many nominations are cast in that category) will
appear on the final Hugo Awards ballot, which will be distributed with
Conadian Progress Report #6 (scheduled for publication in May, 1994). Only
members of Conadian (including those who join after January 31, 1994) will
be eligible to vote on the final ballot.
ELIGIBILITY
Works published in 1993 are eligible for the 1994 Hugo Awards. Books are
considered to have been published on the "publication date" which usually
appears with the copyright information on the back of the title page. If
there is no stated publication date, the copyright date will be used
instead.
A dated periodical is considered to have been published on the cover date,
regardless of when it was placed on sale or copyrighted. Serialized stories
or dramatic presentations are eligible in the year in which the last
installment appaers. A work originally appearing in a language other than
English is eligible both in the year of its original appearance and in the
year in which it first appears in English translation. Exclusions: The
Conadian Committee has irrevocably delegated all Hugo Administration
authority to a subcommittee. Therefore, only David Bratman, Seth Goldberg,
Athena Jarvis, Peter Jarvis, and Kevin Standlee are ineligible for the 1994
Hugo Awards.
Other rules of eligibility are given with the specific categories.
REPRODUCTION
Reproduction and distribution of this ballot are permitted and encouraged,
provided that it is reproduced verbatim (including voting instructions),
with no additional material other than the name of the person or publication
responsible for the reproduction.
-- David Bratman and Seth Goldberg
Hugo Awards Administrators
BEST NOVEL (40,000 or more words): A science fiction or fantasy story of
40,000 words or more that appeared for the first time in 1993. (See
"Eligibility".)
Author & Title / Publisher
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST NOVELLA (17,500-40,000 words): A science fiction or fantasy story
between 17,500 and 40,000 words in length that appeared for the first time
in 1993.
Author & Title / Where published
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST NOVELETTE (7,500-17,500 words): A science fiction or fantasy story
between 7,500 and 17,500 words in length that appeared for the first time in
1993.
Author & Title / Where published
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST SHORT STORY (Under 7,500 words): A science fiction or fantasy story of
less than 7,500 words that appeared for the first time in 1993.
Author & Title / Where published
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST NON-FICTION BOOK: A non-fiction work whose subject is the field of
science fiction, fantasy, or fandom that appeared for the first time in book
form in 1993.
Author/Editor & Title / Publisher
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION: A production, in any medium, of dramatized
science fiction or fantasy that was publicly presented in its present
dramatic form for the first time in 1993. Individual episodes or programs
in a series are eligible, but the series as a whole is not; however, a
sequence of installments constituting a single dramatic unit may be
considered as a single program.
Title / Studio/Series
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST ORIGINAL ARTWORK: An original piece of science fiction or fantasy
artwork first published in 1993.
Artist & Title / Where published
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST PROFESSIONAL EDITOR: The editor of a professional publication devoted
primarily to science fiction or fantasy in 1993. (A "professional
publication" is one that had an average press run of at least 10,000 copies
per issue.)
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST: An illustrator whose work appeared in a
professional publication in the field of science fiction or fantasy in 1993.
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST SEMIPROZINE: A generally available non-professional publication
(average print run of fewer than 10,000 copies per issue) devoted to science
fiction or fantasy which has published 4 or more issues, at least one of
them in 1993, and met at least two of the following criteria in 1993:
1) had an average press run of at least 1,000 copies per issue,
2) paid its contributors or staff in other than copies of the publication,
3) provided at least half the income of any one person,
4) had at least 15% of its total space occupied by advertising, or
5) announced itself to be a "semiprozine".
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST FANZINE: A generally available non-professional publication devoted to
science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects which has published 4 or more
issues, at least one of which appeared in 1993, and which does not qualify
as a semiprozine.
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST FAN WRITER: A person whose writing has appeared in semiprozines or
fanzines or in generally available electronic media in 1993.
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
BEST FAN ARTIST: An artist or cartoonist whose work appeared in semiprozines
or fanzines, or was publicly displayed in 1993.
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
JOHN W. CAMPBELL AWARD (not a Hugo): (For Best New Science Fiction Writer,
sponsored by Dell Magazines.) A writer whose first professionally published
work of science fiction or fantasy appeared during 1992 or 1993. (See
"Eligibility".) A work is considered professionally published if it had a
press run of at least 10,000 copies.
A. _____________________________________________________________________
B. _____________________________________________________________________
C. _____________________________________________________________________
D. _____________________________________________________________________
E. _____________________________________________________________________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
....................
SF IN FRENCH AND FRENCH SF NEWS
....................
by Jean-Louis Trudel
The Fall SF season has been fairly lethargic for French-language
science fiction. In France, the Fleuve Noir Anticipation line has reduced
its publishing output to two books a month. In Canada, no major novels
have been sighted, and it seems that Montreal publisher Logiques is getting
out of science fiction publishing. At Quebec/Amerique, another Montreal
publishing company, Elisabeth Vonarburg's science fiction novel LES
VOYAGEURS MALGRE EUX (The Reluctant Travellers) will only be released in
the first months of 1994, and it should be published in the United States
by Bantam around the same time. Her young adult book CONTES DE TYRANAEL
(Tyranael Tales) has also been postponed to the same time frame. Also at
Quebec/Amerique, Joel Champetier's horror novel, initially slated for the
November book fair in Montreal, should be coming out in the Spring.
However, various young adult books did appear in the Fall, including
JE VIENS DU FUTUR (I Come From the Future) by Denis Cote, a collection of
four short fictions from the publisher Pierre Tisseyre, and L'EMPRISE DE LA
NUIT (The Grip of the Night) by Stanley Pean, a supernatural horror novel
from the publisher La Courte Echelle. In the same category, the Editions
Paulines of Montreal put out LE VOYAGE DE LA SYLVANELLE (The Voyage of the
Sylvanelle) by Joel Champetier and LA PLANETE DU MENSONGE (The Planet of
Lies) by Francine Pelletier. Both are part of continuing series with the
same publisher.
On the other hand, Elisabeth Vonarburg was the guest of the SALONS DU
LIVRE of the Saguenay/Lac Saint-Jean (her home region, in Quebec) and of
Toronto. These book fairs occurred on the October 2-3 and October 23-24
weekends. She can now be heard weekly on the Canadian French-language
national radio network, on Saturdays, speaking about SF.
On the magazine scene in Canada, it is reported that SOLARIS will be
publishing a translation of "Kissing Hitler", by Erik Jon Spigel, which
first appeared in the Spring 1993 issue of the English-Canadian magazine ON
SPEC, a special "Over the Edge" issue. In the September issue of the
Franco-Ontarian cultural magazine LIAISON, Jean-Louis Trudel assembled a
fourteen page series of profiles and reviews concerned with science fiction
and fantasy in French in the province of Ontario. Issue 107 of SOLARIS
included an interview with one of the grand old men of French science
fiction, Michel Jeury. Disappointingly for his fans, Jeury announced that
he was planning to concentrate on mainstream fiction for the foreseeable
future. As one of the most original SF authors ever to have dealt with the
theme of time, Jeury was a natural choice for this special issue of SOLARIS
devoted to time. There were also three short stories on the theme of time
in the same issue: "Le huitieme registre" (The Eighth Register) by Alain
Bergeron, "La merveilleuse machine de Johann Havel" (Johann Havel's
Marvelous Machine) by Yves Meynard, and "Les ponts du temps" (Bridges
across Time) by Jean-Louis Trudel. The next issue, SOLARIS 108, will
feature interviews of Quebec author Jean Dion and French illustrator and
artist Jean-Yves Kervevan, as well as stories by Claude Bolduc, Pierre
Dion, and Jean-Louis Trudel.
The latest issue of IMAGINE..._, numbered 65, was devoted to literary
scholarship, with three essays ranging from an analysis of references to
science fiction in the Quebec media to a study of the discourse of
seduction in a Marie-Jose Theriault short story, and even to a work of
literary archaeology, presenting Jules Verne's forgotten play: "Voyage a
travers l'impossible" (Voyage Through the Impossible). An interview of
Canadian author Jean-Pierre April rounded out the issue.
Finally, on October 15, the Prix Boreal (popular awards attributed on
the basis of voting by the readers of Canadian SF in French) were given out
in Montreal. The winner of the Prix Boreal for best book was Elisabeth
Vonarburg, for her novel CHRONIQUES DU PAYS DES MERES, which appeared in
English translation as THE MAERLANDE CHRONICLES in Canada and as IN THE
MOTHERS' LAND in the United States. The winner of the Prix Boreal for best
short fiction was Yves Meynard, for his story "Convoyeur d'ames" (Soul
Carrier). Finally, the winner of the Prix Boreal for best critical
writings was again Elisabeth Vonarburg, for her reviews and literary
criticism in the Canadian magazine SOLARIS and in the French periodical
NOUS LES MARTIENS.
Still on the subject of awards, the annual Governor General's Awards
are considered to be the most prestigious literary awards in Canada. This
year, Jane Brierley was one of the finalists in the category for best
translation from French to English. This recognized her work in
translating Elisabeth Vonarburg's CHRONIQUES DU PAYS DES MERES, published
by Bantam as IN THE MOTHERS' LAND. Unfortunately, she did not win.
Crossing again the Atlantic, one finds the French-Canadian equivalent
of a SF encyclopedia for the year 1990, which only came out in 1993. Edited
by Claude Janelle and Jean Pettigrew, the monument I allude to is L'ANNEE
DE LA SCIENCE-FICTION ET DU FANTASTIQUE QUEBECOIS 1990. It lists all the
SF stories and books published by Canadians in French during the year 1990,
along with a synopsis and a review of each. It also reviews magazines and
works of literary criticism (except itself) and it mentions noteworthy
events during the past year. It even includes some original fiction:
"Dieu, un, zero" (God, One, Zero) by Joel Champetier, "Le Point Cassere"
(The Cassere Point) by Michel Lamontagne, and "Un bruit de pluie" (A Sound
of Rain) by Elisabeth Vonarburg.
As can be divined from the dates, the editors of L'ANNEE have been
falling behind. It may turn out that the market was too small to support
this publication, but writers and researchers in French-Canada will regret
it.
Finally, in Switzerland, on October 2, the Maison d'Ailleurs, a museum
of science fiction and fantasy, launched its Fall exhibit: "La Planete des
Jeux" (The Planet of Games), an interactive exhibition of various games and
toys associated with science fiction and fantasy, including video games,
role playing games, and various board games. This exhibit will run until
January 30, 1994. The Maison d'Ailleurs is located in the Swiss town of
Yverdon-les-Bains, North of Lausanne.
....................
OTHER WORLD NEWS
....................
ISRAEL now has private television. Previously all television was supported
by television taxes, but Channel Two will carry advertising to pay for
itself. Among other things, the station will be carrying Disney animation,
advertising, and domestically produced programming in Hebrew.
CHINA: The Communist Chinese government is cracking down on whatever
freedom of expression has existed lately, according to wire service
reports. The Central Propaganda Department has banned three books and
the sale of book licenses by publishers, citing their purchase by "a
small number of criminals [who] have used the purchase of book licenses
to publish books that contain serious political errors, leak state
secrets, damage ethnic unity, contravene our foreign policy, or
propagate superstitious, feudal and pornographic views [that] have
created a very bad social influence." China has also been cracking down on
private ownership of satellite dishes.
The Chinese government pulled out of the Tokyo Film Festival in
protest of "unauthorized" Chinese films entered into competition.
FRANCE: Euro Disney has announced that it will cut prices for the off
season "to make Euro Disney accessible to the greatest number of people,"
according to UPI. The park has approached the expected attendance, but
visitors have spent less money on hotels, souvenirs, and food, leading the
park to a $267 million loss in the nine months since its opening. Euro
Disney, however, insists that it remains committed to the construction of
Phase Two of the park. Debate rages over whether the park's troubles are
due to the European recession or "cultural differences between the
Continent and the United States."
ENGLAND: 70,000 pirate videotapes have been seized in a raid on a
farmhouse east of London. Included were 70 VCRs and some counterfeit
perfumes. According to a Scotland Yard spokeswoman, the videos had a face
value of 12.5 million pounds or $18.8 million and included current
blockbusters such as JURASSIC PARK, hard-core porno films, and Disney
movies. A similar raid recently netted 12,500 videos, 190 VCRs, video
inlays and labels, and large haul of porno magazines.
In related news, the Motion Picture Associates of America have hired
former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent ANTHONY J. ADAMSKY Jr. as
director of their Anti-Piracy Office. Adamsky will be responsible for
overseeing the effort to stop black market videotapes, illegal film prints,
and other related activities.
VIETNAM: After 18 years under a U.S. trade embargo, Vietnam has submitted a
film for Academy Award consideration. The film, THE SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA,
which won the Camera d'Or at Cannes in 1993, is the first film ever
submitted by Vietnam.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!11!-- Spoilers Ahoy! (And season 2 of the TWILIGHT ZONE Episode Guide)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BABYLON 5: (Listed in production order, as of 931218.)
Week Of Prod # Title
------------------------------------------------
1/24/93 103 Midnight on the Firing Line
1/31/93 102 Soul Hunter
2/7/93 104 Born to the Purple
2/14/93 101 Infection
2/21/93 108 The Parliament of Dreams
2/28/93 110 Mind War
Tentative:
105 Believers
107 The War Prayer
106 And the Sky Full of Stars
103. Midnight on the Firing Line - Written by JMS. A Centauri
farming world is attacked by a mysterious attacker. Londo
discovers that it was the Narns, and comes to blows with
G'Kar. Problems arise between new Psi Corps telepath Talia
Winters and the new Lt. Commander, Susan Ivanova. Londo gets
his new aide, Vir Cotto. We'll learn more about what's
happening back in the Earth Alliance, and in the League of
Non-Aligned Worlds. The teaser deals with the similarity
between Centauri and Humans. As we see more of Londo and his
people, we'll realize they aren't as human looking as they
seem to be. Originally titled "Blood and Thunder."
102. The Soul Hunter - Written by JMS. Delenn's life is put into
danger when a "soul hunter" (an alien from an immortal race of
beings who capture souls at the moment of death) arrives at
the space station. Directed by JIM JOHNSTON. The new doctor,
Stephen Franklin, is introduced, as well as n'grath, a very
non-humanoid lifeform with an exoskeleton of sorts. Guest
starring MORGAN SHEPHERD as the soul hunter, who identifies
Delenn as a member of the Grey Council (which we learn more
about) and wonders why one of the masters of the Minbari is
taking the lowly role of an ambassador. Also stars JOHN
SNYDER as the second soul hunter.
104. Born to the Purple - Written by LARRY DITILLIO, story editor.
Londo is seduced by a beautiful Centauri slave who has been
planted by the Narn to steal incriminating information that
could destroy his career as an intergalactic ambassador.
Guest starring Clive Revell and Fabiana Udeno. A funny,
offbeat story that adds a new side to Londo's character.
G'Kar gets his first aide, a Narn female named Ko'Dath, played
by MARY WORONOV (Eating Raoul). Originally titled "Amaranth."
101. Infection - Written by JMS. An archeologist played by guest
star DAVID MCCALLUM smuggles an ancient weapon aboard B5 that
transforms his assistant into a half-alien, half-human machine
who sets out to destroy everyone in his path.
108. The Parliament of Dreams - Written by JMS. Sinclair is
shaken by the arrival of his old lover Catherine Sakai and
G'Kar is terrified by a threat from an old enemy, during a
week-long festival when humans and aliens alike demonstrate
their religious beliefs. We learn more about Minbari and
Centauri religion, along with others. (We even get to see a
Centauri religious festival.) Sinclair is put in the
difficult position of being asked to show what Earth's
dominant belief system is. Delenn's new aide Lennier is
introduced. G'Kar gets a new aide (Ko'Dath has an unfortunate
incident with an airlock) named Na'Toth. Originally titled
"Carnival!"
110. Mind War - Written by JMS. WALTER KOENIG comes to B5 as a Psi
Cop, rating P12. Also guest starring WILLIAM ALLAN YOUNG and
FELICITY WATERMAN. Both "Grail" and "Mind War" are heavy on
EFX, both visual (on set) and CGI.
105. Believers - Written by DAVID GERROLD. Dr. Franklin asks
Sinclair to intermediate with an alien family who, because of
their religious beliefs, refuses to allow surgery that would
save their dying child. Introduction of a new recurring
character, Maya Hernandez, a female Hispanic doctor. Guest
starring JONATHAN KAPLAN, TRICIA O'NEIL, and STEPHEN LEE.
107. The War Prayer - Written by D.C. FONTANA. A violent attack on
a Minbari dignitary (guest star NANCY LEE GRAHN) rocks B5 and
leaves Sinclair scrambling to flush out a vicious "pro-earth"
group. Two star-crossed young Centauri lovers (guest stars
DANICA MCKELLER and RODNEY EASTMAN) seek Londo's protection.
Ivanova is shaken when a man from her past (guest star TRISTAN
ROGERS) suddenly arrives at the outpost. Anyone who believes
the skin tab getting through Kosh's environment suit in the
pilot was an error, watch this episode. Sinclair comments on
the whole question of how the poison ever got into him, and
notes how curious it is that, within weeks of that incident,
Dr. Kyle was transferred back to Earth to work directly with
the Earth Alliance President on matters of alien immigration,
and Lyta Alexander was similarly transferred a week or so
after that. The only two people to have personal knowledge of
a Vorlon have been shipped off and possibly locked up.
106. And A Sky Full of Stars - Written by JMS. Sinclair is
kidnapped and interrogated by members of a "pro-earth" group,
determined to find out what transpired when the commander was
briefly missing in action during the final battle of the
Earth/Minbari war -- something Sinclair has never been able to
remember. Guest starring JUDSON SCOTT and CHRISTOPHER NEAME.
Sinclair is put through a rigorous ordeal - partly physical,
partly mental, which will not be forgotten the next week.
What he encounters will have significant consequences down the
road as a major plot element. Directed by Janet Greek.
According to JMS, this episode is "absolutely unlike anything
ever produced before for television. Directorially, and in
terms of the visual effects, the CGI, the performances, right
across the board, it's a stunner. And just...I can't convey
this enough...different. It just takes TV SF and yanks it to
a whole other level of complexity."
109. Grail - Written by CHRISTY MARX. A traveler played by DAVID
WARNER comes to B5, seeking the Holy Grail. Also guest
starring WILLIAM SANDERSON and TOM BOOKER. This episode will
feature a substantive on-camera role for a CGI alien, and will
feature lots of non-humanoid aliens. Also includes a CGI
sequence that shows how ships get from the interior of the
main docking bay down to the customs and loading bays.
111. Survivors - Written by MARC SCOTT ZICREE. Garibaldi's past
catches up to him, with some fairly disastrous consequences
that will linger long after the episode is finished.
Originally titled "A Knife in the Shadows."
112. Chrysalis - First Season finale, shot twelfth due to the
extensive post-production work required. JMS: "The most
heavyweight episode of the season. Even knowing what was
coming, I just sat here, stunned, at the end of it. This
episode shows you that anything can happen, to anyone, and the
rules that normally carry you through a television episode no
longer apply. It's a very dangerous, dislocating feeling.
After this, nothing is the same anymore. The show has taken
a very profound and irrevocable turn that will have lasting
effects on all of our characters. Of all the episodes so far,
this one has the most feeling of being the chapter end in a
novel."
TIME TRAX
Week Of Prod # Title
------------------------------------------------
1/24/94 23 Return Of The Yakuza
1/31/94 25 Selma Is Missing
2/7/94 28 To Live & Die In Docker
Flats
2/14/94 29 A Close Encounter
2/21/94 27 The Gravity Of It All
2/28/94 24 Lethal Weapons
#23 "Return of the Yakuza": Darien discovers that Hiroshi, an organzed
crime leader from the future, has travelled to the present and is attempting
to establish another monopoly in crime. While Darien is tracking him,
Hiroshi is out to gt Darien, setting the stage for a deadly showdown.
(Season Premiere) Guest stars: Phillip Moon, Tamlyn Tomita, Byron Mann,
Soon-Teck Oh
#25 "Selma is Missing": After being mugged at an ATM machine, Darien begins
an intensive search for Selma, who is trapped in Darien's stolen wallet.
Guest stars: Ralph Waite, Ned Eisenberg, David Bowe, Dane Carson
#28 "To Live and Die in Docker Flats": While tracking a fugitive on the
outskirts of the Mexixan border, Darien encounters a small town of
mysterious residents who will do anything to keep their uninvied guest away
from their deadly secret. Guest stars: Cliff De Young, Paula Trickey,
Tamblyn Lord, Phillip Hinton, Jonathan Mill
#29 "A Close Encounter": Darien comes to the aid of a human appearing alien
from another planet incapable of human speech, who's come to Earth to rescue
his mate, marooned on a previous trip. Guest stars: Jesse Spencer, Bernard
Curry, Dana Tenan, George Mallaby, Jeff Truman
#27 "The Gravity of it All": When Darien crosses paths with futuristic
inventor Dr. Carter Bach, the pair become involved in a deadly blackmail
plot with a dangerous foreign revolutionary leader, bidding over Bach's
invention, a harness that allows man to fly. Guest stars: John Schuck,
Vanessa Angel, Lani Tupu, John Samaha, Simon Palomares
#24 "Lethal Weapons": After learning that a futuristic device has been used
for a recent bank robbery, Darien is hot on the trail of Simon Cale, an
electronics genious from the future who is responsible for the death of
Darien's former academy roomate.
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
Week Of Prod # Title
------------------------------------------------
1/29/94 266 Sub Rosa
2/5/94 267 Lower Decks
2/12/94 268 Thy Known Self
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
1/22/94 425R Cardassians
1/29/94 433 Armageddon Game
Tentative 2/5/94 434 Whispers
2/12/94 435 Paradise
2/19/94 436 Shadow Play
HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES
1/17/94 93209(R) Run For Your Life
1/24/94 93213 Bless the Child
1/31/94 93211 The Fighter
2/7/94 93212 Under Color of Authority
2/14/94 93214 Unholy Alliance Part 1
2/21/94 93215 Unholy Alliance Part 2
PRISONERS OF GRAVITY
1/19/94 Telepathy
1/26/94 Homosexuality
2/16/94 Evolution
2/23/94 Monsters
3/2/94 Future
Entertainment/Virtual
Reality
3/9/94 Fairy Tales
3/16/94 Vampires
3/30/94 Aliens
4/6/94 Sexism and Feminism
4/13/94 Comic Book Layout
4/20/94 The Brain and Artificial
Intelligence
The HIGHLANDER episode guide in issue 5 inadvertently left out four
episodes. We thought we'd include them here for completeness' sake.
16) The Beast Below 92123-16
Written by Marie-Chantal Droney, directed by Daniel Vigne
Christian Van Acker as Ursa, Dee Dee Bridgewater as Carolyn, Werner Stocker
as Darius
An immortal who lives in the sewers underneath Paris falls under the spell
of an opera singer, who asks him to kill for her.
17) Saving Grace 92120-17
Written by Elizabeth Baxter and Martin Broussellet, directed by Ray Austin
Julia Stemberger as Grace, Georges Corraface as Carlos Cendero, Werner
Stocker as Darius
Duncan protects an old flame (and we do mean old) from her possessive
immortal lover.
18) The Lady and the Tiger 92121-18
Written by Philip John Taylor, directed by Robin Davis
Elizabeth Gracen as Amanda, Jason Isaacs as Zachary Blaine
An immortal femme-fatale is planning a major robbery, but must contend with
both Duncan and her former partner, who wants her head.
19) Avenging Angel 92122-20
Written by Fabrice Ziolkowski, directed by Paolo Barzman
Martin Kemp as Alfred Cahill, Sandra Nelson as Elaine
When a man survives a fatal stabbing, he believes that he has been chosen
by God to cleanse Paris of evil.
20) Eye of the Beholder 92124-19
Written by Christian Bouveron and Larry Shore, directed by Dennis Berry
Nigel Terry as Garbiel Piton, Katia Douvalian as Maya
An old friend of Duncan's kills a model, and Richie is determined to stop
him from doing it again.
21) Nowhere to Run 92125-21
Written by David Abramowitz, directed by Dennis Berry
Peter Guinness as Colonel Everett Bellian, Anthony Head as Allan Rothwood,
Jason Riddington as Mark Rothwood, Marion Cotillard as Lori Bellian
The stepdaughter of an immortal mercenary is raped by the son of a
diplomat, and Duncan must protect Tessa, Richie, and the guilty young man
from the mercenary's vengeance.
22) The Hunters 92126-22
Written by Kevin Droney, directed by Paolo Barzman
Roger Daltrey as Hugh Fitzcairn, Werner Stocker as Darius, Peter Hudson as
Horton
Duncan teams up with another immortal to find out why their immortal
friends are disappearing without a trace -- including Darius.
[Editor's note: The TWILIGHT ZONE EPISODE GUIDE is reprinted with
permission from the author. It has not been edited except to serialise it
and condense it space-wise. All text is intact. The original is available
by FTP from gandalf.rutgers.edu.]
[This file is from the Sf-Lovers Archives at Rutgers University. It is
provided as part of a free service in connection with distribution of
Sf-Lovers Digest. This file is currently maintained by the moderator of
the Digest. It may be freely copied or redistributed in whole or in part
as long as this notice remains intact. If you would like to know more
about Sf-Lovers Digest, send mail to SF-LOVERS-REQUEST@RUTGERS.EDU.]
===========================
TWILIGHT ZONE EPISODE GUIDE
===========================
Revision of 9/82
===========================
Saul Jaffe
Lauren Weinstein (vortex!lauren@LBL-UNIX)
Lauren's rating system
* ugh. pretty bad.
** has merit.
*** good, solid show.
**** particularly good.
***** superlative.
[Season One was carried in Volume 1, Issue 6.]
SECOND SEASON 1960-1961
KING NINE WILL NOT RETURN **
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Buzz Kulik
Cast: Bob Cummings, Paul Lambert, Gene Lyons, Seymour Green,
Richard Lupino, Jenna MacMahon
After crashing in the desert, a bomber pilot (Cummings) is haunted by
the images of his dead crew.
LW: Basically a rather dry plot (no pun intended to those who remember
this episode in detail). Bob Cummings has starred in many random
roles in television and movies over the years.
THE MAN IN THE BOTTLE ****
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Don Medford
Cast: Luther Adler, Vivi Janiss, Lisa Golm, Joseph Ruskin, Olan Soule,
Peter Cole, Albert Szabo
A pawnbroker (Adler) is granted four wishes by a sinister genie.
LW: A favorite! The genie is a truly sinister character, who simply
exudes terror, even as he offers the poor pawnbroker and his wife
the almost limitless dreams of four wishes. They learn the hard
way that every silver lining has a cloud attached.
NERVOUS MAN IN A FOUR DOLLAR ROOM ***
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Douglas Heyes
Cast: Joe Mantell, William D. Gordon
Unusual character study about a petty hood who literally confronts his
"conscience" in a mirror.
LW: In fact, 95% of the plot consists solely of this deep confrontation
with no other characters involved. An interesting episode.
A THING ABOUT MACHINES ****
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Dave McDearmon
Cast: Richard Haydn, Barbara Stuart, Barney Phillips
A machine-hating writer is suddenly hunted by a small army of
mechanical devices.
LW: There is a classic TZ television promo which includes a cut of an
electric razor slowly loping down the stairs in an attempt to get
this guy! A very good segment.
THE HOWLING MAN ****
Writer: Charles Beaumont Director: Douglas Heyes
Cast: H. M. Wynant, John Carradine, Robin Hughes, Estelle Poule
Classic episode about a man (Wynant) who takes refuge in a European
monastery during a thunderstorm. He is told by the bearded, saintly
Brother Jerome (Carradine) that the prisoner locked in an cell is no
ordinary human being--he is the Devil himself! Atmospheric music (by
Bernard Herrmann) and a terrific transformation sequence add to the tale's
effectiveness.
SJ: This episode is my all time favorite episode and rates 6 stars.
LW: Well, I only give it 4 stars, but it still is a good one.
THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER *****
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Douglas Heyes
Cast: William B. Gordon, Donna Douglas, Jennifer Howard, Joanna Heyes
Another outstanding entry in the series. Plastic surgeons in some
unknown society make one final attempt to improve a young woman's face so
that she can live among "normal people." William Tuttle's make-ups are some
of the most horrifying ever conceived for television.
LW: Definitely in the super-classic catagory. One of the most
amazing pieces of camera work ever done for televsion. Beautifully
conceived and executed. I believe that this episode was originally
titled, "A Private World of Darkness" or "Her Private World of
Darkness".
NICK OF TIME ***
Writer: Richard Matheson Director: Richard L. Bare
Cast: William Shatner, Patricia Breslin
A newlywed husband (Shatner) is fascinated by a fortune-telling
machine that makes uncanny predictions about his life.
LW: A rather YOUNG Shatner, in his pre-Federation days of course.
THE LATENESS OF THE HOUR ***
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Jack Smight
Cast: Inger Stevens, John Hoyt
The faultless precision of robot servants invented by her father
begins to annoy a young woman (Stevens). Originally done on video tape.
LW: Of course, John Hoyt has a long history of many appearances in
films and television. Two "SF" efforts of his that come to mind
are "The Time Travelers" and "Flesh Gordon" (Of course, I am using
the term "SF" rather loosely in the latter case...)
THE TROUBLE WITH TEMPLETON *
Writer: E. Jack Neuman Director: Buzz Kulik
Cast: Brian Aherne, Pippa Scott
An aging actor is given a sobering glimpse at the past he holds so
dear.
LW: Not good. Dry, boring, and basically a loser.
A MOST UNUSUAL CAMERA ****
Writer: Rod Serling Director: John Rich
Cast: Fred Clark, Jean Carson, Adam Williams
Examining their latest haul, two-bit thieves discover a camera that
can predict the future.
LW: A memorable, and rather humorous, classic. A fine episode.
NIGHT OF THE MEEK ***
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Jack Smight
Cast: Art Carney, John Fielder, Meg Wylie, Robert Lieb
Sensitive, well-acted drama about a department store Santa Claus
(Carney) who ends up being the real thing. Originally done on video tape.
SJ: My second favorite...a 5 star episode.
LW: Well, we have a disagreement here. It is a nice episode, but
so sopping in sentimentality that even I have problems with it.
Still, Carney puts forth a first rate performance.
DUST ***
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Douglas Heyes
Cast: Thomas Gomez, Vladimir Sokoloff, John Alonso, John Larch
On the day of his execution, a man's father is conned by a vicious
traveling salesman (Gomez) who sells him "magic dust" capable of
eliminating hate.
LW: Not terribly good, but a well done period piece.
BACK THERE ***
Writer: Rod Serling Director: David Orrick McDearmon
Cast: Russel Johnson, Paul Hartman
A man is catapulted backward into time to the moments preceding the
assassination of President Lincoln. The stirring score by Jerry Goldsmith
[who recently did the score for ST-TMP] was later heard as background music
for ABC'S WIDE WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT mysteries.
LW: Note that Russel Johnson (Gilligan's Island) has shown up
again, in another time travel oriented piece! A serious question
concerning the structure of time is brought forth in this episode.
THE WHOLE TRUTH ***
Writer: Rod Serling Director: James Sheldon
Cast: Jack Carson, Jack Ging, Nan Peterson, George Chandler
An unscrupulous car salesman (Carson) meets his match in a haunted
auto with a mind of its own.
LW: Imagine! A used car dealer FORCED to tell the truth. Something
like that could put late night television out of business. In any
case, this is a rather amusing episode.
THE INVADERS ****
Writer: Richard Matheson Director: Douglas Heyes
Cast: Agnes Moorehead
In this classic episode, an old woman in an isolated farm house must
battle a horde of extraterrestrial invaders. In the end, Moorehead takes an
axe to their starship and demolishes, in reality, FORBIDDEN PLANET'S famous
space cruiser! No actual dialog until the final sequence.
LW: A classic indeed!
A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS ****
Writer: George Clayton Johnson Director: James Sheldon
Cast: Dick York, Hayden Rourke, Dan Tobin, June Dayton
Unusual tale about a timid bank teller (York) who suddenly gains the
ability to read people's minds after a freak accident.
LW: Dick York (Bewitched) returns. This is a nice, light episode, and
I've always liked it. We learn that being able to read minds is
no picnic!
TWENTY TWO ****
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Jack Smight
Cast: Barbara Nichols, Jonathan Harris, Fredd Wayne
A woman is haunted by a recurring nightmare that always ends with
her being escorted to hospital room 22 - the morgue.
LW: In fact, she is having this dream while IN the hospital! I am
told that this episode resulted in lots of nightmares when it
originally ran, and it does have some terribly creeping elements.
The nightmare sequences are excellent. We must not overlook
Jonathan Harris who plays the doctor in this episode. Good old
Jonathan later played the evil/tragic/comical Dr. Zachary Smith
in "Lost in Space"! This episode made the line "Room for one more,
honey." a TZ classic.
THE ODYSSEY OF FLIGHT 33 ***
Writer: Rod Serling Director: J. Addiss
Cast: John Anderson, Sandy Kenyon, Paul Comi, Harp McGuire,
Wayne Heffley, Nancy Rennick, Beverly Brown
A commercial airliner becomes unstuck in time. The prehistoric
sequence, courtesy of Jack Harris, was unused footage from the movie
DINOSAURS.
MR. DINGLE, THE STRONG ****
Writer: Rod Serling Director: John Brahm
Cast: Burgess Meredith, Don Rickles
Several weird-looking extraterrestrials appear in this episode about a
timid little man (Meredith) who is given superpowers by a double-headed
Martian experimenter. Don Rickles is customarily caustic as a character
named Bragg.
LW: This is a pretty funny episode.
STATIC **
Writer: Charles Beaumont Director: Buzz Kulik
Cast: Dean Jagger, Carmen Mathews, Robert Emhardt
An old radio provides a valuable link with the past for two elderly
lovers. Originally done on video tape; based on a short story by Ocee
Ritch.
THE PRIME MOVER ***
Writer: Charles Beaumont Director: Richard L. Bare
Cast: Dane Clark, Buddy Ebsen
A telekinetic gentleman (Ebsen) is used to win some big money for a
greedy man (Clark) at the gambling casinos.
LW: Sure 'nuf: Jed Clampett, from "The Beverly Hillbillies", on a
Twilight Zone. Seriously, good acting by Ebsen.
LONG DISTANCE CALL ***
Writer: Charles Beaumont and William Idelson Director: James Sheldon
Cast: Billy Mumy, Phillip Abbott, Patricia Smith, Lili Darvas
Powerful episode about a little boy with a toy telephone by which he
mysteriously remains in contact with his dead grandmother. Originally done
on video tape.
LW: Billy Mumy later starred as Will Robinison in "Lost in Space". In
fact, Mumy had many parts as a child over many years, including
another TZ episode we have yet to cover. He dropped out of sight
a few years ago, and I believe now plays guitar and sings rock
music in some L.A. nightclub. Oh well, easy come, easy go.
A HUNDRED YEARS OVER THE RIM ***
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Buzz Kulik
Cast: Cliff Robertson, Miranda Jones
A western settler mysteriously enters the 20th century when he
goes off in search of medication for his dying son.
THE RIP VAN WINKLE CAPER ***
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Justus Addiss
Cast: Oscar Beregi, Simon Oakland, Lew Gallo, John Mitchum
Four thieves steal gold bullion and place themselves in suspended
animation for a hundred years.
LW: Robbie's car from FORBIDDEN PLANET is used in this episode.
THE SILENCE ****
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Boris Segal
Cast: Franchot Tone, Liam Sullivan, Jonathan Harris
A man (Tone), sick of the incessant chatter of a fellow club member
(Sullivan), offers him a half million dollars if he can keep silent for a
full year.
LW: Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith) has a fairly minor role in the story.
Tone manages to win the bet, but pays a dear price in the process.
SHADOW PLAY ****
Writer: Charles Beaumont Director: John Brahm
Cast: Dennis Weaver, Harry Townes, Wright King
An hysterical young man (Weaver) tries to persuade the judge, who
sentenced him to death, that he and the people around are just part of
a recurring nightmare.
SJ: Another of my favorites.
LW: This is a good one, and deals directly with issues of realities
within realities. Dennis Weaver does a fine job in this segment.
THE MIND AND THE MATTER ***
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Buzz Kulik
Cast: Shelly Berman, Jack Grinnage, Jeanne Wood, Chet Stratton
A book on the power of thought enables a meek clerk (Berman) to
create a world exactly as he would want it.
LW: This is basically a comedy, and it is pretty good.
WILL THE REAL MARTIAN PLEASE STAND UP *****
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Montgomery Pittman
Cast: Morgan Jones, John Archer, Bill Kendis, John Hoyt, Jean Willes,
Jack Elam, Barney Phillips
Offbeat entry about a pair of state troopers who must determine which
member of a bus trip is, in reality, a Martian invader.
LW: A real classic, this is that second effort by John Hoyt which I
alluded to above. Has a great sight gag near the beginning. The
production company that did all the TZ's was called "CAYUGA". The
bus passengers spend most of the episode off the bus and in a
diner. We get a glimpse of the writing on the side of the bus,
and it says, "CAYUGA BUS"!
THE OBSOLETE MAN ****
Writer: Rod Serling Director: Eliot Silverstein
Cast: Burgess Meredith, Fritz Weaver
Meredith delivers an emotion-packed performance in this symbolic tale
about a librarian judged "obsolete" by a totalitarian society of the
future.
LW: An excellent episode.
-------------------------
[Editor's Note: The TZ Episode Guide is several years old. Since it was
originally written, Billy Mumy has reappeared as the host of the Sci-Fi
Channel's INSIDE SPACE and as the writer of the LOST IN SPACE comic. He
will also be appearing in BABYLON 5. Also, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE
is more than a decade old.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!12!-- Contests and Awards
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE 45TH ANNUAL PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS
Animated program, one hour or less: BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
Editing, series, single-camera: Jon Koslowsky (QUANTUM LEAP)
Costume design, series: Peggy Farrell (THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES)
Music composition, series, dramatic underscore: Joel McNeely (THE YOUNG
INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES: Young Indiana Jones and the Scandal of 1920)
Main title theme music: Dennis McCarthy (STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE)
Voice over performance: Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson, THE SIMPSONS)
Special visual effects: (three-way tie) BABYLON 5, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE
NINE, THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES
Sound editing, series: Tom Bellfort, Larry Oatfield, Chris Scarabosio,
Michael Silvers, David Slusser, Tom Villano, Jamie Gelb-Forrester (THE
YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES: Somme, 1916)
Sound mixing, drama series: Alan Bernard, Doug Davey, Richard Morrison,
Christopher Haire (STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: A Fistful of Datas)
Makeup, series: Michael G. Westmore, Jill Rockow, Karen J. Westerfield,
Gilmosko, Dean Jones, Michael Key, Craig Reardon, Vincent Niebla (STAR
TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE: Captive Pursuit)
Hairstyling, series: Joy Zapata, Candy Neal, Patty Miller, Laura Connelly,
Richard Sabre, Julia Walker, JoseJNormand (STAR TREK: THE NEXT
GENERATION: Time's Arrow Part 2)
STEVEN SPIELBERG's film on the Holocaust, SCHINDLER'S LIST, has been named
as the best movie of 1993 by the National Board of Review, generally
regarded as a precursor to the Academy Awards. SEAN CONNERY was awarded
the Career Acheivement Award. Spielberg has been chosen as best director
by the National Society of Film Critics.
Genre and related nominess for the 51st annual Golden Globe awards, to be
awarded January 22 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association:
Best drama picture: SCHINDLER'S LIST
Best actor in a drama film: Harrison Ford (THE FUGITIVE), Liam Neeson
(SCHINDLER'S LIST)
Best actress in a drama film: Michelle Pfeiffer (THE AGE OF INNOCENCE)
Best actor in a comedy or musical film: Colm Meaney (THE SNAPPER), Johnny
Depp (BENNY & JOON)
Best actress in a comedy or musical film: Angelica Huston (ADDAMS FAMILY
VALUES)
Best director: Steven Speilberg (SCHINDLER'S LIST), Andrew Davis (THE
FUGITIVE)
1993 ANNIE AWARDS
The Annie is said to be the animation industry's highest award, and is
given by the International Animated Film Society.
Outstanding Achievement In An Animated Feature Production: ALADDIN
(Also-ran's: LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND and ONCE UPON A FOREST)
Outstanding Animated Television Program: THE SIMPSONS
(Also-ran's: BATMAN: THE ANIMTED SERIES, DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID,
THE REN AND STIMPY SHOW, and TINY TOON ADVENTURES)
Outstanding Individual Achievement: Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson, Krusty
the Klown), and ALADDIN's Eric Goldberg (chief animator of the genie),
Ed Gombert (feature storyman) and Ron Clements (feature animation
director)
Outstanding Television Commercial: Coca-Cola's "Polar Bears" spot (Sierra
Hotel Productions and Rhythm & Hues)
Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award: Roy Edward Disney (nephew of Walt
and head of Disney's features department), Jack Zander (Merrie
Melodies, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and over 3000 commercials), and
the late George Dunning (director of YELLOW SUBMARINE and founding
member of the National Film Board of Canada's animation unit)
Genre and related nominees for the 15th Annual CABLEACE AWARDS: (The
CableACE awards were awarded January 16th.)
Comedy Series: BEAVIS & BUTT HEAD (MTV); MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000
(Comedy Central)
Dramatic Series: TALES FROM THE CRYPT (HBO)
Supporting Actor, Movie or Miniseries: John Mills, FRANKENSTEIN; Jonathan
Pryce, BARBARIANS AT THE GATE
Writing, Comedy Series: Trace Beaulieu, Paul Chaplin, Frank Conniff,
Colleen Henjum-Williams, Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, Kevin Murphy,
Michael J. Nelson, Mary Jo Pehl, Timothy Scott, MYSTERY SCIENCE
THEATER 3000: The Magic Voyage of Sinbad
Writing, Dramatic Series: Ray Bradbury, THE RAY BRADBURY THEATER: The Dead
Man
Comedy Special: THIS IS MST3K (Comedy Central)
Animated Programming Special or Series: DOUG (Nickelodeon); LIQUID
TELEVISION (MTV); THE REN & STIMPY SHOW (Nickelodeon); RUGRATS
(Nickelodeon) (Winner); THE WORLD OF PETER RABBIT AND FRIENDS (Family
Channel)
Entertainment/Cultural Documentary or Informational Special: HBO FIRST
LOOK: Blood Lines -- Dracula: The Man, the Myth, the Movies'' (HBO)
Short-form Programming Series: MONSTERVISION (TNT)
Recreation or Leisure Special or Series: EARTH JOURNEYS WITH CHRISTOPHER
REEVE (Travel Channel)
Art Direction, Dramatic Special or Series/Theatrical Special/Movie or
Miniseries: Martin Atkinson, William Alexander, FRANKENSTEIN
Makeup: Rick Baker, Howard Berger, Robert Kurtzman, Greg Lacava, Greg
Nicotero, JOHN CARPENTER PRESENTS BODY BAGS: Hair; Alan Boyle, Marc
Coullier, FRANKENSTEIN; Todd Masters, TALES FROM THE CRYPT: Curiosity
Killed
Art Direction, Comedy/Music Special or Series: Trace Beaulieu, Joel
Hodgson, Jef Maynard, MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000
Photography/Lighting Direction, Comedy/Dramatic Series: John R. Leonetti,
TALES FROM THE CRYPT: Strung Along
Magazine Host: Mike Jerrick, SCI-FI BUZZ
Genre and related nominations for the 26th annual NAACP Image Awards,
awarded January 5.
Outstanding comedy series: ROC LIVE
Outstanding actor in a comedy series: Charles S. Dutton, ROC LIVE
Outstanding actor in a drama series: Avery Brooks, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE
NINE; Levar Burton, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
Outstanding performance, youth or children's series/special: Levar Burton:
READING RAINBOW (Winner)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!13!-- Conventions and Readings
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submit convention listings to xx133@cleveland.freenet.edu in the format:
CON NAME: Month, day, year; Hotel or Convention Center; City, State,
Country; GUESTS; Cost until deadline, Cost after deadline (please specify
currency); Full address for information; Telephone (if applicable); e-mail
address (if any)
Convention listings are provided as a public service. Cyberspace Vanguard
is not affiliated with any of these conventions and takes no responsibility
for anything to do with it.
................
VULKON: January 28-30, 1994; Hilton & Towers, 333 First St. South (813)
894-5000; St. Petersburg, Florida USA; Cost unknown; RENE AUBERJONOIS
("Odo"); Vulkon, C/O Joe Motes, 12237 SW 50th Street, Cooper City, FL
33330; (305) 434-6060.
STARBASE (TREK): January 29-30, 1994; Hilton Hotel; Leeds UK; #35 reg (no
memberships at the door); GoH GEORGE TAKEI; 152 Otley Rd, Headingley,
Leeds, LS16 5JX, UK.
VIBRAPHONE; Feb 4-6, 1994; Oak Hotel; Brighton; #27; Duncan Gate, London
Rd, Bromley, BR1 3SG
QUANTUM CON '94; February 19-20, 1984; Pasadena Civic Auditorium and
Conference Center; Pasadena, CA, USA; Guests TBA; $25(US) until 11/1/93,
$30(US) until 1/1/94, $35(US) until the con, $40(US) at the door, $15(US)
non-attending; Quantum Con '94, P.O. Box 93819, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA;
eah4@po.cwru.edu
Andersons Are Go! - An Andersons Retrospective in the Netherlands: February
25, 1994 - March 3, 1994; Het Haags Filmhuis, Spui 191, 2511 BN The Hague,
The Netherlands; +31-70-3459900 (Alex van der Wyck); kuiperh@nlr.nl
MICRONCON: March 5-6, 1994; Exeter University; UK; ; ; 6 Clfton Hill,
Exeter, EX12DL, UK.
SOU'WESTER (EASTERCON): April 1-4, 1994; ; Liverpool, UK; #27, No postal
membershps after 14 March 1994; ; 3 West Shrubbery, Redland, Bristol, BS6
6SZ, UK.
TECHNICON 11: April 15-17, 1994; Blacksburg, VA, USA; ELLEN GUON, TOM
MONAGHAN; Technicon 11, c/o VTSFFC, P.O. Box 256, Blacksburg, VA 24063-0256
USA; (703) 951-3282; Technicon@VTCC1.cc.vt.edu
MEXICON 6; May 20-22, 1994; Hertford Park Hotel; Stevenage; #9.50; 121
Cape Hill, Smethwick, Warley, West Midlands, B66 4SH.
EUROCON: May 26-29, 1994; Timisoara, Romania; IAIN BANKS, JOHN BRUNNER,
HERBERT FRANCKE, JOE HALDEMAN, STANISLAW LEM, FREDRICK POHL, FRANZ
ROTTENSTEINER, NORMAN SPINRAD; $20(US) until 12/31/93, $35(US) until
2/15/93, $45 until 3/31/83, supporting/attending for East Europeans $5(US);
Sigma Club, Post Office 3, Box 49, 5600 Piatra Neamt, Romania; 40-96-136
731, 40-96-144 416, fax: 40-96-119 434
SCIENCE FICTION DAYS-NEW 1994: July 2-3, 1994; ; Duesseldorf, Germany; DM
30 (until December 31, 1993), afterwards, DM 35; KATHERINE KURTZ
(DERYNI-CYCLE), GEORGE ALEC EFFINGER; Accomodation in hotel and youth
hostel; Stefanie Pulla, pulla@engelscs.uni-duesseldorf.de, or
pulla@mx.cs.uni-duesseldorf.de; (Theme: Ecology in Science Fiction &
Fantasy).
Science Fiction Research Association Annual Meeting; July 7-10, 1994;
Woodfield Hilton and Towers; Arlington Heights, IL; SHERRI S. TEPPER;
OCTAVIA BUTLER, ALEX & PHYLLIS EISENSTEIN, PHILIP JOSE FARMER, JIM GUNN,
FRED POHL, JOAN SLONCZEWSKI, JOAN VINGE, JACK WILLIAMSON, GENE WOLFE;
$115(US); Elizabeth Anne Hull, William Rainey Harper College, Palatine, IL
60067 or Beverly Friend, Oakton Community College Des Plaines, IL 60016;
708-635-1987; friend@oakton.edu; [CALL FOR PROPSAL OF PAPERS AND SESSIONS
(Deadline March 1) to Hull - send 2 copies. Conference Wn paper proposal
possibilities: with special emphasis on papers dealing with the attending
authors]
WISHCON III: July 29-31, 94; King Alfred's Coll, Winchester; #23; 12
Crowsbury Close, Emsworth, Hants, PO10 7TS, 0243 376596.
WHO'S 7 (DR/BLAKE EVENT): October 29-10, 1994; Wueens Hotel; Crystal
Palace, London, UK; VARIOUS GUESTS; #30 (pounds sterling) until the end of
'93; 131 Norman Rd, Leytonstone, London, E11 4RJ
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!14!-- Publications, Lists and the Like
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALTERNATE WORLDS: A new hardcopy zine focusing on alternate history,
intended to interest sf fans, historians and wargamers. Features will
include maps, short fiction, reviews, essays and opinionated letters.
Submissions of all types encouraged. First issue is Jan 94 and contains a
long essay by author Brian Stableford. Subsequent (quarterly) issues will
center on but not be limited to themes; #2 is Operation Sealion, #3 the War
of 1812, #4 the early American Civil War. US sub rate is $5 for single
issue, $18 for four issues (mail to R.B. Schmunk, 611 West 111th St #26,
NY, NY 10025); for foreign sub rate or more info, e-mail to
<pcrxs@nasagiss.giss.nasa.gov>.
The Midwest Science Fiction & Fantasy Association is a growing, not for
profit association of fans dedicated to the support and enjoyment of all
aspects of Science Fiction and Fantasy in the Midwest. Members will also
receive the MSFFA newsletter providing info on SF related events in the
Midwest, a forum for contacting other fans, and progress reports on holding
a general Science Fiction Convention in the Northern Indiana area. MSFFA
POB 665, South Bend, IN 46524, BITNET: voyager@irishmvs.cc.nd.edu.
DIRTBAG is a pseudo-science fiction comedy character piece about a
teleporting trash heap called Dirtbag and its inhabitants, principally
Midge Xypher, an alien, Steve Harris, an English policeman, and Baptist,
a sword-slinging John Wayne lookalike. It will be published Easter 1994
and... the first issue cover will have art by Simon Bisley (LOBO), Brian
Bolland (KILLING JOKE) and Dave Lloyd (V FOR VENDETTA) (possibly Dave
Sim and Gerhard (CEREBUS) too!). So look out for it! The comic will be
published under the Twist and Shout label. The address is Rich Johnston,
340 Sunderland Road, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE8 3QP ENGLAND.
The JOURNAL OF IRREPRODUCIBLE RESULTS now has an electronic version. The
journal, which publishes humorous science both real and parody (my personal
favorite is "Stress Analysis of the Strapless Evening Gown") also sponsors
the Ig Nobel Prizes for "achievements that cannot or should not be
reproduced." The full title of the electronic version is THE MINI-JOURNAL
OF IRREPRODUCIBLE RESULTS, THE OFFICIAL ELECTRONIC MINI-ORGAN OF THE
SOCIETY FOR BASIC IRREPRODUCIBLE RESEARCH, or MINI-JIR, and it is produced
jointly by The Journal of Irreproducible Results (JIR) and the MIT Museum.
To subscribe, send a message with ONLY the text SUBSCRIBE MINI-JIR Your
Name to LISTSERV@MITVMA.MIT.EDU. The editor can be contacted at
jir@mit.edu.
BLIZZ - the infozine for SF & Fantasy ISSN 0942-2579
BLIZZ is a magazine in german language containing news, articles and
somtimes interviews about all aspects of phantastic literature and fandom.
It contains a large parts with book and fanzine reviews. A single issues is
$1.50, for $15 you get a subscription that will hold for about 4-6 issues
(depends on number of pages per issue). Editors: Matthias Hofmann
(Kirchbergstr. 14, D-79111 Freiburg, GERMANY) and Juergen Thomann --
thomann@ury.unibas.ch (Breslauer Str. 18, D-79676 Weil am Rhein, GERMANY)
Circulation is 200-250 copies per issue, and there have been 25 issues so
far being published at least monthly with 20-40 pages.
KOPFGEBURTEN is a series of zines in german language devoted to themes
the editor is interested in. The first one - TRANSREAL - was about
reality, the second one - TIMEWALK - about time travel. The next issue
will be published the end of this year and is about space opera. A single
copy is available in fanzine trade or for $3.00. There are no
subscriptions possible. Editor: Juergen Thomann, Breslauer Str. 18,
D-79576 Weil am Rhein, GERMANY (thomann@urz.unibas.ch). Circulation: 50-
150 copies per issue.
Illuminated Manuscripts Press is now soliciting fiction, artwork and
miscellenia for a new fanzine tentatively entitled "The Further Adventures
of the Galaxy Rangers", based on the syndicated "Adventures of the Galaxy
Rangers" from 1986/87. For information or writer's guidelines, please send
a SASE to: Illuminated Manuscripts, c/o Tara O'Shea, SRC 244 UNM,
Albuquerque, NM 87131, or send email to: tara@hydra.unm.edu.
HIGHLA-L@PSUVM.PSU.EDU is a LISTSERV mailing list on BITNET dedicated
to discussing HIGHLANDER, the movies and the TV series. For
subscription information send email to Debbie_Douglass@DL5000.bc.edu
or ddoug@DL5000.bc.edu. To get the automated reply use 'Send HIGHLA-L
intro' in the Subject line.
THE GATHERING is the official fan club for HIGHLANDER movies and TV
series. Membership is $15.00 US per year. Club Director is Krystmas
Tarr. Send a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) to The Gathering,
P.O. Box 123, Aurora, CO 80040-0123 for more information and
membership form.
There is a new mailing list for reviews of BABYLON 5. Please note that the
list is ONLY for reviews, and not for discussions. To subscribe send mail
to LISTSERV@cornell.edu with ONLY the line SUBSCRIBE B5-REVIEW-L Firstname
Lastname. For more info, contact mss1@cornell.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--!15!-- Administrivia
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Authors:
PAT BERRY (Copy editor) is a 34-year-old freelance technical writer and
self-described "computer geek" living in Cary, North Carolina. He has
two children, saw STAR WARS over 30 times during its theatrical run, and
annoys his friends by quoting lengthy passages of Dave Barry's writings
from memory.
SUSAN CLERC: The author is currently a Masters degree candidate in American
Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
DEBBIE DOUGLASS (HIGHLANDER news) is the list owner of HIGHLA-L, an
electronic mailing list discussing HIGHLANDER."
JOE ELLIS is a professional musician, former music teacher, and filker from
Cincinnati, OH. He will be Filk GoH at Contraption, April 29-May 1, in
Michigan, and at Con-Chord, the L. A. area filk convention, October 7-9. He
currently has 2 tapes available, 'The Synthetic Filker", and "The Dream Is
Alive! Music of the Space Shuttles". Both are available from filk retailers
or direct from TesserAct Studios.
TJ GOLDSTEIN is the editor of this monstrosity and is probably responsible
for any typos that made it into this version. TJ really needs to do more
reading in the field but is smart enough to know when to ask for help.
DAVID STRAUSS (dss2k@virginia.edu, replayer@genie.geis.com) is a second
year law student at the University of Virginia Law School. He's also a
displaced New Yorker, diehard New York Islander fan, and administrator of
the Islanders Internet Mailing List. By this time next year he hopes to be
finished begging for a job.
CAROL LEON-YUN WANG (Correspondent/Reporter) is a recently defended Masters
student in Computer Graphics Animation who has replaced thesis deadlines
with conference submission deadlines. She is on a slow westward migration
that started in Regina, SK and is currently stalled out in Calgary, AB.
She is a voracious reader of genre books and comics, and completely
nocturnal. She still likes Capt. Kirk better than Picard, even though
William Shatner was a lousy actor and a truly atrocious director.
--
CYBERSPACE VANGUARD MAGAZINE
News and Views from the Science Fiction Universe
TJ Goldstein, Editor | Send submissions, questions, comments to
tlg4@po.cwru.edu | cn577@cleveland.freenet.edu
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