Ä [19] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 27 of 225
From : Michael Harper 1:123/10 .cę 07 .íâ 96 13:56
To : Lawrence E Dunlap
Subj : Re: tv and sf
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
-=> Over coffee and beignets, Lawrence E Dunlap told Kevin Ahearn all about
tv and sf...
LED> My issue is the manner in which the (obviously materialistic)
LED> creative community openly admits severely educationally compromised
LED> producers into their ranks.
There's a lot of nepotism and toadying involved; also, at least in sf,
99% of the Hollywood creative community knows nothing about the genre.
The ones that're literate in that field are mostly in lower-echelon
jobs.
LED> In any alternative television occupation such as media news
LED> journalism or the technical television occupations, such analogs of
LED> the educationally compromised producers wouldn't make the final cut
LED> for the *first* interview.
Agreed. But again, as with any job these days, it's who you know that
gets you in the door.
LED> The defectives seem to be liberally indulged in their unworkable
LED> flights of fancy which sometimes make a great amount of unexpected
LED> money. I suspect there are times when these are loathed when
LED> obnoxiously insouciant with some more literate producer or outsider.
Exactly. Most of Hollywood despises Chris Columbus, f'rinstance, but
would never admit it because the guy's a moneymaker. When he starts his
downhill slide, the backstabbers will appear in droves. I personally
can't stand the man because I consider him a hack who isn't fit to
carry the pencil case of a real writer; and yet this yutz is
responsible for both _Gremlins_ and _Mrs. Doubtfire_, both of which
were serious cash cows. Thus illustrating the point; you don't have to
be good to make it in Hollywood, just persistent and lucky. Good is
icing on the cake. Straczynski is an excellent example of that. Joe
started out writing for _Masters Of The Universe_, mostly because he
watched an episode, thought "Hell, I can write better than this", ran
off a script in the correct format, and sent it in, figuring nothing
would happen. Next thing ya know, they're calling him, asking him to
come work for them. Miracles do happen...
LED> Producers like Roddenberry (in his time) and Stracyznski today now
LED> make up the distant exceptions which rise above the multitude of
LED> generally good and preponderantly poor television producers, not
LED> even discussing *bad sf tv producers* in the same breath.
But we're talking about a field of creative endeavor where mediocrity
is the norm. The Suits, as Joe calls them, the beancounters, are the
ones truly at fault here. Mediocre and outright bad producers have been
around the entertainment biz for bloody ever. Some of them achieve some
bit of prominence; Irwin Allen was no paragon of literacy, I can tell
you right now. And Roddenberry himself was willing to do whatever it
took to get Trek on the air, and had no compunctions about butchering a
writer's work in order to make certain that it fit what he wanted. The
reason SeaQuest died so rapidly after the first season was because the
studio bigwigs ran Rockne O'Bannon off and stuck Patrick Hasburgh in
the producer's job. Hasburgh knows zip about the genre, but he can give
the bosses what they want, so he gets the job. What the bosses want is
a safe, bland, inoffensive show that'll sell lots of Diet Coke and
Oxydol to the audience; they don't want anyone watching to think about
the show, they just want them to be mildly entertained while the
product isn't being pitched.
LED> What I'm wishing for is a housecleaning of educational defectives
LED> from TV and movie studios at the hands of several fairly visionary
LED> media executive leaders who will expect nothing less than substantial
LED> capacity to be inspired, challenged and motivated to produce "high
LED> quality" yet accessible productions because of their exposure to
LED> modern and classical literature and arts. Most of our classical
LED> literature was populist writings that struck an echo in successive
LED> generations.
Don't look for it anytime soon. It's a wonderful thing to wish for, but
it won't happen unless we do it ourselves.
LED> Next is a housecleaning of advertising agency executives who lower
LED> the denominators of the concepts in TV that corrupts the average
LED> viewer to accept literal *sewage*.
Again, as long as it sells soap, the ad execs don't care. People like
you and I are the exception, not the rule. The rule is the thirty-five
year-old construction worker who watches American Gladiators and Cops.
He's got a wife who's five or more years younger than him, six kids, a
pickup, a bad-tempered Doberman, and an eighteen-year-old college
cheerleader he's fooling around with on the side. He's got maybe a GED
with a year or two of trade school. And this guy is who the ad execs
are aiming at, him and his wife. He'll gladly chew on what the tube
spews, because he doesn't know or care that there's anything better.
This guy finds Trek incomprehensible, and it's one of the most
accessible sf series on the air. He reads low-grade technothrillers and
maybe understands every other word. His wife reads V.C. Andrews and
Danielle Steel. He's Joe Average, and the only place he ever heard of
literature was when they forced him to read Dickens and Hemingway and
Steinbeck in English class; his only exposure sf has been Trek, and he
didn't understand it.
LED> I would prefer the literacy of British TV producers to the American
LED> defectives. American TV houses don't expect enough of their employees
LED> or their executives. American ad executives are educationally further
LED> down the food chain and function with even less integrity than the
LED> production house workers.
Yeah, but again, it's not what you know, it's who you know, and how
good at kissing ass you are. This isn't likely to change either, at
least not anytime soon.
LED> The *Hallmark Cards Showcase* has produced excellent models for
LED> non-s.f. productions. The Hallmark producers' attention to high
LED> concept with a collateral exertion to tie in to common themes in the
LED> humanities has garnered awards that has caused the company to be
LED> lauded richly and loudly nearly every year.
Yeah, but they've been at it since the Fifties. They have the seniority
that a lot of organisations don't.
LED> I suggest that similar care and devotion to high art in the hands
LED> of a sufficiently literate and developed production house could lift
LED> sf tv as well, if a strong-spirited visionary will take charge of a
LED> studio invest in that producer even as he clears out deadwood
LED> educational defectives and brings commonly literate producers and
LED> workers.
LED> *That* studio needs to stay clear of the advertising agency houses
LED> that make American TV so puerile.
Good luck finding somebody like that, or a studio like that. It won't
happen in our lifetimes.
... The world: A comedy for thinkers and a tragedy for feelers.
--- RA/FD/FMail
* Origin: The Electric Fox - Memphis,TN, U.S.A. 1-901-327-1008 (1:123/10)
Ä [19] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 28 of 225
From : Marco Catalano 2:2802/152.3 .pä 03 .íâ 96 16:07
To : Aaron Turon
Subj : Star Trek Voyager
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Hello Aaron!
Thursday December 28 1995, Aaron Turon writes to All:
AT> I liked that episode where Nealix( that's probably spelled wrong, but I
AT> don't know how to spell it) lungs get taken out.
It sounds cool allright! Were they ripped out of his body, or surgically
removed? I hope they were torn out by some very powerfull alien, with alot of
blood and a painfully long death-struggle! ;)
AT> There are a lot of other
AT> good ones, so if you know any and would like to discuss with me, just
AT> e-mail! thanks :)
Sure thing, Aaron.
We're all SF fans here.
Greetings from Marco
BYE!
... Every day, yet unnoticed, life gets a little better !
--- FMail/386 1.02
* Origin: Zeta Reticuli. There's life, Jim! But not as... (2:2802/152.3)
Ä [19] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 29 of 225
From : Marco Catalano 2:2802/152.3 .˙ō 05 .íâ 96 10:31
To : Samantha Dobbs
Subj : Space: Above & Beyond
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Hello Samantha!
Saturday December 30 1995, Samantha Dobbs writes to All:
SD> Are there any fan out there?
Dunno yet, Samantha.
The pilot of SAAB is airing in the Netherlands tomorrow.
So aks again about a week from now.
Greetings from Marco
BYE!
... This tagline is made just for Samantha
--- FMail/386 1.02
* Origin: Specially made for Samantha! (2:2802/152.3)
Ä [19] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 30 of 225
From : Rene Nieuwenhuizen 2:512/5.9 .ķá 06 .íâ 96 01:55
To : Samantha Dobbs
Subj : Space: Above & Beyond
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
.GIF: RENE
Hello Samantha!
30 Dec 95 09:04, Samantha Dobbs wrote to All:
SD> Are there any fan out there?
Well, I don't know yet because we will get the pilot on tv tomorrow, but I will
tell you when I've seen it...
SD> Sam...
EnjoY!
Rene
--- FMail 1.02
* Origin: I walk the maze of moments (2:512/5.9)
Ä [19] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 31 of 225
From : Rene Nieuwenhuizen 2:512/5.9 .ķá 06 .íâ 96 02:00
To : Sean Cooper
Subj : Star Trek
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
.GIF: RENE
Hello Sean!
31 Dec 95 21:39, Sean Cooper wrote to Rene Nieuwenhuizen:
SC> RE: Star Trek
SC> BY: Rene Nieuwenhuizen to Aaron Turon on Thu Dec 28 1995 14:06:01
>> I only tape them on the BBC because the dutch
>> subtitels are a bit anoying I think :-)
SC> DUTCH SUBTITLES, DEAR GOD, I HAVE TROUBLE READING ENGLISH, LET ALONE
SC> DEUTCH...
That's the reason why I rather watch Startrek on the BBC, I don't like to read a
movie but I like to watch them ;-)
EnjoY!
Rene
--- FMail 1.02
* Origin: I walk the maze of moments (2:512/5.9)
Ä [19] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SFFAN Ä
Msg : 32 of 225
From : Nicolai Shapero 1:102/524 .cę 07 .íâ 96 10:09
To : Phill Ash
Subj : nuclear
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
On , Phill Ash (1:275/160) wrote to Bianca Wesslak:
PA> Honestly speaking, (and think this one *all the way*
PA>through)
PA> what would you do if, when you woke up in the morning,
PA>there was
PA> no electricity - anywhere in the world?
If we lost our current high tech level completely and unrecoverably, what would
happen is that most of us would die. Not because we were stupid, not because we
were weak, but because we've put more people in most high tech areas than could
be supported without that high tech. Los Angeles (where I'm living right now)
is a sub-desert area. Without the aqueducts, we don't have enough water for the
eighteen million people that live in this area. No high tech, no water, no
people. And being "smart" or "strong" would have very little to do with the
