Letters about Larry Niven's "Mars: Who Needs It?"
 
 

Babylon 5: soap opera or just good clean fun?

Interesting analysis. Never thought of it that way. But then again, aren't most dramas reducible to soap operas?

While you have pointed to the "juicy bits" in B5's storyline as proof of its soap operatic nature, you neglect to mention that these events took place over five years!!

To not have any love interests in any story which spans several years would make the characters unbelievable and wooden. People fall in love all the time and quite often find themselves in love triangles. I don't know about you, but I think anyone who has no love interest in five years of adult life has a problem.

If anything the characters in B5 were more steadfast in their affections than our general population (where the average length of marriage is 5-7 years). Even the "bed-hopping" Lise has only three relationships in 25+ years --it is never specified exactly how long before the show she and Garibaldi had been an item.

Yes, Delenn and Sheridan did face objections on her side -- but that is to be expected when one changes one's species to that of a former enemy. The objections did not come from her family but from her society. The issues were primarily of power and interpretation of ancient text which is quite different from saying her family objected.

It is true that two of John's ex-wives made appearances, but only one truly attempted to break up Delenn and Sheridan -- and she wasn't completely human anymore.

B5 is a sci-fi story and it is the role of sci-fi to push the borders of normal science. Straczynski often chose to push the supposedly absolute boundary of death.

Reanimating the dead as an element in a sci-fi story certainly dates back at least as far as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein -- and I doubt anyone would say Frankenstein is a soap opera.

Yes there are common elements between B5 and a soap opera, but it is a question of focus. Soap operas exist merely for the "juicy bits" -- triangles, gossip, etc. The events in a soap opera occur with unbelievable rapidity and redundancy.

B5 on the other hand was a multifaceted story which dealt with almost all the major questions in life including what it is that lies between good and evil. It took five years to fully explore these concepts. The characters were fully developed in order to further deepen the viewer's appreciation and understanding.

To compare B5 to a soap opera is to miss the point and I feel very sorry for you that you missed what this masterful series offered the viewers.

On the other hand, B5 only had 110 hour-long episodes and a few movies -- which would run about six months on the typical soap opera schedule. Maybe the time scale isn't so different after all . . .

Ms. Parks may be unaware that the definitive difference between J.M. Straczynski's Babylon 5 concept and all other sci-fi television series to date, was that he had a five-year story arc. The main plot elements were established from the beginning, and everything unfolded from the overarching epic.

Character development, including love stories, was an entertaining bonus, but this was not the driving force for B5, as it is for true "soap operas," whose unanchored storylines drag them aimlessly about. Babylon 5 always knew where it was going.

Jo-Ann is a fan of the series, and definitely aware of the five-year storyline. But while soaps aren't designed to end, don't they also do more advance planning than the typical pre-B5 television drama?

More people who think Mission to Mars stunk

Having seen the film recently, I can plainly see where Hollywood has given what would have otherwise been a beautifully constructed film a bit of a far-fetched feel. Apparently, Hollywood directors feel the need to completely ruin Oscar-caliber performances and winning graphics with hokey "we're not alone" moments.

The last half-hour of the film made me nauseous. Without the terrible "alien" in it, the movie would have been fine.

Next time, Mr. De Palma, don't let Hollywood get in the way of your filmmaking. You've turned a beautiful story into more mindless drivel.

Great article!

I do feel compelled to add my little bit. 2001: A Space Odyssey is for me the most profound and awe-inspiring film I've ever experienced.

I remember reading an interview with Stanley Kubrick in which he mentioned his desire to make movies that leave you with a lingering feeling of some kind. 2001 did exactly that for me.

Mission to Mars -- and for that matter every science fiction film since 1968 -- can't come close to its fantastic artistic quality and vision. Today, science fiction suffers from the loud, prepubescent action-packed nonsense that filled the covers of magazines so many years ago, when the genre was primarily aimed at youngsters.

Obviously, films must aim for the widest appeal, but the public is not stupid. Mission to Mars concluded with a goofy climax that can only be pure Disney in origin, and the audience was mostly dumbfounded by the film's awkwardness and stupidity. I heard a lot of giggling and disappointed sighs that night.

2001 had the opposite effect: audiences sat there after the movie cursing the fact that it blew right over their heads. But it had the lingering effect Kubrick desired, it made us think about many things on many different levels across millions of years. It is considered to be among the greatest films ever made.

I was not really disappointed in Mission to Mars, because I already expected to see the typical childish space-geekness so common in today's "scientifically-inspired" films.

Despite the wonderful attention dedicated to the fascinating hardware, Mars itself seemed exaggerated. My vision of Mars is that it is probably not so red as we imagine it is, and that the sky is a thin, featureless veil of orange-pink that dissolves into darkness as one looks toward the zenith.

In any event, 2001 is a standard, as is Alien to some degree. These two films demonstrate what good science fiction is supposed to look like.

Lest we forget . . .

. . . Mr. Colicos also appeared in an episode of the original Star Trek series, "Errand of Mercy".

We were hoping someone would mention that. Indeed the late John Colicos did, reprising the role years later on Deep Space Nine. Unfortunately, the Associated Press didn't bother to mention Star Trek in its obituary of Colicos, and our contract with them prevents us from changing or adding to their stories.

Looking forward to Spielberg finishing Kubrick's work

Fabulous! I think that Spielberg will be an exceptional director for this film. He is also probably the only director who knew Kubrick well enough and has enough talent himself to do the film right.