Text 13681, 143 rader
Skriven 2007-04-20 05:49:09 av Vorlonagent (44.babylon5)
     Kommentar till en text av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Ärende: Re: Attn JMS: The five stages of grief and  "FALLEN SON: THE     DEATH 
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"Josh Hill" <usereplyto@gmail.com> wrote in message 
news:o8dg235l9nqi0hvep0nlo6tg5cfvf0csod@4ax.com...

>>I *liked* Madonna in her mid-80's heyday.  I didn't thnk she was "all 
>>that",
>>but I liked her.  I thought and think she did some good stuff once she 
>>came
>>out of her early "material girl" bubblegum stage (which itself was OK).
>>Then she decided to go all "artiste" and, well, there you are.  She was
>>already losing it with "Express yourself" and imitating Michael Jackson's
>>crotch grab.  <rolls eyes>.
>
> I always had the impression that Madonna was a master of
> self-promotion rather than an artist. No performing talent, and no
> song-writing talent of which I'm aware -- she just seems to have
> attached her name to songs that others wrote.

There's a difference between an artiste and an artist.  Mostly it's a matter 
of pretensiousness.

She was a master showman and knew how to surf the pop-culture waves of the 
80's at their height.  She was no stand-out musical or dance talent but when 
it comes to that sort of thing luck is more a factor in entertainment 
success than talent.  She got lucky enough to get an opportnity and had the 
intelligence and wit to run with it.  But she got full of herself.

>>Ender's Game, which in turn left me ambivalent about Orson Scott Card in
>>general.  I devoured the book in one sitting.  Could not put it down. I 
>>was
>>more compelled to finish than entranced by a complelling story.  Came away
>>feeling that the book shortchanged me with a weak, and aimless ending,
>>though I has grievances all the way though, such as Ender's siblings plot 
>>to
>>take over the world through what we would call "blogging" today.  It was a
>>plotline that Card could have edited out entirely and I wouldn't have 
>>missed
>>a thing.  The book more unraveled toward an ending than built to a climax.
>>It was as if Card could not figure out how to end the thing properly.
>
> Heh. It's been a long time and I don't remember the ending, but I do
> remember thinking that the blogging was ridiculous -- sort of a
> throwback to the "boy and his cyber-dog take over the world" trope.

It just seened bad of itsef and completely unconnected to Ender's own story. 
It's just a plotline that hangs in space, never connecting to the rest of 
the story.


> OTOH, I did love the book, because I loved Ender. I don't know quite
> what authorial magic Card used to create that bond, but I've found
> that when a book does that, I react strongly to it. Haven't always
> felt that way about Card's work, which can be repetitive and tends I
> think to be stronger on people than the science fictional aspect.

I liked Ender but didn't bond.

Nor would I be one to recommend Card's chaarcterization ability.


> I confess I wasn't wild about Galen either, mostly because he, well,
> seemed to posture too much -- but then, there's a depth to the
> technomage concept that only comes out in the books, and I assume this
> would have made its way into the series, which just didn't have a fair
> chance to develop. Ditto for Gideon: I suspect his character would
> have gained depth as we learned more about the magic box.

It's possible, but Sinclair didn't seem to be aquiring much in the way of 
depth though the first season of B5.  Those who had depth or the capability, 
showed it immidiatley.  Sheridan wasn't very deep but the ability was there. 
Delenn always had it.  G'Kar had to play the bad guy for a while but even 
there we get a few flashes of the G'Kar we came to know.  Byron, on the 
other hand...the only depths he ever knew were his own self-pity.

Neither of the G's had it.  Neither of the G's looked like they were getting 
it.  They were both bland and flat characters to me.


>>Complaint #3 (minor, but nagging): I was not happy with Netter Digital's
>>effects for B5's 5th season and the changes they made to the universe with
>>Crusade (which looked to be gratuitous to me) didn't help, though I did 
>>get
>>used to them.
>
> For me, it was the infamous music. There was perhaps the exhaustion
> effect to which JMS referred -- the episodes were a bit lacking in
> vigor -- but my sense at the end was that the series was just then
> hitting its stride. I'm amazed that it worked as well as it did given
> TNT's meddling.

Indeed.  It was the better for having been put up on the blocks and 
fine-tuned, but only because JMS ignored some prominent suggestins from TNT.


>>The Shadow Within.  Jeanne Cavelos romanced Mr. Morden by proxy through 
>>Anna
>>Sheridan way too much and was way too happy to whitewash Mr Morden by
>>explaining why he decided to work for the Shadows.  Won't touch her
>>technomage trilogy.
>
> My memories of that are dim, but while I did enjoy Cavelos's
> novelizations, I wasn't wild about the novelized Anna Sheridan story,
> which seemed to me to lack and even detract from the compelling horror
> of the episodes. So too some other cases in the novels where I felt
> that excessive explanation robbed the story of impact and mystery.
>
> I suppose there's some of that in the technomage trilogy, but -- they
> do have a fascinating background and explanation.

I personally dislike the Shadow tech connection.  I'd have preferred they be 
their own thing.  But there are many details I'm un aware of so it might not 
bother me as much if I knew more.


>>Finally, Saving Private Ryan.  Spielberg hit us with a hyper-real D-Day
>>landing then left realism on Omaha Beach, spending the rest of the film
>>trying to turn Tom Hanks into John Wayne.
>
> LOL. Am I the only one who laughed during that movie? Something about
> the earnestness of the fake guts. I never like Spielberg when he's
> trying to be serious, because you can see how hard he's trying, and
> yet it's not his sensibility.

I am perhaps too serious for my own good.  I was caught up in the film in 
the sense that I emerge sheken.  I was finding it hard to suspend disbelief 
before the movie was over on one level yet felt (and shrugged off once my 
brain kicked in) the full emotional impact.


-- 
John Trauger,
Vorlonagent

"Methane martini.
Shaken, not stirred."

"Spirituality without science has no mind.

Science without spirituality has no heart."

-Methuselah Jones
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