ALT.SF4M

  Another Lame B5 - 5/2/97

   • j********o@***.com
     10/05/1997 00:00:000 UTC

     (The one where they fight servants of the Shadows). Duh. OK, let's see.

     They're BAD aliens: no moral amiguity allowed here. Stupid looking,

     cheap effect too. Dilenn and her boring fleet of "Whitestars!" can't run

     or jump away because the bad guys will shoot, but they're "faster," so

     they pilot a course around the big ship to pick up speed... Some

     elementary physics, please: they did advertise that they'd try to be
     more

     robust than general SF TV - their ship might have better acceleration,
     but

     you can't build up momentum while swooping and turning (in space). The

     bad guys weren't willing to fire near their mutha ship, so just open a

     jump gate. OK, so they get their asses kicked but escape, then Dilenn

     orders them to return and attack, and by sheer force of righteous

     indignation, beats the previously superior force. When the big ship
     heads

     for the jump gate, they face it down and blow it up: why not show a

     little imagination and have them kack the gate to trap the ship? Again,

     no ambiguity, like she gets all the other ships destroyed but limps home

     to ponder her arrogance, stupidity, and guilt? Then, insult upon insult!

     the Mimbari who dared to act without directions from his betters is

     killed, but not before he begs Dilenn to forgive him for doing so! Seig

     F'ing Heil! How dare an NPC try to take a hand in destiny! Heaven

     forfend that things should get complicated and interesting.

     By screwing up the Shadow War, I think B5 has really sabotaged itself,
     or

     killed the decent stuff that made it better than the Trek spawn. (I'm

     getting particularly sick of Dilenn: I wish Sheridan would stop being

     such a p-whip about her slag customs.) The show used to be annoying

     because it was good when it could have been great; now, it's not even

     good anymore. The last few episodes have been a chore to watch.

     Gorno

     In an attempt to remain topical, bought a new Sheffield book, and
     various

     SF (Analog, SF Age) magazines, unfortunately including SF Chronicle,
     which

     doesn't have any SF in it! (just fan B.S.) Analog seems to be the same
     as

     when I dropped my subscription: same boring, doofy fact articles (I
     don't

     give a shit about colonizing Mars!!) and dip-thong libertarianist

     editorials, same doofus stories. Sigh. Tom Easton's reviews are useful

     to me in the sense that I can tell what I'll hate (everything he gives a

     substantial review!): one of his chief criteria is, of course, political

     correctness. It's like the New York Times Book Review: "a week without

     homos is like a day without sunshine!" SF Age has decent stories: I like

     it. Must look for a copy of F&SF, if it still exists. Or has it gone the

     way of Worlds of Cliff? Pleh.