by Rick Norwood
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SF on TV | ||||
The premieres of both Star Trek: Enterprise and Buffy, The Vampire Slayer got good
ratings -- good for UPN, that is -- far fewer number than the major networks. This makes me happy, for reasons I am
somewhat at a loss to explain, because I've never liked Buffy all that much, and Enterprise is
at best Star Trek Lite, at worst Star Trek for Dummies. In interviews, Rick Berman says
he wanted to create a Star Trek that is not just for geeks any more, which seems to be code for less thinking and more sex.
The Enterprise encounters Space Pirates who are stronger than they are, and have to decide whether to fight or run
away. First they run away. Then they turn around and go back, which we are supposed to cheer. Then they are blown
to smithereens. No, not really, but that would be the logical outcome of their choice.
Human beings are not wimps, who actually check a planet out before exploring it in their shirt sleeves. As a result,
everybody almost dies, but better a dead human than a wimpy Vulcan, eh?
Buffy is dead and Hellspawn are unleashed on Sunnydale. So, do the Hellspawn rape and kill? Do they tear off
people's arms and heads and play baseball with them? Not on prime time television they don't. You have to
read comic books for that kind of action. On tv, the worst Hellspawn can do is to smash
cars. "Smashing cars, smashing cars, how I love to smash small cars." The tameness of the Hellspawn is part
of the problem with Buffy. The other part is that Willow is so much more interesting than Buffy
that it unbalances the show. Not to be too negative, I give credit to the actress who plays Buffy for making
the Buffybot so appealing. I was appalled by the lack of caring on the part of the characters when
Buffybot was killed. She was at least as sentient as Data.
Watch Smallville on Tuesday, October 16.
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Rick Norwood is a mathematician and writer whose small press publishing house, Manuscript Press, has published books by Hal Clement, R.A. Lafferty, and Hal Foster. He is also the editor of Comics Revue Monthly, which publishes such classic comic strips as Flash Gordon, Sky Masters, Modesty Blaise, Tarzan, Odd Bodkins, Casey Ruggles, The Phantom, Gasoline Alley, Krazy Kat, Alley Oop, Little Orphan Annie, Barnaby, Buz Sawyer, and Steve Canyon. |
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