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The Cyberspace Vanguard 1.1
Copyright 1992, Vanguard Productions
WELCOME to the first issue of CYBERSPACE VANGUARD!
Despite the name, CV is NOT a magazine about or in any
way related to cyberpunk, except that cyberpunk falls under
the heading of science fiction. We chose the name simply
because "cyberspace" is quickly becoming the 90's word for
the world of electronic communications. CV will cover pretty
much anything that's of interest to the science fiction
community, regardless of what it is. We're open to
submissions from anyone, regardless of experience. The
writing is judged SOLELY on its quality.
For writers' guidelines, write to
cn577@cleveland.freenet.edu or, for those of you who prefer
to communicate on paper, you can write to us at:
Cyberspace Vanguard
PO Box 25704
Garfield Heights, OH 44125
USA
But enough about that. This month we've brought you
interviews with Jeff Kaake of SPACE RANGERS, Peter Donat of
the upcoming show TIME TRAX, J. Michael Straczynski, creator
of BABYLON 5, and Eric Radomski, producer of BATMAN: THE
ANIMATED SERIES. (What can we say, it's a big month for TV!)
We've also brought you, in the words of one of our readers,
"more news than hours of net surfing."
All this is just the beginning. We need YOUR input to
help make Cyberspace Vanguard THE source of science fiction
news. Tell us what you like about it, what you hate about
it, but most of all, what you think would improve it. So
that we don't wind up with scores of copies of the magazine
inadvertently quoted back to our mailbox, we've posted an
electronic reply card immediately after this post.
Oh, and a note to other editors: CV is registered with
the United States Copyright Office. We don't mind you
quoting us, but we must insist on credit being given. All
rights revert to the author upon publication. You may repost
CV IN ITS ENTIRETY, but we'd like to know where so we know
who's seeing it. (People keep asking us, and it's so hard to
explain ...)
So here goes ...
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Table of Contents
--!1!-- Jeff Kaake on SPACE RANGERS
--!2!-- Peter Donat on TIME TRAX
--!3!-- Eric Radomski on BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
--!4!-- J. Michael Straczynski on BABYLON 5
--!5!-- Just what is MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 anyway?
--!6!-- Globalhead, by Bruce Sterling -- review
--!7!-- All the news that's fit to transmit
--!8!-- Spoilers ahoy!
--!9!-- Opportunity knocks
--!10!-- Subscription information
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--!1!-- Jeff Kaake
THE RANGERS RIDE AGAIN: JEFF KAAKE FINDS HIS NICHE
ON SPACE RANGERS
[NOTE: SPACE RANGERS premieres January 6 at 8pm on CBS]
Either Jeff Kaake is a genuinely nice person, or SPACE
RANGERS has gotten itself a better actor for the lead role
than any show has a right to have. Personally, I'll lean
towards the former. Speaking to CV by telephone on the eve
of SPACE RANGERS' television debut, he had a vulnerability to
him, one that bordered on naivete'. "I think the guy is very
sincere, which is, well, I don't know if it's my stronger or
weaker trait. He IS fairly naive, which I have been accused
of being for a lot of years, though I don't think of myself
as being that way." After all, how can a person possibly
stay naive in Hollywood? "That's my answer. I hope it's a
good quality to have a little naivete. It's very hard to
stay naive in this industry because it's so brutal, but I've
always managed to make a decent living at it and it's been
pretty good to me. I hope it gets nothing but better."
But, joking aside, that naivete' is just one of the
things that Jeff Kaake has in common with the character he
plays on the show, Captain John Boon. Boon and the rest of
his crew are basically futuristic policeman who are, as is
explained in the first episode, "misfits with an
imagination." Many light years from Central, they must rely
on their wits, orders or not. Linda Hunt plays Commander
Chennalt, who sends Boon and his five member team out on
missions from their home base, Fort Hope, on the planet
Avalon. It calls for a leader who is not just resourceful,
but "human," in the best sense of the word. "Outside of the
obvious fact that he's a hero, he's a well rounded, whole
person. He's not one-sided at all. He's VERY human, not the
perfect stereotype of a hero. He has good days and bad days
but at the same time he's a bit of a hotshot. He's even got
a family. He's just a whole person. A lot of the other
characters I've played have been semi-one dimensional, which
I'm sure is partly my fault, and partly the writing, and
everything else. But this guy just kind of clicked for me."
And it would seem that he's got his work cut out for
him. The Space Rangers are charged with keeping the peace on
the frontier in the year 2105. "The Space Rangers are cops
who are sort of a combination of Marines and peace keepers.
I've said in past interviews that this is kind of reminiscent
of the old Texas Rangers, but obviously we've got a new
frontier. So we're out there exploring the furthest reaches
of the galaxy and trying to tame all the species that we come
across and get them to intermingle as a society out there in
space. Our jobs vary from episode to episode depending on
what the mission might be that week. A lot of rescue stuff.
There's even drug smuggling in the year 2105. So there's a
wide range of things to get into."
So, are these the United States Space Rangers, or does
this universe sport the traditional "world government"?
"It's definitely Earth-born, I'm sure. We've now set up
stations, what we call Central which is well established as
to what part of the galaxy that controls. Those are the
people we answer to and sometimes refuse to answer to, and
that's so many light years away from our home planet.
There's no technical reference as to how far away Avalon is,
but it's the furthest reaches of the galaxy. It's a very
military structure and the conflict with us as Space Rangers
is that when you're out in space, so many light years away
from what we know as civilization it's not black and white,
you don't necessarily follow all orders 100%. That's one of
the qualities of a Space Ranger. You've got to be flexible
and make decisions based on spur of the moment things that
come up. So it's not a typical military kind of thing.
We're renegades of the military, I would say."
And the crew? "There's five of us actually in the sling
ship itself, which is my crew. They've chosen to serve under
John Boon because he's got a reputation as a man of his own.
He does things his way, but he always winds up getting the
job done. John Boon's the guy that when nobody else will
take the mission, he'll take it. These guys have all chosen
to serve under me. It's not like they've been assigned to
me. It's kind of like they've been hand picked. We haven't
gotten into other Space Rangers but it's inferred that this
is a large command center and the Space Rangers as a unit are
to be dispatched from there."
It's a look that has been described as "Aliens gone
television." He says that the production values are quite
impressive. "It's got a great look. These guys have
obviously come from a very strong film background. It's real
blue-collar, real gritty, dirty, lived in, if something
breaks you fix it, you don't replace it. It's what you'd
imagine being 10000 light years out and not being able to go
to the hardware store."
The attentive reader will notice his use of pronouns. In
a field where many actors go out of their way to distance
themselves from their roles, Mr. Kaake doesn't seem too
concerned about it. "I don't know how other actors feel, but
there's a lot of Jeff Kaake in John Boon, and I'm sure that
there are traits of John Boon in Jeff Kaake. So it's just
kind of an intermeshing of the two. It's really a jumbled up
combination. You can't help but bring part of yourself into
it. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't worry [about
typecasting if the show takes off.] It's just something that
as an actor you really don't have any control over. It's
like a big roller coaster ride. Once you're strapped in,
you're in for the duration. So yeah, it's a concern. I
certianly wouldn't want this to be it as far as roles are
concerned, but you've just got to take these things as they
come. I mean, gee, what at pity it would be if the show ran
for five or seven years," he jokes. "That'll just be a
challenge, and I'm sure I'll overcome it someday."
And if it does run for five years, how does he think
he'll live with the intense schedule of working on a series,
where the days are seldom, if ever, less than 12 hours long?
"I've asked myself that question. I can't imagine having a
family and existing in this business, watching your children
grow up. It's a grind. It's a minimum of 12 hours a day,
five days a week, and if you figure 3 to 5 years, or even
longer. There are people who go from series to series and
they have kids, and wives. I just don't know how they keep
it all together. It's not a healthy business in a lot of
respects -- the hours, getting off on bad eating habits
because there's always food around ... there's a lot of down
time. There's a lot of standing around. Basically what you
have to do is set up an office wherever your working no
matter how difficult that may be and run your business and
pay your bills, run your life when you're not actually on set
shooting.
"I look forward to [having a family], but I'm not in any
hurry to do it. I get my dose when my five year old nephew
comes up. My girlfriend and I spend a weekend a month with
him. We love him dearly, but it's nice when the house is
quiet again. We're part-time parents. I'm sure that in some
way that I'm not aware of he's affected my life as greatly as
I think I've affected his. I think that any time you're
exposed to children they bring out some of the vulnerable
things that are hidden, stowed away for years, and then you
find yourself opening up to these young, innocent little
creatures."
Although it's being billed as a sort of "Top Gun in
space," Mr. Kaake says that there's a heavy emphasis on plot
and character development. "Honestly, in every show they've
managed to squeeze in all of the above. There's no one that's
like the others. They all seem to have a real driving force
to them and it's really interesting. The writers are unique.
They're all family man, family oriented, and there's a moral
story behind every show. There's always got to be a reason
to have an episode. They've managed to find it, and
hopefully we're going to maintain that equation." Planned
shows include the pilot, in which the Rangers are threatened
with replacement by experimental 'droids, intermingling of
species, drug smuggling, and of course, rescues. There is
also an episode dealing with prejudices that have survived
into the 22nd century.
Plus, "there are definitely reccuring characters. They
did just an excellent job of casting for our alien creatures
and they recur. In just the 6 episodes I can think of 3
characters that recur because the actors behind this crazy
makeup that they put on are just so stong. They've really
searched high and low to find these cast members, both for
the regular cast and the guest stars, and their quality is
quite high."
Produced by Trilogy Entertainment (the people who
brought you BACKDRAFT and ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES), the
show is pretty well unique in television in at least one
respect. The trio of Pen Densham, Richard B. Lewis and John
Watson have, over the years, found a way to work around the
enormous costs of producing a 1 hour science fiction
television show: overseas sales. While most programs are
sold overseas years after they have aired here in the United
States (the British apparently awaited episodes of DYNASTY as
eagerly as we waited for DOCTOR WHO), SPACE RANGERS has
already been sold to foreign markets. "There are six shows,
all finished, all bought and paid for, which is kind of a new
thing for 1 hr. television." Eight more scripts have been
ordered by CBS. "What they've done is they've sold them
overseas, so they're all bought and paid for prior to even
making them. That's unusual, and possibily more attractive
to networks. It's an expensive endeavor, which is why one
hour television has gotten in trouble at times."
And at $1,300,000 to $1,400,000 per episode, that kind
of demand had better exist somewhere.
No matter what happens, though, Mr. Kaake says he can't
complain. What convinced him to give up a secure future with
his father in the auto industry? "A year and a half in the
auto industry. My father was a good provider, but I just
didn't have it in me to be a factory rat. I had big dreams,
and they were squelched for a long time. I realized that if
I didn't make the move I was going to be doing that for the
rest of my life. I think you've just got to be happy with
what you do. Because you're reacting to something that
doesn't exist [for the bluescreen shots] you never really
walk away completely confident with your work, but I'm in
this for a lifetime as far as I'm concerned. This is just
one step for me, but I've never had so much fun as I've had
filming this project."
--!2!-- Peter Donat
PETER DONAT GETS EVIL FOR THE FUN OF IT ON TIME TRAX
[NOTE: TIME TRAX premieres January 20 at 8pm on the stations
of the Prime Time Entertainment Network.]
Perhaps the foundation of science fiction is the mad
scientist -- the brilliant thinker who, for some reason,
turns his talents towards evil. In a world where one is
really never sure whether a scientific advance is good news
or bad news, this isn't surprising.
So it's not surprising that at the center of Lorimar's
new television show TIME TRAX we find Dr. Mordecai Sahmbi,
the evil genious who as created a porthole to the past.
TRAX, Trans-Time Research the time machine Experimentation,
was funded by the military in the 2180's as a means for transporting
people and objects back into the past. After years of work,
however, it became clear that the device had certain limitations.
For one thing, it had a range of only 200 years. For another
thing, the human body could only withstand one round trip. His
funding drying up as the realizations dawn of the project's limited
\military limited military and academic uses, Sahmbi turns to the
underworld for financial support, sending criminals 200 years
into the past, where the law won't be looking for them.
"Just his name makes him exotic in some way," says Peter
Donat, the veteran actor in the role of Mordecai Sahmbi.
"That's totally intentional, I think. He's totally
mysterious. Nobody knows his background, his parentage,
where he was born, how he was educated, but he's an absolute
genious in computerdom and high physics and chemistry and all
of the sciences. I think what happens to him in the series
is that in his absolute need to control people and things he
becomes a very evil man. He needs to control people and
things and he's brilliant enough to do it."
But the character isn't one-dimensionally evil.
"Aquisition of power led him into evil. There are some
indications in the script that he's a good man. Mia Sarah
has a line in the first episode that she was very attracted
to him as a young student and it was only later when she
could see what he was doing and where it was leading him that
she had to split away. So I think that in the lust for power
he became evil. It happens sometimes. You know the old
saying, 'Power corrupts and absolute power totally corrupts.'
"I think that's the case with Mordecai Sahmbi. So he
becomes a very very monumentally evil man, and that's what
makes him so interesting to play, of course. The size of his
impudence attracted me to the role. It makes him much more
interesting than just an ordinary criminal. He's an
extraordinary criminal. Of course, if something he did
happened to do some good by accident, I don't think he would
mind. But his aim is personal power and control. He's
attracted to women, but his only way to control them is to be
more brilliant. He believes that otherwise he won't be
attractive to them. In that way, he's vulnerable."
But it's not all wine and roses for Sahmbi. Darien
Lambert, Retrieval Expert, is assigned the task of finding
out why criminal figures are suddenly disappearing off the
face of the earth. When he gets close to the truth, Sahmbi
is forced to take refuge in the past, to become "a king among
primitives."
Thus is the beginning of the saga. Lambert follows
after Sahmbi, chasing the criminal of the week. Those who
have resumed their criminal ways are sent back to the future
for prosecution, those who have reformed themselves are left
alone.
In addition to an enormous amount of training and skill,
he has one more advantage. While Sam Beckett has the
holographic Al as his guide, Lambert has Selma, the
holographic picture projected by his computer, keenly
disguised as a credit card. Unlike Al, Selma has all the
feelings of an IBM PC, but she has been known to get jealous
when Lambert gets too close to another woman.
Through it all there's Sahmbi. "I just hope that the
producers and the writers can keep finding interesting ways
for Sahmbi to operate so that it doesn't become repetitive.
But that hasn't happened yet. It's just beginning. The
variety of his approaches and his manner and his various
means of escapting create problems for the young hero, who is
highly skilled and educated himself. They become a good
twosome, like Holmes and Moriarty." Of the 22 episodes
filmed, Sahmbi is in perhaps 7 or 8 of them, but it is his
influence that pervades the show.
To cut costs, the show was filmed Surfer's Paradise in
Australia, where favorable exchange rates made it possible to
keep costs at just about $1,000,000 per episode. "I'd
neverJbeen there before. They're marvelous upfront people.
The crew is terrific. They bring in quite a number of actors
from the United States, the rest of the parts are played by
Australian actors and they're just fine, and they have a
bigJstudio at their disposal in Queensland. It was nothing
but pleasure, though they're concerned about the sun because
of the ozone. They have signs there that say 'Slip, slap,
slop.' I think it's slip on a shirt, slap on a hat and slop
on some sunscreen. They warn people, but a lot of people
don't way any attention to it. They have theseJbeautiful
beaches. It really IS Surfer's Paradise. It's a huge,
underpopulated country."
Each episode, however, will take place in a different
city. "It will be in various cities in the United States
through computer matting and so on. It's incredible. The
actors are in Australia, but there they are in Washington.
That's what the series is about, in a way: advanced
technology."
All of this leaves Mr. Donat as just one of a slew of
actors exposed to the nuances of filming science fiction for
the first time. "The shooting techniques and the acting
techniques are the same. The only differences are physical
things. Like, in order to be transferred in time, it's a
terrible agony. You go into an immediate terribly deep
freeze. So in order to accomplish that, there's a makeup
that takes three, three and a half hours. You look like
you're encrusted in ice. The difference between a science
fiction show and a show where you sit around in living rooms
sipping martinis are the physical situations you get yourself
into."
But a little discomfort seems to be worth it for him.
"There's quite a bit of comedy in the series. It doesn't
take itself too seriously. I spent most of my life in the
theater but I've done tv and film whenever whenever whenever
possible because there's such a vast audience. And then
there's more money involved, of course. Let's just say that
a successful series would be new to me." Though he's never
been exposed to organized fandom, he seems to be taking it
all in stride. "I've never been exposed to that. Maybe
it'll come up with this one. I suppose I would be
[interested in conventions] because it's all part of the
promotion of the show, I would think."
The show itself seems to have a positive attitude to it,
though it's not above commentary on today's problems. (In
one episode, Sahmbi makes a fortune by sending nuclear waste
back into the future, so that it literally disappears and
no-one has to worry about it for a couple of centuries. "It's
a good morality play because in a way, if we're not careful,
that's what we're trying to do -- leave it for the future to
deal with. But he REALLY does it.") But the future is one
of optimism, of advances in science, computers and education.
We will see it approximately 50% of the time, as the
occasional sidekick comes back to the past, never to be seen
again once he or she goes back to the future.
So to what does Mr. Donat think we owe this resurgence
of science fiction programming? "I think it's because that's
where we're at. Most of the world, especially the United
States, is very much into computerdom and scientific
progress. And fortunately a lot of progress has been made in
science for the good of people. So some good things are
happening, especially in medicine. It's our present
mythology. We've become involved in the supercomplication of
computers. They've become more and more knowledgable in
helping a human being cope. I think it expresses a reality
of our life." Of course, this show is an example of how that
sort of thing can go awry. "I know. Human beings are always
going to have good and evil, construction and
destruction."
All of which leaves one question: What about the people
who will inevitably say, "Isn't this an awful lot like
Quantum Leap?" Mr. Donat is quick to answer. "Well, I'd say
that's a good reason for watching them both."
--!3!-- Eric Radomski
DARK KNIGHTS IN THE BIG CITY: ERIC RADOMSKI ON
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
Back in the 1960's, everybody who was anybody wanted to
get some sort of role on the campy television show BATMAN,
from Vincent price to Talulah Bankhead. It wasn't that the
show's dramatic quality was all that good, it was just ...
well, the thing to do. Now, roughly 25 years later, history
seems to be repeating itself with BATMAN: THE ANIMATED
SERIES, running in the afternoons on the Fox network. Famous
voices in major roles include Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Alfred,
Melissa Gilbert-Brinkman as Batgirl and Barbara Gordon, Mark
Hamill as the Joker, Roddy McDowell as the Mad Hatter, and
David Warner as Ra's Al Ghoul. The list is a page long. "I
really think they were drawn to the property. I don't know
all the details, but I do know that they weren't paid any
more because of their status. It was strictly union scale.
It always shocked us to go to the recording sessions because
even if you didn't know specifically their names, you
definitely recognized them from television," says Eric
Radomski, producer of B:TAS. "It was great working on a show
where these people came in and just did their best. It's
great when you work with incredibly talented people because
they don't need a lot of direction. You kind of point them
in one direction and they just go with it."
Of course, some people were more eager than others.
"Mark Hammill is a big comics fan, and he just wanted to work
on it no matter what we gave him." Originally cast for an
incidental part in the Mr. Freeze episode ("Heart of Ice"),
he was given a chance to read for the Joker when the Powers
That Be at Fox decided that Tim Curry, who was originally
cast, was just TOO menacing.
Mr. Radomski, formerly a background painter for Steven
Speilberg's Tiny Toons, is in his element as Co-Producer of
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. It is he who gets the credit
for the dark look of the afternoon show. "I was responsible
for the styling of the backgrounds, which is different
because we did the opposite of what you usually do. Normally
you work on a white surface and you paint the background on.
We started with black and just added color to it, because
it's, well, the night. It's just a technique that took off.
For whatever reason, it just worked. It made the show real
dark and moody. A lot of people resisted it at first because
it was different. They were saying, 'How are we going to do
this?' The people overseas were saying 'Nobody knows how to
do this.' Now it's the marquis of the show. If you watch it
in sequence with the afternoon programming you have all of
these bright colors and commercials and then you come back to
the show and it's, like, 'Wow, what is this doing here?' It
really seems out of place with the rest of the shows. It's
pretty weird. The advertising escpecially ... here you have
this really dark show and then an ad for Little Potty Magic
or something like that. We get a good laugh out of that."
All of this darkness coincides with the character, of
course. "I really dug Batman in the movie because he was a
hero, and yet he wasn't the hero that ran around carrying a
flag. He was just a guy that was doing a job for the people
who couldn't do it for themselves. He had all these gadgets,
and he was really strong, and secluded." This is part of the
reason that you won't be seeing any other Superheroes
crossover into B:TAS. "I think it would defeat his strength
as a character. I know it's taken place before, but it just
doesn't work for our interpretation of Batman. The fact that
we use Robin is enough of a distraction but we've managed to
make it work. Batman is a vigilante. He's a solo act, and
he's so strong walking along a rooftop stalking a criminal
and then along comes Robin in this flash of color.
"Before that I had taken it only as far as the 1960's
camp TV show. My partner [producer] Bruce Timm is a
long-time dedicated fan of Batman, and he followed the comics
quite a bit. This is a big success as far as he's concerned
because he always wanted to do the definitive Batman and
feels we have, so it was nice to work with a few people that
were gung-ho about doing it. From my point of view, this was
the ONLY way to do this. So many kids' shows are done just
for merchandising, but we've tried to do something better
than that."
All of this seems to carry a great deal of satisfaction
for Mr. Radomski, who came to Hollywood from Cleveland, Ohio
looking to work for Disney. "At the time I was growing up,
Warner Brothers animation was no longer doing any orignal
artwork. That had kind of died in the 1960's. Looney Tunes,
Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck were my favorites on television, but
as far as I knew they were no longer going to be a studio,
and Disney always interested me. I always hoped to work
there."
He got his wish, doing some freelance work with an
educational branch. "It wasn't working actually AT the
studio, but it was kind of neat. Over the course of working
in the industry out here and learning a little bit more about
the inside of the studios, it ain't what it used to be. You
hear all these great stories of the '40's and the 50's in the
heyday and it sounded great when Walt was there, but now it
seems that although they still do the high quality work, I
think high finainces come into play. Although they do put
out a good product, I don't think it's got as much loving
care as it used to. It's a financial business, very money
oriented, marketing toys and things, and that kind of
overrules alot. So it no longer has the big draw for me that
it once did. I definitely am a bit disillusioned,
unfortunately. It's the nature of the business, I guess.
They've put themselves on a schedule of putting a feature out
every year and a half, and doing all of these television
shows, and I think you lose a lot of that special feel. They
still put out a good product, I just think it can be better."
Is he any closer to that ideal at Warner Brothers? "In
a sense, in as far as our show went I think we achieved a lot
more than we could have ever expected, and a lot more than a
lot of people expected for daytime television, because of the
amount of work we put out -- 65 half-hour episodes in two
years. I'm thinking of some of the some of the great
features of Disney, two hour films, and they've had sometimes
four years to work on them. We've done close to 15 features
in two years if you just look at the screen time. So it's
come out really well, but it's two different monsters."
It takes an enormous effort. Warner Brother employs 70
full time staff members for the show, including four
directors, so that multiple shows can be worked on at the
same time. And that doesn't include the animation.
Everything from script to storyboards and (sometimes)
layout is done in the states and then it's shipped to studios
overseas for the actual drawing and ink-and-paint. The
studios then send it back to Warner, which either sends it
back for retakes or goes directly to post production. The
studios, which include Spectrum Animation and TMS in Japan,
which have worked with Disney and Hanna-Barbera. (TMS was
trained by Disney for their work on the Wuzzles and the Gummi
Bears.)
All of this means that they have to worry about whether
a show is going to come in one time or not. "Because of the
amount of production that's done overseas, a lot of time you
can't depend on shows coming in. It really is just a balance
of production because once it comes down to crunch time the
studios overseas get overbooked, a couple of the key people
get sick, and they can't deliver on time ... It's a domino
effect. They miss a couple of dates and then our music
people get pushed back a couple of days and the effects
people, all the way down the line." To ease that pressure,
they began sprinkling reruns into the schedule as early as
one month into the show's run.
Mr. Radomski feels that it was worth it. The reruns ran
in lieu of some particularly strong shows which were held out
for sweeps weeks. These shows included "Dreams in Darkness,"
in which Batman, under the influence of fear gas, must stop
the Scarecrow from poisoning Gotham's water supply while
battling both the psychiatrists of Arkham Asylum and the
hallucinations that put him there, and "Robin's Reckoning,"
Dick Grayson's backstory. "It's a two part show. It'll tear
your heart out. His parents die on the trapeze, and he grows
up with Bruce Wayne because he has no family. With the music
and the effects and everything, it's really sad. You never
see actual physical violence, but it's implied, and I think
that's a lot more effective. It's an implied tragic death,
and even though you don't see anything, it's really striking.
It's like, 'Wow, we didn't see anything, but I know they're
dead.'"
When I spoke to Mr. Radomski back in October, the show
had snatched the title of "Top Rated Afternoon Children's
Show." The closest competition was Disney's GOOF TROOP.
Ratings have not slipped, and it has been reported that 40%
of the audience is over 19 years old. It's these statistics
that convinced Fox to give B:TAS a a slot on Sundays at 7pm.
"THE SIMPSONS is kind of the adult humor [animation]. We
want to be the adult drama, and I think we can do that. It
shouldn't just be for kids, but kids should be able to watch
it too."
"For me it's the best artistic expression you can get
because it incorporates every different art forms. We do
drawing and painting and photography and directing as
filmmakers. There are musicians involved, sound effects
people involved, a band of technicians. It's a nice
collaboration to get a big group together and see everybody
working toward the same goal and when it comes out as well as
our show has, it just makes two years seem like no big deal.
We could never have planned the show to do as well as it's
doing, and that's a real plus."
--!4!-- J. Michael Straczynski
HOW TO INSPIRE CREATIVITY AND DEVOTION IN ONE EASY PILOT:
J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI ON BABYLON 5
Some people just have a knack for coming up with the
quotes that people remember. I'm not sure, but I think that
if we did a study we would find out that most of them are
writers, or could be. That's certainly the case with J.
Michael Straczynski, creator and co-producer of the upcoming
series BABYLON 5. With writing credits that range from
novels to the syndicated TWILIGHT ZONE, he told CV in a phone
interview between production meetings, "Some people sell a
show in order to become a producer. I became a producer in
order to sell this show."
It seems like a lot of trouble to go through, but he
must believe in it. The series, which deals with the goings
on of a space station named Babylon 5 (hence the title), has
taken five years to go from idea to reality. They have been
five eventful years.
The station, which lies at the junction of five
previously warring galactic empires, is the fifth of its
kind. The first three were sabotaged, and the fourth simply
vanished without a trace. But it has a strategic importance,
in that it is the jumping off point to all five empires by
way of string-like entities.
Hm. For those of you who have been following the
developments on STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, your reaction at
this point is probably one of suspicion. The two shows have
nearly identical premises -- on the surface, anyway. Mr.
Straczynski has repeatedly refused to accuse Rick Berman and
Michael Piller, Star Trek producers, of stealing his ideas.
"All I can say is that we have the paper trail. It was
brought to Paramount, and they did see the material. It has
been in production for five years. We announced in the
trades in November [of 1991] that BABYLON 5 was going ahead,
and we know that the presentation for DS9 wasn't made to
Brandon Tartikoff until January [of 1992]. On the flip side,
though, it is my sincere conviction that neither [Rick]
Berman or [Michael] Piller ever saw the material. They are
two honorable men who would never borrow a comma from
anybody."
He does seem to think that perhaps the competition might
be good for BOTH shows. _Cinefantastic_ magazine quoted him
as saying the show would "kick DEEP SPACE NINE's [butt]," but
he says it's out of context, and that he meant "that STAR
TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION has gotten complacent, and maybe if
we can give them a short, sharp kick in the butt, they'll
stop being complacent and be more willing to try innovative
new things." But there's still a twinge of pride in his
tone. "Best case scenario, in five years both shows have
gone on to be eminently successful. Worst case scenario, we
beat the pants off them."
At any rate, once one looks past the surface, there is a
galaxy of difference between the shows. While DS9 is set in
what is pretty much a well established universe -- OK, so we
don't really know much about the Cardassians, but we know
pretty much everything else -- BAB5 is meant to be more of a
"tapestry," an entirely new universe in which to be
figuratively lost.
"Nobody's really done that since Star Trek. Battlestar
Galactica was just the planet of the week. It wasn't really
a new universe. In this case, we have really done our
homework." In terms of volume, they certainly have, creating
new languages, complete environments for the station's
non-human inhabitants. "Not everybody is human, and
different parts of the station will be different
environments, so there would be places that you can't go
without the appropriate protection, that sort of thing."
But that's not the only place where Mr. Straczynski has
done his homework. The show is designed around a five year
"arc," in which approximately half the shows have already
been plotted out. "The place where most shows get into
trouble is where they don't plan ahead, and then they need
things in a hurry. We have things planned out, so we can
say, 'OK, we're going to need this shot in the middle of the
second season," so we can start working on it now. That also
allows us to amortize costs on sets and that sort of thing."
Perhaps it was also that careful planning that allowed the
project to actually come in $1000 UNDER budget.
That might be surprising, given the big names associated
with the project. Stewart Copland is responsible for the
music, John Iacovelli created the sets, John Criswell of Jim
Henson's Creature Shop created the prosthetics, Richard
Compton, whose experience includes MIAMI VICE and THE
EQUALIZER, directed, along with many people who usually
disdain television work, but were so impressed with the
project that they had to be involved. The effects, which
were ALL done with computer, were created by Ron Thornton.
Even Harlan Ellison has a hand in it. "We wanted a
manifesto on how to do this show right, so we went to a real
science fiction writer. He came up with a list of what to do
and what not to do in a science fiction television program."
One thing he doesn't want to do is use the show as a
soapbox. Though there are subtle messages within the show --
for instance, Laurel Takashima, the first officer, was
originally named Laurel Chang, but he changed it in an
attempt to fight Japan bashing -- those messages are mean to
be subtle. "Some shows do get a little pedantic and you just
want to say, 'Why don't you just use Western Union?'"
Embedded within the show are certain myserties. Why did
the Minbari, on the eve of victory over Earth, suddenly
surrender? Where did the string-like entities come from?
And what really happened to Commander Jeffery Sinclair during
the last 24 hours of the war? All of these things will be
resolved, of course, but not for a while. And what happens
when the five year story is complete?
"This show ends in five years. If somebody wants to do
another project involving some of the same characters, that's
another issue. But Babylon 5, as it exists, ends in five
years."
--!5!-- Misty
"JOIN US:" INSIGHT INTO THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED
_MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000_
by Lisa Jenkins
Thanksgiving Day was a doldrum of football games and
unending parades -- except for Comedy Central, an all-comedy
network shown in 35 million homes across America. Comedy
Central offered "Turkey Day," 30 straight hours of the worst
movies ever made. But just because the movies are bad
doesn't mean they're unwatchable, because the viewers aren't
watching them alone.
_Mystery Science Theater 3000_ is the newest, hippest,
coolest comedy on television today. After all, what else can
you get when you take two mad scientists who shoot a
well-meaning innocent janitor out into space and force him to
watch bad movies with his robot companions? Is this a
complicated science fiction concept? Not really. If the
viewers have any questions about the science facts, the theme
song reminds them to repeat to themselves "it's just a show,
I should really just relax."
And quite a show it is, too. _Mystery Science Theater
3000_, or MST3K, has been acclaimed by many of America's top
critics, including Tom Shales of _The Washington Post_,
_People Weekly_'s "Picks and Pans," and _TV Guide_'s "Cheers
'N' Jeers." _OMNI_'s August issue featured a five-page
spread on Joel and his robot sidekicks, Crow and Tom Servo
who all must endure the painful cinematic features dished to
them by their evil overlords, Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV's
Frank.
The show is not strictly science fiction, although its
premise certainly appeals to science fiction fans. It's a
comedy, a "monster movie" show, a forum for society's
commentary, imaginative, and very funny. It's homespun look
and cheap B-movies appeal to any television viewer's sense of
humor, including the ever-watchful eye of TV critics.
Critics and celebrities alike got a chance to brag on
their favorite comedic television show for Comedy Central's
special, "This is MST 3K." The half-hour special, repeated
several times during the months of November and December,
featured interviews with the likes of TV critics Tom Shales
(_The Washington Post_) and Matt Roush (_USA Today_) along
with other celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris (star,
_Doogie Howser, MD_) and Bob O'Shea (producer, _Cheers_).
Fans of the program were treated to a glimpse of MST3K's
beginnings, including footage from KTMA TV23, an independent
station in Minneapolis where _Mystery Science Theater_ first
aired. Appropriately, MST3K's anniversary falls on
Thanksgiving Day as its first locally-shown episode aired
November 24, 1988.
_Mystery Science Theater_ has come a long way since the
days at KTMA. The program's very existence seemed in
jeopardy when KTMA no longer could fund the show's minuscule
budget of $50 a week. However, with the support of local
viewers and the determination of show's creator, Joel
Hodgson, MST3K was bought by HBO's Comedy Channel. When the
merger between Comedy Channel and Showtime's HA! came to
pass, MST3K survived and thrived with a growing number of
viewers across the country, including the number of members
in the show's fan club. Best Brains, the show's production
company, receives hundreds of letters a week from fans of all
ages, and the fan club has grown to nearly 20,000 members.
MST3K may perhaps get the acclaim its critics and fans
believe it deserves on January 17, night of the ACE Cable
Awards. This is its second year for an ACE nomination. Last
year, HBO's _Dream On_ walked off with "best comedy," but
this year _Mystery Science Theater_ is up for "best writing
in a comedy series."
_Mystery Science Theater 3000_ airs on Comedy Central
Friday nights late at 12:30 AM and Saturdays at 10:00 AM with
a repeat at 7:00 PM (all times Eastern/Pacific).
--!6!-- Globalhead
Globalhead
by Bruce Sterling
Mark V. Ziesing Books
ISBN 0-929480-69-4
293 pages; $29.95
Review by Rick Kleffel
Just like the vampires of horror fiction, the genre of
science fiction is constantly being resurrected; whenever you
think it's finally dead, somebody comes along and jerks it
back into life. It's been nearly ten years since William
Gibson and Bruce Sterling electronically re-incarnated SF as
cyberpunk. Now that cyberpunk has hit the grocery racks and
the skids, who else but Bruce Sterling should come along and
resurrect SF in yet another guise, this time as "World
Fiction". In "Globalhead", a collection consisting mostly of
pieces from the last two years, Sterling deconstructs the
genre that gave him birth, and puts it back together again in
a wild cut-and-paste frenzy of ethnic imagination. While all
of the pieces were published in genre magazines, only a few
of them appear to have anything to do with SF. Or rather,
they return SF to what it's strongest proponents always hope
it will be -- a vivid flight of the human imagination.
The collection starts with "Our Neural Chernobyl", set
in a future where scientists have undergone a basic moral
conversion from "the white coated sociopath of the past" to
"democratized, media conscious, fully integrated into the
mainstream of modern culture", with a propensity to write
articles such as "'The Locus Coerruleus Efferent Network:
What in the Heck Is it There For?'". Despite the bleak
events mapped out for us in the next fifty or so years, the
overall tone is surprisingly playful. In "The
Compassionate, the Digital", Sterling artfully laces
together Islamic agit-prop and high- tech magic with results
that are both frightening and funny.
Sterling shows his best SF colors in "The Shores of
Bohemia", a story in which nano-technology, here
indistinguishable from magic, has subsumed all but a few
small enclaves. An expatriate architect returns to explain
that "'Once you learn to live life on the outside, you learn
to see matters differently. To read patterns of immanance,
to smell it almost...Perceptions become data, data becomes
thought, thought becomes...I think you might say 'spirit',
though that term doesn't really --'". Sterling allows the
readers to fill in his mysterious blanks in much the same way
that Lovecraft allowed his readers to see only enough of his
demons so that their imaginations could complete the picture
with terrifying accuracy.
In his non-SF stories, Sterling susbstitutes an ethnic
setting for the typical techonological premise. "Storming
the Cosmos" follows two ne'er-do-wells on the fringes of the
Soviet Space program in 1958 and sends them out to the site
of the Tunguska meteorite strike. The world he depicts is
packed with KGB informers, drunken scientists, savage Mongol
men and women, frozen mud, monolithic tribal Red Army
brigades, and hallucinogenic mushrooms, jostling one another
to get in an edgewise word. It's so vivid, it takes the
reader a while to return to reality.
This is not to say the book is without flaw. In "The
Sword of Damocles", Sterling attempts to lampoon the
deconstructionists, but succeeds only in falling prey to the
faults he parodies. And while "The Gulf Wars", first
published in 1987, is reeking with an authentic atmosphere
and unarguably prophetic, it does seem a bit heavy handed.
The two best stories feature Leggy Starlitz, a
small-time smuggler who, in "Hollywood Kremlin" takes the
reader "under Iranian radar, all the way from Kabul to Soviet
Azerbaijan." Scenes of opulent rotting splendor in the hotel
strongholds of smuggling lords and ladies contrast with
sharply-etched pictures of black-market bribery in the backs
of rumbling army trucks. In "Are You For 86?", the
collection's only original work, Leggy makes it Stateside,
smuggling the controversial French "abortion pill" to
high-tech Pro-Choice forces, while trying to evade equally
high-tech Pro-Lifers. Sterling skillfully applies the same
kaleidescopic vision to the US that he does to the more
exotic locales. What he does is nothing short of amazing.
He re-invents our world so imaginatively that his
descriptions of reality take on the sheen of wildly inventive
science fiction. And yes, perhaps it is true that in these
stories, SF is dead; but no one can bring down Bruce
Sterling's flights of fancy.
--!7!-- And now, the news
ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO TRANSMIT
Amblin About
Paramount has signed Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy
to a production deal. They met during the production of
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and founded Amblin Entertainment with
Steven Speilberg in 1981, though Marshall left Amblin in
1991.
The pair, who have been responsible for a slew of genre
movies, such as ET, BACK TO THE FUTURE, HOOK, ARACHNOPHOBIA
and of course the INDIANA JONES movies, agreed to a
non-exclusive pact that states they give Paramount first dibs
on their projects, and will be based on the Paramount lot.
Kathleen Kennedy is currenly producing Steven
Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK.
--!--
And speaking of JURASSIC PARK ...
When Michael Crichton wrote JURASSIC PARK, a book about
dinosaurs genetically grown from ancient DNA in order to be
the basis for a theme park, the made the velociraptors six
feet tall, in accordance with the fossils that had been
found. Since these are the most vicious of the reptilian
beasts, however, Steven Speilberg defied his paleontologist
advisors and made them much larger for dramatic effect.
Well, according to the January, 1993 issue of DISCOVER
magazine, he gets the last laugh with the discovery in Utah
of a 20 foot long, 1500 pound velociraptor. Nicknamed
"Speilberg's raptor," it will more likely go down in the
books as Utahraptor.
--!--
GODZILLA rises again -- at least temporarily
This being the first issue of CV, maybe it's fitting
that we start out the news with one of the granddaddies of sf
films, Godzilla, or as he is known in Japan, Gojira. Toho
produced the first of these monster movies in 1954, and while
the dubbing might not have been the greatest (though it
certainly has inspired lots of comedy) the original film was
good enough to inspire sequels that are STILL being made in
Japan.
Ironically, while the next Japanese Gojira film will see
the death of the King of the Monsters, TriStar has reportedly
paid anywhere from $300,000 to $400,000 for the rights to use
the characters from the first 15 installments of the series.
Rumors are flying as to who will be involved, but Tim Burton,
a huge Godzilla fan, has been mentioned as a possible
director. The film would be for release in December 1993,
and would have a budget of $40 million.
The series WILL continue in Japan, even though Gojira
will be killed in a battle with MekaGojira, created by the
Japan Defense Force. The next films will involve Gojira's
child, Minya (Godzooky in the US version), who will be all
grown up by the end of the latest film.
--!--
Bill Bixby, star of THE INCREDIBLE HULK, MY FAVORITE MARTIAN,
and many other tv shows, is reportedly responding to
experimental drug treatment for advanced prostate cancer.
The drug, Suramin, is giving him no nasty side effects, and
he told TV Guide that he's "going to beat this thing!" He
was apparently well enough to joke with his doctors,
pretending to be dead when they injected him with the drug.
His doctors' response was "Very funny, Bill. Don't do that
again."
--!--
Golden Globes
Genre and related nominations for the Golden Globe Awards, to
be given January 23, 1993:
Motion Picture, musical or comedy: ALADDIN, SISTER ACT
Actress, motion picture musical or comedy: Meryl Streep,
DEATH BECOMES HER, Whoopi Goldberg, SISTER ACT,
Geena Davis (Earth Girls are Easy), A LEAGUE OF
THEIR OWN
Motion Picture director: Rob Reiner (The Princess Bride), A
FEW GOOD MEN
Motion Picture Original Score: ALADDIN, by Alan Menken
Motion Picture Original Song: "Friend Like Me," "Prince
Ali," and "A Whole New World" (ALADDIN), Alan Menken
and Howard Ashman
TV Series Actor: Scott Bakula (QUANTUM LEAP)
Best Actress in a TV mini-series or motion picture: Drew
Barrymore (ET), Gun Crazy
Best TV Supporting actor in a series, mini-series or motion
picture: Dean Stockwell (QUANTUM LEAP)
--!--
Anthony Hopkins, the cannabilstic killer in SILENCE OF THE
LAMBS, is now Sir Anthony. He was knighted New Years day
into the Order of the British Empire.
--!--
Meanwhile, over in the Magic Kingdom ...
Disney CEO Michael Eisner reportedly grossed $200
million in 1992, as a combination of salary, perks, and
selling off some of his studio stock.
Walt Disney archivist David Smith and Disney employee
Kevin Neary have written THE ULTIMATE DISNEY TRIVIA BOOK,
with 999 ways to date yourself and prove that you really are
a kid at heart.
Disney has exhausted appeals of at $2.3 million award to
singer Peggy Lee for using her voice in the video version of
LADY AND THE TRAMP. Ms. Lee provided the voices of Peg, the
siamese cats, and Darling, for which she received $4000,
including that for her part in writing six of the songs. She
had originally sued for $50 million.
--!--
Planet Hollywood is doing well. Arnold Schwartznegger,
Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis, owners of the New York
City restaurant, have been so pleased with its success that
they have opened another in Southen California.
--!--
BATMAN RETURNS took top box office honors for 1992, socking
away gross earnings of $162 million and helping the industry
top last 1991's gross of $4.8 billion, though it didn't come
close to 1991's $204 million for TERMINATOR 2. It also held
the top spot for 3 weeks and helped to give Warner a 20%
share of the 1992 market, edging out Disney for the top spot,
according to Daily Variety.
--!--
The end of the Smurfs: Pierre (Peyo) Culliford, who created
the blue creatures, died in late September at the age of 64.
--!--
51 Mulberry Street, adress of the house that may have
inspired the first Dr.Suess book, AND TO THINK I SAW IT ON
MULBERRY STREET, is now an empty hole. Apparently the
current owner had it torn down without permission, despite
the fact that it is on the national Register of Historic
Places. Dr. Phillip Stone could be ordered to rebuild the
house exactly as Theodor Geisel saw it in the early 1930's in
addition to local and state fines.
--!--
QUANTUM LEAP NOVEL #2: TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT is due out in
January or February of 1993. It's written by Ashley
McConnell.
--!--
Steven King scares Whoopi Goldberg
Steven King has a new book out. DOLORES CLAIBORNE, he
told Whoopi Goldberg on her late night chat show, is along
the lines of GERALD'S GAME. (As of this writing, BOTH were
on the bestseller's list.) The pair discussed a wide range
of topics, from their favorite vampire movies to what it is
that scares the hell out of them. For those of you who are
wondering, Mr. King DOES manage to scare himself, and quite
often, from the sound of it. (While most people are afraid
of someone joining them IN the shower, he is afraid of
someone coming OUT of it.)
He also discussed his stint as rhythm guitar for a group
of writers who performed at the annual writers' convention in
Annaheim. Sales of the video will benefit the Write to Rock
Foundation, which "fights censorship in the music industry
and also helps homeless writers in Los Angeles. I don't know
how many homeless writers there are in Los Angeles, but we're
giving 'em money."
Mr. King, who says he still catches heat for referring
to himself as "the McDonald's of literature," also said that
he knew the movie of his first book CARRIE was going to be a
success at the end, when Sissy Spacek's hand shoots out of
the grave and grabs the antagonist around the neck.
Apparently the man behind him, who had been talking
throughout the picture, said, "That's it. She ain't never
gonna be right."
--!--
Upcoming films: Paramount will be hoping for another
blockbuster with ADDAM'S FAMILY 2, and hitting the nostalgia
trail with THE CONEHEADS. HBO will be re-making ATTACK OF
THE FIFTY FOOT WOMAN, and has signed Daryl Hannah.
Christopher Guest will direct. And for those of you who
follow that sort of thing, Warner Brothers will star Whoppi
Goldberg in a film called MADE IN AMERICA, and Harrison Ford
in a remake of THE FUGITIVE. Also, Fox is reportedly edging
towards the long-fabled "Aliens v. Predator" movie, but this
is totally unconfirmed.
--!--
The top 10 films of 1992:
1) BATMAN RETURNS $161 million
2) LETHAL WEAPON 3 $143 million
3) SISTER ACT $140 million
4) HOME ALONE 2 $135 million (est.)
5) WAYNE WORLD $121 million
6) BASIC INSTINCT $117 million
7) A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN $107 million
8) THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE $87 million
9) BRAM STOKER'S 'DRACULA $85 million
10) PATRIOT GAMES $82 million
--!--
In case you think that college students don't have any
power in the marketplace, have a look at these statistics:
There are 12 million 18-24 year olds in the United States,
and 42% of them are college students. On the average, they
spend $224 in discretionary income, and see two to three
movies a month off campus. This makes up a whopping 24% of
studio income.
--!--
European Box office: According to Daily Variety,, BEAUTY AND
THE BEAST took in $11.2 million at 1241 European screens
during the week of December 12 - 18, clinching the top spot.
The closest competitor was HOME ALONE 2. DEATH BECOMES HER
was fifth, with $1.83 million at 251 screens.
--!--
TERMINATING DEALS AT CAROLCO
Carolco, the studio that gave us TOTAL RECALL,
TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY, and other films, has been having
financial trouble for some time. (Although not as much as
Orion.) Currently under a distribution deal with Sony's
TriStar, they have made a deal with Metro Goldwyn Mayer and
associated investors that will bring in $170 million in cash.
The distribution deal, which takes effect in 1994,
involves cash, preferred stock, subordinated debt,
co-production financing, a $50 million bank credit line, and
a chance for MGM to get back into the distribution business
after the fiasco of Giancarlo Parretti's tenure at the helm.
Parretti, who allegedly spent mucho MGM bucks on himself, was
ousted last year.
How does this affect investors? Well, Carolco has asked
stockholders to cut their voting stake from 30.1 percent to 3
percent in a reverse stock split. The stock had risen 31.25
cents to $1.125 per share upon announcement of the cash deal
with MGM, dropped down to 87.5 cents at the announcement of
the reverse split.
--!--
A ratings "point" means approximately 931,000 households.
Just thought you'd like to know.
--!--
Foreign television: The Swiss will be getting a commerically
run TV station to compete with the 3 (soon to be 4) state-run
channels in operation. "Tell-TV" (yes, named for William
Tell) will run 15 hours of programming in German. And let's
not forget about the Russians. Turner Broadcasting Systems,
the people who brought you CNN, colorization and the Cartoon
Network, have been broadcasting "TV6 Moscow" since May 18,
1992.
--!--
The Star Trek exhibit at the Smithsonian will run through
January 31. Passes are needed only on days when the exhibit
is crowded.
--!--
Remember that free month of Prodigy service you got with your
modem but were "saving for a good reason"? Well, if you're a
Star Trek fan, now might be the time to use it. Avery
Brooks, Patrick Stewart, and Rick Berman (Executive Producer)
will be choosing questions from a pool you can contribute to
now. Mr. Brooks will be online on the seventh of January, as
will Mr. Berman, we gather. Mr. Stewart will be on about 2
weeks later. Questions should be adressed to STAR99E in the
topic TV (A-K). Use "Ask Avery Brooks" or "Ask Rick Berman"
as your subject line. (The release didn't say so, but
presumably you use the same adress and subject line format
for Patrick Stewart.) [User note: Only a FEW questions will
be chosen.]
--!--
Patrick Stewart reportedly told the "Tonight Show" that "In
1993 I will transfer all my CD's to 8-track tape so that I
can play them in my `68 Mustang."
--!--
HIGHLANDER
In the preview issue, we reported the unconfirmed rumor
that production on HIGHLANDER III: THE MAGICIAN had begun.
The plot reportedly involved a sword maker with the power of
illusion who has been buried under a mountain for 300 years.
Since it begins in ancient Japan, it would seem that the film
would utterly ignore HIGHLANDER II. According to those who
have seen the ill-fated sequel, this is probably for the
best. No word on Sean Connery, but Christopher Lambert was
reportedly signed on to play MacLeod once again.
The only problem with this is that it seems to be
completely wrong. According to Christopher Lambert's people,
the movie is not in production, no director has been chosen,
and it is unclear if that is even the plot. More info when
we have it.
Of course, if you can't wait that long for another dose
of your favorite immortal, check out the syndicated
television show HIGHLANDER. While Christopher Lambert did
make an appearance in the pilot, the series deals with a
clansman of Connor MacLeod, Duncan. Now about half-way into
its first season, it seems to be holding up, quality-wise.
--!--
STAR TREK: MISCELLANEOUS
Well, well, well, right now we could do pages on this
one.
Let's start with the original series. Despite Gene
Roddenberry's death, Paramount has no problem with continuing
the series of movies. According to Bjo Trimble, Brandon
Tartikoff, then-head of the studio, sat at a screening of
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and asked "Why are we
stopping making these films?" Someone pointed out that the
cast was getting old, but he asked "Are the fans still
buying?" Of course we all know they are, so his question
became "Then what's the problem?"
The word is that yes, William Shatner DID try to sell
the movie studio, now headed by Sherry Lansing, a script he
wrote involving a romance for Kirk, but word is that it was
turned down and they are considering a script written by
Leonard Nimoy. Apparently the only way we're going to see a
film dealing with Captain Sulu is a major letter- writing
campaign. The studio simply doesn't believe that enough
people will go to see a film that doesn't star the Big Three,
Kirk, Spock and McCoy.
And there's yet one more Generation...
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
There probably isn't a soul hooked into cyberspace who
doesn't know about STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE. The show, a
strict spin-off from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, will
involve an antiquated space station above the Bajorran
homeworld (Ro Larren's home) which is basically deserted by
the Cardassian's when they have exhausted the planet's
resources (and poisoned the wells, and ...). The Federation
takes over the station, but when a stable wormhole is
discovered nearby, the Cardassians want it back.
The only crew members who will be moving over from TNG
to DS9 will be Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) and his wife
Keiko, who will not be awfully happy about bringing their
daughter Molly up in such an environment. Cast members
include Avery Brooks as Captain Sisko, Renee Abourjanous as
Odo the shapeshifter, and Rosalind Chao reprising her role as
Keiko O'Brien. The role of the Bajorran was originally
planned to be Ensign Ro, but Michelle Forbes reportedly has
no interest in continuing on with Star Trek after this
season, no matter which show they offer her.
[For great Star Trek and genre news, subscribe to Bjo Trimble's
newsletter, Space Time Continuum. Postmarked before January 31,
1993, $5/6 issues USA Bulk Rate, $8 USA 1st Class, $9 Canada
Air Printed Matter, $12 Overseas Air Printed Matter. Send to
STC, 2059 Fir Springs Dr., Kingwood TX 77339-1701]
--!8!-- Spoilers
SPOILERS AHOY!
QUANTUM LEAP -- from Terri Librande
Filming on "Liberation" has been completed. The episode
takes place in the seventies and features Sam as a bra
burning woman's libber.
"Blood Moon", the anticipated 'vampire' episode, has
completed filming. No details as to plot, but Sam will leap
directly into a coffin in this one, and spare me the cemetery
jokes, please! Written by Tommy Thompson, it promises to be
a leap right into the twilight zone.
The long anticipated 'baby' episode is on the schedule
as is the Dr. Ruth one. The animated episode will be on
sometime in May, if all goes according to plan. The second
half of the 'dark leaper' will be on during February sweeps.
The first half garnered 10 extra points on the Neilsen scale,
but on that front, we're still plenty shaky.
In "Goodbye Norma Jean" Sam leaps into Marilyn Monroe's
driver to prevent her from overdosing. Considering that she
tried this several times before the 'big' one, I assume that
Sam is there to prevent her from doing it before her time.
To write to NBC in support of the show, send your
letters to
NBC
C/O Warren Littlefield
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10019
Write, keep the Leap alive. A grassroots organization is getting together
to send NBC calla lillies to draw attention to the shows plight. It's going
to be nip and tuck until March or April.
--!--
STAR TREK
The next new ST:TNG will be the week of January 25.
Called "Ship in a Bottle," it reportedly involves the
luckless Barclay's accidentally allowing Moriarty
("Elementary, Dear Data") out of the holodeck.
The following week's episode, "Aquiel," had Geordi
falling in love with a member of another species.
"Tapestry," running the week of February 15, is a Q
episode involving a tour of Picard's life when he dies on the
operating table.
"Birthright" is the anticipated crossover story with
ST:DSN, involving Worf's discovery that his disgraced father
might actually be alive.
As for STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, the week of January
18 will bring, "A Man Alone," which pits Odo, the
shapeshifter, against a lynch mob after a murder on the
station.
--!9!-- Correspondents
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING
You say you don't want to write but you still want to be
a part of CYBERSPACE VANGUARD? You're in luck. We couldn't
possibly watch every newsgroup and conference on every
network out there -- believe me, we tried! So what we need
is a group of dedicated people to watch the newsgroups for us
and report on any news or spoilers that turn up. If you want
to be a Cyberspace Correspondent, send a list of the
newsgroups you read CONSISTENTLY to
cn577@cleveland.freenet.edu (Internet)
TJ Goldstein@1:157/564 (Fidonet) or
TJ Goldstein@40:204/564 (AmigaNet)
If you're reading this on a network that doesn't support
these mail systems, you can send a letter with the list and
your e-mail address to
Correspondent
Cyberspace Vanguard
PO Box 25704
Garfield Heights, OH 44125
USA
We are also looking for writers, of course. If you have
an idea you think would be right for us, drop us a line!
--!10!-- Subs
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: CV is available on various
newsgroups, or you can ask to be put on our mailing list. If
you're really interested, though, you can subscribe to the
PAPER version of the magazine. It includes all the
first-rate photos and cartoons that we can't put into the
electronic version. Rates in the United States are $2.00 per issue,
or $10.50 for six. Write to us for overseas rates.
--
CYBERSPACE VANGUARD MAGAZINE
News and Views from the Science Fiction Universe
TJ Goldstein, Editor | Send submissions, questions, comments to
tlg4@po.cwru.edu | cn577@cleveland.freenet.edu
