From: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!sf-lovers Newsgroups: fa.sf-lovers Title: SF-LOVERS Digest V6 #94 Article-I.D.: ucbvax.175 Posted: Wed Dec 1 22:23:56 1982 Received: Fri Dec 3 04:54:09 1982 >From SFL@SRI-CSL Wed Dec 1 21:57:03 1982 Reply-To: SF-LOVERS at SRI-CSL To: SF-LOVERS@SRI-CSL SF-LOVERS Digest Thursday, 2 Dec 1982 Volume 6 : Issue 94 Today's Topics: Books - Asimov's Foundation's Edge, Michener's Space, Chalker's Well World, Wolfe's The Citadel of the Autarch, early reading & book stores T.V. - Battlestar Ponderosa, Star Trek favorites Movies - the Other in Star Wars/TESB Music - SF music, filk Misc - bumper sticker ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 Nov 82 20:39:42-EST (Tue) From: J C Patilla Subject: Foundation's Edge & Gaia Did anyone else pick up the connection between the planet Gaia and the Missa Gaia ("Earth Mass") mentioned in a recent issue ? Asimov has played name games before, and this fits interestingly with the speculations about the role of Earth and the Pebble in the Sky connection. jcpatilla ------------------------------ Date: 29 Nov 82 16:40:43-PST (Mon) From: npois!houxm!ihnp4!ixn5c!inuxc!inuxd!arlan at Ucb-C70 Subject: Review of Michener's SPACE Just read SPACE during a nice trip to Florida. I thought it to be very good, and disagree with comments here a few months ago that Michener was anti-SF. True, the stars of the book were not young fen, but when properly introduced to real SF, they responded commendably. Dr. Mott, one protagonist, was particularly impressed by Weinbaum; Randy Claggett, the redneck astronaut, was described as a lifelong fan; and several references are made, favorably, about Asimov, Heinlein, and Bradbury. To top it all off, when one (SPOILER!!) astronaut crashes on the moon, his last words are "Blessed St. Leibowitz, let them keep on dreamin' down there..." Who could possibly top that line? --arlan andrews btl/abi, indianapolis --317-845-6197 --POB 1008, Indianapolis, IN 46206 ------------------------------ Date: 30 Nov 82 21:26:41 EST (Tue) From: Tim Maroney Subject: Well World (spoiler) If you don't know who Nathan Brazil is after reading all five books, you must not have paid much attention to the last one. Nathan Brazil was a normal human in the last incarnation but three (I think) of the Universe. He was approached by the then-current Well World Repairman, who did to him whay he tried to do to Mavra Chang: hung the job on him and died. The repairman is the person who has to take the system down when some fool rips a hole in it, or otherwise maginifies a bug in the program. (This is, needless to say, a rather awful responsibility, since the beter part of all the sentients in the Universe die when you do this. This explains the suicidal tendencies of Well World Repair- persons.) Because Brazil belonged to an older version of the Universe, he was not completely compatible with this one, and thus gave Obie a serious stomachache when he ran through him. Other than that, the only special thing about Brazil was that the central computer made sure he didn't get killed and would let him take the system down. You are the first person I've ever heard of who read the series and didn't like it; try rereading it more carefully. Tim Maroney tim.unc@udel-relay (I think...) ------------------------------ Date: 1-Dec-82 11:33:12-PST (Wed) From: INGVAX.kalash@Berkeley (Joe Kalash) Subject: Wolfe book was NOT postponed The Wolfe book Citidal of the Autarch was not really postponed. Simon and Schuster are claiming it is a Jan. book, but have already released it. I am told that they want to make sure Citidal is not up against Sword of the Lictor at awards time. I'm not sure if this is going to work or not, Charlie Brown (publisher of Locus) is claiming it is an 82 book, and I don't know who is going to be believed. Joe ------------------------------ Date: Tuesday, 30 Nov 1982 23:50-PST Subject: Early reading and book stores From: gail at RAND-UNIX I remember quite clearly the first science fiction books I read. They were a series by Ruthven Todd (?). Some of the books were: Space Cat, Space Cat Goes to Mars, Space Cat Goes to Venus, Space Cat Has Kittens... As you can tell by the titles, they were aimed at an age group somewhat younger than the Mushroom Planet books (which I don't remember ever reading). Anyone remember these books? I can't even find them in the local library anymore. On a different note, I've been seeing mention of several bookstores here lately and it brings to mind something I've been meaning to bring up for a long time. When I'm in a strange city, one of my favorite things to do is find a good book store to browse. I would like to get a list of people's favorite stores around the country (or world?). Got any you'd like to recommend? If you send directly to me, I'll make a list and pass it on. (Please mention "bookstore" in the subject line.) What I'd like are the name, location (address if you have it handy), whether or not it is just science fiction, whether or not it has used books, and any general comments you want to make. I'll start off with a few of my own favorites: Mithras Bookstore in La Jolla, Calif. (with Unicorn Theater) General bookstore with a small used section and a really pleasant atmosphere for browsing (at least this was true 10-15 years ago when I lived there) Change of Hobbit in Santa Monica, Calif. (Lincoln near Pico) Need I say more? One of the best science fiction,etc. bookstores around. Small used section. Dangerous Visions in Sherman Oaks, Calif. (Ventura near Woodman) Somewhat smaller than CoH, but equally pleasant. And I've found books there not available at CoH. (sold out?) Wilshire Books in West Los Angeles, Calif. (Wilshire near Stanford) My favorite used book store around here. Some s.f. but mostly general. (name unknown) in Cambridge, Mass. (Over a Chinese restaurant near Harvard Square) A fairly small bookstore which is devoted to s.f. (Actually, they claim to be the biggest around (east coast?), so maybe I'm spoiled.) Mr. Dickens' Book Store in Sacramento, Calif. (5311 Elkhorn Blvd.) A good general book store, but at least the day I was there, the guy running it was really into s.f. Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon (11th and Burnside) One of the larest bookstores I've seen. One (very long) wall devoted to s.f. They have books on just about anything. Used books shelved in among new ones. MITSFS library at MIT. Not a store, but great for browsing. Anyway, that's the kind of thing I'm looking for. Thanks for any contributions. ------------------------------ Date: 1 Dec 1982 0331-EST From: Greg Skinner Subject: Why BG failed Battlestar Galactica (BG), like so many other SF TV series flopped for some similar reasons. Here are a few. 1) After the episode in which the transmission from Earth was picked up, they could have started up another season. (Actually they did -- it was called Galactica 1980) However, considering their original distance from Earth (Caprica was about 12 light-years away, judging from the Capricorn constelliation which is also about 12 light years away, I think), they would have had to come up with about twelve years in space of episodes. Perhaps they could have crunched it down to three or four years of episodes, but they would have run out of ways for the Galactans to fight Cylons or find markers to their Earth journey. 2) They were showing the episodes weekly. Now, a similar problem occurred in the series Wonder Woman (the original and the new) with Lynda Carter. Interest was dying in the show, because they were using up too many of their good episodes. What they did was time-share (!!) Wonder Woman with some other series that aired the same time and night that Wonder Woman did. This gave the producers a chance to spring surprises on viewers (like the Andros -- alien from outer space episode) and kept up interest in the show. The producers of Galactica could have done the same, but alack and alas, they didn't. 3) I saw both Apollo and Starbuck on other series (namely the Love Boat) not too long after BG ended, inclining me to believe that they had other acting interests other than SF. 4) What with SW in '77, and Close Encounters hot on its heels, and Superman I on its way in early '79, I think the American television audience had had their fill of SF on the air for a while. Still, BG was a GREAT tv series while it lasted. I think the earlier shows were the best, plus the few where they contacted the "gods" and "Terrans". Two of my favorite quotes came from the same episode (Greetings from Earth) -- I can't remember them now, but they both had to do with the controversy over the opening of the Terrans' life support units (one was by Apollo, the other by Adama). ------------------------------ Date: 1 Dec 1982 0414-PST From: Henry W. Miller Subject: Re: ST faves As was "Assignment: Earth", which was supposed to be a Star Trek spinnoff, about an advanced alien (of Terran ancestry) and a scatterbrained but brilliant secretary who were supposed to help Earth out during it's critical periods. How many of you realized that? -HWM ------------------------------ Date: 1 Dec 1982 0409-PST From: Henry W. Miller Subject: ST faves Thanks for reminding me. Don't know how I forgot it, but, yes, "The City on the Edge of Forever" rates in my top picks. -HWM ------------------------------ Date: 1 Dec 1982 0406-PST From: Henry W. Miller Subject: ST: More planet skewage Yesterday, I saw the first episode of the third season of Star Trek. One of my least favorites, "Spock's Brain". It did have it's moments, but... First, the planet skewage. Throughout the first half of the episode, they make it clear that they are going to the sixth planet of the system. Yet, later on, Sulu, who has the conn, records in the log, "We are currently in orbit around Sigma Draconis XII..." Why would they be in orbit around the 7th planet, when the 6th was clearly the target??? Scotty states that the underground power source is powerful enough to move the planet out of orbit. Either it's a nuclear pile a hundred miles across, or, advanced ion power. OK, fine. If the ancients had that type of power at their command, they could either A) move the planet into a more temporate orbit to alleviate the ice age, or, B) used the energy to expunge the empending ice age. If they had that power at their command, why would they exile the males to the colder upper levels? Why not keep both sexes below? And, if they had that technology, why did they require a humanoid brain as a controller? Why not a computer system, that could have surely outlasted the 10K span of the/a controller? The episode did have good acting: the scenes between Shatner and Kelley were among the best. But, the rest of the episode suffered. I'll have to list this as one of my five least favorites. -HWM ------------------------------ Date: 30 Nov 82 21:41:24 EST (Tue) From: Tim Maroney Subject: Worst Star Trek episode The one about the Yangs and the Komms was indeed one of the worst; its dumbest part was when Kirk recognized the (gasp!) Pledge of Allegiance and charmed everyone by reciting it. This was explained by "parallel evolution". Right. Another really pathetic one was where Kirk, Spock, Abraham Lincoln, and Sarek of Vulcan fight Genghis Khan and crew in a purposeless and unexplained "battle of good vs. evil" which is of course won by Kirk and Spock's combat skills. The absolute worst has to be the first movie, of course, which I assume everyone is familiar with. All three of these were written by Gene Roddenberry, the show's producer. Strangely enough, after he left the show (third season), all the episodes were like that, including such beauties as the season opener, "Spock's Brain"; the one about the space hippies with lettuce ears; and "Day of the Dove", in which the Klingons, who had been previously established to treat women as subhuman pleasure machines, have female officers. (I get the feeling this was a misplaced attempt to be non-sexist.) This may have more to do with the fact that Dorothy Fontana, the story editor, left, since I doubt Roddenberry knows sf from his right nostril. "City on the Edge of Forever" was definiteley the best; who knows what the other Star Trek episode to win a Hugo was? Tim Maroney tim.unc@udel-relay ------------------------------ Date: 1 Dec 1982 1916-PST From: Henry W. Miller Subject: Star Trek Plotlines One nice thing about being sick is being able to watch Star Trek in the afternoon. Today I saw a double header with amazingly similar plot lines: "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky", and "Paradise Syndrome". In both cases, Kirk and company discover civilizations that stem from ancient origins, both faced with eminent extinction due to cosmic calamities. Both civilizations are being watched over by mechanical caretakers who have malfunctioned, and the knowledge to effect repairs had been lost. In one case, Kirk falls in love and marries the Chief's daughter, in the other, McCoy marries the high priestess. In the end, the lost knowledge is regained, and Spock reactivates. It is interesting that the Third Season produced two episodes that were so similar. While neither of the episodes were my favorites, they were by far not the ones I dislike the most. Maybe that was a symptom of dry-rot: lack of creativity. -HWM ------------------------------ Date: 30 Nov 82 16:27:30-PST (Tue) From: decvax!cwruecmp!honton at Ucb-C70 Subject: Re: The Other Concerening the "other", my favorite is Darth Vader himself. He really isn't that bad of guy. Consider: In Star Wars IV "A New Hope", he prevents Princess Leia from being executed. He makes a martyr out of Obi Wan, (elevating him to a higher plane.) He doesn't even stop the rebels from destroying the Death Star. Other considerations would be to take into account that he may be able to fight the empire from within and this bad guy image is a disguise. (If Darth really did hunt down all the Jedi, he did a pretty poor job) He may also be won back to the good side of the force. (When Yoda talks of another hope, doeas he make it seem like a new person, or maybe one who will change sides?) Another thing, remember that the Jedi fought together in the clone wars? Perhaps Darth really is the clone of Luke's father. My final thought, If Darth does not go through some sort of change, why is there a partial "unveiling" in the Empire Strikes Back? Just trying out some thoughts, chas (..!decvax!cwruecmp!honton) ------------------------------ Date: 1 December 1982 11:21-EST From: Christopher C. Stacy Lucas claims consistantly that the "other" is a character who has not been in the SW movies we have seen. ------------------------------ Date: 1 Dec 1982 13:47:20 EST (Wednesday) From: Winston Edmond Subject: Yoda Reply to krm at Ucb-C70 Belief in "the Force" and training in its use has often been referred to as an old religion. Luke was sent to Yoda to learn the ways of the force as a part of learning to become a Jedi knight, but probably there are other parts to becoming a Jedi. We are told that Yoda is a Jedi Master, but he doesn't seem to have ever been a Jedi knight. If the Jedi are a religious order similar to some in the middle ages, Yoda is simply a religious authority/instructor and the knights are a military arm of the religion. ------------------------------ Date: 1 Dec 1982 1637-EST From: Stephen R Balzac Subject: Sharra Somehow I doubt that even Luke, Leia and Boba Fet could control Sharra, although I'd bet that Vader would like to try. ------------------------------ Date: 1 Dec 1982 1814-PST From: Henry W. Miller Subject: The Other, etc. The image of the Emperor was ideed Alec Guiness' face, although the voice belonged to someone else (Cyril Ritchard?), and the eyes were those of a chimpanzee. (It seems at the time Sir Guiness's eyes were suffering some disorder that made them extremely sensitive to light. Besides, it added an air of mystery) Bobba Fett wanted Solo for the bounty offered by Jabba the Hut. Helping Vader was just a stroke of mutual luck. (Then again, was it? The points put forth are very enticing, and cannot be totally discounted. There may be much more to Bobba Fett than meets the eye...) -HWM ------------------------------ Date: 1 Dec 82 2:27:21-EST (Wed) From: Ron Natalie Subject: More SF Music...Sort of.. About two years ago I picked up an album with a very cute cover showing C3PO on drums, an imperial storm trouper playing sax, and Chewbacca on the piano, with Vader at a table in the audience. The album is called "EMPIRE JAZZ" and has prog. jazz versions of things like Vader's March. Not too bad, I picked it up since it did have a rather impressive list of performers on it. -Ron ------------------------------ Date: 29 Nov 82 21:59:27-PST (Mon) From: harpo!floyd!vax135!ariel!houti!lime!we13!otuxa!ll1!ihldt!ihnp4!i From: xn5c!inuxc!inuxd!arlan at Ucb-C70 Subject: More Andrews Filk!! To the New Jersey SF Society and others who have so graciously asked for more, here are more filk from the musical comedies presented at Inconjunctions I & II by the Circle of Janus SF Club of Indianapolis, the players known as the "It's Not Our Fault" players [who have the motto NO EST NOS CULPA.] Both plays will eventually be available from Roger Reynolds in FUTURE FOCUS fanzine, should he ever get it published again. In the meantime, [adv.] I'll be happy to allow any SF group to present the plays for the modest remuneration of a roundtrip airticket to see it...or at least a videotape of the producution. Filk: "You're Copyrighted" from ELFTREK: A TWO-PINI OPERA copyright 1982 by Dr. Arlan Keith Andrews, Sr. all rights reservedl (including net!!) [sung by Richman and Wednesday Dollar to their creations, the elves of ELFTREK.] (melody: "Good Morning Starshine") You're copyrighted We thought you should know We own your adventure Whereever you go Yes, little elf folk We're counting on you Keep on with your elf trekking We've got a lot more volumes due! I am Richman Dollar This is my wife, Wednesday We created you! We made up the Elftrek We cash all of your checks [omit last line--terminal error!; She does all the artwork And I the other smartwork And that's how we knew We made up the Elftrek We cash all of your checks And that 's why we love you! Note: Janus believe that some photos of this play might be in the current issue of Elfquest. ------------------------------ Date: 1 Dec 1982 11:51:37-EST From: csin!cjh at CCA-UNIX Subject: Obscure bumper sticker:net.jokes Ankh if you like LOGAN'S RUN ------------------------------ End of SF-LOVERS Digest *********************** Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com