Subj : Re: Serenity: My Thoughtful Review To : alt.tv.farscape From : Jim Larson Date : Tue Oct 04 2005 22:40:51 From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape Tyler Trafford wrote: > Rick Savoia wrote: >> Tyler Trafford wrote in >> news:3qfnotFer1vrU2@individual.net: >> >>> Jim Larson wrote: >>>> Rick Savoia wrote: >>>> >>>>> Jim Larson wrote in >>>>> news:Xns96E4C0767C0B83v234oiwofui3284af93@130.133.1.18: >>>>> >>>>>> weirdwolf wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Jim Larson wrote in >>>>>>> news:Xns96E4BD53C9BC53v234oiwofui3284af93@130.133.1.18: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> weirdwolf wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Jim Larson wrote in >>>>>>>>> news:Xns96E4BAE389D1E3v234oiwofui3284af93@130.133.1.18: >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> weirdwolf wrote: >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Jim Larson wrote in >>>>>>>>>>> news:Xns96E4B521EB7BE3v234oiwofui3284af93@130.133.1.18: >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> weirdwolf wrote: >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>> Jim Larson wrote in >>>>>>>>>>>>> news:Xns96E4B19C342FD3v234oiwofui3284af93@130.133.1.18: >>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>> weirdwolf wrote: >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Jim Larson wrote in >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> news:Xns96E4ACA194E163v234oiwofui3284af93@130.133.1.18: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> weirdwolf wrote: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Rick Savoia wrote in >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> news:Xns96E4AC9D1F629rsavoiaNOSPAMyahooco@127.0.0.1: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Trouble wrote in >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> news:K_SdnR1O1_e93tzeRVn-jg@comcast.com: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> RR wrote: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Jim Larson wrote: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I've got Disc 1 at the top of my Netflix queue and >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I'm going to try and check out the flick this week >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> despite my ignorance. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The movie is probably just fine on its own. However, >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> certain events lose some of their impact if you >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> haven't been along for the (regrettably short) ride. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I really would think that it would *have* to stand >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> alone to be worthy of having been made on such a >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> scale. The show's incredibly short run probably made >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> that a fairly easy thing to accomplish. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Actually there is a little time lapsed between the end >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> of the series, beginning of the movie, and the >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> characters, while unchanged they have been dialed up a >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 'little' to recreate tensions that were alleviated in >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> time during the series. The time lapse is sufficient >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> for series watchers to understand things are strained >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 'again' and for non-series viewers to have tension and >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> conflict to pin the story on. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sci Fi had been running the eps on Fridays, and had a >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> marathon recently of eps... BUT, you should be able to >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> walk into the theater without having seen the series, >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the first twenty minutes are laden with enough >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> character dialogue and camera/characters-still-moving >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> exposition enough to let you know who everyone is. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Surprised I haven't seen this mentioned here, they >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> have resolved the Galaxy / Solar System conundrum, the >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pilot originally said one thing, the Series said >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> another. The movie has picked Solar System. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Solar System just doesn't seem big enough though. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Even if you have a solar system of a reasonable size, >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> it just seems too small to support the multiple planets >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> and moons they've been to as well as the concept of >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> something like the Alliance. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> It's also very hard to lose a planet in a Solar System. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If it were just a Solar System, I'd have pictured the >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Reavers overrunning the place by now. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Personally, I always thought they were in a cluster of >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Solar systems with a few terraformed planets/moons in >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> each. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Thats what I thought when I heard about the change, why >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> stick to pulling bankjobs in California when you can >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> go to Bolivia? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Because you need FTL drives to go to Bolivia. Anyway, >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everyone knows what happens in Bolivia... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> And they say Americans know nothing about world geography! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> So we are fine with space travel, terra forming and >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> psychic assasins but not ok with FTL travel? >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Prexactly! >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Right, fine, ok, just so long as I know where to >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> draw the line of sensibleness in the sand of made up >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> stuff. We wouldn't want to cross that line now would we, >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> even if it was by using the z axis. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Damn right. That way lies madness. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>> Soooo just how did all those people get to a solar system >>>>>>>>>>>>> that is third star from the right and keep on till dawn, >>>>>>>>>>>>> without FTL travel? A sprinkling of fairy dust? >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> Well obviously it was magic. Sheesh. Someone people...gotta >>>>>>>>>>>> explain every little thing. >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> (A single one way trip taking maybe a couple of decades or a >>>>>>>>>>>> couple of centuries with most of a seed population in cold >>>>>>>>>>>> storage is a different thing than zipping back and forth >>>>>>>>>>>> between solar systems every five minutes.) >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Well to get to alpha centuri at light speed would take what >>>>>>>>>>> 4.3 years so lets be generous and say you can travel at a fair >>>>>>>>>>> old clip, 6 years say. >>>>>>>>>>> OF course although AC is sun like so is it's companion and it >>>>>>>>>>> has a red >>>>>>>>>>> dwarf companion as well. Maybe not the ideal place to live. So >>>>>>>>>>> we could look further afield. Barnards star, Wolf 359, Luyten >>>>>>>>>>> 726-8 a and B,Ross 154 and Lalande 21185 are all red dwarfs. >>>>>>>>>>> Sirius B is a white dwarf. Sirius A on the other hand is >>>>>>>>>>> pretty damn hot at 10,000 degrees C and about twice as large >>>>>>>>>>> as the sun.` >>>>>>>>>>> We are 10+ light years out now and still >>>>>>>>>>> looking.Unfortunately we have >>>>>>>>>>> reached the limits of my knowledge anybody who's good at >>>>>>>>>>> astronomy know where the nearest Earth like single star system >>>>>>>>>>> is? >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Doesn't matter. We will posit that in the year 2123 the >>>>>>>>>> Chinindian astronomer Mohandas Lu will have discovered the >>>>>>>>>> exact location of the ideal replacement solar system. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> My first night at Mandarin lessons we were talking about >>>>>>>>> syllables and >>>>>>>>> practasing the Ai sound. The rather staid lady teaching us was >>>>>>>>> saying that it was used in combination to make an impolite word. >>>>>>>>> I of course without engaging my brain went "oh! you mean Aima!" >>>>>>>>> Stoopid Firefly swearing getting me into trouble. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> This alone would have established the rockitude of Firefly, had >>>>>>>> it needed establishing. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> (What does it mean?) >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Er,bugger I meant to type Aiya, it means something like damn. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> Of course even in slow than light ships with a stasised crew >>>>>>>>>>> you have to >>>>>>>>>>> take enough food/water so that you can feed everybody whiile >>>>>>>>>>> you are terra forming the planets.Which would take years. Oh >>>>>>>>>>> and you would have >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Autonomous terraforming. People stay in stasis until it's done >>>>>>>>>> for at least a few planets. Robots don't get bored. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> If only! The Robot Williams model may have self distructed >>>>>>>>> rather >>>>>>>>> inflict such harm on the humans that went to see his version of >>>>>>>>> the Asimov story. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Asimov's robots were pansies. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> to work out how big a population you would have to bring so >>>>>>>>>>> that inbreeding didn't reduce your pioneers to such a state >>>>>>>>>>> that they are distracted by shiny things, become enamoured by >>>>>>>>>>> their swine, play the banjo and develop funny accents. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> Super neato-keen genetic engineering = no more problems with >>>>>>>>>> limited gene pool. >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> And yet you still have trouble with FTL travel... >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Yes. sn-kge is an extrapolation of existing science. FTL requires >>>>>>>> a refutation of relativity or some funky yet massive paradigm >>>>>>>> shift. Not saying it can't happen, but it is not the path of >>>>>>>> least resistance, grasshopper. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Depends on how good peoples branes are. >>>>>> >>>>>> Branes are best with marinara sauce. mmmmmmbranesmmmmmmm >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Thrakazogg? Is that you? >>>>> >>>> >>>> Wha?!? >>> >>> (A reference from The Tick cartoon.) >> >> "The Tick vs. the Uncommon Cold" to be exact. Get with it Larson. > > I Arthur! That you are. -- Jim .