February 22, 2005
General:
I'm not a "fanboy"...
By Jack Grant...really, I'm not. I don't think bigger is always better, I don't think that special effects in movies are cool just for themselves if they don't serve the story. I'm a science fiction fan, but I am very critical if the story isn't there.
I like Star Trek the best, the original series that actually tried to explore problems instead of giving the "technobabble of the week" that it eventually degenerated into. I like Babylon 5 almost as much.
Star Wars, I like, but not as much as Star Trek or Babylon 5, mainly due to the stories and the issues they explore. The archetypes in Star Wars are less than satisfying to me, compared to the human characters and the ambiguity of stories like The City on the Edge of Forever (from the original Star Trek, one of the best episodes of any television series, ever...) or the overall story from the five year run of Babylon 5.
Having said that, and taking into account how unsatisfying as movies the first two films in the Star Wars "prequil" trilogy have been, I am looking forward Episode III, simply for the lightsabre duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (soon to be Darth Vader). As was shown in Babylon 5, a slow buildup to a confrontation can make that confrontation resonate more than it would if you had not seen (or in this case given the first two films, endured might be a better word) the events leading up to it.
It still doesn't excuse the faults as movies that Episode I and Episode II have, though, especially compared to the original Star Wars (now Episode IV - A New Hope) and Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. The Ewoks in Epiosde VI - Return of the Jedi should have been a warning to the problems with George Lucas and what he tended to do when released from the fetters of restrictions from studios and budgets. Often the restrictions are what force the creativity that captures the imagination.
Posted by Jack Grant at 20:04 on 22 February 2005naw, the ewoks were cool! Of course, I was 6 when I saw ROTJ for the 1st time.
Posted by: caltechgirl at February 23, 2005 12:40 AMIf i do remember STAR TREKS classic episode CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER had LOAN COLLINS as a woman EDITH KELLOR and it involved the GUARDIAN OF FOREVER or what ever(A QUESTION)
Posted by: Killdeer at February 23, 2005 03:57 PMActually, it looks like we get at least three epic lightsabre battles in Episode III.
As far as COTEOFM goes, the actual episode was horribly watered down by the execs at the network (citing concerns over a portrayal of "drug abuse"!!!). Since His Harlan-ness was the writer, we shouldn't be surprised at this, but it's worth noting that Ellison's (untampered-with) screenplay won a Hugo award.
Ellison was also the Creative Consultant on Babylon 5 (I too am a fan of B5) - to the extent that I own all six DVD sets...but I only have the Star Trek movies on DVD).
