[TML] Alternate Firefly review

[Jerry W Barrington]

On 8/12/08 3:40 PM, "Bruce Johnson" <johnson at pharmacy.arizona.edu> wrote:

> Ah well. If I limited my entertainment consumption to only those
> things which provided rigorous adherence to reality, I couldn't even
> watch the news on TV.

Hmm.  I think I may need to clarify my position a bit.

1.  I've never claimed that certain forms of entertainment should be made.
Everything from cheesy porn to Masterpiece Theatre has it's place, and
that's fine.

I don't necessarily claim that any given show or movie can't be
entertaining.  Every person has their own idea of entertainment (seen
above).  Some even enjoy stuff over a broad range.  I myself have been know
to enjoy cheesy porn *and* Masterpiece Theatre.  In large part, it depends
on what I'm looking for at the moment.

What I have a problem with is things being labeled something they are not.
If somebody says "X is a wonderful candybar", and it turns out to be a great
chip, that's wrong.  I may *like* it, but if I'm hungry for a candybar, it's
the wrong thing.

For instance, I have greatly enjoyed the original 3 Star Wars movies.  They
are wonderful *stories*.  They are not, however, SF.  They are future
fantasy.  That is not a judgment the SF is inherently better than future
fantasy.  But when I'm in the mood for one, it annoys me to receive the
other.



2.  And the important thing, even for Hard SF, is *not* necessarily close
adherence to our known reality.  It's more important that it adhere to an
*internal* reality.  If you posit an FTL drive, with certain
characteristics, good SF should take all the consequences of that drive.
That's why Niven quit writing stories set at of after the Ringworld
adventure.  He had written himself into a corner with Teela's "luck gene".
:)

But, by setting Firefly in the universe containing our Earth, yes, he took
on the reality of that universe.  It's OK to posit things that go beyond
known science, but not totally overturn it.

Unless of course, that overturning *is* the major thing you're positing.
But then your new physics needs to support life.  :)  Extending physics is
much easier than rewriting it from scratch.



3.  In general, TV news is neither good entertainment, nor close to reality.
No, I don't watch it.