Free Firefly novel "My Own Kind of Freedom" - Page 5

Steven Lyle Jordan · 02-12-2008, 02:52 PM

As long as we're sharing...

I was a Trek:TOS fan from the beginning, although I didn't see the entire series until it was into local syndication (I watched 2 of them on the first airing, being allowed to stay up late those nights as a special treat). It took me a bit to get into ST:TNG, seeing the potential but having to grit my teeth at the bad writing and hapless acting until they found their stride, somewhere in the middle of the second season. DS9 had promise that they only occasionally lived up to. Voyager started out strong, and had some of the most intelligent Trek material since TOS in my opinion, but was getting weak at the end. Enterprise=useless, from day one.

I was a fan of Anderson's UFO series, good characters and a hackneyed but workable premise, but not 1999... cardboard characters and a weak premise were killers. Loved B5, and still plan to convert my manually-recorded VCR tapes of the entire series to DVD, soon. Also loved Farscape for excellent characters and lush settings/stories, and want to add that to my collection.

Firefly was great, despite (yes, despite) ye olde western dialog. Don't get me wrong, the "space as frontier" motif works for me, but not really with the circa 1880 dialog ("Now that we're kissin' sky, I'm'a hankerin' for some vittles..." shyeah). Still, I realize that Whedon was using that as TV shorthand to capture the right mood, so I rolled with it.

Adam B. · 02-12-2008, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Enterprise=useless, from day one.

I was actually a fan of Enterprise. Maybe it's because I only watched TNG and the Movies, or that I think Scott Bakula is awesome (Who didn't love Quantum Leap?). But hey, I enjoyed watching every season of it... Maybe it also helps that I just Netflix'ed it, and didn't pay anything extra to watch them...

JSWolf · 02-12-2008, 03:35 PM

I do have to agree that Babylon 5 was just so good. I was sorry to see it go. The characters were just so good and you cared about them too. The effects were done on a home computer.

The problem with Enterprise was Paramount. Enterprise did start off slow and built up to be quite good. But because of the slow start, people did not really tune in and Paramount didn't see that it was getting to be quite good and (IMHO) would have had people tuning in.

Donnageddon · 02-12-2008, 09:52 PM

I missed Babylon 5 the first time around and just started watching it last summer. SO far I have finished 4 1/2 seasons (all on my iPod Touch). The first few epsodes had me shaking my head muttering "what is this hackneyed crap"? But after that there was no stopping. Fantastic story arc!

Put me down as a fan of Enterprise also. I thought it had a good three more seasons in it.

And Firefly was a real great character study. I am enjoying the book very much. Hope there is more to come.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 02-12-2008, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam B.

(Who didn't love Quantum Leap?)

Hated it. I've never liked a single time-travel/change the past show. And the whole "I look like me, but to others I look like someone else" bit was just plain messed up. I didn't hold a grudge against Bakula, and there were other members of the cast that I could watch all day (cough-Hoshi!-cough), but Paramount did such a c**p job with Enterprise that I couldn't watch past 3 episodes.

Nate the great · 02-12-2008, 11:58 PM

All these posts, and not one good word for Stargate SG-1? I love that show.

tribble · 02-13-2008, 02:06 AM

Agreed. SG-1 is very much fun. The plot is sometimes ... lets say ... just stupid, but i really like the characters and that they do not take themselves too seriously.

And now something important.
If you like Steven Bursts writing, then appreciate him here, for being born:
http://dreamcafe.com/donate.html

Nate the great · 02-13-2008, 07:18 AM

I just finished season 3 of the current Doctor Who. Awesome.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 02-13-2008, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

All these posts, and not one good word for Stargate SG-1? I love that show.

I knew I was forgetting something! SG1 was a great show, though I thought it started to lose it about the time Earthlings got their very own starships. Then it fell into the same "uber-baddie of the season" stuff that killed DS9 for me. Incidentally, that's why I never latched onto SG:Atlantis, because that's exactly where they started out.

I've been enjoying Dr. Who, though it's modernized, it still comes off campy, but frequently excellent storytelling, and always fun to watch.

And one other I'm looking forward to coming back on is Eureka, another serious/silly SF show that at least acknowledges their silly side.

What have we missed? Oh, yeah: Flash Gordon is drek.

tribble · 02-13-2008, 09:25 AM

Flash Gordon really sucks, but i still watch it. Its the thought of what it could have been, that keeps me watching it.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 02-13-2008, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tribble

Flash Gordon really sucks, but i still watch it. Its the thought of what it could have been, that keeps me watching it.

I never thought much of its potential, myself. Goofy premise (galactic baddie somehow really, really close to Earth threatens to take it over, but he's always thwarted by this one guy) never worked for me. And God, the lame characters make Space:1999 look like Spartacus!

carandol · 02-13-2008, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

What have we missed?

Blake's 7! I watched series one on DVD recently, the first time I'd seen it since I was a teenager, many moons ago. The sets were wobbly, the acting was very theatrical, the special effects were rubbish -- but I was surprised how compelling it was, for all that. I can see I'm going to have to invest in the rest of the series. I reckon it was an influence on Firefly too -- bunch of rogues wandering round the universe, bickering and doing good.

There's even a bit of dialogue in one of the episodes -- "Nice shot!" "I was aiming for his head." -- which I doubt is a coincidence

Nate the great · 02-13-2008, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

What have we missed? Oh, yeah: Flash Gordon is drek.

We missed Alien Nation. Not the movie, the tv series. IMHO this show is one notch down from Firefly in the category of greatest cancelled scifi shows of all time.

tompe · 02-13-2008, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carandol

Blake's 7! I watched series one on DVD recently, the first time I'd seen it since I was a teenager, many moons ago. The sets were wobbly, the acting was very theatrical, the special effects were rubbish -- but I was surprised how compelling it was, for all that. I can see I'm going to have to invest in the rest of the series. I reckon it was an influence on Firefly too -- bunch of rogues wandering round the universe, bickering and doing good.

There's even a bit of dialogue in one of the episodes -- "Nice shot!" "I was aiming for his head." -- which I doubt is a coincidence

I really like Blake's 7 and have seen all four series many times. It is the dialog and the character interactions that are good. I know that B7 influenced B5.

JSWolf · 02-13-2008, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I just finished season 3 of the current Doctor Who. Awesome.

I highly agree. The New Dr. Who is very good.

Also, we must not forget one other really good show... RED DWARF!

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02-12-2008, 02:52 PM	#61
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	As long as we're sharing... I was a Trek:TOS fan from the beginning, although I didn't see the entire series until it was into local syndication (I watched 2 of them on the first airing, being allowed to stay up late those nights as a special treat). It took me a bit to get into ST:TNG, seeing the potential but having to grit my teeth at the bad writing and hapless acting until they found their stride, somewhere in the middle of the second season. DS9 had promise that they only occasionally lived up to. Voyager started out strong, and had some of the most intelligent Trek material since TOS in my opinion, but was getting weak at the end. Enterprise=useless, from day one. I was a fan of Anderson's UFO series, good characters and a hackneyed but workable premise, but not 1999... cardboard characters and a weak premise were killers. Loved B5, and still plan to convert my manually-recorded VCR tapes of the entire series to DVD, soon. Also loved Farscape for excellent characters and lush settings/stories, and want to add that to my collection. Firefly was great, despite (yes, despite) ye olde western dialog. Don't get me wrong, the "space as frontier" motif works for me, but not really with the circa 1880 dialog ("Now that we're kissin' sky, I'm'a hankerin' for some vittles..." shyeah). Still, I realize that Whedon was using that as TV shorthand to capture the right mood, so I rolled with it.

02-12-2008, 03:35 PM	#63
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,746 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I do have to agree that Babylon 5 was just so good. I was sorry to see it go. The characters were just so good and you cared about them too. The effects were done on a home computer. The problem with Enterprise was Paramount. Enterprise did start off slow and built up to be quite good. But because of the slow start, people did not really tune in and Paramount didn't see that it was getting to be quite good and (IMHO) would have had people tuning in.

02-12-2008, 09:52 PM	#64
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	I missed Babylon 5 the first time around and just started watching it last summer. SO far I have finished 4 1/2 seasons (all on my iPod Touch). The first few epsodes had me shaking my head muttering "what is this hackneyed crap"? But after that there was no stopping. Fantastic story arc! Put me down as a fan of Enterprise also. I thought it had a good three more seasons in it. And Firefly was a real great character study. I am enjoying the book very much. Hope there is more to come.

02-12-2008, 11:58 PM	#66
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	All these posts, and not one good word for Stargate SG-1? I love that show.

02-13-2008, 02:06 AM	#67
tribble iLiad Maniac Posts: 1,382 Karma: 2369 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany Device: Bookeen Opus (i love that thing) and iPad (what an irony)	Agreed. SG-1 is very much fun. The plot is sometimes ... lets say ... just stupid, but i really like the characters and that they do not take themselves too seriously. And now something important. If you like Steven Bursts writing, then appreciate him here, for being born: http://dreamcafe.com/donate.html

02-13-2008, 07:18 AM	#68
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	I just finished season 3 of the current Doctor Who. Awesome.

02-13-2008, 09:25 AM	#70
tribble iLiad Maniac Posts: 1,382 Karma: 2369 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany Device: Bookeen Opus (i love that thing) and iPad (what an irony)	Flash Gordon really sucks, but i still watch it. Its the thought of what it could have been, that keeps me watching it.