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Since first seeing the 70's reruns of Star Trek, I've been a dedicated fan of science fiction. The appeal of science fiction to me is contained in the question, "Do humans become different creatures when in different environments, or will they essentially behave the same?" Until the 1800s, it was generally assumed that mankind started out perfect in the Garden of Eden, and was basically getting more and more corrupt and degenerate leading up to Armageddon and the end of the world. The role science played in popular culture involved a reversal of this theme, the notion that in the future mankind would eliminate disease, poverty, injustice, violence and mistreatment. Although some futuristic works such as 1984, Brave New World and Logan's Run paint a picture of a horrific world, others like Star Trek assume that in three or four hundred years, we will have evolved beyond the need for money, outgrown ethnic and religious conflicts, and acquired universal respect for each other. My prefered vision of the future includes elements from both these environments, such as is found in the TV series Babylon 5. Set in the 23rd century, Babylon 5 brings a number of new ideas to TV science fiction. Firstly, and most importantly to me, Babylon 5 is a story about people, and includes some wonderful characterisations. The series was planned from the start to run for 5 seasons, during which a continuous story would be told - a contrast to the majority of Star Trek episodes, where things are generally 'reset' to their original conditions at the end of the story. The space-ships and other alien settings in B5 are completely computer generated, a break from the traditional model-based shots of earlier series. One slogan adopted by the shows production team is "No cute kids or robots". B5 is aimed at an adult audience. The show is the brainchild of producer Joe Strazynski, executive producer and writer of many of the episodes. Another novelty factor is that Joe spends several hours a day interacting directly with the fans of the show on the internet. This brings with it a series of problems, but is a crucial part of the show's enjoyment. Basically, unless you follow the on-line discussions you miss some of the more subtle plot devices. I'm growing increasingly dismayed with the route which mainstream science fiction is taking. It seems that someone has decided that special effects are what audiences come to see. I feel sure that a typical 90s movie starts life as a list of special effects on a story board, and is usually fleshed out with a kiddie's fairy story for a plot and cardboard cutout characters. Among the earliest examples of this trend are the Star Wars movies, and the original Star Trek movie, which is nothing more than a series of reaction shots as the cast gaze in amazement at a variety of swirly things. As part of this movement, quality series of the 60's and 70's like Blakes 7 and The Invaders are commonly written off simply because of their unconvincing model shots. |