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quality, interrupted
There are some very astute commentators out there, such as Diane Werts, a staff writer for Newsday.com. In her 21 September 03 article about the Emmys she notes:
And "Farscape" had three strikes against it: the sci-fi genre, SciFi Channel and being shot in Australia. Plus alien makeup-heaven forbid voters look past it to realize those weird galactic creatures offered some of the tube's most deeply human psychological insight.
Here's a case in point, the character Ka D'Argo, acted by Anthony Simcoe.
Werts' article brings up another interesting topic: there are a lot of people out there writing about Farscape. Not just fan fiction (although there's a lot of that, and much of it very good). People are also writing at length about the series itself. For example, there's Clare Sainsbury's opinion piece at Flakmag, which challenges the mainstream media's tendency to classify certain kinds of fandom (sports and music, for example) as acceptable, while others are deemed suspect. She writes:
One recurrent criticism of fan campaigns is that fans should be expending this time and energy on something more socially productive. But, as fans are eager to point out, many of us already do. My "day job" is as a campaigner for the rights of children and adults with autism. A life? Already got one, thanks.
And despite the cliché of science-fiction fans as teenage boys, viewers of "Farscape" are mostly adult professionals. Almost uniquely among science-fiction shows, it draws equal numbers of men and women. And a roll call of fans online turned up plenty of doctors, fire-fighters, counselors, teachers and so on — in addition to the predictable number of software engineers.
September 23, 2003 05:12 PM
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Comments
Storytelling. Isn't that the heart of it all? I remember my grandpa sitting at the end of my bed when I was a little girl. Bedtime,on the rare ocassions that he could visit, meant at least one and sometimes two of the best stories. I never got enough. Your insight takes us into the 21st century. We still need stories. All kinds.
This blog sight is wonderful. So much thought provoking material -I might even have to flip on the sci-fi channel. Your recommendations are like gold nuggets, since they come from a favored author. I was too shy to pick your brain with some of these ideas at one of your book signings. This site is so much more. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing a part of yourself with us. Be sure and continue to toss any writing tid-bits our way as well. You'll see more of me around here.
Jeannie
Posted by: Jeannie at September 23, 2003 08:02 PM