Pet Peeves About Sci-Fi #004

[lampbane]

A few weeks ago I finally sat down and watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars. That would be the original CGI movie, not the television show. Um. I guess it wasn't that bad, but everyone is just so annoying and the action isn't anything special and Ahsoka is really, really annoying. I'll probably check out the show anyway

Comments

[grysar]

I think there is some logic to going with no aliens, a la Firefly, when you don't think you can adequately handle a wide range of aliens.

I think it is fair to just call for getting the cultural references right. There's a fair number of other genres that manage to get by without pulling that trick. That said, I do think it would be fun to throw in a character that does that regularly but gets the references wrong consistently.

[lampbane]

That said, I do think it would be fun to throw in a character that does that regularly but gets the references wrong consistently.

They do that with characters from/in the future quite a bit actually (I think Booster Gold might be an example), but I assume you mean aliens using cultural references or humans using alien references.

[pseudohistorian]

Star Wars only has a superficial diversity of aliens. I can't think of any species (or AI) in that universe which I would really call "alien" in its thinking.

This is essentially why I can never really buy into that universe, for all of its integrated detail--the only cultural variety is in language and appearance, while technology and politics remain basically static for millennia at a time.

Your points about Star Trek are valid, but at least I think TPTB are more aware of it there and occasionally point it out, as in Star Trek VI (with Azetbur's, "The Federation is nothing but a homo sapiens-only club.") or DS9 (with groups like the Founders, who aren't interested in human, or even humanoid, ways of thinking).

FWIW, the novels also go further in expanding on this...the Star Trek: Titan novels, for example, have a much more diverse crew on purpose, as Riker's ship is deliberately meant to get away from "traditional" human dominance in starship crews.

Andromeda had the potential to address all these things, but after the show was

[lampbane]

The books also have the benefit of the greatest special-effects computer of all ;)

Also: "Shakespeare is best when read in the original Klingon."

(God, I love that movie.)

[pseudohistorian]

(God, I love that movie.)

Ditto...I don't even understand people who have a hate on for The Undiscovered Country.