Article 427 of alt.zines: Path: ccs.itd.umich.edu!destroyer!gatech!darwin.sura.net!bogus.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!cleveland.Freenet.Edu!xx133 From: xx133@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Cyberspace Vanguard Magazine) Newsgroups: alt.fandom.misc,alt.zines,rec.mag Subject: CYBERSPACE VANGUARD -- VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 Date: 4 Feb 1993 14:21:46 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA) Lines: 1579 Message-ID: <1kr8pqINNua@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> Reply-To: cn577@Cleveland.freenet.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: slc8.ins.cwru.edu Xref: ccs.itd.umich.edu alt.fandom.misc:293 alt.zines:427 rec.mag:904 CYBERSPACE VANGUARD: News and Views of the Science Fiction Universe Volume 1, Issue 2 February 3, 1992 TJ Goldstein, Editor Sarah Alexander, Administrator WELL WE MADE IT THROUGH TO A SECOND ISSUE! All the work was worth it though. Looking at addresses of response cards, we have discovered that CYBERSPACE VANGUARD reaches at least four continents: North America, Europe, Australia, and Africa. Represented countries are: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, Australia, South Africa, and the Netherlands. There are probably more, but we can't tell from the address. If you're reading this in any other country or continent, please let us know. SO WHAT IS THIS THING? It's an electronic magazine of news, articles, and interviews from the universe of science fiction and fantasy. (We're pretty liberal there, taking in animation, comics, medieval fantasy, a little adventure here and there ...) WHAT ABOUT REPOSTING? CV is registered with the United States Copyright Office, but permission is granted to repost it to other electronic services and BBS's IN IT'S ENTIRETY. (That means, among other things, that this notice must be intact.) All we ask is that you tell us where and approximately how many people will see it so that we can estimate our circulation. TO REPOST INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES: Since all rights revert to the author upon publication, you MUST contact us prior to lifting an article for reposting, or for a newsletter. (BTW: Anything that doesn't have a byline was written by me personally, and I've put too much work into it to take this lightly. I usually don't ask for a fee, but GET PERMISSION!) AND SPEAKING OF WRITERS, we need some. Writers guidelines can be obtained from: cn577@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Internet) Cyberspace Vanguard@1:157/564 (Fidonet) Cyberspace Vanguard@40:204/564 (Amiganet) If you are not on any of these mail systems, or if you just prefer to communicate on paper, write to the following address (and don't forget a SASE): Cyberspace Vanguard PO Box 25704 Garfield Hts, OH 44125 USA [Note: Mr. Hillman, they're on the way.] NOW THAT THAT'S SETTLED ... What's in this issue? Oh, lots of things. Aside from the news, we've got interviews with LEVAR BURTON of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION; COLM MEANEY of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE; KATHERINE KURTZ, author of the DERYNI books; MIKE CARLIN, editor of SUPERMAN; and BJO TRIMBLE, matriarch of STAR TREK fandom and now chief flag waver for the SPACE, FANTASY & ADVENTURE NETWORK, plus Rick's review, the first of a series of articles on anime, and some comments on stereotypes in written science fiction. So let's get on with it! ------------------------------------------------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS --!1!-- LeVar Burton in Firestorm: 72 hours in Oakland --!2!-- An interview with Katherine Kurtz --!3!-- Mike Carlin discusses why he killed Superman --!4!-- Overused Characters in Written Science Fiction --!5!-- Colm Meaney takes the plunge --!6!-- Anime 101 --!7!-- Bjo Trimble's new cause --!8!-- All the news that's fit to transmit --!9!-- Spoilers Ahoy!!! --!10!-- Administrivia ----------------------------------------------------------- --!1!-- FINDING A PLACE IN HISTORY: LeVar Burton Talks About the Responsibility of Television and Why He's Glad to Act With His Eyes Again LeVar Burton is excited about his role in the upcoming docu-drama FIRESTORM: 72 HOURS IN OAKLAND, about the Oakland fire that claimed 25 lives and 1.5 billion dollars in property in 72 hours. "It's the first time in five and half years that I've gotten to act with my eyes," he told CV in a phone interview. (It's a phrase you'll likely hear a lot of.) "It was a great pleasure, a great joy." Mr. Burton, who plays Geordi LaForge on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (ST:TNG), portrays P. Lamont Ewell, Oakland's Fire Chief, who had just moved in to Oakland 18 days before the fire began. [Note: The press material calls the Fire Chief J. Allan Mather.] "The Chief's story was interesting to me because he had only just moved to Oakland. He had only arrived three weeks before the outbreak of the firestorm." A firestorm is a fire so intense that it creates its own weather. "And yet his response was to take absolutely complete and total responsibility for the handling of it. The interesting aspect of the character of the man for me was the fact that he didn't know any of the personalities he was working with. He was only beginning to familiarize himself with the city of Oakland. Yet he is the sort of man to say, look, this happened on MY watch, I take full and complete responsibility. That's extraordinary to me." This isn't the first time Mr. Burton has been called upon to play a real, living person. Many of his roles, including GRAMBLING'S WHITE TIGER, have had him portraying real people. Although he didn't meet the real Chief Ewell until the last day of shooting, he says that he doesn't mind the pressure of portraying someone who might tune in to his performance. "I was able to put together a profile of the man by talking to a lot of the people who work with him. He commands an enormous amount of respect among the people under him. He's that kind of man. I sort of have what I feel is a successful formula for fleshing out the essence, finding the essential quality that needs to be represented in the character and honing in on that as the guiding force of the performance." In playing Ewell Mr. Burton once again makes himself part of history. "I think it's safe to say that this was the most catastrophic urban fire in modern history, and as is always the case in a catastrophe like this, it has a tendency, in my opinion, to bring out the best in human beings. This is no different. The producers have done a good job of assembling some of these intense and truly heroic stories, and put them together in a dramatic fashion." It wouldn't be the first time he's used television to get so close to the events that remain in the public consciousness. Even READING RAINBOW, the educational program he has hosted (& produced) for 11 years, relates to real historical events as much as possible, even the stories highlighted are often fanciful. For instance, last October the show did an installment focusing on the Vietnam War Memorial. (For those of you outside the U.S.., it's an enormous black granite wall engraved with the names of all the U.S. soldiers who died in a war that was etched onto public consciousness perhaps like no other.) There is a quiet moment in the show when he just stands at the wall staring. After a moment you realize the last name listed is Burton. "I don't think I was related to the Burton on the wall. I will say that it was an extraordinary experience seeing my last name on that wall. I was totally caught off guard. I didn't expect it. In fact, I had never been to the Wall before, and one o the things that we wanted to communicate on the show as the spontaneous feelings that I experienced so we staged it, but we didn't go down to the Wall until we were ready to shoot. It was a very emotional impact. If you've never been to the wall, it's quite overwhelming." He has some definite feelings about the role of television in society. "Since ROOTS, it has been a supreme and conscious effort on my part to involve myself in projects that are what I consider to be a best use of the medium. Projects like ROOTS, and READING RAINBOW, and STAR TREK. Programs that go beyond that, that are so enlightening and empowering and uplifting." At this point, his voice begins to take on a missionary zeal. "As an actor, and as a director, and as a producer, that is one of my primary goals. To involve myself in projects that adhere to that standard. To love that dream is a rare thing, and I an opportunity I am tremendously grateful for. I feel that this whole industry of entertainment, and television in particular, is so all- pervasive ... Television is everywhere. It's all over the planet. It links us all. I feel pretty certain that television is the most powerful tool that we have created for ourselves as a race of beings to address our own growth and change, and we have an enormous opportunity to uplift ourselves through the medium of television. It's the kinds of programming that we produce for this medium which will determine the degree to which we are able to lift ourselves up." Considering these high standards, one wonders what he thought about the controversy over shows like "The Outcast" about an androgynous society that considers a single gender to be perversion. Fundamentalist groups led by Donald Wildmon (Not to be confused with DRACULA star Gary Oldman) claimed that the show glorified homosexuality. Mr. Burton, however, had been unaware that a controversy had even existed. "This is the first I've heard of it... I won't speak to what other people are doing. What I do speaks for itself. I feel we have a tremendous opportunity. Obviously other people don't agree, or just haven't thought about it. But I'VE thought about it, and I feel that I have to participate, and so, I act accordingly. It goes beyond idealism. It's one thing to have high ideals, but unless you beck it up with action, then it just remains a concept." Although he will certainly be remembered as Geordi La Forge for many years to come, and runs a risk of being typecast, he has no ill will towards Star Trek. "I LOVE STAR TREK. Are you kidding? I love being on this show. I loved being part of ROOTS; it's television history. Now, for the second time, I have a chance to be a part of something that's truly remarkable." Which, of course, brings us back to acting with his eyes, and the Dumb Question Of The Day: Does the visor, which completely covers his eyes, limit his acting? "I definitely limits you." He begins to laugh. "What a silly question, TJ. If you have handcuffs on, does it limit your ability to tie your shoes? Weeell, it depends on you're point of view." More laughter. OK, so it was a dumb question. I have to hit a dumb one every once in a while to keep my union card. "Yes, it's frustrating to wear the visor. We just finished an episode before Christmas where Geordi falls in love, and in the rehearsals, it was zinging. There are certain aspects of human behavior where eye contact is everything. So the rehearsals would be great and we'd go to shoot and I'd put the visor on and it would change everything. In the five and a half years I've been doing the show I've been forced to find ways around not being able to use my eyes. "It's a matter of compensating, of being communicative with other parts of my body and other aspects of my being." That sounds kind of metaphysical. "Life as I experience it is a metaphysical experience, a metaphysical journey, so if it came out like that, I suppose it's because that's a large part of my point of view." All in all though, perhaps there is a little bit of Geordi La Forge in LeVar Burton. "I do really appreciate the inventiveness of human nature. It's astounding how far we've come in terms of our ability to fascinate ourselves with technology, gadgets ... stuff." He becomes noticeably less serious. "I love toys. I love them! They're so cool. I love playing with them. I'm not able to design them or build them, but I can certainly play with them. I love electronic stuff, I love stereo stuff, I love audiovisual stuff, I love computer stuff, I love that stuff. It's great stuff!" Also this season... "I've very excited about directing this season. I'll be directing the episode that we shoot the last week in March. I have no idea what the story is, and it doesn't MATTER." So does he have any advice for the whole slew of actors who are being exposed to SF in the current boom? "Advice ... hmm ... I haven't seen any of the new shows except for DEEP SPACE NINE, so I don't really have any advice .... No. No advice. That's counselor Troi's domain. You want advice, you go to Troi." You want toys, you go to LaForge. "Exactly!" --!2!-- THE VALUE OF FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS: or, the Day Katherine Kurtz Got Lucky It's every fan's dream to go to a convention and get his or her Big Break -- or at least a pearl of wisdom -- from a pro. "The odds of that sort of thing happening today are probable nil and zilch." admits author Katherine Kurtz, who has had close to 20 books published, "but that's how it happened 20 years ago." Now she is best known for the Deryni series of books, about a magical race of people and the persecution they face as they try to help the monarchy in a pseudo-medieval world. The latest book, KING JAVAN'S YEAR, is not particularly cheerful. In fact, it's quite depressing and not a very good introduction to the series. While the first books, which take place a couple of centuries in the future, have a hopeful tone to them, the books set in the time of Saint Camber and his children don't for one simple reason: ultimately, we know the good guys are going to lose, or the future world wouldn't exist as it does. Which makes for books that are like a Shakespeare drama: you can count on one hand the characters alive at the end of the book. It was a pattern that began to emerge several books ago. "It was a violent time in the real history," Ms. Kurtz told CV in a phone interview from her home in Ireland. The holder of a Master's degree in Medieval English, she should know. Although there was a long, almost intolerable gap between THE HARROWING OF GWYNEDD and KING JAVAN'S YEAR, the third book o the trilogy, THE BASTARD PRINCE is already written, and should follow after a much more reasonable interval. "The trouble was that I really got held up with ??? because Javan took over. It was like he was saying, 'Hey, you're only going to let me live another year, what are you wasting time with those other people for?' So I wound up having to restructure the whole thing. Anytime that I could handle with a flashback was pushed into the next books." Indeed, there is very little of the usual Deryni characters in this book. Not that it is unusual for a book to get out of hand. Originally, CAMBER OF CULDI was to be a single book. "I got about half-way through it and I realized I was never going to be able to fit everything into one book. So I called up Lester Del Ray and I said, 'How about if we make it two books?' So he said, 'Fine,' and he sent me another contract. Then I was about a third of the way through the second one and I realized that wasn't going to be enough either. So I called back and said, 'Lester, I did it again. How about a trilogy?' He said, 'Sure, we love trilogies.'" After THE BASTARD PRINCE, the third book in the "Heirs of Saint Camber" trilogy. Ms. Kurtz plans to work on the "Childe Morgan" series, in addition to her work with Deborah Turner Harris on the ADEPT series of books. Back in Oakland in autumn of 1968, though, all of this was not even a dream. It was Worldcon, and Kurtz told Steve Whitfield, author of THE MAKING OF STAR TREK, about the novella she had written and wanted to turn into a book. "He listened to the idea and he said, 'You know, that sounds really neat. Ballantine is just starting to look for original fantasy to publish. They've been reprinting adult fantasy for the last couple of years to try and get the market established. Why don't you send it to Betty Ballantine and see what she thinks? And don't just do one book, do three.' "I said, 'You've got to be kidding. I haven't written one book yet, and you want me to do three?" Whitfield told her how to write a proposal and promised to mention it to Betty Ballantine. "Unlike most people who get advice like that do, I did what I was told. I sent off the package." Ten days later, an offer arrived in the mail. "It's a classic example of being in the right place at the right time with the right stuff, and following through with the opportunities that were presented," she said. These days she finds that she can only attend a convention if she is the guest of honor, so that her expenses are paid. "Sure, it's tax deductible, but every day you're away from you're writing is a day you're not getting any work done. It's not like being on salary and getting benefits even when you take a day off." And how is she when SHE goes to a convention? "When I go to a convention, it's because I look forward to meeting the readers , and I always try to make sure that people know that I am approachable," she said. "I don't bite, and furthermore, I will sign autographs pretty much anytime that it's not interfering with some program item. "I'm there to meet the readers, to talk to them, especially if something I wrote has made a major difference in their life, which I get told fairly frequently. It's nice to know when I've managed to do that." --!3!-- WHEN TO KILL OFF A SUPERHERO: Mike Carlin on the Rationale Behind Killing Off Superman -- and Bringing Him Back If you've been anywhere in the United States for the last few months, you know that Issue #75 of SUPERMAN saw the death of the Man of Steel at the hands of an almost unbeatable creature named Doomsday. He was truly dead; the story was followed by "Funeral for a Friend." Long before he was dead, however, people were already speculating as to how DC Comics was going to bring him back. Some people talked about clones, some about Kryptonian secrets yet undiscovered, some about the possibility that the hiatus after "Funeral" would be a permanent cancellation. Then word began to filter out. A magazine quoted a comics distributor who said that artwork existed for four faceless Supermans (Supermen?) and that DC was going to have not one but FOUR new incarnations, one Caucasian, one African American, one Hispanic, and one Asian. It was less than two days before DC, incensed by the rumor, put out a statement of their own. It wasn't true, they said, and it wasn't even really close. So, like a good reporter, I called Martha Thomases, press liaison for DC Comics in New York. "No, it's not true," she told me. "In fact, the joke around the office is that there's going to be a whole bunch of Supermen -- one white, one black, one Hispanic, one Asian, one priest, and one rabbi." So she faxed me the press release and told me to call her if I had any more questions. The release told the following story: In "Superman: The Adventured of Superman" #500, Superman's foster father Jonathan Kent has a near-death experience in which he sees his adopted son and becomes convinced that he is alive. Just as this is going on, four being appear and claim to be Superman returned from the dead in one way or another. They are: a cyborg from space that apparently has everyone too scared to tell him he's not the real Superman, a driven sort who "sets up shop in the Fortress of Solitude and relentlessly takes the law into his own hands," a teenager who appears to be a clone of the original Superman, and a somewhat deranged steelworker named John Henry Irons who was buried alive in the battle that killed Superman and creates a high-tech suit of armor -- literally a man of steel. And as the release says, "And if one of these beings is Superman, why can't anyone find Clark Kent?" But I still had a couple of questions, so I called Martha back. She told me that she hadn't read too far advance. "You need to talk to the editor of the Superman books, Mike Carlin. I've been reading Superman for a lot of years, but he LIVES in Metropolis." So I called the Great Carlini, and finally got to ask him the question on everyone's mind: WHY had the killed him off in the first place? Was it the money? "We have four Superman titles each month," he told me, "and an artistic team of 3 or 4 guys on each book. So we have a total of about 15 people who work on Superman. Every year we have a meeting. What we do is explore life in Metropolis in general and we found that people were taking Superman for granted, what with so many Superheroes around. It was the same in the real world. What we wanted to do, and what we have been doing in the story, 'Funeral for a Friend,' is exploring a world without Superman. We were a little surprised to find that the reaction in the real world was remarkably similar to the reaction in Superman's world." But it certainly paid off, didn't it? "All we ever try to do, and what I think we have been doing, is tell an interesting story. A fringe benefit of that is that if you have an interesting story, people are going to want to read it." Of course, they didn't really expect people to believe he was dead for good, did they? "We were a little surprised at how many people believed he would stay dead. It's a little scary, because he's died before." And that's not all that was surreal about it. "The timing of the whole thing was a little strange. People were comparing it to the (U.S. Presidential) election, but that was never our intent. Of course, if people want to read between the lines, let them have fun." Well, it certainly has generated a lot of speculation. "People were surprised when we told them Superman was going to die because they thought we were telling them the end of the story, but to us it's just the beginning of the story. We would like people to come along with us and solve the mystery: which of these four being is Superman -- or is it all of them?" All four will be previewed in "Adventures" #500, on sale the third week of April, and then each will be featured in one of the four books, "Action" #687, "Man of Steel" #22, "Superman" #78, and "Adventures" #501. What about the people who say you just did it to get Superman out of having to marry Lois Lane? (The pair had finally gotten engaged.) "That's a creepy thing to think about Superman." I think they were referring to you. "That's still a creepy thing to think. We are still planning to head towards an altar someday, but now it depends on Lois and whether or not she still loves Superman and what he's become. Whenever anyone lives through a battle like that, it's got to change them." So there you have it. "Only taxes are certain for Superman." --!4!-- OVERUSED CHARACTERS IN WRITTEN SCIENCE FICTION an essay by Lenore Levine (levine@symcom.math.uiuc.edu) When I first started reading science fiction, in the late fifties and early sixties, there was something about the genre that I disliked, even as a little girl. That is, in an extraordinarily large percentage of the stories, the only strong women were the bad ones. In too many books, the only female on the good side was a meek and innocent ingenue, and the mature, assertive, sexually experienced woman was a villain. Of course, characters fitting that pattern have always been evident both in real life and written literature. (Remember Amelia Sedley in Vanity Fair?) However, at that time, there were disproportionately many female images fitting these parameters; so many that it became a cliche; so many that I used to wince when I read otherwise good books using the formula, like Avram Davidson's "The Phoenix and the Mirror," or Poul Anderson's "Three Hearts and Three Lions." (It may be that one of the reasons I liked the Heinlein juveniles, such as "The Star Beast," was the relative strength of his women.) For those of you who read science fiction then, and are still reading it now, try a thought experiment. Imagine Poul Anderson writing Harry Turtledove's "Krispos of Videssos," in 1959. Wouldn't Tanilis be a bad guy? And Dara, by some odd configuration of events, have come to Krispos untouched by her first husband? And wouldn't the novel be much worse for these changes? Stereotypes used in the Eisenhower administration may be easy to detect now. But I suspect there is another unrealistic image of women used in fantastic literature, more difficult to perceive because it reflects current values: that is, the competent, successful woman whose physical appearance happens, by some chance, to be exactly that most valued in the writer's own culture. Once again, it is, of course, true that characters fitting this description exist in real life. When I read, in Harry Turtledove's "The Great Unknown," about the blonde academician who looks (for reasons almost entirely beyond her control) like a fashion model, I said to myself, this woman sounds very much like a lady I know in this department. One novel like "The Great Unknown" would not only be extremely entertaining; it would also make the point that a woman who looks like a toothpaste ad might be at least as intelligent and compassionate as the rest of us. But what if there are fifty such books? What if almost any issue of Analog contains at least four stories with a beautiful female heroine, in at least three of which there is a rotund, unathletic villain? Then reading "The Great Unknown" is not quite as much fun; and we begin to suspect some of these stories would be better off with more original characters. (If you want to try another thought experiment, imagine Elizabeth Scarborough's "Nothing Sacred" or "The Healer's War," as a serial in a recent ANALOG. Isn't there a fifty- fifty chance the main characters, instead of being mousy and unathletic, would be some sort of physically fit goddess figures? And wouldn't these novels be a little less memorable as a result?) One wonders what effect these stories have on Analog's young female readers. Are we teaching them that a woman whose looks don't measure up has to stay in the background? Or that it's OK to get that Ph.D. in nuclear physics you've always wanted, but only if you diet until you're uncomfortably hungry, and spend a hour on your hair and makeup each morning? Overused images are not only found in Analog. There's a certain type of novel, or short story, that's almost always written by a female writer. Basically, it concerns a young woman growing up in a pseudo medieval setting who rebels against the values of her culture. She does not think she is attractive because she is "too thin" (i.e., she IS attractive by our standards); and she does not want to learn cooking and sewing, but instead the athletic, military skills of her male contemporaries. Since this plot provides a positive, competent image of women, I used to be happy to see it -- or at least I was the first thirty times around. But now I'm beginning to wonder; can't one of these young women be less deft with the sword -- and want to leave her father's castle anyway? The excessive use of stereotypes does, indeed, present a less than positive image to young women. But there's a much better reason for avoiding them. That is, the really good science fiction books, the ones read many times and truly loved, are the ones where the author pays attention to what his characters are saying about themselves; not the ones that use overworked images from a clip book. Imagine Vlad Taltos with a unicorn instead of a jhereg; Miles Vorkosigan without his birth defects; or Doro without his moral ambiguity, either wholeheartedly good or evil. And suppose that Jo Clayton, instead of depicting Brann's romance with an old sorcerer, had instead shown us another romance with an old sorcerer's beautiful daughter? I think Harry Turtledove's premise in The Great Unknown is right, and people are still going to be reading twentieth century science fiction quite a long time from now. (Consider how many of us read the Heinlein juveniles over again every few years.) But not the fifty-eighth story about a rebellious medieval woman who has taken up all the goody-goody values of the current era. Or a rocket scientist who happens, just happens, to look exactly like Christie Brinkley. --!5!-- TAKING THE PLUNGE: How Colm Meaney Wound Up as Starfleet's Everyman There can't be an actor in the English-speaking world who would refuse a regular role in a Star Trek television series, right? OK, so Gates McFadden didn't want to do Star Trek: The Next Generation. The show had been off the air for years, you can excuse her her hesitation. But that still doesn't explain why, last year, Colm Meaney wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to be in the ST-spinoff, DEEP SPACE NINE. Apparently it was the required six- year contract that was the problem. "I think it's a double edged-thing," he told me over a conference table before a panel appearance at a convention in Cleveland, Ohio. "For a lot of guys, Patrick (Stewart) and Jonathan (Frakes), and those guys who've been involved since the beginning, I think it's wonderful to have a show that is so successful and lasts so long. On the other hand, I think they're all eager to get on to other things and do a variety of work." And a "variety of work" is just the phrase that could be used to describe Mr. Meaney's career leading up to DSN. He was in three movies just last year ("Far and Away," "The Last of the Mohicans," and a film with Irish actor Gabriel Burne and Ellen Barkin). He also had a substantial role as the Elvis fanatic father in "The Commitments" -- yes, that really was him singing, "if you want to call it that." In fact, you never know where he's liable to show up. He's been seen everywhere from a Scottish genealogist in an episode of "MacGyver" to the pilot of a crashing airline pilot in DIE HARD II. During the first season of ST:TNG he was starring on Broadway opposite Derek Jacobi in BREAKING THE CODE. So, with a whole new generation of fans (no pun intended) discovering "the everyman Starfleet working stiff" -- thank you Bill Henley -- it seems a good time to review how he found himself in this position in the first place. While he appeared in ST:TNG's pilot episode -- as N/D Crew (for Nondescript) -- he did not appear again in the first season. "It just sort of grew," he recalled. "I mean, I know that they had wanted me from the beginning to be involved in the show, but they weren't sure what. I did a couple of episodes in security, just bits and pieces that came up because they wanted to use me, but I think it just kind of evolved. They didn't set out to develop this character, it just sort of came show to show." Still, he got very upset the day a script arrived, while he was visiting in Jonathan Frakes' trailer, with a cast list entry of "Transporter Chief O'Brien." "I said, 'Wait a minute, who's this O'Brien guy? I'M the Transporter Chief!' So Jonathan made a couple of phone calls and said, 'It's okay, Colm, it's you.'" And so it is. For six years, at least. --!6!-- ANIME 101: What The Heck Is It, Anyway? by Dee Ann Latona (DXL106@PSUVM.PSU.EDU) Go into most science fiction conventions and you'll most likely see several signs proclaiming: Anime showing in room 517! Bubblegum Crisis, Ranma 1/2, Gunbuster, and more! A portion of the people at the convention perk up at this, but a larger portion look at the signs, scratch their heads, and wonder what this "anime" thing is. The use of the term "anime" by fans here in the U.S. and other countries has a convoluted derivation. The term "anime" is used in Japan to mean all animation, and was taken from the English word "animation," and then shortened for assimilation into the Japanese language. However, the definition of anime goes farther than mere linguistics. Anime is a style, which can generally be recognized by several features. What most people seeing anime for the first time comment most on is that fact that almost all anime characters look occidental, as opposed to oriental. This anomaly can generally be explained by the fact that Westerners have a greater variety of physical appearances to choose from, reducing the detail necessary in the characters, and therefore reducing the budget of the show. Also, anime character physical attributes tend to be taken to extremes, resulting in strange hair colors, huge eyes, busty women, and lean men. Once again, much of this can be attributed to budget, while the large eyes are simply stylistic. Hair colors such as purple and blue added onto the normal palette make it easier to distinguish between characters without expensive extra detail. Also, large chests, while usually attributed to sexually frustrated animators, are generally due to the fact that they are easier to draw than small chests. As far as thin men go, the heroes of anime are idealized, as they are in most other animation and live action mediums. The bottom line here is that time equals money. Simpler character designs mean that animators can crank out more work at a faster pace, as most anime shows are done on a weekly basis. Some of the better, more detailed art comes from one shot movies or really short series. What attracts most fans to anime, however, is the wide range of shows available. Unlike America, where animation is only now starting to not be viewed as a medium for "children," almost all Japanese watch some sort of anime. Certainly, there are shows that are aimed at children, and some of them even rival the Smurfs as far as the sickly sweet factor is concerned. Actually, according to a dear friend of mine and fellow anime fan, "Some of these shows make the Smurfs look like tobacco-chewing, gun-toting, tatooed death-bikers." Most of the shows filtering to the U.S. and Canada are aimed at adolescent males, though some of those aimed at adolescent girls make it over on occasion. Anime shows range from comedies, to robot "mecha" combat, to teen dramas. All genres seem to be covered, unlike in American animation, where the emphasis is on "kiddie" and "fantasy" series. While Bakshi has been attempting to change this with movies like "Cool World," things still have a long way to go on the American animation front. American producers and viewers need to be shown that animation is an excellent, much less expensive alternative to spending millions of dollars on special effects. Unlike American animation, anime has something for everyone. --!7!-- A NEW CAUSE: Bjo Trimble Talks About Starting Another Science Fiction Network Back in the 1960's, Bjo Trimble made a name for herself as the organizer of the write-in campaign that got the third season of the original STAR TREK on the air. Now she is becoming just as well known as the chief flag-waver for the SPACE, FANTASY AND ADVENTURE NETWORK, or SFAN. But wait a minute, you say, isn't there already a Science Fiction Channel? When the SFAN write-in campaign started, "the Multi System Operators reacted with 'Well, you're going to get your wish, we're picking up the Scifi Channel,' and the fans wrote back and said, 'No, we don't want that one, we want another one.'" Plagued by outrageous claims, frequent reactions, and postponements of their starting date, SFC is finally on the air - amid disappointment in many quarters. It isn't because the fans won't sustain a science fiction channel, it's just that they don't like the way it's being done. And SFAN would it be any different? Probably. While SFC is being run by professional programmers for a huge corporation, SFAN is headed by that most talented of individuals, a Fan With An Idea. "It got started by a guy named Mike Kelley. He's just kind of an ordinary guy, he's just very very bright. Many of us, for many many years, have always kicked around, 'Hey, wouldn't it be nice if we had our own science fiction channel?' After all, there's never enough science fiction on TV, right? Most of us never did much about it, but he has, for about eight years, been planning and putting this thing together. Well, here we have Scifi Channel out of the blue, and he has to spring into some kind of action. He had been very quietly gathering together people and funding and what-have-you, when Scifi Channel dove onto the scene. At first, Mike's reaction was the same as Maurice Lunden, who was trying to start the "Alternate Channel," and Steve Lampert's horror channel. It is NOT a new idea. There have been many, many people trying it. "Maurice Lunden, even before Mike did, contacted Scifi Channel and said, 'Well, look, I've got all these ideas and contacts lined up, but I've never been able to find the funding. Let's get together.' He was ignored. Shortly after that, Mike tried to arrange for maybe everyone to get together. Nothing. "Soon after that, it became obvious that most of the claims that the Scifi Channel were making were not true. They kept announcing dates that came and went with no explanation, they announced that they had offices at Disneyland, which turned out to be an empty building, they were announcing that they had BBC programming... The BBC was VERY upset because they considered that it prevented them from renting those programs. "It's a very simple thing. YOU could pick up the phone and call the people with, say, the STAR TREK ANIMATED SERIES, which they don't value very much, and say 'Hey, if I start a television channel here, can I rent them.' They'd say, 'Sure. Show up with the money.' And at that point, [Scifi Channel head] Rubenstein was announcing that they had all the STAR TREK ANIMATEDS, when in fact, they were not contracted. This was checked on by BRIT-TV, and half a dozen other magazine. Forry Ackerman himself called the BBC and the BBC kept saying, 'We don't know who this guy is, but he hasn't rented these things!' They announced that Gene Roddenberry was one of the people working with them. Gene Roddenberry's office wrote several letters saying, 'No, when you called and asked if he was interested he told you then that he was too sick to work on anything else, that he had no interest.' He was basically doing the polite, 'I don't think so, but keep me posted on your progress.' He was too ill to carry through with 'Sue him and make him shut up,' so they just let it go on. "So Mike said, "Hey, they're not going to do anything with this,' and just went on with his plans." "But Mike has done a very clever thing. He realizes that he's not a businessman, and that he doesn't have the technical knowledge about the industry, so he's gone out and found himself a CEO, and a production manager, and a publicity manager, and he'll just let these people loose to do their work. But none of these people are willing to have their names mentioned until we're on the air, mostly because they still have jobs. But I can say that the CEO is one of the people who made Congressional appearances that broke the hold that the big three networks had on cable." So what was the problem. If Scifi Channel could do it, why couldn't SFAN? "We're kind of in a catch 22. We have to get notice from the big Multi-System Operators that control most of the major decisions about what takes up space on cable, and we've got to get funding. Well, the people with the money don't want to give it to us until they're pretty sure we're going to get on the air. Which means that we're operating out of Mike's pocket and the Trimble pocket. Now, I've gotta tell you. The Trimble pocket is getting pretty shallow about now. But there's no way around it. "Then Rubenstein sold Scifi Channel to USA Networks." No details of the deal are available. And now that SFC has gone on the air, does that change things any? Not really. A look at the SFC lineup forced a total of two changes on SFAN. "Show ideas that we have we'd be CRAZY to tell you about. It would be a nanosecond before Scifi Channel would say, 'Hey, we can do this for only a few thousands instead of a few zillion.' There's no way to protect that kind of thing. You cannot copyright an idea. But we've got a dozen good startup programs, and thousands of movies to choose from, ranging from great to 'Why are we watching this?' But that's fun too. "And if people submit an idea that is not just usable but we use it on the air, we'll pay them for it. We're not just going to use it without credit." Plus, they have access to the hundreds, maybe thousands of miles of footage from NASA satellites and probes. "We can do what NASA never seems to be able to do: make space interesting." So they must be hoping that SFC will fail, right? Wrong. "My greatest fear is that Scifi Channel won't succeed at all. Or that it will crash and burn. Because once that happens, the whole idea is dead for years. We won't be able to get the time of day from the MSO because they'll just say, 'Hey, we tried it and it didn't work.' The copycat nature of this industry is to our advantage." All of this leads back to what made Bjo famous in the first place- the write-in campaign. Apparently, the way to go is to convince not your local cable company, but the Multi-System Operators that they should pick up SFAN. The easiest way for us to tell you to do that is to include Bjo's list of addresses and tips for a successful letter- writing campaign. =================== TOP FIVE CABLE MSOs =================== Number One: Tele-communications Inc. Suite 600 John C. Malone, President & CEO 4643 South Ulster Street Denver, Colorado, 80237 Phone: 303-721-5500 Number Two: ATC-WARNER-PARAGON Joseph P. Collins, Chmn. & CEO 300 First Stamford Place Stamford, Connecticut 06902-6732 Phone: 203-328-0600 Fax : 203-328-0690 Number Three: Continental Cablevision, Inc. Amos B. Hofstetter, Jr., Chmn. & CEO Pilot House Lewis Warf Boston, Massachusetts 02110 Phone: 502-223-3401 Number Four: Comcast Corporation Ralph J. Roberts, Chmn. 1234 Market Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107-3732 Phone : 215-685- 1700 Number Five: Cox Cable Communications James O. Roberts, President 1400 Lake Hearn Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30319 Phone: 404-843- 5000 ========== HOW TO WRITE EFFECTIVE LETTERS =================== 1. Write a short, sincere individual letter to EACH multi- system operator (MSO) saying that you want the Space Fantasy & Adventure Network (SFAN). When mail is counted, your letter will truly make the difference. 2. THEN, ask 10 people to write letters. They write the letters and then ask 10 people to write letters, and on and on (get the idea?). Don't be judgmental; there are many "closet" fans out there: fellow workers, neighbors, church groups, classmates, civic and other clubs, etc. 3. Don't (ever) address a V.I.P. (executive) familiarly, act smart, use insulting language, or tell a corporation how to run their business. You are asking for a favor--the privilege of getting SFAN, you own special genre network. The wrong attitude will nullify your letter. 4. Be pleasant. Corporations seldom get anything but complaints, so a cheerful, upbeat letter can make a CEO more receptive. 5. Don't use form letters, mimeographed (photocopied) or multiple carbons. Such letters give the impression that only a small segment is doing all the writing--but computer letters are OK. 6. Sign the letter!! Anonymous mail is sleazy and is either thrown away or put in the "nut" file. 7. Use company letterhead or club stationery if you have a right to. Corporations are sensitive to potential "Pressure groups." But ... 8. Don't misrepresent yourself. Corporations are geared to ferret out spurious claims. Such tricks will not help SFAN and someone may check it out for a news story. 9. Don't barrage local cable companies -- they are not interested unless the MSOs are interested and accept SFAN first. 10. Use petitions to get the names from those who won't bother to write a letter themselves. Corporations understand that only a percentage of people will get off their fat apathy to write letters; signatures on a petition can show how many MORE people want SFAN on their cable. The petition should have at least one contact address. 11. Don't mail you letters to SFAN!! We would have to re-mail them. We DO want to hear about your mail campaign tho'. 12. For this campaign, it is not necessary to use business envelopes. Personal stationery and postcards will do just fine. So where does that leave her if the network reaches the airwaves? "If I worked in this, I would be the Director of Viewer relations, which would include doing exactly what I've been doing in fandom for 35 years for free: writing to fans, answering letters, listening to their concerns, reviewing their suggestions, interfacing with merchandising and telling them what will sell and what won't. I can handle my end of the business. It would be going to conventions, talking about SFAN, dealing with fans, in other words. As I said, pretty much what I've been doing." [Bjo Trimble also runs a great newsletter called SPACE TIME CONTINUUM, and can be reached at 713-359-4284. The address is 2059 Fir Springs Dr., Kingwood TX, 77339-1701, USA] --!8!-- Mark Morris "The Immaculate" British Hardcover $37 review by Rick Kleffel About two years ago, on your local grocery store's shelf, you might have seen a novel titled "The Horror Club", about three boys whose monstrous play acting creates some very real supernatural problems. This 500 page American masterpiece was in fact an edited version of Mark Morris' 700 page English release, "Toady", a surprisingly enjoyable epic that combined elements of Dickensian characterization, Tolkeinian fantasy and Stephen King- style horror in a work that came off as an astonishingly original. His second novel, "Stitch", has just come out in America as an Abyss novel by Dell. In his third novel, "The Immaculate", (now available as an English import) Mark Morris, a columnist for the prominent British genre periodical "Million", sets out to conquer the English Ghost Story, once the sole dominion of writers such as M. R. James and Ramsey Campbell. It's a close call and dangerous move, but in the end he succeeds admirably. In the process, however, he makes the task incredibly difficult for himself, by making his main character a possibly autobiographical horror writer, tortured by memories of childhood abuse at the hands of his father. It's a situation ripe for cliche, and at times Morris treads on the wrong side of the line. But his talent for creating scruffy villains of Dickensian proportions carries him through to an effective finish. In this novel, he deliberately backs away from the grand tone of his earlier works, and tries to create a confined world and evoke low- key emotions of fear. Unfortunately, it's hard not to see the horror- writer main character as distinctly autobiographical, and this distracts the reader. Still, the quality of Morriss' writing manages to shine through. While those who were so enamored of "Toady" and "Stitch" may mourn Morriss' move from the big screen to the personal film style we see in "The Immaculate", others will see it as yet another step, slightly hesitant, in the development of a significant and talented writer. Copyright 1992 Rick Kleffel (rickk@emu.com) --!9!-- ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO TRANSMIT Awards time ... Genre nomination for the Outstanding Achievement Awards for 1992 from the American Society of Cinematographers: Best episodic achievement: Michael Watkins, ``Quantum Leap'' The Golden Globes have been given out. "Aladdin," as expected, took the awards for best score and best song (for "A Whole New World" -- Alan Menken and Tim Rice.) That wasn't all for the animated smash, as Robin Williams was given a special award for his performance in the movie. Where does Whoopi Goldberg keep all those awards? She can now add the NAACP's 25th Annual Image Awards to her collection. Her movie SISTER ACT was named outstanding motion picture, and she was named outstanding actress for her role in the picture. She was also nominated for her role as Guinan on ST:TNG. March 29th will see Italian director Frederico Fellini receive an honorary Oscar at the Academy Awards. He can lay claim to a total of 16 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. You say you don't see the connection to science fiction and fantasy? Then you've obviously never seen his film "8 1/2". PATRICK STEWART has been nominated for a Grammy in the category of "Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album" for his performance of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. BTW: Anyone who received the discount coupon for the Broadway performances from CV is invited to drop us a line and let us know what you thought of it. Heck, let us know even if you DIDN'T get the coupons from us. Other genre Grammy nominations: "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" (5) and the soundtrack for HOOK (John Williams). Oscar trivia: There are 5,000 ballots mailed, and the Academy puts out a list of the eligible films and their casts. This year, there are 238, and the balloting closes February 3. -!- According to United Press International (UPI), Romania is trying to use the success of BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA to buoy its tourist business. "As a Romanian, I regret that Dracula is one of the only images that the outside world has of Romania,'' said Tourist Minister Dan Matei. ``But as minister of tourism I must profit from this. I can hardly wait for the Americans to come here and spend dollars after quaking at the sight of puddles of blood." Although, according to a guidebook, Irish writer Bram Stoker never got anywhere near Transylvania, he fashioned a story about Vlad the Impaler, who publicly impaled his enemies during war with the Turks, which will likely be re-made many more times to come before it is finally put to rest. -!- As of the week ending January 22, Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" had hit $181 million in overseas grosses, topping its domestic gross by $35 million. -!- Upcoming movies: DENNIS THE MENACE, based on Hank Ketcham's comic strip, has finished principal photography. The film is from Warner Brothers, and is written and produced by John Hughes. Mason Gamble plays Dennis. His parents are played by Lea Thompson (BACK TO THE FUTURE) and Robert Stanton, and Dennis' neighbors George and Martha Wilson, are played by Walter Matthau and Joan Plowright. Christopher Lloyd, genre mainstay, will play a visitor to Dennis' town. Given his reputation, I don't think he'll be driving the bookmobile. No firm date has been set, but Orion will be releasing THE DARK HALF, based on the Steven King novel, sometime this fall. It stars Timothy Hutton and Amy Matigan, and George Romero directs. More and more people are talking about ALIEN VS PREDATOR. We haven't been able to get any sort of confirmation, but WIZARD #16 has reported that it might hit the screens as early as 1994. As soon as we get something definite, we'll let you know. Right now the closest we can get is the fact that Howard Berger, co-owner of one of Hollywood's largest Special Makeup Effects firms, says that Dark Horse is DEFINITELY working on it, but that it's still in the development stage. What 20th Century Fox IS doing, though, is working on GHOST IN THE MACHINE, a film about a woman stalked by a serial killer in the form of a computer virus. (Apparently all these computer controlled devices come after her.) Directed by Rachel Talalay (FREDDIE'S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE), it stars Karen Allen of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK fame. Imperial Pictures is distributing NEMESIS, a film starring Olivier Gruner, about a 35 percent cyborg cop who goes around blowing androids and cyborgs and robots. Gruner told newspapers that "I am happy making action adventure pictures to begin with, but my dream is to become a serious actor in good movies." (Don't ask me, I just report this stuff. -- Ed.) NATIONAL LAMPOON'S LOADED WEAPON 1, February 5. Do we really have to tell you what movie they are parodying? Mid-March: FIRE IN THE SKY, from Paramount. In 1975, five lumberjacks when out into the woods. Only four came back. These four, who had basically been in the same small timber town all their lives, were accused of murdering the missing lumberjack, Travis Walton. After four or five days, however, he mysteriously re-appeared, having no idea what happened to him. Hypnosis, however, revealed that he had been abducted by an Unidentified Flying Object. He was deluged by the press, researchers, etc., but he never sold his story. Finally, driven to distraction, he had his phone disconnected and vanished into obscurity. All that is true. One day TRACY TORME' (of ST:TNG fame) was driving in his car and heard about the story on the news. He became interested in developing it as a film, but nobody could find Mr. Walton until finally, deciding that 17 years was a long time for anyone to remember anything about him, he had his phone reconnected. That very day (or so media legend goes) Mr. Torme contacted him about bringing his story to the big screen, and he finally relented. Because Mr. Walton never made a dime on his experience (except for this film, of course) it is considered to be one of the most reliable accounts of an alien abduction. We'll let you see the film and decide for yourself. The film's stars include ROBERT PATRICK (T2) and D.B. SWEENEY. November 19, 1993: THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2, from Paramount -- ANGELICA HOUSTON, RAUL JULIA, and CHRISTOPHER LLOYD have already signed to repeat the roles they played in the first blockbuster. The film will be directed by BARRY SONNENFELD and produced by SCOTT RUDIN. JULY 23, 1993: THE CONEHEADS, also from Paramount. Based on the sketches made famous in the early days of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. It will be produced by LORNE MICHAELS (no big surprise there ...), directed by STEVE BARRON, and written by DAN ACKROYD, TOM DAVIS, and BONNIE AND TERRY TURNER. Dan Ackroyd has already signed to star in the film (obviously) but there's no word on JANE CURTAIN. TriStar is developing another adaptation of the FRANKENSTEIN story, this one written by JIM HART. PINOCCHIO, from Jim Henson Productions (No other info right now.) Is there no end in sight? THE ADDAMS FAMILY, DENNIS THE MENACE, THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, even THE BRADY BUNCH have been or are in the process of being made into movies. In the true Hollywood spirit of "If it worked once, it'll work two dozen times," there are now plans to make a live-action movie of THE FLINTSTONES. Expected stars: John Goodman (ROSANNE) as Fred Flintstone, and RICK MORANIS (GHOSTBUSTERS, HONEY I SHRUNK/BLEW UP THE KIDS) as Barney Rubble. You say you can't wait? Then tune into "I Yabba-Dabba Do!" February 7 on ABC. Pebbles finally marries Bamm-Bamm Rubble. Army of Darkness: Evil Dead 3 will be in the theaters February 19, as Howard Berger of K.N.B. EFX will remind you every chance he gets. It's from Universal. 1994: LION KING, an animated feature about animals on the Serengheti Plain -- from Disney. -!- Harlequin lifestyle editors asked to name the most romantic men and women mentioned the following genre related actors and actresses: KEVIN COSTNER, MEL GIBSON, TOM CRUISE, MICHELLE PFEIFFER (second only to Cindy Crawford), SHARON STONE, JULIA ROBERTS, GEENA DAVIS, KIM BASINGER, and WINONA RYDER. -!- Batman and Detective are going bi-monthly leading up to Batman #500, which will be a special anniversary issue, reportedly involving the return of Bane. -!- For you sound freaks: Lucasfilm/20th Century Fox is releasing the Star Wars Box Set with THX Pro Logic sound. Same for THE ABYSS. They will reportedly be remastered specifically for the THX system, but compatible with all other systems. -!- Well, if you're in Chicago, keep an eye out for HARRISON FORD. He'll be arriving this month to begin working on a remake of THE FUGITIVE. You might find him hanging out with RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK co-star JOHN RHYS DAVIES, who is there filming THE UNTOUCHABLES. He plays Mallone, the role co-star SEAN CONNERY played in the film version. If you DO catch sight of him, though, please keep in mind that he's one of the more private people in the industry. Don't let him think that all fans are crazed lunatics with no respect for another person's rights. -!- The student center at McGill University in Montreal will NOT be renamed the WILLIAM SHATNER building, despite the fact that a) he is an alumni (a business degree in 1952) and b) a student referendum voted for the change. Apparently the problem rests partly in the fact that Shatner is still alive. -!- The world, she is a'changin'. Used to be you had to physically travel to a convention, but no more. TELECON 1 will be an electronic comic book convention held over in GEnie February 6, 1993. Featured guests will be Terry Collins, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Robert W. Gibson, Dwayne McDuffie, Bill Neville, Patrick O'Neill, Alvin Schwartz, Larry Stark, Arne Starr, Len Straczewski, John Terra, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Matt Wayne, Mel White, Julie Woodcock, and others. Events will include many of the usual, such as panels, though obviously signings are out of the question. However, the organizers are making up for it with events you can't have at a real con, such as electronic chats with comics characters (portrayed by their writers, of course.) In order to participate, you must have an active account on GEnie as of the 6th. Also, although the Real Time Conferences usually cost $6/hr, if you enter between noon and 3pm you will not be charged, not matter how long you stay, even if it's after 3pm. For more info on GEnie, call (800)638- 9636. For more info about TeleCon, call Joel Ellis Rea at (318)424-3143 or send e-mail to j.real@genie.geis.com. -!- Upcoming television... Wondering if there will be any new HIGHLANDER episodes? Apparently so. The cast is currently filming in Paris, France, and will be until April. Also, more almost news on HIGHLANDER III. There IS a script, but now there's no director. According to David Panzer Productions, RUSSELL MULCAHY was supposed to direct, but he has pulled out, and legal action is pending. There is another director in mind, but his name will not be released until the deal is finalized. Christopher Lambert has been signed, and they hope to begin shooting in April. Columbia Pictures Television has jumped onto the SF bandwagon, producing not one, but two pilots for new series. The first is JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, a new adaptation of the novel, directed by William Dear. It stars Jeffrey Nordling, Francis Guinan, Farrah Forke, Kim Miyori, Fabiana Udenio, David Dundara, Tim Russ, and John Neville. F. Murray Abraham guest stars. For more information, see SPOILERS AHOY!!! The second is in this section because there's no telling when it might air. Originally titled DOORS, George R.R. Martin's new television show is currently called DOORWAYS. Two pilots have been filmed -- a two hour pilot for European TV and a 90 minute US version -- but so far there is no word on when (if ever) it will air. The premise of the show is a series of doors which open onto parallel universes. Dr. Tom Mason (George Newbern) is drawn into the mystery when he gets involved with a strange patient, Cat (Anne Le Guernec), who literally drops out of the sky onto a highway. If her strange language, high-tech weapon and glowing bracelet aren't enough to convince people that there's something strange about her (they are) it would have been clinched by the two beings who have followed her though the Door, Thane (Robert Knepper) and Dyana (Signy Coleman). Apparently she was running from punishment for trying to kill Darklord, her enslaver -- and the fact that Thane has chosen her as a mate. And to make things worse, an intelligence agent named Trager (Kurtwood Smith) is more than a little interested in that gun she's carrying, which shoots needle-like projectiles. Thus it begins. Tom escapes with Cat through another Door only to discover that they are one-way. They can't go back, and they don't know what's forward. So they run, encountering new universes along the way, and try to stay ahead of Thane and Dyana. George R.R. Martin is the creator and executive producer of the show, and wrote the pilot. Jim Crocker is the executive producer, Peter Werner is the director, Bruno George did the FX, and Brad Loman did the costume design. Return of the TOMORROW PEOPLE. If you're a die-hard DOCTOR WHO fan, you've probably heard of this show. Years ago Peter Davison, who later went on the play the Doctor's fifth incarnation, had a part in the original version, which aired on British television. The series, about a group of telepathic children, has apparently been re-made by Nickelodeon, and will air February 21 - 24. TEK VENGEANCE, WILLIAM SHATNER's latest novel, has hit the stands. That may not be the end of it, though. Apparently besides the Marvel comic book, there's a syndicated TV show, ala' ST:TNG, due out next fall. -!- JAMES EARL JONES, the man who voiced Darth Vader, spoke at the inauguration of United States President Bill Clinton. Does this mean we're really through talking about the Evil Empire? (Obscure political joke. Please forgive us.) Mr. Jones, who has had a more than distinguished acting career even without his stint at the Dark Lord of the Sith in the STAR WARS movies, told Whoopi Goldberg that "To be relevant to a whole new generation of kids who haven't seen KING LEAR is wonderful." It wasn't all smooth sailing, though. Apparently the traffic situation was intolerable, and Mr. Jones, WHOOPI GOLDBERG, TONY BENNETT, and LAUREN BACALL wound up unable to find their limos and hitched a ride back to their hotel on a school bus. -!- More info on ATTACK OF THE FIFTY FOOT WOMAN. Staring DARYL HANNAH, who made her name in the genre with BLADE RUNNER and SPLASH as Nancy Archer, a rich, beautiful young woman who is anything but well off. She encounters a spaceship "which gives her a long-lasting, out-of-this-world experience," according to the press release. She the grows to enormous heights and re-claims her life from her domineering father and slime-ball husband. (One can only hope that this has nothing to do with her romance with John F. Kennedy Jr.) It will be directed by CHRISTOPHER GUEST (THE PRINCESS BRIDE, THE BIG PICTURE), and written by JOSEPH DOUGHERTY, the executive producers will be Dougherty and DANIEL H. BLATT, with Hannah and CHUCK BINDER as co-executive producers. It is being made in association with Lorimar Television, and will be shown sometime this year. -!- After 15 years, MAX ALLEN COLLINS is being replaced as the writer of the Dick Tracy comic strip. Collins, who wrote the novelization of the DICK TRACY movie, and currently writes a BATMAN comic strip, says that Tribune Media has violated his contract, and that he has turned the matter over to attorneys. -!- That's it for SPACE RANGERS, apparently. The show has been taken off CBS's schedule, and they have not yet ordered more episodes, but there's no word as to the show's future in foreign markets, where it had been purchased before it was even made. A call to CBS gleaned the hope that the network could be saving the un-seen shows to be aired later, either with or without additional episodes, but we here at CV don't think it's likely. (Too bad, too. I may be the only one, but I liked it. A little bubblegum is good for the brain every once in a while. --- Ed.) -!- MANDY PATINKIN (THE PRINCESS BRIDE, DICK TRACY) is starring in the Broadway play "Falsettos." -!- First there was Kermit, then Sesame Street, then The Muppet Show, then the movies, and the Disney World associations, and now... their very own video label. Jim Henson Productions, headed now by his son Brian, has announced the creation of Jim Henson Video. The first releases will be THE MUPPET MOVIE, THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER, two tapes of THE MUPPET SHOW, and three of the MUPPET BABIES. -!- An interesting note: While science fiction and fantasy fans are considered to be a minority, a look at the top ten videocassette rentals in the United States as of this printing includes three SF&F films and an action-adventure. Either we're more prevalent than everyone thinks or we're couch potatoes. Some food for thought on that issue: Nine out of the top ten children's tapes are animated, and ALL of them require a large amount of imagination to accept them. (When was the last time you saw a 6 foot talking purple dinosaur?) Maybe we just have it bred out of us as adults. What do YOU think? -!- There has always been a fringe of fan literature that mixes science fiction and/or fantasy with erotica. It has always remained on the fringe, however, because the sex is unacceptable in SF&F circles, and the SF&F is unacceptable in erotica circles. Or is it? When Cecilia Tan got fed up with that segregation, she published her own work, TELEPATHS DON'T NEED SAFEWORDS: AND OTHER STORIES FROM THE EROTIC EDGE OF SF/F. The test run of 100 copies sold out at one convention. It is now in it's third printing, and a second book is in it's second printing, both by Inland Book Company. So Circlet Press (as it's called) is in full swing and about to release 6 more anthologies, with single author works and novels on the way. For more information or for anthology themes and deadlines send a stamped self-addressed envelope to Circlet Press, PO Box 15143, Boston, MA, 02215, or send e-mail to ctan@world.std.com. -!- WHOOPI GOLDBERG has joined the cast of HBO's AND THE BAND PLAYED ON, a movie about the history of AIDS. HBO was reportedly having trouble casting the 106 roles because of actors' fears of being associated with a movie about the disease. Apparently they are a little more willing since Richard Gere defied the rumors that he is gay and announced that he would be in the movie. -!- Michelle Pfeiffer, who played Catwoman in BATMAN RETURNS, will be starring in Martin Scorcese's THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, to be released this fall. -!- Rumors are that Marvel's AMAZING SPIDERMAN #374 is going to be a hot issue, but we don't have any details on why. -!- Paramount doubled its earning for 1991 in fiscal year 1992, and expects the trend to continue in 1993. Cited were first run syndication, such as STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION and THE UNTOUCHABLES, four Kings Entertainment theme parks, and, of course, publishing. Simon and Shuster, the parent company for Pocket Books, which publishes the Star Trek books, is owned by Paramount, and will be re-named "Paramount Publishing." It will adopt the Paramount Mountain as it's corporate logo. Paramount also owns (with MCA) USA Networks, which, in turn, owns the Science Fiction Channel. (My, but it's a small corporate world!) Paramount also announced that it will be "renewing and extending" the pay television distribution pact first forged with Home Box Office in 1987. It originally gave exclusive cable rights to HBO and Cinemax, but no details of the current deal were released save that it will run through 1997. -!- British Sky Broadcasting has made a deal with Nickelodeon to provide 12 hours per day of children's programming in the United Kingdom. The service, also called Nickelodeon, will begin in October. -!- Arnold Schwartznegger, Julia Roberts, and Jack Nicholson were among 125 celebrities to sign a Greenpeace declaration against the proliferation of radioactive Plutonium. -!- You may remember DENNIS HAYSBERT from BUCK ROGERS IN THE 21st CENTURY. If not, you'll get a chance to refresh your memory with the release of LOVE FIELD, in which he stars opposite MICHELLE PFIEFFER of BATMAN RETURNS. He will also be appearing in "Queen," the sequel to "Roots," which will air on American TV on CBS this month. He will also be playing a pair of half-brothers in "Suture." -!- And speaking of MICHELLE PFIEFFER, she has earned a place eon Mr. Blackwell's list of the 10 women who were the "fabulous fashion independent for 1992." GEENA DAVIS, however, found herself on the list of the "Worst Dressed Women of 1992." Blackwell referred to the taller-than-average actress as "Big Bird in heels." And considering his comments on some of the other women on the list, that was kind. -!- Sick of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST? Will, if you're in New York, check out FORBIDDEN BROADWAY 1993. The parody show, now in its eleventh year, includes a sketch featuring the Little Mermaid, Lumiere, Genie, and Mrs. Potts. It's a musical number called "Be Depressed." -!- CHRISTOPHER LAMBERT is currently starring in KNIGHT MOVES with Diane Lane. -!- Looking for a new DARKOVER novel? Word is that April will bring REDISCOVERY, co-authored by MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY and MERCEDES LACKEY. --!10!-- SPOILERS AHOY!!! JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH: F. Murray Abraham plays Professor Harlech, uncle to Christopher Turner (JEFFERY NORDLING). When Harlech is killed attempting to travel under the crust of the earth, Turner's designs for a ship to carry on the quest are utilized by Hiram Wentworth (FRANCIS GUINAN). (Indications are that he steals them.) The resulting ship, the "Adventure," holds a crew of seven: Wentworth, Turner, Wentworth's "personal representative," Dr. Margo Peterson (Farrah Forke), Dr. Tesue Ishikawa (KIM MIYORI), rock climber Sandy Miller (FABIANA UDENIO), test pilot Tony LaStrella (DAVID DUNDARA), munitions expert and former Navy Seal Joe Briggs (TIM RUSS), and an old friend of Harlech, Dr. Ceceil Chalmers (JOHN NEVILLE), an expert in mythology. Once the crew is assembled, the ship dives into an erupting volcano (supposedly the only way to get to the "inner world"), entering caverns where they encounter giant mushrooms, mazes, bubbling red lakes, disappearing passageways, and some seeming silliness: Dallas, a friendly "abominable-snowman-type beast," and Troglodytes, who "want to eat the hapless crew members to gain their knowledge." (It sounded so silly we didn't even want to TRY and interpret it. It remains to be seen how it will be handled.) And then, of course, there's the Black Prince, an evil creature who wants an ancient book (presumably of spells) which Chalmers has. As far as we know, the show has not been picked up for the regular season, but that may change. The pilot is scheduled to air in the United States February 28. Check local listings. UNCANNY X-MEN # 300 reportedly features the return of MAGNETO, who was apparently recruiting "Acolytes" while he was supposedly dead. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION : This week, "Aquiel," the episode LeVar Burton mentioned, about Geordi falling in love with an accused murderess. The week of February 6, "Face of the Enemy," which spotlights Counselor Troi, who is kidnapped from the Enterprise and turned into a Romulan. Then there's "Tapestry," a tour of Picard's life. Other new episodes coming: "Birthright," a two part crossover to Deep Space Nine (or maybe not ...), about Worf's discovery that his disgraced father may be alive, and "Starship Mine," (no plot details yet). STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE: "Q-less": Q comes to the station with Vash. It involves dreams which drive crew members to steal an icon and take it through the wormhole. Our guess is that it ties into the mystery brought up in the pilot. "Dax" has her on trial for a crime supposedly committed in her last host body. In "The Passenger," Dr. Bashir finds himself entangled with a female security officer who has unknowingly had the mind of the man she's looking for snuck into her body. Upcoming episodes of HIGHLANDER will reportedly include a guest appearance by Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals) and an episode about Native American artifacts. QUANTUM LEAP: The animated episode has been pushed back for next year due to budget restraints, despite the fact that a script has already been written. There will also be an Elvis episode. What is this, Real People year? The second part of the "Evil Leaper" story will be aired February 23, with NEIL PATRICK HARRIS (Doogie Houser, MD) starring in one of the two hours. March 2 is the Marylin Monroe episode, where Sam leaps into her chauffeur and not only has to keep her from committing suicide, he has to get her career back on track by making sure she meets Clark Gable. The letter writing campaign is in full swing because this year's ratings aren't. The address to write to is: Mr. Warren Littlefield NBC-TV 3000 W. Alameda Ave. Burbank, CA 91523 For tips on how to run a successful letter-writing campaign see the interview with Bjo Trimble (--!7!--). One more tip in this case. Don't write "Quantum Leap" on the envelope, or it will go to the production company, not the people who need to see it. It is also a good idea to write to the people who sponsor the show and thank them for their support. Advertisers remember that. --!10!-- ADMINISTRIVIA Subscriptions to the electronic version of Cyberspace Vanguard are available by dropping a note to cn577@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Internet) Cyberspace Vanguard@1:157/564 (Fidonet) Cyberspace Vanguard@40:204/564 (Amiganet) There is also a hard copy version of CV, which includes photos, cartoons, and probably an article or two that didn't get into the electronic version. It is available for $2.00 per issue, or $10.50 for six months (6 issues). (Write us for international rates.) Cyberspace Vanguard PO Box 25704 Garfield Hts, OH 44125 USA Also, we are DESPERATELY SEEKING CORRESPONDENTS. We can't possibly read every genre related newsgroup on every network. We need people who can RELIABLY send us the news that turns up in the groups they would read regularly anyway. If you're interested, send a list of the groups that you read frequently and regularly to the above electronic addresses. -- CYBERSPACE VANGUARD MAGAZINE Editor: TJ Goldstein, tlg4@po.CWRU.Edu News and Views from the Science Fiction Universe Send submission, question, and comments to xx133@cleveland.Freenet.Edu or cn577@cleveland.Freenet.Edu