Lettro

Dear Spring Quarter Students,

Though you probably don't like the idea of having to deal with a bunch of science fiction stuff all quarter, it will really open your eyes to a whole new genre. Most of you probably haven't watched that much science fiction, and just to let you know it's not too bad. Yes, there are some definitively corny parts to most television episodes, but as long as you can overlook the cornyness it really becomes somewhat interesting. Yes, all the blogs and comments will be annoying. The writing isn't that bad. Other than that, it's just a normal class.


Sincerely, Jon Russ

bloog 31

So, in class we watched "Out of Gas" from the Firefly series. I was actually surprised by how much i enjoyed the episode. I thought it was my favorite episode of any show we watched this year in class. I liked how it showed how they first got the ship. I liked how the episode showed how the crew got together. I enjoyed the three different stories coming together to really make a very strong episode. I thought it was it was interesting how the captain, towards the end of the episode, fixed the ship but didn't make it to the button yet was still saved by his crew. After that happened it kind of made the episode seem somewhat pointless. It showed some sort of loyalty i guess. I feel like the red button could represent life. All Captain Mal had to do to to live was reach the red button, but he couldn't reach it before he passed out. So Mal got lucky or something. I feel like the red button could relate to someones back-up plan or something like that that goes wrong. At one point Mal is alone on the ship when he finally receives a message from another ship. These people came on Serenity and then tried to rob it. Mal got shot but was able to fend off the invaders. I thought this part of the episode was really eat. It was cool how he could defend his ship like that. Overall, I thought the episode was pretty good.

bloog 30

So, I watched an episode of the original Star Trek series entitled "What are little girls made of?". I think once again Star Trek attempts to tackle a major social issue. This is a very bold and, at the time, very cutting edge. Basically, what happens is the Enterprise is dispatched to save Roger Korby, a really well known exobiologist, whom appears to have been stranded on the planet Exo III for 3 years. Chapel, the ships nurse, was Korby's fiance. They go there only to find a bunch of androids that seem to be kind of pointless, and they find Korby. Korby doesn't seem right. Korby himself than ends up being an Android. So basically, there was no one to save at all.Korby ends up getting destroyed, so that no more Androids can be made. I guess you just get a sense of the meaninglessness. They came so far only to realize that everyone is just a machine. This episode aired in 1966, so there could be a possible connection to the Vietnam War. Potentially how the soldiers felt at the end of the war, having gained or won really nothing. The United States spent billions of dollars and lost many American lives and have nothing to show for it. It was a meaningless war basically. I thought the episode was kind of interesting. It was a little bit haunting which made the episode have a pretty cool tone. Overall, I thought the episode was pretty good but the low quality of the show is still somewhat detracting from the show.

bloog 29

So we watched Farscape I class today. If I was John from that show I would be freaking out. I really have no idea what I would have done. I think after I went through the wormhole and that one ship clipped me and crashed into that planet, I would be really freaked out. At first definitely I would probably try to side more with the humans. It's really hard to put myself in John's shoes. I guess I would feel really lonely. I would feel like I would definitely think I was going to die. Basically, I would be scared. I would probably try to escape on that planet they landed on. I would definitely be looking out for myself 100%. I didn't really like how the show used puppets. I thought the characters looked pretty fake. I think it takes away from the show. I guess i would eventually start start going with the flow ad try to escape with the prisoner dudes. It's kind of hard to determine how I feel about each character. Each seems weird in their own way. I think the main character is a bad actor. I think the show overall seems to be the lowest quality ad personally my least favorite show that we've watched in class this year. I am sort of surprised this series lasted four seasons. The series must pick up at some point I would imagine. I think you have to be a major science-fiction fan to be able to appreciate this show.

blog 28

So i watched the episode "The Cloud Minders" from the original Star Trek. Basically what happens that in order to save an inhabited planet from being destroyed by a botanical plague, the Enterprise goes to pick up zenite, the mineral cure, on the only known planet where it is mined. When Kirk and Spock go down on the planet they are attacked by 'troglites' (miners) but they are not captured. High council adviser Plasus steps-in and brings them to Stratos, the rich-people metropolis, which literally floats in the sky. However, it is under attack from 'disruptors', troglite revolutionaries who want equal life conditions for both the miners and the rich people. They do all the hard work, mainly working miserably in mines and live in caves on the barren surface below. Dr. McCoy finds out the alleged intellectual inferiority of the troglites is not genetic but the reversible effect of exposure to the invisible gas emitted by the zenite. Basically, this episode i feel is trying to deal with racial issues at the time. Time episode came out in 1969, and it speaks a lot to that generation. The episode preaches equality especially since the doctor makes that discovery. Racism was a major problem, obviously, back in the 1960's. I would say the original Star Trek has a lot deeper symbolism than Battlestar Galictica, at least that;s how it seems. It seems like everything after Star Trek is just a copy of Star Trek to a certain degree. It's kind of classic seeing all the original characters in the show.

27.5

We, also, in class today watched the episode "Water" in the series Battlestar Galactica. I thought the episode was fairly interesting. So it turns out that people are discovering that cylons can look like humans. I was wondering whether all the Sharons' in the show think they are human or if it's just the one that's with the humans already. Sharon basically has a breakdown. I feel like she's really confused and is having trouble identifying herself. I believe subconsciously or otherwise she knows that she is the one that activated and laid the detonators. I feel like this could relate to the real world in a lot of ways. Anyone that experienced a traumatic event that made them question themselves and who they are. Perhaps like taking place in a gas station robbery and someone gets shot and killed. Well, this killing wasn't supposed to happen and would change a man forever. Sharon has a really difficult time admitting that she discovered water on the planet she was searching at the time. Even though she is a robot she has this great internal battle, and actually overcomes her instincts to ignore the water siting and basically helps save the human race. Everyone faces these internal struggles often throughout their life. As simple as getting too much change back at the grocery store or fast food joint, people have to decide what to do and this is sometimes a great battle for people. i feel like this episode can vaguely relate to everyone that watches it.

blod 27 measure

Okay, so in class today we watched "Measure of a Man" from Star Trek the Next Generation. I thought the episode was very interesting. This episode focuses on the problem of human rights and more significantly what decides who or what has a soul. This question interested me a lot because in my Philosophy class last quarter we discussed the issue of souls, but it was more so on the premise of do we, as humans, actually have souls and what a soul really is. What does it mean to have a soul? If our body dies does our soul live on? If not then what is a soul? If our soul lives on then does that mean there's a god? This is a very controversial topic that was brought to life by this episode. There are many philosophers that spend their entire career arguing this and writing countless papers and books on the subject. I really like how the episode attempts to take on this subject so bluntly. The episode seemed to conclude that consciousness, self awareness, and like feeling or something like that. I feel like that's a very bold statement made by the producers and writers of the show. This episode also discusses artificial intelligence and whether a man made thing can be considered human or have a "soul". This topic was also brought forth in my philosophy and is highly controversial. It was determined in the episode that this man-made robot, so to speak, was deserved the right to choose. Based on how Data was i guess that's a decent decision, but that is what the episode leans toward and wants the audience to agree with. This is a very wild episode in the way they take on such insane, unanswerable questions. I do like that about this episode. The people in charge of the show aren't afraid, and i'm sure a lot of criticism was placed upon these great controversy laiden episodes. It really makes me interested in what other topics of human interest this series takes on.

blog 26

So i truly hate watching television episodes online, it takes forever with all the buffering. It has to buffer like every 5 minutes, and it just makes the episode hard to follow or care about. So, I wonder how long before Battlestar Galactica the show Caprica takes place. I noticed they still use the word frakking, and since lingo seems to completely change every couple years it seems like the two shows occur really close together. Basically what happens in the show is this girl blows up a train after being recruited by a virtual gang. Her parents then go on a tv show to convince Caprica that their daughter is not a bad person. It is potentially partially the fathers fault since he is designing the technology that the gang thrives. Somebody almost has the wife assassinated, but it gets called off. I don't know how this episode could connect to the real world. Possibly just the fact that people go through really difficult things sometimes. Possibly that people have to deal with being blamed for stuff that they didn't see coming and couldn't stop. Maybe the message is that life sucks. I don't know. Though this is based exclusively off one episode from each series, I feel like the show pushes too much to be like BSG. I did enjoy Spence from the King of Queens being on the show, best part. I thought it was absurd the way the cops busted in the school with a warrant. That was completely not the way it would go down. The school would just cooperate. The school has nothing to gain or lose.

blog 25

Okay, so we watched an episode of Battelstar Gallactica today in class. It was entitled "33". I thought it was a mildly interesting episode. Basically, humans are running from robots, go figure. They determine that one of the ships that are in their fleet is being tracked somehow, so they shoot it down. This is very controversial. This, obviously, is an example of doing something you really don't want to do, but you know that you really have to. For people with specific moral values when they hit a car in the parking lot and no one is around, they don't want to, but they leave a note on the car with their information. Sometimes you have to do what you don't want to do for the greater good. I thought it was interesting how the fleet could feed and have enough water for nearly 50,000 people for that amount of time. Probably some wild technology. I thought the faster-than-light drive was interesting. It's a neat concept at how to travel really fast, as opposed to just being able to go that fast at any time you want. I don't really know what to think about that Baltar character. He is kind of coming across as a potential mole in the series, possibly a great protagonist. It would be interesting to see his character develop throughout the series. I also find his hallucinations pretty crazy. There are a lot of unexplained things that happened in the episode. It would be interesting to see another episode.