I'm in pretty good shape with the music for the play but there are lots of last minute details to attend to before we go into intensive rehearsals next week so I'm afraid that this is going to be quick again! Sorry about this. I'm not sure there will be a column next week. If all goes as I suspect, I'll probably be getting to bed late every night and I would be stunned if there isn't at least one glitch or two in the technical department that will require my assistance. So, just a bit of warning that the next column might come two weeks from now.
Okay! First, some comments from previous columns . . .
Television Series Cross-Overs
Beginning with Omer Belsky's comments in the 3/20/98 column
Murray Leeder: I say, ignore The Simpsons all together! The show has no interest in continuity... it regularly sacrifices continuity and logic for a good laugh! It's best to think of each episode of The Simpsons as a self-contained void, which cannot be critiqued on the basis of ANYTHING else.
Also [Concerning the MASH crossover,] I think the confusion here stems from the fact that Birdseye was labeled "4077". That was the homage to M*A*S*H.
John Bibb: Hans Cumming pointed out an actor from the M*A*S*H movie who appeared in ST4 and ST6. However, he didn't mention that the actor who played Father Mulcahey (sp?) went on to play Odo in DS9.... Also, the actress who played Major Houlihan in the movie played the lady in TOS's "Where No Man Has Gone Before" who got the funky eyes and super powers (my appologies for not having the acter's names, but I forget the lady, and I can never remember to spell Rene (_____?______)'s last name......)
Bullies on the Playground and the End of the Nitpicker's Guides
Beginning with Phil Farrand's comments at the end of the 5/15/98 column
Note from Phil: The July issue of the newsletter went a couple of weeks ago, so many other nitpickers have responded! Unfortunately, I have no time to respond to them individually so just let me say once again that I do appreciate all the kind words and I thank you for them. I'm glad you've enjoyed the work.
Dave B Walcher: Here's an idea. Sell further nitpicker ST books through paramount, ( pocket books) Become the "official" unofficial guide. I can't see paramount objecting to a product that enhances interest in one of it's cash cows. ( actually, I can, but not in a world with common sense. HMMM, .... that lets out this one. ) Seriously, if you sell it right ( Ideas on request ), they might view it as an asset to their franchise. It's worth a shot, you might get ST:DS9 pt. 2 and VOY books out of it. Perhaps other similar authorized publishers will let you do guides for their products. All else fails, write the guide for fun ( if you have time and are so inclined )and distribute it free over the web. ( I don't know if this is legal, you're not making money, but it may not be. ) Hope things work out for you. If they consider the idea, let all of us in the guild know and we'll spam them with support. Letters saved ST in '68, why not e-mail in '98.
Steve Kreisler: It distressed me deeply to read the "bad news" in the latest nitpicking newsletter (and not just because my great Star Wars nit is in danger of not being published). It's a perfect illustration of the "litigious society" gone out of control.
I just wanted to thank you for what you have done for nitpickers worldwide; you stimulated an interest in nitpicking, legitimized an admittedly "nerdlike" activity, and gave (and will perhaps continue to give) us a place to interact, to share nits and to exchange views.
I think you're doing the right thing in getting back into the computer field, and I wish you luck. I hope, though, that you don't entirely abandon the search for a publisher for the Star Wars guide. The Nitpicker's Guides are certainly well-known, and there is (some) money to be made with them. Perhaps someone else will be willing to take a risk.
Be of good cheer, Steve
Kevin Daly: I was very disapointed with the news. I was looking forward to the Star Wars guide a lot. I hope you have sucess in your new career. I hear that programmers are always in demand these days, so I'm sure someone will be willing to hire you.
Meanwhile, I'll be looking for your novel. When is going to hit shelves? I'll be there as soon as it comes in. (Note from Phil: I have to find a publisher first!) As for future guides, it sounds like Paramount isn't going to waste time with a lawsuit it can't win. When the shock of this court ruling wears off, I'd bet that to you could convince some publisher that the guides are legal and risk free. In a few years, I hope we'll see the Star Wars guide, and many more volumes of Nitpicking fun. Keep up the great website.
Helen: Couldn't you publish in another country?????
Dave Dumble: I'm sorry to hear the news about your writing. As an ex- lawyer I understand the situation, which is one reason why I am an EX-lawyer. Books such as yours increase interest in shows such as DS9 and The X-Files (as if they needed encouragement), and therefore benefit Paramount even if they aren't "getting their cut." It's like the baseball owners who initially opposed broadcasting games on the radio, fearing that fans wouldn't pay for what they could get for free (or like Alyssa Milano complaining that people are making money showing nude pictures of her on the Internet, when her "acting" career has probably been enhanced). I hope you find other productive outlets.
Best of luck on your future endeavors, and happy nitpicking.
Callie Sullivan: re: Brian's suggestion about a B5 guide and his comment that "I think JMS would love to see a guide based on his show. He might even help."
Somehow I doubt that you're even contemplating the possibility of a B5 guide, authorised or not, but just FYO:
I dunno whether you've ever visited the Lurker's Guide website to Babylon 5 (www.midwinter.com) but I feel very strongly that JMS would have a purple fit (or possibly a green one) at the thought of a Nitpicker's Guide. Although he's very friendly most of the time and is happy to chat with viewers, if anyone tries to nitpick even the tiniest point within an episode, he gets very touchy and will argue forever to prove the author wrong, even if it's pretty obvious that they've made a valid point. Joe's happy to accept praise and non-critical comment but does *not* like his show being criticised in any way. I honestly believe that an approach to Warner to produce a B5 Nitpickers Guide would result in an extremely negative response and quite possibly threats of legal action if you even tried to go ahead. Shame though, cos I'd *definitely* buy a Nitpickers Guide to B5!
Jack Reasoner: SO sorry to read the bad news. While I can understand Dell's concerns, it occurs to me that there is *far* too much law in this country. At least we carried on long enough to see my name in print (smile) in a Nitpickers' Guide.
I know I speak for legions when I say, you'll always be the Chief to us.
Jeff Jacques: In reading the latest Nitpicker's Newsletter, in which you announced that no further NP books will be published, I was wondering if you'll continue doing the e-mail newsletter. Or can you somehow be nailed by TPTB for doing that as well? (Note from Phil: I plan to continue the newsletters and the website for now.)
Michael E. Ickes: I just got done reading Vol. 5 Issue 2 of the Newsletter, and I was wondering if you had considered taking the guides online. While it is unlikely that you would be successful in charging a membership fee for access to the guides, you may be able to get support in advertising money. I was thinking along the lines of the very shows you have been Nitpicking. After all, it is my impression that the people who read the guides i.e. buy them are fans of the movies/shows/ect. who would probably be interested in any new things having to do with them. For example, Lets say you do a Guide online for the Star Wars movies. The people who read the guide would probably be interested in info on the new trilogy that will be coming out next year. So you may be able to get Lucas ltd. to do an ad in your guide that links them to the trilogy home page. This helps drum up buzz about the upcoming movie as well as get hits on the trilogy info page which will undoutebly have links to other movies and merchandise. At the same time you could have a link to any new video games that have Star Wars themes. Now I understand that Star Wars is not one of the best examples, mainly because it has a very strong core following that will look for the above mentioned things regardless of whether or not they read the guide but I think it illustrates what I'm trying to say.
Another thing you might consider is to make the site a channel in a push client. Both Microsoft and Netscape have push clients built into their browser, and another good one is Point cast. While I have little experience with the browser clients I have used Pointcast for some time now. With its format you can have it display whole web pages, ads and all in one of their channels with link to your site. A good example of using this would be to have a daily nitpick page that had nits on one thing and another. This would generate interest in your site which could turn into a higher number of people stopping by on a daily bases. The more hits a site has the more it can charge for ad space. There is considerable risk in the idea and I suggest talking to some people in the net business before just launching into it, however you have to take into account that you are already doing the nitpick central page so it would mean just making it more of a full time thing. And don't forget that it may still be possible to program on the side to pay the bills until the site becomes a money maker. I leave you with this, the most profitable sites on the net are the ones with a compelling content that draws people on a daily basis. Unfortunately that has mainly been the porn sites. However sites like zd net and Wired News have slowly started to supplant them, the next step is to push some sites that provide entertainment. After all that's what most of the people I know go online for. I have been trying to come up with some type of content that would be compelling enough to get at least a core following of daily 'subscribers' but have been unsuccessful. What you have is a content that has already proven that it has the type of audience that is needed, now all you need is to take that to its natural ending.
Luke Allen: Sorry to hear about the loss of the series. I really wanted the Star Wars guide. Maybe a university press would publish it, but I'd certainly pay to get my hands on a copy. Of course, putting the complete text on the web would increase your fan following, but I don't know how Pocket Books or the studio would react.
A major victory would be to eventually publish the AUTHORIZED Nitpicker's Guide for Star Warriors, but how likely is that? About as likely as Alpha Centauri going nova seconds after you read this (or rather the light of said nova reaching us, now I'm nitpicking myself!). Of course, you never know until you try.
Susan Bermudez: Hi!!! I'm a fourteen year old nitpicker, who, with her friends, has found almost 200 nits. As you might be able to tell, we have no lives. That is, we have no lives outside of Star Trek. Which means we have no lives. (Yes, I am a member of RRA (Redundantly redundat Ananomous)). I just read, in Dateline: Star Trek, that you won't be doing any more Nitpicker's Guides. NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! You CAN'T stop making Nitpicker's Guide books!!! Come on, we're the people who stay up until 3:00am to watch TOS reruns; the kind of people wh stand in line for hours in the rain to get tickets for the opening night of Trek movies; and we are the kind of people who have watched 49 hours of Star Trek straight. (Actually, I"m not sure if anyone outside of my group has done that, but I have and I'm proud of it.) Please don't take away our favorite book series!!!!!!!! (Note from Phil: Unfortunately, it's not up to me!)
Kail Tescar: Sorry to hear there will be no more guides :-(. I was really looking forward to a DS9 book to finish out the series.
Maybe there is some way you could publish your books yourself. I'd certainly by them from you, as others would I'm sure. I have every book you wrote and had hoped to have many more of your books on my shelf. It's very sad, almost as sad as you having to go and get a 'real' job! :-)
Anyway, I wish you and yours the very best of luck in the future. All things happen for a reason and I'm sure God is just setting the stage for something really good to happen for you.
Nick Angeloni: First off, I'd like to say how disappointing it is to hear there will be no more Guides. Thank God for the Internet!
Dr. Richard Hanley (Author, "The Metaphysics of Star Trek."): Very sorry to hear your news. I hope all goes well in whatever you turn your hand to. Once again, congratulations on an excellent series. It has been a wonderful resource in my own work.
Phil: Again, thanks for all the kind words. A minor update. Del Rey (The official publishers for the Star Wars books decline to do a Nitpicker's Guide for Star Wars. The editor felt that it really needed to be done unauthorized to preserve the irreverance of the project. But . . . there's an outside possibility that they may be interested in a sci-fi movie guide. So . . . we'll see.
The Death Of Jadzia
Beginning with Matt Greer's comments in the 6/12/98 column
Rene Charbonneau: I think the comparison between Jadzia's death and Yar's death are dead wrong! Yar died because of her own stupidity. This powerful alien threatens them and tells them not to go to the shuttle. What does Yar do? She actually makes a move towards the shuttle. In my opinion, someone that stupid deserves to die.
On the other hand, Jadzia had no way of preventing her death. Sure, she pulled out her phaser and probably that is what provoked that thing inside Dukat to kill her. But, she had no way of knowing...she thought it was just Dukat...she didn't have the time to realize that a powerful entity was controlling him.
I think having Jadzia die in a battle would have been very stupid. After seven life times of experience in battle, to have to be killed like that would have been fake.
Oh about the "we're going to have a baby" being a desperate attempt to get more sympathy, I have to STRONGLY DISAGREE. After almost a year of being married, it seemed like the right time to be discussing a baby. I think the writers did a marvelous job.
Anyway, "Tears Of The Prophets" was an excellent season finale...along the same lines as "Call To Arms" was last year! In my opinion, even the worst episode of DS9 is better than the best episode of Voyager. That's why I am very sad that next year will most likely will the final season of DS9. After next year, all we'll have is VOYAGER! YIKES! Now, that's a scary thought! Oops...or should I call it "The Seven Of Nine" show now?
Phil: Well . . . as I'm fond of saying. Around here, everyone's entitled to their own opinion! ;-)
Murray Leeder: I think Dax's death was well-done. I've always felt Yar's death was a mistake... it was too soon in the serious to force a "meaningless death" gimmick. But with Dax it feels meaningless and frustrating, which is exactly the way Sisko seems to feel. I also liked that we were spared the funeral... in this case, its impact on Sisko is what's really important, and by not showing us everyone else's grief, it brought it into sharper focus. BTW, Ron Moore answered the question of why Dax wasn't on the Defiant... it was because she and Worf aren't allowed to serve together on missions of that sort.
Luke Allen: [Concerning the meaninglessness of Dax's death,] Think about this: In real life, death is seldom meaningful and timely. Case in point, a childhood friend of mine, killed instantly when a drunk driver crashed into the car in which he was riding. Since Dukat and the rogue Prophet killed her in a church for no good reason, it is made clear that they are evil incarnate by the laws of literature and storytelling.
Of course, she didn't REALLY die, her memories and life experiences are recorded in a not-too-fragile slug, and she'll be back next season. As a man, or as a "more attractive" female (Kes -> 7of9). The creators wouldn't dare have Worf have a relationship with another male (female-female is perfectly fine, double standard anyone?), so they will probably break their own rule about not having Trill have relationships with those from previous lifetimes (or was that just Trill-Trill relationships?). ---------
Phil: Who can say when it comes to Trek. The rules change so often! ;-) With regard to death in real life seldom being meaningful and timely, the problem that I have with Dax's death is that Star Trek has traditionally been a subset of the heroic genre which has little correspondence to reality in the first place. For my money, heros need heroic deaths or the "users" of the story feel cheated. And most do with respect to Dax's death
Stephen Mendenhall: Oh, well. I had something to say about Jadzia Dax. It seems there's a movie opening called "Polish Wedding." It was filmed partly in Hamtramck, a Detroit suburb with plenty of Poles, and one of the characters is a Polish woman named...Jadzia. Now, I'd gotten used to the "coincidences", like Odo being a medieval French name, and even planet Uxmal (Mayan place of the dead) from "Power Play." But for Jadzia...couldn't they at least vary it a little, make her name Jadzai or Chadzui or something? By the way, the French stock market has an acronym abbreviation which is pronounced, "dax", but I don't know how it's actually spelled.
Nick Angeloni: I also agree that the Next Gen-era deaths of characters have been unsatisfying. I also have something else to add to the list- the Enterprise-D! It was trashed in Star Trek Generations, and at the end of the movie everyone is okay with it. Especially Picard, whom I would expect to be a little ticked at Riker (see the Next Gen II guide for a better explanation). No emotion from the characters like in The Search for Spock, when the Classic Enterprise went down.
The Music For The Movie Trailers of Seven Year In Tibet and Mulan
Beginning with Vince Hamilton's comments in the ac980619.htm7/10/98 Column
John Latchem: The music was from the movie "Dragonheart."
That's how Hollywood works. Usually the last element of a film to be added is the music. Since the trailers are usually put together before the music is written, they use music from other movies that fit the visual impact of the trailer. Sometimes the music for a movie is not written with specific scenes in mind, and is just general for a type of scene. This type of music is usually written before the film is done, and can be used with the later trailers.
For example: Armageddon uses music from the Rock. Later trailers used music from Armageddon that had already been written.
When the music is written depends on the composer. "Seven Years in Tibet" was scored by John Williams. "Mulan" was scored by Jerry Goldsmith. Both write scene specific music after the movie is finished, so the music can't make it to the trailers. Randy Edelman's "Dragonheart" music is used instead.
"Titanic" trailers also had Titanic music in them. James Horner I believe was working on the music while the movie was being made and tightened the specificity of the music after it was completed. If you listen to the music in the film, however, you can still notice when the music changes from one track to another.
Take a look at the Star Trek film trailers. "Generations" used music from ST6, and "First Contact" used music from ST2 and others.
The Movietunes website at http://www.movietunes.com/ has a feature on this.
Mike Henley: The music you refer to is the main theme/finale from the fantasy flick "Dragonheart". You know, the one where Sean Connery's the voice of the dragon. It music was written by composer by Randy Edelman. Good movie; good music.
Phil: Thanks to Murray Leeder, John Bibb and Kevin Weiler for sending this information along as well.
On to the questions . . .
Edward Jefferson: I just saw the Voyager Season 4 episode where Leonardo Da Vinci gets transfered to the holo-emitter- I live in the UK, so this has only just come out on video, let alone been shown on TV. Are holoprograms sentient? They decided that Moriaty was, and Voyager treat the Doctor as sentient- however, other crews (e.g. do not seem to see their EMHs as sentient beings. Is is stated somewhere whether or not they are sentient, and if they are, how come everyone just seems to delete them whenever they want? Isn't that murder?
Phil: Well . . . if they are sentient, then, yes, I do think it would be murder. Personally, I've always wondered about holodeck characters. After all, the Enterprise main computer apparently can created a sentient being if it choose. Doesn't it seem like that the drive for more realism on the holodeck would eventually lead to the computer manufacturing being that would be sentient? And, then what's a person supposed to do when that fantasy playbunny is more interested in reading T.S. Eliot and talking about her meaningless than romping through the silven glades? ("I believe we are in rats alley, where the dead men lost their bones." "Great, well . . . um . . . I really need to get back to Engineering now.")
Aaron Nadler: Do you know of any places where I can buy "The Inner Light" music? I am in love with the little ditty that Picard plays on his flute, and I would love to have music for it for my saxophone. I have figured out the melody, but I would love to see the actual score. Any help?
Phil: I think we talked about this months ago. Can't recall for sure but I think Hal Leonard carries the sheet music.
Brian Henley: I'm a bit of a history buff, particularly with an interest in the Civil War. Thus I own a copy of Turner Picture's Gettysburg, the four hour epic of the turning point of the American Civil War. In critiquing the film, It must be noted that a history lover who seeks a factual story (and not just historical fiction) has slim pickings in the cinema world. Thus, any critique about Gettysburg , in my opinion, must be amalgamated with a deep sense of gratitude towards the persons who worked on the movie. The gave us what is a watchable, if flawed film. Flaws in the film Gettysburg include deplorable time-continuity on the First day of battle, historical innacuracies, and military implausbilities, not to mention deviations from Michael Shaara's book, the Killer Angels. However, there is one little thing in this film that I can nitpick in the spirit of a true nitpicker.
Gettysburg stars Martin Sheen, Jeff Daniels, Tom Beranger, C. Thomas Howell, Stephen Lang, .... and a Large Red Barn.
The Barn is actually a magnificent red split barn, where the second story extends out and over the first story, leaving a part of the outside yard in the shade of the second story. The look and feel of this pretty barn fits in perfectly in the 1863 setting of the film. Trouble is, it's used way to often to escape the eyes of a nitpicker.
The Union 20th Maine Infantry marches past The Large Red Barn, with fifes and drums playing "Old 1812". This is right before a local girl askes Chamberlian "I thought the war was in Virginia"
Lee wakes up on July 1 (Day One of the Battle) and walks over and pets his favorite steeds, Lucy and Traveller. These faithfull horses are corralled underneath the Large Red Barn.
Lee investigates the sound of gunfire, and meets General Heth on the Chambersburg Pike. Keep your eye on the building that's on the hill behind the two men in the shot that esablishes this scene. It is a Large Red Barn.
I'm pretty sure that the exterior of the field hospital in which Longstreet vists the wounded General Hood is the same Large Red Barn. This is at the beginning of part 2.
Maybe, just maybe, the Large Red Barn is in the scene in the shot where General Reynolds and his staff is galloping up the road towards Buford in the Seminary. It's a very long shot, and the light's not too good, so I'm not sure.
That's quite a barn! It manages to fly from setting to setting all in three days!! This barn takes off from Maryland (where Chamberlain walked past it), lands in Chambersburg to be there when Lee wakes up the next day, walks down the road a bit towards Gettysburg for the meeting with General Heth and then deposits itself south of Gettysburg to be the field hospital for behind general Hood's division.
In seriousness, do any nitpickers know of the splendid barn I'm talking about? Where is it on the map? It sure is nice lookin'.
Phil: Couldn't tell ya! Anybody?
Geoffrey M. Hodge: i'm a big trek fan and i was wondering if you or anybody knew where i could obtain a replica of a photon torpedo. i'm just looking for the casing, not the field sustainer or the warhead.
Phil: While I'm am sure that there is somebody out there manufacturing these, I would not be able to point you to them . . . unless, of course, someone in the Guild knows! ;-)
Joe Buss: I am engaged in an On-Line argument with some other fans about when the first mention of the Borg being from the Delta Quadrent is. I think it was "First Contact", but some others have stated that there is such a mention in "Descent". Someone even told me that it's on a display screen in a scene with Geordi. Do you know if this is true, or if there is any other mention of this tidbit prior to First Contact.
Since you and other Guild members have no doubt analyzed the ep frame by frame, maybe you could help me out.
Phil: Without pulling out the tape (and I don't have time for that this morning), I couldn't say for sure but it does seem like it's mentioned in "Descent". Anybody want to grab their copy of the episode and find out?
Have a great weekend, everybody!
If you would like to submit a question or comment, send it to: chief@nitcentral.com with "Ask the Chief" or "Question" in the Subject line. (Remember the legalese: Everything you submit becomes mine and you grant me the right to use your name in any future publication by me.)
Copyright 1998 by Phil Farrand. All rights reserved.