Sfdebris.net

For what it's worth, from JMS: "I don't think it's the position of this show to state whether or not a belief system is true but rather to explore the actions of those who THINK it's true; not to resolve arguments, but to start arguments. (See "Believers" for more on this one.)"

Yukaphile wrote: ↑Tue Nov 13, 2018 6:49 pmThis seems like historical revision, tbh. An attempt to paint a tribe as less barbaric than they were.

That wasn't what I was aiming at. I was going into why sacrifice is a human universal and where it originated from, be it burnt offerings, cutting out beating hearts or saving up money to buy something you really want.

There are many axioms in our lives that we take as self-evident, but they took a long time to be created, often through ritual embodiment of them like sacrifice.

I could go into the origins behind xenophobia, but that doesn't mean I'm excusing genocide or pogroms when I do so.

Calm the hell down, Yuke, we're in agreement here.

TGLS wrote: ↑Tue Nov 13, 2018 8:39 pm But the Inca were pretty far away from the Aztecs in the Andes.

Yukre's speaking of the vassal tribes the Aztecs had conquered, but didn't integrate them into their empire since they preferred to keep them autonomous enough to periodically go to war for several reasons one of which was human sacrifice.

They were technically beholding to serve the Aztecs, but once Cortez and his tiny band showed up and caused enough of a sensation they flocked to the Spanish once they began to quarrel with the Aztecs doing most of the fighting for them given that their uprising could have numbers over 100,000.

Edit: I see you were replying to Fuzzy. I don't even think the two had contact given their distance from one another.

Watching this review after watching some recent Doctor Who* was almost like a palate-cleanser. Speculative fiction that challenges us with no easy answers, as opposed to one that stands on a stage and constantly lectures us from on-high on what it thinks is right through a character that never has to make the hard choice because the script will turn itself inside-out to make sure whatever decision The Doctor makes is always the right and moral one.

Chuck's comment about "Doctors that don't have to live with the consequences of their actions" has brought to the surface thoughts I've been having about the character since Tennant's run.

*Arachnids in the UK reopened the massive gaping wound that Kill the Moon left in me and damnit it still hurts.

Zefram Mann wrote: ↑Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:59 am Chuck's comment about "Doctors that don't have to live with the consequences of their actions" has brought to the surface thoughts I've been having about the character since Tennant's run.

I haven't watched that show since giving it a chance around back during his time on it, but I find it really odd how modern Dr. Who has turned him into a messianic figure.

Makes me wonder if it was for a few too many British Gen Xers and Millennials much the same as how Star Wars was for their American equivalents or how Harry Potter is looking on by those who grew up reading the books (It's one thing to have something beloved from your childhood,but how the latter is looked on weirds me out given that they're fricking kids book series).

Just finished the review, and... HOLY SHIT. I... wow. When I finally get around to watching B5 (I'm checking out Chuck's reviews first, and reading through the wiki to help me understand this universe better first), I can only imagine how I'm going to feel. Like... really. DAMN.

Yukaphile wrote: ↑Sat Dec 01, 2018 2:50 am Just finished the review, and... HOLY SHIT. I... wow. When I finally get around to watching B5 (I'm checking out Chuck's reviews first, and reading through the wiki to help me understand this universe better first), I can only imagine how I'm going to feel. Like... really. DAMN.

Do not get your hopes up. The level of hype surrounding B5 vastly exceeds its quality. The show is very good with small, albeit emotionally manipulative, setpieces but the quality of the internal logic often falls to the level of TNG season 1, and the internal consistency is awful for a serialized show written by one person. If you care about logic and consistency you'll be disappointed.

Cassandra wrote: ↑Sat Dec 01, 2018 9:49 pm

Yukaphile wrote: ↑Sat Dec 01, 2018 2:50 am Just finished the review, and... HOLY SHIT. I... wow. When I finally get around to watching B5 (I'm checking out Chuck's reviews first, and reading through the wiki to help me understand this universe better first), I can only imagine how I'm going to feel. Like... really. DAMN.

Do not get your hopes up. The level of hype surrounding B5 vastly exceeds its quality. The show is very good with small, albeit emotionally manipulative, setpieces but the quality of the internal logic often falls to the level of TNG season 1, and the internal consistency is awful for a serialized show written by one person. If you care about logic and consistency you'll be disappointed.

There are some aspects JMS is good at, and many he is not. Unfortunately, once he takes over writing the show full time, there's no opportunity to have other writers bring in their own strengths. That sort of thing really matters, I think.

Well, all his women characters seem... cold and uptight, at least to my amateur eye.

Interesting observation. I don't think that holds true universally, but I think it is a common archetype on the show, especially in the small windows provided by the current reviews.

JMS wrote "Grounded"


I can't die on the hill to defend him