TRAVELLER Digest 520

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: Space Above and Beyond by mitch@intersys.com (Mitch Schwartz)
  2) Space Above and Beyond by "Harold D. Hale" <hdhale@smtpgate.read.tasc.com>
  3) Roger's new email address? by Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>
  4) Inane comments revisited. by Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>
  5) Re: Inane comments revisited. by peterb@superlink.net (Peter L. Berghold)
  6) My WWW pages are back up :) by "Goeran Damberg" <DE9255@ida.utb.hb.se>

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Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 15:41:45 -0500
From: mitch@intersys.com (Mitch Schwartz)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Space Above and Beyond
Message-ID: <95Dec19.155002est.20482@gateway.intersys.com>

On Sun, 17 Dec 1995, Mark Clark writes:

>  I'm curious if anyone else has been watching this show.  It's been on
>the Fox network on Sundays before The Simpsons (my favorite 1/2 hour of
>TV), so I've watched a few episodes.  When I saw the ads, I thought it
>would be a fun, Traveller/Starship Troopers/Forever War sort of thing.

I think it is a fun Starship Trooper sort of thing.

In a small nutshell, there is an alien race that bushwhacked the outer
few interstellar colonies of  Earth (in 2063).  No warning, no nothing.
The PCs - uh, main characters, are USMC space fighter pilots forming the
core of the 58th Fighter Squadron.  In the 1st episode, they shrank from
12 to 5 while stopping a nasty attack in the Sol system.  They get a few
replacements each week; this week was the first week the replacements
(redshirts) did not all die off.

The Navy and Marines are working as part of a UN force - but we have never
seen or heard of units from any other nation. (Come on, how expensive is
hiring someone with an English accent to be a radio contact?).

TL is more akin to 2300 than to Traveller.  So is the feel.

The bad guys (Chigs) are stomping us pretty bad.  They have friends who are
androids (much like replicants from BladeRunner) who revolted about 10 years
ago and fled into space and apparently are good buddies with the Chigs.  I
guess because actors in a little makeup are cheaper than making more than
two full alien suits (I've seen no more than two of them at a time).

>Problem is, it seems like it's light on science and heavy on feelings and
>character interaction.

Not to mention light on military science, too.

The characters were trained as space-fighter pilots (USMC, yet).  And yet, they
are often used as groundpounders.  A stray bullet is a cheap way for the Chigs
(aliens) to remove a pilot whose training cost millions of $ :-).

Not to mention explaining interstellar travel.  They have from time to time
mentioned temporary worm holes (as in the fleet is waiting for one so they
can use it move to another system) - but then have such silliness as "drifting
into another system" with no explanation of sliding between stars.

>The show reminds me of nothing so much as a bad
>World War II buddy movie with women and some odd references to people
>raised via clone-like tech..

Now, now, the show is on at 7PM on Sunday.  Read as juvenile/family audience.

OK, so they created their own minority (one character is a cloned human, one
of a set mass-reporiduced to fight the androids mentioned above; every 2
episodes, they make some reference to that (usually in peculiarities and lack of
social graces the fellow has since he grew up sans family); every four, it
is the focus of the adventure.

OK, so they do things that make little military sense.

But...

>  On the other hand, the animation of the space battles looks pretty cool,
>and seems fairly Traveller-like.  The one starship I saw up-close had the
>manuever engines mounted out on pylons - very sensible, extra arm for
>rotational moves.

They have good space animation effects.

> The ground actions are more primitive than the space
>tech - the troops look like they are wearing current USA field equipment
>with a camera stuck on the helmet.

The weapons themselves are slightly upgraded.  The ground combat sequences
are rather well-done.  They certainly capture the very confusing nature of a
fire fight.

>  Anyway, since I've only seen a couple of whole shows, is it worth it to
>try and catch it more often, or does it suck consistantly (I assume it
>does since I haven't seen it mentioned here)?

As my comments show, I have some ambivalent feelings about it.  I like it, but it
has problems.  The pilot episode was excellent, but I don't think it has lived up to
its potential.  Script quality is uneven - some are quite good; some are below the
quality of the Rat Patrol (but I liked the Rat Patrol when I was 10).  I think its a bit
violent for the under 15 crowd, and a bit uneven in quality for the above 15
crowd.

OTOH, I DO make the effort to catch it as often as possible, for all its
problems.


    Ted7
Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more
difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing in the tempting place.
                    -- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Official:                                                Unofficial:
mitch@intersys.com                     Ted7@world.std.com
                                                     http://world.std.com/~Ted7


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Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 16:47:05 -0500
From: "Harold D. Hale" <hdhale@smtpgate.read.tasc.com>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Space Above and Beyond
Message-ID: <s0d6ec64.047@smtpgate.read.tasc.com>

Season's Greetings everyone,

   I've seen every episode of SAB and have enjoyed it throughly.
It rates with the best science-fiction shows on television, IMHO.

   A SAB Sourcebook for TNE would kick major butt, not that it will
happen in my lifetime.  Oh well I can dream.

Regards,

Harold


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Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 17:58:26 -0500 (EST)
From: Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM, xboat@MPGN.COM
Subject: Roger's new email address?
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.951219175703.9968B-100000@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>

He may have changed his adress to: rodge@case.cyberspace.com



.sigless, for once.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 18:08:14 -0500 (EST)
From: Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Inane comments revisited.
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.951219180613.9968C-100000@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>

From: peterb@superlink.net (Peter L. Berghold)

> >>
> >> How about as a treat for the holidays we whip up some weapons for
> >> everyone to use?  8)
> >>        --Jerry
> >>
> >
> >You've been a Bad Boy, haven't you Jerry?
> >
>
> Errr... ahhh... what does that make me?   Sounds really good to me!!

Now, don't tell me Santa designes squad-support weapons in his spare time!

>
> >[Meanwhile, I'm madly designing ridiculously overarmed starships for the
> >sheer joy of it...]
> >
>
>
> Are you going to post them?
>

Alas no, as I'm soom to be kicked off my account.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alvin Plummer
"Preserve what we created, Norris, and remember what we stood for."
                               - Strephon, 179-1126

Reply to: alvin.plummer@SHERIDANC.ON.CA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------

Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 18:15:55 -0500
From: peterb@superlink.net (Peter L. Berghold)
To: Multiple recipients of list <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: Re: Inane comments revisited.
Message-ID: <199512192315.SAA16052@mars.superlink.net>

At 06:08 PM 12/19/95 -0500, Alvin Plummer wrote:

>Now, don't tell me Santa designes squad-support weapons in his spare time!
>

Well... he *has* held onto the North Pole for a *real* long time! :)


>> Are you going to post them?
>>
>
>Alas no, as I'm soom to be kicked off my account.


rats!
     _]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_
]_]_]_]_]
    _] Peter L. Berghold                         INTERNET: berghop@tcg.com
_]
   _] FAX: (718) 355-4282  PHONE: (718) 355-2722    -or-
peterb@superlink.net    _]
  _] Sr. Unix Specialist, TCG MIS Dept.       UUCP:
tcgny!berghold@uunet.uu.net _]
 _] "Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it..."
_]
_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]_]


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Date:          Wed, 20 Dec 1995 13:03:45 +0100
From: "Goeran Damberg" <DE9255@ida.utb.hb.se>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM, xboat@MPGN.COM
Subject: My WWW pages are back up :)
Message-ID: <208D72115AA@ida.utb.hb.se>

Hi evereybody,

just tought I'd let you know that my Traveller WWW pages are back up.
They can now be found at:

http://www2.hb.se/sexet/goeran/twp/

I'm not sure that all the links works yet, but I'm working on it.


cheers,
    goeran



----------------------
G/ran Damberg

email: de9255@ida.utb.hb.se
www:   http://www2.hb.se/sexet/goeran/

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End of TRAVELLER Digest 520
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