Good Reads

Good Reads

Apr 25

Y’all have got to check out the latest issue of Emmy magazine, which is dedicated to sci-fi/fantasy television. Please try to get past the irritating cover photo of Jennifer Love “Boobs McGee” Hewitt (actually, that’s my only quibble with this ish: they couldn’t find a better cover subject for the sci-fi/fantasy special? In the immortal words of GOB Bluth: Come ON!).

Among the highlights of the ish:

*A feature on four notable Star Trek: TNG alums: Ron D. Moore, Rene Echevarria, Naren Shankar and Brannon Braga (yeah, kind of a “bleah” on that last one, but still! It’s a good article!). It’s really inspiring to read their stories — all four owe their first break in the biz to one of my all-time favorite writer/producers, Michael Piller, who famously started an open-submission policy when he took over as head TNG writer/exec producer in ’89. There’s also a nice sidebar tribute to Piller, who passed away last year. Says Shankar in the piece: “Unlike a lot of people, he was willing to take a chance on completely unproven talent. That doesn’t happen anymore. We owe our careers to this guy.”

*Also on the Trek tip, a fabulous Q&A with the legendary Dorothy “D.C.” Fontana. A great read for anyone who loves Trekkian lore, and really, D.C. is just totally kick-ass. Select quotage, on why she writes as “D.C.”: “I wanted to write for Combat, and they wouldn’t read it. They said, ‘What would a woman know about combat?’ I read a lot of military history, I’m very familiar with World War II history. I wrote two full scripts on speculation, and they wouldn’t even look at them. I got a little annoyed. They knew I was a woman — they said no. That’s when I started putting D.C. Fontana on the cover. I felt that if they don’t go in with any knowledge of who I am, they’ll at least read it and give me a chance.”

*A sure-to-inspire-heated-debate list of The 25 Most Out-of-This-World Characters. They limited it to one character per show. The Good: Singling out Hurley, Willow, Leela and Scully. And recognizing the awesomeness of Benjamin Sisko. The Bad: Phoebe Halliwell? Really? And Zhaan over Aeryn Sun? I like Zhaan, but Aeryn Sun is iconic. The I’m-Not-Sure: The #1 character and representative of TOS? Khan. I love Khan, but over Kirk or Spock? An interesting choice, if nothing else.