At 19:03 17-02-01 -0500, Dan wrote:
>Dear Listers,
>
>I was just watching Andromeda, the latest Kevin Sorbo television vehicle. It
>is also the latest television show to claim to be created by Gene Rodenberry.
> I don't know how it could POSSIBLY be created by Gene Roddenberry unless
>Gene Roddenberry also created Blake's Seven.
>
>I figure that the people on this List are the most likely people of my
>acquaintance to have seen both shows. My wife would watch Doctor Who every
>so often, but she'd never watch Blake's Seven. And of course now, she won't
>watch Andromeda. So who can I share my outrage with about being served up
>ripped-off uncredited old British science fiction? Just you guys.
>
>On the other hand, I like the premise. A skeleton crew of misfits discover a
>"living spaceship." Thus far also ripped off by Farscape. Blake's Seven
>then try to use their advanced technology to restore the Republic, Andromeda
>tries to restore the Commonwealth. It begins to ask an interesting thought
>question, "What could a good man do with the ultimate weapon?" A small band
>against a vast evil empire encompassing many innocent people. A complicated
>question.
I don't recall exactly when "Blake's Seven" originally premiered in the UK,
but supposedly "Andromeda" was another one of those ideas (like
"Earth:Final Conflict") that GWR originally came up with several years
before he died, then discovered years later in his files and made into a
series largely on the power of his name. Even though I'd never seen
"Blake's Seven", the first time I saw "Andromeda", I saw very little
original in it, but was reminded of bits and pieces of other shows and
stories. In fact, parts of it were extremely painful to watch, as some of
the elements of the show reminded me of some early stories I had written
about the time I was in high school (back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth
and there were only 79 episodes of "Star Trek," all with live actors) --
stories which were pretty juvenile.
Just to show that our reactions are not unique, here's a link to a review
of "Andromeda" that calls it "the best new science fiction program to hit
the airwaves in years! . . . [i]f this was
1979.": <http://www.zealot.com/reviews/archives/andromeda.php3>
-- Ronn! :)
