Fandom has spoiled me ... again!

[sholio]

I'm currently reading Coyote by Allen Steele, and while I'm enjoying it (I'm a total sucker for "survival on an alien planet" stories, which is probably why SGA hit me so hard), I also keep thinking that I've seen most of this done better in SGA fanfic; I keep thinking things like "You guys landed on an unexplored alien planet without taking any guns? Really?" and "Terror birds and grass? That's the most alien ecosystem you could come up with?" and "Do you people not realize that you can't just run back to Earth every time you run out of blah-blah-blah? So STOP USING IT!" (Not to mention my world-building issues with a crazed right-wing future U.S. that names two space shuttles George Wallace and Jesse Helms with a total straight face and yet apparently has no problem at all with black and Hispanic characters in positions of authority. RIGHT.)

I think the contrast hit me just now because, taking a break from the book to check my email and check my f'list while failing to write the story I'm supposedly working on this weekend, I ran across this cute little J/R story and the side detail about hybridized Earth wheat that turns funny colors made me realize how incredibly little of that sort of thing is actually in this book, which is supposedly about exploring and colonizing an alien world. Yet SGA fanfic, Season One era especially, is full of those nifty little details about having to deal with funny-looking, funny-tasting food and severe shortages of all kinds of everyday household items. Granted, a lot of it is sort of tongue-in-cheek or cutesy, but still ... alien world! The book is certainly not devoid of attention to the ecosystem, but so far they've encountered maybe three different species of wildlife and about the same number of plants, and it's bugging me.

Comments

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

I'm a total sucker for "survival on an alien planet" stories

Unrelated to your post, but have you watched Earth 2? If not, you might consider giving it a shot next time you're looking for something to watch. The storytelling was uneven at times, but some of the characters are awesome and it would hit that story kink hard.


[also, yes, argh when you find pro-fic where fandom did it better]

[winter-elf.livejournal.com]

I so hear you.

Although, I've also had the opposite happen too. I recently really enjoyed a book and thought - oh wow - this would be great turned into a J/R AU!!! I had to sit on my hands and not actually request it at the last auction thing, but I'm still ever hopeful someone will just do it. (Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti-a truly awesome steampunk novel)

[ariadne83]

I've always thought Rodney was a fool to undervalue the botany department. They're the ones who could end up raking in millions of dollars in patents, if they discover new antibiotics or biochemicals that kill particular kinds of cancer. And they wouldn't even have to declassify in order to do that legally; they'd just have to figure out how to synthesize them.