sholio | Fandom has spoiled me ... again!

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.

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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]

Seconding the Earth 2 rec. Luckily, it's finally available on DVD, too.

In reply to Sholios post: It does seem that fanfic has spoiled us all badly when it comes to the quality of writing, because there are so many moments when I have to put a book down because the author didn't do his/her research properly or is skipping between POVs without realising it - and don't even get me started on Dan Brown and the cliffhangers of obvious obviousness ...

dude, Coyote switches tenses in mid-chapter! It's only done it a few times, but every once in a while it'll jump from present to past tense for a few paragraphs and then switch back. Very annoying. It really is a decently written book and very much a page-turner, but the farther I get into it, the more the minor sources of irritation are nagging at me.

Coyote switches tenses in mid-chapter!

Wow. That makes you wonder - did he not have an editor?

Yeah, no kidding, I've been wondering what the editor was doing when they were supposed to be checking those bits ...

(Twice, too, because this was serialized in Asimov's and then reprinted as a novel.)

I *adored* Earth 2. I still remember it pretty well, even after all these years! I had been thinking about picking up the DVDs before they go out of print and disappear, although it's one of those shows that I'm reluctant to watch because I have such fond memories from when I was a teenager and I'm afraid it'll turn out to be cheesy and horrible. Your review makes me think perhaps I should stop waffling and do a re-watch.

No fear. I adored the show when I was 14 (or 16? when did it come out, anyway? The same year as SeaQuest, right?), and I was a bit worried myself, but the show is still as good, and the storytelling is still good. And the Danziger love just gets stronger after more than 10 years.

Danziger was totally my favorite in a major way. :D :D :D Tough working-class guy with a heart of gold; there is no way I would be able to resist that. (For a long time I was all *squee! bounce!* whenever the actor would turn up in a bit part in something else.)

Though I'm still traumatised by his role in Highlander ... ;o)

Ha. Yes. I remember thinking "Oh, Danziger! NO!" when I watched it. And I saw it right around the time I was crushing on him in Earth 2, also ...

Danziger! Yes!
(though sometimes I still want to smack him)

I was mostly relieved on the re-watch to see that Julia was just as awesome as I remembered.

Hee. Yeah. I picked the dvds up a bit over a year ago, when I found them on sale for something like $10 or $15 (they're on sale at Amazon right now) to see if it held up at all compared to what I remember my 14 year old brain loving. It was different than I remembered in some ways (and I never did catch the pilot the first time around) and parts were definitely cheesy, but overall I did enjoy the rewatch and I'd say it was definitely not "cheesy and horrible"

The idea is intriguing and I still really really love some of the characters (and if I ever do Yuletide again I am so begging for Julia/Alonzo) and I'm really curious where they were heading.

Hmm. I gave up on Earth 2 early....from the promos I thought it was going to be more hard SF...with the colonists accidently making landfall far away from the bulk of their supplies. Maybe I should give it another try.

It depends what you mean by hard SF. It doesn't take place in space, but on an alien planet, so if you mean "in space" or whatever, then nope.

I enjoyed it a lot in spite of the sometimes uneven storytelling, but I think it's definitely a YMMV show.

I vaguely remember thinking it was going to be a survival and exploration show as they walked across the continent to their gear-drop, and giving up when it became more soap-y and full of mystical aliens.

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)

Ooh, I love steampunk as a concept but have trouble finding any that appeals to me! I'll have to give that a try.

I really loved that book, I read it twice! Good world building, interesting culture, cool techie stuff, moody hero (god, I love the moody guys!). I keep hoping for a 2nd one :) I was going to suggest it when you asked for h/c recs, but it's not really a h/c. It does have some, but it's not a large part of the book.

*adds to wish list* :D

(Frankly, when it comes to h/c, I much prefer the understated stuff to the OTT hurt and comfort that most people seem to like if they self-identify as h/c fans. Not that there's anything wrong with the other; it's just not generally my cuppa.)

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.

Oh, absolutely! Not to mention figuring out which plants were edible, to save them all from starvation in the event that the supply ships ever stop coming!

I really adore thinking about that kind of stuff. Which probably indicates some sort of chemical imbalance in my brain. :D

Fandom has spoiled me ... again!

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