Re: COMPUTER AFFAIR

Someone else said Gabrielle Drake's prominence in the episode was the only
highlight. I'd don't totally agree but I remember when the episode aired on
TV I know a certain
teen who was kind of upset to find out that Lt. Ellis was involved with
someone else. It must be a teen thing, but
seeing your odds go from a million to one (against) to zero for Gabrielle
(or any other celebrity) becoming your significant other is oddly
disheartening. Maybe that's why publicists would love their clients to
remain single.

As for the episode, I watched it shortly after I got my DVD's. It was pretty
good and I liked the way it made a bigger issue about two officers in the
same military unit becoming involved rather than the race of the
individuals.
Their breakup (or taking their relationship deeper undercover) was purely to
save their careers. The paperback telling of the episode focused on this as
well.
It was odd to see and read such a good telling of how hard it was to shatter
the glass ceiling from so long ago.
Even Deanna Troi was wearing a cheerleader outfit on NEXT GENERATION for a
time, and that show was pretty recent.

Close-up and focus on Lt. Ellis aside, my favorite part of the episode was
the interaction between Alec and Straker. I'd forgotten that even though
these men liked and respected each other, they were often at each others'
throats. It's a shame there wasn't more of a story arc from episode to
episode and that Sewell's departure from the sho couldn't have been written
in.

Bill Adkins wrote:

> Close-up and focus on Lt. Ellis aside, my favorite part of the episode was
> the interaction between Alec and Straker. I'd forgotten that even though
> these men liked and respected each other, they were often at each others'
> throats. It's a shame there wasn't more of a story arc from episode to
> episode and that Sewell's departure from the sho couldn't have been written
> in.

Didn't the original script have Alec drop off his resignation and Ed
tells him, "I need you, Alec." ?? THAT would have been a telling scene,
but guess they thought that would make Ed look too vulnerable? Too
human?? <shrug>

<ponder> Or was that scene in another script all together? Been a while
since I have read them ...


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Okay, I've just finished rewatch Computer Affair and here are my
thought while they are fresh.
First off the episode is better that I remember it. Perhaps like
Camillus it was that I didn't like seeing my chances shot down in flames
regarding La Ellis that colored my opinion of the episode. >A million to one<
The episode makes to very strong points about the characters in the
episode. One of the points is of course the view of race relation in the
80's. If only we had been so lucky and things got better as they had seen.
Then there is thing were the dependance of computer read outs that Straker
seems to favor.
Yuchtar you didn't get it wrong Alec does indeed hand Straker his
resignation after the alien dies. It is good scene and very telling in their
friendship. Alec isn't just Straker's lap dog he can and will tell him when
he thinks he is wrong.
A couple of other things I noted. One: the speed is given for the
UFO as SOL ZERO DECIMAL EIGHT or SOL 0.8 or eight tenth the speed of light
not the SOL 8 s used in the first episode. This seems more realilistic to
me. Two: often a lot is made about Straker's not drinking and then comments
are made that it is out of character for him to drink in Responsibility Seat.
Note that when Alec is coming into Straker's office after the UFO is lost
Straker is pouring a drink of whiskey from the drink dispenser. When Alec
says the never thought he'd see this Straker looks at it then hands it to
Alec saying its for him. But if you read the body language it seem more to
me that he can't let anyone even Alec see him being soft and taking a drink
would seem that way to Alec. Three:there is a lot of reading of body
language and looks in this episode such as when Alec sees Ellis hand Mark his
helmet and wish him good luck as he gets ready to launch his interceptor. If
he is going to build a relationship out of that what would he make of Gordon
Maxwell(Jeremy Wilkin) doing the same thing for Carlin on Skydiver when he is
about to launch to shot down the UFO after it has surface from the lake it
was hiding in?<veg>
Now as to the relationship of Ellis and Bradley which is one of the
main plot points of the episode. I think the Andersons were trying very hard
to make a point of the fact that the difference in their races was a sticking
point and I wonder if so much would have been made of the relationship if not
for this one point? However Gay goes to an extreme to prove there is not one
when she order Mobile One to go for the UFO after Mobile Three has been hit
rather than Mobile Two which is closer.
I think later when we see Gay and Mark in the restaurant that they are of the
opinion that if they are up for the crime they might as well have the
pleasure if they are going to be punished for it. But as we learn soon there
after the first report was wrong and Gay made the right judgement losing only
one Interceptor not all three. Lastly if there was a relationship between
Ellis and Bradley it didn't seem to last. Perhaps its the fact that she
deliberately sent him into the line of fire to prove there was no
relationship. That's cold! Something Straker would do which is something
Gabrielle told me that Ellis and Straker are very much alike. Also there is
never another thing seen in the rest of the series about it. If Gabrielle
had not been prevented from coming back for the last 9 episode we would have
seen her in episodes where Col. Lake was cast in parts that would have been
played by her and those episodes had relationships with other characters.
One more thing I noted about Gay's body language in this episode was
several times she is seen walking with her hands behind her back. According
to experts among them Desmond Morris in his book Body Watching walking with
the hands behinds one back is a signal of dominance. So I wonder if this was
intentional on the part of the Anderson's to have her do this in character or
if Gabrielle just did it naturally?

James K.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

James K. wrote:
"Okay, I've just finished rewatch Computer Affair and here are my thought
while they are fresh....First off the episode is better that I remember
it....However Gay goes to an extreme to prove there is not one when she
orders obile One to go for the UFO after Mobile Three has been hit...That's
cold! Something Straker would do which is something Gabrielle told me that
Ellis and Straker are very much alike. Also there is never another thing
seen in the rest of the series about it. If Gabrielle had not been
prevented from coming back for the last 9 episode we would have seen her in
episodes where Col. Lake was cast in parts that would have been played by
her..."

I really enjoyed reading your post; some excellent comments were made. I
hadn't heard about the Straker/Ellis similarities before but now that you
mention it...The UFO novelization did mentioned Ellis' drive and ambition,
and her fears about losing Command of Moonbase.

While I like Wanda Ventham a great deal and can't wait for the second set of
DVD's to come out so I can watch
her in the latter episodes (and not just for the unbuttoned purple blouse
;^); I would have loved to have seen Gabrielle Drake in them...especially
TIMELASH.

OK, we're on to our second exciting episode of UFO...errr...did I say
'exciting'?

I started this review, stopped and waited till now because there really wasn't
that much that I liked about this episode. What was it trying to say? I don't
think it was saying anything about the interracial lovers -- that was treated
as a "matter of fact" issue. I think it was more about computer logic vs.
human emotion. A very "trendy" subject in those days -- but unfortunately,
UFO's take on the issue took 60 boring minutes.

What was up with all the testing scenes? How about that alien interogation at
the end? Didn't we do that in the first episode? Will every episode have an
alien interogation? And then we learned nothing after the alien dies? There
wasn't much to move this episode from beginning to end (in a similar vein to
Space:1999's "Space Brain") -- the middle is a mish-mash of scenes to get to
the conclusion. And the conclusion? Computers are good for one thing and
humans for another.

There were nits here and there -- smoking being one of them again (only
because they smoke in the oddest places, like the sub!), but I won't bore you
with them.

Overall an average episode. Not much to recommend it other than the miniature
work, especially the Mobiles.

Computer Affair: C

Launch Interceptors!
Anthony
---------------------------------

Hi All :)

I have seen quite a few comments about smoking in submarines over the last few
weeks. Although I was never in the UK Navy (I was involved elsewhere in the UK
services) my brother is a Naval Lieutenant on a submarine, and I can confirm
officially that they DO smoke in submarines! Modern Nuclear submarines have
filtered air that filters and freshens the air to a level not much different to
that of the quality of an operating theatre, and is more than capable of
removing the relatively large particulate size of cigarette smoke. The systems
are quite capable of venting the entire air system in times of emergency in a
few seconds (from nerve, propellants, gases, and fuel agents).

I also know for sure that this is the same of the Russian, and American Navies,
although it is down the prerogatives of the respective captains whether or not
smoking is permitted, and is normally allowed only in certain parts of the
vessel. I should add that according to my brother, at times of stress (alerts
for instance) smoking is strictly banned (only for the fire risk)

I like the austereness of Computer Affair and the other early episodes. They
have a certain starkness that I think suits the cleanliness and ascetic
principles seen throughout many Anderson productions. Gay Ellis is sure a tough
cookie, and just as hard as Straker - as shown in this episode (potentially
willing to risk the life of a colleague) and also in Close Up, where she really
puts Straker in his place... in some ways she's harder...

I hope this helps,

Griff

-----Original Message-----
From: Anthony D [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 5:39 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [SHADO] COMPUTER AFFAIR


OK, we're on to our second exciting episode of UFO...errr...did I say
'exciting'?

I started this review, stopped and waited till now because there really wasn't
that much that I liked about this episode. What was it trying to say? I don't
think it was saying anything about the interracial lovers -- that was treated
as a "matter of fact" issue. I think it was more about computer logic vs.
human emotion. A very "trendy" subject in those days -- but unfortunately,
UFO's take on the issue took 60 boring minutes.

What was up with all the testing scenes? How about that alien interogation at
the end? Didn't we do that in the first episode? Will every episode have an
alien interogation? And then we learned nothing after the alien dies? There
wasn't much to move this episode from beginning to end (in a similar vein to
Space:1999's "Space Brain") -- the middle is a mish-mash of scenes to get to
the conclusion. And the conclusion? Computers are good for one thing and
humans for another.

There were nits here and there -- smoking being one of them again (only
because they smoke in the oddest places, like the sub!), but I won't bore you
with them.

Overall an average episode. Not much to recommend it other than the miniature
work, especially the Mobiles.

Computer Affair: C

Launch Interceptors!
Anthony
---------------------------------





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"Anthony D" wrote:

>
> There were nits here and there -- smoking being one of them again
> (only because they smoke in the oddest places, like the sub!), but
> I won't bore you with them.
>

As I've mentioned before, there's nothing odd about smoking on a
submarine.

Hi Griff,

Thanks for the info. Didn't think they would allow smoking on a sub only for
the sake that the air systems would be better suited to providing air than
cleaning it. :)

OK -- I just hope that smoking on a Moonbase isn't allowed! :)

Anthony
----- Original Message -----
From: "Griff" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 1:58 AM
Subject: RE: [SHADO] COMPUTER AFFAIR


> Hi All :)
>
> I have seen quite a few comments about smoking in submarines over the last
few
> weeks. <snip>

Thanks for the input on Smoking onboard Subs Griff. The only sub I've every
been on was a old WWII desiel one which was very small. Probably something
on the size of Skydiver I guess. I'm not a smoker myself and it sort of
bothers me but I'm not the type to make a federal case of it. But I can see
that you might think on a sub or Moonbase it would be a problem but if it was
wouldn't they also have to restrict the galley on the subs and Moonbase also?
Fire is fire and smoke is smoke no matter what the source. I think if they
have such wonderful air scrubbers as Griff mentions on subs then they could
have a bigger even better one on Moonbase.

I sort of liked the very starkness of the UFO episodes. And the lack of
clear answers at the end. That has been done to death in other series. When
in life do you always get the answers to everything? When is every tied up
neat and pretty with no unpleasant lose ends to worry about? In real life
hardly ever.

James K.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Anthony,

Yes, as a non-smoker I'd get fairly upset if I was on a sub and someone in close
proximity was smoking, as anywhere else really. But, my sub-mariner brother (who
also doesn't smoke) tells me that the air recycling systems are really efficient
and unless you're really close you can't smell the smoke at all. Apparently, if
you're on a sub for a very long time (months, which is quite usual) you lose
your sense of smell somewhat. A significant proportion of the oxygen needed for
the crew and recycling units is taken from the seawater itself. That way most
subs can stay submerged if necessary for their whole tour, and are only limited
generally only by food and equipment supplies. If anything the worst smells
(apparently) are people (don't ask), electrical (ozone), fuel, disinfectants,
and the like - it's a bit like a hospital in many respects.

Unfortunately, I'm not qualified or experienced in the ways of Moonbase (if
only... dream), but I guess (hope it would be pretty much the same). However, if
you read some of the NASA reports from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and
Russian missions I guess you'd have to pretty open-minded and not too upset by
lack of dignity or privacy... I won't go into details... check it out if you're
interested... being human in space isn't easy. I also read somewhere, that one
of the only reasons that women weren't allowed up on the Apollo and Skylab
missions were because both male and females would have had to share a very
anatomically open experience (and for some reason hardly any research had been
done about female physiology in space (well most of the spacecraft were designed
by nerds, who'd probably never met one ;-). I'm extremely glad to say that
things have been solved with the Space Shuttle.

One other piece of trivia (sorry if I'm getting boring) if that it is an
established fact that women are much more comfortable working for long periods
in confined or environmentally restricted areas (such as subs and space
capsules), also women generally show a much higher tolerance to G forces... so
maybe Gerry or Sylvia's vision of how Moonbase would work is somewhat
prophetic...

I'll shut up now ;-)

Griff

-----Original Message-----
From: Anthony D [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 3:17 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [SHADO] COMPUTER AFFAIR


Hi Griff,

Thanks for the info. Didn't think they would allow smoking on a sub only for
the sake that the air systems would be better suited to providing air than
cleaning it. :)

OK -- I just hope that smoking on a Moonbase isn't allowed! :)

Anthony
----- Original Message -----
From: "Griff" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 1:58 AM
Subject: RE: [SHADO] COMPUTER AFFAIR


> Hi All :)
>
> I have seen quite a few comments about smoking in submarines over the last
few
> weeks. <snip>




Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Yes, I also like the way that either intentionally or unintentionally there are
so many unanswered questions and possibilities... I remember when I was at
school, everyone in my class was into UFO, and we used to live out whole
scenarios mostly extensions from the few episodes we had seen... fun days...

Well, I was only 7! ...and when you're that age, there's no difference between
your dreams and reality...

Struth! I guess I haven't changed much ;-)

Later G

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 4:19 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [SHADO] COMPUTER AFFAIR

<snip>

I sort of liked the very starkness of the UFO episodes. And the lack of
clear answers at the end. That has been done to death in other series. When
in life do you always get the answers to everything? When is every tied up
neat and pretty with no unpleasant lose ends to worry about? In real life
hardly ever.

James K.

<snip>