Re: Jo

Hi Denise - Not having seen the eps in which Jo figures so prominently for
31 yrs I can't say I recall what she was like at that point, but you've
written her in a very human way. And, even in the series, Foster did seem to
have rather poor luck with women (i.e. Dalotek Affair, Survival,
PsychoBombs), so I suppose he was overdue for some lovin', ha ha! As I
remember, Joe left her purse accidentally on pirpose in Straker's office,
hoping to pick up some usable "dirt" on a mini-recorder she left running,
but Straker cottoned onto her pretty fast. I seem to recall a
not-quite-consummated love scene.....

What Trek con were you at? Were there any Trek actors/actresses in
attendance? Did you buy anything at the dealer's room? Lots of good
costumes? I think it would be neat if a person could have a Moonbase costume
made up and wear it to a con - but where would one get a purple pageboy wig?
I know some folks pay alot of $ to have costumes made up for
themselves......I managed to purchase a Capt Picard tunic for myself at a
con in 1996, plus a Bajoran earring and a comm badge which works. I also
bought a PlayMates Next Gen tricorder and used the whole outfit to do a
program on the con for my sorority chapter - I actually won best program
that year, ha ha! We s-f types have to educate the mundanes out there,
right?

Some of the WriteMice ladies have criticized me and my work because they say
I don't include enough personal stuff in my stories, and because I tend to
concentrate on s-f themes, and action-adventure as opposed to romance. I
can't help it. It's just what comes into my head. Some have to write
romance, some have to write about aliens, technology, etc. It's a matter of
taste. My only complaint is against slash. (I won't get into that.....) I
find you handle the romantic moments very nicely, letting the readers fill
in the blanks for themselves. As for Straker, I confess I tend to leave him
hard-assed and lonesome, with naught but a kitty to keep him company in bed,
ha ha! Of course, in most of my stuff, I've aged the original characters 20
yrs to the present or so, and added a few new ones that I've kept re-using
because I liked where they took me in terms of personality (some are modeled
after real people I know but I've got their permission to do so!) You've
perhaps done the same thing? You know someone whose personality was so
interesting or cute that you just had to include them?

Anyway, there's room in UFO fandom for all sorts of interpretations. I
realized after a lengthy and disagreeable disagreement last year re: slash,
that those who like it, like it alot (to quote the Alexander Keith's beer
commercials), and there isn't much I can say to change their minds. I just
care so much about the characters, and the actors who made them famous and
compelling, that I prefer to write material that celebrates them, rather
than denigrates them. Obviously, you feel the same way, because your writing
and usage of the characters is loving and kindly. You give them lives
OUTSIDE SHADO, which they rarely had in the original series.

I'm also into the idea of cross-overs. I did one of my own, and I really
liked Deborah's Harvest of the Planters. I believe there is also a cross
over with X-Files which I intend to check out. Cross overs can be fun. For
instance I read a cute on the Man from UNCLE site which was MFU-Hogan's
Heroes! S'truth! I liked it. The idea started out with Illya Kuryakin as the
illegitimate son of Louis LeBeau.....but I don't want to ruin it in case
you'd like to check it out at File 40......

Ciao for now - Pam

Hi Pam,
I saw you mention a UFO-Man from UNCLE cross over story. I was
thinking about that yesterday when they were showing one of the old Man from
UNCLE movies that they made for release to theatres. They were usually made
from episodes of the TV series scripts but the early ones were filmed in
black and white but the movie versions were in color so they must have shot
some stuff again.
Anyway to get back to the point the one I saw was The Spy With My Face.
In it THRUSH replaces Solo with a double so they can get this super-weapon
that is being developed for Project Earth Save. They tell that they have
been picking up radio messages from outer space and fear that one day
invaders from space will attack Earth. So what if they are still working on
this today and UNCLE is still protecting it. It would be a go way to have
SHADO and UNCLE agents cross paths.

James