Posted by Pam McCaughey on
URL: https://www.shado-forum.com/RE-crappy-UFO-eps-tp1495775p1495827.html

Dear Mark and other UFO fans:

I don't feel we should have to apologize for our fondness for a "mere" TV
show. I think what happens is that some shows outlast their original time
and people develop an interest in them that lasts for years. Those shows
have something to offer. Why do people still watch B&W eps of the Twilight
Zone? Because they had something to say, make us think, etc. Same is
obviously true with Star Trek - I just picked up an interesting little tome
called "The Ethics of Star Trek" - written by a philosophy prof - but not
dumbed down or patronizing..... but I digress.....

The point is, UFO, X-Files, TZ, Trek, et al are so well done, and have such
substance to them in their various eps and incarnations, that what they have
to say is picked up and endorsed by groups of people all over the world.
That doesn't mean that some are not crappy. Indeed, some are. But, the
contention is who thinks which eps is crappy? Some people may actually like
"Spock's Brain" for all I know! Over all, though, the longevity of a series
on TV or a series of books by a particular author or group of writers, comes
about because the work carries in it the seed of something worthwhile,
something with a message, or a premise that appeals. Something special.
Something rarely seen before. I think of all GA's creations, UFO is the one
that had the most promise, the most interesting background. I know shows
have been developed recently based on ideas from Gene Roddenberry (Andromeda
and Earth: Final Conflict) - but somehow they just don't cut the mustard the
way Trek did. The characters are not cohesive, the storylines don't tell me
anything about the human condition at all. Without Gene's real-life
involvement, the shows don't have any ooomph it seems (but of course that's
just MY humble perception!!). Some people pour all their best creative
energy into one item which grabs the public by the heart - Rod Serling did
other things but is chiefly remembered for TZ, Spielburg will be remembered
mostly for his s-f, George Lucas for Star Wars, Roddenberry for Trek, GA for
UFO.

Pam


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