What I Love:

Star Trek:

Does anyone in the world NOT know about Star Trek? I think even lost tribes in the Amazon rain forest know "Live long and prosper." Well, I suppose it is a fun TV show with an optimistic message: Humanity has overcome its problems and bigotry to live in harmony with each other. That's a good a dream as any to strive for. And in September 1996, Paramount celebrated Star Trek's thirtieth anniversary in grand style with Star Trek 30: One Weekend On Earth. Held in nearby Huntsville, AL, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I was glad to be a part of. Hopefully, I'll have a web page with information on it up sometime soon.

I have to admit to being a child of the The Next Generation. While I was introduced to Trek shortly before The Search for Spock came out, it was TNG that got me hooked. I like TNG, Voyager, and Deep Space 9 all about the same, though the original series doesn't excite me as much. I do respect the original series though for their genesis of the Star Trek phenomenon and their chartering of new territory. My favorite characters are Janeway and Chakotay, K'Eylar and Guinan, Quark, and Sulu. My favorite episodes include "Yesterday's Enterprise", about the Enterprise-C coming to an alternate future; "Reunion", where Worf's mate, K'Eylar, is killed; and where Voyager contacts a Romulan ship via a wormhole.

Babylon 5:

My main love is Babylon 5. It has much more intricate plot lines, robust characterizations, and realistic aliens than Star Trek has. Plus, B5 has much better tailors and hairdressers. Ironically, one of my favorite episodes, "Mind War," featured Walter Koenig (better known as Trek's Chekov) as Psi-Cop Bester sent to retrieve a powerful renegade telepath. Another favorite episode is "Point of No Return", because it packed such emotional conflict when Earth's forces attack the station. Ambassadors G'Kar and Delenn and Psi-Corp telepath Talia Winters are my favorite characters.

Crusade has yet to really catch my interest, though B5 started just as uninteresting. Then as you know, the intrigue and plot really started to heat up with the second season. Of course, if it doesn't survive beyond TNT, then it won't matter much. I also hate to admit that Crusade reminds me of Star Trek much more than Babylon 5 ever did.

Other Science-Fiction:

Some of my favorite movies include the Star Wars, Alien, and Indiana Jones series of movies. Men in Black and Independence Day were enjoyable for good entertainment as well, though I'm not expecting much in the way of groundbreaking writing. And while they weren't mega-hits, I thoroughly enjoyed Rocketeer and Fifth Element. In addition to Babylon 5 and Star Trek mentioned above, I'm also a fan of other sci-fi TV such as the Robotech cartoon series. Earth: Final Conflict is good but isn't must see TV.