BSG's Eastern Alliance and fascist kitsch

I have begun the three-story arc in the original BSG concerning the fascistic-like Eastern Alliance. Frankly, I am rather disappointed with this arc, even offended by it. The best sci-fi series on fascism, such as Blake's 7, Babylon 5, and Doctor Who's Dalek storylines, try to make important political statements about the nature of fascism. Babylon 5, for instance, seeks to highlight how fascist states evolve from democratic governments. It does an excellent job of pointing out how these states manage to flip the loyalties of ordinary people (V is also exceptional in this regard), Blake's 7's strength is in its portrayal of what a Nazi universe would have looked like, and its portrayal is brutally, unremittingly chilling, as the Nazi-like Federation takes its exterminationist policies to the level of the near-absurd, but still believable and frightening. By contrast with these excellent portrayals, the Eastern Alliance is noticeably an amateurish effort. Other than their very effective Nazi-like uniforms, the Alliance has little sense of menace. Instead, the Alliance fights against committed "Nationalists", a convenient term for the Western powers in BSG. Fascism, in BSG, is a mere stand in for communism, trying to equate what Russia did with Nazi Germany's excesses. The problem is, Hitler was reacting to a democratic government, whereas the Communists were reacting to a brutal Czarist regime that had oppressed Russia for centuries. Fascism, as a philosophy, is pretty much inherently evil. Communism's evil or goodness appears to be dependent on what government is in power. Certainly, socialist regimes in Western Europe have worked rather well, whereas China and Soviet Russia have caused great suffering.

But that's besides the point. The original BSG had potential. The intrinsic story idea was interesting, and capable of sustaining a successful series for several seasons (as it did with the reboot). But it's cartoonish depiction of Council politics, laser guns, and freaky children who you want to gun down before they destroy the Fleet, makes it embarrassing by contemporary standards. It shows me, more than ever, how much more advanced British sci-fi was in the late 70's and early 80's, compared to what America was offering. Blake's 7 consistently dealt with issues of contemporary relevance, and even Doctor Who improved under Christopher Bidmead's script editorship (I'm still trying to wrap my head around Logopolis and Castrovalva). By contrast, all America could do was produce Flash-Gordon rip off serials for the general public, a reflection not on the BSG team (which I think wanted to make a good show and had good ideas), but on the network execs who helped tank BSG before it could develop a proper storyline.

Science Fiction as a Fascist Enterprise

I am currently making my way through the second V miniseries, after watching the first one. As most of you no doubt know, V is an allegory, rather heavy handed, about fascism. Other science fiction series have conducted similar allegories over the years. Babylon 5's Earth plot thread was largely about fascism, as was the Dalek plot thread in Doctor Who (particularly after the introduction of Davros). Blake's 7, too, critiqued fascism in its own inimitable fashion.

Yet for me, science fiction itself can often be fascistic, particularly in its promotion of crude racialisms. This is most evidently seen in the Social Darwinian aspects of Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers and the works of H.G. Wells, both of which promoted a brutal "tooth and claw" philosophy that had more to do with 20th century capitalist ethics than it had to do with true Darwinian biology. Christian social critic James Herrick has called this tendency in science fiction "The Myth of the Spiritual Race" and points out its similarity to Aryan ubermensch philosophies, such as Hitler's. One need not agree with Herrick's personal philosophy to see that their is some validity to his claims. Norman Spinrad, for instance, famously critiqued those same racialisms in his novel Iron Dream. Personally, I am always a little uncomfortable with the wise-Zen like races of science fiction, such as the Dorsai, the Minbarri, and the Vulcans. There is an underlying hint of white worship here that deeply unsettles me. I think it would be better if science fiction refrained from constructing these kind of simplistic racial systems, with the good wise white men and the evil dark skinned aliens, but science fiction, unfortunately, is unlikely to do this anytime soon.

Holoaddiction

This is from a Brit tabloid, but I'm pretty sure it's true, as I heard about it several years ago. My students four years ago thought I was more than a bit nuts when I warned of the possibilities of virtual sex getting out of hand, including the possibilities of online pedophilia, rape of virtual characters, etc. Having done enough research into transhumanism, I knew that more than likely I would be unfortunately proved right, and sure enough, its happened. Japanese gaming companies now sell rape simulators like Rapelay, which have provoked outrage in the west.
With all that being said, it begs a question about the holodeck? Does it have an ESRB rating? And should it? The most obvious danger of the holodeck is that it would allow people to act out ANY thought or fantasy. Imagine a Nazi sympathizer in the 24th century, reenacting the Shoah? Or a white separatist reenacting slavery? There is literally no limit to what can be done with the holodeck, and that is the direction current computer and A.I. technology is taking us. Can we really trust a machine that makes any fantasy come true, that allows any desire to be fulfilled? I for one, am a little reluctant to play God to my A.I. creations. I hope the rest of the human race agrees with those sentiments. Otherwise, Reginald Barclay is going to be doing a little more than kissing Counselor Troi on the holodeck . . . if you know what I mean!

Star Trek Next Generation and Mental Illness

I think I've posted on this before, but you should really check out STNG's treatment of mental illness. Particularly the episode "Frame of Mind". STNG manages to be sensitive to abuses in mental health care without joining the fanatic anti-psychiatric bandwagon of certain psychologists and science fiction writers (including the one we dare not speak his name . . . I think you know who I'm talking about). My computer here does not let me copy and paste dialogue, so I can't highlight the excellent aspects of this episode. I think it's significant that STNG is the first series to have a professional counselor on board its ship, and one of the only series to deal realistically with mental illness, through the character of Reginald Barclay. British series have also dealt with mental illness, particularly Blake's 7 and The Prisoner, but have tended to take a somewhat anti-psychiatric bent, not because they are against the mentally ill, but because they were made in an era where psychiatric abuse was more widespread. STNG also dealt with the possibility of new mental illnesses, namely holoaddiction, that is addiction to the virtual reality of the holodeck. I think tomorrow I will deal with that particularly fascinating, though underexplored part, of STNG.

Genesis of the Dalek Military Industrial Complex

One episode of Doctor Who that I find particularly interesting is "Genesis of the Daleks", clearly one of the best episodes of the old series. "Genesis" tells the story of the creation of the Daleks, which the Doctor hopelessly seeks to avert. What makes the episode interesting, besides its overall dystopian gloom, is its depiction of the Elite, a group of Kaled scientists charged with winning the war against the Thals for the Kaled people (the Kaleds are the progenitors of the Daleks). The Elite start off as a think tank, hoping to create weapons that will end the Kaled-Thal war. However, they find that this is impossible, so they direct their mission to the survival of their race, by creating a travel machine (the Dalek) for Kaled mutations. The Elite's research, however, is perverted by Davros, who turns this survival mechanism into the ultimate weapon, the Dalek. Significantly, Davros does not program that weapon with a conscience, only a means to perpetuate the species.
I believe "Genesis of the Daleks" to be the first science fiction episode to deal seriously with the military-industrial complex, and its effect on governmental policy. The Elite are so powerful and so fanatical that Davros destroys their own government and people, rather than let the work of military research be stopped. Much like Lockheed Martin and company, Davros's research is self-serving and aimed at egotistical goals (self-perpetuation in place of money), rather than the survival of his people. "Genesis," therefore, serves as a powerful reminder of the costs of military research, a reminder that dare not go unheeded.

Sci-Fi Political Thematic Encylopedia

I have been working slowly over the last few months on a sci-fi television political thematic encyclopedia, covering how a variety of television programs deal with issues of race, class, sexuality, gender, fascism, terrorism, religion, conservatism, homophobia, libertarianism, abortion, illegal immigration, Marxism, genetic engineering, cloning, artificial intelligence, and about 30 other topics. It is a massive undertaking. For right now, I am concentrating solely on space operas, and I obviously cannot cover everyone, since the financial costs of purchasing all those sets would be restrictive, and I wouldn't have the time to watch every series.

Here is the list of series I feel are significant enough to definitely be covered with a short explanation of my reasons why:

Alien Nation, Caprica, Firefly, Farscape, Star Trek, TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, Babylon 5, BSG (original), BSG (reboot), Blake's Seven, Doctor Who (original), Doctor Who (reboot), Earth 2, Crusade, Space Above and Beyond, Space 1999, Andromeda, Torchwood, V (original . . . in later editions I may cover the reboot, but I'm trying to limit shows post 2007. Note that with V I am only using the two original miniseries. I don't consider the actual first original series, back in 1985, as canonical, as the original producer was no longer at the helm and the show clearly suffered from this. Similarly I don't blame Glen Larson for Galactica 1980, even though he was at the helm, and so I don't include that either).

Major Canon Space Operas I don't cover: Earth Final Conflict, Lost in Space, Red Dwarf, Lexx, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe, Tomorrow People, UFO.

My reasoning: The Star Trek series are self-explanatory. Whether you like them or not, Star Trek has put a defining stamp on American sci-fi, so I cover each Trek series, even the otherwise marginal Enterprise. For a similar reason, I cover Doctor Who and its reboots, since they are foundational to British sci-fi, like them or not. Firefly, though short, was good. So was Space Above and Beyond and to a lesser extent, Earth 2. They aren't major shows, but they are politically unusual enough to warrant inclusion. Babylon 5 defines post 1993 sci-fi, so its inclusion, along with Crusade, are obvious. Babylon 5, BSG, Firefly, and Farscape all relied heavily on Blake's Seven, which is why I included that series. Of the series I list here, Space 1999 is probably the most marginal. However, it was the first attempt to create a major post-Star Trek series. The original BSG is also relatively marginal, a one series show with some serious writing flaws. I include it, in part to be a BSG completist, and also because the original BSG marked a critical point in American sci-fi. Alien Nation and V, though not the equal of nineties series, were important enough within the rather sparse 1980's, to merit consideration.

Buck Rogers was obviously fluff, and while I may get to it if I have time, it's not high on my list. Earth Final Conflict was very interesting at points, but suffered from hampered writing. I would include it, if I could obtain all the DVD sets, but there's copyright issues. Several relatively good British programs I decided not to include: The Tommorow People, UFO, Red Dwarf, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Tommorow People, though it ran a long time, wasn't a major genre influence, neither was UFO. I like Red Dwarf and think I would like Hitchhiker, but I decided not to do comedies so I wouldn't have to handle crap like Mork and Mindy or Futurama. If I get time, I may do Red Dwarf alone, because it is probably the fourth most important British sci-fi series (after B7, Dr. Who, and the Prisoner). Probably my most controversial omission is the Stargate series. Frankly, I find the writing in Stargate putridly bad (a statement that is itself not particularly well written, but I'm going on no sleep here). In addition, the number of seasons of these series would make covering a marginal series like SG-1 unfeasible for the present, especially if I want to cover any major non space-operas.

Non-Space Operas

Ones I hope to cover: Dollhouse, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, X-Files, Prisoner, Dark Angel, Max Headroom.

Ones I won't cover: Jeremiah, Jericho, Cold Lazarus, Outer Limits (new), Logan's Run, 1990, Planet of the Apes, Quantum Leap, Sliders, Seaquest, Survivors, 4400, Heroes.

My reasoning: Dollhouse has a genuine science-fiction idea and sounds intelligently written (I haven't watched it yet). The original Outer Limits and the original Twilight Zone were, in my opinion, top 25 shows, so they definitely warrant inclusion if I get the time (though occassionally Twilight Zone is more fantasy than sci-fi. X-Files was, after Babylon 5, the most important science fiction show of its decade, and certainly the definitve Earth-bound post Prisoner series. The Prisoner is often ranked as the greatest sci-fi show ever, and I think there is definitely reason to support that viewpoint. Max Headroom was the first attempt at using cyberpunk in sci-fi tv. Obviously it should be included. Dark Angel is more borderline, but there's enough interesting elements that I think it would make for some interesting analysis.

As for the series I reject, Jeremiah was good, but just not genre significant enough. Jericho and Survivors I reject because I don't really want to deal with post-apocalyptic sci-fi, a form of sci-fi I find slightly too respectable and mainstream (though I do regret giving up on both these series, which sound excellent). I would love to do Cold Lazarus, but there's hangups with its DVD release. Logan's Run and Planet of the Apes were not well enough written to warrant a look, nor was Seaquest. 1990 is not available on DVD. I wish it was, as it represents, along with The Prisoner, the only right-leaning sci-fi series, and therefore would make for some interesting discussion. Quantum Leap, for me, is really a fantasy series, not sci-fi. Seaquest, despite the special effects, was marginal. 4400 and Sliders while good, simply weren't significant enough for me to personally take the time to watch them. Leaving Sliders out is really the only difficult choice.

Series that are good but that I don't consider sci-fi: Flash Forward, Lost, Buffy, True Blood, etc. A lot of these series are good, but the sci-fi elements are so minimal that I don't think I can justly merit buying them or taking the time to watch them.

So, you're probably wondering which of these series I own: Of the non-space operas, only Outer Limits and the Prisoner. Dollhouse isn't too expensive, and the X-Files has complete transcripts online, so I don't have to watch the show. Max Headroom is also cheap, and coming out soon, and Dark Angel is reasonably priced. That means only Twilight Zone will bite deep into my pocket, if I decide to cover these series.

Of the space operas: I own Firefly, Farscape, Babylon 5, BSG (old), BSG (reboot), Blake's Seven, Buck Rogers, about 40 old Doctor Whos and 1 season of the new Doctor Who, Earth 2, Red Dwarf, Space ABove and Beyond, Space 1999, UFO, V, and a season of Torchwood. All the Star Trek series I can find exact transcripts online, which is good, as their price is way out of my range. Crusade is relatively cheap, which means my main expenditures will be on buying Doctor Who and Torchwood seasons and episodes. I may not include every Who episode, particularly some politically marginal ones like The Romans, Space Musuem, and the Chase.

So wish me luck on this political extravaganza, that will probably take me 10 years to research and another 10 years to complete

Babylon 5 on religion

Babylon 5 was one of the most interesting series in its treatment of religion. Brother Theo promoted a relatively promising view of Catholicism that acknowledged its ambiguity. G'kar became an exalted spiritual leader. I found the Minbarri's complex notions of religion to be one of the first realistic portrayals of how an advanced alien culture might view religious experience (G'kar himself eventually comes to this view). The episode "Parliament of Dreams" realistically portrays a multicultural religious movement. About the only thing missing from Babylon 5 is a realistic treatment of evangelical religion and Islam. I would argue that historically these two religious movements have faired rather badly at the hands of sci-fi television writers. Fundamentalism in particular, was a target for derision by the writers of STNG and DS9 (anyone remember when Vedek Winn goes "creationist wacko" on Keiko Obrien). Islam, meanwhile, has never been adequately shown in any sci-fi series. Indeed, in sci-fi television, the assumption seems to be that only Christianity (Catholicism and an occasional liberal Protestant) and Judaism exist. Examples of detailed analyses of other religions are rather scare. The Doctor Who episode "Kinda" explores some Buddhist themes, and Star Trek Voyager condescendingly dealt with Native American religion, but overall most sci-fi characters are Christian, secular, New Age, or (on rare occassion) Jewish in outlook. Surely there's enough complexity in the world to now deal with religions other than the traditional ones America has gifted us with. And I also think we need more nuanced treatments of sci-fi fundamentalism, not Stargate SG-1 and DS9, but the reboot of Battlestar Galactica and the excellent Dune miniseries