Conference noted::sf

    
    I've been watching the new Zones from the beginning (not every episode,
    though).  I agree it would be a shame if they go, but I'm not too
    crazy about them in general.  I think some of them are *excellent*
    (which is why I keep trying!) but for the most part they are
    predictable and boring.  I liked the Last...Camelot, but the first
    episode, a bad rip-off of the body snatchers was really innane.
    Totally predictable!
    
                        
    Bob
    

    I haven't heard any specific rumors about its cancellation, but
    it hasn't been on since that "Last Defender" episode, so I'd
    say things look fairly grim.
    
    --- jerry

    A few 1/2 hour new Twilight Zone shows were aired on Saturday nights
    during the last few months...I hope they continue.  While the nature
    of an anthology show is erratic quality, some have been *excellent*
    -- e.g. "Profile in Silver", even though possibly with a few holes,
    was riveting in my opinion.

    	What was "Profile in Silver" about?
    
    	Larry
    

    First the bad news: TZ has been cancelled. I've written a nasty
    letter to the network, but it will take a lot more to get them to
    change their minds.
    
    "Profile in Silver" was one of my favorite episodes, a well-played
    story on what might have been a trite theme. The performances and
    the pacing made it gripping and beautiful, and it doesn't matter
    that some of the plot was predictable.
    
    Lane Smith (last seen as the villainous Nathan Bates in "V", and a very
    fine character actor) portrays a history/social studies professor at
    Harvard, who also happens to be a time traveler. He has come to the
    U.S. in 1963 to study Kennedy's presidency and assassination. He
    mentions this to a fellow time-traveler, who cautions him to remember
    his professional detachment and not to interfere with the course of
    history. It seems he is descended from the Kennedy clan, and has a
    treasured family momento - a Kennedy coin dated (obviously) from
    *after* the assassination. He reassures his colleague that he is only
    here to study, and off he goes to Dallas. 

    But his professional detachment is strained beyond bearing when
    he sees the scene shaping up, and when he spots the assassin's rifle
    he can't take it. He calls to the guards and attracts their attention,
    and foils the assassination - and winds up getting a lift on Air
    Force One to receive the thanks of the President.

    Now, this man is just a historian, notwithstanding his time-travel.
    He's completely stunned to be meeting his legendary relative face to
    face, and is also in a state of shock at having breached the terms of
    the time-travel arrangements. As he stammers out a greeting to Kennedy,
    he nervously fingers his coin, and drops it. 

    Kennedy picks up the coin and notices the image on it - his own.
    He knows that no one living is memorialized on a coin, and the date
    is of the following year; and he quickly puts the pieces together.
    
    But that isn't all. The hot line rings, and the news is bad and
    getting worse. All over the world, things are shaking loose; formerly
    stable political situations are becoming unstable, and very soon
    the world is on the brink of war. [I've forgotten some of the details
    here, but it's basically the old bit about "change something in
    the past and you change history".] Kennedy confronts his
    rescuer/kinsman with the situation and demands to know what's going
    on, and the hapless historian, horrified at what he has done,
    confesses. 

    The President asks whether there is any way to undo what has been done,
    realizing that this means his own death. The historian says that he can
    return them to the moment of decision and let things take their former
    course, but he is agonized at the thought of it. The President insists,
    and the time traveller whisks them back to Dallas; but before they go,
    he offers the President a gift - a ring he is wearing. He doesn't tell
    him that the ring serves as his "lifeline" to the future, and will
    return the wearer to that time. The humble historian takes his place
    in the Presidential motorcade just before the shots ring out...

    And after the gunfire, the scene shifts to a classroom, where someone
    is lecturing on the events that occurred that day. It is Kennedy;
    taking the place of the man who saved his life and removed him forever
    from his time.

    -b

    re -.1:  Beth!  Start writing your own short stories!  (But keep
    on writing reviews.)
    
    Amazing Stories had a TZ-type show last night in which a woman picks
    up a hitchhiker as she is leaving her husband.  Then cars begin
    passing hers, each one carrying an episode from her past.  The 
    hitchhiker (an older woman), between the car passings, tries to talk
    her out of divorcing her husband.  (We soon realize who the hitchhiker
    is--the plot was not as subtle as it could have been.)  Finally the 
    woman realizes her father's cold-hearted influence during her
    childhood made her unable to forgive her husband's "weakness" when he 
    broke down when she told him she was leaving.  Barely after she
    decided to return they happen upon a car accident:  It is her car & 
    guess who's in it.  Then the scene changes to an empty road and the 
    older one thanks her for saving both their lives.  The end.  You
    almost expected to see Rod standing off to one side.

    					Don ICEMAN::Rudman

    I thought TZ was already canceled.  After not having seen an episode
    since it was aired opposite Bill Cosby about 6 weeks ago, I just
    watched an 1 hour (two stories) show on Saturday February 21st.  
    I checked the TV guide and they were not repeats.  Does CBS still
    have some new episodes they are going to show, or is it not yet
    officially canceled.

    Mike_L

    re .7:
    
    I posted a note about the "new" TZ in the TV conference, but it's been
    unavailable most of the time for the last week. At any rate, yes, TZ
    was cancelled, and last Saturday's episodes appeared to be some of the
    leftovers. (They weren't among the best, I thought, but somewhat
    entertaining.) 
    
    -b

    The "Twilight Zone" episode containing "Profile in Silver" (reviewed in
    detail in .5) is scheduled to air this Saturday, Dec. 5, at 9 p.m. EST,
    on CBS (channel 7 in the Boston area). This segment, starring Lane
    Smith as a historian from the future, is one of my favorite TZs (old
    *and* new). If you didn't catch it the first time out, try to see it
    this time. 

    -b (also posted in TV)

    	Thank you very much for alerting us to that TZ episode.  It
    was very good!  My only "complaint" is that I wish they had found
    an actor who looked more like John F. Kennedy, but it was probably
    difficult to find someone who both sounded *and* looked like the
    former President.
                                      
    	Larry
    

    re: "Profile in Silver" TZ
    
    Yes, it was a fine episode, especially compared to the Star Trek
    that preceded it.  The ST spent a lot more on production, but
    somehow forgot to find decent writers.  Does anyone know if
    Kennedy's speech at the end is a real quotation from him?  It sounded
    genuine.
    
    /jlr

		Situations That Can Occur During A Re-Org
		-----------------------------------------
 
1.  If you get a phone call from Mars.
 
   Speak slowly and be sure to enunciate your words properly.  Limit
   your vocabulary to simple words.  Try to determine if you are
   speaking to someone in a leadership capacity, or an ordinary
   citizen.
 
Q. What if he or she doesn't speak English?
 
   Hang up.  There's no sense in trying to learn Martian over the
   phone.  If your Martian really had something important to say to
   you, he or she would have taken the trouble to learn the language
   before calling.
 
2. If you get a phone call from Jupiter?
 
   Explain to your caller, politely but firmly, that being from
   Jupiter, he or she is not `life as we know it'.  Try to terminate
   the conversation as soon as possible.  It will not profit you.
 
3. If a starship, equipped with an FTL hyperdrive lands in your
   backyard?
 
   First of all, do not run after your camera.  You will not have
   any film.  Be polite.  Remember, if they have an FTL hyperdrive,
   they can probably vaporize you, should they find you to be rude.
   Direct them to the White House lawn, which is where they probably
   wanted to land, anyway.  A good road map should help.
 
4. If you wake up in the middle of the night, and discover that your
   closet contains an alternate dimension?
 
   Don't go in.  You almost certainly will not be able to get back,
   and alternate dimensions are almost never any fun. Remain calm
   and go back to bed.  Check your closet in the morning.  If it
   still contains an alternate dimension, nail it shut.
 
5. If reality disappears?
 
   Hope this one doesn't happen to you.  There is not much you can
   do about it.  It can be quite unpleasant.
 
6. If you meet an older version of yourself who has invented a time
   traveling machine, and has come from the future to meet you?
 
   Follow the books on this one.  Ask about the stock market and
   cash in.  Don't forget to invent a time traveling machine and
   visit your younger self before you die, or you will create a
   paradox.
 
   I hope this guide will be of help to you, should you find yourself
confronted with any of the situations described.  If anything like the
above should happen to you, get out your typewriter, and crank out a
story. 

    Since the network cancellation of TZ, it has been revived in
    syndication, but I've only caught a couple of shows and - until this
    weekend - was not impressed. The plots seemed thin, and while the
    production values were acceptable, nothing much seemed to be happening.
    
    However, this weekend they aired an episode based on a Tom Godwin short
    story that has haunted me for years. (The title escapes me, and it
    didn't appear on WPIX's airing. Jerry?)
    
    It is a very sparse plot: an emergency vehicle has been dispatched to
    an outer colony bearing vitally-needed serum for the colonists. The
    emergency vehicles contain the bare minimum of fuel and equipment to
    perform their missions, and thus have no margin for error. On this day,
    the pilot of the emergency vehicle (nicely played by Terence Knox, of
    "St. Elsewhere" and "Tour of Duty") is notified that his ship is over
    weight - there is a stowaway on board.
    
    The stowaway turns out to be a young girl who hid on the ship in order
    to visit her brother. But her added mass exceeds the slim tolerance of
    the emergency vehicle, and the pilot is faced with the official policy
    on stowaways: They are to be ejected at once.
    
    It's a simple story, inexorable and devastating, and the television
    treatment of it was excellent. The girl was played remarkably well, and
    I thought the whole episode one of the best of the all-time TZs.
    
    Now, if I could just remember the name of that story!
    
    -b

Speaking of Twilight Zone episodes.  My kids were watching a Nicholodeon
special yesterday afternoon called "The Electric Grandmother".  This show
was a direct ripoff on an old Twilight Zone episode I once saw.  They even
had the same amount of kids, two boys and a girl.  The plot was identical,
the girl didn't want to become attached to warm and wonderful robot grandmother,
because whe knew she would "go away" or die like her mother did.  Towards the
end she's running away near a street, with a car about to hit her, the grand-
mother leaps in front, pushes the girl down and gets herself struck down by
the vehicle.  The girl immediately starts crying that she died just like mom,
and she can never have anyone love her that won't die.  The grandmother then
gets up and reassures her, she's not dead and will never leave.
Does anyone else remember this Twilight Zone story?  Did it come from a story,
or was it written by Rod Sterling?  I saw no mention of original story in
the Nicholodeon special.
Mike_L

    Re: .14
    
    I'm not completely sure but if memory serves, the original was "The
    Cold Equations" by (even less sure here) Poul Anderson. Great story
    and even better since the screenwriters were true to the original.
    
    Jim (usually a read only noter)

    re .15

    "The Cold Equations" is the right title, but I'm pretty sure that
    Poul Anderson didn't write it (although he may *wish* he did :-)
    That is one *terrific* story, and if it isn't in the SF Hall of
    Fame Anthology (it's an oldie, so it should be in volume 1), it
    should be.  I had more respect for the TZ producers when I heard
    they were attempting this.  It's a *perfect* story for TZ, being
    short on required sets and long on angst.  And lasting about an
    hour, too...
    
    I didn't realize that WPIX was even *showing* the new episodes!!!!  
    GRRRRR!!!!  Does anyone have a tape or know when it will repeat?  
    I *really* want to see this episode!!
    
    Merryl
    
    P.S.  I'm at the Mill.
    
    P.P.S.  Speak up more often, Jim!

Re: < Note 326.13 by VALKYR::RUST >

I think the story you are referring to is "The Cold Equations".

I believe it won a Hugo for best short story some time (20-30 yrs) ago.

Tony

    	I believe "The Electric Grandmother" originally comes from a
    story written by Ray Bradbury with the much better title " I Sing
    the Body Electric".
    
    	If TZ is smart, they'll use a lot of Bradbury's stories (with
    his permission, of course).
    
    	Larry
    

    Re .16: Well, I taped that particular episode, but I'm in ZK... You're
    welcome to borrow it if you know anybody who commutes!
    
    The TV episode listed the story as "based on a short story by Tom
    Godwin," so I expect he's the right guy. The title doesn't ring any
    bells, but then I never was very good at connecting titles, authors,
    and plots - especially of SF short stories, when I've read so many of
    them.
    
    The syndicated TZ is being aired on WPIX, Saturdays (I think - weekends
    are one big blur to me these days), at 5 p.m., and on channel 4 from
    Boston at 7:30 (and I believe again late at night some time). [Caveat:
    All times are from memory, and thus subject to error.] Since the TV
    Guide does not list program summaries for these, you can't tell which
    episode is airing. If they have repeat showings on other than the
    weekend I don't know about it; calling channel 4 might help.
    
    Does anyone know if the syndicated shows are still using scripts that
    had been written before the network series was cancelled, or are they
    writing new ones now? (The show's down to a half-hour format, and they have
    been doing one story per show instead of the two or three mini-stories
    per hour.)
    
    -b

Re Cold Equation?

I'm not sure if everyone knew what I meant when I saw this on Twilight Zone,
but it was the original TZ I saw this on.  In fact, it was recently
(last few months or so) on Boston channel 68 at 7:00pm Mon-Fri.  The show is 
only a half hour.  Check the T.V. guide for a repeat.  I just didn't see any
credit in the Nicholodean special (which looked like a recent production).
And since it was identical to the old TZ show, I'm now curious where it 
originated.

Mike_L

    	Please reread my Note 326.18.
    

RE Larry

I think I realized the problem.  The reply in .15 said RE .14 which was
my note, and .16 picked up on it.  The Cold Equations is the TZ episode
about the stowaway.  Now I'm no longer confused.

Mike_L

    	Could someone please tell me in this Topic the outcome in "The
    Cold Equations" - behind a spoiler warning, of course.
    
    	Thanks.
    

    re .23:
    
    Sure, Larry
    
    She was ejected of course. They managed a video connection to her
    brother, where she apprised him of her situation, he of course realized
    what that meant. They said their goodbyes, she stepped into the
    airlock, and the pilot ejected her. (all with very well done pathos).
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    

    re: "The Cold Equations"
    
    Well, I'm a little too late to jump into this one, but for the
    record, this is indeed the title, and Tom Godwin is indeed the
    author.
    
    re: "The Electric Grandmother"
    
    As Larry said, this was originally a short story by Ray Bradbury,
    "I Sing the Body Electric". It was adapted into an episode of the
    original TZ series back in the 60's. Sometime circa 1980, it was
    remade into a short (one-hour) tv special starring Maureen Stapleton
    as the grandmother and Edward Hermann as the father. Very well
    done, too. It's this latter version that pops up on various cable
    channels now and then.
    
    --- jerry

It's probably not likely that Ray Bradbury will have many of his stories
on TZ, since he has his own anthology series, "Ray Bradbury Theatre."
It airs on the USA cable network, usually to fill out an hour with the remakes
of the Alfred Hitchcock shows.
Look for it Friday and Saturday nights.

- tom]

    Hmmm, its my recollection that "The Cold Equations" ran in Analog
    in the late '70's and won a Hugo for Best short story (or one of
    those lengths).  I recall that Analog editors claim that they recieved
    more mail on this story than any other in their history.

    re:.27
    
    I don't know what story you're thinking of, but "The Cold Equations"
    was published in ASTOUNDING (which became ANALOG) in 1954, and it won
    no awards.
    
    --- jerry

    ...but you will find "The Cold Equations" in the Anthology "The
    Science Fiction Hall of Fame," a group of short stories selected by
    members of SFWA.  This is the same group that selects the Nebulas.
    Volumes IIA  abd IIB contain longer pieces (Novellas and Novelettes).
                                                                       
    The stories in the three volumes of the SF HofF are stories that
    were written before the first Nebula Awards were given out, but
    which the SFWA members felt were praiseworthy (and, perhaps,
    prizeworthy). 
                                                                       
    					andrew

    In case people are interested, "The Cold Equations" is scheduled
    for Friday, 12/29 on the current syndicated re-runs of TZ.
    
    For those of you in the Boston area, TZ (the 80's version) is shown
    on WSBK (Channel 38) at 12:30 AM, Monday through Friday (or Tuesday
    through Saturday, if you prefer, which means that the above episode
    will really be on at 12:30 AM Saturday).
    
    New Jersey's WWOR -- available on most cable systems -- broadcasts
    the same episodes at the same time.
    
    --- jerry

    I just saw a repeat of the Cold Equations episode, and being in a
    rather gruesome mood I reckoned that an alternate ending could have
    been the girl being saved by having her legs cut off! Also they very
    modestly remained fully clothed.
    
    Dave (not Stephen King) 8*)

    re:.31
    
    Actually, the TZ production staff had gruesome fights with CBS and
    MGM (who controlled the syndication rights -- "The Cold Equations"
    being part of the first-run syndication set) about this episode.
    CBS wanted them to change the ending so that the *pilot* cuts his
    legs off, but the staff absolutely refused to change the ending.
    
    The phrase that was used was that CBS wanted "The Lukewarm Equations".
    
    --- jerry

    I just read a story (in Analog or Asimov's?) with precisely that
    ending, and explicitly acknowledging the debt to "The Cold Equations".
    
    The idea occurs to the pilot when he starts to say something to the
    effect of "I'd give an arm and a leg for any way to avoid throwing
    you overboard".
    
    len.
    

re .-1

   it was analog.  one of the last couple of issues (may-july timeframe)

						mike