On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:13:20 +0100, Stephen wrote:

> On 24 Jun 2008 18:59:36 -0400, Jim Henderson <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote:
> 
>>Indeed.  And the rest was good, think I might go and shoot some things
>>in Perfect Dark again this evening.
>>
> Go for it! :)

Oh, I did.  Got quite good with the sniper rifle, in fact. :-)

>>>>But as Adams always was keen to say (paraphrasing), the brilliance of
>>>>Sci- Fi (or Sci-Fantasy, if you will)
>>> 
>>> What I will is SF, actually ;)
>>
>>That works as well, covers both genres.  Most people conflate "Science
>>Fiction" with "Science Fantasy".  Hardcore Sci-Fi people will tell you
>>that something like H2G2 isn't Sci-Fi because it doesn't include a basis
>>in science - it's basis is humour, set in space.
>>
> I don't know about that. I consider myself a "Hard SF" fan and think
> that H2G2 is SF. Mainly because it takes the use of science or
> technology to demolish the Earth. Scaling up zoning laws is acceptable
> in my view.

I think of H2G2 more as a social commentary/space comedy.  There are 
elements of Science Fiction in it - but it's a long ways from what Adams 
originally was thinking of for the story.  ISTR he originally had planned 
on calling it something like "The Ends of the Earth", in which each 
episode ended with the destruction of the planet.  The name "Hitchhiker's 
Guide to the Galaxy", of course, came from "Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe" 
and books of that nature, and that title occurred to him well before the 
concept of the story did.  Some would say (and I would count myself in 
this group) that he didn't really have the concept of the story down 
until *after* what is now known as the "primary and secondary" phases had 
been completed.

> As for using humour as a basis to discount a story as SF. Well the good
> doctor was renowned for his humour. "Who the hell cares what happens to
> a sabre tooth tiger" or "It takes a pair of jacks to open" :)

Oh, I wouldn't say that humour alone discounts a story as SF.

>>(I used to moderate a forum years and years ago on Science Fiction -
>>very interesting mix of people).
>>
> I bet.

One of the more interesting discussions was about whether or not Star 
Wars was Science Fiction.  One member pointed out that it is in fact a 
messiah story, with elements of being a story of redemption.  More 
religion than sci-fi.

>>I must've misunderstood what you said (not uncommon for me), but I
>>thought you said you didn't like radio drama...
>>
>>
> My problem is that I can seldom follow a serial as I live such a
> disjointed life.
> I like radio drama and often listen to recordings when driving. I
> generally prefer spoken work books ´tho'.

Ah, I see now.  I have a similar issue, don't get a lot of time to listen 
to things.  I'm working my way through some old CBS Radio Mystery Theater 
recordings from the early 70's, but the stories are self-contained.  
Conveniently, they are as long as my drive to the office is - but I only 
make the trip once or twice a week, so I only get about 4 stories in on 
any given week.  I've got about 1400 recordings in total to get through 
(9 years' worth).  Going to take some time, I think.

Jim

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