effects.  Effects are good but the actors are there to tell a story not just react to explosions.  This lack can be seen in many movies such as ID4, MIB, Mars Attacks they were good movies but will not be rated on there story.  In a previous post I thought what if Weber's HH series was brought to the big screen.  Let's speculate, there have been a few well written like Weber's Star Wars and Dune (which was a book first).  I don't include the Trek movies because unlike the series it wasn't good.  I believe Weber should have creative and editorial control over the screenplay and all editing.  Of course like most books to movies it would not have the time to tell the story as the book could but the movie should be judged on its own not agianst the book that would be unfair.  Maybe a weekly series would be better but that brings up its own problems.                                                     Sincerely,                                                         The Juju-Man Good topic.  The problem is, a science fiction story usually differs from other types of fiction in that there is no common background for the story to use to relate to the viewer.  In the written story the author can present as much detail as necessary wherever something new is introduced.  For example, a lot of time is spent explaining how a Ship of the Wall operates, but without the background of a Ship of the Line, even more would be necessary. But how would you do this in a movie without being  boring? Practical answer - gee whiz special effect which is ordinary enough for the casual viewer to relate to but different enough to add what the director is attempting  to do in the movie.  Thus, a Star Wars ripoff. I would like to see a good sf movie, with a strong story line, but I'm not sure it is possible.  How could you present the battles Harrington was in and make the viewer appreciate the tactics involved?  How would you visually present the story of the hero Gordon and Hew Wisdom in any meaningful way for the casual viewer who has never heard of Robert Heinlein?  Because the fact is there are not enough SF fans to support the expense of making such a movie.  It MUST attract the casual viewing public. I would like to see some of the Dragonrider stories on the screen.  And with computer effects they could be done.  But I also believe those qualities which go in to making a good sf story also preclude it from being a good movie. But I would like to see some posts from others who disagree giving some specific stories and how they could be screen adapted.  We don't need another Nightfall . Joe Davis For replies change the X to T in my address I am not original enough to have written the following.  I stole it. SPAM bait: the current board of the Federal Communications Commission: Chairman Reed Hundt: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Commissioner James Quello: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Commissioner Susan Ness: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Commissioner Rachelle Chong: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it More SPAM bait: abuse@localhost postmaster@localhost admin@localhost This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ================================================================= Any priest or shaman must be presumed guilty until proved innocent Lazarus Long