Bottom line for me is, I don't shy away from criticism. Frankly, the things
I've said about my own episodes have often been harsher than anything anyone
else has ever said or will ever say.
But what you have to be careful about is this kind of statement:
>Was the fiasco known as A View from the Gallery planned well in
>advance? I hope not. I prefer to consider it the result of being in
>a rush to complete the writing for the season. At best, maybe an idea
>that sounded good at the time (and it was a damn good idea), that,
>like Grey 17, just didn't get pulled off.
This comes under the heading of "In my opinion." All too often these things
are stated as *facts*, which they are not, rather than *opinions*, which is
what they are. In point of fact, there are a LOT of people who enjoyed AVFTG
enormously, some even considering it the best of the last year or so. (In
fact, interestingly enough, the British fans seemed to have across the board
liked it far more than the US fans...I'm still parsing that one to figure out
why...and many of them can't figure out why some folks here had such a
reaction.)
Anyone who has ever been involved with a writing workshop knows that there is a
difference between constructive criticism and destructive criticism. The main
difference is the person who says "This sucks," rather than saying "This is why
this story didn't work for me." The former is a unilateral statement that does
not allow for anyone else to hold different viewpoints; the latter allows you
to more constructively address the elements that didn't work for you, and may
not work for others.
You didn't like View. Fair enough. I loved it, and still do, and many others
do. Also fair enough. Doesn't mean it's bad, doesn't mean it's good. Either
way, it's precisely what I wanted to write, and in this show, I write what I
want, what I enjoy, what I want to see. If enough others like it that we stay
on the air, then I'm doing it sufficiently well; if not, not.
jms
From: (jmsatb5@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com