WB5

Dear English 110.01 Student,

Get ready to experience a quarter of science fiction and more science fiction. I know it sounds like an awful class topic and it will be awful if you don't give it a chance. Especially when it comes to blogging! I am the last person to ever blog, but this class forces you to. I found out that it is not the end of the world and it is a good way to communicate with your classmates.
While I would much rather be watching ESPN or something, by giving sci-fi a chance, I learned a lot. I got a taste of numerous sci-fi shows and I found out that some shows are pretty good and relate to my life now.
In regards to this class, I recommend that you do not procrastinate! At the beginning of the class, you are required to watch episodes of shows and blog about them. Make sure you pay attention to the episodes because you are responsible to write an 8 page Analytical Research Paper on an episode. Also, do every piece of homework to the fullest because everything builds on each other. If you only give half effort on an assignment, you will eventually have to finish the other half of it. The only difference is you won't get a better grade once you finish it.
When you watch episodes of shows, I would jot down some notes of the episode. I found that to be very helpful for me because when I went back to write my Analytical Paper, I could instantly go to the section of the episode I wanted and get the information I needed.
All in all, this class will be fun as long as you put the work in. If you slack off, I wish you the best of luck.

Sincerely,
Mack Hoban

Farscape

I was not a fan of Farscape. The idea of the black hole was definitely different from most ideas, and I liked the concept; however, I did not like creatures in the show. I thought they were very weird and a bit annoying. It did get me thinking about how weird and scary it would be if that ever happened to me. John handling the situation a lot better than I would have.
This episode relates to none only than Dollhouse. John reminds me of Echo who has to find out everything for herself. They were both on their own and did not have many people that could look out for them. John had his dad and others back on earth and Echo has Ballard who was on "earth" meaning he was not an active. Also, this episode relates to Star Trek in the way that it took place on a different planet. The creatures had a crew just like the crew in Star Trek.

STNG

I found this episode to be similar to that of the Dollhouse. Data is very much like the actives in the sense that they are all basically robots. The actives act like robots and Data is a robot. STNG called to attention the importance of life. Dollhouse did not value human life by changing a human into a zombie-like being.

In my opinion, I thought the episode of Star Trek I watched was better than STNG. I liked how the original star trek used an episode of history and incorporated it into the episode. I would not know much about the Clantons and Earps if it wasn't for the episode I watched. With that said, I did not feel like I learned anything from STNG which was a turn off. I did notice that the plots seem to be pretty relevant and timely even though they were made so long ago. I have to give kudos to the writers for that.

Star Trek: Season 3 Episode 6 "Spectre of the Gun"

I watched Season 3 Episode 6 of Star Trek. It is called "Spectre of the Gun." I was not looking forward to watching this episode and I came to realize that it was not half bad. The episode revolved around the fact that the Enterprise trespassed into some uncharted territory. Captain Kirk and the crew (Spock, McCoy, Scotty and Chekov) were transported to a place that resembled that of Tombstone, Arizona. It was October 26th, 1881 and the crew, or the Clantons as they were in the show, were forced to fight the Earps. In real life, the Clantons are killed and the Earps win. However, in this episode, Billy "dies" because believes he was actually shot. Spock realizes that if they truly believe that the bullets are fake then they won't die. Turns out that Spock is correct. The Earps unload bullets on them, but the guys don't budge. Kirk fights one of the Earps and after proving to him that he could kill him he lets the guy go. The episode ends with Kirk and the crew telling the leader of this uncharted territory that they try not to kill when it is not needed.

While watching the episode, I was thinking of ways it related to Dollhouse. I noticed that the crew was placed into this situation (being in "Tombstone, Arizona) just like the actives in Dollhouse are placed into situations where they have to do a task. Also,I instantly noticed that Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and Chekov's names were changed to Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Claiborne, Ike Clanton, and Billy Clanton in the episode. It reminded me of how the actives in Dollhouse do not use the names they have in real life. Finally, Spock reminded me a lot of Topher because he was the brains of the group. Topher is the genius behind programming the actives and Spock is the one that figured out that if they believe the bullets are fake then they will not die. I did not think I would find as many correlations between Dollhouse and Star Trek, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Battlestar Galactica

When I heard we were watching Battlestar Galactica, I was expecting a show that was very dull. I mean my dad has watched it before, so I assumed it would be real old-fashioned and lame. However, I now have a different view of the show. While I won’t say it is a show I will watch in my free time, I will say that I can understand why people watch it.
I liked the idea of a futuristic world vs. the Cylons because that is interesting. However, I was very confused in why there were so many sex scenes. I feel like these scenes did not add to the plot of the episode, so I do not understand why Ronald D. Moore, writer and producer of Battlestar Galactic, included them in the miniseries. Number Six, or Caprica Six, is a prime example of a woman who uses her attributes to her advantage (even though she uses it for evil). She seduced Dr. Gaius Baltar, who was very powerful. She deceived him by helping him with his work on the Colonial defense system. Although she used Baltar to help the Cylons, she did sacrifice her life in order to save Baltar’s. I feel like this really proves that she did care for Baltar, but she had to use him to provide an opportunity for the Cylon’s to attack. I feel like Number Six is very similar to the woman in “Firefly” because she used her abilities to seduce the Captain, which eventually led to her getting what she wanted/needed.

Poem

Sick
by Shel Silverstein


"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay,
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash, and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is---Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"


I have never read this poem before, but I enjoyed reading it. It reminded me of the days when I told my mom that I did not feel well and then came up with a bunch of excuses for why I shouldn't go to school. They never seemed to work, but I always tried. When it comes to poetry, I like poems that aren't real lengthy. The one's that are real long and have hidden meanings usually lose my interest, but the one's that are quick and to the point I enjoy. I also like poems that are fun meaning are written in a way where they make a shape or something to that effect.

Buffy the Vampire

I really was confused during this episode. I couldn't figure out what was real and was not. I think since I am not familiar with Buffy that I had a harder time understanding the episode. It was strange when the doctor and her parents were telling her to say that she did not have a sister. I did not like that scene because the concept of rejecting your family is dumb.