----- Original Message ----- From: Murray mjsmith@tcd.ie
Fiona,
Actually, it seems like that scenario would make him *less* likely to be developing weapons. Put it this way: Mellanby is a rebel, who has just
cut a
deal with the authorities to give them research which he knows they will
use
on his fellow rebels. Knowing that his own research has just led to the death of his friends, isn't this a good reason to, like Alfred Nobel,
hang
up the old tool-belt? And if he's developing weapons on Sarran with the intention of selling them to the Federation later... then what that says about his ethics is very, very sinister indeed.
The problem is that he is a fugitive. Unlike Nobel, he can't take up a career as a philanthropist, as he'll be found out by the Federation. Also,
I didn't particularly mean he had to become a philanthropist, just give up making weapons... or, as I suggested, start developing more practical things along the same lines. Laser surgery tools, perhaps?
there's the question of where he gets his money from. Nobel was a millonaire when he gave up making dynamite.
True-- but "I needed the money" isn't a terribly moral excuse for making weaponry either :).
I recall the 'Voyager' episode you mentioned, with the villain called Seska, something which had me in fits of laughter.
I wonder if it was deliberate? I mean, names like Rani and Selma etc. crop up in a lot of SF shows regardless, but Seska seems to be a bit harder combination to come up with... mind you, I know of at least one real-life person called "Saskia," so perhaps it is a coincidence.
Then, I also recalled a character in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation': a woman called Vash, a name pronounced the same way as the French 'vache', the word for 'cow'.<bg>
Yes, I noticed that one too, and thought it very appropriate :).
The Angel episode you mentioned was 'She', which I regard as the worst episode in that very good first season.
A lot of people don't like "Power" either. The only real problem I had with "She," actually, was the fact that she fancied Angel-- just once I'd like there to be a female guest character who doesn't.
Fiona
The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane I blame Mr Rochester, myself, at http://nyder.r67.net
_________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com