He’s REAL?!
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I may sound like a total ignoramus on the state of sci-fi nowadays, but it wasn’t until I was shopping for online books that I found out Alfred Bester was a REAL person!
From what I’ve seen, if J.Michael Straczynski was inspired by the books, then Babylon 5’s Alfred Bester was based on the book ‘The Demolished Man’, a book which incidentally, won the first Hugo award. This may seem like old news to many of you, but to me, this is bloody CNN!
Heh. Didnt make the connection until you said that. The Demolished Man was and is a fantastic read. The best part about it is the imagination needed at that time historically. The whole Psy-Corps is taken off from Demolished Man, but until this moment I did not make the connection to the authors name. The other thing that attracted me to the Demolished Man is that it really is not just Sci-Fi, its also a great philosophical book.
Bester has fast become one of my favorite Sci-Fi characters. I always love the bad guys and he’s quite a baddy [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] Cant wait until they get into the Bester-Girabaldi conflict I’ve read so much about. (I’ve only seen the final season and up to 2nd ep of Series 2) Walter Koening has had such an accomplished stage career I really was surprised to see him back in Sci-Fi. And he came back with a bang!
One of my favorite B5’s thus far was the one with Bester and the 2 new recruits in The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father I think was the title.
[ 28-04-2002: Message edited by: LexxLurker ]
quote[quote] I may sound like a total ignoramus on the state of sci-fi nowadays, but it wasn’t until I was shopping for online books that I found out Alfred Bester was a REAL person! [/quote]
You’re not the only person who didn’t know!
You know, taking charactor’s names from actual people is common. If you watch Total Recall 2070, the main charactor is David Hume. Well, David Hume was real as well, he was a sort of English philosopher-author.
Didn’t think that Bester was named after a real person, though!It should also be noted that the Straczynski term Psi Cop is a joke reference to C.S.I.C.O.P. The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal is powerful skeptical group devoted to the systematic debunking of any claims that are not consistent with traditional science, such as extraterrestrial life and psychic abilities.
Ahh, interesting play on words.
quote:
Originally posted by DalekTek790:
It should also be noted that the Straczynski term Psi Cop is a joke reference to C.S.I.C.O.P. The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal is powerful skeptical group devoted to the systematic debunking of any claims that are not consistent with traditional science, such as extraterrestrial life and psychic abilities.
The irony in their name being that they have yet to engage in any form of scientific investigation of claims of the paranormal. Like the scientific establishments of the 17th and 18th centuries (who refused to admit that meteorites existed because it was heretical to say that rocks fell from the heavens), they ignore hard evidence if it fails to support presupposed theories. They’ve also been known to engage in character assassination of scientists whose own investigations fail to support popular scientific dogma. They’re a happy bunch of know-it-alls.
–Aleck
quote:
Originally posted by Aleck:
The irony in their name being that they have yet to engage in any form of scientific investigation of claims of the paranormal. Like the scientific establishments of the 17th and 18th centuries (who refused to admit that meteorites existed because it was heretical to say that rocks fell from the heavens), they ignore hard evidence if it fails to support presupposed theories. They’ve also been known to engage in character assassination of scientists whose own investigations fail to support popular scientific dogma. They’re a happy bunch of know-it-alls.
Whoa, you agree with me.
Hehe [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
It’s just that we’re all glad to see you back Dalek [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
I’d never heard of the Demolished Man or the link to A Bester. It sounds like a must read so I’ll be ordering it ASAP.
Thanks for the info guys!
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