Re: B5 Trivia (WAS: RE: No Singularity?)

Jim Fehlinger (fehlinger@home.com)
Sun, 21 Nov 1999 20:39:54 -0500

Spike Jones wrote:
>
> Jim Fehlinger wrote:
>
> > I've watched B5 I have always winced in pain at the thinly-disguised
> > allusions to Tolkien -- "It was the third age of mankind...", the
> > Rangers, the Shadows, etc. Sets my teeth on edge.
>
> Jim, think of it as a tribute to, not a ripoff of, Tolkien.

Yeah, well. I just remembered another one -- Za'ha'dum as an imperfect anagram of Khazad-dum. Groan.

> I suspect
> the master will be a major influence on sci-fi and fantasy literature
> forever.

I suppose. Marion Zimmer Bradley does it too. There are two ways of looking at this: 1) as an homage to "the master"; 2) as a conspicuous lack of
originality on the part of the influencee. Of course, if the reader (or viewer) is altogether unfamiliar with J.R.R.T., it won't matter to ver at all; otherwise, I suspect that many, maybe even most, would find it as
jarring as I do.

Jim F.