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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 923355" data-attributes="member: 177">Yes, but here's the thing - if the Federations actually is, by and large, a happy utopia, stories set within that utopia would be boring.&nbsp; Gripping fiction is, by and large, about dysfunctional relationships.&nbsp; How drawn would you be to a show that was even happier and sappier and more &quot;everything ends up okay in the end&quot; than the Trek shows already were?&nbsp; You said it yourself in talking about JMS' work.&nbsp; The universe is only dramatically interesting when there are ugly things in it.&nbsp; If there are few ugly things within the Federation, then they must look outside the Federation itself for their drama.In addition, this is where we see a little bit of the differing purposes of the two shows.&nbsp; Trek intends, for the most part, to be a morality play.&nbsp; B5, for the most part, intends to be a soap opera. Both can be and are valid and interesting story-forms, but the different intents call for different structures.This is one reason why I say JMS shouldn't write Trek.&nbsp; JMS has proven his ability to write a soap opera,&nbsp; His forays into morality plays, though, are lackluster.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 923355, member: 177"] Yes, but here's the thing - if the Federations actually is, by and large, a happy utopia, stories set within that utopia would be [i]boring[/i]. Gripping fiction is, by and large, about dysfunctional relationships. How drawn would you be to a show that was even happier and sappier and more "everything ends up okay in the end" than the Trek shows already were? You said it yourself in talking about JMS' work. The universe is only dramatically interesting when there are ugly things in it. If there are few ugly things within the Federation, then they must look outside the Federation itself for their drama. In addition, this is where we see a little bit of the differing purposes of the two shows. Trek intends, for the most part, to be a morality play. B5, for the most part, intends to be a soap opera. Both can be and are valid and interesting story-forms, but the different intents call for different structures. This is one reason why I say JMS shouldn't write Trek. JMS has proven his ability to write a soap opera, His forays into morality plays, though, are lackluster. [/QUOTE]

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