Good commentary. Although I was not there when the deed was done, I
believe that it was deliberate that no faction was the hands-down "good
guy," the idea being that everyone could choose their favorite and none
would say them nay, very much cribbed from what FASA was doing with
BattleTech which was very similar to SFB, a permanent status quo. One of
the "insider secrets" that Marc whispered to people at the cons back then
was that the "tiffany star" pattern for MT was going to be the final
boundaries of the shattered Imperium when the dust settled. It was the
"none would say them nay" part that really wasn't thought through.
I'm always tickled by the phrase, "the XX of space," as if a) we aren't in
space, and b) space is just another locale, co-equal to "Dirt," and not
"everything."
We sort of did what you observe and have Norris the winner, although
having him march across the scorched earth and sit on the throne would
have gone too far.
No, you're not alone on the K'kree, an example of the fact that there have
to be villains, no matter how above-it-all the editorial voice parses it.
And, going back to a theme that has won me innumerable un-friends, all of
the alien races are one-dimensional. Just as "Ice planet," "Jungle
planet," "Desert Planet," "Swamp Planet," "Ocean planet" were all filmed
here, only humans could not be pigeon-holed and were capable of the full
range of sentient behavior. I wonder why that is... :-)
> Actually, none of them passed the sniff test.
> Strephon: AWOL, something a leader can never do and by the time he popped
> up, he had lost his people.
> Margaret: Scheming and dirty. The Hillary Clinton of space.
> Norris: "We'll just be over here while you guys figure out who I should
> report to...."Â "Bad kitties!"Â
>
> As an aside, he should have been the one candidate for Emperor that
> Margaret, Strephon, the Vilani, Craig, and Brzk could agree on (the "hero
> of the Fifth Frontier War"), and that was perhaps a possible Rebellion
> wrap up opportunity lost. With that much backing, Norris could have
> rallied a massive fleet at Vland and then unseated Lucan.
> Vland: A combination of Old South Confederates (meaning the ruling elites,
> not the guys running around in the orange Dodge) and "mother Russia"...
> "the Core shall rise again..."
> Antares: "Imma going to take my bone and go home..." Bad dog....errr
> Vargr. So much for the loyal canine stereotype.
>
> Lucan: Simply put, a murderer in the eyes of his people. Hard to be
> loyal to someone who would kill his own brother, whether he actually did
> or not.
> Dulinor: When you plot to murder the emperor, be prepared to stick around
> and do more than have a photo-op on the throne.
> Daibei: "Hey guys, we're getting kinda invaded over here, so with all due
> respect, screw you."
>
> The Solomani: Everyone hates space Nazis, though the parallels between
> Solsec and the NSA are positively eerie.
> The Aslan: Minor players in the whole tableau.
> The K'kree: I can't even stand PETA, let alone... Seriously, I found the
> K'kree so unlikeable I didn't even buy the original alien sourcebook for
> them. I'm not alone.
>
believe that it was deliberate that no faction was the hands-down "good
guy," the idea being that everyone could choose their favorite and none
would say them nay, very much cribbed from what FASA was doing with
BattleTech which was very similar to SFB, a permanent status quo. One of
the "insider secrets" that Marc whispered to people at the cons back then
was that the "tiffany star" pattern for MT was going to be the final
boundaries of the shattered Imperium when the dust settled. It was the
"none would say them nay" part that really wasn't thought through.
I'm always tickled by the phrase, "the XX of space," as if a) we aren't in
space, and b) space is just another locale, co-equal to "Dirt," and not
"everything."
We sort of did what you observe and have Norris the winner, although
having him march across the scorched earth and sit on the throne would
have gone too far.
No, you're not alone on the K'kree, an example of the fact that there have
to be villains, no matter how above-it-all the editorial voice parses it.
And, going back to a theme that has won me innumerable un-friends, all of
the alien races are one-dimensional. Just as "Ice planet," "Jungle
planet," "Desert Planet," "Swamp Planet," "Ocean planet" were all filmed
here, only humans could not be pigeon-holed and were capable of the full
range of sentient behavior. I wonder why that is... :-)
> Actually, none of them passed the sniff test.
> Strephon: AWOL, something a leader can never do and by the time he popped
> up, he had lost his people.
> Margaret: Scheming and dirty. The Hillary Clinton of space.
> Norris: "We'll just be over here while you guys figure out who I should
> report to...."Â "Bad kitties!"Â
>
> As an aside, he should have been the one candidate for Emperor that
> Margaret, Strephon, the Vilani, Craig, and Brzk could agree on (the "hero
> of the Fifth Frontier War"), and that was perhaps a possible Rebellion
> wrap up opportunity lost. With that much backing, Norris could have
> rallied a massive fleet at Vland and then unseated Lucan.
> Vland: A combination of Old South Confederates (meaning the ruling elites,
> not the guys running around in the orange Dodge) and "mother Russia"...
> "the Core shall rise again..."
> Antares: "Imma going to take my bone and go home..." Bad dog....errr
> Vargr. So much for the loyal canine stereotype.
>
> Lucan: Simply put, a murderer in the eyes of his people. Hard to be
> loyal to someone who would kill his own brother, whether he actually did
> or not.
> Dulinor: When you plot to murder the emperor, be prepared to stick around
> and do more than have a photo-op on the throne.
> Daibei: "Hey guys, we're getting kinda invaded over here, so with all due
> respect, screw you."
>
> The Solomani: Everyone hates space Nazis, though the parallels between
> Solsec and the NSA are positively eerie.
> The Aslan: Minor players in the whole tableau.
> The K'kree: I can't even stand PETA, let alone... Seriously, I found the
> K'kree so unlikeable I didn't even buy the original alien sourcebook for
> them. I'm not alone.
>