AirLockAlpha.com

Every once in a while, especially if I get flooded with a bunch of e-mails that I think are good enough for publication here, I like to do SciFriday's version of "Open Line Fridays."

It's a feature that seems to be real popular with Rush Limbaugh's radio show, or so I hear, so why not here?

But before I let your letters take over the column, I just wanted to take a quick moment to talk about the Emmy nominations that were announced Thursday morning.

Would I have liked to see "Lost" and "Battlestar Galactica" in the Outstanding Drama Series category? You bet your ass. But to be honest, I felt the choices were actually quite strong this year. And yes, there will always be snubs (I have a bit more appreciation for this after dealing with the SyFy Genre Awards for the last several years), but it's not like they nominated "24" or something.

I still don't know why people have to change their pants after watching "Grey's Anatomy," and why people love it so much. I can't stand it, or the thought of it. But hey, to each their own. And if you get a chance, check out our friend Daniel, The TV Addict's rant about the Emmys. As always, highly entertaining!

OK, let's get to the letters.

The choice of bringing on Catherine Tate [to 'Doctor Who'] makes no sense, unless the doctor is regenerating soon. When the Ninth Doctor left the Tardis, Rose Tyler was popular enough to keep the series going until the 10th Doctor had a chance to connect with the audience. Freema Agyeman grew as I expected they wanted her to do, but ultimately they didn't want to risk the whole Whoverse on her. Tate was very popular in her one-shot special.

I think the unseen problem is that Donna from the 'Runaway Bride' was built to be a one-shot character. She was not created for the slow burn of two or three series.
-- Finder

My opinion hasn't changed much on this casting choice, and I really hope that I am proven wrong. I love Catherine Tate as a comedienne, but I just can not see her take on a full-time role without someone in the audience snapping and shooting up a supermarket somewhere.

Had Carson Beckett's death [on 'Stargate: Atlantis'] been a little more straightfoward and heroic, the fans wouldn't have been so pissed. The manner of his death was more of daytime soaps than a series with the credentials of 'Stargate: Atlantis.'

It's odd your mention of 'Grey's Anatomy,' the very show the idea for Carson's death came from. The final scene in 'Sunday,' although touching, didn't fit well with the ham-handed way Beckett's death was tacked onto the episode with what appeared to be an afterthought by the writers or producers.

I think there is room for both Paul McGillion and Jewel Staite. This allows for more character growth and a wider variety of potential stories for the writers and producers to choose from, and everyone is happy.
-- John Charmley

I don't know. I really liked how the producers handled Beckett's death, and I don't think it was an afterthought. The groundwork was laid throughout the episode to create the impact needed for such a death, and I thought it was perfect.

The only thing that I am pissed about is the fact they are going to kick all this away, and bring him back to life.

Just saw that column and I loved it. I remember the days of the 'Roswell' stuff, the 'Get Buffy On Anotehr Channel.' Heck, I am just old enough to remember the infamous 'Damp Not Dead' campaign for 'The Sentinel.'

I think you are right on to put that info out there. So many times I see boards with pissed off fans insulting networks and such, and think to myself that if they put that attitude to the networks, who is going to want them to do any favors?
-- Chris, Los Angeles

Yeah, I want to see good shows saved just as much as anyone else. But sometimes, the networks are quite justified in their reasons for cancellation, and the more I don't see coming from "The Dresden Files" campaign, the more I think this show will have a short life, if it isn't over already.

And now to what everyone has been waiting for ...

As a longtime reader of Airlock Alpha (and I visit daily, very much enjoying the content), I must say that this is the first time in a few years I have felt compelled to write. In short, I believe your column, "Let Me Know When He's Really Sorry" was completely over the top and unnecessarily inflammatory.

OK, so Isaiah Washington isn't going to win any diversity awards in the near future. I rather doubt he'll be disappointed to know that. I must also say that he's quite good at using a shovel with his name on it. However, just because he uttered an offensive word during an argument in the workplace and then supposedly did not apologize in a way that suits you (and in this case, I'm not convinced that any apology would have suited you), is not grounds for the destruction of this man's career. This is, after all, what you're advocating by your disgust that a network would dare to give him a second chance.

No one is going to be terminated from a job and then blackballed by that industry for once throwing around a word, especially if the person on the receiving end isn't a member of the offending party. Political correctness is not supposed to be about destroying lives.
-- J. Kennedy, Charlotte, N.C.

J, I appreciate your long time patronage to Airlock Alpha, and I hope it continues, even if I write things you disagree with sometimes.

As far as your letter, there is an apology that Mr. Washington can give that I would accept: "I should not have used the words I did, whether they were directed toward an actual gay person or not. I don't think ABC treated me fairly in making me believe if I did what they asked, I would be able to keep my job and weather the storm. But what put me in this position in the first place was my own fault, and had nothing to do with racism or anything else."

Seems simple enough to me.

I want to thank you for your story regarding Isaiah Washington. When I read earlier today that he was being added to 'Bionic Woman,' I was disappointed. It killed my excitement over seeing what the creators of 'Battlestar Galactica' could do with this new franchise. I was not sure why I could not shake it off my mind. You really summed up what my mind was trying to vocalize.

I am a closeted gay man. I realize that today it is much easier to be out, but I have always hated the stereotypes that comes with the word 'gay.' None of my family, and most of my friends have no idea I am gay; and in a world where 'gay' means 'lame,' and 'faggot' means 'weak.' and they are used with such ease, I see little reason to be out.

We are the last socially acceptable group to make fun of. I like being the funny guy, but I don't want to be the butt of life's joke.
-- MC

This letter means a lot, and it sums up a lot of how I perceive society dealing with the gay and lesbian community. It's sad that we're in the 21st century, and the only place being attracted to the same sex is acceptable is in a bad episode of "Torchwood."

Just a sidebar to your Isaiah Washington commentary about how NBC should not have hired him. In that article, you used the F-word multiple times and I find that highly offensive. How dare you do such a thing even when you are describing what someone else has done?

Just like Washington when he got fired for explaining at the Golden Globes that he did not in fact use the F-word, you have lowered yourself and your Internet site by becoming a hate-monger. How are you be so unenlightened in this day and age?

I hope Airlock Alpha can one day hire better, more open-minded writers who aren't as filled with anti-gay propaganda as you are. For shame.
-- Anonymous

Well, our use of the word was part of a news story, and a bit of a different context than Washington used it -- either time.

I think people who have visited Airlock Alpha enough know that this site is probably the last place anyone would consider anti-gay. We have been very supportive of the gay and lesbian community and we always will be. Period.

I don't have to explain myself more on that, and we as a site know where our feelings lie. I don't think you could find a single person on our staff that has any animosity toward the gay and lesbian community, and if you do, let me know.

If you want to send me a letter, just drop me an e-mail at mhinman@airlockalpha.com and you might find your words right in this very spot

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Have a great week, and don't be a stranger!

Michael Hinman, named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2006, is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha, writing out of Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at mhinman@airlockalpha.com

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