BRAGA accuses rabid fans, calls them "Continuity Pornographers"

[REG]

My initial reaction? Shock.

Well, you can't fault Braga for his honesty, which is about as blunt as a head-on Amtrak train. I think I'm going to pick up this interview article in the May issue of Cinescape magazine

He is so going to get it from some of the fan.

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial...5&obj_id=34066

[C5]

I wonder what does this expression mean exactly ? I can't really understand what is a "pornographer"...

[Kronok]

I do not even want to read this.

Tell me he COMPLAINED about FANS AGAIN!!!!

Not trying to type anything negative, but he is an idiot.

By ALL definitions, an idiot.

He is a fool and if Enterprise fails? He has no one to blame but himself.

(Sorry if this came on a little strong)

[Dan Stack]

I dunno if "continuity pornagrapher" is the proper, Martha Stewart-approved term, but after a few visits to places like trekbbs.com, I think he has a point.

"Ferengi on Enterprise? Braga is RUINING the franchise!"
"I DEMAND Braga resign."

[Kronok]

Originally posted by Dan Stack
[B]I dunno if "continuity pornagrapher" is the proper, Martha Stewart-approved term, but after a few visits to places like trekbbs.com, I think he has a point.

Having a point is one thing. Resorting to name-calling? Think about it? That is EXACTLY what he has done. If some fans attacked him verbally, fine. Address that, but do it without 3rd grade tactics. In every debate, the first one to really annoy the other usually wins. He has lost it.

If I were in charge of anything, I would understand that one of my first duties is PR.

He has forgotten this simple rule and, I predict, it will be his downfall.

As I side note- I really enjoy Enterprise. It’s not my favorite, but I like it. It is pretty good Sci Fi.

Isn’t it strange that the episodes with the Andorians, Klingons and Vulcans were the most popular?

Guess us “Porno Freeks” do have a point, huh?

[Capt Daniel Hunter]

Actually Braga definately did not coin the term, it's been around for a while. And he most certainly does have a point. I thought he was pretty restrained, considering some of the truely reprehensible things people say about the guy online.

[Dan Gurden]

Some exclusive interview...

I am certain that Braga used the 'rabid fans and continuity pornogrophers' back last August when the show was being put down across the board before the pilot...

[Kronok]

Originally posted by Dan Gurden
I am certain that Braga used the 'rabid fans and continuity pornogrophers' back last August when the show was being put down across the board before the pilot...

He sure did (That was what I meant in my first post here).

Oh well, at least he is consistant?

He really should come up with some new material though.

[C5]

Originally posted by Kronok
Having a point is one thing. Resorting to name-calling? Think about it? That is EXACTLY what he has done. If some fans attacked him verbally, fine. Address that, but do it without 3rd grade tactics. In every debate, the first one to really annoy the other usually wins. He has lost it.

If I were in charge of anything, I would understand that one of my first duties is PR.

He has forgotten this simple rule and, I predict, it will be his downfall.

As I side note- I really enjoy Enterprise. It’s not my favorite, but I like it. It is pretty good Sci Fi.

Isn’t it strange that the episodes with the Andorians, Klingons and Vulcans were the most popular?

Guess us “Porno Freeks” do have a point, huh?

Unless there are some subtleties in the english language that keep escaping me I think there is a difference between "continuity pornographer" and "porno freak".

From the interview anyway, I could understand at least Braga's reaction (if not the use of the word). I mean, there's this rumour of Ferengis in Enterprise, and instantly, people on the Internet are yelling that B&B are disrupting continuity. If the episode had really been written like it has been aired (that is, not hastily edited after noticing the continuity pornographers were right and Ferengis should not be met), I understand B&B could have been PO'd.
It's not very good for one's self-control to have every move one does becoming instantly the subject of flames in every Trek board of the Net.
I don't know these guys BrannonBraga at all, but I think that they do love Trek, and to some extent, I can understand that they grow angry watching the whole Net calling them more dirtier names than "pornographers" and accusing them of killing Trek's spirit and the like. Imagine yourselves in their places.

But then again, I rather like Enterprise (and as a Star Trek show as well, wich is more aggravating ), and I liked what I saw of Voyager so I may be partial to B&B here.

[qerlin]

The 'pornographer' thing was silly. As for the rest of it? He's flat-out right -- the fans have been over the top in their criticism of the new show, which doesn't stink anywhere near as badly as most claim.

B&B rightly took heat for an attrocious show, Voyager, but there were plenty who liked it. So if they were giving the audience what they wanted, the criticism of B&B -- which gets much more personal than his responses (see a lot of the posts on this BBS for examples; I'm guilty too).

The whole thing gives me a Jay and SIlent Bob Strike Back vibe...maybe the fans should head off to Hollywood to stop the show's production, while they're at it. But don't forget to live by the good book of the road...

[Dan Stack]

I did some perusal of the dictionary and continuity pornagrapher is actually accurate.

por·nog·ra·phy Pronunciation Key (pôr-ngr-f)
n.
1. Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.
2. The presentation or production of this material.
3.Lurid or sensational material: “Recent novels about the Holocaust have kept Hitler well offstage [so as] to avoid the... pornography of the era” (Morris Dickstein).

por·nogra·pher n.
porno·graphic (pôrn-grfk) adj.
porno·graphi·cal·ly adv.


Moving on to "lurid"...
lu·rid Pronunciation Key (lrd)
adj.
1. Causing shock or horror; gruesome.
2. Marked by sensationalism: a lurid account of the crime. See Synonyms at ghastly.
3. Glowing or shining with the glare of fire through a haze: lurid flames.
4. Sallow or pallid in color.


So I think he's technically correct.

btw, I love the "Joe and Silent Bob" image. I have images of people with pitchforks and torches outside the Paramount lot.

Look, I'm not Braga's biggest fan. As people in my gaming group can attest, I didn't like Voyager at all and rarely watched it. But Rick Berman has been in charge of Star Trek since the late 80's for all intents and purposes and Braga has been a major force in it since the early 90's.

I love all the little details that make up the Trek universe. But I really try not to get too hung up on every tiny glitch - must come from being a Doctor Who fan. I know in my Star Trek games I have moments when I fudge continuity a little here or there for the good of a story. If Braga has an "Enterprise" episode with the Dominion, Romulans, Gorn, Borg, and Pakleds unite to blow up the Earth with their quantum torpedoes then I'll be unhappy with the episode... If they mix up the date of the Utopia Planitia settlement, I'm not going to lose sleep (this was a major flame-fest on trekbbs a few months back.) Actually, come to think of it, nothing Braga does, aside from criminal acts against me or my family, could really make me lose sleep.

[Jabara Eris]

Porno or no porno, Braga should at least get his fact straight.

Braga said in the interview:
"Of course we know that the Ferengi didn't make first contact with Archer. They made it with Picard. The only people who see the Ferengi are Trip, T'pol and Archer, and they never find out who they were."

Let's see ... at the end of the episode, didn't I see a lot of guards and other crew members watching while the Ferengi loaded everything back onto the Enterprise?

And although it wasn't actually shown in the episode, is Braga saying that nobody even bothered to ask any of the Ferengi who they were?

Sheesh.

[Dan Stack]

From the [fictional] cutting room floor.

Archer: Who are you?

Ferengi: We are the Borg.

Archer: The Borg... I see...

Reed: Please, Captain, I know he's lying. Let me torture him some more...

Archer: No, Admiral Forrest is still upset over your last interrogation. Let the log show we have made first contact with the Borg. And no, we can't execute them. But we have no one to turn them over to... Malcolm, just scare them a little bit so they'll know not to mess with us again. Malcolm, put down the thumbscrews...

[C5]

Originally posted by Jabara Eris
And although it wasn't actually shown in the episode, is Braga saying that nobody even bothered to ask any of the Ferengi who they were?

Sheesh.

I haven't seen the episode but my brother watched it and I couldn't stop him from telling me most of it. Apparently there's a line where Archer asks the Ferengis who they are and they answer it's none of his business.

Besides, given the Ferengis known honesty , I'd not be surprised if Archer and al did get a different answer each time the question was asked ("Captain's log : today we have met a strange species with very big ears and a philosophy based around greed. We asked what their names was, and from their answers it seems they're either called Cardassians, Breen, Zerg, El-Aurian, Betazoids, Siths, Tellarites, Remans, or Centaurans" )

[Balok]

I like solid continuity. That's one of the things that makes a coherent universe, and it's gotta be one of the things that a writer understands.

From a writer's perspective, continuity is a straitjacket. He can't use character "X" to make a first contact, because waaa-y-y-y-y back in 1987, someone established that character "Z" was the first to make that first contact. It's gotta be frustrating. And I feel for the guy whose creativity is caught in that vise. But, he knew (or should have known) what he was getting into when he signed on.

Putting all this aside, I can ignore continuity lapses if I get a good story. They still irritate me, but at least I can say, "Yeah, but what a great story!". The problem is, IMO, Enterprise just hasn't told that many great stories. Some have been adequate, but in my view, here are the problems:

- Time travel stories are tricky to pull off for high caliber writers. I just don't think Berman and Braga have the skill. Voyager's "Endgame" tends to confirm my opinion. And yet, they've made a time travel arc central to the entire Enterprise story.

- Why are they obsessed with holograms? I was so hoping we could get away from these stories, most of which are fairly weak, since Earth didn't have the technology yet. But, no, we get to run into aliens who have it, not once, but twice!

- Many of the stories I've seen have been sadly predictable in their plots. Examples: the story with the hunters, and the recent story with Rene Auberjonois (which was basically a retread of a DS9 episode).

- I don't see much character development. I know they seem to fear arcs of any kind, lately (are arc shows harder to sell into syndication?), but these people should grow and change. So far, we haven't seen even hints of this.

- I could probably start a whole 'nother thread on how they've mishandled the Vulcans.

None of these problems, except possibly the Vulcans, have anything to do with continuity. So, sure, they get hammered for continuity -- but they might get away with more lapses if quality of the series were higher.

YMMV.