Aboriginal Science Fiction, Issues 57–58 — page 33: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

cessors as Kolchak the Night Stalker and Twin Peaks, Carter fully expected his creation to last no longer than two seasons — enough time to build a cult fol- lowing without actually having to provide any rational explana- tions. Well, here it is, five years later, and the strain is showing: the show is deadly serious — glum, even — lacking much of the deadpan wit that in the first seasons made such dire goings-on so watchable (and making the latest season look like. Carter’s other exercise in ill-advised mor- bidity, Millennium). Meanwhile, the stars are letting their egos do the walking, none more so than David Duchovny, who by dint of his influence is forcing the show to abandon its superb production base in Vancouver for a more Téa Leoni-convenient one in L.A. (a demand that no doubt prompted the recent letter from the Cigarette Smoking Man in Canada and the introduction of a ready-for-action Chris Owens as Agent Spooky ... ’scuse me ... Agent Jeffrey Spender. If these aren’t shots across the bow for a certain recalcitrant actor who apparently doesn’t recall the fate The new Avengers Through the Lens of David Caruso, I’ve never heard of ’em). What’s the movie about? Sorry, the truth ain’t out there ... yet. All the usual suspects will appear, save Nicholas Lea’s weasel-boy Krycek (scheduling conflicts). Also in the cast are Blythe Danner, Armin Mueller- Stahl, and (reason enough to wait in line) Martin Landau. It all has something to do with yet another mysterious organization, called The Elders, and will offer Sculley being spirited away by faux para- medics right under Mulder’s nose, and Mulder running in the streets. And there may be killer bees, shape-shifting assassins, and for all I know, metallic cock- roaches bedding down beautiful entomologists named Bambi. Or maybe not. I’m not sure I care anymore. Honestly, there are more important questions to pon- der. Like whether Disney can recover from the perceived fail- ure of Hercules with this year’s animated release, Mulan, and what exactly does it mean when your failures wind up making a gazillion dollars internationally? The first feature to be produced completely out of Disney’s Orlando animation facility, Mulan is based on the Chinese legend of a young woman who assumes her father’s place in the war against the Mongols. Of course, I doubt Chinese legend had anything to say about why a particular army captain might have the voice of Donny Osmond; or why a ghostly ancestor would sound exactly like Mr. Sulu Deep Impact (George Takei); or whether an ambitious recruit could regularly count on receiving pointers from a diminutive, wisecracking drag- on whose voice bore an uncanny resemblance to Eddie Murphy’s (can’t stay away from them cross- dressers, eh, Eddie?). Yes, Disney is toying with mythology again, something that gets my nose out of joint far less than it does other observers’ — I mean, what’re you expecting from a genre where people peri- odically set aside their activities to break into song? What Disney might have to worry about more is that, by dipping into Asian leg- end, they are once again courting the wrath of anime fans who felt The Lion King borrowed too heavily from Osamu Tezuka’s Jungle Taitei (a.k.a. Kimba the White Lion). However, none of those fans appeared to be in the audience of invited press who, while told they'd be attending a preview of clips from upcoming Disney films, instead found themselves presented with a rough cut of the full animated feature. Word is the attending throng went wild over the still- incomplete footage. Since then, what little material the company has placed before the public does suggest that Disney may be get- ting back to its Lion King strengths — this might be a case where you won't want to wait for the inevitable video release. The digital deluge begins this summer with the release of Dreamworks’ Small Soldiers, a fantasy that does the Toy Story thing in its depiction of a war Aboriginal Science Fiction — Summer 199% ©)(j))i\G_ DOO KS. Gorn