I have a question I can't resolve.
If somebody is going to cut out any violence or inappropirate behaviour which exceeds the threshold of Delenn getting annoyed... then they would really have to cut
everything.
1. Cut all acts of violence, first of all armed conflicts and space battles. Also, cut any references to acts of war, violence, oppression or injustice. People with imagination might damage their precious little minds.
2. Cut everything which is distressing or not optimistic. Cut references to any extinctions. Cut the Ikarran warrior, cut the Markab plague, cut the bombardment of Narn and the Drakh takeover on Centauri Prime.
3. As a final strike, cut everything which might provoke emotion and thought. You can leave the scene of Sheridan and Garibaldi discussing weather -- because you cut the scene which connected it to the nuclear bombs.
4. Cut the Pak'ma'ra shake. It is rude.
In the end, we would be left with a story consisting of "goodfacts". A story not worth watching. It would require cutting all references to real or imaginary history, most situations involving heated debate, most questions which might generate doubt or discussion. To level B5 to that threshold, they would have to cut most of it.
That, of course, would remind me of Asimov's "End of Eternity" -- altering everything from history to fiction to make the world safe and comfortable. But leaving the difficult questions unasked leaves a civilisation unprepared for its future. Umm... wasn't this the point of science fiction?
[This message has been edited by Lennier (edited December 29, 2001).]
