SF Debris: Author, Author

[Nutso]

http://blip.tv/file/4709693

Opinionated Voyager Episode Guide looks at one of the final Doctor episodes. He tries telling a story to inspire people to look at holograms differently, but all he does is upset his shipmates by making them look like unsympathetic jerkwads.

The final scene is certainly memorable.

[McAvoy]

I do agree with the crew though about how they looked in that holonovel.

[Graham Kennedy]

It's pretty weird that the Federation apparently has no law against using people's images in a holoprogram without their permission. Imagine today if you made a CGI copy of Angelina Jolie and made a movie with it without even asking her... she'd sue you into oblivion and win the case so fast your head would spin.

[McAvoy]

I can certainly see that. But look at it in a different light how Kira had a problem with Quark using her image in a sex program. Personally I wouldn't care if someone used my image in some sort of program. But the difference between today and the Star trek 24th century is money.

For example, today you have to pay an actor to use their image in a show or a contract allowing them to use it after they left the show. In the 24th century, it would become more about morals and personal beliefs than money, especially when it concerns the UFP.

But I do agree with you. It seems that the Doctor used their images without their permission. Even if they did, the crew didn't even know how he was going to use it. Even Tuvok did this as well, and the crew didn't care.

[Mark]

Hey, I'm waiting for the shit storm on some other Trek sites, where they copy an actors image onto a starfleet uniform.

I'd imagine using an actors image without consent would get a site shut down pretty damned fast.

[McAvoy]

Really? That's no worse than the fake nude shots of celebrity chicks.

[Mark]

The guys who make those get sued too. I remember once, GK was saying how he could never hope to go toe to toe with Paramount if they ordered him to cease and desist the site. You'd think that an actor seeing his face being used for a ST character on a specific site would give them a place to target.

[McAvoy]

It depends if you really think about it. Do the actors really care if their faces are being used on a website innocently? It would be the same as me taking a picture of Brad Pitt then putting him in a Starfleet uniform and posting it on a website vs. me taking a picture of you and doing the same.

The difference? You may care more than Brad Pitt because of privacy. They accept that more so than you or I.

[Graham Kennedy]

I can certainly see that. But look at it in a different light how Kira had a problem with Quark using her image in a sex program. Personally I wouldn't care if someone used my image in some sort of program. But the difference between today and the Star trek 24th century is money.

For example, today you have to pay an actor to use their image in a show or a contract allowing them to use it after they left the show. In the 24th century, it would become more about morals and personal beliefs than money, especially when it concerns the UFP.

But I do agree with you. It seems that the Doctor used their images without their permission. Even if they did, the crew didn't even know how he was going to use it. Even Tuvok did this as well, and the crew didn't care.

Well sometime's it's forgiveable. For example the Kira one, he wasn't selling the image, he was using it for his own purposes. I doubt I could be sued for photoshopping Angelina's face onto a playboy model just for fun - in fact I know I couldn't, because there are whole communities of fakers out there who do just that kind of thing for fun.

Same with Barclay, he was using his crewmate's likenesses but just for his own fun.

The EMH wanted to put his book on the market and sell it. VERY different thing.

Agreed on the money thing making a difference. Actually artistic and intellectual property is one area where the whole "money no longer exists" doesn't make much sense. Replicators may be so productive that material goods are essentially worthless, but convince me that there will be so many books of such good quality that you can't charge for it? Nonsense.

[Mikey]

I don't think it's a question of "could" as much as "would." For a typical author, living well within the establishment of the UFP, what are you going to do with your signing fees and royalties if you even made them? Nobody else uses money, so you can't spend your earnings on anything. You don't need to buy anything even if you could spend money, because you already get everything.

[Tyyr]

This is a really bad road to take the thread down.

I actually liked the portrayal of the Doctor's holo-novel. It's anvilicious like you wouldn't believe and makes him look like an amateurish hack. Which really humanized him to me. Rather than producing an unbelievable epic like I'm sure they'd have Janeway do if she ever tried to write something, his work was amateurish in the extreme beating the reader over the head with his moral. I think it could have been interesting if from time to time you saw what the Doctor was writing and were able to see a progression from this up to something far subtler and still effective to help his cause towards the end of the series.

[Mikey]

What's a bad road? You mean the organic growth of the discussion?

[Tyyr]

Bringing up the Trek economy.

[Captain Seafort]

*twitches*

[Mikey]

I don't think we have to censor ourselves or avoid lines of discussion just because something in the show was treated without any thought.