Neesierie Colonel Offline Straker, somehow it's always about you. Posts: 990 Location: Fulton, MO Re: FDK - Shadows in Darkness Reply #15 - Mar 22nd, 2011 at 12:39am Print Post Librarian wrote on Mar 21st, 2011 at 5:19pm: There's almost a subconscious recognition that Straker walks the edge of the Dark Side and that's a place we don't want him to go, so we give him significant others to remind him of his bonds to the rest of humanity. This is exactly it, Deb! I swore when I started writing UFO stories that I wouldn't give Straker a new girl in every story, which is why I began with the Conover Saga, where he gets Sheila to ground him. But once that saga ran its course, I found that I couldn't really write a story where he didn't have someone to help him lighten his load. The series portrayed him as a man on the edge, and I just can't leave him there! He deserves so much more for his devotion to the planet! So here I am, over 50 stories later, giving him a new girl in every series or story! I think that's why I found your story so disturbing. Because that's where he was heading when the series ended. And I can't bear it! The sky is not the limit; nor are the stars. WWW IP Logged
Librarian IAC Member Offline I may be blonde but... Posts: 657 Location: Washington (not DC) Re: FDK - Shadows in Darkness Reply #16 - Mar 22nd, 2011 at 2:07am Print Post Well, my choice for the villain in Shadows was either Straker or on OC version of Jason Trask from Lois & Clark (similar organization and outlook) - but Straker is far brighter and SHADO far more organized even when in disarray than nearly anybody else portrayed in fiction, including Bond villains. That made him a more 'diabolical' opponent. Not as insane as the Movieverse Luthor or L&C's Trask, and far more able to take the 'long view'. The key is that he is driven, but not necessarily insane (although I'm sure Alec and Ginny would argue that point at the end of Shadows.) Shadows will also most likely the the only series in which I'll make Straker a villain. I much prefer the - slightly- less ruthless, far more law-abiding, and much more human version I have used in my other 'verses. If you only have one solution to a problem - you're not trying. IP Logged
Matt Colonel Offline Everyone at SHADO drinks coffee! Posts: 2391 Location: Coventry, RI Re: FDK - Shadows in Darkness Reply #17 - Mar 22nd, 2011 at 3:00pm Print Post I don't even know if I would call him a villian in "Shadows", I think he was more a victim of curcumstance, in his mind, he was doing what was right. At least that's how the story hit me. And that's why I see him as being redeemable. This was a very thought provoking "what if" story. What do you mean, we're out of coffee! WWW IP Logged