On Sat, 2 Dec 1995, Julian Fong wrote:

	By "later BGC" do you mean later BGC anime (and if so, do you mean
the end of Crisis or Crash?), or do you mean later BGC fanfic?

	I meant _Crisis_ after around the fourth episode, and, more or less, 
all of Crisis!   
	_What_ I meant, and mean, is that I felt the series moved from 
being a sort of grim, intriguing cyberpunk homage to BladeRunner (or 
something in the P.K. Dick/Gibson/Stephenson lineage) to a somewhat 
hackneyed Marvel/DC epic superhero fight.  I've never had a lot of truck 
with the all-too-familiar plot lines of (traditional) American comics and 
cartoons.  That's a large part of why anime appeals so much to me -- 
there's the potential for _much_ more plot and character development.
	When BGC started, it had a lot of social commentary going on.  It 
wasn't about superheroes and super villains.  The main characters were 
_mercenaries_ --- first, and foremost.  They killed when it wasn't 
necessary.  They weren't happy people.  And, most importantly, the focus 
of the series seemed to encompass the _setting_ and, to some degree, the 
characters, rather than methodically pursuing some incredibly predictable 
plot.  
	Unfortunately, while BGC showed a really impressive amount of 
potential in its early episodes, the later episodes _really_ 
degenerated.  The whole thing seemed to come down to one silly titanic 
battle with impossibly evil bad guys after another.  By episode eight it 
seemed indistinguishable from American Saturday morning fare (as I 
understand it, the original plot had Priss dead in #6, and the series 
over at #7).  Crash! is a such a mess that it's barely worth getting into.
	Don't get me wrong.  Even though I have certain issues with it, I
still think BGC is a grade-A amazing series.  I think the fanfic writer
who prefers the darker side of things has a rich and fertile field in the
BGC premise -- which is, among other reasons, why I've been writing a BGC
fanfic (Machina non Grata -- you can find it on the remailer).  My hope 
was to try and return to the _feel_ that seemed to fall by the wayside as 
the series went on, and became more popular.  

	As to BGC fanfics -- I _do_ think a lot of the earliest entries 
on ftp.std.com are some of the best.  Like I said, I think _Crusade_ is 
an amazing piece of work, and something which should be mandatory reading 
for any prospective fanfic author.  I also think a lot of good stuff is 
still being produced (BGZone -- even with its "brown tousled hair" :) -- 
is a great example).  

CHL