The Second Wave
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Second Wave |
| Publisher: | Pariah Press ("a tiny little division of Anime House Press") |
| Editor(s): | |
| Date(s): | 1995 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | print zine |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | War of the Worlds |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Second Wave is a 187-page gen and het collection of season-two War of the Worlds fiction by Heather Bruton, Marge Baskin, and Debra Hicks.
It required an age statement to purchase due to its R-rating.
The zine has a pencil cover by Heather Bruton.
The five stories focus on the character of John Kincaid as portrayed by the actor Adrian Paul.
From the Editorial
Welcome to the first and probably the only-ever all second-season War of the Worlds zine. It's an interesting experience, falling in love with a pariah series, and Heather and I seem to make a real habit of it. (Anyone else out there like second season Seaquest DSV? How about third season Beauty and the Beast? Viper? Nah, didn't think so.)
This zine is a result of two things: 1) we couldn't find second-season fanfic to read, and 2) more than any other TV universe we've discovered, this nasty, distopian [sic] alien-,crime and drug infested world inspires us to write our own.
We got into this unpopular addiction by a round-about route. When War of the Worlds premiered in 1988, we started watching it, but neither of us likes slasher-movie gore, and while we enjoyed the back-references to the movie (particularly getting Ann Robinson to recreate her film role), we had real trouble swallowing the 'global amnesia' premise. So after about six episodes we tuned out, and forgot about it entirely.
Two years ago, when we were heavily involved in Highlander fandom (as we still are), we discovered that Adrian Paul had been a regular in second season. This wasn’t enough to convince Heather to give WOW another chance, but I hadn't disliked it as much as she did, so I thought, ’what the heck?'
One of the local stations happened to be rerunning the series, so I dump-taped it and got 'Time to Reap". I wasn’t blown away. It had a time-travel plot, which was a plus. Adrian Paul looked utterly gorgeous, which was a plus. Still, it wasn’t exactly sterling drama. The following week the station played 'Candle in the Night’, which is a fluff episode and wouldn't have hooked me either, were it not for one small scene. Near the end of the episode, Suzanne tries to take a 'family photo’ at Debi's birthday party, and while the others gather together to pose, Kincaid immediately withdraws to a corner. Harrison has to go and drag him into the picture. Okay, I have a chronic weakness for outsiders, so sue me. I wanted to know why he didn't consider himself to be part of their "family".
[...]
We still don’t consider the series to be sterling drama. Some of its plots would give fourth-season Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea competition and, not to make any bones about it, the inter-episode continuity stinks. (And don’t mail letter-bombs Voyage fans - I've been madly in love with that show since its initial broadcast.) So why are we hooked? Because when we watch TV, we’re more interested in characters than plots, and that is the area where second season shines. John Kincaid is complex, screwed-up, bitter, dangerous and sexy-as-hell. Harrison Blackwood is interestingly obsessive and unstable.
The show has four women in major or recurring roles, and none of them are generic. Suzanne avoids just about every stereotype of a single mom there is, Debi is the most interesting adolescent/early-teen we've ever seen on TV, and anyone who has only seen Catherine Disher as Forever Knight's Natalie Lambert really should check her out as Mana, the ruthless alien chief scientist. Scoggs, who only appears a few times, manages to be both unique and highly memorable. Even the aliens, from Malzor to Ardix, are interesting.
So we love the show enough to put together a fanzine, and we hope you’ll find it entertaining.
Contents
- Hi There, editorial (2)
- In Sheep's Clothing, short story by Debra Hicks ("When Kincaid is badly injured, Debi must make her way through dangerous territory alone to find help for him.") (3)
- Teach Your Children, novelette by Marg Baskin and Heather Bruton ("As the team's situation grows more desperate, Debi must begin to leave childhood behind, and adapt to life in a dangerous world. But can Suzanne deal with her choices?") (12)
- Sins of the Flesh, novella by Marg Baskin and Heather Bruton ("The Morthren's attempts to understand human psychology take on a bitterly personal note when Kincaid and Suzanne fall prey to their latest experiment.") (40)
- Fire Answers Fire, novel by Marg Baskin and Heather Bruton ("The Morthren search for a new source of energy, but their attempts to harness the power of a nuclear reactor could lead to disaster for the entire state. When Kincaid goes missing, Harrison and Suzanne must try to stop the aliens alone, even if it means abandoning him to his fate.") (76)
- The Last Goodbye, vignette by Marg Baskin and Heather Bruton ("After Max's funeral, Kincaid must come to terms with another loss when he visits Scoggs' grave.") (179)
- War of the Worlds, Second Season Overview by Marg Baskin (183)