Attn: JMS, Re: No Hugo for *SiL*

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: Roanna <roanna at mindspring.com>
Date: 17 Sep 1999 20:37:47 -0600
Lines: 55



Joe Othello wrote:

> On 12 Sep 1999 18:34:32 -0600, jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5) wrote:
>
> >In the P5 poll, in which 2,403 people voted on episodes over the 5 year history
> >of B5, the rankings are as follows, by season:
> >
> >PILOT: 6.32
> >S1: 7.52
> >S2: 8.11
> >S3: 8.38
> >S4: 8.58
> >S5: 8.35
> >
> >With a standard deviation of .61, which means that the S5 rating could be as
> >high as 9.  The .23 difference between S4 and S5 is statistically insignificant
> >on every conceivable level, and even without that, the pilot, S1 and S2 ALL
> >rated below S5 in the poll and it's essentially identical to S3.
>
> > jms
>
> There are three kind of lies. Lies, damn lies, and statistics.  Yes,
> but there is an error in the logic JMS. You have more viewers towards
> the end of the poll then you did at the begining. (Season 1 had fewer
> people then season two and so on and so forth). Not to mention that
> ease of internet access has also changed. In other words the poll
> isn't offical nor controled means for gathering data, a fan of the
> show put it together to rank the episodes. For a good look at episode
> performance, one has to look at nelson's which is also has it's flaws.
>
> Some of the long haulers found Season 5 bland and tasteless, much like
> voyager.
>
> Joe

And some of us thought, with a couple of missteps, it was a brilliant cap to the
series.  So often, the stories we are told crescendo at the end, and that's it.
What happens after you've slain the dragon, married the prince/princess, and made
your corner of the galaxy safe from shadows? And do you get fries with that?

Instead of a freezeframe, JMS took the risk of spinning the single, though complex,
story of the shadow war into the separate stories of the "fellowship" after their
quest is completed.

If I never hear the telepath's hymn again, or hear the Willow Tree speech, that will
be fine by me,  but by and large, I think the 5th season was successful from the
standpoint of a denoument for the series.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

Roanna



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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 18 Sep 1999 19:51:35 -0600
Lines: 50

>> There are three kind of lies. Lies, damn lies, and statistics.  Yes,
>> but there is an error in the logic JMS. You have more viewers towards
>> the end of the poll then you did at the begining. (Season 1 had fewer
>> people then season two and so on and so forth).

I'm sorry it's taken me this long to reply to this, but every time I see the
quote preceding, I fall down laughing and I get bumped offline.

Talking about errors in logic...once again, Von Bruno, you demonstrate your
own, in the most glaring way imaginable.  It's the ultimate topper to your
preceding inaccuracies.  This one is so massive and expansive that it's just
breathtaking.

Do you know *anything* about polling or public opinion measurement?  Before you
answer, let me save you the time: no.  I do.  I have a degree in clinical
psychology and a second degree in sociology, and as part of that had to take
any number of specialized courses in polling and public opinion measurement.

And here's where your logic falls down utterly.  Let me requote the above:

>> There are three kind of lies. Lies, damn lies, and statistics.  Yes,
>> but there is an error in the logic JMS. You have more viewers towards
>> the end of the poll then you did at the begining. (Season 1 had fewer
>> people then season two and so on and so forth).

The more people you have in a poll, THE MORE ACCURATE IT IS.  The fewer people,
the less accurate.  That utterly incontestable fact is at the core of every
poll ever taken.  That's why they usually show you the raw numbers ("In a poll
of two thousand people, ten percent thought Mars was not a planet but a candy
bar").

So the very element you claim made it LESS accurate in fact made it
statistically MORE accurate.

Just once, could you try to actually *know* something about what we're
discussing here?  Do just a *little* homework from time to time?  Because right
now, you're 0 for 5 on basic facts, just in the last round.

And by the way, this is probably the last time I'm going to respond to you.  I
can't lose that much work time laughing anymore.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com




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