N4H
06-20-2006, 01:01 PM
There's a term coined by Buffy/Angel/Miracles writer/producer David Greenwalt - Phlebotnum (http://www.restlessbtvs.com/trivia/phlebotnum/). It means any magical or mystical force or event that arises in the process of inventing the Buffy mythology/ or advancing the plot.
As I understand it it's kind of like Deux Ex Machina (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina), but isn't confined to a prop, or the ultimate solution of the main problem presented by the story. I'm thinking however that it can be either.
Hearing about it has got me to thinking. Is this a way of noticing where the line get's blurry between Science Fiction, and Fantasy.
Take Doctor Who for instance. Most of the early Whos you seem to have what you might call classic science fiction. You have a series of problems and solutions, all of which are based in the cause and effect of science. The early doctors thought their way out of problems with scientifically based explanations.
I remember reading something concerning the Tom Baker run where they decided to stop using the sonic screwdriver, because it made things too easy when the doctor could just wave the SS at something, and solve the problem.
Satan's Pit was pretty much science fiction until the very end. The Tardis appears and there you have it - Phlebotnum. The magical thing that morphs into a solution to push the story forward without any scientific explanation as to exactly how.
Personally I don't like too much phlebotnum in my science fiction. It's why I couldn't connect with Christmas Invasion. The doctor seems to simply solve problems by saying it's time to solve them, as I remember things. It's like, "Oh, here's this new magic thing I can do".
So I'm wondering is the current run of Doctor Who more science fiction, or more fantasy.
As I understand it it's kind of like Deux Ex Machina (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina), but isn't confined to a prop, or the ultimate solution of the main problem presented by the story. I'm thinking however that it can be either.
Hearing about it has got me to thinking. Is this a way of noticing where the line get's blurry between Science Fiction, and Fantasy.
Take Doctor Who for instance. Most of the early Whos you seem to have what you might call classic science fiction. You have a series of problems and solutions, all of which are based in the cause and effect of science. The early doctors thought their way out of problems with scientifically based explanations.
I remember reading something concerning the Tom Baker run where they decided to stop using the sonic screwdriver, because it made things too easy when the doctor could just wave the SS at something, and solve the problem.
Satan's Pit was pretty much science fiction until the very end. The Tardis appears and there you have it - Phlebotnum. The magical thing that morphs into a solution to push the story forward without any scientific explanation as to exactly how.
Personally I don't like too much phlebotnum in my science fiction. It's why I couldn't connect with Christmas Invasion. The doctor seems to simply solve problems by saying it's time to solve them, as I remember things. It's like, "Oh, here's this new magic thing I can do".
So I'm wondering is the current run of Doctor Who more science fiction, or more fantasy.