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'The Matrix' was on television last night, and never having seen it I sat down to watch. I don't know quite what I was expecting, but it was different from what I thought it would be. For one, although it had a nominally happy ending, it wasn't really. These people are still stuck in a horrible future ruled by machines, and all those in the Matrix are living lives that don't really exist. It got me thinking, which would I prefer - to fight or to live in blissful ignorance?

The film 'Dark City' has a similar theme - none of the humans know they're being experimented on, and if they're content with their lives, why bother to interfere? Of course, that film has an ending that may appear happy, but isn't really in my view. A truly happy ending would have Murdoch and his 'wife' escaping back to Earth. Instead, we have to settle for them still being stuck on the city floating in space. I found it quite depressing, but still, I like it that way. There's something attractive about a film that doesn't need to take things any further than necessary.

Take 'The Truman Show' - in the original draft Truman got into the studio backlots and held Christof over a ledge by his neck. Do we really need to see that? No, and the story wisely ended when Truman left. It gives the viewer a sense of completion, but also room to imagine what can happen afterwards.

Getting back to 'The Matrix,' I liked the way that all of humanity wasn't freed in a glorious revolution or anything like that. There was a happy ending for our heroes, but that's only for the moment. Now, that doesn't mean that movies shouldn't have definitive endings - but it's often nice to ponder what the future may hold for the characters.

Trek BBS Today

Below are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

- What are the motivations of the Andorians?

- How does the book numbering system work?

- What was going on with the uniforms in 'Star Trek: Generations'?

More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

Trek Two Years Ago

These were some of the major news items on February 11, 2000:

• Braga Says Season 7 Planned
  Voyager executive producer Brannon Braga said that he and the writing staff had planned out the general arc until the end of the seventh season. However, he was coy about the possibility of a homecoming. "It may never get home," he said. "It may get home in the sixth season. It may get home at the beginning of the seventh, it may not get home until the end. It may get home in the episode after the final episode." The crew eventually made it home in the series final, 'Endgame.'

• 'Fury' Plot Summary
  Details of the upcoming episode 'Fury' made their way onto the Internet. The Voyager sixth season outing featured the return of Kes, time-travel and another appearance by the Vidiians.

• Hello World!
  Christian announced the formation of a new German Star Trek BBS, which can still be found here. Although the official German title is 'Die Trek BBS,' the side menu has always listed it as the 'German BBS' just in case people get the wrong impression.

  More news can be found in the archives.

Today's Television Listings

• TNN will be showing the Next Generation episode 'The Loss' at 8:00 p.m, with 'Conundrum' at 11:00 p.m eastern time.

• The Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the Original Series episode 'That Which Survives' at 6:00 p.m eastern time.

• In Canada, Space! will be showing the Original Series episode 'Shore Leave' at 10:00 a.m and 2:00 p.m eastern time, with TNG's 'Night Terrors' at 3:00 p.m, DS9's 'Whispers' at 4:00 p.m and Voyager's 'Flashback' at 5:00 p.m.

• In the United Kingdom, E4 will show the Original Series episode 'The Enterprise Incident' at 14:00 GMT. Sky One will show Voyager's 'Unity' at 17:00 with Enterprise's 'The Andorian Incident' at 20:00. 'Star Trek III: The Search For Spock' will be on the SciFi Channel at 22:00. Thanks go out to the Great Link for this!

Tomorrow's Television Listings

• TNN will be showing TNG's 'Data's Day' at 8:00pm Eastern Time and 'Power Play' at 11:00pm.

• The Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the Original Series's 'The Lights of Zetar' at 6:00pm Eastern Time.

• In Canada, Space! will be showing the Original Series's 'The Galileo Seven' at 10:00am Eastern Time, repeated at 2:00pm, TNG's 'Identity Crisis' at 3:00pm, DS9's 'Paradise' at 4:00pm and Voyager's 'The Chute' at 5:00pm, repeated at 10:00pm.

• In the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing Voyager's 'Darkling' at 17:00 GMT, repeated at 23:55. Thanks go out to the Great Link for this!

• In Australia, TV1 will be showing the Original Series's 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' at 23:45. Thanks go out to Sci-Fi TV Schedules International!

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