WRONG AGAIN, HAL

Once again HAL 9000 is blaming every mistake on human error, rather than his own (Calendar Letters, Dec. 23). He incorrectly states that the three pods from “2001,” Anna, Betty, and Clara, were lost and should not be in “2010.”

What HAL fails to understand is that Clara, the “C” pod, was retrieved by Dave Bowman after it blew him into the Discovery’s airlock.

As for the painstaking detail used in the re-creation of the Discovery sets, my friends and I were not impressed. Peter Hyams and “visual futurist” Syd Mead couldn’t resist updating some sets with idiotic giant numerals and already dated computer keyboards.

Part of the reason “2001” remains impressive to this day is because of its use of “impressionistic” design. We can’t see the technology clearly, so it is left to our imagination.

Imagine if Stanly Kubrick had used readouts such as the rotary, “digital” clock radio displays thought so futuristic in the mid ‘60s. “2001: A Space Odyssey” is, and probably will remain, timeless. “2010” has the technological life-span of a Nehru jacket. ANDREW IVERSON Thousand Oaks