Space opera on TV :(

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

link???


(I accept PMs )

Sorry, Kelso. The script was given to me with confidence and I'm obligated to keep it to myself. I won't spoil anything, other than to say that the show has potential.

I hereby shun you.


You have been shunned.

Of all people, Kelso. Of all people. I'm going to cry in my bunk now.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I want to hate SG:U but sadly they've assembled an interesting cast and there's at least one new writer who's an actual sf novelist, so I guess I have to give it a fair shake.

Ron Livingston was born to play a space jock. Here's hoping Defying Gravity finds a home.

Virtuality and Revolution appear to be DOA.

AMC has got a miniseries in the works - Red Mars.

 

[Dream]

Stargate Universe ?

It's a new series spinoff from the Stargate franchise.

Also known as "Stargate 90210" these days.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I want to hate SG:U but sadly they've assembled an interesting cast and there's at least one new writer who's an actual sf novelist, so I guess I have to give it a fair shake.

John Scalzi won't be doing any writing, as of now; he's acting as a "creative consultant" similar to the role Harlan Ellison held on Babylon 5 and the 80s Twilight Zone.

But it's still a good sign and it's going to get me watching even though I don't follow Stargate much.

 

[TheMasterOfOrion]

Damn ... I just realized that after next week's BSG finale, there won't be another space opera show

I think you mean Soap-Opera not space opera

Ignore the 'Earthstorm' blip in the pic. The only thing worse than nuBSG was Larson's original, a complete shitfest. People thought Moore and Eick were some kinds of genius for improving the original but it didn't take Spielberg skill to do this. All it took was basic competence.
But the couldn't even do that right as the show de-railed and the writing went straight off a cliff

I'm sure there are tons of good old scifi shows out there you haven't seen
check out TwinPeaks for great drama without the soap opera
check out DrWho a scifi show still going strong
check out Odyssey5 for a nice little scifi series etc etc

and 2009 is going to be a big year for scifi films. We already got Watchmen soon to follow, MonstersVsAliens, Terminator, Wolverine, Transformers 2, Moon, 2012, Surrogates, Avatar
Might be a good idea to go get some fresh air even if the Moore bootlickers insist Caprica is going to be the best thing since sliced bread
Turn off the idiot box for a while, it might help you sober up from tv zombie land and realize Ron Moore always has been a bit of a hack

 

[clint g]

Well, if there's a lack of space-operas on American TV, one can always look to anime to fill the void lol

 

[firehawk12]

Macross Frontier baby!
It's BSG... but actually good.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Any good ones legally available?

 

[clint g]

You can always give Macross Frontier a shot. It hasn't been licensed in America (and probably never will be due to a bunch of stupid legal issues) so its essentially fair game

 

[Hermiod]

Stargate Universe ?

It's a new series spinoff from the Stargate franchise.

Also known as "Stargate 90210" these days.

To you, maybe.

 

[firehawk12]

You can always give Macross Frontier a shot. It hasn't been licensed in America (and probably never will be due to a bunch of stupid legal issues) so its essentially fair game

I'd actually like to own this one day... what are the issues anyway?

 

[clint g]

You can always give Macross Frontier a shot. It hasn't been licensed in America (and probably never will be due to a bunch of stupid legal issues) so its essentially fair game

I'd actually like to own this one day... what are the issues anyway?

From what I understand (and I will add, im not an expert on this issue) it goes back to the company Harmony Gold and the whole Robotech thing. Harmony Gold apparently has the global rights to all things Macross related outside of Japan, so in an attempt to prevent macross from interfering with Robotech all sales of anything macross related his struck down by Harmony Gold. As such, we will probably never see a release of Macross Fronteir. Here is an example of what theyve done

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2002-04-16/harmony-gold-bars-macross-imports

 

[firehawk12]

Oh god, Robotech's to blame.
Go figure.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

You can always give Macross Frontier a shot. It hasn't been licensed in America (and probably never will be due to a bunch of stupid legal issues) so its essentially fair game

Well, whatever helps us sleep at night.

Seriously though, I'm not above it personally but I think it's funny sometimes when people suggest that Americans should give anime more of a chance and they rattle off a hundred series that no one outside the circle has ever heard before and you can't get off the shelf and wonder why they don't watch them.

Oh god, Robotech's to blame.
Go figure.

Man, I'm a very casual anime watcher and I know that, I thought everyone did somehow.

 

[FordSVT]

Seriously though, I'm not above it personally but I think it's funny sometimes when people suggest that Americans should give anime more of a chance and they rattle off a hundred series that no one outside the circle has ever heard before and you can't get off the shelf and wonder why they don't watch them.

It doesn't help that 3/4 of the time when I watch an anime that was recommended to me as "great" it ends up being repetitive generic slop with the same old direction that rips off a thousand Hong Kong and Hollywood blockbusters, and the same themes and concepts over and over and over again.

Not to rub anyone the wrong way, but I think a lot of people give anime movies an extra 2 or 3 points out of ten just for being animated and from Japan. Lots of anime fans will admit 90% of it is shit, but others.... not so much. They're still stuck in the mindset where they think they are cool and unique because they can pronounce titles like "Kenko Zenrakei Ruronin Suieibu Umisho Romantan Level Nine".

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

^Why did you have a child with someone who doesn't respect your interests ?

Think it's just to piss me off

She did sit down and watch the second half of Predator with me recently. And our first two movies together were AvP and The Thing, so it's a shame it all ended between us.

 

[clint g]

You can always give Macross Frontier a shot. It hasn't been licensed in America (and probably never will be due to a bunch of stupid legal issues) so its essentially fair game

Well, whatever helps us sleep at night.

Seriously though, I'm not above it personally but I think it's funny sometimes when people suggest that Americans should give anime more of a chance and they rattle off a hundred series that no one outside the circle has ever heard before and you can't get off the shelf and wonder why they don't watch them.

On the contrary, I dont expect anyone to know about em, hence why I recommend them. Why recommend something that EVERYONE has heard about and has seen? And besides, these things are extremly easy to get, all you need is a broadband connection, a computer, and a computer monitor

Seriously though, I'm not above it personally but I think it's funny sometimes when people suggest that Americans should give anime more of a chance and they rattle off a hundred series that no one outside the circle has ever heard before and you can't get off the shelf and wonder why they don't watch them.

It doesn't help that 3/4 of the time when I watch an anime that was recommended to me as "great" it ends up being repetitive generic slop with the same old direction that rips off a thousand Hong Kong and Hollywood blockbusters, and the same themes and concepts over and over and over again.

Not to rub anyone the wrong way, but I think a lot of people give anime movies an extra 2 or 3 points out of ten just for being animated and from Japan. Lots of anime fans will admit 90% of it is shit, but others.... not so much. They're still stuck in the mindset where they think they are cool and unique because they can pronounce titles like "Kenko Zenrakei Ruronin Suieibu Umisho Romantan Level Nine".

I've never been much of a Japanophile (I'm more of a dyed in the wool God-Bless the USA type :P ) so I dont have much of an agenda when I recomend anime. That said, I do love sci-fi and in the United States, Sci-Fi on TV is going the way of the western, hence why I started watching anime in the first place. Its alive and kicking over there while its gasping for air over here.

 

[firehawk12]

Man, I'm a very casual anime watcher and I know that, I thought everyone did somehow.

The last series I watched was Sailor Moon, back in the early 90s.

 

[AviTrek]

I've read the pilot script for Defying Gravity and it's certainly not space opera. More like a conventional drama, ala Grey's Anatomy, with the backdrop of an intrasolar expedition.

That depends on your exact definition of Space Opera. At a basic level, any drama set mostly in space is a Space Opera. Everything else is a subgenre off of that.

True, the setting is mostly space but that alone doesn't qualify it as "Space Opera."

By definition, traditional Space Opera is an overly romanticized version of space travel with larger-than-life themes, melodrama, fantastic aliens and planets, vast empires, intergalactic war, and a grand scale.

Of course, we could say Defying Gravity is New Space Opera as defined by the works of Iain M. Banks, Alastair Reynolds, and Stephan Baxter since it is focused on character development and verisimilitude. However, the scale is not grand enough from the pilot script, which reads very much, as the producers themselves have labeled it, a contemporary drama set within the confines of our solar system. I suppose that's where the melodrama could come in.

You say that everything is a subgenre of Space Opera. Rather it is the opposite. Space Opera is considered a subgenre of speculative/science fiction.

Clearly Space Opera is a subgenre of Science Fiction. What I meant was Space Opera includes multiple subsubgenres under it. "New Space Opera", "Planetary Exploration", "Military SciFi", etc...

 

[blockaderunner]

I know the "Lucas Raped My Childhood" crowd is legion here, but what about Clone Wars? After the admittedly uneven theatrical release, it's found its legs and is kicking ass. This Friday, we are finaly seeing Mace Windu in action. I love the way they rendered him. He looks like he's having a perpetually bad day. Along with the currently in preproduction Star Wars live action series, space opera on TV will be just fine. Granted, it wil be populated by 'verses fanboys have been indoctrinated to hate(Stargate: U, Star Wars, etc), but it's better than yet another contemporary drama set on Earth with a sprinkle of sci-fi on the side. I doubt Caprica is going to be space opera. In fact, it looks even more like a soap than nuBSG. Brief flashes or CGI robots clanking around in the background doth not a space opera make, no matter who is helming it.