Am I out of love with sci-fi?

[retroenzo]

I still love Star Trek with a passion, as well as Red Dwarf, Doctor Who, Farscape, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica and the Stargate series, however while I can go back and watch and rewatch all these shows, I struggle to get into anything new these days.

I can't get into the serialised nature of TV these days and my type of episodic TV seems to be dying out. Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead are the big things at the moment but they just leave me cold. I tried the first episode of Stranger Things and felt the same about that. I heard a podcast the other day that said Star Trek Discovery will be one long story designed to reflect the popularity of shows like GoT, Breaking Bad, etc and in all honesty, I hope that's wrong. I don't mind some sort of story arc, as long as the episodes are stand-alone.

What is there out there at the moment for someone like me that's more into episodic TV than serialised TV? One where an episode is a self-contained story (maybe with a bit of an arc) with no 'to be continued' at the end (except for the odd 2-part episode). Do they even do TV shows like that any more or should I just stick to my DVD collection?

 

[Solid Snack]

Some anime series sci-fi series are fairly episodic these days, but I'm not sure if you'd be into that (sometimes the animation is a required taste). Although there are many serialized ones too, as a lot of anime is adapted from long-running comic books digests (Manga)

Current Doctor Who is probably as episodic as can be these days, but still has season story arcs; but you already seem to be familiar with that.

 

[dahj]

Dark Matter and Killjoys come to mind.
They do have an overarching plot, but episodes are more standaloneish than serialized.

Same could be said for all the Arrowverse shows as well if you're into superheroes.

 

[Shawnster]

So, you're not so much out of love with science fiction as you are repulsed by the serialized storytelling format.

Unfortunately most show are going serialized and science fiction is a rare breed at best. So much a rare breed that it seems to include fantasy.

 

[retroenzo]

Some anime series sci-fi series are fairly episodic these days, but I'm not sure if you'd be into that (sometimes the animation is a required taste). Although there are many serialized ones too, as a lot of anime is adapted from long-running comic books digests (Manga)

Yeah I've tried anime/Manga. I've liked the odd bit but I can take it or leave it really.

Dark Matter and Killjoys come to mind.
They do have an overarching plot, but episodes are more standaloneish than serialized.

Same could be said for all the Arrowverse shows as well if you're into superheroes.

Strangely enough I really wanted to like Dark Matter and Killjoys and I stuck with them but didn't find myself warming to any of the characters and lost interest with them both.

The Arrowverse is an odd one for me. I love The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl. But I can't stand Arrow. The first couple of series were so depressing that I gave up on it.

So, you're not so much out of love with science fiction as you are repulsed by the serialized storytelling format.

Unfortunately most show are going serialized and science fiction is a rare breed at best. So much a rare breed that it seems to include fantasy.

Yeah you could say that. And that's what I feared. The thing with the series I listed above is that you can pick any random episode of any of those series and watch it in its own stand alone context. You can't really do that with The Walking Dead.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I think the future is going to be serialized stories but told in 6-10 episode chunks. Stranger Things was 8 episodes and the DC series, The Walking Dead and Agents of Shield have really delineated their mid-season breaks this year. I don't know if they'll ever go back to 24 episode seasons of standalone episodes, at least not soon (unless you like Law and Order type shows).

Even then, a lot of the shows with arcs are really a string of marginally connected standalone episodes. Doctor Who works this way for the most part and I'd argue its arcs have never been well thought out or executed. We'll see but I suspect Discovery will work in a mostly standalone manner as well.

It's nice you can sit down and watch any classic Star Trek episode but some of my most memorable and moving viewing experiences have come through serialized storylines. I do agree that it makes it more challenging to revisit a series though without going from the start. The challenging part of a new standalone series would be to keep the players engaged instead of treating it all like "filler".

There's always movies....

 

[Velocity]

I find it difficult to commit to series these days, myself. I don't know if it is the format but I suspect it is because I am pretty busy (surely not my age, hmmm). Most shows allow one to catch up online though, which helps. A show has to really capture my attention to make me want to invest my time anymore. I have dropped more shows than I have added in the last year.

 

[Degra1]

You're falling out of love with crappy sff. You still love good sff. Unfortunately while we have had a glut of sff over last fifteen years most of it is garbage

Helix surface invasion falling skies torch wood event flash forward under the dome extant threshold Alcatraz. The expanse ascension Flash Gordon reboot Dresden files heroes V reboot Caprica resurrection revolution identity star gate Atlantis star gate universe dark matters believe whispers daybreak breaking gravity etc etc. utter garbage

So that's why you feel this way. I'd also mention that I don't mind serialized storytelling but I don't care for the new appriach to it. Rather than traditional linear serialization like DS9 the final chapter LOST inspired a more convoluted serialization with non linear storytelling, lots of drawn out unanswered questions, complicated mythologies etc

 

[Kelthaz]

What is there out there at the moment for someone like me that's more into episodic TV than serialised TV? One where an episode is a self-contained story (maybe with a bit of an arc) with no 'to be continued' at the end (except for the odd 2-part episode). Do they even do TV shows like that any more or should I just stick to my DVD collection?

Why are you opposed to serialized storytelling?

 

[dahj]

Why are you opposed to serialized storytelling?

You'll get your answer, but only partially, 3 posts from now.
You'll have to wait until next season for the full answer.

 

[SPCTRE]

Am I out of love with sci-fi?

I still love Star Trek with a passion, as well as Red Dwarf, Doctor Who, Farscape, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica and the Stargate series

 

[Relayer1]

I still love Star Trek with a passion, as well as Red Dwarf, Doctor Who, Farscape, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica and the Stargate series, however while I can go back and watch and rewatch all these shows, I struggle to get into anything new these days.

I can't get into the serialised nature of TV these days and my type of episodic TV seems to be dying out. Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead are the big things at the moment but they just leave me cold.

I have a similar problem. I love serialised shows - DS9 was my favourite Trek for instance, and I like GOT. All the same, I must have started twenty or more genre shows since NuGalactica finished and I haven't stuck with any of them. I'll get half a season or more in before I come to the conclusion they're not worth the effort. Sometimes I get further (I was bored to tears but stuck with Walking Dead until the end of season five) but nothing 'sticks'.

You're falling out of love with crappy sff.......Helix surface invasion falling skies torch wood event flash forward under the dome extant threshold Alcatraz. The expanse ascension Flash Gordon reboot Dresden files heroes V reboot Caprica resurrection revolution identity star gate Atlantis star gate universe dark matters believe whispers daybreak breaking gravity etc etc. utter garbage

Hmm, I think you may have a point...

 

[cylkoth]

Helix surface invasion falling skies torch wood event flash forward under the dome extant threshold Alcatraz. The expanse ascension Flash Gordon reboot Dresden files heroes V reboot Caprica resurrection revolution identity star gate Atlantis star gate universe dark matters believe whispers daybreak breaking gravity etc etc. utter garbage

These made for 2 very interesting sentences.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I love the complicated mythologies but if they go that direction they need writers with the chops to actually bring them to a satisfying conclusion. Don't set up too many pins if you're not totally sure you can knock all of them down.

Lost actually did answer 95% of it's questions, but I think viewers got mad that there wasn't some guy who stepped out and said 'BWA HA HA! I'VE BEEN IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING THE WHOLE TIME AND HERE'S WHY'. Some of the answers required close attention to subtle clues.

Battlestar Galactica I think had one of the greatest 2.2 seasons in scifi history, but then when they got toward the end it was all "Yeah God was doing everything the whole time destiny and stuff."

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Lost actually did answer 95% of it's questions, but I think viewers got mad that there wasn't some guy who stepped out and said 'BWA HA HA! I'VE BEEN IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING THE WHOLE TIME AND HERE'S WHY'. Some of the answers required close attention to subtle clues.

Battlestar Galactica I think had one of the greatest 2.2 seasons in scifi history, but then when they got toward the end it was all "Yeah God was doing everything the whole time destiny and stuff."

BSG should've ended with God saying "BWA HA HA! I'VE BEEN IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING THE WHOLE TIME AND HERE'S WHY'".

I guess Lost was too subtle for me, the conclusion didn't feel very satisfying.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Both Battlestar Galactica and Lost painted themselves into a corner, probably because the show runners had no plan from the beginning about how the series was supposed to end -- they seemingly wanted to make a show that people would think was "cool". Neither show's resolution of how the characters got out of the corner was very satisfying, although I found BSG's much less annoying than Lost's.

 

[retroenzo]

Why are you opposed to serialized storytelling?

I wouldn't say I'm opposed to it. They're clearly very popular, and I do watch some of them. However, I do feel these days that you can't just enjoy a TV series for what it is, you have to make a commitment to it. Most of these series don't get past the first year, and some of them don't even get that far.

The ones that do give us complicated ongoing mythologies that have no hope whatsoever of being resolved in the finale. I watched Lost and Battlestar Galactica and enjoyed them both (BSG more than Lost) but the finales had no hope whatsoever of wrapping up everything that happened on the two shows. I compare the ending of Lost to the much more satisfactory ending of Life on Mars (UK) / Ashes to Ashes. Completely different shows of course, but remarkably similar finales but while it worked with the episodic nature of Ashes to Ashes, it didn't work as well with the complex mythology created on Lost.

It's also been a long time since I've felt a TV show was must see. I can't remember when the last time I rushed home to watch a TV show was. Nothing on TV at the moment makes me say, "I can't wait until the next episode". Trek used to do that in spades for me. I'd even watch that week's episode of Trek again over the weekend. The closest anything comes to that now is Doctor Who where I will do my best to watch that week's episode that night. Whereas everything else I watch gets recorded or downloaded to watch when I can fit it in. Watching something live? Forget it - it never happens any more. (On a separate subject, I do miss that 'shared experience' of watching something at the same time as everyone else does).

And now with Netflix and Amazon, etc, there's a constant stream of people recommending new TV shows to me. Oh you've got to watch this programme. I will when I get a chance to watch the million other TV programmes you've recommended.

Also, not everything has to serious and foreboding. Not everything has to be as grim as Game of Thrones. Can't we have fun TV shows any more? Give me more shows like Warehouse 13, or Eureka. The closest I come to that right now is The Librarians and Scorpion.

However, I think I may have found something new that I like. I caught the first episode of Timeless on UK TV the other night. It has a good chance to become a good show. Of course, now I've said that will be when the show gets cancelled.

(EDIT to add this.) Apologies - after reading this post back, it does come across as a bit of a rant. I'm just trying to recapture my lost love for sci-fi TV.

 

[MacLeod]

I wouldn't say I'm opposed to it. They're clearly very popular, and I do watch some of them. However, I do feel these days that you can't just enjoy a TV series for what it is, you have to make a commitment to it. Most of these series don't get past the first year, and some of them don't even get that far.

But isn't that part of the down to for lack of a better term instand the "gratification audiance" who can't wait to see how things unfold over a season/series. So are we reaching the point now that people won't even bother to tune in for a more serialised show because they'll think it'll be cancelled so why invest the time?

I can happily enjoy episodic shows and more serialised shows.

 

[DBR]

I think interests can run in cycles or phases. When DS9 and Voyager ended, that began a sci-fi funk for me, and then when the LOTR trilogy came out in 2001, I was launched into a bit of a fantasy kick. Then a whole host of fantasy junk began to hit us--especially on the big screen--but at the time I began to wade back into sci-fi, notably with BSG and Stargate Atlantis.

It's been pretty back and forth between the two genres with quite a bit of overlap, mixed-in with comic book movies after the strong mainstream emergence of that genre beginning, I'd say, with Iron Man.

But I have noticed my love for certain genres does wane from time to time. And binge-watching in an effort to catch up after being lost in space for a few weeks/months/years has become something of an unforseen bonus.

 

[fireproof78]

I wouldn't say I'm opposed to it. They're clearly very popular, and I do watch some of them. However, I do feel these days that you can't just enjoy a TV series for what it is, you have to make a commitment to it. Most of these series don't get past the first year, and some of them don't even get that far.

The ones that do give us complicated ongoing mythologies that have no hope whatsoever of being resolved in the finale. I watched Lost and Battlestar Galactica and enjoyed them both (BSG more than Lost) but the finales had no hope whatsoever of wrapping up everything that happened on the two shows. I compare the ending of Lost to the much more satisfactory ending of Life on Mars (UK) / Ashes to Ashes. Completely different shows of course, but remarkably similar finales but while it worked with the episodic nature of Ashes to Ashes, it didn't work as well with the complex mythology created on Lost.

It's also been a long time since I've felt a TV show was must see. I can't remember when the last time I rushed home to watch a TV show was. Nothing on TV at the moment makes me say, "I can't wait until the next episode". Trek used to do that in spades for me. I'd even watch that week's episode of Trek again over the weekend. The closest anything comes to that now is Doctor Who where I will do my best to watch that week's episode that night. Whereas everything else I watch gets recorded or downloaded to watch when I can fit it in. Watching something live? Forget it - it never happens any more. (On a separate subject, I do miss that 'shared experience' of watching something at the same time as everyone else does).

And now with Netflix and Amazon, etc, there's a constant stream of people recommending new TV shows to me. Oh you've got to watch this programme. I will when I get a chance to watch the million other TV programmes you've recommended.

Also, not everything has to serious and foreboding. Not everything has to be as grim as Game of Thrones. Can't we have fun TV shows any more? Give me more shows like Warehouse 13, or Eureka. The closest I come to that right now is The Librarians and Scorpion.

However, I think I may have found something new that I like. I caught the first episode of Timeless on UK TV the other night. It has a good chance to become a good show. Of course, now I've said that will be when the show gets cancelled.

(EDIT to add this.) Apologies - after reading this post back, it does come across as a bit of a rant. I'm just trying to recapture my lost love for sci-fi TV.

Unfortunately, "grim-dark" is far more the norm in science fiction, with apocalyptic tales starting the become the norm. And not just in TV, but video games and such, like Fallout. And don't get me started on the Prometheus series.

I haven't watched it yet, but I wonder if "The Expanse" might help? I think it is still serialized but it at least as an interesting science fiction setting.