That's just then thing, "aliens" are just a stand in for "the other" or as a reflection of an aspect of humanity. BSG didn't have aliens, but it did have cylons.
That's just then thing, "aliens" are just a stand in for "the other" or as a reflection of an aspect of humanity. BSG didn't have aliens, but it did have cylons.
You don't need aliens for a space opera.
Hey! What about a Space, Opera! That could be cool. A opera in SPACE!
Hey! What about a Space, Opera! That could be cool. A opera in SPACE!
Christopher Guest did a rock opera parody - "Art Rock Suite" on a comedy album called "National Lampoon presents Good-Bye Pop" - and has the lead singer for the ur-Spinal Tap band describing it as being ideally staged "in outer space - me and the band, all singing and floating around in these big plastic bubbles, throwing flowers and great bloody Martian apes down on the Earth."
Sadly, the cut doesn't seem to be on-line. "Kung Fu Christmas" and a dead-on parody of Neil Young from the same album is, but not Guest's contribution.
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9P_3KrJeGw&feature=related[/yt]
Sadly, the cut doesn't seem to be on-line. "Kung Fu Christmas" and a dead-on parody of Neil Young from the same album is, but not Guest's contribution.
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9P_3KrJeGw&feature=related[/yt]
A good example of an epic space opera without aliens is Exo Squad. It takes place entirely within the Terran solar system with no FTL. The Neosapiens, like the Cylons are human creations that eventually rebel.
One caveat though...the series would have eventually included aliens had it continued.
One caveat though...the series would have eventually included aliens had it continued.
There's a short-story anthology that takes the term "Space Opera" a bit more literally than is usual. 
