Is this one of the best groups of nominees ever or what?
http://www.trektoday.com/content/2010/04/trek-nominated-for-2010-hugo-award/
http://www.trektoday.com/content/2010/04/trek-nominated-for-2010-hugo-award/
Hugo Award nominees announced
- Thread starter RAMA
- Start date
Agreed. District 9 had the right balance of interesting themes (which Avatar and Abrams' Product lacked) and entertainment (which Moon lacked).
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Sigh. If not for Avatar, Trek would have owned this.
I'm not so sure. I think Avatar had a much better chance at an Oscar than a Hugo, since as science fiction goes it's a tired retread full of plot holes you could drive a truck through, such as the whole concept of winning the trust of an alien race by wearing their bodies like cheap suits.
Star Trek's reboot was at least interesting, but again, the plot was something we've essentially seen in countless episodes, minus the lens flare.
District 9 told an interesting, socially relevant story in an interesting way that allowed the audience to relate to it. It did have trouble deciding whether to be a comedy or a drama, and certainly wasn't the highest form of epic storytelling, but it was entertaining and thought provoking.
If you follow the OP's link, there's a link to the rest of the Hugo nominees (novels and such).
Star Trek's reboot was at least interesting, but again, the plot was something we've essentially seen in countless episodes, minus the lens flare.
District 9 told an interesting, socially relevant story in an interesting way that allowed the audience to relate to it. It did have trouble deciding whether to be a comedy or a drama, and certainly wasn't the highest form of epic storytelling, but it was entertaining and thought provoking.
If you follow the OP's link, there's a link to the rest of the Hugo nominees (novels and such).
nice to see Moon get a nod...
I think the problem is the Hugos don't seem to have a category for mini-series. They either nominate single episodes, or for some reason complete long-form series (i.e. Dollhouse and FastForward), but nothing in-between. I'd expected The Prisoner to also be nominated, but again it's a mini-series, not a single episode or a full season. I know Children of Earth was considered the third season, but in the US it was promoted and broadcast as a mini-series event, not part of the regular season.
Maybe they should come up with a "medium form" category?
Alex
Huh? They nominated the Dollhouse episode "Epitaph One" and the FlashForward episode "No More Good Days", not the entire shows/seasons.
There's the "Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form" for productions of less than 90 minutes running time (usually TV episodes) and then there's the "Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form" for productions longer than 90 minutes (usually movies).
I guess they could have nominated "Children of Earth" for the "Long Form" award, which means it would have competed against "Avatar", "Star Trek", and the others. There's even a precedence for this. In 2008, the entire first season of "Heroes" was nominated in the "Long Form" category.
In any case, it has nothing to do with a show being a mini-series or not.
The official definitions:
http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-categories/
Last edited:
I stand corrected. The report I saw only identified the series as having been nominated. Remember this is the category that has nominated acceptance speeches in the past, so I didn't question it.
I disagree. I think being a mini-series worked against Torchwood and Prisoner. For one thing as noted the Long-Form seems to be dedicated to either movies or full-length seasons. Short-form is for single episodes though the criteria suggests had Avatar been 85 minutes long it would have qualified.
Although I had incorrect information in my original post, my point is still sound and stands -- a medium-form category would have probably made COE and Prisoner a bit easier to nominate. Of course the question is whether sufficient SF/F-themed mini-series are being produced every year to justify the category.
Alex
So they still hasn't figured out that Lost is sci fi? 
Strictly speaking, the "Long Form" award is primarily dedicated to movies only. "Heroes" is the sole example of a TV series being nominated for it so far.
So, you could be right that there is a certain bias against nominating television productions for the Long Form award, be it a miniseries or something else.
This would require completely different methods of definition though. So far, the Hugo categories are based on running times (and in case of the various literature categories, the total number of words).
I guess it would be possible to divide the "Long Form" category into two separate ones, let's say productions between 90 and 180 minutes (usually movies), and productions longer than 180 minutes (usually TV series and miniseries).
Last edited:
So they still hasn't figured out that Lost is sci fi?
Lost was nominated twice so far, in 2005 (the show's pilot actually) and then in 2009 ("The Constant"). In general, it doesn't seem to be a very popular pick though.
Absolutely. Moon was not only the best science-fiction film of last year but in my opinion the best film of last year. A truly remarkable piece of independent filmmaking.
I remember District 9 on its release being criticized for its racial attitudes, supposedly from the left. Then Avatar came out and, while it was supposedly criticized from the left, people en masse discovered the esthetic glories of District 9. As a first time work of a new film maker, District 9 shows lots of promise. The same for Moon. But neither hold a candle to Avatar. As for Up, once the house floated away, so did my interest. I couldn't finish it.
Although it was inevitable, the Star Trek nomnation is a reminder not to get too excited over winning a Hugo, because the standards are kind of peculiar. The inexplicably overlooked Surrogates would have been a better nominee.
Although it was inevitable, the Star Trek nomnation is a reminder not to get too excited over winning a Hugo, because the standards are kind of peculiar. The inexplicably overlooked Surrogates would have been a better nominee.
Similar threads
