Iconic space operas

[Mr. Adventure]

There's nothing wrong with being confined to this solar system. Most of Bova's novels are, and there's a British SF show that it seems nobody knows about but me (since I've never found any other people to discuss it with), called Space Island One. It's about an international group of research scientists who are based on a space station in Earth orbit.

I was thinking of what it means to be a "space opera", for some it seems to mean anything that takes place in space while for others it implies a certain scope of events and setting.

At the risk of being pretentious, I present the link to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera.

 

[Greg Cox]

There's nothing wrong with being confined to this solar system. Most of Bova's novels are, and there's a British SF show that it seems nobody knows about but me (since I've never found any other people to discuss it with), called Space Island One. It's about an international group of research scientists who are based on a space station in Earth orbit.

Indeed, and let it be noted that ERB's seminal space operas all took place in this solar system: Princess of Mars, Carson of Venus, The Skeleton Men of Jupiter, etc.

Of course, that was back before we knew conclusively that were no fabulous cities and monsters and princesses on Mars and Venus and such. You kinda have to move farther afield to tell an old-fashioned space opera these days.

 

[Timewalker]

As mentioned, most of Bova's Grand Tour series takes place in our solar system. They are excellent examples of some of the better quality space opera. How much more "space opera" can you get when there are rival asteroid miners shooting at each other, and physics/chemistry do matter to the plot?

 

[Kor]

Blake's Seven, and Red Dwarf are iconic space operas.

Kor

 

[eschaton]

I would never consider something like Borroughs to be Space Opera. His sci-fi work was planetary romance - basically a subgenre where the action-adventure takes place on (usually) only one planet, adding a sci-fi veneer to the classic late 19th/early 20th century adventure novel. This genre fell out of favor as time went on, but a lot of the work of Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover), Anne McCaffrey (Pern), and even Ursula K LeGuin (the early Hainish Cycle books) fall into this.

Space Opera, in contrast, tends to be done on a much vaster scale. I'd love to see some of David Brin's Uplift universe made into a series, but the CGI involved likely still makes it too expensive. Peter Hamilton's work is a bit too pulpy for me, but all of his major series are eminently transferable to the screen. I'd love to see the Hyperion Cantos adapted, but the lack of a strong central protagonist until the Endymion books probably precludes it.

 

[JD]

Wild cats urinate in my garden on my grass. I love animals, I have a aquarium, a dog that I adore.
But I don't like cats, and I even prefer mosquitos over cats
So I think I prefer that you commend me for my honesty and bravery.

You're not the only one. I use to be indifferent towards them, but one of our dogs goes ballistic when she see's cats, and they are everywhere in our neighborhood. We have to very carefully watch out for cats every time we go on a walk with her. She's actually almost dragged me and my mom in front of oncoming cars before, she's a Border Collie/American Staffordshire Terrier mix, so she's pretty strong.

As for space operas, I haven't read it yet, but last week I bought A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, the first book in Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series. I've heard a lot of good things about it, I keep seeing people compare it to Firefly and Farscape, which are two of my favorite TV shows.

 

[USS Firefly]

As for space operas, I haven't read it yet, but last week I bought A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, the first book in Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series. I've heard a lot of good things about it, I keep seeing people compare it to Firefly and Farscape, which are two of my favorite TV shows.

So far the reviews are good.
I am also thinking about buying that book

 

[Valenti]

I read a more detailed definition of space opera somewhere where they at least say they use some type of FTL drive, so I see Trek as being quintessential space opera even though more people see it as just being a sci fi show. I think it's a little of everything.

 

[eschaton]

I read a more detailed definition of space opera somewhere where they at least say they use some type of FTL drive, so I see Trek as being quintessential space opera even though more people see it as just being a sci fi show. I think it's a little of everything.

Trek as a whole doesn't count because the storylines are a little too small bore IMHO, but DS9 was certainly a space opera series.

 

[JD]

I'm surprised to hear you guys say that, Trek is probably the one franchise I have most consistently seen referred to as space opera.

So far the reviews are good.
I am also thinking about buying that book

I'm not sure about other sites, but the e-book is only $2.99 on Google Play and Amazon Kindle right now.

 

[USS Firefly]

I'm surprised to hear you guys say that, Trek is probably the one franchise I have most consistently seen referred to as space opera.

I'm not sure about other sites, but the e-book is only $2.99 on Google Play and Amazon Kindle right now.

Can I borrow your ereader?

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I read a more detailed definition of space opera somewhere where they at least say they use some type of FTL drive, so I see Trek as being quintessential space opera even though more people see it as just being a sci fi show. I think it's a little of everything.

Space opera doesn't require FTL. See, for example, the Revelation Space novels by Alastair Reynolds.

 

[JD]

Can I borrow your ereader?

I don't have an ereader, I read on my tablet. All you need for e-books is a smart phone, a tablet, or a computer.

 

[jaime]

Trek as a whole doesn't count because the storylines are a little too small bore IMHO, but DS9 was certainly a space opera series.

Voyager has its odyssey shtick, to DS9s Iliad in a way.