Return of space adventure???
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
I was hoping the success of the recent Abrams Star Trek film would revive interest in the subgenre. I'm still waiting for it to happen...
Despite the fact that JJ's film is nowhere near the kind of film I'd like to see. Prometheus and ST09 are two distinctly different animals.
This weekend I started watching Game Of Thrones. I've watched the first six episodes of the Season 1 so far. I quite like it although I don't think I'd call it awesome.
But what it does show me that it certainly would be possible to do SF on a specialty channel. A lot would depend on the right materiel and its execution.
But what it does show me that it certainly would be possible to do SF on a specialty channel. A lot would depend on the right materiel and its execution.
RHW's Defender was mentioned a few times previously. Now that we know that Syfy is moving forward with the pilot, I figured it would be worth sharing some of RHW's thoughts on this topic, tweeted recently:
Looking forward to Defender more than just about anything out there now.
Let's see: Defender is moving forward and RHW is touting it as an antidote to D&G. Space Command has gotten a huge response and MSZ is saying the same stuff. In the other thread, Temis has posted that the networks, which generally don't tumble to trends until they're all done, are deciding to go all dark. Could the 80s finally be over? 
Today we get shows like Game of Thrones that are fantasy based stories told over several seasons. Babylon 5 gave us a taste of what a SF series could be like in the same vein. Imagine if instead of a 22 episode season we got maybe thirteen episode seasons telling the same story---B5 could have gone on for ten years. 
That would rock. Unfortunately, it would also increase the chances of the show being cancelled before the story is over-- B5 barely got its final season.
But today it could be different since you wouldn't be running on network station. Indeed I wonder if you could get away with a B5 reboot with today's format.
Today I could envision a 10-13 episode season with a run of 5-6 seasons telling essentially the same kind of story. Season 1 could be compressed a bit since you wouldn't be doing as many standalone episodes and Seasons 4 and 5 could be melded since much of Season 4 was originally supposed to run into Season 5.
If someone like HBO would take the chance on a SF series it could be good.
Today I could envision a 10-13 episode season with a run of 5-6 seasons telling essentially the same kind of story. Season 1 could be compressed a bit since you wouldn't be doing as many standalone episodes and Seasons 4 and 5 could be melded since much of Season 4 was originally supposed to run into Season 5.
If someone like HBO would take the chance on a SF series it could be good.
Considering what HBO has done with True Blood, I'd love to see them take a crack at Space Opera-- whether it was adult Space Opera like (real) Star Trek or some off-the-wall like an EC Comic or Pulp magazine.
HBO or Showtime or even Starz could do a great space opera. The problem is, would they think of the genre as being too associated with free TV, too low brow, too much for kids?
Starz would be the least snooty. HBO or Showtime might go for some well known literary name. Could you call Ringworld a space opera? Probably not, but I'd be happy for something set in space. It doesn't need to have the usual trappings - set in a spaceship, quasi-military premise, planets of the week.
Premium cable hasn't shown much interest in space based shows, but they have shown some interest in sci fi, like: a paranoid body-snatcher series; an FDA agent who gets visions after eating human flesh; an adaptation of a Stephen King novel about a town trapped under a dome; and some kind of dystopian future saga by Trent Reznor. No real common thread there, other than being creepy and dark.
There are space-based movies coming out - doesn't seem to be any less than I can ever recall, or more.
TV is an entirely different thing. What happens in movies doesn't necessarily impact TV and vice versa. Otherwise, the multiplexes would be full of police procedurals and "reality movies" (which I guess means, documentaries, though most reality TV is far too fake to be called documentaries.)
As for the issue of darkness, I'm sure it will continue to reign supreme on cable, and the "infection" of broadcast could turn out to be effective enough that it will take over there, too, to the extent the FCC permits.
But not all cable channels have the same philosophy. Syfy is doing well going lighter than, say, AMC or FX. They'll probably stick with that. My hunch is that there's an unserved appetite out there for space opera that isn't nuBSG-style dark, and that RHW is on the right path. I just hope we ever get to see the show.
Just read the article - they're really paving over some serious differences by casting both Falling Skies and The Walking Dead as "dark." Falling Skies is much lighter and more optimistic. The way it's handled sometimes makes it hard to take the show seriously. If they went any lighter, they'd destroy the show's credibility. And Terra Nova made me feel like I was watching a kid's show.
The Walking Dead is what I call dark - something thatI can't even watch in the 10pm timeslot because then I'm so wired, can't get to sleep!
(I save it and watch it the next day.)
Starz would be the least snooty. HBO or Showtime might go for some well known literary name. Could you call Ringworld a space opera? Probably not, but I'd be happy for something set in space. It doesn't need to have the usual trappings - set in a spaceship, quasi-military premise, planets of the week.
Premium cable hasn't shown much interest in space based shows, but they have shown some interest in sci fi, like: a paranoid body-snatcher series; an FDA agent who gets visions after eating human flesh; an adaptation of a Stephen King novel about a town trapped under a dome; and some kind of dystopian future saga by Trent Reznor. No real common thread there, other than being creepy and dark.
There are space-based movies coming out - doesn't seem to be any less than I can ever recall, or more.
TV is an entirely different thing. What happens in movies doesn't necessarily impact TV and vice versa. Otherwise, the multiplexes would be full of police procedurals and "reality movies" (which I guess means, documentaries, though most reality TV is far too fake to be called documentaries.)
As for the issue of darkness, I'm sure it will continue to reign supreme on cable, and the "infection" of broadcast could turn out to be effective enough that it will take over there, too, to the extent the FCC permits.
But not all cable channels have the same philosophy. Syfy is doing well going lighter than, say, AMC or FX. They'll probably stick with that. My hunch is that there's an unserved appetite out there for space opera that isn't nuBSG-style dark, and that RHW is on the right path. I just hope we ever get to see the show.
Just read the article - they're really paving over some serious differences by casting both Falling Skies and The Walking Dead as "dark." Falling Skies is much lighter and more optimistic. The way it's handled sometimes makes it hard to take the show seriously. If they went any lighter, they'd destroy the show's credibility. And Terra Nova made me feel like I was watching a kid's show.
The Walking Dead is what I call dark - something thatI can't even watch in the 10pm timeslot because then I'm so wired, can't get to sleep!
(I save it and watch it the next day.)
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I would definitely call Ringworld space adventure. It is set in space and the characters have to travel through space to get to the ringworld. There are also other stories set in Niven's Ringworld universe.
My view is if you can create exotic looking castles and structures for Game Of Thrones then you can do some sort of alien landscape. If you can do dragons then you can do aliens. If you can do elaborate medieval costumes then you can do future wear.
If I can envision something practically whole cloth as a concept then I'm sure someone else could. And, of course, there are any number of good space adventure novels old and recent that could be adapted into a series.
I was reflecting recently that while I don't watch much television anymore there is a lot of good TV being done, and a lot of it is on the specialty channels. The new formats are allowing for more dynamic storytelling as you're able to do things differently and perhaps even not possible on network television.
If one good series could be done and be well received then it would pave the way for others to follow.
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^^ It would be nice to see Stargate return to Showtime, but I don't think the Stargate guys would want to take advantage of the freedom. They've already excised their one and only nude scene.
The great thing about True Blood is that it is so lowbrow-- but it's lowbrow done well. It's like an EC Comic with a continuing cast. Same thing with their Tales From The Crypt show. I don't watch most of the other pay cable shows, but I think that's also true of some others, like Spartacus.
The Walking Dead is dark in the sense of being horror, but it's not Dark & Gritty in the sense of the pop culture trope. Dark & Gritty is all about making fanbois and fangrrls feel like tough guys with the faux cynicism, the wallowing in corruption and the Beavis & Butthead moments like the doctor blowing cigarette smoke up a pregnant woman's nose. The Walking Dead is too grown up to be Dark & Gritty.The Walking Dead is what I call dark - something thatI can't even watch in the 10pm timeslot because then I'm so wired, can't get to sleep!
HBO or Showtime or even Starz could do a great space opera. The problem is, would they think of the genre as being too associated with free TV, too low brow, too much for kids?
Starz would be the least snooty. HBO or Showtime might go for some well known literary name. Could you call Ringworld a space opera? Probably not, but I'd be happy for something set in space. It doesn't need to have the usual trappings - set in a spaceship, quasi-military premise, planets of the week.
Premium cable hasn't shown much interest in space based shows, but they have shown some interest in sci fi, like: a paranoid body-snatcher series; an FDA agent who gets visions after eating human flesh; an adaptation of a Stephen King novel about a town trapped under a dome; and some kind of dystopian future saga by Trent Reznor. No real common thread there, other than being creepy and dark.
There are space-based movies coming out - doesn't seem to be any less than I can ever recall, or more.
TV is an entirely different thing. What happens in movies doesn't necessarily impact TV and vice versa. Otherwise, the multiplexes would be full of police procedurals and "reality movies" (which I guess means, documentaries, though most reality TV is far too fake to be called documentaries.)
As for the issue of darkness, I'm sure it will continue to reign supreme on cable, and the "infection" of broadcast could turn out to be effective enough that it will take over there, too, to the extent the FCC permits.
But not all cable channels have the same philosophy. Syfy is doing well going lighter than, say, AMC or FX. They'll probably stick with that. My hunch is that there's an unserved appetite out there for space opera that isn't nuBSG-style dark, and that RHW is on the right path. I just hope we ever get to see the show.
Just read the article - they're really paving over some serious differences by casting both Falling Skies and The Walking Dead as "dark." Falling Skies is much lighter and more optimistic. The way it's handled sometimes makes it hard to take the show seriously. If they went any lighter, they'd destroy the show's credibility. And Terra Nova made me feel like I was watching a kid's show.
The Walking Dead is what I call dark - something thatI can't even watch in the 10pm timeslot because then I'm so wired, can't get to sleep!
Low brow? They do horror shows on cable and that's the most low brow you can get in my book. They prob do them cause they are cheaper to produce.
RAMA
Since when is horror "low brow" by definition? As compared to "space adventure"?
Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Richard Matheson, The X-Files, and Buffy beg to differ . . . .
Yeah, that looks awesome, I will definitely see that.
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