Sci-fi vs Sci-Fantasy

[Cyke101]

This is probably a good reason why Star Trek exists better as a TV show than a film series. The episodic format allows for moree variety to straddle genres more intently and more fleshed out, rather than just putting in a genre and just adding "...in SPACE!" at the end.

The Cage was turned into a two parter. I think you could have a very short arc, in effect.

I don't mean episodic to mean strictly 1-off self-contained episodes. Even when DS9 had the larger multi-year Dominion War arc, it still found time to play with other genres, like espionage, mind thriller, comedy, heist, etc. within that arc. Plus the smaller sub-arcs, in a way, could be divided up by genre if need be. But the point is that there's more freedom to cross/blend/toy with genres in weekly television than movies. That television is divided up into episodes is a great help.

 

[Tim Walker]

A question comes to mind-which genres would you guys like to cross/blend with Trek?

 

[Greg Cox]

It's unfortunate that in recent times the two have blended together so much.

I disagree completely with this.

It's just personal preference.

I'll take H.G. Wells over Lord of the Rings any day all day, to reference the extremes.

I was never interested in fantasy and only ever had a very passing interest in Star Wars. However, I have always enjoyed Star Trek, Alien, 2001: ASO.

Whereas I'm more of an omnivore. I like sf, fantasy, and horror, and don't really care if one runs into another. In fact, I have a definite weakness for stories that gleefully mix genres and run roughshod over the borders between them.

Bring on the outer-space samurai vampire cowboys!

And I tend to resist any attempt to rank one genre above the other. No one genre is superior to any other. The execution is what matters in the end . . .

 

[Tim Walker]

"Bring on the outer-space samurai vampire cowboys!" Is that a television series?

I must agree, execution is vitally important to the craft of fiction. For any genre. Actually, I think execution is particularly important when you mix/blend genres, because of the need for The-Willing-Suspension-of-Disbelief. The fan of a particular genre may accept the conventions/tropes of that genre even if such are fantastic (sci fi, fantasy, horror, etc.) But what if the writer creates an unusual blend? It would be easy to lose the readers.

The first season of Lost is a good example; the surreal was mixed into a gritty story of survival, giving the island an ominous atmosphere. The blending produced an even stronger story, stronger than a straight forward survival story. I believe that with good writing, this could strengthen future Trek stories.

Heck, Lost blended in a bit of soap opera, without it coming across as soap opera.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Most TV shows today are part soap opera. Mad Men...Soap opera set in the Sixties. Walking Dead...Soap opera with zombies. Breaking Bad...Soap opera with meth.