Writing good plots and characters leads to good scripts.
The curse(?) of small universe syndrome
- Thread starter Laura Cynthia Chambers
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If there were a simple, consistent formula for how to produce good TV, everyone would do it.
If anything, Galactica had fuller worldbuilding off the bat than Star Trek did. It was a worse show because its writers weren't as talented, although network meddling played a role too.
If anything, Galactica had fuller worldbuilding off the bat than Star Trek did. It was a worse show because its writers weren't as talented, although network meddling played a role too.
The ship, the Battlestar Galactica was great! Alright. In the last few days I realized why operationally the small center engine was red, a dull red at that, ad opposed to bright blue-white.
That is a measure of how much energy they were absorbing from the reaction energy...
The function was for the Galactica's FTL system.
In other words, there wasa reason.
That is a measure of how much energy they were absorbing from the reaction energy...
The function was for the Galactica's FTL system.
In other words, there wasa reason.
Perhaps the writer's motivation is a factor in whether the small universe situation works or doesn't? Is it just to be kewl? Is it a fanchild response? Is it all that compelling?
Sometimes it is compelling. Having McCoy's daughter appear would have been interesting if done right.
I don't want to derail this topic but I would enjoy discussing this further. I'm interested in your opinion or observations on the fuller worldbuilding aspect.
Sometimes it is compelling. Having McCoy's daughter appear would have been interesting if done right.
I don't want to derail this topic but I would enjoy discussing this further. I'm interested in your opinion or observations on the fuller worldbuilding aspect.
Well, sure -- no trope is intrinsically bad, and it's just a question of whether its used intelligently in a way that benefits the story, as opposed just being a gratuitous self-indulgence or a failure of imagination.
I didn't put much thought into it. I just meant that Galactica started out clearly defining its characters' world and backstory, the Twelve Colonies and their culture and beliefs, the war with the Cylons, etc., and it maintained that backstory fairly consistently throughout -- in contrast to Star Trek, which only gradually established things like the name of Spock's species, what organization the Enterprise answered to, and the existence of the Federation. Galactica started by establishing where the characters were coming from, while Star Trek: TOS consciously avoided revealing more about future Earth than it had to. But that's not a difference in quality, just a difference in focus, since Galactica was about refugees coping with the loss of their home (or at least started out that way) while ST was about explorers looking outward to the frontier. Also a difference in format, since BSG was conceived as an ongoing saga and started with an origin story, while TOS was conceived as an episodic series and began in medias res.
The SNW episode which has Trelane in it, and he was Q's son? That felt like something a fan film would do. It was too small for my tastes, but mileage varies a lot on these things.
I do love when modern Trek will mention a random place name on some planet from a novel or tie-in book. For me that's cool.
Modern Trek definitely plays everything smaller, but they've got significantly more canon to draw from than the older shows, TOS and TNG in particular, that were just making everything up as they went along.
I do love when modern Trek will mention a random place name on some planet from a novel or tie-in book. For me that's cool.
Modern Trek definitely plays everything smaller, but they've got significantly more canon to draw from than the older shows, TOS and TNG in particular, that were just making everything up as they went along.
Beat me to it. The "was Trelaine a Q?" question is the very definition of small-universe syndrome. Why not suck in the Doud as well? Everybody with magical powers MUST be related? Please, no.
Similarly, the "was V'ger and/or the Mudd Androids related to the Borg?" question makes me scream "Just stop it!"
It's much more interesting and expansive to the universe if these things are NOT related, and occurred on their own.
Ironically, that was the background of another series culled from ideas by Roddenberry--Andromeda. Earth joined the Systems Commonwealth, an interstellar government that had already been around for thousands of years. Earth was only noteworthy as the birthplace of the often bossy Human race, but it wasn't crucial otherwise to the Commonwealth government.
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