The Unfulfilled Promise of Gritty Space Opera

[Admiral Buzzkill]

io9's content seems to consist mostly of essays based on three-beer premises, relying upon vague and poorly-observed generalizations and the staff's presumed disinterest in doing any research at all. A more vapid collection of tripe is hard to find on any skiffy site.

Really, I'd rather have Firefly or Farscape back on the air than all the possible future iterations of Star Trek you could come up with...Firefly first, though.

 

[Caliburn24]

Cost is of course the driving factor behind why we don't have many true space opera shows at the moment, but that is only part of it.

Women are another crucial factor. Men, particularly the key demographic are leaving TV behind in droves. Video games and other media are just more interesting to many of us. For a costly sci-fi show to get the ratings to be considered a hit(and hence survive) it has to attract a large female audience. And female audiences are in general not attracted to space opera, particularly gritty military-ish space opera.

NuWho is only the monster hit it is because it attracts a huge female audience. The Stargate franchise hemorrhaged viewers as it went along, partly because it never appealed strongly to female audiences. Stuff like Warehouse 13 and Eureka pull stronger ratings than BSG and the various Stargates precisely because they have strong female viewership.

TV producers are getting wise to this idea, as evidenced by experiments like Defying Gravity which tried to combine soaps and space opera. And V, which had our main hero be a working mother. And I think we're going to see more of that trend as showrunners try to create space operas with strong hooks for a female audience.

Unfortunately such efforts so far have created weird hybrids that were poorly executed and appealed to no one in particular.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

For a costly sci-fi show to get the ratings to be considered a hit(and hence survive) it has to attract a large female audience. And female audiences are in general not attracted to space opera,

TV producers are getting wise to this idea, as evidenced by experiments like Defying Gravity which tried to combine soaps and space opera.

Yes I recently wrote:

Yes it was the most contemporary take on a scifi show set in space. The TrekBBS community did not like it as the show dumbed down the science and was trying to bring different audiences to that show.
The series was pitched to networks as "Grey's Anatomy in space".

While it was on a network it should be noted it was co-produced by the BBC, Fox Television Studios, and Omni Film Productions in association with Canadian broadcasters CTV Television Network, SPACE, and German broadcaster ProSieben
and aired internationally.

such efforts so far have created weird hybrids that were poorly executed and appealed to no one in particular.

agreed.
I wish the fantastic ship sets could have been reused and a different creative team brought it to change things majorly for the 2nd season. I'm also glad it was 12 episodes for the season and not 26. 12 episodes is where premium cable channels as well as AMC have for a complete season. At least the sets could have been reused for another set-in-space ship-bound show completely.

 

[Dream]

Women are another crucial factor. Men, particularly the key demographic are leaving TV behind in droves.

Not always true. The Walking Dead has a HUGE male audience. Even while the Grammys were airing one week and Oscars two weeks later, the Walking Dead was still doing record high ratings on AMC.

What does this mean? Award shows always get lots of women watching so that means The Walking Dead has many male fans. Men think zombies are awesome. Not surprising.

It doesn't have to be all women. Just give a big part of the audience what they want and the show will be huge.

 

[Holdfast]

Another commercial strand to why space opera isn't around much these days cropped up tangentially in the TNG forum where someone mentioned the cost of original costuming vs being able to shop for items.

It got me thinking more broadly about opportunities for Product Placement and other kinds of subsidising/sponsoring of the production costs. That kind of thing is really difficult to do in space opera, as it tends to be set in a relatively distant future. I suppose the way round this is to retain a few superbrands in the future or just set in the very near future. Funnily enough, that tactic would work better within a somewhat realistic setting rather than in a totally different kind of world.

For instance, imagine something like Peter F Hamilton's books being converted to a mini-series. You can definitely see how you could incorporate any number of real-life modern day brands into those future settings, in a way you just couldn't do with something like Star Trek or Star Wars. Similarly, the Pan-Am branding in the relatively realistic 2001 setting made sense within the context of when the film was made (I don't know whether Pan-Am paid for that; I'm just making the point about the branding working seamlessly in-story).

I would therefore suggest that whether one goes for a gritty or bubblegum style, either one would need a fairly familiar (if exaggerated) economic/corporate landscape to help lower the cost-threshold for production, at least at the outset.

 

[Caliburn24]

Not always true. The Walking Dead has a HUGE male audience.

Sure, there are a few shows that still aim for that shrinking male demographic. Spartacus for example.

But even the Walking Dead isn't aiming at a purely male audience.

On the demographic side, 53.5% of the social TV engagement was from men vs. 46.5% women. The near-even split between genders shows that AMC has done a good job with its branding and messaging. After all, a drama about zombies based on a series of graphic novels doesn’t immediately jump out as being female friendly.

http://mashable.com/2011/10/17/walking-dead-tv-ratings-social/

Any producer(are you listening unnamed Robert Hewitt Wolfe project?) building a space opera show has to carefully consider how to bring that female audience aboard. And doing that organically in the space opera genre still seems like something of a mystery.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The first thing you do "organically" to bring women aboard is to cast a woman in the lead. Duh!

(No, that's far from the only thing...)

There are a number of examples of space opera in novels where a woman is the main or at least a pivotal character. One Honor Harrington has quite the following, and I've yet to see a complaint from those who don't like the series that the problem is that she doesn't "organically" fit the space opera mold.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Some loose ideas of what constitutes "space opera", I guess it's become more generalized to any sci-fi in space now.

What other definition did you have in mind? Space-based shows are similar enough to each other to constitute a coherent, identifiable group. DS9 and B5 didn't always have spaceship-based stories, Farscape and Firefly weren't about militaries in space, nuBSG didn't have aliens, but it's easy to see the commonalities among them and with the rest of the group.

Lexx actually was on Showtime, as was Outer Limits, Odyssey 5, Stargate, Total Recall 2070, Jeremiah and the like.

Showtime's a different animal now - they've adopted a stronger philosophy of competing directly with HBO. Ironically, they'd have the rights to a Star Trek series via CBS, but they just don't seem interested.

Women are another crucial factor. Men, particularly the key demographic are leaving TV behind in droves.

You're right - it's economic + demographic, that's the whole problem. Nothing to do with grittiness at all.

To get women interested in a sci fi, cast the leads as two hot brothers who look like the guys on The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural, and make sure there's a lot of slashy subtext. I'm only half joking...

Or going back to Starz, they're obviously doing something "right" with Spartacus, which has an enthusiastic female following. (Going off the comments I've read - I can't find any actual demographic breakdown.) Gladiators in Space, hmm. Has potential.

Women also tend to prefer fantasy over sci fi, so the more fantasy/magical/vampire elements you can bring into the show, the better.

So we have a space opera about magic-wielding space gladiators who wear next to nothing and look like CW actors. Well, I never said this wouldn't require some attitude adjustments.

Honor Harrington wouldn't appeal to females - too military. That's the sort of thing to avoid. A female lead isn't particularly necessary to bringing in a female audience.

 

[Shawnster]

So we have a space opera about magic-wielding space gladiators who wear next to nothing and look like CW actors. Well, I never said this wouldn't require some attitude adjustments.

I've often thought if I had the power to create a Space Opera series, I would higher CJ Cherryh and Julie Czerneda to be on my writing staff. I love their work. They can create appealing, realistic "gritty" universes that appeal to both men and women. Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe has numerous books of a non-military theme yet still very space-opera.

For a story to appeal to a woman you need to have a woman author. Cherryh's written a strong series, the Foreigner series, with a strong male lead that women readers find attractive and desirable. He's a linguist working with the alien Atevi civilization that a group of humans lives with after their ship mis-jumped to their star system. Full of action, political intrigue and yet non militaristic.

Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman wrote a 4 book "Star of the Guardians" series which, while feeling like a Star Wars rip-off, was still a very good series. Space opera about nanite-infused "magic"-weilding space gladiators fully clothed (at least in the books) with sundered lovers as the male and female leads. Romance attracting female audiences (and without the pale, cliche pretty boy chic).

Ann McCaffrey's Brain and Brawn series would make an excellent series. I avoided this book series for decades because I thought the title "The Ship who Sang" was hokey. Once I started I couldn't put the book down and had to read the whole series. Handicapped children with absolutely no future are given a new life as the sentient "brain" of a small starship. Partnered with a healthy "brawn" pilot, the pair have adventure after adventure. Forbidden love, unrequited love, lovers that will never meet, overcoming handicaps and infirmities - these themes also play well to women not interested in militaristic themes.

So, getting over the expense of producing a space-opera is the biggest hurdle for any production that has a strong, universally-appealing theme and great writers.

Instead of avoiding the Star Trek or Star Wars stereotype, I say embrace it. I'm toying with an idea that sort of combines the two franchises. With many of Star Trek and Star Wars fans fractured and disappointed with the directions their beloved franchises are going, I think the field is ripe for a newcomer to step in and create a new franchise that touches upon the same themes - Exploring new worlds and civilizations, first contact with alien species, interacting and getting along with multiple species. Keep the number of aliens down to 3, 4 or 5 so that you don't tax the budget too much. Create vibrant new worlds with rich cultures. There are plenty of books out there that are like Star Trek or Star Wars while retaining a distinct feel of their own. Farscape could be considered an example of this.

 

[xortex]

The premise should definately be centralized to one problem or planet - and about a girl of couse as everything is. Maybe like Homers Odessy or Odyssius or Jason and the Archonauts, eh whatever. There was an episode of Voyager where the star system was a girl, etc..

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Some loose ideas of what constitutes "space opera", I guess it's become more generalized to any sci-fi in space now.

What other definition did you have in mind? Space-based shows are similar enough to each other to constitute a coherent, identifiable group. DS9 and B5 didn't always have spaceship-based stories, Farscape and Firefly weren't about militaries in space, nuBSG didn't have aliens, but it's easy to see the commonalities among them and with the rest of the group.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpaceOpera
This hits it pretty well, it's the approach and scale.

(BTW, not arguing the shows you've listed but some mentioned in a couple posts didn't really fit IMO.)

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Actually nuBSG did have aliens, starting with the miniseries, though they were more or less in stealth mode. These aliens were the "God" overseeing everything, and Head Baltar and Head Six, evidently something like angels of that higher power. Of course, humanity on Earth was technically an alien species too, to the Colonials, but one fully compatible.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Dude.

"God" was Zoey Graystone.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

"God" was Zoey Graystone.

Oh, yeah? Was that in Caprica? Well, if so, then scratch what I just said (I guess). I never made it past two episodes of Caprica.

I didn't and still don't really see that backed up at http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Messengers or http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/God_(RDM), though. Maybe I'm missing something.

---

ETA: Yeah, after some searching, all I can find is that Zoe-A declared herself God of the virtual Heaven. I can't come across anything that supports the idea that she is the actual one Cylon God.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoe_Graystone, Zoe becomes the basis for Number Sixes [http://www.capricatimes.com/the-caprica-times-exclusive-interview-kevin-murphy].

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Was Zoey Graystone really intended to become the Cylon God? Head Baltar and Head Six referred to God as "He," although I guess you can easily reassign your gender if you are God.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

However, for those of us who would like to experience space opera with at least some shreds of scientific decency intact, faster-than-light neutrinos opened up whole worlds of character possibilities hitherto made impossible by Einstein. You see, I think it can be very difficult to convince readers that just any old person is going to jump into a spaceship in order to take a journey which, when they return seven years later, will have caused them to jump 85 years in the future. It just doesn’t work for every character you create. Why is interplanetary hard science fiction populated with refugees, misanthropes and loners? Because you would have to be a misanthrope or a loner to leave everything behind and make a one way trip into the future. Anyone well-adjusted and happy isn’t going to face the inevitable time dilation of interstellar travel unless under the greatest need.

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/03/a-bad-week-for-space-opera/

Gritty locations or characters too?

 

[TerraNovan]

I think the biggest problem is the overlap with fantasy.
And just the low quality garbage many sci fi fans prefer.

I get annoyed when anything that has real character development and a lack of campyness is called gritty.

Scifi needed to mature, from the campy, poor acting, with plots that revolved around fantasy.


RDM idea of naturalistic science fiction is where sci fi should be headed.

Ironically people focus on his religious aspects of his shows and his grit, yet he never mentioned either when he coined the term.



I like the idea of applying the rational optimists mindset to this concept, Utopia based on changing ones outlooks and perspectives versus trying to force a image of something that could clearly not exist.

 

[intrinsical]

Guardians of the Galaxy is space opera, and the public ate it up.

 

[JoeZhang]

I'm trying to think - there was BSG but what other things were on which would suggest an approaching golden age of gritty Sci-Fi?

 

[Drekstar]

I think space opera is still around, but the cycle now has people wanting realism, e.g., Game of Thrones. After a while, people might go back to appreciating some space opera. Perhaps Guardians of the Galaxy fills the space for this time. Hopefully, we'll see a new series on TV that's a bit gritty. I was hoping for something along the lines of Earth: Final Conflict, which I like because of the complex storyline.