TV show producers should give us a new exciting space opera universe!

[JirinPanthosa]

A lot of the problems for how to build sci-fi scenes that look good have already been solved by gaming companies, so biggest challenge would be creating a user friendly interface for those engines. Biggest problem for Sci-fi Maker being made is more the number of people willing to do the work to use it is not big enough to turn a profit.

Given the cost of producing sci-fi and the greater difficult of getting a big audience for one show due to just having more options, studios can’t take the same risks anymore. I think the best way to make the industry more creative is find ways to lower the cost of production.

 

[Jayson1]

I think the bigger issue is the lack of real actors. Lots of fan films I see look good but the acting is a letdown. Good acting is even more important than special effects IMO.

Jason

 

[RJDiogenes]

That doesn't bother me a whole lot in most cases. But, anyway, there are plenty of good actors available to people locally. My local theater has always had great actors and it's not a small pool of talent, either.

 

[Markonian]

The Orville is proving ground for the niche of Sci-Fi opera. The Expanse hasn’t been uncancelled, has it? And how many people know Killjoys exists.

At least on cinema setting up new space opera has failed miserably - the French film, Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Rising all bombed. Properties that people are familiar with seems to make them likelier to dash our money. Plus, this is the era of comic superheroes.

Apart from Star Wars, which benefits from cool space and ground duels & mass battles, plain good/evil appeal; there isn’t much opportunity for classical Sci-Fi at the moment.

 

[Marc]

The Expanse hasn’t been uncancelled, has it?

it has.

just can't remember if it's going to Amazon or Netflix.

 

[The Wormhole]

Amazon

 

[mos6507]

I forgot about that. I can't believe they actually finished it.

Did they finish Polaris? Where's the finished product? Oh, and didn't Polaris started out as a Trek fan-film idea and then they filed the serial numbers off ala Renegades? How original is it...really?

If you want to talk grass-roots Marc Zicree's Space Command is still floating around.

If you're talking about new big budget franchises, the newest would be Avatar. You can call it derivative if you like but pretty much any space opera is going to be nothing but a mashup of various influences at this late stage in the game.

I would like to see more ideas originate directly in TV/film and not just be adaptations of classic books from the space-age, though. Ex Machina and Moon are good examples of decent one-offs.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Amazon

Yeah. Apparently, Bezos is a big fan.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Did they finish Polaris? Where's the finished product?

Apparently not. I went looking for it and couldn't find any info newer than 2016.

If you want to talk grass-roots Marc Zicree's Space Command is still floating around.

Yes, but his ambitions have grown and he's trying to sell it as a series to various venues. He's had additional Kickstarters and is selling shares for $10k apiece. I'm wondering if original backers (like myself) will ever actually see anything.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

SF space-opera universes for which I'd like to see adaptations:

The Culture - Banks
Xeelee Sequence - Baxter
Known Space - Niven
Revelation Space - Reynolds
Moties - Niven and Pournelle
Confederation series - Hamilton
Commonwealth series - Hamilton
The Way series - Bear
Forge of God series - Bear
Humanity's Fire - Cobley
Uplift universe - Brin
Heechee universe - Pohl
Galactic Centre saga - Benford
Foundation - Asimov

Only the last of these seems likely to happen in some form.

 

[Marc]

Foundation - Asimov

double plus yes please.

 

[Mysterion]

Would love to see David Weber's Honor Harrington books adapted to the screen. It'd probably have to be a series in the vein of Game of Thrones to do it right.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Would love to see David Weber's Honor Harrington books adapted to the screen. It'd probably have to be a series in the vein of Game of Thrones to do it right.

Honor gets her tits out for the lads?

 

[Mysterion]

Honor gets her tits out for the lads?

No.

It meant that more in the sense that it should be done long-form, and that on a premium channel it could be cone with little or no restriction for overall content like on broadcast TV.

 

[Lynx]

I think we are in a golden age of space TV! We have The Expanse, Orville, and Star Trek Discovery along with an upcoming Star Wars show!

I am tired of Klingons and Vulcans! While I enjoyed Star Trek Discovery I would like something less serious and more optimistic! I think the Expanse is good but can be dark and gritty and before you recommend the Orville I say I would prefer my space heroes to go into battle with badass power armor not brightly colored pajamas!. Netflix Lost in Space is of decent quality but I want something with space battles, cool looking aliens, and traveling to different planets as well as a lovable spaceship crew!

Does everything have to be dark and gritty?

Shouldn't the success of Guardians of the Galaxy have knocked sense into TV show producers?

Is it time we get an new exciting space opera universe?

Honestly, I haven't seen anything good or exciting in SF after they finished Stargate Atlantis so I have no hope or expectations at all when it comes to new series or movies. It looks like 90% of everything produced today is doom and gloom and the rest is only silly.

I think that the ability to write and produce good movies and series with good characters have been lost in the current trends of doom and gloom and exaggerated political correctness.

And that's not limited only to SF but all genres. When it comes to movies, series and this kind of entertainment, the 2010:s must be the most boring decade ever.

I really miss the time when we had TNG, DS9 and Voyager.

The only show i still can watch is NCIS. When that one is cancelled, I will smash the TV.

Fortunately I do have TOS, TNG, DS9 and the first three seasons of Voyager on DVD. I rather watch Voyager's "Threshold" for the umpteenth time than waste one single minute on Star Trek Discovery with those teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles who are supposed to be Klingons.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

No. It meant that more in the sense that it should be done long-form, and that on a premium channel it could be cone with little or no restriction for overall content like on broadcast TV.

Yeah, I was being facetious. However, I think it unlikely that a "plain" actress would be cast in the lead role of Honor if the producers wanted to spice up the stories' sexual content as happened with GoT.

 

[tomalak301]

This year I got into The Expanse. It's really feeding that urge I had to get another Space Opera type show on TV, mainly because they are doing a great job developing that universe. I will say though Season 3 was weird in the tonal shift they had. It felt like one show ended and another show just began.

I do agree though, the 90s to 2008 was an awesome time for the space genre. All of those shows (TNG, DS9, B5, Farscape) are in my top shows of all time list. I would love to have something like that again. The Expanse is a great start, but more shows would be welcome. It will be interesting to see if Discovery Season 2 is better then Season 1 and I might include that. It's not there yet though. As for the Orville, same thing applies, and that season starts tomorrow night.

 

[captainkirk]

Honestly, I haven't seen anything good or exciting in SF after they finished Stargate Atlantis so I have no hope or expectations at all when it comes to new series or movies. It looks like 90% of everything produced today is doom and gloom and the rest is only silly.

You should check out Lost in Space. It's a positive sci-fi show, and it feels far more cinematic than Discovery.

Now a thought just occurred to me, with Netflix trying out interactive storytelling in Black Mirror, could this be the perfect way to finally get a Mass Effect movie?

 

[Lynx]

You should check out Lost in Space. It's a positive sci-fi show, and it feels far more cinematic than Discovery.

Now a thought just occurred to me, with Netflix trying out interactive storytelling in Black Mirror, could this be the perfect way to finally get a Mass Effect movie?

I still get the creeps when I thinkof the "Lost In Space" movie from the 90's.

The new series hasn't reached our shores yet but I might give it a try.

Unless it's that usual "Earth is dying and humanity must find a new home" doom and gloom scenario.

 

[captainkirk]

I still get the creeps when I thinkof the "Lost In Space" movie from the 90's

You can safely put that mess out of your mind. The only similarity is the Jupiter design.

The new series hasn't reached our shores yet but I might give it a try.

Unless it's that usual "Earth is dying and humanity must find a new home" doom and gloom scenario.

There are elements of that but without getting spoilery it's not as grim as Interstellar, for example.