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

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by CmdrShep2183, Dec 1, 2018.

  1. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2012
    Location:
    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.
     
  2. Jayson1

    Jayson1 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2017
    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
     
  3. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    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.
     
  4. Markonian

    Markonian Fleet Admiral Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    Location:
    Derbyshire, UK
    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.
     
  5. Marc

    Marc Fleet Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2003
    Location:
    Shinning Waters
    it has.

    just can't remember if it's going to Amazon or Netflix.
     
    Markonian likes this.
  6. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    The Wormhole
    Amazon
     
    Markonian likes this.
  7. mos6507

    mos6507 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2010
    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.
     
  8. Asbo Zaprudder

    Asbo Zaprudder Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2004
    Location:
    Rishi's Sad Madhouse
    Yeah. Apparently, Bezos is a big fan.
     
  9. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    Apparently not. I went looking for it and couldn't find any info newer than 2016.

    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.
     
  10. Asbo Zaprudder

    Asbo Zaprudder Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2004
    Location:
    Rishi's Sad Madhouse
    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.
     
  11. Marc

    Marc Fleet Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2003
    Location:
    Shinning Waters
    double plus yes please.
     
  12. Mysterion

    Mysterion Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2001
    Location:
    Suburban Mos Eisley
    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.
     
  13. Asbo Zaprudder

    Asbo Zaprudder Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2004
    Location:
    Rishi's Sad Madhouse
    Honor gets her tits out for the lads?
     
    Nerys Myk likes this.
  14. Mysterion

    Mysterion Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2001
    Location:
    Suburban Mos Eisley
    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.
     
  15. Lynx

    Lynx Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2001
    Location:
    Lynx Empire
    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.
     
  16. Asbo Zaprudder

    Asbo Zaprudder Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2004
    Location:
    Rishi's Sad Madhouse
    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.
     
  17. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2003
    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    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.
     
  18. captainkirk

    captainkirk Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    May 9, 2008
    Location:
    South Africa
    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?
     
  19. Lynx

    Lynx Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2001
    Location:
    Lynx Empire
    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.
     
  20. captainkirk

    captainkirk Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    May 9, 2008
    Location:
    South Africa
    You can safely put that mess out of your mind. The only similarity is the Jupiter design.
    There are elements of that but without getting spoilery it's not as grim as Interstellar, for example.