What happened to spaceship shows?

[Christopher]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Rogers

Note that there were efforts to save money in the early movie serial.

That's true of pretty much all those movie serials. They relied heavily on stock footage, stock music, and the like. The reason Batman didn't have a distinctive Batmobile in his '40s serials was so they could reuse car-chase scenes from earlier serials. In the first Green Hornet serial, IIRC, different groups of bad guys kept holing up at the same abandoned house so that they could reuse the set. As for music, I think the Flash Gordon serials relied mainly on Franz Waxman's score to The Bride of Frankenstein.

 

[Crow T. Robot]

And artificial gravity, which clearly existed but was never mentioned.

"Shitty ratings?" I don't even care for The Expanse that much (though I do like it better than Dark Matter and Killjoys) but the ratings certainly are not shitty. Shitty ratings would not have gotten the show renewed for a second season before the first was even done airing. IIRC, both Dark Matter and Killjoys had to wait until their seasons were done airing before they got renewed.

Yes, compared to Dark Matter and Killjoys (which I qualified the statement with), they were shitty. They were pretty much half of Dark Matters.

 

[Gaith]

Note that there were efforts to save money in the early movie serial.

And note that major network shows like The Flash and Arrow blatantly re-use effects, establishing shots, and even sets and shooting locations all the time. Hunter Zolomon's orphanage was obviously Lex's - I mean, Queen Manor.

I'm trying to imagine doing Guardians of the Galaxy or Star Wars on a television budget.

As I said earlier, but without citing this particular example, it might involve looking something like Danger 5, a show I can't get into on smarmy tonal grounds, but whose unapologetic use of plainly fake effects I can't help but admire.

Photorealism is awesome when done right, but overrated when it nips alternative styles in the bud.

 

[Christopher]

And note that major network shows like The Flash and Arrow blatantly re-use effects, establishing shots, and even sets and shooting locations all the time. Hunter Zolomon's orphanage was obviously Lex's - I mean, Queen Manor.

Well, reusing a real-world filming location is not a money-saving move, since you have to pay fees and other location expenses to shoot there, especially if it's a private residence. Reusing stock establishing shots would be, though.

The Luthor/Queen residence was also the Xavier School in at least the first couple of X-Men movies.

 

[Gaith]

^ Sure, they have to pay to use others' locations each time, but if the alternative is shooting somewhere farther away they also have to pay for, re-using a local location can definitely be cheaper.

 

[Greg Cox]

Studios have been recycling the same locations and sets and backlots for generations. Watch enough old Hammer Films and the various spooky manor houses and desolate woods start to look very familiar, not to mention certain drawing rooms, staircases, drawbridges, ominous black carriages, etc.

Heck, we were watching the original 1959 version of THE SHAGGY DOG the other day when we suddenly realized that it was filmed on the same "Wisteria Lane" backlot as DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES.

"Say, isn't that Susan's house? The one from Desperate Housewives?"

 

[cultcross]

That quarry near Vancouver that fills in for desert planets on the Stargate franchise, even the producers mention on one of the commentary tracks that they were sick of it, and also it was shrinking every year due to the overgrowth so the desert planets were looking more and more like gravel pits every season.

 

[Tim Walker]

I've noticed that there is considerable creativity among forum members. Occasionally one will propose a new "Star Trek" series which actually seems an original, stand alone universe. That is, inventing their own universe/franchise and slapping the Trek label on it.

 

[Christopher]

I've noticed that there is considerable creativity among forum members. Occasionally one will propose a new "Star Trek" series which actually seems an original, stand alone universe. That is, inventing their own universe/franchise and slapping the Trek label on it.

In which case they might be better off skipping that last step and just letting it be their own thing. Back in my youth, I spent a few months imagining a universe set a century in TOS's future (an idea ahead of its time), but I soon realized that tying it to Trek was too limiting and reworked it into an original universe. Then reworked it again and again and again until it eventually evolved into the universe that about 2/3 of my original published works of fiction have occupied.

 

[Tim Walker]

Indeed, Christopher. And one has to wonder if here are people in the television business who have had similar ideas, but we haven't heard about it.

 

[Greg Cox]

STAR TREK is to spaceship shows as DRACULA is to vampire stories or Tolkien is to epic fantasy quests. You're either copying it, inspired by it, or deliberately reacting against it. Anyone inventing a new spaceship series is going to have figure out how close and/or different from STAR TREK they want to be. You can't just ignore it.

 

[Tim Walker]

Inspired by Trek-people aboard a spaceship having adventures.

However.....

A number of the details will likely be different.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Anyone remember way back when CBS attempted a space ship show? I think Space Rangers lasted like six episodes.

OMG I not only remember that I bought the DVD

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

That quarry near Vancouver that fills in for desert planets on the Stargate franchise, even the producers mention on one of the commentary tracks that they were sick of it, and also it was shrinking every year due to the overgrowth so the desert planets were looking more and more like gravel pits every season.

That used to be one of the huge pains of Doctor Who...