Thoughts on SciFi

[rurounihime]

It's kind of funny to watch the progression of a genre. I recently purchased the entire run of Space: Above and Beyond, a series I loved up until it was cancelled - rather unexpectedly in my opinion - and of course, afterwards as well. Looking back on it now, I can see so many inspirations in it for space-based shows that came after, and it's just neat to track the genre as it develops on television.

The most ground-breaking series in the genre, in my opinion, are:

~Star Trek, of course. No way that can be denied.
~Space: Above and Beyond. Definitely a new take, not on the distant future, but on the more immediate future, which is not often attempted in the genre.
~Firefly. I mean, who else could ever come up with a space-western? It's wonderful. (And the interesting thing is, watching S:A&B, I would be willing to bet money that Whedon watched it too.)

I don't watch Battlestar Galactica, but I have a feeling that it's also making a lot of headway, from what I've heard.

Some honourable mentions:
~Stargate SG-1: by virtue of its fascinating blend of faith and science;
~Farscape: took the idea of Star Trek and just flipped it on its head, beat the crud out of it, and popped off scintillating jokes all the while... with puppets;
~LEXX: talk about your weird. Definitely worth a watch just for the utter kink.

And then of course, there's Futurama. *grins*

So I am wondering, what is your take on this genre, f-list?

Comments

[ravenna-c-tan.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree!

Another one: I think Babylon 5 helped prove to the powers that be that a sci fi show didnt' have to follwo the Star Trek formula of always returning everything ot the status quo every episode. By building on a long arc of story, such that every episode didn't stand alone, they broke a lot of the "rules" of genre television. Nowadays, of course, plenty of shows do that, but at the time it was revolutionary.

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

yay for battlestar galactica!!!

[hoshiforever.livejournal.com]

...I call myself a cautious sci-fi fan....b/c I only like the really quality stuff. Star Trek...I like TNG and Enterprise and only the good ones from the Original (just...too 60s for me). Firefly is amazing (though the movies sucked).

And then there's stargate....I'm a stargate JUNKIE. It's my favorite TV show...ever (Both SG-1 and SGA). I love how it's Sci-fi-y but you don't have to know/like sci-fi to like it and how "the best kept secret of stargate is that it's really a comedy" (as said by one of the producers) and...yesh.....I love it...

::points to Icon::

</ ramble>

[rubymiene.livejournal.com]

Absolutely love BSG, and I think it's very different than any other scifi series in how gritty it is, the way the scenes are edited, and it's hard-hitting commentary on current events. I think it's a breakthrough not just for scifi, but for television in general.

[aluinnsearlait.livejournal.com]

Maybe we are only talking about Television series, in which case, this is completely invalid, but one thing that hasnt been mentioned is Star Wars -- which, i think we can all agree was a pioneering set of films (the original versions, of course)

And really, in alot of ways, it was the original space western. Firefly is wonderful and totally unique, but at the same time, everytime I watch Serenity land on some dusty planet, I cant help but think of Tatooine; Mos Eisly reminds me so much of the docks on Persephone.

I think one of the most interesting things about the Firefly/Serenity verse is that, even though its Sci/fi, there seem to be no aliens or alien forms of life -- everything is completely, utterly human and mundane; and there is no reason that it could never actually happen.

The dichotomies inherent in the Firefly verse also make it something special. The stylised old west/space frontier is not as jarring as one might think, and really almost makes logical sense, if you believe the addage that the frontier molds man before man can mold the frontier. Add to that the ineresting exchange between old east and west cultures, and you got yourself something truly interesting.

All in all, I see star wars as a huge inspiration for firefly -- down to Han Solo's pants -- but I think Joss Whedon took those elements of Star Wars and made something great from them; I just wish there was more. :(

so. there my strangely long discussion. it probably makes very little sense.

[primeling.livejournal.com]

I think SG1 goes under ground-breaking because it combines the space & other exploration w/o being set in the future, which made it easier for a wider audience to relate to it. It is also the longest running SCI-FI besides Doctor Who, and without account all five separate Star Trek series --- which is six if you count the animated series.

Stargate also sports the largest fantastic of intense fans second only to the old fans of Star Trek, who flooded NASA with mail and phone calls in order to get the first atmosphere-flight capable reusable space shuttle named Enterprise.

In addition.. Babylon 5 should really be at the top of that list. Because it is B5. It broke the mold against the Star-Trek ish, and started the revolution of on-going episode -- even SEASON spanning plot-lines that were beyond "Oh look, this space alien again!"

And I hate to shoot down Firefly, but it is basically what Star Trek did when ST first came out. Star Trek was started off as Space-western. I enjoy Firefly as much as the next Sci-Fi fan, but really it wasn't that original of a concept. It was a combination of what the modern-day cult groupies demand: more sex, more action, and more conspiracies. It's an original Star Trek thrown into the modern standards. Gene Rodenberry sold the series to the producers as a Space-western, Sci-Fi intellects still credit as the original, and even Joss Whedon(sp) credit Star Trek as being a space-western.. at least in concerns to the Original series. Maybe the show later could have been ground breaking if it was allowed to flower, but the number of episodes hardly prove, in my opinion, that it is ground breaking. It is just... different. I hardly think it warrants being put in the same cagetory as the giants like Star Trek, Stargate, Space: Above & Beyond, Farscape (which was ground-breaking because if it's crackness).

I still give Firefly kudos for being fun.

PS. Star Wars is not a science-fiction. It is a fantasy with technology. I and most many examiners of the Sci-Fi genre as an intellectual point refuse to acknowledge it as a Sci-Fi. I like Star Wars, but I find it insulting to Sci-Fi to call Star Wars a science fiction.

I just realised I am a Sci-Fi snob. *hangs head and crawls back to her hole*

[dacro.livejournal.com]

For me it was Red Dwarf. So simple, so out there, and so damn funny.

(seconds on the Firefly!)

I also remeber Babylon 5 quite a bit, but it wasn't as groud-breaking as some of the others you mentioned.