I was never interested in science fiction until I played Mass Effect under the recommendation of a friend. I thought the Battle for the Citadel scene was epic!
Back in the the late 90s and early 2000s we had awesome epic space operas like Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, DS9, and Babylon 5. I used to see a lot of commercials promoting the Battlestar Galactica TV series back in 2004-05.
Why don’t we see shows like Battlestar Galactica or Babylon 5 anymore? Did the network execs decide the genre was dead? Did we lose hope for humanity’s future? Does space travel and exploration not excite us anymore?
It was long thought that fantasy was a genre once thought reserved for geeks but Game of Thrones has garnered a huge audience. Perhaps a well written space opera with a huge budget could appeal to a diverse audience.
I adored the reboot of Battlestar Galactica. It was so much more than a show about space. What makes one human? What would you do to preserve humanity? What is humanity, anyway? Best. Show. Ever.
Anyway … they are reviving Star Trek now. They will show one episode on regular TV and then move the rest to some pay-CBS channel. Too bad, I would have watched it.
I’m not a fan of Seth McFarland, but The Orville is kind of fun. Very much an homage to the original series, but funnier and edgier. The most recent episode plot was the best of Star Trek. How much of what we value and think is right is cultural and how much is universal? They did not take the episode where I expected to it at all. If future episodes are anything like that one it will be a classic.
I refuse to pay to see Star Trek Discovery.
We recently rewatched Babylon 5, it stands up very well. Who knew Chekov would make such a wonderful bad guy?
I think all the annoying Marvel shows killed the space opera shows.
Should have mentioned Firefly among the great early-2000s space operas. Although the failure of that show probably contributed to the drought for the past x years.
Sci Fi is a difficult genre to do well. It’s more cerebral and producers can’t rely on sex and gore to bring in viewers as they can with some genres. I think that’s the only reason American Horror Story is still going. Dark Matter is a recent sci fi show (borrowed from Canada?) that I quickly lost interest in.
The Orville is surprisingly fresh. Reminds me of the movie, Galaxy Quest, which I loved, and since it’s a comedy, it doesn’t have to get all the science right.
In addition to being difficult, as @stardustmom says, it’s also very expensive. Audiences will no longer accept the cheesy special effects of the original Star Trek. It now has to be visually stunning as well as interesting, and that takes money and expertise. That’s why CBS is charging for ST:Discovery.
I am an avid science fiction and fantasy fan and love reading many excellent books in the field (even took a college lit class in it). However, most TV and movie sci fi is atrocious. Sci fi allows us to expand boundaries beyond our real world but too much is junk. I have noted changes in what is written over decades. It reflects society and makes good social commentary by tweeking accepted norms. Too much TV is superficial entertainment, sci fi often lacks depth and focuses on attention grabbing. Well done shows would poke fun at politics, religion and all sorts of things TV won’t touch.
Actually, it doesn’t have so many special effects. The various Star Trek series were always very much character and story-driven. They are all about the developing relationships among the characters, and the desire to fit in. The fun part about the sci fi part is often just the team work and problem solving. A lot happens in confined spaces – the ship’s bridge or engine rooms. All of the space travel is used as a way to set up new challenges and technical or moral challenges. Even the conflict with enemy aliens is often more about diplomacy than warring-- again and again, enemies become allies in some way or another.
So I’m a die-hard old-fashioned trekkie and I definitely watched and rewatched the various series for the talk rather than the action and special effects. I was turned off watching the intro episode to Star Trek Discovery - way too much focus on special effects, and I didn’t like the reinvention of the Klingons.
I tried watching The Orville and found the first episode somewhat amusing, but too silly for my tastes. Haven’t watched beyond that, but at least Fox online doesn’t expect me to pay money to watch.
I don’t think The Orville has figured out exactly what it wants to be. Most of the reviews complained it isn’t funny like Galaxy Quest. But it’s clear to me at least, it’s really trying to be more like the original series with jokes added. It is tackling very much the same kind of story lines, but this is less of a black and white universe - there’s some grey areas. I think it gets better, so you ( @calmom ) might want to watch a few more episodes.
I’m also a die-hard Trek fan (old enough to have watched TOS in first-run); I’m giving Discovery a chance. I admit, though, that I hated the Klingons, and the subtitles. Slowed everything down tremendously for no apparent reason. Someone give the camera person a Universal Translator.
Did Star Trek Discovery get any better after the first episode? I didn’t want to suppy a credit card to CBS All Access, but tought that maybe I could wait until the end of the season and then sign on for the free week and binge watch… assuming, of course, that older episodes will still be available.
@mathmom – at your suggestion I did watch more episodes of The Orville, and agree that it is indeed quirky and hard to categorize. Definitely episode 3 (the one about the baby girl) challenged my expectations in a lot of ways. Not sure I’m altogether comfortable with the approach-- it’s extremely difficult to know whether they are aiming for silly farce or serious drama.
