Science Fiction: An Untapped Vein

I have been gone for a little while, focusing my energies on writing. When it comes to writing, I need to focus and this blog has become an orphan because of that. Yet, as always, I come back.

One of my new short stories, I Thought, has been a foray back into science fiction. This is the main genre I started with many years ago and left for a long time working on my two fantasy series, Tangled Threads and The Elegy Series. It felt good to be back in the saddle. And it got good reviews on urbis.

But coming back into SF had my mind meander into the state of SF on film. This summer we are getting blockbusters like X3 and Superman, comic book films yet no real SF.

And this post has been bouncing around since watching the season finale of Battlestar Galactica and checking out the second season of Dr. Who. So today, I want to look at the lack of good SF, on the big and small screen.

From the onset, I was a vocarious reader. Both my parents were readers so I had access to tons of books. And because of an interest in science, I preferred science fiction. I was not a nine year old kid reading the kiddie stuff. I was reading Heinlein, Clarke, and Herbert.

Yet there wasn’t much on TV. To give you an idea, here is a smattering what was available, when I was a kid:

• Doctor Who (1963 - 1989)
• Lost in Space (1965 - 1968)
• Thunderbirds (1965 - 1966)
• Star Trek (1966 - 1969)
• Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967)
• The Invaders (1967 - 1968)

Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet were puppet shows which people consider for kids yet had a dark edge to them. I did not get into Doctor Who until much later. Lost in Space had camp but how many times does a kid need to be disappointed because once again they can’t get home? And a giant chicken does not look like an evil bad guy.

Star Trek was a breath of fresh air. Yes some of the effects and sets looked cheesy but when the stories were good, they were good. And they ran the gamut. A monster kills humans but with a twist (Devil in the Dark), a taut cat & mouse game between enemies (Balance of Terror), comedy (The Trouble with Tribbles, I Mudd) and a time travel story done properly (The City on the Edge of Forever).

Of course there were episodes which were utter shite (The Omega Glory, Spock’s Brain to name two). But for a kid who was craving decent SF, I finally got it. And it showed that good SF could be done for the TV.

A quick note on The Invaders. This was a series where aliens were invading Earth and only one person knew of it. As he is on the run, he is trying to tell the world and stop their plots. For me, it was a good show.

The sad thing was that Star Trek did not spawn other SF shows. Yet on the big screen, there were attempts like:

• Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
• Planet of the Apes (1968)
• Charly (1968)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• The Andromeda Strain (1970)
• Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
• A Clockwork Orange (1971)
• Silent Running (1972)
• Dark Star (1974)

But they did not bring in the big box office bucks. Then came Star Wars (1977).

George Lucas’ simple story wrapped up as a space opera was refreshing. I was not expecting hard SF like 2001 or Silent Running but it was a romp and visually eye-popping. And it made money.

At the same time, Star Trek was gaining cult status. It got resurrected in 1973 as an animated series and lasted for 3 seasons. For me, the two ushered in a belief that SF might be a viable genre. Which gave us Space 1999 (1975 - 1977) which was a complete travesty of acting and story-telling.

But, for me, Star Trek and Star Wars also was bad for SF. People started to use them as templates for shows and films. In many ways, they focused on space opera not SF.

A good example is Battlestar Galactica (1978 - 1979). At first, I was excited. Visually, nothing like this had been done on TV. But the show was hobbled by inconsistent story telling, camp and some very wooden acting. Here was an interesting space opera that could have been good. Even though it was getting good ratings, it was cancelled because it was too expensive to produce.

What came after were weak films, trying to be Star Trek or Star Wars wannabees. Even the first Star Trek film was extremely weak. But it was not a complete wasteland because we got, so example:

• The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
• Alien (1980)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1980)
• TRON (1982)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Enemy Mine (1985)
• Aliens (1986)
• The Fly (1986)
• Robocop (1987)

In the box office, SF was doing well, especially with the Star Wars and Star Trek franchies. But in TV land, there was a wasteland for SF. But great TV existed like Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere for example. And in 1987, for me, SF came back to TV with Next Generation.

But the curse of both haunted both the small and big screens. Star Wars started to became vehicle of merchandise and not story telling. Star Trek alternated from good to pathetic.

Real SF on the big screen got replaced by comic book stuff. We got crap like The Lawnmower Man, Timecop, and Judge Dredd. There were bad attempts to make cyberpunk films or use comic books. And, over all, SF languished. As the 90’s moved along, Star Wars was over and Star Trek was losing steam.

In TV land, things were even worse. Next Generation was losing steam so we got overloaded with Star Trek spin-offs. I loved DS9 but could not believe the utter shite of Voyager. Shows like Stargate SG-1 and Quantum Leap were simple shows with little or no SF.

Yet there was one beacon, one potential shining light was Babylon 5 (1994 - 1998) which completely non-Trek or Wars but it seemed to be retooled each season. I loved the idea of long story arcs and things not being wrapped up at the end of the episode. Yet the stations that were airing it either pre-empted it or moved it around. Babylon 5 never got a real chance. But for many, it was refreshing to have something original.

I know some people would want to put X-Files in here, since it started 1993. But, for me, the show was never SF. It focused on this paranormal and conspiracy theories.

But things, for me, changed drastically in 1999. The first was the release of the complete and utter shit called The Phantom Menace. I was completely stunned by the lack of story telling, contradictions to things previous established and wooden acting. It was just a movie trailer so Lucas could masturbate and sell toys.

Yet 1999 heralded an important change for TV. I came into Farscape (1999 - 2003) a season or two after it started. I was blown away. The aliens were not cute and fuzzy. The characters were not paragons of virtues. And the show was genuinely funny. I was extremely pissed off when it was cancelled. Dark Angel (2000 - 2002) started with an interesting premise but fell apart all too quickly. As did Enterprise (2001 - 2005). And I won’t get into the crap like Andromeda or Earth: Final Conflict.

For me, the biggest tragedy was Firefly (2002 - 2003). Here was something completely new and different for SF on TV. Let’s have a SF show with no aliens. Just humans with human problems as they expand outwards. Like Farscape, Firefly focused on a rag-tag bunch of people who were not that loveable. And the story telling was strong.

Then came Battlestar Galactica (2003 - today). The stories were completely riveting and engrossing. Effects were top-notch for TV and I couldn’t wait to see the next episode.

And last year came the retooled Dr. Who. For me, the first season rocked while the jury is still out on the second season. That is going to be another blog.

So what is the point of this meandering post? Dr. Who and Battlestar Galactica have come back with a vengeance. Shows like Firefly and Farscape broke the barriers Star Trek and Star Wars put on science fiction. Yet why aren’t there more good shows and movies out there?

Just look at the current line up on the Sci Fi channel. Most of the programming is pure, utter shite. Monster shows, alien invasions and super-hero stuff. Not much when it comes to hard-core science fiction.

And it is as if there isn’t a wealth of material to work from. The stories from Larry Niven in the 70’s has some amazing stuff to cull. Joe Haldeman has some great stuff about war and identity. James P. Hogan has mystery and intellect in his Giant series. And there is so much more.

Yet we get crap like Battlefield Earth (2000) and Andromeda (2000 - 2005). As I have pointed out, above, there have been some great SF films and shows. This is a genre that screams to be explored. SF allows us to explore the human condition without the constraints of our current society. It allows us to dream of the future, good and bad. It reminds us we do have a future. But the studios just squander it on ray guns, stupid aliens and/or hackneyed dialogue. And, lest we forget, merchandising.