Did people lose interest?

Emily_Lawson · 04/03/15 - 23:38

There seems to be an absence of space based sci fi on TV these days. What led to this disappearance? Ratings? Cost of CGI? If our generation had an epic space show would the viewers want an epic space battle in every episode raising the cost of CGI? What happened? Did people lose interest? Does this generation express no interest in shows like this? Are they now considered nerdy/geeky by this generation? Some of my friends who are into video games like this game called Mass Effect. I wish space based sci fi would make a comeback.

Biffo the Bear · 04/03/15 - 23:46

I was thinking this earlier oddly enough. I'm not sure why there isn't - maybe due to falling audiences for the genre? I think BSG and Firefly set the standard of how modern space opera should be, but it's much easier for networks to pump out something a bit more Stargatey (not that I dislike the SG franchise, quite the opposite). In fact, SG:U had a lot of potential, but it could have run out of ideas quite quickly.

Corwin · 04/03/15 - 23:51

The Expanse is due out soon and there were a few others in development in recent years (not sure which if any are still happening).

Trailer for The Expanse.

Biffo the Bear · 04/03/15 - 23:56

Corwin wrote: »

The Expanse is due out soon and there were a few others in development in recent years (not sure which if any are still happening).

Trailer for The Expanse.

Hrmmm.. saw that a while back. Looks a bit too 'SyFy'ish for me, if that makes sense!

Corwin · 05/03/15 - 00:29

As well as The Expanse the SyFy channel also has another space set series in production.

Dark Matter created by Joseph Mallozzi (Stargate).

LM · 05/03/15 - 08:08

Space shows really dominated the 90's and early 00's. There were tons. Like how comic book shows are today, Space shows were the trend back then. I hope they make a comeback. Maybe The Expanse could be a help.

Danger Close · 05/03/15 - 10:54

Emily_Lawson wrote: »

There seems to be an absence of space based sci fi on TV these days. What led to this disappearance? Ratings? Cost of CGI? If our generation had an epic space show would the viewers want an epic space battle in every episode raising the cost of CGI? What happened? Did people lose interest? Does this generation express no interest in shows like this? Are they now considered nerdy/geeky by this generation? Some of my friends who are into video games like this game called Mass Effect. I wish space based sci fi would make a comeback.

I keep saying it, but ME would be perfect for a live action adaptation in the mould of Babylon 5.

But after Voyager and then Enterprise stopped Trek dead in the water the only thing we've had of note is BSG. Which up until the final season was awesome. And the single, ill-treated, season of Firefly.

MoreTears · 05/03/15 - 11:44

There was a backlash against non-earth-based science fiction on TV. Firefly was cancelled because of bad ratings in the middle of its only season. BSG, despite critical acclaim, was so expensive that it really didn't make profits. Enterprise was cancelled as a disappointment far short of the intended seven seasons. Stargate Universe was something of a last hurrah for space-based science fiction on TV and that was cancelled after two seasons. Syfy made a deliberate choice to shift to earth-based sci-fi thinking that it would hold more appeal for "regular people" (ie, non-geeks). Executives at Syfy have been making statements that suggest that they see that shift as a mistake, and they want to get back to space-based shows, with the already-mentioned The Expanse and Dark Matter leading the way. I think it also has to be noted that science fiction is usually viewed as part of a three-genre entity that includes fantasy and horror, and with fantasy and horror absolutely thriving on TV in the last few years (Game Of Thrones, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, etc.) science fiction has taken something of a back seat.

Joystick · 05/03/15 - 14:14

It's a shame really as it's my favourite genre. Firefly, Farscape, Stargate, loved them all.

Thrombin · 05/03/15 - 16:40

There's still Doctor Who

Defiance and Extant have a bit of space travel, I suppose.

Mass Effect is my favourite computer game, by the way. One of the few RPG's I've played through multiple times :cool:

swingaleg · 05/03/15 - 16:52

Firefly is due to get an airing on the SyFy channel fairly soon but as far as I can gather it appears to be on at around 2.00 or 2.30 in the morning (or middle of the night)

Which is a bit of a bummer as I've never seen it

platelet · 05/03/15 - 17:22

Thrombin wrote: »

There's still Doctor Who

London, London, London, Bristol, London, Space, London - not necessarily in that order

Danger Close · 05/03/15 - 17:27

swingaleg wrote: »

Firefly is due to get an airing on the SyFy channel fairly soon but as far as I can gather it appears to be on at around 2.00 or 2.30 in the morning (or middle of the night)

Which is a bit of a bummer as I've never seen it

If you have Amazon Prime I know it's on there.
Series can be bought for less than £10

LM · 05/03/15 - 17:39

swingaleg wrote: »

Firefly is due to get an airing on the SyFy channel fairly soon but as far as I can gather it appears to be on at around 2.00 or 2.30 in the morning (or middle of the night)

Which is a bit of a bummer as I've never seen it

They did air it at an earlier time of 8:00 last year.

swingaleg · 05/03/15 - 18:01

Danger Close wrote: »

If you have Amazon Prime I know it's on there.
Series can be bought for less than £10

Every episode appears to be on YouTube but I'm not in any rush to watch it......it'll turn up at a watchable time on TV at some point !

blueisthecolour · 05/03/15 - 21:13

swingaleg wrote: »

Firefly is due to get an airing on the SyFy channel fairly soon but as far as I can gather it appears to be on at around 2.00 or 2.30 in the morning (or middle of the night)

Which is a bit of a bummer as I've never seen it

I'm always hearing how good Firefly is but I didn't like the first episode. Given it's ony one season long I didn't see the point in continuing.

I'm pretty selective with my space based Sci-Fi: I'm a big star trek fan, I thought Babylon 5 was excellent but outside of those two I struggle to find stuff I like. Couldn't get into BSG, the writing didn't seem very good.

Joystick · 05/03/15 - 21:19

blueisthecolour wrote: »

I'm always hearing how good Firefly is but I didn't like the first episode. Given it's ony one season long I didn't see the point in continuing.

I'm pretty selective with my space based Sci-Fi: I'm a big star trek fan, I thought Babylon 5 was excellent but outside of those two I struggle to find stuff I like. Couldn't get into BSG, the writing didn't seem very good.

The first episode is a bit slow, but it gets better with every episode, so it's worth sticking with. There's only one season but there's also a movie called 'Serenity' that's worth watching.

Biffo the Bear · 05/03/15 - 21:25

I just miss big space battles! Here are my favourite two edited down:

DS9 in HD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89WcIwjlQxA

Battle of Asuras

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iMHh9Utm8Y

Emily_Lawson · 08/09/15 - 07:15

Who is excited for The Expanse?

The CGI for that space station at 1:38 must have been expensive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydKmedH336Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27JmggM5GGQ

I am hoping this and Star Wars leads to an space opera revival. That would be an awesome Christmas gift!

swingaleg · 08/09/15 - 09:16

Emily_Lawson wrote: »

Who is excited for The Expanse?

The CGI for that space station at 1:38 must have been expensive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydKmedH336Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27JmggM5GGQ

I am hoping this and Star Wars leads to an space opera revival. That would be an awesome Christmas gift!

For that first link I get a notice 'The Uploader has not made this video available in your country'........ie the UK

This is something I've noticed on a few YouTube links in the last few days......I hardly ever noticed it before

Is it just me or what ?........:o

James_Picard · 08/09/15 - 14:13

please please please I want to see a new star trek show. don't care what anyone says. I want to see one. even if it isn't amazeballs it'll be nice just to know its there.

The Expanse looks like it might have potential. Dark Matter I got bored off quickly and Killjoys was horrendous-LOL

degsyhufc · 08/09/15 - 18:51

platelet wrote: »

London, London, London, Bristol, London, Space, London - not necessarily in that order

and Cardiff every so often

Dark Matter has just finished on SyFy and overall I enjoyed it and am glad it's got a second season.

HeWhoIsHere · 09/09/15 - 08:28

The Expanse is just going to be a cop/investigation series in space. It will be boring as batshit.

I too miss properly funded sci-fi series. Dark Matter and Killjoys are just cheap co-productions with Canadian companies, they do not have significant investment which is vital to a good modern sci-fi series.

PerfectMark · 09/09/15 - 13:03

I think Star Trek probably killed the space genre. Star Trek was doing well in the 90s, so other companies were willing to put money into similar shows (seaquest, stargate, B5, andromedia, etc) as they could see the audience.

But there was a lot of studio involvement in Voyager that stopped it from being as good as it could of been and then the first 2 seasons of Enterprise were pretty dire, which turned a lot of people off the genre. Season 4 of Enterprise is probably one of the best seasons of any Star Trek show, but by then it was too late and the studios had pretty much given up on the genre. Moving on the things like 24 and Lost.

Alrightmate · 09/09/15 - 14:40

The cost may be one issue, but another may be because people think the scope of storylines is limited due to what has already been done which has been set in space.
You have to work with what you've got as a setting and the possibilities of being on a space station or a spaceship may have been pretty much exhausted and it may be harder to come up with fresh and original ideas.
If the options are to move off the space station or spaceship and base the events on a planet, then perhaps writers think it may as well be on Earth.

Stories set on Earth seem to have less limitations of possibilities with more around us which we can relate to and adapt to science fiction concepts.

LM · 09/09/15 - 15:15

I rather enjoyed Killjoys. It was hardly original or groundbreaking but it never tried to be something it isn't. Likeable characters and a simply arc to follow where you don't feel the need to have your intellgence tested.

The Exapanse is tipped for massive things. Syfy clearly have high hopes for it as it has already been given a second season which is currently being written now.

I do miss space type shows but in general, i miss how sci-fi used to be.

Hey there!

Quick Links

Did people lose interest?

Comments