Sci fi reality check: the state of affairs as I see it

[Snowman37]

Yes, but it is predominately a comedy. Any story can fall under many genres, but what classifies a story as X is what the story's primary purpose is. In the case of Ghostbusters, the movie's primary goal was to provoke laughter from the audience, hence it is a comedy.

[Wayston]

I agree, allot of Fantasy have effects which could be seen as scientific, like a mage pulling lightening from the sky, or a ghost disturbing electricity. That being said I would say Ghostbusters are both Science Fiction and Fantasy, it had elements of both as there are pseudo science in there as well.

Yes it would probably be easier to make a case for slapping a sci fi tag on Ghostbusters. Although it's definatly mostly fantasy in my book. If I had to chose one category for Ghostbusters, it would certainly not be sci fi. I will just chime in to point out the relativeness of imdb tags, which for ghostbusters read "Adventure | Fantasy | Mystery".

[Hagazussa]

I would place Ghostbusters under Urban Fantasy, I do not agree that it would git into comedy and it's main thing, so if I where to pick one category it would be Urban Fantasy. That being said if you look at most movies today they are described with multiple genres. However to me it is not that important, genre is always a hard thing to debate as people just can not agree on them. I just like things with something Paranormal in it, no matter what sort of story it is.

[Giantevilhead]

Don't forget Chuck.

Bruce Timm is producing some stuff like Batman: Year One and a new Green Lantern series.

[SF_and_Coffee]

The point is not the hillbillies, the point is how would human beings react to something like Smoos.

The entire point of Li'l Abner was the hillbillies. The Shmoo showed up for a very short time, and were intended as a comedic device.

Hard Science Fiction is about the effect a given scientific discovery, or other world altering event would have on human beings and our society. You can have Science Fiction which are very realistic but who are soft Science Fiction since all they do in run around with their fancy new toys, and you can have very unrealistic Science Fiction which is hard since it is hard Science Fiction since it deals with the effect of such a new technology on human society.

The Shmoo were not a technology, so that right there disqualifies them. Hard SF deals with the scientifically possible. Shmoo don't qualify.

Here are the ways in which Hard SF is defined from within the SF genre itself, and it should be noted that the Wikipedia definition is the one that I use, as both a reader and a writer of science fiction:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction#Hard_SF

http://hardsf.org/GenrHsf.htm and http://hardsf.org/GenrDeba.htm

[Hagazussa]

The entire point of Li'l Abner was the hillbillies. The Shmoo showed up for a very short time, and were intended as a comedic device.

I was thinking about the storyline with the Smoos.

The Shmoo were not a technology, so that right there disqualifies them. Hard SF deals with the scientifically possible. Shmoo don't qualify.

That is where I disagree with you. I think hard Science Fiction deals with exploration of how a technology or discovery would affect society not whatever or not it is possible or plausible. However I do think that here it is better to agree to disagree rather than to go back and forth forever on this. I understand your views, I just do not agree with it, but you are completely entitled to your opinion.

[SF_and_Coffee]

Well, it's not just my opinion. It's the way the genre is organized, and not by me. Sort of like if I decided to define north and south differently from the way the rest of the world does, that wouldn't change what north and south really are.

[Hagazussa]

I disagree with you on that to. It is not just you who hold the opinion you have, but it is not just me who holds mine. This is a topic there is a great deal of debate around what Hard Science Fiction is, it is not a topic which have a general consensus.

[Gatefan1976]

I did have some long winded post to write here, but basicly.....
If you are a Roleplayer, play Mage: the Ascension, if you aren't, read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage:_The_Ascension

That basicly covers the how and why Scifi and fantasy as genre's can meld and combine.
Nuff Said!!

[MIZA]

Babylon 5 Universe
B5 came to its natural end, Legend of the Rangers was a failure, Crusade was butchered by TNT, and The Lost Tales is considered a failure by JMS himself. We'll always have our DVDs, but the franchise is toast.


Farscape
A lot of us have wanted a Season 5 for a very long time. We got The Peacekeeper Wars, some comics, and that's it. There's been rumours of a web series, but all evidence seems to indicate it's been shelved indefinitely. Done.


Firefly
I love stories of sites like HelpNathanBuyFirefly.com, but networks rarely ever sell their IPs. For all the lousy treatment that FOX gave it, it's still a FOX property and they aren't going to let it go. We got Serentiy, and we get the odd comic. But it's never coming back to TV.


Fringe
Where we are right now, I really think it could go either way. FOX's decision to move the show into the Friday Night Death Slot was a kick in the teeth to all of us fans, and it's still something to be very very concerned about. But to everyone's surprise, the show has managed to hang onto most of its audience. That, paired with show-runner public statements that they believe they'll get another year if they maintain a 1.2 (which they've been consistently above), are causes for optimism. That said, the numbers still aren't very good for a major network series. So, yeah, I think it could still go either way.


Stargate SG-1
It's done. I hate to say it, because I would enjoy more movies, but I really don't think it's in the cards. All of the show's story arcs have been resolved, and then we got a movie that was a bit of AU/back to the beginning style fun in Continuum. But let's be honest: it's been years since anything SG-1 has been made, the sets are gone, and the actors have moved on. Odds are, it's done and gone.


Stargate Atlantis
Finished. Aside from the recent statement that the movie has been shelved indefinitely pending SGU's resolution, realize the reason why the show ended in the first place. Stargate's show-runners simply weren't interested in doing a sixth season, no matter how much it was wanted by the fans. The show is over and it isn't coming back.


Stargate Universe
A third season is absolutely not in the cards. A miniseries or direct-to-DVD movie is still possible, but as more and more time passes, it seems increasingly unlikely. At this point it's entirely possible, and even likely, that when the show finishes its final 10 episodes, it'll be over.


Star Trek Returning to Television
Still possible. But until they're done making a fortune off of JJ Abrams' movies, it will remain a film franchise. As to a return to the original/Prime universe? Never going to happen.


Star Wars
Sorry, haters, it's not going away. George Lucas said at the very beginning of The Clone Wars that they were planning on "about 100 episodes" regardless of ratings. So right there is two more years of Star Wars on TV. In September of 2011, all six films will be released for the first time on Blu-ray. And starting next winter (Feb 2012), all six films will begin seeing a (likely annual) theatrical re-release in 3D. So expect six more years of Star Wars on the big screen (and accompanying advertisement).

And don't let's also forget the proposed live-action TV series. The buzz says they already know what they want to do script-wise for the whole first season, and have preliminary plans for expanding it into four separate series after a few years. For the moment it's on hold ostensibly because they don't know how to make it profitable. But anyone with even an inkling of understanding of the entertainment business knows that that's just code for "it'll be profitable, but not profitable enough." So expect more Star Wars on TV in the future.


True Blood
HBO's darling series de jour. The show has been such a ratings powerhouse for the network that a fifth season is virtually a lock now, before the fourth season has even begun airing.


V (2009)
It's over. It was over when the season premiere was pushed back, and when the episode order for Season 2 was reduced from 13 to 10. The Season 2 premiere held the numbers from the S1 finale (which were barely enough to secure renewal), and viewership has dropped off steadily since then. This one is finished too.


The X-Files 3
A distinct possibility. It's obvious at this point that I Want to Believe did not perform up to expectation, and was an underwhelming film even for big X-Files fans. But it's come out that it has made its money back, so it really can't be considered a flop anymore.

It seems that the XF show-runners and actors are interested in a third film, so it's entirely possible that this project could happen. But the ball is in FOX's court, who may be (understandably) trepedatious after the poor performance of the last film.

oh you are quite correct on all your details , yeah that last x-files was a real stinker and great disappointment

[Hagazussa]

If you are a Roleplayer, play Mage: the Ascension, if you aren't, read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage:_The_Ascension

I do play Mage the Ascension. It is my favorite roleplaying game, I have played it since I was 15 years old. It have inspired my life. My first date with the man I have been with for 13 years was spent playing Mage the Ascension and I have a custom made silver Prime symbol pendant which rarely leaves my neck. Mage the Ascension is my favorite fiction, it inspires my real life occult studies and in short for me Mage the Ascension is the best thing ever. Thank you for the link. And yes I am very enthusiastic about Mage the Ascension.

[Eternal Density]

Star Wars
Sorry, haters, it's not going away. George Lucas said at the very beginning of The Clone Wars that they were planning on "about 100 episodes" regardless of ratings. So right there is two more years of Star Wars on TV.

Do Not Want!

True Blood
HBO's darling series de jour. The show has been such a ratings powerhouse for the network that a fifth season is virtually a lock now, before the fourth season has even begun airing.

True Blood is sci-fi? I don't know enough about it to comment either way on that


And yeah, Chuck! It does have a slight sci-fi premise (the existence of a certain technology on which the premise of the show rests) but the actual feel of the show isn't really the usual sci-fi genre, more of a spy/nerd/comedy/drama thing. Hard to describe actually, except that it's undeniably (by me) awesome.