Do people even know what Science Fiction is?

[Snowman37]

It's nonsensical to try and divide drama or action from sci-fi, it only demonstrates that you don't understand what it is the first place.

I didn't say anything about action, I spoke of adventure. I simply stated that when it comes to television, I prefer adventure over drama. As for whether SGU is science-fiction, well science-fiction is speculative fiction, a story that could happen now or in the future. Alternatively, it is a story that could have happened in the past of history played out differently. From what I saw in "Air," it looked like the writers didn't care about speculative fiction in favor of bunch of EMO's wanting to go home, wanting to beat the crap out of Rush, fighting over who's in charge, and well... that doesn't appeal to me.

It's all about the context, and a dramatic scene like Rush being able to see his wife again via the chair is or other characters trying to reconcile their past lives via the stones is far more true to the genre than an arbitrary space battle, or meeting a random alien race.

We don't need space battles or an excessive number of aliens to make a good episode. However, when characters start hallucinating dead people, I have to question why anyone has allowed that person to have any authority at all. As for the communication stones, I sorely dislike this concept. They allow a writer to have characters communicate over intergalactic distances, but... it's total fantasy, because no attempt to provide any kind of scientific explanation for how they work. I don't need a big explanation, but for crying out loud. At least do what SG-1 did, start to explain and then have the scientist interrupted.

I don't understand how SGU cannot be Sci-Fi, how was there even an argument for that? They went through the Stargate, to the other side of the universe, trapped on an alien space ship, and are attempting to survive while using alien technology to do so. They also explore other planets.

They use the stargate and reside within Destiny, an ancient starship. These two elements are indeed science-fiction. The show is very much science-fiction, but it's character driven (drama) instead of plot driven (adventure). For me, this makes for a boring show.

[carmencatalina]

They use the stargate and reside within Destiny, an ancient starship. These two elements are indeed science-fiction. The show is very much science-fiction, but it's character driven (drama) instead of plot driven (adventure). For me, this makes for a boring show.

And this is the whole reason why this thread makes me want to scream (well, not literally).

Whether or not you personally find a show exciting has nothing to do with what genre it should be classified under.

Within the genre of science fiction are action stories, adventure stories, psychological dramas, stories that focus on the in-depth feelings and emotions of a single character. If you want to argue that most science fiction movies or TV have focused on action and/or adventure, I'll give you that, but the genre of science fiction is much older than that, and authors such as LeGuin have many award winning works that focus heavily on characters and their interactions, psychology and politics.

[jeri]

We don't need space battles or an excessive number of aliens to make a good episode. However, when characters start hallucinating dead people, I have to question why anyone has allowed that person to have any authority at all. As for the communication stones, I sorely dislike this concept. They allow a writer to have characters communicate over intergalactic distances, but... it's total fantasy, because no attempt to provide any kind of scientific explanation for how they work. I don't need a big explanation, but for crying out loud. At least do what SG-1 did, start to explain and then have the scientist interrupted.


They use the stargate and reside within Destiny, an ancient starship. These two elements are indeed science-fiction. The show is very much science-fiction, but it's character driven (drama) instead of plot driven (adventure). For me, this makes for a boring show.

You do remember that the communication stones where introduced in SG-1?

So you stopped watching after Air? Well, then IMO, you have not seen the show and how can you have such strong opinions on something you haven't seen. I frankly would not want my sci-fi narrowed down to such a boring definition, all adventure and no drama makes a dull show.

I have to say I am still amazed by the short sided judgment calls on this thread. I can't believe a remark like "irony of sci-fi and SGU..." (sorry my muti quote won't work on this browser).Funny me, I thought people who enjoy SCI-fi would have broad opened minds, apparently I am wrong about that.

[Snowman37]

Carmencatalina, I didn't mean to imply that science-fiction should be limited to adventure. In film, I'm open to science-fiction drama. However, in an ongoing science-fiction TV series, if there's no sense of adventure, I become bored within a few episodes. It's just a preference, not a genre defining declaration.

You do remember that the communication stones where introduced in SG-1?

Yes. I didn't like them then either. It crossed the line from science-fiction to fantasy. Here, hold this stone, and poof, you're in someone's body on another planet in another galaxy. Riiiiight...

So you stopped watching after Air? Well, then IMO, you have not seen the show and how can you have such strong opinions on something you haven't seen. I frankly would not want my sci-fi narrowed down to such a boring definition, all adventure and no drama makes a dull show.

Part 3, yes. Your opinion of me not seeing the show is quite simply wrong. I have seen three episodes, thus I have seen the show. My strong opinions are based on the "Air" trilogy, not the rest of the series. If a show's opening episode doesn't hook me, I bail. However, when I have time, I am going to give the "Air" trilogy a second viewing. If I find myself enjoying the episodes more the second time around, I'll give the rest of the season a shot. I never said anything about all adventure and no drama. You're making stuff up. I simply dislike dramas, I get bored and either change the channel or turn the TV set off. Movie dramas, I enjoy. TV dramas bore me. The nice thing about SG-1 and Atlantis was that some episodes could be quite dramatic stories without encompassing the whole series.

[bookwormjules]

They use the stargate and reside within Destiny, an ancient starship. These two elements are indeed science-fiction. The show is very much science-fiction, but it's character driven (drama) instead of plot driven (adventure). For me, this makes for a boring show.

Which was my point, SGU is Sci-Fi there shouldn't even be a question. Just because it had drama and character development, doesn't make it any less Sci-Fi. SGU is first and foremost Sci-Fi. I don't understand how that was even questioned.

And this is the whole reason why this thread makes me want to scream (well, not literally).

Whether or not you personally find a show exciting has nothing to do with what genre it should be classified under.

Agreed!

[KEK]

[...]

The comment wasn't aimed at you. It was a general post to thet thread, which Zeros and Ones comment promted me to post.

[Tanith0709]

All personal feelings about wether or not we like SGU or prefer action over drama etc aside, can we at least finally conclude that SGU is indeed a science fiction show?

[the fifth man]

SGU was definitely science fiction IMO. Good science fiction too.

[morrismike]

There was a little big of scifi there but mainly soap opera. Sorry, I call em like I see em.

[jelgate]

There was a little big of scifi there but mainly soap opera. Sorry, I call em like I see em.

Then you better see the definition of science fiction and soap opera.

[KEK]

There was a little big of scifi there but mainly soap opera. Sorry, I call em like I see em.

Do we really need to go over the definition of soap opera again? I assure you the discussion always ends the same way.

[bluealien]

Then you better see the definition of science fiction and soap opera.

Which definitions would those be. I've seen dozens with each person claiming that theirs is the true definition.

SGU took place in a science fiction setting but generally used the science fiction elements to further the drama of the week. Who was sleeping with whome, who was backstabbing whome, who was fit to lead, who hated whome etc..

[bookwormjules]

Which definitions would those be. I've seen dozens with each person claiming that theirs is the true definition.

SGU took place in a science fiction setting but generally used the science fiction elements to further the drama of the week. Who was sleeping with whome, who was backstabbing whome, who was fit to lead, who hated whome etc..

By that definition, nearly every tv show that is classified as drama, would be a soap opera then. SGU is dramatic Sci-Fi, there is nothing soap opera about it it. I don't get why people think by making a darker, more dramatic feel to a show, that focused on characters makes it a soap opera.

Soap Opera = The Young and the Restless. Not SGU and if you actually watched SGU, you would realize, the "dramatic" you mentioned, are nothing alike.

[KEK]

SGU took place in a science fiction setting but generally used the science fiction elements to further the drama of the week.

That's what science fiction is. It's all about putting characters in positions that other genres don't allow for. The meat of science fiction is not the ray guns and the aliens, those are superficial, the meat of the genre is the exploration into the human condition you get from those elements.

Who was sleeping with whome, who was backstabbing whome, who was fit to lead, who hated whome etc..

It's amazing what people can imagine. There has never been a 'who is sleeping with who' storyline in the show, and whome isn't a word...

[bookwormjules]

It's amazing what people can imagine. There has never been a 'who is sleeping with who' storyline in the show, and whome isn't a word...

I agree there wasn't, there was more emphasis on the romantic relationships between characters, which were at times sexual in nature or implied - more than they should have given they way the plot moved along IMO, but it was about who was sleeping with who etc, it was about them trying to survive on an alien ship, trying to get home and were stuck with each other and only each other. With the amount of people on the ship and human nature, you're bound to have backstabbing and people sleeping together when there is no possible escape from a group of people, they dealt with who they were stuck with - while fighting (and turning into) blue aliens.

Last I checked, Soap Operas don't have one of the main female leads turning into weird blue aliens, while living on an alien spaceship millions and millions of light years from Earth. Unless they have changed since the last time I saw them.