Comparisons of Space Fiction
I’m a fan of five shows that are set in space: Red Dwarf, Firefly, Doctor Who, Farscape, and Battlestar Galactica.
And I thought I’d look at what these shows have in common, and try to figure out what is the most important factor for me to enjoy a tv show in space.
Of course, I could discuss the witty banter, exciting life-or-death situations, heart-breaking tragedies, or interesting parallels to modern life. But that's stuff I tend to enjoy in all my television shows - not just the space-y ones.
So instead I'm going to look at things more tied to the genre.
Like Aliens.
Farscape, of course, is almost entirely populated with aliens. All of whom are extremely funky and interesting.
Firefly has no aliens (if you don't count deformed cows). Neither does BSG.
Red Dwarf got around the "alien" problem by putting GELFs (genetically engineered life forms) as far as the eye could see.
And Doctor Who has plenty. Rather than a "monster of the week" show, it tends to be into "aliens of the week". Not to mention the main character.
Moving on...
Bodyswap Episodes
An essential part of science fiction. And one sadly missing from BSG (so far) and Firefly. Although River does claim to turn into a ship on occasion, we have yet to see the ship turn into River at the same time.
Of course, you could claim that every time a Cylon dies it swaps bodies, so there is a perpetual bodyswap going on, all over the universe. But I'm not sure that counts.
Red Dwarf, of course, thinks that this is a fabulous plot device, and wishes it could be done every episode.
Farscape holds the prize for the only bodyswap I've seen which included one character instructing another on how to pee when in his body. The characters were also sensible enough to wear nametags so that everyone could remember who was in whose bodies.
I've only seen one of these on Doctor Who (although I'm sure there have been more). Very clever, but over far too quickly.
Robots
This is an element of all the shows, except maybe Farscape (I say "maybe" because I still haven't watched season four). Even though they've had multiple copies of people, and microchips containing people, and ships that can think for themselves, I can't actually remember any robots.
[ETA -
officersun524reminded me that DRDs would probably count as robots. I'm absolutely mortified that I forgot about them...]
All the others, however, think robots are fairly essential. They've got robotic dogs, sanitation droids, lovebots, and psychotic game-show hosts. And without robots, BSG would have been a very boring show.
Time Travel
A part of the two sillier shows, an essential part of Doctor Who, and never seen on Firefly or BSG.
Weapons of Choice?
On Firefly, it's six-shooters.
On Farscape, it's the laser version of six-shooters.
On BSG, it's six-shooters (I think).
On Red Dwarf, it's bazookoids.
And on Doctor Who, it's a screwdriver.
Supply Problems
This one seems to have passed Doctor Who by. They always seem to be able to get whatever they're after. Eventually.
The others, though, are constantly in short supply.
Serenity's crew lose money more often than they make it, BSG have to risk being killed by Cylons because they need more water, the once well-stocked Dwarfers switch to urine-recyc and space weevils once they're on Starbug, and while the Farscape mob almost always have food cubes, they usually have no money.
The Crew
They're unimportant. Not to me - to the rest of the world.
Firefly isn't about the people who rule the 'Verse - it's about a bunch of people who would like nothing whatsoever to do with anyone who rules the 'Verse.
Red Dwarf might be about the last humans left standing, but they're all morons.
Farscape is about a bunch of fugitives.
BSG and Doctor Who might seem to break this rule. But, on closer analysis...
The Doctor is awfully important and powerful. But mostly because all the other TimeLords are dead. When they were around, they tended to think he was beneath them.
And BSG is about the Commander of the Fleet, the President of the Colonies, and so on. But they weren't supposed to be. Adama was one day off retirement when the other Battlestars were destroyed, and Roslin is only President because the 42 people higher up the ranks than her were all slaughtered by Cylons.
Crazy People
Also a common factor.
Doctor Who is the closest to an exception on this one, because there aren't any crazy people in the main cast. Unless you count the Doctor... which I do. There are, however, numerous crazy people throughout the galaxy.
You could argue that "crazy" would be a good description for the entire crew of Red Dwarf.
Firefly, of course, has River. And BSG has Gaius Baltar. (He might not think he's crazy, but if you have invisible people talking inside your head and convincing you that God wants you to give nuclear missiles to known terrorists? You're crazy.)
And Farscape? Well, that's just one long montage of people going nuts, one after another.
And finally...
The Ship
...is a piece of crap.
Every time.
The Tardis is falling to pieces (hardly surprising, since he stole it from a junkyard), Serenity loses significant bits of ship whenever they break atmo, Red Dwarf is... Red Dwarf, the Battlestar Galactica was being turned into a museum, and Moya is alive.
(People who haven't seen Farscape might not understand the significance of Moya being alive. Imagine a spaceship that can get a cold. Or chuck a temper tantrum. Or vomit. Plus, whenever she is sane and healthy, the crew decide to set her on fire.)
So, there's my list. To be a space show I absolutely love, you need:
1) a crappy ship
2) a crew of unimportant people
3) six-shooters
4) robots
5) a large supply of crazy people
Unless you're Doctor Who, in which case your main requirement is
6) David Tennant.
And I thought I’d look at what these shows have in common, and try to figure out what is the most important factor for me to enjoy a tv show in space.
Of course, I could discuss the witty banter, exciting life-or-death situations, heart-breaking tragedies, or interesting parallels to modern life. But that's stuff I tend to enjoy in all my television shows - not just the space-y ones.
So instead I'm going to look at things more tied to the genre.
Like Aliens.
Farscape, of course, is almost entirely populated with aliens. All of whom are extremely funky and interesting.
Firefly has no aliens (if you don't count deformed cows). Neither does BSG.
Red Dwarf got around the "alien" problem by putting GELFs (genetically engineered life forms) as far as the eye could see.
And Doctor Who has plenty. Rather than a "monster of the week" show, it tends to be into "aliens of the week". Not to mention the main character.
Moving on...
Bodyswap Episodes
An essential part of science fiction. And one sadly missing from BSG (so far) and Firefly. Although River does claim to turn into a ship on occasion, we have yet to see the ship turn into River at the same time.
Of course, you could claim that every time a Cylon dies it swaps bodies, so there is a perpetual bodyswap going on, all over the universe. But I'm not sure that counts.
Red Dwarf, of course, thinks that this is a fabulous plot device, and wishes it could be done every episode.
Farscape holds the prize for the only bodyswap I've seen which included one character instructing another on how to pee when in his body. The characters were also sensible enough to wear nametags so that everyone could remember who was in whose bodies.
I've only seen one of these on Doctor Who (although I'm sure there have been more). Very clever, but over far too quickly.
Robots
This is an element of all the shows, except maybe Farscape (I say "maybe" because I still haven't watched season four). Even though they've had multiple copies of people, and microchips containing people, and ships that can think for themselves, I can't actually remember any robots.
[ETA -
officersun524reminded me that DRDs would probably count as robots. I'm absolutely mortified that I forgot about them...]
All the others, however, think robots are fairly essential. They've got robotic dogs, sanitation droids, lovebots, and psychotic game-show hosts. And without robots, BSG would have been a very boring show.
Time Travel
A part of the two sillier shows, an essential part of Doctor Who, and never seen on Firefly or BSG.
Weapons of Choice?
On Firefly, it's six-shooters.
On Farscape, it's the laser version of six-shooters.
On BSG, it's six-shooters (I think).
On Red Dwarf, it's bazookoids.
And on Doctor Who, it's a screwdriver.
Supply Problems
This one seems to have passed Doctor Who by. They always seem to be able to get whatever they're after. Eventually.
The others, though, are constantly in short supply.
Serenity's crew lose money more often than they make it, BSG have to risk being killed by Cylons because they need more water, the once well-stocked Dwarfers switch to urine-recyc and space weevils once they're on Starbug, and while the Farscape mob almost always have food cubes, they usually have no money.
The Crew
They're unimportant. Not to me - to the rest of the world.
Firefly isn't about the people who rule the 'Verse - it's about a bunch of people who would like nothing whatsoever to do with anyone who rules the 'Verse.
Red Dwarf might be about the last humans left standing, but they're all morons.
Farscape is about a bunch of fugitives.
BSG and Doctor Who might seem to break this rule. But, on closer analysis...
The Doctor is awfully important and powerful. But mostly because all the other TimeLords are dead. When they were around, they tended to think he was beneath them.
And BSG is about the Commander of the Fleet, the President of the Colonies, and so on. But they weren't supposed to be. Adama was one day off retirement when the other Battlestars were destroyed, and Roslin is only President because the 42 people higher up the ranks than her were all slaughtered by Cylons.
Crazy People
Also a common factor.
Doctor Who is the closest to an exception on this one, because there aren't any crazy people in the main cast. Unless you count the Doctor... which I do. There are, however, numerous crazy people throughout the galaxy.
You could argue that "crazy" would be a good description for the entire crew of Red Dwarf.
Firefly, of course, has River. And BSG has Gaius Baltar. (He might not think he's crazy, but if you have invisible people talking inside your head and convincing you that God wants you to give nuclear missiles to known terrorists? You're crazy.)
And Farscape? Well, that's just one long montage of people going nuts, one after another.
And finally...
The Ship
...is a piece of crap.
Every time.
The Tardis is falling to pieces (hardly surprising, since he stole it from a junkyard), Serenity loses significant bits of ship whenever they break atmo, Red Dwarf is... Red Dwarf, the Battlestar Galactica was being turned into a museum, and Moya is alive.
(People who haven't seen Farscape might not understand the significance of Moya being alive. Imagine a spaceship that can get a cold. Or chuck a temper tantrum. Or vomit. Plus, whenever she is sane and healthy, the crew decide to set her on fire.)
So, there's my list. To be a space show I absolutely love, you need:
1) a crappy ship
2) a crew of unimportant people
3) six-shooters
4) robots
5) a large supply of crazy people
Unless you're Doctor Who, in which case your main requirement is
6) David Tennant.