What to expect from a scifi-western?

POSTED BY: Tieka
UPDATED: Tuesday, July 2, 2002 03:54
VIEWED: 3706
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NOVAGRASS

Tuesday, July 2, 2002 12:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by tlsmith1963:
The only thing that bothers me from interviews I've read is the "no aliens" comment. I hope they aren't afraid to put aliens in the show because it will turn off mainstream viewers who think aliens are "too weird".

Really, the chances are *so* incredibly minute that human society will *ever* encounter an intelligent alien race even if it exists for millions of years beyond now, that any show which involves aliens is technically science fantasy rather than science fiction.

I think that the lack of aliens may be a bit of a put off for mainstream fans, simply because it's not what they expect from a sci-fi show. I hope this isn't true, and I hope the absence of alien lifeforms will actually be a draw for the mainstream viewers, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I've been waiting for an alien-free sci-fi show for an incredibly long time. Sure, I love Star Trek, and I love the politics involved between the societies... but I don't view this as a viable vision of future. Firefly will be one of the first science fiction TV series that ditches most of sci-fi TV's cliches, and I'm extrordinarily glad that Joss Whedon, my long-time idol, is doing the show I've been waiting for for so long.

--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--

This one's for Furyfire...

HAKEN

Tuesday, July 2, 2002 1:20 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Novagrass:
Really, the chances are *so* incredibly minute that human society will *ever* encounter an intelligent alien race even if it exists for millions of years beyond now, that any show which involves aliens is technically science fantasy rather than science fiction.

The odds are even higher still that the alien lifeform will be a biped with Homosapien features.

ZICSOFT

Tuesday, July 2, 2002 3:54 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by InarasNewToy:

Can it work? I think it can, the only hurdles i have seen here is the tendancy to go TO FAR in the Western look (the horses, the six shooters, ETC).

Well, I'm rather hoping that the the wild west thing is not just "a look". To boil down various opinions I've expressed at length in other threads: I'm guessing that the frontier planets, where most of the stories take place, are supposed to be trying to make do with technology they don't have to import from the industrial planets. So that means dusting off a lot of 19th century technology -- six-shooters, animal-based locomotion, etc.

I think the clothes are a case in point. When I first saw all those photos (which is how I found this site, thank you Haken) my first thought was that Whedon was just rebelling against the futuristic-for-its-own-sake costumes that sort of go with those latex aliens. But when you're doing "hard" science fiction (and that's what Whedon says he wants to do) every little detail like that says a lot about the world you're dreaming up. So I'm betting we'll hear people say things like, "Hey, don't you stock pants with force-field closure? Or at least a zipper? I hate button flies!" "Well pard, buttons are a lot cheaper because we make 'em on-planet. If you want zippers, I gotta order 'em from the Alliance worlds, and it'll cost ya. And don't even try to buy anything with a force field, the Alliance is very pariticular about who gets to buy that stuff!"

Well, probably not that detailed -- I can't just see people yawning and reaching for the remote. But you get the idea.

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