TV and Film
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TV and Film |
Compared to written fiction, to the web or to rpg, television and cinematic science fiction is appalling. The reason for this terrible lack of quality (in anything but special effects) is because TV and movie are multi-million dollar industries and have to address themselves to the lowest common denominator to turn a profit. Also, any decent scripts are quickly butchered by in-house screen-writers who obviously know nothing except how to churn out crud. These objections aside, there are scattered jewels that can be found in this mud. Occaisonally one can watch an entire movie just for a single idea. More often it is only good if you feel like vegging out. Here then are a few examples of cinematic and TV with some (even slight) relevance to OA.
Andromeda - perhaps out of all the "space opera" and sci fi TV series this comes closest to OA in its stories and outlook. Not even close to the same as OA but closest of anything I've seen.
You have AIs of great power, direct mind-neural links, genetically engineered humans, cyborgs, a few non-humanoid aliens (and yes lots of humanoids, budgets must be considered), use of nanotech and buckyfiber cables and a ftl drive that has some limitations. Also, terraforming, a megastructure or two, and people who spend virtually all their lives on space colonies and think planets are dirty, nasty places.
The vision is optimistic with a touch of darkness. Civilization has fallen and the characters are trying to pick up the pieces.
Also, to date have seen energy weapons only used for point defense against missiles. Both ships and hand weapons use smart missiles or bullets. ECM actually works agains the hand weapons and they can shoot around corners.
Andromeda - Home Page
Battlestar Galactica - two reviews of the new series
Babylon 5 - an excellent interpretation of classic space opera, and a very enjoyable series. Both the Vorlons and the Shadows might make good templates for transapient ultra tech societies (especially the way such societies may thoughtlessly trample over lower cultures), but other than this there is little of relevance to OA.
Farscape - enjoyable if somewhat clichéd science fiction television, made in Australia but (apart from part of the first season and very rare screenings there after) not sown on free to air TV here. Did much better overseas where it became a cult success. Moira the sentient bioship would fit in to an OA setting quite well (apart from the FTL). Not as original as either Red Dwarf or LEXX, the two TV shows it seems to be based on; the original episodes were pretty disappointing, but the story picked up in later seasons.
Joan of Arcadia - a good example of how an "interventionist" archailect would interface with sophonts in Eir ecology. I can imagine the archailect (or even only one of Eir subroutines) forming an avatar out of piconano angelnet utility fog or whatever, when no one's looking (or when their sensory inputs have been redirected so as to avoid startling or surprising or confusing them), then appearing to the sophont as an ordinary human being (or vec, or alife, or hyperturing icon, or whatever, something mundane ;-) ) and giving some advice or words of wisdom (or inscruitability, or seeming nonsense, that only later (if at all) trurn out to be wisdom) about physico-psycho-spiritual developement or helping others or whatever, then walking away (or pretending to walk away before merging into the angelnet)
Another good example of how an "interventionist" archailect would interface with sophonts is Wonder Falls ( review). Its a really off beat show about a woman, called Jaye who's... well how should I say this? "Picture an Irreverent Joan of Arcadia trapped in Twin Peaks "
If you know what a Rube Goldberg machine is, Jaye is the marble at the top of the ramp, just waiting for God to give her a push.
Lexx - a bizarre show with some wonderful ideas - Lexx, the sentient dragonfly bioship, Xev the gynomorph (or erotogen), food that comes out of the dispenser looking like diarrhea; eccentric series; from the little I have seen, very variable in quality.
Red Dwarf - this show has everything - a last surviving baseline (Lister) with appalling hygiene, a neurotic vec (Krieton), an irritating virtual (Rimmer), a vain animal prolve (Cat), a turing-grade ships computer, and guaranteed comedy in every episode.
Star Trek - although extremely innovative in the beginning - the original series revolutionised popular sci fi, and introduced an optimistic vision of space exploration and a utopian world government (with a multi-racial, multi-ethnic crew unheard of in the 1960s) - the franchise seriously deteriorated with Gene Roddenberry's passing. There were too much soap operatic screenplays dwelling on the 20th century baseline human western society approach to relationships, and using the holodeck to go back to the 1930s or play baseball or whatever, too little deep space action; too many inconsistencies between different episodes and series and too little effort to build a consistent universe (relying instead on the humanoid of the week approach), and way too little attempt at even quarter-decent science! The latest series Enterprise is a heroic (but it would seem unsuccessful) attempt to get back to the spirit of the original series, woth improved action-orientated story lines, but is again too much based on modern Western (specifical West Coast LA) mentality, and there are numerous historical imnconsistencies with the previous episodes (and yet more new humanoid races introduced with each new episode), leading fans to suggest it is set in an "alternative timeline" (Braga I think it was is on record as rejected the alternative time-line theory). There is nothing in Star Trek that is pertinant to Orion's Arm, but we here at OA recognise and acknowledge Roddenberry's seminal influence in introducing sci fi to a wider audience
2001 a Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece of SF cinema. Features: a very realistic early interplanetary-age ship (so we don't have that in 2001, but 2051...sure.). An alien monolith and human provolution; ok it has become a clichéd since, but it was really something new at the time. A realistic AI (instead of the ridiculous Terminator type evil AI). HAL 9000 really steals the show. Many people found the ending rather too mystical and obscure; it is explained better in the book.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence - Steven Spielberg's completion of a Ridley Scott project that is something a little like Pinoccio meets E.T., although with some interesting dystopian elements in the between. Deals with issues pertinent to vec sentient rights.
Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott - replicants, megacorporations, giant cities, Chandleresque antihero, Japanese culture - you can see where William Gibson got his ideas from. The relevance to Orion's Arm is much less significant, but still some useful ideas and images here.
Final Fantasy - the spirits within - the computer animation is awesome. But the film is too New Age-ish to be decent hard (or even soft) SF. The first half hour is great, fast-paced and exciting with lots of wonderful gadgets. The rest of the movie lags.
The Matrix - perhaps the seminal and intellignet work of popular Science Fiction since 2001 a Space Odessy. While the concept of human-generated bio-energy is ridiculous (why not just use anaerobic microbes?), and the battle between man and machine and old cliche, the special effects are magnificent, and concepts such as virtual reality, rogue ai and superhuman ai programs are quite appropriate to OA. The two later movies in the trilogy develop the philosophical themes raised in the first movie, at the expense of some plotline inconsistencies and implausible tech elements
Predator - a very enjoyable movie. Unfortunately the only thing pertinent to OA is the alien creature's chameleon suit
Star Wars - along with Roddenberry's Star Trek, George Lucas' Star Wars has defined the geek universe. Although both soft SF, the two franchises each have very different universes, and fans are attracted to one or the other, depending on preference. Star Trek is based on rationalism and either optimistic technological utopianism (Roddenberry) or modern American can-do-ism (Berman and Braga's Enterprise), Star Wars on mysticism, elitist neo-medievalism and an ahistorical fantasy setting ("a long time ago in a galaxy far far away"). Lucas seriously undermined his universe by making the Force dependent on a pseudoscientific gobbledegook concept called Midichlorians (=Mitochondria, the organelles in the cell responsible for energy production). The special effects and planetscapes are superb, but, apart from the neat vecs ("droids") there is really no relevance to OA
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - worth watching for the shape-shifting liquid metal T 1000 (would military nanocyborgs be like this?), the rest is escapist drivel (albeit enjoyable and exciting the first time through)
Zardoz - unfortunately underrated movie, made in 1974, surprising radical and intelligent themes, with Sean Connery in the lead role. The whole thing could fit in some backwater of OA in entirely with just small changes. A clade of decadent but biologically immortal superiors living in perverted autotopia and surrounded by barbarized baselines.
