"Science" Fiction

A thread I posted on the Escapist.

Science Fiction as a genre tends to disappoint me. I really want to like it, but generally just can't, and I think I've finally realized why that is: With a few exceptions, Sci-Fi is just really hokey.

Part of this, I think, comes from Science Fiction's general disregard of the whole "Science" part. Think about it. Among other ridiculousness, there's a vast universe potentially full of extra-terrestrial life, life that started from a completely different point and evolved in different conditions, yet aliens are almost always just weird looking humans who are somehow fluent in English.

Parenthetical Statement:

Despite this silliness, many of these games take themselves way too seriously, which for me only makes the campy bits stand out even more.

Not to give too much credit to Half-Life in one day, but I liked the first and second games a lot because they took a bleaker, scarier and more scientific approach to things than your typical Star-Trek/Star Wars/Starship Troopers knock off, without completely sacrificing the odd bit of humor.

Another Parenthetical Statement:

Do you like the Sci-Fi genre? Do you feel like I do, that it could be good but generally isn't? Or do you just dislike it in general?

I love Sci-Fi, but it's a really broad genre. You seem to be mainly concerned with the campy StarTrek style thing which is easy to pick on.

My favorite sub-genre of Sci-Fi is Cyberpunk, which usually prodes itself on being very anti-sci-fi, realistic and un-campy. Read some William Gibson and you won't find anything too far beyond the realms of possibility.

Then you have 'hard' sci-fi like the Red Mars series which goes to great pains to explain the possible science behind what its explaining.

So yeah, for every one of these you have twenty movies of sexy aliens with weird lumps stuck on their foreheads. But that's every genre - you take the rough with the smooth. There is great sci-fi out there if you go looking for it.

Released games?


I never really cared much for sci fi in generall, I agree with your points, the english is silly. At least the hitchikers guide to the galaxy for example explains how aliens can be understood by earthmen.


I do watch one sci fi genre: The stargate franchise. I mainly actually like the old serie Stargate sg1: it was funny had some very good episodes even if the majority felt a bit lame to me, since its pretty old. And yes it was very silly, and YES the aliens spoke english, but as I said I liked the series and it remains one of the few series in witch I watched every episode and movie in(even if I used the Internet,it had 10 seasons and two straight to dvd movies).


Buuuut unfortunately stargate sg1 was quite succesfull so it had......




SPINN OFFS! dam dam dam!

And I would add: SHITTY SPINN OFFS! Named Stargate atlantis(now cancelled) and lately the Stargate universe witch I hopefully watched the first episodes of. Unfortunately even if it started quite ok with old characters making cameos, it seems it turned quite lame quite fast with basicy a "we are stuck on a spaceship and are trying to get home but guess wat we are gonna wait untill the series become unproffitable!" story.


So........yea thats some sci fi.......talk.

Making a new post here.....

I also watch(and love) futurama, witch I guess should be classified as a sci fi serie even if it takes a piss out of both science and fiction quite a lot.


Hermes: proffessor! can you wire my brain directly into the ship computer?

Professor Hubert Farnsworth: I can wire anything directly in to anything. IM THE PROFFESSOR!

play Star Wars KOTOR then and have a field day with the subtitles