The expense vs the payoff makes them incredibly unoptimal.
cowboys, cops, space travelers they all keep using the same plots. the sets and costumes are easier with cops shows.
They can’t find anyone who can sing a decent space aria.
They certainly CAN:
Although, as a rebuttal, there’s this:
Not likely, for the same financial reasons. Period dramas create almost as many problems as science fiction, especially for exterior shots. It’s hard to find locations where there’s no sign of the 21st century. Also, a perfectly good shot could be ruined by contrails in the background or other things you can’t really control on location.
In the 50s, it didn’t matter as much. Exterior shots were often on a sound stage, something that’d be unacceptable today. Now, if people ride into town, it’s got to be a real town (though a set would do). But that’s limiting. With a contemporary series, you can just find good locations and use them; with a western, you have to build them.
So revisit some old ones!
We just finished up a run of Blake’s 7 which was great, as Mr Magnet wasn’t really allowed to watch it as a kid, had only a vague idea of characters and some plotpoints from vaguely remembered playground chat, and was probably the only person in Britain from that era who didn’t know how final episode ended.
Best part is that he wanted to save the final episode for his birthday last week. Ah hahaha.
It was awesome.
Doesn’t count as space opera, but still sort of involved outer space – he wants to revisit Sky, an ITV programme kiddie mindfuck about a boy who travels back to 1975 from THE FUTURE. Episode 1 scared him so badly as a 7 year old that he wasn’t allowed to watch anymore of them (and is now apparently on DVD; there are badly compressed episodes on youtube).
UFO was my childhood bete noir.
Wouldn’t it be trivially easy to edit out contrails, with current standard computer technology?
With the onset of numerous Star Wars movies, TV shows, and who knows what else, and things like Guardians of the Galaxy (and maybe, though probably not, Jupiter Ascending) potentially bringing the genre back into focus, there may be a return of the space opera soon. But we have to get through this vampire/werewolf, Sherlock Holmes, Superhero, post-apocalypse phase first.
I’m envisioning a vampire Sherlock type character, with super/mutant powers, set in a post apocalyptic alien planet that is overseen by Lensmen.
Now THAT would be cool.
Or a retooled ST:TOS style show with the same old rehashed storylines. What’s more likely? Yeah, I know… ::logic::
No way Westerns are going to come back. I can’t imagine such a thing happening. They try it (in movies) every so often (“the Western is BACK!”) and it always flops. No one is interested (least of all me, I admit I am prejudiced and hate Westerns). Unless someone came up with a really outre good storyline, it’s dirty cowboys plugging along on horses, herding cattle, fighting the sheepherders, fighting the railroad, and of course the injuns, tumbleweeds, gunslingers…blah blah blah.
COWBOY: What do they want?
HOT ALIEN CHICK: Gold.
COWBOY: Gold?!
HAC: It’s just as valuable to them as it is to you.
:rolleyes:
Maybe, for cultural reasons, but a spacefaring civilization would find it much easier and cheaper to mine asteroids in the home system than raid gold mines in another system.
The part I had a problem with there was why the cowboy would be surprised that they were after gold. It should have seemed perfectly ordinary to him: Why wouldn’t demons (or aliens) want gold?
It beats them coming here for water, made of two of the most plentiful substances in the universe. Or being allergic to water, made up of…
I’m about to start Dominion. Humans versus Angels–what’s not to like?
Maybe Due South? Night Heat? :dubious:
Depends on how abundant gold is in the Universe, what with having atomic number 79… :dubious:
The New Avengers? :dubious:
I saw recently a trailer for the 4th season of Falling Sky’s. I never bothered watching it as I assusmed it would be cancelled after one season and it didn’t sound like it would be very good. How has that turned out?
Don’t forget about Flashpoint and the upcoming Welcome to Sweden. I’m really looking forward to the later.