# Why don't more sci fi shows have no sound in space? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035 "2005-10-13T06:39:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/1 "2005-10-13T06:39:41Z")
It just works! But seriously, just that one omission made Firefly seem more realistic than just about ever other science fiction show/movie ever made, even though they still had a lot of the same conventions. It also made space seem empty and cold in a way that it’s never felt for me outside of docu-movies like Apollo 13. Plus it saved them the expense of paying sound effect guys :). I’ve been turning off the sound effects in any space games I have and I’ve found it also works and for the same reasons. There’s just something cool about being in the middle of a huge firefight or whatever and not hearing anything but music and radio-chatter. I hope that it’s something that catches on. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/2 "2005-10-13T08:32:34Z")
My WAG: most viewers don’t realize there’s no sound in space, so soundless space scenes seem unrealistic to them. I’ve never seen _Firefly_, but I remember that _Babylon 5_ had no sound in space–they used musical stings instead. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/3 "2005-10-13T09:27:06Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > I’ve never seen _Firefly_, but I remember that _Babylon 5_ had no sound in space–they used musical stings instead. Nope - Babylon 5 had plenty of sound in space. JMS called it artistic license. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/4 "2005-10-13T09:31:19Z")
It was a nice touch in 2001 A Space Odyssey. In the first season of Star Trek TOS the Enterprise made a nice rumble when travelling on impulse but they took it out of later episodes as sound can’t travel in space. They did however deem it necessary to keep in weapon fire, so it was a messy compromise 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/5 "2005-10-13T09:34:07Z")
What’s funny is seeing it done right has really screwed me up in stuff where there’s sound; how’s it travelling? Why can we hear this and not that? Things I didn’t even notice before are really bugging me now! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/6 "2005-10-13T10:36:25Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Nope - Babylon 5 had plenty of sound in space. JMS called it artistic license. Well, it mustn’t have been perticularly \*memorable \* sound, then… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/7 "2005-10-13T11:21:12Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > Well, it mustn’t have been perticularly \*memorable \* sound, then… > 😉 I’d say the Shadow Battlecrabs made a pretty damned memorable sound :wally ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/8 "2005-10-13T12:12:12Z")
My WAG? Because shows that have any extended bits of silence are easier for people to psychologically ‘turn off’ to and switch channels. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/9 "2005-10-13T12:26:43Z")
In space no one can hear you meme? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/10 "2005-10-13T12:26:50Z")
Just wanna note that there’s no sound in space in the 1950s classics **Destination Moon** , **Forbidden Planet** , or **It! The Terror Beyond Space** (although that one did have an unrealistic comet/meteor in the background). Other 1950s movies , for the most part, didn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-more-sci-fi-shows-have-no-sound-in-space/326035/11 "2005-10-13T13:38:56Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > In space no one can hear you meme? 8888888 :throws peanuts at **ShibbOleth** ::