Space opera

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Classic pulp space opera cover, with the usual cliche elements.
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Classic pulp space opera cover, with the usual cliche elements.
For other uses, see Space Opera (disambiguation).

Space opera is a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes romantic adventure, exotic settings, and larger-than-life characters.

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[edit] History

"Grey Lensman", 1939
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"Grey Lensman", 1939

"Space opera" was originally a derogatory term, a variant of "horse opera" and "soap opera". It does not directly refer to opera. Wilson Tucker suggested the term in 1941 to describe what he called "the hacky, grinding, stinking, outworn space-ship yarn" – i.e., substandard science fiction[1]. "Space opera" may still be used with a similar pejorative sense.

A nostalgic fondness for the best examples of the genre of story which produced "space operas" in the original sense led to a reevaluation of the term. It is now commonly used to mean a tale of space adventure whose emphasis is on boldly delineated characters, drama, and especially action. Originators of the first space opera stories in this second sense were E. E. Smith, with his Skylark and Lensman series; Edmond Hamilton; Jack Williamson; and later Leigh Brackett.

The early writers of space opera had, of course, no real-life models or experience of life in space to draw upon. Their early stories therefore owe a great deal to existing adventure and pulp fiction of the 1920s-1940s; notably frontier stories of the American West, and stories with exotic settings such as Africa or the orient. There were often parallels between sailing ships and spaceships, between African explorers and space explorers, between pirates and space pirates.

Perhaps the first space opera was Edison's Conquest of Mars, published in 1898. It has all the cliché elements: spaceships, travel to other planets, flying cars, battles with evil aliens, military weapons of mass destruction, beautiful women being held prisoner, and even the first appearance of a disintegrator ray. While this story predates the term "space opera", it defined the genre.

Galaxy ran an ad on its back cover, "You won't find it in this Galaxy", which gave the beginnings of make-believe parallel western and science fiction stories featuring a character named "Bat Durston". From these ads sprang the term "Bat Durston" to refer to the widespread subgenre of space opera, stories that merely substituted SF trappings for Western ones.

[edit] Characteristics

A space opera is usually set in outer space or on a distant planet. In most cases, to keep the story fast moving, a spaceship can fly almost unlimited distances in a short time, and can turn on a dime, without the boring necessity of decelerating. The planets usually have earthlike atmospheres (Earth's moon is an exception) and exotic life forms. Aliens usually speak English, sometimes with an accent. The machinery of space opera often includes (in addition to spaceships) ray-guns, robots, and flying cars.

Space opera backgrounds may vary considerably in scientific plausibility. Most space operas conveniently violate the known laws of physics by positing some form of faster-than-light travel. Many space operas diverge even more from known physical reality, and not uncommonly invoke paranormal forces, or vast powers capable of destroying whole planets, stars, or galaxies.

Depth of character development and description may also vary in space operas. Lois McMaster Bujold and Iain M. Banks write space operas with a great deal of human interest. Some critics and fans refuse to use the term 'space opera' for a work with well-developed characterization. Both sides of this debate have been expounded at length in the Usenet forum rec.arts.sf.written.

If there is one thing that generally sets space opera apart it is the combination of scale, ultimate Good vs Evil, and romance. In terms of scale nothing less than a planet will be involved and its fate will at times involve the survival of not only the civilization the hero is a part of but the galaxy or entire universe as well. As far as Good vs Evil is concerned there are often next to no shades of gray, a character is one or the other and the side they are on generally determines what they are, though this is not always true of space opera. Romance is another key element that combined with the other two sets space opera apart.

[edit] Definitions by contrast

[edit] Space opera and planetary romance

Some critics distinguish between space opera and planetary romance. Where space opera grows out of both the Western and sea adventure traditions, the planetary romance grows out of the lost world or lost civilisation tradition. Both feature adventures in exotic settings, but space opera emphasizes space travel, while planetary romances focus on alien worlds. In this view, the Martian-, Venusian-, and lunar-setting stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs would be planetary romances (and among the earliest), as would be Leigh Brackett's Burroughs-influenced Eric John Stark stories, initially set on Mars, but Brackett's screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back would belong to space opera, as does most of the work of her husband (and frequent collaborator), Edmond Hamilton. In recent years, works like Robert Silverberg's Majipoor sequence have seen the planetary romance move closer to being considered as fantasy rather than science fiction.

[edit] Space opera and hard science fiction

Space opera can also be contrasted with "hard science fiction", in which the emphasis is on the effects of technological progress and inventions, and where the settings are carefully worked out to obey the laws of science. There is, however (according to some), no sharp division between hard science fiction and true space opera. Many of Robert A. Heinlein's young adult novels, such as Starship Troopers, are seen by his fans to qualify as both.

[edit] Space opera and military science fiction

One subset of space opera overlaps with military science fiction, concentrating on large-scale space battles with futuristic weapons (example: Honor Harrington series by David Weber). In such stories, the military tone and weapon system technology may be taken very seriously. At one extreme, the genre is used to speculate about future wars involving space travel, or the effects of such a war on humans; at the other it consists of the use of military fiction plots with some superficial sf trappings.

[edit] Space opera and space western

Another subset of the space opera is the Space western genre. The term doesn't have anything to do with wearing cowboy hats and roping steers. It supposes that the future of space exploration will be much like the taming of the old west in the USA (e.g.Northwest Smith by C. L. Moore). This "frontier stories" view of the future is only one of many ways to look at space exploration, and not one that is held in high regard by scientists and futurologists like Raymond Kurzweil, who assert that humans will evolve past the need for rocket ships in the near future.

[edit] New Space Opera

Starting with M. John Harrison's The Centauri Device in 1975, a 'call to arms' editorial in Interzone, and the financial success of Star Wars which closely follows many traditional space opera conventions, a number of mostly British writers began to reinvent space opera. This new space opera, which evolved around the same time cyberpunk emerged and was influenced by it, is darker, moves away from the 'triumph of mankind' template of space opera, involves newer technologies, and has stronger characterisation than the space opera of old. It does, though retain the interstellar scale and grandeur of traditional space opera. New space opera is therefore scientifically rigorous while ambitious in scope. Among the practitioners of the new space opera are Iain M. Banks, Peter F. Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds, Stephen Baxter, Paul McAuley, John Clute, Charles Stross, M. John Harrison, John C. Wright, Simon Green, and Ken MacLeod.

A more recent movement of American Space Opera writers, many writing for the Baen books imprint, developed during the 1990s and 2000s. This new wave of Space Opera authors include David Drake, Lois McMaster Bujold, Eric Flint, S.M. Stirling, John Ringo and David Weber. This branch of Space Opera follows more militaristic themes than the British branch, and usually features tales of war on an Intergalactic scale.

Other older, more established Space Opera writers, like James H. Schmitz, Robert A. Heinlein, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, among others, were also often reprinted by Baen during this same period, as part of an effort by the publisher to reestablish the market for more militaristic Space Opera (a market arguably made popular by Heinlein in the first place, with the novel Starship Troopers).

Random House's Del Rey division, which had never totally gone out of the Space Opera business, also increased their output of Space Opera books during the 1990s and 2000s, including their own versions of militaristic Space Opera. Stories like David Sherman and Dan Cragg's StarFist series became increasingly common.

[edit] Parodies

Harry Harrison's Bill the Galactic Hero, parodic space opera protagonist
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Harry Harrison's Bill the Galactic Hero, parodic space opera protagonist

In his 1965 story Space Opera, Jack Vance parodied the genre by writing about an interstellar operatic company which brought culture to deprived worlds. Harry Harrison's Bill, the Galactic Hero, and Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ("...men were real men, women were real women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.") are classic space opera parodies.

[edit] Other media

In Manga, possibly the most ambitious and long-running space opera series is the Five Star Stories. Another famous example in anime is the Gundam series which also combines military and hard SF themes.

While most science fiction in television and film, from Star Trek to Battlestar Galactica have space opera elements they usually lack one or more of the elements that sets space opera apart from the other parts of the sci-fi genre.

[edit] Space Opera and Scientology

Main article: Space opera in Scientology doctrine

Space opera plays a part in the belief system of Scientology, whose founder L. Ron Hubbard was originally a pulp science fiction writer. The story of Xenu illustrates space opera themes in Scientology, which regards science fictional space opera as being an unconscious recollection of real events which occurred in the distant past.

[edit] Sample space opera backgrounds

In all media.

[edit] Books

[edit] Film

[edit] Television

[edit] Anime / animated

[edit] Comic Strips or Comic Books

[edit] Stage

[edit] Music

[edit] Games

Role Playing Games:

  • Bulldogs!
  • Fading Suns
  • HardNova II
  • Space Opera--Space Opera, setting created by E. Simbalist, M. Ratner & P. Mc Gregor
  • Star*Drive, a far-future space opera setting, using the now out-of-print Alternity RPG rule system. Originally published by TSR.
  • Traveller, setting created by Marc W. Miller

Board games:

  • Full Thrust, a popular 2D space battle simulation board (and miniatures) game
  • Hard Vacuum, a Board/Miniatures game of WWII space combat in an alternate universe where the Allies and Axis have achieved space flight
  • Heroscape, a board game where heroes from all ages of Earth and beyond come together in a hugely customizable strategy game.

Computer games:

Console games:

[edit] See also

[edit] Articles

  • Dave Langford: Fun With Senseless Violence
  • David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer: Space Opera Redefined
  • Locus, August 2003: Special section on "The New Space Opera." Articles by Russell Letson & Gary K. Wolfe, Ken MacLeod, Paul McAuley, Gwyneth Jones, M. John Harrison, and Stephen Baxter.
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