Monday, October 13, 2008

Starship Troopers

I love a good space opera. From Star Trek to Serenity, I've always loved reading, and watching, stories set in the stars. Even though there will be butt-ugly aliens, political intrigue, daring escapes and swoony romance, these stories always seem to be about one thing: the human condition.

Things in space don't seem to be that different from things here on Earth, except that Earthlings are universally reviled. We're weak, young, arrogant, carbon-based bags of water that are far beneath the notice of superior species- but those species wrestle with the same things we do.

One thing I always appreciated about Star Trek: it was hopeful. We didn't push the button; we didn't drop the bomb. And I personally love the fact that network honchos were worried about the original Trek's diversity, but the public didn't march in protest as was feared. We all loved the crew, even the Russian. I hate that female writers like Dorothy Fontana had to use her initials, D.C., to get scripts to air, but at least she still got to write.

And of course, there are plenty of stories that have nothing whatsoever to do with Earth- but they still have our challenges. Vonda McIntire is a personal fave of mine; who do you like to read (or watch) when you feel planet-bound?

5 comments:

elianara said...

I like to read Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon.

I loved watching Firefly, and was sad when it was canceled, and Futurama is one favorite when in need of brainless fun.

Robyn said...

Never got into Futurama, but I LOVED Firefly. My daughter is discovering McCaffrey.

writtenwyrdd said...

Firefly was excellent indeed. I always liked how Star Trek was hopeful, too. Post-apocalyptic or dystopic fiction is great at times, but I do like HEAs.

Robyn said...

Burnt-earth scenarios can be interesting (see Mad Max) but I'd rather think we didn't blow ourselves up.

pacatrue said...

Ohhh!!! It's THAT Robyn who played trivia a few times. Hope you will return to trivia and I will return to blog.

Me no like articles.