Save Our Sci-Fi

Yes, I agree I love Sci-Fi. Our world would be so much different without it. Where would our sense of adventure go? Our sense of, "Oh heck, let's do it!" Most of all, what would happen to the capacity of our brains? They'd shrink without being challenged each day without the simple, "What if?" scenario.

I hadn't heard about Caprica's cancellation. I am very disappointed. This was a smart series, and that may be the problem.

I've been disquieted by visits to the bookstore in the last couple years. I don't see many new original science fiction novels, nor do I see many new SF authors appearing. I see more fantasy, particularly supernatural fiction, and a large quantity of franchise entries (Star Trek, Star Wars, Halo, etc).

I hope it turns around soon, with more speculative fiction intended to make readers think.

I heartily agree. Sci-Fi just isn't the same. The genre is almost like an endangered species, and people, I don't know, they almost don't believe in it anymore. I, for one, love to gaze into the black beyond, and ponder the wonders of the universe. Has our age come to this? They don't "think" anymore. They don't believe in the invisible. Save Sci-Fi!

Supply and demand.

To many people would prefer shows that don't push the braincells to far, over shows that leave you to ponder the hours away.

I had to watch an episode of Gossip Girl the other day. My wish for an aneurysm never came.

We just live in a time that that refuses to challenge reality, the universe etc. And for young people that just don't get pushed in such a field, do you think they really care for Sci/Fi (Sure some will, but will the masses).

1940-1980s where a time where a lot of people questioned the bigger picture (Post WWII, Cold War etc). And thus SciFi rocketed.

Today, what do we have to push us. Thus, why so many people watch Gossip Girl, The Hills or some CSI crap.

I do wish the trend of current "ins" gets replaced by the good old days though.

On the other hand, urban chick lit fatasy been giving more and more room since Buffy, and do sort of speak to the same viewers. A bit geeky 15-35, but this time a mainly female audience.

I think geeky escapist series still have about as a fair share of the market, but it more aimed at fantasy/horror and female fanbase.

Edit: Refuse to challage reality? Pfft. Al lot of awesome series is going on everything from Lost, to Heroes to True Blood.

If anything we got a border front challenging reality then ever.

Changes in how the public feel about speculative fiction in general are very dependent on what is happening in the world at the time.In the 17th century, there was very little interest in fantasy or what might have been early science fiction, but by the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century, speculative fiction was all the rage, and some of the best works of the period were forerunners of scifi. In the 19th century, there was a lot more concern with class and society, so social realism was beginning to dominate literary tastes, and then in the 20th century, with another scientific golden age, public interest was renewed in the possibilities of science fiction. I think now, in the 21st century, people are bored of science, and thus of science fiction. We're again more concerned with things on a personal scale--family dramas, social realism, reality tv.

Basically, speculative fiction seems to ebb and flow every century or so. So you might've been born into an unlucky period...

@Arron - Well said. Agreed.

Aye, the tides of change...

I agree with Arron as well but for differing reasons. Science Fiction has an unfortunate tendency to get lost in its own wardrobe department. The trappings start to become more important than story. Hard to avoid given that the trappings are rather far removed from the everyday life of the everyday reader. When this happens then the genre loses its way and its purpose and becomes manky. And then when the odd decent title comes along or even wave of titles, the public look askance because, "What? That drivel? I haven't the time, thank you." Not until there is some decent momentum that can crash a wave upon the shore (so to speak) does the genre revive and reassert itself.

I'm just as concerned as you are about this apparent trend Matt. I also have a similar blog here on the forum, I have no easy answers. I think I have different tastes than you do as what constitutes a 'good' show. SG1 and its Atlantis offshoot for example were silly and almost juvenile, but knew it and made tongue in cheek jokes about it. I cant stand fiction that gets too preachy or serious on me.

Like Cog said, whenever I go to the book stores these days I nearly gasp, the SF section is slowly being absorbed by the nearby Manga section or the adjacent romance.

The Fantasy must still be selling though, because it takes up alot of room and those books are practically flying off the shelves because they're selling so well.

In terms of literature SF is taking a heavy beating, and this can be seen in television as well. When I was a kid, several major SF programs could have been on TV at any given time. At one point Star Trek TNG, DS9, and Voyager were all on the same week. Back in those days I just took them for granted. Now we long for those good old days.

In any case the genre will never fully die out, if anything it will just go underground for a bit.

Having just read a headline proclaiming that scientists have discovered a way to erase bad memories, it strikes me that its possible that the reason sci-fi is not as popular as it once was is that it has been subsumed by actual science. When authors like Philip K Dick wrote about cloning and mind control and Asimov wrote about robotics, they were things the distant future threatened. Now they are here. And have been for quite a while, in fact. And, for the most part, have been taken over by the political sphere and legislated, or by the corporate world and patented.

Which I guess leads to a question for you more avid fans of sci-fi: given that real science has caught up to (or ruled out the possibilities of) fictional science, where can speculative science fiction go from here?

SF can still speculate on areas where we are still vastly ignorant, like on the nature of alien intelligence.

To be honest, we don't have to leave the system to pontificate, while machines are getting smarter every day they are still far from true AI.

Good point though Aaron, with once innovative ideas like time travel now mundane, people can easily get bored of the old classic SF staples.

I'll try my hardest to be original, but it's damn hard when it seems like everything has already been done to death.

That is the ultimate problem with humanity today. For SF authors, it's becoming harder to lie to readers convincingly.