Why Scifi?

Yep, that's what many people think.

Science Fiction Sucks!

I guess it is understandable to a certain extent, on the surface, Science Fiction can come across as weird and geeky.

How do you explain Science Fiction to someone who just doesn't get it? and whats more just doesn't care anyway?

I often defend Science fiction by stating that all the other genres are easily incorporated under the Sci Fi umbrella , comedy, action, romance, drama, horror, all of it, has been done brilliantly within the realm of Sci Fi and continues to be done by sci fi.

OK, I admit that if you love to watch gangster, mafia type dramas then you are not going to stop watching the Sopranos and start watching Star Trek and if you are an avid fan of Coronation street then no, you are not going to get the same "Soapiness" from Battlestar Galactica.

My argument however is, as a Sci Fi "geek" I live in the real world everyday, I see arguments, workplace politics, divorces, romances and even the odd car chase. So why do I need to go home and watch it again on TV or at the movies?

Sci Fi is escapism (anti-ordinary), much like most TV is, however most TV is already based in the real world and in my opinion is therefore bound by real world rules and physics. The storytelling must take place within these constraints.

Sci Fi mostly creates its own rules, its own universe from the ground up, an epic task for the writers and production staff to say the least and therefore a lot of Sci Fi can crash and burn if it is not well produced.

The thing about Sci fi for me is, and I admit, it has turned me into a snob.

After watching some of the most intricate, original and intense storytelling through the realm of sci fi, I find it very hard to come back down to Earth so to speak and enjoy something else to the same level.

Sci Fi challenges and inspires the mind in ways that no other 'conventional' or 'normal' genre can. Sci fi asks hard questions about life, religion, ethics, philosophy, ideology....the list goes on. Sci Fi also provides alternative answers to these questions.

How many other show can tackle in an entertaining way such topics as, abortion, terrorism, the death penalty and minority rights all in a single regular episode?

Science Fiction to me is escapism, and its also a blank canvas. Scifi is something that I can produce my thoughts and images upon without any rules of real world doctrine getting in my way, Sci Fi is freedom to think about whatever you like without someone with a closed mind saying "you're weird"

"'Providing hope is something science fiction should be doing. It sounds arrogant to say it, but if we don't do it, who the hell will? Norman Spinrad

Battlestar Galactica : Last Supper