I think the time constraints on stories produced for the silver screen are one of the big reasons that this perspective 1-is largely true and 2-you don’t see that much variation in story structure and techniques in SF films. SF epics really work better on TV than they do as films.
They work on TV as long as the structure is episodic. The traditional TV series needs self-contained stories that new viewers can jump into at any point in the season, or else they get themselves cancelled.
I agree, although for some reason certain series get away with less self-contained episodes (Stargate: Universe – I watched an episode and had no idea what was going on or why) while others with more episodic content get canceled (Firefly, though that cancellation was more likely due to other factors).
I tried to get my buddy into FARSCAPE, but three seasons had already gone by and the backstory was just impossible to penetrate.
Of course, things should be different now that people can watch whole seasons on DVD.
I think the time constraints on stories produced for the silver screen are one of the big reasons that this perspective 1-is largely true and 2-you don’t see that much variation in story structure and techniques in SF films. SF epics really work better on TV than they do as films.
They work on TV as long as the structure is episodic. The traditional TV series needs self-contained stories that new viewers can jump into at any point in the season, or else they get themselves cancelled.
I agree, although for some reason certain series get away with less self-contained episodes (Stargate: Universe – I watched an episode and had no idea what was going on or why) while others with more episodic content get canceled (Firefly, though that cancellation was more likely due to other factors).
I tried to get my buddy into FARSCAPE, but three seasons had already gone by and the backstory was just impossible to penetrate.
Of course, things should be different now that people can watch whole seasons on DVD.