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I’ve noticed a lot of debate on reality versus fantasy recently and with SyFy promoting Caprica as more accessible by hiding the fact it’s a science fiction show, it prompted me to ask a question when Majik made a comment to the Galaxy Quest post.

With the theme of the Geeky List thing here, it’s no great secret that these days I’m all about the drama aspect of science fiction. Watching Ben Sisko struggle with a controversial decision, Adama giving Tigh chance after chance despite his mistakes and addiction, Sam Tyler (good name) trying to understand if he’s time travelling or going insane… or even a more mainstream idea of Marty McFly going back in time and trying to make sure his parents kiss on that dance floor…

But what about the science element of science fiction? Lost was officially bundled into the science fiction category once the survivors began to shift throughout time. When Desmond shifted there was a ‘sort of’ explanation. When they began jumping through time at random intervals, there was no explanation whatsoever. Is just having a time travel element enough? Or should there be a more logical explanation to it for it to be properly science fiction?

The thing that turns me off Science Fiction is the fiction element. I’m one of the seeming minority that just can’t watch Dr Who without wanting to chew the power cable of the TV in the hope that silence and death arrive at the same time to save me from evil Wheelie bins, Daleks that weigh just over 30 lbs and a screwdriver that seems to have inherited the “Superman effect”. Give me something based on science boundaries being pushed, and I’m fascinated – the moment reality is a dot on the horizon, I’m lost…
-Majik

And I see where he’s coming from entirely. Me, I’m more interested in the dramatic opportunities. Voyager had a character that was a hologram. There was a technical explanation and often technical episodes where there was a problem to be fixed which would give a more in depth look at how this sophisticated piece of science theory would come together… but the key t the episodes would be heavily based on ‘how does this effect the character’? Which is a valid point thats been around in sci fi for ages.

Is the machine alive? Can a machine have consciousness? The Next Generation really hit home on this with Measure of a Man – an episode which questioned the very being of a machine – but has there been too much focus on the emotional elements and not enough on the hard science?

The science was in part what dragged me into Trek in the first place. The technomagic was often unobtainable bullshit but it was all based on actual theory that people were either working on, or have worked on since. I’m still amazed they’ve came up with Geordies Visor and the Tricorder – even though both are extremely low tech in comparison.

Unfortunately they went too far by the time of Voyager and it was swaying to the side of bullshit more than theory and ‘Borg Nanoprobes’ became the same magic wand the sonic screwdriver had when RTD was writing Who. That made me appreciate the Who-isms more, I suddenly loved the anti-technobabble that some shows had user as overkill and dealing with transdimensional residue by calling it ’stuff’ and the ‘timey wimey detector, goes ding when there’s stuff’ type lines just began to amuse me.

When I’m writing it I have my own limited knowledge and reference books from some brilliant authors and scientists, one of whom does Trek science books which is brilliant for my time killing hobby, but I always try and put that in a realistic setting. In Next Gen, LeVar Burton tried to make the technobabble realistic by saying it as fast as he possibly could, as if he was speeding through the thoughts in his mind instead of making the words sound complex and awe inspiring. I like to remind myself of an engineer I know… he doesn’t spout off technobabble or lose you in thought, he knows what he’s doing… and thats all that matters to him.

I think theres room for both hard science and magical fantasy in sci fi – but more recently I’ve been interested in story and character more than challenging concepts. They’re good for the odd film or episode – Se7en was a good film, for example, but not every production could be like that and the less there are, the more special the film is – but overkill on something that’ll make you think is not enough to keep the audience emotionally interested, which is the main key to the current generation of TV – which is somewhat a sad thing to say.

Life on Mars is a good example. There was a sci fi element, but it wasn’t obvious… the story was more about the man and his struggle with the changes around him. BSG was less about the science and more about the personal struggles and overall story of being the last of humanity on the run. So I think I’m leaning towards the SF Drama more than anything these days…

But again, what about the science? Is it important to a story how the Doctor manages to regenerate? Or how the warp drive works? Does it really matter to the plot? Not often.

But how much bullshit can you spout before science fiction becomes science fantasy? Is the concept of time travel or the setting of a space ship enough to carry the science element, or is it important for the writers to know, or at least convey some sense of knowledge of how these things work and make us open our mind and question it – as Star Trek has done to many kids who are now scientists – or wave a magic screwdriver and just say ‘it works because it does’.

Arthur C Clarke said you can’t write science fiction without knowing anything about science. More recently shows have focused on personal elements and our own lead sci fi, Doctor Who, often see’s it’s science as magic that will be dull if delved into.

I know there’s a lot of you out there who are sci fi fans, have wonderful minds better than my own when it comes to how things work (like Maj) and those of you who just love to be entertained. And I’m in the middle of fantasy versus reality, so…

Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Does it even matter anymore? What do you think?

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Tags: bsg, doctor who, fandom, fantasy, friday rant, geek, movies, musing, sci fi, star trek, telebox, year one