There is no global agreement about how to refer to this genre of science fiction motion picture and television entertainment. But, many choose to refer to it as science fiction space operas, adapting the term from the name of the much earlier soap operas genre.

Some prefer to use the name science fiction space adventures.  Pictured are Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner at the 40th anniversary of one of the most famous examples of this genre.  By whatever name you want to call it, this established genre dates back all the way to the 1930s.  Travel back in time to see how this genre presents stories about human beings from planet Earth, who encounter other forms of intelligent life, adventure, conflict and discovery “out there” while living in or traveling through space.

1930s

Universal’s famous 1936 Flash Gordon starring Buster Crabbe (who also starred as the original Buck Rogers character in 1939) is probably one of the most recognizable examples of this genre. Flash Gordon was made as serials in which multiple parts of the story were screened over several visits to a theater near you. In 1980 producer Dino DeLaurentiis would produce a movie version featuring music by Queen.  Sci-Fi Channel in 2007 would offer a 21st century remake of Flash Gordon.

One characteristic concerning of the 1980 Flash Gordon movie is what we call “camp.” And no, I am not referring here to sleeping outdoors under the stars. The word is used here to refer to ironic usage of something odd or exaggerated, corny, over-the-top, outlandish, kitch, and so forth.  For fans of more serious writing, it is unfortunate that Flash Gordon from the 1930s originated much of what is perceived as corny or exaggerated in science fiction.

1940s

Captain Video, a late 1940s television series aired on the Dumont television network. Don’t worry. Most people reading this won’t know that name, either. The significance, if you can call it that, for Captain Video is that it although it was tailored to children in the audience, it ran after World War II from 1949 until 1955, and it gave network producers justification to create other such sci-fi series for kids. Space Patrol and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet followed with similar themes and points of view about science and what was then called “outer space.” These sci-fi series, which would be considered primitive by present-day writing and production standards, depicted in the popular culture of the United States the idea that space exploration was not only possible, but exciting.

1950s

In 1956, the film Forbidden Planet dumped the campy approach to science fiction. In this film you will immediately recognize actor Leslie Nielsen, who stars in popular comedy films such as Scary Movie 3 and 4. But Forbidden Planet is serious science fiction featuring serious actors like Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis, whom you have seen in old black and white television shows from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Forbidden Planet is pioneering for its use of Technicolor and special visual effects. Also, this film deals with a interstellar ship from Earth with a crew headed by a strong authoritarian captain on a mission to make contact with a mysterious inhabitant of a distant planet. Sounds a little like Star Trek, doesn’t it?

This Island Earth (1955) concerns extraterrestrials who visit Earth and abduct humans for a visit to an alien planet doomed by an energy crisis. This film reverses the plot line of human discovery of alien life forms on their home worlds, so maybe it doesn’t fit in this genre. You may know that the cable series Mystery Science Theatre 3000 mocked this and other similar sci-fi movies, giving a contemporary sensibility to the perception that space operas and camp go together. This Island Earth may not have been great cinema. But, it does feature actor Russell Johnson, who would later play the professor on Gilligan’s Island. That should count for something! If nothing else is true, in its day, This Island Earth helped solidify credible writing for adult viewers, including thought-provoking idea content.

1960s

Irwin Allen almost singlehandedly changed all this with Lost in Space, which first aired in 1965. Featuring giant vegetable-type alien life forms that attack humans for no good reason every other episode, Lost in Space on CBS was lots of fun, but this series exemplifies the very juvenile-oriented of Saturday morning television shows. Image the psychic damage done to young gay males in the 1960 who looked to Lost in Space’s Dr. Smith as a role model, but I digress! Roddenberry’s Star Trek was in development in 1964, but it premiered in 1966 on NBC and helped begin the healing process that this genre suffered under Irwin Allen.

Then, in 1968, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, a Space Odyssey, a seminal science fiction epic motion picture, set exceedingly high standards for excellence and sophistication in art direction and special visual effects cinematography. All subsequent motion pictures and television productions whose stories take place in space inevitably are compared to Kubrick’s masterpiece. Members of Kubrick’s team later went on to distinguish themselves in later sci-fi films and television series. In 1971, for instance, Douglas Trumbull, from Kubrick’s team, was largely responsible for Silent Running, which its ecological themes of humans dealing with space exploration.

1970s

The Starlost (1973) is an ill-fated television series conceived by science fiction veteran Harlan Ellison. It was poorly scripted and produced in Canada using inexpensive (okay, let’s tell it like it is–cheap-looking) videotape techniques. Dark Star (1974) is a feature film produced independently of major studios on a small budget. This film uses some comedy to depict the loneliness of deep space exploration that ultimately leads to the demise of the spaceship’s crew–killed by boredom for once instead of by gory flesh-eating parasites. In 1975, the British got revenge on the colonies with Space: 1999, which had the highest per-episode budget to date for science fiction series on television. Brian Johnson and Nick Alder from Kubrick’s team helped give Space: 1999 one of the highest levels of visual sophistication of any science fiction series ever produced. The writing on this series, however, was anything but sophisticated.

George Lucas brought us Star Wars in 1977, changing everything about life on our planet. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. However, Lucas did make a major impression upon the motion picture industries with all of his Star Wars films, not to mention a ton of cash. Unfortunately, what followed were many me-too attempts at science fiction space operas. The original Battlestar Galactica in 1978 comes to mind, for instance.

Alien in 1979 once again shifted the genre. By the late 1970s, science fiction space operas had to look absolutely awesome and sophisticated. Alien is both, and it deservedly launched a major motion picture franchise that assures Sigourney Weaver’s solvency. Paramount lusted for a major motion picture franchise of its own using Star Trek, yet almost doomed that idea effectively with 1979’s unfortunately longwinded Star Trek: The Motion Picture. That year also saw the remake of Buck Rogers for television in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century starring Gil Gerard. Produced by Glen Larson, who created Battlestar Galactica Classic Series, this updated Buck Rogers more or less equally objectified both male and female bodies as sexual objects for the horny masses.

1980s

The subsequent major Star Trek motion pictures-–starting in 1982 and running through 2002–-fared well for Paramount, the actors, and the storytelling. Some Star Trek fans conclude that the odd-numbered Star Trek motion pictures are not as good as the even-numbered ones–-as if that was deliberate! Galactica 1980 was an attempt to reinvigorate interest in Battlestar Galactica Classic Series. But, this proved not to be a ratings success, and the franchise would have to wait until Ron Moore in the 21st century to make a comeback and make lots of money.

Meanwhile, the decade was owned by George Lucas. Yes, you know that he could afford to buy an entire decade if he wanted to. He scored big at the box office with two more Star Wars movies, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) to complete his first trilogy. One could spend a lifetime analyzing and commenting on the first Star Wars trilogy of movies. Together, these films set exceptionally high standards in storytelling and production of science fiction operas.

Roddenberry’s Star Trek: The Next Generation started on syndicated television in 1987 and ran until 1994.  This series stands as proof that Roddenberry and his team of writers and actors chose to learn from the 1960s’ lessons of producing the original Star Trek.

1990s

Babylon 5, created by Joseph Michael Straczynski, started in 1993 with its pilot, The Gathering, and ran as a regular series from 1994 through 1998. What distinguishes Babylon 5 from most other science fiction space operas-–other than high visual appeal-–is the choice to write and produce the series with stories that arc over an entire season instead of the usual approach to have individual, self-contained stories in episodes. Babylon 5 won two Hugo awards–annual science fiction excellence awards named for Hugo Gernsback, founder of Amazing Stories magazine.

Space: Above and Beyond (1995) came to Fox television from producers James Wong and Glen Morgan of X-Files fame. Including the pilot, Space: Above and Beyond has only 22 episodes, thanks to being canceled quickly by Fox. This series was heavily militaristic (similar to Paul Verhoeven’s very bloody 1997 film, Starship Troopers), yet found inventive ways to avoid stereotyping male and female roles for the soldiers.  Pictured is actor Rodney Rowland from Space: Above and Beyond as a military role model–an icon that Ron Moore’s Battlestar Galactica would perfect in the following decade.

Two Star Trek spin offs were produced in the years immediately following Roddenberry’s death in 1991–-Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001.) A persistent complaint from fans is that neither of these series have the same spirit or intent of storytelling compared to the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. This may or not be true, depending on your own point of view. But, it is true that since Star Trek’s creator was no longer living, the essential work of writing and producing of Star Trek on television and in motion pictures was taken up by others who had to take command of this hugely valuable franchise.

If you care, my own favorite Star Trek movie is number seven from 1994, Star Trek: Generations, a crossover film with both casts and characters from the original Star Trek series and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Other creative people chose to go in entirely different directions with this genre. One of the best sci-fi space operas ever conceived and produced, Farscape, which started on Sci-Fi Channel in 1999. Also that year, the beginning of the second Star Wars trilogy was launched when George Lucas released Star Wars: The Phantom Menace..

2000s

Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, posthumously produced, started in 2000 and ran for 5 seasons.  In 2001 Star Trek: Enterprise premiered, but insufficient ratings motivated Paramount to cut short this series after only 4 seasons compared to the other 3 Star Trek spinoff series that had 7 seasons each.  Undaunted by criticism that this now 40 year-old Star Trek franchise may be getting a little worn out, Paramount nonetheless plans an eleventh Star Trek motion picture in the latter part of the present decade.

Joss Whedon’s Firefly premiered on Fox television in 2002 and was cut short by the network after only 9 episodes were broadcast. This business decision in no way tarnishes the very high quality of Firefly, which was resurrected three years later as a one-time-only major motion picture entitled Serenity.

Late in 2003 a “reinterpretation” or “reboot” of Battlestar Galactica Classic Series led to a miniseries on Sci-Fi Channel from Ron Moore, whose creativity and vision by this point in his career certainly merit him nothing less than his own television network.  The ratings were so good that a full season was produced, followed by three additional seasons of new episodes, the last of which was aired in 2009.  This post 9/11 update of Battlestar Galactica Classic Series angered die-hard fans of that series.  But, let them live in the past if they so choose.  Battlestar Galactica of the 21st century emerged as the far better production characterized by the highest quality writing, production, and acting in the entire science fiction space opera genre.

Completing his second Star Wars motion picture trilogy, George Lucas released Star Wars: Attack of the Clones in 2002. The final installment, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, was released in 2005. It included the long-awaited story of how Jedi warrior Darth Vader (portrayed by Hayden Christensen) became the most indelible villain of sci-fi space operas.  Afterwards, Lucas, who turned 61 that year, announced that he intended to do no more Star Wars movies. However, in 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released--the first of what are likely to be many animated versions of Star Wars.

J.J. Abrams “rebooted” Star Trek with a financially successful 2009 movie, which was the eleventh theatrical release in this legendary franchise, and arguably the best of the bunch.