I recently finished watching Farscape, and it got me thinking about how the 90s and 00s was a goldmine for sci-fi shows with space traversal.
Star Trek TNG
Star Trek Voyager
Star Trek Deep Space Nine
Star Trek Enterprise
Stargate SG-1
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Universe
Farscape
Firefly
Babylon 5
Space: Above and Beyond
Battlestar Galactica
And those are just the most recognized/respected ones. Whether everyone enjoyed all of them or not isn't really important. The point is that this type of sci-fi was a common sight on TV for 20 or so years.
Which coincidentally might be one of the reasons for why nobody has greenlit a new show since Stargate Universe in 2009. People probably got tired of the same type of stories. Four Star Trek and three Stargate shows does that to people, I guess.
That being said, there's no lack of sci-fi movies with space traversal (Star Trek, Interstellar, Jupiter Ascending, Avatar, Star Wars). Doctor Who is the closest thing we've got on TV these days,
but it's not really the same type of show as the ones I've listed above. There's also Defiance and Falling Skies, but both of those takes place on Earth.
I realise that these things happens in waves, though. Nowadays it seems like the TV industry has a hard on for fantasy, folklore and horror, but that could easily change in 4-5 years.
In fact, there's a number of sci-fi shows that's in development right now. I'm well aware of the fact that they might not make it to the pilot stage, but man.... Incursion sounds so good on paper. Let me dream.
Ringworld
Yes, Larry Niven's classic book series about the coolest megastructure in space could finally be getting a four-hour miniseries, according to Entertainment Weekly. EW describes this as a story about human explorers traveling to the farthest reaches of space to investigate "an alien habitat the size of one million Earths." They crashland and discover ancient civilizations, miraculous technology, and a possible salvation for Earth. Syfy considered making a Ringworld miniseries nine years ago, with a different crew. Let's hope this turns out better than Syfy's two Riverworld miniseries, and its Earthsea mini. This is being written by Michael Perry (The River, Paranormal Activity 2). And it's a co-production of MGM Television and Universal Cable Productions (UCP).
High Moon
Another space show, albeit one closer to Earth. This one has Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies) as an executive producer, although the pilot is mostly written by Jim Danger Gray (also Pushing Daisies). In High Moon, Earth's nations all start establishing colonies on the Moon to exploit all the natural resources up there — and then they discover "a new form of life." Chaos breaks out "in a genuinely emotional, humorously thrilling and always unexpected fashion,"
Orion
After a clan of bandits are nearly destroyed and left for dead by Coalition forces, they take refuge in the nearest safe haven, a derelict Coalition starship floating in space. Once onboard, they masquerade as Coalition officers while continuing their criminal ways -- until they stumble upon a shocking realization about the true nature of the Coalition. Todd Stashwick and Dennis Calero will write, with Hurd (The Walking Dead) and John Shiban (Hell on Wheels) attached to executive produce the UCP project.
Orion
The space opera centers on Orion, an adventurous female relic hunter who tracks down valuable artifacts while trying to piece together her past. Set amid an intergalactic war pitting humans against a terrifying alien race, Orion must decide whether to use her abilities to save herself or commit to the cause and unearth long hidden artifacts that could free all of humanity from a horrible fate. Ron Milbauer and Terri Hughes Burton (Alphas) will write and executive produce, with George Krstic and Ryuhei Kitamura on board as co-executive producers. F.J. Desanto will serve as a supervising producer on the UCP project.
Sojourn
The first detective ever in space is tasked with investigating a murder on a starship -- headed to colonize another planet -- and instead becomes embroiled in a vast conspiracy involving a mysterious terrible crime dating back to the original launch of the ship 50 years ago. Phil Levens (Smallville) will write, with Blum (Paranormal Activity) on board to produce the Lionsgate entry.
Infinity
When an alien armada is sighted in the region of Pluto, the Earth government turns to a young billionaire industrialist -- who has the only ship ready for interstellar travel -- to greet the aliens and avoid a catastrophe. Powered by secret alien technology discovered on Earth in the 1960s, the ship engages in a firefight that sends them spinning through a wormhole into an uncharted region of space. Lost in the universe, the team struggles to survive as they encounter new planets and alien species, searching for a way back home. Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost) will write the Berman/Braun produced entry from Universal Television.
Incursion
Starz describes the show as "an epic science fiction action-thriller that follows a squad of soldiers caught in a war against a hostile alien race. Each season the battle will be fought on a new, exotic planet as humanity punches deeper into enemy territory. Grittily realistic combat, darkly complex characters and intrigue on a cosmic scale will permeate the tale of fighting men and women facing the pressures of war and an enemy unlike any ever seen."
Star Trek
Nothing concrete at the moment, but there has been talks about it:
Bob Orci just told me they've had a meeting with CBS to revive @StarTrek on TV...This made me v excited
- Joe Michalczuk (@joemichalczuk) October 8, 2013
Star Wars
Same situation as Star Trek.
In August 2013, Lee again visited the topic of a Star Wars live-action series, stating, "We've started conversations," he said. "I'd love to go there. I'm a particular fan of Lucasfilm. It's an amazing world."
Shows currently on TV:
Starblazers (animated show)
Space Dandy (animated show)
Are there any other upcoming shows that I have missed? I've focused on live action shows, but animated shows are welcome as well.
And do you think that we will ever see a new "golden age" similar to the one we had in the 90s/00s?
Star Trek TNG
Star Trek Voyager
Star Trek Deep Space Nine
Star Trek Enterprise
Stargate SG-1
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Universe
Farscape
Firefly
Babylon 5
Space: Above and Beyond
Battlestar Galactica
And those are just the most recognized/respected ones. Whether everyone enjoyed all of them or not isn't really important. The point is that this type of sci-fi was a common sight on TV for 20 or so years.
Which coincidentally might be one of the reasons for why nobody has greenlit a new show since Stargate Universe in 2009. People probably got tired of the same type of stories. Four Star Trek and three Stargate shows does that to people, I guess.
That being said, there's no lack of sci-fi movies with space traversal (Star Trek, Interstellar, Jupiter Ascending, Avatar, Star Wars). Doctor Who is the closest thing we've got on TV these days,
but it's not really the same type of show as the ones I've listed above. There's also Defiance and Falling Skies, but both of those takes place on Earth.
I realise that these things happens in waves, though. Nowadays it seems like the TV industry has a hard on for fantasy, folklore and horror, but that could easily change in 4-5 years.
In fact, there's a number of sci-fi shows that's in development right now. I'm well aware of the fact that they might not make it to the pilot stage, but man.... Incursion sounds so good on paper. Let me dream.
Ringworld
Yes, Larry Niven's classic book series about the coolest megastructure in space could finally be getting a four-hour miniseries, according to Entertainment Weekly. EW describes this as a story about human explorers traveling to the farthest reaches of space to investigate "an alien habitat the size of one million Earths." They crashland and discover ancient civilizations, miraculous technology, and a possible salvation for Earth. Syfy considered making a Ringworld miniseries nine years ago, with a different crew. Let's hope this turns out better than Syfy's two Riverworld miniseries, and its Earthsea mini. This is being written by Michael Perry (The River, Paranormal Activity 2). And it's a co-production of MGM Television and Universal Cable Productions (UCP).
High Moon
Another space show, albeit one closer to Earth. This one has Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies) as an executive producer, although the pilot is mostly written by Jim Danger Gray (also Pushing Daisies). In High Moon, Earth's nations all start establishing colonies on the Moon to exploit all the natural resources up there — and then they discover "a new form of life." Chaos breaks out "in a genuinely emotional, humorously thrilling and always unexpected fashion,"
Orion
After a clan of bandits are nearly destroyed and left for dead by Coalition forces, they take refuge in the nearest safe haven, a derelict Coalition starship floating in space. Once onboard, they masquerade as Coalition officers while continuing their criminal ways -- until they stumble upon a shocking realization about the true nature of the Coalition. Todd Stashwick and Dennis Calero will write, with Hurd (The Walking Dead) and John Shiban (Hell on Wheels) attached to executive produce the UCP project.
Orion
The space opera centers on Orion, an adventurous female relic hunter who tracks down valuable artifacts while trying to piece together her past. Set amid an intergalactic war pitting humans against a terrifying alien race, Orion must decide whether to use her abilities to save herself or commit to the cause and unearth long hidden artifacts that could free all of humanity from a horrible fate. Ron Milbauer and Terri Hughes Burton (Alphas) will write and executive produce, with George Krstic and Ryuhei Kitamura on board as co-executive producers. F.J. Desanto will serve as a supervising producer on the UCP project.
Sojourn
The first detective ever in space is tasked with investigating a murder on a starship -- headed to colonize another planet -- and instead becomes embroiled in a vast conspiracy involving a mysterious terrible crime dating back to the original launch of the ship 50 years ago. Phil Levens (Smallville) will write, with Blum (Paranormal Activity) on board to produce the Lionsgate entry.
Infinity
When an alien armada is sighted in the region of Pluto, the Earth government turns to a young billionaire industrialist -- who has the only ship ready for interstellar travel -- to greet the aliens and avoid a catastrophe. Powered by secret alien technology discovered on Earth in the 1960s, the ship engages in a firefight that sends them spinning through a wormhole into an uncharted region of space. Lost in the universe, the team struggles to survive as they encounter new planets and alien species, searching for a way back home. Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost) will write the Berman/Braun produced entry from Universal Television.
Incursion
Starz describes the show as "an epic science fiction action-thriller that follows a squad of soldiers caught in a war against a hostile alien race. Each season the battle will be fought on a new, exotic planet as humanity punches deeper into enemy territory. Grittily realistic combat, darkly complex characters and intrigue on a cosmic scale will permeate the tale of fighting men and women facing the pressures of war and an enemy unlike any ever seen."
Star Trek
Nothing concrete at the moment, but there has been talks about it:
Bob Orci just told me they've had a meeting with CBS to revive @StarTrek on TV...This made me v excited
- Joe Michalczuk (@joemichalczuk) October 8, 2013
Star Wars
Same situation as Star Trek.
In August 2013, Lee again visited the topic of a Star Wars live-action series, stating, "We've started conversations," he said. "I'd love to go there. I'm a particular fan of Lucasfilm. It's an amazing world."
Shows currently on TV:
Starblazers (animated show)
Space Dandy (animated show)
Are there any other upcoming shows that I have missed? I've focused on live action shows, but animated shows are welcome as well.
And do you think that we will ever see a new "golden age" similar to the one we had in the 90s/00s?
