What is and isn't Space Opera?

[Yora]

As genres go, Space Opera seems to be particularly undefined, yet it has continued to be one of the most popular ones for a very long time. (Perhaps because people use it for all kinds of different things?)

Instead of looking up and comparing various definitions by people who also just put their subjective gut feelings into words, what does your intuition say makes something Space Opera or clearly something else? Do you have any well known works that are frequently called Space Opera but you think have some traits that don't work with the general Space Opera idea?

One thing for me that is an absolutely necessity is Interstellar Travel at a speed that allows characters to travel back and forth between different inhabited planets. (Which is why Interstellar would not be a space opea because all the planets are empty.)
If protagonists are stuck on a single planet, it's not a Space Opera. (There could be Space Operas in the world of Bladerunner, but Deckard's story is not one.)

At least 9 times out of 10, Space Operas have alien characters, but there are enough exceptions that still feel very much like Space Opera to not make that a mandatory necessity.

 

[John R Davis]

-Absolutely it's space travel, long distances, very fast.
-Time of conflict is the backdrop.
-A romance / relationship.

With a nice sprinkle of aliens (goodies and baddies) and high tech fantastical weapons, and rollicking heroic adventure!

In an RPG it needs a fast mechanic for action, lots hand wavy tech, and PCs capable of grand deeds.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If protagonists are stuck on a single planet, it's not a Space Opera.

That has it's own subgenre - planetary romance.

At least 9 times out of 10, Space Operas have alien characters, but there are enough exceptions that still feel very much like Space Opera to not make that a mandatory necessity.

No, Firefly has no aliens and is clearly space opera. Technically it doesn't have intersteller travel either, interplanetary is enough, if the planets are inhabited.

 

[Imaculata]

To me a space opera has big battles in outer space, romance, high tech, adventure, and is often a bit campy and perhaps unrealistic. Like a soap opera in outer space, but with space tropes instead of soap tropes. It is a scifi on a grand adventurous scale. Which would make Star Wars undeniably a Space Opera, but Interstellar not so much.

 

[Yora]

I've even read some critic or something say all Space Opera is fantasy.

While I think Star Wars is more of an exception in being full out fantasy, one thing shared by all Space Opera is that there isn't really a concern for any science. If physics terms are used, it's technobabble.
Which is why I think The Expanse doesn't feel like Space Opera. (Despite other elements gradually appearing throughout the story.)

No, Firefly has no aliens and is clearly space opera. Technically it doesn't have intersteller travel either, interplanetary is enough, if the planets are inhabited.

So you do agree with me?

 

[Ryujin]

I think we can all agree....

 

[MarkB]

It's a very inhabited setting, in which space just happens to be the backdrop against which the thrilling action happens. This isn't a setting in which 99.9% of the star systems you visit are devoid of life.

The reason why there needs to be fast, easy travel is that this is a setting in which scale doesn't really matter. The protagonists may travel across half a galaxy, and find entire planets to visit, but we'll only see around 1-3 locations on any particular planet - for all that it matters, it might as well be the size of a city, or even a small town.

Stargate SG-1 is a great example of this, with a McGuffin that plays right into it. The heroes visit a whole range of different worlds, but on any one of those worlds they'll rarely see anything beyond a 1-2 mile radius of the location of the Stargate - and since the Stargates are travel hubs, it even makes sense in-universe that most of the interesting stuff on a planet will be near by to them.

 

[Yora]

Do you consider Stargate to be Space Opera?

 

[John R Davis]

I don't see Expanse or Firefly as Space Opera, the latter especially not feeling " big enough".
Dark Matter feels big enough.
Killjoys not quite.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I don't see Expanse or Firefly as Space Opera, the latter especially not feeling " big enough".
Dark Matter feels big enough.
Killjoys not quite.

What are they then?

They aren't hard SF*, and they aren't planetary romance.


*You might make a case for The Expanse being this.