What is and isn't Space Opera?

[MarkB]

The reason that I think Stargate doesn't feel like Space Opera is that it's about contemporary humans who never really leave Earth behind to become part of a greater world. They use contemporary technology and the people they meet are also humans or effectively demon-possessed humans. They never take the "first step into a greater world". It feels more like an alien invasion story in which most of the fighting takes place on the doorsteps of Earth than actually Earth itself. Though I know that later in the series they do introduce all kinds of space ships.

Yeah, you might want to check out that "later in the series". Humanity becomes one of the big players in the galaxy, they ally with a major alien race, meet several others, lead a slave rebellion that defeats those "demons", quest for ancient technologies, and fight off an intergalactic invasion led by godlike beings.

 

[Yora]

It is my subjective feeling.
Because all the works I would think of as being Space Opera have it.

Are there any works that you think are space opera on other grounds but don't have it?

 

[Umbran]

ETA: I don't actually recommend reading the Lensman books, necessarily—I find all of that author's stuff lifeless and all tell, no show

Note that Triplanetary, the first of the series, was written in 1948. I think most of us would find much of the stuff of the time to be similarly dry.

And, for those who are interested, the term "space opera" was apparently first used in 1941, by a fan writer in a fanzine of the time, and he used it as a pejorative term.

 

[Umbran]

I dont get the greater universe requirement. I have never heard it actually being required by anybody for space opera until now.

The scope being larger than a single world is a pretty common expectation for Space Opera.

To quote TV Tropes:

"Space Opera refers to works set in a spacefaring civilization, usually set in the far future or A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away.... Technology is ubiquitous and secondary to the story. Space opera has an epic character to it: the universe is big, there are usually many sprawling civilizations and empires, there are political conflicts and intrigue. The action will range across part of a solar system at a minimum, and more commonly will extend over large tracts of a galaxy or several. It frequently takes place in a Standard Sci Fi Setting. It has a romantic element which distinguishes it from most hard science fiction: big love stories, epic space battles, oversized heroes and villains, awe-inspiring scenery, and insanely gorgeous men and women."

And Wikipedia:

"Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes science fictional space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and social advancements (or lack thereof) in faster-than-light travel, futuristic weapons, and sophisticated technology, on a backdrop of galactic empires and interstellar wars with fictional aliens, often in fictional galaxies."

 

[payn]

The scope being larger than a single world is a pretty common expectation for Space Opera.

To quote TV Tropes:

"Space Opera refers to works set in a spacefaring civilization, usually set in the far future or A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away.... Technology is ubiquitous and secondary to the story. Space opera has an epic character to it: the universe is big, there are usually many sprawling civilizations and empires, there are political conflicts and intrigue. The action will range across part of a solar system at a minimum, and more commonly will extend over large tracts of a galaxy or several. It frequently takes place in a Standard Sci Fi Setting. It has a romantic element which distinguishes it from most hard science fiction: big love stories, epic space battles, oversized heroes and villains, awe-inspiring scenery, and insanely gorgeous men and women."

And Wikipedia:

"Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes science fictional space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and social advancements (or lack thereof) in faster-than-light travel, futuristic weapons, and sophisticated technology, on a backdrop of galactic empires and interstellar wars with fictional aliens, often in fictional galaxies."

Gotcha. The bolded element has always been the most important part I heard folks attribute to space opera in the past. Having a very large interstellar civilization, but more slice of life as Dragoner put it, wouldn't seem like space opera to me.

 

[Ryujin]

Note that Triplanetary, the first of the series, was written in 1948. I think most of us would find much of the stuff of the time to be similarly dry.

And, for those who are interested, the term "space opera" was apparently first used in 1941, by a fan writer in a fanzine of the time, and he used it as a pejorative term.

I don't find them any more dry than "Buck Rogers" or "Flash Gordon" but, then again, my all-time favourite movie is "The Day the Earth Stood Still." "Forbidden Planet" is a close second.

As you previously said, the "Lensmen" series is seminal. If someone wanted to study Science Fiction, as a genre, then Asimov and Doc Smith are the two authors that I would put on the top of my list. "Lensmen" was the first place I saw the term "The Look of Eagles." I wasn't sure that I understood it, until I looked at the faces of American astronauts, from the beginnings of the Space Race.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

I agree it's a bit of an ambiguous genre, but I think it needs to include a few things:

• Wide scope and multiple locations reached by FTL ships
• Unambiguous "goodies" and "baddies" with characterization verging on caricature
• Cool and improbable exploits by protagonists

And most importantly:

• Huge ships pounding the crap out of each other in a fashion reminiscent of 19th-century naval warfare

 

[Older Beholder]

I always thought the Opera part came from soap opera.
Small scale personal dramas against a broad brush stroke, space epic backdrop.

 

[Leatherhead]

Cowboy Bebop is supposed to be "Space Jazz" and was made in direct contrast to Space Operas.

 

[SJB]

John Clute’s Encyclopaedia of Science Fiction (1978) is an excellent resource with a constantly updated online edition. It points out that “soap opera” was an active term only from 1938 and that “space opera” was coined in 1941 for “hacky” “spaceship yarns”. Although it is possible to retrofit the term to earlier works, the suggested foundational authors are Doc Smith, Edmond Hamilton, Ray Cummings (me neither), John W Campbell and Jack Williamson.