Whither our understanding of sf?

Brian Stableford , “The Third Generation of Genre Science Fiction,” Science-Fiction Studies 70 (November 1996): pp. 321-330, on p. 321.

interest found in the pulps but as a congeries of icons and narratives found in comic books, radio shows, movies and movie serials, TV shows, toys, board games, etc. Although Mars Attacks! (Tim Burton: USA, 1996), based upon an infamous set of bubble gum cards, recognises this possibility, I have yet to encounter any academic work that takes account of it.

J.P. Telotte , Replications: A Robotic History of the Science Fiction Film Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1995).

Claudia Springer , Electronic Eros: Bodies and Desire in the Postindustrial Age (London: Athlone, 1996).

John Kenneth Muir , Unearthing Battlestar Galactica: An Episode Guide and Analysis of the 1978 Science Fiction Television Series and its Short-Lived Sequel, Galactica: 1980 (Jefferson, N. C., and London: McFarland & Company, Inc., forthcoming).

This disengagement is apparent, for example, when Star Trek is compared to Babylon 5, a show which, whatever its shortcomings in other respects, has struggled to achieve the same degree of popularity because of its engagement with and competence as sf. In Star Trek, originally pitched by producer Gene Roddenberry as “Wagon Train to the stars,” frequent references are made to Shakespeare and Melville; Babylon 5, on the other hand, is cut from the same cloth as Lovecraft, “Doc” Smith, Tolkien and Blake's 7, refers to Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, and Bester, and alludes to Bloch, Herbert, Ellison, Miller, Cherryh, and The Prisoner, among many others.

Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn detail 18 British HE institutions with some 27 courses on sf, or which drew heavily on sf, including the M.A. in Science Fiction Studies at the University of Liverpool. Last year also saw the inauguration of the University of Reading's M.A. in Science Fiction: Histories, Media, Texts. Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn , “Science Fiction Courses in Higher Education in Britain: A Preliminary Guide,” Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction 59 (Autumn 1993): pp.59-69.

This can be observed in much of the material written about (and in the wake of) William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984) and other cyberpunk fiction, Blade Runner, and the Terminator, RoboCop, and Alien movies. (This criticism is not intended to reflect on the courses referred to in the previous note; those with which I am familiar are very strong indeed).

This is compounded by. Richards's argument that the wording of ST's opening speech (“where no man has gone before”) should have been retained for TNG because “where no-one has gone before” ignores the presence of aliens; it does not occur to him to offer an alternative (“no human”) which would avoid the sexism of the first version or the inaccuracy of the second.

Troi occupies a similar position, and their shared “half-breed” status presumably sanctions their relationship.

For example, Tulloch and Jenkins , Science Fiction Audiences (1995).