Cyclopaedia 6 – Space Opera By T.R. Knight (InnRoads Ministries * Article Series)

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Overview SpaceOperaisasubgenreofsciencefictionwithanemphasisonadventure,chivalry,heroism,inter-planetarytravel,melodrama,romance,andespeciallyspacebattles.Mostofthestoriesaresetinthefarfutureduringouterspacetravels.Theterm“spaceopera”comesfromahybridizationofspacetraveland“soapopera.”Thetermwascoinedin1941byWilsonTuckerasthesciencefictionequivalentofasoapoperabecausethestorieswere“tacky,grinding,stinking,outworn,spaceshipyarn”ashecalledthem. InTheSpaceOperaRenaissance,HartwellandCramerdefinespaceoperaas"colorful,dramatic,large-scalesciencefictionadventure,competentlyandsometimesbeautifullywritten,usuallyfocusedonasympathetic,heroiccentralcharacterandplotaction,andusuallysetintherelativelydistantfuture,andinspaceoronotherworlds,characteristicallyoptimisticintone.Itoftendealswithwar,piracy,militaryvirtues,andverylarge-scaleaction,largestakes."(pp.10-18)Thesespaceoperastorieswereextremelypopularinthelate1920sandearly1930sinsciencefictionmagazinessuchasAmazingStories. ItwasduringthistimethatthegenrefounditsfoundingfatherinDocE.E.Smith.Hiswork,TheSkylarkofSpace,issightedbymanysourcesasthefirstgreatspaceopera.HisLensmanserieswouldgoontobecomethemostfamousandreferencedspaceoperaseriesofalltime.Inthe1970s,the

movieStarWarsredefinedthespaceoperafornewgenerationsspawningmanyothermoviesandTVshowsutilizingtheconventionsofspaceoperastorytelling.

Space Opera Contrasts Criticsandfansoftenstruggletoproperlydefineandcategorizespaceoperawithinsciencefiction.Justbecauseastoryoccursinspacedoesnotmakeitspaceopera.ThefourmostcommonothersciencefictionsubgenresthatareconfusedwithSpaceOperainclude

• Cyberpunk• HardScienceFiction• MilitaryScienceFiction• PlanetaryRomance

FollowingaresourcesofinformationpertainingtoSpaceOperatoassistprospectivegamemasters,gamedesigners,writers,andstorytellersinknowingwheretostarttheirresearch.

Articles ANightattheSpaceOperaByGrossman,LevSource:Time,2008Feb29. TheHardshipsofBeingaSithLord:ImplicationsoftheBiopsychosocialModelinaSpaceOpera.ByBerg,RMSource:Advancesinphysiologyeducation,2016Jun;40(2):234-6

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OfSilverShips,SpaceExploration,andScienceFiction:AConversationWithScottH.JuchaByPapadopoulos,Leonidas Source:AmericaSpace,(2015-08-26T02:00:19.000Z)ScienceFiction:CurtainsforSpaceOpera?ByPhillips,LeighSource:Nature,v491n7424(20121115):330-331SpaceOperaforthe1990sByBarrett,DavidV Source:Newscientist(1971)vol.136(10Oct.1992)

Books ArmadaByCline,ErnestBill,theGalacticHeroByHarrison,HarryBuckRogerscomicByNowlan,PhilipFrancis TheCentauriDeviceByHarrison,M.John ConsiderPhlebasByBanks,IainM. ConstitutionByWebb,NickCrestoftheStars ByMorioka,Hirojyki

DownbelowStationByCherryh,C.J.Dune ByHerbert,FrankEnder’sGame ByCard,OrsonScott FlashGordoncomicByRaymon,AlexFluencyByWells,JenniferFoundationByAsimov,IsaacTheGapCycle ByDonaldson,StephenR. Hitchhiker’sGuidetotheGalaxy ByAdams,Douglas HyperionBySimmons,DanLegendsoftheGalacticHeroesByTanaka,YoshikiProjectingTomorrow:ScienceFictionandPopularCinemaByChapman,JamesandCull,NicholasJohn RendezvouswithRamaByClarke,ArthurC.SagacomicByVaughn,BrianK.TheSkylarkofSpaceBySmith,E.E.“Doc”

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SpaceandBeyond:TheFrontierThemeinScienceFictionByWestfahl.Gary TheSpaceOperaRenaissanceByHartwell,DavidGandCramer,Kathryn StarshipTroopers ByHeinlein,RobertA. StarWars:HeirtotheEmpireByZahn,TimothyTriplanetaryBySmith,E.E.“Doc” UniversesofE.E.SmithByEllik,RonandEvans,BillVorkosiganSagaByBujold,LoisMcMaster WhatMadUniverseByBrown,Fredric

Games Alternity-RPGBabylon5RPG-RPGDune-TabletopGameEclipse-TabletopGameEclipsePhase-RPGEVEOnline-ComputerGameFirefly-RPGFireflyTheBoardGame-TabletopGameForbiddenStars-TabletopGameFreespace-ComputerGameGURPS:Lensmen-RPGJovianChronicles-RPGMassEffect-videogameMasterofOrion-ComputerGameOtherspace-ComputerGame

RacefortheGalaxy-TabletopGameRatchet&Clank-ComputerGameSerenity–RPGSpaceEmpires-TabletopGameSpaceOpera-RPGStarFrontiers-RPGStarlancer-ComputerGameStarTrek-RPGStarTrekCCG-TabletopGameStarWarImperialAssault-TabletopGameStarWars(WEG)-RPGStarWarsArmada-TabletopGameStarWarsCCG-TabletopGameStarWarsQueen’sGambit-TabletopGameStarWarsRebellion-TabletopGameStarWarsRisk-TabletopGameStarWars:EdgeoftheEmpire,AgeofRebellion,&ForceandDestiny-RPGStarWars:KnightsoftheOldRepublic-ComputerGameStarblazerAdventures-RPGStarCraft-ComputerGameStarfleetBattles-TabletopGameStellarConquest-TabletopGameTraveller-RPGTwilightImperium-TabletopGameWarhammer40K-TabletopGameWingCommander-ComputerGameXia:LegendsofaDriftSystem-TabletopGameCinema

Andromeda-TVAvatar Babylon5-TVBattleBeyondtheStarsBattlestarGalactica-TVBlake’s7-TVTheBlackHoleBuckRogers-TV

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ChroniclesofRoddickCowboyBebop-AnimeDuckDodgers-TVEnder’sGameFarscape-TVTheFifthElementFirefly-TVFlashGordon-MovieandTVGalaxyQuestGuardiansoftheGalaxyGundam-AnimeHimmelskibetIcePiratesJupiterAscendingTheLastStarfighterLexx–TVLostinSpace-MovieandTVMacross/Robotech-AnimeRedDwarf-TVSerenitySpaceballsSpaceBattleshipYamato/Starblazers–AnimeSpace:1999-TVSpaceTruckersStarTrek-MoviesandTVStarWarsStargateStargateSG1-TVStarshipTroopersTheLastStraighterTitansA.E.WALL-EWingCommander

Locations EMPMuseumhttp://www.empmuseum.org/

MuseumofScienceFictionhttp://www.museumofsciencefiction.org/ StarTrekEventshttp://www.startrek.com/upcoming_eventsStarWarsatWaltDisneyWorldhttps://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/hollywood-studios/star-wars/

StarWarsConventionshttp://www.starwars.com/events/conventionsTatooineinTunisia http://www.tunisiaonline.com/star-wars-tunisia/YodaFountainhttp://www.hiddensf.com/430a-yoda-statue-lucasfilms-presidio-sf.html

People DouglasAdamsBrianAldissIsaacAsimovOrsonScottCardArthurC.ClarkeFrankHerbertFlashGordonRobertHeinleinGeorgeLucasPhilipFrancisNowlanAlexRaymonBuckRogersE.E.“Doc”SmithJ.MichaelStraczynskiWilsonTuckerJohnWilliams