Space Opera, Doc...
Space Opera is a term created in the 1940s to describe more romantic, grandiose stories, set in space. It is generally used to differentiate between things like EE Smith's Skylark and Lensmen series and the more scince-based stuff, from people like Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke and the like. Some people use it in a derogatory manner, as if space opera is beneath science fiction. Well, space opera has provided some darn good stories so nertz to the critics. So, the criteria for the list will be films, tv series and animation that is primarily set in space and deals with the more grandiose stories. I'm going to shy away from monster movies that include aliens, and earth invasion movies, for the most part. Space opera is one of those areas that generates debate; but, it's my list, neener-neener!
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- DirectorFord BeebeSaul A. GoodkindStarsBuster CrabbeConstance MooreJackie MoranA 20th Century pilot named Buck Rogers and his young friend Buddy Wade awake from 500 years in suspended animation to find that the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane.Well, where would space opera be without Buck Rogers? Buck first appeared in Phillip Francis Nowlan's Armageddon 2419 AD, though he was known as Anthony Rogers. Where he really came to life and popularity was on the funny pages, where he set the world on its head and launched a thousand imitators. Buck ends up in suspended animation, awakening in the 25th Century, where he battles evil warlords, invaders, monsters, and much more. This serial captures all that is great about the strip, with Buster Crabbe launching a career as a space hero. Unfortunately, we only got one Buck serial.
- DirectorFrederick StephaniRay TaylorStarsBuster CrabbeJean RogersCharles MiddletonFlash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.On of the best imitators of Buck Rogers was Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon. Where Buck defends the earth from enemies, Flash takes the fight to space, ending up on the planet Mongo, where he seeks to thwart Emperor Ming's evil schemes and bring freedom to the people of Mongo, while also saving the earth. Buster Crabbe is great as the hero, solidifying himself as the king of the sci-fi/space opera serial.
- DirectorFord BeebeRobert F. HillFrederick StephaniStarsBuster CrabbeJean RogersCharles MiddletonWhen a deadly Nitron ray strikes Earth, Flash Gordon and his friends travel to Mars to battle Ming the Merciless and his new ally Queen Azura.Flash and company are back, this time fighting threats from Ming and Queen Azura. This one is really good; best of the three serials, in my opinion.
- DirectorFord BeebeRay TaylorStarsBuster CrabbeCarol HughesCharles MiddletonA ravaging plague has struck the Earth threatening no less than global extinction. This alien disease is believed to be the evil spawn of Ming, the merciless Emperor of Planet Mongo. The world's only hope now rests with Flash Gordon.Flash and the gang are back on Mongo, helping protect Queen Fria from Ming's forces. This one had a lot of influence on Star Wars and the Hoth setting in Empire.
- StarsDon HastingsAl HodgeHal Conklin"Guardian of the Safety of the World", private citizen-scientist Captain Video, assisted by his teenage helper The Ranger and an army of Video Rangers, preserves the peace in the far-off future, fighting the evil Dr. Pauli of the Astroidal Society and a bunch of other baddies (Nargola, Mook, Kul, Clysmok). The show appeared nightly Mon-Fri, featured many outlandish weapons and techno-gimmicks, and was run on a minuscule prop budget.Early space opera tv series, with a bit of a Buck Rogers influence, as well as some EE Smith.
- StarsFrankie ThomasAl MarkimJan MerlinFour centuries into the future, Cadets Tom Corbett, Roger Manning and Astro are training to become Solar Guards. Their ship, the "Polaris" took them to numerous adventures, usually natural catastrophes rather than villains.More of the Buck Rogers/Lensmen crowd, aimed at kids.
- DirectorFred C. BrannonStarsGeorge D. WallaceAline TowneRoy BarcroftStrategic targets on Earth are being destroyed by an unknown weapon. Government security head Henderson suspects it's an "atomic ray" originating from the moon.The Rocket Man serials, from Republic, started out as pulp/superhero adventure. The second serial pushed more into the space opera realm, as Commando Cody fights to stop an evil alien despot. It moved more into the Buck Rogers realm than the first. It has moments; but, it also has some long boring stretches.
- StarsSteve HollandIrene ChamplinJoseph NashSpace hero Flash Gordon and his crew of the Galaxy Bureau of Investigation patrol space, battling space monsters, power-mad alien dictators and other threats to the stability of the universe.Flash came to early tv, in the form of Steve Holland. This series was primitive, but made excellent use of footage of post-war Berlin.
- StarsRichard CraneSally MansfieldScotty BeckettCruising the galaxy in his space ship "The Orbit Jet" Space Ranger, Rocky Jones, Vena Ray, and 10 year-old Bobby defend the Earth and themselves against space-bound evil doers.More of the intergalactic police-style of space opera.
- DirectorAntonio MargheritiStarsClaude RainsBill CarterUmberto OrsiniA runaway asteroid dubbed "The Outsider" mysteriously begins orbiting the Earth and threatens it with lethal flying saucers.Antonio Margheriti delivers this classic space opera tale, on a low budget, with so-so results. A wandering planet takes orbit around the Earth and launches an attack on an exploratory mission. This leads to all out war.
- CreatorDick DarleyStarsNed Le FevreMargaret KerryHal SmithScott McCloud is the Space Angel, a secret agent for EBI (Earth Bureau of Investigation) on board the spaceship Starduster fighting hard to protect the solar system."Animated" series from Cambria Studios. I use the quotation marks because there is little movement in Cambria's productions. What there is, though, is some great stories, excellent voice work, and great designs from people like Alex Toth and Doug Wildey. Space Angel is an intergalactic troubleshooter for the Earth Space Intelligence agency, and deals with natural disasters, as well as intergalactic villains. Great fun.
- CreatorDonald WilsonSydney NewmanStarsWilliam HartnellPatrick TroughtonJon PertweeThe adventures in time and space of the Doctor, a Time Lord who changes appearance and personality by regenerating when near death, and is joined by companions in battles against aliens and other megalomaniacs.Classic BBC children's series, with plenty of adult fans. It has fluctuated over the years; but, the core of it is classic space opera: a hero who saves the universe from evil. It plays fast and loose with scientific principles, depending on the writers. It was wonderful adventure, even of the budget and technology couldn't match the imagination.
- DirectorGordon FlemyngStarsPeter CushingRoy CastleJennie LindenAn eccentric inventor and his companions travel in his TARDIS to the Planet Skaro and battle the evil menace of the Daleks.Probably more space opera than the series, though it seems more hard sci-fi on the surface. An eccentric genius has created a machine that can traverse time and space, which is bigger on the inside than out. Then, the genius ends up on an alien planet where he helps save a group of humans from mechanical monsters. That's where the space opera elements really come into play.
- DirectorAntonio MargheritiStarsTony RusselLisa GastoniMassimo SeratoA deranged scientist is using his employer's top-secret bio-laboratory to engage in clandestine experiments. When he starts kidnapping leading citizens for use in his twisted tests, it's up to rogue cop Mike Halstead to come to the rescue.Italian film, part of Antonio Margheriti's "Gamma One" loosely linked series of films. Aliens are stealing people and the heroes are out to stop them. Followed by three sequels, though with diminishing returns. This one is at least fun.
- DirectorGordon FlemyngStarsPeter CushingBernard CribbinsRay BrooksDr. Who and his companions arrive on Earth in the year 2150 AD, only to discover that the planet has been invaded and its population enslaved by the dreaded Daleks.The movie Doctor returned; this time, in Earth's future. It's a bit wilder than the first film, though not quite as compelling. It has some really great moments, though.
- CreatorGene RoddenberryStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyIn the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.Okay, before anyone blows a gasket, I'm putting this one here with a caveat. Star Trek had a lot of hard sci-fi in it; but, it also had the grandiose space opera elements. It was a nice mixture, which is part of why it had an appeal beyond just the sci-fi crowd. The space opera elements are more prevalent in episodes like those with the Klingons and Romulans, where adventure elements are stressed. It's a seres that kind of illustrates the argument between sci-fi and space opera. I'm going to leave things with the tv series and use it as a placeholder for the entire Star Trek universe, spinoffs and all.
- DirectorRoger VadimStarsJane FondaJohn Phillip LawAnita PallenbergIn the 41st century, an astronaut partakes in sexy misadventures while seeking to stop an evil scientist who threatens to bring evil back into the galaxy.The original comic was more satire than space opera, though it was satire in a space opera setting. The movie ups the adventure quotient a bit more, while sanitizing the sex.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.The film that did much to revive space opera. The film borrows heavily from Flash Gordon and the Lensmen Saga of EE Smith. In fact, the attack on Leia's ship, in the first act, is straight out of Smith's novel, The Galactic Patrol. What more needs to be said about this film?
- CreatorAllen DucovnyStarsJonathan HarrisPamelyn FerdinRic CarrottThe adventures of the students of an outer space military school.In the wake of Star Wars, space opera and sci-fi was back in vogue. Filmation added this space opera series to Saturday morning. The academy of the title exists to train the next generation of space explorers and law enforcers. It was very much a a child of Star Trek and really heads in that direction,more than in the Star Wars direction. It led to another series which fell more squarely in the space opera camp.
- DirectorJun FukudaIshirô HondaToshio MasudaStarsKensaku MoritaYûko AsanoRyô IkebeEarth is attacked by alien spacecraft from Venus. But a Japanese scientist has constructed a space craft, the Gohten, with which he may save humanity.Japanese space opera, inspired by Star Wars; but, filtered through the classic Ishiro Honda film, Atragon.
- DirectorToshio MasudaStarsGorô NayaKei TomiyamaShûsei NakamuraGamilons are a race of evil aliens that are trying to destroy the planet Earth. However, a group of civilians look to the battleship Yamato for its space travel and go on a mission to bring back a neutralizer that will get rid of the radiation from the Earth.The movie version of Leiji Matsumoto's epic space opera, Space Battleship Yamato. Earth has been devastated by violent attacks by an alien race. The surface is scarred an irradiated. People live underground, and are slowly dying. An alien race contacts Earth with an offer of a device that can save the planet, if they can get to the alien world to retrieve it. A daring plan is hatched as the battleship Yamato is raised from the sea and converted into an advanced starship. The crew must battle their way to the alien world and back, with the clock ticking.
- CreatorTerry NationStarsMichael KeatingPaul DarrowPeter TuddenhamA group of convicts and outcasts fight a guerrilla war against the totalitarian Terran Federation from a highly advanced alien spaceship.The BBC broadcast a classic space opera series, post-Star Wars. A group of freedom fighters band together to oppose intergalactic oppression. It had a bit more depth than Star Wars, as it was aimed at a little older audience; plus, it had the other influence of Doctor Who. The only thing that held it back was budget. Highly influential on later space opera, like Babylon 5.
- CreatorArthur H. NadelStarsCraig LittlerSid HaigCharlie DellA young Space Command officer fights the evil space lord Dragos and his minions in his jurisdiction of the universe.Filmation followed up Space Academy with a series that was more inspired by Star Wars and classic tv sci-fi/space opera shows, like Tom Corbett and Rocky Jones, as well as Buck Rogers. Star Command is an offshoot of Space Academy, which deals with intergalactic threats. Enter the biggest threat in the galaxy, the conqueror Dragos. The series was low budget; but, had a great sense of fun. The real standout was Sid Haig, as Dragos. Julie Newmar turned up later on, adding some more delicious villainy to the series.
- DirectorLuigi CozziStarsMarjoe GortnerCaroline MunroChristopher PlummerAn outlaw smuggler and her alien companion are recruited by the Emperor of the Galaxy to rescue his son and destroy a secret weapon by the evil Count Zarth Arn.Cheapie Italian Star Wars knockoff, distributed by Roger Corman. Mostly notorious, these days, for the appearance of young David Hasselhoff. At the time, the selling points were Christopher Plummer and Caroline Munro, as a sort of sexy female Han Solo. Marjoe Gortner is way out of his element. It's pretty bad, but watchable, in a cheesy kind of way. Should have been covered by the MST3K crowd.
- StarsMakio InoueAkira KamiyaNoriko OharaIn 2977, mankind has space colonies, machines do all the work and everyone just wants to have fun. When deadly plant-based aliens that look like women attack the Earth in order to colonize it, only one rogue captain can stop them.Leiji Matsumoto's next work was about a space pirate, who owes a bit to Han Solo and a lot to the works of EE Smith, Buck Rogers, and Gardner Fox. Like Yamato, the ships look like warships in space. This one is tragically romantic, since Matsumoto cut his teeth on shojo manga, which is filled with romantic tales. This is space opera in its purest form.