Television and young adult literature seem to be obsessed with endlessly derivative fantasy and vampire fiction right now, thanks to the success of the Tolkien movies, Harry Potter movies, Game of Thrones series, and Twilight movies.
But, as Avatar, Star Trek, The Avengers, and Prometheus demonstrate, the demand for fantasy's evil twin brother, science fiction, will never abate. Here are just a few up coming shows, scheduled for this year, with particular focus on space opera:
![]()
Defiance is coming to Syfy in April. This is also a show about the aftermath of a war with aliens, some of whom now live on Earth. It appears to be delving pretty deeply into the aliens and their culture, as well as how the world has changed after the war.
Defender brings together a mix of humans and aliens who are former enemies as they serve on the starship Defender for a goodwill mission that goes horribly wrong and forces them to save the universe together.
![]()
S.H.I.E.L.D. - Legendary TV creator of Buffy, Angel and Firefly, Joss Whedon, turns his talents on the Marvel Universe, after his success with The Avengers.
![]()
Blake's 7 - SyFy Channel gives Blake's 7 the Battlestar Galactica treatment with a gritty reboot of the British science fiction classic.
Incursion - After their recent success with Spartacus: Blood and Sand, cable channel Starz seeks to add space opera to their library of programming, with a series described as 'Halo meets Band of Brothers'.
![]()
Continuum just started on Syfy, and it's a full-on time travel show about a cop and a bunch of terrorists from the future coming to present-day Vancouver. It wears its science fiction trappings pretty proudly, including supersuits, expandable guns and neural interfaces.
Android cop shows - There are a ton of shows in development right now that feature androids in some way, even as cops in a buddy cop show. Perhaps the execelent Caprica had more of an influence than was thought, or perhaps they will suck.
![]()
Also the original Cybermen could also be returning to Doctor Who :)
But, as Avatar, Star Trek, The Avengers, and Prometheus demonstrate, the demand for fantasy's evil twin brother, science fiction, will never abate. Here are just a few up coming shows, scheduled for this year, with particular focus on space opera:
Defiance is coming to Syfy in April. This is also a show about the aftermath of a war with aliens, some of whom now live on Earth. It appears to be delving pretty deeply into the aliens and their culture, as well as how the world has changed after the war.
Defender brings together a mix of humans and aliens who are former enemies as they serve on the starship Defender for a goodwill mission that goes horribly wrong and forces them to save the universe together.
S.H.I.E.L.D. - Legendary TV creator of Buffy, Angel and Firefly, Joss Whedon, turns his talents on the Marvel Universe, after his success with The Avengers.
Blake's 7 - SyFy Channel gives Blake's 7 the Battlestar Galactica treatment with a gritty reboot of the British science fiction classic.
Incursion - After their recent success with Spartacus: Blood and Sand, cable channel Starz seeks to add space opera to their library of programming, with a series described as 'Halo meets Band of Brothers'.
Continuum just started on Syfy, and it's a full-on time travel show about a cop and a bunch of terrorists from the future coming to present-day Vancouver. It wears its science fiction trappings pretty proudly, including supersuits, expandable guns and neural interfaces.
Android cop shows - There are a ton of shows in development right now that feature androids in some way, even as cops in a buddy cop show. Perhaps the execelent Caprica had more of an influence than was thought, or perhaps they will suck.
Also the original Cybermen could also be returning to Doctor Who :)