Science fiction on television

Science fiction is one of the most eclectic and varied of all the genres of fiction. Such is its appeal that it has been a popular element of television drama since its very beginnings. Science fiction programmes can go anywhere, do anything, and show and tell stories that could not be done in other, more conventional productions.

Japanese television science fiction

Known for meticulous use of miniatures and hundreds of sci-fi themed anime, Japan has a long history of producing science fiction series for TV. Only a few of these series are aired outside Japan and even when aired, they tend to be edited, rarely retaining their original storyline. While reasons like violence and sexual context are often presented, these edits are never a perfect solution and needlessly make story confusing. Yet non-anime sci-fi are still largely unknown to foreign audiences. An exception is Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and their subsequent series that used battle sequences from Japanese shows and combined them with American actors who acted out entirely original story lines.

Related Topics:
Anime - Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers

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Many Japanese TV drama and anime have elements of science fiction casually added as one of the story devices. A reason for this is that to an average Japanese, no technology is too far away or unthinkable. Only 10 years ago, an autonomous robot pet in a home was unthinkable; in 1999 the Aibo from Sony trounced that thinking. People who worked to create Aibo openly claimed that they started their project so one day, they can have Doraemon. To most Japanese, this was no surprise at all; Doraemon was released in 1970, Astro Boy was even farther back, in 1952. Most, if not all, Japanese older than 52 or even over 60 as of 2004, once dreamed of their own robotic friend or a robotic pet as his or her company living together and had been waiting for the technology to catch up with "reality". After watching the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Ai Fukuhara, a table tennis player, commented that she thought those "gods" were robots and surprised that real actors were acting them out.

Related Topics:
Aibo - Sony - Doraemon - Astro Boy - 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony - Ai Fukuhara - Table tennis

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Television science fiction with actors

Tokusatsu (特撮), lit. special filming or more commonly SFX is the loose term used to describe the televised science fiction. Before World War Two, tokusatsu artists used their modeling techniques to make movies. However, after the war, the occupation forces under General MacArthur prohibited making war movies and many of them were fired under pressure for being involved in making war movies. Those that did not give up making movies used their skills to create sci-fi television series. Called "Kami of Tokusatsu", Tsuburaya Eiji was one of such producers known for producing Godzilla. He produced Ultra Q (1964) and Ultraman (1966) series and set the standard of televised sci-fi. He used wireworks and fire crackers for making dramatic scenes and suit actors for aliens and monsters. Unafraid of being the target of criticism, he had already been targeted and fired from his job once, he cut into social issues while keeping audiences entertained.

Related Topics:
Tokusatsu - SFX - General MacArthur - Kami - Tsuburaya Eiji - Godzilla - Ultra Q - Ultraman

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A special widely used technique need to be mentioned here, the Rambada (ランバダ) sequence. Originally from Ultraman where a section of the secret base opens up to launch super vehicles, the name is taken from the special BGM that sounds strangely like "Rambada dada, Rambada dada..." and is used to refer to the meticulously sequenced and recycled scene where the hero dresses up, gets on a vehicle, or where a machine transforms into a robot. This idea is from Thunderbirds sequence in which the family travels down tubes to ride vehicles and the island reveals launch pads.

Related Topics:
Ultraman - Thunderbirds

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The earliest credible claim to the first television science fiction show is not the famous and history making "Ultra Q". Six years earlier in 1958, Gekkokamen (月光仮面) became the first science fiction to be aired. The basic story line is simple. Doctor Yanagi invented a fictional powerful bomb called HO-Johatsu Bakudan (ＨＯジョー発爆弾) lit. Hydrogen and Oxygen Evaporation Bomb and to caution the world that the next war must not begin or the human race will destroy themselves. The strange evil organisation tries to steal the bomb's secret and the masked hero, Gekkokamen stops them riding a special bike and with a powerful handgun. Satisfied with the show's success, TV station became eager to produce the superhero themed TV shows. The next series clearly showed that audiences did like science fiction. It was titled, Yuseiouji (遊星王子) lit. A Prince from Wandering Planet (1958) and like the television series Superman (1956) in the United States, the hero was a humanoid alien.

Related Topics:
Gekkokamen - Yuseiouji - Superman

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Kamen Rider (仮面ライダー) (1971), is also noteworthy series originally of manga by Ishimori Shotaro. Loosely styled after ninja stories where a renegade ninja fight the evil organisation that trained him, it was not a simple good-fight-evil story. "Villains" that the hero had to kill was genetically engineered human who were brainwashed into serving the evil organisation. If the hero had not escaped, he would have been a "villain". The name of "Kamen Rider" is passed on to a new series every year and Masked Rider Blade (2004) is currently being run.

Related Topics:
Kamen Rider - Ishimori Shotaro - Ninja - Masked Rider Blade

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While Kamen Rider was a great hit, there was a problem, these "single superhero" meant only one kid can be a superhero when kids played together. Also, the hero had to appear "perfect" in any occasions and this led to difficulties in making stories. The solution was simple, make "a team of superheroes" with shortcomings who cooperated to fight a greater evil and Sentai (戦隊) series, lit. battle team, was introduced in 1975 with Himitsusentai Gorenjya (秘密戦隊ゴレンジャー), lit. secret battle team five rangers. Unsurprisingly, this theme is also copied from ninja and samurai television series where a team of them thwarted evils from harming hapless citizens. On the third series of sentai, Battle Fever J (バトルフィーバーＪ), a gigantic robot was used by the team to battle the equally giant opponent. Both giants were performed by suit actors.

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These "hero" shows were considered "kids shows" and until recently, focused on how to interest kids. Few of actors got promoted into performing for other television shows but these were considered very isolated events. Many of actors who performed as a hero had their reputations stuck as stereotypical "good guy" and "pretty woman" and more serious minded actors declined to perform. In 2000, Kamen Rider Kuuga received a strong support from wives and working women as well as older teenager by having cool-looking Odagiri Joe star as its hero. The early morning hour of Saturday and Sunday these hero stories are run, let these previously forgotten audience groups take a break with their kids or by themselves. Other tokusatsu followed by having young promising actors perform and strongly supported their careers outside acting as "hero".

Related Topics:
Kamen Rider Kuuga - Odagiri Joe

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Many TV drama also had some markings of science fiction but they are too numerous to list. Satorare (サトラレ) (2002), originally from a manga with the same title was about genetical geniuses equal to Albert Einstein or Newton whose thought would always be "radioed" to those around them, hence Satorare, the one whose thought would be known to all around. The facts and knowledges of Satorare is kept away from Satorare themselves and they are never let known that they are Satorare to keep them 'happy' and 'safe'. The main character, Kennichi Satomi is a skilled and talented physician and Satorare. Except for theoretical knowledge of Satorare, this story lacks strange and powerful gadgets, abominable aliens, spaceship, etc. that are the set piece of science fiction and it can be considered overdramatisation of the human interaction. But it is a science fiction nevertheless, as Flowers for Algernon is considered as such.

Related Topics:
Satorare - Albert Einstein - Newton - Flowers for Algernon

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Science fiction in anime

Though there are thousands of anime with science fiction theme, it is very easy to tell who and what started this trend, Tezuka Osamu with his Tetsuwan Atom (1952) or more commonly Astro Boy. Anime has always been associated with elements from science fiction and only the imagination limited the extent of content. Unlike cartoon, where the main audience is a young child and a strict censoring of contents and storyline is enforced to make them "safe", anime is given freer hand to express. In more than a way, even though it is a movie, offers how far anime can go when using science fiction as its theme when compared to Monsters, Inc. or Treasure Planet by Disney.

Related Topics:
Tezuka Osamu - Astro Boy - Cartoon - Monsters, Inc. - Treasure Planet - Disney

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Early science fiction anime strongly influenced Japanese live-action works and vice versa. Gatchaman (1972) had five members like most sentai (combat team) tokusatsu (special effects) series that followed it.

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Tetsujin 28-go (鉄人２８号) or Gigantor started another trend called Robottomono (ロボット物), lit. robot stories or Mecha. In Robottomono, the hero pilots one of the kind super robot made by his father or grandfather to battle evil opponent. This is a spinoff of the superhero theme and in the Mazinger Z (マジンガーＺ), many tricks like the new powerful super-super robot for hero to pilot are perfected. Yet, these "super robot stories" were still made within the limit of tokusatsu, the hero shouted the name of attack or weapon before using them, enemies were custom made robots much like villains from tokusatsu, enemies were sent by an evil organisations bent on conquering the world, etc.

Related Topics:
Gigantor - Mecha - Mazinger Z

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Mobile Suit Gundam (機動戦士ガンダム) (1979) by Tomino Yoshiyuki brought the change by offering the sense of reality and believable settings to Robottomono. While mecha or robots remained an important story device, things like interactions between characters, political dealings that main characters cannot control, and even romance gradually increased their importances. In last several episodes of Armored Trooper Votoms (装甲騎兵ボトムズ) (1983), there are hardly a scene where a robot appears, the entire section is devoted to the politics. In The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (超時空要塞マクロス) (1982), the humanity was effectively saved in a final attack against the conquest by an alien race with the help of a Bubblegum pop sung by the heroine.

Related Topics:
Mobile Suit Gundam - Tomino Yoshiyuki - Armored Trooper Votoms - The Super Dimension Fortress Macross - Bubblegum pop

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There are many subgenres within anime science fictions that are unique. The magical girl genre is often fantasy themed yet science fiction themes are also present. Bishounen and Bishoujo are common subgenres. The sub-subgenres of Bishoujo is series of anime sometimes referred to gun maiden where the "Bishoujo" girl touts a gun and kills cooly or rides a powerful robot while male characters have little or no importance. Noir, Boogiepop Phantom, and Galaxy Angel are some of the example. Gensomaden Saiyuki is a Bishounen version of this sub-subgenre. Though it is clear that Bubblegum Crisis is the forerunner of this subgenre, the reason for success of these series is a mystery. Some claim that the shock effect of killer girls heightens the drama, while others claim that these "girls" are not really girls, but are androgynous. Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino has an animated sequence in which this theme is explored.

Related Topics:
Magical girl - Bishounen - Bishoujo - Noir - Boogiepop Phantom - Galaxy Angel - Gensomaden Saiyuki - Bubblegum Crisis - Androgynous - Kill Bill - Quentin Tarantino

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