As promised, I am pleased to announce the first installment of the science fiction diary series that I've been promising. The title you see is tentative: Geeky Kos could be made to reflect its more science fiction discussion topics, or it could remain. The day of the week may change arbitrarily based on my availiability. As for the title, I'll leave that up to you.
But for now let's talk about our subject at hand. Religion and Sci-Fi. (And of course, the Stargate Watch along!)
Tonight, Stargate SG-1 and its spinoff series Stargate:Atlantis return with all new episodes on the Sci-Fi Channel.
At the core this Stargate SG-1 season is an expressly religious theme. The short version (without totally spoiling it for anyone) is that this season will portray the struggle of the main characters of Stargate against an overwhelmingly fundamentalist group of humans led by evil ascended (a story in itself!) beings from another galaxy. This is not the first religious story line in the series. Remember, the basic
premise of the series is long ago, parasitic aliens masqueraded as Gods on Earth using a bevy of powers, scattering humanity across the galaxy. Science proves that they are just "parlor tricks," and the humans defeat the "Gods" (who are actually worm-like beings called Goa'uld) time and time again. Stargate is a very secular show. But I've found it treats religion with great respect.
The other staple of the Sci-Fi Channel's line up on Friday evenings is the dark and moody (hey, just like me!) Battlestar Galactica. Religion is this show's central theme. For those not in the know, this Battlestar Galactica is a reimagining of the late-1970s series that aired on ABC. That series had overt Mormon themes, and the show's creator was indeed a Mormon.
In the new Galactica universe, we see the Cylons utterly destroy the homeworlds of humanity, leaving only a few survivors. Only this time, the Cylons are not only the children of Humanity (a departure from the first series), they're stark raving mad fundamentalist monotheists. The Colonials by departure are polytheists whose faith mirrors the old Greco-Roman religions with an emphasis on the concept of eternal return. So in a sense the audience is forced to cheer for the Pagans, while condemning the monotheists. Galactica unfortunately won't return until October.
These are just a couple of examples, using the Friday night TV line up. What are some religious themes in science fiction that you've watched or read?
I only have one request. Out of respect for those who may be watching the various series described via Netflix or other DVD rentals, if you have spoilers please place the tag "SPOILERS" in your title line. Other then that there are no other rules.
And feel free to talk about any other sci-fi concepts, ideas, stories, or whatever you would like. Geek on!