What I love about speculative fiction
I just finished watching the latest Christmas episode of Warehouse 13. If you haven't seen it, it's a quirky Syfy channel show with a bunch of cool characters, fun mysteries and a bit of steampunky(am I making up this word?) flare.
It's basically a sci-fi/fantasy show and therefore as the title states: speculative fiction.
The episode reminded me of one the best things about speculative fiction.
Ok, I'll admit there are many things I like about speculative fiction; the rich and compelling worlds, the fascinatingly flawed and damaged characters(who usually end up doing the right thing), opportunity for really high stakes(it's not unusual for the stakes in spec fic to be on world or even universe ending level--Dr. Who anyone?)
But one of the most enjoyable parts of a story for me is when the characters first meet each other. I get giddy watching the pieces of a team come together, anticipating how these disparate characters will interact and handle where the story takes them.
However, at this point in the story, I usually don't know the characters very well. I don't know that Mika is estranged from her father or that Artie was betrayed by his old partner.
Here's where the true beauty of speculative fiction comes in. In sci-fi and fantasy, it's possible to create a situation where these characters we know and love have the opportunity to come together as a team for the first time -- again.
The warehouse 13 episode I just watched was centered on an artifact from the writer of the short story on which the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" is based.
Pete touches this brush and it's like he's never been born.
He doesn't realize what has happened at first. All he knows is that an old enemy is now in charge of the warehouse and everyone else is gone.
He escapes and tracks the rest of the team down. They don't even know who he is, but he manages to convince them to help him.
It's so delicious to watch them fall into (old for us) patterns and know the reasons for how and why the characters react the way they do.
If you haven't watched Warehouse 13, I hope you'll give it a chance.
What about you? Do you love it when this happens or (gasp) hate it*g*?
Do you have a favorite show or book that has had episode or installment when something like this happened?
I'd love to hear about it!
Karin
It's basically a sci-fi/fantasy show and therefore as the title states: speculative fiction.
The episode reminded me of one the best things about speculative fiction.
Ok, I'll admit there are many things I like about speculative fiction; the rich and compelling worlds, the fascinatingly flawed and damaged characters(who usually end up doing the right thing), opportunity for really high stakes(it's not unusual for the stakes in spec fic to be on world or even universe ending level--Dr. Who anyone?)
But one of the most enjoyable parts of a story for me is when the characters first meet each other. I get giddy watching the pieces of a team come together, anticipating how these disparate characters will interact and handle where the story takes them.
However, at this point in the story, I usually don't know the characters very well. I don't know that Mika is estranged from her father or that Artie was betrayed by his old partner.
Here's where the true beauty of speculative fiction comes in. In sci-fi and fantasy, it's possible to create a situation where these characters we know and love have the opportunity to come together as a team for the first time -- again.
The warehouse 13 episode I just watched was centered on an artifact from the writer of the short story on which the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" is based.
Pete touches this brush and it's like he's never been born.
He doesn't realize what has happened at first. All he knows is that an old enemy is now in charge of the warehouse and everyone else is gone.
He escapes and tracks the rest of the team down. They don't even know who he is, but he manages to convince them to help him.
It's so delicious to watch them fall into (old for us) patterns and know the reasons for how and why the characters react the way they do.
If you haven't watched Warehouse 13, I hope you'll give it a chance.
What about you? Do you love it when this happens or (gasp) hate it*g*?
Do you have a favorite show or book that has had episode or installment when something like this happened?
I'd love to hear about it!
Karin
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