XPost: rec.arts.sf.tv   
   From: blueshirt@indigo.news   
      
   Lawrence DOliveiro wrote:   
      
   > On Fri, 6 Feb 2026 07:55:45 -0500, The True Melissa wrote:   
   > >   
   > > A lot of people say that. I see an important difference   
   > > between a show about space exploration which has some   
   > > social messages and a show about social messages which has   
   > > some space exploration.   
   >   
   > Science fiction, like any other kind of fiction, has to be   
   > about the people. The gadgets, the technology, the alien   
   > setting, whether elsewhere or elsewhen or elsewhatever ...   
   > these are always secondary. Of course they have to be a key   
   > part of the plot, but the story must always be the thing. And   
   > the story is always about the people.   
      
   I don't know if proper people are writing modern television   
   scripts or if it's just AI, or maybe the scripts are originally   
   drafted by AI then tweaked by a person? But the stories we get   
   in shows nowadays just seem so bland. Maybe I am just old and   
   have seen it all before?   
      
   When I watch an episode of a sci-fi [ish] type of show now   
   nothing 'grabs' me and keeps me glued to the narrative... I   
   could probably get up and make a cup of tea without pausing it   
   and I still wouldn't have missed anything when I come back.   
   Modern writers seem to have lost the basic skill of writing an   
   entertaining story that will keep people engaged.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)