Has Hollywood Sci-Fi Gone Soft?
Where Is The Powerful, Incisive Social Commentary Found In Classic The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits or Gene Roddenberry Original Space Ace, Star Trek? Too Corporate, Too Safe or Too Lazy?
Actor George Takei, best known to the public as Mister Sulu on classic Star Trek, co-starred in a controversial episode of Rod Serling’s landmark genre series, The Twilight Zone. Entitled, The Encounter, it was originally broadcast in 1964, then withheld from syndication airings for decades, until 2004, where fans could finally see it once more. The intense story deals with the horrors of war with sensitive racial overtones found when a White man engages in a sort of spiritual reenactment WWII battle with Takei’s character, a Japanese man.
These days, Takei feels a bit more like social muckraker or activist than actor. And he’s become more famous for feuding with his former commanding officer, William Shatner. No matter where you stand, agree or disagree with his politics, this Japanese American arguably stirs up more controversy and public discourse than any new sci-fi media franchise.
Oh My! Indeed. The original helmsman of Captain Kirk’s Starship Enterprise also carved out a comedy name by regularly appearing on The Howard Stern Show. Talk about reinventing oneself to a new generation.
George Takei’s Zone episode end result has been nearly uniformly politely called hit n miss. Fans may never put it on a top TZ must see list. Although it’s debatable how effective the fantasy laden parable ultimately is, it’s inarguable the story took a chance. Creator and show runner, Rod Serling, took a chance. The attempt remains laudable, and unless I’m missing similar narrative vehicles today, I can’t name many of the same artistic or creative ilk fueling any modern societal conversation.
Black Mirror comes to mind. It’s even been called a best new version of Twilight Zone. And yes, there is actually a newly incarnated TZ found on Paramount Plus, headed by writer/producer Jordan Peele of Get Out and Nope fame. Both streaming shows deal in futuristic, controversial material.
And yet, I still feel more than a bit deprived as a hardcore science fiction lover.
Kirk’s Kiss
Plato’s Stepchildren, one of the most memorable original Treks - not really for its story content/plot - saw a White Captain Kirk (Shatner) kiss a Black Lt. Uhura, Nichelle Nichols. For its time, it was pretty groundbreaking, though still cloaked in alien psychic powers which siphoned off much of its meaningful impact. Kirk didn’t kiss his communications officer out of lust nor romantic love, but at behest of mental manipulation propelled by evil mind controlling aliens through their irresistible telekinetic projected influence.
Trek’s network NBC, although worried over complaints from the more racially divided parts of America, were surprised to find little to no viewer complaints on the episode.
They took a chance.
What always impressed me as equally or more compelling, was the main episodic plot of long suffering dwarf Alexander finally breaking free of his tormentor’s grip and turning the tables. Here was a little person - a real rarity seen in movies and TV then and now - carrying the dramatic heft of the tale. Long after the famous kiss, Michael Dunn as noble Alexander remains fixed in our memory, turning in one of the most poignant and memorable performances in any Star Trek outing.
The Outer Limits Gets Political
Accusations that China employs Tik-Tok to steal user’s data and effectively shape (brainwash) the minds of our youth, or simply weak minded adults, has been a charge for more than a few years now. In the sci-fi realm, political power and mind control isn't necessary - just come up with plastic surgery in a hypodermic and you can even replace the American President.
This 1963 episode plays out like a TV James Bond or Man From U.N.C.L.E. - both spy rides, but also very much sci-fi drenched vehicles. It's also got a few narrative notes from Frank Sinatra's The Manchurian Candidate. Ultimately, Outer Limits pulpy plot devices may smack way too much of a comic book tale, but a core message is clear: An attack from a foreign government can come from where you least expect it, so your Secret Service/Intelligence bureaus had better be crackerjack. An up to date version would probably see an enemy dealing us Deep Fake videos on social media to undermine society and engage in election interference.
Who needs to place actual doppelganger Presidents into office physically, when your own populace stares as glass eyed zombies ingesting digital propaganda voluntarily? Algorithm reigns as the new super duper psychological tool. And it’s also mighty profitable too!
Super powers and spandex clad, caped crusaders are all the cinematic rage today. Can we escape the comic book world if we dearly tried? How about those nostalgic reboots every five mins? These days Hollywood's delivering of yet another retread of Star Wars, another recycle of Star Trek doesn't give the sober minded sci-fi fan anything mentally juicy or substantive. While much of the Marvel or DC catalog delivers great, eye popping action, its epic sci-fi amounts to a motion captured Thanos snapping his fingers or sorcerer Doctor Strange spell casting us silly. This is seriously fun eye candy infused stuff. But compelling, meditative science fiction which is lasting and intellectually potent? Sorry, but I'm not buying that for a dollar, Officer Murphy.
I broadly agree with you, Will... the risk taking has been bred out of television production, and this for a number of reasons. Science fiction has also suffered in literature because of similar factors. At root are new attempts at enforcing ideological alignment and the associated fear of backlash, which make the media landscape unprecedentedly risk-averse, which paradoxically is more risky in practice than just letting writers explore and experiment.
The political polarisation in the United States has many casualties. Even those shows that are deemed edgy make vague feints at abstract bugbears like 'capitalism', and its easy to score hits when you aren't grappling with issues very deeply. The shows you mention here had the potential to take risks because at the time less attention to ideological conformity was at work in the corridors of network power. Today, everything is a result of layers of approval that stifle innovation.
But to fix this, we have to get to the place whereby we can actually talk about things. As long as the risk of cancellation (in the new sense, not the old network sense!) lingers, we will not see a sci-fi revival.
Happy Gregorian New Year!
With respect, I disagree. Shows such as Apple TV's "Severance" are deeply political. Squid Game may be the most brutally honest depiction about the oppression of poor people by rich corporations I've ever seen. And you, yourself, cited out Black Mirror. Major franchises may be politically correct, but sci fi is still politically edgy. You just have to look a bit deeper.