"As [Sapphire and Steel] progressed, people began to switch off because they weren't able to easily understand what was happening. I didn’t understand. This was a challenge. I needed to understand, needed to figure it out, needed to know. Others just turned over to another channel. I'm still trying to understand the show and the people." darrrenhfInspired by science fiction
Going by readers' contributions to My Science Fiction Life, many of you feel that your affection for science fiction can provoke bafflement in the mainstream world.
For talking heads on clips shows guffawing over Blake's 7's limited special effects and school teachers trying to wean pupils off Terry Pratchett and back into 'proper' books, science fiction seems to be the final frontier.
"To this day any well written Sci-Fi draws my attention, as it has little to compete with in a world smothered by (un)reality TV. What would any intelligent individual rather watch: the boundaries of science and humanity being stretched and postulated upon by a clever writer...or a pan of turnips on the boil, bobbing about on Big Brother?" HartnellLivesMany of you mentioned the disdain your love of science fiction provokes (pieman70 mentions being one of the "geeks at school" for instance), but this seems to have made science fiction fans love their speculative worlds all the more.
It's not siege mentality - it's plain old fashioned pride, and that's clearly communicated in your comments. It’s about being into something advanced, daring, good, but not something everyone is going to 'get'.
"We were all looking forward to [William Gibson's] first novel [Neuromancer] It seemed to enrage many of the 'old guard; in SF. Others who were more forward-thinking recognised it as the beginning of a new era for written science fiction - a new imaginativeness, a new maturity, and a new level of accomplishment." CadiganAt its best - it seems - SF influences who we are. Good science fiction rises above the mundane and challenges us. Being up for that challenge is a badge of honour for fans, and within these close-knit communities there's a huge sense of pride in SF’s spirit of experimentation.
Empowered by science fiction For all those clever dicks who want to diss Star Trek (and I speak as a non uniform-owning, happy to accept there is more-to-life-than-Star Trek kind of person), I would have to point out that if you view this series in the context of the time it was made, it is totally revolutionary. FREETHINKER
Science fiction can be secret too - always an exciting thing. Even when Doctor Who is a top ten programme as loved by TV Quick as TV Zone, there are hidden messages within for those in the know. The word, "Gallifrey", finally uttered during the show's second Christmas special, was rich with connotations... if you understood.
But, as your comments reveal, many of those who are proud to stand up for science fiction still feel there are limits to devotion. "[Luther Arkwright] literally changed my view of the world. Its layered richness showed me new ways of telling stories […] I emailed [creator] Bryan [Talbot] and asked if I could do his Official Webpage - and he said yes! So, since 1995 I have had the astounding honour of running the website of my most influential and moving hero. U187657For FREETHINKER, the thought of squeezing into a Star Fleet sweater is a step beyond. Others immerse themselves more completely, but in creative and productive ways - running fanzines, clubs and websites about their passion.
This pride in SF has also resulted in the subversion of terms traditionally used to mock devotees. In his recollection of 2000AD, treebeard610 happily embraces the g-word: "It didn't change my view of the world - Thatcher unfortunately did that - but it did inspire me to learn to draw and developed my love of comics. I probably became a geek at this point..."
To be a geek now is to be part of an enthusiastic community, happy to exchange ideas in an unselfconscious way. "When I was old enough," recalls TheDoctorAlt8 about his first steps into Blake's 7 fandom, "I took the risk of contacting other fans, and that is something I've never regretted."
The Prisoner was yet another example of the free-thinking, society-changing, barrier-smashing type of creative entertainment coming out of Britain in the 60s. All rigid norms were dismissed. In that spirit, The Prisoner mirrored a young and up-and-comming Boomer generation's desire for an end of deference to officialdom. Don't follow leaders. Beware of parking meters. paulobieSo, there's nothing wrong in being a fan, In being 'a bit odd'. In fact, it's quite interesting. Plus, it handily converges with one of the genre's recurrent themes; that of the outsider.
Blade Runner, The Tomorrow People, Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory and all the rest teach us non-conformity is good. More than that, some of these works help us to come to terms and find happiness in who were are. That's surely the best reason of all to be loud and proud about SF.
Empowered to embrace their Science Fiction lives (to coin a phrase), some have even gone on to contribute to it in a significant way, that manages to punch through the mainstream's nervousness.
The War of the Worlds came into my life in the mid-1970s when I was touring with David Essex as his musical director and producer. At that time, I'd been working on film scores and music for advertising or TV. My dad reminded me that as a composer and producer I'd always wanted to compose something that was big; a story that I would believe in and have a passion for. Jeff_WayneComposer Jeff Wayne is one; Paul Cornell, a contributor to this website, is another. He adapted his own Doctor Who novel, written some years ago, into a story for the TV show's third series. That novel, in turn, stemmed from years of his fanzine-writing, where he'd been enthusing proudly about those speculative worlds he loves.
At this rate, before we know it, the geeks will have completely overrun the mainstream, and the only oddballs left will be those texting in their preference for who's the most rubbish on Big Brother.
"Oddly, without SF I would be un-married, lonely and penniless." Paul Cornell: Video clip
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