Science fiction Western
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A science fiction Western is a work of fiction which has elements of both the science fiction and Western genres. Science fiction elements are transported to the American West, in a steampunk fashion.
Western Science Fiction occurs in the past, or in a world resembling the past, in which modern or future technology exists. The anachronistic technology of these stories is present because scientific paradigms occurred earlier in history but are implemented via industrial elements present at that time, or because technology is brought from another time or place.
Contents |
[edit] Differences in Science Fiction genres
The genre differs from Steampunk primarily in that the setting is the American Old West rather than the Victorian era. The genre differs from Space western in that it has Science Fiction themes or technology in a Western setting rather than Western frontier themes in an Outer space setting.
[edit] Examples
The film serial The Phantom Empire may be the earliest science fiction Western. Since then, science fiction Westerns have appeared in film, television, novels, comic books, anime and other media. Since the characteristic elements of science fiction can occur in any setting, science fiction lends itself to combination with other genres (Gunn). In 1953, J. B. Priestley described the "Western" as one of the three types of science fiction.
[edit] Books
- The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
- Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams
- Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
[edit] Comics
- Jonah Hex, a Western comics hero, was for a time transported to a post-apocalyptic 21st century.
- The Amazing Screw-On Head by Mike Mignola
- Daisy Kutter by Kazu Kibuishi
- Lone by Stuart Moore and Jerome Opena
[edit] Film
- Alien Outlaw
- The American Astronaut
- As Time Goes By
- The Aurora Encounter
- Back to the Future Part III
- The Beast of Hollow Mountain
- Escape from New York
- Futureworld
- Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter
- Moon Zero Two
- Oblivion
- Oblivion 2: Backlash
- Outland
- Planetfall
- Serenity
- Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann
- The Valley of Gwangi
- Welcome to Blood City
- Westworld
- Wild Wild West
[edit] Serial
[edit] Games
[edit] Television
- "A Fistful of Datas", a Holodeck-based episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- Trigun
- "Gunmen of the Apocalypse", an episode of Red Dwarf.
- Legend UPN Television series featuring Richard Dean Anderson and John De Lancie.
- "North Star", an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise.
- Outlaws
- "Spectre of the Gun", an episode of the original Star Trek.
- The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
- "The Good, the Bad and the Wealthy", an episode of Sliders that deals with an parallel universe where Texas dominates the western portion of the United States.
- "The Gunfighters", a 1966 Doctor Who serial.
- The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne
- "The Secret Empire" segment of the 1970s TV series Cliffhangers
- "Living in Harmony", an episode of The Prisoner.
- The Wild Wild West included many episodes with science-fiction elements.
- Similarly to "The Wild Wild West", the 1966 animated cartoon version of The Lone Ranger often featured anarchronistic technology in many episodes. Such technology included a villain who replaced his damaged hands with the paws of a bear, a deranged botanist who produced a variety of man-killing plants and a recurring villain -a juvenile delinquet named Tiny Tom- who in one episode wreaked havoc with an army of living toy soldiers.
[edit] References
- Gunn, James (1995). Teaching Science Fiction. Center for the Study of Science Fiction. University of Kansas. Retrieved on 2006-01-15.
- Priestley, J. B. (December 5, 1953) "Thoughts in the Wilderness." New Statesman, p. 712. Cited in Padlipsky, Michael A. (1960), "More Than Pulp(?): Science Fiction and the Problem of Literary Value", undergraduate thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. URL accessed on January 15, 2006.
