How well do you folks think they play together? I'm not talking about sci-fi with a wicked sense of humor, eg the Expanse series, but more like Hitchhikers Guide, which always underwhelmed me. Can you think of successful examples?
Sci-Fi and Comedy
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Er, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was plenty successful, by most definitions of the word "success", even if it didn't succeed with you.
It was also pretty unique. I can think of quite a few fantasy series that merge comedy with the genre conventions, but no other science fiction series, off the top of my head.
It was also pretty unique. I can think of quite a few fantasy series that merge comedy with the genre conventions, but no other science fiction series, off the top of my head.
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Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series is comic SF. I enjoyed it back in the day. Would probably find it quite dated now. Ah well.
Love Red Dwarf and the books aren't terrible.
Redshirts by Scalzi is kinda funny.
Love Red Dwarf and the books aren't terrible.
Redshirts by Scalzi is kinda funny.
Red Dwarf was a fun series, though it kinda jumped the shark. I enjoyed the first two novels by "Grant Naylor," as they stayed fairly true to the humor and characters of the "classic" years. (Haven't seen more recent incarnations, and have no interest.)
I'd also recommend John Scalzi for modern SF humor - not Adams-type humor, but still definite tongue-in-cheek moments. Try The Android's Dream, about Earth hanging in the balance as a special agent tracks down a seemingly-extinct race of genetically modified sheep for an alien ritual.
Kage Baker had humor in her Company novels - not "new" new, but newer than Douglas Adams, and worth a read.
Maybe not as hugely popular, but Scott Meyer wrote a funny SF trilogy, the Magic 2.0 series, about computer geeks who discover the data file behind reality and manipulate it to become "wizards." Reads like Douglas Adams Lite.
Wasn't the Men in Black movie franchise based on a comic book series? If you're including graphic novels and comic books, you'd have to include that. For modern comic strips that are SF humor, Brewster Rockit, Space Guy! can be pretty fun. (And I'd throw in the novel of Galaxy Quest by Terry Bisson, 'cause you can't talk humor in SF and ignore that...
)One could argue that Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series (MG/YA) is sci-fi or at least science fantasy, as his Fairy Nation is implied to be evolved from prehistoric animals of the dinosaur age, plus they have technology centuries ahead of our own. (For that matter, I see a fair bit of humorous middle grade SF go through the library.)
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Not to toot my own horn (ok, I'm doing just that), but We Are Legion is pretty successful if you use sales and reviews as a metric. And it's been compared to Hitchhiker, and to Pratchett's books as well.
Although TBH, it's not satirical the way those examples are.
Although TBH, it's not satirical the way those examples are.
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SF Comedy:
Poul Anderson/Gordon Dickson's Earthman's Burden and Hoka!
Robert Asprin's Phule's Company series
Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat series
Poul Anderson/Gordon Dickson's Earthman's Burden and Hoka!
Robert Asprin's Phule's Company series
Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat series
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Toby Frost's Space Captain Smith books. Very funny. Think Biggles in space.
I just re-read one of these recently. As ridiculous as it sounds, his satire of "Englishness" is far too gentle and affectionate. Post-Brexit, we literally do now have as a dominant element in the political culture a chauvinistic form of English nationalism that combines a foundation myth of Empire And Tea with racist hate crimes and economic suicide pacts. It's not a joke that you can really laugh with any more, and the books don't quite encourage you to laugh at it, or really use it in any way other than to be jolly and spiffing and that. Only a few years since its publication, history has rather overtaken it.
I just re-read one of these recently. As ridiculous as it sounds, his satire of "Englishness" is far too gentle and affectionate. Post-Brexit, we literally do now have as a dominant element in the political culture a chauvinistic form of English nationalism that combines a foundation myth of Empire And Tea with racist hate crimes and economic suicide pacts. It's not a joke that you can really laugh with any more, and the books don't quite encourage you to laugh at it, or really use it in any way other than to be jolly and spiffing and that. Only a few years since its publication, history has rather overtaken it.
Prostho Plus by Piers Anthony.
I remember reading this (more years ago than I care to remember) and loving every minute of it.
I remember reading this (more years ago than I care to remember) and loving every minute of it.
Iain M Banks isn't a comedy writer as such, and some of his SF books are quite dark, but they're also very droll.
@JJ- Yeah, my understanding is it made a bit of money, so that snipe was probably unnecessary. I wonder if its slightness (in my eyes), is simply how sf/comedy is supposed to work. This, that, and the next thing, and then the story's over. Nothing really hangs together, you have a few laughs, and then by end of the afternoon you're finished.
@Helix- Never saw Red Dwarf, though I grew up with a lot of people that were fans of it.
@Mistri- Scalzi, I hear, is rather good. I find his blogposts grating but agreeable, always assumed his books read that way. Heard lots of good things, curious how far you can stretch the concept.
@Marissa- Hear a lot about the Spider fellow too? Sounds like my kinda fellow. Wasn't he the MC from Transmetropolitan? (joke)
@Brightdreamer- All great, hear about Kage too. There's a novelization of Galaxy Quest!? Is it a million pages long, and you can read it for literally the rest of your life and forget the world exists. Cuz I'm there. Eoin is Eoin, I've met him and he's a great, great guy, but you kinda like him or you don't. Good point about MG, gonna stare at that shelf at work tomorrow for a bit. Hive is great, and True Meaning of Smeksday is a classic.
@Dennis- Mofo, you just sold yourself a book.
@Richard- There's Stainless Steel Rat again. Sounds awesome, actually. Noted.
@Jo & MF- Very interesting thoughts there. I guess it happens. Currently grappling with some similar issues in my own writing, but pour our the tea and slap some star & stripes on it.
@talktidy- I've always heard people love Piers, but I feel I missed my window with him. Prostho sounds pretty good tho, the 'quotidian professional in space' gag has got legs.
@Albedo- Iain could get pretty wacky there, couldn't he? Ah, Iain...
Also, gotta mention this: your avatar is killing me cause it's my birthday tradition to go look at that slab at LACMA every year. If you ever notice, our manbagged feather friend is picking fruit off a 'tree of life' lattice that always looked kinda like DNA to me.
Thanks everybody!
@Helix- Never saw Red Dwarf, though I grew up with a lot of people that were fans of it.
@Mistri- Scalzi, I hear, is rather good. I find his blogposts grating but agreeable, always assumed his books read that way. Heard lots of good things, curious how far you can stretch the concept.
@Marissa- Hear a lot about the Spider fellow too? Sounds like my kinda fellow. Wasn't he the MC from Transmetropolitan? (joke)
@Brightdreamer- All great, hear about Kage too. There's a novelization of Galaxy Quest!? Is it a million pages long, and you can read it for literally the rest of your life and forget the world exists. Cuz I'm there. Eoin is Eoin, I've met him and he's a great, great guy, but you kinda like him or you don't. Good point about MG, gonna stare at that shelf at work tomorrow for a bit. Hive is great, and True Meaning of Smeksday is a classic.
@Dennis- Mofo, you just sold yourself a book.
@Richard- There's Stainless Steel Rat again. Sounds awesome, actually. Noted.
@Jo & MF- Very interesting thoughts there. I guess it happens. Currently grappling with some similar issues in my own writing, but pour our the tea and slap some star & stripes on it.
@talktidy- I've always heard people love Piers, but I feel I missed my window with him. Prostho sounds pretty good tho, the 'quotidian professional in space' gag has got legs.
@Albedo- Iain could get pretty wacky there, couldn't he? Ah, Iain...
Also, gotta mention this: your avatar is killing me cause it's my birthday tradition to go look at that slab at LACMA every year. If you ever notice, our manbagged feather friend is picking fruit off a 'tree of life' lattice that always looked kinda like DNA to me.
Thanks everybody!
The Stainless Steel Rat is indeed awesome, but now so dated it almost has to be read as an excersise in retro-futurism.
And c'mon, where's the love for PIGS IN SPAAAAAAAACE?
And c'mon, where's the love for PIGS IN SPAAAAAAAACE?
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Great topic! I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned Discworld by Terry Pratchett. Frickin' hilarious.
Humor in SF is a rare treat when it's handled right. I agree with Hitchiker's Guide, but it's more Pythonesque, laughs all the way. That's awesome, but my favorite is when an author can write serious drama and thrilling sci-fi, then lighten the mood with some great humor.
Humor in SF is a rare treat when it's handled right. I agree with Hitchiker's Guide, but it's more Pythonesque, laughs all the way. That's awesome, but my favorite is when an author can write serious drama and thrilling sci-fi, then lighten the mood with some great humor.
Always a classic...
I read one of his short story collections ages ago - fun, though I expect it's aged unevenly. Even when I read it (over 20 years back), it had some stale spots around the crust.
Discworld's more of a Fantasy world, IMHO, though Pratchett often ventured well into SF territory - and everywhere else.
Another older title I though of after posting was one of Dad's old favorites: Bill the Galactic Hero, another series by Harry Harrison, reportedly inspired by a satirical WWII story. (I think even he got tired of the series as it wore on, though... I tried one once, but didn't make it to the halfway mark.)
IIRC, Heinlein did some humor in his works; The Number of the Beast was sort of a send-up of his other books, among other things. And some of Damon Knight's shorts had a humorous bent.
And if you're looking for obscure humorous SF TV, have you ever seen Quark, by Buck "Get Smart" Henry, following the crew of a deep-space garbage ship? It only had an eight-ep run, and was still finding its feet when it ended, but it had some pretty funny bits; I expect it would've gotten at least a season, if not two, had cable been an option. It was a little ahead of its time in some ways.
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I know Pratchett co-wrote a SF series with Stephen Baxter, the name of which escapes me at the moment, but I didn't get the impression it was humor/satire in the way Discworld is. (He can write very good Serious stuff when he wants to.)
Can't see Dark Star mentioned here. Thats funny. And Morons from Outer Space too.
I'd argue ghostbusters is sci fi too.
I'd argue ghostbusters is sci fi too.
The Long Earth series (trilogy?), I believe. His standalone "Nation" might be SF, too - I think it was more serious, though I didn't read it. Pratchett's MG/YA Bromeliad trilogy was SF, with some of his usual humor, though not up to Discworld levels.
If we're doing movies (as we seem to be), you have to include Spaceballs and the hard to find, overlooked classic Spaceship (also titled The Creature Wasn't Nice and Naked Space, a re-release title after star Leslie Nelson's success with the Naked Gun movies.) Clip here - proof that lyrics matter...
Galaxy Quest, that great Star Trek/conventions spoof movie, is a great marriage of SF and humour. (I note it has already been mentioned upthread).
I'd also really recommend 'Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel' - It's Amazon blurb says it's 'Doctor Who meets Shaun of the Dead.'
I never get tired of watching both of these.
I'd also really recommend 'Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel' - It's Amazon blurb says it's 'Doctor Who meets Shaun of the Dead.'
I never get tired of watching both of these.
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Also Ben Aaronovitch's PC Peter Grant series - starting with the River's of London - are hugely laugh out loud books, and are very successful.
If you like surreal, nonsensical comedy, a classic book to read is - The Third Policeman - by Flann O'Brien.