"I wasn't a big science fiction aficionado, there were a few films like 2001 or Blade Runner that were favorites of mine, but since I started this series I have gained more respect for the genre and become more of a fan myself"
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Joe Flanigan admits to coming from the outside of science fiction, with admiration mainly for canonical, high-prestige touchstones like 2001 and Blade Runner. That stance is familiar: many people respect the genre at its most celebrated, auteur-driven edge while keeping distance from the broader ecosystem. His turn toward fandom after beginning a series signals how immersion changes perception. Working inside a long-running sci-fi show like Stargate Atlantis exposes an actor to the genre’s breadth, the rigor of its world-building, and the collaborative craft that audiences often do not see.
Science fiction on television demands an intricate balance of continuity, technology, character arcs, and philosophical stakes. Scripts must be plausible within the show’s rules, visual effects teams translate impossible ideas into images, and actors navigate jargon, ethics, and emotion in equal measure. That machinery reveals the genre as an engine for thought experiments rather than mere spectacle. The shift Flanigan describes is not just taste evolving; it is respect born from understanding how ideas are built, iterated, and made coherent over dozens of hours of storytelling.
His reference points matter. 2001 and Blade Runner represent cerebral, visually visionary sci-fi that shaped popular conceptions of the field. By contrast, a series invites sustained engagement with themes like exploration, responsibility, colonial encounters, artificial intelligence, and the costs of discovery. It also places artists face-to-face with a passionate, informed audience. Convention halls, fan mail, and legacy canon show how deeply these stories resonate and how persistently they invite debate.
There is a quiet critique running through his remark: the divide between “serious film” and “genre TV” is too simple. Participation dissolves hierarchy. Exposure breeds curiosity; curiosity becomes admiration. Flanigan’s journey reflects how making science fiction illuminates its complexity and humanity, and how proximity to craft can turn respect into genuine fandom.
Science fiction on television demands an intricate balance of continuity, technology, character arcs, and philosophical stakes. Scripts must be plausible within the show’s rules, visual effects teams translate impossible ideas into images, and actors navigate jargon, ethics, and emotion in equal measure. That machinery reveals the genre as an engine for thought experiments rather than mere spectacle. The shift Flanigan describes is not just taste evolving; it is respect born from understanding how ideas are built, iterated, and made coherent over dozens of hours of storytelling.
His reference points matter. 2001 and Blade Runner represent cerebral, visually visionary sci-fi that shaped popular conceptions of the field. By contrast, a series invites sustained engagement with themes like exploration, responsibility, colonial encounters, artificial intelligence, and the costs of discovery. It also places artists face-to-face with a passionate, informed audience. Convention halls, fan mail, and legacy canon show how deeply these stories resonate and how persistently they invite debate.
There is a quiet critique running through his remark: the divide between “serious film” and “genre TV” is too simple. Participation dissolves hierarchy. Exposure breeds curiosity; curiosity becomes admiration. Flanigan’s journey reflects how making science fiction illuminates its complexity and humanity, and how proximity to craft can turn respect into genuine fandom.
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