Do you have a movie genre that you've lost your taste for?

[King Postwhore]

Spaceballs the Musical!

[Prog Snob]

Space opera? Seriously? 

That's what Star Wars is. I didn't come up with it!

Are there any other space operas?

Yes, although Star Wars seems to be the poster boy for the label. I don't know what the exact definition of it is, although wikipedia seems to slap it on just about anything set in space, which I don't agree with, so who knows.

It doesn't surprise me. There are more subgenres of fantasy than I ever realized - epic fantasy, high fantasy, dark fantasy, gothic fantasy, etc. You get the point.

[BlobVanDam]

I think you'd find that every genre (regardless of medium) has a lot more subgenres than we realize. Personally I find once you get past a certain point subgenres become a bit trivial, or at least more about semantics than relevance.

[Prog Snob]

Yes, like if someone referred to something as Tolkien Fantasy.   

[hefdaddy42]

Star Wars is definitely space opera, whereas Star Trek is definitely science fiction.

Space opera is nowhere near as technical as science fiction, it's typically adventure stories set in space where the actual technology used isn't important or isn't explained.  Science fiction is normally much more (although not totally) about the actual technology/science used in the story.

[BlobVanDam]

Star Wars is definitely space opera, whereas Star Trek is definitely science fiction.

Space opera is nowhere near as technical as science fiction, it's typically adventure stories set in space where the actual technology used isn't important or isn't explained.  Science fiction is normally much more (although not totally) about the actual technology/science used in the story.

I agree completely, but wikipedia's list of space opera movies/shows is basically everything set in space that's not Star Trek. As I said, I don't agree with their list.

[hefdaddy42]

I don't know.  I just gave it a cursory list, and I would agree with most of it being on there.

Most "spacey" things on TV/film are easier to do as space opera.  Real, hardcore science fiction seems to work better in print than on screen (there are obvious exceptions).

IMHO

[BlobVanDam]

Real scifi can work well in film/TV, but it's quite rare for it to get made properly, so I think it's as much circumstance as it is inherent. But it's much easier for something with meaning and substance to stay true when it's not bastardized by a group of people, and I definitely associate the hard scifi genre with print.
Most of the stuff in their list I don't think of as space opera, although space opera to me is such a vague definition that I can't really categorically dispute them. I guess when I hear space opera, I just think of Star Wars and that's it. Anything else, I'd categorize more by more typical scifi/fantasy labels etc, but I guess they're not mutually exclusive labels.

[Prog Snob]

Using Wikipedia as a source for facts is like using Over the Edge for reliable release information.

[BlobVanDam]

No arguments here, it's just a starting point when you don't know where else to start.

[Prog Snob]

When it comes to Wiki, I usually check to see if they have sources for their claims. I'm sure you know that though.

[BlobVanDam]

Of course. I was only using it as a quick reference in a forum discussion, not writing a thesis. Use the information what it's worth.