What are the essential elements of a space opera?

What are the essential elements of a space opera?

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Where's legend of the galactic heroes? That's at minimum high tier.

As for space opera, politics, strong and well thought out characters facing ethical and political choices that put both their characters strengths and flaws into focus in an entertaining and interesting way. Now I know that sounds like a typical earth based drama, but you have to make sure you do it IN SPACE. Really, the only thing that differentiates a space opera from it's more contemporary counterpart of Greek epic is that it takes place in the space future, and thus has a more technological feel than a mythological one.

Aliens that some how conform to human standards of beauty and are despite all odds are sexually compatible with Homo sapiens. Bonus points if it's only the female aliens that are attractive, or if it's a female only race.

They are literally soap operas in space. That's where the name comes from. It's a melodramatic situation narrated in a setting of technological wonders, more often than not with the presence of extraterrestrial species. They are stories in which the intense emotions of the melodrama are juxtaposed with the"age of reason" that one might expect from such a setting. That's what differentiates it from, say, science fantasy like Star Wars in which the feelings of the characters, although important to understand their motivations, are a tier below the grandeur of the epic Hero's Journey.

Hmmm - good post. Space Opera is scifi melodrama, literally 'opera in space': the human question highlighted by scientific advancement and reason; exploring the Heroic Journey in the mythical future, not the mythical past.
As differentiated from Space Fantasy, which, you propose, deals not with the Heroic Journey, but with simpler (or grander; but not as 'complex') themes more distanced from everyday human experience: good vs. evil, say, or power vs. creativity.
Please, go on....

>science fantasy like Star Wars in which the feelings of the characters, although important to understand their motivations, are a tier below the grandeur of the epic Hero's Journey.
The fuck? Science fantasy is epic comedy/tragedy transcribed in a sciencey setting? What?

>The Expanse
>only mid-tier

Whoever made this chart has garbage taste, though I guess that's more obvious from the fact he unironically rates Star Trek above everything else.

Star Trek is pretty good broseph.

Farscape should be up to God tier. Rick and Morty belongs there too. Move down Star Trek TOS, TNG, and Stargate to high tier.

Stargate SG1 could potentially be God Tier, as long as you ignore everything after season 4 or 5.

It's good by virtue of being first of its kind.

I won't go full contrarian dolt and say it's garbage but it's still goofy and for me pretty unwatchable. Its only real saving grace is the core actors brought so much personality to the show. TNG is a bit better but I'm still not a fan.

Voyager is trash though. Deserves to be way lower on that list.