The Ad Astra Challenge

[Laskar]

So, Scott Lowther of Up-ship.com game has recently re-watched Ad Astra... And he is not impressed. The characters are stupid, the story is dismal, and the science makes no sense.

I haven't seen Ad Astra, but I am reminded of Prometheus, which made no sense and had a cast of characters who would not be trusted to run an artic research station, let alone a journey to the stars to seek out alien civilizations. Prometheus got a thumb up from Roger Ebert because it was pretty. That was it. It had beautiful scenery porn, and that was the most that Roger Ebert expected from a sci fi flick.

Scott Lowther has this to say:

I have a challenge for Hollywood: make a near-future Space Movie where:

1) The tone is hopeful and optimistic, not dismal

2) The science at least *tries* to replicate that of the real world, so that it doesn’t promptly yank you right out of the story

3) The characters aren’t miserable, horrible people.

You know, a “space movie” that people might actually want to see.

So. Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear your script ideas.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Well Interstellar kind of hit most of those points yeah?

Haven't seen The Martian but I assume the same.

 

[Laskar]

Well Interstellar kind of hit most of those points yeah?

Haven't seen The Martian but I assume the same.

Yeah. Interstellar and The Martian both qualify for being upbeat science fiction stories, though I think Scott Lowther would toss the first one out on its ear for the science being too speculative.

Another interesting plot might be some kind of disaster on the moon that necessitates a rescue effort, with the plot split between the survivors of the accident and the organized effort to save them. A Fall of Moondust had this basic plot, but the selenology is dated and the characters probably not as Hollywood-photogenic as they could be.

So... Make it a mining accident on the Moon or Mars. Several dozen miners are trapped under the surface by a quake, and the engineers back at Moonbase Alpha or Olympus Dom Primary Habitat have to scramble to assemble or improvise the equipment to dig them out. The parallel I am thinking of is the 2010 rescue effort in Chile, just adapted to a new environment.

 

[Yinko]

Something like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress would be good.

We have ships capable of practical transmission of goods and population to Luna and Mars. After an economic depression the corporations that imported people to these colonies suffer and have to lay off a majority of their colonial employees, but can't afford to bring them back to Earth from Mars (lunar ones have an easier time).

The movie would open with an average day in the life of the protagonist, followed by the news releasing that they were all stuck there with no support. Then over the first arc you would see people finding support in one another, developing a "we can do it" mentality.
Second arc would see the disapproval of Terran political and economic groups that see an independent Mars as a massive loss that they would need to recover in order to help in rebuilding their shaken economy (possibly as a refueling station for asteroid mines?). War would be all but impossible with that tech base and distance, but tensions would rise and mutual threats of economic sanctions (no fuel vs no manufactured goods).
Third act would see the conclusion of the conflict via recruiting disaffected asteroid mining ships to make them their port of call instead of a relay as well as cutting deals with marginalized groups on Luna. Effectively creating a separate assocation of human interests in space that deal with Terra on their own terms.

Essentially, a tale of adversity and coming into their own with a Martian backdrop.




There was that game that was a near-future space combat game, where you were in steal cigars guiding nukes to your target with orbital mechanics. In that situation the crew would be very similar to submariners. Unfortunately I don't think it could be made to be "hopeful" very easily, though I would dearly like to be proven wrong.

 

[JagerIV]

A potentially good choice would be a "founding settlement" story.

So, you have a small group you focus on for an initial colonizing expedition to set up on an astroid. Earth isn't particularly terrible, and while some people speak very strongly in terms of how awful it is, but suggest its somewhat people bitching about minor issues, like a fight with the town hall on zoning disputes which caused the colonist to decide to sell his house to make way for their own settlement. Have someone else in it to, say, start anew after a divorce.

Mostly likable, hopeful people. Maybe something like how the Plymouth colony was a mixture of the pilgrims seaking space to live as they see fit and a company looking to make a profit.

Of course, like the actual Plymouth colony there's a big giant chasim of doom and despair between "happy leavings" and "its a functional colony now". The martian can only really get so dark since there's one person: a colony following Plymouth could have half its people die before things stabilize.

So, start out maybe with the departure from earth to the asteroid they laid claim to. Based on realistic transit times, that's about a 4-15 month journey, depending if your a 10-20 km/s delta v range, or a 30- 60 km/s range.

Given that the initial colony mission is weighed down with stuff, probably doing a slow boat, 6 months+ on the ship.

Then you reach the claimed asteroid, which has virtually no supplies. Maybe an initial unmanned supply ship was sent out ahead of time to do some serveying/initial set up. Maybe the drama comes that the supply ship didn't make it, or failed in some way.

Now, their on an empty rocket and have to make the fuel for a return trip when the window reopens again in about six months. The closest possible help is maybe a month or so away, say a small research station or other young astroid colony: someone who's not required to help them, and has a limited ability to.

The ship gets sent back with the fuel and whatever valuables they could produce, which will then come back in a year with a resupply of stuff and new colonists, some of which might be family members who haven't been seen in 2 years as, say, the father decided to go alone with the first wave and have his children and wife come up once he's built things up.

Endless drama and stories tellable within that framework.