space opera

[op-er-uh, op-ruh]

noun

1. a television or radio drama or motion picture that is a science-fiction adventure story.

space opera

noun

1. a science fiction drama, such as a film or television programme, esp one dealing with interplanetary flight

Word History and Origins

Origin of space opera¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

“Star Wars” is a space opera and a series of family movies made, in part, with toy licensing in mind.

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It’s not that he was underemployed or little known — he’s been celebrated in genre circles since “Firefly,” the 2002 single-season western-themed space opera in which he played the sweet, comical pilot of a spaceship captained by smuggler Mal, played by Nathan Fillion, with whom he has since been linked in the interested public mind, like Hope and Crosby, or Fey and Poehler.

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One of his top-selling comics over the past year has been “Saga,” an epic space opera/fantasy series written by Brian K. Vaughan from Image.

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The main, and most interesting characters, in HBO’s space opera are Valya Harkonnen, played by Emily Watson, and her sister Tula, played by Olivia Williams.

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They were simply shoving the stars of a blockbuster space opera into a variety special format that worked well enough in previous decades.

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Related Words

• SF 
• sci-fi