A
science fiction Western is a work of
fictionFiction is a branch of literature which deals, in part or in whole, with temporally contrafactual events...
which has elements of
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
in a
WesternThe Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
setting. It is different from a
Space WesternSpace Western is a subgenre of science fiction, primarily grounded in film and television, that transposes themes of American Western books and film to a backdrop of futuristic space frontiers; it is the complement of the science fiction Western, which transposes science fiction themes onto an...
, which is a frontier story indicative of
American WesternsThe American Old West comprises the history, geography, peoples, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the period of the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
, except transposed to a backdrop of
spaceOuter space comprises the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace and terrestrial locations....
exploration and settlement.
A science fiction Western occurs in the past, or in a world resembling the past, in which modern or future technology exists. The anachronistic technology of these stories is present because scientific paradigms occurred earlier in history but are implemented via industrial elements present at that time, or because technology is brought from another time or place.
A
science fiction Western is a work of
fictionFiction is a branch of literature which deals, in part or in whole, with temporally contrafactual events...
which has elements of
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
in a
WesternThe Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
setting. It is different from a
Space WesternSpace Western is a subgenre of science fiction, primarily grounded in film and television, that transposes themes of American Western books and film to a backdrop of futuristic space frontiers; it is the complement of the science fiction Western, which transposes science fiction themes onto an...
, which is a frontier story indicative of
American WesternsThe American Old West comprises the history, geography, peoples, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the period of the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
, except transposed to a backdrop of
spaceOuter space comprises the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace and terrestrial locations....
exploration and settlement.
A science fiction Western occurs in the past, or in a world resembling the past, in which modern or future technology exists. The anachronistic technology of these stories is present because scientific paradigms occurred earlier in history but are implemented via industrial elements present at that time, or because technology is brought from another time or place. The genre often overlaps with
SteampunkSteampunk is a sub-genre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either...
.
Examples
The film serial
The Phantom EmpireThe Phantom Empire, starring Gene Autry the Singing Cowboy, was a 12-chapter 1935 Mascot serial that combined the western, musical, and science fiction genres. The first episode is 30 mins, the rest about 20 minutes...
may be the earliest science fiction Western. Since then, science fiction Westerns have appeared in film, television, novels, comic books, and other media. Since the characteristic elements of science fiction can occur in any setting, science fiction lends itself to combination with other genres. In 1953,
J. B. PriestleyJohn Boynton Priestley, OM was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster.-Early years:Priestley was born in what he described as an "ultra-respectable" suburb of Bradford...
described the "Western" as one of the three types of science fiction.
Books
- The Dark Tower series
The Dark Tower is a series of seven books written by American author Stephen King between 1970 and 2004. The series incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy fiction, science fantasy, horror and western elements. They describe a gunslinger's quest toward a tower whose nature the...
by Stephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American writer of contemporary horror fiction, science fiction, fantasy literature, and screenplays. An estimated 300–350 million copies of King's novels and short story collections have been sold, and many of his stories have been adapted for film, television, and...
- Girl in Landscape
Girl in Landscape is science fiction novel by Jonathan Lethem, originally published as a 280-page hardback in 1998, by Doubleday Publishing Group. It is said to evoke the classic Western film, The Searchers...
by Jonathan LethemJonathan Allen Lethem is an American writer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lethem trained to be an artist before moving to California and devoting his time to writing. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was...
- Hong on the Range by William F. Wu
William F. Wu is a Chinese-American science fiction author. He published his first story in 1977. Since then, Wu has written thirteen published novels, one scholarly work, and a collection of short stories...
- The Beast Master
The Beast Master is a science fiction novel by Grand Master Andre Norton, first published in 1959.-Plot:It tells the story of Hosteen Storm, an ex-soldier who travels to a distant planet with his comrades, a group of genetically altered animals with whom he has empathic and telepathic connections...
(and Hosteen Storm series) by Andre NortonAndre Alice Norton, née Alice Mary Norton was an American science fiction and fantasy author under the noms de plume Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston...
Comics
- Daisy Kutter
Daisy Kutter: The Last Train is a four-part black-and-white comic book series written and illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi in 2004 and published by Viper Comics.The story is a Science fiction Western, a combination of Steampunk and Western.-Plot:...
by Kazu KibuishiKazu Kibuishi is an American graphic novel author and illustrator. He is best known for being the creator and editor of the comic anthology Flight and for creating the webcomic Copper...
- Lone by Stuart Moore
Stuart Moore is a writer of both comic books and novels.-Biography:Stuart Moore has been a writer, a book editor, and a comics editor. His recent writing includes the original science-fiction series Earthlight and PARA; Iron Man, New Avengers/Transformers, and Wolverine ; Firestorm and Detective...
and Jerome Opena
- Iron West
Iron West is a western steampunk graphic novel by American comic book creator Doug TenNapel. It was published by Image Comics in 2006.The story is set in the American Old West, but features modern day objects such as robots.-Interviews:...
by Doug TennapelDouglas TenNapel is an American musician, animator, and Eisner Award-winning artist. He is best known for creating Earthworm Jim, a character that spawned a famous video game, cartoon series, and toy line.-Biography:...
- Dead Or Alive - A Cyberpunk Western by Tatjana
Film
- Back to the Future Part III
Back to the Future Part III is a 1990 film and the third and final installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film is a science fiction western, using the time travel premise of the series to take Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown back to the Old West of 1885.-Plot:The story continues from...
- The Beast of Hollow Mountain
The Beast of Hollow Mountain is a 1956 scifi/horror western about an American cowboy living in Mexico who discovers his missing cattle are being preyed upon by a carnivorous dinosaur....
- Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter is a low-budget western/horror hybrid film filmed in 1966, in which a fictionalized version of the real-life western outlaw Jesse James encounters the fictional granddaughter of the famous Dr. Frankenstein.John Lupton, who plays the part of Jesse James,...
- Six Reasons Why
Six Reasons Why is a 2008 western film Directed by The Campagna Brothers . The film stars Daniel Wooster as The Nomad, a vigilante, sent into the badlands by a preacher, played by Colm Feore. As the Nomad wanders the badlands, he kills every stranger he meets, with only a horse at his side...
- Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann
- Tremors 4
- The Valley of Gwangi
The Valley of Gwangi is a 1969 western-fantasy film directed by Jim O'Connolly and written by William Bast. The film is also known as Gwangi, The Lost Valley, The Valley Time Forgot, and The Valley Where Time Stood Still...
- Wild Wild West
Wild Wild West is a science fiction Western action-comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline Wild Wild West (1999) is a science fiction Western action-comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline Wild Wild West (1999) is a...
- Outland (film)
Outland is an 1981 science fiction film written and directed by Peter Hyams.Set on Jupiter's moon Io, it has been described as a space Western, that is, a Western set in the future, and indeed bears obvious thematic resemblances to High Noon....
Games
- Blood Bros.
Blood Bros. is an arcade game, released in 1990 by TAD Corporation. It is the "wild west" sequel to Cabal, with almost identical mechanics...
- Darkwatch
Darkwatch is a first-person shooter video game about an outlaw who is turned into a vampire. The game was published by Capcom and developed by High Moon Studios in the United States; in the United Kingdom, it was published by Ubisoft. Darkwatch has received positive reviews from many reviewers,...
- Deadlands
Deadlands is a genre-mixing alternate history roleplaying game which combines the Western and horror genres. Steampunk elements are also prominent...
- Fallout
- Gunman Chronicles
Gunman Chronicles is a futuristic first-person shooter video game using the Half-Life game engine. It was originally planned as a total conversion for Quake; it then switched games to Quake II, followed by another switch to Half-Life, before being spotted by Valve Software and released as a...
- Tin Star
- Wild Arms
- Wild Guns
Wild Guns is a fixed-view third-person shooter developed by Natsume for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was published by Titus Software and was released in 1994.-Setting:...
Television
- Legend
Legend was a science fiction Western television show that ran on UPN from April 18 1995 until August 22, 1995, with one final re-airing of the pilot on July 3, 1996...
UPN Television series featuring Richard Dean Anderson and John De Lancie.
- Outlaws
Outlaws is a short-lived action-adventure American television series which aired Saturday nights on CBS. The original series began as a 2-hour pilot movie, and was followed by eleven one-hour episodes.- Origins :...
, a 1986/87 TV series.
- The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. is a short-lived western television series with science fiction elements set in the 1890s, starring Bruce Campbell as Brisco County, Jr. It could be considered a thematic descendant of the 1960s show The Wild Wild West, since it combined elements of the science...
- "The Gunfighters
The Gunfighters is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, set in 19th Century America on the days leading up to the famous gunfight at OK Corral...
", a 1966 Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien time-traveller known as "the Doctor" who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box...
serial.
- The Wild Wild West
The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969....
included many episodes with science-fiction elements.
- Trigun
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow, published from 1995 to 2007 and spanning 14 collected volumes.The manga was serialized in Tokuma Shoten's Shōnen Captain from the series debut in 1995 until the magazine's demise in 1997...
, Japanese anime, has a manga of the same name.