Editing Science fiction comedy

{{short description|Comedic subgenre of science fiction}}
'''Science fiction comedy''' ('''sci-fi comedy''') or '''comic science fiction''' is a [[subgenre]] of [[science fiction]] or [[science fantasy]] that exploits the [[science fiction]] genre's conventions for [[comedy|comedic]] effect.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://sfbook.com/comedy-science-fiction.htm |title= Comedy Science Fiction |publisher= Sfbook.com |access-date= 2016-03-02 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105108/https://sfbook.com/comedy-science-fiction.htm |archive-date= 2016-03-04 |url-status= dead }}</ref> The genre often mocks or satirizes standard science fiction conventions, concepts and tropes &ndash; such as [[alien invasion]] of Earth, [[interstellar travel]], or futuristic technology. It can also satirize and criticize present-day society.<ref>Compare: ''The Animal Fable in Science Fiction and Fantasy'', Bruce Shaw, McFarland, 2010, page 19: "[...] the objective of making social comment, if not social change, is to be found in those earlier forms."</ref>

An early example was the ''[[Pete Manx]]'' series by [[Henry Kuttner]] and [[Arthur K. Barnes]] (sometimes writing together and sometimes separately, under the house pen-name of Kelvin Kent). Published in ''[[Thrilling Wonder Stories]]'' in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the series featured a [[time travel in fiction|time-traveling]] carnival barker who uses his con-man abilities to get out of trouble. Two later series cemented Kuttner's reputation as one of the most popular early writers of comic science fiction: the ''Gallegher'' series (about a drunken inventor and his narcissistic [[robot]]) and the ''Hogben'' series (about a family of mutant hillbillies). The former appeared in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding Science Fiction]]'' in 1943 and 1948 and was collected in hardcover as ''[[Robots Have No Tails]]'' (Gnome, 1952), and the latter appeared in ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'' in the late 1940s. 

In the 1950s of the authors contributing to the sub-genre included: [[Alfred Bester]], [[Harry Harrison (writer)|Harry Harrison]],  [[C. M. Kornbluth]], [[Frederik Pohl]], and [[Robert Sheckley]].<ref name = greencomedy>The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders, Volume 1, Gary Westfahl, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, Page 145</ref>

''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/ariel/26485860 |title= Jo Kent saves cult hg2g game from scrapheap |access-date= 2014-06-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.douglasadams.com/creations/hhgg.html |title= The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy |publisher= Douglasadams.com |access-date= 2014-06-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author= Gaiman, Neil | title= Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" | publisher= Titan Books | year=2003|isbn= 1-84023-742-2|pages = 144–145 | author-link = Neil Gaiman}}</ref> is a science fiction comedy series written by [[Douglas Adams]]. Originally [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)|a radio comedy]] broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]] in 1978, it later morphed into other formats, including stage shows, novels, comic books, a [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series)|1981 TV series]], a [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (computer game)|1984 computer game]], and [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|2005 feature film]]. A prominent series in [[British popular culture]], ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' has become an international multi-media phenomenon; the novels are the most widely distributed, having been translated into more than 30 languages by 2005.<ref>{{cite book | author= Simpson, M. J. | title= The Pocket Essential Hitchhiker's Guide | edition= Second | publisher= Pocket Essentials | year= 2005|isbn= 1-904048-46-3|page = 120}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= The Ultimate Reference Guide to British Popular Culture|url= https://www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/the-ultimate-reference-guide-to-british-popular-culture.html|agency= Oxford Royale|date= 23 November 2016}}</ref>

[[Terry Pratchett]]'s 1981 novel [[Strata (novel)|''Strata'']] also exemplifies the science fiction comedy genre.<ref>
{{cite book
| last1 = Moody
| first1 = Nickianne
| editor1-last = Matthews
| editor1-first = Nicole
| title = Judging a Book by Its Cover: Fans, Publishers, Designers, and the Marketing of Fiction
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3DWoDQAAQBAJ
| publisher = Routledge
| publication-date = 2016
| isbn = 9781351924672
| access-date = 2018-04-28
| quote = Pratchett was associated with irreverent and comic writing which is an established sub genre in science fiction - for example ''Strata'' (1982) a parody of Larry Niven's ''Ringworld''[,] a classic science fiction series.
}}
</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of science fiction comedy works]]
* [[List of science fiction comedy films]]
* [[Fantasy comedy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Science fiction}}
{{Comedy footer}}
{{film genres}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comic Science Fiction}}
[[Category:Science fiction comedy| ]]
[[Category:Comedy genres|Science fiction]]
[[Category:Science fiction genres]]
[[Category:Film genres]]