1981's OUTLAND, staring a shotgun toting Sean Connery, is the movie that most defines my vision of the RPG Traveller. It's gritty sci-fi feel, has enough common touches to not seem overly fantastic.
Yes you are on Jupiter's moon Io, but its a mining station, and the company is concerned about production and profit. To that end an unscrupulous manager has narcotics smuggled in which make people work like a horse-but they go crazy after about 11 months.
Into this Sean Connery comes in and has to decide if he will play along or buck the system. Alternately part western, and part sci-fi, it never strays into the space fantasy of most sci-fi films. Outland is more Blade Runner than Buck Rogers in its dealing with sci-fi, and is an underrated classic in my opinion. Having just seen it again this Friday, it still holds up well and frankly could be remade easily.
I never liked the "royals in space" conceit of Traveller and Outland fit more how I saw the Traveller Universe: more advanced with space travel, but still the same human problems and issues. In fact one of the reasons I loved history all my life is regardless of the tools and civilization man develops, the one unchanging constant throughout is man. Stone, spear, sword, sabre, shotgun, or stun rifle the hand holding the evolving technology remains unchanging. Outland reflected that idea brilliantly, and in a sci-fi setting it shaped and reflected how I played and viewed Traveller.
Give it a watch and see if you see what I see.
12 comments:
Yep. It is a good one and is often overlooked. I wonder if it's on Netflix streaming...
@ Jim-sorry it is not, I don't even think it's available on DVD @ Netflix
It lacks the travelleresque conceit of, well, travelling, which is captured more fully by firefly. It also lacks an ensemble cast of protagonists. I always thought of Traveller as closely akin to space opera.
I do like this movie though. It plays more like a horror movie or spagetti western in space. I watched this again in the last year.
I like Outland a lot (though High Noon is better), but I've never quite understood why so many people call it "a Traveller movie," because I think it's much too gritty to be called that.
@Paladin I can see the Traveller/ Firefly link too. Unfortunately I never enjoyed it much as it felt like Sci-fi version of the A-Team to me.
@James, High Noon is better, although the lack of song repetition in Outland makes it more enjoyable!
I think good games (Traveller or D&D) give a setting, but allow you the space to make it your own, more gritty or more fantastic. D&D published multiple setting to reflect different play styles and to try and capitalize on that idea. That Traveller did not, seems like a missed opportunity. Or maybe they did try with 2300, New Era and such, but it missed the mark.
As my own tastes tend to run towards a more gritty setting, Outland fits that ideal and my vision for Traveller. That yours may not and yet we can still enjoy the same game seems like a strength of the design of both Traveller and RPG's in general. The good ones provide a framework of parts to build your own imagined worlds with. The bad ones give you a box to put your dreams in.
> Sci-fi version of the A-Team
That sounds awesome! ;)
@ Norman-it is, and has lots of fans!
@James - I have always seen Traveller as a game that focused on "real people in space." Outland is definitely a movie that presents that perspective very well. Perhaps that's why it's considered a "Traveller movie."
Yeah, up until Firefly came out, this was a very defining film for me. My Traveller game eventually merged with Cyberpunk 2020 and that setting became more "science fantastic" in a host of ways - but often keeping the gritty sense that cyberpunk was also trying to evoke.
D.
My preferred ultimate Traveller film is the original Japanese animated motion picture "Crusher Joe."
I can't watch that movie and not want to run Traveller afterwards. Whenever I get in the mood to run Traveller I have to track down "Crusher Joe" and watch it first.
@ChicagoWiz I agree 100%. I always thought of traveller the same way, a game about REAL space, what it would be like when we made it there, not some fatastical scenario. Outland is exactly like that. Real space, no space opera.
Btw, it is available on iTunes, picked up and plan on watching it this week. Maybe I will put up a revie of it.
@m.s. Do put up a review. Outland, Blade runner, Alien, Aliens, Planet of the Apes, and 2010 all have that same gritty space "realism" that I favor. It does not mean I don't also dig Star Trek, Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Dr. Who and a bunch of others-but the gritty ones just stick with me more.
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