text: do we take science fiction too seriously? i'm a big red dwarf fan.  the sci fi concepts portrayed in it are literally out of this world.  there are hardly any sci fi comedies though, on tv or in film.  can you think of any?  i mean truly great, on a par with star wars, et, the alien saga, close encounters, etc. are pruducers afraid to spend money on sci fi comedy, thinking it wont make that much money?  is it just because comedy is so difficult that adding sci fi concepts on top would make it impossible for most writers.  is it the sponsors?  is it us? in my opinion, we don't take is seriously enough!  i mean, why have the critics never noticed it is merely a scenery change - the stories are still the same genres they always are in fiction:  comedy soap horror action/adventure thriller romance  historical and sci-fi are just two flip sides of the same coin.  do you want to set your story in the past, present or future, or alternate reality (fantasy)?  simple!  by that argument, there is absolutely no reason why comedy should not work within a sci-fi setting - it works in the fantasy, i mean, some episodes of buffy had me laughing out loud!  the strength is in the writing, and the writing behind red dwarf was spot on.  if you want a comedy with the same epic strength as the films you mention though, you have a problem - look at normal comedy films.  there is not the visual impact in a comedy that you have in an action/adventure - the emphasis is on the script.  therefore, comedies will never "appear" epic in nature, it's a problem with the comedy genre, and not with sci-fi in particular.