I’ve been reading/ watching a lot of pulp sci-fi lately (which isn’t a new thing), but there is one thing that I’m noticing, and that is that the plots for all of the pulp sci-fi classics are all exactly the same.
If I describe the plot to you see if you can guess the film, book, comic or tv show.
- A human male is somehow transported to an alien world
- said human male will meet a local tribe, and will be captured and or fight, before gaining said tribes trust/respect and then learns that the planet is made up of lots of warring peoples all ruled by one tyrant.
- Human male will then meet a princess who is part of the resistance against said tyrant, will fall in love and then join the resistance.
- Human male will suffer self doubt before uniting all tribes on the planet against the tyrant.
- Final battle
- Human Male either marries princess and rules or is sent back to Earth to pine for princess and scheme to get back.
This formula actually applies to pretty much all stalwarts of the genre across all media, It accurately sums up the novel Princess of Mars, which gave us the John Carter film, it sums up Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. It is an accurate summation of the Flash Gordon serials, comics and film and is a true synopsis for DC Comic’s Adam Strange A Man Of Two Worlds.
So if you ever feel like writing a pulp sci-fi masterpiece, you now know the winning formula, it worked for some pretty big names in cinema.
