Len,
I saw Avatar yesterday. The nature/jungle special effects were great. The political and ecological message was very clear. But there is some sort of action adventure formula that everyone is following that is a bit over the top.
The humans did not possess dominating technologies in the latest Star Trek. An ongoing theme of Star Trek is that the human spirit will prevail over technology.
Still, mystery and discovery is lacking. Real worlds offer unmatched avenues for sci f adventures because they don't have to make sense.
Gliese 581D, the water world, is a perfect example. it's 7.8 times the size of Earth, but because it's nearly all water, gravity is the same as Earth's. It orbits a star, Gliese 581 that is only a fraction the size of Sol in 68 days. Because Gliese 581 is so small, the light bathing "D" is in the near infrared range. And, then there is the fact that "D" is three billion years older than Earth. Finally, it probably has organic life. The moment life is confirmed, "D" because the best site for off-Earth sci fi that the genre has ever had.
How many other "D's" will we have in a year? In five? In ten? And, none of them have to make sense. It will be a long time before sci fi once more becomes formulaic and predictable, and it's about time.
For the time being, the planet will be called Gliese 581D. What it's know by later depends on what astronomers nickname it and whether it has sentient life. I doubt it will be called Gliese 581D fifty years from now.
