Space Operatics

io9 gives the top 10 rules of space opera in honor of Star Trek (one more day!) so go check them out. Since I am writing my own little space opera presently, I'd thought I check what I got their list:

1. Have a giant object in space.

Check.

2. Set the action in motion by plunging us into the middle of an extremely complicated astropolitical regime change.

Right with you until regime change. My astropolitical is complicated, though.

3. A scrappy group of humans should be part of a rebellion that's hidden on a cool-looking moon or tricked-out asteroid.

Not doing so good here. Though my good guys do live underground...

4. There must be an enormous mothership (which must be referred to as a mothership or maybe a base ship), and it must be attacked by a bunch of tiny fighter ships.

This is so cliche, I avoid it altogether.

5. Always fill your spaceships and intergalactic ports with random background aliens and weird-faced creatures.

Naturally.

6. Your heroes should always revisit the sites of old battles, the locations of terrible accidents, and the regions of space where their people were wiped from the face of the universe. But only if they don't want to.

My heroes sift through the ash of the universe. It's kind of the book.

7. If there is a male bad guy, he should have a ripped body or amazing weapons. If there is a female bad guy, she should have a high, sparkly collar or a sidekick named something like Tigerman.

Um... no. I have a guy and a girl as the baddies, though. They are neither ripped or sparkly. But they rip and make sparkles of other people.

8. There should be at least three types of weapon and three types of spaceship, each of which will be given a name that is used repeatedly.

There are three types of spaceships, because spaceships are awesome.

9. There should be a captain. If there is not a captain, there should be a special agent. If there is not a special agent, there should be a cadet with a future. If there is no cadet with a future, there should be a mercenary with a dark past.

There is someone with a dark past.

10. Somebody wise should predict something, but nobody will pay attention or be able to understand the prediction.

Dude, it's a space opera!