One characteristic SciFi is the reliance on special effects and sets to 
create an otherwise unexperienceable experience.  The characteristic of 
classic scifi is that these effects will be unconvincing, even naive. 
Yet we treat them with affection.  The original intention can be to 
create an otherworldly even disturbing experience.  Bladerunner did this 
effectively the first time I saw it with effective use of the 
soundtrack. Sometimes the soundstage set can be exploited. The cozy 
spacestation becomes a trap with a alien onboard.  Another intention or 
inevitable result is to create a safe, often intimate, platform from 
which to speculate about otherworldly experiences.  Those early Startrek 
planet surfaces.  They worked because the designers never violated the 
limits of a soundstage.  This sence of intimate scale enlisted to 
express something alien you almost get for free with raytracing.

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