Science Fiction

[somme]

Anyone here like good 'ole Sci-fi? If so, what do you like and why? :P

[Arragaun]

I do like. I can only think of books that I've read at the moment though.

For instance: Reality Dysfunction, Neutronium Alchemist, Naked God, Algebraist, Eon, Eternity, Pandora's Star, Judas Unchained. They were all awesome.

[Cube]

I mainly like:
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Wars Saga
FireFly
Futurama
Battlstar Galactica
Doctor Who

[Mr. Bananagrabber]

Star Trek
The Next Generation
Deep Space Nine
Enterprise
Most of the ST films
War of the Worlds
Firefly/Serenity
The original SW Trilogy
Doctor Who
Battlestar Galactica (The old version)
Most of HG Wells and Jules Verne
Plenty of others i've probarbly forgotten.

[Mike]

Red Dwarf was my first sci-fi love, and I also used to watch The Outer Limits and Futurama a lot. The new series of Doctor Who is great, too. My favourite film of all time is also sci fi, too: The Matrix.

I don't really read that much, but when I do, it's usually sci fi. I'm currently enjoying The Day of the Triffids, but I also enjoyed I, Robot, The Time Machine, and a few others I can't remember the names of. The Red Dwarf books are all fantastic too (except perhaps Last Human).

There's a lot of sci fi that I don't like, though, mostly if it takes itself too seriously. I can't stand Star Wars, for example - I found it incredibly dull. I'm also not really into Star Trek or any other American scifi series.

[Shino]

Not very discriptive, but I'll try. I like almost everything that has something to do with space or future technologies, it doesn't need to be full of FX, just galatic politics will do just fine. I have recently downl... purchased Stargate, from season 1 to 7, and I am at this moment purchasing season 8, I love that show, the relations between race is nicely done and introduces some nice concepts (too me atleast).

I also liked Babylon5, Star Wars, Outer Limits and some others I can't remember.

I have never read a Sci-fi book, if anyone can recomend me their favorites, it would most appreciated.

[Arragaun]

I have never read a Sci-fi book, if anyone can recomend me their favorites, it would most appreciated.
Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton. It's well coolz.

[AshMat]

FUTURAMAMAMAMAMA

F-U-T-U-R-A-M-A

Yeah, so anyway, i like futurama..

[Dan Dare]

James Cameron FTW

Then Joss Whedon.

[The3rdChildren]

Waterworld is considered sci-fi by some. Sci-fi is forever tainted.

[Dan Dare]

humanity, is forever tainted.

[Fierce_LiNk]

James Cameron FTW


I agree with this (as always:heh:)

I enjoy a lot of Sci-fi. I admit that i even enjoy watching Star Trek in its many forms (except maybe Deep Space 9, haven't watched enough of it to like it).

I also enjoy classic Sci-fi tv shows, such as the X-files and the Outer Limits. The Twilight Zone was awesome, too.

[The3rdChildren]

I also enjoy classic Sci-fi tv shows, such as the X-files and the Outer Limits. The Twilight Zone was awesome, too.

The X-Files is a fantastic show.

[Dan Dare]

But it's no Terminator.

;)

[Fierce_LiNk]

The X-Files is a fantastic show.

I miss not seeing it about on BBC1/BBC2 anymore. It was easily one of the best programs on tv during its time.

But it's no Terminator.

Indeed, it isn't. :heh: I love both the x-files and terminator, and i'll be damned if i'm going to choose which one i love more!

[Platty]

Star Wars. End.

[Dan Dare]

I watched The Terminator after we were talking about it the other day. it's just fekkin rightous :)

it's all about the dialogue, the cyberpunk portrayal of LA, the slightly synthetic look of Arnie when he cuts out his eye...

ah, it's just marvelous. I also noticed that it has the same cast as Aliens. loads of people are in both.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I watched The Terminator after we were talking about it the other day. it's just fekkin rightous :)

it's all about the dialogue, the cyberpunk portrayal of LA, the slightly synthetic look of Arnie when he cuts out his eye...

ah, it's just marvelous. I also noticed that it has the same cast as Aliens. loads of people are in both.

It has the same cast because James Cameron apparantly gets along well with Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn and Lance Henrikson (also Jeanette Goldstein who plays Vasquez is John Connor's foster mother in T2)

My flatmate at Brighton said that the Terminator wasn't a Sci-fi film, and i was really fuming inside. It's got to be one of the best Sci-fi titles to date!

[The Bard]

Stargate SG-1!! Pwntz0rz!!

+ T2 = the most rock n roll movie ever. Apart from Back to the future and Bill and Ted.

[Dan Dare]

course it's a sci fi! just because it's not set in space...I'm pretty sure cyborg asassins traveling through time from a post apocalypic, genocidal future counts as sci fi

:P

[Ginger_Chris]

Firefly is the all time best sci-fi. I want another series

Star wars would have won, but although the concept was utter genius, the implementation was utter rubbish. If the scriptwriting had been up to par, nothing could have competed with it. ever.

Alien/s was pretty sweet too

[Dan Dare]

Firefly is very good. my DVDs are well good:)

[markcullinane]

Isaac Asimov. Any fans?

[Arragaun]

I knew I'd forgotten someone. I've only read that collection of robot stories though. I think it might have been called I, Robot. It wasn't like the film though.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I knew I'd forgotten someone. I've only read that collection of robot stories though. I think it might have been called I, Robot. It wasn't like the film though.

From what i remember, the I, Robot film is based around the book, but quite loosely. Was there more than one I, Robot book?

[Arragaun]

Come to think of it there were a few parts from the film which I remember from the stories. I think they made up their own plot for the film, but included lots of the interesting parts from all the different stories.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Since everyone is assraping mainstream. I'll go pro.

Starship Troopers.
Judge Dredd.

Plus I'm putting Beetlejuice and Ghostbusters into this catergory.

Fucking uzi nine millimetre quality.

[Dan Dare]

personally, I'm not a Dredd fan, but I'll give you Starship Troopers.

[Ginger_Chris]

Starship troopers 2.

It was filmed in about 17 days on about a tenth of the budget of the origional. Its bad, but in a good way.

[Konfucius]

I love almost anything that's Sci-Fi:

I like everything about Star Trek: TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT (Season 4 is great) but I never saw TAS :(

Star Wars is also truly great and the new Battlestar Galactica even surpasses everything except TNG Star Trek wise.

I also love the book Do Androids dream of electric sheep - Blade Runner and read the book Starship Troopers as well as watching the film (there's only one!!!11 I refuse to accept anything else) and enjoyed both to bits even though they are quite different.

Stargate SG1 and Atlantis are also very entertaining although I enjoy Atlantis more because it feels fresh. SG1 kind of runs out of ideas.

I even watch Andromeda, it has a certain awesome crapness to it.

[mariosmentor]

alien versus predator, wowa wewa!

[Dan Dare]

must....resist....blatant....baiting....must...not ....get....banned!

[Supergrunch]

Isaac Asimov. Any fans?
I haven't read anything by him, but if you're a fan should read Ghostwritten by David Mitchell, for the Asimov parodies at the end. (I'm also pushing it because it's one of my favourite books) Okay, so it isn't all sci-fi, but some parts have that feel.

[Jamba]

The book name you are looking for is Robot Dreams. I Robot is the culmination of a lot of these stories into a narrative + tocken Will-Smith-playing-himself black guy. Dr. Calvin is in most if not all of the stories too.

I am a big Sci-Fi fan because it has allowed people to enter an area of philosophy with some amount of ease. Admittedly, there is a lot of crap that gets flung around but dramatically it is very versatile. Essentially it is the literature/tv/movie equivalent of modern art as it sheds the rules of reality and so many different scenarios can exist. I'm not saying that dramatic abstraction hasn't happened before, it is frequent in plays (The Room byt Harold Pinter anyone?) but Sci-Fi allows this to be much more accessible as it doesn't feel abstract because you have characters that represent things. You can build up situations, themes and atmospheres with characters talking and interacting together that are hard to do in often confusing and surreal dialogue withing plays.

I like the more philosophical Sci-Fi. I think that Doctor Who has been fantastic and I am really glad that it has come back but it's films like the Matrix sequels that get me angry. The first film set a beautiful premise: packed with philosophy which lead you to ask yourself questions; beautifully shot; awesome soundtrack; an open ending that felt complete but left you wanting. So much from this one film has been ripped off by other movie maker, which is just an indication of how good it really was. But why did the next 2 not work? Fairly easily answered really. Instead of going through the artistic and creative process again, they simply copied their pattern from the 1st one. They didn't not ask themselves all of the questions again but just rehashed the formula. Do you think someone just said, "yeah lets stick a RATM tack at the end, that'll rock"? No they said that that kind of track will work well dramatically here and picked it out especially. Did they do the same for the next ones? No, they said "we did it in the last film and that worked, so lets do it again". And this is reflected in every pixel of movie 2 and 3. They weren't Sci-Fi, they were action sequels of the kind that should have been banned after the 80s.

/endrant

On the other hand I thought that the Animatrix was almost better than the original film.

[L.J.G.]

Just look at my avatar you know what I'm gonna say... ALIENS because it is the best film ever.

I also baught Firefly on dvd and am realy annoyed that it got cancelled because I thought it was amazing.

[JonSt]

In order of Greatness.

ENTERPRISE

Voyager
Next Generation
Deep Space Nine


That is all.

[Arragaun]

On the other hand I thought that the Animatrix was almost better than the original film.
Out of those, I watched The Second Renaissance, which was really cool in how it showed all the harvesting and the initial battles between the humans and machines.

[EchoDesiato]

I love reading all the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy books. The movie is a bit "meh", the old tv show is way better.

[gaggle64]

No Cowboy Bebop love from anyone here? Also Blade Runner and Alien. Ridley Scott is a bitching director. Also Xfiles.
ALSO: The Last Starfighter and Batteries Not Included. Gawd, I adore those films.

PS. Does Back to the Future count?

[Supergrunch]

No Cowboy Bebop love from anyone here? Also Blade Runner and Alien. Ridley Scott is a bitching director. Also Xfiles.
ALSO: The Last Starfighter and Batteries Not Included. Gawd, I adore those films.

PS. Does Back to the Future count?
Cowboy Bebop's alright, but I prefer Samurai Champloo.

[demonmike04]

Blue planet, best sci-fi ever, too bad it was only one episode.

[Cube]

In order of Greatness.

ENTERPRISE

Agreed. Best TV show ever.
I want to kill the people who canceled it.

[gaggle64]

I didn't like Enterprise. It just didn't deliever what it promised, and I thought the charcaters were a little dull, in my opinion at least.

[Konfucius]

The last two season of Enterprise were great, especially the fourth one but I was really disappointed by the last episode - a holodeck, come on that's like saying Enterprise is all history and entertainment for the next generation.

[Dan Dare]

No Cowboy Bebop love from anyone here? Also Blade Runner and Alien. Ridley Scott is a bitching director. Also Xfiles.
ALSO: The Last Starfighter and Batteries Not Included. Gawd, I adore those films.

PS. Does Back to the Future count?


Beebop is a very cool sci fi. the style is so much fun with the cool ass jazzy soundtrack and all that. unfortunatly, the movie has an utterly terrible plot; the badguy just makes no sense whatsoever. If he ever did it was lost in translation.

BTTF however. that's one of the greatest achievements of human civilisation.

[Fuzpoy]

I'm working my way through some ST:TGN and Battlestar Galactica, but you have all missed out one of the best Sci-fis, Farscape.

[JonSt]

The last two season of Enterprise were great, especially the fourth one but I was really disappointed by the last episode - a holodeck, come on that's like saying Enterprise is all history and entertainment for the next generation.

I see your point definantly, but the way I look at it is that it wasn't just the end of Enterprise it was the culmination of the past 18 years of Trek being controlled by Berman and Braga. I've know doubt it will return to TV, but not for a while.

At the end of the day Enterprise was lucky to get a fourth season, even then it was allowed to finish it, remeber quantam leap being cancelled immediately?

It was a vitim of the network changing, the guys that loved the franchise left and they started buying crap. They even canceled smackdown. The fact that enterprise had over 90% syndication showed it was a popular show.

[Mr. Bananagrabber]

At the end of series 2, the network decided to give it 2 more seasons and then leave it. Despite much higher viewing figures with series 3 (Best Trek series ever imo) and 4 (Second best :P ) they went along with the plan and stopped it there and then. Gits.

[gaggle64]

Beebop is a very cool sci fi. the style is so much fun with the cool ass jazzy soundtrack and all that. unfortunatly, the movie has an utterly terrible plot; the badguy just makes no sense whatsoever. If he ever did it was lost in translation.

Yeah, that's a fair comment. It's what I like to call the Bruckheimer motive. "Why is all this crap blowing up?" "I dunno, does it matter?"

The series is brilliant though, it's eccentric characters and constant oscilation between drama, comedy and action actually gives it some similarity with Doctor Who more than anything else.

[Jamba]

I wouldn't really classify Bebop as Sci-Fi. It's not that it's not set in space, or that it doesn't feature science from the future but it has no philosophy about those things at all. This is shown by the fact that the way they live their lives isn't that different to nowadays. To me saying that it is Sci-Fi is like calling Metroid Prime a FPS; it's not that it doesn't have the elements of what describes a FPS but it's not really what it is about.

[gaggle64]

I think you're mis-analysing the sci-fi genre. You metioned that it has science from a fictional future. Well there you have it. It's a Science-Fiction show. The fictional technology featured may not always play as big a part as say, Star Trek, but it is still a sci-fi show. That's not to say there aren't shows, games or movies that straddle such a line between what can be considered "Sci-Fi" and what is just "futuristic drama", but in my opinion there is no distinction.

I'm not sure what you mean about the "philosphy" of Sci-fi. I have never actually seen anything philsophical that can be considered exclusive to sci-fi. In Star Trek all the philosphy is usual based around some kind of political or diplomatic drama, or sometimes some great, fantastical discovery. The Matrix delves very effectively into senses of state and perceptions of exsistence, but this is a concept which has been discussed since long before some baked Dutch guy observed that he thought, and therefore he was. Battlestar Galactica is, first and foremost, an American politcal millitary drama, albeit with the part of the Communists played by robots. Ultimately I believe that Sci-Fi is just the fantasy genre with bleeping lights, the mystic realms and spirit plains derived from Celtic myth replaced with holodecks and nebulas, and even then those continue to appear to give folks like Capt. Picard and the SG-1 team another bad day.

Going back to Cowboy Bebop, there's more than enough computer hackery, stargates, combat drugs, blackholes and weird and wonderful spaceships floating around to justify the science part of it. When religous leaders start popping out of TVs, mystic Zen finding long lost fathers and disused spy satalites start feeling lonely, well, there's the fiction, or more accurately, the fantasy.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - Clarke's Third Law.

[The3rdChildren]

Since we're taking the anime door here, and accepting that anime can be classified as science fiction, I'm going to go ahead and throw out the big one here.

I don't even need to say it's name, by now most of you should know what it is.

[gaggle64]

I've never got Evangelion. Big Robots are all very well, but I always thought the characters were rather flat and as a result it doesn't keep it together when things get really weird.

[The3rdChildren]

I've never got Evangelion. Big Robots are all very well, but I always thought the characters were rather flat and as a result it doesn't keep it together when things get really weird.

This isn't the topic to discuss which anime is the best, but you sir are a sinner. Maybe it's just me, but aside RahXephon, none of the anime produced in recent years touches Evangelion. Rose-tint-me-do.

Hastily moving back on-topic, can Quantum Leap be considered Sci-Fi? If so, sign me up.

[gaggle64]

This isn't the topic to discuss which anime is the best, but you sir are a sinner. Maybe it's just me, but aside RahXephon, none of the anime produced in recent years touches Evangelion. Rose-tint-me-do.

Hastily moving back on-topic, can Quantum Leap be considered Sci-Fi? If so, sign me up.
I can assure you I was thinking about Evangelion purely in terms of a sci-fi show. Animated or live, it's all the same to me. Some people obviously like it and some don't, it does seem to be one of these marmite things. And yes, Quantum leap is very definitly a sci-fi show. It's time travel for petes sake.

[Dan Dare]

Quantum Leap could make such a classy game :)

[Cube]

At the end of the day Enterprise was lucky to get a fourth season, even then it was allowed to finish it

Well, a shortened season, but still a season.

Anyway, they are still working on the next Star Trek film, and are trying to get Matt Damon to play the role of James Tiberius Kirk.

[Mr. Bananagrabber]

Matt Damon to play the role of James Tiberius Kirk.
All three of my hearts stopped when I first read that. At least the Lost guy JJ Abrahams is making the film.
What are the odds that they crash on a desserted planet? :D
Oh- And 2000's Azumanga > Evangelion imo :P

[gaggle64]

All three of my hearts stopped when I first read that. At least the Lost guy JJ Abrahams is making the film.

Oh gawd, I hate lost. Matt Damon's OK, but he'll never fill Shatner's side-pressed flares. I honest;y don't want anymre Kirk. I'd like to see a new 'Trek crew, but this time with a captain or officers who are maybe a bit broken or flawed. Think Hugh Laurie's character from House at the helm and you're halfway there.

[Mr. Bananagrabber]

Now come on yammy, thats like comparing errr clarissa knows it all to the matrix

Still anime though. WHich is what we were talking about, not just sci fi anime :P

[Supergrunch]

Oh- And 2000's Azumanga > Evangelion imo :P
QFT

Azumanga > all sci-fi anime

In fact, Azumanga = Mai HiME = School Rumble > all other anime.

[JonSt]

Well, a shortened season, but still a season.

Anyway, they are still working on the next Star Trek film, and are trying to get Matt Damon to play the role of James Tiberius Kirk.

It was hardly 'short', they only shortened it by 4 episodes from the first season. It would be a travesty if that Abrahams **** gets damon, Star Trek has always had a great record of recruiting 'un-famous' actors. We dont need some hollywood know it all.

[somme]

I thought Enterprise was pap. Was just too boring for me to bother with. Besides Star trek was always fun because it was set way in the future and they had loads of technology etc. Going back in time didn't interest me.