Good Sci Fi

POSTED BY: est120
UPDATED: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 08:34
VIEWED: 15814
PAGE 1 of 1

EST120

Friday, April 30, 2004 2:15 PM

Okay, as a counter to the other thread, what are some of the absolute BEST science fiction? TV shows and movies are included here!

Here are some of mine (this is NOT a comprehensive list and those listed are in no particular order):
-Firefly
-Pitch Black
-Titan AE (I know a lot of people did not like it, but I thought it was great)
-Aliens (Any of the quadrilogy)
-Predator (Aliens V. Predator this summer is going to be interesting)
-The Iron Giant (I know it was more of a kids movie, but I liked it)
-The Fifth Element (absolutely hilarious!)

MCFLY

Friday, April 30, 2004 2:20 PM

The movie 'Aliens' Hands down my favourite movie.

Hack the planet!

FIREFLYWILDCARD1

Friday, April 30, 2004 2:26 PM

Firefly (of course)
Star Wars (original trilogy)
Space: Above and Beyond
Stargate (movie)

EST120

Friday, April 30, 2004 2:34 PM

I agree. I thought the whole quadrilogy was pretty good. I think Aliens was my favorite, but Alien wa pretty good too and Resurrection was not as bad as some people made it out to be (in my opinion).

HARPIE

Friday, April 30, 2004 2:46 PM

Star Trek(any series)
Firefly
Quantum Leap
Stargate SG-1
X-Files
Angel
Buffy
Earth 2

Trekkie,Browncoat,Leaper,MSTie

KNIBBLET

Friday, April 30, 2004 2:47 PM

Darn double post

FIREFLYWILDCARD1

Friday, April 30, 2004 2:50 PM

Forgot one on my list:

SeaQuest.

PALADIN

Friday, April 30, 2004 2:53 PM

I loved Aliens and Alien. Alien 3 was the same as the first almost, except everyone was bald. Resurrection I just plain do not understand/care-for all too much (too bad because I know it was written by Joss). I love sci-fi though. In no particular order...

Star Wars Trilogy (classic, not "special" edition)

Alien Quadrilogy

Predator (1&2)

The Last Starfighter (I grew up with that one, good memories, good times)

Total Recall

and of course...

Firefly

------------
"If you take sexual advantage of her, you're going to burn in a very special level of Hell, a level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater." -Book

EST120

Friday, April 30, 2004 2:56 PM

Alien Resurrection had the creepiest looking monster I have ever seen in my life. I did not know Joss wrote that. I thought it was pretty good. I enjoyed it and it certainly had the creepy feel of the previous movies. One thing that I love about that series is that the aliens are hiding in the shadows and usually hard to see which makes them scarier to me.

GEEZER

Friday, April 30, 2004 3:08 PM

Time to show my age again

TV
Science Fiction Theatre (Not MST3K. Was on in the '50s)
Twilight Zone (Original Rod Serling version)
Outer Limits

Movies
Forbidden Planet
Destination Moon
Silent Running

...and more recent

TV
Firefly
Babylon 5

Movies
5th Element
Galaxy Quest

"Keep the Shiny side up"

CYBERSNARK

Friday, April 30, 2004 3:18 PM

I'm a fan of most SF, but the ones I keep coming back to are:

Star Trek: (What can I say, I like being an optimist about human nature. Also, as a writer, I'm fascinated by how Roddenberry's social allegory spiralled out into a "living, breathing" universe [and somewhat dismayed that we only ever get to see fractions of it].)

Star Wars: (My "first love." Even as the prequels' plunging quality begins to erode my fandom, the awe-inspiring epic adventure of the NJO arc reaffirms it. Doro'ik vong pratte!)

Stargate SG-1: (Oh, how I wish Global would stop acting like a dog in a manger and let others air S6 onward. )

Farscape: (SF writers tend to fall into two categories. When we start out, we're told that "we can't write aliens," no matter how hard we try, 'cause we're humans, and all humans think the same, and we can't think like aliens. And even if we could, no one would care about the aliens, 'cause they're not like us. Some writers accept this, and go on to write brilliant human-based SF (Firefly). Others use aliens as dramatic or narrative devices, like funhouse mirrors of human characteristics (Star Trek). Others take this as a direct challenge. They try to outdo each other with the most out-there, mind-blowing weirdness they can come up with. Usually, these writers are restricted to SF magazines and novels. Farscape marks the first time they --we've really hit television. I couldn't care less about John & Aeryn; I want to see Rygel oust his brother and reclaim his throne, and Pilot and Moya fulfilling their dream of pure exploration.)

Transformers: (It may be billed as a kids' show, but there's enough here to fill libraries of adult, "hard" SF, if only anyone tried. Machines with souls, asexual beings who have genders and fall in love, A race of pacifists forced to become warriors to defeat warriors, machines being forced to adapt beyond their programming, a cybernetic God and a technological Devil, an avowed atheist who inherits his people's most sacred religious artifact, and tries to understand what it means. . .)

Roswell Conspiracies: (None of you have probably heard of this little-known cartoon from a few years back, but it's awesome. It runs like a mix of Buffy meets X-Files in the Men in Black universe, with just a little M.A.S.K. thrown in. --And the male lead looks like an animated David Boreanaz, complete with "hair that goes straight up." )

Also the classics:
The Day The Earth Stood Still (if ever a movie called out for a modern update. . .)
I, Robot (by way of Bicentennial Man, currently. Reserving judgement on the upcoming version.)

If text counts, I'm a fan of Flowers for Algernon (by [I think ]) Arthur C. Clark), and Asimov's The Star is the basis for the alien equivalent of "pool" in my SF writing (if I ever get back into it from doing fantasy). Also, there's a freaky alien/human love story called Bloodchild, but I'll be frelled if I can remember what the author's name was, and the book with it is in another city.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

HARPIE

Friday, April 30, 2004 3:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
Time to show my age again

TV
Science Fiction Theatre (Not MST3K. Was on in the '50s)
Twilight Zone (Original Rod Serling version)
Outer Limits

The original Outer Limits or the '90's version? I actually thought many of the new Outer Limits episodes were quite good. I wish they were being released in order instead by theme.

Trekkie,Browncoat,Leaper,MSTie

LALLI

Friday, April 30, 2004 3:36 PM

*Strarship Troopers (hey, if you don't take it seriously you'll like it)
*Bad Taste
*Event Horizont
*The Last Crusade
*Enemy Mine
*Dreamcacher (JUST KIDDING! It did no justice to the book)
*I Am Legend
*Soylent Green
*Jason X
*Mad Max-films(not sure if you count them to scifi)

There's a lot of other scifi-films of various quality that I've watched but I really can't remember them (except The Peternator, but I don't think that it counts as scifi) right now.

MAUGWAI

Friday, April 30, 2004 3:55 PM

(edited to make me sound like less of a conceited jackass)

The entire Matrix trilogy.
I think a lot of the people who hated the last movie didn't get the point. It was really out there.

I don't know if we're counting books, but there's a novel by Alfred Bester called Stars My Destination. Pure genius. Nobody's made it a movie yet, as far as I can tell.

"Dear diary, today I was pompous and my sister was crazy."

KNIBBLET

Friday, April 30, 2004 4:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cybersnark:
Flowers for Algernon (by [I think ]) Arthur C. Clark)

Daniel Keyes wrote Flowers for Algernon. I don't know if he wrote the screenplay for "Charley" the movie adaptation.

"Just keep walkin, preacher man."

BROWNCOAT1

Friday, April 30, 2004 4:01 PM

Best sci fi? Here we go:

Movies:

- The Day the Earth Stood Still
- Forbidden Planet
- Aliens
- The Terminator
- Star Wars

Television

- Firefly
- Stargate SG1
- Babylon 5
- Outer Limits (original)
- Twilight Zone (original)

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

SHINYENDER

Friday, April 30, 2004 4:18 PM

movies
time bandits
Battle beyond the stars
the last starfighter
the adventures of buckaroo banzai
12 monkeys
ice pirates
flight of the navigator
Yor the hunter from the future
Logan's run

tv
misfits of science
buffy
firefly

EST120

Friday, April 30, 2004 4:30 PM

I thought the entire Matrix trilogy was pretty good too. I felt that for the last movie the writers got kind of backed into a corner because everyone had their own ideas about what was going to happen and what they ended up writing was probably different from what 99.9% of the viewers thought so people were disappointed. In the end, it seemed more that the expectations were too high and there was no way the story was going to please most people. That being said, the way the story ends is not bad, it just is not being accepted (in my opinion).

CYBERSNARK

Friday, April 30, 2004 6:43 PM

I think the end of the Matrix trilogy was perfect (woulda' mentioned it in my post, but my brain got lost in Roswell ).

Morpheus' original plan was to destroy the Matrix completely, which would either kill everyone (not already "unplugged"), or unplug everyone. If he'd succeeded, humanity would be free of the Matrix, but something like three quarters of the "survivors" wouldn't last a year in the real world. There's no food, no provisions to grow it, limited shelter, people from every nation on Earth suddenly being cut adrift in a techno wasteland that the Zionites couldn't hope to police effectively.

Remember what Morpheus said in the first one; most of the adults they unplug don't make it; their brains are addicted to the Matrix.

Morpheus thought it was worth it to save humanity.

Neo's epiphany was that the Matrix wasn't a deathtrap; it was a chrysalis. Neo wasn't the One, he was just the First.

Neo rebooted the Matrix after deleting the virus (Smith, the rogue agent). Since Smith had infected all the other Agents, Neo deleted their programs when he killed Smith (I'm guessing he deleted the whole "folder," so to speak). The non-Agent programs, like the Oracle, the Architect, and Seraph (who I'd been hoping would turn out to be a "rebel" Agent ) must've been restored manually by Neo.

Now, the surviving Zionites have time to unplug people properly, with years of careful training and counselling. With the Agents gone, the resistance can come and go as they please.

They can finally wake up from that dream they're all having.

Don't make faces.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

JABBERWOCKY

Friday, April 30, 2004 6:50 PM

Titain AE the story was good what sucked was the animation. most of it was so halfa$$edly done.

601

SPIKEANDJEZEBEL

Friday, April 30, 2004 6:53 PM

Up until Buffy and Firefly, my favorite sci-fi series was Blake's 7. The Brits now have season 1 on dvd, and BBC America's website says the region 1 release is being planned for sometime this year.

I strongly advise anyone who likes Firefly to check it out - the two shows have a lot in common. And it has the Best Ending Ever for a tv series, in my opinion.

"I like smackin' 'em!" - Jayne Cobb

EST120

Friday, April 30, 2004 7:11 PM

I actually liked the animation in Titan AE. I thought the blend of computer graphics with two dimensional hand painted characters was neat. I have always been a fan of the two dimensional "classic" animation. Computer generated graphics are great too if they are done well but the old style has a certain charm that I like. In Titan AE, the two dimensional animated characters maintained the nostalgic feel and the computer graphics gave it a little more "zing", for lack of a better word.

GHOLA

Friday, April 30, 2004 7:38 PM

I don't think anyone's mentioned Gattacca or Contact yet they're both very good films.

DAVEY

Friday, April 30, 2004 7:47 PM

heres mine

films, gotta go for
Aliens 1 and 2
Star Wars (originals of course)
Predator
Terminator
Battlestar Galactica

Tv
Firefly (duh)
Space above and beyond
Farscape
John Doe
B5

lots of others but these are the ones i would actually stay in for

SHINYENDER

Friday, April 30, 2004 7:48 PM

I'm telling you,

Yor, The Hunter from the Future.

It doesn't get prettier.

MALICIOUS

Friday, April 30, 2004 7:50 PM

Ahem.

1a)Serenity (I feel certain it will be)
1b)Terminator 2
2)Terminator 1
3)Alien
4)Aliens
5)Timecop (What was it about you ask? I dunno. Jean-Claude just does that split thing and I melt.)
6)Capricorn One

Mal-licious

KNIBBLET

Friday, April 30, 2004 8:25 PM

Remember, I said I was going to edit - add.

Movies:
The Day the Earth Stood Still
ET
Aliens
Terminator
Blade Runner
Starman (Red means stop. Green means go. Yellow means go very fast.)
Gattica
12 Monkeys
Planet of the Apes (Get your hands off me, you damned dirty ape!)

Mini-series
The Stand (Randall Flagg is the scariest creation EVER)
"V" (Could be added stress in my life, but it gave me some serious wiggins dreams.)

TV:
Firefly
Buffy
Angel
Highlander
Twilight Zone (original)
The Avengers (Emma Peel vintage)
Jonny Socko and his Giant Robot (say 'cheese' :)
Star Trek: DS9 (parallels to WWII interested me)
Sliders (before it sucked)
Red Dwarf

"Just keep walkin, preacher man."

JERRY111

Friday, April 30, 2004 8:39 PM

Enterprise. Season 3 has been pretty damned good so far.

NERVOUSPETE

Friday, April 30, 2004 8:56 PM

ULTRAVIOLET:

(1998 Brit sc-fi, Channel 4)

The best and most mature science fiction show since 'The Prisoner', Ultraviolet detailed a covert war against an ancient secret society named 'Code Five'. It centered around a covert agency funded by the government and the Vatican to uncover and neutralise a secret global society of inhuman, immortal blood-suckers called 'Code Fives'... or 'leaches' for a nickname. The name 'vampire' was never used. The show was dark, moody, serious and heavy on realism. The leaches were allergic to a chemical in garlic, could be neutralised by a carbon bullet to the heart, exploded in sunlight and not only couldn't show up in mirrors but also couldn't be picked up on camera, telephone or any electronical recording device. "The only machines that can see and hear them are people." They are also inhumanly fast and deadly. Every episode the team would spot signs of a Code Five plot or killing. Obsessed with the contamination and preservation of their blood supply, the leaches were determined to study diseases of the blood, the enviroment and global warming, effects of radiation, mass Code V infection of the population and the development of substitute blood. These seemingly random obsessions eventually dovetail into a surprising revelation as to the Code V plans.

These creatures are not the mindless leather jacketed vampires of Buffy (ace though that show is) instead they wear smart business suits or t-shirts and jeans... normal everyday wear. They drive around in cars with tinted windows and play the stock market, give money to blood research charities and recruit new members. They claim to only take who wants to join, and no one seems to be the worse for wear from their blood sucking (the victims don't remember, the scar heals fast and the only short to medium term symptoms are that they are highly suggestible to leaches and that they get migranes under light) The leaches claim to be misunderstood and wish to live in peace. The agency resembles a death squad, a group that the main character - an ex-detective who has fallen in with them, feels increasingly uncomfortable working with. All in all it is shot through with moral ambiguity, amazing acting, cold-war drama direction and lighting, a fab eerie soundtrack, smart but limited effects and fantastic scripts and plots.

Only six hour long episodes tragically, but each one so mighty that you'll watch them again and again. Even better than Firefly in quality, to be honest, but not as lovable or inspiring. There are region 1 & 2 versions available on DVD through Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Buy them. Buy them. (Oh, and the lead is Jack Davenport - Commander Norrington from 'Pirates of the Carribean' and Jack from 'This Life' - he is ace)

Great quotes:

Father Harman: "Make no mistake, our free-range days are over."
Jack: "They're a death squad, Mike! They want to kill me! Help me... please."
Leach: "Get a life."
Father Harman: "It was good advice. Get a life."
Vaughan Rice: "They're faster, smarter. Our only asset is surprise."
Leach: "You're wrong, father. We are the only after-life there is."

THE PRISONER:

(Very high budget, no wobbly sets! 1965 Brit sci-fi/spy series. Utterly fantastic)

Thunderclouds. There is the sound of thunder. A highway leading off into the distance, and far away a fast little sports-car appears. In it drives a man with an enigmatic expression. Cool brass lead jarring pop/jazz music plays. He drives through London to arrive at an underground car park. He gets out and walks through tunnels. Suddenly he throws open a door to the sound of a thunderclap and marches into a room inhabited solely by a world map, a filing cabinet and an old man behind a desk with a cup of tea before him. He stalks about the room, shouting about something and slams an envelope down on the table reading 'Resignation: Delivered by Hand'. He pounds the desk with his fist, breaking the tea cup to the sound of another thunderclap. He gets back into his car, and drives off through London. Meanwhile a labyrinth of automat

MRSKBORG

Friday, April 30, 2004 8:56 PM

Movies - where do I start?

Star Wars (the first 3 not the new ones!)
Alien and Aliens
Highlander - the first one, not the rest.
Termintor and T2
The Wrath of Khan and First Contact
Stargate
Logans Run
The Matrix (but only the first one, havent even bothered to see the third one yet)
Galaxy Quest, which is always good for a laugh!
Blade Runner
Cube
Hardware
Event Horizon

TV - Besides the obvious
Babylon 5
Farscape
Stargate SG1
Buffy
Angel
Star Trek - yes including Enterprise!
Joh Doe
Blakes Seven
Dr Who
Space Above and Beyond
Earth Final Conflict but only season 1, after that it was blooming terrible.
And I saw the new version of Battlestar Gallatica recently and .........it was really good. Totally different to the original (which i loved because it was cheesy) but none the less very good. Surprisingly.

ECMORGAN69

Friday, April 30, 2004 9:14 PM

Ok, this list is simple..

Movies:
Star Wars (Original Trilogy - New Edition - sorry, I prefer up to date special effects and better story continuity)
Star Trek II & IV - TWOK, believe it or not, only cost about $10mil to make back then and was head and shoulders better than its predecessor; TVH was just plain fun
The Matrix - the original
Stargate - The movie that started it all...
Transformers - The Movie - GenXers understand why the original Transformers series was so kick ass

TV:
Firefly Um, of course
Stargate SG-1 - 6pm EST weekdays I am glued to SciFi
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - grittier and closer to "real" than any other Trek series, better storylines with richer characters, etc.
Babylon 5 - An even more earthy and realistic view of the future than above, including politics, character growth, betrayal, redemption, I could go on...
Battlestar Galactica - the new one, not the one from my youth - part SciFi, part History Channel

They can have my "Firefly" DVDs when they pry them from my cold, dead fingers....

Oh yeah, you, FOX TV!!

MISTRESSOFUSELESSKNOWLEDGE

Friday, April 30, 2004 9:57 PM

My favorite Sci-Fi?

On TV, it would have to be:
Firefly
Babylon 5
Buffy
ST: Deep Space Nine
Stargate SG-1
Angel
ST: TNG
X Files

Also, honorable mention goes out to Invisible Man - the science sucked, but the writing was funny and the actors were cool. Also, the title character had cool hair.

Movies:
Star Wars Original Trilogy
The Fifth Element
Most of the even-numbered Star Trek Movies
The Matrix (first one only)
Blade Runner
Buckaroo Banzai

And an honorable mention for the furry humor of Earth Girls are Easy! and SpaceBalls.

Anyone think we should start a thread for great sci-fi books? My reading pile is getting a little low, which sucks since there is such a dearth of good sci-fi on tv right now.

Mistress of Useless Knowledge

"Curse your sudden, but inevitable, betrayal!"

ECGORDON

Friday, April 30, 2004 10:13 PM

Movies: I may have just missed it, but I couldn't believe no one else listed the greatest SF film of all time...

2001: A Space Odyssey

then comes my second favorite, which has been mentioned...

Blade Runner

The rest of these are alphabetical only, not in preference order...

Alien
Aliens
Andromeda Strain
Brazil
A Clockwork Orange
Contact
Dark City
Dark Star
The Day the Earth Caught Fire
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Fantastic Planet
Forbidden Planet
Galaxy Quest
Gattaca
The Incredible Shrinking Man
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - both the '56 & '78 versions
The Last Starfighter
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Matrix
Metropolis
Outland
Seconds
Slaughterhouse Five
Star Wars - actually just the first two of the original trilogy for me
Strange Days
The Terminator - 1 & 2
The Thing - both versions
Time After Time
Time Bandits
The Time Machine - original
12 Monkeys
Village of the Damned - 1960
War of the Worlds

There's one more, my favorite film of all time, which a lot of people lump into SF, although I do not think it rightfully belongs in this category, but nevertheless...

Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Television: More or less in this order...

Firefly
Babylon 5
Star Trek - TOS
The Prisoner
Outer Limits - both versions
The Twilight Zone - original and mid-80s revival
Farscape
Quantum Leap
Space Above and Beyond
Sliders - first two seasons
VR5
V- original miniseries

And if you want to inlude fantasy and/or horror...

American Gothic
Brimstone
Highlander

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

FIREFLYWILDCARD1

Friday, April 30, 2004 10:27 PM

I forgot a few more from my list:

X-Men
X2: X-Men United.

I know that the acting in both isn't great by any means but the special effects were cool and much of the story was good (although they could have done a better job on characterization of certain characters (i.e. Cyclops/Scott)).

The Matrix (only the original though, they should never have gone for sequels).

LINDLEY

Saturday, May 1, 2004 12:03 AM

I'd say......

Firefly (duh)
Babylon 5 (Looks kinda dated now, but truly epic in scope.)
Stargate SG1 (Not overly ambitious, but consistently good, and very fun.)
Space Above and Beyond (Pretty good for a war show.)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (I didn't expect to like this. However, I'm very glad I gave it a chance.)
Angel (Same as Buffy.)
Joan of Arcadia (Because its good to know *something* half-decent can still make it past one season on a network.)
Star Trek, except perhaps ENT (DS9 was the best)

EMBERS

Saturday, May 1, 2004 1:35 AM

Firefly
Stars Wars (original trilogy)
Star Trek (Ots and Next Generation)
Buffy & Angel (but aren't those fantasy??)
Galaxy Quest...
okay that last one is a light silly comedy
but I love it because it is both a spoof and a homage to the genre and the geeks who love it!

INSIGHT SPINNER

Saturday, May 1, 2004 3:46 AM

Okay. Bad SF girl checking in. Here's my list in no particular order after no. 1 and no. 2. Don't be surprised if something I said was bad shows up on this list.

TV:
Firefly
ST:DS9 (I've got a daughter named Jadzia)
Babylon 5 (and her twin is Talia)
ST:TOS (for nostalgia -- my very first SF love) and TNG
Earth 2
X-Files
Red Dwarf (sorry, can't help it! I loved that show.)
Nowhere Man -- the first series I fell in love with that was cancelled way before it's time.
the failed pilot White Dwarf was really quite good IMHO. Umm...I think it originally aired on FOX. no surprise!

And while I didn't LOVE it, Max Headroom was a kick.

Movies:
CONTACT!!!! It's deep, yo!
ST IV and Wrath of Khan
X2 (in X, what the hell happend to Halle Berry's ability to act?)
Matrix (only #1)
Star Wars 1 and 2. ONLY.
Adventures of Buckeroo Banzai -- yeah, I said it.
Planet of the Apes (the original)

Does Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon count here, or in fantasy. It's just great, whatever!

Okay...I'm adding fantasy. This is your last warning:
LOTR -- all three are most awesome and number one on my hit parade.
The Princess Bride
The Red Shoes (Yes, the 1950-something ballet movie. The dance of the red shoes is great fantasy!!)

Final Fantasy -- okay, it isn't anybody's best, but you have to admit her hair moved real purty like. Us old Amiga fans know good graphics when we see 'em.

And what about weirdest good SF ...
My vote has to go to Spirited Away. Good animation, but "woo-woo" story. My hubby and I assumed there were some cultural notions that we just didn't understand....

I will probably think of more.

insight spinner
__________

Just an object. It doesn't mean what you think....

INSIGHT SPINNER

Saturday, May 1, 2004 3:52 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
Time to show my age again

TV
Science Fiction Theatre (Not MST3K. Was on in the '50s)
Twilight Zone (Original Rod Serling version)
Outer Limits

Movies
Forbidden Planet
Destination Moon
Silent Running

...and more recent

TV
Firefly
Babylon 5

Movies
5th Element
Galaxy Quest

"Keep the Shiny side up"

Yeah, yeah.. ZONE, LIMITS. And I loved Galaxy Quest!!

And what about ENEMY MINE?

insight spinner
__________

Just an object. It doesn't mean what you think....

LINDLEY

Saturday, May 1, 2004 4:08 AM

Quote:

Star Wars 1 and 2. ONLY.

Are you serious, or did you mean to refer to 4+5 only? 'Cause that would make more sense.

GUNHAND

Saturday, May 1, 2004 4:42 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Lindley:
Quote:

Star Wars 1 and 2. ONLY.

Are you serious, or did you mean to refer to 4+5 only? 'Cause that would make more sense.

That's what I was wondering when I read it.

I see lots on here that I like, some I don't but am in the middle of something so can't do a long post. So you're all saved!

..for now...

Although I will say this, the only TV show I ever threatened to shoot someone if they turned it on was Star Trek. And I'm still not sure if I wouldn't have if they would have.

Nah I wouldn't have, non-essential ammunition expenditures would have come out of my pay...

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Oh hey, I got an idea. Instead of us hanging
around playing art critic till I get pinched by
the Man, how's about we move away from this
eerie-ass piece of work and get on with our
increasingly eerie-ass day, how's that?"

My eerie-ass website:
http://gunhandsfirefly.homestead.com/Index.html

DITHER

Saturday, May 1, 2004 5:08 AM

I'll just mention a couple I haven't seen listed yet.

Cleopatra 2525 Hot babes in skimpy outfits kicking ass and saving the day!

Space Truckers A space trucker (Dennis Hopper) takes a break from hauling square pigs to save planet Earth. (Just don't take it seriously.)

"That's why I never kiss 'em on the mouth."

INSIGHT SPINNER

Saturday, May 1, 2004 5:11 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Lindley:
Quote:

Star Wars 1 and 2. ONLY.

Are you serious, or did you mean to refer to 4+5 only? 'Cause that would make more sense.

In the order they came out, darling. I refuse to acknowledge the prequel gou shi.

1. Star Wars
2. Empire Strikes Back
3. Return of the Jedi (started out as Revenge of the Jedi, but....) -- I just didn't think this was as good. Maybe it's the Ewok party....

There was no 4 and 5 (which were in chronilogical order 1 and 2, but they are in fact th 4th and 5th movies). And 6 is also dead to me.

I can count, and you can't relabel history just because it those movies are prequels -- they still come AFTER the original trilogy.

insight spinner
__________

Just an object. It doesn't mean what you think....

INSIGHT SPINNER

Saturday, May 1, 2004 5:16 AM

Oh yeah, I also really love "the Dark Crystal"

"Stanutamar!! Stanuatamar!!"

insight spinner
__________

Just an object. It doesn't mean what you think....

WEERWOLF

Saturday, May 1, 2004 9:21 AM

Most of what I like has already been mentioned.

TV (not completely in order of preference):
Firefly
first couple of seasons of Bab5
Space above and beyond
V the mini series and the first five or so episodes of the tv series
Seaquest DSV
Earth 2
Farscape where aliens steal the show from the humans. Love Scorpy.
Stargate SG1: comedy disguised as military SF. Especially seasons three and four are great. Can't wait till Atlantis hits DVD.
Star Trek The Next Generation and Deep Space 9. Don't like Voyager (I hate Neelix) and haven't seen Enterprise yet.
First season of Earth, Final Conflict.
Doctor Who. Creeped me out as a kid.

I lost several of the longer running series like Buffy/Angel and X-files, because the local networks kept switching them from channel to channel and timeslot to timeslot. But I'm trying to catch up again since I really like them.

Movies:
Alien, Aliens, and Alien Resurrection. Don't like the third. Alien Resurrection I watch as a comedy, though. Don't know if it was intentional but it makes me laugh while one and two creep me out.
Even Horizon, although it coulda been more creepifying still.
Galaxy Quest
Mars Attacks!
Spaceballs (I guess I like to take things not seriously)
Star Wars episodes IV, V and VI with V being the best of all
Men in Black I and II
The Iron Giant
Starship Troopers (again, it's over the top so it becomes funny again).
Spacetruckers (hilarious)
Pitch Black
Matrix I. I love the story of the entire trilogy. It's just that some scenes in the second movie took waaaaay to long to keep my interest in the story. Haven't seen III yet, but I am going to buy the box when it comes out. So I can fastforward the non-essential bits and get back to the story.
Split Second. Hands up if you seen it.

"Next time you try to stab me in the back, have the guts to do it to my face."

TRACER

Saturday, May 1, 2004 2:28 PM

Hmm good sci-fi...

Films:
Matrix (first one obviously )
Spaceballs
Star Wars Episode VI and V(hated the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi)
Alien and Aliens (afraid the next two didn't do it for me)
Akira
Ghost in the Shell
Blade Runner
Donnie Darko
Innerspace
Flatliners
Flash Gordon
Running Man
Westworld
Predator
The Fly (original and remake)
The blob (original)
Attack of the 50ft woman (hmm legs)
Mars Attacks (tom jones)
Flight of the Navigator
Jay and Silent bob strikes back

Series:
Doctor Who
Red Dwarf
Firefly
Quantum Leap (original)
Sliders
Buffy
Angel
Flash Gordon(original series)

LINDLEY

Saturday, May 1, 2004 5:30 PM

Quote:
I can count, and you can't relabel history just because it those movies are prequels -- they still come AFTER the original trilogy.

Well, they weren't relabed. ESB has been "Episode 5" ever since it came out. And ANH was relabeled "Episode 4" over a decade before the Special Editions, much less the prequels, were made.

JABBERWOCKY

Saturday, May 1, 2004 5:55 PM

The mixing of cell animation with computer animation that was bad about Titan AE. you can get some great looking movies mixing media together, look at the animated Lord of the Rings movie, you have a mix of 2d cell animation and live action film that had been altered with photographic effects.
What I found to be badly done with Titan AE's animation was that the voice actors voices at time was not in sync with the animation. You'd have a character talking but the animation wan't there showing the mouth moving. It gave be a feel that the movie was rushed to get out.

601

INSIGHT SPINNER

Sunday, May 2, 2004 12:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Lindley:
Quote:
I can count, and you can't relabel history just because it those movies are prequels -- they still come AFTER the original trilogy.

Well, they weren't relabed. ESB has been "Episode 5" ever since it came out. And ANH was relabeled "Episode 4" over a decade before the Special Editions, much less the prequels, were made.

True, but you will note that i didn't use the episode titles in my list as part of the point. I numbered them in order using arabic numerals as 1. and 2. I did not I and II. As to my statement, well...I was ranting.

But it is still true that "episode IV" is movie number 1, n'est-pas? The whole point is that I reject that number system because the first prequel was trash. I haven't seen the other and won't see the last. They are dead to me.

Really, I'm just a trouble maker...but then, hey...I didn't create Jar-jar.

insight spinner
__________

Just an object. It doesn't mean what you think....

LINDLEY

Sunday, May 2, 2004 4:21 PM

^I get that. Its just that if you say "Star Wars 1", most people are going to think you mean episode I. Its all for the sake of clarity, really.

Myself, I don't *hate* TPM and AOTC, but I don't really like them either. I enjoy ROTJ though, for the pure nostalgia value. Mostly, I tend to think of SW in terms of the novels these days.

BLACKLILY

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 1:30 PM

[Roswell Conspiracies: (None of you have probably heard of this little-known cartoon from a few years back, but it's awesome. It runs like a mix of Buffy meets X-Files in the Men in Black universe, with just a little M.A.S.K. thrown in. --And the male lead looks like an animated David Boreanaz, complete with "hair that goes straight up." )

YAAAY!
Finally I've found someone else who's watched the show!
I loved ever minute of it and fell in love with almost each and every character!( Yes, I'm a fickle creature). Alas the network showing the series pulled it out after only six or seven episodes. Do you have any idea how it ended and what happened to all the lead characters?
(WITH INTRICATE DETAILS)

The truth will set you free...
But first it'll piss you off.

CYBERSNARK

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 4:30 PM

Well, I have almost all of the series (missing one ep) on tape, thanks to YTV.

Select to view spoiler:

Well, a lot of the series seems stand-alone (with a few minor sub-plots that arise and are resolved on their own), until you get to "Back Spin," one of the only two good clip shows I've ever seen. "Back Spin" doesn't just recap, it puts everything in context, spelling out the conspiracy's attempt to frame Logan, after using him as a pawn for some still-undisclosed reason. This is just one conspiracy, with two or three others that have been hinted at throughout the show (every alien faction has its own agenda, plus there's the Alliance's policy of coverups both toward the public and within itself). It ends with him getting shipped to an Alliance prison facility.

Logan eventually finds his father --his real father, not Walter (who still manages to hang around, and has a cool scene with Logan Sr. in the last two-parter). It's never directly spelled out why Logan Sr. had to be disappeared, though we can piece it together once the real conspiracy (the one involving Rinnaker) comes out.

We also (previous to this) learn that the Roswell crash was itself a ginormous Detail Op --the saucer was dropped from a plane, with cute-looking alien dummies inside it. The coverup was carefully timed to let just enough detail leak out. While the rest of the world is wondering if those cute, harmless-looking aliens are really out there, they won't be looking for the very big, very dangerous ones that are already here.

Turns out Rinnaker himself is an alien, a Shadoen agent codenamed Wraith. Another Shadoen (that crazy government-conspiracy nut that Logan found living in Roswell? That was him) revealed himself mid-series and tried to assassinate Rinnaker (apparently not knowing what Rinnaker actually was --or possibly just as crazy/delusional as he'd appeared to be as a human), so the species isn't completely new. They're actual shape-shifters, making them immune to Logan's Sight. Rinnaker's job was to destabilize the planet (to eliminate any potential of an organized resistance), and to get his claws on the stolen Lycanthrope EMP bomb (which was to be the Shadoen's "endgame" weapon).

Creating the Alliance and initiating the Roswell ploy (with Logan and Trueblood's fathers) was basically intended to bring down the Lycanthropes, Banshee, and Vampires. Then the Alliance was supposed to self-destruct, leaving Earth defenseless. Of course, Logan Sr. (we can extrapolate) had to vanish; otherwise he would've united the factions just as he ended up doing. Rinnaker kept him alive (imprisoned in stasis) just in case he needed a bargaining chip (it ended up backfiring, obviously).

Did you see "Fusion Breed," with the (unexplained) alien-hybrid fire-ants? They were an attempt to create Shadoen shock troops perfectly adapted to fighting on Earth.

Trueblood redeems himself slightly (well, not so much "redeems" as "becomes a little more understandable"), and ends up sacrificing himself. He's the one who keeps the EMP bomb out of Rinnaker's hands, and breaks the Logans out of the prison facility. He gets a one-on-one fight with Alien-Rinnaker, and dies a bloody-yet-heroic death.

The last few eps go into a kinda Independence Day vibe, with an overt alien invasion and the White House (and the Alliance HQ) getting blown up (as Logan, Sh'lainn, and their allies desperately try to organize a counter-attack).

Good place to end it, really, 'cause the conspiracy angle just wouldn't have worked after that. Everything's set to go public shortly after the closing credits.

Logan & Sh'lainn end up brokering a new Global Alliance, one that includes the Yeti, Lycanthropes, Vampires, and Banshee (all grudgingly, but still, it's something), with Logan Sr. as the leader (he's the one human all the alien factions respect). We also meet (and see the fall of) the Conduit, an aliens-only league (formed by Nick's father) that is the old Alliance's main enemy (remnants of the Conduit become the foundation for the new Alliance

CLJOHNSTON108

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 5:36 PM

•2001: a space odyssey
•The Abyss SE
•A L I E N Quadrilogy
•Babylon 5
•Blade Runner
•Buffy
•Cowboy Bebop
•Dark City
•The Empire Strikes Back
•Farscape
•Firefly
•The Matrix Trilogy
•Outlaw Star
•Pitch Black
•Space: Above and Beyond
•Stargate SG1
•Star Trek
•Star Wars
•Terminator 2
•V

---------------

Deep Thoughts...
...by Jack Handey...

"Whether they ever find life there or not, I think Jupiter should be considered an enemy planet."

UNREGISTEREDCOMPANION

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 6:06 PM

I loved the Matrix trilogy, but was a bit confused about few points after the 3rd episode. Then I found this site....

http://www.thematrix101.com/revolutions/meaning.php

~~~~~
"Funny and sexy. You have no idea. And you never will."

RIGHTEOUS9

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 6:37 PM

Alien/Aliens(great presentation in the first/outstanding suspense in the second)

Blade Runner(Great vision--powerful movie with some hints that suggest maybe the blade runner himself is a replicant)

Brazil - dark-artsy surreal...pretty fascinating
Time bandits - classic
12 monkeys - weird goes a long way with me I guess.

Firefly/Serenity(need I explain myself?)

Total Recall - Cool movie...annoying at the end, but taken in the context that it could all be a 'memory', it works well.

Terminator - Been a while since i've seen it though.

Unbreakable - one of my favorite movies - great unconventional setup for a superhero story, and villain hero relationship.

Robo Cop - still gives me chills when I think about certain scenes in this movie.

Starship Troopers - Satire at its finest(I loved this movie-- very relevant theme)

Pitch Black(entirely conventional monster movie done unconventionally - great characters

Star Wars(original-not that jedi was excellent)

The Matrix - before they ruined it with 2 and 3, it was a workable story with beautiful action sequences/as artful as they were kinetic.

Startrek - I put it up there for sheer epic appeal, though I think there's more bad than good in the franchise.

Twilight Zone original series- so damn good. Serling was awesome.

X-men - one of the only movies I could have watched just for the fights(between mutants)porfessor x and Magnito sold this for me.

Being Jon Malcovitch

CLJOHNSTON108

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 6:56 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by UnregisteredCompanion:
I loved the Matrix trilogy, but was a bit confused about few points after the 3rd episode. Then I found this site....

http://www.thematrix101.com/revolutions/meaning.php

Hey! Thanks for the link!

That site is way easier to read than this site...

The Philosophy of The Matrix
http://www.onwardoverland.com/matrix/philosophy.html

or this book...

The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real by William Irwin (Editor)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/081269502X/104-3112524-3
956762?v=glance

Somethin' about this is downright unsettlin'...

Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?
http://www.simulation-argument.com/

Apparently, it's being discussed by reputable scientists.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=simulation+argument&btnG=Google+S
earch

---------------

Deep Thoughts...
...by Jack Handey...

"Whether they ever find life there or not, I think Jupiter should be considered an enemy planet."

GIXXER

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 9:02 PM

Well, you've covered all the good ones. Rather than repeat, I'll pick bits I liked.

Firefly. All of it, obviously.

Original Outer Limits. Demon with a Glass Hand. Well stylish.

Babylon 5. Got into it's stride, established the cast and commander as a stern authoritarian. His replacement, the seemingly worryingly lightweight Bruce Boxleitner, proceeded to own everyone and everything. And got himself a Narn bodyguard. Guaranteed immortality.

Delenn facing down the Earth Fleet. "Be somewhere else."

Billy Mumy not having aged a day since Lost in Space, learning Japanese and rebuilding a ZZR1200.

Ivanova never smiling, and only ever being ruffled by Delenn quizzing her about Lady's Problems.

Delenn. The most light up the room smile.

Swedish Meatballs.

Little arc timebombs left everywhere.

Mr Garibaldi.

Walter Koenig. Not the tallest man in the world, but some excellent acting as the non-mechanic Bester.

The King Arthur episode. Could have stank embarrassingly, yet it was strangely dignified and affecting. Who else cheered when Michael York got attacked by disreputable men and G'Kar jumped in to even up the odds?

Zathras. Could have been Binks, but most decidedly wasn't.

Vir. Bullied little clown. Balls of British Steel.

Those Collectors who captured Sheridan after the Minbari had warned them off a few years back. I'm reasonably certain they were visited soon after. Can't say I'm partial to genocide, but fair's fair. They were warned.

Alf amused me highly.

G

"No. No, this report is totally inappropriate. You have to do it again."

"But Londo, why? I've spent weeks working on this report. I didn't even sleep on the flight back from Minbar so I could go over it again. I've checked every single detail myself. It's absolutely accurate."

"Yes, Vir, I'm sure it is. And that is the problem. Here, you say: 'The Minbari have carefully preserved their cities over the course of centuries'."

"That's right, absolutely."

"No, what you should say instead is: 'Their cities are very old indicating a decaying culture.'"

"What?"

"And here: 'The Minbari put great emphasis on art, literature and music.' Say instead: 'They are decadent people, interested only in the pursuit of .. of dubious pleasures.' Dubious-part is very important. It doesn't mean anything, but it scares people every time. All right?"

CLJOHNSTON108

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 9:53 PM

Let's not be excludin' Zathras! That would be rude!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zathras

The Wisdom of Zathras
http://www.loyd.net/osz/wisdom.html

Down Below Sound Archive for Babylon 5
http://b5.cs.uwyo.edu/bab5/
(Use 'Search' for "zathras")

• "Zathras understand. No, Zathras not understand, but Zathras do. Zathras good at doings, not understandings."

• "Zathras warn, but no, no one listen to poor Zathras, no."

• "Zathras not of this time. You take, Zathras die. You leave, Zathras die. Either way, it is bad for Zathras."

• "Can not say. Saying, I would know. Do not know, so can not say."

• "Just covering all possibilities. Zathras does not want you being confused. Bye."

• "Everyone always coming to Zathras with problems. Great responsibilities. But Zathras does not mind. Zathras trained in crisis management."

• "Very damaged. Zathras can never have anything nice."

• "But only Zathras have no one to talk to. No one manages poor Zathras, you see. So Zathras talks to dirt. Sometimes talks to walls, or talks to ceilings. But dirt is closer. Dirt is used to everyone walking on it. Just like Zathras, but we've come to like it. It is our role. It is our destiny in the universe. So, you see, sometimes dirt has insects in it. And Zathras likes insects. Not so good for conversation, but much protein for diet. Ha! Zathras fix now, this way."

• "Zathras is used to being beast of burden to other people's needs. Very sad life. Probably have very sad death. But, at least there is symmetry."

• "Can not run out of time. There is infinite time. You are finite. Zathras is finite. This... is wrong tool. No. No, not good. No. No. Never use this."

WUGGLYUMP

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 10:04 PM

TV
Firefly
Blakes 7
Dr. Who
Star Trek (TOS)
Twilight Zone
Outer Limits
X-Files
Star Trek (DS9)
Star Gate SG1
Robotech
Beebop

Movies
Forbidden Planet
Blade Runner
Day the Earth Stood Still (The potential for Hollywood to screw it with ham-handed political partisan pabulum is too great but, I’d trust JW though.)
Matrix (trilogy)
Dune (original Lynch ver)
Serenity
Outland
Akira
Ghost in the Shell
Wrath of Khan

Special Mention
Aliens
Buckaroo Banzai
Gattica

So many more…

EST120

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 10:27 PM

Wow. Talk about a resurrection. I started this thread AGES ago. Life was so different back then......

DAISYCUTTER

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 10:34 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Lalli:

*Event Horizon

Event Horizon is weird but I like it...

-------------------------------------
Q: Why don't we just raise the defensive shields?
A: A superb suggestion with just two major drawbacks. One, we don't have any defensive shields. And two, we don't have any defensive shields. Technically speaking thats only one flaw, but it was such a big one I thought I mention it twice.

BLACKLILY

Wednesday, November 16, 2005 8:34 AM

OMG! Thank you for all the info!
The series seems to end in a way that was totally different from what I expected!
( HA! I KNEW THERE WAS A GOOD REASON I FELL SO HARD FOR IT!! )

Select to view spoiler:

I can't believe Rinaker turns out to be a Shadoen!! I just thought he was a grouch, that's all! And that lunatic Logan met at Roswell is a Shadoen?! My God, I didnt even know he had any significance in the plot aside from being comic relief! As to Logan and Sh'lainn..those two get married?And Banshee-style at that?(YAAY! Good for them considering I'd heard rumors that Sh'lainn dies in the end or something!)
Once again the series defies all my preconceived notions and leaves me stunned! It's a masterpiece I tell ya! Why don't more ppl know about it?!
Thank you SOO MUCH for all the info!

I was literally floating lost in space before this! The ending is completely different from what I'd imagined it to be!
(Takes a deep breath to calm wild heartbeat)

WHEW! This is too much to digest. A couple of questions though:
1) Who is the Vampire/Banshee hybrid who nearly brings down the ruling Vampire family?
2)What happens to Ti'Yet and does Ruck really die?
3)Who is Fitz's old girlfriend and how does she stumble into an Alliance operation?
4) How do Logan and Sh'lainn end up exchanging life-forces?And does Mab take her back into the clan?

Would you happen to remember any good quotes from the series? Or any particularly funny scenes from the episodes?
I'm thinking I should start a website for this...
Peace to you...

the truth will set you free...
But first it'll piss you off.