Sci-Fi..... [Archive] - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

Sandy G

08-25-2005, 07:51 PM

Lessee now- TV shows, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits (1960s era) Lost in Space, Time Tunnel,of course Star Trek, Stargate SG-1-but they're about to lose me on this new season- What was the marionette show back in the early '60s-the sexpot girl marionette was a Russian, & the steely captain was named "Chris", I think, the Gerry Anderson "Thunderbirds" series is fun, never saw it when I was a kid. I never cared much for the "Battlestar Galactica" era SF shows-they were just TOO hokey. What was the one that had the little robot who sounded like a 1940s era Borscht-Belt comedian? Puh-leeze... Gimme some blood-blanching monsters that give me nightmares for a week, like the old "Outer Limits" did...Enuff w/the cutesy-wootsey stuff... Let the kids get the F*CK scared outta 'em, like we did. Remember the monster that got after Dr Smith when he had that gizmotron that gave him anything he wanted? You remember, the one who's face looked like a melted candle ? Gawdam, Sam, I saw that bad boy for 2 weeks...Mama threatened to never let me watch "Lost in Space" again. Nahhh, I don't like S/F stuff a bit....<grin>-Sandy G.

OvenMaster

08-25-2005, 09:02 PM

To me, Babylon 5 made even Star Trek: The Next Generation look sick by comparison... and I thought ST:TNG was by far the best of all the Trek series! I also thought Roswell was superb, and Max Headroom rocked... I wish I had had a VCR back in 1987:(

I would love to see more than just Starship Troopers from Robert A. Heinlein made into movies, especially Friday, I Will Fear No Evil, The Number Of The Beast and Job: A Comedy Of Justice. And of course, Blade Runner was the very first DVD I bought.

Tom

Mike Gibson

08-25-2005, 10:15 PM

Books are still the best media for Sci-Fi. I read Red Planet by Heinlien in the 4th grade and have been hooked ever since.

TV show was Science Fiction Theatre and Twilight Zone

Early movies were Invaders from Mars, Forbidden Planet, The Day The Earth Stood Still, and War of The Worlds.

Later movies were good until they started using special effects as part of the script. Predator, 2001, Close Encounters of the Third Kind are some of the better newer movies. Those movies used special effects to compliment an already good story line. Predator to me has the best balance of special effects of any recent movie.

Micropassatman

08-25-2005, 10:17 PM

Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land would make an incredible film. Also, the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Somebody mentioned Zelazny. The World of Tiers, and the Chronicles of Amber would be great. How about Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series? I LOVED those books. Sci-Fi Channel tried to translate that into a movie, but they didn't do it much justice. Greg Bear's the Forge of God. I'm surprised nobody mentioned the Dune novels! The movie sucked, but Sci-Fi Channel made a great miniseries of both Dune and Children of Dune. Have 'em on DVD. Great pieces of work. Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books - were pursued as cinematic stories by Ronald Moore, the producer of the new BSG series. It never reached fruition. Has anybody (other than me) ever read James Blish's Cities in Flight books? Incredible. Arthur C. Clarke's Rondezvous with Rama is another. They even made a PG game out of it! Bradbury's Martian Chronicles was one of the first pieces of Science Fiction I ever read.

Mike Gibson

08-25-2005, 10:58 PM

It's so disapointing when you see a movie based on a classic Sci-Fi story that's ruined the story. I Robot being the latest. I think the biggest problem movies have is they are visual while books let the reader provide his/her own visuals as they read. 2001 was the way to go............make the movie and then have someone write a book based on the movie. :)

goldear

08-26-2005, 02:25 AM

Series (Only):

Best Ever:
- Babylon 5
Excellent:
- Every Star Trek with the exception of DS9 (Deep S**T Nine), and the first two (lousy) seasons of Next Gen.
- Stargate SG1 (Up until the current season)
- Farscape
- (New) Battle Star Galactic-Babes, errr, I mean Galactica
- Twilight Zone
Very Good:
- 4400
Merely OK
- Star Treck DS9 (OK, so I watched it, even though I was deeply annoyed with it).

Deeply Cheesy, but I enjoyed watching as a kid anyway:
- Dr Who
- Battlestar Galactica (Original)
- Space 1999
- $6,000,000 Man, Woman, and Dog
- My favorite Martian

Bad
- Andromeda

Totally Sucked (this list is WAY too long, but I'll list a few prominent ones that come to mind)
- Earth Final Conflict
- Lost in Space
- Etc...

Movies: Far too Many to list.

Favs: Abyss, Aliens, ...... etc...

Good Star Trek Movies: 2,4,6, First Contact
Bad Sart Trek Movies: 1,3,5, Nemesis
OK Star trek Movies: all the rest.

Texas42

08-26-2005, 07:08 AM

I was never too enamored with the original Battlestar Galactica, but the new version is really quite good. I just bought the miniseries and season 1 on dvd and thought the plot lines, acting, and even the special effects were quite good for a tv series. Other series I enjoy are Star Trek and Star Trek TNG (all the other incarnations I could never get into); The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, X-Files, Sliders, The Lost World, and Highlander.

Favorite Sci-Fi movies would be Bladerunner, Logan's Run (cheesy special effect but original plot), The first Planet of the Apes (before it became a ridiculous series), Species (first movie), Stargate, and Total Recall. The best the past few years, even though I don't care for Vin Diesel is Pitch Black. So much of Sci-Fi is retreads of earlier ideas. I like movies that break new ground or give a new perspective. For satyr, Mystery Science Theater is great!

piece-it pete

08-26-2005, 07:12 AM

Third or fourth the Foundation Trilogy (quadrilogy?) as a "should do it", although the awful makes of the mentioned "I Robot" (very little real Asimov in there) and the older "Enemy Mine" :puke: makes the following alarm go off: "Danger Will Robinson. Danger Will Robinson".

Pete

ByrdWyngs

08-26-2005, 08:03 PM

Hi, My name is George and I'm a Sci-Fi fanatic...

After some serious culling I'm down to about 50' of SF novels in my library. I stick mostly to Hard SF but still read pretty much everything from Poul Anderson to Roger Zelazny. My SF film/TV collection isn't nearly as extensive but still pretty good sized and I have a fair amount of stuff on VHS, LD, and DVD.

As far as ST is concerned I'm definitely in the original series and TNG (after the first season or two) camp, could never really get into DS9 although I tried, liked some and hated some of Voyager, and was equally mixed on Enterprise. Outer Limits was consistantly great and Twilight Zone almost as good. Tried to watch Babylon 5 but just couldn't. If pressed I will admit to watching the original Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (the annoying robot's name was Twiggy), My Favorite Martian, Lost in Space and most everything else that's been mentioned so far. I really enjoyed the first few seasons of Farscape but they lost me towards the end, I'm a big fan of SG-1 (even the new season). There is one series that nobody else has mentioned so far that I really liked and that is Firefly. Fox did everything they could to make sure it failed, and sure enough it did. If you didn't catch it when it was on originally I would highly recommend you catch it on Sci-Fi channel while they are running it now (Friday nights before SG-1 and Atlantis) or just go buy the DVDs.

On the movie side of things I'll go along with most of what's been said so far and add a few more. I'm a big fan of Ray Harryhausen's work and think that Fist Men in the Moon, Mysterious Island, Earth vs. the Fling Saucers, It Came from Beneath the Sea, The Beast from 20,00 Fathoms, and 20 Million Miles to Earth are all at least worth a rental if not a permanent place in your collection. Other old fav's include The Time Machine, When Worlds Collide, Them, Day of the Triffids, 5 Million Years to Earth, The Crawling Eye, and The Blob. More recent stuff would include Soylent Green, Contact, Frequency, Dark City, Forever Young, and The Fifth Element. I'll also admit to liking The Postman and don't think it deserves the bad rep it has, even if it wasn't nearly as good as the book (but what movie is?), Waterworld still sucks though.

Things I'd like to see: Foundation of course(although it would have to be a lengthy mini-series to even begin to do it justice), Card's Ender Wiggins trilogy (same), Robinson's Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy (same), Pohl's Gateway trilogy (same), Niven's Ringworld (at least the first one), Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, and, and, and...

Reel 2 Reel

08-26-2005, 08:46 PM

Tried to watch Babylon 5 but just couldn't. If pressed I will admit to

Babylon 5 was a great series. It was a 5 year story arc and very detailed.

If you can make it past the first season, which was the setting up of the story and charactor devolopment, your doin' good.... but you have to see it from the beginning to know what is goin on as there aren't any stand alone episodes...

The second season things start to happen to get the jist on what is going on. By the time you get to the third season you are so hooked on it ...you just have to finish watching it...

In my poinion by far the best series....

Sandy G

08-26-2005, 08:54 PM

Yeah, I tried watching B5, but I didn't get in on the ground floor, so it was pretty incomprehensible for me. But I DID pick up on a few of the characters. The local stations would run it sometimes now, sometimes then,you never knew when it was coming on. Who/what was the alien that looked like a 10-foot tall moth larva & communicated (I think) by telepathy? I kinda liked Lando-he was a sneaky bestid, & I liked Flounder playing his assistant.-Sandy G.

Micropassatman

08-27-2005, 04:20 PM

[QUOTE=bobgary] OTOH, I used to be a big Blade Runner fan a few years ago, have quite a collection of items relating to that movie. I also wrote a very comprehensive college paper on the movie, comparing it to the book it was based upon. QUOTE]

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K. Dick. I liked Spielberg's interpretation of another Dick short story, it became "Minority Report". Wasn't as big a fan of yet another Dick piece, it was adapted into the motion picture titled "Total Recall".

Eric H

08-27-2005, 09:03 PM

Well it's not really Sci Fi in the strictest sense but I love MST3K.

It's set on a Space Ship and it has lovable Bots, just like Star Wars :lmao:

piece-it pete

08-29-2005, 08:12 AM

I too like MST2K. I wish they could do some of the rotten movies mentioned here. Saw the new "War of the Worlds" last night - insert more upchuck here.

The more I think about Foundation I'd like to see it done the way they did Lord of the Ring - accurate, long, multiple releases. I doubt though that it would be a commercial success, how many scifi geeks exist in the world? Who knows, maybe it'd work.

Heck I think it's time to read it again.

Worth mentioning: Apollo 13. Science fiction come to life. :yes:

And Space Cowboys!

Pete

salred

08-29-2005, 09:39 AM

Long term SF fan, but I only recently discovered Alfred Bester. I highly recommend "The Stars My Destination" as a classic SF read. (It's original title, "Tiger, Tiger!").

Steve A.

huskerdu60622

08-29-2005, 06:07 PM

I don't want to mention any of the obvious ones so how about...
The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai
or Repoman (this might also have one of the best soundtracks ever) :yes:

Mike Gibson

08-29-2005, 07:13 PM

Steve, look for The Demolished Man by Bester. It's his second best book. He wrote a couple later on that were good but the titles escape me. Also find some A. E. Van Vogt since you like Bester. He wrote mainly in the 40's-50's.

THOR

08-30-2005, 04:52 PM

I read a lot of "swords and sorcery" stuff so I don't consider that stuff SCI FI, more like fantasy. But props to the guy who said the Conan books, the original Robert E howard books are some of the greatest ones out there.

Since I like too much I will go straight to the hates ;)

Dr. Who :puke:

I also think A.I. is one of the most awful boring wastes of my life I ever spent, I should write Spielberg and ask him for those 3 hrs of my life back :mad:

Worst movie of all time let alone Sci-Fi movie is hands down Tank Girl.

rew15951

08-30-2005, 07:08 PM

Yeah, and I just loved the covers on the Conan books.

diddlybopper

09-20-2005, 11:52 AM

Way to many to list!Never saw a bad SCFI flick..love the cheezy 50's B movies.
Any old timers out there remember a tv series "Tales Of Tomorrow"??Live drama w/big names Lon Chaney,James Dean several others whose names I can't remember.
You may be able to find something at Rhino.com

Photobitstream

09-20-2005, 08:15 PM

Can't believe no one has mentioned these two movies, so I will:

A Boy and His Dog
A Clockwork Orange

The new Battlestar Galactica rocks. Not only the best sci-fi series of all time so far, but the best drama on television right now. I'm betting the human looking Cylons will be successful in their breeding program and will try to overthrow the toasters.

Mystery Science Theatre 3000 was great.

Trivia question: On Stargate: SG-1, what does the acronym GDO stand for? (As in, "Don't forget a GDO" before they go through the gate.)

Jupiter1610

09-20-2005, 11:29 PM

All Time Favorites - Star Trek TNG and the Twilight Zone (original)

markthefixer

09-20-2005, 11:55 PM

There are many worthy movies, books and authors mentioned here, but nobody has yet mentioned this author, there are NO movies yet based on his works... but I mention him because many posts have strayed towards the written word.. some have speculated that he may be the heir to R.A.Hienlein .... I especially have enjoyed the Callahan's series... which can really sneak up on ya....
His name ......... Spider Robinson..........

rca2000

09-21-2005, 12:19 AM

Probably the last time was in 1987. had it recorded for a LITTLE while, then it got erased ,probably for a Mission impossible episode, in the same year. (I DID have 2 VCR'S then, and for a couple of years before that). In my opin', it SUCKED.Ol' DOn must had been desperate to have done such a movie. A telepathic dog? C'mon!!

Here is another movie, that is my FAVORITE,(and i do NOT think it has been mentioned yet) Sci/fi:; Andromeda Strain.
Then there is :the Satan Bug.
The power.

Series:

V
Manimal
Twilight Zone(ORIGINAL)

2DualsNotEnough

09-21-2005, 01:31 AM

The book that got me into sci fi when I was a teen was Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke.I remember endless hours spent in local used bookshops hunting for old paperback copies of Stranger in a Strange Land,etc......
Tv series:
MST3K
Star Trek:Voyager
Quantum Leap

Movies:
2001:A Space Odyessy
Solaris(the Russian original)
Metropolis
Time Ater Time
Matinee-this one isnt really science fiction-its about sci fi.John Goodman plays a fictional version of William Castle,the old schlock sci-fi producer with all the gimmicks like the "Tingler".Its a real hoot,especially if you remember those cheesy sci-fi flicks.
Jimmy

Holst

09-22-2005, 10:53 AM

How about a little online reading.

http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/warworlds/

It's still the King.

ByrdWyngs

09-22-2005, 05:42 PM

Trivia question: On Stargate: SG-1, what does the acronym GDO stand for? (As in, "Don't forget a GDO" before they go through the gate.)Good question. I know what it is and what it's for (transmitting the code back to the SGC so they know to open the iris) but I don't think I've ever heard the full name, only the acronym.

How about a little online reading.
http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/warworlds/
It's still the King.All of H.G. Wells' stuff is good reading but if you really want to get into some vintage SF you need to go back almost another hundred years to the originator of the genre. You might want to start here: http://www.online-literature.com/verne/earth_to_moon/

Correction: After checking the dates I find the gap between Verne and Wells is much less, more like 25 years instead of the 80 or so I was originally thinking. Verne was still the first to popularize speculative fiction (long before the term science fiction was coined) and produce a sizeable body of work in the genre. From the Earth to the Moon, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Mysterious Island, Master of the World, Journey to the Center of the Earth and others are all classics and worth reading (and watching most of the film versions).

Photobitstream

09-22-2005, 06:46 PM

Good question. I know what it is and what it's for (transmitting the code back to the SGC so they know to open the iris) but I don't think I've ever heard the full name, only the acronym.

Since no one else has even hazarded a guess I'll divulge the secret.

GDO=Garage Door Opener

One of the writers 'fessed up on a Stargate discussion forum.

ByrdWyngs

09-22-2005, 07:13 PM

GDO=Garage Door Opener. No wonder I couldn't remember them actually using it in the series, they didn't! Should have guessed it would be a silly inside joke of some kind.

Eric H

09-22-2005, 07:19 PM

"Lost" is another great show but I'm not sure yet if it's Sci Fi or Supernatural Thriller or a combination of both.

Please, no spoilers!! :cry:

Sandy G

09-22-2005, 07:26 PM

Remember "The Andromeda Strain" & "Colossus-The Forbin Project?" Another couple good ones were those little-remembered nowadays Irwin Allen TV shows-"Land of the Giants" & "The Time Tunnel".And who can forget the glorious black 'n' white 1968 epic, "Night of the Living Dead"? They're coming to get you, Bar-bara....-Sandy G.

Holst

09-23-2005, 09:43 AM

Hey Colossus!!!!, "This is the voice of World Control. I bring you peace. It may be the Peace of Plenty and Content or the Peace of Unburied Death." with Paul Frees uncredited as the voice of the computer that takes over the world.

Frees was the voice of a lot of characters in "Rocky and Bulwinkle" like Boris Badenov/Captain Peter Wrongway Peachfuzz/Cloyd/Inspector Fenwick. He was also the guy with the tape recorder before the bomb drop in the original War of the Worlds. A dandy flick! Andromida strain....it was a very good book an a pretty good movie.

ByrdWyngs, your right about Verne, I loved Wells because because his stuff (mostly) still holds up, and the characters are so deep. "Tono Bungay" was the inspiration for Ralph Vaughn Williams "a London Symphony" and makes a great read before listing to Richard Hickox recording of the 1913 version.

...add to that "Tono" is way funnier that "War of the worlds".

piece-it pete

09-23-2005, 09:55 AM

I saw the movie version of "The Hitchhikers' guide to the galaxy" a couple days ago, and although certainly funny in a slapstick way not as good as I remember the book to be.

Of course I read that book as a teenager so perhaps that kind of humor did more for me then. Didn't the author also do something like "Callahans' Crosstime Saloon"?

Pete

Holst

09-23-2005, 10:35 AM

Douglas Adams other book series was "Dirk Gently". The Guide the movie was OK, but it was a tough book to do. The third book in the Hitchikers series is where Adams started writing true novels.

Here's one for the worst list. Disney's "the Black hole". MST3K should have gotten ahold of that.

Bogframe

09-24-2005, 03:49 PM

What was the marionette show back in the early '60s-the sexpot girl marionette was a Russian, & the steely captain was named "Chris"
That was my favorite show when I was a kid, Fireball XL-5! The Captain's name was Steve Zodiac, the babe was french, not russian, and her name was Venus. Also in the crew was Professor Matic and Robert The Robot. The base was headed by Commander Zero and Lt 90.

Bobcat

10-21-2005, 07:02 PM

Mariett Hartley (sp) w/ the two belly buttons in "Genesis II" held my attention as a lad in the early/mid 70's.

Would love to see Gibson direct a new "Mad Max" sans Pitt, Cruise and other left coast hacks.

Three chears for "Lost in Space"!

Sandy G

10-21-2005, 07:26 PM

I always was PRAYING for Maj. West to let fly-JUST ONCE- & beat the living shit outta Dr Smith, & of course, he never laid a hand on him, or never laid Judy, either. IIRC, there was mutual attraction between Marta Kristen & Mark Goddard, but both were married, & supposedly never acted on it. Ah, the innocent 1960s...<grin>-Sandy G.

TommyC

10-21-2005, 10:23 PM

I come from the "Sci-Fi should be read and not watched" camp! I have literally hundreds of Sci-Fi paperbacks by pretty much all the greats. Asimovs original Foundation Trilogy is IMHO the best work of Science Fiction Ever! That being said, there were some great Sci-Fi movies made. Blade Runner, Silent Running, 2001: A Space Odyssey, to name a few. I have never really found any of the TV Sci-Fi to be very interesting though. Babylon 5 was ok if you watched it from beginning to end, but that was about it for me.

mayorbill11

01-01-2006, 03:58 PM

I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, but here goes.

Favourite Sci-Fi TV:
ST: DS9, TNG
Farscape
Stargate SG-1, Atlantis
Futurama (even though it's a cartoon and a comedy, it's still sci-fi)

Fav Sci-Fi Movies:
Blade Runner
The Fifth Element
Donnie Darko (although it is barely sci-fi)
Stargate
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Other Sci-Fi shows I like/tolerate but don't really watch:
ST:TOS, Voyager, Enterprise
The X-Files
The Outer Limits (new)

I don't really watch that much TV anymore. The only thing anywhere close to Sci-Fi on TV these days that I watch at all (and not regularly) is Supernatural.

MaDHaTteR

01-11-2006, 04:39 PM

My fav Sci-fi series has to be the BBCs "Red Dwarf" Rimmer/Kryten and holy make me laugh everytime :lmao:

markdi

02-04-2006, 08:21 AM

I forgot there was a 6 million dollar dog

I loved the sci fi comedy/love story - the fifth element.

Cloth Ears

02-05-2006, 06:52 PM

Movies:
The Day the Earth Stood Still (watched it again last night!)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
2001
Star Wars (not because of the movie, but because sci-fi movies became A-list, rather than B-list)
Bladerunner
Terminator
Brazil
Aliens
Predator
and, of course - Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Series:
Twilight Zone
Star Trek (all except DS9)
Red Dwarf
Futurama ("The Bender Show")

WhiskeyRebel

02-06-2006, 11:38 AM

Another SF enthusiast here.

For books, I read a pretty high percentage of Zelazny's work. His stuff is more plot driven and you'd think there would be more on film. The Changeling series or The Amber chronicles would be bad-as-hell as as Scifi network series. The film Damnation Alley was fun to watch as 70s kitsch but it was barely connected to the original novella.

One of my absolute favorite authors is Julian May. The Pliocene Exile series is another excellent set of books begging for film. Especially animated! Would I LOVE to see what Ralph Bakshi could do with the Tanu and Firvulag.

Stephen Brust is another author whose writing I'm about guarranteed to enjoy, be it the Taltos series, the Phoenix Guard series or any of the standalone books.

I read probably everything Frank Herbert ever wrote, and his stuff is best read because it doesn't lend itself to filming.

But hands down the writer whose work floors me is Gene Wolfe. Part of me craves to see the New Sun / Long Sun / Short Sun series well-captured in a visual medium but I fear that layers contained in the written works would be as hard to get on film as was Dune.

As far as TV goes, out of the Trek series I didn't get to see the original series til I was an adult so it just seems campy to me. The parody in Galaxy Quest is dead effin' on.

I enjoyed Star Trek TNG and Voyager the most. DS9 never captivated me. I watched Enterprise from end-to-end and enjoyed it but have mixed feelings about some of the characters and detest the theme song.

The BBC Hitchhiker's Guide series absolutely rules, both in radio and TV miniseries form. The books are also eternal favorites of mine and I've reread them many times. The movie sucked Vogon assflaps.

B5 was a really good show but since I didn't watch it sequentially in first-run, there were parts of it that didn't make sense til I saw preceding episodes rerun.

I liked Dark Angel until they introduced the retarded dog-hybrid dude. That killed it dead. But then I also liked Cleopatra 2525.

The new Battlestar Galactica is spectacular. The sense of being hunted to the edge of survival is so thoroughly captured.

Invasion is turning out well so far. More of a soap with a Scifi backdrop, but a good drama.

Red Dwarf was a riot.

The 80s reprise of Twilight Zone was not 100% consistent but it did have some memorable episodes.

For movies, I tend to like dystopian stuff like Gattaca, the 13th Floor, ExistenZ, Xchange. The movie adaptations of 1984 and the Handmaid's Tale were really good although those were more along the lines of Clockwork Orange societal commentary than SF. Post-apocalyse stuff like Cherry 2000, Soylent Green, Omega Man and Logans' Run will usually get a viewing out of me too. I once caught a little bit of a movie called Gassssss that I'd like to see the rest of just to see if the whole movie was, well, as silly and dated as the part I did see.

mg196

02-06-2006, 12:16 PM

Ah, this is easy!

Fave TV: Dr. Who, Star Trek (Original & TNG)

Fave Movies: Star Wars (Empire is the best!), Alien(s), Blade Runner, 2001, Terminator, The Thing (Kurt Russell remake), The Matrix

I think there are a lot of Sci Movies that don't get mentioned enough. Here are some of my faves that made a HUGE impression on me as a kid:

Total Recall
2010
Robocop
Escape from New York

Cloth Ears

02-06-2006, 04:45 PM

I forgot books. Easy.
Iain M Banks - light years ahead of anyone current.
the first 2 of Wilhelmina Bairds' 4 books (Crashcourse & Clipjoint)
Philip K Dick
Alfred Bester
Jules Verne

CountZero

02-06-2006, 05:26 PM

TV Shows

Red Dwarf
Survivors (original UK series about population decimated by plague ala "The Stand"
Hitchhikers Guide

Films
12 Monkeys
Brazil
Cypher
Planet Of The Apes - Original
Alien
2001

Books
Neuromancer ( In fact whole William Gibson Sprawl Series)
Vurt - Jeff Noon
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson

And many more I can't think of right now

Negotiableterms

02-06-2006, 11:39 PM

I love almost all Sci-Fi, from Asimov (Foundation Trilogy) all the way to David Weber's space opera. I thought ST:TNG was by far the best of all the Sci-Fi TV series. I really liked Ender's Game, and most of Card's work, and most of the Star Wars series (beyond just the 6 Lucas books). I also read a lot of "swords and sorcery" stuff.

I read all day at the office: contracts, operating agreements, deeds of trust, etc. In the late evening, and on planes, all I want is something that fascinates me, and that has nothing whatever to do with the day's reality. Sci-Fi and Fantasy R Me!

mg196

02-07-2006, 05:06 AM

http://www.msstate.edu/dept/geosciences/people/harris/images/Dr.%20Smith.jpg http://www.shillpages.com/dw/bakert19.jpg

Sandy G

02-07-2006, 05:27 AM

One of my heroes growing up ! The original guy everybody LOVED to hate ! He really stole the show-I've often wondered what he was REALLY like-how much of him was in Dr Smith...Must have been great fun playing that role...Too bad he's gone now.-Sandy G.

Reel 2 Reel

02-09-2006, 10:02 PM

I love almost all Sci-Fi, I thought ST:TNG was by far the best of all the Sci-Fi TV series.

Have you ever seen the Babylon5 series?...much better IMHO!......

Negotiableterms

02-09-2006, 11:50 PM

I saw B5. I just thought the babes were cuter on ST:TNG.

Dynacophil

02-10-2006, 03:40 AM

Hi
i read some great Names of SciFi literature (is reading that unusual today?) - but i missed one of the greatest names in this thread:

Stanislaw Lem

Solaris, The Star Diaries, Tales of Pirx the Pilot, The Futurological Congress, The Invincible, The Magellan Nebula, The Man from Mars...

he even wrote great criminal-stories with always a scifi influence...
like "The Chain of Chance"

http://www.lem.pl/english/main.htm

what are those SciFi Soaps against a good story...

Helge

Reel 2 Reel

06-28-2006, 07:44 PM

BUMP!!!!!..

Whoops I tripped over one of captn. Picards slippers..... :D

pustelniakr

06-29-2006, 12:41 AM

JoeESP9

06-29-2006, 09:19 AM

Favorite TV series ST Deep Space Nine best charecters of all the ST shows. I loved B5. I have an unopened sealed box with an action figure of G'Kar inside.

Most hated TV series Lost In Space juvenile silly and just plain booring

Classic movies Forbidden Planet (The Mighty Krell), The Day The Earth Stood Still, Blade Runner, A Clockwork Orange.

I have a library (500 hardbacks 1500 paperbacks) of Science Fiction. I have almost no fantasy. What I do have leans toward hard Sci Fi. Authors like Larry Niven, Frank Herbert, Asaac Asimov, R.A.H (the Master) and William Gibson are among my favorites.

I could go on and on. I've been a SciFi fan since I was about 8 or 9. I read Rocketship Gallileo then and have been hooked ever since. :smoke:

JoeESP9

06-29-2006, 09:21 AM

I seem to remember a black and white movie, where God over-rode the radio broadcasts, all over the world, every evening at 7:00pm every day for a week, and had some interesting admonitions for the world. I can't remember the name of the movie, or I would find it to watch it.

Rich P I remember that movie also. The movie you are thinking of is called, "The Next Voice You Hear...". It was made in 1950, and starred James Whitmore and Nancy Davis (yeah, Nancy Reagan...).

Sandy G

06-29-2006, 11:28 AM

Lost in Space "juvenile silly and just plain boring" Aww, come on...Didn't you just LOVE Dr Smith...? And those blood-blanching monsters...the big mummy lookin one that had the helmet that gave you anything you wanted...the giant Cyclops...the look on Dr Smith's face when one of these gargoyles popped up...Watchin' Penny develop ti..uhh, well, them blood-blanchin' monsters... <grin>

Drybasement

06-29-2006, 01:38 PM

Sci-Fi is my favorite genre in movies.

Favorite series:
Lost In Space
Star Trek The Next Generation
Star Trek Deep Space 9

Favorite movies:
John Carpenter's They Live
The Thing (John Carpenter version)
12 Monkeys
The Fifth Element
Blade Runner
Lost In Space
Star Trek TNG series of movies.
Pitch Black
The Chronicles of Riddick
Outland
Alien series although the last one was really stretching it a bit.
Terminator 1 & 2
The Abyss
Total Recall
War Of The Worlds - Yup, I liked the new version.
Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi

Worst movies:
Star Wars (the first three and the most recent from George Lucas)
Terminator 3
Alien vs Predator
Armaggeddon
Independence Day
2001: A Space Odyssey. Incredibly boring.
Leviathon. Incredibly stupid.

That's it so far.

DaWoofer

06-29-2006, 02:20 PM

What 50's movie was it were the brains jumped on you and sucked your brains out and got smarter each time they sucked a new brain?

bjarmson

06-29-2006, 11:25 PM

Just one guy mentions Iain M. Banks. WTF. Get and read "Consider Phlebas," "The Player of Games," "Use Of Weapons," "Excession," and "Look To Windward," far future space operas set in a society he calls the Culture. Constantly amazing stuff. No better SF being written.
Also no mention of Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan novels. If there are any better character driven space operas being written today (or any day for that matter), please tell me what they are.

I also suggest renting/buying the short-lived TV series "Firefly" and the movie spinoff "Serenity." Amazing writing, amazing ensemble acting in a gritty, alternate, real feeling Star Wars universe, without aliens (sort of). Drama, comedy, action/adventure with intellectual depth. Joss Whedon (who's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" might also be on this list, particularly if we're including brains eating your brains stuff), one the most creative writer/producer/directors working in video media today, was at the top of his game for this series/film. "Serenity" is better than the three "Star Wars" prequels put together.

For a top five, in no particular order (except chronological):
Forbidden Planet-The Tempest in outer space. Sometimes a little too 50's in feel, but a great concept, and some FX that still looks great.
2001-Arthur C. Clark meets Stanley Kubrik in a film both monotonous and brilliant.
Star Wars-The original, put SF in the major leagues, and was a breakthrough in effects field. Of course, its evil spawn is everywhere now.
Blade Runner-A Phillip K. Dick novel, done on the big screen to perfection by Ridley Scott. Many different cuts, I'm partial to the voiceover director's cut.
Serenity-Star Wars if Han Solo were the major character, there were no aliens or Jedi, and the creator/writer/director had real talent.

Sbarber

06-30-2006, 04:13 AM

I have already mentioned some of my favorite movies in another thread, but wanted to mention two TV series that I think are standouts. They are "The Outer Limits" from the mid-sixties and "Science Fiction Theater" from the mid-fifties. Both were standout sci-fi series. Generally above average story lines and good acting, with The Outer Limits having a kind of film noir style. "The Galaxy Being", "O.B.I.T.", and "Don't Open Til Doomsday" are among my favorite episodes.

Sandy G

06-30-2006, 05:29 AM

Reel 2 Reel

06-30-2006, 05:34 AM

I know it will be a long wait...but ...

I waiting for Larry Nivens 'Ringworld" to be made into a movie... the backgrounds would be cool if they were to be anything like I envisioned them....

And what the hell do ya think a pupeteer would reely look like?.... :scratch2:

Sbarber

06-30-2006, 05:35 PM

I particularly liked "A Feasability Study" & "The Zanti Misfits"-David Opatashu (Opatashu-is that not a GREAT name for a sci-fi actor, or what ?!?) driving that big 1963 Lincoln in the fog & then-BOOM !- this disfigured hand is on the windshield...the frantic music they used in the series...Aww, man, why can't they do something like "OL" today, without it turning into preachy treacle about Brotherhood & Diversity..I just wanna have the SHITE scared outta me by some disgusting latex monster...<grin>
Both are great episodes! I also really liked "The Bolero Shield", "Demon With a Glass Hand", and "Corpus Earthling". The later two starred the great Robert Culp. I am glad to see that someone else enjoyed this show like I did. The original series was far superior to the new one. Even though the special effects can't compare to modern ones, the stories and acting were so much better.

bjarmson

06-30-2006, 11:08 PM

Some more movies I just recalled. "Dune" in both its David Lynch version (for its truly remarkable production design, not its truncated telling of Frank Herbert's story) and the SciFi channels version (stays much closer to the book, has some good people in the various roles) are good. And an Ursula LeGuin novel, "The Lathe of Heaven," also a SciFi channel production (I think). About a guy who dreams reality, and the shrink (James Caan does a good job) who manipulates him to better his position in life. Very good, low budget, but cleverly done.

Sandy G

07-01-2006, 06:20 PM

Anybody remember "Rod Serling's Night Gallery"? There were a couple of them that STILL kinda chill my shit.."The Earwig" was one. Another was one I can't remember the name, or much about it, but it was some dude who could fake death if you went "Knock knock knock knock-knock" on something w/yr fists... And then there was one w/ Clint Howard, I think, who played a kid who could see the future..and the sun was going supernova, but nobody but him knew it...Another great, underappreciated series was "Darkroom" from 1980-81, or thereabouts. There was the one episode where this dude finds a way to go back to WW2 & save his father's ship from being sunk...but in the process,somehow, Germany wins !! I think I'm one of about 3 people who watched "Darkroom"- I don't think it even made it one whole season...

old_tv_nut

07-01-2006, 11:57 PM

bjarmson

07-04-2006, 12:05 AM

You may be right about the "The Lathe of Heaven." I've only seen it on video and I thought I remember it being a SciFi Channel production, but I'm not sure.
Don't ask me the particulars, but it seemed if you were close to the protagonist, you had some "feeling" about being carried along from one reality to the next. His chess playing friend seems to indicate this sometime during the movie. Of course, it's just the Descartean "I think, therefore I am" theory redone as speculative fiction.

soundmotor

07-04-2006, 10:00 AM

I'm not sure, but didn't "The Lathes of Heaven" appear on PBS? Anyway, having read it first, I really was looking foreward to how they would do it on TV. The premise has some of the absurdities of time travel stories - like, how did the shrink get to know/believe that things had changed, when, as it started, only the protagonist could remember that things had been different before each dream.

It was PBS that funded the whole project.

Lathe of Heaven (http://www.scifilm.org/reviews/lathe.html)

My old boss had a grainy VHS dub of it that he'd recorded when it ran the first time in Boston. I made a dub of that & for years it was the only way to see it I just discovered.

soundmotor

07-04-2006, 10:06 AM

This thread is amusing in one way in particular. That being how people with interest in music & technology all seem to congregate. A rememberance -

Years back when I was at ADS, we were all getting drunk at the semi-regular Friday summer afternoon BBQ. The topic of Sci-Fi came up. I was amazed that so many people were into it, had seen the same films, read the same books, etc. as I had. I made a comment to that effect as to how incredible that was. One of the more seasoned responded -

"How do you think we all got into this business?"

Sandy G

07-04-2006, 10:53 AM

Yeah, seems like I read a couple times that people have come up to Shatner & Nimoy at ST conventions & told them how Trek inspired them into going into engineering/physics...Dr Smith inspired me into becoming a conniving, cowardly Pompous Ass...think it worked ? <grin>

cosmicdust

07-04-2006, 10:57 AM

Hahahha ... Hey Sandy ... I remember Dr Smith .... Lost In Space!

Love that show :-)

Sandy G

07-04-2006, 11:15 AM

As sneaky 'n' connivin' as Dr Smith was, and as hopelessly SQUARE 'n' anal-retentive as John & Maureen Robinson were, I'm surprised they let Will be around him...

bjarmson

07-04-2006, 05:47 PM

About "The Lathe of Heaven," seems we're both right. There was a PBS version from 1980 and an A&E version from 2002 which is the one I was referring to, called "Lathe of Heaven." The 2002 version apparently changes the book around quite a bit (been more than 30 years since I read the book, and my recollections were a bit vague). All this gratis Wikipedia.

dcottrell6

07-20-2006, 05:51 PM

Favorites:
Alwyas enjoyed Babylon 5, very well written with a well defined cast.
Space: Above and Beyond
Twilight Zone
X-Files
A one year show called Brimstone with John Glover as the devil - a perfect role for him.
SG-1 - Good stories and cast.

Not so favorites:

Andromeda
Earth - Final Conflict
Space 1999
too many to list

Movie favorites
Alien - Aliens
The first Star Wars
Day the earth stood still
Starship troopers
5 Million Years to Earth

Lots of VERY BAD Sci-Fi movies out there...

Most favorite sci-fi book - Armor by John Steakley

simplynuts

07-20-2006, 06:32 PM

Asimov. Anderson, Clark, Heinlein for books.ewest Book Read' Orbit' author Vance?
Movies: Forbidden Planet, Day Earth Stood Still, Org. war of the Worlds, Org. Time Machine, 1st Planet of the Apes, Silent Running, First three Star Wars, 2nd Star Trek, Boy and his dog for weird. A few others.

Bad Sci movies: First Star Trek, New War of Worlds, New Time Machine, Shape of things to come too many to list so bad can't remember the titles

Good tv: Time tunnel, first star trek and Voyager,outer limits, twilight zone, time tunnel,

bad tv Lost in space, space 1999, its about time, ds9, etx.

texas hit the nail on the head. too much is repeated. I want to see new ideas not old movies done a new way. Very few sequels are good.

Sbarber

07-21-2006, 08:53 AM

What 50's movie was it were the brains jumped on you and sucked your brains out and got smarter each time they sucked a new brain?
I think you are referring to "Fiend Without a Face" which starred Marshall Thompson. Excellent old sci-fi dealing with the effort to materialise thought by using atomic power to boost the brain. This ends up creating some of the most unique and gruesome creatures seen in any fifties sci-fi film. Disembodied brains with spinal cords attached with antennae and small tentacle type legs for movement. Good special effects make this very entertaining.

Blue Meanie

08-11-2006, 08:48 PM

Just to be different, a couple of my favorites are (probably not remembered by many):

Movies:

Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (aka Doppelganger)
The Questor Tapes

TV Series:

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (everybody knows this one)
UFO

Jeff

Victor

08-13-2006, 12:01 AM

What about Spaceballs? One of the funniest movies ever for any Si-fi fan. You can only watch it once every 10 years though, it is not funny if you remember the punch-lines.

I have to confess to being a big Dr. Who fan.

I also love the 50's TV shows like Rocky Jones Space Ranger and old time radio shows like X-1 or Space Patrol, it is fun to see just how far off of real science they could get.

Victor

Scorpion8

08-13-2006, 12:54 AM

Been a SciFi nut since ~ 1968 or so. Have every SciFi book I've ever bought (yea, lots of them!)

Favorites...
Authors: Mike Resnick, Jack L. Chalker, anything by Heinlein....
Books: Slater's Plant ~ Harris Moore
The Engine's of God ~ Jack McDevitt
Dhalgren ~ Samuel R. Delany (read this one 3 times and still don't follow all the alliteration)
Demons at Rainbow Bridge ~ Jack L. Chalker
Santiago series ~ Mike Resnick

Most hated...
That all the good series get canceled. Oh yea, and that Amanda Tapping is already married ....

TV Series...
Loved UFO and Space:1999
Watched Lost in Space but still think it was so cheesy .... both the series and the movie ....
Would love to see a series based on Resnick's Santiago series/character

Classics...
Movies: Blade Runner (almost as good as the book, and so well produced)

General....
There isn't enough good SciFi on TV. Period. If man can think of it, eventually we'll do it.

rallycat

08-13-2006, 03:31 PM

FWIW have read SF most of my life and became a mechanical engineer...

Still prefer reading to TV & movies - favorite authors:
William Gibson
Charles Stross - Singularity Sky, Iron Sunrise, & more
Neil Stephenson
Tim Powers
Neil Gaiman
K S Robinson - Red Mars trilogy & more - I saw him at a book signing where he talked about his books being made into movies. Someone optioned Red Mars; he says how can you make a movie from it? There is too much going on. The Hollywood guy says don't worry, that's our problem.

movies -
favorites:
Blade Runner
Alien, Aliens, etc.
The Abyss
Repo Man

stinkers:
too many to list them all
Johny Mnemonic - let's take a Gibson short story, throw in major ideas from a couple novels, and get Keannu Reeves to play lead ( IMHO Keannu and a redwood plank have about the same acting ability).
Mission to Mars - had plenty of problems with some future NASA scenes - 'hey, a giant sandstorm came out of nowhere; I think I'll stand here & let it eat me' and the transfer to the Mars orbiter by jumping across - but finding the 4 billion year old aliens under the hill was just too much.
Dune - all I can say is that the SciFi channel did so much better with a lot less money.

Searching

08-13-2006, 03:47 PM

Lots of my favorites have already been mentioned. A recent movie that was not mentioned that I thougth had merit is "Minority Report." I thought there were real some possibilities for US culture in the next 50 years. Not the fortelling of the future, but the constant marketing/advertising, identification and tracking of individuals, virtual computer interfacing. I thought the transportation/freeways were interesting, but that'd require serious investment in infrastructure.

As far as books, I've really enjoyed Orson Scott Card recently. David Weber's Honor Harrington series was fun. If you are into "social science fiction" I think Octavia Butler is amazing with her Parable series. She passed away back in 2/06. Real loss to the genre.

Worst sci-fi movie: There are so many, but a recent example that I haven't seen mentioned here has got to be "Signs". As with most bad science fiction, the concept was pretty cool, but it fell totally apart at the end. I have to believe that a people that can develop the technology for interstellar travel, would have the ability to determine that 3/4 of the world they are trying to invade is covered in poison.