Kevin's Watch

The Sci-Fi 25

Step into our time machine to explore EW's picks for the genre's greatest moments from the past 25 years -- and see if EW picked your favorite at No. 1

Not sure if I think EW is a good judge of science fiction. But I forgive them because they included Futurama in the top 25. Actually, they look like good picks to me.

I haven't seen all of them, but almost. Pretty good list. Especially #1!!!

Yes, very good picks of pics. Nice and short descriptions of each, too. Wrath of Khan #5! That is my fav ST flick, so he wasn't far off.

Galaxy Quest does not belong on this list.

Hmmm.

I'd lose Eternal Sunshine, ET, Quantum Leap, the Star Wars cartoon, and Lost. I'd add 2001, 2010, Screamers, and the '77 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Meh.

I'd scratch the whole list and start over!
(Cail's got it!)

Ya, agree with Sunshine and the toon, but all others were good picks...not necessarily the order. But not include Lost? That should be in the top 10 of any scifi list...along with Heroes.

Cail wrote:Hmmm.

I'd lose Eternal Sunshine, ET, Quantum Leap, the Star Wars cartoon, and Lost. I'd add 2001, 2010, Screamers, and the '77 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Quantum Leap is great, but I wouldn't say it's great science fiction.

Cail wrote:Hmmm.

I'd lose Eternal Sunshine, ET, Quantum Leap, the Star Wars cartoon, and Lost. I'd add 2001, 2010, Screamers, and the '77 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

I think some of your inclusions are too old for this list, like 2001 and Invasion (after all, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back were too old to be included.) But if it's possible I would definitely go along with 2010, I think that film has never gotten its due. But I love the Clone Wars volumes so I think we should keep that one.

OK, so I completely glossed over the "last 25 years" part....

2010 makes the cut, and I definitely think it needs to be included. Ditto with Screamers, which I think is one of the more faithful Dick adaptations. Likewise, I think Buckaroo Banzai deserves a spot as well.

Quantum Leap was a decent enough show that used sci-fi as a plot device, but it wasn't really sci-fi.

Call me a cheeseball, but I'd also consider The Arrival and Contact....Possibly Frequency as well.

Decent - I seldom agree with lists.

Trek, BSG, Firefly... Always nice to see Starship Troopers on a 'best of' rather than a 'worst of' - not much middle ground on that one. Galaxy Quest? I dunno, it did greatly amuse my inner geek. (Then again, I go to Trek conventions in full uniform.)

Haven't seen some of 'em, some of 'em could definitely go...

Babylon 5 belongs on the list, preferably somewhere near the top.

I can't get this list to load past number 3. Is Stargate on here? 'cause it should be - Stargate is the new Trek, in both good and bad ways.

I'm a big fan of both Contact and Frequency.

Harumph. No Babylon 5 and no Farscape. Ridulous.

For those who are having trouble loading the list:

25. V: The Miniseries
24. Galaxy Quest
23. Doctor Who
22. Quantum Leap
21. Futurama
20. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
19. Starship Troopers
18. Heroes
17. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
16. Total Recall
15. Firefly/Serenity
14. Children of Men
13. The Terminator/Terminator 2
12. Back to the Future
11. Lost
10. The Thing
9. Aliens
8. Star Trek: The Next Generation
7. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
6. Brazil
5. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
4. The X-Files
3. Blade Runner
2. Battlestar Galactica
1. The Matrix

I'm glad the miniseries V has not been forgotten. For me, V and the farewell episode of MASH were the two biggest TV events in 1983.

I think Galaxy Quest very much belongs on the list. You should give the movie a chance, dlb. I love Star Trek and I wasn't offended by GQ.

Starship Troopers: I'm in the camp that hates it. Also hate Total Recall.

Children of Men: I seriously should see this, as bleak as it looks.

I completely agree that 2010 should be on the list. Just knock dreck like Total Recall off to make space.

Lost and Heroes seem to be the popular new kids on the sci-fi TV block. I haven't watched them at all. Heck, I had no idea Lost was sci-fi. Are these 2 shows really that good? I guess I'm just out of touch with TV sci-fi.

Alynna Lis Eachann wrote:Is Stargate on here? 'cause it should be - Stargate is the new Trek, in both good and bad ways.

Is it that good? I ignored the show because I didn't think much of the original feature film.

Right now, the only big omission I can think of is The Fifth Element. I've cooled to this movie since it first wowed me, but visually it's still marvelous. Maybe it's more mystical mumbo jumbo than science fiction, but one could say the same about the X-Files or The Matrix.

Matrixman wrote:Lost and Heroes seem to be the popular new kids on the sci-fi TV block. I haven't watched them at all. Heck, I had no idea Lost was sci-fi. Are these 2 shows really that good? I guess I'm just out of touch with TV sci-fi.

Lost is sci-fi, but in a mainstream, low-key sense for the most part (it's becoming less so as the show reveals more of the answers to what is going on), and the focus is on character and mystery rather than sf-elements. It's good, and I liked it a lot at first, but I kind of fell out of watching it and haven't really had the enthusiasm to get back in. Moves a little slowly.
Heroes I only just watched over the weekend, and it is a really good show. If you're interested in watching it, I watched them here. All eps so far are there, though you have to hunt around a little because they're not all in order. Take a look at the first, see what you think.

Thanks, Murrin! Nice to know I don't have to buy a DVD set to watch it.

Matrixman wrote:I'm glad the miniseries V has not been forgotten.

I loved V. Still do in fact, though not seen any for years. Even have a bunch of the novelisations.

In fact, now that I think about it, that and Star Trek TOS were probably my introduction to sci-fi.

--A

Wow, Av, didn't know V was one of the things that introduced you to science fiction. That's pretty cool.

Er, as an added bonus, here's what I said about the miniseries on a fan website a few years back:

The miniseries V (was 1983 that long ago??) had a big impact on me, impressionable teen that I was then. V was unsettling, thought-provoking TV sci-fi that remains unique in its way. Ken Johnson's story was tightly focused and told with a seriousness of purpose uncommon for network television. V strove to avoid any Flash Gordon-type cheesiness in its depiction of the Visitors. Instead, these extra-terrestrial conquerors were smooth, savvy operators who knew the right emotional buttons to push in order to control the human race. These aliens may have been "evil" but they were also simply exploiting basic human weaknesses. Greed, ambition, gullibility, malice, distrust...we have within ourselves the seeds for our own downfall as a species. The Visitors merely encouraged those seeds to grow.

Not that I'm apologizing for the Visitors. That they would coldly subjugate another intelligent lifeform in the universe (namely us!) for their own needs (dinner!) shows that they're BAAAD. Perhaps the question is: what would we have done in their place? How much better (or not) are we than them?

Whatever the case, V made you think--which is possibly the highest compliment I can give to any television program.