Favorite Sci-fi

[David]

Film & TV: Firefly, Star Wars, Star Trek (TOS, TNG and DS9), Bladerunner, Babylon 5
Literature: 1984, War of the Worlds

Most of my reading, however, is Fantasy genre rather than Sci-Fi. I'm a big fan of David Gemmell.

[see317]

I'm curious David, have you read the War of the Worlds: New Millennium?
It's written by Douglas Niles. Basically it's a retelling of the original, but set in a modern time with modern technology.

It sounds cheesy, compressed into a single sentence like that. But the book is quite entertaining, especially if you're a fan of the original.

[Morchaint]

sounds interesting. might have to go find a book store..

I too like fantasy. I read Anne McCaffrey, David Eddings, Peirs Anthony, Margarate Weis, Tracy Hickman ( Dragonlance )
Arthurian stuff, Terry Goodkind, J.K. Rowling, C.S.Lewis, and of course J.R.R. Tolkien.

I know there are many many other writers of fantasy out there. those are just the ones on my 1# fantasy n stuff bookshelf.

[Dhraakellian]

For TV SF, I'd have to say that Babylon 5 is my favorite.
Good story, cool tech, believable ships, good quotes, lack of technobabble saving the day, etc

The Earth Alliance Starfuries have to be among the best designed starfighters out there. They actually pay heed to Newtonian physics, the lack of atmosphere in space, and the change in maneuvering style that such things necessitate.

While other universes'/races' ships would probably outmatch the Omega class destroyers in firepower, they still have the "just plain cool" factor going for them.

As far as other science fiction series and movies go, well...
I could take or leave Star Wars, really (although I do recommend checking out Darths and Droids for an interesting take on the universe a la DM of the Rings).

Star Trek varies in style and quality.
I personally really enjoyed DS9, particularly once the Dominion threat was revealed.
I once heard TNG referred to as the "comfort food" of TV sci-fi. This doesn't seem too terribly unfair, although it is certainly a broad generalization.
ST:Enterprise probably would have been a lot better had the first couple seasons never happened. The mini-arcs in s03 and s04 were quite good.

Battlestar Galactica, in its reimagined form at least, is good. It's a much darker and grittier view of things than you often find in TV sci-fi. It had a lot of potential, but I think it would've reached higher in that potential if the writers actually knew what they were doing all along instead of flying by the seats of their pants for a while.

Most of my reading, however, is Fantasy genre rather than Sci-Fi.

Same. I tend to read Fantasy and watch Sci-Fi, although there are notable exceptions on both sides.
I'll have to post a list of what I've read sometime when it's not 3AM.

[Morchaint]

darths and droids is a Rotflmao fest. very funny. so is DM of the Ring.
read them both. could NOT stop laughing. Im sure my neighbor next door thought I was on nos or something.

[Digitalmaniac]

Favorite Sci/Fi movie. There's so many good ones out there new and old. If pressed to tell I'd say it's "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and I'm talking about the original from 1950 with Michael Rennie.



In an era when most Sci/Fi were nothing more than low budget B-movies of very little content and weak plots this movie stood out as a sign of the times and a reflection on the basic unrest in the world. It could actually be listed as a Horror movie as well. Coming closer to modern day my second pick would have to be the first "Alien" movie.

[Morchaint]

I like the Alien movies. I have the Aliens technical manual. can look up specs for everything from dropships to smart guns to chest bursters.

[Froggy the Great]

Doctor who and derivative works from the 1930s pulps are my current favorites. Derivative - Duck Dodgers instead of buck Rogers, that sort of thing. anything pewter I can add a raygun to is also fair game.

[Morchaint]

Doctor Who is good stuff. I like the doctor with the scarf the best. its been ages since Ive seen any of the episodes tho.

[Dhraakellian]

I like the doctor with the scarf the best.

That would be the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker*.

*not to be confused with the Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, who is of no relation.

(Yes, I've watched *a lot* of Doctor Who, missing only SJA and skipping one episode of Torchwood so far.
Incidentally, Colin Baker has received much better writing in the Big Finish audio plays than he did during his tenure in the TV series.)