Best Sci-Fi of the past 25 Years....

[Alluveal]

Best Sci-Fi of the Past 25 Years
As reported by Entertainment Weekly Magazine

1. The Matrix - Good film series, but the best?
2. Battlestar Galactica - Hell yeah!
3. Bladerunner - Another Hell yeah! And I like seeing Edward James Olmos up here twice (once for BSG and again here for Bladerunner.)
4. The X-Files - Was always an X-Files fan (cept for the last season)
5. Star Trek II, the Wrath of Khan - KHAN KHAn KHan Khan khan!
6. Brazil - Never saw it.
7. ET - Feh
8. Star Trek the Next Generation - Figure this would be on here somewhere
9. Aliens - (nods approvingly)
10. The Thing - Kurt Russel / John Carpenter. Definitely approve.
11. Lost - Uhhh, the first season or two maybe, but I hear season 3 is pretty lame.
12. Back to the Future - I could take or leave
13. The Terminator / Terminator 2 - Very nice
14. Children of Men - (boggled look) Ok film, but the ending was pretty damn stupid.
15. Firefly / Serenity - Should be higher on the list, Cap'n.
16. Total Recall - (shrugs indifferently)
17. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Interesting concept, but not really a true sci-fi film to me.
18. Heroes - YA Tah!
19. Starship Troopers - Hmmm.
20. Star Wars - Clone Wars - Animated Star Wars thing? Uhh, why?
21. Futurama - Funny, but....
22. Quantum Leap - Scott Bakula in a dress. Yeahhh...
23. Dr. Who - Never been a Dr. Who fan, but I understand why it's here.
24. Galaxy Quest - Sweet!
25. V: The Miniseries - Haha, lizard BABY!

Things missing that I felt belonged there:
Babylon 5 (durrh!) Won 2 Hugo awards.
Dark City

[Alluveal]

Question on top of the list. Should comics (or movies based on comics) be considered sci-fi? I ask because I can think of some awesome comic-to-film adaptations. First one that comes to mind is "The Crow."

[superwalrus]

first, Bladerunner should be #1. And Star Wars isn't even on that fucking list, so it must be horrible.

Walrus

[Ddrak]

Definite wtf on B5.

Dd

[Harlowe]

First off, what tard put this list together....seriously, it's horrible.

1. The Matrix - No way, Bladerunner was better
2. Battlestar Galactica - Other sci-fi series really deserve this spot, like Star Trek Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and hell what about B5?
3. Bladerunner - (should be number 1)
4. The X-Files - Was always an X-Files fan (I would have put this above BG)
5. Star Trek II, the Wrath of Khan - KHAN KHAn KHan Khan khan!
6. Brazil - An artsy piece of Sci-fi...kinda
7. ET - never liked it
8. Star Trek the Next Generation - Belongs higher!
9. Aliens - This belongs higher - at least the first movie does
10. The Thing - Kurt Russel / John Carpenter. - definitely approve of this one
11. Lost - this lame piece of TV fast food doesn't belong here
12. Back to the Future - Cheesiest sci-fi ever
13. The Terminator / Terminator 2 - Belongs above BTTF
14. Children of Men - Belongs lower on list
15. Firefly / Serenity - should be higher on list
16. Total Recall - wacky sci-fi arnold fun
17. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - This isn't Sci-fi at all
18. Heroes - Another piece of currrently popular TV fast food that will have faded into TV obscurity 10 years from now.
19. Starship Troopers - If so-crappy it's good belongs here - then sure
20. Star Wars - Clone Wars - Animated Star Wars thing? No. Get it off.
21. Futurama - Not sci-fi....it's a freakin cartoon
22. Quantum Leap - agree
23. Dr. Who - I've never been a Dr Who fan either
24. Galaxy Quest - cheesy, cute, but belong on a top 25 list? Nah.
25. V: The Miniseries - Hahah, okay maybe

I also wonder why STAR WARS of all movies isn't on here, Dark City and B5 are also missing. What the fuck....yet you have Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on this? What because it's Fantasy? In that case, where is LOTR, Willow, Legend, Merlin etc etc.

[Taxious]

I also wonder why STAR WARS of all movies isn't on here, Dark City and B5 are also missing. What the fuck....yet you have Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on this? What because it's Fantasy? In that case, where is LOTR, Willow, Legend, Merlin etc etc.

Dark City and the Matrix are almost the same movie really. Maybe they just combined them to get the Matrix at #1.

[Partha]

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

Ok, officially, what the hell?

Why the fuck is Lost on this list? Or Back to the Future? Is this the 'anything tangential to a working machine is sci-fi' rule? Not to mention the stupid 25 years thing, which automatically takes off both Star Wars AND Close Encounters of the Third Kind....

And Starship fucking Troopers? Are they on dope? Why not put The Postman and Waterworld up there, too?

[Klast Brell]

6. Brazil - Never saw it.

You should

[Fallakin Kuvari]

25 year rule doesn't take off Retrun of the Jedi, which was clearly the best of the 3.

(It was released 1983)

[Kulaf]

Where's The Fifth Element? Dune?

[Jarochai Alabaster]

1. The Matrix - Only if we're excluding the 2nd and 3rd films...
2. Battlestar Galactica - THIS should be #1, IMHO. Blows away ANY Star Trek series, and I was a dedicated Trekkie growing up. (I'm assuming the new BSG series, since no distinction has been made)
3. Bladerunner - I know I've seen this, but I don't remember it.
4. The X-Files - Meh, this show was 50/50 between good episodes and snoozefest episodes.
5. Star Trek II, the Wrath of Khan - Only logical.
6. Brazil - I'm a n00b. I don't even know what this is.
7. ET - Pretty good.
8. Star Trek the Next Generation - This definitely deserves to be higher on the list.
9. Aliens - Fucking awesome sci-fi/horror, and easily the best of all the Alien movies.
10. The Thing - Kurt Russel / John Carpenter. - Never saw it.
11. Lost - Haven't seen so much as a single episode, but I hear it's amazing from literally everyone.
12. Back to the Future - I want a Flux Capacitor!
13. The Terminator / Terminator 2 - *Nods approvingly* (T3 needs to disappear into obscurity though)
14. Children of Men - Dude...wtf? TERRIBLE movie, and not really even sci-fi.
15. Firefly / Serenity - This should have never been cancelled.
16. Total Recall - Meh.
17. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - This isn't sci-fi. At all. Someone needs to put the crack pipe down.
18. Heroes - Never heard of this one.
19. Starship Troopers - TERRIBLE movie.
20. Star Wars - Clone Wars - Again, TERRIBLE movie.
21. Futurama - At least someone has a sense of humor with this list.
22. Quantum Leap - Great series.
23. Dr. Who - Another one I don't know.
24. Galaxy Quest - This was pretty funny, but I'm not sure it belongs here.
25. V: The Miniseries - God, I haven't seen this in forever. Don't really remember it.

IMO Babylon 5 went downhill about halfway through the series, but it's still better than a lot of what's on this list. Dark City belongs here too, but I don't think it was "popular" enough...I know a lot of sci-fi geeks who haven't even heard of it. I'm also wondering about Event Horizon; that's another of my favorite sci-fi/horror films.
Some of what's up there doesn't seem to fit...I mean Futurama and Galaxy quest are great, but they're too...comedic. Maybe it's just me, but I like some realism (At least basic believability) to my sci-fi.
And further, some of the shit there is a crime. Clone Wars? Come on. First off, what is ANY of the new Star Wars doing there? Second, where the fuck are the classic SW titles?! And Children of Men? What, it's sci-fi just because it takes place in the near future? It only takes place in the future to set the story, that there have been no new children born in 18 years. They couldn't do that in a modern setting. Nevermind that this was a terrible film, it's not even sci-fi. It doesn't belong on the list for two very good reasons.

[Saevrok]

Revenge of the sith was alright, in the same way that Jean Claude movie is alright, if your looking for some over the top action, a chick getting fucked, and meaningless explosions you might be in the mood for a Jean Claude flick. Starwars was only good because of the final 15 minutes of fighting.

[Arathena]

Star Wars isn't really Sci-fi, it's a fantasy adventure that happens to have space ships instead of horses.

I really wish we could move past the idea of Sci-Fi as a genre. It's a setting type to put the same damn stories we've been telling since the dawn of time. That said, whoever wrote this list is a bastard.

[Alluveal]

Why is Star Wars not sci-fi?

Sci-Fi = technology
Fantasy = magical/metaphysical

The Force isn't metaphysical or spiritual (much to the chagrin of those who wanted it to be.) It's all about midichlorians--pure science, baby. Nothing "magical" about it. If you look at the first three movies, we are led to believe it's all magical, but in the end it was all about genetics and little microbes livin' in your body. Those microbes give you the visions. Those microbes lend you use of the force and help you tap into parts of your brain that the normal yahoo can't.

Again, it's science, not magic. If they had left the first three movies alone and we never knew where the force came from. Yeah, I would say a combo of both sci-fi and fantasy.

Now, take something like Dune. That's on the line for me as far as fantasy VS sci-fi. The magical element in Dune could be argued scientific (breeding programs and spice.) But, it's a fine line, especially when you get into the last three books.

[Turaylon Soulshadow]

Why is Star Wars not sci-fi?

Sci-Fi = technology
Fantasy = magical/metaphysical

The Force isn't metaphysical or spiritual (much to the chagrin of those who wanted it to be.) It's all about midichlorians--pure science, baby. Nothing "magical" about it. If you look at the first three movies, we are led to believe it's all magical, but in the end it was all about genetics and little microbes livin' in your body. Those microbes give you the visions. Those microbes lend you use of the force and help you tap into parts of your brain that the normal yahoo can't.

Again, it's science, not magic. If they had left the first three movies alone and we never knew where the force came from. Yeah, I would say a combo of both sci-fi and fantasy.

Now, take something like Dune. That's on the line for me as far as fantasy VS sci-fi. The magical element in Dune could be argued scientific (breeding programs and spice.) But, it's a fine line, especially when you get into the last three books.

Star Wars is a little of both.

[Kulaf]

Agreed. The Force certainly goes beyond science. The Jedi know about the Force from the midichlorians......but how do the midichlorians know about the Force? How can they see the future? How in the hell is seeing the future science?

And let's not forget the imaculate conception of Anakin.

[Klast Brell]

Call it science fantasy then or whatever pleases you. Is there some rule that you can't mix the genres?

[Arathena]

Why is Star Wars not sci-fi?

Sci-Fi = technology
Fantasy = magical/metaphysical

The Force isn't metaphysical or spiritual (much to the chagrin of those who wanted it to be.) It's all about midichlorians--pure science, baby. Nothing "magical" about it. If you look at the first three movies, we are led to believe it's all magical, but in the end it was all about genetics and little microbes livin' in your body. Those microbes give you the visions. Those microbes lend you use of the force and help you tap into parts of your brain that the normal yahoo can't.

Again, it's science, not magic. If they had left the first three movies alone and we never knew where the force came from. Yeah, I would say a combo of both sci-fi and fantasy.

Now, take something like Dune. That's on the line for me as far as fantasy VS sci-fi. The magical element in Dune could be argued scientific (breeding programs and spice.) But, it's a fine line, especially when you get into the last three books.

The 'science' of the magic in the Star Wars universe is immaterial to the real use of it as a story-telling tool. The Force is sorcery, not because it is metaphysical or magical (remember the line about sufficently advanced technology?) but because it is USED as such. Put aside your nice electronic aiming system, Luke! Use the Force! It's magic, you can't miss! The sword-and-sorcery tropes fill the universe, clear down to the magic poison metal the Sith used to make swords out of. Sure, the Sci-fi tropes are there, but they're skin deep. It's evil overlords siezing kingdoms, princes rescuing princesses, and Gandalf (Obi-wan) facing down the Balrog(Vader), and 'dying' to save the hero. If it were any more fantasy, you'd be able to hear the damn d20s in the background.

[Zyllen]

and Gandalf (Obi-wan) facing down the Balrog(Vader), and 'dying' to save the hero. If it were any more fantasy, you'd be able to hear the damn d20s in the background.

Wow, that's the biggest stretch I've seen anyone make between LotR and Star Wars. Last I checked, the Balrog never trained under Galdalf, and Obi-Wan was never re-born as a new, more powerful, fully-functioning physical being, unless I missed something in the original reading.

Just because something isn't pure science, doesn't make it fantasy. It's also clones being created to further an evil plot, entire worlds being destroyed by a massive technological object, entire droid armies, etc. Put Star Wars in a pure fantasy realm and you just have another glorified Excalibur, and that crap has been done to death. Star Wars could be related to a lot of themes from Westerns, too, does that make it a Clint Eastwood flick?

Next, you'll be telling us that Star Trek isn't really true sci-fi either. After all, Spock uses the mind meld and has all those nerve pinches and stuff, and sometimes Kirk plays hunches to win out over the bad guys, not just science!

[Turaylon Soulshadow]

Vader would be more like Sarumon. Pretty sure I spelled that wrong.