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Recommend me some Sci-Fi shows/movies!
Elimination
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I've recently been on a bit of a sci-fi binge and i'm running into a lack of things to watch. Anime sci-fi is acceptable as well (Loved Ghost in the Shell.) but i don't like the magical girls and 12 year old super boys driving magical robots stuff.
Anyhow, i've already hit stuff like Firefly, BSG, Caprica, Star Wars, The Matrix, Animatrix ect.
Obscure indie movies/shows from other countries (As long as subtitles are available.) are acceptable to me for sure.
Anyhow, i've already hit stuff like Firefly, BSG, Caprica, Star Wars, The Matrix, Animatrix ect.
Obscure indie movies/shows from other countries (As long as subtitles are available.) are acceptable to me for sure.
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Hell, Star Trek: TOS. It's not terrible. They've even released an updated version with modern effects added.
Sci-Fi classics:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Moon
District 9
Alien, Aliens and Alien 3. That's where the series ends.
2001 and 2010. 2010 is much more approachable then 2001 if you're a little put off by the pacing
Solaris (book and modern movie version)
Children of Men
Pitch Black
Event Horizon
Reign of Fire and Equilibrium (ok the last 3 are cheese but great fuck you)
EDIT oh yeah the fifth element
Contact
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Apollo 13 (not fiction, but a great film)
The Prestige
Sunshine
After that pile of film, you should be able to tell what kind of sci-fi movies you like (soft, silly, hard, tense, groundbreaking, etc)
Moon was very good, although you might see the plot twist coming from a mile away. There is some good intrigue up until the twist, and the almost required Hal-styled "ship's computer" companion.
Sunshine had a really dumb plot idea (the sun is burning out, Earth sends a crew in a spaceship that will launch a giant bomb into the sun to get it started again), but the psychological themes of the movie are fantastic.
Event Horizon is as much horror as it is Sci-Fi, but it's really part of the canon, so if you haven't seen it yet, please do so. Helps if you have a mancrush on Sam Neil (like I do).
The Fly is a classic, it's technically a remake, but the story is significantly different. Jeff Goldblum does his thing, his character is clearly fascinated by what is happening to him.
Wash it all down with Robot Jox, which is basically Rocky IV with Mechs.
If you enjoyed Ghost in the Shell you may also like Ergo Proxy and Serial Experiments Lain.
Fringe
Dune - the movie I thought was great, the novels I didn't really thought much about, the mini series was good i hear
Back to the Future
Lost(?)
X-files (the series)
Cowboy Bebop
Gattaca
Babylon 5 - I hear some people like it. I've not delved into it, maybe someone else can attest to this.
Paparika
Casshern - For the effects at least
Akira
(oops you don't like 12yr old robot drivers catagory)
Neo Genesis Evangelion
Macross - Do You Remember Love? is more like a love story with a sci-fi back plot (as is with most space operas)
Macross, the series - Up on Hulu but horribly dubbed. Basically the longer version of the above movie
I'm running out of ideas.
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The Metropolis anime is pretty good. The original live action movie is also good, but your enjoyment will depend on which soundtrack you end up with.
I suppose The Girl Who Leapt Through Time has a sci-fi bits. I mean, it's about time travel. But that's just a device.
For live action movies you can't go wrong with Primer.
I'll also second Sunshine. Gets kind of silly in the third act, but the ending was nice regardless.
Children of Men is also pretty great.
There's a Korean movie called Save The Green Planet that is very strange but also very watchable. Find it if you can.
For shows I'll suggest Life on Mars and I guess Misfits. They're both British. Life on Mars actually had an American adaptation, but it was really terrible and I'd suggest you stay well away from it. Misfits is pretty short at 6 episodes, but I'm pretty sure they are plans for more. Either way, it doesn't wear out its welcome.
Misfits is about some delinquent kids who get mysterious powers after a freak storm. It sounds pretty dumb on paper, but it's not Heroes.
Life on Mars is more of a time travel or parallel reality deal. Fun to watch and doesn't take itself too seriously.
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Fantastic movie, Sam Rockwell is amazing.
Back to the Future trilogy. Fun stuff.
Ghostbusters 1
Alien and Aliens. THAT'S where the series ends.:P
Preditor (first one with the Governer
EDIT:
I agree.
This tells me the world is running out of sci-fi for me. I've already seen all of those. Star Trek TNG to a much lesser extent though, i really haven't watched much of it, just a few random episodes here and there.
I really enjoyed Moon, the Riddick's, especially Pitch Black. I enjoyed Starship Troopers as well. Loved the Alien trilogy since i was a kid. I thought Reign of Fire was awful. Equilibrium i haven't seen though actually, so thats a good one.
Another one i saw recently that i enjoyed was Pandorum. Also enjoyed Gamer a lot. Primer is one of my favourites, seen it a bunch of times.
I've seen a little bit of Maccross a few years ago and really enjoyed what i saw of it. If i can track it down i will try that. Paprika i have never heard of, so i will look into that one as well.
As for Ergo Proxy, Cowboy Bebeop, and Lain, i own all 3 of those series in their entirety on DVD. Same goes for Dune, including the newer mini series films, and the books.
These suggestions are good, i've at least found a few i haven't seen. But the more i see here the more i realize the world just doesn't have enough for me.
Macross Plus (available on Netflix instant viewing)
Ghost in the Shell (the series and the movie)
Also,
The Host (I think is the name. Korean)
The Thing (but that might be more horror)
Escape from New York
Soldier (yes goddammit I liked it)
Boy and his Dog
Still worth watching.
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I do. A lot.
You could play some video games?
I also saw a spiffy little Spanish movie last year called Timecrimes. Simple premise, but executed well.
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It's fast, action-packed and quirky-funny. A bit silly.
It's from the UK, but subtitles are available
Farscape
Stargate SG1
Movies:
Brazil
12 Monkeys
Dark City
The Abyss
Sphere
I'll second the Doctor Who, Star Trek: TNG, Moon, Children of Men, etc. All of those are fantastic. Also add Torchwood on to the Doctor Who, a spinoff of the new series.
The obvious anime sci-fi is Trigun and Cowboy Bebop.
As for foreign stuff:
District B13
Run Lola Run
LoL Summoner: infobrains | XBL: cwap4brains | PSN: infobrains
Primer is also fantastic.
You could try Red Dwarf. It's a sitcom with a sci fi setting but is also excellent.
Everything else has pretty much been suggested.
It also had lots of epic space battles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYoCvgAAiQ8
Still, it's a fun show when it's not trying to be dramatic.
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It's also very good... but the new series is easier to get into unless you like old TV in general. It's old fashioned, which is charming, but you need patience and cultural context to fully appreciate it.
The OP listed a lot of recent stuff, so I'd guess that's what he wants more of.
It's about as Sci-fi as Star wars.
I also second Babylon 5. I love that series.
Getting through season 1 with that horrible actor playing the Commander IS tough though. By season 2 it (and everyone else) is much better.
Also, Stargate SG-1 is a very fun series. I think all of the episodes are on Hulu.
Space Rangers - TV show in the US for four or six episodes back in the early '90's, I remember it being decent. There's one series on Amazon for like $125 bucks, probably cheaper options out there though.
Space Above and Beyond - TV show in the US for 1 season (maybe 2?) about marines/space pilots fighting aliens, not great but enjoyable.
Exo-Squad - A great cartoon series that seemed alot more deep than average. Almost all episodes are on Hulu and its like 20 minutes per episode, so you should be able to watch one or two and get a feel for if you like it or not.
Fair enough.
Just making sure the OP knows what they're getting into. If you're expecting any kind of hard science you're not going to get it. It's more like magic described with random technical terms.
But Christopher Eccleston is the man. And Tennant ain't half bad either.
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Pandorum was highly underrated. If you like sf novels you will like Pandorum.
You might try 9 as well.
2009 was a great year for sf film.
Definitely see Moon too.
I'm also going to say Sunshine. I really liked it. ^_^
Sadly Space Rangers does not hold up at all. Space, Above and Beyond barely holds. There is a Starship Troopers series (animated) called 'Roughnecks". Closer to what was put together in the book and not a bad series. Check Netflix.
Fortress was a pretty good movie as well.
Runaway with Tom Selleck
Day the Earth Stood Still (the original, not the crappy Keanu Reeves one)
Forbidden Planet (young, serious Leslie Nielson)
12 Monkeys
Enemy Mine
Total Recall
Running Man
Seaquest was okay until it got stupid. Avoid Season 3, basically.
Highlander - classic + Queen
Mad Max, Mad Max 2 - classics
Escape from New York, Escape from LA - maybe not the second film
Zardoz - lol sean connery in bondage gear
Dark City
Red Dwarf - cult classic apparently
And since we're talking about Red Dwarf, Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy is a nice trilogy of five books to read
idk, there are plenty of films when you google "top ten sci fi". Plenty of games too if you're up to it.
Personally, I'd invite you to read Pluto, a modern manga re-imagining of Astro boy
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Stop that
I went through the entire SG-1 and SG: Atlantis series in the past few month. Great stuff. Very fun, very un-Star Trek ... O'Neill is the bestest.
In regards to films ... not your typical space opera movies, but great nontheless:
The Fountain
Jerome Bixby's The Man from Earth
The latter is one of the best movies I ever saw, which is amazing, since its only about 8 people sitting in a room and talk for 80 minutes. Watch it ... its great.
(In alphabetical order because I took these from an alphabetical list of my favorite movies)
2001: A Space Odyssey (obviously)
Open Your Eyes (Amazing 1997 movie that Vanilla Sky remade. Much much better than Vanilla Sky.)
Akira (Beautiful Animation and imagination make up for the fact that this seminal cyber-punk anime makes little to no sense)
Alien & Aliens (I personally think Alien 3 is better than Aliens, but I recognize that I'm in the minority and that Aliens is certainly more essential)
Alphaville (French New Wave Sci-Fi that's not only a great movie but hugely influential to other essential sci-fi films like Blade Runner and Farenheit 451)
Blade Runner (The art design alone makes this a classic.)
Brazil (It's not only a hysterical, imaginative, and heartbreaking film, it's "retrofitted future" aesthetic influenced a number of films from Pi to Fifth Element).
Children of Men (Everytime I watch this movie I like it more. It's probably the most perfect portrait of Bush-Era distrust and dread ever captured on film. It's got some of the best art design ever, but what really makes this movie for me is the quiet message of pacifism in it's center. Best Dystopian Sci-Fi movie ever.)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Spielberg's scariest movie, in my opinion, and definitely one of the best American Sci-Fi films ever)
The Day The Earth Stood Still (Hugely influential in a huge number of ways, including it's soundtracks' use of the theremin)
The Last Battle (1983 French Post Apocolyptic debut film by Luc Besson. It's great, funny, and beautifully shot)
Fantastic Planet (A sublimely weird and surreal 1973 French animated film about giant aliens that keep humans as pets)
Fifth Element (I've always said that this is the best Heavy Metal movie ever made. Silly pulp sci-fi has never been done this well. Just a real good time.)
The Fly (Honestly, everyone should see all of Cronenberg's movies, but this is certainly his most accessible. Great sfx, great performances, great make-up, just a Great movie.)
Forbidden Planet (Shakespeare's Tempest transformed into a grand widescreen sci-fi adventure. Like The Day The Earth Stood Still, this movie is a must-see not only because it's hugely influential, but also because it's a really really good movie.)
La Jetee (An experimental French sci-fi movie from 1961 that was remade as Twelve Monkeys. It's almost entirely composed of still black and white photos, which places an emphasis on sound design and a few breathtaking film sequences. It's only 25 minutes, and might be hard to find, but is worth seeking out.)
The Man Who Fell To Earth (Stunt casting David Bowie as a strange unhuman character is almost cliche now, but this was the first to do it. It's jumpy chronology and locations make it a bit hard to penetrate at first, but if you put the effort into it you'll find a very rewarding satire on American culture, love, and homesickness. It's unusual narrative structure's influence can stilll be seen today in the work of Christopher Nolan and David Lynch.)
Metropolis (The original silent sci-fi epic, this movie is long, slow, and probably the most influential science fiction movie until Star Wars came around. It's worth the effort it takes to watch it.)
Naked Lunch (Is it a stretch to call this Science Fiction? I don't think so. It's art design may not look anything like any other science fiction, but they both achieve very similar goals. Plus, this is an incredibly weird and affecting movie, so even if it isn't Science-Fiction, you should see it.)
Pi (Darren Aronofsky has gone on to make some of the most original and brilliant films of the past 20 years, but this film is probably my favorite of his. It's a paranoid thriller about big ideas, conspiracys, and it does a brilliant job at never directly addressing a lot of what it's saying.)
Primer (The greatest time-travel movie ever made, hands down. There's something incredibly hypnotic about watching these scientists slowly realize what they've stumbled upon, and unwrapping this film's puzzling plot upon multiple viewings is extremely rewarding.)
The Quiet Earth (My personal favorite "Last Man On Earth" movie because it's the only one to really capture all the emotions that'd come with that title, from exhilarating freedom to crippling fear to deep black depression.)
Seconds (John Frankenheimer's paranoid psychodrama from 1966. Amazing cinematography, acting, and a truly unsettling score by Jerry Goldsmith.)
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Over the top insane movie about a metal fetishist. There's social commentary to be found in this, but honestly the spectacle and sheer amount of junk they manage to fit onto screen overshadows it everytime. Only in Japan.)
and gantz is a great anime
I wish i could use things like Hulu, but they dont work in Canada.
Babylon 5 sounds cool, i've heard of it, but the series came out when i was a kid and i didn't really pay attention to it, it ended before i even was in middle school. I've seen DVD's of it around often enough at stores, i will have to try that.