Sci-Fi

[jjjnettie]

Hands up those that are Sci-Fi Fans!
What is your favourite book/author?
What is your favourite movie/series?

My favourites are any books by Robert Heinlein and the books and series Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy.
I'm looking forward to the movie version that is now in post production in the UK.

Jeanette

[silvinator]

Definitely a sci-fi girl at heart! I love everything sci-fi, no matter how gory, corny or geeky it is. :D
I'm just starting to read the hitch hiker's guide to the galaxy and I'm loving it so far! It's such a hilarious read so far. I'm also a trekkie fan, voyager is my favourite of all the series. Stargate SG-1 is a good series to watch too. Basically, I wish we had something like the sci-fi channel over here, I'd be watching it 24/7!

[Striker]

I love Barbie in Fantasia.....great book....read it over and over again...

[Starkler]

I just finished the entire star trek TNG series, all seven of them over about 8 months :)

Picard is my hero !

[jjjnettie]

Have you got all 5 books of the trilogy of the Hitch Hikers Guide ?
The others are .....
Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life the Universe and Everything
So long and Thanks for all the Fish
and
Mostly Harmless

Its hilarious!

Jeanette

[silvinator]

no not yet jeanette. will soon. by the way, is that where your quote in your signature comes from? Sounds like something doug adams would say :D
geoff, i reckon janeway would beat picard in a starship battle any day!

[Starkler]

Haha no way Silvie ! Janeway way have a technological edge, but nobody outsmarts Picard :P

[mick pinner]

Love the old stuff Forbidden Planet, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Bamboo Saucer etc probably brings back a few memories for my fellow oldies, and the young ones won't have a clue what l'm talking about.
They've all been re-released on dvd as well, check out e-bay about $30 each.

[Jonathan]

The original Star Wars movies are great but the newer ones don't cut it for me, too much computer generated stuff. Awesome sound though if you crank out the Dolby 5.1.
Stargate series on TV is also very good. Would probably have never watched it if it wasn't for the original movie.
Sorry, I really can't get into any of the Star Trek TV series, the movies are ok though.

[seeker372011]

yes i was a big fan of SF as it used to be called before it morphed into sci-fi...that means Asimov, Larry Niven, James Blish, Brian Aldiss, Heinlein of course, Campbell. You young 'uns probably need a babel fish to figure out what i'm talking about...
babel fish..remember? from Hitchiker's ?

[ballaratdragons]

Love Star Trek, Star Gate, Red Dwarf, Hitchhikers, Outer Limits. Because I have pay t.v. I watch Star Trek and Outer Limits every night (4 episodes of Star trek on sunday nights) I read Star trek books regularly, and other S.F. books.

Also love Forbidden Planet, Day the Earth stood still, Invaders from Mars, War of the Worlds (both Versions) etc. etc.

[parsec]

lexx of course :)

[jjjnettie]

The quote is from a song in Monty Pythons "Meaning of Life". The last line of a song sung by Michael Palin in the "Live Liver Transplant " sketch.
Other authors I enjoy are Robert Silverberg, Arthur C Clark, Fritz Leiber and Poul Anderson.
Red Dwarf is great entertainment. So is Star Trek, but then I like Lost in Space as well.
Jeanette

[ballaratdragons]

Yay for 'Lost In Space'.

How could I forget that, I grew up on it.

<b>"Danger Will Robinson, Danger, Danger"</b>

For some reason I don't like any of 'Star Wars'.

[rumples riot]

Favourite writers are Frank Herbert with Dune series and Issac Asimov with Foundation series.

As for Movies favourites are many in my DVD collection, but to name a few: Deep impact, armageddon, core, supernova, star wars (all episodes) Alien series, day after tomorrow, star trek (all of them) Matrix series and many many more.

For scifi series, Star gate, enterprise, voyager and next generation.

I am so into scifi that my friends often borrow my DVD's ten at a time. Guess they figure that it is cheaper than going to the video store to rent them.

I LOVE SCIFI, especially the political nature of it and the normative questions that it asks of us.

[gaa_ian]

Yes ... all of the above :cool:
There must be something about Sci-fi that has led us all into astronomy :abduct:
I have read all the hitch hiker guide, listened to the BBC radio play & seen the television series.
Watched all the Star trek episodes (except enterprize which is not on DVD)
Was a big reader in my youth (many mango seasons ago!) of , Asimov, Heinlen, Micheal Moorcock & EEDoc Smith to name a few.
Currently working my way through the "Andromeda" series on DVD (another Gene Rodenberry creation)
I find now though, that the truth about the Universe is almost stranger than the fiction.
BTW jjjnettie :birthday:

[jjjnettie]

I find I can read my SF books over and again ( read the covers off quite a few as well ) The ability of some of these writers to predict the future is uncanny. What seemed like science fiction back then is now science fact.
There is a a short story, written in the late 1920's by an Australian author, called The Machine Stops. It predicted the internet as the main means of communication, entertainment and education.
Is there any decent SF being written at the moment? Or is the golden era well and truely over?
Jeanette

[gaa_ian]

Hmmm ... I think a lot of Sci Fi being written at the moment (particully Sci Fantasy) is old ideas rehashed.
BTW: as you are reading HGG, you would have to realize the signifigance of your 42nd birthday :P

[ballaratdragons]

Oh, I just remembered another one.

I laugh my bottom off at '3rd Rock from the Sun'.

:lol2:


<i>laugh my bottom off</i>.
See, I'm following regulations!

And more S.F. movies I like are 'Philadelphia Experiment' 'Soylent Green' 'Farenheit 451' and the one where the wives in a western town were turned into robots (forgot it's name, not Stepford Wives).

[Vermin]

I've read just about everything written by Asimov and Clark, plus many, many others like Harry Harrison, Stephen Donaldson, Frank Herbert, Poul Anderson, Philip K Dick, Aldus Huxley, Cordwainer Smith...etc. (my mum was a book rep).

I spent well over $500 on sci-fi books last year.

If you enjoy intelligent sci-fi these are absolute 5 star must reads:

Anything by Vernor Vinge. "A Deepness in the Sky" is particularly good, nothing this guy writes is bad though.

Dan Simmonds "Hyperion" (Series of books) - The first book is a sort of sci-fi Canterbury Tales, amazing scope and imagination. I'm looking forward to the sequel to "Illium" ("Olympos") another first rate series by this Author.

A. A. Attanasio "The Last Legends of Earth" - may be hard to find but well worth the hunt.

Audry Niffenegger "The Time Travellers Wife" - not my usual type of sci-fi but I could not put this heart wrenching book down, beautifully written and very clever - one of a kind.

Richard K Morgan "Altered Carbon" and "Broken Angels" - first rate detective sci-fi.

John C Wright "The Golden Age" - brilliant view of a very distant future. Arthur C. Clark's Third Law, about any advanced technology looking like magic to lesser civilisations is brilliantly realised in this trilogy. Has to be read to be believed. It is pretty heavy on the jargon though.

Peter F Hamilton "The Reality Dysfunction" (trilogy) - The Exorcist meets Star Wars - pure first rate pulp sci-fi with huge well thought out ideas

Theodore Sturgeon "More Than Human" - the writing style is so fluid it's like watching a movie in your own head, almost prose like, one of my all time favourites. It's even more astounding considering it was written over 50 years ago, most sci-fi does not hold up well to the passing of time. I first read this whole book in one sitting, and was very late for work the next day.

A quick glance at the Amazon reviews for these books will confirm the near cult status of all these titles, if you like sci-fi do your brain a favour and read them.

[ballaratdragons]

Also forgot about the funny TV show '3rd Rock from the Sun'.

<b>All time Favourite SF Movies:</b>
I had to get pen and paper out for this list but these are the movies I enjoyed. I have seen more but didn't like some so I left them out.

<b>Modern:</b>
The Man who fell to Earth, Contact, Silent Running, Cocoon, Armageddon, Event Horizon, Close Encounters, Deep Impact, Space Cowboys and Independance Day.

<b>Golden Oldies:</b>
It came from Outer Space, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Philadelphia Experiment, Invaders From Mars, Soylent Green, Farenheit 451, TRON, A Clockwork Orange, Planet of the Apes 1 (not 2,3,4), Day the Earth stood still, Time Machine, Forbidden Planet, Destination Moon, The Andromeda Strain, 2001 Space Odyssey, The Fly (the original), Back to the Future Series, Them, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Island of Dr. Moreau, Fantastic Voyage, Stepford Wives (the original), Westworld, Death Race 2000, Rollerball, Capricorn One, Short Circuit and my favouritist Movie 'The Last Starfighter'.

Young'ins won't know most of them!

[Vermin]

I've got a couple of those in my DVD collection:

http://www.intervocative.com/dvdcollection.aspx/Verm1n

[seeker372011]

and what about short stories? some great short stories in the genre-for example

"Who goes there?" made into a movie several times I think;

"The Nine billion names of god";

my all time favorite -"By his Bootstraps"-always felt "Back to the Future" owed something to this;


and some great titles:

"Repent Harlequin", said the Tick Tock man" -is that a title or is that a title



-"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"-book that was the inspiration for Blade Runner

[jjjnettie]

Ken,
Thanks for reminding me of The Man Who Fell To Earth, and Silent Running. Memories.......
The Billion Names of God, what a twist in the tail story that is!

Iwould love to, one night, take a tour of all the stars and DSO's mentioned in Hitch Hikers, in order of appearance in the books. Does that sound too geeky?
You could do the same with The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, follow the story across the face of the Moon. It would probably be a fun way to learn your way about the night sky.
Jeanette

[rumples riot]

Funny I have most of those movies in my DVD collection, including silent running, soylent green, Omega man and planet of the apes. Seen all the movies mentioned so far. Would love to get hold of a copy of Farenheit 451, that needs to be added to my collection.

[ving]

42.

[Jonathan]

I see there's a few Stargate: SG-1 fans here. Good to see:) . There's another Stargate series that has been shown overseas called Stargate: Atlantis. I read somewhere that channel 7 has bought the rights to it and will show it sometime this year. So if you like SG-1 this might be one to keep an eye out for. :cool:

[Howzat]

Deep Thought

Hitch Hikers Guide has been on UKTV for the last couple of weeks

Nice list Ken :2thumbs:

[Howzat]

I've seen a couple of them. looks good :D

[silvinator]

I can't stand the new star wars movies either, the old ones were excellent though. There's something about that aniken(sp???) kid that is a little too cg for me...what you mean he was a real actor? Give me harrison ford any day! :D

The Last Starfighter was a cool movie Ken! I liked it. One of Le's favourites actually. You've mentioned a few of my favourites Ken, like back to the future, independance day, armageddon, close encounters, contact, and the time machine (the old one, not the modern version with guy pierce - that was horrible!)

I've heard about atlantis, supposed to be good. It would make sense channel 7 getting it. Is it just me or have channel 7 been slack with the way they've been airing sg-1? It just seems to come on and then disappear and then come back on again without warning. Apparently, they also cut about half an hour off one of the latest episodes (haven't seen it yet so I can't confirm but thank goodness for broadband...:whistle:)

I've also read some of arthur c clarke and loved them (the odyssey series I'm talking about) though the movie to me was not what I expected.

Been meaning to read Jules Verne for a long time now as well.

Does anyone remember an old 80's movie, "Flight of the Navigator"? Loved that as a kid.

Hey Jeanette, that doesn't sound geeky at all. It sounds like a really great way to traverse the universe. Good onya!

[Jonathan]

Channel 7 are pretty slack when it comes to showing SG-1. They've missed entire episodes in the past so chopping out half an hour of an episode wouldn't suprise me at all. I've bought a few of the DVD box sets and that's the best way to watch it - no ad's.

[Howzat]

They're as good as channel 9 with star trek They put it on at 11.30pm then have the late news run 20 min overtime and sometimes don't show it at all:mad2:

Beam me up scottie :abduct:

[Howzat]

BTW see what I won a couple of months ago from Atomic Magazine they are worth US$400 :D

[ving]

woah! thats pretty cool phil! :)

[ballaratdragons]

Can you get Captain Kirk on it?

[Howzat]

definitely cool
It comes with a custom display case, numbered display plaque signed by Leonard Nimoy, and plaque holder.

Includes a certificate of authenticity with a photo from the autograph event and a behind the scenes story about the prop.

It “chirps” when you open the antenna. The moiré dial spins and the power and frequency lock lights ignite when the Communicator is activated. you can here the frequency search signal when you turn the frequency selector dial
It was recreated from a comprehensive study of an original prop and carefully handcrafted by master artisans.

[jjjnettie]

Silvie...... Harrison Ford, isn't he soooo georgous. Improves with age too I think. He can act as well!
If I get the time, I'll make up the Hitch Hikers Observing List and post it.

"My God, it's full of stars!"
Thats what I said when I first looked into my scope. LOL
Jeanette

[[1ponders]]

Looks like I'm a bit late on this thread. Ditto Ditto Ditto. No ones mentioned The Terminator Trilogy., The Sixth Day, Total Recall, Predator. Come on where are the Arnie fans.:D

Hey Ian another EE Doc Smith fan. The Lensman series, The D'Alembert series and of course the never to be forgotten Skylark series. Now we're really showing our age :) Then of course there is Tad williams "Otherland" series. Julian May and "Rampart Worlds" and "Saga of the Exiles".

But probably my all time favourite is Olaf Stapledon "Star Maker" As astronomer if you can find this book it is a MUST read. It puts the evolution of sentience and universal evolution under the microscope. And you can't help but agree with him.

Oh another favourite is "Paradox Man"

Hands up those who have spent Thousands on sci-fi and sci-fantasy novel. Especially series :clap::clap::clap:

[Starkler]

I still say Rumples snapped a duo of Klingon warbirds traversing M42 in this pic (http://www.iceinspace.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42) :)

[Vermin]

Yep that was a beaut' story.

As for movies, the interpretation of Dune by David Lynch and the comic book action of The Fifth Element are great too (got to have a big sub woofer for TFE).

[rumples riot]

Geoff, your theory may have some merit. But the shot is not one of my best. Just looking at it makes me shudder, to think I thought it was such a great shot at the time. Out of focus and very grainy. ERRRR.

[wavelandscott]

Many great books, series and movies listed...

Anyone else like Orson Scott Card and the "Ender Series"?...he has some other good ones too...

[Vermin]

It's been on my Amazon wish list for a while, I'll be getting it from the Galaxy bookshop in Sydney later this year (I just use the wish list to keep track of interesting stuff and buy from Aus retailers).

[jjjnettie]

Has anyone read Ben Elton's "Stark" ?

[rumples riot]

Yeah Stark is so funny. I also started to read the other one called Gridlock. Also very funny.

[jjjnettie]

Gridlock was good. I just finished reading This Other Eden by Ben Elton as well. The story line is one that could actually happen in the near future. Reccomended reading.
Ben is such a talented writer, he also wrote the funniest TV shows to come out of Britain , The Young Ones and Black Adder.
I wonder when Aunty will put Stark back on telly?

[jjjnettie]

Don't forget you can borrow books from your local library. If they don't have a particular book or DVD that you would like, they can order it in. A good way to try before you buy.

From our little library in Toogoolawah I've taken out books on Astrophotography, The Night Sky, Hubble Photos, Red Dwarf videos, Star Trek, etc etc. Best of all its free, so you can save your money up for more important things.
Op shops are good places to rumage. I've found old National Geographics with full size posters with articles of Orions Neb., and one only yesterday with posters of Jupiter and Saturn.

[silvinator]

another librarian? hehe Ving is librarian, always harping on us to go visit the library :P
i just finished the hitchhikers guide first book. The book was thicker than I thought until I flipped through the rest of it and realised it contains all the books from the series :ashamed: so I do have them all, silly me. Throroughly enjoyed the first book. Can't wait to dig into the rest.
Paul, loved terminator 1 and 2 but forget about 3 - well, let's just say I was throughly disappointed with it. Definitely had something to do with the fact that it wasn't written or directed by james cameron.

[acropolite]

Favourite movie would have to be The Matrix. Unfortunately the sequels were'nt so hot. Favourite Sci / Fantasy writer would be Julian May. She has written a series of 4 books "Saga of the exiles" then a trilogy "The Galactic Milleu Trilogy". The second series relates to the first and vice versa even though they're placed millions of years apart.

[rowena]

well i'm at a bit of an advantage with my sci-fi series! I've seen pretty much everything up to date.

star gate and star gate atlantis to the season final!
australia is now 1 episode behind the states, but they have cut episodes of star gate that relate back to atlantis, if it was mentioned in the episode. (not many). atlantis i enjoyed. different galaxy, different baddies! and these guys are kick arse!

star trek i love! enterprise i really enjoy, however they are planning on axing Enterprise in its fourth season! i have also seen up to date aswell. I have to say though, the intro took the most getting used to. They should not make a trek intro with singing!!!

I also studied at uni last semester a subject called Science Fiction and Film, where i had to write about different sci fi movies, which included Hitch Hikers, Invasion of the body snatchers (56 version), war of the worlds, star trek: first contact, 2001: space odysssey, and isobelle carmodys book burning chrome.

i think the majority of my dvd collection is sci fi!!!

Rowena

[parsec]

There are 7/9 reasons why the only Star Trek worth watching is Voyager :)

shaun

[hector]

Hi All
Book. Thats a hard one. War of the Worlds by H G Wells, Childhoods end by Arthur C Clarke, The Kraken Wakes, The Crysilids by John Wyndam for older books. For recent books either the Reality Dysfunction series by Peter Hamilton the Gap series by Stephen Donaldson but mostly the Dark Tower series by Stephen King this is more Sci-horror fantasy.
TV. Doctor Who and Blakes 7, Corney but great still and a great reminder of my childhood. Babylon 5 with some of the greatest story lines ever for a TV series. Red Dwarf up to season 5.
Movie Forbiden Planet and Day the Earth Stood Still for older movies. Blade Runner, 12 Monkeys and Signs for more recent movies

[Nortilus]

Star Wars for me!!
I got all the movies and about 3 different versions of the original trilogy.
I have about 45 star wars novels which are really good reads...
Also like Red dwarf, Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantise, (Stargate Atlantise is a spinoff series that is based on a team the travel to the pegasus galaxy to the lost city of atlantis which was built by the ancients. Great series too), i can stand a bit of star trek but I am not a fan. I have the tv series of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and it is really funny and weird too.

[toetoe]

Stargate rules for me, as well as the series V and Earth 2. :)