scifi tv
The best science fiction television from every decade.
Sci-Fi Sidekicks You Wish Were Your BFF
Imagine this. You’re shackled to the wall in an underground alien torture chamber on an unexplored planet, light years from home. Or maybe your spaceship is being pulled into a moon-sized space station filled with storm troopers. Or you’ve got a supercomputer that needs hacked, stat. Obviously this is no time for Sam Gamgee to come to your rescue (heartwarming, loyal, and hairy-footed though he may be). You need someone with skills, someone who will risk everything to scoop you out of harm’s way, make a solid plan, and do it all again the next time you get yourself in trouble. Maybe they’re a little snarky, or a little sarcastic, or covered entirely in fur or actually a malfunctioning robot built out of trash, but when you need a best friend you can rely on, these sci-fi sidekicks won’t let you down.
By Sarah Quinn9 years ago in Futurism
'Star Trek' Games: The Playable Fun of Gene Roddenberry's Sci-Fi Universe
"My people pride themselves on being the greatest, most successful gamblers in the universe. We compete for everything: power, fame, women, everything we desire, and it is our nature... to win."
By Will Stape9 years ago in Futurism
Reviewing Charlie Brooker’s ‘Black Mirror’, Season 3
When Black Mirror first hit television screens in 2011, it was a quintessentially British creation. Episode 1, The National Anthem, shows an upstanding prime minister blackmailed into live sexual intercourse with a pig. The public responds with cynicism and ironic detachment, mocking the man on twitter, as the media scrambles for a scoop. The episodes that followed continued the condemnation of British culture – Brooker had given us a black mirror, reflecting us at our very worst. In Fifteen Million Merits he showed us powering the workings of an authoritarian regime, bombarded by advertising with an X-factor style talent show our only means of salvation. In White Bear, the justice system has been replaced by a sickening spectacle of psychological torture, with amnesiac criminals forced to relive their crimes, as children watch on. In The Waldo Moment, he shows a disaffected public voting a foul-mouthed CGI bear into office, rather than careerist politicians. The result is a degeneration into violence and fascism.
By Ed Venables9 years ago in Futurism
Trapped on a Desert Island with the Crew of Firefly
Scenario: the Serenity crashes on a desert island with only two survivors: one of the crew members, and YOU. Who do you hope makes it off the ship alive? Who’s going to be the best company when you’re bored? Who’s going to be the best at hunting and gathering food, keeping you safe from predators, and building the sturdiest shelter? Who’s going to be the least likely to betray you or steal your coconuts when you’re napping? Granted, your decision may depend in part on your relationship status. If you’re single and looking for someone to snuggle up to when your bed of palm fronds gets chilly, Inara or Mal might be higher on your list than, say, Shepherd Book. If you’re solely concerned with survival at any cost (and paranoid about intruders on the island), you may toss morals and companionship out the window and go with Jayne. Check out my list of the Firefly characters, from least ideal to most, with whom you could get stuck on a desert island (then go take this quiz and figure out which Firefly character you’d be).
By Sarah Quinn9 years ago in Futurism
Sci-Fi's Obsession with Ancient Greece and Rome
Sometimes science fiction returns to the past for places, people, and themes to enrich its mind-journeys into the future. Such is the case with these sci-fi movies, TV episodes, and works of fiction, each one drawing from the ancient worlds of Greece or Rome to dress its story. Brit Marling, a screenplay co-writer of Another Earth, says that this isn’t really surprising. “We’re retelling the same dramas from Ancient Greece,” Marling said. “These stories are so fundamentally old, the mythology that they come from, the hero’s journey — the way a narrative works. Science allows you to take the same story and see it from a new perspective because the science is always new and fresh.” Science fiction’s interest in the ancient world goes beyond mere allusion, as in the middle name of Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Tiberius, in case you’re wondering, was a somber, reclusive Roman ruler who nevertheless left the empire in a better state than he found it). If you’re deeply interested in how the speculative worlds of the future and the worlds of ancient Rome and Greece intersect, you may be interested in a serious paper by academic Tony Keen, “The 'T' stands for Tiberius: models and methodologies of classical reception in science fiction.” If that sounds a little heavy, enjoy the following summary of a few times when togas, laurel wreaths, aliens, and spaceships partied it up in one crazy combination.
By Sarah Quinn9 years ago in Futurism
Hollywood Halloween Hijinks - Count Dracula As An Extraterrestrial?
“Listen to them, the children of the night. What sweet music they make!” Count Dracula in "Dracula" - by Bram Stoker Loyal fans of the insidious exploits of the king of the vampires have been listening to haunting music played as a foreboding symphony from the bloodthirsty undead for decades. Ever since actor Bela Lugosi first put on the iconic cape in director Tod Browning’s 1931 landmark film, Dracula, movie audiences have lovingly embraced the coolest blood sucker of them all - Count Dracula. Before the Hollywood classic flick from Universal studios, readers immersed themselves in the bleak world of author Bram Stoker’s breakthrough novel, chronicling the wild adventures of the world’s most infamous vampire. Once Hollywood got a hold of Stoker's creation, the nefarious prince of darkness went through innumerable permutations, and Tinseltown is still morphing the world's favorite fang master.
By Will Stape9 years ago in Futurism
Best Sci-Fi Franchises
The best sci-fi franchises are often based on imagining what problems and solutions future technology will bring us, unlike fantasy, which is largely based on a magical reimagining of a medieval-type world. Where fantasy is conservative, instructing us to learn from the past, science fiction is progressive, asking us to look to the future for answers. This often makes the science fiction genre a challenging and liberal engagement with issues we currently face, issues we may one day face, and solutions that the future might hold. This makes the best sci-fi franchises all the more worth our careful consideration.
By James Lizowski9 years ago in Futurism
How Frank Herbert's 'Dune' Warned Of The Rise of Artificial Intelligence
“Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing.”Only I will remain. - Dune by Frank Herbert - 1965
By Will Stape9 years ago in Futurism
Sci-Fi's Obsession with Ancient Egypt
At first it sounds contradictory; isn’t science fiction all about what the future holds? But in looking back to a time before toothbrushes and iPads and breakfast cereal, you can get really philosophical without all the minutia that threatens to dominate life today. (Notice that I said you can, not that you have to - some of these films are just here to have fun.) If you love Ancient Egypt AND aliens and spaceships and futuristic weapons, now you can have both in one magical sandy pyramid-shaped package.
By Sarah Quinn9 years ago in Futurism
The Sci-Fi Museum Lover's Bucket List
If you’re a true fan of science fiction, whether campy or classic, space opera or speculative fiction, Star Trek or Jules Verne, you probably can’t get enough of the worlds your favorite characters inhabit, the clothes they wear, and the technology they wield. Lucky you, because some of the most exciting artifacts and memorabilia are exhibited in carefully curated museums around the world, and the momentum is building for even more. Check out this bucket list of already-existing sci-fi museums and exhibits, then get ready for two world-class museums coming to Hollywood, California and Washington D.C. in the years to come.
By Sarah Quinn9 years ago in Futurism
Netflix Is Bringing Back Sci-Fi TV
Sci-fi TV, like any category of entertainment, sees an ebb and flow in its popularity and supply. These days it is back in a big way, and not just on cable outlet SyFy— it's coming on strong in the streaming arena. Netflix changed the game in Hollywood in distribution, and now it's competing with the big production studios to offer up some of the best original content around. Shows such as Orange Is The New Black and Grace And Frankie are great drama/comedies, but Netflix isn't leaving out nor forgetting its genre loving fans or geek squads. Stranger Things is one of the hottest new TV shows in years. You won't find it on broadcast or cable. Jessica Jones, Sense8, Black Mirror and Stranger Things are all original and exclusive to Netflix, and cable outlets like SyFy are now encouraged to make more stimulating science fiction for fans.
By Will Stape9 years ago in Futurism
Greatest Artificial Intelligence Characters
The Sci-Fi and Pop Culture genres are often found on vastly different paths with many light years of distance between them, but once in a while they collide. When they intertwine, we usually end up with some of the greatest Artificial Intelligence characters in history has seen. Sometimes these characters are symbolized through a grim and pessimistic future, where machines are capable of feeling a wide range of emotions. They also have a survival instinct that leads them to try and take over the world. In other instances, they are lovable and friendly and able to connect with humans. Even though they are programmed not to feel any kind of emotions, most times we feel some sort of connection to them. Whatever the case might be, these great artificial intelligence characters were designed and programed to make you remember them.
By George Gott9 years ago in Futurism
