Sci-fi author, cartoonist, and filmmaker S. Craig Zahler's favorite sci-fi movies and television shows
This list is of movies and shows that have scientific underpinnings and evoke a sense of wonder or at least speculate on the consequences of certain scientific advances. (Note: Although I really enjoy Aliens, Starship Troopers, and Robocop, to me, these movies feel like action movies in futuristic settings, rather than science fiction.) My science fiction graphic novel Organisms from an Ancient Cosmos is out now from Dark Horse. I also have a related list ranking my favorite Star Trek episodes and fan films.
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- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterWhen a mysterious artifact is uncovered on the Moon, a spacecraft manned by two humans and one supercomputer is sent to Jupiter to find its origins.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesAlex DeLarge and his droogs barbarize a decaying near-future.
- CreatorCharlie BrookerStarsAnjana VasanCristin MiliotiJimmi SimpsonFeaturing stand-alone dramas -- sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales that explore techno-paranoia -- "Black Mirror" is a contemporary reworking of "The Twilight Zone" with stories that tap into the collective unease about the modern world.This show becomes consistently great in the second season.
- CreatorJ. Michael StraczynskiStarsMira FurlanRichard BiggsStephen FurstIn the mid 23rd century, the Earth Alliance space station Babylon 5, located in neutral territory, is a major focal point for political intrigue, racial tensions and various wars over the course of five years.Heartfelt, philosophical, and scientifically minded space opera by J. Michael Straczynski with a warm cast. Captain Sheridan is incredibly likable and Londo Mollari is my favorite anthropomorphic alien in any ongoing series.
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsSam RockwellKevin SpaceyDominique McElligottAstronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyWhen an alien spacecraft of enormous power is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk resumes command of the overhauled USS Enterprise in order to intercept it.Not a great 'Star Trek' experience, but a terrific sense of wonder sci-fi experience.
- CreatorsRick BermanBrannon BragaStarsScott BakulaJohn BillingsleyJoleneA century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission, Jonathan Archer captains the United Earth ship Enterprise during the early years of Starfleet, leading up to the Earth-Romulan War and the formation of the Federation.I really like that Star Trek: Enterprise is a bit lower tech than its predecessors, especially how the writers minimize the use of omnipotent transporters, which often kill dramatic tension and make no scientific sense (dispersing humans into atoms, flinging them through space, and then reassembling across vast distances). The cast of ST:E is quite strong: Trip, Hoshi, and Phlox are especially great, and Archer is incredibly likable. Also, the alien prosthetic designs and applications in this series by Michael Westmore and his team are absolute pinnacles of the art form. (I wish the time travel ideas weren't included, but such plots mar this entire franchise, and are well handled in this show for the most part.) If I had to pick my all-time favorite Star Trek episode ever, it would be "Dear Doctor" from season 1 of this series, though "Similitude" (season 3), "Duet" from Deep Space 9, "Clues" and "The Inner Light" from The Next Generation and "A Taste of Armageddon" from the original series are also excellent.
- CreatorGene RoddenberryStarsPatrick StewartBrent SpinerJonathan FrakesSet almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.Season 3 is when The Next Generation starts to sing--seasons 1 and 2 have a lot of very poor episodes with goofy, magical ideas like Q. Data, Troi, and Beverly Crusher are strong cast members.
- CreatorsShôji KawamoriKen'ichi MatsuzakiStarsArihiro HaseMari IijimaVic MignognaAn alien spaceship crash lands on Earth and her secrets lead to a desperate war against an alien enemy sent to retrieve the ship.
- StarsEddie AllenMichael BertoliniAmy Howard WilsonIn the year 2199, a starship must make a dangerous voyage to the distant planet Iscandar and back to save Earth from an alien invasion.
- CreatorsRyôsuke TakahashiHajime YatateStarsHozumi GôdaShigeru ChibaBanjô GingaThe end of the 100 year war between the planets Bavalant and Melkia does not allow Melkian soldier Chirico Cuvie a moment of peace. His accidental involvement in a clandestine mission places him in danger, requiring him to escape and attempt to survive on what is left of his war-torn homeworld.
- CreatorDan EricksonStarsAdam ScottBritt LowerZach CherryMark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsEd HarrisMary Elizabeth MastrantonioMichael BiehnA civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and faces danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.
- DirectorsMamoru OshiiNaoko KusumiMizuho NishikuboStarsAkio ÔtsukaAtsuko TanakaTamio ÔkiIn the year 2032, Batô, a cyborg detective for the anti-terrorist unit Public Security Section 9, investigates the case of a female robot--one created solely for sexual pleasure--who slaughtered her owner.
- CreatorToshio OkadaStarsNoriko HidakaRei SakumaNorio WakamotoA young pilot, daughter of a deceased space captain, is selected to pilot a gigantic robot as a key point of Earth's defense during a space war.
- DirectorMamoru OshiiStarsAtsuko TanakaIemasa KayumiAkio ÔtsukaA cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.
- DirectorTakashi YamazakiStarsMinami HamabeRyûnosuke KamikiSakura AndôA kamikaze pilot plagued by survivor's guilt seeks redemption when a giant monster he failed to kill is transformed by radiation from atomic bomb tests and lays siege to post-war Japan.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerSharon StoneMichael IronsideWhen a man goes in to have virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars implanted in his mind, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real - or is he?
- CreatorShôji KawamoriStarsEdward MannixBryan CranstonMichael ForestTwo old friends/rivals find themselves rival test pilots in competing projects while a mutual old flame returns to them with her own secrets.
- CreatorsRick BermanMichael PillerJeri TaylorStarsKate MulgrewRobert BeltranRoxann DawsonPulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is seventy-five years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.
- DirectorRupert WyattStarsJames FrancoAndy SerkisFreida PintoA substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.
- DirectorsJoseph M. NewmanJack ArnoldStarsJeff MorrowFaith DomergueRex ReasonAliens come to Earth seeking scientists to help them in their war.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsMichael RenniePatricia NealHugh MarloweAn alien lands in Washington, D.C. and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.
- CreatorTerry NationStarsMichael KeatingPaul DarrowPeter TuddenhamA group of convicts and outcasts fight a guerrilla war against the totalitarian Terran Federation from a highly advanced alien spaceship.
