SCIENCE FICTION

there are a lot of books and movies from every genre that I enjoy from classic literature to murder mysteries and true crime to science and history, but I always seem to come back to sci-fi as the genre that gives me the most entertainment and food for thought. Some of it is the same allure as horror stories, the possibility of paranormal stories about UFOs being true was always thrilling and terrifying. Others look at our future, or possible parallel realities. But Science Fiction makes us think and consider ourselves, reality, life, the universe, and everything. Many of our own technological advancements in real life were inspired by fiction first.

I guess I really do love sci-fi a lot, since I will watch some of the dumbest stuff on the Sci-Fi channel. You can also tell because while I love Looney Tunes so much, my favorite character is Marvin the Martian
Here are my rankings for sci-fi that I've read or seen.

Twilight Zone

most people who know me would assume that star wars would be at the top of this list, but while I love escaping to that Galaxy far, far away, it's The Twilight Zone that stimulated my mind and thinking about human morality and existence.

Star Trek

It's a tough ranking, and we have to include all the expanded comics and novels and games when comparing franchises.. but at the end of the day I appreciate the discussions of philosophy and positive outlook for humanity's own future in the Star Trek franchise. I have a memory of seeing an old episode of the original series on a retro looking TV at some relative's house.. but my dad and brother are huge fans. They even took me to a con, which was my first con of any kind ever. They bought me a tribble. My favorite is The Next Generation, but I also like Voyager and Deep Space Nine. The best movies are Wrath of Khan and The Voyage Home.

Star Wars

Now I love Star Wars. I really do. I think it's clear the rankings are just a mix of my own personal favorites along with the amazing quality and scope of the works, and so many of these top choices should rightfully rank as equals among greats. Star Wars is now so vast and growing with various media and art styles that there is really no telling where it will go next. It's just a Galaxy that's fun to live in full of swash-buckling adventure, aliens and spaceships, heroes versus villains, and space wizard powers. That last aspect mixes Star Wars as something between Sci-Fi and Fantasy, which I'll list below. My favorite Star Wars film is The Empire Strikes Back, my favorite books are the anthology 'Tales Of' series, and my favorite game is Shadows of the Empire, and my personal favorite SW graphic novel is Crimson Empire.

Foundation

I actually read some of these out of order once I realized that a lot of Asimov's books are connected. I won't give anything away but there are definitely some very surprising turns throughout the trilogy. It's a massive story in terms of Galactic space and also across many generations of time, and it's easy to see how it inspired Star Wars. I only rank it a little lower because the characters themselves aren't very relatable.

Snow Crash

along with Neuromancer and Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson was a book that a friend at school recommended and opened my mind to the cyberpunk subgenre. It wasn't long before I found Blade Runner and loved the film, and later game, and also fell in love with the works of Philip K Dick like 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' and lots of short stories. When we first saw The Matrix everything about it from the philosophy to the effects was mind-blowing, and a revelation of cyberpunk. Snow Crash is my favorite because there are future mobsters, hoverboards, the matrix, digital samurai and pirates.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

We could include all of the many old sci-fi b-movies on this list (and truly a film like The Day The Earth Stood Still scared the bejebbus out of me as a kid), but then why not just represent them through the satirical lens of MST3K, picking apart and lampooning cheesy old movies like we all love to do.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

One of my teachers told me about this series and they're very silly in a Monty Python but with sci-fi sort of way. British sci-fi humor is generally its own subgenre like Red Dwarf or the ridiculousness of Doctor Who (I assume when I see a robot made of cardboard that this is comedy).

Another comedy sci-fi, really a parody of Star Wars and others on this list, is Spaceballs. As a kid me and my brother would be in stitches watching this Mel Brooks classic.

Alien

The Alien franchise has great films, sometimes horror and sometimes action, and a lot of cross-overs in comics with Predator, Batman and more.

Back to the Future

Who doesn't love time travel fiction? The idea of not just envisioning a sci-fi future, but being able to visit it, or to witness or change the past.

The Classics

It all started with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, both horror and science fiction. That's one of my all-time favorites as well, along with classics from H.G. Wells (and the later Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds) and Jules Verne. I do like The Time Machine but not really the movie adaptations.

Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan wrote the sci-fi fiction 'Contact' but also has made some really enlightening documentaries and books.

FANTASY

I like a good old high fantasy like Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit or anything with dungeons and dragons. I really have found that I prefer science fiction a lot more, meaning some more grounding in the science than in just the realms of magic. Yet I also rank Star Wars among my top favorite sci-fi, and it has more than its heavy dose of magic, which I do enjoy. I see fantasy as more pure escapism whereas sci-fi often is made to get you to think. Fantasy is much more based on mood and feelings and so these are the ones I vibe with the most. Assume Star Wars is very high on this list, if I hadn't already mentioned it.

The Princess Bride

The amazingly talented Rob Reiner seems able to direct a film in any genre, and this one just has all the humore, swashbuckling, romance, adventure and Andre the Giant that anyone of any age or gender would enjoy. One of my favorite films ever, with a lot of great quotes!

Indiana Jones

Honestly I would often rank Indiana Jones above even Star Wars or Marvel (depending on the day) for franchises I personally enjoy the most. I love all three movies (my favorite being The Last Crusade) as well as the novellas and the Young Indiana Jones adventures. Honestly why not just make more movies, like other series do.

The Dark Crystal

This is what I'm talking about when I say mood and feeling in fantasy. This whole movie is just like one long wondrous dream. Jim Henson created a masterpiece with this film. It is so foundational to who I am.

The Secret of NIMH

The one is right up there with The Dark Crystal, and honestly this Don Bluth movie ranks above most Disney movies. These kind of dark fantasy 80s movies could make you feel intense dread, sadness, laughter and wonder all in a short amount of time, and they stick with you long after.

A Wrinkle in Time

This kids fantasy book series twisted my brain into knots of new ideas like any great book should. Magic and physics and spacetime.. I enjoyed it a lot more than books with hobbits or gnomes (although I like those too!) and it definitely shaped how I think about things. I would recommend this series way more than anything with lions or wardrobes or indians and cupboards. My favorite is the second one A Wind in the Door.

Ghostbusters

Okay so while the Ghostbusters themselves do use invented technology to trap and contain the ghosts, the ghosts and lore and cults are all surrounding phantasmagorical energy, so I place this solidly into fantasy. Anyway this one is just fun and funny and has a lot of great ghost concepts.

Labyrinth

Others rank Labyrinth higher, and you'd think I would too given how much I love Jim Henson, and to have the great David Bowie! But this one never sat right with me for some reason. I love the puppets but something about the pacing or story just weirds me out. Maybe it's the power of voodoo