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With the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series concluded, we've run out of socially-acceptable sci-fi to gush over. That should make you think, shouldn't it? Wouldn't life be more fun if we could step outside of the all-encompassing irony and self-awareness of modern living and allow ourselves a little bit of childlike wonder at the power of the imagination?
We think so, and we're making it our mission to highlight the very best that this particular brand of escapism has to offer. For your consideration, five of the most engaging pieces of genre fiction in recent memory:
1. Frank Herbert's Dune
The series only diminished in quality as the sequels piled up, but the first Dune stands as one of the greatest pieces of science-fiction ever written. Part hero's journey bildungsroman, part ecological treatise and part space opera, the sum of these parts is a riveting story about technology and the human condition. The cult-classic David Lynch movie adaptation starring Patrick Stewart and Sting is just the icing on the cake:
2. Joss Whedon
The golden god of modern nerddom, Joss Whedon has a knack for crafting entertainment that manages the difficult balancing act of being simultaneously whimiscal and sardonic. If Buffy isn't your style, watch an episode of Firefly and try not to be wowed by the obvious devotion Whedon lavished on every shot. And we'd be remiss in not mentioning his admirable Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, proof that amazing shows and movies can still be made outside of Hollywood's purview:
3. Watchmen
Yeah, the movie kinda (really) sucked. But the graphic novel is completely worthy of the gushing praise bestowed on it by critics. It's well written, visually arresting, and a perfect encapsulation of the late Cold War zeitgeist. The moral ambiguity of both its characters and denouement are unforgettable. Watchmen revolutionized the medium of the comic book and proved that there was room for mature storytelling in comics, sparking the "dark and gritty" phase of '80s. Think of it this way: Batman wouldn't be the Batman you know and love were it not for Watchmen.
4. Futurama
Matt Groening is rightly famous for The Simpsons, but Futurama lingers as his criminally underrated magnum opus. It had everything a fanboy could ask for: homages to classic sci-fi, smart comedy, emotional drama and Groening's trademark screwball sensibilities. Even the scads of Emmys it earned weren't enough to keep it from cancellation, but the success of DVD sales has prompted something of a tentative rebirth for the show.
5. Franchise reboots
Star Trek and Terminator Salvation are the two most recent examples, but numerous series (Batman, George Romero's Dead movies) have been getting reboots or reimaginings in the last few years. And what better way to draw in new audiences than with a slick revision to an established property? Sure, the old guard of obsessives usually cry foul, but they should really be thankful that a new generation of fans might now be inspired to investigate the source material for their favorite summer blockbuster.
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I would add Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, and two novels by Robert Heinlein, namely The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Stranger in a Strange Land, to the list.
The original Dune is the gold standard, though.
How do you cover SciFi and completely leave Russell T. Davies out of the picture? He revitalized Doctor Who in 2005, spun it off into Torchwood for an adult crowd, and into Sarah Jane Adventures for the younger kids, and none of the shows suffered.
I'd also like to add Fringe & Dollhouse, because I don't feel like they get the love that they deserve.
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