The Cult-TV Faces of: Clouds

Identified by SGB: The Vampire Cloud of Star Trek: "Obsession."

Identified by SGB: The Companion of Star Trek: "Metamorphosis."

Identified by Terri Wilson: Ardana, the Cloud City of Star Trek: "The Cloud Minders."

Identified by SGB: Star Trek: The Animated Series: "One of our Planets is Missing."

Identified by SGB: Space:1999: "The Beta Cloud."

Not Identified: The Fantastic Journey: "Beyond the Mountain."

Identified by SGB: The Fantastic Journey: "Vortex."

Identified by Terri Wilson: Doctor Who: "Underworld."

Identified by SGB: Battlestar Galactica (original); opening sequence.

Identified by SGB: Star Blazers, Desslok's Energy Cloud.

Identified by Terri Wilson: The Simpsons, Opening Sequence.

Identified by Brian A.Dixon: The Dal Rock of Deep Space Nine: "The Storyteller"

Identified by SGB: Star Trek: Voyager: "The Cloud."

Identified by Brie Holtz: The X-Files: "Rain King."

Identified by Terri Wilson: Lost (Smoke Monster).

Television and Cinema Verities #73

"It's not like other science-fiction shows where time is frozen or you're in an unfamiliar world. You've got to make these actual people who have aged and changed. For me, I thought I could kind of slip back into the character pretty easily, but early on in filming I found myself wondering whether I had done enough work. It was more of a challenge than I expected...Working with Gillian again and that rhythm between us, that was probably the easiest thing and very helpful for me. It was key for me to get back to Mulder and nice we didn't have to kind of play it up or emphasize it or exaggerate it. I really didn't do any research, per se. I have seen the show over the past six years. Usually when I can't sleep and I turn on the TV and it's there. I do watch it for a few minutes and it's nice now. It's like home movies. But with autopsies."

- David Duchovny discusses re-creating the Mulder character for The X-Files movie, I Want to  Believe (2008), in The Los Angeles Times.

Reader Results: The Top Ten Science Fiction Films of All Time

Well, it’s all over except for the crying.  

The votes are counted, and I can now present to you -- drum roll, please -- the readership’s top ten science fiction films of all time.

Before you tab down to the results, I just want to note that, mea culpa, I could have been far more organized at the beginning of this exercise.  

The lists were not in any kind of universal order, so therefore they can’t be weighted (with a number one slot equaling 5 points, a number two rank equaling 3 points, etc.)

In other words, some lists went in chronological order, some lists went in favorite order, and some were completely random. 

So, that said -- for counting purposes -- a vote is a vote is a vote.

When I do my next Reader Top Ten later this month (on Top Ten Sci Fi Shows? On Horror Movies? On Favorite TV character? ) I’ll make certain to specify top to bottom lists, for example, so the results can be weighted.

More important than any of that boiler-plate, however, I want to say how excited and gratified I feel  about the remarkable turnout for this series. I was inundated with lists all through the week, and great lists at that.

My sincerest thanks to -- and admiration for -- everyone who contributed this week.  I always I knew the readership here was brilliant and knowledgeable, but I learned a thing or two (or ten…) this week about SF movies that I really need to see. 

Now, without further ado,

Top Ten Science Fiction Films of All Time As Selected by the Readers

10. Tie:  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

9. Gattaca (1997)

8. Metropolis (1926)

7. Tie:  The Matrix (1999)

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

6. Alien (1979)

5. Forbidden Planet (1956)

4. Star Wars (1977)

3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2.   Blade Runner (1982)

and in first place...

         1. Planet of the Apes (1968)

Breaking down the data a bit:

2001: A Space Odyssey appeared in first place on the most lists, six times.  Blade Runner came in first on three lists.  The Day The Earth Stood Still, and Planet of the Apes each came in first place on two lists. 

Metropolis actually beat both of those latter titles by placing first on 3 lists.  Now again, this can’t be indicative of too much, in all likelihood, because some lists were chronological which means that Metropolis would place as first because it was (usually) the earliest film produced in terms of list-worthy films.

In eleventh place was Close Encounters of the Third Kind ((1977), and in twelfth-place was a six way tie between Solaris (1972), Brazil (1985), Soylent Green (1973), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Westworld (1972), and Starship Troopers (1997).

So, what do you think?   Where did we miss the boat?  Where did we get it right? 

Sound off in the comments section below, and please come back in June, when we’ll do another round of Reader Top Ten.

Reader Top Ten Science Fiction Films List: Jackson Leverone

I checked my e-mail before bed last night, and saw that one more Top Ten list came in under the wire, so here's the really last one!  This catalog comes from reader Jackson Leverone.

Take it away, Jackson:

"I'm loving everyone's lists, and I wanted to play along.

My list leans more toward horror. If science fiction aims to explore the consequences of a plausible alternate reality, horror elements can make dire consequences more impactful.

1. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

3. The Game (1995) (Can it be SF? The plot hinges on a hypothetical technology or analytic process that can precisely predict the behavior of people. Is Nicholas a being in a deterministic universe, or is he completely manipulated by CRS?)

4.The Stepford Wives (1975)

5. Planet of the Apes (1968)

6. Possession (1981) (I find it similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but with a different, more unsettling relevance)

7. Forbidden Planet (1956)

8. Jurassic Park (1993)

9. The Invisible Man (1933) (My favorite of the Universal horrors)

10. The Call of Cthulhu (2005) (My favorite Lovecraft adaptation. Much like HPL's writing, the antiquated aesthetic of this silent film is out of place today and impossible to take completely seriously. But it has all the right atmosphere, and is a great presentation of the author's highly influential work.)

Great list, Jackson, and some great choices here!  

Results of the tally to be posted at noon today!!!

Star Blazers Episode #12

This week's episode of the animated series Star Blazers (1979) finds tons of new menace for our intrepid Star Force.  

The evil Gamilon leader Desslok attempts to trap the Argo with a space net, pursues the giant ship with an energy gas cloud that consumes matter, and then tries to lure the embattled space battleship into a Red sun nicknamed "the Sea of Fire."

And if all this isn't trouble enough for one crew, Captain Avatar is rapidly weakening, and refuses to be hospitalized for his grave condition...

This episode is one of the best so far in the series, for a couple of dynamic reasons.  

In the first case, the pace is faster.  Up till now, we've been getting a menace a week (like the Desslok space mines, or the ultra menace missile...), with the Argo laboriously avoiding it, and destruction.  This week's installment provides three challenges to overcome in twenty-minutes, and so the episode flies by.

More importantly, character development doesn't have to take a back seat this week to all the space adventuring.  

Instead, we watch as the brave Captain Avatar -- my favorite character -- starts to succumb to the radioactive sickness that is also poisoning many denizens of Earth.  In noble fashion, Avatar refuses to be hospitalized, counting himself responsible for the success or failure of the Argo's mission to Iscandar. Unfortunately, he is so ill, he can hardly give orders, and that fact actually jeopardizes the mission.

As you might suspect, Avatar's illness is the beginning of an important plot-turn in the series, and it's heart-breaking to witness.  Avatar is a figure of stability and wisdom in Star Blazers, and so to watch him grow ill is both difficult and upsetting.  

But, of course, if one follows the Joseph Campbell "monomyth" pattern, the wise old general or elder must -- after imparting his wisdom -- leave the stage to make room for the new, young hero...

In terms of other character developments this week, the series finally begins to pay some attention to the long-dormant or at least unexplored attraction between Nova and Derek Wildstar.  

As the episode opens and closes this week Nova wishes upon a star, to the taunts of Wildstar.  

But Nova leaves the young officer speechless when she notes that her wish is "for a certain person to fall in love" with her.

I think we both know who that person is, don't we?

Reader Top Ten Science Fiction Films: Troy Foreman of The PC Principle

Troy Foreman is one of the masterminds behind the Back to Frank Black campaign, a terrific blogger at the PC Principle, and an outstanding interviewer.   Today, he caps off the top ten lists with his selections.

Troy writes:

"Fantastic idea for a Reader's Top 10 list. I sat down and racked my brain for a day on this one. As a reader said before, ask me later and it may change, but for right now, here is my list. The films I chose are the ones that had an impact on me as a viewer and in my opinion, had an impact when it comes to making movies!

This list is in no particular order because that would take another day!

Sunshine - a COMPLETELY overlooked and underrated film. If you haven't seen it, rent it now.

Pitch Black

Star Trek II - The Wrath of Kahn

The Day The Earth Stood Still

The Empire Strikes Back - although Star Wars changed the game, Empire took it to another level.

Aliens - probably the best franchise sequel ever

Planet of the Apes - another game changer

The Matrix

Moon - Sam Rockwell was brilliant in this film

Monolith - a little known film that starred Bill Paxton and Louis Gossett Jr.

Troy, I'm happy to see the love for Sunshine (2007), here, and also appreciate that you included Pitch Black (2000).  I'm a big fan of that David Twohy film.  Your list also is continues the Aliens (1986) surge we've been seeing here of late, with that sequel getting some much-deserved reader love.

Reader Top Ten Science Fiction Films: William Johnson at The Paxton Configuration

William Johnson is the great blogger at The Paxton Configuration, and a dear friend.  He's got a great sense of humor, and a way with words.  At his blog, he now posts his Top Ten list, so check it out to get all the explanations and descriptions.

Here's the list in short:

1. Blade Runner (1982)

2. Aliens (1986)

3. Contact (1997)

4. Planet of the Apes (1968)

5. Back to the Future (1985)

6. Alien (1979)

7. Terminator 2 (1991)

8. Galaxy Quest (1999)

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

10.Robocop (1987).

I like the unconventional selection of The Voyage Home (1986) in this list, and make note that three directors split the lion's share of the selections: James Cameron, Ridley Scott and Robert Zemeckis.

Reader Top Ten Science Fiction Films: Jeffrey Canino of Nessun Timore

Jeffrey Canino, who runs a fantastic blog -- Nessun Timore -- chronicling his screening of horror movies, contributes our next list.

"In no particular order:

Westworld (1973, Michael Crichton) - The sort of film that would send Jean Baudrillard into a tizzy. It also makes me wish Crichton had had a longer career as a filmmaker.

Dark Star (1974, John Carpenter) - Strangelove is a better film, but Dark Star might be as funny. As slipshod and cheap looking at it is, its satire bites hard.

Fantastic Planet (1973, René Laloux) - Fantastically animated, trippy-as-all-heck social SF tale preaching tolerance at the beginning of a decade that hoped to foster some.

Stalker (1979, Andrei Tarkovsky) - Coming only two years after, Stalker was the antithesis of Star Wars. It re-defined what SF cinema could be, and has consequently been ignored by most viewers outside the arthouse crowd since. Can one even imagine what SF might have become in the 1980s if Stalker had proved more influential?

Altered States (1980, Ken Russell) - A messy and hallucinogenic tale that probes the borders between science, mysticism, and humanity. Silly at times, but undeniably powerful by its conclusion.

World on a Wire (1973, Rainer Werner Fassbinder) - The only film I've seen that accurately adapts the dryly humorous existential malaise of late '60s/early '70s New Wave of print SF to film. Sprawling in length, but claustrophobic in intent.

Blade Runner (1982, Ridley Scott) - Its philosophical weight might be overvalued, but there's no denying that Scott and his crew whittled PKD's distracted novel down into the most distinctive and awe-inspiring SF vision of the future that cinema has yet seen.

Primer (2004, Shane Carruth) - A film that obliterates the Hollywood notion of time travel as a blissful adventure without consequences. Made for peanuts, it's as engaging as any big-budget SF film ever made (if not more).

Metropolis (1927, Fritz Lang) - A classic for a reason. Visionary, intelligent, and still a marvel to behold all of these decades later.

La jetée (1962, Chris Marker) - About as beautiful and melancholic as SF can be, and it accomplishes this in less than half an hour."

Another vote for Dark Star! And I'm happy to see another notch for Primer.  I have Fantastic Planet at home right now....

Reader Top Ten Science Fiction Films: James McLean

My friend and writer -- and one of the heroes of the Back to Frank Black movement to revive Millennium (1996 - 1999) -- has compiled another great list for our continuing series on reader top ten science fiction films.  

You can read all of James' great descriptions and explanations here, so check out the full post.

Meanwhile, here's his top ten:

1. Blade Runner (1982)
2. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3. Dredd (2012)
4. Dark City (1998)
5. Serenity (2005)
6. Starship Troopers (197)
7. The Black Hole (1979)
8. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
9. Robocop (1987)
10.Total Recall (1990).

It is nice to see Dredd here.  I felt it was a powerhouse of a film; one that somehow made violence poetic and lyrical, yet also demonstrated how fragile -- and how fleeting -- human life can be.  

Verhoeven is also well-represented here with three films: Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers....

Dark City has appeared more than once in this week-long tally, and I must confess it is a film I have never entirely warmed to.  I've watched it twice and liked it both times...but I didn't love it, oddly enough.  Perhaps it's time for a third viewing...

Great list, James!

Reader Top Ten Science Fiction Films: George Eichler

My long-time friend and regular reader, George Eichler, contributes our first list of the day.

Take it away, George:

"Haven't done one of these in ages and it was fun and a challenge.  I based my choices on, of course, personal favorites, but also on concept, execution, impact upon watching, and impact on films made afterwards.  So, here, listed by the year they were originally released, is my top ten.  Enjoy - I know I did putting it together.

1.  Metropolis (1926)

2.  The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

3.  Ikarie XB-1 (1963)

                (not to be mistaken for the English dubbed version ("Voyage to the End of the Universe"))

4.  La Jetee (1963)

5.  The War Game (1965)

6.  2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

7.  Planet of the Apes (1968)

8.  A Boy and his Dog (1975)

9.  The Lathe of Heaven (1979) (do made for TV movies count - this one should)

10. Blade Runner (1982)

Alternates

1. The Damned (1961)

2. Creation of the Humanoids (1962)

I have explanations for all, but won't bore you with them.....unless you'd like me to  :-)"

George, I love your list, and I wondered if "A Boy and His Dog" would make any final ten.  Glad to see it did.  I enjoy that film tremendously.  I have not seen Ikarie XB-1, I admit, but now will try to get my hands on a non-dubbed, original version...

Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Star Trek The Animated Series: "The Lorelei Signal" (September 29, 1973)

The fourth episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973 - 1974) is "The Lorelei Signal" by Margaret Armen, author of "Gamesters of Triskelion," and "The Paradise Syndrome" on the original series.

In this story, the U.S.S. Enterprise explores the Taurean solar system and hopes to investigate a long-standing mystery.  Specifically, every 27 years, a starship disappears near this section of the galaxy...never to be heard from again.

Soon, the Enterprise falls into the same trap.

The lovely women of planet Taurus II transmit a signal that hypnotizes all the males aboard the Starfleet vessel.  When Kirk, Spock, Bones and a landing party of men beam down, they are immediately drugged by the beautiful, technologically-advanced sirens of this world, and then forced to wear head-bands which cause rapid aging, and which drain their life-forces.  The women of this world thrive on that life force, and need it to survive...

On board the Enterprise, Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) assumes command of the Enterprise and promotes Nurse Chapel (Majel Barrett) to the role of chief medical officer.  Then, Uhura leads a landing party of female security officers to the planet to rescue the helpless males...

"The Lorelei Signal" utilizes as its source material the Greek myth about sirens who call to passing sailors, and then lead them to their doom.  The sirens appear in Homer's The Odyssey, but a variation of these beautiful (but deadly) creatures also appears in German folklore, which accounts for the title of this Star Trek episode.  In Germany, "Lorelei" (or sometimes Loreley) is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine.  It is also the name in folklore of a "feminine water spirit" associated with that rock.

The myth of the siren has been a near constant in science fiction television circles.  Space:1999 (1975 - 1977) -- which shot in 1973 -- featured a great variation called "The Guardian of Piri," in which the Siren was a computer, and its call was heard by all on Alpha, save for Commander Koenig (Martin Landau).

Star Trek featured another, perhaps-less memorable variation of the idea in the 1997 Voyager tale: "Favorite Son," involving Harry Kim (Garrett Wang).

Some folks have complained, vis-a-vis "The Lorelei Signal" that the alien sirens might have just asked for help from Starleet, rather than abduct and drain male passers-by.

Although this is true, it isn't a particularly strong criticism in terms of the Star Trek universe.  Alien races in "Wink of an Eye," "Mark of Gideon," "The Corbomite Maneuver" and many, many other installments might also have just asked for help, rather than act in what might be interpreted in hostile fashion. That's not the point.

The point is that alien races think differently than we do, as human beings.  The arc of every Star Trek is to begin with distrust, hostility and confusion, and end with rapprochement and understanding.  "The Lorelei Signal" conforms well to this outline, and it seems silly to slam it on the basis of a criticism one could apply to probably fifty Star Trek episodes over six TV series.

I've always appreciated this episode for the opportunity it presents regarding Lt. Uhura. As I child, I remember reading that she was fourth-in-command of the Enterprise after Scotty, although I suppose Lt. Sulu could make an equal claim. Still, I would have very much enjoyed seeing Uhura take command in an Original Series episode or three, though it was not to be.  I do find it unfortunate that the only opportunity she gets in the center seat arises because ALL the men are incapacitated.  That's a bit insulting.  Uhura should command because she is a highly-qualified officer, plain and simple.

On the other hand, this Star Trek episode is extremely forward-looking because it portrays female security officers in action.  The original series never hinted at the existence of female security officers, though by the time of The Next Generation, Tasha Yar commanded the Security Division on Enterprise-D.  Still, as late as the 1990s, women in Star Trek were still seen smashing crockery over the head of the bad guy, rather then engaging in fisticuffs ("Q-Who") or phaser play, a fact which makes this episode all the more important.

One other negative observation about this particular installment: the purse strings are showing.

I love Nichelle Nichols and Majel Barrett as much as any Trekker, but they not only voice their regular characters here, but the computer, the female security teams, and the alien sirens.  There's no attempt to disguise these voices (save for in the case of the ship's computer), and so throughout the whole episode, it sounds like only two women are talking.  Maybe one other actress could have been hired to play a role?

Next week: "More Tribbles, More Troubles."