“I’m a huge sci-fi fan and the Star Trek universe is my favorite…”
Star Trek is great science fiction. I have the entire original series on DVD. It was a gift from my daughter. When she was four, we didn’t own a TV set. I used to take her on my bicycle, and we would ride to the local college campus to watch Star Trek reruns in the student lounge. That was over forty years ago. She still remembers my affinity for that series.
I also have “Star Trek, Enterprise” on DVD. I found it at a used bookstore for a great price. I am hoping to find “The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine,” and “Voyager” on DVD. The local video store has them, but they are asking outrageous prices for used copies. Unfortunately, they never appear at yard sales or used book sales.
I have other favorites as well. I enjoy Stargate SG1. My favorite female character, Vala Mal Doran, is from that series.
I also enjoy “Babylon Five” and “Battlestar Galactica.” You might not appreciate Battlestar because of the numerous space battles. My criticism is that the space battle scenes are two-dimensional. They tend to resemble aerial battles, where gravity and altitude are considerations. In space battles, those would not play any role. I also find it amusing that, in Star Trek, the Enterprise banks like an airplane when it turns.
Aside from the battle scenes, Battlestar has an imaginative storyline.
One problem with TV and movie science fiction is that they must use human actors to portray aliens. That limits the degree to which aliens can diverge from humans. For that and other reasons, I find that the best science fiction is in written form — short stories and novels.
The Oankali, the aliens in Octavia Butler’s trilogy, “Lilith’s Brood,” are incredibly imaginative. I have no idea how human actors could portray them in a movie.
My favorite author is Isaac Asimov. I know of only two Asimov novels that involve aliens, “Nemesis” and “The Gods Themselves.” Asimov wrote dozens of novels and short stories. In his life, he wrote more books than I could read in mine.
I have at least two bookcases stuffed with science fiction. I started reading science fiction in fourth grade.
I’m not very familiar with John Wayne films. I don’t pay much attention to the social ramifications of the movies and TV shows I watch or the stories I read. I just watch or read and enjoy.
