I ran across a post on another site that had listed the top 75 ships (most of which made no sense and seemingly in no particular semblance of order). I figure since we have so much other things Sci-Fi to talk about that we needed a break to post our own.
1. U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701) The Original Enterprise simply has to be in this spot in my mind because of everything it begat afterwards. My guess is it would be hard to find any person with access to a television that would see a shot and not identify it with Star Trek. It is likely the most recognizable spaceship in sci-fi history. I give the original Enterprise the nod over the refit and newer versions simply because it WAS the original and what followed were just variations.
2. Imperial Star Destroyer (Star Wars) This is another of the 'instantly recognizable' ships and its debut in the opening of the first movie definitely was an attention grabber. The ship combines simplicity of design with enough surface detail to make it seem believable and formidable. This ship had a presence that few other craft can match.
3. Discovery (2001 Space Odyssey) The Discovery combined the thinking of actual requirements for a long term space mission logistically with that just beyond current technology look to provide an impressive vessel that seemingly could still be viable today.
4. Space Cruiser C-57D (Forbidden Planet) Yes, it is a 'UFO Flying Saucer' but it had elements that were fantastic for the day and in a bit of irony, it was Earthlings crewing the flying saucer. IMHO, this ship had more of a realistic feel than any other vessel up to its time. Most others were 'Buck Rogers' style winged rockets. Aside from the movie being a forerunner of Trek, the first appearance of 'Robby the Robot' made the movie a classic of Science Fiction.
5. Starfury Mk. 1 (Babylon 5) The Starfury embodied the concept of a highly maneuverable short range interceptor. With the placement of the weapons and reaction thrusters, the Starfury would be an incredible dogfighter. I can well imagine a future near-earth interceptor having much the same layout and appearance.
6. Incom T-65 (X-wing - Star Wars) The mainstay of the Rebel forces small craft the X-wing had readily evident firepower and Lucasfilm did a good job contrasting the makeshift maintenance they received with the pristine Imperial craft. The X-wing seemed like a modern day fighter in space.
7. Klingon Bird of Prey (Star Trek) This ship recalled the design of the D-7 battlecruiser from the original series and carried it through many iterations in the movies and different series. Size questions aside, this craft has become even more iconic to the Klingons than the D-7/K'tinga predecessors.
8. Eagle Transporter (Space: 1999) Another vessel in the 'functionally ugly' department. The ship seems quite possible as an outer space Huey doing utility work on the moon.
9. T.A.R.D.I.S. (Doctor Who) Perhaps the most inexpensive/innovative spaceship in TV history. The Doctor has changed many times but its still the "Blue Box" that has endeared itself to viewers on both sides of the ocean.
10. Galactica (The Original Battlestar Galactica) The kit-bashers nightmare. The Galactica was an interesting design that kind of got lost in the kiddie show that it became.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
I reckon 11 could be The Destiny from Stargate Universe. Wish we could have seen more of that ship. It was quite 'epic'.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
I love the X-Wing as an iconic part of my sci-fi laden chldhood but McQuarrie made it to be a flying cock and balls.
How this escapes most people is beyond me.
Posted by WizArtist II (Member # 1425) on :
Wouldn't that be The Lexx? Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Subtle.
As to the X-Wing, there's an old Kenner SW toy catalog (little booklets that came in their boxed SW toys) that has a boy holding his X-Wing toy right at crotch level....you really see it then- the nose of the ship just makes it crystal clear. Hell, on the toy, there's a red glowing LED where the opening woud be.
Posted by The Ginger Beacon (Member # 1585) on :
Jumping onto the bandwagon to late (as I often do), I have to say I like the list that you’ve come up Wiz. I might swap out one or two of those ideas personally, but your list is certainly one of the better ones on the theme I’ve seen.
Personally when I saw the list, I found myself thinking about several ships in Sci-fi that either confused, intrigued or annoyed me. So, in no particular order, or indeed in a list, these are:
One thing that I’ve always liked is ships that take a cue from nature in sci-fi. These broadly fall into two types – the designed ones and the organic-y ones. From the first camp are things like Klytus’ ship from the 1980 Flash Gordon film (the one with Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed and Queen singing). As a spaceship it sucked, as far as I recall possibly not even being airtight around the ray gun turret. However I always liked the design, which had a distinctly waspish look to it. I’ve always liked spaceships with an insect-y feel to them, like this and Lexx . One other designed-organic ship I love is the Trimaxian Drone Ship (Max) from Flight of the Navigator. It’s a bit cheesy and it’s a fmily film, but I do like the morphing liquid metal design. It also gets bonus cool points for looking a bit like the Defiant when it’s in it’s really fast mode.
Natural organic ships are often far more imaginative, and often leave me with no idea of how they are supposed to work (I suppose the designers probably don’t worry about it in most cases). Obvious examples are the Whale Probe from The Voyage Home (which of course looked like it was made from if not by whales), Klatau’s Green Marble from the 2008 version of The Day the Earth Stood Still (which looked cool but highlighted the problem of the film – style over plot) and my favourite: The Space Jockey’s Ship from Alien. It was interesting as we only saw it briefly and crashed. It looked like it was a pupae or made from wasps nests or something. And it was mysterious. Prometheus may ruin the mystery this summer, but I’m still going to see it.
Other ships that I like are the ones that look like they might be something we can make if not now, soon. However, CGI has often ruined this these days, and there are very few convincing modern ones.
The Freedom and Independence from Ben Assfleck and Bruce Willis’ Armagedon annoy me - firstly because the designs are lazy, but mostly because of the names. Moonraker and Drax’s Space Ark from that Bond film are also lazy in the first case and incomprehensible in the second. They demonstrate a huge amount of ignorance on part of the writers but are redeemed by the re-entry gag. However, I really like the Leonev from 2010. The film might be a bit crap, but the ship was brilliant because everything was there for a reason based in actual science or hard sci-fi.
I also liked Red Dwarf ,mostly for the opening credits in season 1 and 2. For those that don’t know, it starts with our hero, Dave Lister, paining the outside of the ship, zooming out to give an incredible sense of scale and insignificance. It’s also a kit bashers nightmare and appears to have collided with an asteroid (although they might be mining it, I can’t remember if they ever said).
From my childhood, I liked Thunderbird 3 (the red rocket) and International Rescue’s eye in the sky Thunderbird 5 (the big space station), but it has dated, unlike the slightly older TARDIS. The inside has been refreshed every few years since 1963, but I always like the oldest sets (Hartnell to Pertwee I suppose). The thing I like about the TARDIS is that despite it being the iconic image of the show, almost nothing happens in it. As a side note, I can never forgive Jonathon Frakes, Bill Paxton and Ben Kingsley for ruining Thunderbirds.
Finally, I’ve always liked silly ships as well. The “You Lucky Bastard” ship from The Life of Brian. Why it was there, I don’t know, but it made me giggle. I loved the alien hand puppets and the cluttered interior. The new Heart of Gold (from the film version with Bilbo Baggins and Mos Def) I liked too. Nothing like it should have been (from the books description)– a comment which could apply to most of that film IMHO – the idea of making it look like a tea cup and putting the mural around It explaining how the Infinite Improbability Drive was developed was a good one. And then it turned into Douglas Addams at the end. That was a nice touch. Still, disappointing film. But the most silly of all: Castle Transsexual from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Posted by shikaru808 (Member # 2080) on :
I have never understood the love for the Whale Probe, quite easily the laziest design in Star Trek and yet I hear about how so many people enjoy it. Then again, I am a fan of the Sovereign-class so to some of you my opinion may be moot.
Posted by WizArtist II (Member # 1425) on :
I actually like the Sovereign myself. As for the whale probe, yeah, let's just cut a section of pipe and hang a glowing soccer ball beneath it.
Then again I actually despised the Narada from the A-Trek movie. Nero described it as a 'simple mining ship' but nothing really made sense about it.
Posted by The Ginger Beacon (Member # 1585) on :
Yes, good one - the Narada sucked. Even if the Nero comic is 'what really happened' and the Nerada is a sort of Romulan-borgified brid, it makes no sense.
And, for clarity, I never said I liked the Whale Probe - other than the whale aesthetic. What bugs me is the simplicity of the design and lack of any obvious explenation for the lack of engine holes or the football.
It was an obvious example of building with junk lying around. As I hinted, I choose to think it was made with wales, not by intergalatic cetacian people.
Posted by WizArtist II (Member # 1425) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Ginger Beacon: Yes, good one - the Narada sucked. Even if the Nero comic is 'what really happened' and the Nerada is a sort of Romulan-borgified brid, it makes no sense.
Hmmm....I never bothered to pick up the comics so was unaware of it supposedly being a Rommie/Borg Hybrid. But, as you said, even then nothing about it still makes any sense.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Nothing says a movie sucks like it needing an entire comic-book miniseries to fill in the gaping plot holes- if translated to film, that would have aesily been another two hour movie.
Yet people eat that shit up.
As to strange -but cool- designs, I'd say the ship from Lfeforce (with Patrick Stewart!) was pretty cool. A long slender spear of creepiness that opens on one end like an umbrella to gather up all that juicy life energy. It having been hidden in the tail of Hailey's Comet was a nice touch as well.
And the movie sports not only one of the largest and greatest model sets of all time, but some nice boobies! (No not Patrick Stewarts)
