Whether they’re male or female, old or young, they’ve illuminated some classic movies. Here’s our top 50 list of sci-fi heroes and heroines…
On the face of it, compiling a list of truly great sci-fi protagonists should be easy. Pick a load of familiar names from a hat, write some breathlessly adoring drivel beneath them, and head off to the pub to reward a job well done.
Except it was never going to be as simple as that – and compiling lists seldom is. For every character making an appearance in the list below, there were at least two other possible candidates who didn't quite make the cut. Some sci-fi heroes were removed, then quickly reinstated. The order was jiggled around, then reordered again.
At one point, your humble writer realised there were more than 50 entries, and then had the unenviable task of hunting back through to decide which poor soul to eliminate.
On the face of it, compiling a list of truly great sci-fi protagonists should be easy. Pick a load of familiar names from a hat, write some breathlessly adoring drivel beneath them, and head off to the pub to reward a job well done.
Except it was never going to be as simple as that – and compiling lists seldom is. For every character making an appearance in the list below, there were at least two other possible candidates who didn't quite make the cut. Some sci-fi heroes were removed, then quickly reinstated. The order was jiggled around, then reordered again.
At one point, your humble writer realised there were more than 50 entries, and then had the unenviable task of hunting back through to decide which poor soul to eliminate.
- 4/19/2012
- Den of Geek
I’m sure by now most of you have already read or heard the fascinating news from the BBC. Apparently a very, very early draft version of Doctor Who has surfaced. How early? 1956, making it a full seven years before the series actually aired.
From what it sounds like, this idea never really made it past the concept stage. They never did any filming or casting, though they had some people in mind, and never wrote any stories, but they did have some outlines. The series was to go into production in 1957, in an effort to capitalize on the success of The Quatermass Experiment. BBC budget cutbacks early that year prevented this from happening, which was for the best, as you’ll see. The BBC article is quite long, so I’ll summarize it for you tl;dr people.
The series appears to have been the creation two low-level BBC...
From what it sounds like, this idea never really made it past the concept stage. They never did any filming or casting, though they had some people in mind, and never wrote any stories, but they did have some outlines. The series was to go into production in 1957, in an effort to capitalize on the success of The Quatermass Experiment. BBC budget cutbacks early that year prevented this from happening, which was for the best, as you’ll see. The BBC article is quite long, so I’ll summarize it for you tl;dr people.
The series appears to have been the creation two low-level BBC...
- 4/1/2012
- by Chris Swanson
- Obsessed with Film
A classic of British sci-fi makes its Blu-ray debut today. Here’s exactly why you should settle down to watch Quatermass And The Pit…
There are some stories that, despite the ravages of time, continue to resonate down the decades. Quatermass And The Pit is one such example, and perhaps the finest British sci-fi movie ever made.
Already a hit television series in the 1950s, a time when the adventures of Professor Bernard Quatermass were enormously popular, Quatermass And The Pit’s script spent several years in limbo. Other stories featuring the professor had been adapted for the big screen before (these were 1955’s The Quatermass Xperiment, released in the Us as The Creeping Unknown, and Quatermass 2, retitled Enemy From Space), but a lack of interest from American financiers meant that Nigel Kneale’s Pit script sat around unfilmed for six years.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the wait was worth it.
There are some stories that, despite the ravages of time, continue to resonate down the decades. Quatermass And The Pit is one such example, and perhaps the finest British sci-fi movie ever made.
Already a hit television series in the 1950s, a time when the adventures of Professor Bernard Quatermass were enormously popular, Quatermass And The Pit’s script spent several years in limbo. Other stories featuring the professor had been adapted for the big screen before (these were 1955’s The Quatermass Xperiment, released in the Us as The Creeping Unknown, and Quatermass 2, retitled Enemy From Space), but a lack of interest from American financiers meant that Nigel Kneale’s Pit script sat around unfilmed for six years.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the wait was worth it.
- 10/9/2011
- Den of Geek
Beginning with a live TV broadcast in 1953, the Quatermass specials and movies were a high point in British sci-fi. Mark takes a look back…
The British television landscape was a very different place in 1953. ITV had yet to start broadcasting, and a second channel by the BBC was still more than ten years away. Also, although television was already a very popular medium for the citizens of the Unites States, the UK populace in its more austere post-war period was slower to embrace the expense of a television set, when a perfectly serviceable wireless set would meet their entertainment needs.
All that, of course, changed with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June of 1953. Although still very much an extravagance, more and more people justified the cost of a television as it was their personal invite to the historical event, and the total viewing public almost doubled within a twelve month period.
The British television landscape was a very different place in 1953. ITV had yet to start broadcasting, and a second channel by the BBC was still more than ten years away. Also, although television was already a very popular medium for the citizens of the Unites States, the UK populace in its more austere post-war period was slower to embrace the expense of a television set, when a perfectly serviceable wireless set would meet their entertainment needs.
All that, of course, changed with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June of 1953. Although still very much an extravagance, more and more people justified the cost of a television as it was their personal invite to the historical event, and the total viewing public almost doubled within a twelve month period.
- 7/27/2011
- Den of Geek
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