personally i prefer Farscape one the best sci-fi programs ever, also check out australian sci-fi much better than other sci-fi as you never know whats going to happen e.g Pitch Black unlike most sci-fi where there is always a nicey nicey ending i find that australian sci-fi is dark and unpredictable

julie black

Girls,
I am going to be teaching a course on Science Fiction next term, along with my usual College Writing course. I am going to be showing a lot of movies, and I need some suggestions. For instance, I do plan on using "Metropolis," "2001," and, of course "Plan 9 from Outer Space." Other than Star Wars/Trek, what suggestions can you make?

Mere

One book would be "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula Le Guin. A main plot line is that the residents of the planet at the core of the story are androgynous most of the time, but choose to be male or female based on their partner at the time. Thus everyone on the planet can sire and bear children. I wouldn't recommend it for that alone--it is an important book in the genre.

Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury I'm sure are already on your list. Philip K. Dick, of course. You could read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" and then watch "Blade Runner." Another great one often overlooked: "A Canticle for Liebowitz" by Walter M. Miller. You could contrast that to "The Road," which is not really science fiction but is a post-apocalyptic piece well worth reading.

The original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" continues to stand on its own. The Michael Rennie character is scarier now than he was in 1951. Don't bother with the remake, which is awful.

Hope that helps. I'll keep thinking on it.

Mere

For background reading there is H G Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs as classic stuff. I can't remember the name of the anthology I read back in the 50s but I remember reading a collection of short stories dating back to the 1920s. It was pretty good compared to todays standards.
You should have them draw pictures too.
hugs
Gracie

How about the Matrix may be we are all female powering the machines and transgendered are trying to escape from it to be our real selves a bad piece of programing trying to escape and be the girl with in ?

A Merry Christmas & a Happy new year to all

Julie S xxx

i'm confued meridith- is it movies or books?
how about The Making of the Representative for Planet 8
it seems most prescient at moment

As my post stated, but maybe not all that clear, I need some good movie suggestions. "Day the Earth Stood Still" is on my list. The books are already mandated by the school. The rest is up to me, so short stories, such as those by Philip Dick, I very much welcome.

Any by HG Wells are a must, as well as some of the old black and white ones, 'It came from outer space', 'Them', and 'Invasion of the body snatchers'. Then there is the classic 'Forbidden planet' and for more modern films 'Alien' and 'The Thing' are excellent, while 'Logan's run' and 'Soylent Green' offer good concepts for discussion.

Nikki

"Logan's Run," both the book and the film, are good choices. Again, I am looking at Sci Fi throughout the years, and you all have given me some excellent ideas. Thank you!

Sorry, but after we had the Star Wars exhibit last year, I'm still a little, well..............so not into it................yuck. But, hey, if you like it, enjoy!

Don't take it all too seriously......you'll almost certainly need 'Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy' -at least in part,and how about a touch of Terry Pratchett-'Thief of Time' for example.
Then,on a more serious level- Jules Verne?? Or...Asimov (Robotics,Foundation etc),Brian Alldis,Ray Bradbury,J.G.Ballard......Frank Herbert (Dune???), Kurt Vonnegut....?

Films....hmmmmm.......dare one even mention 'Planet of the Apes'?? .....or 'Invasion of the Killer Tomatoes'???.....or,on another level,extracts from the 'Doctor Who' (BBC) TV series (if available in the US)??

Have Fun

Lynn H.

Wow, I didn't know there were so many other fans here. As to movies, I suggest Serenity, based on the short lived TV series Firefly done by Joss Whedon. For some background on the series and the movie, go here...http://en.wikipedia.org/w[...]series)

Best of luck with the class, Meredith, it sounds so fun. Can I sit in for no credits?

Hugs...Joni Marie

Books:-
Enders Game (and maybe Enders Shadow) It's a completely great way into sci fi for kids, the main protagonist is a high achieving 10 year old, it's an exciting plot with lots of twists and turns and the empathy you feel for the main character makes it a great read, plus it barrels along at a fast pace.

Film:-
Serenity
an example of making a western in outer space, in a richly populated universe, funny, clever, it's based on a television series, but doesn't need any knowledge of the series to make it work.

Gattaca
one of the better serious scifi films of recent years, lots of issues regarding genetics

Brazil
A glorious take on 1984

You've already gotten some good suggestions. I'd kind of be interested in knowing your reading list, because there may be some that fit very closely with what you are reading. (For instance, if you are reading much Asimov, then I, Robot or Bicentennial Man would be good choices, though they'd be *lousy* choices otherwise.)

Blade Runner is a must.

Time travel movies are almost their own complete genre, and you'd have a lot to choose from. I would suggest something like Twelve Monkeys or the original Terminator. Or even Donnie Darko.

For a Kubrick film, instead of 2001, what about A Clockwork Orange? (And Wendy Carlos did the soundtrack. )

Serenity is very good, but hard to understand without having seen Firefly. It might be even better to show the original 2-hour Firefly pilot.

If you do Solaris, try for the original Russian version, which is much better than the American one.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Soylent Green. That would pair nicely with Logan's Run, I think.

Then there are all of those sf/horror survival-type movies. Something like the original Omega Man or 28 Days Later.

That's all I can think of right now.

Meredith,

I have but one title to suggest, but if you're in need of a little levity somewhere in your program, may I suggest the Mel Brooks parody of StarWars?

Spaceballs

When my stepson was about 7 or 8 years old, he must have watched that silly film a hundred times. I was so glad the VHS tape finally wore out! Fifteen years ago, I probably could have recited every scene, word for word.

Good luck with your project.

Nicole

Hi Mere,

There is a really good book titles "Masterpieces" edited by Orson Scott Card. It is a collection of SF from all the major authors and is
somewhat of a journey thru the genre. A brief introduction of the Author , along with a list of their most significant work and then a
representative short story may make a perfect study guide/text book for your class.

BTW: Most of the authors mentioned in this thread are represented.

Hugz,

MichelleLynn

You could start off with "20,000 leages under the sea". One of the first that has ideas that are used today.

Thank you all so much for your excellent tips and suggestions. Some of you reminded me of past works that definitely need to be remembered for their groundbreaking ideas that are commonplace these days.

Thanks!

You might want to consider the historically notable radio broadcast of WAR OF THE WORLDS.

Heinlein's STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND had far more impact on society than his STARSHIP TROOPERS.

Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD.

Orwell's 1984.

Mere
For what it's worth - you probably have this information already but it won't hurt to hear it again. It will be enlightening for some of your students.
What we call Sci-Fi actually came into existence as short stories prior to World War I. At that time, European society was very structured and there was little or no way to move up on the social strata. Short story or pulp writers were able to communicate their revolutionary ideas to the general population without alerting the authorities. By revolution I mean changing society and its restrictions. Mary Shelly's writing about an artificial man was an attempt to teach tolerance and acceptance.

I found this information back in 1953 - just a few years back.
hugs
Gracie

Meredith dont forget John Wyndham

the MIDWICH Cuckoos.........Original english version not the remake (Village of the damned).
The Hidden
The visitors
Butterfly effect
The fly
The Fith element
Time machine
War of the worlds


just a few original Ideas that existed at their relative times (decades) 60's 80's90's 2000's

See if you can find a DVD of the TV miniseries "The Martian Chronicles."

If you show Star Trek, do use either #1 or #4; these are considered among the best.

Luv 'n hugs,

Mina Sakura
"Almost-Angel, Girl Genius, and Ultra-Flirt"

Well, I'm inspired. Heading to the library for some books and checking out NETFLIX for some movies..

Since we're tossing out author name's, are there any Jack Vance fans out there? He's one of my favorites, The Demon Prince's Series, the Lyonesse Series, the Cadwal Chronicles. And Philip Jose Farmer, especially for the Riverworld Series.

Ursula Le Guin has already been mentioned, even though it was supposedly written for juvenile audiences, I love the Earthsea Series, as well as The Left Hand of Darkness, which has been mentioned, for it's resonance with girls like us.

Thanks for starting such a fun and interesting thread, Meredith. Best of luck with your class, keep us posted, okay?

Hugs...Joni Marie

doh, I'm kicking myself for not mentioning this author earlier. It's a sci fi thread, it's on trannyweb, it must include the pulpy* sci fi and fantasy books of Jack L Chalker His books were often humourous, were sometimes good and always involved some form of transformation, probably best known for his well of souls books

I must admit that I hadn't read many of his books for a few years, probably since my teens / early twenties, but I remember really enjoying reading them. I found out that he died a couple of years back, so went back and re-read a couple of the dancing gods books, and it was a definite guilty pleasure*, and one I'm glad I went back to.

I'm not sure how much this helps, but as I said I feel obliged to mention his name where there's any sci fi / tg connection.

*and I really do mean this in an affectionate way.

Julie,

I assume you mean 'The Identity Matrix',by Jack L. Chalker. It's certainly an interesting read...some of us would probably wish that the story might one day come true!

cheers,

Lynn H.

This is so fun. How about Ringworld by Larry Niven? And The Mote in God's Eye by him and Jerry Pournelle? That would make such a great movie. As well as Lucifer's Hammer, by the same pair. Or Footfall, where space elephants invade the Earth. Oh yeah.

Speaking of odd shaped worlds, how about Discworld by Terry Pratchett? So funny.

And I loved Dune. The first book, that is, so amazing and such a fully realized world, ecology and society. The rest of the series seemed like flogging the same one-trick-pony around and around the arena. Just my opinion.

Meredith, dear, once again thanks for such a great thread.

Hugs...Joni Marie