When I was a kid I always enjoyed watching Dr Who, from Tom Baker (1979) to Sylvester McCoy (1989) and the original Star Trek. They were my absolute favourites. However, others I also enjoyed included Buck Rodger's in the 25th Century, Flash Gordon, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, the Incredible Hulk tv series, the list is very long and full of fond memories. So as a child, what was their appeal to me? Well, now I'm 43 I've had plenty of time to think about it.
When I was much younger these programs and films gave me that sense of wonder that stretched further than I'd ever thought before. The idea that not only could you see the stars in the night sky, but the idea that you could also visit them and have weird and wonderful adventures among them just blew my tiny mind. I loved watching Dr Who and how mad and creepy the stories were, and ritually, after watching repeats of Star Trek around my best friend's house when I was about 7, we'd run outside and happily play Star Trek in his garden for hours. I'd always play the part of Spock on account I was the tallest, while my best friend played an excellent Captain Kirk.
When I was a little older I'd watch old films like the sixties film version of the Time Machine, written originally by H G Wells. I've always enjoyed time travel stories (Back to the Future, the Terminator) and I found that in the Time Machine it was possible to not only go forwards in time, but go to the near end of all human history where mankind had evolved into two distinctive species, the harmless Eloi and the cannibalistic subterranean Morlocks. Planet of the Apes was another time travel classic I enjoyed that coincidentally includes the evolution of another species alongside man.
Another classic story that I love, and most of all in musical form, courtesy of Jeff Wayne's, is The War of the Worlds, again by H G Wells. The spooky notion that we are inferior to another species and not only that, but the Martians successfully defeat us. This was inspired by Wells' apparent disapproval imperialism...
With War of the Worlds, I love just how well thought out the story was and that, spoiler alert 🚨, it was thanks to microscopic everyday germs that brought our would be Martian oppressors down. It blew my mind when I first heard this ending with just how clever it was.
So to me, for as long as I can remember, sci-fi has been about the possibilities, the adventure, exploration and danger outside the norms of our daily reality. Sci-fi messes with it and forces us to question what's possible.
What matters to me is, is the story written well and are the characters developed enough to make me care. Then it doesn't matter to me too much about set design or special effects. To this day I still enjoy watching the original Star Trek series with my kids because the stories are fun and project positive moral reasoning. Perfect for teaching kids right and wrong in a fun way at an early age.
As for a simple premise in sci-fi , I'll never mind that as long as it's done well. Just look at the Terminator and Star Wars A New Hope. In fact I get tired of deliberately overly complicated plots with too many sub plots or flashbacks and become deeply suspicious that it's all padding and not that complicated at all. I find Inception and Tenet, both Christopher Nolan movies too complicated to be enjoyable. There I've said it! 😆
Nowadays, being older, I enjoy watching all genres of sci-fi and love them equally as much as horror. So combining the two is a great way to get me excited 😂
For example, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a great film from 1978. A little dated now I grant you, but I love the combination of sci-fi, with aliens harmlessly floating down to Earth and the horror of them developing near flawless clones that get you while you sleep. Event Horizon is another film that combines the two, with a spaceship (the Event Horizon) that travels somewhere akin to Hell and then comes back. Then there's The Prince of Darkness by John Carpenter. Again this brings a talented team of scientists into the illogical world of demons in a fun way. Well, for me it's fun 🤩 Also check out The Thing.
The lure of Sci-fi is strong with me, as is the lure of horror. I love how the people that make this stuff play with the ideas of the unknown and explore what's possible. Maybe these fanciful ideas will never be, or should never be in some cases. But we live in an age now where we can explore it all without boring old reality getting in the way. We can read about it, watch it and create art from it - and that to me will always be the lure.
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