Do you enjoy science fiction? If so, what’s your favourite scifi film/series/book? – Physics Zone

Question: Do you enjoy science fiction? If so, what's your favourite scifi film/series/book?
- Keywords:
  book,
  film,
  hobby,
  science fiction,
  spare time
Asked by anon-251974 on 28 Apr 2020.
- anon answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Definitely. Favorite sci-fi film is probably Interstellar (though it’s a heavy one to watch!). Series is either Futurama or The Mandalorian. I don’t tend to read much fiction, but in terms of science stories, there’s a great book called Litmus. It’s a series of short stories based on modern science, but honestly some of them are so crazy, they sound like fiction…
- Sheila Kanani answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  I do like science fiction, but I’m not massively into Star Wars or Star Trek! I think my favourite scifi must be the His Dark Materials trilogy – does that count?
- James Smallcombe answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  I’m a huge sci-fi fan. My house is covered in Star Wars memorabilia, but I’m a big fan of Star Trek as well.
  Right now I’m enjoying the TV series The Expanse which is set after humans colonise the solar system and tries to include concepts of the forces and trajectories involved in space travel.
  For books The Culture series by Iain M. Banks is by far my favourite. I listened to the audiobook of Artemis by Andy Weir recently, he’s very good at including lots of real science considerations into a thrilling narrative.
- Helena Bates answered on 28 Apr 2020: last edited 28 Apr 2020 11:10 am
  
  Its my fav thing to read or watch. Like everyone else I like star trek and star wars (my v first email address was starwarsfreak999 @ msn.com). I also think The Expanse is great, and Battlestar Galactica. Also Westworld! And Firefly!! So many good tv shows. For books my favourite sci fi is a book called Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky, its genius and brilliant and I recommend it to everyone. I also love the Culture series by Iain M Banks, and the Three Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu is fab, and a really interesting intro into Chinese scifi. The Imperial Radch books by Ann Leckie are so so good. For something a little out there, the Rifters trilogy by Peter Watts is bizarrely awesome, and for something a bit more lighthearted A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers is super optimistic and lovely. I could literally talk scifi books all day so if you want any more recommendations hit me up.
- Paula Koelemeijer answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  I do enjoy science fiction, but probably not as much as some others. As a kid I read all the Jules Verne’ books, including Journey to the Centre of the Earth, which is very appropriate now, when I use it to explain some features deeper within the Earth. More recently, I have really enjoyed Interstellar and His Dark Materials.
  
  It is often entertaining to watch science fiction as a scientist, and compare to what we know from science! When I was studying, we were having a monthly “Bad-Science-Film-Night” session, where we watched some of the famous Science Fiction films and talk about what would not be possible or be absurd. We even wrote blog posts about these, with some of my favourites being San Andreas, MegaFault and Earthquake 2.0.
- Arjuna James answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  For sure. Off the top of my head, films would be Contact, Gattaca, 2001: A Space Odyssey & The Matrix Trilogy, and series would have to be Black Mirror.
- Kerrianne Harrington answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  I love sci fi! Books, films, games, comics – they’re all good. I think my favourite sci fi series tend to be the classics. Favourite sci fi film is definitely Ghost in the Shell, the old animated version. I think it holds up any year you might watch it, but it’s fascinating to see how our version of what the future looks like has moved on significantly since then. Favourite series has got to be X-files, I love Scully so much! Even though she’s always wrong in the series, her skepticism and no nonsense attitude is really endearing. Favourite book has I’m going to say controversially is Twenty Thousand Leagues under the sea by Jules Verne, it’s clear he has so much fun with the details and the science of his fiction, and is fantastic at putting everything into context! I promise I do watch modern sci fi too 😛
- Charlie Martin answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Favourite books have got to be Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy!!
- Josh Dorrington answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  I love science fiction! My favourite my favourite series is Star Trek for sure, and my favourite book series is called the Culture by Iain M. Banks. I highly recommend them both!
  
  Also an honourable shout out goes to the small indie film Primer, which is the most realistic representation of how time-travel might work in any film I’ve ever seen!
- John Bridges answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  I like Flatland by Edwin Abbott.
  Written in the 19th Century but incredibly perceptive.
  
  Check it out!
- Mark Mirmelstein answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Yes, I love science fiction! I have many favourites in this genre, but to name a few:
  
  Films: Contact (also a book), 2001: A Space Odyssey (also a book), 2010: Odyssey 2 (also a book), Interstellar, The Martian (also a book), Serenity, The Matrix, Back to the Future, Star Wars episode IV: A New Hope.
  
  Series: Star Trek (especially The Original Series and The Next Generation), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Travellers, Stargate SG1, Firefly.
  
  Books: The City and the Stars (Arthur C. Clarke), Rendezvous with Rama (Arthur C. Clarke), Distress (Greg Egan), Timescape (Gregory Benford), Vacuum Diagrams (Stephen Baxter), Ringworld (Larry Niven), The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin), The Three Body Problem (Cixin Liu).
- Malgorzata Drwila answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Earlier in my life I thought that I wasn’t such a nerd to enjoy science fiction. But as I grew older I realised that it is not always about shooting laser beams or being chased by aliens. I love this kind of sci-fi where scientific advancement triggers new moral challenges for humanity and where universal dilemma still affect the characters even in the very new environment of the far/near future.
  
  Personally I am a huge fan of Stanislaw Lem’s books. He is a master of humour and wit and brings out ideas and thoughts that would never crossed your mind.
  Regarding movies, I loved the 2001: A Space Odyssey. An absolute masterpiece, which will never get old.
  I also really like the Blade Runner and I am currently reading “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”. So far enjoying a lot!
- John Davies answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  I saw 2001 A Space Odyssey when I was about 15 or 14 years old (so in about 1969). It was a birthday treat as Liverpool had one of the first Cinerama (wide screen) theatres in the UK.
  I loved it and have never got tired of seeing it, even though we are now well past 2001 and we don’t have a base on the Moon yet. I also grew up with ‘Thunderbirds’, UFO and Star Trek and of course Dr Who. I would hate chose which one I like most, I love them all.
- Stewart Martin-Haugh answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Favourite SF film: 2001: A Space Odyssey
  TV Series: Travelers (it’s on Netflix)
  Book: Anathem by Neal Stephenson
  
  I’ve always enjoyed science fiction – I don’t mind if the science is right or wrong as long as they keep to the rules they set themselves.
- Susan Cartwright answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Yes, definitely. I’m a book person, not so much film or TV, and I read a LOT, so it’s very hard to pin down a “favourite”: it sort of depends on how I feel at the time. I am very fond of the Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold, and the Culture series by the late lamented Iain M Banks. I’ve just finished “Children of Ruin”, the sequel to “Children of Time” by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which Helena mentioned, and I can recommend both of those. I like Charlie Stross’s Laundry Files, which are more fantasy than science fiction proper but are great fun, and at the more technologically plausible end I like Alastair Reynolds (who used to be a professional astronomer, and it shows) and Greg Egan (a mathematician whose fiction tends to explore the wilder realms of theoretical physics). I’m also happy to second Helena’s recommendation of Ann Leckie. I could go on (and on and on), but that’s probably enough to be going on with!
- anon answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Oh, BIG yes! Although being a space physicist I suffer from “professional scepticism” and can’t enjoy much of it – mainly because the authors break their own rules, or write things that sound plain silly in our age. But on the other hand, I can recommend some really good ones!
  
  Books:
  My all-time favourites are the Strugatsky brothers. These guys have built a whole universe that is shared across a lot of their novels. They are simply amazing and they have mostly aged well – apart from some odd paper slip output from computers on a spaceship 🙂 To add some spice, their novels are a brilliant satire on the Soviet system, which they managed to publish during Soviet!
  
  A close second author is Clifford Simak. For me, he is basically the US counterpart to Strugatskys.
  
  Next, Isaac Asimov, whom you might even have heard of – the 2004 movie I, Robot is based on his books. His work dives into the psychological and ethical dilemmas of robots.
  
  From more recent books, the Mars trilogy – Red Mars, Blue Mars, Green Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson. This is a top-notch sci-fi about Mars colonization, and it also describes challenges of an international society – many of which are already highly relevant today.
  
  Movies and series:
  From the classics, on the absolute, unquestionable top of the list: Cowboy Bebop (anime). It set a standard that is unsurpassed to this day – an instant classic in the very sense of the expression.
  
  Close second, the Firefly series (+Serenity movie). Rich characters and great story. For a series that came out 20+ years ago it still holds its ground in the visuals. I love it to bits, I have rewatched it numerous times, I can geek out about this forever.
  
  Among more modern, The Expanse. Incredibly rich world, just right on the details so they don’t have to bullshit their way around and step on their own tails. For me, this series finally filled the void left by the previous two entries., that’s how good it is.
  
  Very close next, Westworld. This series take on the robots ethics is simply delicious in concept and their storytelling is something else – and of course, ridiculous attention to detail in CGI. They way it sets the mood, the way it hits you with twists – shivers down my spine!
- Anne Green answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  I read lots, but not so much science fiction these days. When I was a teenager I liked Isaac Asimov (in particular the Foundation series) and Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel rat books. I’m not so into watching films/TV but I like the very old and recent Star Wars films, in particular Rogue One.
- Frances Staples answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Absolutely! My favourite film growing up was Contact, which I watched on repeat. Currently I think the TV series The Expanse is really good as the space travel is so believable. I also think the Southern Reach Trilogy are excellent sci-fi books as they depict how unimaginable extra-terrestrial life would really be.
- Greg Wallace answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  TV wise: The expanse and westworld are both brilliant. The hitchikers guide to the galaxy is a must read! I think Interstellar and arrival are my favourite sci-fi films that I’ve watched recently. looking forward to the new Dune movie coming out soon though!
- Bethan Charles answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  I love science fiction, anything Douglas Adams (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency) and I really enjoyed reading The Martian by Andy Weir, because it doesn’t feel like trips to Mars are too far in the future!
- Ry Cutter answered on 28 Apr 2020: last edited 28 Apr 2020 2:30 pm
  
  I’m probably not a good person to ask, because I REALLY don’t like sci-fi.
  
  I think real science is far more interesting and I get a little frustrated when the science doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
  
  Conversely, I really enjoy fantasy and adventure fiction. Like lord of the rings, Harry Potter, Witcher, Elantris, Neverwhere, etc. Personally, I enjoy fiction that tries not to be realistic and explores a world that can’t be explained with what we already know, that’s why I enjoy science so much!
  
  I also really enjoy reading non-fiction science. Two of my favourites are: Bad Science by Ben Goldacre and Feynmans Rainbow by Leonard Mlodinow. The latter is the story of a young academic working his way through his impostor syndrome. I found it very insightful 😀
  
  Great Question,
  
  Ry
  
  *EDIT* – There’s a whole bunch of literary philosophy around what constitutes “Sci-Fi”. The definition I use is Issac Asimov’s – “Hard science fiction are stories that feature authentic scientific knowledge and depend upon it for plot development and plot resolution.”
- Marios Kalomenopoulos answered on 28 Apr 2020:
  
  Definitely yes, but very difficult to choose! I generally like the Star Wars Universe (although I prefer the now off-canon parts more) and Star Trek! A very funny, short series is “Ricky & Morty” 🙂
- Lori-Ann Foley answered on 29 Apr 2020:
  
  I am really into the Expanse series at the moment. I am reading the books, but haven’t seen the TV series yet. I like that they are really interesting and exciting but are very accurate with the science (though they still have a lot of advances that we don’t yet). But it is quite plausible and makes it much more realistic, which I really like.
- Christine Beavers answered on 29 Apr 2020:
  
  I do enjoy SciFi, but maybe not as much as I used to? I enjoy Doctor Who, Star Trek & Star Wars, etc and I really enoyed reading Dune as well as Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. Recently I have been enjoying more fantasy based stories, but I highly recommend the Warcross books by Marie Lu.
- Tana Joseph answered on 29 Apr 2020:
  
  I only recently got into science fiction. My favourite books are the Wayfarer series by Becky Chambers.
  My favourite sci-fi film is Armageddon. This film is one of the most hated by astronomers, but I really like it. It’s just a fun movie and I definitely don’t take the science bits seriously at all.
- Liza Sazonova answered on 30 Apr 2020:
  
  I loved science fiction growing up, but I haven’t read much recently — I watch lots of films though! Foundation by Isaac Azimov and Dune by Frank Herbert already came up a bunch, and I really enjoyed these books. Also, books by two Russian authors — Strugatsky brohers — are all great.
  .
  I really enjoy Star Wars movies, but my favourite movies are actually the latest ones… (episode 8! it’s a controversial opinion haha)
  .
  Can’t wait for Dune to come out in 2020!
  .
  Also, I REALLY like Interstellar… it’s based on real science (for most of the time), and the science advisor for that movie was Kip Thorne, who then won the Nobel Prize. It’s refreshing to watch a sci-fi film based on real physics!

Comments

anon-251974 commented on 28 Apr 2020:

Thanks everyone! Out of all of these I’ve only read Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and watched some Star Wars, so these recommendations are super helpful!

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- Rihab commented on 29 Apr 2020:
  
  Wonderful! I wanted to answer too but it seems everyone here covered pretty much everything!
  
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