Top Ten… Fictional Spaceships!
I love sci fi. You must know that by now. So with that in mind, let’s ch-ch-ch-check out the top ten spaceships in sci fi history. Onward!
10. EARTH DEFENSE DIRECTORATE STARFIGHTER from BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY
An obvious design influence on the Snowspeeders from The Empire Strikes Back (hey, it’s only fair after all the “borrowing” Glen Larson did from George Lucas) and one of those ships that looks like it could really do what it does on screen, the ship known as the Thunder Fighter was the vehicle of choice of Buck Rogers and kickstarts our top ten.
9. TIE INTERCEPTOR from STAR WARS EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI
The fastest of the Empire’s TIE (that’s Twin Ion Engine) fighters, the Interceptor is one of those ships that is fast and looks it. More streamlined than the standard TIE and the TIE Bomber, the Interceptor has quite the reputation around the universe. As Kyle Ktarn once said, “when you see a squad of those maniacs flying your way, you’d better hope your hyperdrive is operational.”
8. DRACONIAN MARAUDER from BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY
OK, OK, so the oversised cockpit is a little bit silly, but goddamn the Draconian Marauder is an evil, eeeevil looking vehicle. All pointy bits and unnessecary angles, the Marauder even comes complete with skull decals on the wings. Yeah, skull decals. That, my friends, is a ship that’s badass and knows it. Sadly, the only decent picture I could find is of a model of the ship, but you get the idea.
7. UNITED PLANETS CRUSIER C-57D from FORBIDDEN PLANET
When I started planning this list, I told myself I was gonna limit the amount of classic “flying saucer” style craft, and the final choice was between the C-57D, Klaatu’s ship from The Day The Earth Stood Still and the ships from Earth vs. The Flying Saucers. The C-57D won out in the end for one reason: the landing sequence. A materpeice of fifties special effects and the thing that nudges the C-57D out of stereotypical flying saucer territory and into the iconic.
6. KLINGON BIRD OF PREY from STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK
There’s something undeniably theatening and malevolent about the design of the Bird of Prey that makes it the perfect “bad guy” spaceship. When you see one of these suckers off the starboard bow, you just KNOW nothing good’s gonna come of it. When you factor in the facts that a. these buggers come with a cloaking device as standard, and b. they’re usually filled with bloodthirsty Klingons, the Bird of Prey is a formidable ship, indeed.
5.DR. ZARKOV’S ROCKET from FLASH GORDON
I’m not sure if Zarkov’s ship had a name, but it did look awesome. Looking exactly like what it was – a ship someone had cobbled together from junk lying around – the rocket that took Flash Gordon to the planet Mongo is one of those accidental masterpeices that happened so often at Universal in the thirties.
4. X-WING STARFIGHTER from STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE
The very mention of the word “X-Wing” makes me smile and fills me with the same glee that I felt watching the Battle of Yavin for the first time as a 12 year old boy. Everything about the X-Wing is great from the iconic S-Foils to the artoo unit in the back, to the photon torpedoes to the great Atari 2600 targeting computer. Even the uniforms were awesome – gotta love an orange jumpsuit and a refitted Veitnam era helmet. Now cut the chatter and report in!
3. COLONIAL VIPER – TIE – CYLON RAIDER from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
The problem with writing top ten lists is sometimes ten spots just isn’t enough to include all the stuff you want to. Sacrifices have to be made. In an ideal word, the Colonial Viper, the Cylon Raider, and the Galactica herself would’ve all made the list, but like I said, sacrifices have to be made. Anyway, the Viper is such a great ship design because it looks like it can do all the stuff Starbuck and Apollo make them do onscreen. Lacking the wings/S-Foils of an X-Wing (the most obvious influence on the design), the Viper looks much more compact and much more fast than the ship that influenced it – in fact, the Viper looks like it could’ve been ideal for taking down the Death Star. The Raider is a different kettle of fish altogether. Unlike the reboot BSG version of the Cylon ship, the original Raiders have a predatory look to them that harkens back to the ominious flying saucers of classic sci-fi. The classic shot of the Raiders circling and swooping down into battle (used in almost every BSG episode in which the Cylons were featured) is one of the best moments of sci fi TV and stands up against anything we’ve been shown since.
2. THE USS ENTERPRISE NCC 1701 from STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES
Iconic is the only word. Somehow both streamlined and yet endearlingly clunky, the United Star Ship Enterprise is a classic of science fiction ship design. The classic saucer, hull and nacelle design has influenced the look of every Federation starship since. The ship loses points for its apparent lack of manuverability, but for the recognition and iconic factor make it a classic.
1. THE MILLENIUM FALCON from STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE
“She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts.” Were truer words ever spoken? The vehicle of choice of the cooler cat ever to sport a waistcoat and his hirstute companion, the Millenium Falcon wasn’t up to much when Han Solo won her “fair and square” from Lando Calrissian, but the cocky Corillian made a few modifications and now she’s the “fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.” The quirky shape of the ship and overall “junk” look of the design make the Falcon the exact opposite of the Colonial Viper or TIE Interceptor. Those ships are fast and manuverable and look it. The Falcon looks like a clunky peice of shit, and yet could fly rings round anything.
honorable mentions (in no particular order):
1. TIE Fighter (STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE)
2. The USS Reliant (STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN)
3. The Battlestar Galactica (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA)
4. The Death Star (STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE)
5. The Flying Saucers (EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS)
6. Klaatu’s ship (THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL)
7. The alien derelict (ALIEN)
8. The T.A.R.D.I.S. (DR. WHO)
9. The NSEA Protector (GALAXY QUEST)
10. Naboo Starfighter (STAR WARS EPISDOE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE)
I apologise for the lack of any good pictures. Finding decent pics of these ships on Google images was surprisingly hard. Anyway, as always, leave me a comment if you have anything to say. End transmission.
Comment from G.W.North
Time April 6, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Great synopsis of Sci Fi ships! The original NCC-1701 will always have a place in my heart – she is a true classic; and I was there for her first mission, for crying out loud. But the one I want to own and fly is the Millenium Falcon. Hands down the finest ship ever contrived by Sci Fi movie production artists.