# Worst... Sci-fi...Ever... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049 "2004-12-15T22:40:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/141 "2004-12-17T14:31:18Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > The kicker, though, has to be **Johnny Mnemonic** - any resemblance to William Gibson’s short story was purely coincidental. Ice-T? Dolph Lundgren? HENRY ROLLINS? Boy, Keanu sure can pick 'em. I WANT ROOM SERVICE! Oh, man. What a stinker! I and my college roommate were so completely psyched up about this: we were both huge Gibson fans, loved the story (especially the gladiatorial arena–still my favorite image in all cyberpunk), had looked forward to the movie for over a year. We got out of the theater, our spirits crushed. We tried, hesitantly, to find soemthing to like about the movie–“The monofilament was pretty cool, wasn’t it?”–until finally one of us said, “That kinda sucked.” And then the floodgates opened. And the healing began. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/142 "2004-12-17T15:12:11Z")
Left Hand of Dorkness writes: \> Heh. THere’s probably not much overlap between Asimov fans and Le Guin fans. \> I recall reading a quote by Asimov where he looked forward to the day that the \> New Wave finally crashed itself against the steady shores of Science Fiction and \> was spent. This is taking a quote completely out of context. It was something like 35 years ago that he said this. By the time he died in 1992, the New Wave was long gone, and it’s arguable that it’s not that influencial on science fiction these days. Le Guin was never considered a part of the New Wave. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/143 "2004-12-17T15:14:44Z")
Excuse me. “Influential,” not “influencial,” of course. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/144 "2004-12-17T15:15:35Z")
**Event Horizon** , was a steaming floater. can we get an honorable mention for **MegaForce**? For the record, I love Ursula K. LeGuin. Card, Herbert and enjoy Asimov. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/145 "2004-12-17T15:39:51Z")
Stupidest Scientist in a Sci Fi film ever Has to go to the Roger Corman stinkfest “Terminal Virus.” It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world where a biowarfare agent has caused men and women to poison each other whenever they have sex, leading to their immediate and painful death. The birth rate is down to zero and the movie’s time frame is set at a time when men and women have divided themselves into separate enclaves where the rule is shoot first, ask questions never. A heroic scientist has discovered a cure for the Terminal Virus, but he needs a woman to experiment with. In fact, he needs a man too, because he’s a little cautious about testing it on himself. So, he’s not COMPLETELY stupid. But then later he is. He and some honchos kidnap a woman guard from a woman enclave, and a male raider from a male enclave. They they give them the antidote. Then he explains that he’s given them an antidote and leaves them alone together in a lab full of acids and crowbars and such, chained together by the ankle to let nature take its course. Which is the stupidity. Because the couple has no interest in doing the thing which they know from bitter expeirence of watching a lto of friends ald loved ones die, will kill them immediately. They use the tools to break the chain and then run away. You know, it’s true that brilliant scientists are not always the most socially attuned people on Earth, but I gotta figure anybody that could feed and dress themselves woulda seen that coming. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/146 "2004-12-17T16:44:11Z")
> [@velveeta](#): > > I would forgive my husband for forcing me to relive this crapfest, but he did the same thing with Space 1999. Now I’m mad. Either we’re married to a bigamist or your husband is my husband’s long-lost twin. Scary! ---
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/147 "2004-12-17T16:54:49Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > If we’re including novels, I believe _The Eye of Argon_ beats everything on the table, hands down. This doper speaks the truth. There are transcripts online. It’s fairly short. I urge all of you to read it. Preferably out loud – it’s more jarring that way. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/148 "2004-12-17T17:18:24Z")
I’ve probably seen almost every stinker mentioned so far, but my pick for all-time worst is still Plan Nine From Outer Space. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/149 "2004-12-17T18:32:04Z")
> [@phaishazamkhan](#): > > These aren’t science fiction but I guess they _may_ fall into that category by some stretch of the imagination. The Night We Buried Road Dog. Earth Abides. \*_Earth Abides_ was quite possible the single most depressing book I have ever read… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/150 "2004-12-17T18:41:48Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If Sayles wrote the line “I’m Space Cowboy from the Planet Earth,” that cancels out _Lone Star_. Yes, I can understand why you don’t like it. It requires a sense of humor. > [@](#): > > He is also credited with _Piranha_, try to defend that. Just because he earned a paycheck for banging out a Corman script one weekend doesn’t make it art. I haven’t seen all of Piranha, but what I’ve seen was a lot of fun. It’s known as “parody.” Look it up. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/151 "2004-12-17T19:00:21Z")
> [@Hustle](#): > > Sabrina Lloyd? She’ll be in a new show on CBS next year called Numbers. And she’s [still extremely cute](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/1856/Events/1856/SabrinaLlo_Vespa_840356_400.jpg?path=pgallery&path_key=Lloyd,%20Sabrina%20(I)). It’s Frankie! From “Ed”! I love Frankie! She’s the most adorable person on television, by far. (Okay, maybe the tiny new member of West Wing is also incredibly adorable, but she’s too squeeky.) -Munch, who obviously has a thing for ladies under 5’2". ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/152 "2004-12-17T19:21:11Z")
The foetid dungeheap that was [Space Angel.](http://www.toontracker.com/spaceangel/spaceang.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/153 "2004-12-17T19:26:21Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Yes, I can understand why you don’t like it. It requires a sense of humor. > I haven’t seen all of Piranha, but what I’ve seen was a lot of fun. It’s known as “parody.” Look it up. Look up the word schlock. If you want to Pit me for not having a sense of humor go ahead ( I don’t think you have been paying attention). Don’t be insulting here. Next you will be telling me that Starship Troopers was deep and I just don’t understand. It’s been done before and look what happened. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/154 "2004-12-17T19:28:55Z")
I’m afraid I’m with **Loach** on this one. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/155 "2004-12-17T21:12:38Z")
> [@Shade](#): > > :eek: Novelizations of films that depended mainly on visuals and didn’t do a great job (though I saw it once and it was fun afaicr) are normally the LAST place I look for good novels. Wow. No, really, the **Last Starfighter** novelization (done by the dependable-if-not-exceptional Alan Dean Foster) was a decent read. Not only was the main space battle _far_ longer and complex (as one pitting a lone pilot against an invading armada should be), but it also covered refueling and repairs during said battle, and gave a rationale for the “Death Blossom” that didn’t sound like a cheap _deux ex machina._ And the rest of the novel was pretty good, including well-rounded characterizations for the rest of the cast. (I imagine a lot of those ideas were cut from the script because of budget limitations. A modern remake, on the other hand, could do the necessary eye-candy without breaking a sweat.) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/156 "2004-12-17T21:36:36Z")
Four freaking pages, and nobody’s mentioned “Spock’s Brain”? In fact, a good deal of Star Trek: TOS was Star Trek: POS. What about that “Night of the Gunfighter” or whatever it was called? And _The Dispossessed_ was one of the great works of the 20[sup]th[/sup] century. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/157 "2004-12-17T21:45:15Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > In fact, a good deal of Star Trek: TOS was Star Trek: POS. What about that “Night of the Gunfighter” or whatever it was called? _Shadow of the Gun_? And you’re right, especially when seen from today’s mindset. It was original and trailblazing then, though. Well, except for _Spock’s Brain_. And _In the Blink of an Eye_. And…um…never mind… ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/158 "2004-12-17T21:51:53Z")
The Day After Tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/159 "2004-12-17T21:52:18Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > And _The Dispossessed_ was one of the great works of the 20[sup]th[/sup] century. You’re not just saying that to make my head explode, are you? I think the differences between _The Dispossessed_ and _Starship Troopers_ are pretty interesting. Both of them are, I think, fairly polemic works in which the authors put forward a world they find pretty appealing. But _Starship Troopers_ stops there. Alternatives to this world are contemptuously dismissed; there’s no eloquent defense at all for the virtues of the noble opposition. THat’s part of why Verhoeven had such an easy time satirizing it. _The Dispossessed_ wears its uncertainty on its jacket. Literally: the subtitle is _An Ambiguous Utopia_. And Le Guin, even though she obviously prefers the anarchic society, goes out of her way to show the virtues of the strongly capitalist society. Even more shocking, she shows the pitfalls of the anarchists. The anarchists are so bad that the book’s protagonist, a brilliant scientist, has to flee his home planet in order to get the intellectual freedom he needs to complete his work. So yeah, I agree with you: it’s a fantastic book, in no small part because it doesn’t settle the tension between the competing world-views. Folks that read it simply as a polemic are missing its complexity, I think, and the uncertainty that is its central premise. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049/160 "2004-12-17T22:13:16Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > In fact, a good deal of Star Trek: TOS was Star Trek: POS. I believe it’s usually called “the third season.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-sci-fi-ever/280049.md?page=9)