Top Ten moments in sci-fi...

[PillowRock]

I haven't read Harlan's version either.

Remember when SciFi (US) first got the rights to ST:TOS and they made it an event by giving them a 90 minute time slot, so that they could fit in the current standard amount of commercials and still show the entire original episode, and filled in the rest of the time with new interview footage with the cast and crew (which was shown at the beginning and end of the commercial breaks)? (I actually thought that was one of the cooler programming ideas that Skiffy has had.)

Well, for that episode they had a bunch of footage of Harlan talking about that stuff. It was kinda neat, because the people editing that together for the SciFi airings were far enough removed from the original production company that would leave in comments about how he thought GR had ruined his story. Anyway, HE said that it was (in *his* opinion, obviously) much more "poignant" (I'm pretty sure that was his word.) to have Kirk literally willing to sacrifice the world for love.

I've never been convinced of that, and you point out some very valid points, but I can see how one *might* make that argument IF (and this is an important condition) you are speaking only about the single episode as a stand-alone. When it is part of an ongoing series, the conditions change. At that point you would also be setting a precedent that lead in your heroic action adventure series (remembering that this was *very often* a morality play during the Cold War) would be willing to subjugate the "greater good" of many billions to his personal desires. I just don't think that was a precedent that they would ever want to set in their show.

 

[Recoil]

For sure. I never heard about the Harlan Ellison version either, but its way to normal. Spock being the logical one and doing the correct thing. Gee that never happens...

But having Kirk do it was MUCH MUCH better, and the episode would not have been nearly as wonderful if not for that fact. GG Roddenberry!

 

[phoenixrising]

I think it works much better with Kirk stopping McCoy. Gives his character a little bit more depth than 'spaceship captain screws alien bimbo of the week.'

And Spock's 'He knows, Doctor' just caps it.

 

[hypatia]

I have liked some of what I've read of Harlan's. But I have heard too many stories not to be aware that he's a bit... well... pushy. Especially about his work.

I agree the scene, as rewritten, actually works better: on a deeper level and as a real gut-wrenching moment.

 

[GKarsEye]

Gotta love geeky message boards- ya screw about Trek, and ya sure hear it!

Interesting about Ellison, and I'm not surprised. I started reading some of his short stories recently and he tends to focus on the "human" side of things. I'm beginning to see him as the opposite of Clark and Asimov, as their imaginitive strength lies in the science and technology side of things (moon exploration, laws of robotics), while Ellison appears not to be a techno-junky but interested in exploring emotion, using sci-fi situations to do it. In some of the stories, there is no explanation at all for the weird situations the characters find themselves in- it doesn't matter.

It's no wonder he was involved with Babylon 5 (which gives me an idea for another thread in the B5 forum...)

Given this, it's no surprise that he was interested in focusing on Kirk and his feelings for Edith, making the ep about love, not history.

 

[KoshN]

IMHO, it's much more tragic that Kirk actually has to kill Keeler through his interference with McCoy. Here Kirk is destroying her to save everything. It's a hard decision, but this is James T. Kirk we're talking about. Then McCoy pushes in the knife with his horrified "Do you realize what you've done?"

Agreed.

It also makes more sense storywise since it was McCoy who DID save her and alter the timeline in the first place (at least in the tv version)

Followed by Spock's haunting "He knows, Doctor. He knows." I have to agree that the Roddenberry modified way is much better than Harlan's original.

 

[B5_Obsessed]

I gotta admit, though. This post is going to make me look for Harlan's version. I've been interested in it since it was released, but I never went out and got it. If I can find it, I'll read it. And in the words of Scotty, "I'll let ye know".

 

[Demon]

A few others that I would consider:

I'm trying to think of a moment in Blade Runner as well, but its difficult since I havent seen it in some time.

The scene between Rutger Hauer (Roy Batty) and Harrison Ford (Rick Deckard) as Roy Batty dies.

Absolutely! Roy Batty's final speech is one of th ebst moments in Sci Fi movies:

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die

Wonderful!

And I also agree on Silent Running. Great movie

 

[Jade Jaguar]

Yes, Blatty's speech is high on my list, arguably first. There are so many B5 moments, I wouldn't know where to start!
In Silent Running, when Bruce Dern decides what he must do...
In Dark Star, teaching the bomb philosophy...
In the original Frankenstein, bringing the monster to life...
In the original King Kong, the scene where King Kong first appears...

 

[KoshN]

A few others that I would consider:

I'm trying to think of a moment in Blade Runner as well, but its difficult since I havent seen it in some time.

The scene between Rutger Hauer (Roy Batty) and Harrison Ford (Rick Deckard) as Roy Batty dies.

Absolutely! Roy Batty's final speech is one of th ebst moments in Sci Fi movies:

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die

Wonderful!

...and also what Deckard says about Batty (in voice-over) after Batty dies, about Batty valuing life at the end, all life, even if it wasn't his own (i.e. Batty's).

Thanks for the quote. I could have sworn I had Blade Runner on DVD or LD, but I must have been remembering having it on VHS or Beta, and couldn't find the tape to transcribe the quotes.

 

[KoshFan]

Okay, now I have to see Blade Runner, too. Too many movies to watch...

 

[Demon]

...and also what Deckard says about Batty (in voice-over) after Batty dies, about Batty valuing life at the end, all life, even if it wasn't his own (i.e. Batty's).

This one?

I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life, anybody's life, my life. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die.

 

[KoshN]

...and also what Deckard says about Batty (in voice-over) after Batty dies, about Batty valuing life at the end, all life, even if it wasn't his own (i.e. Batty's).

This one?

I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life, anybody's life, my life. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die.

That's the one. Thank you. Makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up just reading those quotes. Great stuff!

 

[Capt. Neville]

Damn, been a while since I've seen the theatrical release. Although I *still* prefer the director's cut.

"Time to die."

*dies*

No voice over. No nothing. Just the images and music and your thoughts.



*shrugs* To each their own.

--mcn

 

[phoenixrising]

And the director's cut is pretty much the only one out there anymore. You might be able to find a copy of the original out there, but finding it on DVD would be tough.

I like the director's cut much better, also.

 

[Demon]

Being perverse, I liked the voiceover!

 

[Capt. Neville]

Having seen the theatrical release first, then the director's cut, I greatly prefer the director's cut, but I've always wondered if I would really get all the nuances if I hadn't heard the voiceovers first.

Although my wife saw it the first time without voiceovers and followed it without a problem, so at least it's possible

I dunno, I generally prefer movies/shows/stories that treat the audience as intelligent. One of B5's great strong points, IMHO.

See? I tied it into B5! Yay for me!



--mcn

 

[KoshN]

Being perverse, I liked the voiceover!

Also, Harrison Ford delivered them very well. I don't know, there's just something about his voice, and that situation. Great stuff.

Besides, in this case Demon, you and I aren't perverse, the other two are. They're reacting in a contrary fashion. You're just perverse when it comes to PW. :devil:

 

[Glacophane]

Does the first time Dark Helmet uses the Schwartz count as a great moment in sci fi? Or perhaps the chomping claws that castrate men in Ice Pirates?

 

[darth_librarian]

Does the first time Dark Helmet uses the Schwartz count as a great moment in sci fi? Or perhaps the chomping claws that castrate men in Ice Pirates?

Ice Pirates???

Theres a movie i'd forgotten. until now.