With our generation soon to be rife with new interpretations of classic sci-fi staples (think "The Force Awakens"), let’s take a look back at the most important star-based sci-fi stepping stones that have gotten us to where we are now.
1. "Star Trek: The Original Series"
The crew that started it all. A trendsetter from the '60s, "The Original Series" broke through social barriers and provided for future generations an origin to form excellent space exploration content. From Gene Roddenberry's vision, 13 movies and six series for TV were produced to help keep the dream of the final frontier alive.
2. "Battlestar Galactica"
A groundbreaking program, "Battlestar Galactica," which aired in the 1970s, created a program that tackled complex political and social issues happening globally in the real world while still maintaining a new and fresh take on space and how we came to be.
3. "Star Trek: The Next Generation"
Much like its predecessor, "TNG" helped carve out a new type of sci-fi genre. Where "TOS" was breaking new ground on what it meant to be a space exploration television show, "TNG" helped set the precedent of dealing with difficult contemporary issues through their adventures. Picard’s pontification helped create an entire generation of fans worried about the consequences as much as the results.
4. "Star Wars" — the holy trilogy
The underdog, the original, the juxtaposition of shitty directing and excellent world building, "A New Hope," "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" all come together to create a titan of the sci-fi universe. One of the first franchises to actively engage in toy marketing and to have controversies about likeness rights, "Star Wars" expanded the reach of sci-fi and helped to create a generation of scruffy looking, nerf-herding space cowboys.
5. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager"
Perhaps underrated siblings to "TNG," "DS9" and "Voyager" each put minorities into command roles and handle issues of race and political sovereignty. Learning about how to accept differences and finding out what makes us human.
6. "Star Wars" — the prequels
These three films helped establish a new pattern of prequel films and origin stories that has come to be pervasive in Hollywood. They also taught us what to avoid in the plot. Jar Jar. That is all.
