You would expect people who work at Space Systems Command to have some strong opinions about science fiction movies.
After all, these are the folks who grew up dreaming of distant star systems and faster-than-light travel -- the people who either are (or work with)
actual rocket scientists. SSC sci-fi fans know their astrophysics and orbital mechanics and will happily point out every scientific flaw in a cult favorite film – and just as happily wax rhapsodic about how much they still love it. The 1958 version, mind you, not the ridiculous 1993 remake. And don’t even get them started on the 1963 Czechoslovakian version.
In response to a recent, decidedly non-scientific but oh so-science-fiction-focused query, SSC Guardians, Airmen, government civilians and contractors did not disappoint. They offered up their favorite flicks, ones to avoid, and other “can’t miss” choices.
Roberta Ewart, chief scientist for SSC, called Stanley Kubrick’s “2001, A Space Odyssey” (1968) an enduring classic.
“It foretold the rise of concerns with AI, the HAL 9000 computer, and the discovery by man of extra-terrestrial entities older and greater than man, who put cautionary obelisks where we would find them as we evolved,” Ewart said. “Plus, I love the opening music, ‘
Also sprach Zarathustra.’ The music was written in 1896, which if you rearrange the numbers, are the year the movie was released (1968.) The theater shook when the woofers kicked in….and Strauss had no idea someday his creation would go to the stars.”
Ewart said her least favorite is “Alien” (1979). Why? “Because it’s gory.”
Joy White, executive director of SSC, said her favorite sci-fi feature is “Lucy” (2014) because “Scarlett (Johansson) is awesome and tough!” White also mentioned “Wall-E” (2008), because even though she actually liked it, “it’s very sad to see the earth decay and people riding around in chairs.”
Col. Rhet Turnbull, deputy director for the Space Systems Integration Office, said his favorite sci-fi film is “Blade Runner,” specifically, the Director’s Cut from 1992.
“Great film-noir cinematography and a plot that leads the viewer to question, ‘What does it mean to be human?’” Turnbull said. Worst science fiction film? “Star Wars, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace” (1999).
“The Jar-Jar Binks character was so obnoxious it ruined the story,” said Turnbull. “But,” he added, “there was plenty else to hate about this film besides Jar-Jar.”
Col. Meredith Beg, Space Launch Delta 45 vice commander, operations, cited “Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope” (1977) as her favorite, based on “nostalgia and seeing Princess Leia carrying a blaster and taking care of business.” She didn’t have any specific films as her worst, but noted she is not a big fan of end-of-the-world sci-fi films. “I like to see hope in the future,” she explained.
“Gravity” (2013) made her list of recommended films, “but only because it’s enjoyable to point out the inaccuracies.”
Jeremiah Houston, unit program coordinator for the 61st Communications Squadron, said his sci-fi favorite is “Event Horizon,” a 1997 film starring Laurence Fishburne because of its “combination of science fiction and suspense.” His least favorite is “Killer Klowns From Outer Space” (1988). Why? “Clowns.”
Thomas Abrahams, computer scientist and acting software division chief in the office of SSC’s CIO, said his favorite is “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (1982).
“It mixes several genres, from horror, sci-fi, and action, to create a film that represents the high points of Star Trek in general,” Abrahams said. “It brings back a villain that challenges the Enterprise Crew in ways they have never dealt with before.
Abrahams’ least favorite is another Star Trek film: “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” (1989).
“Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner, fights a god and wins,” Abrahams said. “It's slow, boring, and loses the plot 20 minutes in.”
John Bjelke, information systems security officer in the Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power program executive office, describes his favorite movie, “Galaxy Quest” (1999), as “the perfect parody of the Star Trek franchise and the convention circuit, and a classic in its own right - this film is guaranteed to put a smile on my face.”
His least favorite is the 1988 remake of the 1958 film “The Blob” because of “acting terrible enough to reach back and ruin the original film that was dear to my heart.”
Sean Coleman, Positioning, Navigation, and Timing mission area lead in the Space Systems Integration Office, said his favorite film is “Solaris” – the 1972 Soviet original, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, not the 2002 remake directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney. He described the original as “A very imaginative film with wonderful visuals, and a brooding, introspective story.”
“Between the space ghost, creative set design, characters all being a little mad at each other, and the brooding long takes, it really built an atmosphere that makes you sit with the characters and think,” Coleman said. “And the ending where the main character gets to be with his wife but she’s still a ghost and they’re really trapped on the neutrino planet is ominous and an interesting place to end a story about grief.”
His least favorite film is “Logan’s Run” (1976). Reason: “Too ‘70s, (in a bad way).”
“A lot of the 70s tropes were present in full,” noted Coleman. These included the “over-serious tone, a 45-year-old pretending to be 28 and obviously getting the 25-year-old love interest, the Panopticon Society, and the lone cop finding out the truth.”
“Additionally, it felt like it was an adaptation from a novel (which I later learned it was) in that a lot of plot points happened randomly and I could see that they needed more fleshing out (why was there an unexplained Mr. Freeze robot?).”
Shannon Pallone, program executive officer for Battle Management Command, Control and Communications, loves “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” (1991). She called it “the perfect mix of time travel tech with AI tech.” Her least favorites? The Matrix 2 and 3 (“The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” (both 2003). “In fairness, I hated Matrix 2 so much I never watched the third. Lacked all the brilliance of the original.”
Byron Irving, contracting officer, listed “Jurassic Park” (1993) as his favorite science fiction film.
“Jurassic Park is iconic,” Irving said. “So much so that we’ve gotten six movies and countless television shows from it. The only reason anyone knows what a velociraptor is, is because of that movie.” Despite his fandom, Irving was quick to point out that “those are
not actual velociraptors. Actual velociraptors are closer to the size of chickens and have feathers, but I digress.”
Irving also pointed out that “The T-Rex received a resurgence because of that film and now is making a very famous appearance as a brand ambassador for global fashion house, COACH. Unfortunately, Rexy was not present during the Jurassic era...again, I digress. Aside from this, from a technical perspective, this 1993 classic is a beautifully shot and masterfully directed blend of computer-generated imagery and animatronics that visually still stands to this day.”
“Lastly,” added Irving, “tucked in a movie filled with dino-(semi) facts is a rag-tag team of people using all of their skills and tenacity to survive,” Irving said. “Everyone brings something to the table. Even the children, including the little girl with her "hacking" abilities, which ultimately got the park back online.”
Irving’s least favorite is “any of the Jurassic World movies” because they “tarnished the brand.”
Barbara Baker, deputy program executive officer for Military Communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, said her favorite was “Independence Day” (1996).
“I LOVE the speech Bill Pullman gives to the makeshift fighters about fighting for our independence (again),” Baker said.
Her least favorite? “Star Trek. I might lose my space card, but it is not my cup of tea.”
Col. Heather Bogstie, senior materiel leader for SSC’s Resilient Missile Warning, Tracking, Defense Acquisition Delta said her favorite was “Contact” (1997) because it was “smartly written by Carl Sagan, so cerebral.” “Spaceballs” (1987) is her least favorite: “too stupid!”
ET Taylor, SSC director of human capital (S1), likes “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” (1977) because “It’s a classic and the scenery where it was filmed (Wyoming and California) was cool.” His least favorite is “Battlefield Earth,” the 2000 film based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard that starred John Travolta. Why? Because “it was corny.”
John Beaumont, an SSC systems administrator, said his favorite is the 2013 movie “The Europa Report.”
“This is a very realistic sci-fi movie,” Beaumont said. “As we do space travel, there will be problems. People will likely die in space. Everything happens exactly as I would expect it, and I could see this actually happening within the next 200 years.”
Beaumont also recommends the Firefly (2002) television series, and the spin-off movie, “Serenity” (2005). “Western-style space expansion as we terraform planets and moons. Humans are tied to the life we were originally surrounded by, so a cattle ranch on another planet is highly probable. And people would use guns to protect our property on these planets.”
When it comes to Star Trek versus Star Wars, Beaumont said, “I've always been a Star Trek fan over Star Wars, as I think that the government would use space exploration ships similar to the Navy with a captain, first mate (number 1), chief of engineering, etc.
“This just makes more sense than military trained religious leaders of the Jedi Order, similar to the Jesuit Order.”
Beaumont’s pick for worst science fiction movie is “Starship Troopers” from 1997: “Bugs were able to send an asteroid to Earth without any written language, create a unified military, etc. And Earth now has empaths who can read the minds of bugs on a different planet? Seems a bit much. Entertaining, but you'd have to blindly believe a lot of nonsense.”
David Hinesley, unit deployment manager for SSC/Command Support Staff, respectfully begs to differ. He said “Starship Troopers” is actually his favorite sci-fi movie. “It’s an endlessly rewatchable movie filled with relatable characters, amazing visuals (for its time), and just the right balance of story to satire,” he said. “This movie always pumps me up. ‘Would you like to know more?’"
But he’s in agreement with others that “Battlefield Earth” is the worst: “There are probably other sci-fi movies I dislike and/or are more deserving of being least favorite, but this is always the first one to come to mind. It's just horribly written and acted and is filled with lazy storytelling.”
Like Hinesley, Christopher Birge, chief, Mission Software for Ops C2, also cited “Starship Troopers” as a favorite, adding, “Love the portrayal of the pompous human military might against the alien bugs, the coming-of-age transition and sense of duty, and overall campiness of the movie. Also, it had incredible special effects for 1998 that still looks like a movie made today.”
Birge’s least favorite? The “Star Wars sequel trilogy” (2015-2019). “There was zero plan going into it, the story is a mess, and it ruins the accomplishments of the rebels in the original trilogy.”
Derek Eichin, chief data officer for Space Launch Delta 30, likes “The Andromeda Strain” (1971). “The movie provides a very accurate depiction of humanity’s vulnerability to a space-based virus and how we would react in the event that it were to happen,” Eichin said. “The technologies, acting, and writing were ahead of their time as well from a production and cinematography standpoint as well.”
“Suicide Squad” (2016), however, gets a thumbs down from Eichin: “The plot was way too predictable and the actors, while all superstars, did not mesh very well at all,” Eichin said. “It was a graphically stunning movie, though.”
Tara Browne, deputy branch chief, SATCOM partnerships, said, “I loved the dynamism of “Sunshine” (2007). I went into it expecting a half-way decent and interesting story and was blown away. It was a superbly well-constructed film between Cillian Murphy's acting, Alwin Kuchler's Cinematography, & John Murphy's usage of ‘Adagio in D Minor’ and overall scoring. A++”
Her least favorite? “Run Lola Run” (1998). “By nature, it's meant to be repetitive, and I profoundly hated that. It came across to me as trying too hard to be cerebral and zeitgeisty. I still don't get it.”
Roxy McKee, executive officer for Space Launch Delta 30, said her favorite was the “Guardians of the Galaxy Trilogy” (2014 - 2023). “Peter Quill didn't have an easy life. I feel like these movies are his journey to find himself and figure out where he belongs. I think one of the best parts of the series is how a group of individuals who seem to have little to nothing in common could become a family. The soundtrack for all these movies is phenomenal, as is ‘I am Groot!’"
Her least favorite is “Cloverfield” (2008) because “the manner in which the movie was filmed gave me motion sickness. After leaving the theatre three times due to nausea, I sat behind a wall in the back and just listened without watching.”
Abby Harris, deputy satellite defense team lead, voted for “Treasure Planet” (2002) because “it was made at the peak of 2-D animation, so it looks gorgeous, and all the characters have so much personality and charm. “District 9” (2009) comes in last on her list: “There is a lot of gore and body horror, and I could barely get through it.”
Whether it’s a yen for early classics like a “2001: Space Odyssey” or the anticipation of new releases like “Alien: Romulus,” it’s clear that the people of SSC have their fingers solidly on the pulse of sci-fi movie culture.
Enjoy the pop quiz below and check out the full list of recommendations by SSC’s sci-fi buffs.
Continue the conversation! Space Systems Command personnel and others with a DOD Common Access Card may
join the sci-fi chat and share your passion around sci-fi films, movies, and shows we love (as well as ones we don’t) and why.
Pop QUIZ: Sci-Fi Iconic Characters
Match the movie or franchise with its leading character.
| Dr. Ellie Arroway |
Alien |
| Grogu |
The Day the Earth Stood Still |
| Snake Pliskin |
Star Wars |
| Klaatu |
The Terminator |
| Boba Fett |
Back to the Future |
| Dana Scully |
Escape From New York |
| Dr. Emmet Brown |
RoboCop |
| Alex Murphy |
Contact |
| T-800 |
The Mandalorian |
| Rocket Racoon |
X Files |
| Ellen Ripley |
Guardians of the Galaxy |