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Top 10 Sci-fi Westerns (redux)

Of the genre combinations, this is not one that readily comes to mind (such as the ever popular Slasher/Romantic Comedy crossover). My favorite crossover might be Horror/Comedy with SF/Horror a close second, but some really great SF just happens to have Western themes.
(This is a repost of an old blog post that had somehow gotten corrupted. I actually don't have a whole lot of SF/Western items to add though).

Check out my top ten. It was originally five, but then I remembered 5 more:  

10. Westworld (movie/tv) -
About a theme park that uses A.I. androids to show guests "a good time" in different worlds created to simulate space travel, ancient Rome, the Age of Chivalry, and the wild west. Unfortunately, a good time means being massacred by androids. Some great moments in this flick and Yul Brynner is the baddest android gunslinger badass ever, but takes too long to get going. This could use a remake, but avoid the sequel like the Black Death if you know what's good for ya'. Look for the late Majel Barrett RoddenberryRoddenberry in one of her few non-Trek roles.
The new Westworld still has some great western elements, but is more of a hard SF look at identity, sentience, and artificial life.

9. Star Trek: The Original Series "Spectre of the Gun" (television) -
Kirk, McCoy, that logical guy - what's his name? Spork or something, Chekov, and Scotty (woohoo!) [from now until the end of time, Scotty always gets a "woohoo" in my blog] beam down to make contact with the Melkotians, but in interfering with the strict "no sales" policy (even though there was a clear sign next to the door and everything!) they must face a punishment sucked from Kirk's mind. Was it the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man? No it was the Gunfight at the OK Corral.  You know, the one where the Clanton gang says "let's have a gunfight and the Earps say "OK". Since the details were sketchy in Kirk's mind, it gave the show an excuse to use almost no money in making the sets. Fast thinking! Of all the crew in a 'somewhat familiar, but not really' setting episodes, this is my least favorite except for the Ancient Greece one, the Nazi one being my favorite, and the gangster one in second. Check it out for the express purpose of preparing you for the Futurama Trek episode. Actually, you'll have to watch the whole series to fully get that gem.


8. Back to the Future III (movie) -
This movie seemed a lot better than it actually was because BttF II was such a piece of crap. Saying that, there were some good performances, some funny moments, and it tied the whole trilogy together (a feat that has rarely been repeated - you listening, older George Lucas?). Most amazing feat is convincing the audience that Doc Brown can still procreate.

7. Captain Ken (manga) -
One of Osamu Tezuka's lesser known works about a human boy (Ken) who endeavors to save the Native American-like Martians from the cowboy-
like Earthers. Ken's design makes him one of my favorite Tezuka characters.

Something about the combination of "hinomaru" (Japanese flag sun symbol) headband and cowboy hat that drew me to this character.

The story is seemingly simplistic, but there are some interesting twists and the ending leaves me in tears every time. Don't expect it to be translated anytime soon, so hurry up and learn Japanese so we can talk about it. I can wait. Waiting....

6. Outland (movie) -
Sean Connery must weigh his thankless job against family (good-looking wife and son who is too dorky-looking to be believable as from Connery's hallowed loins) and survival. Of course he chooses the option where he must face down a team of assassins at high-noon on a mining station on Io, one of Jupiter's moons). No cowboy hats or six-shooters, but it is very much a wild west type of scenario where the new Sheriff must deal with the land baron's evil henchmen and the townsfolk and deputies won't lift a finger to help, and there's space heroin and exploding heads...

Okay that last part doesn't happen so much. I still enjoy seeing this one every once in a while. Connery is always awesome and best slomo head explosions ever (other contenders - The Fly II and Scanners)!!

5. The Wild, Wild West (television NOT the movie!) -
When I was quite the youngun' I would flip the channel on this show the second the opening finished. The opening was animated, and to change the channel on animation would have been sacrilege! Then, as a teen, I accidentally watched a whole episode and I fell in love with the show! Of course, by that time I had gotten over my fear of westerns, but it was all the cool spy stuff, and evil organizations, and techno-gizmos that stole my heart. AND the fact that the leading dude, James West (played by Robert Conrad), was the kind of guy I always wanted to be -
a guy who's tough on the outside, tender on the inside, and knows how to work a pair of tight pants. And I always wanted my own train and a sidekick who's not afraid to dress like a lady (or a pirate, or a corset salesman).

4. Star Trek: The Next Generation "Fistful of Datas" (television) -
If you've never seen Star Trek:TNG because you were born wrong (too early or late), or because a hardcore fan tried to convince you to watch it and that crazy gleam in their eyes gave you the willies, you are not alone. There are people out there who are essentially afraid of Sci-fi and Trek in particular. I've watched peoples' eyes glaze over as I tried to explain how it's a show about people and not just about pointy ears, blue antennae, and lobster heads. The show began in 1987 and ran for seven seasons. It got off to a shaky start and I admit that I had no interest in the show until I started watching the fifth season (another story for another time). From the third season on, the show grew by leaps and bounds and so did the characters. This show is about growth. And over seven seasons you get to see the android Data become more human, you see Troi become more independent, Riker double his waist size, Worf grow some cool hair, Wesley grow some pubes, and Captain Picard become more human.

Actually, the story of Worf is probably my favorite as he does the most growing. He has to learn to deal with being a stranger in a strange land (much like Spock in the original series), has to question his own beliefs, has to learn how to braid his hair, and has to learn how to be a father.

In "Fistful of Datas" Worf takes his son on a holodeck adventure to the wild west. Worf and son Alexander are the new Sheriff and his deputy and joining them is Deanna Troi as the mysterious stranger. When something goes wrong with the program, they must defeat Data's programming or be shot in the street like dogs (see Westworld above). This is a fun episode without too much moralizing, but also has some tender father/son moments as well. Troi as a rifle-toting bad-ass is my favorite part and it's also the photo I had her autograph when I saw her in Seattle. Oop! I see that your eyes are glazing over. Next!!


3. Galaxy Express 999 (manga/anime) -
Tetsuro is on his way to the Andromeda galaxy to get a mechanical body for free. His transport is a steam-locomotive refitted for space travel.

[Hey! If you can buy a WWII battleship that can zoom through hyperspace (Yamato), you can buy this!] On his way, he stops by Titan where there are NO RULES!! Yay!!! Or so you'd think. Since people can do anything they want, they can also KILL YOU and take your stuff. Utopia, right? This is where Tetsuro learns some hard lessons about survival in space and picks up a gun called a Cosmo Dragoon designed by Tochiro who has died and who's essence has been transferred into a pirate ship refitted for space travel. Are you beginning to sense a pattern? I thought this series would be my least favorite Leiji Matsumoto creation -
especially since the main character looks like a pod person from the Dark Crystal - but it's definitely his best work. I'll talk more about it in a future blog entry.

2. The Dark Tower series (novels, not the movie) -
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." One of my favorite first lines of a novel ever. Thus begins the saga of Roland and his ka-tet (group bound by destiny) who must travel across the world which has "moved on". This series is Stephen King's life work and one which I thought he would never finish after the third book. I sure did wait long enough. But finally he came out with the fourth and after a few years came out with five, six, and seven in quick succession, finally bringing the saga to a close 30 years after the first book appeared on stands. This is probably my favorite fantasy series (it is so much more, sci-fi, western, fantasy, and horror as well) but has plenty of western elements and sci-fi elements to make this list. If you are a King fan, then you'll love how this series ties in with so many of his other books. He even brings back some characters from some of his earliest works. The first cross-over I noticed was Flagg, the Dark Man from "The Stand" (still King's best book and definitely his scariest villain), who showed up in "The Eyes of the Dragon" and who is also the man in black from the first line of the Dark Tower series.

There are just so many wonderful moments in the series and it's also some of the most satisfying and scariest work King has ever done. It also happens to be illustrated by Michael Whelan, who is one of my favorite cover artists ever (and who I finally met in 2007). I haven't yet, but I plan to pick up the comic series based on the Dark Tower saga and I hope I can convince some of you to pick up the first book in the series and see where it takes you.

1. Firefly/Serenity (TV/movie) -
Hands down one of the best SF shows ever. Former browncoat (basically, the losers in an inter-galactic civil war) now smuggler Mal, captains the Serenity, a firefly class transport with no weapons.

His crew are a ragtag bunch of unique individuals, each adding their own wonderful piece to the glorious whole that is the show Firefly.

Smart and funny with fun action, the best dialogue ever on television, and some excellent drama. The show was so good that the brainiacs at Fox network pulled the plug on the show before it could find its audience. All 14 episodes (only some of which were aired) are available on the hit DVD, the success of which paved the way for the Serenity movie (also excellent). Besides featuring the only main character with the name Washburn(e) in TV history, this show is just one great show after another. Mal (Nathan Fillion) does Han Solo as he should be - no namby-pamby "Greedo shot first" crap. He knows, just like Tetsuro, that space is a cold, hard place and if you want to survive, you have to adjust. The challenge is to keep your humanity intact. Fans (aka Browncoats) still celebrate the show with websites and annual conventions and I completely understand why. I rewatch the whole series every once in a while savoring every line, every scene. 
Did I mention that the actress Morena Baccarin (more recently featured in the Deadpool series) that plays Inara is the culmination of every "woman of my dreams" that I ever imagined since I first fell in love with Battlestar Galactica's Jane Seymour in 1978. Wash is full of snarky goodness, Jayne is refreshingly honest on his pursuit of wine, women, and wealth, Book is wise, River is creepily sexy and vulnerable, and Kaylee is spunky cuteness done right (meaning in a way that doesn't make you wanna blow chunks). This show ended way too early. I hope they do another flick. Again, deeper analysis will require another blog entry.


What do you think? Are there any I missed? Feel free to comment about your own top 10.


PS. When I first made this list,"Cowboys and Aliens" was about to come out and I was excited about it, but it wasn't awesome, but just ok... More recently. weird western has become a genre in its own right and I wrote my own short story about aliens causing trouble in the Old West and a bounty hunter who gets a hold of some interesting technology as a result of tangling with them.


- PIW

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