50 Voyage (1996)
Synopsis As he speaks to the crew of Apollo 11 from the Oval Office in 1969, crippled ex-President John F Kennedy bounces his successor Richard Nixon into authorizing follow-up missions to Mars.
Defining Moment The test flight of the nuclear third stage that will take Ares to Mars has gone disastrously wrong…
49 Star Trek: Voyager (1995 – 2001)
Synopsis Proving the age-old theory that women make terrible map-readers, the Federation starship Voyager, under the command of Captain Kathryn Janeway, is propelled into the Delta Quadrant, 75,000 light years from home.
Defining Moment Janeway can go home and leave an innocent species to the predatory Kazon, or…
48 Space: 1999 (1975 – 1977)
Synopsis The crew of Moonbase Alpha find themselves, and the Moon, propelled out of orbit.
Defining Moment The chain reaction kicks in as nuclear explosions run wild across the far-side waste dumps…
47 The Foundation Trilogy (1951 – 53)
Synopsis Psycho-historian Hari Seldon foresees that the Galactic Empire is doomed, and with it civilization. But he also sees how his Foundation can manipulate events to ensure its reconstruction.
Defining Moment The Foundation has been thwarted, but Seldon’s plan encompasses even this.
46 Barbarella (1968)
Synopsis Sexually liberated agent Barbarella is charged with saving a peaceful galaxy from the evil scientist Durand-Durand
Defining Moment The opening sequence when Barbarella disrobes in zero gravity is…
45 Planet of the Apes (1968)
Synopsis Astronaut Taylor (Charlton Heston) crash-lands on a strange planet entirely populated by intelligent apes who treat Humans as their slaves.
Defining Moment On seeing the Statue of Liberty in pieces on the shore, Taylor’s realization that the planet of the apes is a future Earth is still one of the best twist-endings of all time.
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