Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1)

by Orson Scott Card

Earth is threatened by a hostile alien species, but since travel between the stars takes decades, there is time to prepare. The best and the brightest youngsters (as in 6 year old kids) are sent to an orbital "battle school" to train in the art of war, and to lead Earth's armies. Ender is one of these kids and his story is remarkable. A word of warning: there are now about 7 books in this series, and they get progressively worse. Ender's Game stands on its own and is phenomenal. The next two books in the series are also pretty good, and Ender's Shadow is also fairly decent. The rest are not that great.

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Hyperion

by Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons is a master story-teller, and Hyperion is sci-fi on an epic scale. Hyperion, the first book in a two part saga, tells the stories of 6 pilgrims traveling to Hyperion, and about to face the entity known as the Shrike. The book is masterfully written and the story is gripping from beginning to end. Endymion and the Rise of Endymion are two more books set in the same universe, that are well worth reading.

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 1)

by Frank Herbert

Dune is classic sci-fi. It is extremely well written, imaginative and grand. It is set in an extraordinary universe and populated by strange and interesting characters. In short, it is everything you love about sci-fi. However, DO NOT BE TEMPTED BY THE NUMEROUS OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES. They don't even come close, and some are downright aweful! If you haven't read Dune yet, what are you waiting for???

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Red Mars (Mars Trilogy)

by Kim Stanley Robinson

Red Mars gets as close to science and science fiction ever does. It is a the first in a trilogy of a meticulously imagined future history of the colonization and terraforming of Mars. The story is extremely vivid and believable.

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

The Real Story: The Gap into Conflict (Gap)

by Stephen R. Donaldson

Be warned: this book is definitely not for kids. It makes for hard reading, it is dark and its graphic. It's also the first in a 5 book highly imaginitive and very dark series. I truly enjoyed these books, but Donaldson's writing style is really an acquired taste.

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

The Matrix

One of the best sci-fi movies of all time. Of course, the second and third movies in the trilogy were a complete let down, but the original Matrix, man oh man!

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Blade Runner

Stylistic, dark, clever plot, brilliant. Harrison Ford, Darryl Hanna, it's all good.

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Star Wars, Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back (Widescreen Edition)

Is it me or is the Empire Strikes Back the only good movie in this franchise? Well, maybe Revenge of the Sith can also be considered good.

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The Terminator

Apocalyptic visions of the future, an unstoppable killer robot and a cool plot. The next movie in the series, Terminator 2 (how did they come up with that one) is just as good if not better.

Amazon Price: $9.49 (as of 08/21/2008)

The Fifth Element

OK, so you're tired of seeing it on cable again and again, but you have to admit it is a really fun movie the first 20 times.

Amazon Price: $10.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Total Recall

Definitely one of my favorites. Imaginative plot, great action, Sharon Stone, can you ask for more?

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Highlander

It's more fantasy than sci-fi, but it's one of the best. Sword play, Sean Connery, great story. Whatever you do, do not get the SECOND movie in the series. It's more horrible than you can imagine.

Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Tron (20th Anniversary Collector's Edition)

One of the classics folks. The story is truly absurd, a guy gets sucked into a virtual world and becomes a computer game character. But it's so much fun - plus, this movie was made back in the 80s when people didn't really HAVE computers.... what did people do for fun back then?

Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Minority Report (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)

I almost forgot about this one... great idea: arrest people for crimes they are about to committ. I love the scene with the robot spiders. The ending is kind of weak though. Still a good movie.

Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Paycheck (Special Collector's Edition)

I really loved most of this movie, but thought that the ending was pretty weak. A reverse engineer finds himself in trouble, having no recollection of why that's the case. Before he lost his memory, he left himself some clues.

Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Jurassic Park (Widescreen Collector's Edition)

Dinosaurs are cloned from DNA remains and all hell breaks loose. It's a classic.

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Logan's Run

A cult classic. A futuristic city where citizens live only to 30... I guess it's official, I'm over the hill...

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Mars Attacks!

So it's more comedy than sci-fi, BUT you do get to see Jack Nicholson gets blown up by ugly looking aliens, who also literally turn Sarah Jessica Parker into a dog. Can you beat that? Come on!

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Contact

So we're looking for aliens... what do we do when we actually find them. Nice, subtle, smart sci-fi that doesn't beat you over the head.

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

The Abyss (Special Collector's Edition)

Aliens at the bottom of the ocean. Very nice. The special effects are state-of-the-art for 1989...

Amazon Price: $21.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Escape from New York

Snake Plissken to the rescue... rescuing the President from the island prison of New York. Classic 80s sci-fi

Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Men in Black (Deluxe Edition)

Will Smith rocks, the this first MIB movie rocks even more. It's funny, it's got wierd aliens, snappy dialogue, funny gags and an absurd plot to boot. Real fun sci-fi.

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

The Postman

Post-apocalyptic world where we rely on the mail service to restart civilization. The very thought sends shivers down the spine...

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Waterworld

OK, so it was way over budget, but the concept of a world where dry land is only a legend is a good one, and the story is fun. Plus, if you happen to visit Universal Studios in LA and catch the Waterworld stunt show you'll have to agree that this movie is a lot of fun.

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Battlestar Galactica (2003 Miniseries)

A smart, sexy, edgy show. I absolutely loved it. The Cylons launch a surprise attack against mankind, all but destroying civilization. A lone outdated battlestar is all that is left to defend the small remaining human population as it attempts to escape extinction.

Amazon Price: $19.98 (as of 08/21/2008)

Battlestar Galactica - Season One

Season one was absolutely phenomenal. It starts where the mini-series leaves off, and avoids most of the cliches an sheer idiocies one finds in most of today's sci-fi offerings. The series deals with humans as you and I know them from everyday lives, with all our failings, ambitions and imperfections. You will find no super humans here. The series explores tough ethical and political dilemas that you could see yourself reading about in the NY Times. The season one finalle truly blew me AW-AY. This is HIGHLY recommended.

Amazon Price: $45.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Babylon 5 - The Complete Television Series (5-Pack)

The best thing about this series is it's long, 5 year, story arc. The first season is really pathetic, but the other 4 are really great. A brilliant story with relatively few sci-fi cliches.

Amazon Price: $199.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Star Trek The Original Series - The Complete First Season

Yes, yes, it's predictable, but come on, would any sci-fi list be complete without it? Live long and prosper.

Amazon Price: $54.99 (as of 08/21/2008)

Steven Spielberg Presents Taken

Alien abductions, a great sound track and Dakota Fanning in a great performance. This is a great mini-series that tells the story of three generations of abductees.

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The Complete Prisoner Megaset

"I am number 2."
"Who is Number 1?"
"You are Number 6."
"I am not a number, I'm a free man!"

Remember that blast from the past? Complete with giant baloons that chase down escaping prisoners, and sleep gas hidden in wierd places. It's so corny and retro, that it's gotta be cool! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

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