Guest Top 5 Science Fiction Films by Mark Gibson

I've been bugging my friend Mark to do a top five for ages and he finally caved in to the pressure and provided me this gem. It's a topic I've considered doing myself and may still come back to at some point, though I suspect my own version would not be massively different from Mark's own choices. Mark is lead singer with Feltham's premiere covers band The Phantoms and has been a long suffering Fulham season ticket holder with me for the best part of 15 years.

I have been meaning to write David some Top 5s for months now and have finally gotten round to it! My first Top 5 is Science Fiction Films. These are not necessarily the most stylish or ground breaking Sci-Fi movies of all time but they have a certain affection with me and have been included in this Top 5 because of that.

1. Star Wars – A New Hope (1977) Dir: George Lucas
It had to be, this film had a massive impact on me when I was 7 years old , I still remember how amazed I was. Unfortunately I have fallen out of love with the film over the years as it has been re-mastered and CGI versions have been released which have ruined the initial feel of the film , but I’m sure George Lucas knows what he is doing! Note: I have not included any of the other two classic movies in my list, and certainly not I-III!

2. Flash Gordon (1980) Dir: Mike Hodges
This is in at number 2 mainly for the sound track, which I love, I owned the 7inch theme tune (The B-side was Football Fight which is an amazing song especially in context with the film) . This film is also great because it’s a bit of a who’s who of British Actors. And I remember my Mum taking me to this one and she actually enjoyed it for the music too.

3. Battlestar Galatica (1978) Dir: Richard A. Colla
Now been remade into another popular TV series, but this was the Original movie made by Glen A Larson. I think this film was botched together from the TV series and released. Not much more to say about this except I think it was the fist time I went to the cinema on my own, with friends. We ended up hiding behind the seats and watching the film again, of all the films here I doubt I would take the trouble to watch it again.

4. E.T. (1982) Dir: Steven Spielberg
Went to see this with my mates from school, must have been about 15 or 16 and I had to hold back from crying at the end when E.T. got home, it was the plant pot bit that did it, still have a little tear in my eye even now, and I know it's only a lump of rubber!

5. Logan's Run (1976) Dir: Michael Anderson
This just beat Mad Max 2 (I saw Mad Max for the first time on Pirate video back in the 80’s) into 5th place. The reason Jenny Agutter.

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Top 5 Dr Who Companions

I have a growing stack of top fives that need more time than I've got to complete so it's handy to find a quicky topic every now and again to give me a bit of breathing space. I'm also always pleased to hear other people's suggestions and had quite an extensive list from a new reader the other week. This one was something I hadn't done and didn't take long to knock into shape.

1. Sarah Jane Smith - Elizabeth Sladen
(3rd & 4th Doctors, cameos with 10th & 11th Doctors)
I started watching Dr Who towards the end of Jon Pertwee's run on the show and so Sarah Jane was the first companion I knew. Not sure what it was about her but as a seven year old I definitely had a bit of a crush on her. I spent most of the Tom Baker era hiding behind the sofa, so it might just be that the Sarah Jane moments were the only bits I was brave enough to watch. Having returned recently in the spin-off series "The Sarah Jane Adventures" she doesn't seem to have aged at all and, despite being 20 years older than me, still has a certain something about her.

2. Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
(2nd Doctor)
Before he went on to star as a farmer in Emmerdale, Frazer Hines played an 18th century Scottish piper who became the second Doctor's companion. Sarah Jane might have appeared with more Doctors but Jamie appeared in 116 episodes with Patrick Troughton, making him the longest serving companion. These episodes were before my time but I got into them, having graduated to the comfy side of the sofa, when the BBC repeated the old series.

3. K9 - voice of John Leeson
(4th Doctor)
Looking back K9 seems a bit naff but he was something new and exciting when he first hit the screens. There was no flying and shooting lasers, he just wheeled about and shared his extensive knowledge, often to the point of tedium. He spoke with a formal tone and was always polite to his master but at times could be slightly condescending. Almost a robot dog version of Stephen Fry.

4. Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
(11th Doctor)
Its early days for Amy but she's made quite an impact in one series already. A feisty companion with a hint of mischief, flowing red hair and a suitably short temper.

5. Leela - Louise Jameson
(4th Doctor)
Savage warrior Leela effectively replaced Sarah Jane, so it took me a while to warm to her. But in 1978 there weren't many opportunities to see quite as much of the female form during suitable veiwing times for a 10 year old, so her appearances soon became unmissable.

My Top 5 Doctors are here in case you want to compare.

Top 5 Blake's 7 crew members

Created by Terry Nation (the man who invented the Daleks), Blake's 7 was the BBC's answer to Star Wars. It was the talk of the playground in 1978 and quickly became the must see programme for boys under twelve. When Blue Peter showed us how to make a Liberator transporter bracelet its similarity to those seen on screen hinted at the budget the show was working with. Despite this the programme grew in popularity thanks mainly to an eclectic cast of characters, not least Servalan the Federation Supreme Commander who provided the lead villain. Servalan was played superbly by Jacqueline Pearce who provided a mixture of fear and sexual tension whilst creating a persona that seemed like a hybrid of Margaret Thatcher and Darth Vader. The crew themselves were a rogues gallery of criminals and freedom fighters who appeared doomed to failure but always found a way to survive.

1. Vila Restal (Michael Keating) - Natural thief and lock cracker with a high sense of self preservation bordering on cowardice.



2. Kerr Avon (Paul Darrow) - Cold hearted pragmatist who retained a dry sense of humour and provided some of the show's wittiest moments when vocally sparring with Vila.



3. Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas) - Idealistic leader of the resistance movement who managed to break free of Federation brain washing to lead the team of rebels with a cause.



4. Cally (Jan Chappell) - Telepathic humanoid alien who began the series as a hardened rebel freedom fighter but became a bit of a mystical hippy.



5. Olag Gan (David Jackson) - Gentle giant who provided the hint of muscle but had a Federation limiter implanted in his brain to prevent him from killing.



The other two members of the original seven were former smuggler Jenna Stannis (Sally Knyvette) and the Liberator's partly telepathic computer Zen (voiced by Peter Tuddenham). Read more about the series at Betty's Guide to Blake's 7

Top 5 Spaceships

Space is cool. Spaceships are cool. I was 9 in 1977 and, I suspect like many other boys and girls of a similar age, Star Wars changed my life. Before Star Wars I went to the cinema to watch Disney films, after Star Wars all I cared about was spaceships and lasers and aliens and explosions and ... well you get my drift.

1. X-Wing Fighter (Star Wars) - The Ford Capri of space fighters. The X-Wing doesn't appear until well over half way through the original film but steals the show when it does. The battle to destroy the Death Star is a glorious climax to the only film of the saga that can really be considered a self-contained story and is reminiscent of classic war films. The X-Wing plays it's role as the Rebel Alliance's Spitfire against the Empire's Messerschmitt equivalent, the Tie-Fighter, winning the day for the heroes with the bombing run that leads to the Death Star's destruction. I spent most of the next five years drawing pictures or building models of X-Wing fighters and my appreciation of it is yet to dim.

2. Liberator (Blake's 7) - Blake's 7 may of been produced on a shoestring budget but following in the wake of Star Wars this was a dark tale of rebel outlaws fighting running skirmishes with a totalitarian Federation. In the early episodes it was a genuinely scary show and the talk of the playgrounds. The Liberator was a stolen alien ship that provided Blake and his crew of escaped convicts the upper hand against Servalan's forces of evil. It was faster and better equipped than anything the Federation could muster. It also looked cooler.

3. Eagle Transporter (Space: 1999) - The Eagle transporters were not the prettiest spaceships ever designed but there was something totally believable about them. Even today they look genuinely like something NASA might build if we were going to inhabit the moon. Space 1999 was at times a little too serious for a seven year old expecting the thrills and spills of a "live-action Thunderbirds" but the scenes with the Eagles quenched my thirst for space action and were always a highlight.

4. Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) - I was torn for a while between going for this or an Imperial Star Destroyer. The Star Destroyer is physically impressive and sets the tone for the whole saga with that slowly expanding opening shot. However, it's the Millennium Falcon's general decrepitude that wins me over. The constant need for Chewbacca or Han to fix things or hit something hard with a wrench, the expectation that at any moment something might break and that in Han Solo's own words "it may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts" all combined to make the Falcon a firm favourite.

5. U.S.S. Enterprise (Star Trek) - The original 60's design rather than any of the subsequent redesigns, proving that sometimes budget isn't everything. Whoever came up with the original design (Matt Jefferies I've just discovered via Wikipedia) created one of the most enduring images of my generation. It didn't look like any flying machine I had ever seen before and really could only have existed in space. Whilst the eventual movies and spin-off shows found ways to make the ship look smarter and faster they were merely fine tuning a design classic.

Top 5 Heroes super powers

In celebration of the final episodes of Heroes series one being aired this week (my favourite current TV show despite it owing a huge debt to the film "Unbreakable") here are my five favourite super powers. I decided to eliminate Peter Petrelli's ability to absorb other powers, as I figured it was a) cheating and b) a bit useless if there's no one else around with super powers.

1. Able to manipulate the Time-Space continuum (Hiro Nakamura) - This would be great. Able to travel back in time to see any event in history, and forwards to see what might be. This one could spawn a whole new Top 5 of places I would like to go.

2. Flight (Nathan Petrelli) - Who wouldn't want to be able to fly. No more waiting for a bus in the rain, no more struggling through rush hour traffic, and if you fancied a quick trip to the other side of the world, no waiting around in a crowded airport. Ace.

3. Telekinesis (Sylar) - OK so Sylar's a baddy but anyone who saw him flip that truck over in the last episode would know how cool this power would be. My tea making ability could move to a new level.

4. Able to Regenerate (Claire Bennet) - Pretty handy this one. No much fear of anything, just watch the back of your head and you'll be fine.

5. Super human strength (Niki Sanders) - This might have been higher had it not seemingly also meant you had a psychotic alter ego. That said Jessica is hot and if I was going to die at the hands of a lunatic super powered killer I'd choose her everytime.

Top 5 Dr Who's

There are very few TV series that can keep you watching beyond the first couple of series. Even less than can cope with changing their leading actor. As a kid I was too scared to watch Dr Who and would actually hide behind the sofa to catch a glimpse of the action. It's hard to believe when you watch those episodes now, and especially when I consider what my boys watch at a much younger age. Maybe I'm just a wuss.

1. Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor) 1974-1981

2. David Tennant (Tenth Doctor) 2005-present

3. Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor) 1970-1974

4. Patrick Troughton (Second Doctor) 1966-1969

5. Christopher Ecclestone (Ninth Doctor) 2005

Tom Baker WAS Dr Who. He stayed in the part longer than any other actor and really made the part his own. It wasn't hard to believe that he didn't come from this planet. The Baker years were the ones I first watched from behind the sofa. When I did eventually pluck up the courage to watch regularly I was never quite sure I really liked him. He was just a bit too odd for me to feel entirely comfortable. However, companion Sarah Jane was one of my first hearthrobs (now back on TV and still looking great in the Sarah Jane Adventures) and K9 helped make everything more humorous.

The recent revamp of the show was an unexpected success and is improving all the time. Ecclestone represented a huge change in persona and made the part much grittier. I felt he was a little let down by the story lines and it was a shame he didn't make one more series. Tennant has been a revelation. He's brought the humour back in without making the show look stupid. An actor born to play Dr. Who.

Having only seen Jon Pertwee after the Tom Baker years, I struggled with watching Worzel Gummidge as the Doctor. Subsequent viewings have made me realise how good he was and I suspect had I been born a few years earlier he'd be my number one. The Patrick Troughton era was one I discovered as the show spiralled into it's worst period (I'm talking Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy here) and has remained a favourite ever since. An honoury mention for Peter Davidson who, history reveals wasn't as bad as first thought. He probably had the toughest gig of any Doctor having to follow Tom B but grew into the part and until the recent revamp would have claimed his place in the Top 5.