Uplifting sci-fi that isn't Star Trek

[diankra]

You should definitely see the first one. Johnny 5 and Stephanie dancing to Travolta's disco numbers, Johnny 5 disassembling Stephanie's ex-boyfriend's prize vehicle, Johnny 5 understanding that for organic beings "disassemble means dead" and realizing that if his owners want to disassemble him he will die... and he doesn't want to die. This is a far better movie than the sequel.


Maybe if they'd stuck to the novels instead of going off on a tangent... I don't remember the bullshit about them pretending to join the circus being in the novels.

Yep. Each of the novels is about the length of a Doctor Who book, so good for four to six episodes. The series was pretty much killed by the dreadful padding in season one.
Mind you, some of the added stuff about the Cognoscs was the best of season two. But season three was going to be written by the guy who'd done season one, so I would not have been holding my breath for a triumph.

 

[diankra]

If we are talking movies let me suggest Explorers and Flight of the Navigatior.

For the past couple of days I've been considering watching The Black Hole.

Love Explorers.

 

[Christopher]

Don't think I've ever seen the second one though.

Short Circuit 2 is the former of the two feature films directed by TV writer/producer/director Kenneth Johnson (The Bionic Woman, The Incredible Hulk, V, Alien Nation), the other being Shaquille O'Neal's Steel. Neither one was a box-office or critical success, though I found both enjoyable.

 

[JD]

Love Explorers.

That's another one I loved as a kid.
I have an embarrassing confession to make while talking about movies from my childhood, I actually liked Mac and Me. I've been tempted a few time to give it another try as an adult, and see if it really is as bad as everybody says.

 

[Shawnster]

I wouldn't call that one "uplifting."

Well at least The Black Hole doesn't feature close ups of eye violence. I'm afraid the bar has been set pretty low.

It's an early 80s Disney movie. You might not call it uplifting but it's far from gritty/grimdark.

 

[dupersuper]

That type of thing has only happened to me from the movie "In the Army Now" starring Pauly Shore. They filmed at the army base here in Oklahoma that I drove my route on for the local paper. At one point Pauly Shore and Andy Dick were literally standing in the same place I would park my car at so I could toss the paper into the waiting area.

Jason

Gosh, I hope that doesn't ruin that...excellent film for you...

QUOTE="Jayson1, post: 13479569, member: 73943"]Me either and you know I think I was so naive I don't think I even knew it was a white guy back then.

Jason[/QUOTE]

Ditto.

You may want to check out the recent E.T. Honest Trailers video on Youtube...

 

[Christopher]

It's an early 80s Disney movie. You might not call it uplifting but it's far from gritty/grimdark.

That's a common misconception. The Black Hole was Disney's first PG-rated film under their own name (which at the time meant basically what PG-13 means today), and it was made as a deliberate effort to get away from the "kid stuff" stigma attached to the Disney name by doing more adult-oriented fare. So TBH was expressly intended to be the opposite of what people think of as a "Disney movie." It was actually pretty controversial at the time for featuring scenes that were shockingly dark and violent for a Disney film.

Disney made further PG-rated films over the next couple of years, including Dragonslayer, TRON, and Something Wicked This Way Comes, but people's assumptions about the Disney name proved too deeply ingrained to overcome, hurting those films at the box office. So Disney invented the Touchstone Pictures imprint for their more mature films.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchstone_Pictures

 

[Bornin1980something]

That's a common misconception. The Black Hole was Disney's first PG-rated film under their own name (which at the time meant basically what PG-13 means today), and it was made as a deliberate effort to get away from the "kid stuff" stigma attached to the Disney name by doing more adult-oriented fare. So TBH was expressly intended to be the opposite of what people think of as a "Disney movie." It was actually pretty controversial at the time for featuring scenes that were shockingly dark and violent for a Disney film.

Disney made further PG-rated films over the next couple of years, including Dragonslayer, TRON, and Something Wicked This Way Comes, but people's assumptions about the Disney name proved too deeply ingrained to overcome, hurting those films at the box office. So Disney invented the Touchstone Pictures imprint for their more mature films.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchstone_Pictures

The Touchstone imprint was used on 'A Bug's Life,' which could be quite disgusting by Pixar standards, but not nearly as disgusting as 'Antz.'

 

[Christopher]

And let's not forget, The Black Hole ends with

Spoiler

everyone dying and apparently going to hell.

Not a feel-good movie by any means.

 

[Bornin1980something]

And let's not forget, The Black Hole ends with

Spoiler

everyone dying and apparently going to hell.

Not a feel-good movie by any means.

Spoiler

The villain goes to Hell in a robot named after his actor. The others either survive or go to a better place

For me, a sad story can be alright if it is
A) not gory
B) a standalone, and
C) doesn't feature anyone I have a crush on.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Has Supergirl been mentioned? I think that while it deals with some real issues, it's a generally optimistic show at its heart, and the lead actress does a wonderful job portraying her, with heart and conviction.

 

[dupersuper]

Has Supergirl been mentioned? I think that while it deals with some real issues, it's a generally optimistic show at its heart, and the lead actress does a wonderful job portraying her, with heart and conviction.

If we're counting that, I'd say Superman shows/movies (minus the DCEU) and most super hero stuff outside the grimdark or street-level stuff (Batman, Wolverine, Arrow, Constantine, Daredevil, etc.)

 

[Owain Taggart]

If we're counting that, I'd say Superman shows/movies (minus the DCEU) and most super hero stuff outside the grimdark or street-level stuff (Batman, Wolverine, Arrow, Constantine, Daredevil, etc.)

I'd agree with that, and even exclude Snyder's Superman as I feel they miss the point. It's interesting to note that Superman was created during the great depression as a means to give people a beacon of hope.

 

[Koric]

Put me down for The Black Hole...its uplifting in the sense that good triumphs evil in the way that Dr R and Maximillian don't succeed.

@Christopher: I agree wholeheartedly with your Black Hole comments. But what about the reported 5 different endings?

SPOILERS:
The movie one heaven/hell

The book one with Alan Dean Foster: more realistic in the sense that in theory entering the black hole could crush and kill you, but energy is never destroyed, Im being a little vague since there might be others that might to read the book. Its a great novelization.

The Sistine chapel ending reportedly conceived.

I have searched in vain for anything on the last two.

Honestly, I love the sense of Dr. R as a mad scientist/madman, and the trying to beat the odds story. It was a bold daring move for Disney. I love the special effects of the black hole, the blue starry space fields, not black. The Cygnus as a ghost ship, and the design and model itself, very majestic. Vincent gives R2-D2 a good run for the money. The cast is excellent. Anthony Perkins in a bloodless death scene is wild, since its the opposite of Psycho.

Max Schell was a great villain. All in all Disney took tremendous risks, that should be aplauded for. Without The Black Hole, you wouldnt have TRON at all 3 years later. I feel the same about Star Trek TMP. It is the groundwork 8 years too early for ST TNG. One cant exist without the other. TNG would be harder to prove budgetwise without the $1 million dollar expense of 1978's Battlestar Galactica too.

As for uplifting sci-fi Im a fan of the Rocketeer, and the 1987-1988 War of the Worlds tv series continuing the 1953 movie too. The survival aspects of it too.. My Saturday nights in 1988 War of the Worlds and ST TNG on Saturday nights on Ch. 21 in Dallas Texas.

Cheers all. Keep the thread going. IT's ALIVE!!!
-Koric

 

[Christopher]

As for uplifting sci-fi Im a fan of the Rocketeer, and the 1987-1988 War of the Worlds tv series continuing the 1953 movie too. The survival aspects of it too.. My Saturday nights in 1988 War of the Worlds and ST TNG on Saturday nights on Ch. 21 in Dallas Texas.

Wow, I'd hardly call WotW uplifting. It was a horror show in which the heroes often lost or barely managed to eke out a Pyrrhic victory against the relentless enemy. And the season 2 revamp made the show far more dismal and depressing. Also, the writing was often pretty dire in season 1, and season 2 was considerably worse, even aside from the fact that it killed off the most interesting season 1 cast members in an infuriating and pointless way that was probably because of racism (since both the nonwhite cast members got killed and the new showrunner's excuses for dropping them were unconvincing).

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I'm currently enjoying a rewatch of Futurama. Uplifting, funny, made with love and attention to detail, but also has some absolutely devastating episodes (girding my psyche for Jurassic Bark and Game of Tones).

 

[theenglish]

Has anyone mentioned Andromeda yet? It falls apart after the second season but it is an "uplifting" show and starts out really well.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Andromeda is on my list of sci-fi shows to watch. I really don’t like Kevin Sorbo but I’m willing to look past that.

 

[Christopher]

Andromeda is on my list of sci-fi shows to watch. I really don’t like Kevin Sorbo but I’m willing to look past that.

I try to separate the work from the artist. Sorbo could actually be a pretty good actor when he had good direction and had his self-indulgence reined in. In the case of Andromeda, though, that only applies to the first couple of seasons.

 

[theenglish]

I try to separate the work from the artist. Sorbo could actually be a pretty good actor when he had good direction and had his self-indulgence reined in. In the case of Andromeda, though, that only applies to the first couple of seasons.

Yes, Andromeda could have been up there with B5 in terms of great story arcs but behind the scenes politics and egos got in the way.