What are the best TV space ships/starships?

[Kooz]

Interesting one criteria for the obvious choice of the 1701 as #1 is that it wasn't designed to look like a plane. If that's the case, then where's the TARDIS?

Alex

Gave serious thought to including the TARDIS, which I firmly believe falls into the category of "space ship," albeit loosely. But, I left it off because, for me, it didn't crack the top 5.

 

[Methos]

I had to add the TARDIS to my list... it's a spaceship by any definition the list needs, so deserves to be at the top

M

 

[stj]

A TV spaceship is inspired if it doesn't go for badassery, which, let's face it, is not too smart. There's an element of bad taste in being so religiously hung up on not looking dorky.

By this standard, the only inspired spaceship on TV was the Enterprise, on Star Trek. (Only Star Trek is Star Trek. The rest are TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise.) Moya on Farscape is superficially imaginative, at least for the kind of people who couldn't think to ask what the living ship actually lives on. There's willing suspension of disbelief, and there's being a rock.

 

[Kooz]

I love some of the inclusions on these lists--I considered a lot of them, and would probably have included most if I expanded to a top 10.

As for the pic of the Enterprise being from a movie and not TOS, yep, my bad. Absolutely good catch.

So... I will be doing a "top 5 movie space ships" at some point in the future. I have some ideas of where I'm going with that, but I'd love to hear your suggestions--this community is fantastic at opening my eyes to shows/movies I haven't seen, and I want to make sure there are no big omissions (it's easy to corral TV shows, but there are thousands of relevant movies)... thoughts?

 

[137th Gebirg]

My top 3:

• TOS Battlestar
• USS Enterprise Refit
• Space Battleship Yamato

Those three ship designs have inspired me for decades like none other.

 

[Lowdarzz]

TOS Enterprise
Babylon 5 Omega Class
TOS Battlestar Galactica
Red Dwarf (series 1-5)
Moya (Farscape)

 

[RAMA]

My historical list...ships in bold are on tv:

1. Ambassador Class E-C-STNG
2. Leonov-2010
3. Minbari Cruiser-B5
4. Vorlon Dreadnaught-B5
5. V'Ger-STTMP
6. Nihydron ship-Voyager
7. Super Star Destroyer-SW:ESB
8. Dominion Battleship-DS9
9. Cheyenne Class-STNG
10. Romulan Warbird-STNG
11. Relativity-Voyager

12. Icarus II-Sunshine
13. Borg Cube-STNG
14. Shadow Ship-B5
15. Earthforce Omega Class Destroyer-B5
16. Alien Mothership-CETK
17. Prometheus-Prometheus
18. S'ona Battleship
19. Alien Solar sailer-Outer Limits
20. Bajoran Solar Sailer-DS9
21. Companion Cruiser-Earth:FC
22. Akira Class-STFC
23. Saurian Cityship-Voyager
24. Battlestar Galactica-BG
25. Gomtu-STNG
26. Brittania-Lensman
27. T'Plana Hath Vulcan-ST:FC
28. Enterprise D-STNG
29. Basestars-NuBSG
30. Narada-ST09
31. D'Kyr Class cruiser Vulcan-STENT
32. X-Wing-SW
33. Argonaut-Heroic Age

34. Mars-1-Red Planet
35. Nightingale 229-Supernova
36. Alien ship-B5 Thirdspace
37. Explorers ship-Explorers
38. Promelian Battlecruiser-STNG
39. Enterprise Refit-STTMP
40. Tie Fighter-SW
41. Discovery-2001

42. Valdore-Romulan-STNEM
43. Explorer Class-B5
44. Lectroid ship-Buckaroo Banzai
45. Enterprise E-STFC
46. Excalibur-B5 A Call to Arms
47. Antares-Defying Gravity
48. Mars 2-Mission to Mars
49. Alien ship-Alien
50. Sphere/machine-Contact

 

[Kooz]

@RAMA - I can't tell you how cool I think it is that you have a list like that. Hats off to ya!

 

[BillJ]

1. USS Enterprise/Star Trek: The Original Series
2. Yamato/Space Battleship Yamato
3. Galactica/Battlestar Galactica (2003)
4. Super Star Destroyer/Star Wars
5. Andromeda/Space Battleship Yamato

 

[Davros]

A list without the TARDIS is incomplete.

 

[USS Kongo]

My list of TV SF ships would be:

1: TOS Enterprise
2: the Galactica from nuBSG
3: the Eagle transport from Space: 1999
4: Moya from Farscape
5: Serenity from Firefly

Sean

 

[Psion]

Hmmm ... this is tough. I love Firefly/Serenity, but don't particularly care for the ship other than it's meaning in the show. On the other hand, the TARDIS is one of the coolest ships ever conceived ... but it's just a blue box!

1. TOS Enterprise, NCC-1701
2. The Eagles from Space: 1999
3. The Vipers from any version of Battlestar: Galactica
4. Klingon D-7 battlecruiser
5. The TARDIS (I don't care if it's just a box, it's bigger on the inside)

Then there's the Jupiter II, the Asgardian warship O'Neill, the fighters from Buck Rogers, the Starfuries from Babylon 5, and the NX-01, Vulcan, and Andorian ships from Star Trek: Enterprise.

 

[Galileo7]

My top 3:

• TOS Battlestar
• USS Enterprise Refit
• Space Battleship Yamato

Those three ship designs have inspired me for decades like none other.

Agree on all three spaceships, especially the Enterprise-Refit of TMP, WOK, SFS, TVH, TFF and TUC.

 

[MacLeod]

Ok, where's the TARDIS? We have a ship that can travel to any point in the universe at any time in the universe. PLus it's bigger on the inside

 

[Skellington]

In no particular order:

TARDIS.
Eagle.
Pegasus (NuBSG's answer to the Enterprise; a very robust but sleek-looking ship.).
NCC-1701.
Serenity. Good sense of space, feels plausible.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

What no love for the Normandy from the Mass Effect games?

 

[Technobuilder]

I always liked the Talon Mothership from Earth: Final Conflict
Pictues found here: http://old.scottg26.com/efc.htm

 

[RAMA]

Hmmm ... this is tough. I love Firefly/Serenity, but don't particularly care for the ship other than it's meaning in the show. On the other hand, the TARDIS is one of the coolest ships ever conceived ... but it's just a blue box!

1. TOS Enterprise, NCC-1701
2. The Eagles from Space: 1999
3. The Vipers from any version of Battlestar: Galactica
4. Klingon D-7 battlecruiser
5. The TARDIS (I don't care if it's just a box, it's bigger on the inside)

Then there's the Jupiter II, the Asgardian warship O'Neill, the fighters from Buck Rogers, the Starfuries from Babylon 5, and the NX-01, Vulcan, and Andorian ships from Star Trek: Enterprise.

The Serenity is probably the ugliest ship in SF history since Salvage I. I can't really put a blue box on my list, as timeships go, Relativity is way cooler. The Galactica on my list is from the original series, not the ugly, incomplete looking new series one.

Some honorable mentions: The Liberator from Blake's 7, Andorian cruiser from ENT, colony ship from Outcasts, the ships from Starship Operators, the Andromeda from Starblazers/Yamato, Andromeda from Andromeda, White Star from B5.

RAMA

 

[RAMA]

What no love for the Normandy from the Mass Effect games?

Well, in my case I had to narrow it down to animated shows and live action. There are prob too many ships in games to keep track of them all.

@RAMA - I can't tell you how cool I think it is that you have a list like that. Hats off to ya!

Thanks, but it's not that cool, at least not to anyone with a txt editor, a few min of extra time and who's watched more than a handful of SF over the years, IE: almost everyone here.

 

[Starkers]

Sticking strictly to TV...

1.The Liberator
2. The Enterpise (no bloody A,B,C or D )
3. Defiant. Yeah it looks like a toilet seat but I still love it.
4. The Eagles from Space 1999
5. Klingon D7
Props to Earth Alliance cruisers in B5 as well cos they look like they could realistically exist.