At long last, Isaac Asimov’s galaxy-spanning epic comes to life as Foundation. I was excited to watch episode 1, The Emperor’s Peace. It was fantastic. Big effects, a plot against the empire, a massive space elevator, an entire planet as a city—I could go on. If you can, I would encourage you to watch it, especially if you’re a fan of the novels. I’m avoiding the temptation to binge-watch the rest of the episodes, but I need to pace myself and savor every hour.
Watching it got me thinking. A good number of the series are high drama, man against the evil empire (or corrupt corporations)—tense and engaging. Believe me, I’m a big fan of The Expanse, Dark Matter, and now, Foundation. But what about the lighter side? What’s out there that gives you a good belly laugh, or a sense of fun?
Brainstorming a bit, it was easy to come up with some favorites: Mars Attacks, Galaxy Quest, and one of the best, Space Balls. In a previous post, (Monster Movies–Are They Science Fiction? The Argument Rages On), we considered whether monster movies are science fiction. If some are, then I would include Young Frankenstein on the list of Science Fiction Comedies—a totally funny movie.
[Poster Source: https://www.ebay.com/itm/SPACEBALLS-Mel-Brooks-Movie-Poster-A1-A2-A3-A4-Sizes-/321438740053?_ul=IN]
Science Fiction Comedies might fall into several broad categories, a couple of which are spoofs and comedies in their own right. Spaceballs I would put in the spoof category as it took so much from Star Wars. And Mars Attacks spoofs just about every Mars invader movie—although the opening barbecue scene ending in burning cows might be one of a kind. (Mars Attacks Opening)
[Poster Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mars_attacks]
What about Young Frankenstein? spoof? original comedy? funny actors in a “serious” story? All I can say is, every time Taco’s recording of Puttin’ on the Ritz comes on, I can’t help but see the dance number by Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle. Absolutely hilarious. The fabulous comedy actors made it superb.
Finally, relying on our trusty Internet to provide lists, we find there are more comedies than you might imagine. I checked out 10 Best Sci-Fi Comedy Movies That Blend The Genres Perfectly [sic]. I have not seen a few on the list. One more item on the to-do list for this winter—watch ‘em all. Maybe a long weekend after a snowstorm.
IMDB (the Internet Movie DataBase) of course has a list of The Top 50 Best Sci-Fi Comedy Films. Again, I’ve not seen some of these, but many I have. It was nice to see Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home on the list. One of my favorites, right after Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (clearly not a comedy).
So, it looks like this winter will be full of fun, catching up on some favorites and enjoying some new titles.
What do you think? Do you have some favorites? Any you’d add to the lists that made you laugh? Any movies on the lists that aren’t so funny?
Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Thanks for stopping by.
[Disclaimer: Please accept my apologies for any ads that pop up before the linked videos. They do not reflect my position, nor do I endorse any of the products – it’s just a YouTube thing I can’t get around.]