So, after watching Mark's short video review of Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, it got me wondering, has there been any good science fiction movies in the last five or so years?

We are quickly coming up on 2008, and it so I have been looking around, thinking about what movies have been made since 2003 that would fit into the science fiction genre, and that were amazing, and I couldn't come up with anything that wasn't a sequel off the top of my head.

Have we past the best days of sci-fi? I have a few hopefuls over the next year or two, but there hasn't been too many amazing things to come out in recent years. It seems horror, drama, and comedy are what studios are sticking with.

A shame really because the creativity and imagination that go into a science fiction movie can really awaken the minds of the audience watching it.

What are your favourite sci-fi movies from the last five years? Let's find some great stuff for Mark to watch.

David the usual blogger at AltSciFi recommend I dip my foot into the SciFi waters by watching Wrath Of Khan. I did, and here's what I thought:

So I really didn't have high hopes for the television series that was going to bring the Terminator franchise in bits and bites to my home, and despite how low my expectations were, the Sarah Conner Chronicles somehow found a way to go lower.

This is supposed to be the television version of the Terminator story after the second movie, but before the third? I am really not impressed. I wish they hadn't even created this because it goes against everything that was set up in the three big budget hollywood movies that have been created.

The special effects were well done, and the actors weren't too bad, but they made so many mistakes in executing the idea, I can't believe this thing ever got a green light by any company.

First off, the Terminator sent to protect the main characters might as well be a mannequin, as she gives no life to the character, and her counterpart, attempts to be scary like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but is unable to pull it off, and ends up looking both stupid and constipated.

I don't have high hopes for this series, and I continue to wish that someone would come to their senses and it is cancelled. Here's hoping that the next Terminator movie ends up being better than this, not that being better would be hard.

Continuing with my personal experiences with Star Trek, I wanted to let everyone know why I enjoyed Star Trek: Voyager, a series that many find horrible in every way.

Exploration

For me, a good Star Trek show has to explore, and push the envelope, and that is what Star Trek: Voyager did. I will admit, that they didn't have the best written episodes, but they did explore, and travel, which made me feel like I was unlocking new areas of the Star Trek universe.

The Ship

I loved that Voyager wasn't the best that the Federation had to offer. It was a good ship, but unlike the Enterprise-D, it wasn't the flag ship. It had some techological advancements, and some interesting additions. It was more maneuverable than previous ships we have seen, especially for its size. It also was able to land, something that the saucer section of the Galaxy class ship, didn't do too well.

While the design of Voyager wasn't all that revolutionary, it was different than what we had seen before, and there was a nice evolutionary feel to it. I am obsessed with seeing science fiction continue to press forward, and Voyager was another step in that direction. My friend Nick says I only like flashy technology and special effects, and in part he is right.

Delta Flyer

One of the biggest mistakes in Star Trek for me was not having a fighter type vessel. Deep Space Nine had their Runabouts, but they were more like small ships than figheters, but the Delta Flyer was the fighter I had been waiting for. It was small, highly maneouverable, tough, and versatile. It was a very fun idea, and allowed us to get away from the almost bulky, Voyager.

Cheesy

In all honesty, every series has had its cheesy moments, and while Star Trek: Voyager might have had more of them than others, it is what made the show light, fun and familiar.

I think the audience has forgotten the long legacy of comedy and silliness in their Star Trek as they have gotten older. I, for one, enjoy the fact that the show still gets a giggle or two from me.

Enemies

I both enjoyed, and didn't enjoy the enemies put into play in Star Trek: Voyager, but I can tell you that out of all the shows, Voyager got beat up the worst.

Yes, I know the Defiant got blown up, but that's not where the show primarily took place. The Delta Flyer also was destroyed at one point. Yes, the Federation was pushed from Deep Space Nine, but it wasn't ravaged in the ways that Voyager was.

I loved 8472, and their technology. I enjoyed the interactions with the Kazon, Borg, and others. It gave the show a wide array of enemies to face, much like we saw back in both Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Conclusion

I really think that Star Trek: Voyager was a good progression of the Star Trek universe, and held to many of the ideals put forth in previous incarnations.

I do agree that they were a little light on plot, and a little high on the cheese factor sometimes, but all in all, it was a great series, with an especially powerful conclusion.

If you haven't liked Star Trek: Voyager before, go back and watch Star Trek: The Next Generation, and let me know if you could still like it today. Maybe it isn't Star Trek that has changed, but instead, your expectations from it.

So I was relaxing, and all of a sudden a Twitter message appeared saying that there is now a science fiction related book of baby names.

This really peaked my curiosity because I have one of the most boring first names you can have, and I always wished my parents had given me something more interesting to use on a day to day basis, rather than David.

So I clicked the link and it brought me to Laughing Squid, where they talked about the Sci-Fi Baby Names Book by Robert Schnakenberg.

The book is being sold at ThinkGeek for $10.99 and here is the summary from their site:

Babies are the courageous explorers of brave new worlds--so why not name them after the most memorable characters in science fiction? Because, if you stop and look at them, most babies really do look like aliens. Sci-Fi Baby Names compiles more than 500 distinctive names from movies, books, and television shows into a handy illustrated reference. Choose "James" to honor the captain of the starship Enterprise. Choose "Leia" (or Leah) to honor the sister of Luke Skywalker. Choose "Neo" to salute the ultra-cool messiah from The Matrix. Hardcore fans can go even further with exotic names like "Barbarella," "Beldar," and "Tron" (just don't send us the therapy bills).

Arranged by category for quick reference - with chapters such as Power Names, Feminine Names, and Intellectual Names - Sci-Fi Baby Names is a terrific gift for expecting parents and a wonderful roll call of our favorite science-fiction characters. Think about how proud you would be of little Emilio, if he took after his namesake Dr. Emilio Lizardo, when he speaks his first words, "Laugh while you can, monkey-boy." So proud.

Even if you aren't planning on having a child any time soon, it could be a great book to have as part of your geeky collection. I plan on picking it up, though I doubt I will torture my child with a name like Neo, especially after seeing how horrible the second and third Matrix movies were.

Anyone else interested in picking up a copy? Or even more interesting, what science fiction name do you wish you had? I always wanted to be called Xavier, after Charles Xavier from the X-Men.