From 2001 to Matrix: The sci-fi canon until 2000
2001, Solaris, Star Wars and Matrix define the sci-fi canon until 2000, with TV pioneering special effects.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
From 2001 to Matrix: The sci-fi canon until 2000
Four decades of genre film and TV fit between the premiere of Doctor Who and Matrix. The question isn't what's on the list—almost everything is—but where the cut-off lies. The count initially stopped at Jurassic Park (1993) and Toy Story (1995), as these films revolutionized the genre. Public demand pushed the limit to 2000, revealing that while cinematic sci-fi mutated in 1993, television had evolved earlier. Shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Babylon 5 (1995) used early computer graphics, however rudimentary they seem today.
Did TV change before cinema?
The list's thesis is that series used computers for special effects from the late 1980s. Ironically, these effects now stand out more than cardboard sets. The British Red Dwarf, broadcast on the BBC between 1988 and 2012, is another title in the catalog. The same applies to Doctor Who, which aired on the BBC from 1963 to 1986.
The sixties: From Kubrick to the Andersons' puppets
Consensus is broad here. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), by Stanley Kubrick, appears in almost every poll as the genre's peak, backed by its basis on Arthur C. Clarke's novel. Five years earlier, Jason and the Argonauts (1963) also antiestéticatures in the decade's titles. On TV, Thunderbirds (1965-1966) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968) shared the spotlight between sophisticated puppets and underwater adventure. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson later helmed their first adult series before moving to Space: 1999, which was more ambitious but aged poorly, though remembered fondly.
The seventies, the decade no one disputes
Solaris (1972), Silent Running (1972), Fantastic Planet (1973), Slaughterhouse-Five (1973), They Came from Beyond Space (1975), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) form a lineup almost no one questions. Among them, Tarkovsky's film and René Laloux's animation are cited titles. Fantastic Planet, with its surrealist aesthetic and childlike appearance, functions as a metaphysical parable: some confess to using it for years as white noise to sleep. Philip Kaufman's remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is claimed to be more oppressive than the 1956 original, antiestéticaturing Donald Sutherland's iconic image as the story's seal. Some even recall school recesses as a genre thermometer: whoever narrated the movie with the grandest details won, and a title like Gorgo was enough to silence everyone.
Star Wars, Blade Runner and the Matrix effect
The original Star Wars trilogy (1977-1983) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) sit as the before and after for an entire generation. Blade Runner (1982) enters without debate. Just on the millennium's edge, Matrix (1999) and Dark City (1998) reopen the dispute over who truly renewed action effects and narrative. The bullet time sequence is cited as a cinematic icon, and its aesthetics influenced subsequent titles. Dark City, however, always lived in the previous film's shadow, despite both overlapping in time.
Why does current CGI look worse than twenty years ago?
This claim circulates in the thread: today's digital effect is inferior to that of two decades ago. Conversely, some prefer not to revisit classics to avoid ruining the memory. Space: 1999, with its transformations and models, would look much worse today than remembered. The discussion remains unresolved.
From Blake's 7 to the Power Rangers precursors
The final stretch is filled with titles rarely rerun. Blake's 7, Under the Mountain (1981, New Zealand), Chocky (1984), or Space: Above and Beyond (1995) are among the rescues. Precursors to the Power Rangers also appear, with Japanese robot sagas dubbed by the same voice that sang the Saint Seiya theme. Nineties animation, broadcast on Antena 3 in the early 90s, completes a catalog from which copies hardly circulate.
The cut-off at the year 2000 was an excuse to impose order, not a natural boundary. Each generation has its own 1968, its own 1977, its own 1993. No one has managed to decide which of these years truly marked the turning point, and the list continues to grow. As the debate continues, copies still circulate through channels no official catalog recognizes.
Four decades of genre film and TV fit between the premiere of Doctor Who and Matrix. The question isn't what's on the list—almost everything is—but where the cut-off lies. The count initially stopped at Jurassic Park (1993) and Toy Story (1995), as these films revolutionized the genre. Public demand pushed the limit to 2000, revealing that while cinematic sci-fi mutated in 1993, television had evolved earlier. Shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Babylon 5 (1995) used early computer graphics, however rudimentary they seem today.
Did TV change before cinema?
The list's thesis is that series used computers for special effects from the late 1980s. Ironically, these effects now stand out more than cardboard sets. The British Red Dwarf, broadcast on the BBC between 1988 and 2012, is another title in the catalog. The same applies to Doctor Who, which aired on the BBC from 1963 to 1986.
The sixties: From Kubrick to the Andersons' puppets
Consensus is broad here. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), by Stanley Kubrick, appears in almost every poll as the genre's peak, backed by its basis on Arthur C. Clarke's novel. Five years earlier, Jason and the Argonauts (1963) also antiestéticatures in the decade's titles. On TV, Thunderbirds (1965-1966) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968) shared the spotlight between sophisticated puppets and underwater adventure. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson later helmed their first adult series before moving to Space: 1999, which was more ambitious but aged poorly, though remembered fondly.
The seventies, the decade no one disputes
Solaris (1972), Silent Running (1972), Fantastic Planet (1973), Slaughterhouse-Five (1973), They Came from Beyond Space (1975), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) form a lineup almost no one questions. Among them, Tarkovsky's film and René Laloux's animation are cited titles. Fantastic Planet, with its surrealist aesthetic and childlike appearance, functions as a metaphysical parable: some confess to using it for years as white noise to sleep. Philip Kaufman's remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is claimed to be more oppressive than the 1956 original, antiestéticaturing Donald Sutherland's iconic image as the story's seal. Some even recall school recesses as a genre thermometer: whoever narrated the movie with the grandest details won, and a title like Gorgo was enough to silence everyone.
Star Wars, Blade Runner and the Matrix effect
The original Star Wars trilogy (1977-1983) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) sit as the before and after for an entire generation. Blade Runner (1982) enters without debate. Just on the millennium's edge, Matrix (1999) and Dark City (1998) reopen the dispute over who truly renewed action effects and narrative. The bullet time sequence is cited as a cinematic icon, and its aesthetics influenced subsequent titles. Dark City, however, always lived in the previous film's shadow, despite both overlapping in time.
Why does current CGI look worse than twenty years ago?
This claim circulates in the thread: today's digital effect is inferior to that of two decades ago. Conversely, some prefer not to revisit classics to avoid ruining the memory. Space: 1999, with its transformations and models, would look much worse today than remembered. The discussion remains unresolved.
From Blake's 7 to the Power Rangers precursors
The final stretch is filled with titles rarely rerun. Blake's 7, Under the Mountain (1981, New Zealand), Chocky (1984), or Space: Above and Beyond (1995) are among the rescues. Precursors to the Power Rangers also appear, with Japanese robot sagas dubbed by the same voice that sang the Saint Seiya theme. Nineties animation, broadcast on Antena 3 in the early 90s, completes a catalog from which copies hardly circulate.
The cut-off at the year 2000 was an excuse to impose order, not a natural boundary. Each generation has its own 1968, its own 1977, its own 1993. No one has managed to decide which of these years truly marked the turning point, and the list continues to grow. As the debate continues, copies still circulate through channels no official catalog recognizes.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (359 replies).
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