SCIFI UNIVERSE TIER LIST
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
- My tier list for a buncha sci-fi universes. What do you want from me? It's a list. its got universes. ENJOY!
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Opinion: a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
You don't say....
I'm offended that you attempted to preempt my seething raeg!!1!
Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man
Outrageous! How dare you use logic against me like that... (this is a joke btw love you Daniel)
Just read the Ender series, first book is phonemenal
I would've liked to see Mass Effect and Stargate in here. And yes, Blade Runner.
This, and also Hyperion.
Yea the Mass Effect univers is great
Mass effect is in my top 5 universes
Babylon 5, maybe ?
Technically Weyland-Yutani exists in both Alien and Blade Runner, so they could be considered the same universe. And he covered Alien.
Daniel: *puts Star Wars in D*
Me: *"YOU DARE?!"*
Daniel: "Since Disney bought it."
Me: "Oh okay, fair enough, have a good day."
Understandable, Have a nice day.
Wasn't the Disney part about how they could've expanded it? One thing was Disney fucking up their expansion of the universe and missing their opportunity. Another very different is the complete mess that the Star Wars universe has ever been.
@@LightningRaven42 Yes, it always had retcons and things that didn't make sense but eraising the expanded universe didn't help.
@@LightningRaven42 by erasing the expanded universe(which answered a lot of questions), they leave open very large holes, which they had the opportunity to fix or do something with, and they don't
@@zonastarwars4397 Yeah. My friend is a HUGE fan and said that after she read the expanded universe, she was much more interested in them than the movies themselves.
Of Corse the Expanse is S-tier, anything less is tourch and pitchfork.
As a BRAND NEW fan of the expanse and also this channel, this rules
Should be a torch and pitchfork for your spelling bud.
@Jack Storm the human side is what fascinates me. The tensions between inners and belters etc.
*ALL CAPS RAGE IN THE COMMENTS*
Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!
I almost made the same joke. xD
DAMN YOU STOLE MY IDEA
but, what firefly did do in only 14 episodes was so good. The universe felt rich and the characters were so well written
Or as I like to put it often: Firefly was the grimy western scifi that Star Wars tried to be.
This
Yeah, they may not have told the full season 1 story they planned on, but 14 episodes and the movie (and the comics if you want, not sure about canon status) there's certainly a _verse_ been a realized. It's awful lonely in the black. Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me. I aim to misbehave. You can't stop the signal.
@@MagusMarquillin Preach it! You so shiny.
@@ssusanchef1047 I love my Captain.
*The Terminator Universe should be called the Wheel of Time.*
I see what you did there
So... who would win in a fight, a gholam or a T-1000?
For the love of all that is nonsensical and absurd in this universe, my heart aches that you skipped Hitchhikers Guide
he mentioned a handful of the 23984734 verses he could have, this video would be 8+ hours long if he tried to rank every semi-major sci fi novel or movie
@@EB-bl6cc oh for sure, Im not angry. I just adore Hitchhikers and would love to know where such an absurdist universe would rank on his list.
Two lists would have been better. TV/movie and literature original source.
Daniel: *sings the star wars theme using star trek as the lyrics*
Wait... That's Illegal
I love these intros, they’re the best
I feel like we need Hyperion on here, it has such a great vibe and is a classic and that world building!
Yeah I was disappointed that Hyperion wasn't in the ranking. S tier for me.
This one has been on my mind lately. It's time for a re-read
Yes , Hyperion is great. Too bad it was ruined by the awful Endymion sequels
Dang well guess I don't need to finish the list
Well, might as well read that over Dune. Since the Dune series ended on a cliffhanger after the Author died.
I'll leave a hidden gem here:
Legend of Galactic Heroes by Yoshiki Tanaka.
A grand space opera, some even say it's like ASOIAF. It got adapted to anime for 110 OVA from 1988-1997 and got remake in 2018-ongoing (still only 24 eps tho).
I'll put that in S rank just for how deep the politic is.
check out the book series if you
get the chance, by yoshiki.
Babylon 5 is my nomination for best left out verse.
I also think it's a good balance between the (relatively) boundless optimism of Trek which I find kinda annoying/clawing and the slightly grimmer BSG verse.
I left this video disturbed that I find the Trek verse too saccharine and think of BSG as closest in spirit to were we're headed in spirit.
Suggestion:
Philosophical musings tier list.
It's amazing how rewatching B5 in the early 2000's felt like it was so fresh and current. Rewatching it now, it feels the same way. At least from the overall philosophy. Clearly the effects and episode structure have aged very poorly.
I'd say The Expanse is the only SciFi property to come close to the same high water mark since Babylon 5. Hopefully it's not another 25+ years before we get another great universe.
Edit: First sentence erroneously said BSG instead of B5. Typing on. Phone is rough.
Totally agree. Loved B5 and when I started watching The Expanse, it gave me such a similar feeling I went and rewatched B5. They're both great shows.
I second the B5 comment/replies here 100000%
@Robertson Thirdly She is also the right hand of vengence and death incarnate.
Can’t even finish watching after reading this post and finding out B5 is left out.
There's a couple of things you missed... Stargate and Farscape...they are in my top 5...
He did worse than that he didn't mention Babylon 5
Wow no stargate? This list is bogus. Stargate is easily top 5 ever
Warhammer 40k was my biggest miss. But yeah. Babylon 5. And you can easily rate Firefly. That was a nicely fleshed out Verse.
Also Ender's Game?
@@Omegaroth666 yeah seriously! Enders game is some of the best sci-fi out there, along with the other books in the series
"because of the sequels, Matrix just has a lot of problems...." (moves Alien to A-tier) lol
Have you watched The Clone Wars cartoon? It's still canon for Star Wars and the only reason I'd still consider ranking new Star Wars canon somewhat high. (Though I agree that the new Disney movies make a mess of worldbuilding)
Yup. It’s extremely overhyped while still being decent.
Disney didn't "make a mess" from a world building perspective. He just said they didn't do anything EXTRA to expand the universe which is correct. You could potentially argue they made a mess of the story telling tho.
Daniel Greene excuse me ma’am? Science has declared you’re opinion is wrong here. This is the only cartoon that has ever made me cry.
@@DanielGreeneReviews The Clone Wars season one is terrible, but the quality of the show improves with each successive season.
Given the fact that this tier list is about universe building, though, I think it is important to note that The Clone Wars and Rebels both did so much more worldbuilding for that universe than the movies ever did. Whether that's because Star Wars as a concept actually works better as a show than it does as a movie, or because Dave Filoni is the best world builder to ever helm a Star Wars project, I'm not sure. Probably a combination.
@@DanielGreeneReviews YES.
"I'm gonna put Star Wars in D since Disney bought it."
Are you trying to start a war???
NOICE : ))))))))))))))))))
D for Disney
New Daniel Greene Video: YAY!!!
It's Sci Fi: ...BETRAYAL!!!!!
...
But seriously, as always nice video.
Why no Mass effect tho?
Dude, your videos are not only well informed and interesting, but also wholeheartedly entertaining. Keep it up brother!
Warhammer 40 000 is honestly s tier by sheer scale and awesomeness.
Based on what he said he was looking for I could see him putting it D teir. That or because it goes against everything he says but does it well it hits S teir
Sheer
Warhammer is just dune and starship troopers
@@cosmere-gx4ud but about x1,000 more batshit insane
@@daryanguy I dont man first chapter is just him waking up and being told he's a product of eugenics in dune. 40k is just alot more loud and gorey then the others
The energy lately has been on point, Daniel. I'm not sure what point. But it's definitely been there. 😆
I would be interested in hearing where you would have placed the Enderverse in this tiered list.
The Blade Runner and Alien universes are connected, they reference each other - admittedly as Easter eggs rather than core or secondary plot points, so I'm not really pushing that point too hard.
I really do enjoy your tier list videos because they both give me a to watch/read/play list but ideas for my own projects.
Can you add some references, as a fan of both universes it would be interesting to see them connected
Does not include The Culture, so the scale is broken. Read the Culture novels Daniel.
Oh and Hitchhiker's Guide. I mean, come on.
READ THE FUCKING CULTURE NOVELS DANIEL
Petition for Daniel to read the Culture novels!
If you go off the movie Hitchhiker's Guide is D. Books are easily A
@@ericmerrell8622 I was talking about the books, yes, however if you haven't either heard the radio play or watched the british series based on it you have to. The original bbc series is one of the absolute best bits of sci fi on film ever.
I HAVE heard the radio shows, however it was long enough ago that I didn't feel comfortable ranking them
Warhammer 40k? Um.... and SCP
The Vorkosigan Saga blows most of these outta the water. Most realistic planetary governments and political intrigue ever
Agree x 100!
No stargate? No farscape? For shame
YES! Please watch stargate if you haven’t
Is it bad that I wanted Ben 10 on here😭😭
no it is good, just to much UST between cousins
You could say I’m a bit new to the sci-fi genre, so I haven’t seen most of these. My favorite sci-fi universe is probably from the anime Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Really cool n-depth with its history, big events have big consequences, just cool in general.
*Happy gasp* I found my people.
Seriously though, that show is a solid A tier, and way too obscure for just how good it is.
@a b EXACTLY. YOU GUYS ROCK. galactic heroes and babylon 5 are next level.
@a b check out the books by the original author if you can
Star Wars-like conflict scale and magnitude, space battles which coud rivales Battlestar Galactica, and good dose of political machinations and backstabbing? Greate mixture. I love it.
0:44 Alien (B) (reranked A)
1:38 Halo (A)
2:56 Bladerunner (A)
3:08 Battlestar Galactica (C) (reranked B)
4:25 The Expanse (S)
5:13 The Foundation Universe (S)
5:55 Star Wars (C-) (reranked D)
7:52 Dr Who (A)
8:45 Dune (S)
9:36 The Matrix (B) (reranked C)
10:34 Firefly (unranked)
10:50 Mad Max (C) (reranked B)
11:25 Known Space a.k.a. Ringworld (A) (reranked S)
11:55 Star Trek (S)
12:37 Terminator (D-)
13:23 Planet of the Apes (C)
13:55 Bobverse (B)
I’m actually far more interested by what you left out, than where you ranked what you included! Overall I agree with your list (for the most part) but I would love to have seen Stargate, The Hyperion Cantos, The Hitchhikers Guide, Old Man’s War, Mass Effect, and probably a dozen more acclaimed universes.
I'm so glad someone so big on booktube has such respect for Foundation and Dune. Classic sci-fi literature has a special place in my heart and I love seeing it get love :)
Mass effect, or alien friendship simulator is a great setting. It's like the wheel of time, if the main character wasn't prophecised, just really focused. With a lot of firefly thrown in for the crew specifically. Firefly in the Normandy. Wheel of time political squabling in the galaxy, but with capatalism and corporations thrown in.
Isn't Hitchiker's Guide SCIFI?
S-Tier SciFi
Skiffy, not science fiction.
@@psikeyhackr6914 What does Skiffy mean?
@@gilliganIII It is one pronunciation of scifi implying it is something other than an abbreviation of science fiction and does not really qualify.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiffy
So glad you included Known Space and ranked it so high. Notice that many of the most interesting things in the Expanse derive directly from Niven.
In Starwars defense, Clone Wars and Rebels, which are canon, are pretty damn good.
Missing are two of my favorite. Babylon 5 and Farscape. Must watches of anyone but sacrilege for a SciFi fan....
And just remembered one more StarGate... one ok movie and some good TV shows... One of the most underrated shows ever Stargate Universe. Starts off super slow but is worth the time.
The Firefly comics need to be added to your TBR
Just an anecdote on Frank Herbert as a world builder: In 1985, Harlan Ellison taught a writing class in which he challenged a group of scientists and authors to create a fictional world and then assigned his students to write stories in that world. It began with a panel discussion with science fiction writers and actual scientists. And as the discussion unfolded, Frank Herbert absolutely took over and created a mind-blowing planet that was believable yet challenged the students. His ability to blend ecology, topography, geology, and astrophysics in a universe is just incredible! All of this, including the panel discussion that kicked it off and the best stories in the class are in a book called Medea: Harlan's World.
I love your videos, and this scifi tier list needs an update! Please include Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy/Universe (most importantly), Hyperion Cantos, Mass Effect, Fallout, Hitchhiker's Guide, Cixin Liu, Margaret Atwood's Maddaddam (Oryx and Crake was phenomenal), Star Wars Expanded Universe (some credit has to be given to Darth Plagueis) and of course, Orson Scott Card's Ender series. That would be a very satisfying video.
I'm kinda surprised you included Star Wars on this list. I figured you'd point out the fact that it's *not* science fiction, it's science fantasy.
Yeah, weird space Opera
And I would seriously question the "science" part of "science fantasy". It is straight fantasy in which people use space ships, for some reason or other.
Science fantasy is simply a combination of sci-fi and fantasy. Technically it can be on both lists. Or it could possibly have it's own list.
It would definitely be interesting to see Star Wars compared to other sci-fantasy shows like Warhammer40k, Lord of the Light, some of P. Hamilton's and A. Norton's works or Dune.
^Dune actually is often considered a science fantasy (although of course way more science-heavy than SW).
If Daniel created a list for science fantasy Star Wars would still struggle. The worldbuilding of masterpieces in this genre is very impressive and usually consistent.
@@Draber2b Fair point, though as Dune leans into the science, I would say Star Wars leans into the fantasy. I also agree that it would still struggle in any kind of world building list, especially after Disney lopped off the vast majority of it's depth and replaced it with... well to put it nicely, a tangled, shallow, mess full of holes and unanswered questions.
I do love the idea of giving Daniel *any* excuse to dive into the wonderful insanity that is the 40k universe though!
Science fantasy?
I really hoped you will talk about Ian M. Banks Culture universe. It's one of the best in my opinion and one of the very rare instances where a sci-fi world comes close to being an utopia for me.
I just bought my first set of booka because of you. Also, still love the watch strap.
It's much more movie than literary SF, it's clear you're way better versed in fantasy than SF. Also a lot of budget, pulpy universes while most of the truly triple A universes are missing - Pohl's Gateway, Reynolds' Revelation Space, Hamilton's Pandora Star, Banks' Culture, Simmons' Hyperion, Vinge's Fire Upon The Deep or Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga and quite a few more. Not bashing you, just giving a few tips for some truly prestigious reading.
Yep. Adding John Scalzi, Larry Niven and Neal Asher, all phenomenal worldcrafts. Also Expanse is only potentially great. It all hangs on the eventual conclusion. It still may fizzle out like Lost - all exciting questions and embarrassing answers.
@@karloscv1781 I think the odds are low. To me the Expanse keeps beautifully evolving and they actually seem to have an end game in mind.
Warhammer 40k universe. Massive, well realized, tons of Canon, great history, etc.
@@nickd5158 Well here's hoping. So far the authors are drip-feeding us the meta-narrative so slowly as if they're planning to top Sword of Truth in the eventual number of volumes.
@@karloscv1781 as long as the quality remains high and they put them out consistently I'm okay with that.
So far so good. I've liked some better than others but the quality has been high to date.
Man, if the Star Wars EU was still cannon, it'd shatter the ceiling of this tier list. Why oh why did Disney do that?!
90% of EU was rubbish. People fondly remember the 10% too much.
@@ThanatoselNyx haven't seen a 90% the eu was crap comment in years. You probably haven't even read 90%. From a huge fan of the old canon and someone who stopped with star wars in 2014. With how bad the new canon and movies have been received getting rid of the eu was a mistake.
To have the opportunity to tell their own stories without having to be limited by what others made
@@the5thdoctor Read some EU stuff way back when and surfed around on the wiki quite a lot and I gotta say I'm not at all impressed. However, if they're gonna _uncanonize_ all the old EU stuff and replace it with the steaming pile of garbage that is Disney canon then what the hell was the damn point to begin with?
Might as well just have kept the old stuff that many people loved. It wasn't for me, but I could easily ignore it, and the Disney stuff is DEFINITELY not for me either.
Definitely recommend getting back into Doctor Who. Peter Capaldi (after Matt Smith) is my favorite doctor and it has some amazing seasons
If you haven't at least tried to watch the old ones I highly recommend.
It is a ✨trip✨.
Be warned tho, Susan screamed and unorthodox amount and even though I love her, it makes her extremely punchable.
I'm so happy your enjoying The Expanse, it seems you enjoy it for all the same reasons I do!
The intro had a sort of violent manic energy, and I am here for it.
Nice vid, will have to check out Bobverse but sci fi universes without Ian M. Banks Culture series? Farscape? Alastair Reynolds - Revelation space?
Oh, hello time for my daily dose of serotonin.
Hey Daniel. Long time follower, first time commenter.
I usually come to you for suggestions, as our tastes tend to line up pretty well (ty for Lightbringer, btw), but I think I actually have a couple for you this time.
The first is a TV show, Babylon 5. It came out around the same time as DS9 and was light-years (pun intended) ahead of its time. 5 seasons, 1 story, told in an amazing universe. The creator, JMS, had a vision, and executed it brilliantly at a time in tv sci-fi where such a thing should have been, and almost was, impossible.
The second is a book series by David Brin. The Uplift Novels. Around the same era as Niven, these books have a ridiculous scope and scale, spanning not just 1 galaxy... but five. Through them all is woven a story of mystery, intrigue, politics, and conflict that culminates pretty dang well. But for me it is the universe that shines, particularly in the way it shows the diversity of what actual alien life could really look like.
tl;dr: Highly recommend both Babylon 5 and David Brin Uplift Novels.
Instant LIKE for tearing out your headrest. Boom. You did that.
Why must you break my heart Daniel? Why? Now excuse while i go drown my sorrows about Firefly for the 100th time
I feel like he missed so many universes in sci fi he should almost do a second tier list to catch all the ones he missed....
the first 3 seconds of the video is actually live footage of what I do in my room when I think im home alone
I grew up watching Star Trek and this year decided to rewatch next generation and its been amazing!
Daniel, have you ever considered reading the Culture series by Iain M Banks? That universe would certainly belong in my S Tier! Each novel is a standalone so don't feel intimidated by the length of the series - it's very easy to dip in and out of because you don't have to remember any plot or character details between books.
Man Daniel is in a weird mood today...
He's always in a weird mood XD
True 🤣
The universe is in a weird mood today.
Battle Star Galactica lost its mojo so hard in the end of the final season that, for me, the entire validity of the show was negated. The story ark was so integral to the show that when the answer to all the problems was “God fixed it and Starbuck was literally an angel” it flushed everything down the toilet 🚽.
Finally Daniel does another sci-fi video!!! The best genre!!!
People already mentioned Farscape and Stargate, but you also could add The Culture by Ian Banks
I’ve been wanting to read Dune for ages now but I’ve still got to get through 10 Wheel Of Time books, 3 Song of Ice and Fire books, plus by then the next Stormlight book will be out so I’ll read that. And unfortunately the movie might come out which I’ll want to see and that would just spoil the book.
Dune movie was postponed for a year.
Bro the Planet of the Apes ranking hurt. Personally, one of my favorite sci-fi "universes."
Hi Daniel, have you explored any of Ursula Le Guin's "Hainish Cycle" books? I think you would enjoy her expanded Sci-fi universe and it's explorations of ideas. Might be a good addition to this list in the future.
Also, first time I have ever commented on a UA-cam video, but I love what you do and this community seems pretty damn cool.
Is Peter F Hamilton really that unknown that he never gets mentioned in these types of videos ?
Right? Since Banks died, Hamilton is the uncontested best space opera writer yet, I never see mention of him on booktube.
It's a crying shame
@@benwhiley9680 I'd throw Alastair Reynolds in the running as well; but yeah, Banks was the GOAT, and PFH is the only one who comes even remotely close to being as epic.
@@BobCanRead Absolutely, you're right; frankly, I'm embarrassed that I forgot about him!
Hamilton and Banks. It makes me sad
Kudos to you for putting Foundation in the S tier. You get it.
Great as usual.
Great to see Larry Niven on your list. I realy loved his books. But I'm missing Greg Bear's Eon trilogy. An absolute classic. And if, IF, you're interested in enlarging your tbr list: The long earth books by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter are realy worth the while.
Speaking of Pratchett, I enjoyed what he did with Strata. A less whimsical, Sci-fi Discworld before Discworld.
In terms of Scifi series. I'd seriously recommend the 'Expeditionary Force' series.
It's probably low B-tier, if I'm being honest, closer to C. But it's got some great Hard SF combat.
Daniel, have you read Red Dwarf or Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I gotta know.
One of my favourite recent Sci-fi series is John Scalzi’s Old man’s War series. It’s a great estimation of a corporate future and it’s place in the universe.
I'm 40 seconds in and there is such a chaotic energy on this video.
*Sees Star Wars in D tier*
Me: Bu - but - how??
*Starts bawling*
So my initial reactions:
1. Holy shit Im wearing that shirt!! 👀
2. What is Daniel smoking? Lol 😂
I really enjoyed your tier ranking for the universes that you chose. However, since you included Asimov's Foundation universe and Larry Nivens known Space Universe, I wondered if you were all so familiar with some other settings such as Robert Heinlein's future history; Poul Anderson's Polestechnic League-Terran Empire or Jerry Pournelle's Co-Dominion. Especially since Niven & Pournelle collaborated on some great works in Pournelle's setting.
Great video! Would like to see Gibson's Sprawl, Blade Runner, Pondsmith's Cyberpunk, Ender's Game
A minute of silence for Firefly
Firefly is pretty overrated
Culture universe. Iain M Banks.
Sad Firefly noises. Probably gonna go binge it all again for like the fifth time
With every day, the corruption of quarantine destroys Daniels sanity, bit by bit, he will soon fully become the disheveled goblin host he currently suppresses inside himself.
Seriously, how the hell does Daniel have time to watch, read and play every new series, book and game that come out?
I can barely stay ahead of the tv shows my friends recommend me
He has a video on this thing exactly
I am unemployed and i still can't catch up on the 372627263 things i wanna be caught up on
*Cries in no 40k*
Thank you for moving up Battlestar by the end. I know this is opinion, but I felt like I was going to have a stroke.
Dude, that intro. You're on FIRE today. I love it.
(swap 'today' for whatever day you filmed this video if necessary)
Did he just really say the new planet of the apes trilogy is just ok.... it's one of the best trilogies ever made and from the old ones the 1st one is a classic.. didn't expect this from him... I didn't believe it at first so I had to watch it a couple of times to finally believe what he said
It is just ok.
They were just ok
@@DanielGreeneReviews I disagree .... I'm sure you are in the minority with this one... majority believe it to be really great ..and it's one of my favorites of course ...may be give it a second try
@@DanielGreeneReviews most probably that trilogy is the reason Matt Reeves got Batman..as his direction in planet of the apes was phenomenal..
Yes I was in shock a bit by his words, replayed it slack jawed. Buy hey 😅 it's okay.
Any Greg Egan books is S+ for being a literal whole ass universe
i spent the entire video yelling at you to at least put Alien in A and I'm glad you did! Even with the newer movies watering it down narratively, it's still an absolutely brilliant universe. It's so cohesive and focused, it really feels a lot more "real" then even far more fleshed out and realistic universes to me. If you compare the scale to much larger universes, yeah, they dwarf alien. Bigger doesn't mean better though!!
This is a good list. I just recently got into the Bobbiverse, last year I think via audible. Super happy to see these books make this list. If you haven't yet, I'd suggest trying the audio books. Ray Porter does a bang up job. Alien is a long time favorite for me. I'd have probably put this in A or S tier if for no other reason than how deeply the stories (books, films, comics, audio dramas, etc) delve into the human condition. I agree we the you on the floundering done with the terminator universe. Sadly. It had so much potential to tell a great story but decades on they're rehashing the same plot line again and again. So yeah. Cash grab. And I'm not happy with it. TSCC was great. We agree on that. I have never read either Niven or Azamov. I tried to when I was a kid. Couldn't make it happen. Based on your notes, I'll give them another go. I need to get back into the expanse novels. I've read the first two and of course I've seen the series or at least what's available. They're great. This is getting really long. That's pretty much the extent of my comments on your list. Thanks for putting this together.
Neon Genesis Evangelion & Akira are my favourite sci-fi universe, you should watch them as they are classic & influential !
Akira is S tier for me with the Manga and everything. So freakin good.
@a b what about steins gate? if you haven't watched it you must! ergo proxy was all build up ... the ending was so disappointing. you should also try Metropolis from 2001 and Sakasama no Patema.
It always saddens me how Warhammer 30k and 40k are left out for its approach (just being 52 books the horus heressy it's pretty understandable how its left out)
But while not all its perfect by any means there are true gems in HH the world is leaving behind.
The Horus Heresy is the true masterpiece in regards to the writing/lore for the Warmhammer 40k Universe, which in my opinion, should definitely deserve to be recognized as one the richest Sci/Fi universes ever created. People rag on it a lot for some reason. It blows Halo out of the water in my eyes.
@@willrob3951 in all fairness though you could put dune, foundations, halo, mad max, terminator, matrix into Warhammer's universe pretty easily. it is simply that expansive.
Great list! My top sci fi universe is Hyperion, especially considering it was conceptualized before the internet
I think there should be listed also some of:
- Culture Series (Iain Banks's sci-fi, Consider Phlebas and so on) - A well developed universe which is unusual in that there is a utopian, post-scarcity hyperpower, and the implications of how that works and how people (and AIs) in that situation interact with the rest of the universe outside it.
- Mars trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars) - Hyper realistic hard sci-fi that is extremely good at building out world.
- Imperial Radch (Ancillary Justice and follow ons) - High quality books and interesting universe with AIs and star ships as well as cloned/duplicated consciousness.
- Neuromancer (Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive) - This was the heavily influential work that Matrix and others built off. You could also maybe add Snow Crash here even though it is a different author and different world, it is also this Matrix like world well realized.
- Ender's Game - In addition to the first book, the universe is fleshed out in continuation, and the Earth politics are fleshed out in the shadow books.
- Vorkosigan Saga - This series of sci-fi books builds out a universe with diverse planets that have diverse cultures and perspectives. Not all of the planets are equally well fleshed out, but overall the universe is consistent and effective in framing the stories and the main planets and cultures are extensively developed.
I also recommend all of the above books to readers of sci-fi.
From TV, I agree that Babylon5 is a strong universe for its story, and developed well. Another more recent TV show that I thought did a good job with near-future world building was Humans which develops the AI and synth and their impact on the world and economy as well as that thin line between utility/machine versus conscious/humanity?
I talk about Battlestar galactica, and I mean the original. I haven’t seen the remake. We exist, Daniel.
The disrespect the Original BSG got in this made me want to rage a little. I did watch the mini series and never had any interest in watching any more. The few things I have heard about going on in later seasons definitely makes me not want to watch it.
I love Dr. Who. The Doctor is one of my favorite characters. But the whoverse should be in Tier D and lower than Star Wars.
Dr. Who is brilliant with characterization, delightful with its historical re-imaginings, and sometimes spectacular with its sci-fi ideas. It's universe is inconsistent and not cohesive at all. Even its recurring elements (Gallifrey, Daleks, Cybermen) are mercurial, so often are they rebooted or retconned by new showleaders or even season-to-season. The whoverse is essentially a giant sandbox where anything can happen, great for giving the show freedom to explore new stories, but a poor universe.
The Star Wars universe, for all its problems, has one impressive strength: Its tone. Its atmosphere. I think few SFF universes are as easy to recognize. A few seconds of trailer footage is enough to let me know: I'm watching Star Wars (and this is *especially* true with the Disney shows, as weak as they are in other aspects). I don't know what else to call it, but nowhere else have I seen "droid-punk" so well realized visually. It's a universe that has a TON of potential (though its potential has been rarely well realized since 1983).
Suggestions for future sci-fi rankings: Ender's Game, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 1984, Ready Player One, The Handmaid's Tale, Avatar (the James Cameron one), District 9, Starship Troopers
Idk man, I get your arguments and stuff, but Star Wars still makes me feel something so much more than any of the other universes...
*Puts Star Wars in D*
It's treason, then.
*Mentions some good points such as how Disney bought it*
I don't like Disney. It's coarse, rough, irritating and gets everywhere.
List doesn't have Hamilton's _Commonwealth_ and _Confederation_ or Banks' _Culture_ ; imo the best sci-fi to come out in the last 20 (aww sugar how old am I? 40...) years. List is extremely incomplete!
That being said, the only outlier (out by more than 1 level imo) on Greene Daniel's list for me would be Who which should be lower. Even at its best during the Tennant years, it's just a fun show.
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Edit: (Brit asking) Do all American's pronounce u's as oo's? Doon instead on D-yoon.
Canadian here. I think north Americans don't pronounce "u" with any "y".
For example, we usually pronounce "Uber" as "oober" rather than "you-ber".
Either way, pronouncing "u" with a "y" although uncommon, is usually unnoticeable by most people across the pond.
@@hoominbeeing
Thanks for the info :)
Though, Uber is "oober" (in Brit accent too) because it is a German word and, therefore, a bad example ;)
I just noticed this about Dune/Doon and when NA's speak about the Tube/Toob in London.
Also, appropriate name lol.
Maybe an intro to what your exact criteria were going to be would have helped. I get that BSG doesn't have a bunch of species or whatever, but its universe is fully realized and detailed in terms of religion & mythology and differing colony cultures, politics, philosophies, factions, the living and travel and battle mechanics... for both the humans and the Cylons. The fact that all that plays out against a relatively grounded and semi-realistic space backdrop just makes its universe feel that much more potent and convincing.
I SECOND BABYLON 5. Seriously, it basically invented having a story arc for tv scifi. This was the Expanse of its day and the story is still great. Its graphics are a little aged in places, though honestly I think still hold up as serviceable. Season 1 is still finding its feet, but compared to TNG season 1 its no contest. Seriously, this is the Wheel of Time of tv scifi (minus the length) and I CANNOT recommend it enough.
The heart of the story is in its characters and my god what characters
Aaaaaaalll of this 💯💚