What is the single best science fiction or fantasy franchise?

[Parmandur]

Masters of the Universe does hold up surprisingly well: it crashed and burned when I was a toddler, so I only knew the toys as garage sale deals my mom found and never even saw the cartoon until my 20's. If only.more children's media was created with such TLC!

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

"Stinkor was first introduced in 1985 as an action figure from the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe toyline and came packaged with a mini-comic entitled The Stench of Evil!. The Stinkor action figure had a semi-foul scent, giving it the distinction of being one of the few toys whose "action feature" was an odor. The Stinkor action figure was created by Mattel by re-using the mold of another villain in the Masters of the Universe line Mer-Man. The only differences between the Mer-Man and Stinkor action figures were that Stinkor was painted black and white, had different chest armor and was chemically treated with patchouli oil to smell musky."

Seriously, there is not enough cocaine in the physical universe to justify this decision making process, not even in the 80's.

I thought Stinkor was super cool when I was a kid. My only complaint was that he only came with a shield. Couldn't they have given him a stink blaster or a sword at the very least?

 

[MGibster]

The She-Ra reboot on Netflix (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) is the absolute best thing to ever come from He-Man.

I haven't seen it, and likely never will, but one of the interesting things about He-Man was it's unexpected popularity with girls which eventually led to the creation of the original She-Ra. When they developing Masters of the Universe in the late 70s and early 80s, who in hell would have thought girls could be a market for them?

The Toys That Made Us documentary series on Netflix has a fantastic episode on the history of He-Man, and exactly how it collapsed. TL;DW, too many toys nobody card about, kids couldn't find Skeletor ro He-Man anymore, stupid gimmicks like a stinky toy that PO'd parents, bad marketing, etc...

It turns out that when you predicate your marketing strategy on getting kids invested in the lore then you can't be surprised when kids become attached the lore. Hasbro found that out when they decided to kill off a bunch of beloved Transformers in Transformers: The Movie in 1986. Hasbro spent years getting kids invested in stories with characters like Optimus Prime, Jazz, Bumblebee, etc., etc. and unceremoniously killed them off in the opening scene of the movie expecting their audience to move on to newer characters and that just didn't happen.

 

[MGibster]

I thought Stinkor was super cool when I was a kid. My only complaint was that he only came with a shield. Couldn't they have given him a stink blaster or a sword at the very least?

He was way better than Moss Man.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

He was way better than Moss Man.

That was one I never had. I'm still jealous of kids that had Castle Greyskull.

 

[GreyLord]

4 bad movies, TFA and RotS is more average than bad imho.

I think you guys have missed a few Star Wars movies, including a theatrical release (though originally it wasn't slated for the theaters).

I personally like all 6 of the Main Lucas Star Wars films. If they had been left alone, they would have had a significant impact. They are as significant probably as Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz, if not MORE significant. They would have been remembered (still might be, don't know how much Disney will tarnish or overuse it) for a long time.

However, most of the movies afterwards have not had quite the impact or impression. To me, of the more recent releases, there have only really been two that really have stood out to me as being Star Wars movies that fans and others will adore for awhile...the others could be maligned or forgotten quite a bit.

The Clone Wars (As shown in this thread...no one actually remembers it was a theatrical release). This film probably has less impact than any other theatrical released Star Wars Film. Probably for good reason.

The Force Awakens (this one is probably one of those that is debatable whether it is adored or not, but I see more adoration than dislike. It's full of what COULD have been to most fans...if the films had actually followed a solid storyline in one direction).

The Last Jedi (this is the film that is well made for a film, but so ridiculous I said to myself after seeing it...I really don't think the EU [Lucas's EU, the one made under his authority] could be worse than this. I really haven't cared for it and thought it was second rate...but...heck...nothing could be THIS stupid. A 2d space chase with a time limit where they obviously can get off and go to hyperspace and use that fuel with a small craft which no one even misses...yeah...even I can't suspend my imagination to close that loophole. Apparently there are many others who have much worse opinions than that).

Rise of Skywalker (I actually think this has a great Star Wars feel to it. I think it's actually pretty decent as a star wars film and captures the Star Wars mood. I am in a very small minority apparently. People seem to abhore this movie like it was the abomination from the unspeakable pit).

Solo (okay, not bad...it has one scene I absolutely love [when they evade the Star Destroyer Blockade] but, it has some shenanigance which is just dumb [for example...They are going to say Han Solo got the name Solo that way....really...seriously...roll my eyes]. This one isn't great though and is mostly forgettable. It's a movie no one wanted and no one asked for...but they made it anyways).

Rogue One (the unexpected Gem. Just like Solo, it really wasn't the movie anyone asked for...but a LOT of people think this is the only salvageable movie from Disney's Star Wars).

So...on that count it looks like 2/6 movies are good, or could be counted as leaning in that directly...but...wait...we forgot two MORE movies). These come from before the Prequel trilogy era...

The Ewok Adventure (that no one remembers to mention this TV movie when discussing Star Wars movies probably says all there is to say about it).

Caravan of Courage (I think that's what it's called. If the Ewok Adventure is listed on the bad, this would be of even less reknown).

So out of 14 films, thats 8 films that are good? If we take out the Prequels (as someone suggested) we are down to 4 or 5 (depending on your slant for the Force Awakens I suppose).

I'd say as far as movies go, Star Trek isn't really doing THAT bad. I'd count 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13 as good movies at least, with 3, 7, and 9 being at least as good as the average Star Wars movie that's good.

Star Trek has far more TV episodes than Star Wars does overall...and I think Star Trek probably has more Emmys at this point.

 

[GreyLord]

Masters of the Universe does hold up surprisingly well: it crashed and burned when I was a toddler, so I only knew the toys as garage sale deals my mom found and never even saw the cartoon until my 20's. If only.more children's media was created with such TLC!

He-man Comics still come out occasionally. I have a relative's kid that has them in omnibus form (including one with them fighting DC I think) and even has a toy from the past two years or so. Looking online it looks like they still even have toys available (probably from the recent Netflix reboots they've done of He-man and She-ra. Since I don't get netflix...I sadly have not seen them).

Interestingly enough, when typing it in Amazon...the 2002 series is listed above all the other series (as it should be).

 

[Zardnaar]

I think you guys have missed a few Star Wars movies, including a theatrical release (though originally it wasn't slated for the theaters).

I personally like all 6 of the Main Lucas Star Wars films. If they had been left alone, they would have had a significant impact. They are as significant probably as Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz, if not MORE significant. They would have been remembered (still might be, don't know how much Disney will tarnish or overuse it) for a long time.

However, most of the movies afterwards have not had quite the impact or impression. To me, of the more recent releases, there have only really been two that really have stood out to me as being Star Wars movies that fans and others will adore for awhile...the others could be maligned or forgotten quite a bit.

The Clone Wars (As shown in this thread...no one actually remembers it was a theatrical release). This film probably has less impact than any other theatrical released Star Wars Film. Probably for good reason.

The Force Awakens (this one is probably one of those that is debatable whether it is adored or not, but I see more adoration than dislike. It's full of what COULD have been to most fans...if the films had actually followed a solid storyline in one direction).

The Last Jedi (this is the film that is well made for a film, but so ridiculous I said to myself after seeing it...I really don't think the EU [Lucas's EU, the one made under his authority] could be worse than this. I really haven't cared for it and thought it was second rate...but...heck...nothing could be THIS stupid. A 2d space chase with a time limit where they obviously can get off and go to hyperspace and use that fuel with a small craft which no one even misses...yeah...even I can't suspend my imagination to close that loophole. Apparently there are many others who have much worse opinions than that).

Rise of Skywalker (I actually think this has a great Star Wars feel to it. I think it's actually pretty decent as a star wars film and captures the Star Wars mood. I am in a very small minority apparently. People seem to abhore this movie like it was the abomination from the unspeakable pit).

Solo (okay, not bad...it has one scene I absolutely love [when they evade the Star Destroyer Blockade] but, it has some shenanigance which is just dumb [for example...They are going to say Han Solo got the name Solo that way....really...seriously...roll my eyes]. This one isn't great though and is mostly forgettable. It's a movie no one wanted and no one asked for...but they made it anyways).

Rogue One (the unexpected Gem. Just like Solo, it really wasn't the movie anyone asked for...but a LOT of people think this is the only salvageable movie from Disney's Star Wars).

So...on that count it looks like 2/6 movies are good, or could be counted as leaning in that directly...but...wait...we forgot two MORE movies). These come from before the Prequel trilogy era...

The Ewok Adventure (that no one remembers to mention this TV movie when discussing Star Wars movies probably says all there is to say about it).

Caravan of Courage (I think that's what it's called. If the Ewok Adventure is listed on the bad, this would be of even less reknown).

So out of 14 films, thats 8 films that are good? If we take out the Prequels (as someone suggested) we are down to 4 or 5 (depending on your slant for the Force Awakens I suppose).

I'd say as far as movies go, Star Trek isn't really doing THAT bad. I'd count 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13 as good movies at least, with 3, 7, and 9 being at least as good as the average Star Wars movie that's good.

Star Trek has far more TV episodes than Star Wars does overall...and I think Star Trek probably has more Emmys at this point.

I'm more good/bad/average. Last Jedi was very mixed I dont like it but would count it as average.

I didn't count the animated movie or the TV movies. They were made for ultra cheap (3 million dollars CoC). Obviously they exist but i was counting live action theatrical release. Rewatched one for 80s kids TV movie it's kinda ok (it's not good by any stretch).

If you did a tier list I was only counting D tier movies, C is sonething like Revenge of the Sith maybe B being generous.

I can't fairly rate ST:TOS, haven't seen the ones after 2009 one.

Even the worst Star Wars movies have sonething fun in it though. Prequels have Obi Wan moments, RoS was a hot mess but relative to everything else but viewed in isolation. Half of AotC us fun the other half is bleah.

I like Picard S1&2 more than the internet they're not great S2 liked parts of ot. Discovery S2 sonething similar S1 tedious.

Woukd rate Voyager less Neelix annoyed me so much I stopped watching. Har Jars annoying but could still finish the movie.

 

[Willie the Duck]

"Stinkor was first introduced in 1985 as an action figure from the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe toyline and came packaged with a mini-comic entitled The Stench of Evil!. The Stinkor action figure had a semi-foul scent, giving it the distinction of being one of the few toys whose "action feature" was an odor. The Stinkor action figure was created by Mattel by re-using the mold of another villain in the Masters of the Universe line Mer-Man. The only differences between the Mer-Man and Stinkor action figures were that Stinkor was painted black and white, had different chest armor and was chemically treated with patchouli oil to smell musky."

Seriously, there is not enough cocaine in the physical universe to justify this decision making process, not even in the 80's.

According to that The Toys That Made Us documentary mentioned upthread, there were idea sessions where they had to tell themselves, "Okay, that's a good joke for here at this table, but no -- we cannot get away with a children's toy named 'Sea-Man.'" Also, one of the initial concepts for He-man during the planning stages was a figure with a tank-turret for a head.

 

[Parmandur]

According to that The Toys That Made Us documentary mentioned upthread, there were idea sessions where they had to tell themselves, "Okay, that's a good joke for here at this table, but no -- we cannot get away with a children's toy named 'Sea-Man.'" Also, one of the initial concepts for He-man during the planning stages was a figure with a tank-turret for a head.

It is really a great documentary.