Graham’s best science fiction of 2009

I wasn’t going to do a best-of list for 2009 because I feel a bit like a fraud given how little I read last year, but I did watch a few science-fiction movies and a lot of television, so, in the hope of starting a tradition, here is my belated list.

I read a whole four novels last year, pathetic really, but eye problems severely restricted my reading. I envy Facebook friends like Patty Jansen, who read 39 novels, and Satima Flavell, who read too many to count. Three of the novels I read were science fiction, and Time Machines Repaired While U Wait by KA Bedford was the best of them. It would probably have ranked near the top of a normal year’s reading list, since I have always loved a good time-travel story. I reviewed it here.

I saw at least half a dozen science fiction movies this year and two stood out: District 9 and Star Trek. District 9 told an original story about aliens as refugees rather than invaders, in a documentary style, with a message about racism, filmed in the unfamiliar environment of South Africa. It was unpredictable, at least for me, and had wonderfully realistic special effects. The makers of Avatar should watch it, as I found Avatar totally predictable, unoriginal, and boring in places, with unrealistic special effects and big plot holes. I thought Star Trek was a great reboot of what had become a very tired franchise, at least in movies.

Most of my science fiction TV viewing was on Austar (Foxtel) as I am fed up with disappearing and the erratic scheduling of commercial television. I watched three standout series last year: Battlestar Galactica (series 3, and I am up to episode 15 of series 4), The Chronicles of Sarah Connor (series 2) and Torchwood: Children of Earth. I rate Battlestar Galactica with The X-Files and Doctor Who as the best science fiction ever. Battlestar Galactica is an adult, emotional, character-driven drama with a twisting story. I still have no idea how it will finish. The Chronicles of Sarah Connor has a plot that grows more complex as more characters with their own agendas are introduced from the future. It also helps that the lead actress is easy to watch. And Torchwood, in the absence of a series of Doctor Who, was the fun show to watch.

So there you have it; hopefully this year I will do more reading and less television watching.