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Ok, another loaded question. Where's the premiere of 'Star Trek.' What abou the making of 'Metropolis.' Stop already. I'm talking moments I HAVE SEEN, so we're talking within the context of a 32 year span. CHILL ALREADY. Jeeze. Besides, you've heard all of those, anyway. Or at least you've heard them gushed about by assorted film/tv people. Personally, these moments stick out for me because I saw them first hand, not from from the umpteenth review of a writer. Some established a precedent, maybe they were just cool. Either way, all were magical. So there.
1. Premiere of 'The X-Files.' Seriously, beyond 'Star Trek,' was there EVER any real sci-fi presence on TV for longer then two seasons? Sure, 'Buck Rogers' with Gil Gerard was fun, but come on, A-list TV it wasn't. And no, I'm not counting 'Quantum Leap.' Yes, it's a wonderful show, and bully for Scott Bakula for getting the plum-role of the Captain in 'Enterprise.' However, 'Leap' was more of a straight-up drama with SOME sci-fi references. 'X-Files' had sci-fi oozing everywhere... sometimes literally. I remember reading an early sneak-peek review of 'The X-Files' in 'TV Guide' and they really liked it... assuming it survived. Well, NINE SEASONS LATER, it's still going. Say what you will about Chris Carter(and people in Hollywood probably have.), he created a terrific premise, boulstered by wonderful stories that spanned sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and everything in between.
2. ''The Empire Strikes Back.' 'NO STAR WARS?' Yes, Episode 4 was a great movie, but 'Empire' showed that the movie fan had no qualms seeing an EPIC in sci-fi that may take years... and years... and years to finish. Remember the end of 'Empire?' Hey, EVERYBODY was thinking about ways for Han to get out and Luke and crew to whup some butt. Sci-fi movies were no longer one-shot deals, and they weren't just a generic franchise to be millked to the bitter end. Sci-fi movies could tell stories to span generations, ala 'The God Father.'
3. 'The Matrix.' Ok, let's air out something; THIS MOVIE ISN'T PERFECT. And guess what, WE DON'T CARE. This movie is like 'Star Wars' for Generation X; influences from every movie, story, whatever from the last 20 years are all over the place. John Woo gun-fights, cyber-punk sensibility, Goth outfits, everything. Rather then just smash all this together and come up with... well, crap, the Washawski's created something like rock n' roll; you know the ELEMENTS, but what came out is new, refreshing, and will knock your socks off.
4. 'Robotech' and 'Starblazers' make it big in the US; Granted, everyone was exposed to anime in one form or another. However, both these series caught on like wild-fire through syndication in the US. Everyone remembers a few bars from the 'Blazers' theme song, and we all remember Scott Bernard's Cyclone transformation. Unfortunately, this didn't lead to an anime explosion in the US as many of us had hoped. Instead, a generation of ADULTS remembered what we liked, got jobs, some spending money, and noticed all the other wonderful things available through mail order. From there, the likes of 'Toonami just took it and ran faster then the wave-motion engine. Oh yeah, babe.