Quentin Tarantino reveals his favourite science fiction TV series: “I think that show is awesome”
Though Quentin Tarantino has tried his hand at several different movie genres, including kung fu, crime drama and western, he’s never really taken on the challenge of science fiction. In fact, the closest the director has ever come to sci-fi was his cameo in Planet Terror, part of his Grindhouse double feature with Robert Rodriguez.
However, that’s not to say that Tarantino doesn’t absolutely love the sci-fi genre. As with most facets of the cinematic medium, he has a burning passion for the most distant and imaginative worlds. Among some of his favourites are the likes of Back to the Future, The Thing, The Matrix and Dark Star.
In fact, the latter movie, directed by John Carpenter (who also handled The Thing, was described as a “masterpiece” by Tarantino. Dark Star was Carpenter’s first feature movie, written by Alien writer Dan O’Bannon, and it left a deep impression on Tarantino and his love for the sci-fi genre.
Even outside of the film medium, Tarantino had occasionally been drawn to sci-fi in the world of television, and he once spoke glowingly of a widely beloved series, noting, “Yeah, you know, I’m not that really drawn to science fiction as far as spaceship kinda stuff is concerned. Even though, actually, right now, my favourite show on television is Battlestar Galactica.”
First appearing on TV back in 2003, Battlestar Galactica became one of the most beloved science fiction TV series of all time. It was developed by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick as a reimagining of the 1978 television series of the same name by Glen A. Larson. A three-hour miniseries first arrived before leading to a four-season run that ended in 2009.
With the likes of Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber and James Callis making up the cast, as well as Tricia Helfer and Grace Park, Battlestar Galactica redefined the science fiction TV series and won several awards during its run, becoming considered one of the greatest TV shows of all time.
Narratively, the show takes place in a distant star system where humans live on a number of planets called the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, which had previously been at war with a race of human-created androids called Cylons. The Cylons destroyed much of the human population, leaving only about 50,000 survivors and one military ship, led by Commander William Adama and President Laura Roslin, which is tasked with searching for a 13th planet to live on called Earth.
Continuing to express his love for the series, Tarantino noted, “I think that show is awesome. But I’m not really that drawn to science fiction per se, especially when you’re talking about spaceship kind of movies.” Indeed, Tarantino’s favourite pieces of science fiction rarely involve spaceships, as he prefers a different kind of Earth-based sci-fi.
So, for Battlestar Galactica to capture the admiration of Tarantino speaks volumes about its overall quality. Tarantino famously turned down the opportunity to direct the classic sci-fi movie Men in Black, which was eventually handled by Barry Sonnenfeld. Tarantino has never directed a sci-fi movie, but seeing as he loves Battlestar Galactica so much, it would be interesting to think about what he would do with the series, whether he would use it in his unique style of sheer violence.
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