Issue #454 of Entertainment Weekly (October 1998) features SCI FI'S TOP 100, a fans' tribute rating the 100 all - time best works of science fiction in books, movies, TV shows, comics, and even video games. "...(Sci fi's cousins, fantasy and horror, weren't considered: that's another list.) The following were chosen and judged not just by quality and their influence on pop culture but also by their impact on the collective imagination. Science fiction has always been a gente of ideas; as such, it has the capability to appeal not just to our hearts but also to our minds..." - David Hochman 1. STAR WARS 2. STAR TREK 3. THE TWILIGHT ZONE / 1959 - 64 4. FRANKENSTEIN / 1818 5. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY / 1968 6. METROPOLIS / 1926 7. WAR OF THE WORLDS / 1938 8. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS / 1956, 1978 9. ALIEN / ALIENS 1979, 1986 Before director Ridley Scott got hold of the concept, Hollywood's conception of extraterrestrial life was pretty much limited to either whimsical little green men or clumsy bug-eyed monsters. In a gritty future, Scott brought to life Swiss surrealist H.R.Giger's terrifying biomechanical beastie: an acid-bleeding, razor-toothed, overgrown cockroach with an ugly practice of gestating its offspring in human hosts. James Cameron (Aliens) later extended the concept, introducing a voracious queen and a hive mentality, and also out the monsters up against a truly worthy opponent: Sigourney Weaver, a kick-ass mother with an attitude. Suddenly, space was a pretty scary place to be.