The Millennium Falcon
Luke Skywalker exclaimed that it was a piece of junk when he first laid eyes on it. But ever since I saw Star Wars for the first time as a child I have loved the Millennium Falcon. It's strange asymmetry and pieced-together look is just so classic. It's all about the details. You can really feel that Han and Chewbacca live and work there. They're smugglers and they're in debt, so the hastily repaired inside and exterior of ship reflect that exceedingly well. Perhaps it's because The Millennium Falcon was one of the first space ships that I saw, but it goes down as my all-time favorite. Sure it is a piece of junk, but it's a loveable piece of junk. I for one would take it on a The Kessel Run any day. Serenity
Serenity is one of the main characters in the film of the same name. You know, the one that followed the critically acclaimed and disastrously cancelled series Firefly. A majority of the show took place within her walls and once again the attention to detail is one of the main attractions. I particularly like Captain Mal's cabin in which he shares something that I love and has assorted container plants growing near the windows. The ship is also very unique looking with its giant engines and large storage bay. Serenity fits perfectly with the great ensemble cast in the series.
The Normandy
I called The Normandy home for quite some time during my time playing the Mass Effect series. It's sleek design and large interior make for a great home-base in a galaxy being torn apart by vicious enemies. Although it was slightly confusing at first to navigate around all of the important areas, I soon knew each and every room with the familiarity that one would have after spending quality time in a real place. That's one of the great things about interactive entertainment, you almost feel like you are there because you're forced to navigate in a 3D space. That's why The Normandy made my list.
Moya
Moya is probably the most unique of all of the ships on this list, in that she is actually a sentient being. I believe the Farscape series is sometimes overlooked when it comes to sci-fi shows. It's really great though and had some really interesting and unique concepts. One of them being that the ship that the main characters call home is a living creature, complete with little drones that repair and heal her from the inside. At one point in the series she even gives birth to a smaller ship. The only person that she can communicate with is a creature called "Pilot" who is bonded with her. The look of the ship is also very interesting and conveys the organic feel of a living being while still looking like a spacecraft.
The X-Wing Fighter
I built models of and played with the X-Wing fighter a lot when I was younger. It's a classic and well designed ship, reminiscent of dog-fighters during the golden age of aviation around the second world war. The control panel, the targeting system, the on-board droid, and the X-foils are all so well built and authentic looking that it's hard to believe the original film versions were made out of wood. It's one of my favorites and whenever given a chance in a game to pick it, I go with it every time without hesitation. Stay on target!
The USG Ishimura
Dead Space is an iconic third person sci-fi horror game from the year 2008. Almost the entirety of the game takes place on a Japanese planetary mining ship dubbed the USG Ishimura. Needless to say that all hell breaks loose as the zombified corpses of crewman begin to take over the ship, forcing you to fend them off using modified mining tools as weapons. The ship is massive, likened to a city unto itself. You find yourself traveling all over from the medical bay to the greenhouses and research facilities as you try to escape the forsaken vessel. At some points it's claustrophobic and in other cases you are left in awe of the grandeur and design of the Planet-Cracker class ship. Everything about it plays to the main survival theme of the game, making it a unique and memorable achievement in game and spacecraft design.
The USS Enterprise
No list of iconic spaceships would be complete without the USS Enterprise. I'm not talking about a specific version (TNG or TOS), I just mean the Enterprise in general. Star Trek just doesn't work without the staple ship. When you're boldly going where no man has gone before you must have a decent vessel to call home. I love The USS Enterprise and all of it's iterations throughout the years, particularly the re-design for the new films by J.J. Abrams. Just as with all of the other ships I've mentioned, the Enterprise plays a profoundly important role in telling the story of it's crew and their epic space adventures. Make it so!
The Space Shuttle
I'm not just limiting this list to sci-fi, this next one holds a dear place in my heart as I grew up on the space coast and watched them from my front yard as they made their journey to space. Even though it doesn't have artificial gravity, lasers, droids, or smuggling bays, The Space Shuttle is as much science fiction as the rest of them. Although they have been decommissioned, The Space Shuttles still remain as one of the greatest feats that the human race has ever achieved. We reached for the stars and we got there. I look forward to seeing what happens next for real-life space exploration.
What are some of yours?
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