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Entertainment Weekly has recently released an article they've entitled Sci Fi's Top 25 Movies and TV of the Past 25 Years, and to me it just demonstrates how subjective these things really are. While I agree with some of their choices, it seems to me they've got some glaring omissions, and they're including some shows I didn't like at all.

Going back to 1983, there are certainly better sci-fi movies than Brazil and better TV shows than Lost. Looking at my favorite sci-fi TV shows, they've got Star Trek: The Next Generation, Battlestar Galactica and Heroes, but they've missed my two all-time favorites: Farscape and The 4400. And looking at movies, they nailed Matrix, Aliens, and Terminator, but missed Frequency, Contact, and the original Star Wars trilogy. How can you miss Star Wars?? Granted, their list only goes back to 1983, so you'd only have Return of the Jedi, which was made in 1983, and I'll admit was the weakest of the trilogy. But it's still better than Total Recall. Let's go over their list one by one so I can comment.

25 - V the Miniseries - I'll admit it - when this was on TV, I absolutely loved it. In retrospect, the lizard makeup was horrible. But it was television in the eighties, and this is the kind of sci-fi I grew up on. Since it's in 25th place, I'll give them this one.

24 - Galaxy Quest - Here, I've got to disagree. I know a ton of people who loved Galaxy Quest, but I did not. To me, it was right in line with Dude, Where's My Car?, which I'd never place amongst my favorite Sci Fi.

23 - Dr. Who - I know a lot of Whovians, so I'll give them this one too, since it's in 23rd place. But I've never been a Dr. Who fan myself. I don't know if it's the British-ness or what, but I could never get into it. And I've tried.

22 - Quantum Leap - A great and largely forgotten show. I really enjoyed Quantum Leap, although I never watched it as much as I'd have liked. I was too busy for TV in those years. It also cemented Bakula as a sci-fi star and lined him up for his eventual downfall in the horrible Star Trek: Enterprise.

21 - Futurama - While I love The Simpsons, I've never gotten into Futurama. So I don't have much to say about it other than the fact that my cat is not named after a Futurama character. He's named after John Bender from The Breakfast Club.

20 - Star Wars: Clone Wars - If they had to miss Return of the Jedi, at least they included this excellent cartoon, which was better than any of the movies in the new trilogy. It depicted General Grevious as appropriately badass, and despite being a cartoon was less juvenile than the actual movies. If you haven't seen it, I recommend getting a copy.

19 - Starship Troopers - While I enjoyed the movie, I certainly wouldn't have placed it amongst the top 25 movies and TV shows of the past quarter century. I liked the fact that the aliens in the movie were - for once - non-humanoid, but that alone is hardly enough.

18 - Heroes - Eighteenth place? Okay, maybe. I really like Heroes, and it's one of the best shows currently on television. Episodes like Company Man remain some of the best television I've ever seen.

17 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Who the heck wrote this list? The movie was certainly original, but I liked it only slightly better than Vanilla Sky. That is to say: very little.

16 - Total Recall - Again - who on Earth wrote this list? One of Arnold's more mediocre movies, with some downright silly effects. "If things have gone wrong, I'm talking to myself, and you've got a wet towel wrapped around your head." Yes, I know it's a Phillip K. Dick adaptation, but that doesn't save it.

15 - Serenity - I won't knock Serenity, since I know the Firefly fervor that permeates the intarwebs, and I did enjoy the movie. But I never got into Firefly. Still, I suppose they could've done worse for 15th place.

14 - Children of Men - If anything, this film should have been higher on the list. It was a fantastic, dark story, filmed with a minimalist style. I loved it.

13 - The Terminator/Terminator 2 - Odd to group the two movies together, but both movies were truly great. If anything, the sequel was even better than the original. It's a pity that the third sequel stunk.

12 - Back to the Future - The Back to the Future trilogy has long held a warm place in my heart. I loved them as a kid, and I still enjoy the movies. But best scifi of the past 25 years? I'm not sure about that.

11 - Lost - Granted, the first two seasons were great. But after a couple seasons, fans began expecting some answers, and they never came. When we saw nobody but Jack, Kate, and Sawyer for a half-season, the show had truly jumped the shark.

10 - The Thing - I won't argue that this was an excellent film, because it really was great. I might have placed it a bit lower though.

9 - Aliens - Another film I might have placed higher. I really envy the folks who saw it in the theatre not expecting the alien to burst from the man's chest - that surprise is one I'll never experience.

8 - Star Trek: The Next Generation - Certainly a well-made and influential TV show, so I'll grant this one eighth place without complaining.

7 - E.T. - One of Spielberg's most masterful family-friendly pictures, although it's not generally what I think of when I think Sci-Fi.

6 - Brazil - Here's my biggest complaint on this list. I'd never seen the movie until very recently, and I wasn't even able to watch the whole thing - I've still got to go back and watch the second half. Overall, I really did not like the movie. At all. And so I'm shocked to see it on the list - Terry Gilliam had much better pictures. Like Twelve Monkeys. And Time Bandits was funnier. But Brazil stinks.

5 - Star Trek: Wrath of Khaan - While I understand that this is the best of the Trek movies, I'm not sure I'd place it in the top five if I were making a list. Certainly not higher than Return of the Jedi.

4 - The X Files - Here's another that baffles me. Granted, I was never a big X Files fan, but still - fourth place?? I just don't get it. Who made this list?

3 - Blade Runner - I suppose it wouldn't have been a list had it not included everyone's favorite. I've seen Blade Runner at the top of many peoples' lists, but personally I've never been as big a fan as everyone else. Blade Runner just doesn't do it for me.

2 - Battlestar Galactica - While I'll agree that the new Battlestar is amazing, the first half of the first season was the best part. The most recent episodes have gotten just weird. I suppose the final season has a chance to redeem the everyone-and-his-brother-is-a-Cylon fiasco, but I wish the Cylons were more implacable foes, and less human-like.

1 - Matrix - If you look at how truly original the story is, and how shocking a surprise was presented to unspoiled theater-goers, I can definitely see this movie taking first place. It's a shame that the sequels killed the franchise, as Matrix had the potential after the first movie to become the next generation's Star Wars. Instead, that trophy was taken by The Lord of the Rings.

Entertainment Weekly also has a list of what it calls glaring omissions, and while they do themselves credit by naming Farscape fist in that list, they include such garbage as Star Wars Episode 2, Men in Black, and Dark City. They also include a number of shows I never watched/liked: Babylon 5, Stargate SG1, Buffy, Voyager. I do like 12 Monkeys, 5th Element, Jurassic Park, and Independence Day, although I'd never have placed any of them on my top 25 list. Minority Report, Tron, and Donnie Darko might have made my list. And as for Dune, I actually liked the newer sci-fi Channel remake better than the old one. (Sorry, Sting)

So what are your favorite Sci-Fi shows of the past 25 years?

If you liked this post, check out Boston.com's Fifty Best Sci-Fi shows and Slice of Sci-Fi's Peoples' Choice Awards.