Measured on what is know as the Keeling Curve, the readings shows that atmospheric CO² levels keep rising at an unprecedented rate — mostly caused by the burning of fossil fuels since the 1800’s.

Scientists and environmentalists have used the data to highlight the buildup of greenhouse gases generated by human actions on the planet. The rate of the rise is really what’s most important. Scripps geochemist Ralph Keeling — who has taken over the Keeling curve measurement from his late father — recently said:

“I wish it weren’t true, but it looks like the world is going to blow through the 400-ppm level without losing a beat. At this point we’ll hit 450 within a few decades.”

Many scientists believe that carbon dioxide readings have to be brought down below 350 ppm to avoid the severe climate impacts and stall ‘feedback loops’ that will magnify this rise. The current ratios of CO² in the Earth’s atmosphere remain at levels that have not been seen in more that 3 million years.

In fact, for the last 800,000 years, carbon dioxide levels never exceeded 300 ppm, and there is no known geologic period in which the rates of increase have been as drastic as now. At the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century (when we really started burning fossil fuels), the level was 280 ppm. Tim Lueker, an oceanographer and carbon cycle researcher of the Scripps CO² Group, said:

“The 400-ppm threshold is a sobering milestone and serves as a wake-up call for all of us to support clean-energy technology and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases before it’s too late for our children and grandchildren.””

Watching the weather patterns change around my own home, I tend to agree with the urgency to change over to clean-energy solutions versus a rapidly-worsening scenario. I think that it could truly jumpstart the economy — creating new fields of study, new products, and could make our country a world leader for decades to come. But it has to start with a serious commitment to change, something that our leaders have refused to join the rest of the world on.

The space explorer showed a talent for music (and irony) when debuted a wonderful cover version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”. The video shows Hadfield “floating in a tin can” as he strums the guitar and sings a slightly-modified rendition of the classic pop song.

As the first music video to be shot in space (his backing band and video editor were on Earth), it makes for an inspiring five minutes — even Ziggy Stardust himself approved of the project with a tweet. If you haven’t seen it yet, please take a few minutes. I promise it’ll make you smile!

CHRIS HADFIELD SINGS SPACE ODDITY IN SPACE!“Hallo Spaceboy…”Commander Chris Hadfield, currently on… fb.me/24sZNW5ly

— David Bowie Official (@DavidBowieReal) May 12, 2013

At first I got defensive, but after a bit of reflection I realized he was actually right. I did press buttons like I was on a spaceship. I wasn’t really sure why. I just figured it was some sort of subconscious imprint from watching too many science–fiction TV shows and movies as a child. Or maybe I just got off on pressing buttons? Regardless, I just shrugged it off… until recently.

Dave (Kier Dullea) in 2001 taps buttons with thoughtful purpose, activating systems.

A couple of months ago, I was working on a very detailed business plan. It ultimately clocked in at over 15,000 words. The research and formatting required were daunting. It’s a hard road building a comic book company from scratch and everything had to make sense. After stressing over it at the beginning, I settled in for the long haul and just got… it… done.

In order to succeed, I abandoned my office for the duration of the project and developed a rhythm for working at home. In fact, for most of my career I have worked from home. It’s only been the past few years that my projects have required a central office.

I developed a singular and solitary routine: I would get up each day and work out in our basement exercise room, then take my sweat–laden self to the kitchen where I would prepare breakfast. Shortly thereafter, I would retire to the computer station that I built in the master bedroom to eat and begin my long writing session.

A lonely Taylor (seated at right) prepares to enter suspended animation in Planet of the Apes.

One day, after a very long, 12-plus hour session of writing, my wife commented on my resolve. She calls it the ‘Jeff Zone.’ I get very serious and intent as if I’m on a mission. The funny this is: I am on a mission, but it’s not just to get my work done. It’s a mission to explore the depths of the Solar System. Deep down in the back of my mind, I am always living my life as though I’m an astronaut in the depths of deep space.

I’m Charlton Heston’s lonely astronaut Taylor during the initial moments of the original Planet of the Apes as he gives his soliloquy before placing himself in suspended animation. I’m aboard the U.S.S. Discovery headed to Jupiter — right there alongside Frank, Dave, and HAL with my iPad-like device; eating prepackaged food with super cool futuristic utensils; jogging around the centrifuge and shadow boxing for exercise before I jaunt outside to repair the AE-35 unit!

I spend many of my days imagining that I walk the corridors of Moonbase Alpha in a swank retro-futuristic uniform where I make my way to the Commander’s office just off Main Mission. After opening the door with my comlock, I take a seat at my desk where I review reports in futuristic plastic sleeves. Maybe later, I’ll take the Travel Tube out to the pad where I can launch an Eagle and shoot out to Nuclear Disposal Area One to do some radiation tests.

Frank (Gary Lockwood) eats breakfast and watches video on an iPad-like device in 2001.

So where did this approach to life start? It was 1977, and I was nine years old.

To give a sense of context, Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were on the horizon, but they didn’t matter much to me at the time. I was addicted to Space:1999, which was in its too-painful–to–watch second and final season. I loved the first season a lot more, because it seemed more realistic and didn’t showcase incredibly stupid monsters each episode. And, yes, I thought that even at the ripe old age of nine.

While I had HUGE qualms with the direction that series was following (the Moon being blasted out of orbit seemed ludicrous to me), I still loved the Eagles, Moonbase Alpha, and the futuristic sets and costumes. I even fantasized about getting my own sewing machine, so I could make my own uniform like Commander Koenig.

Alan Carter (Nick Tate) from Space: 1999 speaks with Commander Koenig in the Eagle cockpit.

Space: 1999 felt like a natural extension of what I had recently witnessed with the Apollo Program. Since people had just been on the Moon (five years earlier in 1972), then they had to be going back again soon. This time to stay.

They would build outposts for small groups of astronauts at first, much like the SHADO Moonbase in Gerry Anderson’s other great sci-fi series, UFO — which I always felt was a direct precursor to Space: 1999. Then they would eventually build small lunar cities like Moonbase Alpha that could be home to hundreds of people.

Space: 1999 resonated with me even more than the original Star Trek because it was not set 300 years in the future; it felt like certain realistic aspects of it could actually happen in my lifetime — just over the horizon in the land of grownups.

Then I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey on NBC in February of 1977. I immediately realized that this film was the seed of Space: 1999 and the real origin point of what Anderson was doing. While his show was not a direct rip-off of the film, 2001 had to have be a massive and direct inspiration. It was as if someone saw it and said “What if we made a TV series of this?”

There was something incredibly moving, motivating, and inspiring about 2001. I really felt like I was watching a tour of the future. My future. It was almost like a National Geographic special sent through a time machine about life on space stations and moon bases — especially the part of the film leading up to the Discovery mission.

I studied every aspect of the production as I watched it. I loved the painstakingly–crafted sets and costumes. I wanted so badly to eat the perfectly square sandwiches and drink the coffee with the bureaucratic scientists on the Moonbus.

Heywood Floyd (William Sylvester, left) eats lunch on the Moonbus heading to a remote site in 2001.

However, it was the depiction of life on the Discovery set to music of Gayane Ballet that really enthralled me. Frank and Dave were who I wanted to grow up to become. I didn’t just want to live on a Moon base, I wanted to travel to the planets on a giant spaceship. I wanted to be an explorer of the strange, new worlds right here in our Solar System.

I was okay with the loneliness and rote drudgery of life in space, because there would be a real goal at the end. Seeing all of those amazing new places like the moons of Jupiter with my own eyes would make it all worth it. And be the ultimate reward.

I guess after seeing 2001, I set my mind on going into space and taking with me the resolve I needed to succeed once I was up there. I literally began preparing myself mentally. It would mean being able to handle being alone for long stretches of time. It would mean that I would have to get over my inherent claustrophobia, because I would not be able to withstand flying in one of Discovery’s tiny space pods with its deadly grip on my psyche. (How I eventually over came my claustrophobia as a child is another, albeit quite funny, story of self-punishment!)

Dave Bowman walks a claustrophobic passageway within the spaceship Discovery in the film 2001.

This was not about cosplay or simple being a fan of these films and TV series. It was not about living in a fantasy world. It was about the fact that I really believed I was growing up to live in a time when I could end up actually traveling into deep space — voyaging to worlds that would require tremendous patience and discipline.

It would also require a real education and focus to be the best and the brightest, because only the best would have a real shot at the limited number of slots that would be allotted for astronauts. The funny thing is: as a child, I thought a limited number of astronauts was something like 500,000 to a million people. That’s the number that I estimated would be able to travel into space by the year 2000.

I would never have imagined that by 2013, only 530 would have been given the opportunity to leave the bounds of the Earth. 530 people?! It’s a travesty. It’s a dream that remains completely unfulfilled. Not just for me, but for millions of others.

Regardless of how many have been into space, I still sit here firmly entrenched on Earth dreaming of being Dr. Heywood Floyd or Captain Alan Carter as they travel beyond our homeworld into the great unknown — led by their intelligence, discipline, and resolve. Will I ever make out there? Time will tell.

Until then, I guess I’ll just keep pressing ordinary buttons like I’m on a spaceship, so my subconscious can keep taking silent advantage of all of my years of secret deep-space astronaut training.

Astronauts Frank and Dave confer while seated in the centrifuge of the Discovery spaceship.

Tom Cruise calls Kosinski a ‘world creator.’ I couldn’t agree more. I applaud the visionary director for what he’s attempting to do, because I honestly feel like there are so few people in Hollywood who get what the future used to mean to so many of us — and I seriously doubt many of them, whether creatives or executives, even care.

Skytower Concept Art

Aside from Joseph Kosinski, there’s no one else making films today who creates such well-realized futuristic visions. His movies are designed and executed with the most finite of details. Technology, textures, lighting, fabrics, and background details all scream of a masterful and resolute thought process. From the amazing and memorable Bubbleship to the architecturally–stunning Skytower, Oblivion features amazingly clean and believable locations and technology.

With the help of his production team, including designer Daniel Simon, Kosinski commands post-modern visions with the skill of a master painter. You can pause virtually any frame of Tron: Legacy or Oblivion, it stands on its own as a work of art. If you don’t believe me, try it. There are scenes in both films that look like they were planned as a series of beautiful stills as opposed to a full motion picture.

Skytower Interior

Unfortunately, I have to draw the line at production quality as opposed to storytelling when it comes to Kosinski’s films. Having seen Oblivion twice, I have mixed feelings about the film overall. While the performances are strong, the writing is a bit clunky.

The movie clearly is attempting to provide an homage to the science fiction films of the 70’s. Unfortunately, some aspects seem so derivative that it doesn’t feel like a tribute — especially at the end of the film when we officially meet the antagonist.

While I love the look and feel, if you want a fresh and original science-fiction world, this isn’t it. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Moon, The Matrix, and many others immediately come to mind as ‘inspirations’ for this film.

Then again, having just seen Star Trek Into Darkness, maybe Oblivion isn’t that derivative. I do have to praise the performances in the film — especially the stunning Andrea Riseborough. She brings a poise and elegance that is as enthralling as the films design. She truly fits into the world that Kosinski has created.

Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) provides direction for pilot Jack Harper (Tom Cruise).

The bottom line is that Joseph Kosinski created a story that would allow him to explore a futuristic world with real technological and architectural aspects that he wished existed today. Places where he himself would live. I am right there with him. I would do anything to live in a house like the Skytower, and I would love to fly a vehicle like the Bubbleship as my daily job.

I want to thank him for continuing to give his brethren, like me, something to help satiate all of our unfulfilled dreams. If you are a fan of futuristic visions and extremely creative production design, Oblivion is definitely worth checking out.

Director Joseph Kosinski on location in Iceland.

For this poll, you decide what’s the Most Awesome Big Spaceship in Sci-Fi. We’ve got the obvious choices, and a few from left field to keep it interesting. Of particular note are two intra-franchise rivalries between ships with the same name (I’m sure you can guess them already).

Vote for the Most Awesome Big Spaceship in Sci-Fi below. Then, leave a comment — tell us why you chose the one you did! If your favorite ginormous spaceship isn’t on the list, tell us why your choice is better!

Let the voting begin!

The classic rivalry for Trek fans: the sporty original Enterprise versus the luxury-class TNG version.

Big doesn’t get much bigger than a Star Destroyer. But what about the ruggedly handsome Rodger Young?

Our second intra-franchise smackdown features the 70’s Battlestar Galactica versus the recent reboot.

And finally, anyone like the Highliner from Dune? How about the monstrous Borg Cube from TNG?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

The tensions have been brewing the entire mission; now Dez and Gusev unleash on each other. But is Dez too late to save Delta from Gusev’s savage blows? After the rest of the crew arrives on station, Dez enlists Alpha in a new plan that will risk both their lives.

The Daedalus Saga is a new series of graphic novels from FutureDude Comics that chronicle mid-21st Century adventures in our inner Solar System. Engineer Dez Clarke and a crew of scientists and AIs travel to our deadly sisterworld to unravel the mystery of the planet’s geology.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 7

Yes, and with the recent release of Nintendo’s Wii U, Sony’s Playstation 4 announcement — and Microsoft’s inevitable unveiling of the successor to the 360 — we can finally look back and take stock of the generation that saw videogames overtake the venerable film industry as the most consumed form of entertainment the world over.

Looking back on the games that made this generation great, it comes as no surprise that science fiction is well represented. Science fiction has always been a popular genre for games. But which franchises stood out amongst the dozens of excellent releases these past 8 years? Here are my personal Top 5 Sci-Fi Gaming Franchises of this Console Generation.

5. Fallout 3

Exploring the D.C. Wasteland in Fallout 3 was a profound experience.

Bethesda Game Studio’s resurrection of the venerable Fallout franchise after more than a decade in limbo was both a commercial success and a critical darling that offered players a huge adventure in a 1950’s retro-future post-apocalyptic Washington D.C.

In Fallout 3 the player must leave the relative safety of their Vault, a community-sized fallout shelter, to find their father (voiced by the excellent Liam Neeson) amongst the ruins of a world scoured by nuclear fire, ravaged by bandits, and haunted by the horrors of a long lost war.

Everything from the wild-west themes and the snarky social commentary to the immaculate detail the developers put into the D.C. Wasteland and its history comes together in an amazing adventure that continues to set the standard for open-world games. With the heaps of uninspired post-apocalypse yarns filling the theatres and the game shelves today, original masterworks like Fallout 3 remain peerless.

4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Unravel an international conspiracy and rediscover your humanity.

Equal parts Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a relentlessly smart and thought provoking near-future thriller filled with corporate espionage, moral ambiguity, and the ethics of transhumanism.

It is 2027 and you play as Adam Jensen — a former SWAT agent who had most of his body replaced by advanced cybernetics as a result of a terrorist attack that left his fiancé dead and questions unanswered. Deus Ex paints a convincing picture of a near-future society plagued by climate change, wealth disparity, and the consequences of having super-human capabilities in the hands of whoever can pay for it. It is, by far, the most realistic sci-fi setting on this list, and proves that you don’t need incredibly fanciful elements to make a compelling sci-fi game.

3. Halo Franchise

Master Chief’s 13-year long tour of duty continues in Halo 4.

Love the franchise or hate it, Halo remains a powerhouse after nearly 13 years and 8 successful titles. Over the years the adventures of the Super-Soldier Master Chief and his A.I. companion Cortana have entertained millions and spawned novels, comics, animated films, and toys.

The Halo franchise is, for better or worse, to sci-fi games as Star Wars is to sci-fi films — an epic space opera of questionable originality, but of unquestionable influence. This generation saw the release of 6 titles and also saw Halo get eclipsed as the multiplayer game of choice by the Call of Duty military shooter franchise.

For what it’s worth, I will take my bag of sci-fi tropes, my ringworlds, dyson spheres, alien invaders, mecha, and starship troopers that make up the world of Halo over generic action shooters any day. Halo has always set the standard for explosive action and jaw dropping set-pieces in this last generation and — if the success of Halo 4 is any indication — it shows no sign of slowing down.

2. The Mass Effect Trilogy

The Citadel — the breathtaking cosmopolitan space station at the heart of Mass Effect’s glorious Universe.

World building: the art of creating an entire fictional universe filling it with compelling history, characters, conflicts and cultures is the hallmark of every great science-fiction epic. Be it Asimov’s Foundation series, Roddenberry’s Star Trek, or Lucas’s Star Wars they all are grounded in seemingly living worlds. These worlds have their own internal logic, spirit, and potential drive to spawn a nearly inexhaustible number of stories.

To their august company I humbly submit Bioware’s Mass Effect Trilogy, the most fully realized original sci-fi universe gaming has to offer. Mass Effect follows the exploits of Commander Shepard — an individual destined to alter the course of galactic civilization and whose appearance, gender, and actions are almost entirely at the discretion of the player.

Mass Effect differentiates itself from its peers in film and prose not in the detail of its world, but rather in the involvement of player choice in how the narrative unfolds. Instead of observing the drama unfold, you actively shape the narrative through Shepard’s words and deeds — a feat only possible in the medium of games.

Part space opera, part espionage thriller, part human drama, and part action movie, Mass Effect takes all that is compelling in epic sci-fi and delivers it in the medium of games. Standing out as one of the defining original intellectual properties of this console generation Mass Effect will continue to set the standard for epic sci-fi in the years to come.

1. Portal

Create your own personal wormholes and solve devices puzzles in Portal.

Sometimes the most original ideas come from the humblest of places. Created by a tiny team of 10 over 2 years at industry luminary Valve (creators of Half-Life fame), Portal demonstrates that a single innovative core concept can carry a game further than a 300-man staff and millions of dollars in advertising.

In Portal you play as a test subject for Aperture Science, a gleefully unethical institution engaged in experiments of dubious merit. Watching your every move and commenting on your progress with razor-sharp wit is the A.I. construct GlaDOS who will cheerily encourage you to solve increasingly dangerous puzzles with the promise of delicious cake. Said puzzles are the name of the game, and solving them always requires liberal use of the aforementioned core concept: the titular Portal Gun.

With the Portal Gun, the player can create two portals — a wormhole that connects those two points — on special surfaces in each of the testing chambers. Objects and the player retain their velocity when travelling through a portal. Place one at the bottom of a pit and the other on a wall and your falling momentum will send you careening across the room.

This brilliant and mind-bending mechanical rule exploits one of the most beloved elements of science-fiction, the wormhole, to its fullest extent. Coupled with the brilliant writing and perfect pacing, this game stands amongst the other giants of this console generation, and proves (in its tight 5-hour playtime) that more does not always make a for a better game — that violence need not be the component that keeps players hooked.

Your Thoughts

What do you think? What were your standout sci-fi titles of this console generation? More broadly, what does it say about these last 8 years that all of the games in this list (other than Portal) possess the ‘Mature’ content rating? Finally, what do you hope to see the industry do with sci-fi in the coming console generation? Please leave your thoughts in the Comments below and, as always, stay classy.

But what happens when entertainment works to reflect the real possibilities attendant to aerospace? You can end up with some very exciting and memorable designs. Here are a few of my favorite airplanes from the past forty years of sci-fi film and television.

1. VTOL Quinjet (The Avengers)

The twin fan VTOL Quinjet on the deck of the Helicarrier in The Avengers.

For me, this sleek personnel carrier was the highpoint of The Avengers. It really looked like it could fly. It was as thought the production designer got access to some top secret DARPA aerospace plans and decided to put them in the film. I hope we get to see more of this cool concept in the inevitable sequel.

2. F/A-37 Talon (Stealth)

The Talon performs an exercise over the desert in an early scene from Stealth.

I have already stated in another Top 5 article that Stealth is an underrated film. I really enjoyed it at the time. One of the best aspects of the film is how seamlessly the CG effects integrated into the live–action plates —especially on the deck of the aircraft carrier. These jets were extremely futuristic and well-realized. It will be interesting to see if the design of real jet fighters head in this direction.

3. MiG-31 (Firefox)

The MiG-31 in a Russian hangar right before it’s stolen in Firefox.

Firefox had a serious impact on me when it was released in the early 80’s. The Clint Eastwood film about a veteran pilot sneaking into Russia to steal a super-advanced, thought-controlled fighter was tremendously intriguing. However, it was the final third of the film that I really paid to see. With visual effects by Star Wars whiz John Dykstra and his team, the MiG-31 was really brought to life. I had never seen anything like the amazing combat sequences. There was a sense of speed that few films had ever captured. As for the design, the plan was sleek, mean looking, and believable.

4. Light Jet (Tron: Legacy)

This is the 3-person version of the Light Jet; there was also a 1-person craft.

I remember hearing the ‘ooohhs’ and ‘ahhhhs’ of the crowd when this baby is first seen launching from the deck of Clu’s carrier. I was right there with them. I hadn’t seen a flying vehicle design this great in a long time. There was something about the the wingspan and the V-shaped tail that looked practical and interesting. This is, of course, combined with the amazing Tron look and feel of glowing strips and slick, shiny surfaces. If you want to see more great flying craft from The Grid, check out the animated series, Tron: Uprising.

5. Sky 1 (UFO)

As a kid, I loved the design of Sky 1 in the British TV series UFO.

I have to include this plane for Gerry Anderson’s UFO because, while it was perhaps not the most aesthetic pleasing, it was amphibious. It attached to the front of a submarine and launched from the depths. What a cool concept! After breaking the surface and climbing into the air it would cruise the skies in search of alien invaders. While the show was produced in the late 1960’s, it featured visual effects by the amazing Derek Meddings. Some shots literally looked real. It was awesome. Check out UFO on DVD or on YouTube!

“I want to say one word to you. Just one word… Plastics.”

In 1967, when Dustin Hoffman’s character in The Graduate received that vocational advice, ‘plastics’ was only a punchline — a clever symbol of society’s artificiality, or perhaps a one-word critique of capitalism. In the past 45 years, though, plastics — and their abnormal longevity — have become a very real concern for the fate of ourselves and other species on the planet.

Besides engorging landfills around the world, plastics have filled the oceans. Sometimes they arrive whole (think the connected rings of a six-pack holder), but more often are just stray, tiny bits — fractional pieces that connect with others to become giants patches.

Over time, these chunks have collected and congealed to become islands, and now, most ominously, continent-sized dumps of swirling garbage. Such floating monstrosities are called gyres, and scientists have identified five of them in the oceans of the world. The North Pacific Gyre is about twice the size of the continental United States!

The gyres pose a hazard to birds and fish that mistake them for food, and also are a vector for toxic chemicals, like PCBs and DDTs, to enter the food chain — eventually ending up on our dinner plates. Given that plastic doesn’t decompose like natural materials, these immense trash balls will easily outlast us — perhaps surviving for thousands of years.

How do we reverse the damage? Boyan Slat, a 19-year-old entrepreneur, thinks he may have a solution; he calls it the Ocean Cleanup Array. Essentially, he wants to harness the waves and the sun to power a flotilla of huge Roombas — manta ray-shaped platforms that would be tethered to the sea bed and sift plastics out of the water.

The system doesn’t use nets, and thus would avoid ensnaring large marine creatures. However, questions remain about the fate of plankton in the proposed extraction cycle. Slat theorizes that the entire initiative could eventually turn a profit, since the retreived plastic sludge could be sold to the recycling marketplace.

In the past few days — since Slat’s plan went viral on the internet — a few well-intentioned critiques have sprung up to discredit his idea point by point. But he’s the first to admit that many specifics are still being researched. Of the hype proclaiming his is a ‘feasible method’ of extracting plastic from the gyres, Slat says:

This is an incorrect statement; we are only at about 1/4th of completing our feasibility study. Only after finishing that study, we believe such statements should be made.

Although the preliminary results look promising, and our team of about 50 engineers, modellers, external experts and students is making good progress, we have no intention of presenting a concept as a feasible solution while still being in investigative phase.

It appears that Slat has a level head about the science that remains to be done; he himself didn’t make any unsubstantiated claims. I specifically chose the word ‘might’ in the title of this article (as opposed to ‘can’) in deference to the incomplete nature of his scientific analysis.

But please take the time to watch this young man’s TEDTalk from last year. It gives me hope to see such a bold combination of innovation and passion being channeled into a devastating problem that — for much too long — has been ‘out of sight and out of mind’. Let me know what you think in the Comments.

A trained architect, teacher, and director of commercials — Kosinski brings a startlingly clean and visionary aesthetic to everything he creates. Pop culture really needs more media of the quality and thought that Kosinski and his team bring to the table. He’s a small sample of what he’s just created.

Going back to his 2008 demo for Tron 2 (ultimately titled Tron: Legacy), I knew there was something different about his vision and his sci-fi filmmaking ability. Honestly, it was about the coolest and most sleek imagery I’d ever witnessed. It was like someone slammed the best of Stanley Kubrick, Syd Mead, and Frank Lloyd Wright together via the best of today’s computer-generated effects and physical set designs.

I’ve already shared my thoughts on Tron: Legacy. While many malign the film for its story, the visuals and designs are top-notch and unparalleled in today’s cinematic landscape. Enter Kosinski’s new film, Oblivion.

While the futuristic post-apocalyptic film stars Tom Cruise, from what I can tell, it’s real star is the iconic Bubbleship. I haven’t seen a film design this cool since the Spinner from Blade Runner or the original Light Cycle from Tron. Both of those vehicles were created in the early 1980’s by Syd Mead. This has been a long time coming.

Since the very first trailer for Oblivion, I’ve been in love with this ship. It truly awakened the little boy in me. I wanted to hold a toy of it in my hands and fly it around. Better yet, I wanted to hop behind the controls and fly it. Perhaps the most exciting aspect is that — while so many craft in science fiction seem to function on some form of magic, and, ultimately, would never get off the ground — the Bubbleship looks extremely plausible.

The engineering appears to have been completely thought out when it comes to this ship. From the way the engines and cockpit swivel to the way that the landing gear deploy. I also really like the manner in which the exhaust vents from the spherical engines.

With a design that clearly evolves from the traditional helicopter, the Bubbleship seems like a logical extension of today’s technology. In fact, Joseph Kosinki told Collider that his initial inspiration came from real life:

It was always meant to be hybrid of a Bell 47 helicopter and a jetfighter. I think I was at MOMA in New York and they have a Bell 47 hanging there and if you look at a Bell 47 next to this you’ll see it feels like the evolution of that classic design.

I give the design an A+ in form and function. Also, I want to mention that, beyond Kosinki’s sketches, the Bubbleship really is the excellent work of production designer Daniel Simon.

I can’t wait to see this film when it hits theaters next month. Next week, I am going to talk about Oblivion’s amazing Sky Tower set and how it was produced. Until then, please enjoy this video featurette on the creation of the Bubbleship.