Movies that feel like traveller.

[Trent]

What are some movies that have the traveller feel?

I won't pretend that Outland wasn't a mess that had logic holes you could lose a small galaxy in, but in some ways it had that kind of gritty feel that's associated with traveller. (Anyone ever do the ⌧ographic holograms in a bar in their games?)

Alien and Aliens both had a travelleresque feel to them, that indefinable someting that reminds you of traveller, not just the "low berths" but the whole movie, in both cases, felt like traveller. (I'll say nothing of the next two movies in the series and suggest others do the same.)

I've heard of course that 'serenity" felt like traveller, but since the series was unwatchable to me I never saw it.

 

[otherles]

I won't pretend that Outland wasn't a mess that had logic holes you could lose a small galaxy in, but in some ways it had that kind of gritty feel that's associated with traveller. (Anyone ever do the ⌧ographic holograms in a bar in their games?)

I don't think those were holograms in the bar.

(I'm up to page 78 on my trav-film screen paly.)

 

[Pagan priest]

What are some movies that have the traveller feel?

I won't pretend that Outland wasn't a mess that had logic holes you could lose a small galaxy in, but in some ways it had that kind of gritty feel that's associated with traveller. (Anyone ever do the ⌧ographic holograms in a bar in their games?)

Alien and Aliens both had a travelleresque feel to them, that indefinable someting that reminds you of traveller, not just the "low berths" but the whole movie, in both cases, felt like traveller. (I'll say nothing of the next two movies in the series and suggest others do the same.)

I've heard of course that 'serenity" felt like traveller, but since the series was unwatchable to me I never saw it.

Unwatchable, as in never availabe to watch, or as in you couldn't get past the opening credits without leaving the room? (Minor point, "Firefly" was the series, "Serenity" was the follow-up movie.) I liked them and they definately have a Traveller feel. YMMV

Clockwork Orange. (But don't tell my players :devil
Dangerous Liaisons and Caligula. The game I am currently setting up is going to be a group of nobles jockeying for political power using intrigue and assassination. I suspect the group might be a bit surprised that it is rather "darker" than what I usually run...

 

[aramis]

Alien/Aliens
Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick.
Firefly/Serenity. Note: Serenity can stand alone. Barely, but it can.
Dark Star. (Ok, so the talking bomb is a bit out there....)
Blade Runner.

In the hardline horror genre:
Extro (note hard R rated...)
Lifeforce
Akira

 

[Icosahedron]

Firefly is now on DVD.

 

[Trent]

Alien/Aliens
Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick.
Firefly/Serenity. Note: Serenity can stand alone. Barely, but it can.
Dark Star. (Ok, so the talking bomb is a bit out there....)
Blade Runner.

In the hardline horror genre:
Extro (note hard R rated...)
Lifeforce
Akira

Ohmygod, someone else likes "lifeforce' and has the guts to admit it!

 

[mike wightman]

What's not to like :devil:

and one to add:

Event Horizon

 

[Trent]

Unwatchable, as in never availabe to watch, or as in you couldn't get past the opening credits without leaving the room? (Minor point, "Firefly" was the series, "Serenity" was the follow-up movie.) I liked them and they definately have a Traveller feel. YMMV

Unwatchable as in after 15 minutes of western drawls and twangy music I was diving for the remote to change channels.

 

[jfetters]

Unwatchable as in after 15 minutes of western drawls and twangy music I was diving for the remote to change channels.

You may want to give it another shot. I kind of scratched my head at it the first time I saw an episode, but then I was never home to be able to watch it before it got cancelled. Now I love the show.

 

[Ran]

I'm glad someone mentioned Pitch Black... (Not so much chronicles of Riddick, which took a more "Warhammer 40k" feel). Even Event Horizon is good too.

I think "Master and Commander" is what I lift allot of my inspiration from. Not surprising considering the milieu.

Some anime is even good thematically, like Jin-Roh or Wings of Honnemaise.

Television wise, "The Irresponsible Captain Tylor", "Banner of the stars", "Cowboy Bebop", "Outlaw Star", and "Planetes" are pretty much spot on for a Traveller campaign. I highly recommend all of them except for maybe Outlaw Star, which gets a bit cliche anime wise.

Planetes doesn't get enough love considering it's a hard sci fi setting.

And why no love for 2001/2010?

 

[otherles]

Oh. Just found this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveller_(film)

 

[otherles]

And why no love for 2001/2010?

2001 was Kubrick and Clarke's religious film. (Clarke actually said that.)

2010 was okay, except for the fact that is the only Helen Mirren film that I know of where Helen Mirren didn't drop her clothes at the drop of a hat.

 

[GypsyComet]

Add Aliens 4 ("Alien Resurrection") to the list. While the first two tend to inspire Traveller, Res feels like a Traveller game start to finish.

Ronin
Disney's "Atlantis"
Titan A.E. (though you need to ignore some of the cartoon science)

 

[RossWinn]

Traveller in Film

I think a lot of SF has a vaguely Traveller feel to it.

Outland is great, and anyone who wants a western in space needs to watch this. To me it felt like a shot by shot remake of High Noon. No more handwaving than is normally necessary in many other SF films.

I also enjoyed Lifeforce, specifically because it was a "B" movie with a hot naked vampire chick.

There was a remake of Things to Come, I think it was Canadian in the 1980s that felt Traveller to me at the time. I also thought that the original Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars (Episode IV) felt that way at the time.

 

[tjoneslo]

This is excellent, I've managed to add a few new items to the More Reading list at the Traveller Wiki.

 

[richardtalbotuk]

I recommend a British made series called "Star Cops". Short lived and some of the acting was harsh but the plot ideas (alien artifacts, methods of murder in space) lend themselves to Traveller adventures. I suspect it would be hard to get hold of Stateside.

Agree with many of the others mentioned. Aliens provided many hours of inspiration though more for 2300AD than Traveller in some aspects.

Firefly does take getting used to (I turned it off half way some episodes the first few times) but if you can watch it back to back it certainly gels together.

 

[kafka47]

Star Wars (in parts)
Aliens/Alien and parts of Aliens 3 & 4
Outland
Enemy Mine
Battlestar Galactica Razor
Nightfall
Slipstream
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Apollo 13 (not so much for tech but innovate players solving problems)
parts of Aliens vs Predator
Ran
parts of Event Horizion (before they opened the portal)
Blade Runner

 

[Trent]

I'm glad someone mentioned Pitch Black... (Not so much chronicles of Riddick, which took a more "Warhammer 40k" feel). Even Event Horizon is good too.

I think "Master and Commander" is what I lift allot of my inspiration from. Not surprising considering the milieu.

Some anime is even good thematically, like Jin-Roh or Wings of Honnemaise.

Television wise, "The Irresponsible Captain Tylor", "Banner of the stars", "Cowboy Bebop", "Outlaw Star", and "Planetes" are pretty much spot on for a Traveller campaign. I highly recommend all of them except for maybe Outlaw Star, which gets a bit cliche anime wise.

Planetes doesn't get enough love considering it's a hard sci fi setting.

And why no love for 2001/2010?

Oh wow, someone else watched "Jin roh" and didn't commit suicide at the end? Thought I was the only one...

As to planetes, I have thr first DVD, not bad for something like traveller 2300 maybe.

 

[Trent]

Wow, someone else saw "starcops"? I was beginning to wonder...


How about "Blake's 7"?

 

[Ran]

As to planetes, I have the first DVD, not bad for something like traveller 2300 maybe.

Yah Planetes is definately a low tech 9ish Traveller. Too bad the rest of the series kinda meanders after the first DVD. It's still good for the environmental stresses that space travel would impose.

Heh, I just noticed I lumped Honnemaise and Jin-Roh togethor. Talk about your "bad end"s.
Now that I'm thinking of it, "Voices From a Distant Star" has some strong Traveller themes. If only for the problems of communication with astronomical distances.