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Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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Which sci-fi series are you starring in? As a bit of a diversion from fretting about Britain’s slide into a police state, take this quiz and see which sci-fi series you would be most comfortable in. Perhaps not surprisingly, Firefly turned out to be the one for me, followed closely by Battlestar Galactica. I feel comfortable about that. Thank goodness it was not Star Trek.
(Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the pointer).
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Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
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Serenity/Firefly was first for me too….but, to my eternal shame, I had to do a tiebreaker question before it could decide between that and “Star Wars.”
Pleased to note that “Star Trek” came nowhere close.
Off to Libertarian boot camp to purge the monarchist tendencies…
Yippee! I’m on the Firefly crew, too!!!
Babylon 5 for me – though it was a tiebreaker with Firefly.
Bah! I see British SciFi is conspicuous by it’s absence. No Dr Who. No Blakes 7. Not even Space 1999.
It’s Firefly for me too!
TimHall-
Yeah, noticed that too. In fact, I think Firefly owes a huge and completely (to my knowledge) unacknowledged debt to Blake’s 7. I understand that Whedon lived in Britain when it was on, but of course it’s not even out on DVD yet in the States, so he’s under no pressure to fess up.
94% Moya, 81% firefly…X-files way down!
I got Firefly, followed jointly by Farscape and Battlestar: Galactica.
What’s Firefly?
Mine:
“You scored as Serenity (Firefly).
You like to live your own way and don’t enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you.
Serenity (Firefly) 100%
Moya (Farscape) 81%
Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 75%
Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 75%
Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 75%
Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 63%
Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 56%
SG-1 (Stargate) 56%
Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 50%
Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 50%
Enterprise D (Star Trek) 31%
FBI’s X-Files Division (The X-Files) 25%”
James: you’re kidding, right? OK, some of my own Firefly ravings:
http://www.survivalarts.com/blog/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=2&search=firefly
Russell,
Nope- I’m deadly serious. I’m in the UK, I’m 22 and I don’t do sci-fi!
I was expecting it to come back with ‘Jonathan Creek’ or something 😛
Well, for all who care. I hope that’s very few. I came did this and the reults were:
1. Nebuchanezzar (Matrix)
2. Serenity (Firefly)
3. Moya (Farscape)
4. Millenium Falcon
5. SG-1
What does this mean? Should I be worried? Should Larry Fishburne be worried.
As a Brit, it amuses me because I was born and raised on Sci-Fi games such as Elite (and spin-offs) and Hardwar. Games which are free market plus ultra. While playing Hardwar, my girlfriend still chides me when I say I;ve made a killing on “body parts” and “narcotics”. The game is recommended, try the underdogs for it.
What the Sam Hill is “Firefly” anyhow?
My girlfriend just did this and she topped out on Firefly. I’m a 5 TV channel Brit. What the bloody hell is Firefly? I’m totally scoobied.
Sorry (in general) I type like a fury (but without skill) so my posts are riddled with typoes.
Ticking radio boxes aside, I’d really like, ultimately (way things are going, very ultimately) a single world government with a very, very light hand on the tiller.
To the other James;
You owe it to yourself to buy the Complete Firefly series. And then weep for what has passed.
I scored Firefly, Moya, Beebop (I’ve never seen that) followed by the Matrix. Battlestar Galactica was well down there.
Ticking radio boxes aside, I’d really like, ultimately (way things are going, very ultimately) a single world government with a very, very light hand on the tiller.
Do you have any idea how incredibly unlikely that is?
With multiple governments, people have the possibility of moving to whatever nation suits them (with, admittedly, varying degrees of effort/risk).
With one government, if you object to how things are being run, your non-violent options are just about limited to “leave the planet entirely”.
Serenity (94%) is out on DVD in the UK next week. It seems like it is obligatory I see it. I knew I had an affinity with Farscape (75%) and Han Solo (75%) (at least before he got all heroic) but I’m made a bit suspicious that I match the militarised society of DS9 (75%) to the same degree.
Wot no Lexx?
Firefly 95% – no problem
Star Wars Millenium Falcon 95% – whats that supposed to imply?
And I agree Firefly is great but Blakes 7 would have been better, if it had had a decent budget. The characters were far more interesting.
I got 75 percent for Battlestar Galactica and the Millenium Falcon. If i’d agreed with “Do you have a furry friend?” i’d probably have Han Solo’s job right now.
Firefly. I really should grab the series.
I got Firefly and my fiance got Bab 5.
I got Firefly but had a tie-break with Farscape. A lot of other commenters seem to have Farscape second, too. I’ve never seen Farscape; perhaps I should. Does it have Libertarian credentials or is there some other reason?
I’ve seen this quiz in a lot of places now. The standard libertarian result seems to be Firefly.
Firefly, SG1, Farscape in that order.
Got a tie-breaker to get that far.
Actually going thru a looking glass is no stranger to me…I get off the train in New York City each morning…an SG1 gate trip would be a letdown.
Serenity and DS9(?!), followed by Nebuchadnezzar, B5, Moya and SG-1.
DS9?!
All I know is it certainly would not be Dr.Who:
self serving link to Dr. Who review
At least, not any more.
I know I edited that correctly, but for some reason the edit window here messed it up. Naked URL:
http://wrightwing.net/2006/02/12/17/31/237
It has some libertarian credentials, yeah, but it’s not too overtly political. No real agenda or overarching theme that I could tell.
Whether or not it’s a good show depends heavily on which season you’re watching. They vary greatly in quality. The good ones are fantastic, the not-so-good ones positively mind-numbing.
Whoa. I got Firefly after a 4 way 88% tie with Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Millenium Falcon and Stargate SG-1. I must be conflicted.
tomWright-
Really enjoyed your breakdown on the new Dr. Who series. I’m an old fan from “The PBS years” too – but started with Patrick Troughton (who remains my fav) and went through Pertwee, Baker, Davidson, Baker, McCoy in order. (I did see the TV special with the 8th Doctor – which was not bad, but I’m guilty of the standard complaint that the romance was out of step with the old series.) I can’t wait for it to start on SciFi!!! (Esp. since the new Battlestar may well have jumped the shark. And so soon…)
As for comments, though, I can’t help but think that the old show was a social democrat’s show too, in its way. Again, with the obvious exception of the Doctor, I remember the girls being notably smarter, on average, than the boys (obvious exception: Adric), and lots of gratuitious anti-industrialism.
I submit that maybe the new show is perfectly in line with the old show’s sensibilities – just that now we’re 20 years on in human terms and PC-ness is more ingrained than it was then. I’ll bet it annoyed some people in the 70s for the same reasons it’s annoying you now.
I haven’t seen the new show, but I honestly don’t see how it could live up the sheer fun of the old show. Not to mention – I don’t think we get plots as complicated as some of the old ones on TV these days. So my expectations aren’t too high. I’m just happy to have it back.
Don’t know how these percentages work but here are my scores;
Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)
75%
Serenity (Firefly)
75%
Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)
69%
Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)
69%
Moya (Farscape)
63%
Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)
56%
SG-1 (Stargate)
56%
FBI’s X-Files Division (The X-Files)
56%
Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)
44%
Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)
44%
Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)
38%
Enterprise D (Star Trek)
38%
Joshua, You are right, the old show was rather left-handed, but it would also go many episodes with really touching on such themes.
The new series just buries your nose in it, and without a sense of humour about it. Sort of the difference between being a proponent and a preacher.
It is very well acted, the critters are less absurd, but still a bit campy, which is welcome. And they actually have an animation budget that allows for hiding the strings.
Joshua – re Dr Who. I would wait until you see it for yourself. Some very good stories are in there, which seem to centre on diversity, appreciating what you have, not trusting/accepting authority or ‘the system’. The young ‘Estuary English’ assistant (Billy Piper) was not to my liking, however. I am an Emma Peel sort of person, and seeing her only last night on BBC4 reminded me of why…
TimC, I watched the same show. Diana Rigg was gloriously, gloriously English rose, wasn’t she? I like the fact that Rigg has aged gracefully as a true lady should, as well as being a first-class actress.
Ah, the for days when civilisation was defended by a dude in a bowler hat and a Bentley, ably assisted by a well spoken dame in a catsuit………
I took it a couple days ago before passing the link on to a few friends 😉 I doubt anyone here would be surprised I ended up on Firefly too… with a tiebreaker question for the Nebuchednezer.
So, as I drop my duffel in a tiny crewroom, I’m glad to see so many familiar faces aboard!
Firefly, Star Wars and a 3 way tie at 75% w/ Farscape, Babylon 5 and The Matrix.
The Millennium Falcon I can understand, I have always had a predilection for ‘sleepers’ (hot machines in a non-descript box), but I’ll have to checkout Firefly. I’ve never heard of it anywhere but here.
Midwest, I strongly urge you to get the series. You’ll be entranced and hooked.
I got Firefly (94%), with Deep Space Nine (88%) as my second choice. Now, I missed the entire last 2 seasons of Deep Space Nine, so I might be wrong… but that seems like a huge disconnect to me.