RE: Science fiction's goofiest gadgets and technologyBy Anonymous on May 9, 2008, 4:11 pmHowever you failed to mention that "The Time Machine" (1960) won the Academy Awards Oscar for Best Special Effects (in 1961). Call it the goofiest gadget, but "won" is 'WON' in that business...

Don't knock my Lost in Space!By Anonymous on May 19, 2008, 12:16 pmThat LIS tracker was awesome and was created almost 45 years ago! Looks like it has solar panels and various satellite communication devices (including the one in the bubble). The creatures on that show were low budget but the gadgets were awesome. Someone else commented about your lack of taking shots at Space 1999 which had to be one of the strangest things ever made for TV. I cover new gadgets at http://www.techwishes.com

I don't get itBy Anonymous on May 15, 2008, 2:42 pmYour article makes no sense. These are amazing 'gadgets' - a history of our human imagination and ingenuity. Are you even a sci-fi fan?

Not even close to the cheesiestBy Anonymous on May 15, 2008, 9:32 amGuys, you obviously haven't seen many sci-fi movies, or you've only seen very good and very recent ones. I suggest you screen "Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster". My favorite cheesy device from that stinker is the machine used to process the kidnapped victims, which is basically a conveyor belt with a set of lace coffin curtains which are draped over the victims while playing silly 'space tech' sound effects. Honorable mention for the high tech transport for the hero, which is actually a Vespa scooter.

Also Goofy - the Gort RobotBy Anonymous on May 13, 2008, 1:25 pmHow about the Gort robot from the (1951) film, "The Day the Earth Stood Still?" It's not clear if Gort was a character, a weapon, or both. But he was a more streamlined and scarier (for the day) version of the Wizard of Oz's Tin Man that arrived in a flying saucer and was a sidekick to the film's main character, Klaatu. Gort could send a laser through the slit in his iron head that would annihilate things - most notably, U.S. weapons. Oddly, I think this film was supposed to be about peace (and its elusiveness), but with aliens arriving, chaos in the streets, and Klaatu being killed, it scared the hell out of me. Oh, and I love the fact that Gort had little metallic "Speedos" on. Nice touch. Klaatu barada nikto!!

Lost In Space ChariotBy Anonymous on May 13, 2008, 12:02 pmThe Lost in Space Chariot seems pretty travel worthy for most terrain. I think you guys were much too hard on it. There are goofier gadgets in Sci-Fi history to pick on.

goofiest By Anonymous on May 12, 2008, 6:27 pmHow about the beach-ball alien from "Dark Star". Technically not a gadget plot-wise, it was pretty goofy for a supposed character....

To be fair about the StarBy Anonymous on May 12, 2008, 10:52 amTo be fair about the Star Trek phaser rifle, it came along years before the first super-soaker-type water toy, and it would be safe to say that the super-soakers took a few design cues from the Star Trek prop. Also, the rifle made its one appearance in the show's unprecedented second pilot, which was eventually aired as what at the time seemed like a decidedly peculiar regular episode.

Other goofy gadgetsBy Anonymous on May 10, 2008, 10:00 pmYou didn't mention any of the Gerry Anderson TV series such as Supercar, Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, Stingray, Thunderbird, Space 1999 and UFO. In Fireball XL5 (a smaller version of a Space Shuttle), the command building called Space City rotated slowly, and in one episode, Zoonie (a space pet) fooled around with the controls and made it spin very fast. Even the music gave it a hilarious touch as Commander Zero and Lieutenant Ninety were holding on to dear life due to the centrifugal forces until it was slowed down. I saw this more than 45 years ago and I still laugh about it. The Anderson movie "The Other side of the Sun" had very credible effects, which NASA could have used in their spacecrafts.