USS Enterprise – Star Trek

One of the most well known vessels in the history of science fiction and pop culture, Star Trek’s USS Enterprise, has encountered hundreds of alien species, traveled back in time to save whales, defeated Klingons, Romulans, Chicago Mobsters and has been blown up 4 times (ST: III, The Ashes of Eden, Enterprise C & ST: Generations – did we miss one?) – only to be resurrected over again. Her captains have been heroic, strong willed, and good at bedding green women.

Millennium Falcon – Star Wars

The other most recognized ship in scifi lore, the Star Wars freighter turned fighter and home to Lando Calrissian & Han Solo, is responsible for destroying a Death Star or two, as well as saving a princess who wears bagels on the side of her head, and likes to make out with her brother. It also made the Kessel Run in 12-parsecs…and once we figure out what 12-parsecs equals, and where Kessel is, we’ll be very impressed.

Swordfish II – Cowboy Bebop

Spike Spiegel’s personal asteroid racer from Cowboy Bebop may not look pretty, but it sure can hustle when a bunch of ISSP intercept ships are on its tail. The Swordfish II is armed with four machine guns, multiple missile launchers, and a single plasma cannon. Spike is more than comfortable spending time dodging space debris, but really gets ticked off when kids, dogs or tough chicks try to climb in his cockpit.

Serenity – Firefly

Aside from Star Wars, science fiction’s other cargo ship and home to a crew of rag tags is Serenity, from Joss Whedon’s Firefly series (and also the film entitled Serenity). This ship has a lot in common with the Millennium Falcon, it is armed with loads of destructive weaponry, as well as many smuggler nooks and crannies in order to store treasures, or better yet hot alien telepathic chick who can save the universe.

The TARDIS – Doctor Who

Doctor Who’s trustworthy Police Box disguised ship, the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) has taken BBC’s favorite (sorry, favourite) vagabond from the dawn of time to the end of the universe. The TARDIS is capable of folding time and space, which may explain why it’s dimensions are a bit skewed – it seems to be about the size of a phone booth on the outside, but inside The Doctor has his own private loft with guest quarters. It’s appearance is due to a faulty “chameleon circuit” – a device which is suppose to transform TARDIS to blend into whatever settling it lands at.

Discovery One – 2001: A Space Odyssey

When you nuclear powered scientific explorer is controlled by a confused, emotional, homicidal computer with artificial intelligences, it’s hard to get anything done. Arthur C. Clarke’s  spaceship from 2001: A Space Odyssey and its crew were sent on a doomed mission to observe a mysterious black Monolith in orbit around Jupiter (Saturn in the original novel). After it’s computer system, HAL 9000, malfunctions and kills all onboard but crew leader Dave Bowman, the ship is sent adrift, only to be destroyed 9 years later along with Jupiter. All along Discovery floated through the silence of space in one of the greatest “hard” science fiction films ever made.

The Righteous Indignation – Captain Bucky O’Hare

“Bucky! Captain Bucky O’Hare! He goes where no ordinary rabbit will dare…” These are the words from the classic Saturday morning cartoon Capt. Bucky O’Hare & The Toad Wars. Bucky and his crew battled the evil Toad Empire in a Star Wars inspired animated series every week, with the help of his ship, the amazingly named (especially for a children cartoon) Righteous Indignation. This ship also makes an appearance in the Nintendo Entertainment System video game adaptation of Capt. Bucky O’Hare.

Galactica – Battlestar Galactica

In the war against the Cylons, Battleships of the Colonial Fleet are its best chance for human survival. In Battlestar Galactica, Commander Adama and his crew are off in search for New Caprica, a planet which will (hopefully) become their new home. Unfortunately, bioroids created by humans, Cylons, have decided they’re pretty tired of being used by flesh and bone beings – frankly, they’re mad as hell and are not gonna take it anymore. Galactica is about 50 years old, and was in the process of being decommissioned when Cylon attacks began. The ship now holds a crew of hundreds – including somewhere around 150 fighters (Vipers, Raptors, Blackbirds, Stealthstars).

The V Mothership – V the Series

When the aliens of V came to our planet (in the Mid 80′s apparently) all seemed peaceful. They looked like us, talked like us, and were generally nice creatures. That was of course until Marc Singer ripped one of their face masks off to reveal nasty, green reptile-ish people who plan to enslave/extinguish humanity. These ships look oddly similar to those from Independence Day – a movie with Will Smith that was great in 1994, but let’s face it, both the special effects from it and V do not hold up in 2009.

Red Dwarf

“It’s cold outside, there’s no kind of atmosphere…” are the first words fans of Red Dwarf hear at the beginning of each scifi sitcom episode, along with a panning shot of The Red Dwarf herself floating in space millions of light years from Earth. This huge craft – commanded by Arnold Rimmer or “Rimma’” – contains a galley, sleeping quarters, a garden, huge storage holds for mining purposes, a cryogenic sleeping room, karaoke bar, hologram suite, a secret prison on level 13 and is controlled by a lovely computer named Holly.

TCS Tiger’s Claw – Wing Commander

Throughout Wing Commander’s adaptation on TV, Film and Video Game (Yes, there was a WC cartoon, and it rocked!) the Bengel class carrier TCS (The Confederation Ship) Tiger’s Claw has been home to Maniac, Hotshot, Angel, Maverick and the rest of Confed’s fighter pilots. The ship (video game version pictured above, in feature film below) has gone through many face lifts and refits depending on what format you’re viewing in, but one thing remains – The Tiger’s Claw will always be there at the end of your mission.

Event Horizon

When an experimental ship disappears into a black hole and returns, a crew of scientists must board it in order to try and figure out what happened. The creepiness of Event Horizon isn’t only it’s 2001-style ship combined with a suspense horror movie, but adding Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill in one feature film – scary!

Goa’uld Ha’Tak – Stargate

Ha’tak-Class Motherships are the primary capital starships of the Goa’uld on both film and television versions of Stargate – only a team comprised of Snake Plissken and MacGyver can bring them down! Ha’tak translates to “pyramid ship” since the top levels of this very craft are based on ancient Egyptian structures. Ha’taks are the primary vessels of a Goa’uld System Lord, often the flagship of a particular Lord

Nebuchadnezzar – The Matrix

The Nebuchadnezzar, Morpheus’ ship from The Matrix Trilogy, is comprised of a small crew without much hope – until Ted Theodore Logan from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure comes along to save the world from evil machines overlords. This ship can travel at various speeds underground, floating on an electrical output that keeps it in mid air. It’s top weapon is an EMP electrical charge, which can knock out all electric devices for several meters around.

S. S. Heart of Gold – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy may be the greatest combination of British dry wit and science fiction to ever grace the printed word. At the heart of the story is the SS Heart of Gold, a state of the art vessel complete with Eddie – an onboard computer with a game show host attitude, and Marvin – a manic depressed robot. What’s so state of the heart…err…art about this ship? It’s Infinite Improbability Drive, which can transport the ship to any destination and appear as any number of random objects. This ride is so wild you may need one of Zaphod Beeblebrox’s Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster drinks to survive.