Best space battle in sci-fi

[stitch626]

Just wondering what peoples thought are. Just say the series, the battle, and why you think its great.

Mine will be up at some later date... watching a few at the moment.

[Captain Seafort]

A toss-up between three:

Battle of Endor (Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi)

The sheer variety of it is stunning, both visually, and in the combination of three different battles (surface, throne room, capship and fighter), all of which have a clear and immediate impact on the others. More importantly it was clear that this was it - if the rebellion won, they'd have dealt the Empire a serious blow, but if they lost then they would be finished, in a way that was not the case at Yavin, given that a single base, while important, could not match the entire fleet.

Battle of New Caprica (neo Battlestar Galactica, Exodus Part 2)

Not a fleet action, but great for the sheer innovativeness and guts of the Adama Manoeuvre and the death ride of the Pegasus. The former in particular is one of the few examples I can think of in which "background" technology is properly used to its full potential - in this case dropping the Galactica in under the Cylon blockade to launch its fighters directly into action.

Battle of Asuras (Stargate: Atlantis, Be All My Sins Remember'd)

A great run-up, using the new Asgard beam weapons to best effect rather than reset buttoning them, and going on the offensive to break the Asurans rather than simply sitting back and dealing with them as they came as had been done with the Wraith. Visually, it's clearly taken its ideas from Endor, but it stands out as one of the very few space battles in which the main battle went as expected, rather than something unexpected turning up simply to try and give a sense of danger. In particular FRAN was very well handled, rather than resorting to the stereotypical "evil robot" routine.

[Graham Kennedy]

Not sure I can pick a favourite, but some of these stand out for me...

Battlestar Galactica, Resurrection Ship Part 2. After being on the run from the Cylons for 18 months, seeing the humans turn around and give them a big ole punch square on the nose was joyful. Love the way they battle tacitcs were laid out, doing things like using the stealth fighter to disable the Resurrection ship, keeping the Basestars busy whilst the fighters take on the real target. Loved how Apollo wound up floating in the middle of the fleet watching it all unfold (an incident based on a real navy pilot shot down at Midway who watched the Jap carriers taken out). And there's something about watching those behemoths at work...Battlestars are shown pouring fire out, and taking it in return, in a way that I don't think any other sci fi has ever matched.

Star Trek, Balance of Terror. Move and countermove, a game of chess played with lives as the pieces. Better than any other, this battle gives you the sense of two true professionals at work.

Babylon 5, Severed Dreams. B5 breaks away from Earth once and for all, and Earth sends the fleet to stop her. Wonderful battle, wonderful ending.

[Nutso]

Babylon 5 vs Earth Alliance. Great music driving the scene. There's real tension going on, people are dying on both sides. It's short but feels like a lot went on.
"Bring us in close to the enemy."
"How close?"
"Right down their throats!"
Severed Dreams Firefight

[Tsukiyumi]

Yeah, that's serious business.

[Sionnach Glic]

Oh, man, there's just too much to choose from.

My top five, in no particular order:

Battle of Endor
Battle of New Caprica
The battle in Severed Dreams
Balance of Terror
The Wrath of Khan

[Captain Seafort]

The battle in Severed Dreams

Where's that one from? I've never heard of it.

Another one I've always liked, largely for the sheer guts of the Cain Manoeuvre - the Battle of Gamoray, Battlestar Galactica.

[Sionnach Glic]

Where's that one from? I've never heard of it.

Babylon 5.

[Nutso]

The battle in Severed Dreams

Where's that one from? I've never heard of it.

Another one I've always liked, largely for the sheer guts of the Cain Manoeuvre - the Battle of Gamoray, Battlestar Galactica.

This one. It's just the space battle scene. The scenes edited out involve B5's security forces, Human and Narn, scrapping with Earth Force Marines.

Babylon 5 vs Earth Alliance. Great music driving the scene. There's real tension going on, people are dying on both sides. It's short but feels like a lot went on.
"Bring us in close to the enemy."
"How close?"
"Right down their throats!"
Severed Dreams Firefight

[Deepcrush]

I'd like to throw in...

Battle of Hoth - due to the mixed feelings we were able to get from it. The sense of victory that the Rebels escaped but the sense of defeat at the losses suffered to make escape possible.

Battle of Arrakeen - From Dune Messiah where Paul Muad'Dib became Emperor Atreides of the Imperium.

Battle of the Pelennor Fields - From The Return of the King where we get one of the best pre-battle speeches ever by King Théoden of Rohan followed by a truly epic battle.

[Reliant121]

I'm not sure that Pelennor fields could be considered Sci-fi but, I think it is an epic battle.

[Captain Seafort]

Battle of Hoth - due to the mixed feelings we were able to get from it. The sense of victory that the Rebels escaped but the sense of defeat at the losses suffered to make escape possible.

Seconded. It's certainly the best sci-fi surface action I've ever seen - not only do the vast majority tend to be in space, but all the others I've seen (such as Geonosis and Utapau) tend to focus on a few highly unusual individuals and treat the main battle as background. Hoth only focuses on the main characters as examples, and integrates their actions into the wider battle.

[Deepcrush]

I'm not sure that Pelennor fields could be considered Sci-fi but, I think it is an epic battle.

Right, fair point...

[Lighthawk]

As far as best goes, I'd probably pick one that's been mentioned so far, if I could bring myself to actually choose. While not the best, one that's always stuck with me was the first time we really saw the shadow ships in B5 in action, demolishing a group of Narn ships. It was a short but awesome fight, not only for watching the Narn ships get cut in half, but because they actually fought at realistic distances, with the other side nothing but a dot against the stars.

[kostmayer]

If its a Space Battle, I'd go for the attack on Babylon 5 in Severed Dreams. B5 had some fantastic space battles throughout the series, but this was by far the best.

if its any sci-fi battle, I'd choose Forbidden Planet - the attack on the Cruiser by the ID monster. Even with 50's special effects its a terrifying scene.