Category Archives: Science fiction

Apocalypse in 7 Not-so-easy Steps

Open the Future has devised an 7-level “apocalypse scale,” grading the threat to humanity and the planet of 7 levels of disaster.

Given the popularity of mega-disasters in movies, we can consider which of the levels have been depicted — or at least threatened — on screen.

LEVEL — SCALE
0 — Regional catastrophe
Movies depicting:

  • 28 Days Later

1 — Human die-back
Movies depicting:

  • The Day after Tomorrow
  • The Postman
  • The Road Warrior
  • Terminator

2 — Civilizational extinction
Movies depicting:

  • Deep Impact
  • 12 Monkeys — due to a madman aiming for a 3A
  • Planet of the Apes
  • The Matrix

3A — Human extinction–engineered
Movies depicting:

  • On the Beach — the apparently imminent fate of humanity after a nuclear war
  • Children of Men — global sterility of unknown cause
  • Independence Day — or so the aliens intend

3B — Human extinction–natural
Movies depicting:

  • none known

4 — Biosphere extinction
Movies depicting:

  • none known

5 — Planetary extinction
Movies depicting:

  • Armageddon — “nothing will survive” unless the giant asteroid is deflected, though a Texas-sized asteroid might be more like a level 4

X — Planetary elimination
Movies depicting:

  • Star Wars — Alderaan at the hands of the Death Star

How big is that alien ship?

Compared to, say, a 747?

Starship Dimensions is one of my favorite science fiction sites, and beautiful in its simplicity: it simply shows the size, in exact proportion, of all major objects (and some creatures) in science fiction, from teeny little Star Trek shuttle craft to the Death Star and beyond.

Where else can you see that a plasma bug from Starship Troopers is just about the same size as a Jawa sandcrawler? (And, for the full 10-year-old experience, you can move them around your screen, at least in Internet Explorer.)