Favorite Visions of the Future in Literature, Movies and Television that Have Been Rendered Obsolete

Back to the Future II no flying cars by the year 2015.
 
BAYLOR said:
Back to the Future II no flying cars by the year 2015.
Click to expand...
That's surely not a "vision of the future rendered obsolete" though, is it? We have autogyros. We have drones. We also have these seven flying cars...


We don't have flying DeLoreans powered by Plutonium and waste vegetable peelings, but... (and I don't know about you) however, when I watched Back to the Future II I never really thought that we would in 2015. Neither did I think I'd be seeing a Jaws 19 movie.

There are flying vehicles, they just don't look like an 1980's car.
 
Dave said:
That's surely not a "vision of the future rendered obsolete" though, is it? We have autogyros. We have drones. We also have these seven flying cars...


We don't have flying DeLoreans powered by Plutonium and waste vegetable peelings, but... (and I don't know about you) however, when I watched Back to the Future II I never really thought that we would in 2015. Neither did I think I'd be seeing a Jaws 19 movie.

There are flying vehicles, they just don't look like an 1980's car.
Click to expand...

Impressive . :cool:
 
The newer version of Planet of the Ape has really gone there.
 
I was just thinking about the Jetsons and their robot maid that uses a vacuum cleaner. Sure the robot in Robot and Frank is an actual prototype of a service robot, but I think if a robot is going to vacuum, they're more likely to have a Roomba.

Also, yeah the idea of flying cars is cool, but I think they're going to be self-driving only and only allowed for people who can keep them properly maintained instead of trying to hold it together with bailing wire.

I think that another thing that's not going to be commonplace is "fun" electronics being implanted, just medically necessary ones. People are even going to resist RFID chips. I'm a tech-bane so I had the attitude since the 90's that I'll accept interface wires, but the processor and such needs to be removable without a knife.
 
The rate of progress is generally much slower than many people imagine. Microelectronics (computer tech) has seen some great gains in the last 50 years and, sure enough, our machine interfaces (touchscreens etc) look way more advanced than the push buttons and pilot lights on the consoles in old episodes of Star Trek. But significant advances in electro magnetic engineering just aren't here! I can think of things like improved permanent magnets leading to better motors. 3D printing (facilitated by advances in electronics). Improved automation (again, really down to computer tech). Better battery tech thanks to chemical engineering. But the kinds of advances we will need for, say, manned Mars shots are still some way off. We are even struggling to get ourselves off fossil fuels (basically C19th technology). I know what I am saying goes against the current hype (eg ridiculous Youtube videos that imply Musk will be opening shopping malls on Mars by the end of next year). I'm sorry about that.
 
Looking Backwards 2000- 1887 by Edward Bellamy Yeah, I can safely say this book is a very obsolete prediction of the future from an 1888 perspective and it's 20 year past the 2000 date its set in . It would make a good alt universe story at all. :D

And for the record , I found it a very aggravating read. It had no real plot and no villain . :)
 
Things to Come ends in the year 2036. This is another film that we safely slide into the alternate timeline.
 
In fact Brian has cut all ties with that site as it was causing him grief above and beyond the those expected of a site manager.

The arguments can get pretty heated and sometimes personal. It's a lot more "Moderater hand off" - though it was moderated to some extent when I last visited.

I'll check with Brian to see if he's happy to have a reference/link to it on this site before I post any.

Cheers for now.
 
United Nations as "World Government". Apologies if this has been posted before
 
Ray Pullar said:
The idea of the United Nations as an effective world government starting with H. G. Wells and still with us in the Expanse.
Click to expand...

Guillermo Stitch said:
Does anybody remember The Two Ronnie's The Worm That Turned?
Click to expand...

Sadly I do. Not because it means I'm old but because, even by the Two Ronnies standards, it was laboured unfunny sh*te.
 
Sea Quest's version of the future didn't pan out at all.
 
Christine Wheelwright said:
The rate of progress is generally much slower than many people imagine. Microelectronics (computer tech) has seen some great gains in the last 50 years and, sure enough, our machine interfaces (touchscreens etc) look way more advanced than the push buttons and pilot lights on the consoles in old episodes of Star Trek. But significant advances in electro magnetic engineering just aren't here! I can think of things like improved permanent magnets leading to better motors. 3D printing (facilitated by advances in electronics). Improved automation (again, really down to computer tech). Better battery tech thanks to chemical engineering. But the kinds of advances we will need for, say, manned Mars shots are still some way off. We are even struggling to get ourselves off fossil fuels (basically C19th technology). I know what I am saying goes against the current hype (eg ridiculous Youtube videos that imply Musk will be opening shopping malls on Mars by the end of next year). I'm sorry about that.
Click to expand...


I've been thinking about touchscreens and more modern controls, as opposed to the 'clunkier' buttons/switches of scifi shows from the 60s/70s/80s. The more sophisticated the controls, the more likely they are to go wrong, or for accidents/faults to occur, including human error. Imagine using a touchscreen and accidentally brushing against the wrong control!

Not too much of an issue when you're on/close to Earth, but more problematic the further you get. Perhaps the future of longer distance space travel is less sophisticated controls; mechanical, 'manual' switches and buttons that are less likely to go wrong and are easier to repair. It wouldn't surprise me if the first piloted mission to Mars or beyond has a cockpit which better resembles a 60s tv show than a more streamlined modern one.
 
paranoid marvin said:
I've been thinking about touchscreens and more modern controls, as opposed to the 'clunkier' buttons/switches of scifi shows from the 60s/70s/80s.
Click to expand...
I always thought it looked odd that the controls of the Enterprise NX-01 looked more 'modern' than those of the Enterprise NCC-1701
 
Pyan said:
I always thought it looked odd that the controls of the Enterprise NX-01 looked more 'modern' than those of the Enterprise NCC-1701
Click to expand...

Which was made more apparent in the the two part story In A Mirror Darkly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
bwb Vote for your 3 favorite reads of the year + see what everyone else loved :) Promotions 2
D Your top 3-5 favorite Science-fiction writers currently? Book Discussion 7
Lady of Winterfell Favorite Action Scenes Marvel Universe 2
B Your Favorite Roger Corman Films General Film Discussion 17
B Favorite Saturday Morning Tv Shows General TV Discussion 9

Similar threads


Back
Top