To celebrate the release on DVD of Lost Girl Season Two we set out to find the most enduring and endearing sci-fi partnerships around and there was no shortage of contenders. In the end we went for the duos who led us through some of our favourite adventures, and there are many more bubbling under.
Here are some of our favourites, let us know yours in the comments.
Kirk & Spock (Star Trek)
The only factor that could have prevented this pair turning up on our list of favourite sci-fi duos was DeForest Kelley’s Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, who was always this writer’s favourite member of the USS Enterprise crew. But as much as Bones contributes to Star Trek’s lead trio through his interactions with both Kirk and Spock, it’s the relationship between the Captain and his First Officer that’s Star Trek’s most compelling. Oh, and before we dive into the whys, let’s be clear here, we’re talking strictly William Shatner’s Kirk and Leonard Nimoy’s Spock Prime. Because as much as we love Pine and Quinto’s young upstarts, their relationship just isn’t quite there yet.
While almost always pursuing the same goals, Kirk was driven by his emotions, and Spock by logic, which was always great fodder for conflict within their relationship, yet could also lead to occasional moments of deeply profound and affecting understanding between the pair. And even when they can’t quite understand each other, there’s a deep respect between them that only grew stronger throughout their time together on The Original Series. By the time Star Trek made the transition from the small to the big screen, the history that they shared only lent their relationship even more weight, and that’s entirely why that moment from the end of The Wrath of Khan packs such a devastating punch.
Lister & Rimmer (Red Dwarf)
Although having very little in common, and enjoying a relationship that largely consists of trading insults and trying their very best to irritate one another, the two do just about manage to keep each other sane and sometimes even manage to work together when they find themselves in a scrape. There’s not usually much room for comedy when it comes to a sci-fi based list, but Rimmer and Lister here provide a glorious exception. As great as Kryten and The Cat both were, Lister and Rimmer were always at the core of Red Dwarf, and it tended to be the scenes they shared that were the most acerbically funny.
Mulder & Scully (The X-Files)
It’s a wonderful credit to both the performances of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, as well as the writers of The X-Files, that throughout the series run it was the relationship between the pair that was as interesting to fans as any of the central mysteries of the show. The chemistry they shared was unparalleled. What began as a platonic friendship quickly showed signs of a bubbling undercurrent of sexual tension, and over the course of the series the two eventually became romantically entangled in one of television’s very best will they/won’t they relationships.
When their partnership was broken for the final two seasons of The X-Files, the show was never really the same, although thankfully we were eventually rewarded with some sort of closure on their relationship in the otherwise disappointing The X-Files: I Want to Believe.
Klaatu & Gort (The Day The Earth Stood Still)
Klaatu demonstrates his power when he makes the Earth ‘stand still’ by neutralising all electric power – except in the cases where it would compromise human safety, of course – around the world, while Gort, a robot of immense power, is able to disintegrate weapons using a ray that emits from his visor. As well as providing us with one of the coolest phrases in sci-fi history in “Klaatu barada nikto,” the pair also impart a terrifying warning to the people of Earth from the rest of the Universe: if human violence and aggression spreads into space too, Gort and his kind will be sent back to destroy us all. If we had a message to send to a dangerous planet, we’d probably sent Klaatu and Gort too.
Dr David Bowman & HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)
This is man vs machine, but we’re not sure whom to root for. Sure, HAL has gone computer crazy and started offing the members of the Jupiter Mission, but when he begins to demonstrate true emotions, isn’t Dave just as guilty when he attempts to turn him off. Contrast Dave’s dead-eyed determination to shut down HAL with the computer’s pleas for him to stop, and, well, we know the point that Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke were trying to get across. It’s one of cinema’s most iconic sequences, and it’s the fascinating contrast between Dave and HAL that makes them one of sci-fi’s greatest duos.
Doc Brown & Marty McFly (Back to the Future)
Of course the time travel and Marty’s relationship with his parents is crucial to Back to the Future, but the relationship between Marty and Doc Brown is at its heart. We’re rooting for Marty to get his parents back together and return safely to 1985, but it almost doesn’t matter if he gets back and The Doc is dead, so he spends most of the film trying to warn his mentor about those pesky Libyans. Just listen to Marty scream “Nooooo! Bastards!” when Doc Brown’s gunned down, or the look of despair on his face when he returns to 1985 and thinks he’s witnessing the event unfold exactly as it did before.
Oh, and let’s not forget that Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are bags of fun whenever they’re in a scene together. It’s no surprise, considering this pair, that Back to the Future is among the best films of all time.
T-800 & John Connor (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
Sarah Connor’s a total badass in the movie, but while that’s awesome, she’s probably not the best parental figure for young John. While he’ll get to be good buddies with his dad in the future, John’s missing a father figure when he needs one most, and it was an inspired decision from James Cameron to allow Arnie’s Terminator to fill that void. They share some really sweet scenes together whenever they’re not busy avoiding Robert Patrick in all his melty metal glory.
WALL-E & EVE (WALL-E)
WALL-E may be a science-fiction movie with a serious environmental message, and at times it’s also a thrilling action adventure, but what’s often overlooked is its beautiful romance. From their first meeting when EVE tries to blow WALL-E into tiny pieces, to the heart-breaking finale in which we get to see the literal spark between them, it’s a whirlwind romance that contains all of the typical trappings of the genre, whilst never straying from the main task at hand. Our hero isn’t on a mission to return humans to Earth, nor is he trying to save them from their malevolent Autopilot, he just wants to find the girl of his dreams and somehow happens to become a hero along the way. Their relationship drives WALL-E’s plot and gives it emotional heft, and we’re getting teary just thinking about it.