The best ships in movies and TV shows

It’s Valentine’s Day, so obviously we all have one big thing on our minds: our favorite ships in fiction.

Fandom has largely claimed the word “ships” to mean “relationships,” as in “two (or more) people you think belong together,” as in “I ship Dean Winchester and Castiel from Supernatural.” That’s all well and good, but it isn’t what we’re talking about. We mean what “ships” used to mean before fandoms stole the word — vessels designed for transporting people or goods across space, through the air, or on the sea. Isn’t there something inherently romantic about being aboard a fearless ship that soars and/or sails through the unknown? As it turns out, there are a lot of fictional ships to get all swoony over — especially as they turn from simple vessels to important narrative devices for the characters involved.

The R.L.S. Treasure Planet’s Legacy

Image: Disney

There are far too few “spaceships that are also traditional sailing ships” out there, but Disney’s sci-fi take on Treasure Island, 2002’s Treasure PlanetThe gap is filled by. Although the movie wasn’t a big success, it had stunning visuals and pushes the boundaries of what CG animation and traditional animation could do. They aren’t mutually exclusive.

R.L.S. Legacy is the embodiment of all that’s best Treasure PlanetIt has a lot to offer. Although it looks similar to a galleon, its speed and agility allow it to fly through the air. The ship embodies both the romance and beauty of the high seas as well as the wonder of space. Some of the movie’s most gorgeous scenes come from Jim Hawkins dangling on the rigging and gazing out at the vast expanse of the galaxy. — Petrana Radulovic

Hunter x Hunter’s airships

Madhouse

The Hunter x Hunter universe is known for its adorable quirk: blimps and zeppelins-like airships have become the standard in air travel, replacing planes. It is a design decision I fully support, especially because they’re also brightly colored and really darn cute! Their faces are tiny! All I want is to kiss their noses. — PR

The Rocinante, The Expanse

Image: SyFy/Amazon Prime

The best spaceships are ones that become characters in their own right — and the Rocinante is a shining example. This series’ centerpiece is the ex-Martian Navy vessel. It’s the escape vessel of a group of coworkers who become a found family. It’s a getaway frigate. It’s a warship defending the peace. It’s the place Jim and Naomi meet, and where the former keeps trying to make a decent cup of coffee. It’s the place where Alex Kamal makes Mariner Valley lasagna and attempts to lighten the mood. It’s the eternal improvement project of Amos, then Clarissa “Peaches,” and more. It’s the ship where Bobbie makes a stand.

After nine books, read over the course of 10 years, the interior of the ship is as familiar as any place I’ve ever lived — with even the mention of crash couches and “the juice” mentally preparing me for action and adventure. Over the years, The Roci has changed so much. It started out as a spritely instance of technology that was out of reach. Nine books later, with a several-decade time jump, the ship’s old bones begin to tire, and her tech is outdated. But she’s still part of the family! Finally parting with the Roci was just as hard — if not harder — than parting with the crew. — Nicole Clark

Helva the Ship That Sings

It’s been a long damn time since I’ve read Anne McCaffrey’s The Ship that Sung stories, which kicked off in 1961 and were eventually wrapped up into a novel that eventually got several collaboration sequels. I can’t speak for how I’d feel about it today, but as a teenager, I really enjoyed the tragic, yearning romance of the first book, The Ship Who Sang. In a far-future setting, some people with badly damaged bodies become “shell people,” encased in life-support systems that interface with the control systems of cities, planets — or ships. The protagonist here is a sentient ship (a “brain”) partnered with a hunky captain (a “brawn”) and sent out on dangerous missions. Naturally, they fall for each other, and naturally, they can’t exactly be together in a conventional way, and naturally, no one who isn’t a ship partner can really understand their special relationship. This whole arrangement is full of unrequited love, secret passions, and dangerous space adventures. I don’t know what more you could want out of your sci-fi ships. —Tasha Robinson

Avatar’s Venture Star

Image: 20th Century

Space vehicles can be imagined You are requiredRealistic? Yes, it is! But when time and attention is given to spaceship realism, I believe it’s worthy of praise. That’s why one of my favorite spaceships is the Interstellar Vehicle Venture Star from Avatar. This spaceship only gets a fraction of the movie’s runtime on screen, but it’s bursting with visual details that reveal an incredibly well-thought-out interstellar vehicle.

Venture Star can be used to make seven-year journeys from Earth and Pandora. Venture Star can travel at a fraction of the speed light to get there. PushHalf of the journey was made by an Earth-based laser, which is why the photon shield (back) in front? It is the main ship. Following a halfway-journey turn, Venture Star applies the brakes. In this instance, they are two huge antimatter engines. The Venture Star must get rid of the heat generated by the engines, just like a spaceship. Two huge radiators slow down the heat from antimatter reactions. They don’t even start in the movie. The only sign of their power is that the radiators burn red hot for a long time afterward.

Venture Star’s thin, long design means that crew quarters can be located far enough away from radiation and heat generated by antimatter. This is another sign of realism. The gigantic truss connecting the two sections evokes the International Space Station and two Valkyrie atmospheric spacecraft evoke NASA’s black and white space shuttle design. The Venture Star’s spaceship design is grounded by these references, and the Venture Star has plenty of storage for Unobtainium.

Venture Star communicates the operation of the rapacious Resources Development Administration even before you get to Pandora. Though it evokes governmentally designed spaceships, it’s purpose is clearly more exploitation than exploration. The spaceship, which is both efficient and economical was built to carry the Pandora RDA. — Clayton Ashley

Echo lander

Image: Ultra Ultra

Though only briefly glimpsed during the game’s opening cinematic, the asymmetrical lander from 2017’s EchoIt is one the most striking designs in a game full of beautiful imagery. Essentially a personal landing craft designed to transport passengers on and off-world, the lander exemplifies all the qualities that I could want out of a personal spacecraft — it’s compact, nimble, and visually unique. It’s the type of design that inspires you to ask a million questions about the technology and civilization that produced it, which makes it the perfect type of fictional vehicle in my opinion. —Toussaint Egan

Oblivion’s Bubble Ship

Universal Pictures

Opinion may be split on Joseph Kosinski’s 2013 sci-fi action film Oblivion, but what’s not up for debate is the Bubble Ship, the personal reconnaissance aircraft piloted by Tom Cruise in the movie. This ship is f’n It’s cool. Vehicle designer Daniel Simon describes it as “a dragonfly [combined] with a Bell 47 helicopter.” The end result is a memorable, elegant design, soaring through the clouds above a post-apocalyptic Earth with ease and grace. Every moment the Bubble Ship was onscreen was pure bliss, while every moment it wasn’t onscreen had me asking, “Where’s the Bubble Ship?” –TE

StarCraft 2 – Protoss mothership

Image: Blizzard

Protoss Mothership, my favourite ship from the fleet. StarCraft II. It’s the sort of vessel that I don’t often get to use in multiplayer matches — they are expensive and move too slowly to be useful to a incompetent StarCraft II player. However, in TheorieThese machines are stunning to behold, can call back allies units and make everything invisible. It’s pretty good at base defense, but the build order and tech tree to make one is absolute nonsense to me. I don’t usually excel at enough. StarCraft IITo get the ship to the point where it is feasible in the final-game. I enjoy using a Mothership Rush strategy from time to time. I was first introduced to it by a professional player in 2010.

This strategy is insane. Instead of doing the things necessary to ensure an economy and strong army, you just pivot your entire resources towards obtaining the Mothership as soon as possible. It sometimes works because it’s so stupid and no one expects it. Unfortunately, my skills are not nearly as impressive and I often fall short. And so I look on the Mothership with awe — the sort of vessel that is always out of reach. —Nicole Carpenter

HMS Terror, The Terror and real life

AMC Image

First, let me say that this ship was in many ways terrible. All aboard perished, the ship was an absolute wreck by the time it reached its destination. This ship is well known for being a complete failure.

However, I love the ship. The real-life disaster story is fascinating, and AMC’s highly fictionalized television adaptation is phenomenal. Season 1 The Terror, based on Dan Simmons’ novel, is available to watch on Hulu.) Even though I am not, it feels like I have a good understanding of the ship. It is amazing how meticulous attention has been paid to every detail inside the ship. It is lived in, so you can share it with crew members. It is your home. It’s a doomed home filled with death, but it’s a home nonetheless. Also, it’s called the freaking Terror — perhaps doom was slightly foreseeable. —Pete Volk

Mass Effect – The SSV Normandy SR-2

BioWare Image

I’m not a big ship person, unlike some of my friends, who know who they are. I don’t have a favorite Star Trek ship, much less one that’s appeared in fewer than five episodes of the franchise total. I see ships as interesting places, bases for operations, places where you can explore and characters, but they are rarely my favorite character. They don’t make me feel Feelings.

My monitor speakers blasting Mass Effect chords, and except for that first sighting of SSV Normandy pulling out from dock, it was the last time. My heart swelled with a feeling that could only be voiced by the phrase “That’s my Ship,” in the same tone that, say, a total wife guy might say “That’s my wife!”

But I confess my full love is reserved for the SSV Normandy’s resurrection as the SSV Normandy SR-2, a cutting-edge stealth frigate kitted with a luxurious captain’s quarters, observation deck, and a fucking Bar. She comes close to becoming a humanized vessel, even though her illegal onboard AI, EDI is given her body by the BTG standard. But EDI is my ally and compatriot — not the Normandy itself.

One woman can’t be the mighty sword with whom I cut through the galaxy’s myriad struggles, the spot where I go to hang out with my buds, and the place I keep my collection of exotic fish. That’s what a ship is capable of doing. —Susana Polo

Fisher-Price Shark Bite Pirate Ship

I don’t even know where I first ran across this toy, which has been around since at least the mid-2010s, and Fisher-Price being largely eternal, maybe long before then. It’s something I wish was there when I was younger. It’s a (probably extremely leaky) pirate ship, but it’s also a giant shark that eats Fisher-Price people! It may also fight crime, according to the television ad. Exactly what I’d do if I was a giant shark someone had turned into a biomechanical monstrosity. It also comes with a shark-pirate. This raises many questions about whether or not this creature is biologically superior to other creatures. I like to think of the shark-ship as the Alphonse to the shark-captain’s Edward, just two brothers with very different bodies, trying to get by in a world that’s probably pretty prejudiced against shark-people and shark-ships. At least once they’re both safely out of devouring range. —TR