From the ridiculous to the...
For the past few days I've been more-than-the-usual-level-of-concerned about our King and his Knights of Inscrutability. So, I am rather deliberately changing gears here.
What are the Top Ten Sound Effects of Science Fiction?
10. The "effort" sound, The Six Million Dollar Man
When I was a kid, you were almost guaranteed to hear some other kid attempt this sound - even if it often sounded more like Jackie Mason in Caddyshack II.
9. The Neuralizer, MiB
Apart from being a very handy device that (let's be honest) everyone wants on their key chain, the flashbulb-on-crack sound suggests a pressure or shockwave that really does communicate the function.
8. The proton pack (or whatever it's called), Ghostbusters
Proton pack. Positron glider. Who cares? The contraption doesn't sound eerie and it shouldn't. It sounds like a hastily built, dangerously unstable bit of tech. I wonder what one sounds like when it's going to blow up.
7. Cylon, Battlestar Galactica (original series)
Apparently the Galactica found Earth in 1980 and the crew started trying to subtly improve technology. Within 2 years, they must have succeeded in creating Knight Industries because one of their products makes a remarkably similar noise.
6. Transporter, Star Trek (original series)
I'm not sure that it sounds like a machine that converts matter into energy, beams it to another location, and then reassembles it. It does, however, sound a lot better than the plastic grinding and flap-passing-flap of the MEGO playset.
5. The T.A.R.D.I.S., Dr. Who
It is probably the best-known time machine and it has always needed a few months in the shop. Not only is the Chameleon circuit broken but the core works of this thing seem to include a hand-crank starter somewhere. I really wouldn't be surprised.
4. Godzilla's yell
It IS humanly possible to make this noise: 1) Sneak up behind a friend with an ice cube. 2) Touch their lower back with it...
3. TIE fighter, Star Wars
This sound is technically a scream. What else would you call it? But it isn't a scream of pain or fear - it suggests the "speedy" variety of,... as in "screaming around the universe."
2. War machine probe, War of the Worlds (1953)
There have been interviews about the sound design since the classic film was made. And no one could ever remember how the noise was made. Pity. The probe noise almost says, "Ooo, something bad is going to happen. Wait for it. Are you waiting?"
1. Hypnotoad, Futurama
Well...
All Hail the Hypnotoad.
These were the "rules" for the above selection.
Each sound had to be easily called to mind. It had to be so distinctive that any listener familiar with the sound could (at least in theory) pick it out if dubbed over some other scene. When you hear the TIE fighter sound, some part of your mind says, "Hey, that's the TIE fighter sound."
Once a source had provided a sound, all other sounds from the same source were out of consideration. Otherwise, this would have been a list of Star Wars and Star Trek noises. And, at the risk of being corrected by some technician, the sound effect in question had to be one sound. The time travel effect from Back to the Future is, imo, at least three sounds: the car's engine, some lightning noises, and some sort of whoosh. Disqualified. Sorry, Michael.
The last rule was "No Voices." That leads to quotes which is an entirely different list.
What are the Top Ten Sound Effects of Science Fiction?
10. The "effort" sound, The Six Million Dollar Man
When I was a kid, you were almost guaranteed to hear some other kid attempt this sound - even if it often sounded more like Jackie Mason in Caddyshack II.
9. The Neuralizer, MiB
Apart from being a very handy device that (let's be honest) everyone wants on their key chain, the flashbulb-on-crack sound suggests a pressure or shockwave that really does communicate the function.
8. The proton pack (or whatever it's called), Ghostbusters
Proton pack. Positron glider. Who cares? The contraption doesn't sound eerie and it shouldn't. It sounds like a hastily built, dangerously unstable bit of tech. I wonder what one sounds like when it's going to blow up.
7. Cylon, Battlestar Galactica (original series)
Apparently the Galactica found Earth in 1980 and the crew started trying to subtly improve technology. Within 2 years, they must have succeeded in creating Knight Industries because one of their products makes a remarkably similar noise.
6. Transporter, Star Trek (original series)
I'm not sure that it sounds like a machine that converts matter into energy, beams it to another location, and then reassembles it. It does, however, sound a lot better than the plastic grinding and flap-passing-flap of the MEGO playset.
5. The T.A.R.D.I.S., Dr. Who
It is probably the best-known time machine and it has always needed a few months in the shop. Not only is the Chameleon circuit broken but the core works of this thing seem to include a hand-crank starter somewhere. I really wouldn't be surprised.
4. Godzilla's yell
It IS humanly possible to make this noise: 1) Sneak up behind a friend with an ice cube. 2) Touch their lower back with it...
3. TIE fighter, Star Wars
This sound is technically a scream. What else would you call it? But it isn't a scream of pain or fear - it suggests the "speedy" variety of,... as in "screaming around the universe."
2. War machine probe, War of the Worlds (1953)
There have been interviews about the sound design since the classic film was made. And no one could ever remember how the noise was made. Pity. The probe noise almost says, "Ooo, something bad is going to happen. Wait for it. Are you waiting?"
1. Hypnotoad, Futurama
Well...
All Hail the Hypnotoad.
These were the "rules" for the above selection.
Each sound had to be easily called to mind. It had to be so distinctive that any listener familiar with the sound could (at least in theory) pick it out if dubbed over some other scene. When you hear the TIE fighter sound, some part of your mind says, "Hey, that's the TIE fighter sound."
Once a source had provided a sound, all other sounds from the same source were out of consideration. Otherwise, this would have been a list of Star Wars and Star Trek noises. And, at the risk of being corrected by some technician, the sound effect in question had to be one sound. The time travel effect from Back to the Future is, imo, at least three sounds: the car's engine, some lightning noises, and some sort of whoosh. Disqualified. Sorry, Michael.
The last rule was "No Voices." That leads to quotes which is an entirely different list.