Science fiction might be all about the future, the possibilities and limits of human beings when placed in extraordinary situations. It might offer a way to explore hot political topics through a less incendiary medium. But who cares?

The best things about sci-fi are the rides: the hyperspace-surfing, gravity-defying spacecraft. Freed from the constraints of Earthly physics and $4 per gallon gas, the spaceships on TV and in the movies can spend their time looking mean and, frankly, kicking ass. Here's a list of five of the best.

Buck Rogers' Fighter

Sure, it's part X-Wing, but there's something seriously cool about the 1980s Buck Rogers fighter. It's sleek but just the right amount of boxy, and those twin spikes on the front make it look baaad. Of course, those spikes didn't make it into the toy version – they were joined by a flat strip of metal to disable their eye-gouging abilities.

Sadly, the fighter was just about the only decent thing in the show (although my Dad had a decidedly non-soft spot for Col. Wilma Deering). Buck himself was played by the paunchy Gil Gerard, shoe-horned into a tight white suit, and even the robots were bad (just what was Twiki up to?) In fact, the only thing saving the show was that it was a lot better than the Buster Crabbe version.

Discovery 1

It might not be a badass fighter, but the Discovery, from 2001: A Space Odyssey, was the first movie spaceship that actually looked like a spaceship, not just a cross between a hotrod and a fighter plane. Long and thin with a bulbous head, it would snap like a Twiglet in Earth gravity, but in space, it's perfect.

And for the physics nerds, the ship had one other "feature" not often seen in the movies: You couldn't hear it. All those blaster and laser sounds in Star Wars? Impossible. Vacuums don't carry mechanical sound waves. Mark one up for the pedantic movie geek.

The Millennium Falcon

This is here because it has to be. Probably the coolest spaceship ever seen, Han Solo's freighter foreshadowed William Gibson's ramshackle, workaday, cobbled-together tech by seven years. Sure, it looks like a giant metal hamburger, but we'd like to see a Big Mac that could make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

The Viper

Another X-Wing look-alike, from another better-than-the-original remake: Battlestar Galactica. The Viper is the ship you'd fly if you could pick any spaceship to take for a ride, if only for the psychedelic launch-tube experience.

We can't decide whether the original or the re-imagined Viper would be more fun to drive but either way, the Starhound Class fighter/interceptor has the distinction of being flown by the only starfighter pilot to give her (or his) name to a chain of overpriced coffee shops.

Romulan Warbird

Why did we pick this over the Enterprise, or the Klingon Bird of Prey? Just look at it. Of all the Star Trek ships, the Warbird is the scariest, most kickass-looking of them all. Positive proof that the bad guys always get the best gear. Compare this to the USS Enterprise, which looks like a dinner plate and a couple of flashlights.

The People's Choice

Obviously I will have picked the wrong top five, so here's your chance to fix things. Tell us what you think is the Awesomest Spaceship of All Time.