15 October 1927: Metropolis, the epic science fiction film directed by Fritz Lang - the Guardian examines its strengths and weaknesses.

1 November 1938: A radio dramatisation of HG Wells’s The War of the Worlds causes a wave of panic in the United States.

Martians attacking - taken from a 1906 edition of The War of the Worlds by HG Wells. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

12 June 1959: Alien contact not ruled out by UK space programme. As the space race gathers pace, questions are asked in parliament as to whether Martians have anything to fear from the government.

1963: The launch of TV programme Doctor Who. The new series stars William Hartnell as the first doctor but the Guardian’s reviewer is unimpressed.

19 April 1965: Bringing science fiction readers down to earth. SF has almost become respectable with the advent of space flight – but the genre’s fans still have their eccentricities. In the same month, JG Ballard reviews the latest offerings.



Film poster for Frankenstein Meets The Spacemonster, 1965. Photograph: Ronald Grant archive. Photograph: Ronald Grant

5 May 1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey - the Observer’s review of the film.



16 September 1971: SF writer Michael Moorcock asks What does the future hold for science fiction?



December 1973: The BBC started showing Star Trek in 1969 and re-runs continued into the 1970s. Nancy Banks Smith thought it was like a Western, while Clive James, reviewing it at the same time, contrasted the series with its British rival, Moonbase 3.



Star Trek: Leonard Nimoy, on Vulcan, giving the Live Long and Prosper salute in Episode 34 - Amok Time. Photograph: c.Paramount/Everett/REX

December 9, 1982: Raiders of the ugly duckling - E.T. reviewed in the Guardian.



22 May 1980: The Empire Strikes Back - Star Wars, a force that may be with you indefinitely.



25 June 1997: Where no mannequin has been before - the 50th anniversary of the Roswell incident.



UFO festival, Roswell, New Mexico, USA, July 1996. Photograph: Ted Soqui/Sygma/Corbis

18 February 2010: Ministry of Defence’s records of UFO sightings a close encounter of the absurd kind - from flying Toblerones to alien abductions, UFO reports just keep coming.



October 2010: The Guardian’s 25 best sci-fi and fantasy films of all time.

