Geeks don’t get much respect at the Academy Awards.  No science fiction film has ever won Best Picture and just a handful have been nominated.  Fantasy got some more wins, but that’s only cause of music - Wizard of Oz wouldn’t worked as well if it was Somewhere over the spatial anomaly.  This list recognizes the best geek movies also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture ranked not only by how many awards they had, but also for how much geeks also like them (sorry Armageddon).

 7. Jaws - 4 nominations, 3 wins

Duh dun. Duh dun.  Aside from being scary as swimming with man-eating sharks, Jaws began the blockbuster mentality in Hollywood (not necessarily a good thing) and made the career of a small time director known as Steven Spielberg.  This sea classic has chewed its way into geek hearts the way any move can - with a giant mechanical monster bent on destruction.

6. A Clockwork Orange - 4 nominations

Hailed as one of the greatest movies ever and the Academy Awards failed to give it one Oscar.  It’s a common trend (where’s Blade Runner).  Stanley Kubrick’s twisted sci-fi adventure lost out to French Connection’s famous car chases, but remains iconic for its hats, music, and malicious intent.  Not the happiest of movies, but that just makes us love it more.

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After watching E.T., every time I road my bike, I kept hoping I would fly.  E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial moved adults and children like few movies could with its timeless tale of boy meets alien, boy looses alien.  For most men under 30, this is still the secret fantasy.  Steven Speilberg’s story told of Elliot finding a lost alien and helping it return home, but becoming the closest of friends in the process.  E.T. became one of the ten highest grossing films of all time thanks to its ability to make grown ups cry and children fantasize.  Even the famous Reese’s Pieces increased in sales by 65 percent thanks to their product placement in the film.  Few scenes are as climactic, emotional, and exciting as Elliot escaping from the government on his bike, with E.T. in the basket.  A barricade of cops stand in his way, so E.T. raises him into the air, flying against the backdrop of the moon.  Try not to cheer.  I dare you.

Us geeks have good lives. Tons of entertainment: TV shows, movies, comics, games to give our lives meaning and purpose (must live to see Episodes 7-9). But not everything can be as amazing as the Buffy Musical. Sometimes, the people we trust to entertain us betray us. They take what we know and love and shoot a missile right through our 2-meter exhaust ports. Here are the 7 biggest insults to our geekdom.

7. Canceling Firefly

A show about underdogs got beaten down by the big guns. One of the could-have-been-best-sci-fi shows ever was canceled for poor ratings before even airing all the finished episodes. And as an added insult, the Fox network aired Firefly’s episodes out of order causing mass chaos around the galaxy. Yeah, it’s all Fox’s fault. At least we got the kick ass movie out of the deal.

6. Star Trek video games

Still, to this day, we’ve yet to see a game deserving of the Star Trek moniker. And what’s worse is Star Trek appeals to so many different game genres. There’s conquering (or bringing peace) to the galaxy or just straight dogfights and exploring the galaxy. But each game looks like some gaming student’s long-procrastinated homework assignment, often filled with bugs and lacking all the features that could make the game cool. There’s the crappy attempt at a strategy game in Birth of a Federation to every bad SNES game where you just go on dumb away missions. Remember, away missions were boring on the show and they’re boring in the game. I must say, Star Trek: Bridge Commander has been the one white dwarf of light. Unfortunately, the recent Star Trek Legacy pales in comparison (I’m assuming white dwarfs are pale).

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