Main content
Radio 4 listeners’ favourite science fiction quotes
To mark the new series of Dangerous Visons, sci-fi dramas that explore contemporary takes on future dystopias, we beamed a message out into the galaxy asking for your favourite science fiction quotes…

Some of you chose lines from the all time classic sci-fi thrillers...

Keir Gravil chooses an unforgettable line from Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home: "Everybody remember where we parked."

Sam Christopher Cornwell picks the quote, "Game over, man. Game over!" - said by Private Hudson who was played by Bill Paxton in Aliens (1986).

Craig Reilly suggests a Marty McFly quote from Back to the Future (1985): "Are you telling me that you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?"

Jim Breen picks, "I'll be right here" - said by ET in the emotional conclusion of the Spielberg classic.

Andrew Hart picks a classic phrase, as performed by Jeff Coopwood in Star Trek: First Contact: "Resistance is futile!"
Science fiction novels also proved popular...

Chris Gleadell picks a quote from 2001: A Space Odyssey . Full quote: “The thing's hollow! It goes on forever, and... oh My God, it's full of stars!”

William Richardson writes, "I always get the shakes before a drop." The quote is from the award-winning science fiction novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.
For others, it was lines from cult TV that came to mind...

Photo: Chris Barrie, Clare Grogan and Craig Charles in the first series of Red Dwarf

Neil Warner picks the quote, "They're dead Dave, they're all dead Dave" - from Red Dwarf which was based on Dave Hollins: Space Cadet, a series of sketches from the Radio 4 comedy show, Son of Cliché.

Gregg Knapp suggested the famous line, "Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast" - said by Arnold Ace Rimmer in Red Dwarf.

Facebook user Ben Peel offers a well known Dr Who quote said frequently by the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee: "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow!"
Artificial intelligence and aliens that gave us nightmares...

Mark Hemmings remembers the Daleks from Dr Who, who made their first appearance on TV sets in 1963: "Exterminate!"

Alan Birks offeres a memorable quote from the sentient computer, HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey: " I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that..."
And those cyborgs and robots that we grew to love...

Paul Gilmore picks a line from the film that helped define Arnold Schwarzenegger's career, The Terminator: "Come with me if you want to live."

Bill Walker chooses a line from the robot Number 5 in the comedy/sci-fi film, Short Circuit (1986): "Fives alive."
![]()
The Dangerous Visions Quiz
Could you live in a post-apocalyptic dystopian hinterland?
![]()
How to speak sci-fi
Here’s what to say to pass as a sci-fi specialist...
![]()
Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Quiz
Take our quiz to find out if you’re a hoopy frood or not…
![]()
42 Douglas Adams quotes to live by
The Hitch-hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy author knew a thing or two about the universe.
![]()
Sex, Drugs and Aldous Huxley
An exploration of the man behind Brave New World, Aldous Huxley.
![]()
About Dangerous Visions
Immerse yourself in visions of the future with a set of thrilling tales.
![]()
Stuart Maconie's Dystopian Playlist
Strange, evocative music from the place where nightmare and reality meet.






