Now that all the hype surrounding Captain Marvel‘s top scene-stealer, Goose the cat (or “cat,” if you will), has died down a little, it’s high time we shifted our adoring attentions over to the dogs of science fiction. The genre has produced many, many very good puppers over the years, including these 30 favourites.
30. Boomer, Independence Day
Aliens invade. Cities fall. But Boomer, the good-natured yellow Lab with the Battlestar Galactica name, manages to outrun an explosion (complete with a slo-mo dive from the line of fire at the last possible second), lead rescuers to the badly injured First Lady, and become possibly the very first civilian canine to visit Area 51.
29. K-10, South Park
South Park paid tribute to Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Doctor Who, among others, in a two-episode season 10 arc. An impatient Cartman decides he’ll freeze himself to shorten the agonizing wait time for a Nintendo Wii, but accidentally stays in ice for 500 years and wakes up in a world filled with warring factions of atheists (including a society of intelligent otters). Anyway, his futuristic sidekick is an upright-walking robot dog named K-10, who proves useful when Cartman needs to steal a toy phone designed for crank-calling the past, though it eventually transforms into cat robot KIT-9 (and then bird robot KOK-A-3) after Cartman’s calls change the course of history.
28. C.H.O.M.P.S.
Saturday morning cartoon giant Hanna-Barbera didn’t make too many forays into live-action features, but it did give us C.H.O.M.P.S., the tale of “the world’s greatest crime biter.” This 1979 slice of goofballery is about an inventor (Land of the Lost‘s Wesley Eure) whose latest stroke of genius is a security system concealed in the guise of an adorably shaggy watchdog ” the “Canine HOMe Protection System.” The furry robot’s useful talents include seeing through walls, smashing through windows, and repeatedly outsmarting the Home Alone-style bungling crooks who’re determined to dognap him for their idea-stealing boss.
27. Bark Lee, John Dies at the End
Bark Lee is one of the most delightfully weird elements in a movie (directed by Bubba Ho-Tep‘s Don Coscarelli, and based on the book by David Wong) that’s chock full of “˜em.
Though he’s on the fringes of the story for the most part, Bark Lee develops psychic powers, drives a car in a pivotal scene, and steps up big-time during the film’s climactic brawl with inter-dimensional monsters. Here’s a quote from the film that sums it all up pretty well: “Damn, that dog just saved the universe.”
26. Queequeg, The X-Files
a fan favourite because, well, adorable Pomeranian!
He doesn’t do too much besides look cute (at one point, he gets a flea bath), but his presence helped bring some softness and silliness to Scully, beyond her usual all-business FBI mode. Though her fuzzy pal soon meets a tragic end in the jaws of an alligator, Scully does fill the Queequeg-shaped hole in her heart some years later, adopting Daggoo, another pup named in homage to Moby Dick, after its former owner, a man-lizard, begins a 10,000-year hibernation. Only on The X-Files.
25. Rick Deckard’s dog, Blade Runner 2049
We all knew Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard was going to return in the long-awaited Blade Runner sequel, but, once revealed, his way of life is pretty surprising: he’s off the grid in the abandoned but still tacky-as-hell Las Vegas, where a person can still power up a hologram of Elvis and there’s plenty of leftover booze, but the only other creature in sight is a great big doggo. (The doggo drinks booze, too.) The movie leaves the fate of Deckard’s hairy companion unresolved, but there are some theories out there you might not want to know about.
24. Vincent, Lost
On a show filled with deceptive people, out-there plot twists, and ever-shifting storylines, there was one constant: Vincent, the steadfast yellow Lab who was in the cargo hold in his carrier when the plane went down. Though Vincent’s tendency to run off from the group was often used as a plot device to get characters to move from point A to B, he went the distance, surviving the entire series (unlike many others). He’s even part of the iconic shot of Jack in “The End,” offering comfort to the main character as he clings to his last moments of life on the island.
23. Amaterasu, ÅŒkami
This gorgeous video game ” which draws inspiration from Japanese myths, folklore, and traditional woodcut art, and is similar to The Legend of Zelda in its gameplay ” has a very special main character: Amaterasu, a white wolf that’s actually the Shinto sun goddess in animal form. Amaterasu ” or Ammy to her friends ” spends Okami travelling across ancient Japan, helping people and defeating evil as all good dogs should.
22. Dug, Up
Pixar’s Up isn’t really a sci-fi movie, but those smart collars that allow its dog characters to actually speak? That’s futuristic technology we can get behind. While we impatiently wait for science to catch up with the movies, we can imagine what life will be like when dogs are able to talk thanks to Dug ” a goofy, eager-to-please Golden Retriever who proves an important ally to Up‘s mismatched explorers, despite the fact that he’s forced into the Cone of Shame for a time and is also very easily distracted. SQUIRREL!
21. Alien dog, The Thing
The husky glimpsed galloping across Antarctica’s snowy landscape in the opening moments of The Thing isn’t technically a good dog as far as the movie’s characters are concerned ” though they don’t realise it until later, “man’s best friend” is actually a sinister shape-shifting creature in disguise.
But for fans of one of the greatest sci-fi horror movies of all time, introducing that element into the lives of the men at U.S. Outpost 31 is what puts all the plot’s gruesomely great stuff in motion. So, in that context… give that alien dog all the bones!
20. Dog, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
If you’re going to be stuck roaming the savage landscape of the post-apocalypse, struggling for survival and even managing to eke out some heroism here and there, you’re going to need a lieutenant who doesn’t complain or slow you down. While this Very Badass Boy (appropriately, given the setting, he’s an Australian Cattle Dog) sadly doesn’t make it to the end of the film, the real-life pup, a shelter rescue, spent the rest of his days happily living it up under the care of people from Mad Max 2‘s stunt team.
19. Snuffles/Snowball, Rick and Morty
In the second-ever Rick and Morty episode, “Lawnmower Dog,” Rick sort of accidentally sparks a dog uprising by inventing a helmet that imbues Snuffles, the Smith family dog, with superior intelligence.
After a brief reign of terror, Snuffles (who briefly changes his name to “Snowball”) ends up departing peacefully to live in another dimension where dogs don’t have to oppress anyone to assume their rightful place as superior beings. But his impact lingers ” his portrait hangs on the wall of the family home, and on a more personal note, anytime I see a fluffy white dog that looks remotely like him, I have to immediately blurt out “Where are my testicles, Summer?”
18. Maximillion, The Bionic Woman
The saying is “man’s best friend,” but women and dogs also share a special bond. (As a Crazy Dog Lady, I can assure you this is true.) German Shepherd Maximillion, aka Max, aka the Bionic Dog, joined the series in its third season after a dramatic, two-part episode that saw him working through some mental trauma (depression after being confined in the lab, and a serious fear of fire) before becoming Jaime Sommers’ best buddy. But he wasn’t just a pet, of course ” considering he was super-smart, super-strong, and could run nearly 161km per hour, thanks to a million dollars worth of bionic enhancements (hence the name “Maximillion”), he assisted her on missions, too.
17. Dog, Good Omens
After briefly appearing as a snarling beast, Dog soon transforms into the cutest hellhound you ever did see at the behest of his powerful young owner. The scruffly pup shows up to watch over Adam, the Antichrist, on his 11th birthday, and ends up being a slightly troublemaking but otherwise generally outstanding part of Adam’s life ” before, during, and after that apocalypse that never quite happens.
16. Koromaru, Persona 3
Playable character Koromaru may be a dog, but he’s a very talented dog. He is highly intelligent, fiercly loyal, and to quote my colleague James Whitbrook: “How do you feel about dogs that can… summon demons?” When Koromaru ” a Shiba Inu who joins the protagonist’s team of paranormal demon-hunting high school kids in Persona 3 after singlehandedly killing a monster they were chasing ” summons his Persona, the literal manifestation of own inner will, he summons no less than Cerberus, guardian of the underworld. As James will tell you, “Koromaru is a THREAT.”
15. Fortinbras, A Wrinkle in Time
There are all sorts of fantastic creatures in Madeleine L’Engle’s classic children’s book, but the Murry family dog, Fortinbras, is the most comforting.
He’s there for protection and reassurance on on any given dark and stormy night ” but especially when there are strange things blowing around the neighbourhood, your dad’s been away from home for far too long, and being a 13-year-old girl who’s not quite comfortable in her own skin starts feeling like an especially heavy load. The recent movie version has been faulted for a few things, but the fact that Fortinbras is barely in it is definitely right up there.
14. Atticus, Infinity Train
Infinity Train is a brand-new show, but we’re more than ready to pack up and move to Corginia… or at least the train car it occupies. Atticus, the king of Corginia, united the Cardigan Welsh and Pembroke Welsh varieties of corgis, and though he’s definitely a dog (enjoys belly rubs, gets squirmy when he’s carried), he’s also a regal and brave leader. Shadow monsters ” whatever form they really take ” beware! As an added bonus, Atticus is voiced by the always-delightful Ernie Hudson.
13. Ein, Cowboy Bebop
It’s a corgi rock block! With Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop coming soon, fans of the anime are looking forward to seeing the hyper-intelligent pup (whose name is likely a reference to “Einstein”) in live-action. When the cast was announced earlier this spring, there was no mention of Ein, and rumours sparked concern the adorable low-rider might be re-cast as a different breed of dog ” but blessedly, one of the show’s writer-producers took to Twitter with reassurance:
in the nearly three years i’ve been working on it, there has not been a single day where ein was anything other than a welsh corgi. #CowboyBebop
— christopher yost (@yost) May 5, 2019
12. Lockjaw, Marvel Comics
He’s a giant, slobbery bulldog with teleportation powers and an intensely strong bite ” what’s not to love? A faithful companion of (and mode of transportation for) the Inhumans’ royal family, Lockjaw debuted in a 1965 Fantastic Four comic. Since then, he’s popped up in multiple storylines with and without his human allies, as the leader of the Pet Avengers, and in plenty of multimedia, including video games, animation, and, most recently, the mercifully short-lived Inhumans TV show.
11. Kazak, The Sirens of Titan (and Archer)
The “hound of space” in Kurt Vonnegut’s 1959 comedic interplanetary tale, Kazak is the constant companion of one of the book’s human characters, Winston Niles Rumfoord, a wealthy man who’s figured out how to slip around through time and space. The Sirens of Titan has long been bandied about as a possible movie or TV adaptation ” most recently by Rick and Morty‘s Dan Harmon ” but the novel’s iconic pooch has already been brought to life, sort of, by an episode of Archer featuring an especially drooly canine agent named Kazak, whose collar is used for smuggling top-secret microfilm.
10. Samantha, I Am Legend
Dammit, Sam! In I Am Legend, Will Smith’s character, virologist Robert Neville, thinks he may well be the last man alive ” but he knows he’s not the last living thing alive, because New York is crawling with zombie-vampire-cannibal things that attack after dark.
There’s also the matter of Samantha, a German Shepherd who keeps him from completely losing it in his lonely, isolated state. They make a great team until Sam gets bitten by one of the creatures, and Robert’s unable to use his makeshift science to save her from succumbing to her infection. Even worse, he’s forced to kill his beloved pet the moment she transforms into a monster ” easily the most emotionally crushing moment in the entire film.
9. Frank, Men in Black
Though he had just a brief role in Men in Black, Frank was such a fan favourite he was elevated to co-star in the sequel, even (briefly) getting his own little black suit to wear on the job as “Agent F.” Although he appears to be a wrinkly little pug, and he engages in dog-like behaviour (biting people, barking along to “Who Let the Dogs Out”), he’s actually an alien, specifically a Remoolian, which explains why he can speak, among other things.
8. Astro, The Jetsons
Apologies to C.H.O.M.P.S., but Hanna-Barbera’s best known sci-fi canine creation has to be Astro, the Jetsons‘ big, goofy dog. The fact that Astro sounds a bit like Scooby-Doo (“Ruh-roh!”) is no accident; legendary voice actor Don Messick did the voice for both, although Astro came first. Though George Jetson tries to convince everyone that Electronimo ” a robot dog ” will be better-suited to apartment living, the plan backfires when Astro heroically (but accidentally) foils a would-be burglar. In a later episode, it’s discovered that Astro is actually Tralfaz, the long-lost dog of the ludicrously rich J.P. Gottrockets ” but fortunately for everyone, he gets to stay with his beloved Elroy in the end.
7. Muffit, Battlestar Galactica
Muffit, who’s technically a “daggit,” perishes in a Cylon attack in the very first Battlestar Galactica episode, but he soon makes a triumphant return as Muffit II. The robotic daggit doesn’t look physically identical, but it acts just the same, being a best friend to its young owner, Boxey, while also helping the boy narrowly escape danger on numerous occasions, often by using its well-honed sense of smell. While Muffit’s character was presented as being very dog-like, the suit performer was actually a chimpanzee named Evie, who was both highly trained and somewhat temperamental behind the scenes.
6. Blood, A Boy and His Dog
Harlan Ellison’s 1969 novella forms the basis for this deeply weird, darkly funny 1975 cult classic, which stars a young Don Johnson as Vic, a horny teen struggling for post-apocalyptic survival in a decimated Midwest. His sarcastic companion, Blood, is a telepathic dog who “talks” to Vic as he helps him sniff out women to sleep with. In return, Vic helps Blood find food, since Blood’s ESP cancels out his ability to sniff out sustenance. Eventually, Vic must make a choice between his libido and his furry frenemy, and realises what’s most important (see: the title of the movie).
5. Einstein, Back to the Future
Doc Brown’s affable best friend ” other than Marty, of course ” is a shaggy, scientifically-named sheepdog. He’s the beneficiary of some of Doc’s wackier inventions, including the elaborate automatic dog feeder glimpsed early in the film. Einstein also serves as the test subject for the (thankfully successful) maiden voyage of the time-travelling DeLorean. And he’s part of a legacy, as it turns out; when Marty tracks Doc down back in 1955, we see that Einstein is just the latest in the eccentric scientist’s long line of shaggy lab assistants.
4. Krypto, Superman
Much like his owner, Krypto the Superdog has heightened senses (with a particular emphasis on the stuff that already sets dogs apart, like sense of smell and hearing), and he’s able to understand speech even if he can’t actually respond beyond growls and thought bubbles. He’ll be featured on Titans next season, which should elevate his pop-culture profile considerably while adding more layers to a character who first appeared back in 1955.
Over the years, he’s had some truly bonkers comic book storylines, like the time Superman gave him a special hat that revealed his family tree (including “Nypto,” his grandfather, who was super-sized and barely avoided being eaten by some passing aliens), or the time he contracted the dreaded space-rabies.
3. Porthos, Star Trek: Enterprise
We were already beside ourselves with excitement over Star Trek: Picard, and then we saw the image of Picard with his dog. While we wait to see Number One melt hearts on the small screen, it’s the perfect time to remember Porthos, Captain Archer’s beagle.
Porthos ” a confirmed fan of ear skritches and cheese ” inevitably became a fan favourite, but he almost had an even bigger role on the show: Enterprise ended up putting the kibosh on several Porthos-centric storylines (including one where he would have had to assume command of the ship) because he was already a scene-stealer, despite not really doing much beyond being an adorable but otherwise normal pupper in space.
2. Seymour, Futurama
The tragic tale of Seymour (full name: Seymour Asses) plays out in “Jurassic Bark,” a season five episode that saves its gut-punch for the end, when it’s revealed that Fry’s devoted buddy ” who Fry assumes had a long, happy life, since he lived to be 15 ” actually waited for him for 12 long, lonely years outside a pizza parlor after Fry was accidentally cryogenically frozen. Sob.
1. K-9, Doctor Who
A robotic dog atop our list of very good sci-fi dogs? Affirmative! And it’s not just any robotic dog: it’s K-9, beloved by the Doctor Who faithful since his first appearance back in 1977. As far as the series is concerned, however, K-9 was actually created in the year 5000 by noted dog lover Professor Marius, who gave him to the Doctor at the end of The Invisible Enemy.
Over the years, the intelligent, talking robot ” usually portrayed by a radio-controlled prop ” has gone through a series of upgrades and redesigns, and along with appearing in books, video games, and on kid-focused spinoff series The Sarah Jane Adventures and his own short-lived Australian TV series, K-9 (who’s also a perpetually popular toy for Doctor Who collectors, for obvious reasons of cuteness) almost got his own standalone movie back in 2015.
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