BEST:

Spot, Data's Orange Tabby Cat from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Who: Data's number 1 friend that didn't wear a Devo-esque visor on his face.
Why he's awesome: He's probably one of the only cats in the universe that has an infinitely advanced AI at his beck and call.
Bonus points: Anything that pisses Riker off is a big plus in my book.

Willis the Bouncer from Robert Heinlein's Red Planet
Who: A sound mimicking furry ball that every kid should have as a friend.
Why he's awesome: In a 1960's era future, when a dog just won't cut it, the only way to really impress the kids at school is with an alien that doubles as a soccer ball. And here's a clip from the Fox miniseries adaptation.

R2D2, Star Wars
Who: The yin to C3PO's (annoying) yang that brings logic and light to any situation through a series of flickering lights and bleeps.
Why he's awesome: He's a moving trashcan that manages to be more likeable than most of the Star Wars palz extended cast.

Porthos, Captain Archer's Beagle from Enterprise
Who: Easily one of the more tolerable characters on Enterprise. Mostly because he didn't talk.
Why he's awesome: He's a beagle! How can beagles not be cute? Also, I feel like after the unfortunate Scotty related transporter incident, he deserves a nice memorial.

Ampersand, Y the Last man
Who: The world's ending, every man is dead, you're an aspiring escape artist pining away for your lost girlfriend and you're all alone. What do you do? Have crazy monkey antics with your favorite jungle friend with a punctuation mark as a name.
Why he's awesome: Not to spoil too much, but he may or may not be humanity's key to getting the XY's back in action.

Lockjaw
Who: Marvel's own alien bulldog and member of the non-human branch of the Avengers.
Why he's awesome: He's super strong, can eat anything and once latched onto the Thing.

Dog the Robot from Half Life 2
Who: Alyx Vance's No.1 go to robotic buddy who helps when your path is blocked by other dimensional beings or just wants to play fetch with your grav gun.
Why he's awesome: He's a giant robot with the personality of a dog. Do you need more?

Pen Pen, from Neon Genesis Evangelion
Who: A genetically altered super smart penguin that lives with Misato Katsuragi during the Angel apocalypse.
Why he's awesome: While the series has moments of intense despair and darkness, you can always count on jerky, anime humor involving naked people and penguins to brighten your day.

K-9 from Doctor Who
Who: Dr Who's multi-generational robotic canine companion.
Why he's awesome: He's gotten a series of spinoff stories and was even parodied on South Park.

Nibbler from Futurama
Who: Nibbler is part of an ancient race of Nibblonians who protect the universe from giant glowing brains that make everyone stupid. Er, Stupid-er.
Why he's awesome: He can eat about 1,000 times his body mass to, uh, produce dark matter.

Gaspode, from Terry Prachett's Discworld series
Who: A talking dog with human intelligence that attempts to bring "Hollywood" to Discworld.
Why he's awesome: He's an endless source of snarky remarks and regularly uses his speech to manipulate humans when he needs food.

CJ-7
Who: A puff ball with a body that guaranteed to produce family friendly fun times.
Why he's awesome: CJ-7 can help you repair torn relationships with certain parental figures and bring people back from the dead.

Einstein, Doc Brown's dog from Back to the Future
Who: You might be under the impression that a certain Family Ties alum might be the Doc's best time traveling friend in this series, but you'd be wrong. This adorable little terrier follows Doc whenever her goes.
Why he's awesome: As long as you ignore the craptacular animated television series, Einstein is always cute, helpful and never obnoxious.

Ein, Cowboy Bebop
Who: A super brained corgie that gets stranded on the Bebop.
Why he's awesome: Although they never really get into it in the series, Ein is a "data dog" that possesses super intelligence that allows him to answer phones and steer cars.

Bubastis, Ozymandias' lynx from Watchmen
Who: When you're a super genius David Bowie impersonator with the world at your fingertips what do you do next? You create a genetically engineered psychedelic colored lynx as a companion.
Why he's awesome: He takes one for the team for the sake of furthering an evil plan for his master.

Gizmo, Gremlins
Who: The main furry faced protagonist of the Gremlins series.
Why he's awesome: While I'm pretty much a fan of all the gremlins, I can't deny the greatness that is Gizmo channeling his inner Rambo.

Seymour from Futurama
Who: Seymour is a part of one of the most tear jerking episodes of Futurama involving Fry recounting the story of the most loyal dog that ever lived.
Why he's awesome: Did you see the last scene? He's the most loyal dog that ever lived! Also, we can rest easy knowing that alternate timeline Fry gave Seymour a great life.

Bronx from Gargoyles
Who: Bronx is the dog version of the Manhattan gargoyle clan. During the whole series you only see one other gargoyle beast, but unlike Budeka, Bronx gets a whole episode devoted to him befriending an Amish kid.
Why he's awesome: Gargoyles are already pretty high on the cool supercreatures scale, but add a dog personality to the mix, and you've got gold.

Roach from WALL-E
Who: They weren't lying when they said that after the world ended there would be nothing left but cockroaches. Fortunately, the end of the world also gave them charming personalities!
Why he's awesome: Making me want a roach as a pet is an epic win in my book.

Kevin and Dug from Up
Who: Kevin is a rare, brilliantly colored giant bird that Carl and Russell accidentally find in Paradise Falls. Dug is sweet golden retriever with a collar that allows him to talk.
Why they're awesome: It takes a lot to make slapstick giant birds funny, but Pixar does a magnificent job. And Dug? He's exactly what I imagine an actual talking dog to sound like. SQUIRREL!

WORST:

Tribbles from Star Trek
Who: Fuzzy, purring little meat pets that take over the original Enterprise.
Why they suck: Pets rocks were bad enough, why would they think that a massively multiplying furry pet rock would be better?

ALF
Who: Alien puppet that takes over a really lame sitcom in the 80's. If ever you want to torture someone without the use of waterboarding, show them and episode of ALF… or Small Wonder.
Why he sucks: Look me straight in the eye and tell me you didn't scream in horror when you saw that clip.

Snarf, Thundercats
Who: A fat alien cat that ends every sentence with an annoying "snarf!" sound.
Why he sucks: Is he a lizard or a cat? I'm going to go with meth induced demonic lovechild.

Teddy from A.I.
Who: An animatronic intelligent Teddy Rucksbin from the future that accompanies David in a search for the Blue Fairy.
Why he sucks: Ok, now I understand that some people might take issue with Teddy's position on the worst list but he's a toy that's alive. That's pretty much the worst nightmare of most 8-year-old kids. And me.

Slimer from Ghostbusters
Who: A green ghost that terrorizes the Ghostbusters team by covering everything in slime.
Why he sucks: For those of us born in the mid 80's and watched the Ghostbusters cartoon first, we expected to see cool ghost antics when we finally saw the movie. Instead, we were greeted with a grotesque blob that was pretty evil.

Div-x from Penny Arcade
Who: You might remember the Sony Dix-X player, an ahead of its time technical marvel.
Why he sucks: According to Penny Arcade Comics, he's a foul-mouthed drunk that's teetering on the edge of killing us all.

Pets from Children of Men
Who: When the world's gone infertile, people turn to animals to provide comfort in the end of humanity.
Why they suck: I have nothing against the animals in Children of Men, personally, but seeing all the dogs, cats and birds cluttering people's homes can be an ominous image.

Selacious Crumb from Star Wars
Who: He's a little fox-lizard thing that hangs out with Jabba the Hut and laughs at all his lame jokes.
Why he sucks: Everybody hates the skinny jerk in the corner with the stupid laugh.

Gleek from Superfriends
Who: The alien monkey pet of the Wondertwins.
Why he sucks: Usually if he was featured in Superfriends, you could count on him popping out to end the episode on a lame joke.

Independence Day Dog from Independence Day
Who: If you're like me then you probably laughed at the idea of a ball of flame chasing a golden retriever down a tunnel.
Why he sucks: Was it really necessary to have a slow motion explosion behind a dog? And wouldn't all that heat ultimately cook them all in that storage locker?
Then Again:...he's immune to explosions. And that's pretty cool. Dodging fire like that, he's like a canine Neo. Maybe he should have been best?

Space Buddies
Why they suck: I'll just point you in the direction of this.

Queequeg, X-files
Who: A Pomeranian adopted by Dana Scully and eaten shortly after by the legendary Big Blue.
Why he sucks: He was found snacking on his previous owner.

Krypto
Who: Superman's dog. Enough said.
Why he sucks: I hate pet versions of superheroes. Also, why does he need a cape?

Muffit from the original Battlestar Gallactica
Who: Caprica used to have a variety of tracker dogs but sadly, none of them survived the Cylon attack. Instead a group robotic dogs are created to replace them.
Why he sucks: Is he an ewok? A fuzzy, metallic gremlin on meth? You decide.

MAD Cat from Inspector Gadget
Who: Dr. Claw's chortling fat feline.
Why he sucks: He's the quintessential evil cat meant to taunt the hero. Plus Dr. Claw regularly beat the crap out of him and he seemed to be ok with that.

Frank the Dog from Men in Black
Who: An alien stool pigeon using the guise of a small pug.
Why he sucks: He made me remember "Who Let the Dogs Out" existed.

Gir, Invader Zim
Who: Invader Zim's mentally disturbed robot helper that was given to him as either a joke or sabotage. Probably both.
Why he sucks: Yeah, yeah Gir is really cute, but he's amoral, evil and would gladly watch you die a fiery death while bursting into a fit of giggles.

Astro, The Jetsons
Who: The Scooby Doo knockoff of the 21st century.
Why he sucks: It might have worked with the Scooby Gang, but there's only room for one charismatic dog with a speech impediment ‘round these parts.

Lamar, Half Life 2
Who: The neutered headcrab that resides in Dr. Isaac Kleiner's laboratory.
Why he sucks: Crabs are rarely a good thing. Head crabs are a double whammy of bad.

Joshua from Dark Angel
Who: A transgenic dog-man with an affinity for painting and crappy comedic timing.
Why he sucks: There was only one good thing that came out of season two of Dark Angel and that rhymes with Smensen Shackles.

Honorable Mention: Blarp from the Lost in Space remake.

In an interview with MTV Robert Rodriguez revealed that they're writing the script right now and hoping to begin filming next year. So let's get started: who's gonna be the most beloved cartoon girl of the future, with the white hair? Here's what I would like to see.


Rachel Bilson


Why She's Our Space Girlfriend: Look at that innocent face and doe-eyes. Bilson knows how to work it sweet and innocent like no other.
Why She's So 20th Century: Slightly dated actor, so she may not get the part. She may be over the whole high-schooler thing as well.

Elisha Cuthbert


Why She's Our Space Girlfriend: She really looks the part.
Why She's So 20th Century: Elisha you're great, but the acting... well, it's not our favorite thing about you.

Alison Lohman


Why She's Our Space Girlfriend: Full package: looks, youth, acting chops — remember her adorable face in Matchstick Men? she can play any age.
Why She's So 20th Century: I really don't have a problem with her as Judy at all, but she may be a tiny bit too old. On the other hand, this is Hollywood.

Selena Gomez:


Why She's Our Space Girlfriend: This is the most likely of the selections: she'll bring in the tweens and teens, plus she's massive pop fodder and is super adorable.
Why She's So 20th Century: She may be too young. I can't imagine a lot of 20 and 30-somethings getting excited about a character from their past being brought to life by someone they don't really know.

In an interview with IESB director Robert Rodriguez came clean about the many movies he's been rumored to be making.

"I'm going to be able to shoot my upcoming Machete here, a sci-fi action film called Nerverackers, a re-boot of the Predator series called Predators, and a couple of smaller movies called Sin City 2 and The Jetsons."

Making both the Jetsons and a Predator reboot is a pretty brave move, seeing as die-hard Predator fans are very protective of the franchise. And The Jetsons - well, my expectation for a futuristic family is so high, I don't know how you could accomplish such a feat without green-screening the entire thing. Which we all know RR loves to do, but who knows how that will look when you use other colors, besides just black, white and red? We'll have to wait for more information on both, but I'm filled with so much simultaneous dread and excitement, it's causing me to laugh-cry.

There have, of course, been various attempts to turn Hanna Barbera's futuristic family sitcom into a movie in the past; one of the most recent included Robert Rodriguez, which just seems... wrong, somehow (Although, I admit, I may now have created a Rose McGowan As Judy Jetson fetish in my mind). But still, in an era in which not only is every piece of our childhoods is getting recycled onto the silver screen, but moviemakers like to CGI-gadgetize the crap out've family movies, the fact that we're not onto at least the third entry in a Jetsons franchise points to only one conclusion: Hollywood is broken.

There are a few different routes that a movie version of the short-lived futureshock version of The Flintstones could take - all of which would, hopefully, avoid the fairly disastrous route of The Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas. While I'd hope that the post-modern ironic take of a The Brady Bunch Movie wouldn't be the route the producers will end up taking, there's definitely some comedic potential in the very 1950s nuclear family vision of the future, and how dated it seems now. Personally, I'd rather see something closer to the Charlie's Angels approach (and that's one of the few times you'll see me recommending using those films as a model for anything): Reinterpret the concept with tongue-in-cheek, but not outright parody, allowing the movie to work on two levels. Or, in the case of Angels, one-and-a-half.

It may be that a Jetsons movie would've been out of step with popular culture a few years ago; more of an anachronism, something to be pointed at as quaint and old-fashioned in its lack of cynicism or Matrix-era regurgitations of William Gibson. But now, with President Obama and (more appropriately) the return of a candy-colored Star Trek, optimism is back in - and, if pitched properly, the anything-goes level of science from the original series could fit in with the magical science of Fringe and aesthetically-based reinterpretative invention of steampunk.

It probably won't live up to my imaginings, of course; already, before directors have been announced or casts have been imagined - although, really, Farrell as everyman father George; come on - I'm reminded of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and the horror of the wasted potential there. But nonetheless: In a world where there have been multiple Scooby Doo movies, the fact that we can't even point to a release date for a Jetsons film shows that someone hasn't been keeping their eye on the ball. Here's hoping that changes soon.

Rosie the Robot Maid: If you ask us, everyone should want their very own Rosie having seen what she does for The Jetsons. After all, she cooks, she cleans, she calls you "Mr [Whatever the initial of your last name is]," and all while wearing a frilly apron - What could be better? Sure, she later killed George Jetson in a parody of I, Robot, but you can overlook that when you taste how good her chicken is.

HERBIE, the Robot Nanny: He may have been created because animators couldn't use the Human Torch (either due to rights issues or a fear of children setting themselves on fire in a misguided attempt at hero-emulation, depending on who you listen to), but that doesn't stop HERBIE - or Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics, if you're being formal - from being our favorite flying sarcastic nanny-bot that consistently fails to keep Franklin Richards out of trouble on a regular basis. For bonus points, he also inspired The Venture Bros.' HELPeR, and that alone earns him a spot on this (spotless) hall of fame.

R2-D2: And talking of sarcastic robots, Star Wars' true star deserves his day in the sun as well. Constantly seen as the comedic foil of the more English-speaking C3-PO, R2 may be a fan-favorite, but still never really gets his due as an all-round entertainer, whether it's being used as a floating Jedi-training device, lock-breaker or just plain drinks server, as on Jabba's barge. If there's something that this little droid can't do - aside from speak in any intelligible language - then we'd like to see it.

Kryten: Red Dwarf's Canadian-accented robo-butler brought more than the ability to dust to the series when he arrived in the show's third season; he also brought a ridiculous amount of common sense. So much so that it's easy to overlook his inability to say the word "smeghead," that whole exploding head thing, and his various crotch attachments that make vacuuming a lot more fun.

Bender: While I'll give you that the benefits of having your very own steel bending robot may not be immediately obvious - or, even that obvious after a couple of moments of thought, for that matter - it's the other attributes of Bender Bending Rodríguez that make him a must-have for every home. Who hasn't wanted a kleptomaniac chef (although we'd suggest that you hide the salt before letting him in the kitchen) with a talent for folk music and seemingly unlimited storage space in his chest cavity? And, if you are that person, then I'd like to suggest that you get your head checked. You can keep your other, respectful robot servants; Gruff and multi-tasking is the way of our worker droid future, thanks very much.

Famous names: George O'Hanlon, Penny Singleton, Janet Waldo, Daws Butler, Mel Blanc, Don Messick

Crunchy goodness: 2

Spinoffs/Sequels/Copycats: The show's first season aired in 1962-1963, and its second and third seasons were made in 1985-1987. There were also three animated TV shows, including The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones and Jetsons: The Movie. Robert "Spy Kids" Rodriguez is reportedly in talks to direct a live-action Jetsons.

Stunt casting: Don Messick, who played Astro the dog, also played Scooby Doo and Muttley with a similar "ruh-roh" vocalization.

Design breakthrough: The Jetsons' future city has come to exemplify a kind of retro-futurist architecture, with pin-cushion shaped houses high up on stilts and space-needle-esque buildings. When design critics want to refer in passing to a super-stylized flying-car vision of future urban life, they use The Jetsons as shorthand for a whole style.

The Jetsons Unofficial Home