This is one of those lists that places itself very particularly in relation to its categorization; I said "starships", not "spaceships", and I specified fictional. It's worth noting that thus far all starships are fictional, but let's call this level of specificity "future-proofing" as if this blog will still be a thing on whatever passes for the internet two hundred years from now.
Starships are, specifically, ships intended to travel between stars. This does not always mean they are capable of faster-than-light travel, but it does often mean that. So we won't be dealing with any vessels intended to stay within a single star system here, in large part because I still haven't gotten around to watching The Expanse yet and I figure I'd better do that before handing out those trophies.
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So we're here today to talk about what I think are the best/coolest/most interesting interstellar starships in fiction, and why they're not all from Star Trek. Not because anyone asked, but because you all needed to know.
The Millennium Falcon
I feel like I'd better mention right out front here, before you pedants among the frequenters come at me over this distinction, the clarification that I said "interstellar starships in fiction" not in science fiction. Because Star Wars isn't sci-fi, we've been over this. But the Millenium Falcon is a pretty dope ship.
One of the Falcon's primary strengths in the fiction it's associated with is absolutely the vessel's sense of personality. The Falcon is as synonymous with speed as it is with "they told me they fixed it!" The combination of those two lends a wonderful sense of tension to any pursuits, escapes, or even just basic journeys the ship is involved in. Sometimes a last minute heroic repair provides a release, and sometimes it's up to the ingenuity of the pilot to save the skins of everyone aboard. This dichotomy is narratively interesting and cements the flying high-five as a perennially memorable ship.
The Galactica
A long, long time ago I documented my dislike for the second half of the Battlestar Galactica remake and the showrunner's decision to paint essentially all of their characters as cruel, self-centered idiots. Also the whole looping-timeline thing is uh... not my favorite plot device. All of that remains true. What also remains true is that regardless of the morons behind the wheel the Galactica itself, whether you're talking about the remake or the original, is an icon in all of the best ways.
The Galactica is noteworthy for several reasons. Perhaps most obvious is simply the design. It's remarkably well-thought-through, and as a warship intended for interstellar travel it makes an almost shocking amount of sense. It functions both as a carrier of smaller craft and a bespoke platform for various weapons, and is absolutely convincing at both tasks. Beyond that the Galactica is an old warship, and that age and associated personality endears her to the viewer, particularly in the remake. The ship is, in fact, the most relatable character in the remake after the beginning of season 3.
The Post-Dated Check Loan
Okay so we be branching out from movies and shows here! Frankly if you haven't read Schlock Mercenary and you like either sci-fi or serialized newspaper comics I'm extremely pleased to tell you you've got a 20 year backlog to make up. I will note that the main storyline actually wrapped up uh... a year and change ago? So you can read the whole thing and not worry about devoting the next decade of your life to following along. Though honestly, totally worth the commitment.
I've mentioned the personalities of both of the past two ships on this list as being among their strengths, and I feel like it would be silly for me not to acknowledge that that is the main reason the PDCL is on this list. In the Schlockiverse large warships of this nature are piloted and operated not by their crew, but instead by a hyper-intelligent A.I. So the ships literally do have bespoke personalities. In this case, his name is Petey, and because of his humor, brilliance, and the underlying constant threat of him literally being suicidal, he is one of the most interesting ships represented in the entire comic.
The Heart of Gold
Once again I feel the need to specify that I know this isn't really science fiction. It's a comedy dead-set on parodying basically everything. Super successful at it, too. That said, the Heart of Gold has more in-universe consistency to it than most ships in Star Wars. And while "fueled by improbability" is clearly a premise that is itself intended to fuel jokes, it's still more believable than whatever the redditors are claiming fuels Star Destroyers this week.
The Heart of Gold is on this list mainly because it is conceptually a brain-blending construct so perfectly suited for its intent that one can't help but admire. It functions as a home-base and a plot foil at various points throughout the five-book Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy, but the infinite improbability drive never fails to entertain whenever it comes into play. The uniqueness of the premise is obviously noteworthy, but along with that the sense of reality lent to the vessel despite the silliness of her conception launches her, perhaps somewhat improbably, into the halls of starship greatness.
The Enterprise NCC-1701-E
Yes, I obviously knew the fleet number for the USS Enterprise off the top of my head. I'm offended that for even a moment you thought otherwise.
Let's go ahead and sing the song of Nobody-Is-Surprised-This-Is-Here. I suspect there was a subset of you frequenters who saw the title of this post and thought "oh great, it's just going to be five iterations of the Enterprise." Which is a valid conclusion to jump to, aside from the fact that come on, I like the Defiant and Voyager better than most of the Enterprises.
But yes, here we are. Why the Enterprise E, you might ask? Why not the Enterprise D, which was around for seven seasons of a show? Or why not the original Enterprise, which started the whole shebang? Why not the Enterprise Refit/A, which featured in more movies than the E? There are simple answers to all of those questions. D is too perfect throughout the run of the show. It's the Toyota of Enterprises; it just works properly all the time, so it's lacking the character of something like the E in Nemesis. The original Enterprise is obviously iconic, but the model wasn't terribly detailed and hasn't aged super well despite the undeniable appeal of her spaceframe. And while the refit/A is a brilliant design that I do love very, very much, there's just no denying that the E looks cooler and feels more bespoke.
Come right down to it, that's why I love the Enterprise E. It looks futuristic, it embodies the design language of late 24th century Starfleet construction, and it's a bespoke warship suiting the conflicts of its time without loosing the iconic outline of its great-great-great-great-grandfather. It represents the culmination of iterative starship design in a way we virtually never get to see in science fiction TV or film.
And in a fight versus everything else on this list all at once (possibly excluding the PDCL, it's hard to say given how radically different their technology is), it would win. That helps too.
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