10. Dark Star

Dark Star is a movie that not a lot of people know about. I call this a crying shame. Not only is it one of John Carpenter's earliest directorial efforts, it is also the first film written by Dan O'Bannon (writer of Alien and The Return of the Living Dead), and it also features O'Bannon in the only major acting role of his career. More importantly, however, Dark Star is very funny. The plot centers around a handful of frattish space jockeys riding around, casually blowing up "unstable" planets in inhabitable solar systems. Perhaps the film's most famous element is a beach ball as an alien, but the film really reaches its peak when one of the crew talks phenomenology with a bomb in an attempt to dissuade it from blowing up. This is a gem that shouldn't be missed.

9. Sleeper

In Sleeper, Miles Monroe (played by Woody Allen), after being hospitalized, suddenly wakes up hundreds of years in the future. He was cryogenically frozen without knowing it. The society he wakes up in is decidedly totalitarian (the film actually bears a strong resemblance to Fahrenheit 451), and since there is no record of his existence in this society, he is a prime candidate for membership in a freedom-fighting party, which quickly take him for their cause. However, things don't go smoothly, as Monroe is discovered by the authorities early on and spends most of the film on the run from them in a world that is vastly different from what he is used to.

Sleeper is filled with your typical, casually delivered, Woody Allen humor. When he's told by the doctors that wake him from his two-hundred-year sleep that all his friends have long been dead, he states bewilderedly, "But they all ate organic rice!" He later provides an interesting maxim: "Sex and death: two things that come once in a lifetime. But at least after death you're not nauseous." What?

If Allen's humor is not for everybody, this film succeeds through strong direction and a vivid, if quirky, imagining of an Orwellian society. This is one of those comedies that is good even without the jokes, so, Allen fan or not, this is one you should check out.

8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Based on the novel by Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a film premised by the destruction of Earth so that a cosmic highway can be constructed. Unfortunately, Earth never heard about this, so we missed our chance to protest the highway's construction. Arthur Dent, the main character, is rescued by his pal Ford Prefect, who, previously unbeknownst to Arthur, is not from Earth, and what ensues is a wild romp through the cosmos. Among other things, we meet probably the most depressed robot of all time, the characters' world is at one point momentarily transformed into one in which all matter is comprised of yarn, and we learn that the Ultimate Answer to Life is ... wait for it ... "42"! Though there are plenty of funny lines and incidents, the overarching humor of this film lies in its audacity to do things that are incredibly bizarre. If it all gets to be a little too much for you, just heed the advice of the real Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the book within the film: "Don't Panic"!

7. Galaxy Quest

Imagine a galactic war that hinders on the cooperation of a bunch of actors from a sci-fi television show. In so few words, this is the hook for Dean Parisot's Galaxy Quest, a hilarious and touching tribute to sci-fi fandom. Television actors Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), Sir Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman), Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver), Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub), Tommy Webber (Daryl Mitchell), and Guy Fleegman (Sam Rockwell) find themselves onboard a spacecraft that looks remarkably similar to the one used in their famous sci-fi show, Galaxy Quest, which has been off the air for seventeen years. As it turns out, the show's radio waves have since traveled through space to the Thermians, an alien race that bases their entire civilization off of it, believing it to be a documentary, not a fictitious TV show. The film's most redeeming qualities lie in its views on the importance of fanaticism, epitomized by a Galaxy Quest superfan (Justin Long) who uses his vast knowledge of the show's episodes to help the cast of actors defeat an evil alien race. Galaxy Quest (the movie) is a vast sci-fi comedy, relying on the comedic timing of its principle cast and the underlining sarcasm and wit of its script.

6. Men in Black

Bizarre aliens living among is disguised as humans? A top secret organization that works with the good ones, polices the mischevious ones, kills the bad ones, and wipes civilians' memories clean of them? If it sounds like a parody of The X-Files, you're on the right track. It's Men in Black, an almost whimsical story of an intergalactic fiasco that lands itself on Earth. The humor of the film comes in how casually the events within it -- which range from talking tough with pugs to fighting giant aliens known as "roaches" -- are played, thanks to the everyday comical attitude of Will Smith and the stone-faced seriousness of Tommy Lee Jones. Throw in aliens working desk jobs and some really big guns (as well as one really small one), and you have yourself a solidly funny sci-fi flick.

5. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie

Though our editor in chief gave this movie a negative review, many sci-fi fans love this silver screen appearance of what is now a classic television series. In Mystery Science Theater 3000, two robots and a man are forced to watch horrible (real) science fiction movies. In order to deal with the torture, they crack what are usually very funny jokes all the way through. This time around, it's This Island Earth that they are subjected to. When you have a film starring an actor named Rex Reason and featuring giant-headed humanoids and an alien creature that makes no evolutionary sense whatsoever, the task is almost too easy for our favorite sci-fi movie mockers. Pop this one in, and prepare to laugh.

4. Family Guy: Blue Harvest

Watch a few episodes of Family Guy and it will become abundantly clear that creator Seth McFarlane is a fan of Star Wars. In September 2007, McFarlane got the chance to make an hour-long Family Guy episode dedicated to this film, and the result is the Emmy-nominated Blue Harvest (taking its name from the fake working title of Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi), one of the highest rated and funniest Family Guy entries yet, as well as one of the best Star Wars parodies ever.

This movie-episode follows the first Star Wars film (Episode IV - A New Hope), to a tee, with Luke Skywalker (Chris Griffin) looking to rescue Princess Leia (Lois Griffin) from the evil Darth Vader (Stewie Griffin) with the help of Jedi master Obi-Wan (Old Man Herbert), Han Solo (Peter Griffin), and his sidekick Chewbacca (Brian). However, in true Family Guy fashion, creator Seth McFarlane piles on even more laughs with incredibly strange sidetracks, like the "How to Blow Up the Death Star" instructional video hosted by Magic Johnson, and even some references to other Family Guy episodes. As part of the ultimate nod to Family Guy fans, Meg Griffin, an oft-degraded character of the series, makes a two-second appearance as the dianoga, a creature that emerges amidst sewage.

Though it may seem aimed at a narrow fan base, Blue Harvest is appealing to causal fans of both Family Guy and Star Wars because it depicts iconic characters from the television show in the even more iconic roles from Star Wars. The more die-hard fans will appreciate the precision with which this movie copies its source, often using the exact camera angles as those used in the movie. Blue Harvest is the ultimate in-joke and a great blessing for fans of both franchises.

3. Futurama: Bender's Big Score

Years after its unfortunate cancellation by the Fox network, the animated sci-fi comedy series Futurama returns in this made-for-DVD film. Futurama's sense of satire is back in a big way, inspiring smiles and belly laughs all around. The great thing about Futurama is that, for all of its hilarious sci-fi trappings (Nibbler's kitten-class spacecraft fighters spring to mind), the humor is most often character based. The story tracks the robot Bender's journeys into the past to steal treasures for aliens, Fry's personal journey into his own past, and a convolution of time travel paradoxes. Combining its usual humor with suprising character insights, Bender's Big Score is a welcome return for the crew of the Planet Express.

2. Spaceballs

The second Star Wars parody on our list, Spaceballs, directed by the master of hilarity himself, Mel Brooks, never disappoints in the least. The film begins with a looooooooong, exaggerated send-up of a familiar opening technique and features an anti-hero named Lone Starr, his half-man-half-dog copilot named Barf, a human-size golden robot named Dot Matrix, a shriveled little wizard named Yogurt, and a black-clad villain named Dark Helmet. With these elements, Brooks sets his film up for success from the start. In Spaceballs, Lone Starr is commissioned by King Roland of planet Druidia to save his daughter, Princess Vespa, who has been kidnapped by the Spaceballs for the ransom of Druidia's clean air (which they plan to syphon in a ridiculous, transformer-esque way). But if Starr is going to be able to save her, he'll have to use the power of the Schwartz. Though it's over twenty years old, Spaceballs is one of those rare films that is just as funny today as it was the day it came out.

1. Young Frankenstein

This is probably Mel Brooks' finest work. Young Frankenstein is a loving homage to Universal's Frankenstein series of the 1930s and '40s. With a plot that is extremely loosely based on Son of Frankenstein (1939) and with unforgettable actors and characters, this film is the best parody of any sci-fi film ever.

We follow follow Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder), grandson of Victor Frankenstein, as he recreates Victor's experiments, assisted by the bizarre Igor (Marty Feldman) and the sultry Inga (Teri Garr). When Igor acquires an abnormal brain from the local brain depository (mistaking it for a brain belonging to someone named "Abby Normal"), Dr. Frankenstein unwittingly puts it into his creation. This entire film is the type of parody where one can see that the filmmakers clearly love the original film they are skewering. From using the original electronic props of Kenneth Strickfaden, to using the exact lighting and limited effects of the 1930s films, Brooks creates a masterpiece that both lampoons and honors the source material. Peter Boyle is excellent as the Monster who, along with Dr. Frankenstein, gets to don top hat and coat, belting out a phonetic cry of "Puttin' on the Ritz," and he even demonstrates some of the pathos that Boris Karloff brought to the original role. This is a film that will leave your stomach aching from laughter and maybe even an eye tearful with joy.

(On a side note, with Young Frankenstein as our number-one pick and Spaceballs as number two, The Sci-Fi Block has effectually crowned Mel Brooks as the master of science fiction comedy and parody. Thanks, Mel, for the many laughs you have provided over the years and for your dedication to science fiction as well as filmmaking in general.)