The Top 8 Fictional Cities to Live in

For those of us who read books and/or comics, watch movies and/or television, and play games, we don't just enjoy the characters that we read about and their adventures, but sometimes we also get lost in the cities or towns they live in. Many times, we wish the city was a real place. One that we could visit in person whether on vacation or even live in. Some fictional cities can be hell on Earth, but many others can seem like a utopia. The following is a list of fictional cities that might be the best ones to live in...

1. Hill Valley, California: As seen in the movie trilogy Back to the Future, this city seems to be the epitome of a nice and quiet town that has a low crime rate depending which timeline is in effect. Obviously Biff destroyed the city when he built his casino, but Marty was successful in restoring Hilly Valley back to normal. Even in the 80s, it appeared that it was the type of town that you could watch a movie with your date and get a milkshake afterward without worrying about being mugged. The city appeared to have everything you needed while still keeping the appeal of being small enough not to be overcrowded.

2. Storybrooke, Maine: The town that everyone in the television show Once Upon a Time is stuck in, provides everything a person could need and more. Storybrooke has a museum, a pawnshop that is more like an antique store, a beach, a low crime rate, and best of all, apparently no one ages. Despite being stuck in Storybrooke for nearly 30 years, not a single resident aged a single day. Now of course the Evil Queen from Snow White has been the mayor, but for most of the residents, she was a good mayor unless you're Emma Swan. Hell, the town only needed one sheriff and no deputies when she first discovered the town.

3. Basin City: From the graphic novels and the Sin City movies, this black and white city has a high crime rate, but only for those who are looking for trouble. Especially once Roark Jr. was arrested and almost killed by Hartigan, after Roark kidnapped little Nancy. Of Course, if the Roark family would just be removed from the city entirely, Basin City would probably be a lot better. Cardinal Roark was hiding Kevin's obsession with cannibalizing the prostitutes of Basin City and Senator Roark seemed to have his hands in every little element of crime in the city. Otherwise, if you're an adult, the town wasn't too bad. There was a neighborhood in the city with prostitutes who looked like models and who ran their neighborhood without interference from the police (and crime free by the way), and a strip club named Kadie's which featured some of the best looking strippers in the world. It didn't appear to be that hard to find a card game to get into either. While this might not be considered wholesome, it seemed that as long as you kept to yourself, you'd be okay.

4. Shermer, Illinois: The city where dreams come true--if you're a teenager. The hometown to all of John Hughes' 80s characters such as Ferris Bueller, the kids of The Breakfast Club, the kids of Sixteen Candles, the pair of kids who engineered their dream girl out of a doll, and an uncle by the name of Buck tries to win over the hearts of his family. Shermer provides so much appeal for those who want to move there, that even Jay and Silent Bob get lost in Illinois, searching for the city that doesn't exist.

5. The Citadel: Famous for being the deep-space city with five wings and a ring spinning to keep gravity going, this city in the stars has 13.2 million residents. Supposedly thought to be constructed by the extinct race called the Protheans, the Asari discovered the abandoned space city/ship after they learned how to control the mass relays. multiple species soon joined them and a council was formed to keep the peace between the different alien races. The space station features parks, shopping, restaurants, apartment-like homes, buildings dedicated to running the ship, and can protect itself from outside attacks.

6. Bedrock: The stone-age town that calls itself home to the Flintstone family, is probably one of the most green friendly fictional cities. Everything is run on manual power, the use of rocks to make things work, and even smaller dinosaurs and mammals to do the rest. It's doubtful that a wooly mammoth shower hurts the environment in any way. It's also doubtful that a care powered by Fred's bare feet can hurt the environment either. What does seem evident is that food portions are massive and Bedrock must be located in an area that sustains a nice climate year-round.

7. Mayberry, North Carolina: A peaceful town where everyone knows each other, crime never appears to be a problem. The only resident of the Mayberry jail only appears to be Otis, the town drunk. In all honesty, it's hard to come up with a reason why they need even two law enforcement officers who appear to work the same shift (Andy and Barney). The downfalls of the city could be that if you're looking for something to do other than hunt or fish, you're probably out of luck. Even the bar that Otis gets drunk at is never seen.

8. Smallville, Kansas: Sure a storm of kryptonite rained down while a space pod carrying a baby Kryptonian landed near the Kent farm, but other than that, the town was pretty peaceful. In the TV series Smallville, there does appear to be a lot more drama than what the comic book version of the town deals with. The comic book town appears to be fairly quiet though and almost completely free of the tornados that Kansas is known for. In the small chance something does happen, Superman finds himself in town just as the right moment.

Photo: Screencap from the movie "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For"

The Future That Hanna-Barbera Promised Us

In 1963, the creators of TV cartoon shows such as The Flintstones and The Yogi Bear Show, created a show set in the near future that entertained children for two years, before being rebooted in 1985 and 1987. That show, famously known as The Jetsons, gave children of the Cold War era a glimpse into how the world would turnout by the year 2000. Because of this cartoon, adults often make jokes questioning where are their flying cars and robots.

One aspect of The Jetsons that is often overlooked is the reason why their futuristic cities are sitting on adjustable columns, high in the air. Because of pollution on ground level of Earth, the architects of what would become Orbit City as well as other cities from the cartoon, created these highly elevated cities to avoid the severe levels of pollution and smog. Hanna-Barbera made projections of a society that not only rapidly moved into the future within 37 years, but also gave hope that even with the potential of Earth becoming polluted, humans could find a way to avoid the filth.

The majority of fans when the show originally aired were obviously children, so the aspect of mass pollution was lost on them. Children focused more on the flying cars, the talking dog (Astro), the robots, and all the gadgets that George Jetson and his family took for granted. In a time before the United States Environmental Protection Agency was formed and climate change became known to the mainstream, The Jetsons forecasted a future where it was necessary for humanity to avoid what we had created.

Some could view The Jetsons as a hopeful promise of a future, even if it has yet to come, but it could also be seen as a forewarning to a future that shows that humanity failed to effectively deal with what we had done to our own planet. A hidden layer of despair, covered with the promise of technology. With all the technology that they had at their disposal, it appears that none of their scientists took the time to try to figure out how to reduce the pollution levels and let humanity enjoy the natural resources of Earth. Without being on the surface of Earth, how would Elroy ever get a chance to enjoy a wonder of the world like the Grand Canyon? How would Judy ever get to enjoy the sand between her toes while strolling along the beaches of Southern California?

In 1987, the space-age family ran into the prehistoric Flintstones family in a movie called The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones. In comparison, it would seem that the life of the Jetsons in Orbit City is better and fare more free of stress, but without the worries of pollution and the fact that Flintstones lived in a time less harmful to their surrounding environment, it could be said that the Flintstones were the ones truly living in a utopia known as Bedrock. At least Fred could take Wilma and Pebbles to the beach, forest, or desert without worrying about the filth that the Jetsons would have to wade through.

The 10 Best Cars In Movies Or TV

Everyone who is a fan of movies or television, has at some point or another, wished they an automobile that their favorite fictional characters drove around. Many kids had Hot Wheels, or model toys, or some other toy of their favorite cars. No matter how ridiculous the car might be if it existed in real life, you still wanted it. I give you my list of the top ten best cars in movies or TV, starting first with my number one choice...

1. The Batmobile: There are too many variations of Batman's favorite mode of transportation to identify a specific version as being THE top one. The old Adam West series was iconic and cool, but not the best equipped. The Nolan-verse Batmobile was perfect from a functionality standpoint, but not as stylish as the past versions. Tim Burton stuck a real jet engine in his version. But no matter, what, more people than not, would want the Batmobile if given an option.

2. The DeLorean: The Back To The Future trilogy made the 1982 DeLorean DMC-12 an iconic car, despite being considered an iffy car at best as far as how well it ran, Doc Brown was able to make this car the ultimate time travel device. It could take you anywhere in time you wanted (until it was destroyed in the 1800's) and was sporty enough to look cool in present day as well. Doc fixed it up to even run on garbage, making it an early version of a fuel efficient car.

3. Ecto 1: From Ghostbusters, this 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Hearse was essential to capturing mischievous ghosts. With the screeching alarm and the classic "no ghosts" logo on the side, this was one of the coolest cars in the 1980's. The Kenner toy version was one of the hottest sellers in it's time. The white wall tires, red trim, and the gadgetry on top made this car standout in it's environment.

4. The Flintstones Car: Obviously animated, it would have been the dream car for any man living in the days of the dinosaurs. With it's large rock wheels, it could have doubled for an early steamroller...before steam was even used. The top, made of what is presumably some sort of animal skin and the red wood trim, made it the hottest car in the road in the prehistoric age. If it wasn't a television show, you know you would argue with your friends about how Fred could afford a car that nice with his income. At least it saved him money in gas.

5. The Munsters Koach: The Munsters family traveled in style. This car was designed by George Barris who was also the designer of the Adam West Batmobile. The body of the Munsters Koach is eighteen feet long and pieced together from three Model T cars. Even though the TV series was in black and white, the interior was blood red and the engine was brass. The small details made it an awesome car to drive, even for a monster family.

6. KITT: The Knight Industries Two Thousand, a customized 1982 Pontiac Trans Am, was perhaps a SIRI capable device before Apple developed it. With the voice of Mr. Feeney and the memory capacity of 1,000 megabits, this was the perfect car for Michael Knight. Unmatched computer A.I., the ability to withstand fire, turbo boost, the ability to see and smell, oil jets and smoke screens, flame thrower, tear gas launcher, a telephone Comlink (before cellphones), and much more. If you were a crime fighter for FLAG, you too would need a car with this amount of functionality.

7. Wayne's Pacer: From Wayne's World, Wayne drove a 1976 Pacer, baby blue in color, with flames on the side. Did this car talk? No. Did this car help fight crime? No. Was this car eco-friendly? Probably not. But this was the best car in the 1990's to lip sync to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. The perfect car to pick up Tia Carrere in.

8. The Mystery Machine: If you were looking for old guys dressed up as ghosts and goblins, this was the essential form of transportation. The 1963 Ford Econoline Customer Van was how The Scooby Gang got around. Inside, the van had shag carpets and enough room to transport a talking Great Dane. As to what made the dog talk, that's a whole different story. Every time the door opened, smoke would flood out, but it went well with the psychedelic paint job.

9. Phoebe's Taxi Cab: After inheriting her car from her deceased grandmother, Phoebe Buffet from Friends often gave her friends a ride in her 1977 Checker Taxi Cab. Perhaps one of the nicest taxis in television, that car took the cast everywhere. It made trips from New York to Las Vegas and took the crew to vacation beach houses.

10. Black Beauty: From the Green Hornet television series in the 1960's, this 1966 Imperial Crown was loaded with weapons and surveillance equipment for Green Hornet and Kato to fight crime in, while pretending to be villains themselves. It was sleek looking with it's glossy black paint and even without it's weapons, would be a smooth car to drive in.

(photo credit to Jennifer Graylock/Ford Motor Company on Wikipedia)