From H.G. Wells' When the Sleeper Awakes

 This was his first real contact with the people of these latter days. He realised that all that had gone before, saving his glimpses of the public theatres and markets, had had its element of seclusion, had been a movement within the comparatively narrow political quarter, that all his previous experiences had revolved immediately about the question of his own position. But here was the city at the busiest hours of night, the people to a large extent returned to their own immediate interests, the resumption of the real informal life, the common habits of the new time. They emerged at first into a street whose opposite ways were crowded with the blue canvas liveries. This swarm Graham saw was a portion of a procession — it was odd to see a procession parading the city seated. They carried banners of coarse black stuff with red letters. “No disarmament,” said the banners, for the most part in crudely daubed letters and with variant spelling, and “Why should we disarm?” “No disarming.” “No disarming.” Banner after banner went by, a stream of banners flowing past, and at last at the end, the song of the revolt and a noisy band of strange instruments. “They all ought to be at work,” said Asano. “They have had no food these two days, or they have stolen it.”

Wells, H. G.; Verne, Jules; Poe, Edgar Allan; Abbott, Edwin A.; London, Jack; Shelley, Mary; Stevenson, Robert Louis; MacDonald, George; Twain, Mark. SCI-FI Boxed Set: 150+.: Space Adventures, Lost Worlds, Dystopian Novels & Post-Apocalyptic Tales: The War of the Worlds, Anthem, Space ... America, A Traveler in Time, The Guardians… (pp. 4132-4133). OBG Classics. Kindle Edition. 

Star Trek: The Original Series

 I am part-way through season 1.  I do not mean that all humanoid species seem to be just like us, speaking and understanding English, or that many alien worlds have an uncanny similarity to Southern California.  There were sound reasons why a 1960s TV series had to operate within these artificial and unrealistic constraints.

The stories could be amusing, such as "Shore Leave":  "Oh my, whiskers," followed by Alice chasing after the rabbit.  "Arena" was another favorite.  When I watched it for the first time, when he got to the saltpeter, I knew immediately where it was going.  It has a very positive ending to a very dark story.  

Where Star Trek really shone was its connection to the great events and concerns of the time, some of which remain today: "A Taste of Arnmageddon": How do we confront the hazards of Mutual Assured Destruction?  While I do not remember the title, the one with the Salt Vampire:

was a powerful commentary on the loss of magnificient species such as the American bison.

Some of the stories were destroyed by silly costume ideas.  "The Return of the Archons" is set in a situatuion where not only do the humanoids speak English but they are dressed and living in a late 19th century Midwestern town, with no explanation for this weird mixture of aliens controlled by a computer obsessed with peace above creativity with a very specific Earth setting.

"The Cage" was an impressive repurposing of footage from the pilot "The Menagerie" to produce two episodes on short order.

"Vassi"

A very sweet story of a young woman given the bad news that she had 6 months to live (uterine cancer somewhat implied) who is alone in the world except for her cat.  A voice of a future historian, Vassi, speaks to her and gives her life hope, purpose,  and a boyfriend--and a way out.  Just a gem of 1960s innocence and tragedy, relieved by what we all need: hope.

"The Useless Bugbreeders"

Very funny story about an attorney representing a race that breeds very useful, but sometimes disruptive bacteria.  This attorney previously represented a race called the Flammables, with disastrous results for the Galactic Council hearing room.  Very funny.

"The Valley of the Masters"

Another great story!  Imagine a place where technological man had created a utopia: houses have water,  light,  and heat;  huge heaters protect the fruits from frost damage; all crops are harvested by machines and appear,  as if by magic, in food bins in the houses. 

Now imagine people who live in this Eden who have lost memory of the builders, convinced the Old Ones were giants who made this Eden by magic.  But the machines are beginning to break down; the magic is going away.  One man who had become an outcast because they believe him a witch (for no apparent reason),  climbs to the House of the Old Ones (hydroelectric plant) and returns to tell the superstitious that the Old Ones were humans like them, who used machines to make their worlds. 

A frightful analogy to what the enemies of science and objective truth (2+2=5) may yet achieve in their endless assault on Western Civilization under the banner of intersectionality, racism aimed at the "right" groups, and denial of objective reality (an outgrowth of white culture,  in their ignorant little minds).

Meteorites (1998)

On YouTube.  No link because it is so bad it deserves an anti-lock.

First gripe: it is only a meteorite after it hits. Meteors are dangerous; meteorites are nice ways to make some money.  Some people actually hunt for them in deserts.

The opening sequence with a comet ripping through Saturn's rings, throwing a storm of meteors our direction is absurd.  Nothing in the rings or a comet is big enough to do more than produce a shooting star.  This steady string of meteors hitting the ground and killing people is statistically implausible. 

There were a couple subplots that might have been interesting if not as cliches as they seem: traumatized EOD guy called 

to help explain the explosions; teen couple madly in lust; mayor turns to insurance fraud to pay off debts. But so many technical flaws it was not worth finishing. 

One of the More Interesting Sci-Fi Stories I Have Read

"Tybalt" by Stephen Barr.  Cross time travel with species change, Norman England, and a bit of then contemporary Blackboard Jungle (or at least the principal thinks so).  It is utterly unexpected,  unpredictable,  and charming.