Including a list of inspirational sources.

Authors / books
Poul Anderson
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series
Iain M. Banks - Culture Series
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin (Uplift series)
C. J. Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
James S.A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Gordon Dickson
Robert Heinlein
Larry Niven
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Moon
H. Beam Piper
Jerry Pournelle
Kim Stanley Robinson
Jefferson P. Swycaffer (Concordat and Tales of the Concordat books)
E.C. Tubb
Dave Webber (the Honor Harrington series)
David Drake (Hammer's Slammers)
William Gibson

Graphic Novels / Comics / Compilations:
2000AD
Judge Dredd (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)
Strontium Dog (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)


Movies:
Alien/Aliens/etc.
Avatar (high tech versus natives)
Black Hawk Down (similar to the above, just at a different tech level)
Dark Star
Outland
The Sand Pebbles (higher tech ship and crew trapped in politically charged lower tech setting!)
Red Dwarf
Serenity
Star Trek
Star Wars
Titan AE
Children Of Men
2001: A Space Odyssey
2010: The Year We Make Contact
Silent Running
Edge Of Tomorrow
Sunshine
Pitch Black
Ghost in the Shell
Minority Report
5th Element

TV Shows:
The A-Team (various characters acting as mercs to help the downtrodden)
Babylon 5
Battlestar Gallactica (Lots of scenario ideas)
Blake's 7
Dark Matter
Earth 2
Farscape
Firefly
Mission Impossible (agents acting in the shadows to support their government)
Mission to Mars
Red Dwarf
Space:1999
Star Cops (BBC TV)
Star Wars
 
Authors / books
Poul Anderson
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series
Iain M. Banks - Culture Series
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin (Uplift series)
C. J. Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
James S.A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Gordon Dickson
Robert Heinlein
Larry Niven
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Moon
H. Beam Piper
Jerry Pournelle
Kim Stanley Robinson
Jefferson P. Swycaffer (Concordat and Tales of the Concordat books)
E.C. Tubb
Dave Webber (the Honor Harrington series)
David Drake (Hammer's Slammers)
William Gibson

Series of books
SF Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks

Graphic Novels / Comics / Compilations:
2000AD
Judge Dredd (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)
Strontium Dog (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)


Movies:
Alien/Aliens/etc.
Avatar (high tech versus natives)
Black Hawk Down (similar to the above, just at a different tech level)
Dark Star
Outland
The Sand Pebbles (higher tech ship and crew trapped in politically charged lower tech setting!)
Red Dwarf
Serenity
Star Trek
Star Wars
Titan AE
Children Of Men
2001: A Space Odyssey
2010: The Year We Make Contact
Silent Running
Edge Of Tomorrow
Sunshine
Pitch Black
Ghost in the Shell
Minority Report
5th Element

TV Shows:
The A-Team (various characters acting as mercs to help the downtrodden)
Babylon 5
Battlestar Gallactica (Lots of scenario ideas)
Blake's 7
Dark Matter
Earth 2
Farscape
Firefly
Mission Impossible (agents acting in the shadows to support their government)
Mission to Mars
Red Dwarf
Space:1999
Star Cops (BBC TV)
Star Wars
 
You know what would be really useful, chaps? Doing this list, with everyone adding to it - but also including next to each entry why it relates to Traveller...
 
IanBruntlett said:
Authors / books
Poul Anderson
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series
Iain M. Banks - Culture Series
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin (Uplift series)
C. J. Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
James S.A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Gordon Dickson
Robert Heinlein
Larry Niven
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Moon
H. Beam Piper
Jerry Pournelle
Kim Stanley Robinson
Jefferson P. Swycaffer (Concordat and Tales of the Concordat books)
E.C. Tubb
Dave Webber (the Honor Harrington series)
David Drake (Hammer's Slammers)
William Gibson

Series of books
SF Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks

Graphic Novels / Comics / Compilations:
2000AD
Judge Dredd (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)
Strontium Dog (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)


Movies:
Alien/Aliens/etc.
Avatar (high tech versus natives)
Black Hawk Down (similar to the above, just at a different tech level)
Dark Star - A comedic look at how dull space life could be, with crew members overcoming boredom largely through irritating and fighting each other, their pedantic ship computer and their pet alien that looks suspiciously like a beechball. The cynicism can be hilarious "Don't give me any of that intelligent life crap, just give me planets to blow up!"
Outland
The Sand Pebbles (higher tech ship and crew trapped in politically charged lower tech setting!)
Serenity - Pretty much the closest thing to Traveller: The Movie on this list. A wonderful use of dialogue and character development presented in quickfire exposition.
Star Trek - A definitive source for science fiction. The plotlines cover a wide range science fiction, and it's this generic quality that makes it useful to an aspiring referee.
Star Wars - Despite having it's own tropes, the spirit it captures is still pretty much spot on for most Traveller campaigns. And lets face it, everyone knows Star Wars...
Titan AE
Children Of Men
2001: A Space Odyssey - A definitive source of hard science fiction, replete with references to an Ancient influence on or own evolution.
2010: The Year We Make Contact
Silent Running
Edge Of Tomorrow
Sunshine - Beautiful film which again captures the spirit of living in close proximity with other crew members under intense pressure. It's all about the mission and scientific altruism reigns. Great science and technology explanations too.
Pitch Black
Ghost in the Shell
Minority Report
5th Element

TV Shows:
The A-Team (various characters acting as mercs to help the downtrodden)
Babylon 5
Battlestar Gallactica (Lots of scenario ideas)
Blake's 7
Dark Matter
Earth 2
Farscape
Firefly - As with the movie, a perfect example of a spacefaring crew and the issues and encounters they frequently face to 'keep the boat afloat'. The closest facsimile of Traveller: the TV show.
Mission Impossible (agents acting in the shadows to support their government)
Mission to Mars
Red Dwarf - despite the silliness, this series is littered with great sci-fi ideas and storylines.
Space:1999
Star Cops (BBC TV)
Star Wars
 
Authors / books
Poul Anderson
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series
Iain M. Banks - Culture Series
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin (Uplift series)
C. J. Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
James S.A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Gordon Dickson
Robert Heinlein
Larry Niven
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Moon
H. Beam Piper
Jerry Pournelle
Kim Stanley Robinson
Jefferson P. Swycaffer - His Concordat and Tales of the Concordat books are set in the Traveller Universe
E.C. Tubb
Dave Webber (the Honor Harrington series)
David Drake - Hammer's Slammers series hold great examples of what a star spanning mercenary story might hold.
William Gibson - Stories that involve the wide range of people, rich vs poor, set in the future where you begin to see use of cybernetics and various other Travelleresk technology.

Series of books
SF Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks

Graphic Novels / Comics / Compilations:
2000AD
Judge Dredd (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)
Strontium Dog (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)


Movies:
Alien/Aliens/etc. - Military and Alien Encounter stories, small groups of people that must overcome hardships.
Avatar (high tech versus natives)
Black Hawk Down (similar to the above, just at a different tech level)
Dark Star - A comedic look at how dull space life could be, with crew members overcoming boredom largely through irritating and fighting each other, their pedantic ship computer and their pet alien that looks suspiciously like a beechball. The cynicism can be hilarious "Don't give me any of that intelligent life crap, just give me planets to blow up!"
Outland - Great example fo what a small adventure in a Belter Coloney might be like.
The Sand Pebbles (higher tech ship and crew trapped in politically charged lower tech setting!)
Serenity - Pretty much the closest thing to Traveller: The Movie on this list. A wonderful use of dialogue and character development presented in quickfire exposition.
Star Trek - A definitive source for science fiction. The plotlines cover a wide range science fiction, and it's this generic quality that makes it useful to an aspiring referee.
Star Wars - Despite having it's own tropes, the spirit it captures is still pretty much spot on for most Traveller campaigns. And lets face it, everyone knows Star Wars...
Titan AE
Children Of Men - Small group of people must protect and move a VIP against the existing imperial forces. Future yet not, like Traveller.
2001: A Space Odyssey - A definitive source of hard science fiction, replete with references to an Ancient influence on or own evolution.
2010: The Year We Make Contact - The next chapter in the 2001 story.
Silent Running - Example of what a large space ship crew' s life might be like.
Edge Of Tomorrow - SciFi mercenary/military confrontation vs alien life forms. Great military tech as well as small team adventure.
Sunshine - Beautiful film which again captures the spirit of living in close proximity with other crew members under intense pressure. It's all about the mission and scientific altruism reigns. Great science and technology explanations too.
Pitch Black - Great example of a risky adventure with a mixed group of characters. Feels like a "RPG Party".
Mission to Mars - Example of an adventure to rescue a missing exploration team. Could see this as a Scout based adventure.
Ghost in the Shell - Great example of how a small team of characters could be ran in a future setting including advanced tech and government oversight.
Minority Report - I included this one as an example of how Psionics, as controlled by the government, might play into an adventure.
5th Element - Small Ship life, large ship life, small apartment examples, alien interaction, future tech.

TV Shows:
The A-Team (various characters acting as mercs to help the downtrodden)
Babylon 5
Battlestar Gallactica (Lots of scenario ideas)
Blake's 7
Dark Matter
Earth 2
Farscape
Firefly - As with the movie, a perfect example of a spacefaring crew and the issues and encounters they frequently face to 'keep the boat afloat'. The closest facsimile of Traveller: the TV show.
Mission Impossible (agents acting in the shadows to support their government)
Red Dwarf - despite the silliness, this series is littered with great sci-fi ideas and storylines.
Space:1999
Star Cops (BBC TV)
Star Wars
 
Authors / books
Poul Anderson
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series
Iain M. Banks - Culture Series
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin (Uplift series)
C. J. Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
James S.A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Gordon Dickson
Robert Heinlein
Larry Niven
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Moon
H. Beam Piper; Ubiquitous Contragravity, Guns instead of energy weapons, Space Vikings!
Jerry Pournelle
Kim Stanley Robinson
Jefferson P. Swycaffer - His Concordat and Tales of the Concordat books are set in the Traveller Universe
E.C. Tubb, High, Middle, Low passage, Fast and Slow Drugs, wandering from Planet to Planet.
Dave Webber (the Honor Harrington series)
David Drake - Hammer's Slammers series hold great examples of what a star spanning mercenary story might hold.
William Gibson - Stories that involve the wide range of people, rich vs poor, set in the future where you begin to see use of cybernetics and various other Travelleresk technology.

Series of books
SF Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks

Graphic Novels / Comics / Compilations:
2000AD
Judge Dredd (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)
Strontium Dog (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)


Movies:
Alien/Aliens/etc. - Military and Alien Encounter stories, small groups of people that must overcome hardships.
Avatar (high tech versus natives)
Black Hawk Down (similar to the above, just at a different tech level)
Dark Star - A comedic look at how dull space life could be, with crew members overcoming boredom largely through irritating and fighting each other, their pedantic ship computer and their pet alien that looks suspiciously like a beechball. The cynicism can be hilarious "Don't give me any of that intelligent life crap, just give me planets to blow up!"
Outland - Great example fo what a small adventure in a Belter Coloney might be like.
The Sand Pebbles (higher tech ship and crew trapped in politically charged lower tech setting!)
Serenity - Pretty much the closest thing to Traveller: The Movie on this list. A wonderful use of dialogue and character development presented in quickfire exposition.
Star Trek - A definitive source for science fiction. The plotlines cover a wide range science fiction, and it's this generic quality that makes it useful to an aspiring referee.
Star Wars - Despite having it's own tropes, the spirit it captures is still pretty much spot on for most Traveller campaigns. And lets face it, everyone knows Star Wars...
Titan AE
Children Of Men - Small group of people must protect and move a VIP against the existing imperial forces. Future yet not, like Traveller.
2001: A Space Odyssey - A definitive source of hard science fiction, replete with references to an Ancient influence on or own evolution.
2010: The Year We Make Contact - The next chapter in the 2001 story.
Silent Running - Example of what a large space ship crew' s life might be like.
Edge Of Tomorrow - SciFi mercenary/military confrontation vs alien life forms. Great military tech as well as small team adventure.
Sunshine - Beautiful film which again captures the spirit of living in close proximity with other crew members under intense pressure. It's all about the mission and scientific altruism reigns. Great science and technology explanations too.
Pitch Black - Great example of a risky adventure with a mixed group of characters. Feels like a "RPG Party".
Mission to Mars - Example of an adventure to rescue a missing exploration team. Could see this as a Scout based adventure.
Ghost in the Shell - Great example of how a small team of characters could be ran in a future setting including advanced tech and government oversight.
Minority Report - I included this one as an example of how Psionics, as controlled by the government, might play into an adventure.
5th Element - Small Ship life, large ship life, small apartment examples, alien interaction, future tech.

TV Shows:
The A-Team (various characters acting as mercs to help the downtrodden)
Babylon 5
Battlestar Gallactica (Lots of scenario ideas)
Blake's 7
Dark Matter
Earth 2
Farscape
Firefly - As with the movie, a perfect example of a spacefaring crew and the issues and encounters they frequently face to 'keep the boat afloat'. The closest facsimile of Traveller: the TV show.
Mission Impossible (agents acting in the shadows to support their government)
Red Dwarf - despite the silliness, this series is littered with great sci-fi ideas and storylines.
Space:1999
Star Cops (BBC TV)
Star Wars
 
Authors / books
Poul Anderson
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series
Iain M. Banks - Culture Series
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin (Uplift series)
Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos)
C. J. Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
James S.A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Gordon Dickson
Robert Heinlein
Larry Niven
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Moon
H. Beam Piper; Ubiquitous Contragravity, Guns instead of energy weapons, Space Vikings!
Jerry Pournelle
Kim Stanley Robinson
Jefferson P. Swycaffer - His Concordat and Tales of the Concordat books are set in the Traveller Universe
E.C. Tubb, High, Middle, Low passage, Fast and Slow Drugs, wandering from Planet to Planet.
Dave Webber (the Honor Harrington series)
David Drake - Hammer's Slammers series hold great examples of what a star spanning mercenary story might hold.
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic, weird sci-fi/exploring mysterious alien visitation sites at its finest
William Gibson - Stories that involve the wide range of people, rich vs poor, set in the future where you begin to see use of cybernetics and various other Travelleresk technology.

Series of books
SF Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks

Graphic Novels / Comics / Compilations:
2000AD
Judge Dredd (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)
Strontium Dog (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)


Movies:
Alien/Aliens/etc. - Military and Alien Encounter stories, small groups of people that must overcome hardships.
Avatar (high tech versus natives)
Black Hawk Down (similar to the above, just at a different tech level)
Dark Star - A comedic look at how dull space life could be, with crew members overcoming boredom largely through irritating and fighting each other, their pedantic ship computer and their pet alien that looks suspiciously like a beechball. The cynicism can be hilarious "Don't give me any of that intelligent life crap, just give me planets to blow up!"
Outland - Great example fo what a small adventure in a Belter Coloney might be like.
The Sand Pebbles (higher tech ship and crew trapped in politically charged lower tech setting!)
Serenity - Pretty much the closest thing to Traveller: The Movie on this list. A wonderful use of dialogue and character development presented in quickfire exposition.
Star Trek - A definitive source for science fiction. The plotlines cover a wide range science fiction, and it's this generic quality that makes it useful to an aspiring referee.
Star Wars - Despite having it's own tropes, the spirit it captures is still pretty much spot on for most Traveller campaigns. And lets face it, everyone knows Star Wars...
Titan AE
Children Of Men - Small group of people must protect and move a VIP against the existing imperial forces. Future yet not, like Traveller.
2001: A Space Odyssey - A definitive source of hard science fiction, replete with references to an Ancient influence on or own evolution.
2010: The Year We Make Contact - The next chapter in the 2001 story.
Silent Running - Example of what a large space ship crew' s life might be like.
Edge Of Tomorrow - SciFi mercenary/military confrontation vs alien life forms. Great military tech as well as small team adventure.
Sunshine - Beautiful film which again captures the spirit of living in close proximity with other crew members under intense pressure. It's all about the mission and scientific altruism reigns. Great science and technology explanations too.
Pitch Black - Great example of a risky adventure with a mixed group of characters. Feels like a "RPG Party".
Mission to Mars - Example of an adventure to rescue a missing exploration team. Could see this as a Scout based adventure.
Ghost in the Shell - Great example of how a small team of characters could be ran in a future setting including advanced tech and government oversight.
Minority Report - I included this one as an example of how Psionics, as controlled by the government, might play into an adventure.
5th Element - Small Ship life, large ship life, small apartment examples, alien interaction, future tech.

TV Shows:
The A-Team (various characters acting as mercs to help the downtrodden)
Babylon 5
Battlestar Gallactica (Lots of scenario ideas)
Blake's 7
Dark Matter
Earth 2
Farscape
Firefly - As with the movie, a perfect example of a spacefaring crew and the issues and encounters they frequently face to 'keep the boat afloat'. The closest facsimile of Traveller: the TV show.
Mission Impossible (agents acting in the shadows to support their government)
Red Dwarf - despite the silliness, this series is littered with great sci-fi ideas and storylines.
Space:1999
Star Cops (BBC TV)
Star Hunter
Star Wars

Video/Computer Games:
Dead Space series - planetoid mining, industrial sci-fi and horror
Deus Ex series
Elite series - essentially a Traveller interstellar flight-simulator
FTL
Mass Effect series - the "Babylon 5" or "Star Control" of our century. One of the best digital military sci-fi universes and narratives out there nowadays.
STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl
Star Control 2 (or the free remake, The Ur Quan Masters) - *THE* classic interstellar sci-fi computer game, with some humorous twists.
Starflight 1 and 2
System Shock 1 and 2 - Sci-fi horror masterpieces
 
Authors / books
Poul Anderson
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series
Iain M. Banks - Culture Series
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin (Uplift series)
Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos)
C. J. Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
James S.A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Gordon Dickson
Robert Heinlein
Larry Niven
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Moon
H. Beam Piper; Ubiquitous Contragravity, Guns instead of energy weapons, Space Vikings!
Jerry Pournelle
Kim Stanley Robinson
Jefferson P. Swycaffer - His Concordat and Tales of the Concordat books are set in the Traveller Universe
E.C. Tubb, High, Middle, Low passage, Fast and Slow Drugs, wandering from Planet to Planet.
Dave Webber (the Honor Harrington series)
David Drake - Hammer's Slammers series hold great examples of what a star spanning mercenary story might hold.
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic, weird sci-fi/exploring mysterious alien visitation sites at its finest
William Gibson - Stories that involve the wide range of people, rich vs poor, set in the future where you begin to see use of cybernetics and various other Travelleresk technology.

Series of books
SF Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks

Graphic Novels / Comics / Compilations:
2000AD
Judge Dredd (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)
Strontium Dog (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)


Movies:
Alien/Aliens/etc. - Military and Alien Encounter stories, small groups of people that must overcome hardships.
Avatar (high tech versus natives)
Black Hawk Down (similar to the above, just at a different tech level)
Bladerunner - A definitive source for cyberpunk, apparently, but also a good visual representation of any high population/high tech planet out there. Hunting Replicants could easily be a PC occupation too.
Dark Star - A comedic look at how dull space life could be, with crew members overcoming boredom largely through irritating and fighting each other, their pedantic ship computer and their pet alien that looks suspiciously like a beechball. The cynicism can be hilarious "Don't give me any of that intelligent life crap, just give me planets to blow up!"
Outland - Great example fo what a small adventure in a Belter Coloney might be like.
The Sand Pebbles (higher tech ship and crew trapped in politically charged lower tech setting!)
Serenity - Pretty much the closest thing to Traveller: The Movie on this list. A wonderful use of dialogue and character development presented in quickfire exposition.
Star Trek - A definitive source for science fiction. The plotlines cover a wide range science fiction, and it's this generic quality that makes it useful to an aspiring referee.
Star Wars - Despite having it's own tropes, the spirit it captures is still pretty much spot on for most Traveller campaigns. And lets face it, everyone knows Star Wars...
Titan AE
Children Of Men - Small group of people must protect and move a VIP against the existing imperial forces. Future yet not, like Traveller.
2001: A Space Odyssey - A definitive source of hard science fiction, replete with references to an Ancient influence on or own evolution.
2010: The Year We Make Contact - The next chapter in the 2001 story.
Silent Running - Example of what a large space ship crew' s life might be like.
Edge Of Tomorrow - SciFi mercenary/military confrontation vs alien life forms. Great military tech as well as small team adventure.
Sunshine - Beautiful film which again captures the spirit of living in close proximity with other crew members under intense pressure. It's all about the mission and scientific altruism reigns. Great science and technology explanations too.
Pitch Black - Great example of a risky adventure with a mixed group of characters. Feels like a "RPG Party".
Mission to Mars - Example of an adventure to rescue a missing exploration team. Could see this as a Scout based adventure.
Ghost in the Shell - Great example of how a small team of characters could be ran in a future setting including advanced tech and government oversight.
Minority Report - I included this one as an example of how Psionics, as controlled by the government, might play into an adventure.
5th Element - Small Ship life, large ship life, small apartment examples, alien interaction, future tech.

TV Shows:
The A-Team (various characters acting as mercs to help the downtrodden)
Babylon 5
Battlestar Gallactica (Lots of scenario ideas)
Blake's 7
Dark Matter
Doctor Who - Because you can't have a list of science fiction TV shows without including the longest running of them all. Although the tropes are possibly more to do with weird fiction that spacefaring adventure, there are enough that can be lifted. The more recent seasons are also a great example of how to make something old and dated seem fresh and new again, too. Earth 2
Farscape
Firefly - As with the movie, a perfect example of a spacefaring crew and the issues and encounters they frequently face to 'keep the boat afloat'. The closest facsimile of Traveller: the TV show.
Mission Impossible (agents acting in the shadows to support their government)
Red Dwarf - despite the silliness, this series is littered with great sci-fi ideas and storylines.
Space:1999
Star Cops (BBC TV)
Star Hunter
Star Wars
Wonders of the Universe - w/ Dr.Brian Cox - Quality documentary on all sorts of aspects of space; entertainingly explained.

Video/Computer Games:
Dead Space series - planetoid mining, industrial sci-fi and horror
Deus Ex series
Elite series - essentially a Traveller interstellar flight-simulator
FTL
Mass Effect series - the "Babylon 5" or "Star Control" of our century. One of the best digital military sci-fi universes and narratives out there nowadays.
STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl
Star Control 2 (or the free remake, The Ur Quan Masters) - *THE* classic interstellar sci-fi computer game, with some humorous twists.
Starflight 1 and 2
System Shock 1 and 2 - Sci-fi horror masterpieces
 
Jerry Pournellle for the CoDominium and Falkenberg's Legion, which influences perception of large mercenary unit employment
 
Authors / books
Poul Anderson
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series
Iain M. Banks - Culture Series
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin (Uplift series)
Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos)
C. J. Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
James S.A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Gordon Dickson
Robert Heinlein - Starship Troopers
Larry Niven
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Moon
H. Beam Piper; Ubiquitous Contragravity, Guns instead of energy weapons, Space Vikings!
Jerry Pournelle
Kim Stanley Robinson
Jefferson P. Swycaffer - His Concordat and Tales of the Concordat books are set in the Traveller Universe
E.C. Tubb, High, Middle, Low passage, Fast and Slow Drugs, wandering from Planet to Planet.
Dave Webber (the Honor Harrington series)
David Drake - Hammer's Slammers series hold great examples of what a star spanning mercenary story might hold.
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic, weird sci-fi/exploring mysterious alien visitation sites at its finest
William Gibson - Stories that involve the wide range of people, rich vs poor, set in the future where you begin to see use of cybernetics and various other Travelleresk technology.

Series of books
SF Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks

Graphic Novels / Comics / Compilations:
2000AD
Judge Dredd (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)
Strontium Dog (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)


Movies:
Alien/Aliens/etc. - Military and Alien Encounter stories, small groups of people that must overcome hardships.
Avatar (high tech versus natives)
Black Hawk Down (similar to the above, just at a different tech level)
Bladerunner - A definitive source for cyberpunk, apparently, but also a good visual representation of any high population/high tech planet out there. Hunting Replicants could easily be a PC occupation too.
Dark Star - A comedic look at how dull space life could be, with crew members overcoming boredom largely through irritating and fighting each other, their pedantic ship computer and their pet alien that looks suspiciously like a beechball. The cynicism can be hilarious "Don't give me any of that intelligent life crap, just give me planets to blow up!"
Outland - Great example fo what a small adventure in a Belter Coloney might be like.
The Sand Pebbles (higher tech ship and crew trapped in politically charged lower tech setting!)
Serenity - Pretty much the closest thing to Traveller: The Movie on this list. A wonderful use of dialogue and character development presented in quickfire exposition.
Starship Troopers - It's irreverence towards it's literary source tends to divide audiences, but for those with liberal sensibilities it's a funny satire on militarism, while the action and SFX still hold up to make a decent sci-fi action movie.
Star Trek - A definitive source for science fiction. The movies and TV series cover a very wide range of sci-fi stories, buts it's this generic quality that makes it hugely useful to an aspiring referee.
Star Wars - Despite having it's own tropes, the spirit it captures is still pretty much spot on for most Traveller campaigns. And lets face it, everyone knows Star Wars...
Titan AE
Children Of Men - Small group of people must protect and move a VIP against the existing imperial forces. Future yet not, like Traveller.
2001: A Space Odyssey - A definitive source of hard science fiction, replete with references to an Ancient influence on our own evolution.
2010: The Year We Make Contact - The next chapter in the 2001 story.
Silent Running - Example of what a large space ship crew' s life might be like.
Edge Of Tomorrow - SciFi mercenary/military confrontation vs alien life forms. Great military tech as well as small team adventure.
Sunshine - Beautiful film which again captures the spirit of living in close proximity with other crew members under intense pressure. It's all about the mission and scientific altruism reigns. Great science and technology explanations too.
Pitch Black - Great example of a risky adventure with a mixed group of characters. Feels like a "RPG Party".
Mission to Mars - Example of an adventure to rescue a missing exploration team. Could see this as a Scout based adventure.
Ghost in the Shell - Great example of how a small team of characters could be ran in a future setting including advanced tech and government oversight.
Minority Report - I included this one as an example of how Psionics, as controlled by the government, might play into an adventure.
5th Element - Small Ship life, large ship life, small apartment examples, alien interaction, future tech.

TV Shows:
The A-Team (various characters acting as mercs to help the downtrodden)
Babylon 5
Battlestar Gallactica (Lots of scenario ideas)
Blake's 7
Dark Matter
Doctor Who - Because you can't have a list of science fiction TV shows without including the longest running of them all. Although the tropes are possibly more to do with weird fiction that spacefaring adventure, there are enough that can be lifted. The more recent seasons are also a great example of how to make something old and dated seem fresh and new again, too. Earth 2
Farscape
Firefly - As with the movie, a perfect example of a spacefaring crew and the issues and encounters they frequently face to 'keep the boat afloat'. The closest facsimile of Traveller: the TV show.
Mission Impossible (agents acting in the shadows to support their government)
Red Dwarf - despite the silliness, this series is littered with great sci-fi ideas and storylines.
Space:1999
Star Cops (BBC TV)
Star Hunter
Star Wars
Wonders of the Universe - w/ Dr.Brian Cox - Quality documentary on all sorts of aspects of space; entertainingly explained.

Video/Computer Games:
Dead Space series - planetoid mining, industrial sci-fi and horror
Deus Ex series
Elite series - essentially a Traveller interstellar flight-simulator
FTL
Mass Effect series - the "Babylon 5" or "Star Control" of our century. One of the best digital military sci-fi universes and narratives out there nowadays.
STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl
Star Control 2 (or the free remake, The Ur Quan Masters) - *THE* classic interstellar sci-fi computer game, with some humorous twists.
Starflight 1 and 2
System Shock 1 and 2 - Sci-fi horror masterpieces
 
Movies
Starship Troopers - on no account watch the sequels

Television
Killjoys - very Travellerish, bounty hunters plus advanced ship; aristocracy.
 
(Just a bit of merging things together. If you want to suggest something new, copy the bulk of this text to your computer's clipboard, click on "Post Reply" and paste the current stuff in. Then simply perform your edits, click on preview even if you think you don't need to and click on "submit" when you are satisfied. Ian B.)

Authors / books
Poul Anderson
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series
Iain M. Banks - Culture Series
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin (Uplift series)
Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos)
C. J. Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
James S.A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Gordon Dickson
Robert Heinlein - Starship Troopers
Larry Niven
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Moon
H. Beam Piper; Ubiquitous Contragravity, Guns instead of energy weapons, Space Vikings!
Jerry Pournelle 1) in general 2) for the CoDominium and Falkenberg's Legion, which influences perception of large mercenary unit employment
Kim Stanley Robinson
Jefferson P. Swycaffer - His Concordat and Tales of the Concordat books are set in the Traveller Universe
E.C. Tubb, High, Middle, Low passage, Fast and Slow Drugs, wandering from Planet to Planet.
Dave Webber (the Honor Harrington series)
David Drake - Hammer's Slammers series hold great examples of what a star spanning mercenary story might hold.
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic, weird sci-fi/exploring mysterious alien visitation sites at its finest
William Gibson - Stories that involve the wide range of people, rich vs poor, set in the future where you begin to see use of cybernetics and various other Travelleresk technology.

Series of books
SF Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks

Graphic Novels / Comics / Compilations:
2000AD
Judge Dredd (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)
Strontium Dog (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)


Movies:
Alien/Aliens/etc. - Military and Alien Encounter stories, small groups of people that must overcome hardships.
Avatar (high tech versus natives)
Black Hawk Down (similar to the above, just at a different tech level)
Bladerunner - A definitive source for cyberpunk, apparently, but also a good visual representation of any high population/high tech planet out there. Hunting Replicants could easily be a PC occupation too.
Dark Star - A comedic look at how dull space life could be, with crew members overcoming boredom largely through irritating and fighting each other, their pedantic ship computer and their pet alien that looks suspiciously like a beechball. The cynicism can be hilarious "Don't give me any of that intelligent life crap, just give me planets to blow up!"
Outland - Great example fo what a small adventure in a Belter Coloney might be like.
The Sand Pebbles (higher tech ship and crew trapped in politically charged lower tech setting!)
Serenity - Pretty much the closest thing to Traveller: The Movie on this list. A wonderful use of dialogue and character development presented in quickfire exposition.
Starship Troopers - 1) It's irreverence towards it's literary source tends to divide audiences, but for those with liberal sensibilities it's a funny satire on militarism, while the action and SFX still hold up to make a decent sci-fi action movie 2) on no account watch the sequels.
Star Trek - A definitive source for science fiction. The movies and TV series cover a very wide range of sci-fi stories, buts it's this generic quality that makes it hugely useful to an aspiring referee.
Star Wars - Despite having it's own tropes, the spirit it captures is still pretty much spot on for most Traveller campaigns. And lets face it, everyone knows Star Wars...
Titan AE
Children Of Men - Small group of people must protect and move a VIP against the existing imperial forces. Future yet not, like Traveller.
2001: A Space Odyssey - A definitive source of hard science fiction, replete with references to an Ancient influence on our own evolution.
2010: The Year We Make Contact - The next chapter in the 2001 story.
Silent Running - Example of what a large space ship crew' s life might be like.
Edge Of Tomorrow - SciFi mercenary/military confrontation vs alien life forms. Great military tech as well as small team adventure.
Sunshine - Beautiful film which again captures the spirit of living in close proximity with other crew members under intense pressure. It's all about the mission and scientific altruism reigns. Great science and technology explanations too.
Pitch Black - Great example of a risky adventure with a mixed group of characters. Feels like a "RPG Party".
Mission to Mars - Example of an adventure to rescue a missing exploration team. Could see this as a Scout based adventure.
Ghost in the Shell - Great example of how a small team of characters could be ran in a future setting including advanced tech and government oversight.
Minority Report - I included this one as an example of how Psionics, as controlled by the government, might play into an adventure.
5th Element - Small Ship life, large ship life, small apartment examples, alien interaction, future tech.

TV Shows:
The A-Team (various characters acting as mercs to help the downtrodden)
Babylon 5
Battlestar Gallactica (Lots of scenario ideas)
Blake's 7
Dark Matter
Doctor Who - Because you can't have a list of science fiction TV shows without including the longest running of them all. Although the tropes are possibly more to do with weird fiction that spacefaring adventure, there are enough that can be lifted. The more recent seasons are also a great example of how to make something old and dated seem fresh and new again, too. Earth 2
Farscape
Firefly - As with the movie, a perfect example of a spacefaring crew and the issues and encounters they frequently face to 'keep the boat afloat'. The closest facsimile of Traveller: the TV show.
Killjoys - very Travellerish, bounty hunters plus advanced ship; aristocracy.
Mission Impossible (agents acting in the shadows to support their government)
Red Dwarf - despite the silliness, this series is littered with great sci-fi ideas and storylines.
Space:1999
Star Cops (BBC TV)
Star Hunter
Star Wars
Wonders of the Universe - w/ Dr.Brian Cox - Quality documentary on all sorts of aspects of space; entertainingly explained.

Video/Computer Games:
Dead Space series - planetoid mining, industrial sci-fi and horror
Deus Ex series
Elite series - essentially a Traveller interstellar flight-simulator
FTL
Mass Effect series - the "Babylon 5" or "Star Control" of our century. One of the best digital military sci-fi universes and narratives out there nowadays.
STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl
Star Control 2 (or the free remake, The Ur Quan Masters) - *THE* classic interstellar sci-fi computer game, with some humorous twists.
Starflight 1 and 2
System Shock 1 and 2 - Sci-fi horror masterpieces
 
This is the list that is in the back of T5

Aldiss, Brian, editor, Collection, Space Opera.
Aldiss, Brian, editor, Collection, Galactic Empires Volume One.
Aldiss, Brian, editor, Collection, Galactic Empires Volume Two.
Anderson, Poul, Novel, The Man Who Counts.
Anderson, Poul, Novel, Hiding Place.
Anderson, Poul, Series, the Dominic Flandry novels (1951-1993).
Anvil, Christopher, Collection, Interstellar Patrol.
Anvil, Christopher, Novel, Pandora's Legions.
Asimov, Isaac, Series, Robot Series.
Asimov, Isaac, Novel, The Currents of Space.
Asimov, Isaac, Novel, Pebble in the Sky.
Bailey, Barrington J, Novel, Star Winds.
Bailey, Barrington J, Novel, Star Virus.
Barnes Arthur K, Novel, Interplanetary Hunter.
Bates, Leslie, Novel, Friends in High Places.
Bates, Leslie, Short Story, Homecoming.
Blish, James, Collection, The Seedling Stars.
Brin, David, Series, Uplift.
Brunette, Paul, Novel, The Death of Wisdom.
Brunette, Paul, Novel, To Dream of Chaos.
Brunette, Paul, unpublished, The Backwards Mask.
Carson, Matthew, Novel, The Backwards Mask.
Clark, Arthur C, Short Story, The Ultimate Melody.
de Camp, L Sprague, Series, Krishna.
Del Rey, Lester, Short Story, Instinct.
Dougherty, Martin J., Novel, Diaspora Phoenix.
Dozois, Gardner, editor, Collection, The New Space Opera.
Drake, David, Novel, Hammer's Slammers.
Godwin, Tom, Short Story, “The Cold Equations”.
Hamilton, Edmond, Novel, Exile.
Hartwell, David G, editor, Collection, The Space Opera Renaissance.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Space Cadet.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Red Planet.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Farmer In The Sky.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, The Puppet Masters.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Starman Jones.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Tunnel In The Sky.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Citizen of the Galaxy.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Starship Troopers.
Heinlein, Robert A, Short Story, Life-Line.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Time for the Stars.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, The Star Beast.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, The Rolling Stones.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Between Planets.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Podkayne of Mars.
Knight, Damon, Short Story, The Country of the Kind.
Laumer, Keith, Series, Bolo Series.
Laumer, Keith, Series, Retief Series.
Leinster, Murray, Short Story, Plague.
Leinster, Murray, Collection, Colonial Survey, Gnome Press, 1957.
Leinster, Murray, Collection, The Med Series, Ace, May 1983.
Leinster, Murray, Collection, Med Ship, edited by Eric Flint
and Guy Gordon, Baen, June 2002.
MacApp, C C, Novel, Prisoners of the Sky.
MacApp, C C, Novel, Secret of the Sunless World.
MacApp, C C, Novel, Recall Not Earth.
McCullom, Michael, Novel, Life Probe.
Niven, Larry, Series, Ringworld.
Niven, Larry, Novel, The Mote In God's Eye.
Niven, Larry, Novel, The Gripping Hand.
Niven, Larry, Series, The Man-Kzin Wars anthologies based on the Known Space novels by Larry Niven.
Norton, Andre, Novel, The Stars Are Ours!.
Norton, Andre, Novel, Galactic Derelict.
Norton, Andre, Novel, Star Rangers.
Nourse, Alan E, Short Story, Brightside Crossing.
Piper, H Beam, Novel, The Cosmic Computer.
Piper, H Beam, Novel, Space Viking.
Pohl, Frederick, Series, Heechee.
Rowley, Christopher, Novel, Starhammer.
Rowley, Christopher, Novel, Vang: The Military Form.
Rowley, Christopher, Novel, Vang: The Battlemaster.
Russell, Eric Frank, Novel, Wasp.
Saberhagen, Fred, Series, Berserkers.
Schmitz, James, Novel, The Witches of Karres.
Sheckley, Robert, Short Story, Zirn Left Unguarded, the
Jenghik Palace in Flames, Jon Westerly Dead.
Simak, Clifford, Short Story, Desertion.
Smith, Cordwainer, Collection, The Rediscovery of Man:
The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith.
Smith, E E "Doc", Series, Lensman.
Swanwick, Michael, Novel, Vacuum Flowers.
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Series, Traveller Novels.
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, Not In Our Stars, Avon Books, New York, USA, 1986..
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, Become the Hunted, Avon Books, New York, USA, 19nn..
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, The Universal Prey, Avon Books, New York, USA, 19nn..
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, The Praesidium of Archive, Avon Books, New York, USA, 19nn..
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, Tales of the Concordat 1: The Empire's Legacy.
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, Tales of the Concordat 2:.
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, Tales of the Concordat 3: .
Tubb, E C, Series, Dumarest Series.
Van Vogt, A E, Novel, Slan.
Van Vogt, A E, Novel, The Weapon Shops of Isher.
Vance, Jack, Series, Demon Princes series.
Vance, Jack, Series, Tschai.
Varley, John, Novella, The Persistence of Vision.
Viehl, S L, Series, Stardoc (series).
Vinge, Vernor, Novel, A Fire Upon The Deep.
Vinge, Vernor, Novel, A Deepness In The Sky.
Vinge, Vernor, Novel, The Witling.
Webber, David, Series, Honor Harrington.
Wells, H G, Short Story, When the Sleeper Wakes.
White, Steve, Novel, Prince of Sunset.
White, Steve, Novel, Emperor of Dawn.
Williams, Walter Jon, Series, Drake Maijstral Series.
Williams, Walter Jon, Series, Dread Empire's Fall.

Clarke County, Space, Alan Steele
Lunar Descent, Alan Steele
Orbital Decay, Alan Steele
Downbelow Station, CJ Cherryh
Rimrunners, CJ Cherryh
Heavy Time, CJ Cherryh
Hellburner, CJ Cherryh
Revelation Space, Alistair Reynolds
Absolution Gap, Alistair Reynolds
Redemption Ark, Alistair Reynolds
Chasm City, Alistair Reynolds
Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson (for a nanotech future)
Cold As Ice, Charles Sheffield
Summertide, Charles Sheffield
When Gravity Fails, Alex George Effinger
A Fire in the Sun, Alex George Effinger
Hammer’s Slammers series, David Drake
Aristoi, Walter John Williams (for a very nano-tech, virtual reality world)
Hardwired, Walter John Williams
Voice of the Whirlwind, Walter John Williams
Angel Station, Walter John Williams
Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
Fountains of Paradise, Arthur C. Clarke
Imperial Earth, Arthur C. Clarke
Songs of Distant Earth, Arthur C. Clarke
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein
Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
The Real Story: The Gap into Conflict, Stephen R. Donaldson
Forbidden Knowledge: The Gap into Vision, Stephen R. Donaldson
Dark and Hungry God Arises: The Gap into Power, Stephen R. Donaldson
Chaos and Order: The Gap into Madness, Stephen R. Donaldson
This Day All Gods Die: The Gap into Ruin, Stephen R. Donaldson
Space Doctor, Lee Corey
The Legacy of Heorot, Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, and Stephen Barnes
The Dragons of Heorot, Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, and Stephen Barnes
Beowulf’s Children, Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, and Stephen Barnes
A Mote in God’s Eye, Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
The Gripping Hand, Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
West of Honor, Jerry Pournelle
The Mercenary, Jerry Pournelle
Prince of Mercenaries, Jerry Pournelle
Falkenberg’s Legion, Jerry Pournelle
Go Tell the Spartans, Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling
Prince of Sparta, Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling
The Wild World of the Future, Claire Pye
 
Also, if Mongoose is looking to expand the player base, then including some anime and manga is not a bad idea (especially since Classic Traveller has been translated into Japanese).

Manga
2001 Nights
Planetes
Earthlight
Ghost in the Shell
Appleseed

Anime
Planetes
Gundam 0080
Gundam 08th MS Team
Gundam 0083
Gundam Unicorn
Cowboy Bebop (all)
Space Battleship Yamato 2199
Macross Plus
Macross Frontier
Ghost in the Shell (all)
Yukikaze
Wings of Honneamise
HALO Legends
 
Jeff Hopper said:
Also, if Mongoose is looking to expand the player base, then including some anime and manga is not a bad idea (especially since Classic Traveller has been translated into Japanese).

Manga
2001 Nights
Planetes
Earthlight
Ghost in the Shell
Appleseed

Anime
Planetes
Gundam 0080
Gundam 08th MS Team
Gundam 0083
Gundam Unicorn
Cowboy Bebop (all)
Space Battleship Yamato 2199
Macross Plus
Macross Frontier
Ghost in the Shell (all)
Yukikaze
Wings of Honneamise
HALO Legends
Black Magic M-66 (1987) by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and Masamune Shirow - Military experiment with Android assassins goes wrong.

Ghost in the shell is on the original list as is Titan AE (missing from your list).
 
Authors / books
Poul Anderson
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series
Iain M. Banks - Culture Series
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin (Uplift series)
Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos)
C. J. Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
James S.A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Gordon Dickson
Robert Heinlein - Starship Troopers
Larry Niven
Andre Norton
Anne McCaffrey
Elizabeth Moon
H. Beam Piper; Ubiquitous Contragravity, Guns instead of energy weapons, Space Vikings!
Jerry Pournelle 1) in general 2) for the CoDominium and Falkenberg's Legion, which influences perception of large mercenary unit employment
Kim Stanley Robinson
Jefferson P. Swycaffer - His Concordat and Tales of the Concordat books are set in the Traveller Universe
E.C. Tubb, High, Middle, Low passage, Fast and Slow Drugs, wandering from Planet to Planet.
Dave Webber (the Honor Harrington series)
David Drake - Hammer's Slammers series hold great examples of what a star spanning mercenary story might hold.
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic, weird sci-fi/exploring mysterious alien visitation sites at its finest
William Gibson - Stories that involve the wide range of people, rich vs poor, set in the future where you begin to see use of cybernetics and various other Travelleresk technology.

Series of books
SF Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks

Graphic Novels / Comics / Compilations:
2000AD
Judge Dredd (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)
Strontium Dog (+ rulebook previously available as a Mongoose Traveller Universe)


Movies:
Alien/Aliens/etc. - Military and Alien Encounter stories, small groups of people that must overcome hardships.
Avatar (high tech versus natives)
Black Hawk Down (similar to the above, just at a different tech level)
Bladerunner - A definitive source for cyberpunk, apparently, but also a good visual representation of any high population/high tech planet out there. Hunting Replicants could easily be a PC occupation too.
Dark Star - A comedic look at how dull space life could be, with crew members overcoming boredom largely through irritating and fighting each other, their pedantic ship computer and their pet alien that looks suspiciously like a beechball. The cynicism can be hilarious "Don't give me any of that intelligent life crap, just give me planets to blow up!"
Gravity - Hard sci-fi movie that presents the obstacles one may find in space in an entirely believable way.
The Martian - Great hard science movie that shows the means for survival on an alien planet.
Moon - Another drama, which suggests how cloning may be used in the exploration of planets into the future.
Outland - Great example fo what a small adventure in a Belter Coloney might be like.
The Sand Pebbles (higher tech ship and crew trapped in politically charged lower tech setting!)
Serenity - Pretty much the closest thing to Traveller: The Movie on this list. A wonderful use of dialogue and character development presented in quickfire exposition.
Starship Troopers - 1) It's irreverence towards it's literary source tends to divide audiences, but for those with liberal sensibilities it's a funny satire on militarism, while the action and SFX still hold up to make a decent sci-fi action movie 2) on no account watch the sequels.
Star Trek - A definitive source for science fiction. The movies and TV series cover a very wide range of sci-fi stories, buts it's this generic quality that makes it hugely useful to an aspiring referee.
Star Wars - Despite having it's own tropes, the spirit it captures is still pretty much spot on for most Traveller campaigns. And lets face it, everyone knows Star Wars...
Titan AE
Children Of Men - Small group of people must protect and move a VIP against the existing imperial forces. Future yet not, like Traveller.
2001: A Space Odyssey - A definitive source of hard science fiction, replete with references to an Ancient influence on our own evolution.
2010: The Year We Make Contact - The next chapter in the 2001 story.
Silent Running - Example of what a large space ship crew' s life might be like.
Edge Of Tomorrow - SciFi mercenary/military confrontation vs alien life forms. Great military tech as well as small team adventure.
Sunshine - Beautiful film which again captures the spirit of living in close proximity with other crew members under intense pressure. It's all about the mission and scientific altruism reigns. Great science and technology explanations too.
Pitch Black - Great example of a risky adventure with a mixed group of characters. Feels like a "RPG Party".
Mission to Mars - Example of an adventure to rescue a missing exploration team. Could see this as a Scout based adventure.
Ghost in the Shell - Great example of how a small team of characters could be ran in a future setting including advanced tech and government oversight.
Minority Report - I included this one as an example of how Psionics, as controlled by the government, might play into an adventure.
5th Element - Small Ship life, large ship life, small apartment examples, alien interaction, future tech.

TV Shows:
The A-Team (various characters acting as mercs to help the downtrodden)
Babylon 5
Battlestar Gallactica (Lots of scenario ideas)
Blake's 7
Dark Matter
Doctor Who - Because you can't have a list of science fiction TV shows without including the longest running of them all. Although the tropes are possibly more to do with weird fiction that spacefaring adventure, there are enough that can be lifted. The more recent seasons are also a great example of how to make something old and dated seem fresh and new again, too. Earth 2
Farscape
Firefly - As with the movie, a perfect example of a spacefaring crew and the issues and encounters they frequently face to 'keep the boat afloat'. The closest facsimile of Traveller: the TV show.
Killjoys - very Travellerish, bounty hunters plus advanced ship; aristocracy.
Mission Impossible (agents acting in the shadows to support their government)
Red Dwarf - despite the silliness, this series is littered with great sci-fi ideas and storylines.
Space:1999
Star Cops (BBC TV)
Star Hunter
Star Wars
Wonders of the Universe - w/ Dr.Brian Cox - Quality documentary on all sorts of aspects of space; entertainingly explained.

Video/Computer Games:
Dead Space series - planetoid mining, industrial sci-fi and horror
Deus Ex series
Elite series - essentially a Traveller interstellar flight-simulator
FTL
Mass Effect series - the "Babylon 5" or "Star Control" of our century. One of the best digital military sci-fi universes and narratives out there nowadays.
STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl
Star Control 2 (or the free remake, The Ur Quan Masters) - *THE* classic interstellar sci-fi computer game, with some humorous twists.
Starflight 1 and 2
System Shock 1 and 2 - Sci-fi horror masterpieces
 
Posting this just to include the idea in one place. :mrgreen:

A suggestion was made to list some of the Third Party Publishers as additional sources for inspiration. It could be attached to the overall list.
 
I recently wrote down and collected my own list of Traveller'ish novels and tropes, so I'll post it here to share.



TRAVELLER “Appendix N” (Books that inspired or fit closely with the feel of classic Traveller)

E.C. Tubb - The Dumarest of Terra novels (The Winds of Gath)
H. Beam Piper - Space Viking, Uller Uprising, Terro-Human
Bertram Chandler - John Grimes series (Scout service, then Merchant, then Pirate)
Bertram Chandler - Rim World series
Issac Asimov - Foundation series
Poul Anderson - Polysotechnic/Technic League, Flandry novels, Van Rijn novels
Heinlein - Rocket Ship Calileo, Space Cadet
Niven & Pournell - Mote in Gods Eye, CoDominion series
Jerry Pournelle - Falkenburgs Legion, War World, Jannisaries series
Jerry Pournelle - King Davids Spaceship (3rd empire re-expansion period)
Larry Niven - Ringworld stories, Neutron Star, Tales of Known space stories.
David Drake - Hammers Slammers (though more 2300AD leaning)

Imperial Science Fiction (Classic Traveller setting/3rd Imperium) Tropes (IMO)

More Golden Age Sci-Fi though with some advances.
Hard’ish Sci-Fi.
Not at all New Wave Sci-Fi. (No psychodelia)
More Noir and shades of grey then Black & White morality of Star Wars
Hard Boiled sentiments, criminal activity and easy violence
Space version of the Great Age of Empires (1850’s to 1914)
Space 1889 themes and feel is common. Just not the literal "steam tech" feel.
Feudal, Imperial, Colonial governments as travel/com times are so long
1945-65 (Pre-Star Wars) view of what future tech would be like
Libertarian themes (Sword Worlds)
No faster than light travel or communications
No Mechs
Artificial Gravity exists.
Floating Cities, Grav cars, Grav tanks at higher tech levels
Robots may be common but AI is not
Asimov’s I-Robot though would fit in the setting
Computers can be powerful but are always large by today's standards.
VR might exist? but not the focus of the game.
Holograms exist but are not the focus of the game.
Small tablets exist but must be slaved to a larger static and bulky computer.
No smart phones, instead Dick Tracy watches.
No internet, but sort of with the Library Data databases. 100,000’s of planetary DB’s
Not focused on Bionics but does exist. No Cyborg Commandos.
Not focused on Genetic Engineering but it does exist. No Juicers.
Cyberpunk is anathema to the setting. Not what it’s about.
Not Transhumanist. Galactic Imperial Sci-Fi. (though you can have the odd "Super" Humans)
Many Sapient Aliens, some very bizarre, but few with space empires of their own.
Varying tech levels across space.
Psionics exist though are very rare and are more subtle than Marvel Comics powers.
Characters are Conquistadores, Mercenaries, Freebooters, Explorers, Merchants, Salvagers, Entrepreneurs, Adventurers, Rogues, Troubleshooters, Spies, Archeologists, Smugglers, Criminals, Scientists, Contractors for Hire.
Often the players will be doing criminal acts, be it for their own purposes or as Robin-hoods.
Action and Adventure more than High Concept or Morality plays
Patrons are often the adventure givers, hiring the players for some task.
The rewards for such missions are almost always financial or material
Mega Corporations exist that are often far more powerful than small to medium sized Interstellar States.
Mega Corps can be/are modelled after the British East India company or the Hudson's Bay company.
Mega Corps are often the only Government, Police, Army, Medical services in many systems.
The “Ancients” seeded the nearby galactic arm with uplifted sonphont versions of promising primitive species.
Several varieties of Human exist because of this.
Vargr and Aslan also exist as a result of this.
 
Gwarh said:
I recently wrote down and collected my own list of Traveller'ish novels and tropes, so I'll post it here to share.

I'd suggest that a list of inspirational sources should be broken into two sections - a list of those works that directly inspired Traveller (keeping in mind that these were published prior to 1977) and a list of more recent works that are compatible with Traveller.

My own Appendix N list for Traveller would look something like this - those marked with an asterisk were particularly important in the development of the game for one reason of another:

  • Anderson, Poul. The Ensign Flandry series**; the Van Rijn/Falkayn series - The Third Imperium is heavily influenced by Anderson and the Zhodani are heavily influenced by the Merisians.
  • Asimov, Isaac. The Foundation series, The Robot series, The Gods Themselves - The broad sweep of history in the Foundation series and the concept of the rise and fall of successive human civilisations
  • Bester, Alfred. The Stars, My Destination** - An important work for the treatment of psionics
  • Chandler, Bertram A. The Commodore Grimes series**. - Pretty much all of the classic Traveller tropes are present in Chandler's work, notably the concept of free traders and subsidised merchants.
  • Harrison, Harry. The Stainless Steel Rat series (especially the early books) - Influenced views on crime and law enforcement
  • Heinlein, Robert. Starship Troopers** - The novel (not the wretched movie) influenced the depiction of the marines and battledress was based upon Heinlein's Power Armour.
  • Herbert, Frank. The Dune series (especially the first book). - A pseudo-medieval setting with scheming noble houses and a distant but powerful emperor.
  • Laumer, Keith. The Retief series - Diplomacy in space. Traveller's depiction of the relationships between alien species owe a lot to this book.
  • Niven, Larry Known Space Series (including Ringworld) - The K'kree are based upon the Puppeteers and the Kzinti probably influenced the Aslan. This series was extremely popular at the time Traveller was published.
  • Niven, Larry and Pournelle, Jerry. The Mote in God’s Eye** - The early chapters of this book - before the main plot begins depict a stetting remarkably similar to that of Traveller
  • Norton, Andre. The Solar Queen series**, The Forerunner series. - A significant influence on the concept of merchant adventurers as well as the depiction of psionics and the existence of mysterious ancients
  • Piper, H. Beam. The Terro-Human Future History series (especially Space Viking**) - Space Viking is one of the most significant influences on the development of Traveller. It even includes the Sword Worlds as part of its setting...
  • Tubb, E.C. The Dumarest of Terra series** - Another of the important influences on Traveller. The concept of High, Middle, and Low Passage comes directly from these books.
  • Vance, Jack. The Demon Princes series** - The feel or atmosphere of this series heavily influenced early Traveller, as did the importance placed on bladed weapons.
 
Prime_Evil said:
[*]Heinlein, Robert. Starship Troopers** - The novel (not the wretched movie) influenced the depiction of the marines and battledress was based upon Heinlein's Power Armour.

No, not really if you ready your source Traveller. Lots of people keep pushing for Heinlein's Mecha from Starship Troopers to be battledress, but the core description was it being advanced Combat Armor.
 
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