With the Oscars doubling the best picture race to ten slots for the first time ever, moviegoers watched edge during the announcement of the nominees to see if the Academy would finally warm up to the likes of sci-fi and fantasy films. The result was a bit of a mixed bag. ‘Avatar’, of course, secured its spot to contend for the top prize, ‘Up’ made it’s way in there and ‘District 9′ surprisingly nabbed a dark horse slot. All of these films’ chances of vying for a best picture Oscar might be nonexistent if not for the new expansion in the category. But even though it was a definite step forward in terms of legitimizing the non-dramas in the awards spectrum, thenewfound love for the outcasts was handed out sparingly.

Where, for instance, was ‘Star Trek’ in the lineup? Not only was that film a swift, compelling piece of entertainment in and of itself, but it was maybe the most successful franchise upstart (or in this case, reboot) in the last decade. MTV.com posted an interesting article that highlighted some of the Academy’s most overlooked films in terms of science fiction (’Blade Runner’ and ‘The Matrix’ to name a few).

Tune in to the Academy Awards on March 7 to see for yourself which way the votes will go.