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The Best SciFi Television Series of All Time
dukethepcdr I am amending this list to include only TV shows that actually have some science element in them. Shows that are primarily horror or fantasy are not really science fiction. There needs to be at least some use of characters, objects and plot elements that stretch the limits of current (or past) scientific thought. So, I give you my list of great TV shows that are actually science fiction.
List Criteria: Sci-fi TV shows and series with science fiction elements
- 1
Peter Davison, Elisabeth Sladen, Billie Piper More#5 on the ultimate list“ One of the most brilliant concepts for a show in TV history, Doctor Who has been on the air longer than any other sci fi show. The mysterious, clever and sometimes humourous Doctor is a humanoid 'alien' called a Time Lord, who among his other abilities, can 'regenerate' if his current body is killed. He comes back with a new body, new personality but most of the same memories and knowledge from previous incarnations. This clever plot device, along with being able to travel in both space and time simultaneously, enables the show to replace every actor, including the main star, without disrupting the flow of the show. Usually, when the main actor(s) of a TV show leave the show, it almost always signals that you are seeing the last season of it. So far, there have been at least 13 different actors playing The Doctor (not counting all the ones in the brilliant spoof "The Curse of Fatal Death" for Comic Relief), yet the show goes on. It also blends space faring, robot using and laser blasting sci fi with other popular elements of horror, humour, drama and detective shows. „ - 2
Jonathan Frakes, Whoopi Goldberg, Brent Spiner More#3 on the ultimate list“ While this isn't the 'original' Star Trek, it takes all that was great about the 1960's series and brings to it the high caliber acting, big-budget production values, impressive special effects and quality writing that we used to expect only in movies. I almost never missed an episode of this show when I was a kid and I still enjoy seeing it on Netfilx. This show revived the public's interest in Star Trek, paving the way for some great movies, tourist attractions at theme parks and casinos and for more spin-off Star Trek shows. „ - 3
Mitch Pileggi, David Duchovny, Annabeth Gish More#4 on the ultimate list“ The X-Files is one of iconic TV shows of the 90's. It took prime time TV to a new level in ways that really amazed us back when it was a new show. Today, we take movie-quality lighting; deep, complex plots; and understated, subtle, serious acting for granted on TV. But back then, most of us had watched 20 to 30 years of shows that were quite the opposite, so it was a revelation to us. While there was always the through-plot of alien abductions, alien-shadow government conspiracies and such that bound the show together, they also managed to work in quite a variety of stories about all sorts of other urban legends, superstitions, and sometimes, just straight up detective work. Many shows came out in the years after this one debuted that tried to be like the X-Files, but none of them could surpass it at its own game. This scene I've picked for the video segment sums up the show pretty well. It also highlights something that few shows have managed to do before or since, maintain a relationship between a male and female lead character without having them 'hit the hay' at some point. „ - 4
Teryl Rothery, Richard Dean Anderson, David Hewlett More#7 on the ultimate list“ When I saw the movie Stargate when it first came out in theaters, I said to myself "This movie would make a great basis for a TV show'. It took a few years to happen, but I was right. Both the movie and the TV show take the age-old notion in sci fi fan circles that maybe, just maybe the ancients had some help in developing their cultures. And maybe, the 'gods' and 'monsters' depicted in their art and writings were actually aliens, and ramped that idea up to the nth degree. While it was kinda weird to see different actors in the lead roles (I think the guys who played the kids and the girl who played Shau-ri were the only ones from the movie) during the transition from movie to TV, it worked. It worked so well as a series that it was on for at least ten years and spawned several direct to video movies and a couple of spin-off TV series. „ - 5
Andreas Katsulas, Jerry Doyle, Claudia Christian More#12 on the ultimate list“ At the time that Babylon 5 came out, there were already several other sci fi shows on the air, including one called Deep Space Nine that was quite similar in its setting and premise. Still, Babylon 5 managed to differentiate itself from those other shows with intense action, intrigue and clever writing. Some said that Babylon 5 was deeper, grittier and more 'believable' than the sanitized world of Star Trek. In some ways, I'd say they were right. „ - 6
Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt#17 on the ultimate list“ There have been lots of TV shows and movies about time travel, but this one had one of the most unique takes on it. Rather than transporting a person's whole body through time, they sent Sam Becket's soul. His soul or spirit was sent back in time and into the bodies of lots of different people. This clever twist led to some really funny and memorable scenes where Sam would think, feel and act like himself even though he would look like someone totally different to the other people in the time that he leaped into. He'd have to figure out what was going wrong in that person's life before he could leap out of it and, hopefully back home. While the show had the trappings of time travel, it was mainly about relationships, caring about people and the crazy stuff that happens when you are literally forced to 'walk a mile in someones shoes'. The show was so popular that when NBC tried to cancel it, they were buried with thousands of letters (this was before da interwebz) and were convinced to bring the show back for a few more seasons and a more satisfying finale. „ - 7 Jolene Blalock, Linda Park, Anthony Montgomery More#23 on the ultimate list“ This show was a break through for Star Trek. A more gritty, more honest, more 'fly by the seat of your pants' kind of show. It took what little of that there was in the original series and ramped it up several notches. The one thing I didn't like about it was the occasional anachronistic (for the Star Trek universe anyway) element in the show that would occasionally seem more advanced than things were in the 60's series. This didn't happen as much nor as obviously as it did in the Star Wars prequels at least. It was a shame that this daring show, complete with a totally different opening that wasn't a twist on the classic Star Trek opening, didn't last for more seasons than it did. „
- 8 Jane Badler, Andrew Prine, Michael Durrell More#29 on the ultimate list“ When I was a kid, this show scared the crap out of me :). I had loved watching movies and TV shows about aliens coming to Earth for years, but was totally unprepared for the dark, sinister turn that this show took with the classic aliens making themselves known on Earth scenario. They had some pretty impressive make up (those aliens peeling off their disguises really creeped me out), special effects and action scenes too, for TV of the time. „
- 9 Prentis Hancock, Suzanne Roquette, Martin Landau More#66 on the ultimate list“ This show is an excellent example of what later shows would improve upon (especially in regards to the effects, sets, costumes etc) :). It is however still a very entertaining show to watch and helped to keep audiences interested in sci fi during the 1960's. „
- 10 Bill Mumy, Bob May, June Lockhart More#55 on the ultimate list“ Today, this show may seem a bit clunky, cheesy and downright silly, but at the time it really amazed the kids. We have shows like Lost in Space to thank for pioneering the way for sci fi on TV. If it hadn't been for Lost in Space, we may not have ever had Star Trek. „
- 11 Jon-Erik Hexum, Meeno Peluce“ This family friendly version of the time travel story was rather short lived, but was quite clever. We probably wouldn't have had Quantum Leap without this show. I liked the way that the hero and his kid sidekick traveled through time experiencing things that kids only read about in history books. They also encouraged kids to learn history and culture. A lesson today's kids need too. „
- 12 Herb Jefferson, Jr., Lorne Greene More#34 on the ultimate list“ Forget about the over-sexed and over-wrought 'reimagining' by the same title. This is the original B.G.! It brought the special effects (helmed by legend John Dykstra no less), action, romance and humor of the movie Star Wars (which had just been released not long before this show came out) into our living rooms every week. It had great actors like Loren Green, Jane Seymore, Dirk Benedict and Richard Hatch in it too. I loved the chrome plated bad guys the Cylons. The plot was rather clever, with its 'we humans are the 'aliens' ' idea of colonies of humans living in outer space. An idea they might have gotten from the amazing Dune novels. „
- 13 Wilfrid Hyde-White, Thom Christopher, Gil Gerard More#63 on the ultimate list“ This show was part of the 'bring back the classics' movement in the 1980's. Buck Rogers had been a space opera hero ever since the days of the radio dramas and movie serials. This spiced up version may seem a bit goofy and ham fisted by today's standards, but we loved it when I was a kid. „
- 14 Sally Knyvette, Steven Pacey, Gareth Thomas More#94 on the ultimate list“ Lest we forget, Doctor Who wasn't the only clever sci fi show from England. There were a number of others, including this almost forgotten gem. Blake's 7 was funny, action-packed and cleverly written. It had production values a bit lower than we've become accustomed to today, but it is still quite watchable if you can find it on DVD. „
- 15 Simon Jones, Peter Jones, Mark Wing-Davey More#60 on the ultimate list“ While I didn't agree with all of his ideas on 'evolution', and religion (actually, I hated them), I still must admit that Douglas Adams was quite brilliant. This TV show was based on one of his most well-known works. It started out as a radio show, then a series of books (the increasingly inaccurately titled 'Hitchhikers' Trilogy :)), then this TV show and then finally a big-budget movie. Each incarnations was a bit different from the others, but each are clever and funny in their own way. The TV show was short lived but was very popular amongst BBC viewers. I saw it on PBS (along with Doctor Who, Blakes 7 and a number of other British TV shows) and found it quite funny. The TV show manages to capture the bizarre plot twists, crazy characters and almost mind twisting dialog (sometimes you have to think about it a bit to realize why its funny) of the books and radio show. „
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