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I started this blog with a list of the 10 Best Sit-coms since 1980, but in light of last week's season finale of Battlestar Galactica, it's time to unleash my inner geek and look at the best sci-fi TV series of all-time:
10. Mystery Science Theater 3000
Certainly the funniest sci-fi show of all time (apologies to both Futurama and Red Dwarf), MST3K was as good as the movies it parodied were bad—meaning it was very, very good. The movie theater on the Satellite of Love was more ruthless than a cage of Klingons when it came to savaging B-movies.
9. Dr. Who
Originally launched in 1963, The
Doctor has once-again returned to the TV screen, traveling through time
and space in the TARDIS, an antiquated and surprisingly spacious blue
police box. The special effects may have gotten marginally better, but
the camp has stayed the same. Two spin-offs are currently running,
including the highly addictive (though strangely both campy and serious) Torchwood.
8. Stargate SG-1
Based on a mediocre movie with a
good premise—that all of our mythology was the result of alien contact
with our ancestors—the 10 seasons of SG-1 brought back good clean star
trekking fun, complete with its own Spock (Teal'c) and a team leader
played by MacGyver. Stargate:Atlantis has kept the spirit of its predecessor alive and well.
7. Farscape
"My name is John Crichton, an
astronaut. A radiation wave hit and I got
shot through a wormhole. Now I'm lost in some distant part of the
universe on a ship, a living ship, full of strange alien life forms.
Help me. Listen, please. Is anybody out there who can hear me? I'm
being hunted... by an insane military commander. I'm doing everything I
can. I'm just looking for a way home." So begins the adventures of a
modern man from earth, where some of the creatures look a lot like
muppets (it's a Jim Henson production, after all). Like Lexx
without all the sexual innuendo, a group of refugees are forced to
coexist aboard a living ship. It's dark without being dreary.
6. Firefly
Leave it to Joss Whedon to dream up
a space show without aliens. The smart writing he brought to Buffy
turned the universe into one big frontier, where those who didn't
conform to authoritarian rule were forced to eke out their livings
among outlying planets where the long arm of the law can't follow.
Watch the way-too-short lived series in full before finishing with
Serenity.
5. The X-Files
Pairing Scully the skeptic and Mulder the believer as they investigated
the paranormal, The X-Files at its best was as good as any other TV
show in history. Its greatness waned in the later years, but the early
seasons did more than investigate the implausible; it accomplished it
by taking aliens and conspiracy theories to the mainstream.
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Based on a terrible movie with a mediocre premise—that a high school
was built on the hellmouth where vampires, demons and other various
devil-spawn would creep into California—Buffy became a surprising hit,
even among academia ("Buffy studies" classes became popular after the
series concluded). The show tackled teen issue as well as My So Called
Life, metaphysical questions as well as The X-Files, all while a female
protagonist fought like Bruce Lee.
3. Lost
J.J. Abrams convinced viewers to watch his sci-fi show by taking his
sweet time to reveal that it was a sci-fi show. Filled with exceptional
characters (man, I miss Mr. Eko), clever structures (flash forwards?),
moral conundrums and more plot twists and hidden clues than 1200
websites can keep straight, it's kept the water cooler interesting the
last four years.
2. Star Trek: The Next Generation
The original series was pioneering. Deep Space Nine and Voyager had their moments. But TNG was head-and-shoulders the greatest Star Trek
franchise. Jean Luc Picard. Data. Worf. The holodeck. The Borg. Gene
Roddenbury must not have had a cynical bone in his body, and watching
his characters explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new
civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before, I didn't
either.
1. Battlestar Galactica
Based on a mediocre TV show with a great premise—robots annihilate most
of humanity; the remnant search for earth—Ronald D. Moore's reimagined
version has become the greatest sci-fi show in history. With gritty
realism, the last remaining military ship feels like it's in a constant
state of repair, like humanity is being held together with duct tape.
The show explores major themes—politics, religion, terror, marriage,
humanity, sacrifice, pragmatism, personal failure, free press, free
speech, loyalty—while keeping the plot moving forward with every
episode. Long live Commander Adama.
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Where is Babylon 5?
This is a grave mistake on your part, love the inclusion of Stargate SG:1, it belongs, but so does Babylon 5.
Babylon 5 should be near the top in any such list.
I was a pretty regular watcher of Babylon 5, but I don't remember it with the same fondness as these others.
No Blakes 7 and Dr Who at No 9, hell you know us Brits own Sci-Fi: Quatermass, Captain Scarlet, Timewatch, Hitch-hikers guide etc....
All the best Jules
The omission of Babylon V is huge!
Babylon 5 not on the list, c'mon!
Babylon 5 didn't bring anything new to the table like this list has. Babylon 5 just took everything from every other show and spat it out anew. I can't find one original plot.
Top 10 Sci-Fi series ever?
Lost? - No
Buffy? - No
MST3K? - No
Thank God you included FireFly.
Bablyon 5? Ummmm... I think we should keep it out of all sci-fi best list just to keep making those people mad! ha. They're always complaining about how it's constantly left out.
Josh, I'm getting this close to sending you the new Futurama DVD. I think you need a refresher in how great that show really is.
Sean, I like Futurama. When Eli was born (in the days before TIVO), I'd be up in the middle of the night giving him a bottle and watching reruns of Futurama and Family Guy and the rest of the Adult Swim line-up on The Cartoon Network. But I honestly have been surprised to hear how much people love it. Of course, that was you who complained it wasn't on my list of Best Sit-Coms too.
How could you possibly leave out the Twilight Zone.
The Mother of all science fiction shows.
Babylon 5 didn't bring anything new to the table like this list has.
Arcs. It introduced the concept of multiple-story arcs, multiple-season arcs - and paved the way for Stargate, Lost, etc.
My personal list would also have The Prisoner. Stargate? Pshaw.
Pretty good list except I would replace MST3K (I loved that show, but sci fi?? nah! - with Torchwood. And you and your readers might be interested in a great way to catch up on some sci fi goodies: Fancast has a lot of your list up - full-length and FREE - including Farscape, Firefly, Buffy, Start Trek, BSG (the campy original series with Lorne Greene!!! AND the new incarnation) and also has such classics as Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Outer Limits, Time Tunnel, etc. Check them out here http://www.fancast.com/full_episodes
First of all, Buffy is not scifi. I love Buffy, but it could never possibly be considered scifi. Babylon Five was the first to use story arcs and had an absolutely brilliant cast and writers. I'm a Stargate fan, but it's very much overrated. I would have included Deep Space Nine and Voyager instead-two very underrated scifi shows. MST#K was great, but too uneven to be included here. Firefly should be placed third.
Nice list! I just created my own top 5 scifishows at http://www.hypedworld.com
My top 5:
1. Dune miniseries
2. Battlestar Galactica
3. Stargate SG-1
4. The X-files
5. Star Trek
There is a lot of SciFi TV out there of varying flavours - this could be a top 15 or 20 to get everyone in the tent. Space 1999 has to be on here from my point of view!
No Babylon5? No V?
Well, you put Galactica as the best, that explains alot..... Space:Above and Beyond was way better than Galactica.
I believe there are several shows that don't belong on your list, such as Buffy. However, I have to agree with your choice for #1. There is no question that the new Battlestar Galactica is the best sci fi show in history. I recently decided to watch the series and was completely blown away. Also, I think Firefly deserves the #2 spot. In my opinion, that was one of the first shows to truly start taking advantage of zero gravity shots and directing. The western aspect of the show (cowboys in space almost) is so unique to sci fi. Finally, everyone that says Babylon 5 deserves to be on the list...I'm still waiting for a legitimate reason. I've watched many sci fi series, and I just can't get into it. Maybe I'm missing something...
LOST !!!!!!!!!! WTF_ sci-fi ??????
LOST !!!!!!!!!! WTF_ sci-fi ??????
LOST !!!!!!!!!! WTF_ sci-fi ??????
LOST !!!!!!!!!! WTF_ sci-fi ??????
Lost is $hit at best. not even sci-fi !!
Where is the science in lost ?
What about Stargate atlantis ?
crap name but great show.
STAR TREK is crap compaired to SG1 & SGA.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCI-FI.
YOU TWAT.
O did I mention............
YOUR A TWAT.
The list specified the best Sci-Fi since 1980, which eliminates both Star Trek TOS and Twilight Zone. They'd be on my All-Time best list (head & shoulders above anything else in the 60's, but production values suffer by comparison to today's FX).
Similarly, MST3K relied on pre-1980 B-movies for most of it's material, so we can quibble and call it not "since 1980."
I agree that Buffy (Fantasy) & Lost (Shark-jumping Reality) are not Sci-Fi. That opens up 3 slots on the list.
If you want funny AND social commentary then you have to include Futurama and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Futurama is 2nd only to the Simpsons as best animated TV show ever, and H2G2 (even with its uneven production and too-short series) still has its ROFL hilarity almost 30 years later.
Star Trek TNG was OK, but they tried to do too much, tried to have a character to appease every demographic. As a result there was a huge amount of potential, but not enough time (even in 7 seasons) to develop more than just the bridge crew characters. TNG was lucky it survived the first season's resolve-everything-in-an-hour format. For that reason I rate Deep Space Nine as the better series, since its story arcs took their time and were sufficiently developed. Consider - Sisco as Prophet; the Dominion Coalition; Ferengi Society; the Klingon alliance with the Federation; even Vic Damone's life in the Holodeck - all good story lines in addition to the development of the main "Bridge-Crew" set of characters.
So I've added three to fill up the list's vacancies. Now for the under-rated shows. X-Files looked at everyone's favorite mythology (the alien invasion arc as well as the Monsters of the week) and did them proud. It created more water-cooler discussion than Lost could ever hope to. It should be number 2.
Joss Whedon creates a great solar system, and by avoiding little green aliens (the role filled by the Reavers) he didn't have to waste development time on other cultures. We already knew about heroes, villains, cowboys, the rich, the underworld, prostitutes, monks and G-men and how they interact. So we were free to watch the story develop without any long expositions ("Captain, I've accessed the computer database about planet Beta Thyroid 3 and the inhabitants' sensitivity to the hormones of other species") getting in the way. From the very first scene the weekly story as well as the series arc developed naturally - as if we just happened to start watching as these very believable characters meet each other. And by the way, we got to learn a new (English/Chinese/slang) language too. The series' early demise only served to enhance the overall status of this cult favorite by preventing them from ever making a dog of an episode. Firefly is Number One, no question.
Take out Mystery Theatre, Lost and Buffy. None are foremost science fiction. Firefly was really too short to rate. Who knows if it could have sustained a good story line for more than a couple seasons. As for what to use for replacements, I'm undecided, but Babylon 5 would certainly make it.
Finally, to call BattleStar as the best before it was even over is crazy. You need to give it time to see if it will last and gain the nostalgia of other shows.
Ghost in the Shell definitely belongs in the top 5... unless of course you think all sci-fi has to be live action with spaceships.
Andromeda , Dark Angel , Millennium , Lexx
The 4400 ,Heroes ...
c'mon i know you loved them.
Firefly should really be number one.
It's astonishing you rank a mediocre show like Lost ahead of a masterpiece like Firefly.
The reasons Babylon 5 should be on the list are the brief moments of visceral sadness, beauty and menace amid all the grey.
It may not have been as consistently good as some shows, infact after season 3 the quality of the show plummeted, but when it was good it held you like a magnet.
Check out episodes like Chrysalis, The long twilight struggle, Fall of night, Point of no return, and Severed Dreams.
Mass driver bombardment, Divine intervention, Presidential assassination, Ramming attacks, and Angelic death, all presented in visual and poignant scenes.
Yes Babylon 5 was a daring show, and those are the moments that should put it on the list. Not its never fulfilled story archs.
listen wtf lost is the best show ever!1 and if you havent seen lost then you cant talk there is not science fiction you son of bitch motherfucker you could lame my balls bastard
You need to put Star Trek The Original series at number 1, Put Babylon 5 at number 2 and leave off Battlestar Galactica completely. it was crap at best.
A Top 10 list without even a passing MENTION of B5? That's analogous to lsting the component gases of Earth's atmosphere and omitting oxygen. Everything you credit BSG with doing, B5 did first, and it remains unequaled for its carefully conceived and executed story arc. You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. I just feel truly sorry for you that your opinion is so hopelessly wrong.
Doctor Who should have been closer to the top. Just saying...
I assume this list is not in any particular order? Cuz it is certainly way off... Agreed on the need for including Bab 5... and MST3K is a good show but not worthy of a top 10 title in anyones list.
How could Lost be Number 3? There was never a coherent plan, but writing from week to week to week to just keep going. Lost did lose "me"! I was a watcher, but it got so convoluted that it became impossible to watch! Sorry! Lost doesn't deserve to be in the top 100 shows of the decade.
There are another 2 new shows out in 2009 that have also lost me, Defying Gravity, and Flash Forward. What could have been good shows turned out to be boring. The script writers on those shows should be fired!! I hate people who think they are doing a good job, but they are dreadful!!
I do like several of your choices, though. I agree that Battlestar Galactica was great. I just just gotten the entire series in HD and I can't wait to watch it again. X-Files, Firefly and Farscape were also fantastic. Actually, I would have to almost put Firefly as the best TV series of all time, but its run fell short. Too bad because it was such an amazing show.
I liked Star Trek: The Next Generation, but I sort of enjoyed the latest one, Enterprise, as the best one. It might have started off a little slow, but it sure picked up steam in the latter seasons and developed its characters.
Anyway, for what it is worth, my favorite shows now are Mad Men and True Blood. Mad Men: I am watching this series for the second time and it is so superbly put together. I think the writers knew where they were going. The second viewing is just as good as the first, or even a little better, although I did watch some episodes 3 or 4 times. I think that Firefly had so many plots and unanswered questions to develop that it could have become the greatest series ever!!
Anyway, producers and directors take note: Don't start your first season off with too much boredom and unanswered questions!! People will lose the magic!! Build the story, but also give us a good episode at least every other one!!
Sorry! I forgot it was only sci-fi!! Excuse my Mad Men comments!!
I liked Andromeda also, but Farscape was really decent! Farscape was a departure from normal Star Wars, Star Trek stuff!! A truly unique series, although the ship was involved in a lot of the episodes!!
No Babylon 5? What a glaring omition!
BSG is #1. That's spot on. So say we all.