For me, it would be The Expanse, and Dark
(I am hopping to get recommendations for some good scifi shows I haven’t been introduced to from here)
Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis - got just the right amounts of science and fiction, drama and comedy, campiness and self-awareness, and is the reason I got interested in physics and programming. Undomesticated equines could not remove me from another rewatch.
Stargate was such huge part of my childhood! To this day I remember almost every episode of the original SG1. Atlantis ran on cable which we did not have, so the first time I saw it was later on in my adulthood. Sure, Star Wars, Star Trek, Expanse and BG are all great, but man, SG1 will always be my absolute fave.
Honorable mention goes to Farscape - what a ride that show was!
Yes! I loved Farscape, too, although I was able to only watch one season - but I’m planning to fix it soon. I just recently realized the reason I loved Guardians of the Galaxy so much, is because it reminded me of Farscape - mostly in costume design and team dynamics.
Another, modern show worth a mention, is Travelers, from the same creator as Stargate. Much more serious in tone, grim, even, but still extremely engaging.
Eureka was pretty fun … do not expect hardcore scifi. I also like the first season of Star Trek Strange New Worlds.
Have to agree on Eureka. It’s really dumb, but super entertaining, and something I can watch over, and over, and over, and it never gets old.
Yeah … it really didn’t put the science in Sci-fi, but the comedy was there. I actually rewatched it not that long ago. It still holds up.
Did you ever see the librarians TV show, thought it had similar vibe to eureka but crossed with warehouse 13
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt3663490/I liked warehouse 13, too. The Librarians was good, but for some reason I fell of of it. Not sure why. I may have to go back and watch it.
Yup. I’ve seen all of the Librarian movies (similarly goofy) the show, and warehouse 13. I liked them all.
Firefly! I adore the Wild West theme mixed with the sci-fi elements. Feels really unique, and it represents what the spacefaring future probably would look like to the average person. Like everyone else, I’m livid it only got one series, even after all these years.
(I even made a magazine for it: https://kbin.social/m/browncoats )
Fringe, hands down. An amazing show from start to finish. I also have a soft spot for Warehouse 13, which leans more into the fantastical.
More recently, the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been great, and I’m also looking forward to seeing the second season of Severance.Warehouse 13 and Eureka were similar, and had characters cross over.
I haven’t seen the show but I’ve recently started reading The Expanse. I’m about halfway through the first book, Leviathan Wakes, and stuff is really starting to pick up. I’ve somehow not spoiled myself on it at all despite it being a hugely popular series and TV show so I’m really looking forward to the next like, 7 books.
You’re in for a great ride. The show is a slightly different tone and does some normal book-to-screen compression, conflation, and prioritization, but it’s extremely well done too.
Babylon 5 is my top pick. If you can get past the aging, low-budget visuals and corny dialogue, you will find a wonderfully crafted show. It can be hard to get into initially, but there is a huge payoff imo.
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I was so mad when I found out that firefly is so short. Every single character is awesome and I thought I had found an old treasure just like some of the classics are, but nope. Every rewatch I get sad when I realize it’s the last episode again
I read the official comic books and got a bit of closure on the story. You should consider that
I think this is a hard question, if you put a gun to my head I would likely choose the 2000’s version of Battlestar Galactica even though I don’t necessarily feel great about the final episodes. Unless other mini-series that didn’t become tv shows aired on the Sci-Fi channel count, then I’d probably pick Frank Herbert’s Dune.
I’m definitely in the minority but i didn’t like the 2000’s version which crammed BG with Terminator. I prefer the original series and story in which the Cylons were a technological remnant of a reptilian race who vanished hundreds of years before they encountered the human race, possibly due to a software bug turning the machines against them. I feel they should have just created their own stories and characters instead.
I do not really have a favorite. Star Trek DS9 was good. I do like Strange New Worlds, actually. And Silo is surprisingly good aswell. I don’t know if that counts necessarily as scifi. But if you’re able to check out Severance, you definitely should.
Everything I was going to say has already been mentioned, some numerous times: The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Firefly, Farscape, Fringe, Altered Carbon season 1, Dark Matter, Killjoys, Twelve Monkeys.
So may I offer up Timeless and Warehouse 13? Both character-focussed and on the lighter side, but also dealing occasionally with some pretty deep character arcs. And they were just FUN (especially Warehouse 13).
Also, more recently I really enjoyed The Peripheral (though I would have preferred a proper ending, rather than the dangling threads we were left with - especially since, at the time, we didn’t know if there would be a second season).
ETA: Oh, and I haven’t seen any Star Wars shows mentioned besides Andor - which was admittedly fantastic. But my favourite Star Wars TV series are SW: Rebels and SW:The Clone Wars. The latter because it added so much depth to Anakin and Obi-Wan, along with many other characters, and also gave us great new characters like Ahsoka and Wrex. And Rebels holds a place in my heart - many of my favourite Star Wars characters come from that series (Hera, Kanan, Sabine… and Chopper!)
Babylon 5 is still one of my most favourite sci-fi series. There is a Babylon 5 animated movie being released soon, B5: The Road Home and i’m dying to see it.
Also Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, tonight is the first episode of season 2. It encapsulates what the original star trek felt like, and i like it.
I had no idea that there was an animated movie coming out; that is very interesting. I was looking forward to checking out the CW reboot before it got shelved.
Can’t mention Warehouse 13 without Eureka - they had character cross overs. I liked The Peripheral, and even understood some of it…
Oh yes, Eureka was also great fun.
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned Lost in Space on Netflix. It’s a fantastic show about the wonders and dangers of space exploration with great acting, amazing effects and follows a well-constructed story. Only 3 seasons and ends on a lovely little scene.
Fringe, Continuum, BSG, Firefly, TNG, and SG1 are by far the best there was to offer. I rewatch Continuum atleast once a year at this point.
New shows: Silo and Peripheral are fantastic.
The Prisoner. No doubt about it. I taped that whole series on audio cassettes with a Radio Shack portable recorder in the 1970s. It’s the ultimate cult show.
Sadly, it is mostly unknown to modern audiences. I cosplayed as The Prisoner for several years at a regional SF convention, and only one person recognized me - but from the Simpsons parody rather than the original show!
You are Number 6!
I couldn’t agree more. One of the greatest TV series ever.
Basic answer: Firefly. Love it!
I liked Counterpart - J.K Simmons is brilliant in it, and the premise is really good.
Agreed!
