worst sci-fi TV series of post 1964

[Marc]

Hmm. Over a minute for an open?!?

The episodes were about 49mins long compared to the 42 mins if we're lucky today.

Those who are acquainted with Anderson's work will note how with each successive production, the puppets are constructed with ever more realistic proportions and features. His previous series,

And those responsible for the model and SFX work were also top notch. One them was Derek Meddings who would go on work on a number of Bond films and three of the Christopher Reeves Superman films.

 

[Timewalker]

I'm not being testy. But I posted no "worst list". I posted a spectrum from best to worst and Voyagers! landed behind a lot of other shows that I think were better.

Fair point. I see that I misread your post.

 

[JD]

Some-one mentioned Alien Nation up thread and that's pretty much the fate it suffered. Good reviews from critcs etc but not enough ratings to save it from the can after the first season.

Alien Nation only ran one season? For some reason I was think it ran for like 5 or 6 seasons.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Alien Nation only ran one season? For some reason I was think it ran for like 5 or 6 seasons.

IIRC there were a bunch of TV movies, you're probably thinking of those.

 

[Skipper]

I just looked up Atropa, Declassified, and Here We Wait and of the three Atropa has the most reviews with 13. It's not entirely a fair comparison to Firefly and Westworld which have 200,00+ reviews and Stranger Things, which has almost half a million reviews.

Fair enough.
These are sorted by number of votes:

1. Stranger Things (2016– ) 8,9
2. Lost (2004–2010) 8,4
3. Arrow (2012– ) 7,7
4. Daredevil (2015– ) 8,7
5. Westworld (2016– ) 8,9
6. The Flash (2014– ) 8
7. Heroes (II) (2006–2010) 7,6
8. Firefly (2002–2003) 9
9. Rick and Morty (2013– ) 9,3
10. Fringe (2008–2013) 8,4

And these by popularity (?)

1. Lost in Space (2018– ) 7,3
2. Fear the Walking Dead (2015– ) 7
3. Westworld (2016– ) 8,9
4. Arrow (2012– ) 7,7
5. Gotham (2014– ) 7,9
6. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013– ) 7,5
7. Lost in Space (1965–1968) 7,3
8. The Flash (2014– ) 8
9. Supergirl (2015– ) 6,5
10. Legion (2017– ) 8,4

 

[Matthew Raymond]

It's something like a minor miracle that the CW has stuck with CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND despite its abysmal ratings.

CW shows are relatively low budget. Supergirl got its budget cut by about a third when it moved from CBS. So I would surmise that the show has a low enough budget that the CW makes a net profit from it even with lower ratings. That's what keeps a lot of these reality shows on the air. (That's not to suggest it's the quality of a reality show. I've never seen Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, but I hear good things.)

 

[MacLeod]

The production values are Bargain BBC, but the main characters are well-drawn, and it's basically the model for how sci-fi shows are done today. Cliffhangers. Main characters die. The good guys don't always win. Avon's razor sharp comments are worth the price of admission.

Well "the good guys" in B7, were only good when compared to the Federation.

Let's look at them

Blake - Political Dissident
Avon - Thief
Vila - Thief
Jenna - Smuggler
Cally - Guerrilla Fighter
Gan - Murderer

 

[Spot261]

Well "the good guys" in B7, were only good when compared to the Federation.

Let's look at them

Blake - Political Dissident
Avon - Thief
Vila - Thief
Jenna - Smuggler
Cally - Guerrilla Fighter
Gan - Murderer

Some of the nicest people I know are murderers

 

[Marc]

Gan - Murderer

I wouldn't call Gan a murderer given it followed the rape and murder of his wife and the victim was goon responsible.

Jenna was a smuggler and Cally a freedom fighter because of the oppression of the Federation.

 

[Valenti]

It's what this country was founded on, damn it - thiefs and murderers.

 

[MacLeod]

Hmm. Over a minute for an open?!?

A minute is nothing.

This one is over 1:30

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This one around 1:50

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But in general TV themes have gotten shorter and shorter over the years.

But are TV theme tunes/songs from today as memorable as those from previous decades?

 

[Maurice]

Well "the good guys" in B7, were only good when compared to the Federation.

Let's look at them

Sure.

Blake - Political Dissident <——Because of the Federation
Avon - Thief
Vila - Thief
Jenna - Smuggler
Cally - Guerrilla Fighter <——Because of the Federation
Gan - Murderer <——Because of the Federation

The show was pitched as "The Dirty Dozen in space", so they're not angels. And by"good guys" I meant the protagonists. Compared to Servalan, Travis, et al, they're kittens.

 

[Marc]

Compared to Servalan, Travis, et al, they're kittens.

Vila : "Where are all the good guys?"
Blake : "You could be looking at them"
Avon : "what a depressing thought"
Ep 2-02 Shadow.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

But are TV theme tunes/songs from today as memorable as those from previous decades?

Offhand, I'd say that there are a few contenders:

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[Matthew Raymond]

Interesting thing about streaming and paid content like Netflix and HBO is that they don't have to cut material to make time for commercials, so they have the option of doing longer title sequences. On commercial television, you get this:

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