Determining what is the best science fiction television series?

[PlainSimpleJoel]

Was reading this article from the Boston.com earlier, where they picked the top 50 science fiction shows of all time. Interesting there were a few key shows missing and a few shows either too high or too low in my opinion. And the babylon 5/Farscape thread and what a friend of mine said about Dr Who on facebook.

So pick a maximum of ten television series in order of best. Spinoffs aren't part of the original and can include Superhero shows (such as Batman, Smallville, Heroes, etc) in your ten shows. There is no new/classic Doctor Who, as it's one show.

I'll announce the top 20 shows in the new year, so you have until the 31st December midday, AEST to cast your ten shows.

 

[Jetfire]

01. Star Trek TOS
02. Star Trek TNG
03. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
04. X-Files
05. Lost
06. Smallville
07. Star Trek VOY
08. Buck Rogers
09. Andromeda
10. Mutant-X

 

[The Nth Doctor]

My favorite shows have a strong emphasis on characters but maintaining a solid narration but is also willing to lighter side with humor. I don't just mean a comedic episode here and there, rather have humor on a regular basis.

1. Doctor Who
2. Farscape
3. Lost
4. Futurama
5. Babylon 5
6. Life on Mars
7. Fringe
8. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
9. Ashes to Ashes (I normally merge this with Life on Mars because of the ending)
10. Eureka

 

[Vendikarr]

Was reading this article from the Boston.com earlier, where they picked the top 50 science fiction shows of all time. Interesting there were a few key shows missing and a few shows either too high or too low in my opinion. And the babylon 5/Farscape thread and what a friend of mine said about Dr Who on facebook.

So pick a maximum of ten television series in order of best. Spinoffs aren't part of the original and can include Superhero shows (such as Batman, Smallville, Heroes, etc) in your ten shows. There is no new/classic Doctor Who, as it's one show.

I'll announce the top 20 shows in the new year, so you have until the 31st December midday, AEST to cast your ten shows.

Before listing my ten, are we lumping in fantasy shows as well? You say Science Fiction shows, but genre programming usually refers to both Sci-Fi and Fantasy. I just want to head off any arguments of whether Buffy, Angel or other shows on the fantasy side of the spectrum are eligible.

 

[Silent_Bob]

Let's see, my own picks are:

1.Doctor Who
2.Firefly
3.Stargate Universe
4.The Walking Dead
5.Stargate Atlantis
6.Stargate SG-1
7.Babylon 5
8.Star Trek Deep Space Nine
9.Star Trek
10. Invasion: Earth.

 

[FordSVT]

Was reading this article from the Boston.com earlier, where they picked the top 50 science fiction shows of all time.

I really hate websites that make a list of "Top50/100" and then put one per page forcing you to hit their page 100 times.

And Vendikarr, the list on the website is thoroughly sci-fi, from Star Trek and Doctor Who to Sliders and Dark Angel. No fantasy.

Their inclusion of NuBSG over Star Trek is inducing. That show was stupid and depressing as much as it was fun and interesting to watch, and it had a terrible resolution, IMO. The heights of that show were Galactica's rescue when they were planet bound under Cylon occupation and the Pegasus arc. I think the original mini-series was superior to anything else they ever did.

Trek has been popular in one form or another for almost half a century. Without Star Trek, there wouldn't have been an original BSG for the new one to spring from. I can't help but think NuBSG will be relatively forgotten a few decades from now, or simply be remembered as an angry, post-9/11 pop culture anachronism by genre fans. "Oh it's so gritty and dirty and they drink and fuck in storage closets and they can't help but yell at each other all the time!".

TOS has its ups and downs too, but it has a legacy unlike any other TV show in the history of television, of any genre, and that's got to count for something special.

 

[Jetfire]

^
They did have BtVS listed at #27...that is pretty much fantasy. I guess it is up to ElimParra. And they had Xena too...also fantasy.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

1) Babylon 5
2) Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
3) Farscape
4) Battlestar Galactica (2003)
5) Star Trek: The Next Generation
6) Star Trek
7) Doctor Who
8) Firefly
9) Crusade
10) Star Trek: Voyager

 

[label]

If we stick with strictly traditionally "Sci-Fi", the list is as follows:

1. Babylon 5
2. Farscape
3. Nu-BSG
4. Deep Space Nine
5. ST: TNG
6. FireFly (Would have been much higher with just a season or two more under it's belt)
7. Stargate SG:1
8. Stargate Atlatnis
9. Quantum Leap
10. Star Trek : TOS

If we incorporate other shows that are Fantasy then here:


1. Babylon 5
2. Farscape
3. Lost (Had it ended with just a few more answers, it could have easily been number 1)
4a Angel (Might have also been at the top if had a couple more seasons to really finish strong)
4b Nu-BSG (Season 3's love triangle crap really hurt a very strong show)
5 Buffy
6. Deep Space Nine
7. ST: TNG
8. FireFly (Would have been much higher with just a season or two more under it's belt)
9 Wonderfalls
10a. Stargate SG:1
10b. Stargate Atlatnis

 

[Scotty]

That Boston.com list can't have been written by real sci-fi fans. It also featured way too many shows that weren't sci-fi, like Batman, Superman, etc. My list:

1. Battlestar Galactica (new, of course)
2. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
3. Star Trek: The Next Generation
4. Farscape
5. Space: Above and Beyond
6. Doctor Who (nuWho)
7. Star Trek Voyager
8. The X Files
9. Stargate SG-1
10. Stargate Atlantis

 

[Leroy]

Sorry I can't take that list very seriously. While a lot of shows on it are very good. It is a joke for the simple omission of Farscape, DS9, and Blake's 7. That and 'Tales from the Crypt' is horror not Sci-Fi.

 

[JiNX-01]

Twilight Zone
Star Trek
Firefly
X-Files
Deep Space Nine
Eureka
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate SG-1
Babylon 5
Buck Rogers (silly, but entertaining)

ETA:
Did my list before checking out Boston's list and I am shocked at the number of shows I watched faithfully and completely forgot about. But since you only want 10 shows, I would never have been able to cull the list, anyway.

 

[psikeyhackr]

1. Babylon 5
2. Deep Space Nine
3. Twilight Zone
4. Stargate Atlantis
5. ST: Next Generation
6. The Outer Limits 60s
7. The X-Files
8. ST: OS (Star Trek was too 60s in the 60s, Spock was Tonto)
9. Firefly (but I didn't like the Western motif)

Babylon 5 was a REAL Science Fiction show. DS9 was a rip off of B5.

If you watch the original The Cage pilot for Star Trek you will see that the studios did not let Roddenberry do what he really wanted. TNG was probably closer to his original vision but they couldn't have another Vulcan on the bridge. LOL

psik

 

[Mistral]

shooting from the hip(in no real order):

1-Farscape
2-Star Trek
3-Babylon 5
4-Stargate SG-1
5-STTNG
6-Jeremiah
7-The Twilight Zone(Original, of course)
8-nuBSG
9-DS-9
10-Firefly

also rans include SPACE: AAB, Outer Limits, X Files,Journeyman, and Earth 2 as well as Sliders...

 

[Starbreaker]

1. Lost
2. Farscape
3. Babylon 5
4. Star Trek: DS9
5. Star Trek: TNG
6. Battlestar Galactica (2004)
7. The X-Files
8. Stargate SG-1
9. Fringe
10. Star Trek

 

[Captaindemotion]

Battlestar Galactica

Star Trek

Star Trek Deep Space Nine

The Walking Dead

Star Trek The Next Generation

Doctor Who

Firefly

Lost

Babylon 5

Torchwood

I don't count Buffy TVS or Angel as sci-fi, otherwise I would have included them.

 

[Deckerd]

What! no Red Dwarf? It can't be British o'clock yet.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

Before listing my ten, are we lumping in fantasy shows as well? You say Science Fiction shows, but genre programming usually refers to both Sci-Fi and Fantasy. I just want to head off any arguments of whether Buffy, Angel or other shows on the fantasy side of the spectrum are eligible.

Yes they count. I should said that last night.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Twilight Zone and Lost should be higher, SG-1 should be lower. New BSG should be in the top ten, but not #1!!! DS9, Farscape and Futurama should all be in the top ten. Where are they anyway? I worked my way down to Andromeda and Tales from the Crypt and concluded the list must simply not include them. Lame.

Here's my list:

1. Lost (yes, even with the final season)
2. DS9
3. TOS
4. The Twilight Zone (original)
5. Futurama
6. Farscape
7. BSG (new)
8. B5
9. The X-Files
10. Firefly

If The Clone Wars keeps going the way it has been, I'll crack the top ten soon. Sorry, Browncoats.

The Walking Dead will probably vault to mid-list and bump The X-Files off, but I need more than 6 episodes to go on.

 

[the G-man]

This is a Trek board and so I expect Trek to be number one or number two. And it deserves to be. At the same time, I'm really surprised at the idea that anyone wouldn't put the Twilight Zone in the number one or number two slot right besides it.

And I'm actually shocked at the number of people here not even mentioning it.

TZ isn't just one of the best sci fi shows ever. It's widely considered one of the best television shows of all time.

Leaving it off a list of the top ten science fiction shows is like doing a "best rock bands of the 1960s" list and leaving off the Beatles and/or the Stones.