Best Space Opera TV of This Decade?

[Goji]

I voted for Farscape. It's second only to DS9 on my list of all time favorite scifi shows.

Firefly and Battlestar galactica get my "good but nowhere near as good as Farscape" vote, and while I like (four seasons of) Earth Final Conflict, only one or two episodes in the entire run take place predominantly in space, so I can't really call it a "space opera".

 

[Cicero]

Farscape, Stargate: SG-1, and Star Trek: Voyager.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I'd be really interested in seeing a poll for the previous decade to see how TNG, DS9, B5 and Farscape compare.

DS9 trounces all comers. Bwhaha!

Hey, put BSG vs DS9. Let's see how that works out.

 

[Mr Light]

Babylon 5 is the greatest show ever made! Back in high school I thought DS9 was the greatest show in the world, and it was my gateway drug into sci-fi, but having rewatched some of it recently it definitely does not hold up as well to everything else.

 

[DevilEyes]

Aside from the usual suspects, don't forget to include Space: Above and Beyond, even though you (if I remember it correctly) think it sucks based on the one episode you've seen...

 

[Kegg]

Aside from the usual suspects, don't forget to include Space: Above and Beyond, even though you (if I remember it correctly) think it sucks based on the one episode you've seen...

You remember correctly, but it is at least a series I have seen, soI know that it is both space opera. Since it had or has a cult audience the numbers voting for S:AAB will be rather intersting to me.

 

[The Evil Dead]

Easily goes to Battlestar Galactica...

If BSG were to square off against either of the 1990s top Space Opera contenders (DS9 and Babylon 5) though, it'd get it's ass kicked!

 

[DevilEyes]

Wow, Firefly and BSG used to be neck and neck, but now it looks like a runaway victory for BSG!

 

[TheMasterOfOrion]

Calling new Battlestar science fiction would be like calling
ElmerFudd and BugsBunny a horror movie or calling Wallace and Gromit a horror.

Actually, something like Duck Dodgers is sci-fi, and for that matter I'd consider the sci-fi comedy cartoon Futurama as one of the best science fiction shows of this decade. It doesn't come up here since I've restricted the conversation to live-action shows... because! Yet I disgress.

How is (nu)BSG not a space opera? I'd love to see a definition of that term which does not cover (nu)BSG.


What is missing?

I think a lot of people feel its a soap opera that just happens to be set in space, over the years it moved away from the science fiction element and more in the direction of political commentary or "your god did it"

"Best" space opera would also depend on people's taste, its ratings certainly were not much better than Farscapes

and at least Farscape's numbers were pretty consistent

I do find the criticism of nuBSG being a soap opera amusing, because I'm old enough to remember people saying the same thing about TNG. "Family", with the weepy nancy boy Picard and a whole episode devoted to character building. Pure soap opera, m'boy!

Even if it is a soap opera, that doesn't mean it isn't also a space opera.

Yeah maybe I'm being harsh but I always found the series to be more of a soap opera that just happened to be set in space. It's scifi element was extremely weak like the tv series lost, soap is what drove these shows IMO not the scifi element.

Anyway the ratings were not actually as bad as I previously claimed, the show ended on a 1.7 which really is not so bad

Episode ↓ US Airdate ↓ Nielsen rating ↓

Miniseries, Night 1 2003-12-08
3.2
Miniseries, Night 2 2003-12-09
3.8
33 2005-01-14
2.6
Water 2005-01-14
2.6
Bastille Day 2005-01-21
2.3
Act of Contrition 2005-01-28
2.5
You Can't Go Home Again 2005-02-04
2.5
Litmus 2005-02-11
2.5
Six Degrees of Separation 2005-02-18
2.2
Flesh and Bone 2005-02-25
2.5
Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down 2005-03-04
2.1
The Hand of God 2005-03-11
2.2
Colonial Day 2005-03-18
2.3
Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I 2005-03-25
2.2
Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II 2005-04-01
2.5
Season 2
Episode ↓ US Airdate ↓ Nielsen rating ↓
Scattered 2005-07-15 2.6
Valley of Darkness 2005-07-22 2.0
Fragged 2005-07-29 2.0
Resistance 2005-08-05 1.9
The Farm 2005-08-12 2.0
Home, Part I 2005-08-19 2.1
Home, Part II 2005-08-26 2.1
Final Cut 2005-09-09 2.0
Flight of the Phoenix 2005-09-16 1.9
Pegasus 2005-09-23 2.0
Resurrection Ship, Part I 2006-01-06 2.1
Resurrection Ship, Part II 2006-01-13 1.9
Epiphanies 2006-01-20 1.9
Black Market 2006-01-27 1.8
Scar 2006-02-03 1.9
Sacrifice 2006-02-10 1.8
The Captain's Hand 2006-02-17 1.7
Downloaded 2006-02-24 1.8
Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I 2006-03-03 1.8
Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II 2006-04-10 1.9
Season 3
Episode ↓ US Airdate ↓ Nielsen rating ↓
Occupation 2006-10-06 1.8
Precipice 2006-10-06 1.8
Exodus, Part I 2006-10-13 1.6
Exodus, Part II 2006-10-20 1.5
Collaborators 2006-10-27 1.4
Torn 2006-11-03 1.5
A Measure of Salvation 2006-11-10 1.5
Hero 2006-11-17 1.3
Unfinished Business 2006-12-01 1.3
The Passage 2006-12-08 1.3
The Eye of Jupiter 2006-12-15 1.4
Rapture 2007-01-21 1.4
Taking a Break From All Your Worries 2007-01-28 1.5
The Woman King 2007-02-11 1.2
A Day in the Life 2007-02-18 1.2
Dirty Hands 2007-02-25 1.1
Maelstrom 2007-03-04 1.1
The Son Also Rises 2007-03-11 1.2
Crossroads, Part I 2007-03-18 1.4
Crossroads, Part II 2007-03-25 1.2

Season 4


Episode ↓ US Airdate ↓ Nielsen rating ↓
Razor 2007-11-24
1.21
He That Believeth In Me 2008-04-04
1.6
Six of One 2008-04-11
1.4
The Ties That Bind 2008-04-18
1.4
Escape Velocity 2008-04-25
1.3
The Road Less Traveled 2008-05-02
1.3
Faith 2008-05-09
1.2
Guess What's Coming to Dinner? 2008-05-16
1.2
Sine Qua Non 2008-05-30
1.3
The Hub 2008-06-06
1.3
Revelations 2008-06-13
1.4
Sometimes a Great Notion 2009-01-16
1.6
A Disquiet Follows My Soul 2009-01-23
1.3
The Oath 2009-01-30
1.2
Blood on the Scales 2009-02-06
1.3
No Exit 2009-02-13
1.3
Deadlock 2009-02-20
1.2
Someone to Watch Over Me 2009-02-27
1.3
Islanded In a Stream of Stars 2009-03-06
1.2
Daybreak, Part I 2009-03-13
1.3
Daybreak, Part II 2009-03-20
1.7

 

[Hyperspace05]

Seriously, WHAT DOES RATINGS HAVE TO DO WITH THIS TOPIC?
Who gives a &*(#&%#???

This is a poll thread about which space opera YOU LIKED BEST. Not ratings.

Also, repeat after me:
- A show being 'space opera' (or not) has nothing to do with how well YOU like it.
- a show being 'space opera' (or not) has nothing to do with the shows RATINGS.

 

[Count Zero]

I should have included Torchwood but I'll admit to complete ignorance as to what exactly Dr. Who is. In my research (read: half hour on Wikipedia) I discovered the new series isn't considered a new series, it's just the old series only it's come back... um.

I mean really, it isn't even Dr. Who: The Next Generation? Because surely that's what it functionally speaking is. And then Torchwood has a third season with a different name, is that another show or not? Perplexing to an outsider like myself, to be sure, but that may be just my stupidity.

Don't worry, you're not the first one to be confused by the concept. If you want to get technical about it, the current incarnation of Doctor Who would be 'The Generation after the next and the next and the next and the next and the next and the next and the next and the next' since it's the 10th incarnation of the main character.
The new series starts with the 9th Doctor and therefore is just a continuation of the old series (we've seen all of the previous 8 doctors). Since there was such a long break and in order to give newcomers a good starting point to get into the series, they started the new series as 'series 1' ('series 27' would have sounded rather daunting) and explained the Doctor's background in the first two episodes of that series.

Torchwood is a spin-off of the new series (the lead is a popular recurring character called Captain Jack Harkness). The third season of that show just had an additional title since it was one continuous story in 5 parts. I must admit I haven't watched the first two seasons of that show but I think Torchwood takes place entirely on Earth. I don't think it's a Space Opera.

From what little I know of the franchise it seems to have enough bells and whistles to qualify. We've got extraterrestial beings like the Daleks and the Cybermen and Sontarans and the Doctor himself is an alien, and on occasion I'm told they go to the home planets of these species and/or other worlds. Even if that plays a small role in the series and it's very Earthcentric, that wouldn't that at least constitute a space opera component?

Again, I'm uncertain so Whovians are invited to make sense of my confusion.

Well, the great thing about 'Doctor Who' is (in my opinion) that it can be anything. Due to the time travel component you can do all sorts of different stories on that show, from a pure historical to whacky science fiction. So it's not a classic space opera. But you're right, it certainly has a space opera component, though moreso in the old show. The new show is more Earth-centric, but there are a number of episodes set in space and the future. Besides, the TARDIS is also a space ship. So, in summary, while I wouldn't necessarily think of Doctor Who when I hear the word space opera, I agree that it also qualifies for this category. It's just a show that transcends traditional genre definitions.


In the poll I voted for:

Doctor Who (To me, it's just the best show ever. )

Enterprise (I loved that show from the first episode, so sue me... )

Firefly (Very promising)

Farscape (Entertaining and fun)


I haven't seen BSG yet, but I plan to. I suspect I'll like it.

 

[startrekwatcher]

I'd have to vote for nBSG and ENT. Neither were perfect or as consistent as I would have liked but overall they were the only shows on the list that I watched from beginning to end.

nBSG had some really strong hours and its first season and a half was a compelling tension filled suspenseful focused and tightly written arc. Its later seasons would be hit-or-miss, the mythology didn't really add up to a whole lot in the end, the love rectangle was dull, the Cylons were one of the least interesting adversaries I've come across and the show was a little too overly proud of itself but it did some good stuff and had some wonderful characters like Adama, Roslin, Caprica.

ENT's last two seasons were pretty good. In all honesty had the show not been Trek I would have dropped it in the first season but I have this weird need to see all Trek--good or bad. Thankfully the Xindi arc was quite compelling incorporating a similar storytelling style that Lost would do to much greater effect and the final season had some fun--if not deep--prequel appropriate outings. In fact, there was quite a bit of wonderful stuff they set up that really could have been epic had the show continued.

As for the rest of the stuff on the list--
Most of it I tried watching but lost interest immediately. I never cared for the campy feel and stupid aliens on SG-1, SGA and SGU looks like a nBSG imitator. Andromeda was dumb. Dr Who is too silly for my tastes. I'm not a big fan of Whedon's shows and I thought Firefly was overrated. Lexx was another goofy sci-fi comedy show that I just can't stand.

At the end of the day though LOST will ultimately be my favorite tv show of this decade--sci-fi or otherwise. It is so well crafted, the mysteries are interesting and it has inventive ideas that are fresh and new.

 

[DevilEyes]

Yeah maybe I'm being harsh but I always found the series to be more of a soap opera that just happened to be set in space. It's scifi element was extremely weak like the tv series lost, soap is what drove these shows IMO not the scifi element.

Actually, the SF element is crucial to Lost, and it's what drives the plot of the show (particularly in the last 2 seasons).

Although the characters are as important as the plot, so if that's what makes your definition of "soap opera"...

 

[carriefox]

Since Farscape is my all time fave. I voted Farscape. Farscape didn't have to have a cute actor for me to tune in.(Like some the other choice's to vote for,I have seen most of them) Ben Browder had the prettiest blue eye's and he was cute to boot.

 

[ALF]

Great thread, Kegg.

It's hard to tell if we're discussing measurable success through ratings or critical reception... but for all it's groundbreaking and outside the box sci fi accomplishments, I think RDM BSG will be hard pressed to lose.

Oh and count me in as another who doesn't care about total viewing numbers. Those are important to Amercian advertisers and no longer accurately reflect the total viewing audience... assuming the viewers outside of the US are of any value whatsoever... of which my understanding is that we are not.

 

[Hyperspace05]

oops!

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Calling new Battlestar science fiction would be like calling
ElmerFudd and BugsBunny a horror movie or calling Wallace and Gromit a horror.

It's science fiction to the same extent that Trek or Farscape are, and a damned sight more so than completely scientifically illiterate nonsense like the original BSG.

 

[Fist McStrongpunch]

I'd be really interested in seeing a poll for the previous decade to see how TNG, DS9, B5 and Farscape compare.

Since you're the second person to ask...

I'll wait a couple of days first. This time I'm going to compose a list and double-check it until I'm confident I hopefully got everything, or at least close as I can manage. If anyone now wants to pipe up with Obscure Scientifictional Adventure Cam-West that I absolutely must include, it'd be most appreciated.

Don't forget Space Cases!