but Doctor Who cheats, no other show can get away with the idea of regeneration, sure ratings helped but the ability to change the lead actor, but keep the lead character, in a way that keeps him the same & writes him for a new generation, its a real luxury the show has.Personally as a Stargate fan and a Doctor Who fan, i have no difficulty accepting SG-1 as the longest running consecutive science fiction show, and Doctor Who as the Longest Running full stop.
Doctor Who is still the longest running consecutive Sci-Fi show, running for twenty-six years straight from 1963 to 1989 before taking its 15-year break (barring the TV movie).
Which is neither here nor there. The show ran longer, end of story.