Actually Archer, which is one of my favorite shows of all time, is very much sci-fi. It's dealt with space stations, clones, two major recurring characters are cyborgs, one of the main characters is a clone of Hitler, and they even had an episode with a couple of aliens.
I knew you were probably aware of most the shows I listed, I was just putting the list together to illustrate how picky I thought you were being, and showing that there are a lot of options out there if you were just a little more open minded about what you were willing watch.
I was also just doing it for myself for fun, just to see how many I could find.
When I said high quality, I was mainly talking about it in terms of budget, not necessarily quality. We've moved way beyond the days of ST:TOS, BSG:TOS, early TNG, and Classic Dr. Who.
I definitely disagree about this being the worst time for sci-fi and fantasy, if anything I'd say we're in a golden age, with some of the best genre shows ever on television being produced right now. I would definitely put The Expanse in that category, and putting aside my issues with it's over reliance on sex, when it hits it's heights Game of Thrones definitely goes into that category.
Going purely by numbers, I don't think there have been this many SFF shows on at the same time in quite a while.
Ok, while I consider Archer more "super spy" then Sci Fi, it might have some elements. I basically watched the pilot and hated it, and have seen various clips around the internet since then, and it was even less "sci fi" then a lotof the spy stuff around. But, since I haven't seen much of it, it might qualify, even though it seems to be a spy show first and foremost.
I completely disagree about this being a "golden age", though. We used to have two Trek shows at once, along with classics like Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc. That was the golden age of Sci Fi/Fantasy TV in my opinion (even for superheroes because of the DC Animated Universe). I say this as someone who had to experience most of it after the fact, since not having cable and mediocre local stations means I missed most everything wqhen I was growing up, until the internet and DVDs os seasons became more avaliable.
I'd say that the worst genre shows on television are being produced right now, with angsty romance on basic cable and violent semi-porn on the premium stations. Add in a few trend breaking (which doesn't make them better, but admittedly non standard) stuff like The Expanse, and its a bad time for genre TV.
Also, I'm open minded enough. I know what I like and what I hate, but I'll give a show in a style I like a lot of benefit of the doubt. I hated NuBSG once the planet arc began (Season 2?), but I still watched every second of that badly written, "symbolism" filled pile of pain. I id that because I like the type of show, although where I got the endurance to watch all of that show I'll never know. Honestly, I think it would be bizarre to be any more "open minded" then I am.
But, I'm not judging other people. I watch too much stuff that some people consider stupid (everything from Power Rangers to anime) to care if people not in the demographic watch stuff like The 100 or Teen Wolf. Same with shows I just find personally unwatchable outside the YA romance style (like The Expanse, Magicians, etc). I just wish we got good stuff in addition to that, like some space operas or different kinds of Fantasy shows that didn't involve brooding loners. As for me personally, thinking about it I'm not
that picky, Sci Fi and Fantasy has just gotten so bad on TV that there are only a few types being made, and outside of superhero stuff its mostly styles/types of shows I've always hated (angsty romance, angsty adult drama, hard sci fi, violent semi-porn, etc).
Hopefully if Discovery takes off it will open the door to more space operas. Fantasy, however, is screwed until the angsty romance genre dies off and Game of Thrones is off TV for a few years. Until then, at least we have good superhero shows, which isn't a replacement for other stuff but is still a good thing to have. We're in the dark age of (non superhero) sci Fi and Fantasy TV, but there are still a few bright spots and hopefully something like Discovery will bring good things with it (like how TNG kind of started the Sci Fi boom of the golden age, even if it took a few years). Until then, I'm happy some people can find stuff they enjoy, but I'll keep hoping the trash eventually gets rejected and shows I like get made.
).
I can think of a large amount of shows that have little to none. Everything from the vast majority of Star Trek to Doctor Who, Stargate SG-1, and even most of Buffy and Angel. I don't think that kind of drama is necessary in any situation, honestly.
), but even then it was a different kind of bad. Its also not like DS9 or Voyager ever had a whole story line focused on relationship drama. A few individual episodes here and there, but they were usually terrible episodes so it doesn't really effect my opinion.
But not how you might expect
