The top 25 SF TV shows of all time list

[RAMA]

Well, I've been giving it some thought, and I've come up with the following list of my own. It's very hard to stop at 25 actually, there are a good few that I would want to include but the others just edge them out. A top 50 might have been good for me. Ah well... There are a few in here that are borderline sf for me, but made it in here due to their sheer quality and enough sci-fi elements to be worth counting.) Oh yes, and I've only compiled my list from series, so not including any one-off plays, tv movies or individual serials.

1. Doctor Who (all of it - 1963 to the end of time probably...)
2. Blakes 7
3. Sapphire and Steel
4. Space: 1999 (should have been higher if season 2 wasn't there to drag it down...)
5. UFO
6. Babylon 5
7. Star Trek
8. The Prisoner
9. Timeslip
10. Quatermass
11. The Twilight Zone (original)
12. Farscape
13. Star Cops
14. Star Trek Deep Space Nine
15. Space Patrol
16. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
17. Star Trek The Next Generation
18. Thunderbirds
19. Survivors (original)
20. Alien Nation
21. Battlestar Galactica (original)
22. The Incredible Hulk
23. The Invaders
24. Clangers (original)
25. The Outer Limits (original)

I loved the Prisoner, but is it really science fiction?

In terms of watching and enjoyment, I still have a soft spot for the original BSG. Nostalgia perhaps, as that sticks in the mind of a 9-10 year old quite a bit, but I honestly can't say it's better than any of the shows on my list.

Loved the Invaders, but it seems dated now.

Alien Nation was good but for some reason, it doesn't really stick in the forefront of my mind.

UFO was fun but I can't say it was a good show really. Most of it made no sense at all.

The main reason I included mini-series is because the format for TV shows is different outside of the US, and I had to consider good shows that didn't run a typical 20-30 epiosdes as American TV has for most of it's span.

Random stuff:

As someone who reported on Humans, I have to admit I haven't seen it yet.

Angel isn't science fiction.

Evil Dead isn't science fiction.

 

[RAMA]

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTmXZJnxpZ0[/yt]

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm only 31, and I did include Star Trek.

Oops. I overlooked STAR TREK. Sorry.

In general, however, it's always good to remember that "of all time" extends beyond the movies and TV shows of our own generations.

I confess this is a personal hobbyhorse of mine. Just a few weeks ago, I saw a list of "The Greatest Movie Soundtracks of All Time" which seemed to assume that "All Time" began somewhere around 1990. And don't get me started on that article about "The Ten Best Vampire Movies of All Time" . . . on which the oldest movie was The Lost Boys . . . .

I was intending my list to be subjective. If I was making a general list I would have included Twilight Zone and did some research on great sci fi before my time. I know there's so much sci fi out there I've missed but my list did cover pretty much my entire life and I still contend the 90s much such an exciting time to be a sci fi fan, even more so than now. Now it's mostly comic book fandom beig happy.

No problem and nothing personal. Like I said, the "of all time" thing is a pet peeve of mine. Which is not your headline, I know, but is annoyingly ubiquitous these days--even in print magazines that should know better.

Not sure why people can't just go with "THE TEN BEST [fill in the blank] OF MODERN TIMES" if they want to focus on more recent material that younger readers might be more familiar with, instead of implicitly dismissing vast swaths of Hollywood history as no longer relevant.

But I know what you mean about subjective. I actually find "Favorite" lists more interesting than "Best" lists since they tend to be more about individual tastes than simply citing all the established classics.

"Well, I guess I have to include 2001 and Forbidden Planet, and Metropolis, because they're so historically significant . . ."

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Most 'BEST OF ALL TIME' lists really need more qualifications. Like, most at the very least need to add 'Best of all time -- That were recorded in English, and are generally expositional rather than reflective'. Or else no science fiction movie list has any excuse not to include Stalker.

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

I loved the Prisoner, but is it really science fiction?

Well, that's a question I got pulled up on last time we had one of these list threads! As with discussion of The Twilight Zone I had earlier, it's one of those that comes under my caveat of being borderline sf - but I know plenty of people of this very board would comfortably place it in the category. It after all features a man isolated from the world through fantastical technological means and explores the consequences of that.

In terms of watching and enjoyment, I still have a soft spot for the original BSG. Nostalgia perhaps, as that sticks in the mind of a 9-10 year old quite a bit, but I honestly can't say it's better than any of the shows on my list.

Well, I guess we all have different opinions and critical criteria.

Loved the Invaders, but it seems dated now.

It's nearly 50 years old, I suppose. It's set in the late sixties and reflects the cold war paranoia of its time.

Alien Nation was good but for some reason, it doesn't really stick in the forefront of my mind.

That's a shame. It definitely stuck in my mind, which is why it wasa natural to get onto my list.

UFO was fun but I can't say it was a good show really. Most of it made no sense at all.

We'll have to agree to differ on that one.

The main reason I included mini-series is because the format for TV shows is different outside of the US, and I had to consider good shows that didn't run a typical 20-30 epiosdes as American TV has for most of it's span.

I didn't exclude mini-series though. Star Cops, my number 13 choice, is only 9 episodes. It was just individual plays and serials I decided against. Otherwise I would certainly have to include the 1981 adaptation of "The Day of the Triffids", Kneale and Cartier's version of "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "The Year of the Sex Olympics", "Children of the Stones" and maybe "A for Andromeda". Did you notice actually that two thirds of my list were non-US shows?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Interesting question about The Prisoner. It has the storyline of science fiction but just not the setting. It had a lot of futuristic technology even though it took place in present day and The General could have gone toe to circuit with Kirk. I might count it.

I think 'Dated' is a legitimate criticism of some old TV. Some older television retains appeal and some of it doesn't. It depends whether the show really tells an interesting story about the characters or whether it's just copping a current aesthetic.

 

[tomalak301]

Are there any sitcoms that could be considered good sci fi shows? I mean thinking about sci fi I watche growing up and one of the ones I watched a lot was Mork and Mindy. Would that be considered sci fi? Many consider it one of Williams' best in his career.

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

Are there any sitcoms that could be considered good sci fi shows?

Red Dwarf springs to mind.

 

[Mr Light]

Red Dwarf and Futurama.

 

[kitik]

Good call on Futurama. There are a few episodes on that show (perhaps featuring dogs, clovers, or bees) that are legitimately among my favorite single tv show episodes of all time, and the show as a whole was pretty consistently funny.

 

[tomalak301]

Are there any sitcoms that could be considered good sci fi shows?

Red Dwarf springs to mind.

My Brother loved Red Dwarf even though I had never seen it. Always fun to watch British Comedy though.

Good call on Futurama. There are a few episodes on that show (perhaps featuring dogs, clovers, or bees) that are legitimately among my favorite single tv show episodes of all time, and the show as a whole was pretty consistently funny.

I loved Futurama before it got cancelled the first time. Didn't get back into it when it was brought back. Loved the Star Trek episode though.

 

[RAMA]

Are there any sitcoms that could be considered good sci fi shows? I mean thinking about sci fi I watche growing up and one of the ones I watched a lot was Mork and Mindy. Would that be considered sci fi? Many consider it one of Williams' best in his career.

Quark has a following among some older scifi fans. It spoofed almost every big scifi convention of the time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_%28TV_series%29

Hyperspace, Red Dwarf, Small Wonder, ALF, My Favorite Martian were popular to some degree.

Interesting question about The Prisoner. It has the storyline of science fiction but just not the setting. It had a lot of futuristic technology even though it took place in present day and The General could have gone toe to circuit with Kirk. I might count it.

I think I even included it on an early version of this list. I know Patrick McGoohan considered it contemporary, and not scifi.

I think 'Dated' is a legitimate criticism of some old TV. Some older television retains appeal and some of it doesn't. It depends whether the show really tells an interesting story about the characters or whether it's just copping a current aesthetic.

It's the very mark of a "classic" show that it can seem relevant, especially with the changes in production, tastes and presentation.

 

[zakkrusz]

Planetes
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

It's a pity people don't watch scifi from overseas, I think some other nations have some amazing scifi to offer...I suppose subtitles puts American audiences off

True new perspectives on things can be really great. For something foreign yet familiar, I think everybody should see the animated mini series, Time of Eve. Heck you can even watch it legally for free.

http://www.crunchyroll.com/time-of-eve

 

[Timewalker]

They made and Apes TV show?

There were actually two APES tv-shows: a live-action show which, alas, only lasted one season. And an animated series that ran on Saturday mornings. And, yes, Mark Lenard played the villainous General Urko, (Which means Lenard played a Vulcan, a Romulan, a Klingon . . . and a talking gorilla.)

I never saw the animated series, but I did watch the live action series. I also have the novels that were based on the episodes.

One notable difference between the TV series and the movies: In the TV series humans can talk. I think it was an article in Starlog or some other SF magazine in which someone said that change had been made because they figured that the guest stars who played humans would probably like to have some lines to say.

Other shows of note...Dune mini-series

Absolutely. Even in spite of William Hurt's extremely flat, bland portrayal of Duke Leto.

Twilight Zone is possibly the best series of all time but for it to appeal to younger viewers you have to ween them off the expectation of explosions or gun fights every thirty seconds. TZ is big on delayed gratification and the modern attention span can't necessarily handle it.

The thing I like about Twilight Zone (old series or new) is that you know the ending is going to cause some kind of uneasy feeling that makes you think about the situation in a different way.


Since people are mentioning fantasy and adventure shows along with SF, I'm going to add the following:

The Crow: Stairway to Heaven
Relic Hunter
Tales of the Gold Monkey
Starman
Hard Time on Planet Earth
Fantastic Journey
Robin Hood (1950s series)
Robin of Sherwood
The Tomorrow People (1970s series)
The Tripods (shame they never finished adapting all 3 novels)
Voyagers!
Time Tunnel


Something I read yesterday when looking for information about Darkover: it's been optioned for a TV series (SF/F series by Marion Zimmer Bradley). I have no idea if that's still going forward as the latest information I found is about 2-3 years old. Done properly, it would be fantastic.

 

[Vasquez Rocks]

1. Star Trek: The Next Generation
2. The X-Files
3. The Twilight Zone
4. Star Trek
5. Misfits
6. Firefly
7. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
8. Space: Above and Beyond
9. Quantum Leap
10. Doctor Who
11. Black Mirror
12. Dollhouse
13. Futurama
14. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
15. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
16. The Incredible Hulk
17. The Outer Limits
18. Star Trek: Enterprise
19. Starman
20. Caprica
21. Battlestar Galactica
22. Planet of the Apes
23. ThunderCats
24. Sliders
25. Surface

 

[RAMA]

Only 5 episodes now for The Expanse, but it keeps maintaining it's high level. The latest episode may have been the most complete so far, tying up some loose ends from previous episodes and continues to lay out the mystery.

I have to say this is one of the best looking shows I've seen, putting all of it's $5 million budget out there to see. It's shot mostly in cool blue tones and with photography that shows us more angles than we are used to, taking advantage of it's setting.

The show is already setting a new standard for space shows and scifi to come. I'm still very comfortable with my pick.

 

[RAMA]

Mav Headroom is in my top 40 as well. :-) I just recalled the show a few days ago.

Looking forward to the expanse tonight!

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I don't really have a list but I guess any list but I guess off the top of my head and in no particular order

Babylon 5
Blake's 7
Deep Space 9
TNG
Farscape
Firefly
Buffy
Angel
Doctor Who
Stargate SG1
The X-Files
Red Dwarf

Probably a lot more I'm forgetting though.

 

[WiredPlanet]

I would not rank Expanse - its meh

Wait, Farscape isn't even on the list?

Yes Farscape built the syfy

and Sense-8 ranked so high? JMS and the Wachowskis themselves are critical of Sense-8 saying how our team could have done this better or how we failed here...Sense-8 is like a weird soap version of Quantum leap Freejack/Animatrix. I might return to Sense-8 but I found nothing that really hooked me in the first episodes.

Good to see newcomers like Daredevil make the list, I would not so happy about the comicbook genre but Daredevil is a great show with amazing cast. I don't know why I loved Daredevil, normally the formula or darkness, formula of sex and raw humanity and overdid it to the point of being obnoxious...but for some reason its really, really good in Daredevil...maybe great acting, great writing, great story telling?
Let's rewatch Daredevil.

 

[RAMA]

I would not rank Expanse - its meh

Yes Farscape built the syfy

and Sense-8 ranked so high? JMS and the Wachowskis themselves are critical of Sense-8 saying how our team could have done this better or how we failed here...Sense-8 is like a weird soap version of Quantum leap Freejack/Animatrix. I might return to Sense-8 but I found nothing that really hooked me in the first episodes.

Good to see newcomers like Daredevil make the list, I would not so happy about the comicbook genre but Daredevil is a great show with amazing cast. I don't know why I loved Daredevil, normally the formula or darkness, formula of sex and raw humanity and overdid it to the point of being obnoxious...but for some reason its really, really good in Daredevil...maybe great acting, great writing, great story telling?
Let's rewatch Daredevil.

I saw lots of lists rank Sense8 the number 1 show of the year. I need to see more of it.

Here's a show i've never seen (rare)

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