How can a CSI show be underrated?
He means critically. It's not a case of these shows not being popular or highly rated, as several of them certainly are or were, but the shows on that list often don't get a lot of respect, either from the general public (CSI is often considered a "guilty pleasure" which is a backhanded compliment if ever there was one) or by fans (Enterprise being the poster child - we're just now starting to hear from people discovering ENT for the first time whose opinions aren't colored by the hatred for the "Killer Bs" and other issues that doomed the show before it even aired an episode.)
I can't argue too much with that list. I definitely agree that The Prisoner remake was not only underrated but underappreciated. It turned out 1000x better than I'd expected, and this is coming from someone who was in the "they should never remake it" camp and who still considers the original the best TV series ever produced. It dropped the ball in many places, and I'm not 100% sold on the casting of Number 6 (I was rooting for Christopher Eccleston, who was rumored as being in the running), but it was a lot better than I expected and it wasn't a remake, but a reimagining, which is the only way such a project could or should be undertaken.
I'd say Enterprise as a whole falls into the underrated category. It had no greater percentage of bad episodes than TNG or DS9, but it had the bad luck of coming at a time when the fan base was wanting a divorce from the then-current production regime, and nothing could have been done to save it, or the TV franchise at this point, IMO. The irony of course is Enterprise's "failure" (note quotes: no SF series that survives 4 complete seasons on American network TV can be considered a failure) opened the door for the JJ Abrams reboot. Which in many ways was far more controversial than a dozen "A Night in Sickbay"-style episodes.
I'm also going to add Doctor Who to the list. This even though the show is one of the most critically acclaimed SF series of the last 20 years, has garnered a stack of BAFTA and Hugo awards (to name just two), and has attracted writers of no less calibre than Neil Gaiman and Richard Curtis (not to mention Michael Moorcock and Brian Aldiss in the literary arena). (And I'm not even going into the "classic" era series for which the likes of Douglas Adams and Stephen Gallagher wrote). Despite all this, you still get people dismissing it as "just a kids show", and reviews often take the wind out of DW's sails by harping about "campy" special effects, etc. DW is a weird duck because it's managing to attract huge ratings, massive acclaim and awards, yet at the same time massive amounts of disrespect from certain quarters, perhaps due to (cue Craig Ferguson) the fact it emphasizes intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism.
Alex
