Amen! Don't diss fluffy. 'Else I'm gonna hafta sic zombie-Douglas Adams on yo' ass!
What's a good sci fi show to watch NOW?
- Thread starter ReadyAndWilling
- Start date
Amen! Don't diss fluffy. 'Else I'm gonna hafta sic zombie-Douglas Adams on yo' ass!
ReadyAndWilling
Fleet Captain
anything else out there now?
Well, you just missed The Walking Dead. It's not exactly s.f., but a zombie thread deserves a zombie show. 
Any of the ST series available on NetFlix. I'm currently cherry picking the best of DS9 whenever I get a chance and am bored with regular TV and politics.
Well, you just missed The Walking Dead. It's not exactly s.f., but a zombie thread deserves a zombie show.
The plague was caused by a virus and studied by CDC scientists. That's certainly enough to qualify it as sci fi.
Other than that, I'm enjoying Awake (which is one of those shows that "could be" sci fi but are being coy about it). Not sure if the ratings will hold up. Catch it quick if you can.
Fringe, for X-Files type drama. The first season is very shaky but it improves greatly in season 2. There's alternate universes, mad scientists, corporate conspiracies, monsters, mutants, and most importantly.........Walter.
Supernatural. A fantasy/horror show. If you liked Buffy, or X-Files, you will probably like this. Again, the first season is very uneven, but it improves steadily and the supporting cast are excellent. There is also some great humor alongside the angst and horror, which balances things nicely.
Walking Dead. More horror than Scifi, but it is, to my surprise, one of the best shows out there right now--and this is coming from someone who thinks the whole Zombie genre is downright stupid. This show is really, really well made and riveting.
For sweet and fluffy, Warehouse 13 and Eureka. I find Eureka a bit too repetitive with many of the plots but the character development is rather good. Warehouse 13 is a bit sillier but there is great chemistry with the cast and it has a real charm to it.
Doctor Who. I've loved WHO since I was a kid, so it's hard for me to objective. It's Scifi, fantasy, part children's show, part grown up drama. There's a certain Tom-Baker quality to Matt Smith's Doctor that I really enjoy. It's certainly epic in scale.
Awake just started on NBC. I'm only a few episodes in but the alternate "realites" are fairly interesting and the lead is certainly interesting to watch.
Supernatural. A fantasy/horror show. If you liked Buffy, or X-Files, you will probably like this. Again, the first season is very uneven, but it improves steadily and the supporting cast are excellent. There is also some great humor alongside the angst and horror, which balances things nicely.
Walking Dead. More horror than Scifi, but it is, to my surprise, one of the best shows out there right now--and this is coming from someone who thinks the whole Zombie genre is downright stupid. This show is really, really well made and riveting.
For sweet and fluffy, Warehouse 13 and Eureka. I find Eureka a bit too repetitive with many of the plots but the character development is rather good. Warehouse 13 is a bit sillier but there is great chemistry with the cast and it has a real charm to it.
Doctor Who. I've loved WHO since I was a kid, so it's hard for me to objective. It's Scifi, fantasy, part children's show, part grown up drama. There's a certain Tom-Baker quality to Matt Smith's Doctor that I really enjoy. It's certainly epic in scale.
Awake just started on NBC. I'm only a few episodes in but the alternate "realites" are fairly interesting and the lead is certainly interesting to watch.
Well, Awake's ratings have not held up, falling 25% from an already sketchy level.
If you need to know that a story has a conclusion before you jump in, avoid this one, it's doomed. I guess there's the outside possibility NBC might movie it to Fridays where a small cultish sci fi series can thrive, but odds are against it. NBC will probably clear the space for a new pilot instead. They've got a lot of genre shows lined up for 2012-13.
Grimm is also fantasy, and also good. Less expansive than OUAT, but more focused.
If you need to know that a story has a conclusion before you jump in, avoid this one, it's doomed. I guess there's the outside possibility NBC might movie it to Fridays where a small cultish sci fi series can thrive, but odds are against it. NBC will probably clear the space for a new pilot instead. They've got a lot of genre shows lined up for 2012-13.
Grimm is also fantasy, and also good. Less expansive than OUAT, but more focused.
NBC sure has struggled with sci-fi fantasy, you're right. With the exception of Hero's in the last decade they've have just failed in the genre.
For the network that first ran the original Star Trek they are miserable at sci-fi.
NBC has struggled, period. Their first drama renewal of the year was sf/f - Grimm. And they've got a bunch of genre pilots lined up, so they aren't giving up on it.
NBC's problem is that almost everything they try flops. Period drama (Playboy Club), cop show (Prime Suspect), and lawyer shows (Harry's Law, The Firm).
ABC is doing a little better, and with OUAT doing so well, they're piling up the fantasy pilots (though nothing that's definitely sci fi). Here's what both have got cooking:
NBC's problem is that almost everything they try flops. Period drama (Playboy Club), cop show (Prime Suspect), and lawyer shows (Harry's Law, The Firm).
ABC is doing a little better, and with OUAT doing so well, they're piling up the fantasy pilots (though nothing that's definitely sci fi). Here's what both have got cooking:
So, it looks like they still haven't gotten over trying to imitate Lost, but besides the continuing fairy tale influence, I can see resonances of successful cable series here - The Walking Dead and American Horror Story. Even Caprica? Plus the inevitable remakes.
ReadyAndWilling
Fleet Captain
i've been thinking about watching heroes as i hear it's a great show. is it worth checking out? does it have a continuing plot like DS9?
Yes, continuing plot, S1 is a complete story, with room open to continue in S2. S1 is excellent, the other seasons are not as good, though contain alot of the same great characters. So, yea, try out S1, if you love it, try out S2, if S2 doesn't work for you then, no loss, just stop watching, as you got a pretty full story in S1. I personally think, S4 finally started being the show back around to goodness. I think S2 and S3 do have some really good stuff in them, but, they also have have some not really great stuff in them.
The first season is pretty good, with a continuing story. I would recommend that you stop after that. No, STRONGLY recommend.
^ I would strongly advise only season 1 as well. Strongly Advise---as in "I strongly advise you not to drink and drive."
Out of curiosity, as I've never watched Heroes, what would you say was the biggest reason behind the failings of the latter seasons? Was it because the show's creator was less involved?
-Jamman
I watched Heroes all four seasons, mainly because I liked the characters. S1 was the only definitely good season, so play it by ear. You might be like me, and see things in it that compensate for the bad-to-awful writing.
I don't know why the show fell off a cliff so abruptly in S2, but I couldn't help noticing that that corresponds to when Bryan Fuller left. Looking at Fuller's other shows, I've noticed he's quite a good writer. Looking at Kring's other shows (Touch for instance), I notice he's not a very good writer. So that leads to the logical conclusion that Fuller was the essential ingredient in S1.
I don't know why the show fell off a cliff so abruptly in S2, but I couldn't help noticing that that corresponds to when Bryan Fuller left. Looking at Fuller's other shows, I've noticed he's quite a good writer. Looking at Kring's other shows (Touch for instance), I notice he's not a very good writer. So that leads to the logical conclusion that Fuller was the essential ingredient in S1.
There was a writer's strike that cut the second season in half. The DVD set for season two showed that they were just ramping up to an epic storyline, but they brought it to a quick close.
Season three was just plain goofy. It was all over the place, with no real sense of direction at all. I liked the second half much better, when they were all being hunted by the government as fugitives.
I agree that season four felt like the the show was getting back some of its first season mojo...and then it was cancelled. Oh well.
Sean
Basically, season one was an example of everything that is good about arc-based storytelling. From then on, for whatever reason, it was an example of everything that's wrong with arc-based storytelling; it was an increasingly confused and directionless mess.
ReadyAndWilling
Fleet Captain
wow, it's that bad?
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