Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis - got just the right amounts of science and fiction, drama and comedy, campiness and self-awareness, and is the reason I got interested in physics and programming. Undomesticated equines could not remove me from another rewatch.
Stargate was such huge part of my childhood! To this day I remember almost every episode of the original SG1. Atlantis ran on cable which we did not have, so the first time I saw it was later on in my adulthood. Sure, Star Wars, Star Trek, Expanse and BG are all great, but man, SG1 will always be my absolute fave.
Honorable mention goes to Farscape - what a ride that show was!
Yes! I loved Farscape, too, although I was able to only watch one season - but I'm planning to fix it soon. I just recently realized the reason I loved Guardians of the Galaxy so much, is because it reminded me of Farscape - mostly in costume design and team dynamics.
Another, modern show worth a mention, is Travelers, from the same creator as Stargate. Much more serious in tone, grim, even, but still extremely engaging.
Fringe, hands down. An amazing show from start to finish. I also have a soft spot for Warehouse 13, which leans more into the fantastical.
More recently, the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been great, and I'm also looking forward to seeing the second season of Severance.
Fringe was great! Some of its episodes to felt like they leaned more towards fantasy than scifi, but it was good enough to make me finish the entire story in a couple of days. Never heard of Warhouse 13 before, will check it out!
Fringe! It was so interesting I watched it many years after it aired, still holds up today.
I do not really have a favorite. Star Trek DS9 was good. I do like Strange New Worlds, actually. And Silo is surprisingly good aswell. I don't know if that counts necessarily as scifi. But if you're able to check out Severance, you definitely should.
Eureka was pretty fun ... do not expect hardcore scifi. I also like the first season of Star Trek Strange New Worlds.
Have to agree on Eureka. It's really dumb, but super entertaining, and something I can watch over, and over, and over, and it never gets old.
Did you ever see the librarians TV show, thought it had similar vibe to eureka but crossed with warehouse 13
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt3663490/
Basic answer: Firefly. Love it!
The Expanse and Babylon 5. Those two were head and shoulders above anything else.
I think this is a hard question, if you put a gun to my head I would likely choose the 2000's version of Battlestar Galactica even though I don't necessarily feel great about the final episodes. Unless other mini-series that didn't become tv shows aired on the Sci-Fi channel count, then I'd probably pick Frank Herbert's Dune.
I'm definitely in the minority but i didn't like the 2000's version which crammed BG with Terminator. I prefer the original series and story in which the Cylons were a technological remnant of a reptilian race who vanished hundreds of years before they encountered the human race, possibly due to a software bug turning the machines against them. I feel they should have just created their own stories and characters instead.
Since some mainline good stuff is already mentioned, I'll mention something not already said.
I enjoyed Travelers a lot. The budget constraints show at times, but it gets some very different and compelling overtones and images. The Director speaking from outside of time, one sentence at a time through different people about to die of natural causes... evocative stuff right there.
Does Lost count here? That's my favorite, otherwise Farscape or Star Trek in general. I started watching the Expanse, it's really amazing, and I see why people like it, but I like the quirkiness of some of the other shows. Farscape is an extremely fun show to watch.
Star Trek: TNG; Firefly
Hard for me to put the Expanse on there since the books were so much better, that watching the show always felt like a bit of a letdown.
everyone tells me the expanse is great, including in this thread! i don’t have a great way to watch it though. correct me if i’m misremembering, it’s on prime, right?
Yes, its on Amazon Prime.
Can't recall seeing anything better than The Expanse in the last decade. Love, Death & Robots is great, but that's not a typical TV Show. Altered Carbon S01 was ok.
It used to be Trek in in general, DS9 specifically. But The Expanse has definitely taken over that spot in my heart. It's probably not fair though as I'm sure there's not a lot of differentiation in my memory of the novels from the show.
They did a really good job adapting the books. I often conflate the two as well. Only the big changes are the ones that I can remember are different, but most of the changes are subtle.
My favorite change is Drummer. Drummer on the TV show is amazing, but is a combination of characters from the books (mostly: Bull, Drummer, Michio), and those characters from the books were all individual great characters.
I've seen the show completely twice, and the first couple of seasons about four times. I've read through the books only once, but the books are just as memorable. I recommend it all for anyone.
Everything I was going to say has already been mentioned, some numerous times: The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Firefly, Farscape, Fringe, Altered Carbon season 1, Dark Matter, Killjoys, Twelve Monkeys.
So may I offer up Timeless and Warehouse 13? Both character-focussed and on the lighter side, but also dealing occasionally with some pretty deep character arcs. And they were just FUN (especially Warehouse 13).
Also, more recently I really enjoyed The Peripheral (though I would have preferred a proper ending, rather than the dangling threads we were left with - especially since, at the time, we didn't know if there would be a second season).
ETA: Oh, and I haven't seen any Star Wars shows mentioned besides Andor - which was admittedly fantastic. But my favourite Star Wars TV series are SW: Rebels and SW:The Clone Wars. The latter because it added so much depth to Anakin and Obi-Wan, along with many other characters, and also gave us great new characters like Ahsoka and Wrex. And Rebels holds a place in my heart - many of my favourite Star Wars characters come from that series (Hera, Kanan, Sabine... and Chopper!)
Babylon 5 is still one of my most favourite sci-fi series. There is a Babylon 5 animated movie being released soon, B5: The Road Home and i'm dying to see it.
This is a bit too hard. So many shows I loved: Firefly, Fringe, BSG, Expanse, Killjoys, Dark Matter, Night Sky, Silo (only watched 3 episodes so far but read the books, and it’s everything I wanted), Stargate SG1, Stargate Universe, Person of Interest, Helix (S1, not idea WTF S2 even was about :D)
That’s already skipping stuff I liked, but didn’t love :D
Firefly! I adore the Wild West theme mixed with the sci-fi elements. Feels really unique, and it represents what the spacefaring future probably would look like to the average person. Like everyone else, I'm livid it only got one series, even after all these years.
(I even made a magazine for it: https://kbin.social/m/browncoats )
The expanse was fantastic. I also really enjoyed raised by wolves, I was bummed out when it was cancelled after 2 seasons, it was one of the more inventive sci fi shows.
Oh yes, I loved Raised by Wolves too! I was really bummed out when they cancelled the show.
My overall "favorite" is the Expanse as a lot of you apparently agree, but TNG and DS9 have a place of their own.
I want to say that I really enjoyed the remake of Lost in Space, despite the serious "aimed at kids" vibe it has. I think it was a solid production with a lot of nice ideas, in execution if not in originality.
The expanse.
If they don't end up making seasons 7-9, or cover the material in some movies, I am going to be so freaking disappointed.
Tiamets wrath might just be my favorite sci-fi book ever.
I haven't seen the show but I've recently started reading The Expanse. I'm about halfway through the first book, Leviathan Wakes, and stuff is really starting to pick up. I've somehow not spoiled myself on it at all despite it being a hugely popular series and TV show so I'm really looking forward to the next like, 7 books.
Fringe and The Expanse would probably be my all time favorites. Next on the list: 12 Monkeys, Travelers, and naturally three shows that never reached their conclusion - Westworld, Raised by Wolves and for sure I think 1899 would have been a favorite.
Killjoys is a super fun ride - and one of the rare shows that was allowed to FINISH its full story arc (opposed to getting canceled)!
Killjoys and Dark Matter were such guilty pleasures of mine. I know it's all the common sci-fi tropes, I know it's cheesy as hell at times, but it was the perfect show to just relax with in the evenings and have some fun.
I also do love Expanse but sometimes you just want something that doesn't take itself that seriously. I miss having sci-fi shows like that.
Babylon 5 is my top pick. If you can get past the aging, low-budget visuals and corny dialogue, you will find a wonderfully crafted show. It can be hard to get into initially, but there is a huge payoff imo.
It'll always be The X-Files.
I'm partial to the big classics, like Star Trek, Doctor Who, that kind of thing, nothing particularly new or niche, but they are nice and cozy.
It is a very tough choice, but Deep Space 9 just can't ever seem to leave my top spot.
Oh, I recommend Upload on Amazon prime too - there are 2 seasons of it now.
Recently, The Expanse.
I've always had a soft spot for Farscape though. It was quite excellent.
The Prisoner. No doubt about it. I taped that whole series on audio cassettes with a Radio Shack portable recorder in the 1970s. It's the ultimate cult show.
Sadly, it is mostly unknown to modern audiences. I cosplayed as The Prisoner for several years at a regional SF convention, and only one person recognized me - but from the Simpsons parody rather than the original show!
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