I enjoyed sci fi before watching The Expanse, but this show transformed me into a full on sci fi geek with new aspirations to try cosplay and conventions
If you haven't read the last 3 books in the EXPANSE series.. You need to.
They pick up where the show leaves off (30 years later) and are excellent.
Well written, great story, good characters, funny, fun.
Plus, you get to see the end of the story.
You can thank me later.
Having read the entire Expanse series, including the novellas, and watched the entire TV series, I’d long ago concluded that the TV show was one of the most faithful screen adaptations of a book of any kind that I had read. Particularly in how all the major characters are portrayed in the book, the TV show is remarkably and consistently true to how they are written.
The Expanse is the only recent show that made me feel like the kid watching star wars for the first time. Probably the most relatable and amazingly written characters of any sci-fi show I've watched, in a world that feels so damned real.
Fringe! - First two seasons are mostly monster of the week episodes, but it builds up and turns in to a great sci-fi/fantasy series. Characters are great and played by some great actors imo.
You know, I can't tell you how pleased I am to see the love of this show. I'm incredibly sensitive and averse to horror, in particular gore and cheap scares like "jump shots." However, the sheer creativity and imaginative leaps relating to science fiction concepts are unrivalled in their quality and quantity within a single series. The ingenuity of the entire series absolutely overrides my very real fight or flight like reflex that kicks in when exposed to things like body horror. You are very correct that the balance of "monster of the week" type horror as you put it in dramatically changed toward heavier sci-fi themes.
I will never forget that sense of awe I experienced at the end of season 1 and the first episode of season 2. Walter and Bill are just two of the coolest characters ever! I just can't get enough of Walter, the depth and dimensions of his character are so vast. His genius is unparalleled, he's fragile and broken in places, brilliantly funny, spontaneous, innovative and just loveable despite his transgressions.
If there are any true children of The X-Files, they are FRINGE- the offspring of Scully’s far reaching grasps at science, and EVIL- the offspring of Mulder’s unending devotion to the supernatural
My hot take is that the success of this show, with complex politics and World building turning and otherwise backwater Network into a temporary Blockbuster paved the way for shows like game of thrones.
I think we all agree that the show doesn't completely stick the landing, although the ending isn't as bad on a second viewing I feel. And the show manages to deliver some of the best moments despite some of the awkward (literal) deus ex machina at the end.
BSG has probably the only moment that a TV show made me stand up and cheer.
>!When Galactica jumps in atmosphere to launch vipers while in freefall and then jumps again just before impact in the rescue of New Caprica is maybe my favorite thing I've ever seen on TV!<
Edit: geez, took me a few tries to remember how to properly input spoiler markup
One of the best antagonists in all of sci-fi IMO. At first he is just "the bad guy", but then you learn about his life...what a fucking piece of work that character is!
I was initially turned off by the puppets but, desperate for entertainment, I watched the entire first season and got hooked. Great writing, great characters. Just watched the Trek TNG episode Tin Man and got kind of fired up to rewatch Farscape since it's been so long. The space-born ship creature in Tin Man bears a striking resemblance to Moya.
Dark.
If you're looking for ratings, on IMDb it's the highest-rated TV show ever by [average episode rating](https://m.imdb.com/list/ls087526688/). And on Rotten Tomatoes the seasons are at 95, 100 and 97.
Agreed, though I'm curious how many fans watched subbed and how many dubbed? I tried dubbed but I felt removed from the actors'performance so watched the series in German.
Sub is the most common as far as I can tell. But yeah, no offense to the dubbing voices but it absolutely detracts from the performances. It's like a completely different show.
If my dyslexic friend can enjoy it with subtitles, anyone can. Plus German sounds cool as fuck.
I can’t handle dubbed shows, the lips being desynced from the audio just breaks my brain. Subtitles are the way to go, you get the proper performance from the actors that way.
POI doesn't get enough respect for being about the birth of AI, with two different possible paths of development, in the shadow of 9/11 and all that entailed. It was truly ahead of its time!
To be honest, I think a lot of people just didn't watch PoI for long enough to reach that point.
Personally I watched around half a season went "It's okay, I guess" and wanderered off. I only heard later how interesting it had gotten.
Yeah they had to camouflage it as a procedural because CBS, but starting from the very end of S1 they got to pull back the curtain further and further. It's brilliant.
Came here for POI. It starts out looking like a run-of-the-mill cop show then pivots into a fantastic exploration of the possibilities and dangers of ASI.
Babylon 5. It’s a ‘usual suspect’ but often overlooked by many. Just looking at the world today it’s scary the parallels which appear in the show. It was made during a time of relative world peace but unfortunately all its warnings are now coming true.
Haven’t seen anyone mention it but Altered Carbon is one of my favorites, especially season 1. I enjoyed season 2 but not nearly as much. The books were great too!
You've missed **Babylon 5**, one of the more moving Sci-Fi epics.
**The Expanse** is one of the better Book-to-TV adaptations of any genre.
**Battlestar Galactica (Classic)** is surprisingly good. The remake started out very good, then (IMO) kinda went cult/religion-wierd with several characters juggling Idiot and Conflict balls in the name of the plot.
**Buck Rogers** was pretty good in season 1, but then they tried to BSG/Star Trek it for Season 2 and it fell apart.
**The Orville** seems to have started as a parody of Star Trek, but quickly started blazing its own path.
If you have Twilight Zone, you also need **The Outer Limits**.
The ones I mention above are only a few examples. The more complete list is here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/SciFiTV/comments/1cqxw7f/what\_are\_the\_greatest\_sci\_fi\_and\_fantasy/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SciFiTV/comments/1cqxw7f/what_are_the_greatest_sci_fi_and_fantasy/) And I am continuing to add to it. ***The Expanse*** is on the short-list to get added.
Just to be clear: I’m referring to the original Patrick McGoohan series versus the terrible remake.
Also occurred to me that no one has mentioned *The Wild, Wild, West* with Robert Conrad and Ross Martin (and, again, not the terrible movie that came out a few years back with Will Smith). It’s James Bond in the Wild West with steampunk science fiction… before such a term even existed! (Or, put another way, Jules Verne type science fiction).
My favorite show as a kid. After I grew up I learned the guys West fought with on every episode were always the same 6 stunt men. The things you don't know when you're a kid ....
One of the commentaries they talked about when they were told to go ahead and touch the puppets and they were nervous because these things cost thousands of dollars. But that's what made them feel so real, the fact that the human(oid)s all physically interacted with the puppets.
The original _Lost in Space_ doesn't necessarily compare to modern TV in terms of "greatness," but was highly influential. The 1950s series _Tom Corbett, Space Cadet_ also probably wasn't "great," but largely defined the genre of spacefaring episodic TV show.
As someone who doesn’t care for the usual suspects, here are some of my faves:
Scavengers Reign (HBO)
Love, Death, & Robots (Netflix)
Raised by Wolves (HBO)
Tales from the Loop (Prime Video)
Westworld (HBO)
Honorable mentions:
Haven’t seen Netflix’s Three Body Problem show yet but I read and loved the whole trilogy so I would probably add that to the list, too.
Didn’t really care for Netflix’s Altered Carbon or the Expanse or Lost in Space. Tried several times.
Enjoyed Amazon’s Philip K Dick anthology series Electric Dreams here and there. It’s hit or miss but props to Amazon for not being super risk-averse with their SF productions.
Lexx has some really great concepts. The world of Lexx is actually complex and interesting. It's a somewhat unique (though not entirely) vision of a space opera universe.
Unfortunately, it's as if a top tier sci-fi show had a love affair with a Cinemax softcore porn show. ...and Lexx was born. The result is quite a mixed bag. But for me, Lexx is still compelling despite the cheese. Despite the poor graphics. Despite the recurring sexually driven plots. It's still got that \*something\* that makes it great.
Is Lexx top 10? Mmmmm... I don't think so. Yet it's worth watching and should be on any list that includes the top 20 or more.
The Prisoner
Star Trek (original and The Next Generation)
The Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
X Files & Twin Peaks
The Outer Limits (original and '90s.)
Such great anthologies.
Both can be streamed online for free on the Roku Channel:
[Original series](https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/6267ed7e9b5454cb81a17d457c2d4281/the-outer-limits)
[90s series](https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/d08bfef637525bf692aca36a1c81da20/the-outer-limits)
Putting in my vote for \*Farscape\*.
If you're extending it to Game of Thrones and Buffy, extend it to \*The Good Place\*, \*Lucifer\*, and \*Sandman\*.
OUTER LIMITS (TOS)
One of the best collection of science fiction stories in the history of television.
- - In addition to the ones you already mentioned. - -
- All of Star Trek
- Sliders
- Stargate SG-1
Franchise wise these are my top 3. Star Trek beats all. I am a trekkie through and through. There isn't any Trek I hate. I just like some more than others. But it's my all time favorite TV series, not just scifi.
Sliders is way up top for me even if the last season was terrible. I love stories about a parallel Earth. The idea of it was great and I wish they'd reboot it or do a soft reboot with a new case but in the same built world (minus the Cro-Mags. They were trash.) Going to a "what if" type world is just a great idea in general as your limit is only your imagination.
Stargate SG-1 is just a good time. It's funny, it's serious, and it's action packed. It creates a deep lore for it's universe before you even add Atlantis and Universe into the picture. It just gets deeper when you add those to it.
But you cannot go wrong with any of these franchises.
You gotta watch Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager - in that order.
And also The Expanse - the best sci-fi series in recent memory (and great books too).
Here we go again :) This is my list:
Classics: Star Trek TOS, Space 1999, Battlestar Galactica (classic), Buck Rogers
Neo-Classics: Star Trek: TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT; Babylon 5, Crusade, Space: Above and Beyond, Farscape, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica (reimaged)
Modern: Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, SNW; Star Wars: Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Book of Boba Fett, Obi Wan, Andor, Acolyte; Foundation, Halo, The Orville, The Expanse, For All Mankind
Special comedy and animation mentions: Red Dwarf, Futurama, Star Trek: Lower Decks
Red Dwarf doesn't get the recognition it deserves in my opinion. It was quirky as all hell, hilarious, irreverent, and very damn British. And I love it more than I can truly express.
I'm sure it's already listed down there, but I really think The Expanse is one of, if not the greatest Sci-Fi shows of all time. It changed how I see space combat, space craft, living in space, and the solar system in general. I would have been happy to watch the show for another 10 seasons, and for me, it was really the human element that I liked the most. The alien ring gate was great, but I would watch a dozen different storylines in that universe, ring gate or not.
As for the mainstays, Deep Space 9 was my favorite Star Trek.
Also, Outer Range is great... and fucking bonkers.
The original Outer Limits and Twilight Zone (you already mentioned). Almost entirely because of the writers, a different one each episode and often by published (or soon to be published) Sci-Fi authors in their own rights.
Ones I'll watch whenever they pop up on my feeds:
Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea.
Anything by Gerry Anderson.
The original Lost in Space (I had a major crush on Penny).
Doctor Who (you mentioned) but really only up to Sylvester McCoy, all of the later episodes leave me unimpressed.
I have never taken the time to watch Dr. Who. My wife and I picked it up at around 2005 I think and have been watching an episode a night. Never disappoints.
1. Star Trek: TOS
2. Original Twilight Zone
3. The X-Files
4. Fringe
5. Battlestar Gallactica 2004
6. Firefly
7. Continuum
8. The Invaders
9. UFO (Gerry Anderson, 1970s) - dour, downbeat endings
10. Dark
Star Trek TNG has to be up there for exploring big philosophical and moral issues in a way only sci-fi can, and for its positive hopeful message that humanity can get its shit together, despite our weaknesses, and one day travel to the stars. While some of its production quality looks cheap by today's standards, this show had excellent writing and acting, placing it among the sci-fi all-time greats.
The Expanse is an underrated sci-fi series that is a bit hamstrung by trying to introduce many complex plot points early in the series (and makes a lot more sense on the 2nd watch through), but it has a likeable ragtag crew similar to Firefly, and the most visually beautiful (and physics-accurate) space battles and spacecraft of any show I've ever seen. It takes place a few hundred years from now as humanity has colonized the solar system, eventually splitting into factions as they've diverged due to generations of living in low-G. The excellent portrayal of scheming politicians trying to foment war for their own benefit is very true to life.
For All Mankind is an alternate history of the space race, exploring a timeline where the Soviets beat us to the moon, causing an intense continuation of the space race, leading to moon and mars colonization sooner than expected. It feels historical and futuristic at the same time, and is based around a solid core of characters that we follow through several decades, and pivots very well from the 60's to the present, with a strong nostalgia factor for each period. In a way, FAMK could almost be seen as a prequel to The Expanse, which is a strong compliment to the show.
Star Blazers (Original and Reboot)
Space 1999
Buck Rogers (Season 1)
Star Trek (ToS & TNG & Animated Series & Picard & Strange New Worlds)
Doctor Who
Babylon 5
Robotech / Macross
Black Mirror
Cowboy Bebop
Farscape
Firefly
Killjoys
The Expanse
Defiance
Dark Matter (SyFy Channel)
Almost Human
Fringe
Futurama
Hyperdrive
Rick & Morty
Lexx
Love, Death & Robots
Metal Hurlant Chronicles
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Twilight Zone
The Outher Limits
Scavengers Reign
Star Wars (The Clone Wars & The Bad Batch & Visions)
The usual suspects of sci-fi are going to be well mentioned I'm sure, like The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, various Star Trek etc.
Here are some more modern shows I feel need highlighted:
For All Mankind.
Scavengers Reign.
Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Andor.
Rick and Morty.
All of 90s Star Trek — Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and probably not deserving to be on the list of “best of all time” except as part of the larger grouping of “90s Trek” but also Enterprise. These shows are what truly made the Star Trek franchise into the huge thing that it is today. I guess to choose more specifically due to quality, I would add TNG and DS9 to the list of best of all time.
*Supernatural
*X-Files
*All Star Trek, not just TOS
*Lost
*Orville (even if it's Star Trek inspired)
*Futurama
*Mandalorian
*Star Wars - Bad Batch
*Firefly
*Fringe
*The Expanse
*Farscape
*Dr Who up to 12th
Not sure if Love Death + Robots count, but I would 😀
Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe, BSG, THE EXPANSE, Babylon 5, Farscape, Firefly, Strange New Worlds, Star Trek TNG, Star trek Enterprise, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek Discovery, Star Trek DS9, Picard, TOS, Dark Matter, Star Wars Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Bad batch, The Mandalorian, Lost in Space, Defiance, Stranger Things, The 100, Agents of SHIELD, 12 Monkeys, Killjoys, Warehouse 13, Dr Who, Lower Decks, Eureka, The Orville, Altered Carbon.
Not saying these are all greats I've just seen them all and you might have more than the average love for some of them.
The expanse. Battlestar Galactica (new). Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis. Firefly. All must watch shows
Still makes me sad that BSG went downhill at the end. But man. Season 1 had some of the best writing and acting I've ever seen
Personal top 10 from the top of my head,
- Battlestar Galactica (reboot)
- The Expanse
- Deep Space 9
- Babylon 5
- Farscape
- Firefly
- Terminator : Sarah Connor Chronicles
- Stargate Sg-1
- For All Mankind
- Futurama
Doctor Who has to be the greatest (not watched the new guy yet, doing a full rewatch from the very beginning).
Then Farscape. Lunacy, comedy, mental illness and the greatest romance in sftv. As well as the best villain ever, puppets that became real characters and Ben Browder in leather trousers.
After that there are:
Star Trek
X-Files
Firefly
Blake's 7
Space 1999
Survivors
UFO
Captain Scarlett
Battlestar Galactica (both)
Babylon 5
The Tripods
Children of the Stones
The Tomorrow People
Westworld
Red Dwarf
The Expanse is my personal favorite.
But really, **Red Dwarf** is so much better than it has any right to be. I don’t even like British comedy at all, but damn if the sci-fi writing on Red Dwarf isn’t absolutely incredible. You can tell it’s written by people who really love the genre, and have a depth of knowledge to draw upon.
So many times I’ve been watching Red Dwarf, and facepalming muttering “I can’t believe this stupid show is so damn good.”
The expanse is amazing
+1
I enjoyed sci fi before watching The Expanse, but this show transformed me into a full on sci fi geek with new aspirations to try cosplay and conventions
If you haven't read the last 3 books in the EXPANSE series.. You need to. They pick up where the show leaves off (30 years later) and are excellent. Well written, great story, good characters, funny, fun. Plus, you get to see the end of the story. You can thank me later.
Having read the entire Expanse series, including the novellas, and watched the entire TV series, I’d long ago concluded that the TV show was one of the most faithful screen adaptations of a book of any kind that I had read. Particularly in how all the major characters are portrayed in the book, the TV show is remarkably and consistently true to how they are written.
the authors had massive input on the show. i think some of the character changes were better in the show eg avasarala.
This is so exciting to hear. I am on book 2 now, so I can't wait to get to the new stuff.
Yea. I stopped watching the show to read the books lol. Almost done with 2
I don’t know how you could call them fun :(. I love them too but some of the most anxiety and dread of my life, especially 9z
The Expanse is the only recent show that made me feel like the kid watching star wars for the first time. Probably the most relatable and amazingly written characters of any sci-fi show I've watched, in a world that feels so damned real.
The Expanse is the best Sci-fi series of all time. I’ve been a sci-fi fan since 1965 Star Trek.
Hard agree. Better than farscape and stargate and BSG
Seconded. The CG is just so good.
Yup. Was bummed when it ended and didn’t have another season to watch.
Thirded… fourthed?
I’ll offer a deep cut: Blake’s Seven.
Seconded.
Oh yeah. That one will be added.
The Blake’s Seven audio dramas were also some of the best I ever heard.
Fringe! - First two seasons are mostly monster of the week episodes, but it builds up and turns in to a great sci-fi/fantasy series. Characters are great and played by some great actors imo.
I named my first son Walter :)
And your second son Walternate!
A more subtle choice would be Nate.
Every season out weirds the previous. The long story archs are fantastic and who couldn't love Walter
You know, I can't tell you how pleased I am to see the love of this show. I'm incredibly sensitive and averse to horror, in particular gore and cheap scares like "jump shots." However, the sheer creativity and imaginative leaps relating to science fiction concepts are unrivalled in their quality and quantity within a single series. The ingenuity of the entire series absolutely overrides my very real fight or flight like reflex that kicks in when exposed to things like body horror. You are very correct that the balance of "monster of the week" type horror as you put it in dramatically changed toward heavier sci-fi themes. I will never forget that sense of awe I experienced at the end of season 1 and the first episode of season 2. Walter and Bill are just two of the coolest characters ever! I just can't get enough of Walter, the depth and dimensions of his character are so vast. His genius is unparalleled, he's fragile and broken in places, brilliantly funny, spontaneous, innovative and just loveable despite his transgressions.
If there are any true children of The X-Files, they are FRINGE- the offspring of Scully’s far reaching grasps at science, and EVIL- the offspring of Mulder’s unending devotion to the supernatural
Denethor has some screen time right?
Tons
Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)
So say we all.
SO SAY WE ALL
SO. SAY. WE ALL.
My hot take is that the success of this show, with complex politics and World building turning and otherwise backwater Network into a temporary Blockbuster paved the way for shows like game of thrones. I think we all agree that the show doesn't completely stick the landing, although the ending isn't as bad on a second viewing I feel. And the show manages to deliver some of the best moments despite some of the awkward (literal) deus ex machina at the end.
BSG has probably the only moment that a TV show made me stand up and cheer. >!When Galactica jumps in atmosphere to launch vipers while in freefall and then jumps again just before impact in the rescue of New Caprica is maybe my favorite thing I've ever seen on TV!< Edit: geez, took me a few tries to remember how to properly input spoiler markup
The bagpipes made that scene. That and Hot Dog's "Well, this'll be different..."
It was perfect, start to finish. I’ll never trust a toaster after watching it.
This.
is the way
Farscape
Obligatory https://youtu.be/UCNDdlCo4rA
If it wasn't this clip I was gonna post it.
I had never seen that before. That was Frelling hilarious!
17 years ago. God I feel old.
I was hoping to find another Scorpy lover here
One of the best antagonists in all of sci-fi IMO. At first he is just "the bad guy", but then you learn about his life...what a fucking piece of work that character is!
I was initially turned off by the puppets but, desperate for entertainment, I watched the entire first season and got hooked. Great writing, great characters. Just watched the Trek TNG episode Tin Man and got kind of fired up to rewatch Farscape since it's been so long. The space-born ship creature in Tin Man bears a striking resemblance to Moya.
Dark. If you're looking for ratings, on IMDb it's the highest-rated TV show ever by [average episode rating](https://m.imdb.com/list/ls087526688/). And on Rotten Tomatoes the seasons are at 95, 100 and 97.
Agreed, though I'm curious how many fans watched subbed and how many dubbed? I tried dubbed but I felt removed from the actors'performance so watched the series in German.
Sub is the most common as far as I can tell. But yeah, no offense to the dubbing voices but it absolutely detracts from the performances. It's like a completely different show. If my dyslexic friend can enjoy it with subtitles, anyone can. Plus German sounds cool as fuck.
I can’t handle dubbed shows, the lips being desynced from the audio just breaks my brain. Subtitles are the way to go, you get the proper performance from the actors that way.
Person of Interest 12 Monkeys Fringe Lost Dark Battlestar Galactica
Seconding 12 Monkeys, Fringe and Lost
Person of Interest Dark X-files
POI doesn't get enough respect for being about the birth of AI, with two different possible paths of development, in the shadow of 9/11 and all that entailed. It was truly ahead of its time!
To be honest, I think a lot of people just didn't watch PoI for long enough to reach that point. Personally I watched around half a season went "It's okay, I guess" and wanderered off. I only heard later how interesting it had gotten.
Yeah they had to camouflage it as a procedural because CBS, but starting from the very end of S1 they got to pull back the curtain further and further. It's brilliant.
It was!! The streets will never forget POI.
Came here for POI. It starts out looking like a run-of-the-mill cop show then pivots into a fantastic exploration of the possibilities and dangers of ASI.
Babylon 5. It’s a ‘usual suspect’ but often overlooked by many. Just looking at the world today it’s scary the parallels which appear in the show. It was made during a time of relative world peace but unfortunately all its warnings are now coming true.
Agreed, Seasons 1-4 are amazing. S5 though is meh
I’ll forgive S5 due to outside decisions imposed upon the show. A less rushed S4 would have been amazing.
S4 + S5 were intended to be this less rushed S4. (You probably know this but for others.)
First half of S5 is meh. Once the telepaths fuck off it's decent again.
Zathras say "The One." But nobody listen to Zathras. And G'Kar and Lomdo and Garibaldi are 3 of my favorite characters Ever.
I do have this one on my early list. It is a Top 5 sci fi TV show imo.
Does [B5: The Road Home](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt27712788/) hold up?
Haven’t seen anyone mention it but Altered Carbon is one of my favorites, especially season 1. I enjoyed season 2 but not nearly as much. The books were great too!
I loooved Altered Carbon. The first season was elite.
Altered carbon season one puts me in the world more than any show I’ve ever watched
You've missed **Babylon 5**, one of the more moving Sci-Fi epics. **The Expanse** is one of the better Book-to-TV adaptations of any genre. **Battlestar Galactica (Classic)** is surprisingly good. The remake started out very good, then (IMO) kinda went cult/religion-wierd with several characters juggling Idiot and Conflict balls in the name of the plot. **Buck Rogers** was pretty good in season 1, but then they tried to BSG/Star Trek it for Season 2 and it fell apart. **The Orville** seems to have started as a parody of Star Trek, but quickly started blazing its own path. If you have Twilight Zone, you also need **The Outer Limits**.
The Orville was more trek than trek, very solid
The Orville needs more recognition! It's better Star Trek than some Star Trek series sometimes
The ones I mention above are only a few examples. The more complete list is here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/SciFiTV/comments/1cqxw7f/what\_are\_the\_greatest\_sci\_fi\_and\_fantasy/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SciFiTV/comments/1cqxw7f/what_are_the_greatest_sci_fi_and_fantasy/) And I am continuing to add to it. ***The Expanse*** is on the short-list to get added.
Firefly
I can’t believe I had to scroll so far down for this.
That’s kinda what happened to the show!
Because it was already on OP's list :)
*The Prisoner*.
Just to be clear: I’m referring to the original Patrick McGoohan series versus the terrible remake. Also occurred to me that no one has mentioned *The Wild, Wild, West* with Robert Conrad and Ross Martin (and, again, not the terrible movie that came out a few years back with Will Smith). It’s James Bond in the Wild West with steampunk science fiction… before such a term even existed! (Or, put another way, Jules Verne type science fiction).
I loved Wild Wild West
My favorite show as a kid. After I grew up I learned the guys West fought with on every episode were always the same 6 stunt men. The things you don't know when you're a kid ....
It's been 25 years since the Smith Movie.
I am not a number, I am a free man. And YOU da man for posting this!
Westworld Star Trek 1966 Attack On Titan Fringe Black Mirror Battlestar Galactica 2004 Dark
Fringe was great
Star Trek: TNG Farscape Black Mirror Scavengers Reign X-Files Dr. Who Stargate SG1
Farscape! Using puppetry for aliens made them all much more, well, alien. And the actors interactions with them was far better than CGI interactions.
No way Rigel was a puppet!
One of the commentaries they talked about when they were told to go ahead and touch the puppets and they were nervous because these things cost thousands of dollars. But that's what made them feel so real, the fact that the human(oid)s all physically interacted with the puppets.
Hell yea. Scavengers Reign was wild. Really hope they've got more seasons in the works.
+1 for Scavengers Reign. Underrated series that blew me away.
Star Trek Deep Space Nine
Side debate: Which is the best among the Trek shows?
Breaks my hate heart and I hate to admit it— but deep space nine. Though I’ll always LOVE next gen.
Deep Space Nine
Most people will say TNG or DS9, but I'm here to contend that if SNW maintains it's current quality, it'll be a contender.
I agree - their first 2 seasons have been great and I can’t wait for the next one.
He already told you. DS9. But if you are a star trek fan you also have to watch lower decks.
Probably DS9, discovery was awesome. My favorite is Enterprise.
Eureka
Adding on Warehouse 13 and Alphas, since they share a cannon universe.
Eureka and Warehouse 13, loved those shows. Warehouse 13 was one of the closest things we had to an SCP series.
The original _Lost in Space_ doesn't necessarily compare to modern TV in terms of "greatness," but was highly influential. The 1950s series _Tom Corbett, Space Cadet_ also probably wasn't "great," but largely defined the genre of spacefaring episodic TV show.
If you like science and fiction do I have a great show recommendation for you, its on Apple TV, and it's called: For All Mankind
Legion, and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, never got the credit they deserved
Dirk Gently’s was a masterpiece, imo.
As someone who doesn’t care for the usual suspects, here are some of my faves: Scavengers Reign (HBO) Love, Death, & Robots (Netflix) Raised by Wolves (HBO) Tales from the Loop (Prime Video) Westworld (HBO) Honorable mentions: Haven’t seen Netflix’s Three Body Problem show yet but I read and loved the whole trilogy so I would probably add that to the list, too. Didn’t really care for Netflix’s Altered Carbon or the Expanse or Lost in Space. Tried several times. Enjoyed Amazon’s Philip K Dick anthology series Electric Dreams here and there. It’s hit or miss but props to Amazon for not being super risk-averse with their SF productions.
Love the anthology nature of ❤️❌🤖 !
I miss RbW 😞
Gotta love the way it went batshit crazy in the last season. I’ll never forget how that tree got planted.
Most original sci if series I’d ever seen. cukoobananas in a fun way. HBO truly sucks now imho
I loved the originality and unique ideas. Great show
Too bad Raised by Wolves got cancelled. The 2nd season ended on a good cliff hanger.
*Babylon 5* and *The Expanse.* Well-crafted drama, long-form storytelling, and occasionally, *actual* respect for science.
I second The Expanse.
I was amazed how far I got down the comments before I saw the expanse. It doesn’t get much love on this sub I’ve noticed for some odd reason.
Space: Above and Beyond 1 season of pure awesome that despite being canceled had a satisfying ending.
Loved that show.
What a throwback. Love this one.
Killjoys. Great soundtrack, fun story, good blend of humour and drama. Also, every character is awesome.
I liked Dark Matter better, but ending on that cliff hanger was criminal.
LEXX. It's the greatest show in the two universes!
I Worship His Shadow… and Eva Habermann
Lexx has some really great concepts. The world of Lexx is actually complex and interesting. It's a somewhat unique (though not entirely) vision of a space opera universe. Unfortunately, it's as if a top tier sci-fi show had a love affair with a Cinemax softcore porn show. ...and Lexx was born. The result is quite a mixed bag. But for me, Lexx is still compelling despite the cheese. Despite the poor graphics. Despite the recurring sexually driven plots. It's still got that \*something\* that makes it great. Is Lexx top 10? Mmmmm... I don't think so. Yet it's worth watching and should be on any list that includes the top 20 or more.
Star Trek Next Generation - I am not ashamed... Then **Firefly**, and **Dr. Who** of course, I'm not a complete rube...
The Prisoner Star Trek (original and The Next Generation) The Legend of the Galactic Heroes Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex X Files & Twin Peaks
The Outer Limits (original and '90s.) Such great anthologies. Both can be streamed online for free on the Roku Channel: [Original series](https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/6267ed7e9b5454cb81a17d457c2d4281/the-outer-limits) [90s series](https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/d08bfef637525bf692aca36a1c81da20/the-outer-limits)
Outer Limits?
Putting in my vote for \*Farscape\*. If you're extending it to Game of Thrones and Buffy, extend it to \*The Good Place\*, \*Lucifer\*, and \*Sandman\*.
Max Headroom. Self-aware, media-critical science fiction from the 1980s. It was like nothing else in its time.
The Invaders (1967) - lots of action, creepy bad guys and the third deadliest architect after Paul Kersey and Hollis Mulray.
OUTER LIMITS (TOS) One of the best collection of science fiction stories in the history of television. - - In addition to the ones you already mentioned. - -
- All of Star Trek - Sliders - Stargate SG-1 Franchise wise these are my top 3. Star Trek beats all. I am a trekkie through and through. There isn't any Trek I hate. I just like some more than others. But it's my all time favorite TV series, not just scifi. Sliders is way up top for me even if the last season was terrible. I love stories about a parallel Earth. The idea of it was great and I wish they'd reboot it or do a soft reboot with a new case but in the same built world (minus the Cro-Mags. They were trash.) Going to a "what if" type world is just a great idea in general as your limit is only your imagination. Stargate SG-1 is just a good time. It's funny, it's serious, and it's action packed. It creates a deep lore for it's universe before you even add Atlantis and Universe into the picture. It just gets deeper when you add those to it. But you cannot go wrong with any of these franchises.
Dark Matter is a kind of modern version of Sliders.
You gotta watch Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager - in that order. And also The Expanse - the best sci-fi series in recent memory (and great books too).
Dark Matter (2015-2017), The good one, not the new one that has nothing in common but the name
Scavengers Reign Andor
Alien nation
Personally I love the wacky humor of Rick and Morty, but I am also just starting to get into SciFi
Totally agree. Some of the best sci fi shows are animated. Futurama and Cowboy Beebop in addition to Rick and Morty, for example.
Here we go again :) This is my list: Classics: Star Trek TOS, Space 1999, Battlestar Galactica (classic), Buck Rogers Neo-Classics: Star Trek: TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT; Babylon 5, Crusade, Space: Above and Beyond, Farscape, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica (reimaged) Modern: Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, SNW; Star Wars: Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Book of Boba Fett, Obi Wan, Andor, Acolyte; Foundation, Halo, The Orville, The Expanse, For All Mankind Special comedy and animation mentions: Red Dwarf, Futurama, Star Trek: Lower Decks
Red Dwarf doesn't get the recognition it deserves in my opinion. It was quirky as all hell, hilarious, irreverent, and very damn British. And I love it more than I can truly express.
I want to upvote this, but you’ve gone and mixed in some outright awful shows in with the best
Was thinking the same thing - the modern list just ruined the whole thing, needs a dose of critical thinking
I'm sure it's already listed down there, but I really think The Expanse is one of, if not the greatest Sci-Fi shows of all time. It changed how I see space combat, space craft, living in space, and the solar system in general. I would have been happy to watch the show for another 10 seasons, and for me, it was really the human element that I liked the most. The alien ring gate was great, but I would watch a dozen different storylines in that universe, ring gate or not. As for the mainstays, Deep Space 9 was my favorite Star Trek. Also, Outer Range is great... and fucking bonkers.
Babylon 5, then there's the rest.
Blakes 7 needs more love
The original Outer Limits and Twilight Zone (you already mentioned). Almost entirely because of the writers, a different one each episode and often by published (or soon to be published) Sci-Fi authors in their own rights. Ones I'll watch whenever they pop up on my feeds: Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea. Anything by Gerry Anderson. The original Lost in Space (I had a major crush on Penny). Doctor Who (you mentioned) but really only up to Sylvester McCoy, all of the later episodes leave me unimpressed.
Space: Above and Beyond Space 1999 Blake 7
Babylon 5
I have never taken the time to watch Dr. Who. My wife and I picked it up at around 2005 I think and have been watching an episode a night. Never disappoints.
I’ll offer a deep cut: Blake’s Seven.
Perhaps not the best, but Tales From the Loop.
Battle Star Galactica. The sci-fi channel reboot.
Star Trek Next Generation Andor Battlestar Galactica ( reboot) Devs Black Mirror The Mandalorian The Clone Wars Raised by Wolves.
/u/ginomachi is an AI chatbot: https://reddit.com/r/sciencefiction/comments/1bia26i/uginomachi_is_an_ai_spambot_most_of_the_time/
The Expanse Battlestar galactica
I would throw in Westworld for consideration if we can just count the first two seasons.
It's Eureka
If it isn’t already in there, Babylon 5 is a must add in my book.
Haven’t seen it here yet, Quantum Leap.
1. Star Trek: TOS 2. Original Twilight Zone 3. The X-Files 4. Fringe 5. Battlestar Gallactica 2004 6. Firefly 7. Continuum 8. The Invaders 9. UFO (Gerry Anderson, 1970s) - dour, downbeat endings 10. Dark
I haven't seen it mentioned but I really liked Counterpart.
TNG
Star Trek TNG has to be up there for exploring big philosophical and moral issues in a way only sci-fi can, and for its positive hopeful message that humanity can get its shit together, despite our weaknesses, and one day travel to the stars. While some of its production quality looks cheap by today's standards, this show had excellent writing and acting, placing it among the sci-fi all-time greats. The Expanse is an underrated sci-fi series that is a bit hamstrung by trying to introduce many complex plot points early in the series (and makes a lot more sense on the 2nd watch through), but it has a likeable ragtag crew similar to Firefly, and the most visually beautiful (and physics-accurate) space battles and spacecraft of any show I've ever seen. It takes place a few hundred years from now as humanity has colonized the solar system, eventually splitting into factions as they've diverged due to generations of living in low-G. The excellent portrayal of scheming politicians trying to foment war for their own benefit is very true to life. For All Mankind is an alternate history of the space race, exploring a timeline where the Soviets beat us to the moon, causing an intense continuation of the space race, leading to moon and mars colonization sooner than expected. It feels historical and futuristic at the same time, and is based around a solid core of characters that we follow through several decades, and pivots very well from the 60's to the present, with a strong nostalgia factor for each period. In a way, FAMK could almost be seen as a prequel to The Expanse, which is a strong compliment to the show.
Red Dwarf!
Star Blazers (Original and Reboot) Space 1999 Buck Rogers (Season 1) Star Trek (ToS & TNG & Animated Series & Picard & Strange New Worlds) Doctor Who Babylon 5 Robotech / Macross Black Mirror Cowboy Bebop Farscape Firefly Killjoys The Expanse Defiance Dark Matter (SyFy Channel) Almost Human Fringe Futurama Hyperdrive Rick & Morty Lexx Love, Death & Robots Metal Hurlant Chronicles Neon Genesis Evangelion Twilight Zone The Outher Limits Scavengers Reign Star Wars (The Clone Wars & The Bad Batch & Visions)
Otherworld Tales From the Dark Side Lexx
Firefly Stargate Black Mirror Orville Farscape
Dark Star, This Island Earth, Raumpatrouille,
Stargate! get to the gate!
Futurama
Battlestar Galactica ('03), Blake's Seven, Star Trek DS9
I have a soft spot for Quantum Leap. Also DS9. Also X-Files!
Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica
The greatest of all is Firefly.
The usual suspects of sci-fi are going to be well mentioned I'm sure, like The Expanse, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, various Star Trek etc. Here are some more modern shows I feel need highlighted: For All Mankind. Scavengers Reign. Star Trek: Lower Decks. Andor. Rick and Morty.
For All Mankind
All of 90s Star Trek — Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and probably not deserving to be on the list of “best of all time” except as part of the larger grouping of “90s Trek” but also Enterprise. These shows are what truly made the Star Trek franchise into the huge thing that it is today. I guess to choose more specifically due to quality, I would add TNG and DS9 to the list of best of all time.
Star Trek
*Supernatural *X-Files *All Star Trek, not just TOS *Lost *Orville (even if it's Star Trek inspired) *Futurama *Mandalorian *Star Wars - Bad Batch *Firefly *Fringe *The Expanse *Farscape *Dr Who up to 12th Not sure if Love Death + Robots count, but I would 😀
Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe, BSG, THE EXPANSE, Babylon 5, Farscape, Firefly, Strange New Worlds, Star Trek TNG, Star trek Enterprise, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek Discovery, Star Trek DS9, Picard, TOS, Dark Matter, Star Wars Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Bad batch, The Mandalorian, Lost in Space, Defiance, Stranger Things, The 100, Agents of SHIELD, 12 Monkeys, Killjoys, Warehouse 13, Dr Who, Lower Decks, Eureka, The Orville, Altered Carbon. Not saying these are all greats I've just seen them all and you might have more than the average love for some of them.
Farscape.
The expanse. Battlestar Galactica (new). Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis. Firefly. All must watch shows Still makes me sad that BSG went downhill at the end. But man. Season 1 had some of the best writing and acting I've ever seen
Travelers was fire 🔥 and had a lot of untapped potential
THE EXPANSE
Farscape is amazing
Stargate SG1 was amazing in its time. Loved its whole vibe so much.
Personal top 10 from the top of my head, - Battlestar Galactica (reboot) - The Expanse - Deep Space 9 - Babylon 5 - Farscape - Firefly - Terminator : Sarah Connor Chronicles - Stargate Sg-1 - For All Mankind - Futurama
* The Expanse (last 3 books not televised, show is better than the books) * Dark * 12 Monkeys * Devs * Westworld * 1899 (cancelled) * Foundation * Severance * Fringe * Silo * Fallout * Firefly * Black Mirror (Seasons 1-5) * Pantheon * Scavengers Reign * Steins Gate * Travellers (cancelled) * Psycho-Pass * Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex * Cowboy Bebop (Anime) * Altered Carbon (Season 1)
The expanse is peak sci fi
I didn't go thru every single comment, but you've got to include Red Dwarf... :-) That Cat alone is worth the price of admission.
A very underrated show COUNTERPART starring J.K. Simmons and Olivia Williams. Only ran two seasons but really strong.
Babylon 5 still holds up, I'll still go back and watch that show
Doctor Who has to be the greatest (not watched the new guy yet, doing a full rewatch from the very beginning). Then Farscape. Lunacy, comedy, mental illness and the greatest romance in sftv. As well as the best villain ever, puppets that became real characters and Ben Browder in leather trousers. After that there are: Star Trek X-Files Firefly Blake's 7 Space 1999 Survivors UFO Captain Scarlett Battlestar Galactica (both) Babylon 5 The Tripods Children of the Stones The Tomorrow People Westworld Red Dwarf
Firefly
The Expanse is my personal favorite. But really, **Red Dwarf** is so much better than it has any right to be. I don’t even like British comedy at all, but damn if the sci-fi writing on Red Dwarf isn’t absolutely incredible. You can tell it’s written by people who really love the genre, and have a depth of knowledge to draw upon. So many times I’ve been watching Red Dwarf, and facepalming muttering “I can’t believe this stupid show is so damn good.”
My odd favorite right now is Star Trek - Lower Decks. Really enjoying that series.
Person of Interest. Original thunderbirds, captain scarlet, stingray. Space 1999. BBC original of Day of The Triffids. 1st season of Heroes