Half of our readers are away in this holiday season, so traffic and news items are considerably down comparatively to normal weekdays. Why don’t we have some Holiday Fun (TM) with a poll? Our friends at Slashdot put a poll up asking about your favorite sci-fi TV series, but they forgot two very important entries as their readers mentioned quickly afterwards: the most famous TV
series of the ’90s “The X-Files”, and the already cult classic “Firefly”. So we thought we recreate the same poll, but with these options in play, just so we see what our (mostly geek) readership likes the most. Even if we only
have ~1/10 of Slashdot’s traffic we can still have some fun with it!Note: Poll requires javascript to both view and vote for it.
And as a quick sidenote, we can't wait for the Star Wars TV series (some ideas about it here, and a piece for Star Trek's TNG).
I am currently re-watching the great series, Blake’s 7, from the creator of the Daleks.
The costumes have dated and the “special” effects are not so special, but the story following a small band of freedom fighters in there quest to destroy the evil federation.
Blake’s 7 was brilliant.
Most of the special effects look terrible today, but they did the best they could with a tiny BBC budget (smaller than Doctor Who from what I’ve heard). Plus there was plenty of unintentional comedy to be had from the incredibly fake monsters and sets that fell apart around the actors.
Of course it’s the plot and characters that matter, and Blake’s 7 more than made up for it’s budget deficiencies with memorable characters and excellent writing. A group of rebels fighting to free the galaxy from an evil dictatorship may seem a bit unoriginal after Star Wars, but Blake’s 7 was a genuinely different take on the idea.
It was much darker than most other science fiction series around at the time, with flawed and believable characters rather than the heroes of Buck Rogers and Star Trek. The writers weren’t afraid to kill off the protagonists or have them turn tale and run when the going got tough. There was plenty of (usually black) comedy, especially between characters like Vila and Avon, who didn’t really share Blake’s heroic ambition to free the galaxy from tyranny.
Farscape’s probably the nearest thing to Blake’s 7, although I remember JM Straczynski mentioning that its darkness and use of story arcs was a big influence on Babylon 5.
Any science fiction fan who hasn’t seen it should definitely track it down, as long as Dr Who quality special effects don’t put you off.
nfm
I’ve seen most of the popular sci-fi series and after a while they all seem somewhat similar. The LEXX series was fun with its strange storylines …
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEXX
I agree this was fun, unfortunately I did not see more than 5 shows
oh man, I LOVED Lexx!
oh man, I LOVED Lexx!
Yeah, it was pretty funky. Different in a good way.
But oh man, I LOVED Xenia Seeberg!
😉
It was the strangest series in the best sence of this word. I miss it much…
I can’t believe you left out:
1. The Twilight Zone
2. The Outer Limits
Also, how about the series hosted by Ray Bradbury and while maybe not technically a SiFi series, how about “The Prisoner”?
Obviously since you left so many series out I had to vote for “Other”. 🙂
And while I can’t think of the name, how about the old one staring Kier Dulay, (spelling) which also had a Text Adventure game called Starcraft roughly based on the same story?
OK, maybe I am showing my age, but some of those old series were really great. After all, the imagination can provide much better special effects than anything else.
And yes I still have all my old Infocom games. 🙂
>Obviously since you left so many series out
Obviously, we can’t include everything, just the most known in the last 20 years. Everyone else should vote “other”, this is why we put it there.
I can’t believe you left out:
1. The Twilight Zone
2. The Outer Limits
Also, how about the series hosted by Ray Bradbury and while maybe not technically a SiFi series, how about “The Prisoner”?
I totally agree, ‘The Outer Limits’ is an excellent show plus ‘Ray Bradbury’ is awesome to. ‘Tales from the Darkside’ was good to, they play them on the SciFi channel sometimes.
“‘Tales from the Darkside’ was good to, they play them on the SciFi channel sometimes.”
Thanks, I forgot about that one. Also, Astounding Stories was pretty good. And, really showing my age now, How about the old Mercury series of SciFi stories on the radio? 🙂
Am I the only one that is totally planning their New Years celebrations around the “Twilight Zone” marathon on Sci-Fi? Man, that show is amazing.
My favorites:
1. The new BSG.
2. Firefly (by a close margin)
3. B5
4. Anything else.
I voted for Firefly as you didn’t separate the campy original BSG versus the new one.
Funny thing… I just finished watching the season two episode, “The Doomsday Machine”, and popped over here to see what was in the news, and this was the top story.
I would say that the original Star Trek, which I grew up with, has given me more enjoyment, and even affected my life, more than any other book, movie, or TV series.
In particular, I always considered the character of Spock to be something of a hero/role model. In a way, I still do, even at age 43.
sbergman27,
Boy, I was just about ready to pass on commenting because I am 42 and thought immediately of my favorite episode “Doomsday Machine” that you cited. That was one episode that actually made me nervous watching it! So many nights after studying, back to watch Star Trek for the umpteenth time at midnight. I would be yelled at for yelling along with the opening song track by neighbors.
I have probably revealed too much!
This was a great poll. Its good to know I am in good company!
Bob
“””my favorite episode “Doomsday Machine” that you cited”””
Have you seen “In Harm’s Way” over at http://newvoyages.com ?
It is closely related to “The Doomsday Machine”. In fact, William Windom, who played Commodore Decker in the original, reprises his role in this episode. Also appearing is Laura Goodwin, who played the Captain’s Woman, Marlena Moreau, in “Mirror, Mirror”.
If you like what the New Voyages guys are doing, you would probably also enjoy the episodes that the Starship Exeter guys are making over at:
http://starshipexeter.com
In fact, I actually prefer the latter. But both groups are doing some fantastic fan fiction!
Edited 2006-12-30 03:06
“””
Also appearing is Laura Goodwin, who played the Captain’s Woman, Marlena Moreau, in “Mirror, Mirror”.
“””
Just to correct myself, it is actually BarBara Luna who appears, and was also the Captain’s woman.
Laura Goodwin was the *author* of the *article* which I consulted to retrieve her name. (Duh!)
BTW, Wikipedia says that BarBara is the correct spelling based upon her official site.
Wuuuut? No vista? What went wrong here?
Just kidding. Have a nice year everyone!
One way or another, we are going to have an interesting year ahead of us 😉
Vista may not be mentioned, but at least Mac OS is. Well, the codename for the original Mac OS for Intel at any rate (Star Trek).
I was happy just to see Babylon 5, seeming as it seems to be the black sheep of the popular Sci-Fi shows. Other good ones include Outer Limits, Sliders, and Quantum Leap. After all, you don’t need battling spaceships to have a good story.
Given that I’ve seen episodes of… I think all of these, minus “Knight Rider”, voting was hard.
Nevertheless, Star Trek kinda got boring after I saw too many episodes (plus… well, Voyager Season 5-7 and Enterprise at their best really were pushing it), Battlestar Galactica managed to get too dire and depressing for my tastes (and right after I managed to hook everyone else I knew on it, too), and Babylon 5, while probably one of the most coherent and complex scifi shows out there (I said probably), just doesn’t quite capture the amount of stupid terrible-science fun and excitement that an average half-decent episode of Doctor Who gives (either ‘classic’ or ‘new’).
You can probably guess how I voted.
Stargate is the best because rather than try to explain how all the fiction fits into science… they just have the guy who asked (O’Neill, What ever General they have, etc) cut them off just when the explanation gets complicated :-)… that is great!!
Stargate’s explanations are at least in the right ballpark, in a cut-off, handwaving sort of way. I was completely unable to watch Voyager, because all the “explanations” were jumbles of quantum-mechanics terms used incorrectly.
…O’Neill… cut them off just when the explanation gets complicated
I thoroughly enjoyed the MacGyver TV show, but I find O’Neill’s sarcasm and rudeness in Stargate to be very irritating. Also the sarcasm and disregard for scientific explanations is out of character for the position he plays.
But I like the show in spite of that, and the political intrigue of having an evil Senator that wants to shut down the program adds to the plot.
Stargate and x-files… I love them both equally… but I picked SG because… well… RDA is hilarious!
Space baggies!! 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(TV_series)
I actually blogged about this just a few days ago, explaining why TNG is the best of the best IMO:
http://eugenia.blogsome.com/2006/12/25/why-tng-is-the-best-tv-show-…
I like most of the shows in the poll, but as far as I’, concerned Star Trek wins any SciFi poll.
Regarding the Star Trek series, TNG is probably the best, closely followed by DS9.
Edited 2006-12-29 22:53
i just finished rewatching season 7 of ds9 a few days ago. my god was it great, i know a bit soap opera-y for some (but that was the idea). i may like it more than TNG
I agree. I don’t agree with the top 10 episodes though that you mentioned on your blog 😉
Dave
hmm..
I chose Firefly, but it is a close call between that Babylon 5, and Farscape. I like Space opera I guess.
Really I like most of those shows (except Knight Rider).
I had to vote X-Files. Not just because I love it but because I think it’s the only one on the list that’s even watchable. I wish I knew why so many science fiction series had such bad acting and ridiculous soap-opera like plots.
StarGate does not suffer from either.
Because it had to be said. Smegheads. 😉
Quatermass !!
What a tough list. I got caught up in Stargate when it moved to Sci-fi and the way they keep developing new storylines is great. I knew I’d love Firefly because of Buffy and Angel, and Whedon exceeded both of those excellent series – I got 3 of my friends hooked on Mal and the crew.
But for some reason i keep thinking Babylon 5 is my favorite. Just great great dialogue (especially between G’Kar and Londo), brilliant plots, real tragedy, and how JMS wrote every show for about 3 seasons straight.
All these shows are great, and Season 3 of Galactica is making a major push for classic status.
I had to go for Doctor Who. I loved the classic series as a child of the 70’s and the new show is just superb, imo. Also, looking forward to seeing “The Sarah Jane Adventures” even if it’s aimed at the kiddies…
B5 is my favorite, and I grew up on Star Trek TOS and TNG.
Firefly is a close second and I’ve recently become a fan of it. But B5 will always be my fave.
I have only I favourite sci-fi Tv series, and it is called:
Farscapereddwarfstargatesg1thexfilesstar-
trekTOSTNGDS9ENTjusticeleagueclonewarspr-
eytheinvadersearthfinalconflictcleopatra-
2525darkangelbattlestargalaticsheroeshyp-
erdrivedoctorwhobabylon5crusadesliderswa-
roftheworldsandromedaairwolfaliennationf-
uturamathesixmilliondollarmanodyssey5cap-
tainscarletandthemysteronsdangermousedar-
kskiesseaquestdsvdexterslaboratoryearth2-
eerieindianathe4400eurekatheprisonerultr-
avioletlexxlostinspacetripodsthetwilight-
zoneroswellaeonflux
😉
…followed by Star Trek.
For me it was between BSG (the new series) and Dr Who.
BSG forgetting longevity I’ve been thinking is one of the best TV shows ever; not just sci fi so I should really have picked it.
However I went with Dr Who purely because the new series is giving me such enjoyment and I grew up with it and it shaped me and has given me that enjoyment for way way too long.
Space: Above and beyond
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112173/
I would have to name almost every one of those as my favorite with the exception of Knight Rider. KR it was definitely not sci-fi. It was a crime drama version of the jumping-car genre of the time. I enjoyed it as a kid, but I wouldn’t watch it now.
As for Blakes 7, my favourite of the lesser known series, it was the first TV show that I watched that had a darker subtext. The fact that Blake died at the end made an indelible impression on me as a kid. Having the protagonists as well as the main protagonist die was very unusual with TV of the time. I found it realist, and at times, a lot of fun.
But number one for me has to be Doctor Who. I enjoyed the show immensely and it echoed my interest in science.
“I enjoyed it as a kid, but I wouldn’t watch it now.”
Yeah, got to second you there. I loved it too when I was younger, KITT was friggin cool. But, having seen an episode of it somewhat recently… it really didn’t carry over to now (it was an episode with KITT evil twin car, or something like that). and I can still watch, and _enjoy_ the Smurfs, so it’s not just ’cause I’ve grown up 😉
Why do they like really bad TV?
Scifi is hardly bad TV. Read the blog post I linked in the previous page for example, as to how TNG can be very educational.
Would you prefer we watch Nascar, or maybe WWE?
Hay now! Some of us Sci-Fi lovers follow NASCAR… and MotoGP/AMA too!
BTW, voted Firefly… I try not to watch Fox TV now because of the fiasco they made with this could’ve been excellent series.
Haven’t seen much Dr. Who, but I’m going to check it out now…
I grew up with “Tom Corbett — Space Cadet”. There have been so many great Sci-Fi series. American TV Networks have badly treated Sci-Fi, that we should be thankful in the USA for Syndication, Cable and Satelite networks.
‘Firefly’ is my vote in the poll. Very refreshing view of an historical future. Torn, of course amongst so many. NBC gaves us “Wagon Train” in space, Joss Whedon gave us a Western in space.
Let us not forget ‘Cowboy Bebop’ (unless someone already mentioned it).
A Good and Safe New Year to All!
Edited 2006-12-30 01:27
Everything must go.
But in the end they all get f-ed over by the TV networks carying them. I liked B5, Firefly/Serinity, Space Above and Beyond, SG, Atlantis when the Wraith were the main protaginists, BSG the new version.
Although they don’t in anyway measure up to Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
LOL
Only joking.
I think B5 is my fav due to it’s great story arc and space opera style. SG for the fun humour although, thanks Sci Fi for pulling the plug on it just when things were heating up with the Ori.
Star Trek classic :o)
If you pretend seasons 3-5 never occured, Sliders was an excellent Sci-Fi show.
1. Star Trek: The Next Generation
2. X files (first 5 seasons)
3. Firefly
Those are my 3 choices. I could never get into Babylon 5, Deep Space 9, Voyager, Stargate or Enterprise.
Dave
Star Trek:TNG
…Futurama!
…Futurama!
Yes! I was trying to figure what was missing from the list.
Futurama may be a cartoon, and it may be comedy, but it’s clearly made by sci-fi fans.
One of the funniest sci-fi fan gag ever is the episode in which they go rescue the Original Star Trek gang on the forbidden planet. They pick up Leonard Nimoy from his shelf at the “Head in a jar” museum, causing Jonathan Frakes (Ryker from TNG) to slide forward and say “All right! Front row!”
Comedy gold.
Ooooo! What about Millennium?
Which incarnation of BSG and Star Trek were they referring to?
Outside of the list, I’m partial to Farscape and TNG, being those were the sci-fi shows I got the most enjoyment out of. It was a dark day when they canceled Farscape.
It was a dark day when they canceled Farscape.
Even though it was kinda sad, I’m pleased that they wouldn’t let the series go on forever. A lot of good shows are ruined that way.
Now I can rewatch the whole thing without skipping episodes or seasons
Farscape is pretty much the only Sci-Fi show that really got me hooked. (depending on what you think is Sci-Fi)
Oh smeg! I can’t vote for Red Dwarf.
Now that’s quality sci-fi!
I voted for Knight Rider as I loved that show.
But, I have to ask, when was Knight Rider considered Sci-Fi?
when was Knight Rider considered Sci-Fi?
Well, it has that computer-controlled, speaking car that can also do many other feats. Sci-fi is much more than just space opera, you know. A major underlying trend in all sci-fi is that it speculates on the possible future relations between humankind and the technology that we can create.
Someone already mentioned The Six Million Dollar Man but I believe that no-one has yet mentioned its spin-off series, The Bionic Woman. These are both in the same category as Knight Rider.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Million_Dollar_Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bionic_Woman
I voted for Knight Rider, too. 😉
I’m liking Farscape that I’m watching in reruns right now. Some episodes are so trippy, and it’s totally not Muppets in Space if that’s what you’re thinking.
Love(ed) Battlestar Galactica too..lots of stuff after having seen most of the star trek series in endless reruns.
I wonder if Buffy and Angel count as sci-fi? Loved them too.
I did not shed a tear for Enterprise after seeing that final episode. Yikes!
Edited 2006-12-30 06:27
Nobody remembers Space: 1999?
“Nobody remembers Space: 1999?”
Here! Here! *junp* 🙂 Year 1 or 2? And what about U.F.O. and its predecessors by G. Anderson? (Officially, I don’t have to know them because I’m too young – but I know them well and especially like the great soundtrack.)
Quote for the next year: “Don’t worry, it can only get worse.” (Space: 1999; David Kano; The Testament Of Arkadia)
PS. Voted for Dr. Who (Collin Baker).
Edited 2006-12-30 09:47
Year 1. Year 2 was too American for European taste.
I voted for The X-Files. I have the complete collection, actually. When I was a child I enjoyed watching Knight Rider, but it’s too… childish for an adult view, Star Trek is boring after 200 seasons, Stargate? I liked the movie but not the series, and I never seen the other choices 🙂
Edited 2006-12-30 10:05
ANDROMEDA
I voted for the XFiles as it’s my favourite but I’ve never really thought of it as science fiction, science friction maybe…
For pure science fiction I’d vote Babylon 5, like the TNG episodes Eugenia mentions in her blog B5 also had a lot of social commentary.
Also worth a mention is the Dr Who spin off Tourchwood, if you like dark Sci-Fi…
(random)
Tuvok: You’re in love with a computer subroutine?
Seven of Nine: You are hypocritical, manipulative. We do not want to be what you are. Return us to the Collective!
Janeway: You know the story. Girl meets boy, girl changes boy’s subroutines.
There must be even greater quotes out there.
Just post your own favourites.
Babylon 5 is unbeatable. The rest are just bad.
…Okay, I’m partly kidding, but I never could find the same kind of emotional response from watching Star Trek or X-Files.
I did cry a few times during ST:Voyager –
When the Year of Hell ended, I think I cried with relief.
At the end of the series, I was sad it was ended, and SO HAPPY they made it home (even though we knew it was coming) – oh, and I was 12 at the time
Some TNG eps have truly affected me – two deeply affected me. IN season 4, episodes 95 and 96 really struck me.
95 – Drumhead – speaks to the slippery slope, eroding civil rights, etc. (Search for Romulan Spy)
96 – Half a Life – Troi’s mother finally finds someone – but his society kills people at 60.
Those are two sparse explanations, but scifi, besides futuristic technology etc, is really just a tool to speculate on humanity and the human condition. To critique. To celebrate. Star Trek can be terribly corny, I’ll concede this any day. When you get into the pure humanity though, the ideals, then it begins to truly mean something.
That said, I was obsessed with Stargate for YEARS, adore firefly, and simply cannot vote for a favorite.
The X-files was fun, nowadays I like Torchwood a Doctor Who spin-off
Hard, so I won’t
In no order:
ST:TOS
Dr. Who
Red Dwarf
Space 1999
and what about Hitchhicker’s Guide to the Galaxy?
While I have watched at least some of the others, I just can’t really get into them as much, not that they are bad or anything. Probably an old-age thing.
How can you not love a show with Gigi Edgley in it???
Okay, so the storyline might have something to do with it, too. 🙂
I’ve seen almost every decent Sci Fi series made since I was born and most of the good ones from before that. I love Dr. Who, I revere TOS, I loved B5 (but not so much the knockoffs), Firefly was absolute genius and the new Galactica takes the charm of the original and makes something good. But none of these series can quite compare to the awesomeness that was Farscape. Firefly might have come close but was not around long enough to have a chance.
Just because I’m a techie doen’t mean I like SciFi TV. I do have a few Gibson and Stephenson novels in my bookshelf, but in the rare moments you catch me watching TV, chances are I’m watching “Monk”.
I don’t think there’s ever been a “perfect” sci-fi series yet (i.e. no duff episodes) – if Babylon 5 had finished after Season 4, it would be unsurpassed, IMHO, but the frankly dull post-Shadow War Season 5 took the sheen off the series.
Blake’s 7, too, was great in the early seasons until the fatal mistake of blowing up the Liberator and moving to the door wedge of a ship (Scorpio, with an onboard computer not in the same league as Zen) in later seasons.
Stargate (both SG-1 and Atlantis) have had their fair share of duff episodes – unsurprising because there are too many episodes per season (20+), so once you hit later seasons, the quality tends to tail off.
Doctor Who post-Tom Baker and pre-Christopher Eccleston was full of shabby writing and annoying actors playing the Doctor and basically the show was near ruin by 1989 when it got taken off the air. The franchise return has been generally very good, but the 80’s stink has wrecked the legacy of this classic show.
Battlestar Galactica the original series was OK if you’re into flashing robots and crash-bang-wallop. The 2003-onwards version is, on the whole, excellent, but some episodes have left me just annoyed at not advancing the storyline arc (e.g. the boxing episode in the latest season).
Firefly was good, although the theme tune was naff and I’m not sure they could have held the quality for 2 or 3 more seasons though.
Knight Rider was enjoyable 80’s tosh if you were a kid, but otherwise fairly dumb stuff (and probably barely in the realm of science fiction).
Star Trek was a mixed bag – original series was fine for the time, but looks clunky (dodgy effects, not very strong roles for women, a lot of ignoring of the Prime Directive that seemed to go on through all ST franchise shows) if you look at it now. ST:TNG was pretty dire in the first 3 seasons, was very good in seasons 4 and 5 and then tailed off after that. ST:DSN was dullsville (boring theme tune, stuck mostly on the space station or very occasionally on the planet below), ST Voyager dragged on for too long (Neelix seemed to know everywhere Voyager had been for about 2 seasons!) and Enterprise was pointless (why bother pre-Captain Kirk?).
Never took to the X-Files – it was a mix of aliens + paranormal + conspiracies, which just aren’t my cup of tea and feel a little bit off the beaten path (I think the paranormal stuff in particular puts me off – it’s why I can’t stand Millennium, Medium, Supernatural etc. – feels too much like “hokum” to me).
I would probably say “first four seasons of Babylon 5” does it for me, with a close runner-up being the new Battlestar Galactica (2003 onwards). BTW, the 41-disc Complete Universe DVD box set of Babylon 5 just arrived this morning – I got it for 80.97 pounds ($158) from Amazon UK and today they’ve just put the price up to 119.99 pounds ($235), so can I say “Xmas baaarrrgaaainn!”?
I voted X-Files, because I think I like it a little more than Star Trek The Next Generation. Currently the only SciFi show I’m watching is the new Doctor Who. I really enjoyed the older ones.
But how could you miss out on the creations of Shawn Cassidy’ ie; ‘American Gothic’ & ‘Invasion’. I also highly recommend ‘Jeremiah’; all short lived TV shows that can be found on NexFlix, etc.
If I spelled anything correctly, please accept my humble apoligies.
Mike
We do get some of those. Never watched the former and later, but Invasion was a pile of pants… (slang: not very good.) Reminded me of too many other things : The invaders (60’s series from US), Invasion of the bodysnatchers, the Faculty, and a few other B movies.
I voted for BSG because I loved the original series when I was a kid, and I absolutely love the new series.
Doctor Who is good. I lost interest around olin Baker and find the new series to be good (Tennent is better than Eccleston.)
Blakes 7 is another fond memory.
Tripods anyone?
Torchwood (cf anagram of Doctor Who, so no U in it) is a mixed bag. Patchy storylines, dismal writing in part. Depressing – the Torchwood guys seem never to be able to do anything “right”.
Space 1999 was cool. They show it on one of the low rent ITV (ITV4 IIRC) chanels here still. Saw it the other day. I still want an Eagle. Cool looking ships.
Star Trek – I find TNG sickly sweet now. I can just about watch it, but its way too sugary and geared to a US audience. TOS is brilliant as ever. The films all pretty much suck tho. Of the other series – Voyager was okay for a while, Enterprise was okay for a while and DS9 got boring after a couple of series. I always wanted the Bajoran thing expanded. I lost interest when the whole Delta quadrant invasion thing happened.
Knightrider has no place in the list. You may as well have Airwolf and Streethawk in there too otherwise… or Blue Thunder. The Hoff is a complete joke, but at least he doesn’t take himself too seriously anymore. (cf. the last single he released over here “get into my car” or somthing like that – plus he did a bunch of spoof commercials here too… though so does William Shatner – advertising a brekfast cerial.. lol)
Check out ‘American Gothic’; it’s well worth it if just for the graphics. No vampires or the usual garbarge. Just plain spooky. Be aware that some of the series were aired out of order but I LOVED the entire 1 season.
PS The kid in the show(Lucas Black) was the same one in ‘SlingBlade’ and was simply outstanding. And Gary Cole is certainly no slouch as the evil sheriff.
here is a link http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111880/
This will be my last post on this subject. I originally followed this thread to get some ideas for shows I’ve missed. I’ve now added several shows to my queue at NetFlix (esp. Dr Who). Just came across this review of American Gothic after I last posted so I thought I’d share it. It comes from the Internet Movie Database site.
16 out of 16 people found the following comment useful:-
Remarkably Good, 23 November 2003
10/10
Author: carflo from San Antonio, Tx
I stumbled on this series rather by accident. After half an episode, I was hooked. American Gothic was a dark, strange series with Gary Cole as the mysterious, probably evil Sheriff Buck who is trying to gain control of his illegitimate son Caleb, played by Lucas Black. I was impressed with Gary Cole’s sinister sheriff and I was even more impressed with Lucas Black. Lucas Black’s Caleb was able to stand up against Sheriff Buck, one of the most frightening characters ever created for a TV series. I have rarely seen a child actor with as much presence or talent as Lucas Black. If you were not lucky enough to see Lucas in American Gothic, see him in Slingblade.
It was a remarkable show with many ambiguities and mysteries that were never explained during it’s short run.
Mike
I had to vote for B5, since The Prisoner is missing.
“Should you ever challenge me to a duel, your safest bet would be battle-axes in a very dark cellar.”
…they get everywhere! 😉
B5 all the way for me 😀
“I was there at the dawn of the third age of mankind”… better than that “to boldly go” rubbish 😉
Edited 2006-12-31 07:03
Over the years, starting with the original StarTrek series and U.F.O., I have grown myself a disgust for some recurring themes within popular SciFi series, like for example the “special” status the human race holds, the absence of security belts and fire extinguish systems and the availability of space sounds. Suspension of disbelief is a difficult thing to achieve for me, perhaps I’m too nitpicky 🙂
My vote goes out to Firefly, because it avoids many of the things, that annoy me on other shows (including the softened dominance of anglo-centric culture and the omission of “glue more antennas on this guys head” alien races) while providing excelent story telling and a great set of characters.
(B5 comes in as second, for the very well designed epic story arc, the (imho) more believable interactions between different races and nice ideas like gravitation-through-rotation and the “uplift” nature of some folks.)
Side remark: It is sad, that most of these shows rotate around the classic space opera genre. I really liked the first season of Dark Angel for it’s soft references to the cyberpunk subgenre (although the cancelation after the second season perhaps wasn’t the worst thing to happen, given James Camerons ability to get blown away by pathos 🙂 ) and would welcome more shows about our nearer future.
Okay, I voted Babylon 5. It pretty much had everything, ranging from high-tech gadgets/weapons to interesting characters (human and alien) to great writing to end-of-the-universe-as-we-know-it peril to (generally) good acting – plus, I was completely smitten with Susan Ivanova <g>.
I know I’m in the minority in really liking Enterprise (not a first-time situation for me, alas), but I did. I think the newness and sense of wonder (Hey! We’re really IN SPACE!), along with a certain naivety was a large part of the appeal for me.
I agree, the last episode kinda sucked. But, other than that, I really did feel it was getting better from season to season. Standout episodes include “Carbon Creek” and “Cogenitor” from season 2, “Twilight” (possibly my favorite) from season 3 and “The Forge”, “Awakening” and “Kir’Shara” from season 4.
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I think the newness and sense of wonder (Hey! We’re really IN SPACE!), along with a certain naivety was a large part of the appeal for me.
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TOS will always be my favorite. But I’m with you on Enterprise. I particularly liked season one for the reason you state. Of course, “Gee whiz! We’re here!” is not really sustainable season after season. I think they’d pretty well played that out by the end of season two.
Season three, or should I say “As The Galaxy Turns” (“All My Crewmen”? “General Sickbay”?) was odd but still entertaining. T’Pol’s crack addiction was particularly humorous. Especially the scene where she (secretly) risks going into that decompressed cargo bay to get her fix, and accidentally disconnects her oxygen supply.
In season four, the show had really matured and they hit a stride that they could maintain.
The ensemble performance of the entire cast in “The Observer Effect” was particularly impressive.
Unfortunately, it was too late. They had lost too much ground with too many viewers. Which is a shame, because I think season 5 would have been fantastic.
Oh, well…
Edited 2006-12-31 18:45
Were The Outer Limits and the original Twilight Zone.When I was a kid the Irwin Allen Sci-fi shows were cool too,of course you outgrow them,stuff like Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,and Time Tunnel.”Danger Will Robinson!”LOL To my 8 yr old mind Allen’s shows had more action than Roddenbury’s, Both shared the extremely cheap special FX,as an adult I admit I prefer Star Trek now.Dr.Who is way cool too,the whole preposterous idea of traveling thru time and space in a Phone booth!Outer Limits and Twilight Zone had some of the best Sci-fi writers of the time doing scripts for them,they had a lot to do with warping my imgination as a child and are still quite entertaining today,But Will Robinson made it cool for a kid to be a geek.he had his own robot and knew computers and such,I used to rig up lights and old radios,TVs and tape recorders I found in the dump and pretend I had my own control room as a child.Sci-fi of the 50’s and 60’s probably had more with the current boom in technology than most people would like to admit.unforunately the interplanetary colonies and commercial space flight that was”predicted” in these shows never happened,but i think that’s more due to economic limitations than technological ones.
Dr. Who is great.
The good Doctor has been around since 1963, and collectively there are 725 episodes, ten different Doctors, countless disposable human companions, spin-offs, movies, good stuff. Even Mr.Bean himself (Rowan Atkinson) played the Doctor in a movie.
My second choice would be Red Dwarf.
I love older doctor who the best, preferably the Tom Baker episodes. The new Who on sci-fi is pretty gosh darned good tho! ^.^
> preferably the Tom Baker episodes
I suppose he is still my favorite. Always has been. But I find that I have really enjoyed the Jon Pertwee episodes at least as much. Baker gets my nod mainly for reasons of personal nostalgia.
testing, testing 123. Just to keep this on topic, I’m a browncoat, meself.