# Top 5 all-time favorite Sci fi tv series?



## zomborg (Apr 30, 2019)

This one is for all of us Sci fi geeks out there. If you're like me, you've probably watched most of the Sci fi series that have ever been made. Lol, so it's hard to choose. So I'm actually gonna list my top 5 favorites.
1. Stargate SG-1&Atlantis
2. Star trek TNG/TOS/Voyager
3. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
4. Twilight Zone
5. Black mirror

What are your top 5?


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## Superbronx (May 1, 2019)

Whooo that's a tough one. So many good ones out there. If I can only choose 5 I guess my list is as follows :
A. X--files (original) 
B. The Flash (is it considered Scifi?) 
C. Fringe (Walter so cool) 
D. Falling skies
E. Star trek DS9
 By the way, I just wanted to add this :Even though you did not mention a worst five list. I have at least one that I consider so horrible as to be almost un watchable. The reboot of Battlestar Galactica was given so much hype and it received all of these good reviews but I just finished watching it and I couldn't hardly stay awake.


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## FAST6191 (May 1, 2019)

Order will be hard. Worse is I have since discovered https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZFipeZtQM5CKUjx6grh54g and watch most of what he does, which in turn means where I once might have been able to shut off science boy in my head then I have no chance today.


Anyway.

I think The Expanse will be here for the long haul for me. The books were probably better (more time to breathe as it were, but at the same time some of the choices made to the show would have been welcome if seen in the books) but that does not mean the show is/was bad.

Red Dwarf. It is a comedy show but I think it is probably what pointed me at hard sci fi more than most, though or hard magic in some fantasy books I was reading at the same time.

Starship troopers the series. CGI thing aimed at kids sure but I used to wake up early every morning to watch it, and still would.

I have not seen the new Battlestar Galactica since it finished, and never saw the follow up prequel thing, but I reckon a lot of what we see nowadays is owed to it. You could go back further and I am sure someone would say a lot owes to Farscape or some more obscure European efforts (I mention Lexx in a moment), and while quite probably true this did it as far as most TV types are concerned. 


I should note that I am probably an utter failure as a nerd and never really properly sat down and watched Babylon 5. If I was going to do Star Trek then Voyager would be it but I am indifferent there. I can't include Lexx in the list above (naturally the German/not American cuts and uncensored versions thereof) but want to note it in passing here at least. I don't know how well Stargate would have aged here ( https://gbatemp.net/threads/stargate-viewing-order.79173/ ), and people tell me I should one day finish Universe as it actually got better after everybody stopped watching it.
I am also pointedly ignoring anime in this as several of those would vie for a position here and I don't actually care about anime all that much. Cowboy Bebop then probably being the fifth on the list, but even more middling stuff like Knights of Sidonia would want to feature in the discussion.

Failing that I do like the occasional bit of sci fi that will not last the ages -- in recent times sci fi TV network, or syfy as they are known these days, did some nice stuff and I actually got on well with the likes of Killjoys and Dark Matter. Probably won't remember much of them in 20 years the same as I don't remember much of Space Precinct today (I had to find that with a search of the description rather than the name) but I would watch them week on week, which is more than could be said for some things. I will also include Firefly in that list -- I can understand the appeal if you had not had all the nice European and Japanese efforts but watching all it a few years after the film, and going in cold other than some people on the internet going all fanboy enough for me to note the name,... yeah. Mutant X would be another example of one in between some of those.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? I caught the occasional episode as it came out on the same days as some things I was properly watching but it never clicked. If I have to do something here then if Mutant X does not count then Iron Man animated comic for extremis.


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## Superbronx (May 2, 2019)

Lol, its ok to be a failure as a scifi nerd. but i have a feeling most of us here at the temp could be classified as a nerd of one type or another.
 Expanse and Red Dwarf are definitely on my list.
Question: Is doctor who considered scifi and if so what do i need to know to prepare myself to watch it? I recently acquired the entire series and its on my to do list also.


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## FAST6191 (May 2, 2019)

If you managed to acquire the whole Dr Who series you are doing well and some people will probably want to have a chat with you there -- it has been going on for long enough these days that there are lost episodes ( https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/cult/g24950/doctor-who-missing-lost-episodes-found-animated/ ) as it happened at times before people could record them, never mind thought to. Unless you meant the rebooted thing.

Anyway I never cared for the old ones -- sure some of the authors of episodes went on to become legends (Douglas Adams, of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame, arguably got his break writing for it) but they hold so little appeal for me. The Christmas special thing that brought it back was boring as sin and the newer stuff felt like fluff they broadcast on Saturday nights to entertain the kids, mainly as it was. I can see why some enjoy it but I can't do it and just fall asleep every time I try, save for the time I watched a spinoff set in a high school and that was just cringe inducingly awful so I watched it because trainwreck. That said my preferences there (see also the list in the previous post) are for grim and gritty hard sci fi where I can so I am probably not the target audience, though I quite often enjoy a bit of fantasy fluff (the BBC also did a series called Merlin that followed much the same style and I found that enjoyable enough).

Also I don't see how it would be counted as anything other than sci fi.


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## AmandaRose (May 2, 2019)

1. Dr Who
2. Dr Who
3. Dr Who
4. Dr Who
5. Dr Who


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## Superbronx (May 2, 2019)

FAST6191 said:


> If you managed to acquire the whole Dr Who series you are doing well and some people will probably want to have a chat with you there -- it has been going on for long enough these days that there are lost episodes ( https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/cult/g24950/doctor-who-missing-lost-episodes-found-animated/ ) as it happened at times before people could record them, never mind thought to. Unless you meant the rebooted thing.
> 
> Anyway I never cared for the old ones -- sure some of the authors of episodes went on to become legends (Douglas Adams, of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame, arguably got his break writing for it) but they hold so little appeal for me. The Christmas special thing that brought it back was boring as sin and the newer stuff felt like fluff they broadcast on Saturday nights to entertain the kids, mainly as it was. I can see why some enjoy it but I can't do it and just fall asleep every time I try, save for the time I watched a spinoff set in a high school and that was just cringe inducingly awful so I watched it because trainwreck. That said my preferences there (see also the list in the previous post) are for grim and gritty hard sci fi where I can so I am probably not the target audience, though I quite often enjoy a bit of fantasy fluff (the BBC also did a series called Merlin that followed much the same style and I found that enjoyable enough).
> 
> Also I don't see how it would be counted as anything other than sci fi.


  Ok thank you. I will have to look at them again. I know i have Seasons 1 through 26 but some may be missing. I will definitely look at your missing episodes link. I am more into the grim and gritty hard scifi too.


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## Alexander1970 (May 5, 2019)

Hello.

1.Star Trek  (Raumschiff Enterprise)
2.Space 1999 (Mondbasis Alpha 1)
3. U.F.O.
4.Seven Days
5.The invisible Man (Der Unsichtbare)


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## Lacius (May 5, 2019)

In order from best to worst:

_Star Trek_ (all, especially _TNG_/_DS9_/_VOY_)
_Futurama_
_Rick and Morty_
_Stargate _(all, except _Universe_)

_Westworld_
Honorable mentions, in no particular order:

_Fringe_
_Babylon 5_
_The Orville_
_Terra Nova_
_Stranger Things_


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## Superbronx (May 5, 2019)

Lacius said:


> In order from best to worst:
> 
> _Star Trek_ (all, especially _TNG_/_DS9_/_VOY_)
> _Futurama_
> ...


Nice list, I forgot about stranger things. It's really good


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## Dante2405 (May 5, 2019)

X-Files
Quantum leap
Stargate SG1
Battlestar Galactica
Sliders


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## FAST6191 (May 5, 2019)

Continuing to be surprised to see Fringe. I liked what I saw well enough -- long form sci fi (and shows in general) was just getting going on US network TV so it was still a bit villain of the week and series by series but stopped at some point



Spoiler: fringe spoiler for last seen part



might have seen one or two episodes past the series ender/break cliffhanger bit where it is found the guy's son is actually kidnapped from the alternate dimension, and then a random one or two later



Did it get massively better after that or something?


On a different note Sliders makes a top 5? I forgot to include it in my slot for fifth show I might not need to remember in 20 years thing, but I last saw it when I was somewhat younger, and I think TV broadcast it way out of order here so it got all jumbled up story wise. I like parallel universes as much as anybody but nothing particularly stands out about it today for me.



Lacius said:


> [*]_Stargate _(all, except _Universe_)



Even Infinity?


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## mr_switch (May 5, 2019)

1. Fringe (Ended)
2. Westworld (Ongoing)
3. The Expanse (Ongoing)
4. Origin (Ongoing)
5. Star Trek Discovery (Ended)


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## DaFixer (May 5, 2019)

1. X Files
2. Star trek TOS
3. Twilight Zone
4. V
5. Futurama


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## Lacius (May 5, 2019)

FAST6191 said:


> Continuing to be surprised to see Fringe. I liked what I saw well enough -- long form sci fi (and shows in general) was just getting going on US network TV so it was still a bit villain of the week and series by series but stopped at some point
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Fringe was hit or miss, which is why it only gets an honorable mention. It reaches its peak around the time of your posted spoiler. Oh, and I completely forgot about Stargate Infinity. I've never seen it.



mr_switch said:


> 1. Fringe (Ended)
> 2. Westworld (Ongoing)
> 3. The Expanse (Ongoing)
> 4. Origin (Ongoing)
> 5. Star Trek Discovery (Ended)


Star Trek Discovery is ongoing.


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## zomborg (May 5, 2019)

Dante2405 said:


> X-Files
> Quantum leap
> Stargate SG1
> Battlestar Galactica
> Sliders


Nice to see Quantum leap on someone's list. That was a fun series! To think Scott Bacula went on to be the enterprise captain and Dean Stockwell went on to be an evil Cylon in gallactica


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## _abysswalker_ (May 5, 2019)

Some great shows mentioned but no Firefly?


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## Superbronx (May 5, 2019)

splymb said:


> Some great shows mentioned but no Firefly?


I'm pretty sure Fast6191 mentioned it in an earlier post. I haven't watched firefly yet. What's it about? By the way it's on my list of shows to watch.


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## _abysswalker_ (May 5, 2019)

@Ssuperbronx It's about a group of mercenary misfits wondering from job to job in outer space. It was cancelled after one season but to bring closure to the show a movie was later made, "Serenity", which feels like a good long episode. 

My summary really does not give justice to how good the series is


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## Superbronx (May 5, 2019)

Thank you, sounds good. I want to try it. It will be soon added to my rotation. I guess after I start Dr who.


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## TVL (May 5, 2019)

1. Twilight Zone (original)
2. Futurama
3. Star Trek TOS
4. The Outer Limits (90s version)
5. X-files

1-3 I've watched the episodes more than once... the rest I most likely won't watch a single episode of ever again, but I enjoyed them a lot when they were new. Haven't seen Black Mirror, so maybe I'm missing out on a current show, I'll probably watch it someday.


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## zomborg (May 5, 2019)

TVL said:


> 1. Twilight Zone (original)
> 2. Futurama
> 3. Star Trek TOS
> 4. The Outer Limits (90s version)
> ...


Twilight zone was so good! I really liked that episode "the obsolete man" It was a little before it's time
By the way, prepare yourself for Black Mirror. It's like a darker more disturbing version of twilight zone.


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## Taleweaver (May 14, 2019)

Tough to list. To me, 'science fiction' is a pretty broad genre. I mean...how does one compare futurama with black mirror? 

Anyhow...here's my list, with honorable mentions that can replace the list at any time...

1. Firefly: forget star wars: THIS is how you do space misfits. Great episodes, even better dialogues.
2. 3% : the pitch might make it look a bit like "battle royale" (only 3% of the population is selected to live on "the island"), but this Brazilian series is incredibly smart and original. Easily the best thing I've seen on netflix
3. Black mirror: I'm often not in the mood for the horror it represent, and some episodes are just "meh". But some get right under your skin and shakes you up because it is so recognizable
4. Westworld: it took me a while to get "in" this world, but the amazing acting and the beautiful scenery makes it worth it to untangle the complex storylines
5. Babylon 5: the only old (and thus sometimes cheesy/outdated/naive) serie I can fathom. There's something about the diplomacy that's in it that compels me more than pretty much all other space operas that boil down to shooting aliens

Runners-up:
x. Futurama: yeah...I guess this one doesn't need introduction. 
x. Cowboy Bebop: this one was a slow boil. At first I didn't get why others where so enthusiast about it, and assumed it would get better (more action-filled). It didn't...but my expectations shifted. There's just..._something_...about this show that kept me coming back to it.
x. Altered carbon: the first episodes were all absolutely top notch. It didn't manage to keep the quality until the end IMHO, but still: it's worth watching.
x. X-files: haven't seen an episode in ten or fifteen years, but...yeah. Keep in mind: X-files was not just "a great science fiction series". It was 'a great serie'. Other series of the time were almost all sitcoms or clearly below the quality of movies. X-files's influence was one of the main factors that ultimately gave movies a run for their money.


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## CORE (May 14, 2019)

The Real Life Twilight Zone we are Living.  
Lexx 
Babylon 5 
StarTrek Shows 
Farscape 
to name a few but the first is definitely getting very exciting.


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