Comments on Sci-Fi Lists: SF TV shows
Here’s an updated version of this list. If there’s a * in the “My rating” column then I have some interest in watching the show. If there’s nothing there then I have no particular interest in watching it.
Here is the list I’m commenting on.
Their ranking | Title | My rating | My comments |
1 | Star Trek – The Next Generation | 5 | Brilliant from the 3rd season — you’ll follow these characters anywhere. |
2 | Battlestar Galactica (new) | 5 | With a focus on character, it’s brilliant right from the very beginning. |
3 | Stargate SG-1 | 4.5 | A series with two very funny characters — Jack O’Neill and Vala Mal Doran. |
4 | The X-Files | 5 | FBI agents investigating paranormal cases — brilliant from the 3rd season to the 8th. |
5 | Star Trek (Original Series) | 4.5 | Some episodes better than others, but gives you hope for the future of humanity. |
6 | Babylon 5 | 5 | Set on a space station, its 5-year story arc was planned out ahead of time. |
7 | Farscape | 3.5 | I watched a season and a half, but it wasn’t grabbing me. |
8 | Stargate – Atlantis | 4.5 | A Stargate team relocates to the Pegasis galaxy — they explore and defend themselves. |
9 | Firefly | 5 | Every single episode was brilliant — succeeded by the movie “Serenity.” |
10 | Doctor Who (2005) | * | |
11 | Star Trek – Deep Space Nine | 5 | From the 3rd season, the most consistently brilliant Star Trek series. |
12 | Star Trek – Voyager | 4.5 | Had some 5/5 episodes but never reached the consistency of TNG or DS9. |
13 | Futurama | 4.5 | Many episodes are very funny and science fictionally clever. |
14 | Doctor Who | ||
15 | Star Trek – Enterprise | 4.5 | Kept improving each year and its 4th and final season was amazing. |
16 | The Twilight Zone | * | |
17 | Lost | 5 | A plane crashes on what seems like a deserted island — but it’s not. |
18 | Red Dwarf | * | |
19 | Quantum Leap | * | |
20 | Heroes | 4.5 | A show about what would happen if people with super powers really existed. |
21 | Fringe | 5 | An FBI team invesigates paranormal cases — and finds out there’s a parallel universe. |
22 | Stargate Universe | 4.5 | A group of military and civilians are on a ship hurtling through the galaxy — and they can’t stop it. |
23 | Battlestar Galactica (original) | ||
24 | Eureka | * | |
25 | Sliders | ||
26 | Smallville | ||
27 | The Outer Limits | * | |
28 | Andromeda | ||
29 | Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1981) | 4.5 | A much better/funnier adaptation of the book than the more recent movie. |
30 | Dark Angel | ||
31 | V (1984) | ||
32 | Torchwood | ||
33 | The 4400 | ||
34 | Terminator (Sarah Connor) | * | |
35 | Blake’s 7 | ||
36 | The Prisoner | 3.5 | A show from the 1960s where a spy is captured and kept in a strange town. |
37 | Space – Above and Beyond | ||
38 | Space 1999 | ||
39 | Mystery Science Theater 3000 | I’ve seen a few episodes — they range from amusing to hilarious. | |
40 | Dune (2000) | 3.5 | This is a miniseries — the sequel “Children of Dune” is even better. |
41 | The Avengers (with Emma Peel) | ||
42 | Cowboy Bebop | ||
43 | Lost in Space | ||
44 | The Outer Limits (1995) | * | I saw some of this show — it was usually quite good. |
45 | Lexx | ||
46 | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | ||
47 | Alien Nation | ||
48 | Dollhouse | 4.5 | Had great potential and a couple of episodes were 5/5. |
49 | Alias | * | |
50 | Roswell | ||
51 | Third Rock From the Sun | I saw a fair amount of this show — my guess is I’d give it 4.5. | |
52 | seaQuest DSV (& 2032) | ||
53 | Sanctuary | Saw a couple of episodes — they were OK but didn’t grab me too much. | |
54 | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | ||
55 | UFO | ||
56 | The Man From U.N.C.L.E. | ||
57 | Lois & Clark (New Superman) | ||
58 | Time Tunnel | ||
59 | Kolchak – The Night Stalker | ||
60 | Thunderbirds | ||
61 | Max Headroom – The Series | * | |
62 | The Wild, Wild West | ||
63 | The Six Million Dollar Man | ||
64 | Ghost in the Shell: SAC | ||
65 | The Invaders | ||
66 | Earth 2 | 3.5 | It started off with a bang and had great potential. |
67 | Crusade | 4 | Would have been great if it had gone according to J. Michael Straczynski’s plans. |
68 | V (2009) | ||
69 | ALF | I watched this as a kid. I’ve seen a few episodes more recently — they’re amusing. | |
70 | Earth – Final Conflict | ||
71 | The Adventures of Superman | ||
72 | Batman | ||
73 | Millennium | ||
74 | Logan’s Run | ||
75 | Get Smart | ||
76 | The (New) Twilight Zone | * | |
77 | My Favorite Martian | ||
78 | Taken | ||
79 | Planet of the Apes | 3 | For fans of the movies, this half season-long series is watchable. |
80 | The Jetsons | ||
81 | Neon Genesis Evangelion | ||
82 | Adventures of Brisco County Jr | ||
83 | The Incredible Hulk | ||
84 | Æon Flux | ||
85 | Star Trek (Animated Series) | I’ve seen a few episodes — I would likely give it a 2. | |
86 | Wonder Woman | ||
87 | Mork and Mindy | ||
88 | Falling Skies | ||
89 | Science Fiction Theatre | ||
90 | Knight Rider | I watched this show as a kid — somehow I don’t think it would be as great now. | |
91 | Primeval | ||
92 | The Greatest American Hero | I liked it as a kid, but found it unwatchable as an adult. | |
93 | Sapphire and Steel | ||
94 | Land of the Giants | ||
95 | Captain Scarlet & the Mysterons | ||
96 | Warehouse 13 | ||
97 | Amazing Stories | ||
98 | The Bionic Woman | ||
99 | Jeremiah | 4.5 | A post-apocalyptic show from J. Michael Straczynski — it lasted two full seasons. |
100 | Invasion |
.
Here are a few shows still missing from the list:
Caprica | 4.5 | A spinoff of “Battlestar Galactica,” it takes place when Cylons were just being created for the first time. | |
Dark Matter | 4.5 | Six people aboard a spaceship wake up from cryosleep with no memories of who they are. | |
Flashforward | 4.5 | Based on the book by Robert J. Sawyer — everyone experiences a glimpse 6 months into the future. | |
Revolution | 4 | A post-apocalyptic show — the lights go out all around the world, and some people know why. | |
Terra Nova | 4 | Time travel and dinosaurs — the first season finale showed what it could be, but it was cancelled. | |
Threshold | 4 | What do we do when an extraterrestrial object appears — just getting good when it was cancelled. |